We got to the town after our fight with the Treants looking haggard. Well, everyone except Kathryn, who was still full of energy. It was probably her Wujia blood or the fact that she was a kid. But doesn't that logic also apply to me? I wondered, as I didn't even know my age in this world. Oh, well, I have more important things to think about. I dismissed the thought and started going over the things I had to do. First things first, I had to introduce Kathryn to the party. I also had to tell them that I "found" Sarde, but what was the cover story going to be?

"I've been wondering about this for a while, but how much did we make from the transactions with the Wujia?" Phildina suddenly asked. She had this habit of interrupting my thoughts with questions and comments like these. 

"That's a secret," I answered back with a playful wink. At this, the light in her eye suddenly turned mischievous, and she exclaimed,

"You promised you'd tell me who you would fall for after our date! I remember now!" Way to turn the tables on me, Phildina, but I will not give in. In situations like these, there was still a card I could play, one that always worked in my experience.

"Did I? I can't seem to remember," I said with a clueless look on my face.

"Daphne! That's not fair!" We continued bickering like this until we got to the tavern, where I would accomplish my first objective. I prepared myself mentally and walked in with the others, only to find that they weren't there. Where are they? I wondered, so we asked around and found out from other adventurers that they had gone to the hunting grounds. I'm so proud! I felt like a mother watching her son grow in front of her eyes. 

Sarde looked like he was about to faint, so I bought him some food and left for the hunting grounds after he had finished eating. He kept thanking me over and over again long after the fact, and I kept telling him not to worry about it. I knew this was turning into a master-servant relationship, and I could live with that, even if that wasn't what I originally wanted. 

We eventually got to the hunting grounds, and once Kimmel and the others spotted us on the hilltop, they finished off the monsters blocking their path and started approaching.

"I probably don't need to say this to you, but play along, okay?" I spoke to Sarde with an innocent smile on my face. He nodded, and the party arrived at that moment.

"Sarde! What happened to you?!" Kimmel asked as he looked at his friend, who was now barely recognizable. 

"I ventured into the forest that night for a stroll. I felt like I needed to clear my mind, and I stayed relatively close to the town where it was safe, but... a Cerberus attacked me." Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at this. Even I was a little surprised because Cerberi were boss class monsters, not quite on the same level with some of the others, but considerably powerful nonetheless. They were notorious for their speed, which was among the highest of all monsters, so it brought into question how he managed to survive. He was quite a playboy, so I thought he knew how to lie better than this, but this was lacking in the believability factor. 

"I only had a shortsword to fight with, and my horse was in the stable, so it...it... toyed with me." He said with tears gushing out of his eyes. What a stellar performance! I wanted to applaud and give him an award!

"It's rare, but sometimes, Cerberi may choose to play with their food," Kimmel remarked with a sorry look in his eyes, and the party reflected the same sentiment as everyone shared their condolences. Huh? I guess it wasn't that unbelievable, after all. Good job, Sarde! It was time for me to jump in!

"Phildina and I stumbled upon the scene early this morning, so we rescued him and came looking for you at the tavern, only to find that you had come here instead."

"And who's this?" Kimmel asked as he looked at Kathryn, who was hiding behind me. 

"She's our newest party member," I answered. "C'mon, introduce yourself." She nervously stepped out from behind me and said,

"M-my name is Kathryn. I'm good with a sword and nice to meet you!" She said with an earnest bow. I could tell the party had their doubts about her, as even Kimmel couldn't hide it from his eyes. 

"Are you sure about this, Daphne?" He asked me, and it was understandable. She looked like a kid, so we had her display her skills in front of everyone to prevent anyone from looking down on her. I chose this method because I knew it would be far more effective than praising her to the high heavens. Let them see it for themselves, I thought as I crossed my arms with a smug look on my face.

She was up against four Centaurs with nothing but a shortsword by her waist, which she drew in a flash and cut down one before it even knew what hit him. The others reacted quickly, seemingly unmoved by the death of their comrade. Two ganged up on her while one distanced itself to shoot arrows from afar. It was a simple yet impressive strategy for monsters like them to adopt, but it fell flat before what was arguably the king of all stats: speed. 

Kathryn weaved through countless axe swings and arrows, using her small body to move in ways that would have been otherwise impossible for someone bulky like Batti. It was almost like a dance, even. I found myself transfixed at the spectacle as she passed under a Centaur's horse legs to avoid what would have been a fatal blow to the head. Then, once behind it, she backflipped unto its back while deflecting arrows in midair, only to slice off the Centaur's head a split second later. 

"I-incredible," Kimmel remarked. She was like one of those kung fu masters I used to see in the movies, the kind who regularly turned the tables on enemies who ganged up against them. As she bathed in the blood of her enemies, the glint in her eyes was starting to resemble that of her mother's. It was worrying but also strangely comforting because it was a sign that she would become much, much stronger than this. I can't wait!

"Daphne, did I do well?" She asked while covered in blood, and I answered,

"Yes, but you'll need to let Phildina wash you after this."

"Okay!" She replied with a beaming smile and then ran to Phildina, who promptly took her away. I thought about the Treant seeds she gave me and started wondering what I was going to do with them. I could plant them and make a Treant EXP farm, but that came with its own risks, so I wasn't too keen on it.

Didn't an EXP farm sound like a wonderful idea? Well, yeah. Treants were perfect for it because of the seeds they dropped, and many players abused it when they discovered they could farm monsters for EXP. So, what did the developers do? They didn't restrict or place any ban on it whatsoever. They were far more creative than that, choosing rather to discourage the act by ingenious game design. You could plant as many seeds as you wanted, but there was a chance a World Treant or Yggdrasil, as some players called it, would spawn. An entire guild was wiped out the first time it spawned, as no one knew what it was or what it could do, but after a few more incidents, players weren't too keen on farming. 

It was a special boss that only spawned through farming. Once born, the massive Treant would spawn seemingly endless hordes of Treants as its first attack. It also covered the area in vines while releasing spores that caused all kinds of debuffs. That already sounded like a nightmare, but from what I heard, it recovered its HP quickly and was greatly resistant to fire. No thanks! I thought to myself as I dismissed the idea. I would find a chance to sell the seed when Kathryn wasn't looking.

How did she know about farming in the first place? I wondered. Was a player among them? Or could they all be players? That'd definitely explain some things, right? Or, I could be overthinking things again. I had too little to go on, so it would be wrong of me to jump to conclusions. If I ever revisit that place, I'll ask more questions.

I already knew what I was going to do. It was an idea that had probably never been attempted before, and I couldn't wait to implement it. However, I needed to finish laying the groundwork. And on that front, the work is nearly complete, I thought to myself with a smile.