Cirnt and Udehr were currently sitting with sweat all over their bodies. This was the eleventh time they returned to the warehouse and the two were obviously tired from all of the lifting and wagon pushing that they did.
But somehow, Owen was still going at it. Carrying bricks and placing them on the wagon. He even learned how to properly tie the materials down and how to use cloth to create some kind of cushion to prevent damage.
They were so tired that Cirnt wasn't even able to walk at the moment.
"Seriously… How is he still going?" Cirnt barely formed a sentence by how hard he was trying to keep breathing.
Udehr was sprawled on the floor without any care. He was tired and he didn't mind what he looked like. "... I don't even know man."
"Probably because he used to train under a knight or something? I can see that his armor is.. Kuhh- " Udehr interrupted himself with a cough.
"- .. quite damaged though. He's probably been through more hell than us." Udehr's chest moved up and down as he heaved each breath with difficulty.
He rolled his head to the side to look at Cirnt and said, "Remember when I said that he wouldn't be able to handle bringing the materials over…? And that he would only last about three back and forths? Yeah… I'll take that back."
Owen just finished loading his wagon and securing the contents. He glanced over to see how they were doing.
"I'm going to bring this to Fritsen and the rest. You guys should rest for now." Owen knew that they reached their limits. There was no point in forcing them to move.
"Even if you didn't say anything, we would've done so.." Cirnt's sentence had short gasps for air in the middle of it.
"Mhm." Owen didn't say a word.
Owen inserted his arms into the ropes tied to the handlebar and began pulling the wagon to the site.
"He's really still going…?" Udehr couldn't believe it at all.
The two of them have been working for Fritsen for a long time now. It wasn't common to see people working for Fritsen for a bit of coins.
It does happen occasionally, so the official contracted workers are no strangers to people like Riang and teenagers looking to earn money. All of them besides Riang had subpar strength and the body to withstand prolonged physical stress.
It wasn't strange for a woman to be physically stronger than a man in the world of Saeffaria. In the case of humans at least.
Everyone does their part equally in society. And in a family, the parents can support their children even more with two main providers. That's a well known fact to everyone in the Adhaesit Continent and Wiunlen is no exception.
What bewildered the two of them was how Owen could continue to outlast them without taking a break. That is an amazing feat to witness for the both of them. Although he has a disability, he still seemed tireless.
It felt like competing against a water buffalo.
They wouldn't be so tired if they didn't try to keep up with Owen. It wasn't that Udehr and Cirnt were the competitive type, it was because they were being teased by the other workers and even called them lazy like what Fritsen told them.
So that went into their head in the manner of, 'Hey, this lad named Owen is doing it so well. We should take our job more seriously because of that.'
And they did, which led to them noticing that they weren't the ones who were slow, Owen was the one who was just too fast.
And soon enough, they reached the limits of their stamina and drained them of the energy to continue.
They did sense that they wouldn't be able to keep up. Of course, at that point they would be conserving their energy and give up.
However, one of their fellow workers bet them two silver coins if they can outlast Owen.
It only resulted in their current state.
— At the construction site…
Owen dropped off his wagon and began untying the materials from it.
"He's back again…" A bulky man with a balding head looked at Owen return without any signs of tiredness.
"Look, he came back alone. Those two are probably in the warehouse sweating like pigs." Another man with a long mustache and small eyes pointed out.
Fritsen turned around and saw Owen working with diligence.
A few workers began to help him unload the materials from the wagon. Owen was still doing what he was supposed to with a blank, focused face.
That was until he saw a panel, that was when his expression changed for a brief moment.
*Vhoom…*
The familiar dark blue stone panel appeared in front of his face.
==========
[You have completed the level 2 quest, Transportation Issues]
+8 Experience, +30 Copper Coins.
Performance Rating: S]
==========
For achieving a high performance rating, you have unlocked a perk!
[Unlocked Perk: Wagon Master]
[Wagon Master - Increases wagon pushing speed by 8% and decreases load weight by 15%]
==========
[Achievement Unlocked: Quest Quality]
- Complete a quest with an S rating.
==========
[EXP: 174/200]
==========
Owen's eyes were fixated on the panels.
That was the case for a short while when suddenly, he heard Fritsen's voice.
"Boy, that's enough. You've done plenty." He then ushered for him to come over with a simple gesture of his hand.
Owen stood in his spot for a second before walking over to Fritsen. He had to pause and read what's written on the panel.
"What is it?" When Owen was in front of him, Fritsen reached into his coat's pocket and took thirty copper coins.
"Here, we appreciate your hard work." Fritsen gave him a nod of appreciation. His gratitude could be seen by the look of his face.
He might be a loud mouthed person but Fritsen knows when to reward those who earned it. That was the kind of man that he is.
Owen took the copper coins from Fritsen. He smiled at him kindly. Just the continuous rewards that he was getting felt like it was destiny's way of repaying him for all the mishaps in his life.
Before he left, he asked Fritsen, "Old man, do you know where Riang could possibly be right now?"
While massaging his shoulder with one hand Fritsen gave a short reply. "That girl is definitely cleaning in a store somewhere nearby… it's probably at Lady Terisa's store."
"Lady Terisa? What direction is that store in?" Owen said while pocketing the copper coins.
Since Owen wasn't a local, he didn't know the well known parts of the town at all.
Fritsen pointed in a certain direction.
Owen saw that and went on his way. Since Fritsen was busy, it would be pointless to stay here.
"Thank you, I'll be going now…" Owen waved his hand before fully walking away.
"Mm." Fritsen responded with a grunt. He then looked back at his men and shouted once more, "Get Udehr and Cirnt back here! What are they doing in the warehouse?"
"I'll go get them." The man with the long mustache went ahead to the path leading to the warehouse.
…
As a town that has been influenced by Ichor, the appearance of Wiunlen was quite clean to look at.
Each block has at least six houses with even rooftops. The construction of the buildings followed a simplistic and a design that was pleasing to the eye. It makes one think about the hard work that was put into making them.
With that in mind, the town of Wiunlen felt more developed to Owen who came from a modern time.
But as he walked down the cobblestone road, Owen realized that he couldn't read any of the signs around him.
"@#$## $#@#" "(Fresh Pastries)"
"#@@$$@" "(Library)"
(English) "I can't understand anything…" Owen's left eye twitched. Because of the thinner skin in the left portion of his face, the eye movement was easier to spot.
But just then, he realized something.
Once he did, a chill crept up from his body.
"Did I just speak English? Hold on, what language am I speaking right now?" Owen finally realized that he was speaking a foreign language that he didn't know at all.
But the way he spoke it was so flawless as if he's been learning it for a long time now. It was so flawless in fact, that he didn't notice it until now.
He began thinking about it.
"How did I forget my first language? And how did I learn this new one?" Owen felt as if someone inserted information into his brain without his knowledge or permission.
That feeling of vulnerability wasn't pleasing for someone like him.
The mind is a man's palace after all.
"I guess it's not so bad.. It would be stupid if I can't talk to anyone here." Owen subconsciously touched his neck.
His eyes widened once more.
He could still remember it vividly.
That woman with porcelain skin.
Her stinging bites.
"That should be the cause…" Owen frowned deeply.
This did not stop him from his current objective. He continued trying to find Riang through trial and error.
He looked at the most 'store looking' building closest to him and checked it out.
It was a clothing store with a glass window on its door, allowing anyone to see the sets of clothes inside. However, all the clothes that Owen could see were skirts, tops for women and dresses.
"Oh, a store for women's clothing." Owen looked inside and saw people trying out different clothes for themselves with a smile.
He observed from afar to avoid seeming like a stalker. As Owen watched through the window, all he observed was a group of friends chatting amongst each other.
The women were displaying the classic Wiunlen attire comprised of wooly skirts and padded long sleeves. Even men wear this style of clothing as people of Eslahai or nearby kingdoms prefer comfort and mobility over anything else.
Seeing that this isn't where Riang is, Owen continued to the next store.
Because of his attire, it did attract some curious looks from the side.
One girl in particular even pointed at Owen, only to be reprimanded by her mother silently.
It didn't bother Owen at all as he arrived at the next store.
It was a store that sold furniture, utensils, cups, plates, cooking utensils and vases with various designs. The sign that hung above the front door says, "Housewares."
Of course, Owen doesn't understand the rigid letters with vertical lines and dots.
This was strange because in the original game, all signs were written in English and other languages for global players so that they could understand them.
But it seems that the realism of this world didn't do such things that related to game design. It was very unaccommodating for anyone that was from Earth.
Speaking of Earth, Owen had the feeling that he wasn't the only person who woke up in this world. When he thought about the mass coma before, he couldn't help but relate the two incidents.
The most suspicious among all was Ichor Selenkyr.
But then again, all the architecture, technology and knowledge was present in the original game.
This creates an interesting question. It was said that Ichor was the one who implemented things like machines and made it a normal thing that almost every person accepted, so how could they exist here? Was Ichor Selenkyr a genius, or someone who also reincarnated into this world?
If he's a genius, why aren't his deeds as prevalent as they were in the original game? That could be brushed off as the world adapting to the realism effect, but it made more sense if he was from Earth.
Right now, Owen chose to believe that Ichor was just someone who was in the game who's effects became more pronounced as the world entered a more realistic state.
After all, the authenticity of the game's events aren't that trustworthy.
Owen proceeded to approach the store's window. He peeked inside only to see no one in the store.
"And I thought this would be the one." Owen sighed and turned around to leave.
Owen looked at the stores around him and saw another establishment made of smooth dark brown wood with varnishing.
He didn't bother looking at the sign, but he did notice that the store had a lot of windows and plants.
He could see a plant with a long stem and a large and wide leaf, a prickly looking plant with red serrated leaves, a blue cactus-like plant and a plant that was hanging from the roof near the window.
Just by merely glancing at the interior, he saw that there were barely any people inside.
Riang's hair is conspicuous enough. If he couldn't even notice it, Owen shouldn't even be looking for her.
He then went to the next establishment and a sign with the drawing of a potion bottle. Even though he couldn't read anything, he could at least use context clues to get by.
"Thankfully I can guess what this place is supposed to be…" Owen's line of sight was directed at the sign with a drawing of a slim bottle next to it.
There was no doubt, this is a potion shop. Even inexperienced gamers would know that just by looking at it for three seconds.
Inside the shop had at least a dozen people. Some were paying for what they bought as they stood in front of a slim woman behind the counter playing with a silver coin.
At this point, Owen was ready to leave the moment he did not see Riang.
Fortunately, she was indeed in the shop.
Riang was wearing a maid's uniform as she cleaned the floor with a mop. And no, it wasn't the typical french maid uniform that is popular back on Earth. Owen wasn't sure why it's a popular thing, I mean, the maids are just doing their job.
He didn't get the appeal.
Instead, what Riang wore was a bland, long, dark gray uniform with sleeves that reached a little further from her elbows. Since it was just for cleaning, it didn't really look special at all. It did have a belt to hold the cleaning equipment, but that's about it.
Wasting no time, Owen entered the potion shop.
*Creak--*
The door made a steady creaking sound that almost all the customers heard.
When they looked towards the door, they saw a black haired man with a mix of leather and chainmail armor with varying degrees of damage. What was uncomfortable to look at was his face that looked like a severe burn that healed improperly. Giving it the appearance of multiple interlocked veins under the skin.
His eyes looked dead. Like looking at a corpse with its eyes half closed or half open if you're an optimist.
His hair on the 'burnt' side was more sparse, but it was enough to give a clear outline of how it used to look beforehand.
Seeing a person like this, the customers had the idea to back away from him. The missing left hand wasn't helping.
Riang looked over and showed some surprise on her face.
She walked over with lengthy strides and grabbed Owen's arm, pulling him aside.
"Get over here, you're scaring the customers." She said with a tone ushering for silence.
When they were now away from the counter and hidden behind a potion shelf, she crossed her arms and began to speak, "I'm assuming you finished your work now that you're here."
"Mhm, the job you gave me wasn't too hard." Owen's reply had a friendly and close vibe to it. But the way his eyes looked at the moment, it didn't fit.
Riang pointed at Owen's face as she spoke. "Wow, you don't look like someone who finished their job that smoothly."
Noticing that he looked unenthusiastic, Owen's eyes widened to show a different expression. Just like when he was conversing with Fritsen and the rest earlier.
There was a reason for his expression though. "Oh don't misunderstand, anyone would look like me if they spent a needless amount of time looking for a brat like you."
Riang refrained herself from punching him in the gut.
"You're not funny." Riang's fist wanted to hit his chainmail, but she held back because it would clearly hurt.
Owen chuckled and ignored it. "So you work as a maid here? Well done, the place looks spotless." Although his tone changed substantially, it was just keeping up appearances.
Riang nodded. "If I don't work with effort and showcase professionalism, I won't earn money fast... That's how I survive."
Owen wasn't particularly interested in her ways of doing things. He then asked Riang, "How long will it take until you finish cleaning?"
"Fifteen minutes." Riang said perfunctorily.
"And this is your job for the day?" Owen was guessing that she probably had more to do.
"No, the other places where I earn money do not need me at the moment. I'm planning to look for available jobs later when I'm done here." Riang then walked towards the place where she was cleaning.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some cleaning to do." She added.
Owen frowned. If she was going to take fifteen minutes, it would be too long to get anything productive done. As someone who had always wanted things to be done quickly, he cannot just idly and do nothing.
As Riang reached her hand to grab the mop, a hand got there first before her and started to clean the floor with it.
"Eh?" Riang turned around and saw Owen cleaning the floor.
His efficiency was quite fast and it followed a pattern. It was as if he's been working as a janitor for years.
"What? Don't just stand there, help me clean this up and this will be done a lot sooner." Owen didn't even turn his head when he said that.
"Give it to me." Riang's tone sounded displeased.
Owen didn't stop as he replied. "Why? Just do your own thing."
"Give it to me because if Lady Terisa saw that you're doing this, I will not get my pay. You're stealing my job from me." Riang was serious.
With a sigh, Owen said to her, "We're behind the shelves. Terisa wouldn't be able to see us. If I continue to do my thing while being obscured from her line of sight, not only will this be finished faster, you'll also get paid sooner."
He added, "Plus, I'm not interested in your job. I just want to get this over with."
Riang groaned in annoyance. "Fine, but if we get caught, I'm blaming you."
The two of them began to clean certain parts of the store.
A man not too far away heard their conversation. He wore a laced wool coat and metal spectacles that had signs of rusting on the nosebridge. The rust in particular seems to be the same color as his hair.
As this man was only browsing for potions, he didn't pay any heed to them.
"More and more teenagers have to work in order to fill their stomachs… Wiunlen's education system really is indictable to this failure." The man huffed out a heavy sigh and went on his merry way with a potion in hand.
…
The two of them cleaned up the place as best as they could. Riang's task was about to be done in just two minutes.
'Unbelievable… Owen isn't playing around. It's just cleaning, was there a need to take it so seriously?' Riang thought to herself.
Looking at Owen right now, it was a strange sight seeing him so focused on cleaning the right spots of the floor.
With the two of them helping each other, it didn't take long for the job to be finished.
After that session of cleaning, Riang took off her uniform and put them in a closet with all the cleaning materials.
She looked at Owen and saw that the way she felt about him changed.
"You know, I didn't expect you to be quite a reliable person… Thank you." Riang only thought of them working together because of certain interests, but seeing Owen's attitude on the matter, he didn't seem like he's doing it just because he benefits from it.
No, it felt like he had an admirable character.
Owen smiled. "Shall we go now?" He pointed behind him with his thumb.
"Hold on, I have to get something first." Riang walked towards the counter to talk to the woman named Terisa.
The shopkeeper named Terisa wasn't a woman with ordinary looks. She had a slim body and a thin waistline. The part of her body that attracted the most attention were the grayish skin filled with small warts around her neck that probably extended to her shoulders. She wore a long, green alchemist's robe that covered most of the warts on her body.
They were caused by an accident when she was brewing a potion. Thankfully, she didn't die and only ended up with minor injuries.
Terisa was fiddling around with a silver coin that had an eye with a cross shaped iris. When she gave the change of five copper coins to the customer in front of her, she saw Riang walk towards her after the person had left.
"Riang? Are you finished already?" Terisa looked around the shop and saw that it was cleaner than before.
"Yes ma'am, I did everything you asked me." Riang showcased a polite set of mannerisms that Owen had never seen before.
It was definitely because she would never act this way towards him.
Terisa nodded, "Not bad. That was exceptionally quick too." The silver coin was dancing around her fingers as she made it travel from between her pinky and ring finger to her thumb.
She then held the coin tightly, and pulled a drawer from the counter and took out 25 copper coins.
"Here you go, come back next week on Tuesday." Terisa's fingers let loose, dropping the coins on Riang's outstretched palm.
After that, she began to play around with her silver coin once again.
Bowing slightly, Riang expressed her thanks. "I'll get going now, Lady Terisa."
"Bye." Terisa waved her fingers at Riang as she left.
Owen also followed behind.
Terisa noticed that Owen was the man who came in earlier, but she never saw him pay for anything.
Since that was a bit suspicious, she called out to Owen.
"Hey! You there, what did you buy?" Terisa leaned over the counter while pointing at him.
Owen immediately thought that she had a bit of an eccentric personality.
He halted on his steps and turned to look at Terisa, saying, "The potion that I was looking for isn't here… Sorry for disturbing you."
Terisa hummed to herself, unconvinced.
Her brown eyes suddenly glowed blue as she focused on Owen. If one were to look closely, small white incorporeal symbols surrounded her pupils and a thin trail of light blue fog spiraled around her eyes.
Her vision changed.
The previously brown and wooden room was now replaced with a wispy texture and a light gray tint. The potions on each shelf were glowing brightly with different colors, like lamps that illuminated a club.
She was trying to look for any glowing areas within Owen's body.
Owen now appeared as a silver silhouette with a red magic circle spinning on his right hand. This was the [Firestrike] spell stored in his body.
In the middle of his sternum, there was a white ring containing two bright glass-like stars. Both appeared colorless as if they were water that gained shape by their own.
She stared at them for a bit until she noticed Owen's confused gaze while looking at her.
Terisa turned off this scanning spell. She was internally surprised but didn't show it.
"Nevermind, you can go now." Terisa coughed to recompose herself. She leaned back on her seat, her body no longer hanging over the desk.
Owen shrugged it off as he didn't notice a thing.
*Bam.*
When the door closed, Terisa was wondering to herself.
What she saw was something supposed to be rare, so she was undeniably surprised.
"What was that soul core? I've never seen someone with two stars before…" She gazed deeply upon the silver coin as she thought about it.
She tapped her desk with the coin as her back slowly sank to her chair, engulfing her in comfort.
"Hah- There's no point in thinking about it." Terisa quickly fixed her posture and rested on her desk with her head supported by her arm.