Aya took the Revista off aed her ba the mattress of her new room. She lifted her phone up and turned her arm off then looked up at the dingy ceiling to stretch her ned back.
At the sight of the ceiling, she shook her head a out a humorless chuckle.
It looked like no matter what Lydia charged, the quality of the building was still the same. Small cracks ran along the room's ceiling and Aya knew if she checked the ers she would see shoddy work doo keep the walls together.
"How she stand to be such a...terrible person?" Aya asked, she set her gaming equipment aside and rose from the bed to check if Mars had returned.
The living room was empty. Aya huffed and decided to load the groceries from her apartment onto Mars' shelves.
The two of them would have more than enough to eat now.
As she reached for the cupboard, a handwritten note caught her attention. Aya plucked it from the surface of the board and read.
'Make sure you eat something, you look malnourished,' the note Mars had written was signed with a doodle of her face.
Aya smiled fondly and pced the o the side to get started on some rice for lunch. She didn't know when her roommate would return and only made a small serving for herself.
"Where ever she is, I hope she's not getting into too much trouble,"
----------
Yvlena awoke standing by the corrupted Verdant Lake. She jumped as a live vine jerked to life, nearly ing around her ankles.
"Okay, that wasn't the best pce to log out,"
Yvlena walked closer and stood cautiously at the edge of the ke bed, peering into the murky depths of the water.
Something swam by quickly beh the ke's surface, f Yvlena to focus her eyes on the darkness of the water. The thing swam by again just as fast, leaving bubbles and ripples in its wake.
While staring, Yvlena noticed a singur lidless eyes gazing up at her. She squeaked, stumbling bad away from the ke bed.
Whatever creature that was had been big, easily the size of ander Addison.
"Is that the creature polluting the ke?" She asked. From the quest details, defeating it would weaken the Miasma's hold on the forest.
But would it be enough to weaken the Miasmic Guardian?
"I only hope," Yvlena said, turning to face her summons.
Beside her, the summons stood waiting for instrus as they talked to each other about in-game events.
"I still have a free summon slot," Yvlena said to herself. A third slot would allow her to grow stronger as a summoner and maybe her css would level up after a while.
She looked through her iory ahe reward she had gotten from the Mert's Quest Ricardo had sent her on.
"Giant Teddy Summon Bell?" She read out loud, she tried equipping it into the slot but found she could not.
"That's stra's not a summon stone like the others,"
She put on her Adiri sped read through the description of the item.
[Giant Teddy Summon Bell
***
Type: Summon Bell (Epic)
The ringing of the bell summons the celestial spirit to deliver an attack a before disappearing.
The Celestial Spirit of Elio the bear, a gentle protector of those weak and small.
One of 5 Celestial Spirits (Toy La)
(Story uncovered with each piece added)]
"An attack a? Toy La?" Yvlena asked in fusion as she read through.
The Celestial Spirits being part of a set might make it more valuable and strong, it would be o collect them all.
"Might have to check for some in-game notes, I 't find much about the set with the Adiri specs,"
"I still haven't decided whether to return to Bloom Haven or not, I could always e back. I o know if there are any purifying recipes," Yvlena said, scratg her head.
"Oher hand, I try to find the barrier and gh that,"
After a bit of thinking she o herself and decided to keep going until she found what was on the path up ahead.
"Let's go," she said to her summons, immediately snapping them out of idle mode aing them oh to the area.
As she walked Yvlena noticed the ground sink the closer she got to the entrance of the area, it began shifting under her feet and the smell of rotten leaves and stagnant water wafted past her nose.
"Even with the ck of sensation from the Revista, I know what's up ahead stinks," Yvlena said, pushing past leaves and brao find herself in a s.
"Blegh," Sprite said beside her, Rabbit Knight tentatively put a foot down on the green sy ground and quickly retracted it.
"Avaresh S," The game told Yvlena, the s was a rge dark green area with barely any light shining through. The thick trees that lihe s grew in clusters, banding together te masses.
Despite their height, the trees did not have many leaves, only brahat grew together in knots f a wooden opy above.
The s's water was the same murky color as the ke in the previous area showing a ination of the Miasma, Yvlena imagihe water would have been a pale green shade before the advent of the corruption.
Giant lily pads floated just out of her reach. Yvlena wondered if they would be able to bear her weight at all.
She took aep forward, feeling her foot dive into the watery soil. Yvlena yanked her foot out watg as the grime g to the sole of her boot.
Up ahead she could make out a hut. Moss and thatch covered the building and fell off to the side, a smoking ey rose above the foliage.
Light shone from the two circur windows on the side, letting her know someone occupied the far off hut.
Yvlena blinked as a memory from so long ago floated into her mind. She reized this s, it art of her mother's story.
"Bavga, the witch of Avaresh S," She whispered. "The witch of bone,"
Yvlena looked at the hut once more, its lights the only thirating through the dim atmosphere of the S.
Did she want to enter the witch so soon? Would she be evil? Yvlena only faintly recalled the character as ral, an obstacle the main character faced in the inal novel.
Aep forward had Yvlena sinking into the sy ground. The girl yelped, filing around until her summons helped pull her free.
"Well I 't cross the soil for now, I'll need better shoes,"
Out of the windows Yvlena made out a figure gazing at her. As soon as the figure was noticed it disappeared from sight retreating into the hut.
A chill raced up Yvlena's spine. She would o be careful if it was really the old witch from her mother's tale.
[Quest: A Figure In The S
Avaresh S has been taken over by the Miasma but a friendly face might dwell yet within it.
Iigate the figure in the window, it may be a boon to your journey.
***
Rewards
????
????
***
Moon Points x2000
Moon Gems x50
EXP x500]
[Do You Accept]
[Yes/No]
Yvlena accepted.
"That's the third quest I've gotten in the Verdant Woods," Yvlena said. The area seemed to wao level up quickly and she couldn't help but wonder why.
The Miasmic Guardian would be strohan Viseli, of that she was sure and it would take more than her current skills to beat it.
"I'm not going to worry about it now I haven't even seen any spiders," Yvlena said. She turned around ahe area with her summons.
Returning to the Verdant Lake she passed by it and looked into the water once again knowing something was waiting for her.
"I'll visit Bernard then Risel and pnt the rest of the Ever Blooms, I have a feeling I'll need a lot of them," Yvlena said.
----------
"Ah Yvlena, long time no see!" Bernard said, greeting the girl cheerfully.
[Affinity with Bernard increased+1]
"It's nice seeing you again," Yvlena said politely. She looked around the shop with i, her eyes lit up iement the moment she noticed the ges.
Bernard's shop was no longer as bare as it was the first time Yvlena had visited the shop to buy some items.
Shelves were full now, brimming with ons and equipment he'd gotten from other merts and travelers that visited Bloom Haven from the Eastern path.
"Ever sihe Miasma cleared up I've had great luck with travelers, how many I help Yvlena?"
"I o get in Avaresh S but my boots keep sinking through the nd," Yvlena said.
"You need something water resistant to get through…Did you say Avaresh S?”
Yvlena nodded.
“By the gods, that means the Western path is slowly clearing up!” He said iement.
“Excuse me,” Bernard said, waving away his excitement, “Anywho you'll to get to the docks,"
"The docks?" Yvlena didn't recall seeing a wood structure around the area when she had gohere with her summons.
'I guess I wasn't looking closely enough,' she thought.
"Don't worry I have just the thing," Bernard said as he opehe shop menu for her. Yvlena looked through, eventually ing across an item highlighted for her.
"Adventurer's Boots," she read.
"It offers just the amount of water resistance you o make it to safer ground within the s and offers better defehan what you currently have," Bernard expined.
"2000 Moon Points," Yvlena whined, Bernard only gave a cheeky grin in response.
She paid and equipped her boots before she could grumble about the price of the item. All that mattered was her progress and besides she would make the money back.
"Pleasure doing business with you,”
AnnouChapters 70-76 are now on Patreon for those who want to read ahead and I've got a new Side Story in the works too ^^