Willow sat at her study desk, while Lin was peacefully sleeping on her bed. Vivienne sat across from her, and the room they were in had a decrepit and worn-out appearance. A solitary, dim light bulb hung from the ceiling, providing a semblance of habitability to the otherwise old place.

 

"Reed left so quietly. Isn't that strange?" Willow initiated the conversation, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

 

"The last thing any sensible commander in Irath wants is Gideon losing control. The consequences would be catastrophic, akin to a natural disaster," Vivienne replied.

 

"I shouldn't have urged him to fight," Willow admitted, feeling guilty.

 

"It was the most optimal option, and there was no alternative if you didn't want Princess—" 

 

"Lin," Willow corrected.

 

"Lin, to go with him," Vivienne continued. 

 

"I understand, but that doesn't justify it. I shouldn't have pushed him into it."

 

"What's done is done... What are your plans for the future?" 

 

"You should be the one planning, Vivienne. I don't have the strength to do so. Even in the Main hall, I only survived because you and Gideon were there," Willow confessed.

 

"Yes, but you only awakened a month and a half ago. No one expects you to match our level. We are a decade older than you. With time, you'll reach our level," Vivienne reassured her.

 

Willow pointed to her right hand, feeling like a Bitch bitching  about the consequences of her decisions. "With this... you know you're lying."

 

"What does that have to do with anything? You won, even after losing your hand. Exhausted and on the verge of passing out, you forced them to leave with just one hand. Why do you think you're weak now?" 

 

"That was a circumstantial victory. I wouldn't have been able to do it if not for that guy's overconfidence," 

 

"Have you checked your stats?".

 

"No..." Willow replied, her voice filled with uncertainty.

 

"You should. There, you will see the path ahead, both for yourself and the Inn," Vivienne advised.

 

Willow nodded, but a sense of dread gripped her heart. What if Vivienne was wrong? What if the stats revealed how utterly useless she had become? She hesitated, imagining the system to appear before her just like it had the last time. But nothing happened. She tried again, but still, nothing.

 

"Are you alright?" Vivienne asked, concerned.

 

"Yeah," Willow attempted to conceal her disappointment, but Vivienne, being a witch, could see through it effortlessly.

 

"Truth," Vivienne requested.

 

"My system is not appearing," 

 

Vivienne burst into laughter, not even bothering to hide it. Willow puffed her cheeks in annoyance and turned her head away, a gesture she often made when feeling embarrassed.

 

"You should go back to your Inn Keeper seat. Only there will your system work," 

 

"Thank you. But how was I supposed to know that my system would only work in one specific spot?", a hint of exasperation in her voice.

 

Standing up from her seat, Willow's balance still a bit shaky, Vivienne offered to help, but she declined. She wanted to do it on her own. As she entered the main hall of the inn, she noticed its emptiness. The sounds coming from the kitchen indicated that Lou was busy preparing lunch. Gideon was nowhere to be seen, and she hoped he was in the yard or stable rather than engaged in a fight with Reed and his men.

 

Vivienne followed Willow to the counter and took her usual seat. Behind her was an empty wall, an area Willow had considered opening a drinks counter once she had saved up enough funds. She wondered when she would be able to do that.

 

Willow closed her eyes and imagined the system once again. This time, just like before, it appeared before her. She tapped on the screen, and it transformed into rows and columns of information. In the corner, she saw an icon leading to her stats screen. She tapped on it, and her current status appeared before her.

 

Name: Willow

Race: Human [If you believe that then start questioning your Sanity.]

Constitution: To be Absorbed

Age: 125

Shards: 260,000

Level: 4

 

Attributes:

Strength: 7

Dexterity: 20

Intelligence: 58

Wisdom: 30

 

Skills: Absolute calmness [Lv 1]

          Basic Spells [Lv-2] 

          Mana Surge [Lv-1] (unlearned) 

          

 

Combat Skills:

Melee: 5

Ranged: 7

Magic: 9

 

Crafting Skills:

Cooking: 1

 

Social Skills:

Negotiation: 3

Persuasion: 1

Leadership: 2

 

Spell casting: 

 Warding:1

 Manipulation: 3

 Enforcement:3

 Presence: 1

 Suppression:1

 Disruption:1

 Focus: 1[Unclear]

 Mana 

Specializations:

Path: Inn Keeper

Secondary Path: Arcanist

Magic Specialization: Manipulation and control 

 

Attribute Points [Available]: 12

 

Equipment:

Weapon: None

Armor: Old garb 

 

Reputation: General Population- Unclear

                    Authority- (-100)

Factions:

 

Friends of the Warlord of Rosaria (-120 Reputation) [Status hidden - Negative effect nullified]

 

Friend of the Witch of Elder Seat (-1000 Reputation) [Status hidden - Negative effect nullified]

 

Friend of the Elder Dragon (-90 Reputation) [Status hidden - Negative effect nullified]

 

Achievements:

 

Opened The Whispering Willow Inn [Reward - Inn Management System]

Carnage [Reward- Unyielding Will]

Savior [Reward- 40 Skill Points & A specific Constitution Trail(when receiver reaches appropriate level]

Selfless [Reward- 10 perk points and |||||||||| (reward will be revealed after reaching Inn Tier III)] 

 

Lesser Achievement:

Kill 5 Monster in Succession- 500 Shards

Kill 20 Monster in Succession- 3000 Shards

Kill 50 Monster in Succession- 30000 Shards

Kill 100 Monster in Succession- 50000 Shards

Kill 300 Monster in Succession- 100000 Shards

Stay in battle for 30 Minutes without break- 1 Attribute Point 

Stay in battle for 1 hour without break- 1 Attribute Point 

Stay in battle for 3 hour without break- 2 Attribute Point 

Stay in battle for 6 hour without break- 3 Attribute Point

Stay in battle for 12 hour without break- 5 Attribute Point

Learn 1 unlearned Skill- 5 Skill point

 

Skill tree[Available] 

 

Willow read through her stats, and the numbers displayed suggested that she had become much stronger than she should have been. She looked over at Vivienne, her expression filled with surprise. "They have all increased, absurdly so," she remarked.

 

"Well, what you did was quite absurd as well. When the guild's informant discovered the carnage you caused, they had to issue a special quest to clear out the monsters from the dark woods. Interestingly enough, the guild has announced that they will rewards from the processing as long as someone can prove that it was their doing," Vivienne explained.

 

"How is someone supposed to prove that?" 

 

"That is something only the guild can tell you," 

 

"So, I need to go there in order to claim my money," Willow concluded.

 

"Are you afraid?" 

 

Willow paused for a moment, contemplating her answer, before shaking her head. "No, there is nothing to be afraid of."

 

"Don't worry, I'll go with you the next time you go to the city," Vivienne offered.

 

"What!! No, I'm not a child," Willow protested.

 

"You are, you will be treated as one. After all, in the last month alone, you've had near-death experiences, Twice," Vivienne pointed out.

 

"And I've two companions more on this journey,"

 

"But the journey won't even begin if you die," Vivienne countered.

 

Willow closed her mouth, realizing the truth in Vivienne's words. "Fine, you can come," she reluctantly agreed.

 

"If that's truly what you want," the witch whispered intimately with a mischievous smile.

 

A wave of heat rushed to Willow's face. "YOU!! Absolute perverted old hag," she exclaimed,

 

Vivienne continued to wear a wide smile, unbothered.

 

Willow sat quietly, absorbed in reading her Stats sheet and the list of achievements she had obtained. As she perused the information, two particular details caught her attention.

 

"Why is there a listed skill that says 'Unlearned'?" Willow asked, her eyes still fixed on the sheet, not bothering to look at Vivienne.

 

Vivienne chuckled softly before responding, "You can purchase that skill in the Skill shop, and once you do, it will no longer be marked as 'Unlearned'."

 

"Is it necessary to acquire it?" Willow inquired, curious about its significance.

 

Vivienne leaned back and shrugged. "Naah, Not really. The 'Unlearned' designation is merely an indication that you've learned something without the guidance of the system."

 

"What is the 'Trial of Constitution'?"

 

Vivienne's expression shifted, becoming more focused. "Where did you hear about that?" she asked, suddenly intrigued.

 

"It's listed as a reward for one of my achievements," 

 

Vivienne nodded in understanding.  "Ah, yes, that makes sense. After all the bravado you've displayed, you must have quite a list of achievements."

 

"Only three actual achievements, the rest are all classified as lesser achievements."

 

"That's a lot for someone at level four."

 

 “Now, the Trial of Constitution is akin to a dungeon. You know what a dungeon is?"

 

Willow nodded. "I think so..."

 

"Great," Vivienne continued. "The Trial of Constitution consists of multiple floors, each guarded by a specific monster. You get to choose from seven basic constitution trials. However, if you possess a Constitution Stone, it will unlock a different option. Additionally, certain other trials are opened based on achievements you've earned.."

 

Willow's eyes widened with realization. "Wait, I always thought I would need to find a real-world monster and defeat it to gain a Constitution."

 

Vivienne shook her head, explaining further. "Constitutions exist to maintain equilibrium in the world. If it were as simple as hunting down monsters, it would disadvantage talented individuals who lack the necessary resources.”

 

"How?"

 

"People in power restricting access to places with Constitutional monsters to higher-status families and the like."

 

Willow nodded in agreement. "Then I can just take the trial and obtain a Constitution."

 

"Yes, trials usually operate on a floor system, and depending on the type of dungeon, you'll need to defeat the monster alone on either the lowest or highest floor."

 

"I have another question. My stats have grown significantly, and I have attribute points available, but I'm still at level 4. Doesn't that create an imbalance in the leveling system?"

 

"They have grown because you put in the effort to increase them, and the leveling system doesn't doesn’t deprive the ability of becoming stronger on your own," Witch explained sagely. "By the way, what are your stats?" she asked mischievously.

 

Willow sensed that Witch was going to make fun of her, but her pride in her stats was too strong, and she willingly fell into the trap with her whole heart. She proudly shared her scores with Vivienne, and once again, Witch burst into laughter, as if she had told a joke.

 

"Oh, those..." Witch laughed again. "Those... are not high." She slammed her head on the table while laughing uproariously. "Oh, you're just a child. They are low, so very low. Do you want to know what my stats were at level one?"

 

Willow nodded, her cheeks still puffed in indignation. 

 

"My intelligence was 130," Witch laughed again, "And... and Wisdom 150."

 

Willow watched her with wide eyes, unsure if her numbers were too low or if the witch's were too high. Then she remembered how the system recognized her as the 'Witch of Elder Seat.' That title sounded very important. No, her stats were great; it was the witch who was inhuman.

 

"Okay, okay, I'm not a genius like you, happy."

 

"Oh, don't say that, I am just built different," Witch said, raising her dainty hands as if she were a muscular bodybuilder.

 

"Yeah, you're built like a twig with two bags." Willow didn't let this opportunity slip by.

 

"Increase your strength, and you will be able to swing your sword with the same power as using both hands," Witch said, completely ignoring her remark.

 

"But I'll need to learn swordsmanship again from scratch, my footing won't be the same."

 

"With higher Wisdom, you will learn it in a blink. You just need to ask Gideon to teach you again."

 

"That would be easy."

 

"Perhaps."

 

"My skill tree is available, it says."

 

"Ignore it. It's better to learn skills after your first constitution, as that means all available skills will be in synchronization with your Constitution."

 

"Okay... then should I level up now?"

 

"Yes, and put everything into Strength and Dexterity. You'll need both speed and strength to clear the trails."

 

"Okay."

 

Willow tapped on the level-up icon and maximized the bar. It took her 18,900 shards to level up to 15. A green icon appeared in front of the level bar with a spine symbol. She received 24 attribute points from Leveling up.

 

"I think Constitution is available,".

 

"You'll do that later, after you've learned to fight with one hand,".

 

"And my Dolls would be very pleased to help you learn how to fight," Lou said, standing at the kitchen door with her hands on her hips.

 

"Thank you, Lou," Willow replied.

 

Lou dashed towards her, her tail swaying as she jumped over the counter and sat on her lap. "And remember, puny human, this seat is mine, not that princess you've brought in," Lou said arrogantly, giving a hmph.

 

"Of course, she's too big to sit here anyway. I wouldn't be able to do anything if she did," Willow quickly responded.

 

"Did you say I am small?" Lou looked at her threateningly.

 

"O-of course not," Willow stammered.

 

Willow let Lou be as she allocated her stat points, putting most of them into strength and some into dexterity.

 

Name: Willow

Race: Human [If you believe that then start questioning your Sanity.]

Constitution: To be Absorbed

Age: 125

Shards: 260,000

Level: 4

 

Attributes:

Strength: 28

Dexterity: 28

Intelligence: 58

Wisdom: 30

 

"I don't know how strong 28 strength is, but it's all I have,"

 

"That is surprisingly strong. Next, if you smash your fist on the table, it will break apart as if a sledgehammer was swung by a full-grown adult," 

 

"Then I can't do that."

 

"You will need to learn how to control your strength."

 

Before Willow could say anything else, the scent of burning caught their attention. They both looked at Lou, who was immersed in brushing her dragon tail.

 

"Lou, did you forget to turn off the stove?" Willow asked.

 

Realizing her mistake, Lou quickly jumped from Willow's lap, accidentally hitting her on the nose as she hurried to the kitchen.

 

"We are making her cook food. It's like child labor," Willow remarked.

 

"She is at least half a century old, don't worry,".

 

"You mentioned something about Irath. What is that?" Willow inquired.

 

"This part of the continent is called Irath. Currently, the continent is divided into five parts by the Divine Sea— Ur: Emberlyn, Lyrae, Irath, Kaelis, and Seraph. Irath is predominantly ruled by humanity."

 

"I see. So if we leave Irath, will all the problems here be left behind?"

 

"Yes, but... will it bring you peace, or would it be better to clean up the mess here?" Witch questioned.

 

"There is no mess, Vivi, but we will be dragged into one if we don't leave," Willow replied.

 

"You're changing a person's name just to pretend there is nothing here. And of course, she will agree because she has no other option," Witch pointed out.

 

"I..."

 

"I'll go and check on Gideon. There's no need to rush. We'll be here for a while," Witch said, interrupting Willow's response.