Flame Orb Creates and throws two burning orbs causing both direct and splash damage at targeted enemies. Flame Orb Level 1 Mana Points Cost 12 Direct Damage 149% of M/Attk Splash Damage 65% of M/Attk Number of Attacks 2 Max Enemies Hit 6
While Aaron was checking his new Skill, the old man was still processing the intense doze of wisdom behind the boy's last phrase and struggling to quite understand the true essence within that saying.
Finally Sid nodded his head before looking towards Sera and saying : "Honorable Sister, I apologize if I'm interrupting your meal." Afterwards he put the plate on the table and continued to say : "Despite being offered this dish by this generous young master here, I still find it hard to accept it."
"You seem to have misunderstood little Ron here," Sera gestured towards the boy, "He wasn't offering something that belongs to somebody else, so accept it with a clear conscience." The woman smiled once she noticed the confused expression on the old man's face, he was clearly in doubt.
Sid awkwardly looked at the boy's attire then down at the dish that's worth more than a handful of gold coins before muttering : "But... how!"
Aaron said : "Don't overthink things cool grandpa, the owner is just feeling a little bit generous today."
"The cheapskate is?" Old Sid gawked his reply in utter disbelief.
"Who are you calling a cheapskate?" Unaware that old Todd was on his way to deliver another tray of dishes and heard what Sid just said.
Sid looked back and sneered : "Looks like someone has already gotten so drunk on success that he forgot his fame in Pine-Breeze Village as the one and only "Miserly Todd", how I miss these good-old days."
Todd almost snapped and retorted indignantly : "You senile wind bag must've been sitting a bit too much near the window that hair has clogged your ears deaf! It's "Merciful Todd" not that third-rate crap that only the jealous and losers would say out of hate."
Seeing the two elders so absorbed in their argument, Sera decided to enjoy her drink while watching the free drama and Aaron checked the new menu which separated into two main menus for Passive Resistances which in turn unfolded into many lists!
'Interesting, to sum it up Passive Resistance is mainly related to either Physical or Magical-Resistance.' He thought.
'Things like cutting, blunt-force, even poison and extreme conditions like heat or cold and lack of air, nutrition, or rest and such are categorically related to Physical-Resistance. But some of these Physical-resistances are still affected by certain aspects from the list of Magical-Resistance in situations where the effects from both types of Resistance could be stacked against things like heat, cold, fire, lightning and such.' Aaron felt like a door just opened for a new world that's full of opportunities.
Be it a person who prefers the close combat of melee or from long-range, these lists would drive anybody crazy.
The boy noticed Passive Physical-Resistances against shock, stun, paralysis, fear, piercing, force, block, exhaustion, and pretty much everything he could think of was there on that list! Since he wasn't meant for that path, Aaron focused on the Magical-Resistances especially the Elemental-Resistances.
Fire Resistance [Average]+5% Water Resistance [Average]+7% Air Resistance [Average]+14% Earth Resistance [Average] Wood Resistance [Average] Lightning Resistance [Average] Dark Resistance [Average] Divine Resistance [Average] Chaos Resistance [Above-Average]+3%
'How come I have higher Resistance towards air and water compared to fire? Not to mention chaos which is above average!' There was a few confusing points but it wasn't like there's someone to guide him about this system.
"You still dare say that I'm a moneygrubber despite knocking on my door for a meal every now and then!" Todd clearly lost his temper and threw all face to oblivion!
Even Aaron felt embarrassed for the old men when he saw them holding one another by the throat.
"Humph. If it wasn't for me hunting in the Dark-Forest day in and day out to supply this place with all sorts of ingredients all these years, then your sorry ass would've been washing the dishes under somebody else's roof right now." Sid clearly refused to back down from this argument.
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Todd almost popped a vein, "I paid for every single thing you brought to my door!"
Sid sneered, "Yeah you did, for dirt cheap and a promise of a lifetime's worth of free meals from the top delicacies!"
Poor Todd felt his head go spinning from all the blood that raced to reach his brain yet he still retorted : "Are you not here now for one of these same delicacies?"
Sid didn't seem like he's faring much better than his opponent but he struggled to say : "I had to learn the news about Village Chief's eldest son Roger successful hunt of the Twilight Deer and you buying its Solar Heart from someone else, just admit that you had no plans of inviting me in the first place."
'Fuck! This shit is better than the movies, but that old sack of shit is really a bit too much. No wonder old Sid kept hesitating whether or not to accept the plate when I offered it to him.' Aaron had this urge to make Todd a practice dummy for his new Flame Orb Skill.
"I got your back on this grandpa Sid." The boy said.
"Eh!" Finally the old men remembered their small audience after they've been too absorbed in the heat of the moment.
"Come, come," Aaron gestured, "You're more than welcome to join my table, help yourself until you're full." He positioned himself on the table with his back to Todd and both Sera and Sid on his flanks.
Sid took his seat and said : "Thank you young master, thank you honorable sister for having me."
Sera nodded politely towards the elder and gave a smile to Aaron while saying : "It's just like what little Ron said, food tastes much better in good company." She seemed to be in a good mood after Sid called the boy "young master".
"I couldn't help but overhear you say that you used to hunt in the "Dark-Forest" earlier, is that why you know too much grandpa Sid?" Aaron dispensed with small and polite talk to break the ice with this old man and directly aimed for the important information.
"Mm-hmm. Indeed it's, young-mast-"
"Please. Just call me little Ron or just Ron, I'm no young master so drop the honorifics. It isn't right for an elder to indulge juniors with undeserved respect." The boy immediately continued to say : "Do forgive me for interrupting you, I had to do it. Please go on and tell me all about your exciting adventures."
Both Sera and Sid immediately got that sense of being in the presence of a great person, the influence this kid had on them after saying a few words and the way he carries himself with every simple gesture simply didn't fit the situation at all yet this boy made it feel like it's natural.
Here he's garbed in a faded piece of linen fabric that's no different from an empty sack of potatoes with three holes for the boy's arms and head and sitting directly on the table because his short arms wouldn't reach most dishes! Yet a man who's so advanced in age and a woman in the spring of her youth are like students learning from a sage in this situation.
"Cough!" He cleared his throat to awaken the old man who fell into a daze while thinking : 'What's wrong with old Sid? Was the silly tug of war with shameless Todd that hard on his poor heart? Maybe it's time for his nap! But it's still a bit early for afternoon.'
"Uh! Right. Back on the days when I scoured the outer regions of the Dark-Forest..." Once that retired hunter started talking about his past, Aaron made sure that he'd spill everything before he left.
As it turns out Sid was not only an expert hunter but also a knowledgeable herbalist at the same time, ever since he retired he's been concocting and selling potions and medicinal ointments to support himself.
Sometimes he'd train and teach youngsters how to lay traps for different types of creatures and the characteristics of their preferred environment, how to locate and collect multitudes of ingredients without spoiling their use or damaging them which would decreasing their value once they attempt to sell their findings later in the market.
Even Sera seemed intrigued by the conversation and joined by revealing her own side of knowledge about monsters, danger zones, myths, and legends of the continent.
Yet this lady intentionally circumvented political-oriented topics related to any faction or force outside Pine-Breeze Village, Aaron tried to trick her into spilling some info a few times but the beauty had her own way of dodging these question during the conversation.
Finally the boy decided to get this information from somebody else through his own means.
From old man Sid he got to know the benefits of eating valuable ingredients like the liver of Iron-Toothed Rabbits, Vines from the Carnivorous Vines, Rejuvenating Spinach, and the Solar Heart from the rarely discovered Twilight Deer which is extremely difficult to track and even more difficult to actually hunt without dying to it first!
"Well. I have to say that this meeting was a wonderful stroke of luck, I'm glad that I could enjoy a such a rich morning meal in the company of both promising youth and stunning beauty." Old man Sid decided that he shouldn't prolong his stay and decided to leave.
"Let's do this in your shop next time, there's still a lot of things that I want to know about the Dark-Forest, Herbs, Alchemy, Monsters, and such." Aaron smiled once the elder nodded to agree to his suggestion.
Afterwards he turned to look at Sera and said : "Stingy. I'm going back home to get some rest, you can stay in this bleak restaurant for as long as you want." Then he jumped from the table and strutted towards the stairs without giving the woman a chance to say anything.
The beauty simply smiled and watched the boy leave in silence, she wasn't worried about his safety within the village because she already left a mark on his Soul to track his whereabouts.
But this lady is certain of one thing, trouble would come knocking on his door soon enough.
As long as these youngsters kept their troublesome intentions within the limits of safety, then Sera doesn't mind letting them teach this naughty and foul-mouthed boy a thing or two.
*****
"Phew." Aaron sighed inwardly after he left the restaurant, of course he gave the fool that's called Rodd the middle finger when the idiot attempted to intimidate him with a glare while squeezing his fist and thought to himself : 'Keep on trying to play the role of the bully, I promise to make you search for your own teeth when the time comes.'
"Since I'm dirt poor right now I probably shouldn't waste my time looking at the products of this market," The boy crossed the streets in a hurry and retracted his steps through memory from the restaurant to the north-gate and from the north-gate to the house Snow left him.
Calling it a house is an overstatement really since it's a single room split in half, one part is the living space at morning and a bedroom at night while the other seems to be a fusion between a kitchen and some ancient-styled bathroom!
'Let's add fix the bathroom to the list right below invent underwear.' Afterwards he closed the door and jumped on bed.
*Creak*
"Ouch!" Something hard almost broke the boy's spine and he twisted in pain for a while before looking at the bulge beneath the rough mattress with pure hate oozing from his eyes.
Aaron hissed before saying : "If you want me dead then at least kill me in my sleep, why resort to these agonizing pranks?" Once he pulled the mattress away to expose what's beneath it he fell silent once he saw what it is.
"Now that silly girl has done it, I really am in her debt no question about it." He muttered while hiding the wooden box in a more secretive corner before going back to organize the bed and lying down on it and closing his eyes to sleep.
The boy quickly fell asleep and it seemed like his body really needed a proper rest.