{Quest : Fresh Produce}

  [12/200 Oranges picked]

  [(+1) 244/500 Exp]

  I reached out, plucking another from the tree. They were obnoxiously ripe, some larger than my entire head, but most about normal orange-size.

  The issue was arranging them into the overflowing thatch basket.

  Individually speaking, picking the fruit didn’t give much Exp—in fact it gave barely anything at all—but with a couple hundred to collect, it was only a matter of time before I leveled up.

  “Serenity!” I shouted, calling down to the orchard. “I need another basket!”

  She ignored me, utterly focused on a large pink flower she’d found.

  “Thanks a bundle,” I muttered, swinging down from the tree, and setting a full basket beside her. “Could you at least take this to the farmer?”

  She jolted, glancing up from her flower.

  “Please?”

  Wide-eyed, Sern scrambled for the basket and rushed off.

  The girl looked genuinely terrified, just because I’d given her a simple task—

  I smacked myself in the face.

  Of course she’d be scared. She’d been a slave less than four hours ago. I wouldn’t want to thank what punishment she’d been dealt for failing simple tasks.

  I shook my head, clambering back up into the tree, where I snapped the next orange from its branch.

  We’d found the quest pretty easily—it was from the friend of a city gardener—and the quest reward—two iron rings—was reasonable for the amount of work required.

  Sern sidled up to her pink flower and sat back down.

  All this dirt was soiling her ragged dress, and soon, it’d been starting to tear. Which meant that as soon as I got some money, I’d find her real clothes.

  As soon as I got her some money.

  I sighed, plucking another orange.

  For two iron? Seriously?

  I was optimistic, not insane.

  At this rate, it’d take days to get shelter for a night, not to mention food and clothes, let alone the supplies I’d need to enter the two-star dungeon again, which I still planned on doing sooner or later—

  I glanced at the forest of orange trees.

  Definitely later.

  While I was working, one of the largest oranges dropped off the tree, splattering onto the ground.

  Serenity froze, eyes wide.

  “Just an orange, Sern,” I called, climbing down after it.

  It didn’t smell rotten, though there was something odd about its odor.

  The orange suddenly bulged, pulp ballooning out and sprouting bone-white legs.

  Mana. I was definitely smelling mana right now.

  Sern shook, grabbing her arms and curling up on the ground.

  The white quest-type notification started to shimmer.

  {Fresher Produce}

  [15/200 Oranges picked]

  {1/1 Monsters Remaining}

  The orange screeched, thankfully ignoring her, which meant it focused on me instead, sprouting serrated teeth, which splitted open into a serrated mouth of orange pulp.

  {Orange Stalker}

  [2 Str 3 Hp]

  I grabbed the orange with my bare hands and ripped it in half.

  It blackened, the monster dissolving back into a mound of pulp.

  {Orange Stalker}

  [(-30) -27 Hp]

  ~

  {Quest : Fresh Produce}

  [(+1) 16/200 Oranges picked]

  [(+25) 270/500 Exp]

  “Sern. You can come out now,” I said, pulling the pulp off the grass and stuffing it into the basket. Who knows, maybe you could feed it to an animal or something.

  Serenity peeked out from her arms, trembling.

  “It’s just an orange,” I whispered, taking one form our basket and holding it for her to take

  She jumped back, curling into a tighter ball.

  “We’re going to have to work on that,” I said, with a grumble. “This world is dangerous, and you’re going to need some courage, otherwise you might get hurt. Now, please, would you move the oranges?”

  She breathed shallowly, staying as still as possible.

  “Or…I guess you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I sighed.

  The grizzled old farmer wandered out, waving a pitchfork. “Attaboy! Those vermin have been in mah trees since mah wifey left!”

  I glanced up at the monster-infested forest of oranges. “Can’t really blame her.”

  The farmer squinted, cupping a hand to his ear “Eh?”

  “Well that’d explain why you’re hiring adventurers to pick your fruit,” I said, poppin fresh oranges into a basket. “And I don't suppose we’re getting a raise for this, are we?”

  He laughed, grabbing his girthy stomach.

  “That’s a no,” I groaned. “Serenity, could you bring me empty baskets—”

  She was crouching down by the flower again.

  “Oh never mind,” I said, with a grumble. “It’s not like I need the help.”

  After another one hundred eighty oranges—several of which sprouted legs—we’d finished the quest, and the farmer gave us our reward.

  “E’re you go!” He grinned, smacking two iron rings into the palm of my hand.

  Two iron rings.

  Enough for a decent meal, or maybe a night in the cheapest room the city had to offer.

  All but worthless. Still better than nothing though.

  I slid them onto my fingers, nodding. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any more work?”

  He blinked. “Well, there are mah orange trees. They’ll be infested again in a couple hours.”

  The quest wasn’t hard—but was awfully tedious, and it’d take a lot more than two iron rings to get the items we needed.

  “I think I’ll pass.” I said. “Serenity!”

  She jolted, hiding the flower in her cupped hands.

  “We’re going,” I said. “You need to eat.”

  Sern looked down.

  I sighed.

  This might take a hot second.

  “Sern?” I asked, walking over. “Do you have a flower?”

  She quickly shook her head.

  I raised an eyebrow. “You wanna keep it?”

  Her eyes sparkled.

  “Farmer,” I called, over my shoulder. “Do you mind if we take this?”

  He was already gone, the quest having been completed.

  “Then I’ll take that as a yes.”

  I plucked the flower from the ground, keeping my strength as low as I could, so as not to damage its delicate petals. “Here you go.”

  Sern crept forward, brushing the tips of her fingers over the flower. She rubbed it in her hands admiring the wavy pink and white patterns that rippled around it. When she’d seen all she needed, Serenity took the flower and gestured and stuck it over her ear, noticeably relaxing.

  I smiled. Sern wasn’t usually this focused on anything. We were making good progress.

  “Now that that’s taken care of, we need food.”

  {CLASS UP!}

  (level up!)

  ~

  [+1 inventory]

  [+1 free skill point]

  [Class selection available]

  I tried to pay attention at the cafe, but the stupid level up screen refused to disappear.

  It hung by my head, in the corner of my vision, waiting for some sort of command or activation.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Evidently, it really wanted me to do something very important.

  I couldn't care less. As of recently, my priorities had shifted.

  Serenity sat at a table, staring at the plate in front of her. Occasionally, she’d adjust the plate, to get a better look at her sandwich.

  Immediately after we’d entered, other patrons started giving her weird looks, so I’d made sure she sat facing the window. There was even a garden on the other side, and seemed to do her wonders.

  Not that she’d eat anything.

  “It’s just a sandwich, Sern,” I said, subtly swatting the screen away. “It’s just like bread. You like bread.”

  The screen flared in protest, shooting between the two of us.

  In return, I grabbed the screen, turned it solid, and sat on it.

  This was important, and I couldn’t risk Sern getting spooked.

  She reached out, poking the crumbly bread.

  “Yes, bread,” I whispered. “Eat up.”

  She looked down at her plate, then at me.

  “I ate some oranges this morning,” I said, trying to sound convincing. “Go on. Eat.”

  My stomach gurgled in protest, but we needed to be careful without money, so I ignored it.

  Serenity squinted, leaning close. Then she dropped back down, grabbing the ends of the sandwich and tore a tiny little crumb off.

  Instead of eating it, she offered the crumb to me.

  I sighed. “You won’t eat a bite til I do?”

  She waited patently.

  This was an active choice she’d chosen to make. If I said no, wouldn’t she feel helpless?

  I took the crumb of bread and swallowed it whole, rubbing my stomach. “Thank you.”

  Serenity tore another piece off, offering it to me.

  I pushed her hand back. “It’s yours, Sern.”

  She recoiled, sinking away from the table.

  “What’d I do this time?” I said, with a hint of whining under my breath.

  We’d touched—was that a trigger?

  No touching, moving, or shouting.

  Or telling. Definitely no telling.

  Basically, I had to treat Sern like a five-thousand year vase, that’d already been dropped a couple times.

  Take it one step at a time.

  I slowly reached up, onto the table, taking her sandwich.

  Then I started itching it toward her.

  She shrank back, but kept a hand pressing the dish.

  “Sern?” I pointed above her head, where a debuff lingered.

  {Serenity : Hunger II : indefinite}

  “Food.” I tapped the plate. “I already paid for it. And I expect you to eat.”

  She pushed the plate to my side, pointing above my head.

  [Hunger III : indefinite]

  ”Trust me,” I said, smiling, shoving the plate back. “Food isn’t a concern at the moment.”

  She blinked.

  I blinked back.

  She squinted, a gesture I realized was closer to a scowl than anything else.

  Serenity took the sandwich into her hands and tore the corners with her nails, working her way to the middle, leaving two even though jagged halves of the sandwich.

  She gestured toward one, taking the other.

  “If that’s what you want,” I muttered.

  As much as I hated to admit it, I was starving, and that little crumb hadn’t exactly made a big difference.

  I took a bite, then waited for her to take one. When she did, I took a bite.

  My bites, however, were considerably larger than hers—probably larger than any normal person—so I finished my half in three or four large mouthfuls, while she nibbled around the crusts, working her way into the softer bread.

  Despite that we’d removed her collar, Sern stuck to her old eating habits.

  Oh well. It wasn’t the kind of thing you changed overnight.

  I glanced down, fidgeting with our last remaining iron ring.

  In total, it’d been seven hours since I stormed from the rest of my party, and soon, it’d get dark out.

  We needed money, and fast.

  “Serenity,” I whispered. “I think I’m—we’re…going to have to do a dungeon tonight.”

  She froze.

  “We can’t stay out at night,” I said. “There are a lot of bad people around here, and I don’t want to risk your safety.”

  Then again a dungeon was pretty risky too—but we’d need money sooner or later. This was a game about fighting dungeons.

  “We could find a relatively safe one-star dungeon,” I said. “Even if it doesn’t give that much loot. But we need the money, Serenity.”

  Maybe we could get some other players to help out…but they would probably wind up a greater threat to Sern.

  That meant I’d have to find a dungeon easy enough to solo.

  Serenity studied the crumbs on her plate.

  When the wind picked up, the lighter ones would skitter to the side, dropping down, to be picked up again.

  “Serenity?”

  She nodded, slowly, tucking her chin into her arms and knees.

  “I’ll keep you safe, I promise,” I said.

  The update screen jostled from underneath me.

  “What is this about?” I asked, grabbing it. “What’s so special?”

  {CLASS UP!}

  (level up!)

  ~

  [+1 inventory]

  [+1 free skill point]

  [Class selection available]

  Class up?

  I’d reached level five, was that it?

  Come to think of it, Cierin and Dexten had both level five, and they’d had a pretty measurable increase in power, compared to anyone else on the Irion’s party, except for Eere, who, I think, was also level five, and Irion himself. Maybe I’d be able to get something good.

  Serenity peeked around the screen, evidently curious.

  {LEVEL UP!}

  {Class selection}

  [Magic-type] [Offense-type] [Defense-type] [Misc.Stat-type]

  [+1 Class Specific Attribute (CSA)]

  I frowned. “Those are some pretty broad categories. And what’s Misc-type?”

  The screen shimmered in response.

  “Ah.”

  {Misc.Stat-type}

  [Monster-type : 10% Leech]

  [Stranger-type : +100% stealth and maskings, once per area]

  [Beast-type : secondary health pool, with additional bonuses]

  [Merchant : +0.3% deals and steals]

  I smirked, re-reading the bottomost item, to make sure I’d seen it right? “Who’d want to be a merchant-type? That’s the stupidest thing—”

  {Merchant-type selected}

  [+0.3% Deals and Steals]

  “GAH!” I shouted, ramming my forehead face-first into the table, startling Sern. “Why is it voice activated?! Of course it is voice activated!”

  Pain flared up in my forehead, and I started whimpering.

  Sern backed up in her chair.

  “No, sorry,Sern,” I groaned. “It’s just…merchant-type? I guess maybe that could come in handy ever now and then. It’ll make buying things easier, I guess, and that could come in handy—but it’s just so useless and I really wanted stats…”

  I collected myself, checking the top of the screen. I was going to find something worth enjoying. “+1 skill point? I’ve got a couple of those right?”

  My screen shifted in response.

  {Grind}

  [skill points to imbue : 5]

  I put four of the five of them into unlocking Reach II, saving the last one for later.

  At its base form, Reach I had been underwhelming, but I knew that some powers just needed a little time before they started getting insane.

  Besides, Reach is essentially telekinesis, right?

  Telekinesis is always overpowered.

  I put a hand about two centimeters from a nearby crumb of bread. After scooching a little closer, it zipped into my hand.

  I sighed in relief. “At least I got something useful out of all this.”

  Sern gave me an odd look.

  As she did, a couple walked past our table, nudging each other. One pointed to the flower in Sern’s hair, and they burst into a fit of giggles.

  Sern took the flower from her hair, staring into her plate.

  “Alright, that’s enough of this place,” I grumbled. “C’mon Serenity, we’ve got better places to be, don’t we?”

  She slunk out, walking close by my side, but careful not to touch.

  I glanced back at the couple, but they’d already disappeared into the crowd. A nameless pair of strangers who we’d probably never meet again.

  I hoped their soup was cold.

  We wandered aimlessly around town for a little while, before I tried asking a couple merchants. They pointed us toward the town square, where a large board had been posted.

  “That’s a lot of dungeons,” I muttered.

  Red pins covered an entire map of the surrounding area. According to the map, only a handful of two-star dungeons had been discovered, and there weren’t any three-stars—if those existed. One-stars, on the other hand, clouded the map. Sometimes the red pins were so close together they blotted the green forest beneath them.

  But it went further than that. The pins for dungeons marked as troublesome (where people had died, or parties had barely escaped with their lives) were marked with several black tags. Beside the black-tagged pins, raid parties had marked the board with a white-colored pin, claiming the dungeon.

  Claims were usually in high competition, which made sense, given how good the rewards for harder cores tended to be.

  “How’d Dexten never see this?” I mumbled. “Maybe he never went anywhere near town square?”

  I glanced around, at the raid captains clustered around me, screaming at one another over who’d get which dungeons. When things got heated, fights broke out.

  Things were always heated in the town square.

  “I don’t blame the guy,” I muttered. “I just wish I could’ve told him about it.”

  A man behind me cleared his throat.

  “Oh, sorry,” I said, snapping back to attention, pinning a tiny unmarked dungeon not too far from the city, though it was near a couple harder dungeons. There was a little bin of paper, and a mechanical pen—likely summoned—with which I scribbled a map and slipped from the crowd, to a nearby pocket of trees.

  “Serenity?” I called

  She poked a pointy-eared head out from up in the leaves.

  “We’re going, okay?”

  She nodded, scrambling down.

  It was getting later in the afternoon—maybe three or four—so I had to hurry to the dungeon. Presently, I had no interest wandering through a monster infested forest in the dead of night.

  Fortunately, lady luck was on our side, and we didn’t run into anything.

  That, or my obnoxiously high stats scared all the monsters off.

  Eventually, we ran into an ork, which I took down in a single punch.

  Crapshovler jittered in my inventory, anxious to get another fight going.

  I ignored the shovel, stuffing it into the dirt, collecting what little exp an ork had dropped.

  [(+2) 52/600 Exp]

  “At least it's something,” I muttered.

  Serenity sat hunched over, by a tree.

  “Sern, please come on out.”

  She crept toward the forest clearing.

  “I’m not going to let anything hurt you,” I said, with a sigh. “And that’s a promise, alright? Hiding in the forest just makes it harder to keep you safe.”

  She nodded, though I doubt she believed a word I said.

  I pulled the paper map from my inventory and checked it over.

  “The dungeon can’t possibly be that far away,” I said, glancing to my left, at the gaping mouth of a portal lodged into the ground, like a muddy puddle, spilling menacing energy over the forest.

  I blinked. “I think that’s it.”

  Sern hid behind a tree.

  “Sern?” I asked. “We’re bound together. That means we have to go in together.”

  She stared at the ground.

  “I’ll look out for you,” I promised, kneeling on her level. “But I can’t do that if we don’t have money, and this’s the only place where we're going to find enough. I need to go, and I need you close to me, otherwise you might get hurt.”

  Serenity remained still.

  “Please,” I whispered. “Do you trust me?”

  Slowly, carefully, she inched toward me. Once we were close, she slid a cold hand around mine, squeezing tight.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  Sern nodded, and we walked through the portal.