".."

Lia stopped in her tracks and watched the quest message. It felt really suspicious and too much timed with her entrance in the restaurant and also, she was the only player around. But she needed to ask the owners of the 'Loose Goose' to teach her (or give her a recipe book, same thing).

'Could this be staged? But ..why? Think. I have to catch up with some thugs, I'd have to run after them, and possibly, there is the chance to get lost. Though I don't have to worry about that, I've walked around enough to always know my way back to the plaza.'

She ran outside just in time to get a glimpse of the "shady" trio and follow them from a safe distance.

'Still, I'm level one. The quest didn't say anything about beating the thugs though. Would things escalate really that much if this was all faked? It's possible. Then, how do I go around defending myself? Use real life techniques. I know how much real life combat experience can be useful here, mom told me so. Problem: I just work out, I have no combat experience, no techniques. One more thing in the list.'

The kidnappers went around the corner and Lia slowed down before reaching the corner and stopped.

'It seems I've got no more time to think. Judging from their appearance, their foot work, and their speed, I just need a head start and I'm sure I can return to the restaurant before they can catch me. A distraction. A cover.'

Taking out one of her water pouches, she rounds the corner and puts herself in position to start running at the first chance. Her eyes looked, watched, stared, glared and analyzed the situation. The more she analyzed, the more she understood. The three thugs were behind the kid, bowing ahead just a little. Like they were apologizing. Apologizing for having followed orders they couldn't refuse. The kid is the puppet master. Good bye plan where the kid follows obediently. The water pouch, now useless, was put back in the inventory.

"My beautiful white rose, what is your name?"

'..Great.'

Despite the fact that she didn't care, she knew. She knew men were after her. No, her body. Why would they want her? After all she's just an insensible bitch (quote).It's not like she could do anything about it. It's not like she wanted to get shot, lose an eye and also her emotions. It's not like in these last 12 years she ever cared about this. What happened, happened. No use in crying over spilled milk.

Going back as to why this was such a "nice" development, the boy had fallen for her. But, he was dangerous. He didn't try to approach her like a normal person, no, he faked being abducted and ultimately put her in a dangerous situation in which she had to defend herself alone.

'Thank God this isn't real life.'

All the while the cocky kid had been talking, but was utterly ignored.

'Still, I need him for the completion of the quest. Be it staged or not, that couple at the restaurant will give me my reward.'

She closed her eyes one second.

'If I hadn't put that away, this would have been a bit faster, but whatever.'

"..y! Hey! Are you listening to me?!"

Her eyes opened again, looking directly at him. Not an hint of emotion in them. Dark purple, crystal clear eyes.

Fear permeated the them. Permeated their bodies, their soul. They had done nothing, but they had gone too far.

Each step she took toward them was like hearing the last ticking of their time. Of their lives.

She took the boy by his wrist and proceeded out of where she had entered.

The thugs did not dare to move.

With her back to them, her lips barely curved upwards, or at least tried to, for an instant. She wasn't in the mood to fake smiles and flaunt her victory, but it was nice seeing her trick proving itself useful once again. Though this time it felt a bit draining.

Quest: kidnappers on the run! - CompletedYou managed to safely return the kid to the restaurant while not causing a fuss after having discovered the truth. The three men were part of Thyw's Lord's Castle Guards, and Johan, the Lord's second son, ordered them to fake his kidnapping to catch the heart of the lady he fell in love with.Quest Rank: H+Rewards:The owners of 'Loose Goose' and Thyw's Lord will be indebted to you

You gained 10% experience

After having thrown the boy on the floor of the restaurant, Lia checked the message of quest completion and noticed some backlogged system messages that she hadn't read.

In Hyria, when a player is under an adrenaline rush, or a really intense fight, the notification do not show up, but will make themselves notice when the log is opened.

New Skill Acquired

Calm Analysis (Passive)A calm analysis of the environment always helps making a more correct judgement on one's own situation.Effects:+25% Easier to spot anomalies and possible dangers+10% Easier to come to an understanding of the situation+5% Easier to spot lies in a conversation

New Skill Acquired

Quick Analysis (Passive)A fast thinker survives longer.Effects:+15% Faster in making a decision+15% Faster to spot anomalies and possible dangers

New Skill Acquired

Primordial Fear (Active)When your lack of emotions, empathy and interest in others' lives is revealed to those around you, all they will be able to see in front of them is Death Herself.Effects:Instills fear and stuns every weaker being that stands where you passed while keeping Primordial Fear active. The more time passed since you left that spot, the lesser the effect. Every minute that passes is 30 seconds less.Instills fear and stuns every being of the same level as you or weaker.Instills fear and stuns every being not over 5 levels higher than yours. For every level higher, 20 seconds are subtracted.Radius: 1 meterDuration: 2 minutesCost: 60 MP, then 2 MP per second if kept active.

Lia was slightly surprised, not because she didn't know that this game could create abilities according to a player's behavior, but because it happened so fast. Though her interest ended there. She walked in front of the couple who owned the 'Loose Goose' and observed them. At least it seemed like they regretted the prank a little.

'Explains why it said they will be indebted to me.'

"Care to explain?"

The man, Ul, and the woman, Krista, remained silent a little but then began to explain. Apparently the little pest had seen her in the plaza while she looked around for the prices of the food, afterwards, when she stopped in front of the 'Loose Goose' he sent some of his men inside, to ask if they knew her and then to tell them the kidnapping was only staged. Johan was a well-known asshole that liked to use his position to force others into doing what he wanted.

While they were talking, the kid got up and screamed something like "Don't think it'll end here, you..! You..! Damn it!". No one paid attention to him.

"..I see. Anyway, I was in front of your restaurant for a simple reason, I want to learn the cooking skill."

Said Lia while glaring at them. Ul seemed a little thrown off, maybe he didn't accept apprentices so easily, but after a "Dear.." and a glare by Krista, he accepted.

In the end, Lia skipped some day at school, she played non-stop for a week, sleeping in-game, before finally learning the cooking skill. At first she had to do the usual minor things, like washing the dishes or peeling potatoes. Couldn't complain when, other than the skill, she was given a place to sleep and two/three meals a day. Lia never liked eating breakfast that much.

Of course she didn't spend all the time at the restaurant. She logged off at least 2 hours a day, to take care of her real needs and go jogging with her mother, and when she did not log off but still wasn't in the restaurant, she was jogging in-game, making her stamina go up by 2.

'Now that I'm done, I have to earn money. Thanks to Krista I still have all my bread, but that won't last more than a month. There should be a bulletin board in the plaza, but before that I need to see about a class for me, I need to see what kind of benefits I'd get by becoming a swordswoman. I also need to know if it's possible to change classes later on. Mmh, I should log off after my visit to the atelier.'

On the way to the to the Swordsmen's Atelier, Lia made a mental list of the things she had to buy later. After all, she still had only 20 copper coins.

The Swordsmen's Atelier was a two-story stone building near an open area with mannequins being beaten by NPC soldiers and two or three players. Inside there were some more mannequins and many types of swords hung on the walls, with only three NPC training. Seeing the goddess (yes, the name got stuck not only in the players' head) enter his atelier, the instructor quickly went to greet her

"Hello young lady, I'm Triel, the instructor. Are you interested in becoming a swordswoman?"

"Hi, I'm Aisha. I'm here to know what are the benefits of becoming a swordswoman"

"Well, it depends on what type of swordswoman you want to become, but I guess you would be best suited for the speed type. Speed types concentrate on raising their agility, dexterity and of course strength. You'd be lacking in defense and you would be limited to light armor, but if you train hard enough in dodging you will be able to make up with the disparity. Lastly, like for every other swordsmen, you will have less mana and it will also regenerate more slowly."

"Thank you for the information, if I become interested in swordsmanship I'll come back."

'I'll consider accepting this class should I not find anything else of interest.'

Finally out of the atelier, Lia began walking toward the plaza, when someone hit the back of her head.