Openworld Huntress

One hand on the hilt of her dagger, she meanders down the path cautiously.

In a patch of open land, close up, Mizuki finds a Boblin camp. Finding a clearing, Mizuki aims her dagger and flings it. It misses, only directing all attention towards her while she's armed with only one dagger. She curses under her breath.

Arrogance will be the bane of all things good she might ever earn. Watching her step, she dashes forward, driving her dagger into one of the Boblins. It lets out a pained howl before disintegrating.

Mizuki pulls her first dagger out of the tree stump it got lodged into, turning and kicking one of the Boblins onto its back. With newfound agility, she runs all around, expertly killing the enemies that stand in her way.

[Achievement Unlocked: Openworld Huntress - Clear one Boblin camp]

[x5000 received, Shabby Spruce Shield, x10 Boblin Arrows received]

She catches her breath, picking up the drops and their neighbouring pumpkin patch too.

Mizuki checks the list. Her face falls. She needs to fight at least three different camps if she's going to get all the materials that Mocha needs from her. "Why did my life come to this?!" Mizuki clenches her hand into a fist. Reluctantly accepting her sorrowful fate, she pulls her feet out of the mud with a disgusted expression.

A short distance away from the first camp is another camp, and another and another. It's like the entire area is infested. As Mizuki fights more and more, she finds her limbs growing dreary and hard to move. Fighting becomes a pain to the point that even ducking and knocking enemies off balance is difficult. This makes even long-ranged attacks close to impossible.

Mizuki's arms are scratched up from mistimed dodges, seams of her dresses in tatters from having to jump around a bunch.

She takes a deep breath, lunging at the last Boblin in her line of sight. She brushes dirt off her dress, composing herself till she hears inhuman grumbling behind her. By the time she turns, she's knocked off her feet by a Boblin archer. Mizuki moans, attempting to throw her dagger. It hits it barely, not enough to kill it but enough to pin it down.

"Got what you deserve," she hisses in agony, tearing the end of her dress with her teeth. It's by far the wildest thing she's had to do, risking getting dirt in her mouth by tearing dirty cloth with her teeth. Praying to any superior power who may hear her call, she pulls out the arrow and ties a tourniquet with her teeth, wincing as she tightens it. She stands, hoisting herself up onto the tower of the Boblin archer, dealing a finishing blow on it with a stab to the stomach.

"Tsk, just a couple of slimes and the animals then I can get out of here," she attempts to instil hope within herself, ploughing through the dense foliage. She recalls slimes being found around water sources or mining patches. She decides to return to the river outside Ocantis, following the crashing of the river tides to guide her there.

True to her expectations, she catches a couple of massive slimes by the river. They're blue and almost shapeless but one of the more common enemies in video games. Wringing her wrists, she mentally prepares herself. She runs, the wind caressing her hair and as she's about to stab the slime, it dissolves out of shape and vanishes out of sight. It appears behind her, bouncing innocently. Mitsuki flings her blade, finally hitting it before it can deal damage to her.

The same situation happens with every other slime, getting increasingly difficult to kill them off once they've noted an attack pattern.

Mizuki emerges slime-covered and, frankly, very disgruntled. She checks her list, memorising the number of each animal she needs. Luckily, she has a few jars in her possession which she can use to capture the animal. Reluctantly, she drags her feet back into the jungle, keeping a lookout for animals. The moths are relatively easy to find because they hang around the yellow luminous fruits on the trees.

Mizuki climbs the bark of one of the trees, stepping one foot in a tree burl and then pulling herself up by a branch. Moths don't get easily intimidated and fly in a lop-sided manner, easy for Mizuki to catch as long as she doesn't fall.

In her attempt to catch her last moth, she ends up getting startled by a sudden droplet of water falling on her hair, turning upside down on the branch. She gulps, attempting to pull herself up only for the branch to creak under her pressure. Grappling onto a yellow fruit for better support, her efforts go in vain and she crashes, falling with her head hitting against a log. This time, she stays on the ground, watching the moth flutter aimlessly and then poof out of existence.

Mizuki closes her eyes in defeat.

Turning her head against the dirt trail, she reaches for the yellow fruit. Upon touching it, she feels a surge of electricity run through her fingertips, all the way through the veins in her wrist. She sits up, recoiling. She eyes the fruit suspiciously, foraging a couple of leaves so she can dunk the fruit into her satchel without direct contact.

[Achievement Unlocked: Curiouser and Curiouser - Pick up Lanternsphere Fruit]

She licks her lips.

There's a metallic taste. Mizuki, forgetting how dirty her hands are, proceeds to touch her open wound, a cut split open somewhere in her head from the impact of the fall. "Huh?" she exclaims in shock, wondering how she's bleeding in such odd places. She rips her dress, using it as a bandage to stop the bleeding for the time being.

When she looks up through the canopies of the trees, she notices the sunlight isn't peeking anymore. It starts to get colder to the point it gives Mizuki goosebumps.

The path behind her is dark.

Picking herself back up, Mizuki tumbles out of the forest, not wanting to be here past dusk. Outside, the river is purple with patterns of clouds in the sky, reflecting the sky. Mizuki bends, holding water in her cupped palm and washing her face. She heaves a sigh, feeling a little better after the arduous journey. After cleaning her legs up a bit from all the trekking, she decides she won't delay any longer.

Muffling a yawn, she strolls through the town, earning questioning glares from the public. She finds it easy to ignore them, heading straight to Garden Olive, the town restaurant.

"Mizuki!" Garden gestures. "Did you get what I asked for?"

"Yes," Mizuki's voice falters. She pulls out the bundled-up flowers, laying them on the counter. Mizuki notices how a couple of the restaurant's patrons shy away from her with distasteful looks. Garden doesn't seem to mind.

"Thank you so much, Mizuki, I'll remember this favour," Garden cups her hands over Mizuki's before turning back around to tend to her food.

[Commission Completed: Garden's Special Request]

[x7500 gold coins received, x150 EXP]

She slinks away, waddling down to Mocha's bakery down the street.

"Mocha?" Mizuki inquires in a dreary voice.

"Hirashi-chan!" Mocha greets warmly as she pulls out a platter of pastries. Mizuki lays out the items Mocha asked for. Mocha checks through them, letting out a delighted hum upon realising she has all the ingredients.

"What do you plan on using these for?" Mizuki attempts to start a conversation.

"My food, of course!" Mocha chortles, taking the slime drops and sprinkling them over a batch of donuts she has laid out. "I'm making a cake. Want to try it? Do you? Do you?" she asks incessantly as she pulls out a bowl with flour and water (which Mizuki can't guarantee it is) and then dumping the gathered ingredients.

"A-Are you going to add the frog too?" Mizuki is hesitant to ask.

"No, of course not," Mocha frowns, holding the jar with the frog in it. She holds it up to her eye level, placing her finger against the glass. She smiles at Mizuki, which Mizuki now finds difficult to return. Gently, Mocha releases the frog into a tank with another one of its kind. "I wanted to give Kero a friend."

[Commission Completed: Friendly Neighbourhood Baker?]

[x7500 gold coins received, x150 EXP, Leather Gloves]

Mizuki accepts them, though hesitant about the breadsticks. As she's about to leave, she is stopped in her tracks by a beckon from Mocha. "W-Wait!"

When she turns, Mocha has one out of seven hearts floating above her head. Beside her, there's a red diamond-shaped single. Curious, Mizuki approaches her once again. "I-If you'd like… You should help with something… Since we're friends, you know?!"

"What do you need?"

Blood rushes to Mocha's cheeks out of embarrassment. "D-Did you meet Sebastian across the street? The bartender at the Garden Pub."

"I did not."

"Uh oh…" Mocha fidgets nervously. "I, uh, may have a tiny crush on him and I'd… really love it if you could mention a few good things about me to him!"

"Are you friends?"

"Well, he usually taste-tests my new recipes but I have a feeling he doesn't exactly like me… Could you ask him? Don't be obvious though!" Mocha requests, averting her gaze from Mizuki. She chuckles under her breath, amused at the sight of a flustered Mocha. In front of Mizuki's eyes, she then receives an information panel on Side Quests. Her lips form a circle in surprise, noting this new information.

[Side Quest Accepted: Bartender on the Other Side - Talk to Sebastian]

"I'm happy to help," Mizuki laughs. Before she turns, she asks Mocha a final thing, "Do we have an energy bar? Or stamina?"

"Why of course, silly, you sound like you've only been here for a day. You know, it's what keeps us from doing a bunch of work without sleeping or eating. If you need, I have a list of food and what they help with," Mocha shuffles around, then pulls a musty piece of paper out of a drawer. She smiles warmly. Mizuki nods in thanks, waving her farewell.