Chapter 103

Hiro continued grinding after defeating a boss monster that suddenly appeared in front of him. He still had energy left to catch up with other players who had higher level than him, and he was determined not to stop until the sun appeared in the virtual world.

While swinging his sword non-stop to finish off the normal zombie-bat-shaped monsters that re-spawned in the same location, Hiro could still use his brain to think about other things.

After getting a special quest that could only be done during a full moon in that world, Hiro had to look for information about the moon cycle he couldn’t find anywhere so far. For the time being, Hiro only relied on the moon in the sky.

The moon had entered a cycle known as the gibbous waxing phase. Which meant it could be predicted that a full moon would come in the next few days. Hiro had to make sure that he did not miss it. Because if he missed it, Hiro would have to wait another month to execute the special quest.

Splat!

Ding!

[Base level up 1x]

The sky at the end of the horizon began to turn reddish, a sign that in the next few minutes, the sun would rise. Hiro walked away from the zombie bat spot until the monsters stopped chasing him.

“Not bad, level 34. Now I’m going back to Jacob’s house before he gets flustered seeing my room empty.”

Hiro felt lucky because the cold air in the desert area automatically cooled his hot body from constantly grinding. He had walked back to the house where Jacob lived and by the time he arrived, he was no longer sweating.

And he was safe.

Hiro sneaked back in and laid down for a moment on the bed while staring at the ceiling of the room with a dreamy gaze.

“Strange, is Libe really looking for me? But for what? Has her memory really returned?”

“But why didn’t she accept my friend’s request?”

Knock! Knock!

Jacob had returned and checked the room where Hiro was resting. He put on a relieved face after finding Hiro was still in the room.

“Can’t you sleep in that cramped room?”

Hiro stood up again and shook his head.

“I slept well. Thank you. Shall we go now?”

Jacob, of course, refused. He forced Hiro to clean his body first by using the public bathroom facilities, and Jacob had also prepared breakfast for the two of them.

Hiro just obeyed. Although he found it strange to have to do things that were normally only done in the real world, he still obeyed Jacob’s request.

Ding!

[Freshened Mood]

[All basic attributes have been increased by 1% for 6h]

For the first time, Hiro just found out there was a buff mood like that. After finishing bathing using a simple shower, he got an additional buff, which was quite useful for 6 hours.

“Wow, this is unique.”

Hiro came to the dining room to have breakfast with Jacob. He was grateful that he didn’t see a bottle of wine or beer on the dining table. Just toast and a glass of warm milk. Hiro didn’t know that Jacob had a kid’s appetite for breakfast.

“Ok, let’s go to the Vul Faldur castle.”

The two of them went to Vul Faldur castle to find a tribal chief named NPC Gruzzal. The tribal chief of the seven dwarf tribes who settled and built the kingdom of Vul Faldur together.

On the way to the castle, the two of them had to pass through a traditional market that was very busy with visitors, both NPC visitors and real players. Hiro just realized that there were quite a lot of players with bloodline dwarves who were already actively trading in the market.

Jacob said they didn’t need to have a trading license if they wanted to sell in that market. So, it was only natural that the market was very crowded because it didn’t charge any pennies.

“Buff potion, buff potion!”

“I have a very strong steel sword with very high endurance. Please drop by!”

“I sell antiques for collection. You can bid!”

Hiro saw the players who kept shouting their sales to get the attention of potential buyers.

Uniquely, not only players could buy goods sold by fellow players, but it turned out that NPCs could also stop by the store to buy something they needed.

Another method to earn money besides grinding was selling in the Vul Faldur market.

Before entering a giant wall that led to the castle, Jacob pulled Hiro’s hand to turn and entered a tavern right near the giant wall.

“What happened?” Hiro was surprised by Jacob’s sudden reaction.

“Searching for information. Don’t you need to get the chief’s attention?”

Hiro thought that Jacob already knew the answer and invited him directly to meet the NPC he was looking for. However, it turned out that he still didn’t know how to gain the trust of NPC Gruzzal.

Even so, Hiro gave Jacob a chance to solve it himself. He still believed that Jacob was very good at this.

Meanwhile, inside the Vul Faldur city tavern that the two of them visited was already crowded with players and NPCs. But most of them were NPCs, and they all came from bloodline dwarves, so the arrival of Hiro and Jacob really managed to attract attention.

“What are a demon and a dragon doing here?”

Hiro had already heard the hostile voices of the dwarf NPCs whispering. They whispered accusing Hiro and Jacob of being ridiculous in a voice loud enough that Hiro could hear it.

“Stay close to me, bro.”

Hiro clung to Jacob and believed in him.

“Hey, Jake!”

The shouts of a group of female NPCs from the bloodline dwarves who were sitting in the corner of the room really took Hiro by surprise. Their voices were very high-pitched and excited. Making other people turn to look at them with annoyed expressions.

“Ladies!” Jacob walked closer to the group of dwarf women and Hiro followed him. Ignoring all the ill-natured gazes on them.

“Hi, Jake. It’s been awhile. You look very hot as usual!” Dororen said. A female Dwarf who wore a royal princess-style dress in bright yellow. She tied her hair in a bun and put on a blunt needle accessory that gleamed under the light because it had ruby-like stones.

“I miss you guys.” Hiro just watched how Jacob carried out his mission. One thing he could never do alone.

“This is my friend, Hiro.”

“Aww–what a cutie!”

Having a baby face makes Hiro always get called cute rather than a handsome or hot guy.

“Hi, Dororen. Do you know Mr. Gruzzal?”

“Yes, of course. We all know Gruzzal.” The expressions on the Dwarven women’s faces turned grim, as if they had an unresolved grudge against the person they were talking about.

“Do you know what he really likes?” Jacob put on his na?ve face that always managed to make other people feel sorry for him.

“Women. Give her a beautiful lady and she will give you anything you want in exchange.”

Both Hiro and Jacob were surprised at the answer they had just heard.

“Women? Seriously?”

“Anything else that we can give as a present?”

Dororen and the others shook their heads firmly.

“You’ll be kicked out before you arrive if you don’t bring a beautiful woman there.”

Jacob looked at Hiro with a grin on his face.

“I have a lot of female friends, but I have never traded women for anything, Bro. What should we do now?”