[SP-F1] Secret Medicine of the Forest (Steel)

[Steel 0]

"Take this!" Steel exclaimed as he swung at the little nepent he hit earlier. He was able to deal enough damage to cause it to shatter into data fragments. Upon destroying it, he was notified by the system that he got the object he was needing to get. "Awesome, now I just need to get out of here!" With that, he did the same pattern of going into the trees to confuse the remaining two little nepents before he left them and ran away.

Steel 17/17

Little Nepent Dead

Little Nepent 7/7

Little Nepent 7/7

[Steel 0]

Steel practically ran with all he had in order to get back to town. Luckily, he didn't go too far into the forest so it didn't take him that much time to get out of there. Pretty soon, he found himself to be in the fields. It was then a boar came at him but Steel just cut it down like it was nothing while saying "out of my way!" After 5 minutes, he found himself back in town and at the house of the lady. For manner's sake, he politely knocked on the door and waited.

[Steel 0]

The lady opened the door soon after Steel had knocked on it. "I got the thing needed for that medicine ma'am." He said politely and the lady just had a smile on her face as she took the ovule.

"Thank you young swordsman, this'll help my daughter greatly." The lady said in response. "Won't you come in and rest a little? I also have a reward for your deed."

[Steel 0]

"Sure." Steel said in response thanking the woman. As they went inside, the woman gently put the ovule into a pot on a stove. She then walked over to a large chest placed at the south of the room, and opened its lid. From inside, she quietly took out a long sword in a red scabbard, and though it seemed decrepit, it gave off a presence entirely different from that of the initial equipment. Afterwards, she handed to Steel who received it graciously.

[Steel 0]

"This is your reward. Again, I thank you for getting the medicine for my daughter." The woman said with a grateful expression on her face. With that the quest completion screen appeared in front of Steel as he said thanks to the woman. The quest was already completed, so the young wife wouldn't even offer a glass of water. With her back turned to Steel, she was stirring the simmering pot on the stove once more. Steel finally began to feel fatigue wash over his body as he absentmindedly continued to watch over the NPC's behavior. After a while, he saw the young wife took out a wooden cup from the shelves, and filled it with the pot's contents using a ladle. Holding the steaming cup with both hands earnestly, with significantly more care than the sword earlier, she walked towards the door in the interior. Steel stood up without any real reason and followed behind the wife. The NPC that opened the door stepped towards a dimly lit room. Despite lingering hesitations, Steel too, stepped over the edge. Within was a small bedroom. It was furnished with a dresser by the wall and a bed by the window, along with a single small chair. Lying on the bed was a girl, who looked to be seven or eight years of age. The paleness on her face was apparent even under the moonlight. Her neck was thin too, with bony shoulders peeking out from the sheets. Upon noticing her mother, the girl lifted her eyelids slightly, and next—she looked at Steel in curiosity. The mother reached out with her right hand, propping up the girl's back. That instant, the girl's body bent over, gripped by a coughing fit. Those light brown braids shook weakly over the back covered in a white negligee.

According to the system, it showed that her name was «Agatha». While stroking the girl—Agatha's back gently with her right hand, the mother sat down on the chair by the side, and spoke. "Agatha. Here, the traveling swordsman got some medicine for you from the forest. If you drink this, you'll get better for sure." And, she made the girl take a hold of the cup that her left hand held. "...Okay." Agatha nodded with a cute voice, and holding on to the cup with her small hands, she gulped it down. While her sickness didn't just disappear, she did regain a good amount of color to her face. Returning the now empty cup to her mother, Agatha returned her gaze to Steel as he was frozen on that spot, and grinned. Her lips moved, her somewhat stuttering words flowed out like demure jewels. "Thank you, onii-chan."

[Steel 0]

"......Ah..." Without being able to give a proper answer, his two eyes opened wide as that sound escaped. He was remembering a memory of where he was taking care of his little siblings when they were sick. It was then he realized that although his body was in the real world, he wouldn't be able to see them as long as he was trapped in the game. "......Uu...gh......" these sounds began to come out of his throat as he thought this. The overtly intense urge pierced through his avatar body, causing him to stumble, and his hands landed onto Agatha's bed. Steel lowered his knees onto the bedding like that, gripping onto the white sheets tightly, and those coarse sounds slipped out from him yet again.

"......What's the matter, onii-chan?" Hearing that voice, a soft palm nervously touched my head. That hand soon started stroking my hair awkwardly. Over and over again. Until Steel finished crying himself out, that small hand never stopped moving.

End

[Steel 0]

Received from this thread

Anneal Blade (1)

450 col