"Oh, you're here already?" Miss Aimme asked as she opened her door to allow Vincent in. "It seems to me you're more eager to stay there than here."
He did not reply as he went to take his seat. "Well, you can go ahead and sleep," she confirmed, and he wasted no more time doing so.
It was morning when Vincent opened his eyes. Aimme was already awake; in fact, she had sat up on the bed, making it obvious she had woken a few minutes earlier than him. But how is that possible? I slept earlier than her!
"We'll get ready. We have a long journey ahead of us today," she said as she made her way to the bathroom. "And I'll be using the bathroom first."
Vincent was left alone in the room. He thought it would be weird to go downstairs unprepared, so he stayed put and used the opportunity to check all the possessions he had at that point.
He still had the skirt Aimme had given him in the cave, which for some reason he was yet to return, and she had not asked for it either. Her grandfather had also given him some oversized shirts and jeans. Since they were in a dwarf village, all the clothes there were either too small or too big for him, so he had been given the bigger ones—two pairs.
He also had the dimensional ring Aimme gave him. Normally, from the novels he had read, he knew items like this were very expensive, so how was Aimme able to have two? From the space inside it, he could tell it had a fairly large capacity. It looked plain, with nothing engraved on it, and it was red in color.
He placed the ring on his thumb, and inside were his clothes and the armor he had been given. The armor was plain and unremarkable, forged from dull gray metal with no engravings or symbols to speak of. It looked old, worn, and reforged many times over, its pieces mismatched and heavy. There was no aura or magical presence surrounding it, yet when Vincent wore it, the weight settled naturally against his body, fitting him far better than expected.
He was satisfied with it, even though he knew from the old man's explanation that he would have to be careful when fighting while wearing it. Looking over everything again, he realized he did not have anything that truly belonged to him. I need my own money.
The only thing he really had was his system, and as he was about to call it:
[Quest Update]
[Daily Quest
Kill your first beast. Rewards: +2 stat points
Repair your equipment manually. Rewards: +1 Mind
Copy your first technique. Rewards: +50 EXP]
With a deep breath, he looked at the daily quests, thinking of ways to carry them out. He then remembered the stat points and EXP he had gained from yesterday's quests.
[EXP: 70/500 Stat Points: 02
Strength: 10 Speed: 8 Endurance: 5 Mind: 11]
He decided there was no point allocating his stat points yet. There would be plenty of chances in the future.
Right after getting ready for the day, Aimme walked out of the bathroom, and ironically, she was still wrapped in her towel. Images Vincent would have preferred forgotten resurfaced immediately.
She was the kind of woman who drew attention without trying. Tall and slender, she moved with quiet confidence, every step controlled and every gesture deliberate. Her silver-blonde hair framed a sharp, beautiful face, and her icy blue eyes carried a calm intensity that made it hard to look away. There was an effortless allure to her—not loud or provocative, but restrained and mature, born from knowing exactly how powerful she was.
And looking at her right now, with the towel barely able to hide her huge melons and her wet hair clinging to her skin, Vincent's younger brother could not resist.
"Yh, so I'll go and take my bath now," he said quickly as he rushed into the bathroom.
Soon enough, he was done. For a moment, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was an ordinary-looking young man—neither particularly handsome nor ugly. His wet jet-black hair clung to his face, and for the first time, he noticed faint blue threads in his right eye. That explains the pain. He quickly connected it to his system and wasn't too worried.
He was lean, and at the same time he could see faint muscles bulging beneath his skin. He cleaned up, got dressed, and walked out.
Aimme was already done and waiting for him. They both walked out together.
"Morning, lovebirds," Mrs. Ham said as soon as they stepped out of the room, as if she had been standing there the entire time. Vincent almost choked when he heard her words. "We've got breakfast prepared for you before you start your journey."
Soon enough, Vincent and Aimme began their journey, but only after a long discussion with Grandpa.
"So, Vincent, would you rather enroll in a school or live your life as an adventurer?" Aimme asked shortly before they left the inn.
Vincent didn't even take five seconds to think about it. "I'll survive as an adventurer."
There were many reasons behind his decision. He already had a life as a student and would not even consider being one in this world as well. Moreover, he had Aimme, someone clearly well-versed in the ways of this world. There was little she couldn't teach him. On top of that, the life of an adventurer simply appealed to him more.
Aimme was slightly surprised by how quickly he answered, but she wasn't shocked by his decision. She showed him the map she had collected from Mr. Ham. They were heading to the Capital City, the one located at the very center of Nexus. Aimme was adamant about taking the forest route instead of passing through cities.
Vincent was alarmed by this decision and questioned her, but she paid him no heed, let alone leaving room for further discussion.
And so their journey began, through the forest, where Vincent was sure there would be many beasts and hurdles along the way. But it would help his growth, so he said nothing.