"Grandpa Chief! Are there any tasks you can give me today? Please don't make it too difficult; I can't finish the hard ones..."
"Well... the task of catching bugs in the fields has already been assigned, so the only thing left is hunting woodear in the wild forest. Do you want to take that one, Lily?"
As Village Chief Haren finished speaking, a quest prompt appeared before Lily, but she hesitated.
It had been two days since she arrived in this world, and after using a lit torch to chase away the bloodwolf, she had also taken on several quests. Most of the quests she had accepted, however, were not difficult. They involved tasks like catching bugs in the fields or helping the village farmers with planting, none of which posed any danger. But correspondingly, the rewards were meager.
In two days, while most players had already reached around level 5, she was still stuck at a pitiful level 3. But she couldn't help it. Her talent was S-level [Affinity], which didn't offer much in the way of offensive capabilities during the early stages of exploration.
"How about this, Lily? You could try finding some suitable companions in the village, and maybe you could go together?"
"Um... Grandpa Chief, isn't there a simpler task?"
"There really isn't. As for my earlier suggestion, I can recommend a few people you might try to team up with."
As soon as Village Chief Haren finished speaking, a leaderboard listing all the players appeared before her eyes, and at the top was a girl named Helena, who had already reached level 9 and was just one step away from the class change.
"Level 9? That's amazing! How did she level up so quickly? I caught three hundred bugs and only got to level 3..."
"That's simple. It's because Helena's talent is SS-level [Exp Boost]. It's only natural that her level is ahead of everyone else."
The voice came from behind, startling Lily. She gasped and quickly covered her mouth before turning around.
"I'm sorry, I... wait, I recognize you! You're the player I saw on the first day, carrying a bloodwolf's corpse!"
"...What a coincidence, I recognize you too."
Looking at that familiar, porcelain doll-like face, memories flooded John's mind. The recollection of their past battles together washed over him like a tide, engulfing him in an instant—the joy of achieving first-clear accomplishments, the sorrow of comrades' sacrifices, and at the end of his memory, the delicate figure standing resolutely in front of him, now overlapping with the person in front of him.
John opened his arms and pulled the girl in front of him into a hug. Breathing in that familiar, subtle fragrance, he couldn't help but feel a little choked up.
"Lily, it's been a long time..."
"Ah!"
John's sudden gesture caught Lily off guard. Feeling the comforting warmth of his embrace, she was stunned for a moment, but soon a wave of embarrassment surged within her.
"You! What are you doing?!"
In a hurry, Lily pushed John away, crossing her arms over her chest as a blush spread across her cheeks, and her star-like eyes quickly clouded with tears.
"Grandpa Chief, he's bullying me..."
That sudden hug was so embarrassing.
The female Beginner tunic was quite loose and didn't include any undergarments, so Lily was effectively going commando. She had been troubled by this for a while and diligently caught bugs every day, hoping to buy a few sets of proper underclothes.
But...
She never expected to be taken advantage of like this.
The thing that troubled Lily most was the stark reality of this experience; she could even feel her own body being squeezed and reshaped by John's firm physique.
"I, I didn't mean that. I was just... a little excited."
Lily could sense it, and naturally, so could John.
At first, they were simply immersed in the joy of reuniting, but gradually emerging from that emotion, John couldn't help but recall the softness he felt during their embrace...
"So, you two know each other. That makes things easier.
Here's the thing, John. This child is struggling with a task, so why don't you take her along and give her some training? Otherwise, letting this silly girl go out on her own, I, an old man, would feel uneasy."
"No problem!"
"No, no!"
Lily shook her head vigorously like a rattling drum and looked at John warily, complaining, "I don't want to team up with him!"
"..."
John had often imagined what it would be like to meet Lily again.
But he never expected it to unfold like this.
It seemed that before anything could even begin, it was already about to be smothered in its cradle.
However, just as John was grappling with how to explain things to Lily, the village chief, Haren, spoke up at the right time.
"Lily, John is the bravest young man in our village. Up to now, he has completed the most missions, totaling nineteen. If you train alongside him, you will make great progress too.
Of course, I hope a lovely child like you could stay in the village forever and grow up carefree, but do you really want to spend your whole life here catching bugs?
You two are still young, you should go see the world outside, right?"
"Um..."
Hearing this, Lily couldn't help but hesitate.
She certainly wasn't willing to spend her days catching bugs and watering plants, but she had a hard time trusting John.
"Village Chief Grandpa, if he bullies me again, can you help me?"
"You are Grandpa's favorite child, how could Grandpa stand idly by?"
"Alright then..."
Lily lightly bit her lip and, after much hesitation, finally agreed to Chief Haren's suggestion.
[Player: John has sent you a team invitation. Do you accept?]
The dialogue box appeared in front of her eyes, and Lily no longer hesitated. She nodded slightly, which counted as her consent.
[You have joined Player: John's team. Current incomplete quest: Blacksmith Ferris' commission, please provide bloodwolf fang X10 (repeatable quest)]
"Hello, John. I'm Lily. Please take care of me."
Seeing Lily extend her slender fingers, John gently squeezed them and then released, not wanting to be overly enthusiastic and make her uncomfortable.
"When you're ready, you can come to the blacksmith shop to find me. I'll be waiting for you there."
"I understand."
Seeing Lily agree, John exchanged a few simple words with the village chief before turning and leaving.
Once he had walked out of the chief's house, John couldn't help but shed tears, saying:
"I finally saw you again, Lily..."
...
"John, how's the weapon I forged for you the other day? Does it handle well?"
"The weapon is incredibly sharp and fits my hand perfectly. Ferris, I believe you have the potential to become a master blacksmith."
"Hahaha! I'll take your word for it. But John, you're leaving soon, right? I can sense that this small village can't hold you back anymore."
As Ferris spoke, he raised his hammer and struck the red-hot iron billet heavily, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Listening to the rhythmic hammering, John was silent for a moment before he smiled and said, "That was my original plan, but now, I might wait a little longer."
In a past life, John first met Lily in Calia.
At that time, he was already an indispensable member of the pioneering team, while Lily was just a fledgling apprentice Mage who had only recently changed class. By a stroke of luck, they became teammates on the same squad.
Since they met here, how could John leave Lily behind and go to Calia alone?
"I'm taking someone with me when I leave the village."
"Taking someone with you? That's not like you, John. Tell me, who has caught your fancy? There are plenty of young women in the village. Is it Helena? She's definitely a great companion."
"No, it's not Helena. Look, she's here."
A faint knocking sounded at just the right moment. The door swung open, and Lily poked her head in tentatively, glancing around shyly before softly asking, "Excuse me, is John here?"
"I'm here. Come in, Lily. Let's rest for a bit and then we'll head out."