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Deadly katana still placed on his neck by an unknown girl.
The only good thing about this situation was that she was good-looking—silver hair which matched her blue eyes, fair skin, at least what Alex could make out from her visible skin which wasn't covered by a forest-green, skin-tight armor that blended well into the environment.
"Didn't you hear me?" she asked again. "I won't repeat myself," she added, pressing the katana to his neck.
"I wasn't speaking to anyone. I just got lost, and speaking in that way gives me a sense of survival strength," Alex quickly formulated a lie. And if there was one thing besides playing games Alex could do, it was thinking fast. But she remained silent and kept looking at him.
'He isn't wearing any form of armor, and he doesn't have any form of weapon.' She looked over to the Savage Bear. 'But that looks like it died from a sword attack… I'll ignore all this and play along for now,' she thought as she lowered her katana and placed it back in her scabbard.
"Thank you," Alex said as he rubbed his neck. "I am guessing you know the way around. Please, can you show me the direction to the village close by?"
"Earlier I heard you say there's a village to the east, and you said you had a map. But I don't see any map, and now you don't know your way. What are you hiding?" she said, placing her hand on the hilt of her scabbard.
'Damn, she's a smart one,' Alex said in his mind.
"Also another thing I do when I'm lost," Alex said with an awkward laugh.
The forest grew quiet again. They could both hear the little snaps here and there. They could feel the breeze on their skin and hear the noise of the branches and leaves.
"You seem very strange," she said as she immediately turned back and started walking east. "Follow me if you don't want to encounter a Savage Beast again."
Alex quickly followed behind her.
"Thank you. By the way, since we are traveling together, could I know your name?" Alex asked as he quickened his pace to match hers.
She took some time before she said anything.
"It's Ivy. And where are you supposed to be from?" she said.
"Ehh, I'm on a journey. A journey from the west," Alex said, trying to be mysterious and hilarious at the same time. "Oh, and my name is Alex."
"Okay," Ivy said.
'Wow, this all feels so real. I can't believe it's a game,' Alex said in his head.
'Please, I strongly recommend you don't tell anyone about your system, me, and most importantly—the Demon King.'
'That's very weird. I didn't prompt you for anything. Is there something I am missing here?'
'No.'
'Are you withholding information?'
'At my current tier, I am limited from accessing certain information. But even for information I do not have, I have precautions for them.'
'Ehh, okay I guess. By the way, let's give you a name.'
'That would be very helpful. It would make accessing me quicker and more fluent.'
'I always wanted a cat, and I always thought I would call it Gemi. But since I can't get a cat anymore, I guess I should call you that—Gemi.'
'Not only is it a good name, but I also like it.'
'How come you have emotions?'
'I do not possess the ability to have emotions. I just pretend to.'
'Okay.'
The journey was mostly quiet, except for the little side talks that came up.
Finally, they left the forest, and they could see the village.
It was already dark, but in the village, it felt like daytime. People were still trading, torches were on, people still carried on business.
"That way. That's where the village inn is. They have good stuff that will get you in good shape. When you're done, come meet me at the restaurant down this path. We need to talk," Ivy said as she already started heading toward the bar direction.
"Ehhh, okay, thank you," Alex said as he started going the other way, heading to the inn.
'I don't really think I need to see a nurse. After my fight with the Savage Bear, my HP was around 35%, and now it's at 92%. And my agility is fully recovered. It seems like over time I heal—but quicker than the average human.'
'I suggest you stack up on health potions, and in fact potions in general, given how easy it is for you to lose HP,' Gemi said.
'I had a clue you would say that eventually,' Alex replied in his head as he walked into the inn.
Inside the inn, there was not a single person aside from the nurse.
'Given the way this world is built, I was expecting a decent amount of people would be present,' Alex said to Gemi.
'I am also surprised, even for an AI. The two most plausible causes of this are either: this village inn has exceptionally good healers and caretakers, or they don't go on deadly quests.'
'Makes sense.'
"Hello, young man. How may I help you? You don't look like you're in bad shape, which means you're here for potions," an old-looking lady said as she came out of the inner chamber of the inn.
"No, not really. I actually needed some healing," Alex insisted.
"Don't worry, dear. I can see all your vitals—you're in perfect shape," she said. "So would you still like the potions?"
"Okay, if you say so. And yes, I would also like the potions," Alex said.
'Hmmm… minus my physical condition, how can she tell that I'm alright? From my vitals via my system, I am actually in perfect condition.'
'This is also another way Aether is used. A certain amount of Aether is concentrated to the eyes to see specific things the bare eyes can't see—just like how you can see people's tier, status, and others.'
'Aether is really go—'
"Hey, hey boy, did you hear me?" Alex got interrupted during his conversation with Gemi by the old lady.
"Eh, no."
"I said there are a lot of potions. But based on what I can tell by looking at you, I would give you a stamina and durability boost potion. Depending on how much you have, you can buy any amount."
"I'll buy 8 then," Alex said.
"That's 10 Eta for each!" The old lady tried to hold back her surprise but couldn't.
'Gemi, is that a lot?'
'Considering you're in a village, it's expected. People don't usually spend this much at once.'
'Okay.'
"So I'll have 8 of that. And also, do you have any potion that would heal me up after a fight?"
"Yes, we do have that. 1 costs 5 Eta."
"So I'll take 10 of that and 8 of the other. Also, how long does the effect of the boost last?"
"It depends on what you do, but it takes 2–6 hours."
"Okay, pack everything up for me."
'Now she's looking away. I advise you take out the Eta from your inventory now.'
'Yes, that's smart,' Alex complimented the AI and brought out the needed Eta.
[BALANCE]
[-140 Eta]
[Bal – 205 Eta]
'It was even placed in a special purse.'
"Here you go," the old lady said as she handed him the potions.
"Thank you," Alex said as he dropped the Eta on the counter and left the building.
'So now to the restaurant for Ivy.'
It didn't take long for Alex to find the restaurant, as there weren't a lot of buildings.
He got into the restaurant, and the first thing that hit him was the strong smell of beers, the loud noise of men shouting at each other, and some little children running around causing mischief.
"Why would Ivy want us to talk here?" Alex said, reluctant about staying.
"Where have you been?" A hand was placed on his shoulder.
"At the inn. See, I got some potions," he replied to Ivy.
"Well, let's go sit. We have to talk," Ivy said as she led the way.
"So, what exactly do you want to talk about?" Alex asked.
"By dawn, I'm going to the capital," she said.
"Would you like anything?" A young-looking waiter came with a round board held in her hand.
"Actually, we would like 4 specials."
"Okay, ma'am."
"So why do I need to know this?" Alex asked.
"Because you're following me," Ivy said.
"Here you go." The waiter was already back with the food.
"Wow, this is a lot of food. How can only you finish this?"
"It's not for me—it's for you. Eat up, we move by dawn," she said as she stood up and started leaving. "Oh, and Alex—the bill's on me."
'She didn't even let me ask why I need to follow her. What the heck… I got free food, who cares.'
"Also, I have already paid for a room for you in the hotel above the restaurant."
'I have to get him to Captain Frank. The Aether he's emitting is not quite normal. I'm sure people in the village wouldn't notice because they have low Aether control. But if I leave him here, he would drain out all the Aether and leave this village dead,' she thought to herself as she left the restaurant.
'I sense an Umbral Aether, which usually belongs to high-level demons. But I also sense something unfamiliar. I am sure the Captain would know what it is. If he doesn't, then they would have to consult the Aether King himself.'
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