"Lily! Is it you?!" I asked.
"Huh? Ah! Ela- Planta!" She said, quickly sitting. "Ugh, I died so many times… Is this game always this demanding?"
Thankfully, Lily seemed to be alright… I guess I shouldn't had worried so much as she's a Player and all.
"Oh, no! This is… some sort of special event. You see the game got its own story, and it is like a world of its own, so things are constantly changing and shifting here and there." I sighed. "Anyways, do you feel alright? I've read that dying too much causes headaches…"
"Yeah I am actually having a deadly one right now…." Sighed Lily. "But I couldn't really log off, those little Brownies… I had to save them."
"Ah… I understand how you feel." I said while nodding, as I used some Healing Magic I had at my disposal to heal her.
"Oh? My headache is gone…" She said in surprise.
"Eh? So it was related to the game?" I wondered.
"Who knows… Well, you defeated those big guys, right? Oh, I suddenly leveled up a lot!" She said in surprise.
"If you were fighting them, I guess you counted as damaging them so you got a share of the EXP." I said. "But it's weird, I don't think players can get EXP from monsters several levels above them, how did this even work?"
"I don't know, but it says I completed a quest named "Defend the village", the reward was getting EXP from these monsters, and a few other things such as Gold." Said Lily.
"Huh, so rewards like those exist? Damn…" I said while rubbing my chin. "Anyways, welcome to the game! …Sorry for making you have to go through this as your first time playing it though."
"Ah, well… yeah, it was tough, but now I am too invested to get mad at it." Lily said.
Ding!
[The Special Quest [Save the Brownies and Gnomes from the Menace of the Underground!] Act I has been completed]
[After finding the village of the Brownies and Gnomes, not only have you healed them from their deadly injuries, but you've also earned their respect and gratitude. Now, having finally found your lost friend after defeating the vicious Drakons, you've managed to help her relieve herself from the Soul Pain caused by reviving too many consecutive times.]
[Having finally secured the last Brownie to be saved, you now must embark in a journey to find the culprit behind the Drakons appearance and the constant spreading of Miasma across the Underground of the Forest of Beginnings before it is too late!]
[You may find clues by asking your Friend]
[You and your Party received the Completion Rewards: [100K EXP], [20K Gold], [Skill: [Mining: Lv1]
[Act II shall begin once you gather enough Clues with your Party]
Huh? I got a bunch of rewards! Ah, I guess this is more of a normal Quest now? Well, I even got the amazing Mining Skill, something that was missing in my own Skill Trees. Perhaps completing a quest related to these people that like to Mine has given me the Skill. It'll come in handy.
And wait! Not only me, but everyone got the Mining Skill! Well, now that's convenient.
[Mining: Lv1]
Grants the ability to Mine all sorts of Ores and Materials from available Resources using a respective Minin Tool, often times in the shape of a Pickaxe or an Ice Axe. Hammers and other heavy weapons can also be used, and even Shovels. Mining resources and ores is important for the creation of all sorts of items. The higher the level of the skill, the more high-quality materials can be gathered through the act of Mining.
Oh sounds like something I should level up to level 10 asap… But I don't feel like wasting 18 Skill Points right now. Perhaps later when I have proper time to mine for resources. If the Brownies and Gnomes allow me, I could come here to mine for ores and crystals, although that one small dungeon where we fought the Mushroom Hero also had crystals to mine, so I might revisit that place that I've left mostly abandoned.
"Oh we got Mining?" Wondered Titan.
"Me too?!" Rita asked.
"Woah, I don't think I'll be using this skill as much." Nieve said.
"Mining… Can a fairy mine? Do we even got enough strength?" Wondered Florie.
"Mining sound fun, there's a lot of materials that can be processed into potions and medicines that are extracted from mining." Said Acorn.
The whole party was here, as they quickly noticed the small and adorable Lily. Seriously, she looked like she was a girl in her thirteen years of age, I guess she really wanted to look younger and choose Brownie? Not like I am judging.
"Are these your friends?" Lily wondered, quickly getting up and looking at everyone.
"Yep, everyone this is Lily." I said, as everyone quickly decided to greet her.
"Nice to meet you! Name's Acorn! I am an Alchemist and a Doctor." Acorn was bold enough to quickly go greet her.
"Oh my god it's so cute…" Lily said, as she began to shed a tear of happiness at seeing such an adorable little thing as Acorn. "Nice to meet you!" Lily quickly hugged Acorn, as the little squirrel felt a bit surprised but welcomed the hug.
"I am Titan, the tanker here for the most part." Said Titan. "Sorry if I might look a bit scary…"
"Oh, you're so tall! I could climb you! Nice to meet you Titan!" Lily said, as she began to suddenly climb over his body.
"Ahahah… Acorn likes to do this too." Titan giggled. His entire body had many branches so it was easy to climb over him.
"He's very big indeed." I laughed.
"Name's Nieve, nice to meet a new Player in the team." Said Nieve. "I am a knight of Lady Titania, the queen of fairies. She cannot be here personally, but this is her projection."
"You don't really need to present me to others, Nieve…" Sighed Titania.
