Ethan lay awake as he recollected what had happened on the mountain: the addition to his system and what it meant, the revelation that the women on the hill were real and not inside himself, the fact that he could appear in that realm as himself yet exist in this realm in a state of sleep.
The new system used a random generator to choose Ethan's upgrades, which meant that when he levelled up that part of the system, it was always a mystery what he would get. It was abundantly clear to Ethan that it did not raise his power level but gave him tools.
He wondered if the new system would force him in a direction and what that would mean for himself, Wendy, and Lucy.
Ethan felt that this new system had just compromised his free will. He wondered where it came from, who built it, and if it was a gift to his people.
Ethan appeared on the mountain, Tucking in Sophia and the other ladies. Ting-Ting pulled him down on her bed. He mounted her as they kissed.
Twenty minutes later, Ethan hugged Wendy and Lucy closer as he drifted asleep.
He listened to the men talking. Terry stared down at Ethan, who was fully geared up to leave.
"We will go on ahead. Take your time. We will meet you at the crossroad outside the village near dawn."
Ethan nodded his head. Terry and his group needed this; they were broke. He wondered why they did not wait for his team to work together, which had been the initial plan. He could see the men were eager to get going.
The ladies were all still sleeping. Yesterday was a long day for all of them.
Someone was at the gate as Terry and his group removed the wood from the mechanism. The morning air felt cold as a soft breeze chilled Ethan's ear. The darkness of the night faded as dawn approached.
The stranger placed more wood on the fire. Ethan could hear the stranger putting something in the coals. He lifted his head. It was a man with grey hair, and his clothing resembled that of an Adventure Guild employee.
"Alas, good morning, stranger."
The man nodded at Ethan, not saying a word as he moved something in the coals.
Wendy kissed Ethan sleepily and lay back down, followed by Lucy.
"Alas, good morning. Please stay calm and do not get up."
Wendy lifted her head.
"Hail, what do you mean."
Wendy looked down at herself.
"Hail, I see."
"Squee, where did my clothes go."
"M-M-M, my underwear. Did it disappear, too?"
Wendy and Lucy dressed quickly, slipping out of the blankets with full bladders. There were plenty of bushes to squat behind, so they rushed off to the far side of the camp.
Grace and Lara stirred, scooting closer to Ethan. Grace looked at Ethan sleepily.
"Good morning. What time is it."
Ethan pulled Grace and Lara closer.
"Alas, good morning. Do not get up. Get dressed first."
Lara pushed up on her elbow, her arm on Ethan's chest. Lara looked down at her naked body. Ethan turned his head, inspecting her nude body.
"Alas, see what I mean."
Lara lay back down.
"How embarrassing. I went to bed fully clothed, and now I am stark naked. Did we do something last night that we should not have done?"
Grace got dressed under the blankets, and Ethan helped the women where he could. Grace and Lara slipped out and walked towards the same area Wendy and Lucy had gone.
Grace stopped in front of the man.
"Good morning, Herbert; good to see you again. I will be back in a second."
"Good morning, Grace. I see you have found yourself a man."
Maple hugged Ethan, her naked body soft and warm. Ethan's lower part responded. Maple lay her head on his shoulder.
"P-P-P, please, just five minutes more."
Ethan held Maple as she closed her eyes, breathing rhythmically as she fell back asleep. Lara stood a foot on each side of Ethan's head, the knee-length dress not hiding her transparent lace panty from his sight.
"Maple is not a morning person."
Ethan's member saluted Lara and Maple as her leg rubbed against his groin. The aroma of coffee awakened their senses. Maple stirred and pushed herself up on her elbow.
"F-F-F, five minutes fly by too fast."
Ethan got a good look at Maple's mature body. Maple rested her hand near his pelvis on his six-pack. She struggled to get dressed as coffee was poured for everyone.
Herbert rummaged in his bag, bringing forth cream and sugar.
Lara placed blankets around the fire for everyone to rest on. The ladies returned from their ablutions.
Ethan helped Maple up, and she bolted for the bushes as Grace passed a roll of toilet paper to her. Ethan strolled to the bushes near Maple.
Wendy held Ethan's mug as Herbert poured coffee from a massive kettle. Lucy poured cream and four spoons of sugar for Ethan.
Growing up in a village with the purpose of agriculture, Ethan was spoiled for choice. Heather and her kind only enjoyed tea. He traded with the high elves as they were coffee drinkers.
Grace spoke as Ethan sat down and placed their chainmail near the fire.
Herbert nodded his head at Ethan.
"Your giant man had been a soldier before, right."
Ethan gave the man a nod, confirming his statement. Herbert poured more coffee for Wendy as he poured some for himself. Herbert pulled a paper bag from his bag. It bulged with whatever was inside.
He handed each a bun with meat and mustered. Ethan took a bite. It was beef. He could feel his stomach thank the man. Herbert handed Grace a bun.
"I feel ashamed of the treatment you have received from the village. Many things have changed in the past six months."
Grace chewed thoughtfully and then sipped her coffee.
"Tell me, guild master Herbert, does the guild still prosper, or have all the adventurers abandoned the village."
"We have a few die-hard adventurers that still have family in the village, but most left when the twin witches took over the village."
Ethan placed his mug to the side, turning the chainmail on the ground.
"Alas, witches, where did they come from, and do they practise sorcery."
"I cannot say, but you can hear them chant endlessly most nights, and all our young women have disappeared or left out of fear. Then there is the firedog problem. We believe they are doing something to draw the firedog closer to town."
Grace held out her hand, palm facing upward.
Herbert, give me the quest for the firedogs. We will take care of the problem."
Herbert took a parchment from his jacket. Grace took a small knife from her belt.
Ethan only noticed the knife at that moment. Wendy looked at Ethan, her eyebrows moving up and down.
"Hail, Ethan, if you tried to plough Grace, she would have sliced off your wonderful joy toy."
Grace waved the knife at Ethan. He paled as he looked at the small knife that Grace used to cut her finger. She pressed her cut finger on the parchment. The parchment glowed faintly, and the quest was accepted.
Herbert pushed himself up to stand, taking the empty pot and bag.
"I wish you could have helped with the witches. See you in a few days. Good luck with the quest."
The man walked away, throwing the bag over his shoulder, empty pot in hand.