━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Crystal believed that, so long as she kept flirting with Emilia regularly, it shouldn't take long for other things to become acceptable, even if someone were to analyze their behavior.
Emilia giggled. "You flirt… now I'll feel a little shy wearing your hand-me-downs."
Of course, despite what she said, the crimson-haired elf happily put on Crystal's 'Swift Boots'.
Unlike the passive of 'Focus Boots', which was only really useful for 'backliners' who could afford to stay still, the lower quality Swift Boots with the 5% movement speed would actually help her a lot.
After all, faster movement would not only allow her to evade attacks more easily, but would also make it easier to launch more of her own.
"Last is… the sword."
Emilia tried her best to keep her expectations low this time.
After all, weapons were the most 'common' drops in Arcadia, and they'd already been very lucky so far. Even if the sword turned out to be the worst type despite its quality, she wouldn't be particularly dissatisfied.
But when she really looked at its stats, Emilia couldn't help but gasp in shock. "Fuck! Is this really just green equipment?!"
Surprised by her reaction, even Crystal became curious and focused on the description panel that popped open above the sword.
===========
'Poison Fang'
Grade: Green
Type: Longsword
Attack Bonus: None
Description: Poisons Enemies. Each fresh wound is equal to one stack.
Movement Speed and Attack (Physical and Magical) reduced by 1% per stack.
Enemies lose 10 HP per second per stack.
Stacks reset if not refreshed for five seconds.
===========
Normally, a sword without an attack bonus would be considered trash.
After all, unlike every other beginner item, even the most basic weapon everyone got at the start of the game had a tiny little attack bonus, so why would anyone even switch?
But not to mention zero, even if poison fang had a negative attack bonus, Emilia would still have been happy, because… that passive was just too good!
"If the stacks can keep going up… how crazy would that be?" Emilia couldn't help but squeal in excitement. 'This is considered just green grade? Maybe even blue, or purple grade items won't be a match for this thing!'
If she hadn't known about more 'normal' items from having seen them in the previous timeline, she could only imagine how disappointing her next higher-quality item would have made her feel.
Cynthia chuckled. "Well, with how lucky you have been so far, who is to say that you won't get better and better stuff later?"
If she hadn't known better, the raven-haired girl would have wondered if the world will wasn't just blatantly favoring her partner.
Emilia couldn't help but giggle. 'I'm happy for the stroke of luck, but such things naturally come and go, and can't be relied on. Moreover… haven't you seen what the hero was like?'
The so-called 'genius' of this world was definitely quite 'lucky' in Arcadia too, but that wasn't what really made him terrifying. Even if she was able to somehow curse the man in a way that he would never obtain a single good item in his life, Emilia still wouldn't dare underestimate him.
Being both ruthless and smart… he was the worst kind of opponent anyone wanted to deal with.
Emilia couldn't help but sigh. 'Still… this thing should give me some boost to start with… at least, it won't be impossible to catch up with him if I play my cards right.'
In fact, the reason she could be so happy and think of herself as lucky was only that her style happened to suit the rather mismatched properties of the sword almost perfectly.
If the 'Poison Fang' had been a dagger, it would have at least been of purple grade based on just its passive. But since the professions that used swords were expected to tank hits and increase their strength, it was no wonder that it wasn't considered as precious, at least according to Arcadia's internal logic.
Aside from Emilia, most people would really consider a 'tank weapon' that scaled with attack speed and focused on dealing damage over time rather underwhelming, especially with its distinct lack of stats.
Looking at her girlfriend's smug expression, Crystal couldn't help but giggle. "This thing is quite suitable for a 'rogue', huh…? Ah, and you, of course."
Of course, not many 'rogues' and 'thieves' would be able to use a longsword properly. Even if Arcadia didn't restrict them from using it, there was no way for them to easily acquire the relevant skills.
Emilia fluttered her eyelashes playfully. "Are you calling me a rogue, miss? I don't recall taking advantage of you quite yet."
Crystal grinned. "You wanna try?"
Although she seemed daring and unafraid, only the blonde girl herself knew how rapidly her heart was beating in excitement at the moment.
Unfortunately, the gorgeous elf in front of her only tickled her for a while after pouncing on her in 'revenge', which only made Crystal's 'symptoms' worse.
"Alright, enough playing around. Let's go submit that quest before and come back to rest here before we get logged out!"
Watching the crimson-haired beauty happily bounce away towards the door, Crystal couldn't help but sigh. 'Even though this is supposed to be a game, I can't believe I have to walk around feeling like this…'
On the plus side, thanks to the thick leather skirt that the game generously provided for free, at least she won't need to worry about a wet patch showing through.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Since the inn was quite close to the village chief's home, it didn't take long for the two of them to get there. Of course, to submit the quest, they still had to wait in line at his gate.
Unlike earlier, when everyone had been able to freely enter and leave as they pleased, the village chief was now only entertaining one guest inside at a time.
Emilia obviously knew that this meant people who could 'complete' the man's quest requirements were around, and she couldn't help but sigh. 'I was hoping that there won't be many… what a waste of time.'
She had no doubt that, of the seven people waiting in front of her and several dozen waiting around, none must have bothered even trying to finish the quest properly. Otherwise, without knowing all tricks and secrets, how could they finish it on the first day?
As soon as they heard someone somewhere mention that they could find random things and clues to 'complete' the first quest and get the reward, these people probably rushed over without thinking.
Of course, Emilia wasn't stupid enough to lecture them about their mistakes or attract hate by breaking the line. Instead, she just patiently waited her turn.
Just a few more minutes… she could afford it. Now was not the time to stand out.
Fortunately, the village chief didn't talk much with those who barely even tried completing his quest, and just thanked them for their 'efforts' with a sigh before sending them out with the nominal 'rewards'.
Of course, some people couldn't help but curiously question those who 'happily' exited the hut.
"Hey, hey, what did you get?"
"Are the rumors about the 'recycling center' true?"
"Hey, don't call it that! What if the NPCs hear it and get mad?"
"Oh hush, don't take it so seriously. They probably won't understand, and even if they do, who cares? Hey, where are you going?!"
Most people didn't answer, but surprisingly enough, one of them didn't mind, and proudly thumped his chest with a smile. "Some experience, a better weapon, and the next quest. I'm already level two."
Looking at the stinky face of everyone else who'd left dissatisfied, he could obviously guess that they must not have received rewards as plentiful as himself, so it was obvious why he was so happy.
Who knew that a random broken twig he stumbled across deep inside the woods would give him so many benefits? He'd just randomly tried his luck after hearing about how the village chief was taking all kinds of trash!
Even the most skilled players farming diligently outside may not yet have hit level two, and yet, here he was!
Thinking of how popular a game with such revolutionary high quality might become, and how he was so far ahead of them, the boy couldn't help but grin with pride. 'Is this the rise of I, Oozy McFlare, to fame...?'
Being the 'top' player of the first game released by that world-renowned genius... wouldn't all those people who used to look down on him just die from envy when they found out?!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━