Hera walked for half an hour towards the direction of what Peaches called wood. Looking at the trees, she groaned loudly. She had noticed a while back the trees seemed to be stuck in a loop. After a few meters, they would all repeat the same pattern. From the positioning of the roots to the leaves in the branches. It was like someone copied one picture and pasted it all over the forest.

This pattern was messing with Hera's head. She felt like she was walking in place. Thankfully, her [Mapping] skill was expanding the map on her tablet. That was the only thing that gave her some confirmation that she was moving. She found no landmarks, nothing different or unique, and no living creatures. Not since she had left Peaches near the creek.

"Ok, the wood idea was crap. Maybe I should go back," she said.

"No, I mean, it's still just a 30 minutes walk. Let's go for an hour. If I find nothing, I'll go back," Hera said as her walk became more motivated.

"Good Idea, Hera. You need to be willing to do the hard work in order to pass this test. But also be careful, you know, don't push yourself more than you should."

"No, you need to dedicate yourself to this, that is the only option."

"What is the point if you end up hurt? Do your best, but keep your limits in mind."

"Oh, and who do you think you are to tell me what to do?"

"Who? I'm you!"

Hera stopped for a moment. She spent the last five minutes, not just talking to herself. But having an argument on her own.

"If I find nothing else here, I'm going to go crazy. I mean, crazier."

She kept moving and talking. As weird as it sounded, at least it was some noise. It was better than hearing the wind making the same sound over and over again.

When Hera was about 45 minutes away from the creek, the trees gave way to a small open field. In the center of it, there were a few houses surrounded by a low wooden fence. There was also an archway with a big wooden slab that read "Woodland."

She stopped for a moment, staring at the name. All the houses seemed to be made from wood. Hera couldn't find a single glimmer of metal around the cottages.

"Honestly, the system's naming sense is awful," she said before walking towards the village's entrance.

Seeing it closely, Hera could say that this place looked more like a homestead than a village. There were only five houses inside the fence. Not only that, but there were also four people standing around in front of the houses. An old man in a farmer overall with a large straw hat, a young girl wearing a medieval peasant dress, a strong, tanned woman, dirty with what looked like soot. Near the entrance, there was also a person wearing leather armor with a green hood that covered their face.

Hera approached the entrance, activating her [Observe].

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heyden the hunter (simulation)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, he does look the part," she mumbled to herself.

As she got closer, the hunter raised his hand towards her.

"Halt, who goes there?" he said.

"Hi, I'm Hera. I'm here for the explorer's test."

Hayden withdrew his hand in a mechanical motion.

"Greetings, fellow traveler. I hope you find what you are searching for in our small town," he said in a monotone voice.

"... Thanks? Can you tell me something about this place?" Hera asked.

"This is the town of Woodland. It's not much, but it is home. We live simple lives here, but these past weeks there's been some trouble."

"Wait, didn't you call me a fellow traveler? But you live here?" Hera asked.

"Woodland is my home. I've always lived here," Hayden replied.

"Ok... and what is the trouble you mentioned," Hera asked.

The hunter gave her an odd feeling. His face being covered by the hood didn't help with that.

"Quite a few problems appeared in the last month. Farmer Frank lost his trusty rake. Betty, the blacksmith, is having trouble getting materials for the tools she makes. And Little Florence can't find any more flowers to sell. There are also a few monsters who keep trying to invade the town. Something is making them more aggressive, but I can't go look for the cause, or the town will be defenseless. Say, you look like a seasoned warrior, would you be willing to deal with the monsters?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quest Triggered:

Monster attack

Hayden, the hunter, needs help to stop the monster attacks.

Discover the cause of this behavior and put an end to the monster's incursions.

Reward:

Information on a secret of the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was... easy," Hera mumbled.

She would need to fight some monsters, but at least that would let her find a secret. She still needed a weapon, though. Maybe she could get one with the blacksmith.

"Hayden, I can help you. But is it ok if I talk to the others first?"

"Thank you, traveler. I hope you find what is causing the monsters to act like that. Please, come in and talk to the other residents."

"But I just asked... Nevermind, thank you."

It was weird talking to the hunter. He seemed off somehow. His words were mechanical and cold. There was no feeling behind it. Hera walked inside the homestead and went to talk to other residents.

Farmer Frank and Florence, the flower girl, gave Hera the same eerie feeling. It was like hearing a computer say a phrase, and their faces were always with the same expression. Florence looked like she was sad even when she talked about how much she loved the flowers. Frank never lost his satisfied expression, even when he said that without the rake, there would be no food in the city.

At least she had gotten two new quests.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lost Rake

Frank, the farmer, lost his rake while picking water from the creek. Find and retrieve the rake near the water spring.

Reward:

Information on a secret of the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flowers no more

Florence, the flower girl, can't find flowers anymore.

Discover a new place where she can harvest the flowers near Woodland.

Reward:

Information on a secret of the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With that, Hera could finish the mission. After all, there were only three secrets in the forest.

"Let me double-check," she said to herself. Opening her tablet and looking for the first quest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Role test: Explorer

The green forest and its residents hide many secrets, discover most of them to complete the test.

This area is part of a simulation. The denizens of this place have limited interaction capabilities.

Current discovery progress 20%

[X] Discovered Woodland

[X] Found Peaches

[ ]?????????????

[ ]?????????????

[ ]?????????????

[ ]?????????????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I guess not," she sighed.

There were more options now, and since she already discovered two of them, maybe the other options could have a more significant completion rate. If so, it would be easier to finish it. If not, she would need to find 8 more secrets to complete the mission.

"This is why they give us a week then. Just walking from the creek and back will take a couple of hours."

Hera closed the mission and looked towards the blacksmith. The woman was staring at her with an annoyed expression.

"So that's the only face she makes, I guess," Hera said.

Walking towards the woman, Hera opened a big smile.

"Hello, I'm Hera. Hayden said you might be in some trouble. Could you tell me what is going on? Maybe I can help you with something."

"Finally, I've been waiting for you to come here, you know," Betty huffed.

Hera was surprised. Not only she had a more natural way of talking, but Betty's expression changed as she spoke. It felt more natural than talking with the other residents.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were waiting for me," Hera apologized.

"It's fine. I just need some help to get some materials to make the tools Frank asked. My problem right now is that to make the shears he wants, I need a lighter metal that can only be found when you kill monsters around here." Betty said.

"Ok, what type of metal you need?"

"We call it liquid metal. You can find it when you defeat the same type of monster that is trying to attack the town. For some reason, the ones coming here don't drop the metal," the blacksmith explained.

"Ok, and what monsters are attacking. I have no weapons on me, so I need as much information as you can give me," Hera said.

"They are some awful creatures. With wide, unblinking eyes, a thick goo oozing out of them. They slither through the ground and devour everything in their path. Honestly, those things give me nightmares," Betty shivered.

"Ok... that seems really bad, I'll see if I can find one before trying to fight it. Do you have any weapons or things that I can use? I'm not confident in going against them, barehanded." Hera asked.

"Oh, I have a few weapons in stock. It's kind of boring just to do farm tools, so I practice doing other stuff. What kind do you want?"

"I really enjoy using a handaxe and a chakram. Do you have anything like that?"

Betty stopped for a moment and thought while scratching her chin with one hand.

"Yeah, I think I do. But I'm gonna need it back when you finish killing the monsters, ok?" Berry finally said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quest Triggered:

The blacksmith's plea

Betty, the blacksmith, needs a material that is dropped by monsters.

Retrieve 10 pieces of the material and give it to Betty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hera read the mission. Why was there no mention of a reward?

Maybe this was just so she could have a weapon here. It was a bit of a letdown not to have more information into the secrets of the forest, but it seemed fair.

"Sure, I'll help you. Can you tell me where the monsters live?"

While Hera spoke, a loud growl came from her stomach.

Betty smiled, hearing that noise.

"Sure, but do you want to eat first? I was just about to have a late lunch."

"That would be nice, thanks." Hera thanked her.

The two of them got inside the blacksmith's house and ate a veggie stew Betty had prepared. Inside the house, Hera could see a small forge and the weapons she talked about on a table.

The dinner table was already set, and they quickly started to eat. The food was more delicious than Hera was expecting. Although it was a simple stew, it had a rich flavor and even some spiciness to it.

During the lunch, Hera tried to ask as much as she could about the place they were in. Sadly, Betty only seemed to know things about the town. Most of her answers end up going back to the same patter ending with, "I don't go out much, my bad."

Despite Betty having a more natural reaction to everything, it was clear the woman was also part of the simulation. Hera's [Observe] confirmed that.

When they finished eating, Betty took Hera outside and pointed to a house next to them.

"If you get tired, you can sleep over there, it is an old house that no one uses, but it has everything you need. A bed, a bathroom, a table, and a chair. Oh, and before I forget, here is a pouch and a waterskin. You are going to need those if you are going to walk around here,"

Hera thanked the blacksmith and went inside the house. She wasn’t going to sleep yet, but she really needed to use the restroom. Looking around, it was a simple wooden cabin with one bed that covered the back wall's length and a wooden table in the middle and a secondary door with the letter W.C. engraved on it.

Hera tossed the pouch and her weapons on the table and rushed to the bathroom. When she opened the door, she almost forgot she needed to go. The bathroom was a standard bathroom. With ceramic tiles, a toilet, a sink, a mirror, and even toilet paper. It gave off a completely different feeling from the rest of the homestead. By all accounts, it was a bathroom she could use in the outside world. Before doing what she needed to do, Hera picked a square of toilet paper and tried to leave the bathroom with it. The second it passed through the threshold of the door, the toilet paper dissolved in her hand.

A few minutes later, Hera walked out of the house, ready to explore this strange forest. She thanked Betty once again and left the tiny village towards the southeast. According to the blacksmith, that was the best place to find the slimy, slithery monsters.