The free guild bustled with its seemingly usual crowd of rowdy adventurers. Upon returning to his platform in the sky, Sage had realized he never tested the boots, forcing him to once again waste essence to get down from the islands. On the journey to whichever city Felix planned to take him to, he would need to test them.
As he was picking quests off the board in the guild, Sage was thinking of how, despite being so high in the sky, he couldn’t see the supposed corruption in any direction he looked. The tower-like entity was either too small, or the land was much too large and Sage was much too far to have been able to notice it. Would he be able to see it on the horizon if they got close enough? Similar to how mountains can be seen even from a grand distance?
With a quest for more boar hunting already in his hand, Sage searched for two more quests; arriving in the daytime meant he would need to find a way to pass the hours until night when Felix would be at the tavern again. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to meet during the day? That’s when they wanted to leave anyway; he was starting to question having Felix travel with him.
His hand passed over many kill and fetch quests until his eyes pointed out an interesting one.
Shrine Restoration, F-Rank
In the forest north of town, there is a shrine in need of restoring. Talk to the maidens and priests for more information on what to do.
It didn’t seem like something that would’ve required validation, but this world had its own religions too. What beings did they worship? If the corruption was the world’s enemy, then whatever entity fends it off would be there god, right? With great interest, Sage plucked the quest off the wall.
After a few minutes more of searching, he found another simple quest that caught his eye.
Letter Delivery, F-Rank
Deliver the attached note to Hera’s Woodshop. You must simply ensure that the note has been read by her and the quest will be completed.
What caught his eye was the envelope that was pinned on the board with the quest. He imagined it wouldn’t grant him much for completing it, but it was a simple quest that could be completed relatively quickly. Why had no one else taken it?
Sage held the three papers in his hand and a thought came to his mind. With how powerful the card was, it could surely merge with all three quests at once, right? He gave it a try.
"Merge quests," he said.
As expected, all three morphed into blue light and absorbed into his head.
[Quests Started]
Deciding to tackle the delivery quest first, Sage exited into the expansive street; he simply needed to find where the shop lay.
“Excuse me,” Sage said to a teller standing out front of their shop. The man looked at him joyfully. No, he wasn’t here to buy your wares.
“Sorry to disturb you, but would you happen to know where Hera’s Woodshop is?”
It was like a spell was cast at the mention of the shop’s name. The man’s face filled with disgust and Sage feared he’d spit at him.
“Don’t mention that name anywhere near my shop!” the man exclaimed. “I’ll have to go burn a ward, you’ve brought misfortune unto me, begone!”
The teller entered his shop and slammed the door behind him. So that’s why the quest hadn’t been taken. Whoever this Hera person was, she wasn’t very liked.
Sage continued asking around, even to jolly consumers who voraciously bought item after item from an assortment of shops. All gave similar responses to a certain degree: some were more subdued, simply saying no and walking away while performing the same hand signs everyone else did, while others treated Sage as if he were Hera themself, he quite nearly had his head taken off a few times.
He spent fifteen minutes trying to find someone who seemed like they’d tell him where he needed to go; each time he asked, he was met with the same response— he was beginning to think the quest futile lest he searched every inch of the town himself.
Wandering through the streets with the warmth of the sun forming beads of sweat on his forehead, Sage entered into a plaza; three streets intersected and at their center was a circular plaza with a fountain surrounded by benches and flowerbeds of multitudinous variations.
What made him hopeful, however, was not the jovial nature of the place, but the armored men who patrolled it. They wore plated armor on their arms, shoulders, chests, and legs, and each chest-piece, stamped in the center, bore a sigil of the sun over a prairie. Under the iron-colored armor, they all wore red garments of seemingly the same cloth. At their hips or backs or in the palms of their hands were swords and bows and lances of the same iron make.
With clear knowledge that these men were guards, Sage made his way to one with hopes they could point him in the right direction.
He approached the guard, and in doing so, received questionable glances from the man. New clothing was slowly becoming a necessity; he couldn’t continue putting people off by the strangeness of his clothing. A tracksuit was not the best choice for his return.
“Yes, what business do you have with me?” the guard asked. He was a lithe man though Sage dares not test him.
“I’m looking for a shop, Hera’s Woodshop. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?”
Just like all the others, the guard’s face spoke of his disposition on the matter far before his words did. However, unlike the others, the guard seemed to stifle it, returning to his professional indifference in an instant.
“I do happen to know, but what business do you have with the place?” he asked.
Sage nearly let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t the amiable response he had hoped for, but it would do.
“I’m headed there for a quest”— he held up the envelope—“I need to deliver something.”
The guard nodded though still seemed reluctant to answer.
“The shop lies in the west of town, down that street and then through a couple of allies,” he said. The guard pointed down one of the other two streets that intersected the plaza.
He sighed, “I’d rather not give that pagan the patronage, but when you reach a district that’s silent from a lack of people, you’ll know you’re in the right place. I’ve only been around there once myself so I can’t help you more than that.”
Sage nodded his thanks as the guard continued his patrol. A pagan; how devoted must the people of this land be to ostracize a person for their differing beliefs? As long as she wasn’t a witch, which most likely existed here, Sage figured he’d be fine.
The town was much larger than the word ‘town’ hinted at. With the initial directions given to him, Sage went along his way with ease. A few turns at a couple of allies later, and he was now lost. He had crossed over the bridge that connected the rifted sections of the town and wandered through a street filled with echoes of sounds far from its cobblestone pathway.
The place seemed in line with what the guard had described; it was silent, for the most part, and seemed to be a place where a branded pagan would set up shop— Sage just didn’t have enough information to locate the place proper. The eerie silence gave his mind the freedom to wander at its own devices.
The indigo, hooded cloaks, and the controlled sensation he felt in their presence filled his mind. What if they appeared here? Would he follow them uncontrollably? Sage slowed his step and gazed around at the street and its connecting allies. His hand hovered over the hilt of his blade; whoever those people were, if they inhabited this town, they’d most likely live in a place like this.
A groan echoed from his side, emanating from a back alley, and Sage spun while back-stepping; his hand was prepared to thrust at any potential threats. When a drunken beggar entered his vision, he realized the ridiculousness of his actions. This was a starting town, there wasn’t going to be any hidden assassins. He couldn’t explain the feelings he had felt amongst the crowd and in the forest, but he figured he wouldn’t find answers here.
“Hey, you,” Sage said to the stumbling man.
“You heard of a place called Hera’s Woodshop?”
The drunkard nodded.
“Where can I find it?”
With rotting teeth, the man flashed a smile at Sage and curled his thumb and pointer finger into a circle.
Sage rolled his eyes. Even if he had to give more than he’d earn back, his curiosity about the place was worth it.
Reaching into his inventory, Sage pulled out 10 bronze coins and tossed them on the ground in front of him. He then pulled out his sword and held it over the scattered coins.
“Tell me where to go first, then they’re all yours,” he said.
More groans. The drunkard’s lifted arm directed Sage’s view to an alley, “Go all the way down,” he said.
With his sword sheathed, the man jumped on the coins and scooped them all up. There was no way to ensure he was telling the truth, but it’s not as if Sage had a choice.
Another ten minutes of walking down a curving and twisting ally lead Sage to finally find his destination. There was no shop sign, only a nameplate beside the door that read ‘Hera’. Even if there were no words of any sort, the evident upkeeping of the store distinguished it from the worn buildings that were its neighbors.
There were daisies and tulips in vases next to different kinds of pottery. Hera surely liked where they lived.
The inside carried the same care as the storefront; the woodwork was carefully brandished around the shop, each had a position of its own and a tag hanging from a corner.
It smelt of lacquer and cleansing products, which suited the decor to a tee.
Alerted by the bell, the owner, Hera, came hollering from the back of her shop.
“Ay, what can I do for you?” the old woman said before Sage could even see her. When she came around the corner, he could see that her voice matched her appearance. She had graying hair and the smattering of wrinkles one associated with it, and her back was slightly arched. The green apron around her waist, however, told that she indeed was the craftsman of the shop.
When Hera looked at Sage, she showed the same expression all the citizens did when he mentioned the shop.
“I already talked to your people countless times; I have no intention of joining you so I’ll have to ask you to leave,” she said.
Sage barely had any time to respond before she began walking to the back of her shop.
“I’m not here on account of anyone but myself and the guild I received my quest from; I’m an adventurer.”
Sage took out the envelope from his pocket and held it up for her to see as she turned back to face him. He slid it onto the counter.
Hera gazed at him in a way that felt intrusive. He felt as though she saw something more than what was on the surface; her stare forced Sage to take a step back.
“Are you an honorable one then?” she said.
Honorable?
She moved her hand strangely at him and picked up the note. Sage felt a wave of sorts wash over him, feeling intrusive, once again, as if something entered inside of him.
Hera chuckled and muttered something inaudible to herself.
“I’m sorry, I must’ve mistaken you for someone else,” she said.
His words couldn’t form, so he just stood there and didn’t say anything.
[Quest completed | 50 Bronze Coins Obtained | 200 Exp Obtained]
Deflation befell him; she was simply just a woodworker who believed in a different god? There wasn’t anything to misguide him otherwise, though he expected something grander at the end of the rainbow. At least he made a profit.
Sage sighed while turning to leave, “I’ll be one my way then,” he said.
Hera looked up from the letter before sitting it down.
“Wait, stay for tea why don’t you; I feel bad for assuming you were someone you weren’t,” she said.
Before he even had a chance to deny her, she spoke again, “Are you going to leave an old woman to drink tea by herself?”
Sage sighed, “No, no I’m not. I’d love to have some tea.”
Hera poured him and herself a cup of some fragrant, yellow-colored tea and pushed his cup across the counter to where she gave him a chair to sit.
“So tell me, how long have you been an adventurer?” she asked.
Taking a sip of his drink and cursing himself for doing so while it was still hot, Sage said, “About a day and a bit now, I recently left my village and came to this town to become one.”
“Your village, eh? There are a lot more people leaving their villages and coming to this town lately, you’d be surprised,” Hera said.
Felix told him that there weren’t many out-ringer adventurers, but if he was to choose who to trust more, Hera was definitely winning that decision. The elderly always had this air of credibility to them.
“What made you want to be an adventurer?” she asked again.
Sage raised an eyebrow and pondered, “I need to make money and get stronger, as well as gather as much information as possible. I suppose that’s why.”
Hera shook her head, “Everybody seeks those things, I’m asking why you’re seeking them.”
“I don’t see why I need to share that information with a stranger; why do you even want to know?”
“I’m nothing but an elderly woman whittling away at wood day in and day out. Let me hear what made you seek adventure. It’s not as if my old bones could do anything with the information,” she said.
Sage sighed. He probably wouldn’t be let go until he answered anyway.
“There’s someone I need to save, someone very important to me. To save them, I need money, to get money, I need to get stronger, and to get stronger, I need information,” he paused and took a sip of his tea, “There are other reasons, though that’s the primary one.”
Hera smiled and said, “That’s a good goal. Doing something for others will keep you levelheaded and determined. Doing everything for yourself will make you lose interest easier and fall apart. Stay close to those you can trust, and to those you want to see succeed; be wary of everyone else, there are some dangerous people in this world.”
She leaned back in her chair and sipped her drink.
“Dangerous people like the group you thought I was part of?
Hera chuckled, “Don’t go being a rascal and prying into others business, it’s a bad trait.”
“That’s what you just did to me!”
“I’m a grandma, it’s my job to pry into others business.”
Sage huffed and couldn’t contain the slight chuckles that came out. If he could find a way to bring Jessica here, would it not be okay to just stay forever? He truly felt that way.
Hera’s face darkened quickly and her wrinkles became more apparent. She placed her cup back onto the table and gazed at him seriously, “Stay close with your friend; a group who help each other out will make it through the tough times you’d be unable to alone,” she said.
Sage nodded. It felt like she knew he had met Felix. Perhaps she simply assumed him to be traveling with someone.
Finishing his tea, Sage stood from his stool and said, “I think it’s time I get going. There are some things I need to attend to today.”
“Wait,” Hera said, “Let me give you something as thanks for humoring me.”
Sage knew better now than to deny her profferings. He stood where he was and waited as she pattered into her back room and made rummaging noises of all the sorts.
When she returned, she had her left hand clenched shut, and her right one dragged a long object wrapped in a bedsheet. She propped the long one against the counter and upended her clenched hand, dropping a steel-colored helmet the size of Sage’s thumb onto the table. It looked just like one a guard would wear.
“This is called an ‘Equipment Hider’. It’s an add-on that modifies your equipment tab. It grants you the ability to hide the equipment you have on so it makes it seem like you’re not wearing any— it will also feel like you’re not wearing any. The obvious choice for high defense armor would be the thickest, toughest metal plating you could find, right? But it’s so hard to move in that stuff. If you hide the armor in your tab, it’ll disappear from your body and you’ll be able to move around as if you weren’t wearing it, but it’ll be as though you still have it on defensively; even though someone could be hitting bare skin, the system will register it as a hit on the armor, ” she said.
Sage stared at the little helmet with wide eyes. That’s remarkable.
“But, why are you giving it to me? I simply delivered a message and drank tea with you,” he said.
“It’s for keeping me company.” She looked at his gloves, “And because those really don’t match with the rest of your outfit, they’re hideous.”
Thick, fur gloves that reached the elbow may not form the best pair with a tracksuit, Sage acknowledged that much.
Hera picked the wrapped object off the ground and placed it on the table. She removed the sheet and revealed a sword double the length of his current one. It had no guard, only a black grip and a silver blade the width of three of his fingers extending from it. It was simple, yet held a pristine beauty.
“This is a very special weapon that was left with me long, long ago. I’ve kept it all this time but never found any use for it. If I were to keep it, it’d end up mounted to the wall; don’t let such a masterfully crafted beauty waste away in this old shop, take it.”
Sage picked it up off the counter and held it in his hands. It was weightless, and he could now see how thin it was. Would a blade like this not snap in half? Something told him, perhaps it was the blade, that such a thing was not a possible occurrence.
Even if he wished to deny it out of politeness, he could not. With the blade now in his hands, he didn’t want to be free of it.
“Take your time and become attuned with her; she’s one of the most special swords you will ever lay hands on. Bond with her, become one with her,” Hera said.
It was strange, the words she spoke made no sense to him, but he felt as though he understood.
“Go on now, we both have much work to do,” she said again.
Breaking from his reverie, Sage looked around the shop, “Ah, yes, I forgot how busy you were.”
“Did no one teach you to respect your elders? Get out of here you miscreant.”
Laughing, Sage professed his gratitude once more and took both the add-on and sword with him. Respect your elders? Perhaps the two worlds could share sayings, it wasn’t that unbelievable.
Standing out front of Hera’s shop, Sage held the tiny helmet in front of his face.
“Merge,” he said. The item turned into blue light and absorbed into his card, not his head like usual.
[Add-on Obtained | Equipment Hider]
Eager to check it out, Sage opened the menu and went to the equipment tab.
[Equipment] {Track Suit Set Active | No boosts} Total Def: 11 | Total Atk: 28
Track Jacket | Level 1
Track Pants | Level 1
Fall Boots | Level 10
Kings Gloves| Level 10
Rusted Shortsword | Level 3
Mura’s Blade | Level 1
[Home]
His attack increased by 25; he gazed at that with wide eyes. How could a level one sword have that much attack? Aside from the ridiculous increase in his attack, nothing else seemed to have changed from before.
Sage tapped on the Kings Gloves, and before it displayed the description and stats as it usually would, it presented him with the choice to hide them.
[Kings Gloves | Hide or Stats?]
Sage clicked hide.
His gloves lit up blue and then vanished off his arms. He checked the equipment screen, but nothing had changed. He could now feel the grip of Mura’s blade, though, and feeling it made him realize something.
How was he supposed to carry Mura with him if it had no sheath? Did Hera forget to give it to him?
He held Mura in his hand and tapped on its screen, choosing the hide option; he did the same for his rusty sword. They both lit up with the same blue light before vanishing.
Now how was he supposed to wield them to fight? Would he swing an invisible sword?
With both his hands now free, Sage grasped at his waist where the rusty sword would normally be, and went to draw it. When he did, as if materializing from thin air, Sage pulled the sword from a portal of blue light.
A smile spread across his face, devilish plots already forming in his mind. He sheathed it and it disappeared back into the light.
Rushing through his mind, he tried thinking about where he would grab Mura from, when suddenly, it materialized in his hand. The pieces clicked in his mind and excitement followed soon after.
Sage dropped Mura and watched as it turned into blue light, vanishing. He then thought about it appearing and it materialized again in his left hand. Sage laughed unbiddenly.
Materializing the rusty sword in his other hand, Sage dropped and both of them, watching as they broke down into blue light, and then called them both back into his hands at the same time.
Does that mean he could have endless amounts of weaponry, or can he only have as much as he’d regularly be able to carry? Regardless of the answer, Sage had received something miraculous; how many other people had such an add-on?
He dematerialized both swords and started heading back the way he came. With two quests to take care of, and a new weapon to try out, his day would be full with excitement.
