Old Man Bundle

Scylla kept silent for some time and then she spoke up.

"Life was tough, or even worse, when you guys left. Since your parents died and your grandmother took you away, we couldn't hold up the joint business and my father ended up in a large pit of debts... from the business.

I was quite stubborn back then, crying a lot and throwing a lot of tantrums because I didn't understand the situation and I thought you'd left me.

I remember father fighting mom one day when he found out that she was doing prostitution behind his back to put some food on the table..."

"...."

Jack was speechless. He thought his life was hard, but some people were having it harder. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

"Long story short, I did some auditions for some child plays, and soon I fell in love with acting. I learned to act fine even when I was sad, and it even helped me when I stole some bread."

Scylla chuckled at this point, Jasper broke into a smile. "I would make those puppy dog eyes, and they'd even pass me another piece of bread!"

"Long story short, again, I stole a 20 yons note from this one rich man's pocket that just happened to be in 'my area,' but I was caught by his bodyguard. He was about to kick me away, but the rich guy saw what he was about to do.

The moment our eyes met, I tried my puppy eyes again, but it didn't work. He walked up to me and said, 'Hey, what's your name?' I answered with 'Pamela.'

He seemed to be in thought, and I took it as my chance to spew out a fake story, or more like an exaggerated story. He believed me and met my parents, and he said he'd like to raise me until I'd be a professional actress. It turned out he knew everything I said was a lie and I was acting.

That's how I got to where I am today. My mother and father are in their 50s now, and they're enjoying the fruit of their labor. Mr. Jones–the man who recruited me–died in a car accident last year after getting too much wine from celebration.

Sometimes I think it was fate that we met. Maybe he was someone sent by the heavens to take me where I am today, and then they took him back."

"I'm... I'm sorry..." Jack replied with a hint of sadness in his tone.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault."

"I just felt the need to."

"Anyways, cheer up! We're in a game now, not in real life. Let's grind some mobs and level up!"

"Sure."

Scylla stood up, walked to the door, and Jack did the same, but then Scylla turned around with a flushed face.

"You're not going out like that, are you?"

Jack looked at what she was pointing at, and he saw that he wasn't wearing any shirt.

"Well, I didn't wake up with any shirt, did I?"

"It's on the bed," Scylla replied.

After putting on his shirt, he walked out with Scylla. The light pierced his eyes, and it took some time to get used to it. There were no windows in the room he was in, after all. Only some little candles.

"How many players are in this village, anyways?" Jack asked.

"About 3 or 4, I think, including us."

"That little?"

"Yes."

The little house where Jack was in was a little distanced from the village and at the edge of a forest. The forest was just the foot of the mountain, and if one went upwards, they would meet a thick fog.

Jack and Scylla walked a bit, and they reached the village, which was just a cluster of houses with no fence. On one side was a large field where the villagers planted their crops and got their food.

On another side, some wild mountain goats could be seen eating some food, though they couldn't be called wild at this point.

There were 11 houses in the village, and they were arranged in a circle with one house in the village that was a little bigger than the others.

In front of it was a wooden platform and some chairs.

Jack and Scylla walked into the circle and knocked on the front door. After waiting for two minutes, they heard the shuffling of feet from inside the house.

The door opened, and an old man came out wearing a shirt that was bigger than him. His glasses were being held by the bridge of his nose, though they looked like they would fall off at any moment, which they did.

Scylla picked it up for him and gently placed it on his face.

"Ah, thank you, young 'un. Me old glasses falling over these days."

"Don't mention it, old man. The person from before has woken up," she replied, pointing behind her.

It was just then that the old man noticed Jack behind her.

"Hmm... What's your name, boy?"

"Jack, Mr..."

"Bundle. Mr. Bundle. Just call me old man or old man Bundle."

Jack was a little surprised. Which parent in their right mind would name their child Bundle, but then again, this is a game.

"Old man–"

"Hey, Jack! Is that you?!"

Jack turned around, and to his surprise, he saw Jasper holding two swords in one hand and a dead snake in the other, along with many cuts and bruises on his body.

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Hi guys. Sorry, I've been busy these days. Don't worry, I'll send all the remaining bonus chapters and also, we reached the 10 P.S target last week, I'll send that one too.

All the frequent powerstones givers will get thier own characters. Olivia_Iruoma and Zvery and other people. Dm me on discord for details about your character.

Cya ( ◜‿◝ )♡

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