“So this Susan is the one I have to thank for our meeting,” he murmured. “I’ll have to treat her kindly. If it wasn’t for her, you and I wouldn’t have met, and I would have never been given the hope I have now.”
The blissful expression Fayte wore turned into a kind and charming smile that could have invoked the flames of passion and desire within any man. Adam found himself momentarily breathless, though he was getting used to her beauty. It helped that Aris was every bit the gorgeous young woman this missus was, albeit, beautiful in a different way.
He sometimes likened Fayte to the moon and Aris the sun. Fayte had a mysterious and enchanting beauty about her, while Aris was innocent and pure. Both were stunning. However, their beauty took entirely different forms.
“You will definitely have to treat her well.” Fayte teased him. “I won’t tolerate you bullying her.”
“Good thing I’m not a bully then,” Adam said with a smile.
Fayte became slightly dazed when she saw that smile on his face. It wasn’t until he began waving his hand in front of her that she snapped out of her stupor and turned her head. The tips of her ears had become a light pink.
They spoke a little more, but the talk shifted from subtle teasing to what they had planned for the day. Adam was going to spend a bit of time with Aris, but then he planned on traveling back into the game. Fayte was also going to play as well, but she wanted to get some more sleep first.
Adam was a bit unusual in that he only needed a total of two hours of sleep to continue performing at optimum efficiency. It was enough time to completely recharge him, and since playing Age of Gods was still resting his body, he determined he would only need one hour to recharge. Since his goal was to raise his strength and reputation to help Fayte win her bet, he decided that he was going to make the most of the period Aris was asleep to get his level up as high as possible.
He and Fayte parted ways not long after breakfast. She thanked him again for the meal and headed back into her bedroom. Adam, meanwhile, traveled into the third bedroom where Aris was currently sleeping inside of the cryobed sitting in the room’s very center.
Nothing had changed about the young woman since she had first been put to sleep. Her skin was pale white and her eyes were tightly shut. It looked like she was just resting, except there was no rise and fall of her chest to signify she was breathing. She was a sleeping beauty who’d been frozen in time. The diagram that revealed how much of the Mortems Disease had been cured showed that only about a fourth of the disease was gone.
I think she’s healing faster than Fayte predicted…
Despite knowing Aris couldn’t hear him while stuck inside the cryobed, Adam still talked with her about everything he could think of. He mentioned the game, how much he missed her, and how he hoped she would get better after this so they could spend the rest of their lives together. He also talked about Fayte.
“You only saw Fayte for a bit, so you aren’t aware of how amazing she is. It’s hard to find anyone with that level of determination, intelligence, and grit. I think you will like her once you get out of there,” he said with a smile.
Little did he know that someone was listening into his conversation from the other side of the door.
Despite having told Adam she planned on heading to bed, Fayte did not travel to bed right away. She was not quite able to sleep just yet. A part of it, she theorized, was because she had too much nervous energy. Age of Gods had just realized, and while she was playing because of the bet she made with Levon, she was also very interested in the game itself. She really wanted to keep playing.
The other reason was because she was still curious about Adam.
She and Adam had been living together for a week now. They had spoken a lot during this time. She had learned quite a bit about him, but she also felt like everything he told her was just touching the tip of a very large iceberg. There was so much more hidden beneath the depths. Fayte wanted to uncover those hidden facets of him.
This was the first time Fayte had ever felt so curious about a man before. She believed it was partly thanks to the close proximity they were living in. Anyone would be curious about the person they lived with, but she felt like the greater reason for her curiosity was because Adam was just that interesting.
He recognized her beauty but wasn’t enamored by it.
He spoke to her with ease and hadn’t tried to make a move on her even once since they met.
He was completely and utterly dedicated to Aris, or at least, that was how it seemed to her.
It was because of these three reasons that she decided to talk to him before he went into Age of Gods. He was not in his room, which meant he could only be in Aris’s room. She wandered up to the door and raised her hand to knock.
“You only saw Fayte for a bit, so you aren’t aware of how amazing she is. It’s hard to find anyone with that level of determination, intelligence, and grit. I think you will like her once you get out of there.”
She paused when she heard Adam’s voice. He was obviously talking to Aris. He did that quite often. It never failed to make Fayte’s heart ache, though she was certain her feelings were sympathetic over Adam’s situation. He normally told Aris about his day or his plans for that day.
However, this time, he was talking about her.
Fayte bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, a war taking place within her conscience, but curiosity eventually won out and she leaned against the door to listen in as Adam continued to talk about her. She wanted to know what he thought of her.
“I know there’s a lot about her that I don’t know yet, and she’s probably keeping some secrets from me, but I don’t think that really matters. It’s easy to tell she’s a good person in a bad situation. I know I’m not… the best person in the world. I don’t do things out of the kindness of my heart, and I would have never considered accepting her request if she didn’t have this cure, but I think I might have helped her out regardless of whether she could cure you or not now that I know her a little better. She deserves so much more than being forced to marry a douchebag like Levon Pleonexia.”
While his “douchebag” comment made her cover her mouth to stifle a giggle, the rest of what he said caused her face to feel like a furnace. Was that really what he thought of her? It was so embarrassing, but at the same time, it made her chest feel simultaneously tight and warm. Adam might not think he was a good person, but she could definitely say he was underestimating his own kindness.
Because Fayte didn’t think she could face him after hearing all that, she left the room and went back into her bedroom. She laid down on her bed, but she was now even more awake than before. A sigh escaped her parted lips as she realized she wouldn’t be getting any sleep right now. Since that was the case, she sent Susan a quick message and logged onto Age of Gods.
Her avatar appeared inside of the Village of Beginnings—one of many. Like everyone else, she was wearing the simple clothing the game had first given her. It was a white collared shirt, a brown bodice, and a white skirt of about ankle length. Brown boots adorned her feet.
The only difference between her appearance and everyone else’s was the veil she had that covered her face. There was nothing special about it. It was just a simple accessory she had bought at the trader’s shop after earning enough money from her kills. She was also carrying a staff, which marked her as a mage.
Several other players were present when she appeared. Most of them were men. They stopped and turned to stare at her like they had just caught a glimpse of heaven.
“Whoa! Babe alert!”
“Who is that? She’s gorgeous!”
“Why is she wearing a veil?”
“Who cares?! Think she’ll give me her gamer tag if I ask her?”
“In your dreams maybe. Women like that aren’t interested in losers like you.”
“Why you!!! You picking a fight?!”
“Bring it on, bruh!”
Because of her experience when it came t
o members of the opposite sex, Fayte was able to easily ignore the conversations taking place around her. She began walking to the edge of the village. As she did, a voice called out to her.
“Fayte!”
A genuine smile, hidden by her veil, appeared on Fayte’s face as she turned around. A young girl was running toward her.
Susan Forebear was a lot shorter than Fayte. The sixteen-year-old girl only came up to about her chest. She had doe-like brown eyes that made her seem more innocent and pure than any human had a right to be. A cute button nose sat above a small pink mouth. While her figure was a little childish, Fayte believed that Susan would become a stunning young woman in the future. Her mother had, after all, been known as the most enchanting beauty in the American Federation when she was still alive.
While Fayte was wielding a staff, Susan had a bow in her hands.
“Su,” Fayte greeted the girl, who was not wearing a veil like her. “I did not realize you had come back into the game. I’m sorry. I should have checked my friends list. Oh, shoot!”
“W-what is wrong?” asked Susan, tilting her head.
“I forgot to ask Adam what his gamer tag was so I could add him to my friends list,” Fayte said with an irritated sigh. She shook her head. “Well, no use worrying about that right now. Would you care to join me?”
“Of course.” Susan bobbed her head several times.
“Thank you.”
“Speaking of Adam, can I… I mean, would you mind if I asked about what kind of person he is?” asked Susan, looking down at the dirt road.
“Not at all.”
Fayte smiled and began telling her friend what she knew about Adam so far as they left the Village of Beginnings and traveled into the open field. She and Susan were only at level 2 right now, which was about the average for most people at present, but they needed to level up quickly. Her fate was dependent on it.
Adam once again entered Age of Gods and found himself standing in the same place he had before logging off: Right in front of Sterk. The old warrior leapt back in shock when Adam suddenly appeared, but then he placed a hand against his chest plate, sighed, and glared at him.
“I know you otherworlders can come and go as you please, but could you not suddenly appear in front of me like that?”
“Sorry.” Adam apologized and scratched the back of his head. The old man just released an irritable sigh.
He left Sterk and traveled away from the barracks.
Doing as he’d been told to before he logged off last time, Adam sought the building with a sign that contained a potion hanging above the door. It was easy to find. There weren’t that many buildings to begin with.
The inside of the potions shop smelled of what he at first thought was mildew, but he soon realized that it was just the combination of odd ingredients used for potions. His nose, which had never smelled these scents before, was unable to categorize them.
He looked around as he walked in. This store didn’t have much. There were bottles sitting on shelves stacked against the walls, and at the back of the room was a counter, behind which a nervous man paced back and forth. He had graying hair and a bald spot near the back of his head. Unlike Sterk, who was all muscle, this guy was all flab and had a gut hanging over his pants.
“Excuse me,” Adam said as he walked up to the counter. “Are you Mr. Wilkins?”
As if he was a frightened rabbit, the man jumped and spun around to face him, nearly tripping over his own two feet in the process. Adam shifted a little. Such an exaggerated reaction made him wonder what kind of programmer made this NPC.
“Huh? Oh. You must an otherworlder. Welcome to my potion shop. My name is Trader Wilkins. I apologize for not noticing you sooner. I am currently distracted with a small issue…”
“I know. Your son is missing, right?”
“You know?” Trader Wilkin’s eyes went wide.
Adam nodded. “That is actually the reason I am here. I thought I would offer my services to you. Would you like me to help you find him?”
“Y-you would do that?” A moment after he asked that question, Trader Wilkin’s eyes misted over and he grabbed Adam’s hands before the young man could pull away. “Bless you, otherworlder! If you can find my son, I will gladly give you a suitable reward. He is my only son. Please find him!”
Ding!
[You have been offered a new quest: [Find Trader Wilkins’ Missing Son!] Will you accept? Yes? No?]
Adam pressed the “yes” button as he spoke to Trader Wilkin’s. “Do not worry. I will find your son. Can I ask where he was last seen?”
Ding!
[The quest: [Find Trader Wilkins’ Missing Son!] has been accepted!]
“My son often travels into the forest to search for potion ingredients,” Trader Wilkins said. “Most of the ingredients we need can be found in the forest to the west. However, I have always warned him to never travel in too deep. The monsters near the entrance are not very aggressive, but they become more powerful and more aggressive the further in you go. I am afraid he might have traveled deeper into the forest and encountered a powerful monster. Please find him and bring him back, and if… if he is already dead, then please bring back proof of his death.”
“Don’t worry. I will,” Adam said before a thought occurred to him. “By the way, do you sell masks?”
Back when Adam was acquiring money to pay for his apartment and Aris’s medical equipment, he would change the appearance of his in-game characters. This was because he didn’t want anyone discovering his identity and bothering him and Aris. He didn’t want anyone to destroy the life he had with the girl he loved.
Fat lot of good that did. Fayte had discovered him somehow anyway, but he believed she was an anomaly. In either event, since he could not change his character’s physical appearance, he needed to wear a mask that would hide his face from others.
“I don’t sell masks. This is a potion shop, so I’m not allowed to. If you’d like a mask, I recommend going to Madam Milly’s Clothier. Her shop is the one with a shirt on it.”
“I’ll do that then. Thank you.”
Adam left Trader Wilkin’s shop and traveled to Madam Milly’s Clothier, which had a sign with a shirt on it, just like Trader Wilkin’s said. The inside of the store looked like a traditional clothing shop but slightly different. As he walked over creaking wooden floorboards, he looked at the variety of clothes folded on tables. There were only a few different styles. Most of the shirts were like the one he was currently wearing.
“Can I help you?” asked a woman standing near the back. She was a middle-aged woman with graying hair and some wrinkles lining her face.
Adam turned to her “Do you sell masks?”
“Not usually, but I do have a few that I got during the Goddess Fair. Would you like one?”
“I would. How much?”
“This mask is very simple and doesn’t have any enchantments. All it can do is disguise your face. 10 gold coins is fine.”
“I’ll take it.”
Adam paid Madam Milly ten gold coins in exchange for a mask, which the woman handed over. He read the information on the screen that appeared over it.
Item Name: Plain Mask
Item Type: Mask
Grade: Low
Use requirements: Can be equipped by any class
Description: A low-grade mask
Abilities: It can hide your face from view
Once he had the mask, which was just a plain white mask, Adam put it over his face to equip it. Then he left the store. He had a quest to complete.
The Mysterious Cave
Adam journeyed back into the forest. He ran into many groups who were all grinding their levels without any regard for the potential of hidden quests. There must certainly have been some people who understood that merely grinding would only avail them a higher level but not give them any other benefits, but it appeared as if the vast majority of people only cared about getting to a high enough level to leave the Village of Begin
nings.
Perhaps they did not think any of the quests they could take in the Village of Beginnings would be worth it? He couldn’t say for sure.
“Hey! Look! Look at that! It’s an 1-star enemy!”
“Oh, wow! I never thought we’d run into an 1-star enemy so soon!”
“Stop jabbering and surround it! Hurry up!”
While Adam was wandering through the forest in search of Trader Wilkins’ missing son, he ran into an unusual scene. A group of players was surrounding a [wild boar] that was about three times larger than the [wild boars] he’d been fighting before. It stood about five or six feet taller than the average adult male, had bloodshot eyes seeping with rage, and large tusks that looked like they could easily impale a person regardless of what sort of protective armor they were wearing. Its fur coat was also covered in strange glyphs that gave it an ominous appearance.
Its name when he looked at it was still [wild boar], but attached to the name was also a class: 1-star.
It was at level 10.
Sadly, that was all the info he could get because he didn’t have the [scan] skill.
The players were all dressed in the regular garb everyone had arrived in Age of Gods with, but they were all carrying weapons. There were five in total. All of them were men. It looked like they had a fairly well-rounded group, with one Mage, one Priest, two Warriors, and an Archer. The two Warriors were closing in on the [wild boar] from either side.
Adam stopped walking and stuck around to observe the fight. This could prove useful to him, after all. He didn’t know what the difference between a [wild boar] and an 1-star [wild boar] was besides their level and appearance.
The two Warriors were both at level 3, while the Archer, Mage, and Priest were at levels 2, 2, and 3 respectively. Since Adam had never joined a party before, he didn’t know how leveling up worked in this game. Were their levels skewed because the higher level players had done solo grinding as well, or was there another reason? Perhaps the person who killed the enemy received most of the experience?
Man Made God 001 Page 10