The time it took Vikram to reach the Horac Village was close to 4 days. During the journey, his cooking proficiency increased greatly. At first, he resorted to the automatic mode but later on switched to manual mode when he thought that he was familiar with the method which led to the drastic increase.

Unfortunately, he didn’t encounter any beast that was more than level 10 which meant that he didn’t get any experience points even though he fought a bunch of them while travelling. He most of the time attacked them for meat to cook but at times he accidentally entered their aggroed range and ended up having to fight them.

The entrance of the Village of Horac was a gate which was sculpted out of a huge rock. Vikram just like how he did when he entered Ekkinisi village marched straight towards the gate. There were two soldiers posted at the gates who were responsible for the people coming inside the village.

Vikram had learnt from his previous experience and decided to be more polite with the guards in order to not get into their bad books because he had no idea how long he would be needing to stay in this village. It all depended on the quests he would be receiving. If the quest directed him to march to some other location he would do so.

With these thoughts in mind, Vikram soon reached the front of the gates. The two guards towered around seven feet in height with fully equipped gear. When their gazes simultaneously pointed towards Vikram he naturally felt suppressed.

“Purpose for visit?” One of the guards said in a stoic voice.

“Exploring the lands. I’m an adventurer.” Vikram said politely.

“5 Bronze coins.” The guard put forward his hand.

Understanding his intentions, Vikram soon got out 5 bronze coins and gave them to him. The guard accepted the coins and then allowed entry to Vikram. From this encounter, Vikram realized that all the villages, towns and cities must have an entrance fee. The only reason Ekkinisi Village didn’t have one has got to do with it being the beginner’s village.

The village was definitely livelier when compared to Ekkinisi village. The hustle and bustle here made Vikram feel a sense of comfort. Vikram walked past the crowded path looking for places or people to start a quest and he soon encountered one.

A kid who was running on the streets lost his footing and slammed down on the stony ground not far from Vikram. Soon after the sound of the kid bawling his eyes out could be heard. It was quite considering the wounds he got. The skin of his arms and knees directly scratched the ground so there was blood dripping down from there.

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Vikram approached the child and slowly picked him up as he dusted off his clothes. The sound of crying only increased when Vikram picked him up. It was likely that the child wanted him to help him but was unable to say it at the moment so he resorted to crying loudly to get his thoughts across.

Vikram was right to think that because soon after a message popped up in front of his eyes.

Quest: Take Little Timmy to his home.

Quest Completion Reward: 100 EXP

Vikram was delighted to see this message because he was already going to help the child but now that he got this mission it was like hitting two targets with a single arrow. Vikram soon comforted the crying child and asked him about his name when he deemed that the crying had mostly stopped.

“T-Timmy…” The child replied.

“Timmy, do you want me to take you home?” Vikram asked to which Timmy nodded quickly.

“Alright, just tell me the directions as we walk,” Vikram said as he carried Timmy on his back and started walking. From time to time the child would point towards a particular direction and Vikram would move towards there.

After a while, Vikram soon reached the said destination. Timmy’s mother who was taking care of the garden outside rushed towards Timmy seeing the wounds on his legs. Seeing the worry on her face Vikram soon explained how he fell on the ground. This was followed by a notification regarding his quest completion popping up in front of his eyes.

The mother chided Timmy for his carelessness and thanked Vikram for it. Vikram was about to go back to the marketplace when the mother stopped him and told him to let her treat him to a meal as thanks for helping his child. Vikram initially wanted to refuse but then thinking about it again he agreed to it.

Timmy's house was around the outskirts of the village. The area was quite peaceful and pleasant. After entering the house which was neither small nor big Vikram got to know that Timmy’s father was in the military and was out on duty. Timmy looked at the family picture placed on the walls and couldn’t help but be reminded of his.

He took a sigh and then watched the earlier crying Timmy having the time of his life with a car-shaped toy he had in his hands. Timmy’s mother was a gentle middle-aged woman. Of course, this was only for others because for Timmy she was a demon.

After having a warm meal prepared by Timmy’s mother he thanked her for her hospitality and proceeded to go out. It was at that moment that another notification popped up on his screen.

Quest: Protect Little Timmy and his mother from the attack of rock demons.

Quest Completion Reward: 1000 EXP, Timmy’s family’s gratitude.

Just after the quest notification came Vikram heard the roar of some monsters from outside which led to an aghast expression on Timmy’s mother’s face.

Vikram soon followed the source of the sound and exited the house only to see three monsters who were made up of rocks growling. The rocks by which they were made were black in colour which made them look even more frightening.

Vikram at first wondered how they entered the village but noticing the levels shown on top of their head he knew that he could think about that later as now fighting it out with these monsters was more important.

Vikram called out his sword from his inventory and rushed towards the three rock demons who were staring menacingly at him.