Aya woke up rubbing her eyes and sitting up on her bed, she groaned in exhaustion, pushing down the brown strands sticking up at every angle from her head.
Aya yawned, grimacing at her morning breath and picking up her phone to find out she had woken up late, it was nearing noon by now and the sun was alright peaking in the sky.
"At least I feel well rested," she said, stretching her hands over her head and stepping down from the bed to take a shower.
Breakfast was a round of toast and eggs Aya finished in a gulp. She went to the window, gazing out of it and checking if any strange black cars were watching her or worse watching Mars.
"No one for now," she said. She took out her phone, then put the Ancient Ring on the auction house, leaving the price at 5 Gold.
“That’s the highest price I can think of, I’ll just leave the bid open as usual,”
"This is the first time I've sold equipment so maybe it won't go as high as the spell stones," Aya said.
----------
Yvlena was once again in the manor's kitchen, walking out she decided the first thing she needed to do was cut down enough trees to accumulate the amount of wood needed to fix the stairs to the upper levels.
Yvlena stepped out of the manor, equipping her scythe. The lawn was slowly starting to become overgrown, with the areas she had previously trimmed sprouting tall grass.
Deciding to read the description of the items from the world quest she pulled open her inventory and picked out the Scythe Piece. Before she could read it the game prompted her with an option.
[Scythe Piece Upgrade Available]
[Merge Piece?]
[Yes/No]
"Rael's Moon Scythe," Yvlena gasped. She hit 'yes' immediately watching as a bright purple light flashed, she held it away from her. Allowing the light to die down before looking at her brand new tool.
[Yvlena Acquire
***
Moon Sickle x1]
[Moon Sickle can be wielded in battle]
"Wow," she gasped. The long scythe was gone, replaced by a sickle with a curved crescent blade that shined in the game’s afternoon sun. The handle of the sickle was made of a glossy purple material with a moon shaped gem in the middle.
She gripped it hard, finding it was easier to wield than its initial shape as a scythe. Yvlena swung the sickle, listening to it glide through the air as swiftly as her carrot sword.
"Moon Sickle huh?" She walked to one of the open areas still overgrown with tall green grass.
[Yvlena cast Harvest Skill: Wide Sweep]
The sickle gleamed as Yvlena swung, instantly shearing the grass in a flash. In just a moment, half the grass on the open space was gone, netting Yvlena a ton of wild seeds, and fiber while killing the pesky grass mimics hiding within the bushes.
"Wow a little more and it would have reached the manor," Yvlena gasped. "That must have been how Rael and the others cleared this place single handedly.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Wild Seed x30
Fiber x20]
[Subclass: Leveled Up
Herbalist(Harvest Guardian) 8/10]
"My subclass leveled up, I wonder what will happen when it hits level ten," Yvlena said. "Most likely a subclass evolution, ah I can't wait!"
Donning the Adiri Specs she read through the description of the Butterfly Cloak.
[Butterfly Cloak
***
Type: Equipment (Epic)
A beautiful cloak, woven and embroidered by the women of the Gardenia clan, known for their graceful and elegant swords women.
The cloak was reserved for only the highest ranked warriors and was often bestowed with great honor.
Now a relic of the ages left by the ancient clan lost to war and time.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Boosts [DEF] [CHA]]
Yvlena read the description over, another kingdom lost to the miasma or perhaps even the war of the gods. She wondered where they lived. If it was from the world quest then it must have been from a kingdom far away.
Would she be able to unlock the secrets of the Gardenia clan like she did for the Kingdom of Gliresea?
The next item was the most curious to Yvlena, the Heaven's Feather wasn't equipment, nor was it an accessory she could wear in her hair.
[Heaven's Feather
***
Type: Special Dungeon Key
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Be transported to a past kingdom preserved by magic and aid their story with this special key.
Get a chance to win bonus items, equipment, and lore pieces that cannot be accessed through regular play.]
"Special Dungeon Key?" Yvlena said, she knew areas with monsters were called dungeons on the forums, but a special dungeon was something she didn't think she'd see too soon.
"I wonder if the miasma corrupted this world as well?" She gasped. "Could Gliresea be a special dungeon as well?"
Then Rabbit Knight would get to see his people once more preserved in time by magic.
Yvlena read the description again, taking note of the level requirement to enter.
"Well, what counts as an intermediate player? They should have put levels instead," she huffed, dismissing the windows. There were other things that required her attention like fixing the manor stairs.
Who knew how many more enemies there were within the Rose Manor, trapped in rooms not opened for years?
For now, she walked up to one of the several overgrown trees and equipped her axe to begin cutting down the wood, all she needed to do was get two hundred pieces and she would be able to reach the upper floor.
Seems simple enough right?
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
"This is harder than I remember!" Yvlena said as she pulled her axe back and continued to cut down the tree. A creak was heard before the tree began swaying and falling over.
"Definitely harder than just cutting the grass,"
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Wood x20
Sap x1]
"Sap? Maybe it's for alchemy?" Yvlena said moving on to the next tree. She would read the description later.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Wood x20]
She continued to chop until she had reached her first hundred pieces of wood. The girl swayed, despite not having a stamina bar chopping down trees took a lot out of her.
Yvlena glanced at the manor grounds, frowning. She still hadn't made a dent in the forest of overgrown trees. The elven girl had already pictured in her mind what she wanted the Rose Manor to look like, right now, it was far from her vision.
----------
Aya was roused from her game by the regular knocking she had come to expect, she got out of bed and tiptoed towards the door to listen. She could hear someone outside the apartment door.
Assuming it was Lydia, she brushed it off, deciding to return to her game.
"And you're sure she's not around?" A second voice said. Aya froze. The second voice was none other than Fido—her grandmother's so called friend. Aya resisted the urge to pull open the door and start screaming at the both of them.
She sat with her back pressed against the door listening to them talk, until she heard a thwack!
Aya jumped, covering her mouth before she could let out a scream of surprise. Then she heard it again.
Thwack!
The sound of something hard and heavy repeatedly hitting the lock on her door and trying to break through rang through the silent apartment, she waited.
She couldn't believe it, these maniacs were trying to break through her locks to search her apartment. Aya had faith her custom locks wouldn't budge, the mechanism was more than just a metal component fixed to the door.
It had a special mount almost near impossible to smack off, unlike regular locks and door knobs held in place by drilled-in screws. Her locks worked mechanically, only recognizing the special key given to her by the locksmith company, only she could disable the mechanism.
She had gotten them on recommendations from Daichi and his grandmother. Both of them wanted to see her safe and had even called the locksmith company themselves.
Aya recalled the lengthy and anxiety fueled installation process, prompting the handyman to assure her that nothing would get through them. And now, fate had come to test her.
"The damn thing won't open!" Fido yelled in frustration, Aya heard him drop whatever he had held through the door and land a solid kick with the full force of his strength.
Aya's door rattled but did not budge, leaving the girl to sit on the floor trying to calm her panic. Aya's stomach tightened as she sat nervously listening to what the intruders would do next.
"I thought you said this kid was broke how the hell can she afford Evangels level locks, the little shit is definitely hiding something," Fido said cursing her name.
“It's incredible that he was my grandmother's friend, best friend in fact. It was really all just an act," Aya said tearing up. All this time Fido had just been plotting to take her grandmother's house.
"Well, how the hell was I supposed to know that!" Lydia yelled back at Fido through the door. Aya remained quiet until a burst of sound radiated from her phone.
Aya gasped, rushing to the bed to grab the phone and check the caller ID. It was Atlas.
"Talk about shit timing!" Aya whispered, quickly declining the call and hoping the intruders hadn't heard.
"What the hell was that? Is it coming from inside the house?" Fido asked. "Shit, someone's been in there the whole time!"
"Calm down, it was one of the neighbors. I check this place out daily and she's always out by seven, she works," Aya heard Lydia say, confirming the suspicions she and Mars had held. Knowing was better than guessing in Aya's book.
"You have to get her to let you in somehow I don't care how you do it!" Fido said. The two began walking away from her door, mumbling words Aya couldn't quite catch. She knew they would be back with a game plan but for now, nothing could get through those locks.
"I have to find that deed faster than they find a way to get in here," Aya said knowing she would never let them in. But her aunt was a conniving hag, the depth of which Aya knew nothing about.
"I have to tell Mars,”