Riku I
Dusk. The sun is setting over the horizon, its orange rays becoming more and more hidden by the mountains with each passing minute. The cows, sheep, and goats are being led back to their enclosures after a long day of grazing. Wildlife is either getting ready to turn in for the night, or their time of activity is just about to begin. And though it isn't night yet, one can already see the purple sky turning to black far to the west, and the shy stars have begun to shine bright from the dark.
Within a village of, at the time, little to no importance and without any uniqueness, called Taewe village, the peasantry was gathered in the middle of the town square. Or village square, if one is to be pedantic about it. All the same, the mass of human bodies are gathered around two figures, surrounding them. Though there is a distance of about a dozen feet, giving these two clear outsiders a decent berth.
The two figures are in a way, a complete contrast to the locals.
While the locals are somewhat dirty or sweaty after a long day's work, none of them are truly filthy to the point of disgust. However, physically they are not that impressive specimens. Their height is unimpressive due to long lives of manual labor and little nourishment. Their faces are often plain and common-looking, and handsome men or beautiful women are a true rarity. These peasants often look older than they actually are, owed due to their time laboring under the sun, the stress of life in which they never have enough, and the frequency of tragedy befalling their lives. Still, they are at least, relatively speaking, clean.
The two figures are at a first glance, probably not even human, like the villagers. Covered in mud, blood and viscera, a collage of brown, red, green and black, all colors one would associate with uncleanliness.
Though tall, nothing about them said they had a proud bearing.
The first of them seemed far more covered with mud than guts, but the smell was no less vile. They could not stand properly. One of their legs seemed to be damaged. The walking stick and the way they leaned on one of their legs was the dead giveaway.
This individual had longer hair, leading down to their shoulder, but the color of it was impossible to gleam. But the color of the blue eyes that peeked through the long strands of hair, well those were impossible to mistake.
When it came to height, this individual would be considered on the taller side, even as a female, their height was taller than most the men in the village, and they stood an entire head taller than the person they were 'conversing' with.
Who was a stereotypical old man. Really old. Short, bald, hunched, he too used a walking stick. But for him the reason he used it was probably not an injured leg. As the elder of the village of Taewe, he would rarely do any actual physical labor. No, for him, the walking stick was because of the fact that he was so old, he had outlived his own grandchildren, and it seemed that death was in no hurry to claim him.
Though an argument could be made that the reaper may turn up if this conversation devolved even further.
The other figure, the male companion of the woman with the stick, was like her. His hair was shorter than his friends, but still wild and unkempt while warm eyes the color of green peeked through the strands of hair. Tall, dirty, covered in guts that dangled from various parts of his body. The odd intestine here, the casual wing parts there… that and combined with the sword and shield he carried was evident that he was probably the warrior of the party.
He was evidently the more agreeable of two, based on body language alone.
But in addition to these two companions, there was also a severed head with a crimson coloration on the ground. A long crimson mosquito-like needle three feet long clearly did not fit into the bag, and the green blood that dripped from it indicated that whatever head was inside the bag, probably belonged to an insect-like monster. If the fact that the two people that killed this monster had just come back from the swamp didn't serve as enough of a hint.
"We… are lacking the funds at the moment…" The village elder practically begged.
The mud-covered woman with a stick nearly did a double-take as her eye flinched. "What?"
"What I mean to say is… we don't have the money. Right now! But we will get it to you! I promise!" The elder continued to explain himself, but his answer was clearly unsatisfactory.
In response, the woman with a walking stick hobbled two feet closer until she leaned down over the old man. Mud dripped off her hair onto his sandals. "This better be a joke or this staff is going up your ass." She threatened, which caused the old man to do an audible gulp.
This caused the other dirty figure to intervene. He had noticed that his companion's temper had become a bit… erratic in the past week. Which was completely understandable, given the circumstances. But the last thing he needed now was to fight an entire village of angry peasants. He did not want a fight, and in the condition the two of them were in, they would not win it.
Then he tried to be a bit more amenable to the old man. Hopefully kindness would get them what they were owed.
"Easy there Rin…" He put a hand on his friend's shoulder and pulled them away, making sure to not be too forceful as he did so. "
"What my companion meant to say is, we invested a lot into the quest. Time, effort, resources. We risked our lives. And even then we didn't charge you as much as we could have, because we know you don't have a lot." Some of the villagers nodded when he mentioned that they don't have a lot. Which was the truth. They were barely making ends meet. Still…"And now you tell us that the sum that we agreed upon, the sum that is already quite favorable to you by the way, won't be paid to us? I'm sure I don't have to tell you how this looks from our point of view." The soiled swordsman said.
But still… the village elder would not budge. Weak and feeble though he may be, he had more balls than most.
"I understand your misgivings, and I apologize…but we don't have the funds. We had them, but now we don't. We would not betray our saviors." He continued to plead his case. But the muddy woman would not have it.
"What do you mean you had them and now you don't? Did the earth open up and swallow the gold? If so, you and everyone else here better grab a shovel and start digging."
"...No. It's just… the soldiers came while you weren't here and took the money. They also took most of our food. They said that with the current crisis, we all need to make sacrifices."
This caused the two of them to share a look between each other. They were new to these lands, and ignorant of many things, so it would take a while before they would learn when they were being swindled and lied to. But the villagers didn't seem to be lying.
"That's the way things work here. The nobles take what they want, when they want. We are lucky to get by most days." An old woman wearing a kerchief commented from the side while standing proudly with her hands against her hips, leaving her taut forearms exposed for all to see.
"So… the government took our money?" The younger muddy woman said the sentence as if the event was prophesied.
"Uhhh… yes?"
"I knew it! I knew this would happen to us!" She practically jumped toward her friend, or as well as one could jump with only one leg, and started shaking him while screaming into his face. "I told you years ago that taxation is theft, but you didn't listen. Now look!"
But he was just as stunned as the others who witnessed this bizarre conversation.
Before long, the mud-caked woman stopped shaking him and started muttering to herself.
The only words that he could hear though, were 'Fireball' and 'Repossession'. It didn't take too long for him to figure out what went through her head. He tried to convince her out of these thoughts, which would probably lead to them getting tossed into a jail cell. If they were lucky.
"Calm down now, don't do anything rash-
"Rash! Rash! Why you-" The woman paused there before she made a scene, and used the small pause in order to take in a breath.
"Don't talk to me about being rash, Riku, as it's your fault we're even in this situation to begin with." She vocalized her undisguised opinion about the situation.
"That's…true. But that doesn't- Which Riku tried to defend.
"Shut up, I don't wanna hear it." However, he was interrupted before he could say another word. His non-argumentative demeanor couldn't really handle the explosive personality of his friend/companion/angry former roommate, thus he often found himself silenced.
"We got robbed! I didn't wait five hours in the fucking swamp, burried up to my neck in mud waiting for that damn… mosquito-
"Stirge."
"Whatever! The waiting was bad, the fight was worse. There's not a part of my body that doesn't hurt or itch, and I smell like shit. I'm out of mana, I think my leg is broken, or at least sprained, and we used THREE fire bombs. And you're telling me to NOT get angry?"
"Well, I get you being angry, I do. But these folks aren't to blame. They can't stand up to knights. Let's just… take a breather. I'll go take a bath, you do the same, and after that we'll go over our plans during dinner and then we'll hit the sack. A good night's sleep, and tomorrow morning we'll get to work on getting back our reward."
In response, Rin merely deadpanned at Riku.
"What bath? What food? What money!? We spent it all. You fool."
"Ugh…" He grumbled.
After that, it seemed that the two of them had accepted defeat. They stood there, in silence, under the gaze of the crowd. Unsure of their next move.
"Maybe… as thanks… you can use the inn's services tonight, for free?" A blonde-haired man commented from the side. No doubt the inn-keeper.
"We'd be delighted to." And Riku accepted his offer.
"I will need you to get out in the morning though. Don't want you scaring off any customers."
"Let's just go…" Rin mumbled as she started hobbling towards the inn with Riku behind her, unperturbed by the filth that was dragged in their wake.
The room itself was… mediocre, bland, unimpressive and any combination of those and other similar words. Just a plain bed with a hard mattress, a single closet, a window that could be opened, a nightstand equipped with a candle stand and a candle and a chair. There was also a bathroom where there was a tub and a bucket filled with water, that was of course, cold. A chamberpot was also the only other thing found in the bathroom.
To put it simply, the room itself was about 0.5 stars out of 5. But at least there was a bed, and actual water. And he supposed that Rin's room was no better.
Riku soon decided upon a course of action.
The clothes they had would have to be destroyed. He doubted they were salvageable. Thus, he went about his business, hoping to finish things while he still had strength.
He took off his clothes, and threw them into his inventory. He realized quickly that things placed there didn't interfere with each other, so there was no danger of filth from the clothes spreading onto his other possessions. Next, he jumped into the tub, and started using the relatively clean washing brush to rub the grime off him as he poured water onto himself. It was a fairly barbaric cleaning ritual. The water was cold and it bothered him. The washing brush was uncomfortable and it bothered him. But he had to suck it up. After a while of this, he managed to clean himself off as best he could, though he did find himself lamenting a few things.
He thought it would have been better, and more convenient even, if Rin would learn a few lifestyle spells. But very quickly after arriving in this world, they had come up with a plan and would stick with it. Rin would learn magic that was actually useful long-term, and wouldn't sacrifice her build path for it, and Riku would stick to the martial classes.
Unlike Yggdrasil, he doubted respawning was a thing in this world.
Thus, they would have to endure until such a time came that they acquired magic items that would lessen the burdens of travel.
Still… a week here, in this strange New World. A week since that incident. Their lives had been completely upturned.
"Would my life have changed for the better if I never came here? What about Rin's life? I think that from the transition, I was the one who ended up with greater gain."
He thought about the day, or the days rather, leading up to that fateful midnight. He wasn't a very accomplished person, all things considered. His life had sort of blended together in the five years since he had finished high school.
Wake up, go to work, come home, do your chores, play Yggdrasil.
Rin's life was arguably no better, though they had potential for upward advancement. While Riku was a corporate drone, Rin was a student in a medical university.
While Riku hadn't had much hope for the future, Rin had all sorts of plans.
While Riku was just content to merely survive, Rin wanted to learn.
A certified genius, who had earned herself a scholarship, and was close to finishing her degree.
They didn't have much in common. True, they were roommates, having lived together in the sharehouse, but they all had their own rooms where they spent most of their time, and they had four other roommates.
Riku didn't really have any sort of conflicts with anyone. He tried to be friendly, and he would even call two of his roommates his friends. Alas, one of them passed away, and the other managed to buy his own apartment after finally succeeding as a professional athlete.
Thus, the six became four, and Riku's friend group shrunk. Often after work he would dive into the DMMO-RPG Yggdrasil with one of his roommates. They would level up together, and they eventually reached the pinnacle. Level 100. However, after that person passed away, Riku deleted his account, stating that there was no point in playing the game without friends.
But the addiction was difficult to break. When he heard about Yggdrasil shutting down, he managed to somehow convince Rin, the brilliant medical student, to spend the last few days playing the game with him. As a favor.
Somehow he managed to convince her. They created new characters, and after the character creation and class selection, they were dropped into Midgard and went on their adventure. Surprisingly, Rin took to the game quickly, and proved herself to be a quick learner. Though they only played for a few hours each day, the leveling process was swift.
Once he had managed to convince her, getting started was relatively easy. Riku lent her his own console while he used his departed friend Kentaro's console. Rin stated that she felt uncomfortable using something that belonged to someone who passed away. Riku didn't mind, as he knew that Kentaro loved Yggdrasil just as much as he did, and that there would be no point to throwing away a good gaming console just because the user expired.
They leveled up a bit until level 14. Cleared a dungeon, which again, against all odds, contained a World Item. The dungeon managed to bump them up to level 16, and it contained decent loot. After having cleared it, Rin was satisfied, and wanted to log off, but Riku's pleading that it was the last day managed to convince her against this. They remained logged on until the very end, until the server shutdown. The next moment, they were in the middle of a grassy plain with no landmarks in sight.
It took a while for them to become accustomed to the New World. A lot of things didn't make sense. Like how they were still somehow able to level up. A fact they felt intrinsically after killing three Rock Trolls that tried to ambush them. Or the fact that they still had their inventories, and possessed an instinctual knowledge of their own bodies.
Despite Riku not being anything remotely close to a warrior in real life, he had now become one, and knew things a seasoned warrior would. Footwork, how to slash, pierce, block.
And magic? Magic didn't exist back on Earth, but now Rin was a magic caster. She could point a finger, yell out [Magic Arrow], and three magic arrows would materialize and seek out a target.
In many ways, it was a dream come true. A massive improvement. Perfect bodies, beautiful and fit, strength unimaginable in his past life, a potential to make something great. Riku didn't lament the fact that he wasn't at a higher level before the transition. Would it be better if he were level 100 with a full set of Divine Gear? Of course. But this was also good. But Rin… she had a life, and worked hard for it, and it was clear she still felt a lingering attachment to the previous world. To her friends and family, and perhaps a romantic partner, if she had one. He never really asked.
"I wonder what level I am. I felt a level up after killing that swamp monster, so I am level 18, at least. I was 16 when I got here, then the Rock Trolls probably pushed us up at least one level. Could be more than one. It's hard to say. The stirge was another level. The mountain wolves were probably a good chunk of exp as well."
The past week has been tumultuous, to say the least. Soon after arriving on the mountaintop, they noticed a village off in the distance near a forest. They unilaterally agreed to make their way there, and on the way, they encountered a few things. Strange animals, like blue owls, or giant see-through dragonflies. They were attacked by the wildlife. They met a hunter, who they managed to have a perfect conversation with, even though logically speaking they should not have had a common tongue. They made their way to a village, only to be chased off by the suspicious villagers. They traveled like that on foot for a while longer, until they came upon this village. Called Taewe village. Riku struck a conversation with the village elder, and they agreed that they would kill this monster in return for money. Thus, they made their way into the nearby swamp, waited in ambush, attacked the monster that had been the cause of the recent string of disappearances, cut off its head, and came back to the village. That was basically how they spend their days and nights for the past seven days.
But there were some things Riku noticed here and there. The farmers were REALLY good at farming. The woodcutters and the weavers as well. Almost like they had levels of their own. Perhaps Yggdrasil has had some sort of influence on this New World as well?
He didn't know. He knew things were strange.
A few theories and a few bits of knowledge were all he had.
He knew that people's lips didn't align with what they were saying, and they definitely had no reason to speak Japanese, so there was probably some sort of translation system.
He knew that magic and monsters were commonplace here. He knew that he could level up, as could Rin, and that everyone else could possibly level up as well.
However, he had, as far as he knew, nothing like a 'System' or 'HUD'. It was all very instinctual. He couldn't be sure of how strong he was, unless he found some magic item that would tell him the specifics.
But he had a hunch for how level-ups worked. They would give you something you both desired, and needed, and it would be based on what you did.
When fighting the Rock Trolls, he lamented the fact that he had no way of making a distance from them, and he had no way of getting past their thick stony exteriors.
Thus, when he leveled up after defeating them, which was mostly because of Rin, he noticed a few skills. The first was that he could [Kick] people. Not just kick, but the Yggdrasil skill, which stunned someone and caused them to be pushed back. This only stunned and slightly pushed back heavy targets. He could also hit people with his pommel in the belly, another skill called [Pommel Strike]. It used the pommel of a weapon to hit the target in the belly, briefly stunning them and interrupting their last action. Useful against spellcasters or melees charging their attacks. The last skill he earned from that was something he knew was situationally useful. A skill called [Half-sword Strike] which caused him to grab the blade of his sword, and use the pommel and grip as an impromptu hammer. Something that would be useful against heavily armored targets, but probably less so against Rock Trolls.
That is what he got from that fight.
Rin learned how to cast [Scorching Ray], which created a continual ray of heat that could quickly build up a ton of damage if aimed at a target for too long. She also learned how to cast [Slow], which was a single target-spell that would slow someone. And surprisingly, [Shatter] which caused a wave of sound to reverberate. This sound wave did damage to crystalline creatures and structures.
Now that he examined it, these spells made perfect sense. Rock Trolls were heavy hitters, but they were slow. There was no point blocking an attack, as it'd likely still send you flying. Thus, dodging was better. What did [Slow] do? It helped you dodge.
Rock Trolls had a craggy exterior that was tough to pierce but they had a soft belly. The best way around this is with a thin but accurate and powerful attack that would reach the soft belly. This is where [Scorching Ray] would come in.
And last, sound attacks were useful against beasts with tough exteriors, since though they didn't offer much in the terms of damage, they would pretty much always do at least some. Resistances to sound damage were rare, and the utility offered by stunning an opponent could not be underestimated. This is where [Shatter] would come in.
Everything Rin and Riku needed DURING the fight, they got right after it. Looking back at it, if they had these spells, the fight would be super easy. Rin would cast [Slow] on all three Rock Trolls, they'd use their crowd control abilities on one Rock Troll, burst it down, then repeat. There was a pattern here, and it meant that if he planned out their builds right, they could reach the prestige classes and get some REAL power.
Rin didn't know anything about the builds, but Riku did. He had all that knowledge in his head. He had already planned out an approximate build for both of them that would take them to level 100, and would even be competitive in Yggdrasil. All they'd need to supplement it is some decent magic items, but that would come eventually.
"Rin's advancement would probably be the best way to track a spell. Every time she moves up in a Tier, it's 7 levels. Right now she should have hit the 4th tier, which means we are between levels 18 and 21. Not bad, and it's definitely higher than the average here… but it could be higher still."
These thoughts continued to rush through his head as he took out a new set of clothes. A pair of leather boots, black trousers, a white shirt and a leather gambeson. The bare essentials given to every new warrior in Yggdrasil. Good thing he had kept them instead of selling them to a merchant. The clothes and armor that he had been using since arriving here were already damaged to the point of no repair, and their value wasn't so high as to merit being kept for too long. He would get rid of them, and try to find some local armor. Not like what he had was enchanted. But for now, they could stay in the inventory.
Something else however, he wanted to examine.
He pulled out a magnificent sphere, the size of his fist, from the inventory. As soon he did, the sphere started shining bright. Teal, light blue, green, white, all sorts of colors shone from the sphere, illuminating the room. It got so bright that it nearly blinded Riku, and it looked like someone had turned on a neon light in his room. Swiftly, he threw the sphere on the bed, and covered it with the blanket. Thankfully, this caused most of the light to dissipate.
Then, he began to think.
This sphere. He had no idea what it was.
Well, that statement was mostly incorrect. He knew it was a [World Item]. And he knew it was called [Sphere of Janos].
He knew who Janos was. He was a long-dead ancient mage part of a questline in Yggdrasil. His son would set you on a quest to help him re-assemble his staff.
The player would then travel the nine realms, collecting various parts. The three parts to the staff proper, a part for the crown, and another part for the gem. Sadly, the staff itself couldn't ever be completed. Four of the five parts could be found, but the fifth part, the [Sphere of Janos], couldn't be found, which forced the Tiberius, NPC who gave you the quest, to create a new sphere for the staff. This would of course, lead you down another questline, that would inevitably lead to the destruction of the magic academy in the city of Xerus. That was how things went.
But now… now that he had the sphere… he didn't know what to do. He couldn't talk to the NPC, and help him build the staff.
Even then… he wasn't sure how that would help. So many variables were in play.
To begin with, he didn't know what the damn thing even did.
Sure, when the item dropped from the boss in the dungeon, Rin used [Appraisal Magic Item], and told him what they had found.
And, truth be told, it was cryptic as usual.
Which was not surprising when it came to Yggdrasil's shitty devs.
"The long lost [Sphere of Janos], that once belonged to the greatest mage of all time. A [World Item] by itself, the magical sphere will help any mage with the study of magic, especially those with an interest in spatial and gravitational magic. But that is merely a fragment of its potential, for who knows the powers it could bring an aspiring master of magic, were this sphere to be reunited with the other parts of the long-shattered staff…"
This confused Riku, who knew that Tiberius' questline required you to at least be level 60, so why the sphere dropped from a random Arcane Golem boss in a beginner's dungeon was beyond him.
Not that it mattered why it was there
What mattered was how this thing could help.
Beyond being magical and shiny, he didn't know what the damn thing did.
He gave it to Rin, but according to her, her magic didn't improve at all. Maybe there was a certain hidden condition? Or Rin was just not good enough yet?
He didn't really know.
Rin's magic had proved itself incredibly useful so far. Thus, he had no right to complain. And like she said, they were in this situation because of him.
But enough thinking for now. He was starving. He placed the sphere back inside his inventory, and after patting himself down and doing his best to make sure he looked at least somewhat presentable, he left the room. He made his way to Rin's room, and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
"What is it?" A voice from within sounded.
"It's me. I'm heading down to eat. Are you coming with me?" He replied.
"I can't. My leg hurts. Just bring me food up to my room."
"Alright." He responded, and made his way downstairs, to have some dinner.
He knew there'd be people there waiting for him to tell them about how he and his companion slew the mighty mosquito, the sadistic stirge, the terror of this backwater village.
He just hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself in the process of telling the tale.
"Here's your food, handsome." The tavern girl whispered as she leaned in, exposing her rather sizable assets to the local bug-squashing hero. Unused to the attention, he smiled awkwardly and tried not to stare at them.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"Will there be anything else?" The red-haired tavern girl asked as she flashed him a smile.
"Can you prepare a meal for later? I need to take it up to my friend's room." He replied.
"Sure, no problem. But if you don't mind me asking…"
"Yes?"
"Are you two in a relationship?" She finally asked him, as she sat down on the chair opposite him on the table, and she leaned forward, making it difficult for him to keep eye-contact.
The question took him off guard. He had liked Rin, but there was never any romantic attraction between them. Perhaps the age gap was part of it, though that didn't really matter now.
In truth, he often had to remind himself that instead of a barely five foot tall small Japanese woman, his friend had become almost six feet tall and blonde. The default character templates were all well-made and though unique, they tended to be tall and attractive. It was no surprise then that in a game where one could be anything, most people would become idealized and perfected versions of themselves instead of slimes and spider-monsters.
"Uhhhhh, no? Nothing like that. We're just friends. No romance here."
The red-haired tavern girl with a freckled face smiled at him. She leaned forward and in a hushed voice, whispered.
"If you're looking for romance… I can help you out. I'd love to reward you for being such a strong and handsome hero."
Riku himself had also changed drastically. No longer small and thin, but now tall and muscular, with light brown hair and green colored eyes. He was undeniably attractive, but seeing as he wasn't used to any romantic situations, he was at a loss for words.
He thought about it.
The girl before him was beautiful, and he was certainly tempted.
But could he really do this? What if he made a mistake? What if he embarrassed himself? Could he really enjoy himself while his friend could barely walk due to an injured leg?
What if he got her pregnant? Would he even remember this place, and where it was? He didn't want to be an absentee father.
No, it was too risky.
"P-perhaps another time? I am feeling a bit tired. I'm afraid I'd disappoint you." He managed to force out an excuse.
When he did, the tavern girl's smile dropped and her expression changed considerably.
"Suit yourself." She replied as she stood up.
"I'll take the food up to your friend's room." She commented as she walked away.
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it…"
Riku looked back at his meal.
A mug of beer, some dark bread, and a stew in a wooden bowl. Just from looking at it, Riku could see a few ingredients he recognized. He recognized the egg whites, and the green peas. But he didn't know what the meat and the red vegetables were.
Still, it was fresh, it was hot, and it was definitely healthier than the slop they served in the cafeteria at work.
He took his spoon, and started digging in.
"Hot…" He said after a while. The stew was a bit hot, but he was fine with waiting.
Riku leaned back against his chair, and took sight of the people in the inn. He didn't know what the difference between an inn and a tavern was, truth be told. He called the girl who brought him food a tavern girl, because it sounded better than an inn girl. And he called this place an inn, because it was in a smaller village compared to a city. According to his logic, an inn was more rural and remote than a tavern, which was almost always in a city.
Was this factual knowledge? He didn't actually know.
His gaze went from person to person within the inn. There weren't many people. There was Greg, the owner of the inn, who worked the bar. Or whatever it was called. There was this tavern girl. Riku didn't know what her relation to him was. And there were about a dozen other customers seated or standing at different places in the inn.
He didn't know if this was a lot. He didn't know a lot of things about this world.
However, shortly after arriving, he learned a few things.
Yggdrasil coins weren't recognized, but were probably worth more than the local bullion. However, Rin told him not to spend any, as it may get him into more trouble than it was worth. They should only use local currencies or gemstones and jewelry to purchase and trade. He agreed with this sentiment.
However, he was illiterate. Well, he wasn't really illiterate. He knew Japanese and English, but the local signs were written in a language he didn't recognize. He could not read it, and neither could Rin. Yggdrasil had languages and scripts the player could not read, at first glance anyway, but could eventually find a way to decipher. Certain races even had their own languages. Vampiric, Draconic, Demonic, Angelic, Elven, Dwarven, etc. These races often had their own scripts. And then there were the so-called ancient or lost civilizations that had their own languages as well. It was no surprise then that there were magic items, racial passives and quest chains that would lead one to learn a language.
But he didn't have any of that. Thus, he was functionally illiterate.
No idea how much a meal costs, no idea what the signs say, no idea how the currency works. He would have to learn fast.
But for tonight at least, he could relax. Tomorrow, he would work on finding a healer for him and Rin. His left shoulder hurt something fierce, no doubt a consequence of when that damn thing stabbed him there. And once they were healed, they'd find a way to get at least some money. A steady income was necessary. Magic items, consistent shelter, etc, etc.
This wasn't a game anymore.
He started eating his stew again. It was still hot, but at least it wasn't unbearably so.
Blessed silence was enjoyed for a few minutes as he slowly but surely finished up his stew.
The bread, the stew, and the beer were all downed.
"Huh, that was filling. And delicious. I'm gonna ask them tomorrow morning for breakfast as well. Who knows how long it'll be before we can eat something this good."
During their trek down the mountain, they were forced to eat their rations from Yggdrasil and the odd berry here and there. Rin tried to use [Burning Hands] to cook a rabbit they had caught, but it ended up being burned to a crisp.
Suffice it to say… survival skills were in neither of the two former players' repertoire. And with leveling the way it was, there was no exp to spare on potentially useless classes.
Perhaps he'd hire a squire? He had heard that European knights used to do such things. Hire squires that would handle menial tasks like cooking, cleaning, maintaining armor, etc. In return they'd get a wage, be taught how to fight, and be introduced to acquaintances, helping forge connections for when they were knighted in the future.
"I don't have money, I don't know anyone, I don't have any magic items, and I'm still a lightweight when it comes to fighting. Yeah… I don't think I'm going to find a squire."
So engrossed was Riku in his plans for the future, that he didn't notice a big burly and bearded man until he sat down at his table.
"What's got yer panties in a twist?" The bearded man asked Riku.
He lifted his head and it took him a second to get his bearings. Even then, he only managed to blurt out a confused "What?"
"Why ya got that look on your face? Like yer sad or something. What do ya have to be sad about?"
"Huh?" Again Riku blurted out.
"Ye killed that damn swamp monster, right? You and yer girlie." The bearded man asked.
He was absolutely massive. The type that wrestled bears for fun. Though not as tall as Riku, he wasn't that far off, but in terms of width, there was no competition.
"I- she's not my girl." Was the only thing he managed to say in response.
"Yer cousin then?" The burly man asked in quick succession.
"No- But Riku was interrupted yet again.
"Well, doesn't matter. Ye killed the damn thing, so lighten up."
"That's- I'm sorry, who are you again?" Riku asked after a while.
"Ah. I'm Greg's cousin, Breg."
"Breg?" Riku raised his eyebrows.
And the bearded man nodded.
"Mhm. Breg. Anyways, listen. Yer a wise one, I can tell by the looks of ya. Ye didn't fall for Tammie's charms."
"Is that what her name was?" He thought.
"And… umm, why exactly was that wise?"
"She's the village whore, laddie."
Riku blinked.
"What?"
The bearded man leaned forward.
"She's Greg's niece. Her ma died, so he's looking after her. But he ain't doing a good job of raising the girl. She's 17 and already she's popped the cherries of half the lads in the village. Ye don't want what she's got."
"Ughh…" Riku blanked.
Breg continued nodding as if to affirm Riku's fears. And his relief.
Riku wasn't too keen on catching fantasy-land STDs. He wasn't sure if he could, and he would rather remain ignorant.
"But enough about her. I see ye don't have a drink. So here's what we're gonna do. I'll take you to my friends over there." He pointed towards a group of men, young and old and in between, enjoying their drinks on a different table. "And ye'll tell us about how ye killed that bug monster in the bog. We'll have a few drinks, a few laughs, it'll be a blast!"
Riku was a bit stunned by the offer, but after a few seconds of thinking, only one thing went through his head.
"Why not?"
The harsh noon-day sun was nowhere to be found. Obscured by the leaves and vines and tree branches, only a mere fraction of the sun's warmth made its way down to the waters.
It was dark. The shrubbery and the trees combined to cast a shade everywhere, and there were plenty of spaces for teeny tiny things to slither and crawl out of.
Despite this. Riku and Rin were ready to rumble.
They had seen their prey after a few hours of trudging through the filth and muck. Luckily, their prey had not seen them. So they developed a plan. Rin would climb on top of a tree, and provide support from above. Whereas Riku would act as the bait.
Then they would wait.
Rin's new body helped her climb up the tree with almost no difficulty.
And though her clothes had already been dirtied by the mud, it was still kept mostly to the trousers and the boots. The cloak, gloves, blouse and the rest of her upper body were clean. Relatively speaking. She had spent nearly a week without a shower.
She was carefully hidden in the branches, with the brown cloak she wore breaking up her figure, making her more difficult to spot. Once she assumed the proper ambush spot, she gave a thumbs-up to Riku, signaling to him that the plan was a go.
Riku himself was wearing a suit of Iron Armor. A beginner's set, but combined with his broadsword and kite shield, it would do the job. Hopefully.
As soon as he spotted the insect monster, he took a deep breath.
Then he started shouting and waving his arms.
The mosquito monster, a hundred feet away, with its giant eyes, saw him. Riku had attracted its attention.
It was an ugly thing. Big, green with streaks of yellow and black. Two pairs of leathery insect wings, two pairs of limbs ending in pincers, and a single long appendage, with which it would suck the blood out of any prey it faced.
For some reason, this thing had started venturing out of the swamp and assaulting livestock and villagers. When Riku and Rin arrived in the village, they overheard an argument about what they would do to handle the insect monster. At that point Riku offered their services, and they took on the job.
And that led them to a giant insect monster, big enough to be compared to the early prehistoric bugs. The type that would make a horse look small.
"Yeah, I'm right here you ugly bastard…" Riku muttered under his breath as the monster flew towards him.
"Come on!" Riku shouted as he slammed his sword against his shield, and in so doing he activated [Taunt] which gave him some damage reduction against his enemy while also ensuring its focus would be solely on him, for a few seconds at least.
Riku lifted his shield and readied himself for the first blow. The bug monster's attention was focused squarely on him. He stood strong, on one of the few patches of ground that were solid and could support his weight and before long, the battle would be joined.
"Clang!" The stirge's pincer collided with the shield, and pushed Riku back.
It bounced off, not piercing it, but creating a small dent. The beast was clearly strong.
The shield could only take a few blows. But a few would be enough.
"[Fireball!]" Came the shout from above, striking the disgusting bug right in its wings. They were charred and torn, and the beast was surprised.
Riku took this opportunity to shove his sword into the beast's belly, and it let out an impossibly loud screech.
"SCHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The bug monster shouted, and it jumped back.
It looked at Riku, and then at the treetop from which the ball of blame was produced.
It instantly deduced who was the higher priority target.
It shrieked again, and set off in its flight.
But it was… slower than it should have been. For in the meantime, Rin had cast [Slow].
That still made it incredibly quick though.
"Over here you bastard!" Riku shouted as he tried to get the beast's attention, but this didn't do much. After using [Taunt], there is an internal cooldown for each foe, meaning they became immune to the skill until the timer was over.
Seeing as the bug-monster's attention was focused upon Rin and the tree, Riku knew he had to do something.
"[Charge]!" Riku screamed as he tried to ram his blade into the monster. But it dodged the blow. It countered by slamming its arm against Riku's shield. Riku tried to [Parry], but he failed the timing, having put his shield up too soon. The bug monster's full strength fell upon Riku's left shoulder, and he was knocked down.
In the meanwhile though, Rin had not been idle. She had cast numerous spells before the fight that buffed both her and Riku. And she had cast a few while the beast was occupied.
When it flew up towards the treeline where she was located, its pincer aimed right at her chest.
But it hit nothing but air.
Courtesy of [Mirror Image], Rin had left an illusion upon the treeline while using the confusion to scurry away to a new position.
The beast soon sensed the treachery. But it was too late.
From deep within the mud, a piece of wood peaked out. From below came a ray of heat that cut off the monster's left arm.
"[Scorching Ray!]" Rin shouted, and the beast was amputated of one of its limbs.
There were several reasons why she had decided to attack from the mud to sever the beast's leg.
Bugs had a keen sense of smell and hearing, and [Invisibility] didn't protect you from those senses.
If she cast the spell from too far, there'd be time to dodge. From too close, and she'd be open to reprisal.
But from here… it was just right.
The consequence was that it caused her to become a bit immobilized as she needed time to drag herself out of the mud.
Unfortunately, she got stuck.
"Shit." She grumbled, as the beast's cries of pain echoed across the treeline.
The beast turned its gaze towards her. Those two disgusting bug eyes had locked on.
In order to get some distance, Rin tried using [Misty Step], but seeing as she was still a novice, she did not know this spell did not work while she was immobilized.
This was a mistake.
The stirge jumped towards her, with the disgusting bloodsucking mouth appendage aimed at her throat.
She managed to somehow dodge the first thrust, but she found herself pinned beneath the bug.
It was disgusting. Filth, blood, guts. Cauterized wounds and open ones here and there. The monster was clearly damaged. But it was not near death. Not even close.
The assault began. It used its free arm, and swung.
Rin tried to block the strike using her staff, but this didn't work. The claw struck Rin's forearm, which instantly started bleeding.
She let out a cry of pain, as anger swelled in her consciousness.
"I'm not going to fucking die to a mosquito! Not in this swamp! I've worked too hard to be a failure!" She vowed to herself, and raised her left hand and placed it next to the chest of the mosquito monster. Near the open wound.
Perfect.
"[Shatter!]" Came the cry of pain from Rin.
The sound wave reverberated straight into the monster's chest.
And the beast flew ten feet back through the air. Viscera dripped forth from the place of the collision.
While Rin cursed her rotten luck, Riku noticed an opportunity. He had gotten up, and pounced upon the beast again.
He ran towards the beast, and leaped through the air with a heroic cry. Fitting, since he had just used [Heroic Strike] in order to pierce the beast through the neck.
And it still wasn't dead.
"How much HP does this fucking thing have?" Riku cursed in such a silent voice it may have gone unsaid.
At this point, the monster was enraged beyond the point of rationality.
It should have been dead, but it kept on fighting.
Riku kept hacking and slashing while desperately trying to dodge the maddened flailing of the monster.
It worked. Scorched wings, one leg, one arm, and an opened belly. The beast was not in peak condition.
But caution was still necessary.
Riku side-stepped a piercing thrust from the mouthpiece. He had a slim opportunity to thrust into the beast's eye from there, but he'd have to extend himself into a risky blow.
However, it was not necessary.
"Get back!" He heard a shout from behind him, and he did as instructed. He took another few steps away from the beast.
A great ball of fire, rolling and gaining size each second, was approaching. It was like a miniature infernal avalanche. It had no natural reason to be in a swamp. No natural reason, that is.
Rin had cast [Flaming Sphere] after getting a foot onto solid ground.
In the dozen or so seconds it had taken the sphere to roll from there to here, it had grown from the size of a basketball to the size of a wrecking ball.
Riku noticed it, and his eyes opened wide. He jumped away at the last moment, getting as much distance as possible from the soon to be roasted mosquito.
A flaming wrecking ball is what collided with the vile swamp beast.
And it burned. Oh so bright. It burned and screamed so loudly, it was a symphony of flame and agony.
And Riku couldn't see himself to pity the damn thing.
"Annoying bastard. Just stay dead." He muttered, as the beast burned and burned, until it burned to a crisp, and burned no more.
Satisfied that the job was done, Riku stood up and made his way to Rin. He extended her a hand and lifted her up.
Apart from the gash on her forearm, she was fine.
"That was tough." He said.
"I could've played it better, I think." She replied.
"Same. But we'll learn." He assured her. And he smiled at her.
She was incredibly dirty.
Then he started laughing.
There were some guts on her hair.
He laughed.
"What is it?" She asked him while raising an eyebrow.
He pointed in the general vicinity of her head. "Oh… you got some… intestines. On your hair. Just a bit"
She frowned at him, and pushed him away while doing her best to get rid of the filth.
Riku stood there, and regained his breath for a few seconds.
"How's your arm?"
Rin tried to rotate her wrist. She knew that by doing so it was one of the best ways to see how damaged her forearm really was. If she could rotate it, then the muscles would be mostly fine.
She winced, but succeeded.
"It hurts but… I think I'll be fine if I clean it and heal it soon. Still… if it hadn't been for [Mage Armor] and [Blade Ward], I think it would've cut my arm clean off."
Riku nodded. "Yeah… you gotta watch yourself. Mages are really squishy. There's ways to get around it, but if you make a mistake, it can be over in seconds."
"Hmmm."
A small silence took hold for a few seconds, so he decided to somewhat change the subject.
"Did you know that one time in a high level PVP tournament, an Assassin Player one shot a Shadow Priest in 0.34 seconds?"
Rin blanked at his statement.
"I'm sorry… what?" She managed to force out the words.
"0.34 seconds. It's a record. Third fastest oneshot ever."
"Was there a level disparity?" She asked again.
"Both were max level in Divine Gear, supplied by the tournament masters themselves." But Riku's words only served to frighten her deeper.
"That's like Earth in many ways. Train your entire life to be an athlete or soldier, and die to stray bullet to the head before you can blink. Guess some things never change… At least I can take steps to ensure I don't go out that way here." Rin thought to herself.
"Damn… well at least I have you to be a meat shield in case we find any assassins." She joked as she punched him in the shoulder with her left arm.
Riku continued to elaborate. "Yeah, it's a weird triangle in PVP. Magic casters usually beat warriors because of range and utility, warriors beat rogue types because we just outstat them, and rogues beat mages because they're quick and deadly."
"Well, you know better than me about those things."
"I'll make sure we get strong. I promise." He flashed his most eager smile, which failed catastrophically due to the wing parts stuck on his teeth.
Rin pointed towards his teeth and muttered 'wing', which instantly caused Riku to become embarrassed and start spitting on the ground.
A while later, he was clean. Or well, his teeth were at least. Relatively. There was still some blood on them.
"At least the damn thing is dead." Riku commented.
"Yeah… we're gonna be rich." To which Rin responded.
"We are? The money is nice, but I thought we were doing it to help the people with their problem. That, and get exp."
"Riku." Rin responded in a voice that nearly chided him for his stupidity.
"Yeah?"
"You're an idiot."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't care at all about the livelihood of some peasants. I just want the money."
"But-
"Think about it. If there's as many crazy monsters as the village elder said, we could travel the land, get rich, get strong, and then retire. We'll buy a villa, hire servants for everything, eat the best food, wear the best clothes. We'll have made it. We'll have finally succeeded." She elaborated.
Success. A successful life.
Riku didn't really know what that was. But maybe Rin knew some things he didn't? She was older than him by a few years, so maybe it was that.
There was plenty of time to figure things out though.
First, he had to-
"SCHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Another scream from the bug, as green light began to envelop it from head to toe. Or pincer, rather.
"What the hell? I thought we killed it." Rin exclaimed in disbelief.
Riku unsheathed his sword. "Guess not. Time for round two. Get ready." Then he took up a defensive stance, in front of Rin.
"Are the buffs on you still active?" She asked.
Riku looked within himself, and knew the answer.
"Yes. There's a few minutes left."
"Good."
"Check its health bar."
"[Health Essence]." And her eyes shone blue.
What she saw was a giant red aura that enveloped the beast.
"I think this thing is stronger now than it was five minutes ago."
"You're joking?" Riku let out a nervous laugh as he turned around, but the expression on Rin's face said she was completely serious.
"Here goes nothing."
The beast rose up on its limbs. Its four limbs. They had regenerated. Its wings were whole again, and there were no wounds on its chest, neck, or any other part of its body. The only visible change was that instead of green, its exoskeleton was now red.
"I'll slow it. [Slow]." Rin vocalized as she pointed with her staff. But… "The spell didn't connect. The damn thing resisted."
"Save your mana. It may be immune." Riku convinced her as the damn thing let out another screech.
In response, she nodded, and even though his back was turned to her, he knew that as a fact.
The beast's wings began to beat quickly, but this time instead of flying straight towards the two monster hunters, it hovered in the air at about an altitude of 15 feet. Close enough to be able to swoop in, yet distant enough to be safe from melee attacks.
"You're going nowhere." Rin declared and shot out a [Fireball] towards the insect. But surprisingly, it nimbly dodged.
"It's smarter." Riku commented.
"Shit. That's half my mana pool, I think." She said while observing the insect.
Surprisingly, it remained there, in the air. It hovered above them, and made no other moves.
"What's it doing?" She asked Riku, to which he had no answer.
"What is it doing… is it stalling for time? Perhaps I should take out my bow and start shooting arrows at it. But it may use that window of opportunity to attack. Hmm… Let's see if this works." Riku thought as he hatched a quick scheme.
"Use [Magic Arrow] on my mark."
"Got it." Rin agreed.
In the meantime, Riku reached into his inventory, and took out five throwing knives.
He stabbed his gut-covered broadsword into the dirt, and used his free right hand to assume a throwing stance.
Then, he began to count.
"Three. Two. One."
"[Magic Arrow!]" Rin intoned as she cast the spell, and three arrows made of blue mana materialized from the staff. They flew towards the flying bug monster that remained in the air. It tried to dodge, but dodging [Magic Arrow] is impossible.
The arrows hit, but did miniscule damage. However, during the brief time window when the bug monster pivoted to the side to dodge, Riku took notice of its flight path, and threw all five daggers right into where it would dodge.
Out of the five, four connected, and one even hit the thing's eye. And it screamed.
"Nice!" Riku congratulated himself on the execution of the plan, but whatever he did was but a small step. The beast had plenty of hp left.
He prepared to reach into his inventory and take out five more throwing knives, but then…
He heard a buzzing noise. Not from above, but from behind.
"What?" And he turned around.
More than fifty smaller mosquito monsters, all the size of a small dog, were flying towards them.
They were only about a hundred feet away.
"Rin!" He shouted. She knew what he meant.
"So that's your plan… you clever bastard. Divide and conquer eh? Well, it won't work!"
"Let's go!" He shouted towards the beast, as he activated [Taunt].
Its murderous gaze, with its one working green eye, was focused right on him. It swept down upon him, and he lifted his shield, preparing to take the blow like a champ.
But at the last second possible, he rolled forward, and slashed open the monster's belly from below.
Pain is all the beast felt.
And Riku rolled back, and took out another something from his inventory.
"How about a taste of the good stuff!" He giggled internally as he retrieved a Fire Bomb. An item made from alchemy, usable by anyone. In the early levels, it was one of the most reliable sources of fire damage to players without access to fire magic. Priests, Paladins, Druids, Shamans, Wizards, Warlocks, had no need of such items.
But for Warriors, Rogues, Archers… it was a god-send.
The alchemical flask, rotund in appearance and filled with a see-through liquid was the hand of justice through which Riku would deliver fiery death upon his foe.
He threw the thing towards the monstrosity.
No further instructions needed.
The small strip of paper that depicted a flammable symbol upon the glass was the last thing Riku saw on it before it collided with the monster's body.
And for the umpteenth time today, it was set aflame.
Before he would [Charge] his foe again, and deliver even more pain, he spared a glance towards Rin.
If he had to prioritize killing the thing or ensuring she survived, it wasn't even a choice.
Thunder crackled. Fire roared. Frost froze. Waves of sound collided with fragile bones and wings.
Rin was doing fine. With her staff in her right hand, she cast all sorts of spells, the longest lasting one being [Flame Whip], a 2nd tier spell that conjured a whip of flame that could be used as an impromptu weapon for five attacks. It lit the insect monsters ablaze.
In her other, she was wielding a sword. Ordinarily, mages could not wield weapons, but there was a hidden condition that allowed mages below level 50 to wield one-handed weapons in one hand or even wield them with both hands. No doubt a perk by the Yggdrasil devs to allow them to have some way of fighting back in case they ran out of mana, and to allow them to experience all facets of combat, to experiment, and to engage the player more often.
Riku had told her about this during their previous dungeon dive, and one of the best ways of conserving mana was to use [Magic Weapon] on something like a sword, and use it in melee. This ended up doing more DPS than casting spells in some cases.
All the same, Rin seemed to be doing just fine, judging by the piles of corpses next to her feet.
Content that she wouldn't shuffle off her mortal coil so soon, Riku [Charge]'d the winged monstrosity.
He pretended to jump on its back like he had last time, but this was merely a feint. When the beast, still on fire, spun around with its front limb in order to smack him, he just barely dodged it.
But barely good enough was still good enough.
Using the small window of opportunity, he used his next skill.
"[Shield Slam!]" He struck with his shield against the leg of the best, right at the joint.
An audible crack was the result.
"This thing is fast without Rin's [Slow] on it. But it's still stupid."
Riku continued his onslaught, using skills when he had to, dodging and parrying when the time was right, and he quickly entered the zone.
He was incredibly focused, and felt that it was merely a matter of time until he killed the beast.
It was blind in one eye, and by sticking to its blind side, he managed to exploit this fatal weakness for his benefit.
However, Riku was also blind, in a way. He was so focused on the offense, that he didn't notice when two flaps of skin opened up behind the bug monster's shoulders.
And a thick toxic gas spewed forth.
Riku jumped back. He was hit by the gas, but only for a few seconds.
He coughed, but in the meantime, the beast prepared to strike back.
His shield went up in defense. But it was too late.
The piercing appendage tore right through it, and it even pierced his shoulder. The force behind it was so great, it knocked Riku back.
"My shoulder… Ughhh."
Though a wound opened up and he bled, he contented himself with the fact that the blow was so strong that it pushed him back, giving him time to breathe, and it had no opportunity to suck his blood.
Dazed and grounded, Riku knew he had little time to waste. Any lapse would mean the thing would either strike him, or strike Rin.
And he had no intention of either of them dying.
When he raised his head, he noticed that the flying monster's attention had turned from him back to Rin.
"Rin!" He shouted.
She turned around, looking at him, and then looking at the flying monster as it took in a deep breath.
Acid flew forth from its mouth.
With no time to waste, Rin knew she was dead if that thing collided with her head on.
"[Swift Retreat!]" Then she jumped to the side. Thanks to the spell, this was, as the name suggested, done swiftly, as she managed to cross a distance of about fifteen feet in but a second. However, this was not the end of the onslaught.
A second later, the swarm of bugs, cut down from fifty to five, assaulted her yet again. Due to her expeditious retreat, she had left her sword right where she jumped from, and it was now dissolved in acid. Alongside a few other bugs that were dead or alive.
But one of them aimed right at Rin. Its pincer struck her right in the ankle, going through one end and coming out of the other.
She screamed in pain, and the boiling rage within manifested itself through her fiery retort.
The wounded mage cast the spell [Burning Hands] without vocalizing it, grabbed the flying dog-sized mosquito, and roasted it to a crisp alive.
Not even charred ashes remained, though in the process she had managed to burn off a good part of her leather boots as well. And some of her skin. Not that she seemed to care.
Rage consumed Riku as well.
He would not let this stand.
He reached into his inventory, and took out his two remaining Fire Bombs, and threw them both at his enemy.
Again, it caught fire, but it seemed to not be in much pain as before. Perhaps it had gotten used to the pain. Or maybe its nerves were already scorched.
He didn't care. He [Charge]'d, and collided with the beast from the side with such force, that he actually knocked it over.
Surprise, mixed with fear and anger, were the expressions on the insect monster's face, if it had such a thing. It didn't expect such strength from Riku, and nor did he, but adrenaline could make one do crazy things.
Riku stabbed his sword into the beast's chest again and again and again and again.
It bled. It tried to fight back. It struggled.
After a few seconds of this, it clearly became winded, but Riku's [Second Wind] kicked in automatically during the fight, giving him the much needed boost of energy he needed to finish things off.
But before the final blow was struck, the insect monster raised its legs, and kicked him away, where it would have the distance it needed to make its next move.
And that move was flight. Based on its turned back, and the desperate flapping of the remnants of its charred wings, it would run away.
"Shit. I'm out of Fire Bombs". Riku lamented, so caught up in his rage was he, that he forgot for a second that he was not alone in his hatred towards the bloody thing.
But this lasted for only a moment.
"You ugly motherfucker." Riku heard a voice. Or it was more of a growl. Filled with hatred and murderous intent.
He turned around, and saw Rin standing on both legs, leaning on her wooden staff.
In fact, so intense was the bloodlust, that it even caused the bug monster to turn around.
With its one good eye, charred skin, broken arm and useless wings, it was the stuff of nightmares.
Yet, in its expression, there was only fear.
And when he looked back at Rin, it was obvious what her thoughts were.
There was murder in her mind.
"Fuck you. I win." Was the last thing she said, before a [Frost Bolt] materialized from Rin's staff before embedding itself into the monster's skull.
It dropped to the ground.
It had died.
"Is it-
"Yes." Rin confirmed using [Health Essence].
Victory.
Woe to the vanquished.
This fight had unlocked something deep, something primal within both him and Rin, something that he never knew he had.
He felt… alive. For the first time in forever. Truly alive.
A million thoughts ran through his head.
"I wonder if she feels the same… I wonder if she'd… No. No no no, I can't go that route."
He banished those thoughts instantly.
No matter what though, the level of mutual respect between these two only grew after this.
Rin hobbled towards him using her staff. She was clearly in all kinds of pain, and was covered in mud and guts from head to toe. He wasn't much better. They were dirty, to put it lightly.
Rin continued to hobble until she went past him and eventually reached the corpse of the bug monster.
She looked down at it for a few seconds.
"What is she thinking?" He wondered.
Then she spat on the corpse, and hobbled back towards him.
Once she approached him closely, she supported herself on her staff as she stood in place, then she reached into the black void that was the inventory, and retrieved a loaf of bread wrapped in green leaves. Her hands were muddy and dirtied the food, but she didn't care, and threw the food into her mouth.
Pembas Bread. A beginner's food.
The last of her Yggdrasil provisions. It would help heal some minor wounds, and it was a good source of energy.
And though he noticed the cut on her arm closing, she still seemed to hobble a bit. It was likely they'd need a dedicated healer for the leg.
He did as she did, and consumed the last of the Pembas Bread. It helped ease some of his muscle strain, but his shoulder still felt a bit sore.
He'd need a healer as well.
"Cut off the damn thing's head and let's head back to Taewe village." She bid him to do, and he obliged her request.
It was time to reap the reward of their back-breaking labor.
"So that's pretty much how it went!" A completely hammered Riku elaborated to a giant group of over two dozen men and women around him. They were so engrossed in the story of his fight, that they didn't even ask any questions until it was over.
"Holy shit!"
"No way!"
"You're lying."
"Damn!"
"You guys go hard."
"Now I feel bad that they didn't get paid…"
"That girl sounds hot. I like her."
"Are you single?"
"Bullshit!"
"You're a hero! You're both heroes!"
"I could've beaten the damn thing. It's just that I have a bad hip."
Varied and raucous were the responses. Some praised him and his friend, others criticized them, finding faults in their excessive use of pyrotechnics, others were envious, or filled with disbelief or skepticism.
Young or old. Male or female. Critics or newborn fans.
Over the centuries, there would be many tales about the Thirteen Heroes. Distorted and warped by time and distance. But when it came to these two heroes in particular, there was almost a unilateral agreement that the story of their legend began right there. In the small village of Taewe.