"Well?" Iris prompted again, this time in excitement. Yvlena gulped down the warm tea that burned pleasantly on the way down. She exhaled, feeling herself intense at the taste of the spicy herbal mix of Spice Herb and Fox Tail.
"Wow, Iris, this is amazing!" Yvlena said eagering sipping the hot liquid again. "I feel so refreshed!"
[The tea soothes your soul, and reminds you of a warm home]
The game told her,
[+Temporary HP Boost
+Temporary Increased resistance to Fire]
[Affinity with Iris Increased +1]
Iris held back a smile that threatened to split her face in a wide grin, she didn't want Yvlena to think her words had any effect on her but the elven girl could see right through the charade. Iris, she knew now, was someone who took great pride in her work.
'Those are some nice benefits!' she stopped to recall if she had experienced any other benefits from the different foods she had tried. 'I guess I wasn't paying much attention,'
As she drank, she heard someone come through the door sniffing the air. He was a young NPC dressed like one of the usual members of the town. He sniffed the air and then sat down next to Yvlena on a chair near the counter.
"I'll have a cup of whatever smells so good please," the young man said.
"Coming right up," Iris said, serving him tea in another clean cup. She used a special technique and poured the tea in a gentle circular motion. The tea's liquid seemed to dance in the cup impressing both Yvlena and the stranger.
The man drank from his cup while Yvlena and Iris waited with bated breath for his review. Would he be as impressed as Yvlena was or would he storm out?
"Amazing! I think I faintly recall being her once, with my parents maybe," the man said smiling brightly. Iris nodded.
"You probably were here with them once, I've seen so many youngsters come through those doors with their families,"
He paid for his drink and Iris almost couldn't believe the money in her hands, she placed it in her pocket delicately as if moving her hand too fast would cause the money to fade like a dream.
"T-Thank you," Iris said softly.
"No, thank you! I've got to tell my wife about this place. Although you might want to spruce it up a little," The man said with a hearty laugh.
"Don't worry the next time you come in, this place will be different," Iris promised. The man bid them farewell and walked out of the Tea House leaving Yvlena and the woman together again.
"What?" she hissed. Yvlena continued to smirk.
"Nothing just...I'm happy for you. Trying again, starting again is a tough decision after you've lost something. I would know," the elven girl said. Iris' eyes softened, she looked away and began drying more herbs.
[Affinity with Iris Increased +2]
"Why do the young age so fast now? You know you remind me of Twyla."
"Beatrice's daughter?"
Iris nodded.
"Always wanting to go off on her own, all on her own. Now she did, leaped through the miasma before it could close up and now we don't know where she is,"
[Beatrice's Daughter 5.5% completion]
"She used to gather herbs for you right?" Yvlena asked.
[Affinity with Iris Increased +1]
"You're surprisingly perceptive," Iris said. "Yes, she did,"
"Well, maybe I can help you out for a bit, so long as you'll have me. Let's get this place up and running again,"
Yvlena said nothing as Iris' lip trembled and the old woman began to cry, she only gave her the silence she needed at that moment. The tears of someone having to be strong by themselves for too long.
"Thank you Yvlena," Iris said through her sniffles.
----------
Yvlena left the Tea House just in time to see the notification pop up that Soren was done with her blade.
[Soren the blacksmith has upgraded your sword return to the Artisan District's Smithy]
"Right!" Yvlena said running through the Floral district, one her way there, she passed a few friends all talking about the secluded Tea House, a smile crossed Yvlena's face.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
She hoped the best for Iris, she really did.
"I've gotta hand it to the developers, I'm crying over NPC tea," she said, shaking her head. "But I would rather do that than cry over a shitty job,"
----------
Yvlena was once again at the Smithy, the clanging of iron rang through her head but it was worth it to see her sword upgraded, she wondered if the Adrir specs would work on it too.
She already knew Soren was a master blacksmith by the way he was recommended by both Laurent and Risel, now she just needed to know if her sword was raised from rare to something else.
She stopped by the space she knew to be Soren's forge and moved the thick black tarp shielding the entrance aside.
Soren's workshop was a hub of metal and wood, on the various shelves were ores of different shapes and sizes no doubt something Yvlena could have used to upgrade her starter sword if she had known about him the first time.
The roaring fire made the forge's temperature incredibly warm, so much so that Yvlena almost took off her cloak.
Whilst fanning herself from the heat, something caught her eye. In the light of the forge, a pink ore stood out amongst the shelves. It was shaped almost like a rose where the petals would have been were rough cuts of crystal taking the loose shape of flower petals.
Before Yvlena could stop to examine it, Soren's booming voice called for her.
"Yvlena!" He greeted. "I have finished the blade!" He thrust the weapon at her, causing Yvlena to instinctively dodge as if she were in battle. The girl landed in a crouch, glaring up at Soren.
"Soren! That was dangerous," Yvlena said.
The man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh.
"Perhaps I was a bit too excited."
"Just be a little careful from now on okay?" Yvlena said patiently, she held out her hands for the weapon. The blade was thinner now, possessing an elegance much like Rabbit Knight's rapier.
She faced away from Soren and thrust the blade forward, slashing upward and then downwards. The sword was light and elegant in her hands, cutting through the air with a speed it didn't previously possess.
"The shape of the blade was not its true form for you. I made sure to temper the steel the way it was intended,"
"But how did you know?"
"Oh Yv," he said, calling her a nickname she hadn't been given by anyone in the game so far. "Every blade tells a story, especially one from a fallen kingdom,"
"Do you know what happened to Gliresea?" Yvlena asked. Soren shrugged.
"I know a little, a small collection of kingdoms of rabbits and mice, swept away by something too big for them, it is the tragedy of the war of the gods," Soren said sadly.
Yvlena equipped her Adiri specs and looked at the description of the blade. As she suspected something had changed.
[Carrot Sword II
***
Type: Weapon
Rarity: Rare+
Imbued with the Strength of the ancient Rabbit Lords, this blade was once bestowed upon the best fighters of Gliresea.
Made from a special type of steel, the blade is meant to grow with the wielder, as such it never stays one shape for long.
Can be upgraded with Gliresea ores of any kind to suit the skillset of the wielder.
+20 STR]
"Wow," Yvlena gasped, her strength had gotten a whole five point increase just from the upgrade.
"Thank you, Soren," Yvlena said genuinely.
"You're welcome," The gentle giant said. He stretched out his hand and Yvlena already knew he was asking for payment. She nodded and paid the smithing fees.
"Pleasure doing business with you, if you need any more upgrades, you know where to find me,"
"I do!" Yvlena said, running out of the smithy.
----------
Aya stopped playing just in time for her alarm to go off, she silenced the timer before it could attract the attention of anyone who would possibly be watching her apartment.
After using the bathroom, her stomach rumbled loudly forcing her to decide on having lunch. She opened the fridge, peering into the space to see what ingredients she had and if she would need to go grocery shopping.
For the most part, all she had were a few odd things around her fridge, but she had enough to make a nice sandwich.
"I didn't even know I had this sandwich spread," Aya mumbled, after checking the expiry date and making sure no other ingredient was a biohazard, she had a chicken sandwich sitting in her hands ready to eat.
Aya bit into it with relish.
"Might not give any stat boosts but hey I'll take it," she said. Checking her phone she could see it was already past three in the afternoon. Her whole day was spent gaming!
"That's right, I have the second low grade grass stone to put on the auction house,"
She took out her phone and opened the Moon Valley companion app to set the grass stone quickly for auction, using her common sense she surmised a grass stone would be much rarer than a fire stone and set the price to 25 gold.
"There, I should really root through my inventory some more. I think I still have some things I haven't paid attention to from the Rabbit Queen Boss,"
She sipped some water from the few bottles she had in the fridge and began the task of cleaning the apartment. Being home a lot more now just meant her space was getting more messy.
"I'm not a slob, so I don't even know how this happens!" she said, wiping her former gaming table with a rag.
She took a spray bottle and a rag and then quickly began wiping down the glass when she noticed a black spot. Aya squinted, looking closer to find it was a car parked outside the apartment complex.
The car was a reflective black vehicle with tinted windows rolled all the way up, Aya could see little flashes coming from the black glass which meant someone inside it was probably taking pictures.
Aya gasped, dropping the rag and diving to the side so the person in the car wouldn't see her. She looked again, the car remained stationary for a few moments with no one exiting or entering the vehicle.
Then after what seemed like fifteen minutes, the car drove back the way it supposedly came.
Aya tried to calm her beating heart, at this point, the car could have come for anyone within the complex.
"Shady," she said, picking up her rag and continuing to clean. "This is all too shady,"