[Quest Alert!]
On their way to the river, Darius saw the prompt which he had decided to check later. While walking, he mentally commanded the system.
|•••••|
[Quest: Seduce the mother-daughter duo.]
⟨Description: There are potential harem members in the vicinity. Make them fall in love with you within a month.⟩
⟨Objective:⟩
› Raise Fiona's affection towards by 80.
› Raise Tiara's affection towards you by 80.
⟨Rewards:⟩
› 2 New Harem Members.
› New System Feature: Harem Menu.
› Class Change Available.
› 5000 Shop Tokens.
⟨Failure Conditions:⟩
› Unable to raise their affection by 80 points within a month.
› Decreasing their affection below 10.
⟨Failure:⟩
› Death.
|•••••|
[Sub-Quest: Help Fiona revive the land.]
⟨Description: The Honeybrew Village is struck by a drought, consequently the villagers have left except Fiona and her daughter, Tiara. Be a good person and help them revive the dead land.⟩
⟨Objective:⟩
› Revive the dead land within 2 months.
› Destroy the cause of drought and climate change.
⟨Rewards:⟩
› Undying loyalty of Fiona and Tiara.
› 2000 Shop Tokens.
› 10 Skill Points.
› 10 Stat Points.
⟨Failure Conditions:⟩
› Unable to destroy the cause of the drought.
› Decreasing the affection of Fiona and Tiara below 10.
› Fiona's Death.
› Tiara's Death.
⟨Failure:⟩
› Death.
|•••••|
Darius stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide and mouth open. A high-level quest right from the start.
"What in the dark souls is this!?" He shouted in shock.
He arrived just today in this world and without a tutorial and weapons, he was expected to fight bosses.
The first quest was doable. This did not mean he was a casanova but he could at least somehow be able to seduce them within a month.
The sub-quest? More like a certain-death quest! This quest was impossible. Reviving a wasteland within 2 months. Not even the most talented environmentalist could achieve that.
So, how can a normal person like Darius could do that?
Fiona sensed him stopping. She turned around only to hear scream something weird. Expecting some kind of trouble, she walked hastily towards him, "What happened?"
She was worried that something had happened to him. Maybe his wound opened up. She definitely should not have let him accompany her.
His attention was pulled back into the realm of living by her voice. He quickly waved his hand, "N-Nothing happened. I was just..."
He quickly moved his eyes to search for something seeing a stick, he pointed, "I got startled by this stick. I thought it was some kind of snake."
He saw Fiona sigh which made him sigh too. Safe. Fiona began to giggle, "Oh dear, snakes are not that small."
He chuckled nervously, "Anyways, we should go."
"Okay." She agreed still giggling, "Now don't stop on the way again. Unless I tell you so."
"Yes, ma'am." He faux saluted and marched forward, making her giggle again.
...
Late afternoon. They had reached the forest, from what he knew was called Silent Forest.
An apt name indeed since he could not hear anything even the chirp of birds. He felt a zephyr, cold and careful, not stirring the leaves of the colossal trees.
His foot crunched the dried leaves and sticks below. Their way was brightened by rays of sun filtering through the canopying leaves that engulfed the sky.
He was cautious of roots jutting out of the brown damp earth. Mushrooms were growing under every other tree.
His eyes landed on Fiona. Her movements remained graceful even when her gaze did not follow the ground. Every step of hers was knowing and practised as if she had lived in this very forest for years.
Which he thought was right, since she had to bring water from the river in this forest every other day.
He followed her closely.
The air was sinistrous. Uncomfortable. His body was in its wrenching grip. His mind was in constant vigilance. Believe it or not, he dared not breathe any louder.
"Calm yourself, Darius." He flinched. Her tone was calm and steady but in this silence, it sounded like an alarm bell.
He breathed deeply, trying to do as she said. Feeling a bit better, he continued.
"I now understand, why this place is called Silent Forest." His words were almost a whisper, believing that he would commit a crime if his voice was higher.
"This is not your first time here. But it must feel like it because of your amnesia." She said, perfectly balancing the pitcher on her head when going over a large root.
She continued, "The monsters in this forest are mostly comprised of the kind who hunt silently. You would not even know when you died if you are not careful. So always keep your eyes and ears open in here."
Darius gulped, taking her words to heart. The two walked for some time. In this absolute silence, he could finally hear a sound. The sound of water flowing.