Chapter 16
The next day.
After calling Shizuko to join my group and set up a meeting at the guild, I woke up, filled my stomach before leaving, and headed to the guild.
I continued walking towards the guild until I passed the square. I looked for Shizuko but didn't find her.
I thought about waiting on a bench until she passed, but then I remembered that the meeting place we had arranged was the guild, so I left the possibility that Shizuko was late and kept walking.
The time has passed.
Getting close to the guild, I didn't find Shizuko outside, so I enter the guild thinking she was already inside.
On the first floor, I again thought she might be there, but I didn't find her, instead I found Miura sitting on a bench in the middle of the room.
Soon I started to feel like an idiot for thinking I had saved something and so I invited that "someone" into my party.
I approach Miura and he notices my presence
"Hey Katsuo" (Miura)
"Hello" (Katsuo)
I sit at the same table as Miura.
Maybe it's a good idea for me to tell him, that phrase echoed in my head.
"I've been thinking and decided one thing" (Katsuo)
"Oh really, I'm listening" (Miura)
"We need another member" (Katsuo)
Miura's face turned slightly blue and he quickly started to sweat.
"Another member? Are you replacing me?" (Miura)
"No, I meant we need one more member" (Katsuo)
After I said that, Miura instantly returned to normal, no longer turning blue.
Then he scratched his head while laughing a little.
"Hehehe, my bad" (Miura)
"Just...don't do it again" (Katsuo)
"But speaking of which, where is this new member?" (Miura)
"I don't know, I thought she would already be here" (Katsuo)
"'She', so it's a girl... But if you want an opinion on me, I think she's late" (Miura)
"Now that I think about it, it might even be true" (Katsuo)
"For a new member's first time, I'd say she started off badly" (Miura)
Time passed once more and Shizuko still hadn't arrived, Miura and I were already going up to the second floor with the other players to continue our exploration in the lost forest.
We took one more Quest with the Fallen Knights and Dark Spirits and sat at the table on the second floor.
Somehow I managed to share my map with Miura after we formed a group again, it made it a little easier to plan our next steps.
I could even say that we were hard at work on an item that we don't even know if it exists or not.
But in a way that was no problem, we were getting our daily bread and at the same time leveling up very slowly.
But I intend to leave a limit to this quest for the Ring of Empowerment, the area of that location is not small, so maybe 3 weeks is enough to explore that area.
Outside the guild, someone was approaching through the door.
Reaching out, the stranger then opened the door and I entered the guild.
Around him, it was possible to see that there were some people around the place, some leaning against the nearby walls and others sitting at tables.
Also, the place was quite noisy.
The person then started looking around, seeming to be looking for someone.
But soon he heard one coming from the second floor of the guild, that voice sounding familiar.
The person then walked up the stairs and started up the steps.
Gradually reaching the second floor, the person soon saw a familiar face on the second floor.
"Katsuo..."
And then Katsuo, who was with someone else, looked to the side feeling that he had heard something.
And when he looked in the person's direction, he soon broke into a smile.
"Shizuko" (Katsuo)
Black.
Shizuko approached Katsuo and slightly leaned her body in front of him.
"Sorry for the delay" (Shizuko)
"Alright, at least you're here" (Katsuo)
Katsuo started introducing the person next to him.
"This here is Miura, a former teammate" (Katsuo)
Katsuo claimed that he had known Miura for some time, but it had actually only been a week since they met.
"I'm Miura, nice to meet you" (Miura)
Miura reached out to Shizuko while smiling, Shizuko didn't seem to have understood this and ignored her handshake.
Miura seemed to have realized the situation and saved his handshake.
When Takafumi touched the air a few times, a screen appeared in front of Shizuko's face.
[Katsuo, invited you to his party. Will you join him?]
Y/N
"Shizuko, I need to know your skills before we go do something for now" (Katsuo)
Shizuko looked at the screen a little apprehensively, but then she lifted her finger and hit confirmation.
And quickly in the corner of her vision some information started to appear along with hers.
[Harumi Shizuko.] > {7 Lv}
| 100% | > Pv.
[Hiroshi Miura] > {47 Lv}
| 100% | > (PV)
[Shin Katsuo] > {54 Lv}
| 100% | > (PV)
Katsuo and Miura exchanged glances and then they both looked at Shizuko in silence.
A few seconds passed and Katsuo decided to talk about something first..
"Shizuko, is your level really 7?" (Katsuo)
Shizuko didn't say anything, but nodded.
Katsuo took a deep breath and looked at Miura once more, and then returned his gaze to Shizuko.
"Shizuko, I'm seeing your current level and I feel like it's going to work out for us to do this" (Katsuo)
Shizuko realized what Katsuo was trying to say and lowered her head a little sadly.
She would be discarded from the group, for having too low a level. That was what the current situation indicated to her.
"Alone, I'm deciding something..." (Katsuo)
Katsuo's voice sounded a little different, it sure is hard to give hope to someone who won't help
Katsuo looked at Shizuko's hand, which was clenched into a fist. He soon sighed once more.
Her eyes were wet, her legs were shaky. About to cry right there, Shizuko closed her eyes.
In complete darkness, Shizuko heard a voice.
"...If you don't mind, we can help you level up"
She opened her eyes slowly, not believing what she had just heard.
Turning her eyes to Katsuo, who was smiling at her. Shizuko started to wipe away her tears.
"There is no..." (Shizuko)
Katsuo got up from his chair while smiling as if he had a plan in mind.
"If it's okay Miura, can we leave the exploration for later?" (Katsuo)
"No problem for me!" (Miura)
"Alright, for now let's take Shizuko a few levels, do you know any good places for this?" (Katsuo)
"Of course, I had some problems as an archer, so of course I do!" (Miura)
"So come on, Shizuko, are you ready?" (Katsuo)
"Y-Yes" (Shizuko)
"So let's go!" (Katsuo)
And next to them, an npc who was behind a counter watching them.
(Why are those two so loud today?)
Since we were heading to a good place for Shizuko to level up, I let Miura take the lead where we were going, as he was the only one among us who knew where this "quick and easy XP gain" place was.
Following Miura for a while, we came to a large open-air lawn with a large number of wild boar around the site.
"Here we are, a great place for Shizuko to start" (Miura)
"Boars?" (Katsuo)
"Yes! Boars are easy to kill and also give a lot of Xp" (Miura)
As Miura spoke, a wild boar began to approach quickly.
"Speaking of which, here comes one of them" (Miura)
Katsuo soon drew one of his swords and attacked the boar and killed it quickly.
Miura and Shizuko approached Katsuo, who was muttering in doubt after killing the boar.
"67? It's not much XP and not much, and it seems to be very easy to kill one of them. Alright, until this place isn't that bad" (Katsuo)
He got up and looked at the two of them.
"Sounds good, Shizuko will be able to level up a few levels here. For now Shizuko, what are your attack skills?" (Katsuo)
Shizuko looked a little confused by the question, but soon understood what Katsuo meant.
"Fireball... Heal" (Shizuko)
"For now, we only show the fireball" (Katsuo)
"R-Right" (Shizuko)
Closing her eyes and raising her staff forward, Shizuko was concentrating.
Gradually, a small spark appeared right in front of the stick, gradually getting bigger.
Somehow this simple spell was having a big effect on Shizuko, her legs were even shaky.
"Guh!" (Shizuko)
She opened her eyes again, and the spark she had created now grew in size to a fireball.
"Incredible" (Miura)
And a boar nearby noticed Shizuko and soon started running towards her.
Shizuko, who could no longer hold back the fireball, turned her staff to the boar.
"F-Ball of Fire!" (Shizuko)
With an unknown force, the fireball quickly advanced towards the boar.
The wild boar that was running, noticed the fireball coming towards it and, scared, tried to stop running.
But it was too late, the fireball flew towards her eyes and when it made contact, the fire quickly spread through her body.
Because of her skin, the fire quickly took over her entire body.
Desperate the boar began to scream in pain and as it ran in circles.
A while after the boar continued running in circles, it finally fell to the ground, stopped moving, and soon disappeared with a small mist.
Unable to stand up any longer, Shizuko fell to the ground.
"Arf, arf" (Shizuko)
"That's enough. Miura, take care of our rear so we don't get attacked by surprise by another wild boar" (Katsuo)
"Understood!" (Miura)
I look at Shizuko who was still very tired.
(It's just a guess, but maybe the fact that she's tired is because of the max mana she has at her current level)
"Shizuko, I need you to show me your status" (Katsuo)
Shizuko showed a confused face about what I was talking about.
"Status... you?" (Shizuko)
"Eh?" (Katsuo)
(Wait, doesn't she know what status is? Haa... I wasn't expecting this)
It seems like Shizuko didn't even try to look or understand what she could learn from this world. But that's going to change soon, because I'm here giving her the chance to be able to live without anyone looking down on her.
"Status is the customization of your character, that is, the status is the basis of the improvement of all your attributes. But I prefer to call it 'status' status" (Katsuo)
Shizuko started to click in the air, it seems she understood what I was saying.
"(I see...)"(Shizuko)
Author: What's in here is a small, large, visual, and informative character stat enhancement. It doesn't affect anything in the story, but I decided to do that.
-Statistics-
[Name] (Shizuko)
[Age] (15)
[Human race)
[Level] (7)
[XP] (85/120)
-Attributes-
[Available Points] (0)
[Vitality] > (6/6)
[Energy] > (6/9)
[Mana] > (15/15)
[Strength] > (12)
[Dexterity] > (13)
[Resistance] >(8)
[Intelligence] > (14)
[Hope] > (10/10)
-Physical Skills-
[Sword Handling] > (1)
[Axe Handling] > (1)
[Bow/Bow Handling] > (1)
[Spear Handling] > (1)
[Handle with Wands] > (5)
-Spiritual Abilities-
[Enchanted Sword Handling] > (5)
[Enchanted Spear Handling] > (5)
[Handle Enchanted Axe] > (5)
[Enchanted Bow Handling] > (5)
[Magic Staff Handling] > (35)
-Active Skills-
{Fireball [Lv1]} < (8)
{Heal [Level 2]} < (30)
-Passive Abilities-
[You don't have any passive skills]
"(...So this is a status)"(Shizuko)
Shizuko looked at her statistics still confused about her, I think she wasn't understanding everything that showed there.
But I better start seeing what her levels are before I decide what to do next.
I asked Shizuko to tell me what her attributes were, after a while I already had in mind what her attributes were. And then we went back to the city.