The sunlight filtered softly through the tavern's dusty windows, drawing long, golden lines across the wooden floor, the salty scent of the sea mixing with the faint aroma of stew wafting from the kitchen. Inside, the tavern was quiet—just the occasional creak of wood and the rhythmic snoring of Duja, who had fallen asleep at the counter, head resting against his crossed arms.
"The payment, when do we get it?" Ami asked, sitting opposite Dilek at a small table by the window.
Dilek leaned back on his chair, eyes half-lidded. "Dunno, they said they will send me…"
Ami frowned. "Aren't we short on funds?"
"Are we?" Dilek asked lazily, raising an eyebrow. "We have a roof and free food. Don't be extra greedy."
"Right," she muttered, tapping her leg against the floor, making the wood thump softly.
"Hey, don't do that," Dilek said, pointing at Duja. "He might wake up."
She stopped tapping, sighed, and slumped forward on the table. "I'm bored."
"Then go do quests with those three…" Dilek waved his hand vaguely.
"Who, them? When did they leave?"
"Early in the morning," Dilek replied. "Diego was all about training, so he took Marcus and Nandita with him. I told him I would come, but they said I need to rest."
"You seem fine though," Ami said, looking him over.
"Exactly what I said," Dilek replied, grinning.
"I didn't know you were the type to listen to others."
"Well, now you know." Dilek smiled, drumming his fingers against the table.
Ami narrowed her eyes at him. "Hela stopped you, right—"
"Yep, she did," he cut her off instantly, tapping faster against the wood.
—
A small field stretched outside of the walls dotted with curious green plants—each with thick leaves and a faintly pulsating glow beneath the soil.
"So, mind explaining since you've brought us all the way here?" Nandita asked, arms crossed. Marcus stood beside her, glancing around warily.
Diego turned, his expression serious. "I saw my own weakness. It disgusted me… I couldn't help Saint. So to overcome it, I'm here to level up."
"Great… full of enthusiasm, I like it," Nandita said sarcastically. "But gathering mandrake? Really?"
"Yep," Diego replied proudly. "It's the best way to get skills. Hell, we can even get Hela to cook some up."
"But why gather mandrake?" Marcus asked. "Like, why a plant? How is a plant related to it? Especially a plant that symbolizes love…"
"What?" Diego blinked at him.
"Marcus, mandrakes are a type of plant that scream when pulled out," Nandita explained.
"Scream? Do they have mouths?"
"Yes, they do," she said.
"Oh…" Marcus looked at the field again, uneasy. "Should we pull it out?"
"Yes, we should," Diego said as he approached one.
"WAIT—hold on," Nandita shouted. "Let's not rush it. I'd really like to keep my ears with me."
Diego looked at her. "Don't you care about the Saint? Percy told me that hearing the screams of mandrakes can eventually make you immune to sounds that can startle you."
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'LL GO DEAF, YOU MORON!"
"Deaf… I hadn't considered that," Diego said, scratching his head.
Marcus sighed. "Hold on, how exactly do we get skills?"
"Beats me," Nandita said flatly.
"Maybe life-threatening situations?" Diego guessed, crouching beside a plant.
"That's for class activation, I thought," Marcus said as he brushed his hand over the mandrake leaves.
"But yeah, I got my skill that way too," he added.
"It was for class activation," Nandita confirmed, passing him a knife.
"Really?" Diego asked. "But the Saint gets skills every now and then…"
The three went silent, glancing at each other.
"...HOLD ON, you're right," Marcus suddenly said. "How does he do that???"
"I know, right?" Nandita said. "It's really convenient the way he gets it. Right after he says it, he gets it… it's as if he—"
"Gets it by the goddess, right?" Diego said.
Marcus and Nandita turned to him.
"I thought he was secretly overpowered," Marcus muttered.
"I thought he's actually strong guy pretending to be weak," Nandita added.
The two fell quiet, then nodded together. "Yeah, Diego's theory does sound more plausible…"
"I mean, I knew that the goddess is with him," Diego said softly. "He saved me too, you know? He's really kind to me."
Marcus and Nandita clutched their chests, grimacing. 'Too Innocent…''They both thought, watching Diego.
"Well, he does get it… could it really be the goddess?" Marcus wondered aloud. "We can rule out the secretly OP thing because, well… he's kind of a blockhead who gets easily beat."
"And he was with us in the troll dome, so that isn't possible either…" Nandita agreed.
The two exchanged glances. 'Is he really some goddess's messenger?'
Diego sighed. "Oh man… that means only he can get skills since the goddess favors him. How do we get it?"
"Worship like him, I say," Marcus said confidently.
"I've never seen him worship at all," Nandita countered.
"True that…" Marcus muttered. "Hmm. How about we ask the man over there?"
Marcus pointed to a large figure kneeling a few meters away. The man's broad back was bent as he picked mandrakes with swift precision, silencing their screams before they could echo through the field.
Diego and Nandita turned to Marcus in disbelief. "How come you didn't tell us if you noticed someone was there?!"
Marcus chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I just did as well… besides, he's the man who defeated all those goblins entering the city. I was like his sidekick there."
"He was the guy?" Diego said, eyes wide.
They looked closer. The man had a slightly gray beard and mustache. A brown hooded cloak draped over his shoulders, but a few silver hairs spilled from beneath it. His weathered face showed faint wrinkles, suggesting he was somewhere in his forties.
"You were right, he's bigger than you, Marcus," Diego whispered. "But he looks well-built. Not fat."
"My back hurts looking at that old man," Nandita muttered, hunching forward and grabbing her spine dramatically.
The man straightened, exhaling. "I can hear you three…"
Marcus saluted instantly. "Pleasant to meet you, sir."
Nandita blinked. "Why are you saluting?"
"Oh, he told me to salute him when I was assisting him," Marcus explained.
"…Damn, what is he? Some sort of army guy?" Nandita whispered to Diego.
"I dunno, seems like a wannabe army guy," Diego replied.
"Isn't that stolen valor?" she asked.
"What is a stolen valor?"
The man groaned, covering his face in embarrassment. "Marcus…" He gritted his teeth. "You don't need to salute me everywhere we go. I just asked you to do it since you were panicking."
His voice was rough, gravelly.
"I see… still, nice to meet you, sir," Marcus said cheerfully.
"Call me Anton," the man replied. Marcus shook his hand eagerly.
"Uhm, Anton," Marcus began, "do you know how to level up your skill?"
Anton glanced at each of them before answering. "It's hard, really. I personally just have three—and I'm a three-star adventurer."
"Woahhh," Diego said, impressed. "Can you beat Clarence?"
"Clarence?" Anton frowned. "Why would I do that? I barely know the guy."
"No, he means like—if you fought, would you win?" Nandita clarified.
"I'm not sure. I haven't fought him," Anton said plainly.
"Never mind," Nandita muttered.
Marcus stepped forward eagerly. "So how did you do it? Can you help us?"
Anton looked at the three young adventurers. "But why? What's your reason?"
Nandita crossed her arms. "Well, I have a skill to boost morality, and I need a desperate change."
Marcus nodded. "I have one for high endurance… and, well, I need to get more to be a good tank."
"I see. And you?" Anton asked, turning to Diego.
Diego's eyes hardened. "I want to protect our Saint. He's a very fragile man." His tone was sincere—almost reverent. "And I need to get stronger so I can keep him safe."
Marcus and Nandita exchanged looks, then nodded. "Yep, that's our second reason," Marcus said.
"You copied me," Nandita snapped.
"What? Ridiculous. I said it faster."
"No, you didn't—it was the same time."
"I don't know about you two," Diego interrupted, puffing out his chest. "I want to be his right-hand man."
The three bickered as Anton looked at them with a faint, amused smile. 'That's nice,' he thought, before speaking up.
"We're starting now," he said.
The three stopped arguing and turned to him.
"You three need to pull out the mandrake and beat it."
"That's it?" Diego asked skeptically.
"Just do it," Anton replied, folding his arms. "You'll see how difficult it gets."
"Alright! I'll beat you two to it!" Diego grinned, racing toward the nearest plant.
Marcus and Nandita looked at each other, then dashed after him.
The mandrake field erupted with chaos as the competition began.