It was Ivana, running from a distance towards Broken and Freya. She hurried to the shoreline, carrying a basket of food securely tucked under her arm.
“Broken!” she called out as she stopped in front of them, while Broken walked slowly to meet her.
“Ivana?” he responded with surprise.
She nodded. “I knew you’d be leaving the town soon, so I brought you this.”
She held up the basket of food she was carrying. “It’s all your favorites,” she added softly. “And since you helped gather the ingredients, I made plenty for you.”
“Thanks,” he replied with a grin. “I’ll miss having meals fit for a king like this.”
Ivana giggled at his words, “You’ve been such a great help to me and my mother. This is the least I can do to thank you. You can store this food in your dimensional storage, and it will stay fresh much longer. Plus, it has a special buff, so you can eat it before battles if needed.” They stood there in silence for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes. “You will come back to this town, won’t you?” she asked softly.
Broken paused before smiling. “I’ll definitely let you know if I come back to this town. Mr. Fokil is here too.”
Ivana nodded and then turned towards Freya, who was standing beside Broken.
“Hi there,” Freya greeted. “I’m Freya.”
“Hi, I’m Ivana.”
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Freya said warmly, walking over to take Ivana’s hands in hers. “You are really cute and beautiful. No wonder Broken enjoys your company in the Smithy.”
“Oh? Did Broken say that to you?”
“Yes, he did.”
“No! I didn’t!” Broken interjected firmly, making both women laugh.
Freya took a deep breath before continuing. “And I also heard stories about your mother and your late father, who was a hardworking miner.”
Freya and Ivana engaged in a light conversation for a while, with Broken nearby to ensure Freya didn’t say anything out of the ordinary.
“It was really nice to chat with you,” Freya commented warmly. freewēbnoveℓ.com
“I had a great time too,” Ivana replied with a pleasant smile.
After exchanging goodbyes, Broken and Freya waved a final farewell to Ivana and began their walk away from the town.
Freya and Broken strolled slowly, their feet crunching on the dirt path as they reached the outskirts of the city. The high walls loomed above them, and the narrow, winding streets created an intricate maze.
“Why don’t you invite her to join us? She’s an Expert Rank Chef,” Freya suggested. “Her skills would be incredibly helpful during our mission.”
Broken sighed, reluctant to explain his reasoning. “I know she’s incredibly talented in cooking,” he began, “but that’s not the issue here. You see, Ivana is an NPC. She doesn’t have fighting abilities, and she won’t come back alive like we do if anything happens to her. Plus, her mother needs her at home.”
“But we can bring her along to help us out, and we can protect her too,” Freya insisted. “It’s too risky,” Broken replied firmly. “There are no guarantees in battles and quests. We can’t afford to put an innocent life in danger, and I’m not ready to take that risk.”
Freya chuckled at Broken’s words. “It’s pretty amazing how you treat the NPCs here as if they were real people.”
Broken turned to face Freya. “How can you tell the difference between a real person and an NPC? They act so lifelike, expressing emotions, having memories, living their lives in this world-whatever is behind all of this.”
Freya nodded slowly, her expression serious. “Yes, I understand what you mean. It’s hard to tell the difference sometimes, isn’t it? That’s what makes them even more fascinating.”
They climbed into the waiting carriage, which creaked and rattled as the driver tugged on the reins.
Freya peered out of the window and declared, “This will take us as far as we can go with this kind of transportation.”
“It’ll get us to the nearest village,” she continued, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. “From there, we can trek along the shore through the thick forests and continue our journey.”
***
The early morning air was filled with a cool mist that hung over the city of Deadbay. Two figures made their way slowly down the deserted streets. The first was Kingsley, a 38-year- old man towering at a height of 2.15 meters (7.06 feet). Dressed in leather and fur, he had short hair and a strong physique that indicated his formidable strength.
Accompanying him was Melliandra, a 15-year-old girl who stood just 1.55 meters (5.09 feet) tall. She wore a cheerful white top and a yellow skirt that gently fluttered in the wind, her compact leather ensemble enhancing her youthful appearance.
As they strolled along the city, their footsteps echoed through the empty streets, occasionally interrupted by the cheerful chirp of a bird from a nearby tree, signaling the start of a new day. Despite the tranquility, they moved with a sense of assurance and determination, as if they knew exactly where they were headed and what their intentions were.
“Kingsley!” Melliandra’s voice suddenly broke the silence. With a grumble, she continued, “This is so boring. Why does Elincia order us to look for this man named Broken? Don’t we have to prepare for a big war soon?”
“Melliandra,” Kingsley replied in his deep, measured voice. His tone was calm and serene, in stark contrast to his large, muscular frame. “Elincia said that Broken will be an important figure in the upcoming quest. That’s why we have to find him.”
“Important figure! Important figure! Oh, this is boring. We’ve been roaming from city to city, and I hope this is the last one we have to go to.” Melliandra spoke rapidly, her voice high- pitched and squeaky.
The Astral Sorcery Squad, or the Ass Guild. Elincia, Booba’s little sister, led the guild and was renowned as the strongest mage in the game. The guild was composed of only thirteen members, but each one was the strongest in their respective classes. The guild typically carried out missions in pairs, while only Elincia, the leader, went alone.
Despite its small size, the Ass Guild was one of the top guilds, thanks to its exceptionally talented players.
There were no extraordinary classes among the thirteen members, none were Divine Champions. However, their mastery of their chosen classes made it seem like they had skills at least one or two grades higher. This was why even those with Rare-grade classes could battle and keep up with those wielding Epic-grade classes.
Walking together were two of their members: Kingsley, with his Elite-grade class as a Beastmaster Transmogrifier, had the ability to transform himself into wild creatures in
various forms.
Beside him was Melliandra, also an Elite-grade class, a Crackshot Sniper, an exceptional youth with remarkable skills in marksmanship.
“I don’t want some random person with an unknown background, like this Broken guy, suddenly joining our guild,” Melliandra said, her annoyance clear.
“Elincia never said she was going to invite him to the guild, Mel,” Kingsley replied calmly.
“And what else? Elincia has mobilized the entire guild to find this unknown player, and it’s really irritating me. What if I test how good he really is first?” she said, grinning
mischievously at Kingsley.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mel,” Kingsley warned.
“Let me handle the consequences,” she said cheerfully, skipping along the city streets. “Broken… Broken… You need to feel how piercing my bullet is,” she added with a giggle.