Quickly scanned the notifications that popped up and was mildly surprised to see that I got a new skill but was more surprised that my favourability with Bracken militia had risen.
I didn't care about Samson as he was a retired soldier who had no influence outside of this small village. The militia, on the other hand, they were created by the game simply to stop the players from killing or doing anything criminal to the villagers. Basically, nothing more than an in-game mechanic so players don't act like complete arses.
And yet, I had increased their favourability. It was a surprise, as I didn't think it was possible to get closer to military groups like the city guards. It gave me something to think about. But I had something important to do at this moment.
"So, about our bet," I announced to air, as the instructor had tried to slink his way away. Luckily, it was hard to miss the trail of blood dripping from his seemingly broken nose.
Freezing in his tracks, he began to turn, mimicking an automaton that hadn't been oiled in years.
"Ah, well, we were having a playful banter. Weren't we?" He laughed a nervous forced laugh, as he was looking for a path to run to.
I laughed alongside him, though mine was a false hearty laugh. I slowly walked up to him placed my hand on his shoulder and stopped laughing, "Nope."
I wasn't sure whether it was the one word I spoke or the coldness of my eyes. But I could feel him shiver, even through the leather armour he wore. Then, his shoulders dropped in defeat. He knew that he couldn't get away with not paying his debts as the grip on his shoulder and the eyes of players that watched on wouldn't let him make his escape.
The players didn't care about whether I got the item or not. They just wanted to know what the sequence was so they could possibly get an item from Samson as well. I smiled bitterly in my head, 'Sorry Samson, looks like you're going to be having a hard time from now on.'
Producing a small vial from one of his side pouches, he broke me from my pity as I cared only for the vial of clear liquid.
"…" without saying a word, he handed it over. I did feel like a loan shark ruffing up someone for my money back. But that feeling soon faded as a window appeared in front of my eyes.
[Tonic of true body building]
A vial of clear liquid that makes the body stronger.
'As usual, the item description leaves something to be desired.' I sighed inwardly and left the training yard, not before tucking the vial away from prying eyes.
My destination was the inn, as the final gem can only be gotten at night. Well, I tried to head back, but I was interrupted.
"Hey there friend! Wait up!" A voice called out to me. I was contemplating on just walking off. But I knew roughly what this was about and thought I could use it to my advantage.
Turning around, I saw a young man with short, messy red hair. He had a friendly look to him as he smiled. Dressed in a typical new player, white shirt, and brown pants. He waved me down.
"Hey, thanks for stopping." He said as he came to a stop in front of me.
"Name's Jake, though people just call me Jay." He introduced himself. At first, I thought that he accidentally said his real name by accident. But brushed it off as a lot of people use their real names or a random name, as there were no restrictions on names. If every single player wanted the name 'PoopEater69' then feasibly they could.
"Cain," I replied, pulling my wondering mind back to this moment.
"Nice to meet ya, Cain." He smiled once more. I nodded back at him in reply.
"Look, I'll be frank as I don't want to take up too much time," I was surprised and a little bit thankful that he wanted to skip straight to business.
"Could you tell me what you got from winning that duel?" He asked. There was no greed or envy in his eyes. They only show curiosity.
"…It was a vial of crystal water. The description only remarks on how clear it is and how refreshing it tastes." I lied. I acted like I was unsure whether I should tell him. Then, acted that the description was so rubbish that it didn't matter.
"Oh, well maybe helps with fatigue?" Jay smiles a weak smile as if trying to console me.
"Well, anyway. Thanks for feeding my curiosity, I won't take any more of your time." He turned and walked back to the training yard, not before waving to me.
I let out a small note of amusement as I watched him run off. 'It's good that someone so innocent as he asked, or they wouldn't believe me. It's not good if people knew that there were hidden gems here. Not until I have taken them all, that is.'
I mused as I walked back to the inn. Once inside, I made a beeline to my room and entered and locked the door behind me.
Sitting on the bed, looking at the vial of liquid in my hands. I tried to remember what the effects were. It took a few moments before it came back to me, from what I could remember, it does what the description says. In a game sense, it added points to all attributes, which was something rarely seen in this part of the game.
As amazing as that sounded, you were only limited to one. So, once you have taken it once, the second time wouldn't give you any stat points.
'Well, staring at it wouldn't do anything for me.' Uncorking the vial, I quaffed its contents in one swift moment. It tasted a little mineral-heavy, but otherwise, it was quite refreshing.
Then suddenly, a heat ignited in my gut. It felt like I just took a shot of strong alcohol, then became something like indigestion. Until it spread to the tips of my fingers and down to the bottom of my feet. It was more strange than uncomfortable. That was until the burning got worse.
It felt like a bonfire was raging inside me. On instinct, I grabbed at my throat knowing that it wouldn't do anything, but it was better than doing nothing, at least that's what my mind thought.
Calming myself down a little. I knew that I wasn't in danger and if I did do anything to try and mitigate the pain, I would probably lower the effects of the tonic all together.
As the realisation washed over me, it did nothing for the searing pain wracking my body, but it did help me to sit with it. Closing my eyes, I saw a notification window appear.
[Due to the effect of the 'Tonic of true bodybuilding' your body is undergoing a change and has forced you to lose consciousness. Time will be accelerated to the point of completion]