New Quest

Seth's car drove into the garage of a tall building that stood magnificently amongst beautiful complexes on the street. There was a huge signboard beside the building that read "Ascel Hospital".

He drove past multiple floors until he arrived at Garage A. Parking at his favorite post, Seth released his seatbelt and sighed.

"I never thought I would come back here anytime soon."

Before going into the hospital, Seth had something more urgent to do. The game!

On his way here, he remembered that he made a deal with the inn owner to allow him to stay in return for his cleaning services.

"The time flow over there is not the same as the time flow here. The ratio is 1:10. One day here is equal to ten days there." Seth snapped his fingers as he remembered this key information.

When he spent two days in the game world, it was merely approximately five hours in the real world. Using that logic, every time an hour passes by in the real world, nine hours thirty minutes passes in the game world.

This was not important.

There was just one problem. How long was one night in the game world?

"I have to log in back! F*ck!" Seth cursed. He barely spent two hours back here and now, he had to go back!

『Traveller 2.5, do you want to log in?』

Immediately, Seth thought of going back, the system appeared in his mind.

"Yes." Seth released a hot steam of breath. He really wanted to take his time before going back, but he had no other choice

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After the blinding lights subsidised, Seth found himself back in the room he was in previously. He looked through the only window and observed the night sky.

"Is it still night? No, that's not right." Seth shook his head as he tried to find a more sensible explanation.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

It was then he noticed the heavy knocking sounds coming from the other side of his door. Someone definitely wasn't in the mood for anything but violence.

"Who is that?" Seth called out.

"It is Darla."

Hurrying, Seth opened the door to welcome her. "Good Evening, Miss Darla. You look–"

However, a cross look on the lady's face told him it was not the time for compliments.

She scolded, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"And what would that be, Miss Darla?" Seth tried to feign ignorance. His innocent green eyes sparkled in front of Darla, but she was not easily defeated.

"I-I- Mother is getting angry. You made a promise to clean the inn. Our customers are expected to flock in anytime soon. If you don't start cleaning now, there will be no other time. And trust me, you do not want to see Mother infuriated. She crushes trees with her bare hands in that state."

"I never knew you tell jokes." Seth smiled foxily. He believed her to be joking.

Darla looked straight at Seth. Her eyes, staring deep into his eyes, as she said, "I don't jest."

"Oh…"

Seth felt the cold breeze graze his bare skin. He ran across his room and grabbed his cloak. Just as he was about to announce his readiness, Darla made a strange statement.

"Take this." She stretched out her hands that now contained a headpiece.

"What is this?" Seth grabbed the headpiece and inspected it, but he couldn't make sense of it.

"You are a half-elf, aren't you?"

"Uhh, what makes you say that?"

Pointing at his head, Darla said, "Your ear."

"Oh.. Oh….Oh, f*ck!"

A look of realization donned on Seth as he understood he had made a big mistake. He wasn't wearing his cloak when he opened the door for Darla. He didn't hide his perked ears!

"How did you know?" Seth asked.

He thought, 'This is a f*cking mess. How did she know to bring a headpiece? That would only be possible if she already knew about me.'

"Mother was the one that told me. Only half-elves would come to an inn with their faces covered. It was clear you were hiding something, and Mother was willing to bet it was your appearance."

"Oh… I am not a half-elf, by the way. But, thank you." Seth wore the headpiece. Looking at the mirror, he could not see any signs of a perked ear.

"Thank you." Seth said once again. This was his first time meeting a welcoming human. The rest has been immensely hostile, either because of his race or his fake status.

"It was all Mother's idea. Now, get to work before she starts screaming."

"Yes..!"

"What now?"

"Where should I start?" Seth innocently asked.

"Have you ever cleaned before?"

"No…"

Darla facepalmed, accompanied with a sigh, as she said, "Follow me. I will walk you through."

.

.

.

.

An hour later, Seth was done with the majority of the cleaning. Only the tables and chairs were left. His clothes had gotten stained. Its material, wetted by the splashes of water that escaped the bucket he carried with him.

'Throughout my two lives as Seth and Rhazien, I have never done something like this,' Seth sighed.

Beside him was Darla. She was there to correct him whenever he made a mistake and Oh boy, did he make many mistakes.

Anyway, it was nice to have someone to talk to as he worked.

"So, you are saying you have been doing this for a long time?" Seth asked amidst their conversation.

He found out that Darla was nineteen, a year past her coming of age, which was a big deal in this part of the world. Her current age would mean she had been at the inn for over eighteen years.

Darla replied, "Yes, Father bought this place when I was born. He gave it to mother to manage, and before we knew it, this became our home."

"Where is your father now?" The moment he said that, Seth regretted asking. The answer to that should be clear. Asking the young lady would just open closed wounds.

Noticing his strange expression, Darla chuckled, "It's alright. Father is dead. He died during one of his adventuring missions."

"My condolences."

"No, it is alright. I have gotten over it. Enough about me. What about you? Tell me about yourself."

'Myself? What is there to know about myself?' Seth sighed.

While he went on to another table, a sound echoed in his mind, and a two-dimensional panel presented itself in front of him.

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Prologue Quest: Continent of ??

Difficulty: Undetermined

Objective: Learn more about your new world.

Time Limit: One week.

Rewards: Undetermined

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