{One Month Later}
On the 9th of August, 239 2E, Lianna woke up in someone else's bed.
She noticed that she wasn't in her own bed rather quickly because this place was a lot nicer.
Sunlight crept in through the half-raised blinds. Lianna was topless, as was the lady sharing her bed. Lianna had some panties on. Sensing the familiar taste of pussy still lingering on her tongue, however, she doubted the same could be said for her midnight partner over there.
She couldn't even remember who this was.
[Ohhh crap... My head hurts. I feel like I'm gonna puke.]
Lianna made a slightly half-hearted attempt to stand which nearly ended with her tripping over an empty bottle of alcohol on the floor, the culprit behind Lianna's current, pounding headache. She just barely stopped herself from spilling her stomach's contents onto this nice, wooden floor.
[Shit...] Lianna sighed, resting her head in her hands. [Wait, wait, wait, WAIT! WHAT TIME IS IT!?!?]
In an instant, Lianna became a scavenger, diving into piles of hurriedly thrown clothes and bags full of half-eaten snacks to look for her phone. Eventually, she found it, but not before making the realization that there was a third woman's panties on the floor.
[... Seriously, what happened last night? Whatever, anyway, what time is it?]
Tapping her phone, a holographic screen jumped out that said:
6:48 am
[YEEEEEES! THE SALE ISN'T OVER YET!]
With speed and agility that would put most high-level Players to shame, Lianna threw on her clothes, a simple red miniskirt along with a sleeveless white shirt. Then, she put on her crimson heels, walking out of that building with maybe half the dignity she had when she came in.
Which, given that she'd arrived here drunk out of her mind, was saying something.
[Wait,] she said, as she stepped outside, [I forgot my bra- no, fuck it, whatever. She can keep it. I NEED TO GET TO THE FOOD MARKET, LIKE, NOW!]
Thus, with a little more bounce in her chest due to unfortunate but necessary circumstances, Lianna jogged toward the food market.
The usually busy streets of Telvan were still relatively quiet. Some blue lampposts were still turned on and the neon signs highlighting the different bars around Lianna were mostly still on as well, any of which could have been the place where Lianna had met last night's host.
An unmanned blimp was flying over the city, holding a banner that showed a Player and a quote next to him that said:
["The Watchful want YOU!" Heh, no,] Lianna laughed as she hurried down the street. [That sure isn't what they told me.]
Thinking about that day still hurt Lianna but... That was in the past now.
All that mattered, at this current moment, was the fact that several items at the food market were up to 75% off!
Just jogging there was enough to leave Lianna breathing heavily.
When she arrived, she found that the only other people there were all elderly, and all of them were surprised to see her.
[W-What!? It's not like I'm too young to be saving money!]
Setting their gazes aside, Lianna inspected the fruits and vegetables around her.
[Apples... Some black lettuce... Spearfruit. Yeah, this is all nice.]
As soon as she finished paying for all her stuff, someone to her right fell to the floor.
"AGH!"
An old man spilled all his cheap fruits and vegetables from the basket he'd been carrying.
Without hesitation, Lianna crouched and held the man by his arms, helping him get to his feet. Swiftly, she grabbed his basket and placed each of his fallen items back in it.
"O-Oh, thank you, Young Miss," the old man said as Lianna went to place everything back in his hands.
"No worries!" Lianna replied. "Are you..."
She was going to ask if he could carry all of this stuff, but one quick glance at his trembling arms let her know that wasn't the case.
Lianna looked at her own purse, stuffed with the things she'd bought, hanging loosely from her wrist.
[Hm... I didn't buy as much stuff as I would have wanted, but, whatever. He needs some help.]
"Are you heading back to your house now? How about I carry this stuff for you?"
"I-I couldn't ask..."
"You don't have to, sir," Lianna giggled. "I'm offering."
He sighed.
"Very well then. Thank you."
Just like that, the two of them walked out from there.
As the morning fully got underway, and more of the city's citizens began to wake up, the streets were slowly gaining pedestrians.
"It's not often I see kids like you running around the food market so early."
"Well, it isn't often there are deals that good, right?"
"Indeed!" The old man laughed. "It's almost a robbery. One your family will appreciate, no doubt."
At that, Lianna gave him a sad smile.
"I... don't have a family, sir."
"Oh," his own smile left his face. "I'm sorry."
"No, no," Lianna laughed. "I didn't lose any family either. I'm a child of mana."
Upon hearing that, the concern the man showed was instantly replaced by great wonder.
Lianna knew why.
In Sylverin, there existed a strange phenomenon called mana storms.
These mana storms were natural events, where mana collected over time, eventually going wild and forming a hurricane-like storm. Strange things happened from time to time during these mana storms, such as, but not limited to, the creation of life.
Lianna herself had been born in such a storm. So, she had no parents and no siblings. She was on her own and had been from the start.
"If it isn't too much to ask, how did you survive?" The old man asked.
"I was found shortly after my... appearance. By a Player, actually."
"Is it someone I've heard of?"
"Um, maybe? Her name's Cynthia Taylor."
"Hm... I guess I haven't."
Indeed, Lianna would have been shocked if he had.
Lianna herself didn't know much about this woman. And, she had tried to look her up. As hard as she tried, though, the only piece of evidence that she received that she was real came to Lianna in real life, away from the internet.
"I, uh, I've never gotten to talk to her, but Miss Taylor's done a lot for me," Lianna told the old man. "She sent me to an orphanage and paid for my full education, all the way up until high school. And, when I turned 16, I got this random letter saying she bought me a house, so I could live on my own."
"Really?" The old man asked, shocked.
"Yeah..." Lianna looked up at the sky. "I may never have talked to her, but... Sometimes, it feels like I've got a guardian angel watching over me."
The old man said nothing in response.
As they continued walking down the street, Lianna noticed they were getting fairly close to the Watchful's guild hall.
New recruits who lived nearby were now walking the streets as well, making their way there.
"Do you have an interest in this guild?" The old man asked her, noticing the way Lianna's eyes lingered on the Watchful's headquarters.
Laughing awkwardly, Lianna waved the question off.
"I applied a little while back but... Didn't make the cut."
"Truly? Well, I suppose that's for the best, then. Don't want anyone getting hurt, right?"
"Yeah..." Lianna couldn't help but feel a little bit defeated, though. The weight of disappointment settled in her chest, like a small but persistent storm cloud. Quickly, she tried to force any thoughts about that away, though. She got rejected. It was fine.
As they continued walking, the grandeur of the Watchful's guild hall loomed in the background, a constant reminder of her unfulfilled aspirations.
"Um... Lots of Watchful members must pass through here often. Must be kinda annoying having to walk through them all, huh?" Lianna attempted to divert the conversation, but the lingering disappointment painted her words with a subtle undertone of wistfulness.
"Hehehe, it was, at first. You get used to it, though, after a few years working there."
Lianna stopped.
"What?"
Gently, the old man took the basket from her hands.
Lianna hadn't realized it, but the old man lived right next to the headquarters, a short walk away.
At that moment, Lianna did something out of curiosity. She checked his status.
She didn't like doing it, as she felt doing so was an invasion of privacy. But, right now, she was just too curious not to.
When she did, she saw:
Status:
Armando Ilnir
MP: 1000/1000
---
STR: F
END: C-
DEX: C-
MYS: S-
L: D-
Lianna had to stop her jaw from dropping.
[IS HE SOME SORT OF ARCHMAGE!?]
He smiled up at her.
"Thank you, young lady. Your kindness was refreshing."
---
Lianna got to her home with that encounter still on her mind.
She walked into her small, lonely house, dropping her fruits in the kitchen and kicking her heels off.
As she turned on the TV, a small part of her wondered if she should have asked the man about joining the Watchful. Lianna quickly tossed the idea aside, though, knowing that the chances she'd get recruited simply because she helped that old man carry some groceries back to his house were probably low.
[... It doesn't matter,] she told herself. [They don't want you... No one does. Leave it alone.]