Chapter 17: Best Reward

===================================================================================

Quest Update:

With the defeat of the enemy general and heavy casualties the monster army has fled from battle. You have successfully routed the monster army. You may now finish the quest by reporting to Commander Gil.

“Yep, we’re done.” I relaxed closing the window

“The other players are probably angry. We did just kind of ditch them...” Sylva said

“Can’t be helped... At least they can finish them off.”

Looking around the sea of monster corpses around us it seems they had all fled. Sylva and I killed about 200 of them I think? Also the biggest one was most likely the general.

“WOW! You guys rock!! You totally annihilated them while we had such a hard time!”

I turn back and looked at the girl that said that. She was a girl with shoulder length brown hair and looked like a mage.

“It’s hardly anything special. They were already weakened so we kinda stole your kills.” I say with a wry smile

“Hey nobody here minds, right?” as she said everyone around started nodding

“I see. I’m glad you’re safe. There’s fewer of you than I thought..”

“....Yeah, a lot of players died in battle earlier....”

Hearing the girls words my heart started to beat faster. Did Hime survive? Please....I hope I wasn’t too late. I faced the girl and started to talk loudly.

“EXCUSE ME! I’m looking for someone here! A girl. Long black hair, she’s a bit shorter than me and her name’s Hi----“

I was about to finish my words but I spotted something in the corner of my eye. It was a girl with jet black hair tied into a ponytail. She was clutching her bow tightly while staring at me speechless. She still looked the same as when we had last met. It was my sister. It was Hime....

Without a word I rushed to her and hugged her in my arms. I was so glad I lost sight of everything else and just held her as tight as I could. She’s alive! I could feel her warmth on my body as tears trickled down my cheek.

“Hime... You’re alright, I’m so glad you’re fine!. Thank God......”

“.....Nii-san” she finally spoke

When she called me she also returned my embrace. I could feel her trembling slightly as she also cried.

“Woah! Um...... Dude, your girlfriend’s watching you know!” the brown haired girl interrupted

Hearing her voice I suddenly came back to my senses and noticed dozens of people looking at us. Oops, it seems everyone saw the whole thing! But.... wait a minute! Did she just say girlfriend!?

Letting go of Hime gently I turned to the same girl as before.

“What do you mean girlfriend?” I quietly asked

“How can you say that! She’s right there!” She pointed at Sylva

“You’re ‘Nero Argento’ right? The top player-slash-lover combination around! And you go hugging a girl right in front of your partner!”

No, It couldn’t be.... Did they know about us? Weren’t they gone for a month!? Even worse this girl was practically yelling making my attempts at a private conversation all for naught!

“Amy, it’s fine. This person is my brother.” Hime said to her

Ah, Amy‘s the person Sagami told me Hime was travelling with!

“Oh really? He is? That means you’re brother’s really good at this game!” Amy suddenly forgot about the previous issue

“.........Yes, it would seem so.” Hime answered quietly

“He has a lover? But, Hime! I thought you--- Mmph!”

I don’t know why but Hime suddenly covered Amy’s mouth before she finished. Is it something I shouldn’t know? Well, I guess it’s not important.

“Uh, could we talk for a bit?” I signaled them to follow me

Nodding they followed Sylva and me to the campsite and found a quiet place to talk. It looks like they were both staring at Sylva. Especially Amy, it was like her eyes sparkled when she watched Sylva...

“Okay, here’s fine.” I stopped

“Hey, hey, Big bro! How did you and Sylva meet? Were you really trapped with your girlfriend and plan to beat the game?” Amy suddenly burst with questions

“Huh? No... Also just call me Haruki....”

“Nii-san, I too am curious about all this. Why are you here?” Hime asked me

“Well, I’ve been looking for you the past few months. I heard that your quest had some issues so we went to help.”

“I see...”

“Aww, you really love your sister huh? Ah, I’m Amy by the way!” she excitedly reached for my hand

“Ah yeah, I’m Haruki, Hime’s brother. And this is.” I gesture towards Sylva

“My name is Sylva. It’s nice to meet you both.” Sylva let out a smile

“I’m Hime. Thank you for taking care of my brother.” She said as she bowed

“No, no. it’s more like we’re taking care of each other.” Sylva replied

I notice when Sylva said that Hime slightly frowned but quickly regained composure. That’s to be expected I guess. She hasn’t seen me in months and next thing you know she meets me after hearing a rumor about us being lovers. I really gotta clear that up.....

“To think that Hime’s brother was half of ‘Nero Argento’ I really admit that the name suits you two.” Amy looked at both of us

“Ah, well actually about that-“

“It’s fine, we can talk about it later. Tell us how you came here Nii-san.” Hime said with a serious expression

“Oh, well as you know I’ve been searching for months now. Along the way I met Sylva and stuff....... happened, so we teamed up. We knew you were here from a guy named Sagami who said you’d be back in a month.”

“Sagami! You know him Nii-san?”

“Um yeah, what’s wrong?”

“He was here yesterday. He was the one who told us you two were coming to help the expedition. I didn’t know at that time it was you he meant...”

“What! Wait, that means we’re being stringed along!” I blurted out

“Hm, yes. He did look like he was hiding something.” Hime noted

Damn it, that means he knew we were going to join the quest! Was he using us from the beginning!? Man, I really don’t like that guy...

“Yeah, anyway he said we had to wait a month so we stayed at Tyrne for a while and did a few quests. It looks like players then started to notice both of us.” I continued

“I see... But I didn’t know you were trapped here too Nii-san. If I’d known I would have searched for you...” she said sadly

“It’s okay... After 3 months I found you so it doesn’t matter.”

“................3 months?” she looked at me

Ah of course, I didn’t tell her I wasn’t here at the start. Because of that the time spent for both of us was different. It was 4 for me with 1 month in the real world. For Hime it’s been more than 6.

“Oh yeah, I forgot.. I logged in a month after you were trapped.” I answered her gaze

“...You logged in!!? Why would you do something that stupid?”

“Huh? To come find you, of course!” I replied while looking into her eyes

“Why do that for me!? I didn’t want that!” She screamed at me

“But, I-“ I was cut off by Hime before finishing

“I’m sorry, Nii-san. Could we talk later? I need to gather my thoughts....”

Saying that Hime started to walk away looking as she was exhausted.

“Ah wait Hime!” Amy followed her and also left

I was about to run after her but I was suddenly stopped. Sylva had grabbed my shoulder at looked at me with mixed feelings visible on her face.

“I think you should give her some time Haruki.”

“Why is she so upset? I tried my best didn’t I?” Confused, I asked Sylva

“Haruki, if my little brother had chased after me into some game where he could die I’d slap him right there. Your sister must feel the same way. Imagine if you were the one trapped and she came after you....”

“I....”

I couldn’t answer her. Of course if that happened I would be furious at Hime. I guess that with me coming after her no wonder she became upset...

“Don’t worry, the fact she got upset means she truly cares about you. She’ll be alright.” She said with a considerate smile

“....Yeah, I should talk to her when she calms down.”

“Alright, while we were talking it seems the others have already finished the monsters running. We should also regroup.”

Nodding to what she suggested we stepped from where we stood and rejoined the other players.

===================================================================================

It’s been nearly two days since the enemy was defeated. Here we are back at Roden’s city gates about to complete the quest. During the trip back Hime and I seldom spoke with each other exchanging only few words. The way the other players kept praising us also didn’t help fix the awkwardness. In fact, it seemed like it only added to it.

They were all singing praises about Sylva and me as the strongest players around. Some kept pestering us about how we got strong but I didn’t pay any attention. All that made Hime slightly distance herself from us as most of them crowded Sylva and me during the journey.

Arriving inside the city walls Hime spoke up to me.

“Nii-san we’ll be splitting up here.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Technically we were on the same quest but the quest givers were different than the original group. Hime and those that reached the north headed to the Lord’s court while I and those that only joined later went to Commander Gil.

“Oho! You’re back! Mission was a success I see?” Gil grinned broadly

“Yes sir, we have eliminated the monster army. The route to Prax should be safe now!” the NPC captain spoke up

“Very well! The volunteers also did good!” He looked at the players

Quest Completed: Reinforcing the Expedition

Your contribution in reinforcing the Expedition task force has succeeded. Repelling the monster swarm of the mountain range has made Roden safe from any large scale monster invasions. In addition the route to the neighbor region can now be used by all players.

Reward:

-45 gold

-Roden NPC friendship

-exp up

Level has risen by 1

The rewards were pretty normal. I guess since we only helped the last part this could still be considered good. No doubt the main quest players received better rewards. I was about to leave when Commander called me.

“Hey, boy. What was the name again? Haruki!”

“Is there something else?” I faced him

“I heard from the captain about what you did. It seems you practically saved every member of the team. I have an offer for someone like you. How would you like to be made a knight of Roden?”

Your actions have caught the attention of Roden’s highest military officer. You have been offered a position as a City Knight. This will grant you various bonuses to stats as well as unique skills of a Knight.

You will have to remain in Roden for 1 year to fulfill your duty as a low ranking officer of Roden before free to continue adventuring while retaining the benefits of the position.

Will you accept Y/N

I read the notification again and close the window. I already know my answer.

“I’m afraid I can’t accept. Please offer it to someone else.”

“What? But this is your special reward.”

Indeed if this were a game it would be a luxurious option. The whole year would normally only be 4 months but since we couldn’t leave the game it really will take a year! Not to mention without leaving I can’t find anything out.

“I have already received a suitable reward.”

I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t talking about the gold or NPC intimacy of course. Finally meeting Hime again and knowing she was safe was the best reward I could ever hope for....

“Fuuh, and here I thought we could increase our forces a bit...” he grumbled

“I do apologize.”

“HAHA, No need lad. Here at least take this then.” He handed something to me

Coat of Roden (Rare)

A coat made by the finest tailor in all of the Roden region. I bears the crest of the city signifying your contribution to Roden. This coat is only given to those considered a savior of the city.

Defense: 60

+ 150 HP

+ 10 to Agility

10% elemental resistance (you may only select one element at a time)

I take the coat and thank the Commander as I put it on. It wasn’t black like my previous one, instead it was a deep navy blue. The defense is twice the Raiju coat and had the same amount of resistance. The only weaker point is it didn’t give a bonus to my lightning damage.

I considered to keep using the old one but finally decided to wear this one. After all I needed more defense since I use mostly close quarters combat. The bonus HP and agility stat was also beneficial.

As i finished equipping them I took a look at my new appearance. On my chest was a light dark brown scorpion chest piece with matching braces on both arms and greaves for my legs. On top of this the new dark blue coat still made my appearance rather dark and had a sewing of two blades facing down on the left shoulder. It was the emblem of Roden. The new gear also didn’t have a hood attached to it. Maybe I should look for head gear?

“To get a special reward for himself.”

“As expected from one of Nero Argento.” Player commented

Even though the only color of mine matching that name was now only my hair they kept calling us that. Seems like the name’s already stuck on me.....

“Alright let’s go find those two.” I said to Sylva

“Okay, they should also be finished now.

We walked a few minutes to the castle’s main building and found some players resting there. I immediately spotted Amy but couldn’t see Hime. Walking up to her she notices us and smiled brightly.

She was now wearing a cloak similar in color to my coat. It also had the mark of the city on its back. Looks like I got a reward similar to those of the main group. I looked around and realize some were wearing similar cloth gear covering their armor.

“Finally you’re here! You sure took your time!”

It seems this person was a rather cheerful one even though you could say we just returned from a life or death situation. But I guess I understand why Hime became friends with her now.

“Hey, Amy. I don’t see Hime around.” I asked

“Yeah, I got a message for you. She said she wants to talk with She’ll be waiting at the city harbor. It’s at the edge of the city. You can’t miss it!”

“I see. Thank you then.”

Before going, I first looked at Sylva and spoke to her.

“Sylva, could you and Amy find a place to stay for us? I have something I have to do.”

“Of course.” she nodded

“ Well then, Hime and I’ll be back later.” I said as I walked away

######################

Managed to finish a new chapter today.......

Small update on the setting thread. I finally found a pic that suited what Amy looks like. I also made a simple map of the current region. Anyone interested can head over there

Thanks for reading guys! :)

Back to Main Page

Characters + Setting + Suggestions