Chapter 20

After routinely grinding and spending time together for two whole days, Hiro and the others finally leveled up.

Hiro managed to obtain the top and bottom of the Crow Warrior armor set. Meanwhile, Liberty obtained the head of the armor set, but she hated its shape that resembled a mask with the skull of a crow.

In the end, the girl simply threw the item into her inventory with all 200 slots unlocked.

Even Liberty herself didn’t know how much LSC she had spent to open all those inventory slots, and Hiro couldn’t imagine.

But that was not all. Even Jacob had done so.

All 200 inventory slots had been bought.

In LSO, except for certain kinds of items with special notes like legendary weapons, most items could be traded easily.

With that feature, Hiro felt relieved that he met Jacob. That way, he could store some of his equipments and items in Jacob’s inventory as his own was almost full.

And Jacob was more than happy to be of help to the person he considered his own teacher. Even though the items Hiro stored made his inventory feel heavier, he felt honored that Hiro wanted to rely on him.

Hiro didn’t immediately open his non-fungible quest upon leveling up. Instead, he checked the progress in his progressive status first.

[System Call]

[NightFall] [Barbarian] [Gorgeous Smile]

Base Level 20

Job Class Level 18

Health 6,110/6,110

AP 1,280/1,280

Energy 100/100

Fame 981

BR 7,593

Basic Stats (Points 0)

STR 58

AGI 27

INT 20

VIT 33

DEX 24

LUCK 26

Skill Stats (Points 6)

Sword Combo Skill (Active) Level 5

Bloodsteal (Passive) Level 5

“All set.”

Apart from his energy stat, all his other stats increased. According to the guide book he read, the energy stat could only be increased by finishing quests related to the race of the player’s avatar, but so far, he had not once seen that kind of quest.

Hence, even though his maximum-level Sword Combo Skill required quite a lot of energy, he could only be patient with his current energy stat and depend on Energy Potions.

Fortunately, Energy Potions were a breeze to obtain from monster drops. Because of that, he didn’t need to purchase them at the NPC Merchant. Grinding with his basic attacks was enough.

While Hiro and Jacob were resting on a hill with a refreshing breeze, Liberty was very actively wandering around the place. Hiro only watched her from afar so she wouldn’t get into the forest nearby and get lost.

“Hiro! Hiro! Come here quick!” she called him from the distance.

It seemed that the girl found something interesting.

Hiro immediately stood up and walked toward Liberty, who was excitedly waving both of her hands his way. As for Jacob, he also walked following Hiro.

Playing together for days made the three’s bond even closer.

“Look at those flowers!” Liberty pointed up.

What piqued her interest were three blooming purple flowers at the top of a rather tall tree. They seemed like orchids at a glance, but the number of petals was too many for an orchid.

“There are three of them, just like us! Amazing, isn’t it?” Liberty looked at Hiro with her hands joined and eyes brimming with fascination.

“Probably a coincidence.”

The girl pouted her plump lips upon hearing Hiro’s remark.

“What?”

“Hiro, I want those flowers! Can you please get them for me!?” Liberty excitedly pleaded with bright puppy eyes.

“…”

Hiro knew that she was a unique and unpredictable one, but asking him to take three flowers at the top of a 15-meter-tall tree was something he absolutely didn’t expect, even from her.

Under Hiro’s gaze asking for help, Jacob, who didn’t want to be involved in Liberty’s request, had a grin on his face as he walked backward away from them.

“Please get them for me!”

Hiro couldn’t bear to refuse. Not with that expression on her face. Her beautiful ocean blue eyes were slightly glistening under the sun as they shone full of hope.

Hiro deeply sighed before finally relenting.

“All right.”

“Yay!”

Even though he agreed, climbing a 15-meter-tall was not an easy feat.

Hiro took off everything that made him feel heavy before climbing the tall trunk of the tree resembling a pine tree.

His bare hands and feet slipped several times when he tried to hold onto the weak branches with low durability, but he persisted.

He was a man of his word.

Meanwhile, Liberty and Jacob anxiously waited below.

Even though his skin got scratched by the small branches numerous times, causing his HP to slowly go down, he spared no effort for Liberty and her absurd request.

After struggling for almost half an hour, Hiro finally managed to reach the top of the tree.

His hand moved to pick the first flower.

Ding!

[NightFall has obtained Mutant Flower.]

[Hidden Quest has been obtained.]

[Give the Mutant Flower to the Alchemist within 1 hour(s).]

[The Mutant Flower will wilt 1 hour(s) after being picked.]

Hiro was dumbfounded seeing the notification that appeared on his HUD one after another.

It seems that he once again had to thank Liberty. Her absurdity brought him great luck.

“Hiro! What are you doing!? Are you okay!?” the girl shouted out of worry when she saw him suddenly freeze in place like a statue.

Hiro quickly picked the two other Mutant Flowers. The moment he touched them, the same notifications repeatedly appeared. He then hurriedly slid down from the tree, not caring that his palms were covered in scratches that actually stung quite a bit.

He was going to use a Health Potion after landing anyway.

“Here.”

Hiro gave one of the Mutant Flowers to Liberty.

“And this is for you.” He gave another to Jacob, who still immediately accepted despite his confusion.

“We got a new quest. And we have to hurry.”

Because the time remaining kept going down, Hiro explained what he found thanks to Liberty on their way to Beginner Town.

Jacob’s expression brightened when he heard it, but Liberty frowned unhappily. Hiro had to go through so much to pick them, yet they had to hand the unique flowers to someone else.

Fortunately, although it was somewhat difficult, he managed to convince Liberty that he would find another flower to replace the ones that triggered the hidden quest.

Finding the NPC Alchemist’s location was not hard at all since the NPC’s information was available in LSO’s guide book. After a while, they were finally there.

The three arrived in front of a building with a not-so-high dome-shaped roof. On the wooden door of the building was a sign that said ‘Nicholas the Alchemist’.

Upon entering the building, an overpowering mix of different smells immediately filled the air. Hiro wanted to puke his intestines out when he inhaled the smell, but he held it in.

Meanwhile, an NPC named Nicholas looked at Hiro, Liberty, and Jacob consecutively with a glum expression, not a hint of a smile on his face. The NPC was an old gray-haired man about 60 years of age with a thick-framed pair of glasses sitting on his crooked nose.

“What are you seeking here, wanderer?”

His tone was just as unpleasant as the expression on his face.

Hiro quickly showed the Mutant Flower to the NPC.

Clank!

The two-meter iron ladle in the NPC’s hand immediately dropped to the ground when he saw the item Hiro was offering.

“A Mutant Flower! I’ve been searching for years! Are you giving it to me?”