NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
<3 - The Child Who Swallowed a Stone>
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai.
Jonnas remembered the boss who gave him his name.
He owed a lot to the boss.
But it wasn’t a free gift.
Just the name alone was proof.
He had tossed aside his old name along with a long-forgotten past, but in exchange, he had gained a peculiar new name.
Thinking of the strange looks from those around him made him grip his weapon tightly without realizing it.
Thud!
Unnecessary trash had appeared.
He crumpled the shaped hilt into his palm, discarded it, and fitted a blade into a new handle.
Swish!
Swish, swish, swish!
He took a stance, swinging and thrusting the sword into the air.
The grip and thrusting sensation felt pretty good.
Nodding in satisfaction, he adjusted his hold on the sword.
Tap, tap, tap!
The kitchen knife danced on the cutting board!
The young lady he was now attending to was quite an unfortunate child.
Regardless of skill, she wasn’t particularly fond of cooking, but he couldn’t help but feel compelled to do anything for that poor girl.
‘It seemed she had completely forgotten what sort of contract she’d signed.’
At first glance, she appeared relatively decent for an orphaned child on the streets.
Maybe the boss had great insight after all; surprisingly, she had an extraordinary talent in stamina and weapon skills.
A natural-born genius.
Her posture and skills were so impressive that they could only be explained by innate genius, having never received formal training.
Perhaps her talent was what allowed such a small and insignificant girl to survive on the streets.
‘Lucky she didn’t end up as a prostitute.’
In a world where even slightly attractive girls would get caught by pimps and have to service over ten customers a day while weeping incessantly.
He could easily imagine how difficult her life had been just to acquire her quick reflexes and diverse weapon skills.
‘However, her mental issues are a concerning factor.’
Did she have experiences of being assaulted by street men every night? The girl didn’t know how to sleep properly.
The moment she took her eyes off, she exhibited the talent of hiding behind empty barrels, hollow wooden boxes, weapon racks, and even chandeliers.
The hiding spots were getting increasingly technical as days went by. It put the butler tasked with supervising the young lady in a difficult position.
‘She’s like a cowardly, high-maintenance thief-cat. Definitely not your average type.’
Every year around this time, he played the role of a butler, but he had never encountered such an unusual young lady as this one.
“Mealtime, young lady.”
He placed the bubbling stew and vegetable side dishes down and lightly rang the bell on the dining table.
Humans are creatures of adaptation.
Exercising wisdom reduces the body’s burdens.
No sooner had he thought to count to three than the Oknodie girl came dashing in with a thud-thud-thud!
It turned out that ringing the bell was more efficient than searching for her, although the direction from which the sound came was strange.
“…”
Could it be…?
As if to negate that thought, a tiny head peeked out from a creaky panel in the ceiling.
Perhaps closer to a mouse than a thief-cat.
“You’re covered in dust.”
“Eep!”
“First, you should wash your face before eating.”
The Oknodie girl bravely wiped her face like a boy.
She was so careless that it seemed she’d completely forgotten she was a girl, just splashing water over her face.
Wiping too hastily, he took it upon himself to clean her face with meticulous care for a minute.
‘…I have no idea what to write on the report for the boss.’
After finishing the day’s training routine, he forcibly laid Oknodie on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and took up his pen.
[Regular Report]
*Oknodie Field Supervision Opinion
– She shows signs of trauma from prolonged street life.
– Suspected of having various mental illnesses, including insomnia and avoidant personality disorder.
– Although she seems to have forgotten the contract, she is actively cooperating in training.
– She has little awareness of her femininity. In daily life, such as during meals or washing up, she behaves quickly and inconspicuously like a boy out of necessity.
– Evidence has been found that she bled for a street magician and consumed illegal modified potions, for which she learned wand magic. The magician was tortured and killed afterward. No evidence of crime against the Oknodie girl has been found. However, it has been confirmed that numerous orphans have been used for experiments.
– The exact source of her swordsmanship and archery skills is unknown, but it is presumed she learned techniques at the level of iron-clad adventurers. Further confirmation is needed regarding any suspicious dealings.
– …
– …
Rustle.
‘Is that a mouse?’
No, it couldn’t be.
Unlike humans, animals instinctively sense predators.
Quietly and without making a sound, he drew his sword.
Coming down into the living room, he spotted a familiar silhouette.
The Oknodie girl.
A talented girl taken in by the boss.
What could she be doing out at this hour?
If she tried to sneak away, it would be troublesome.
It would be better to find out her purpose to prevent a similar incident happening in the future.
‘Is she stealing something like a petty thief?’
There were certainly girls with such foolish tendencies.
Some had developed bad habits with their hands.
Jonnas considered.
He hoped that the poor girl wouldn’t turn into one of them.
Etiquette training was painful for both the teacher and the student.
‘That is…’
The Oknodie girl’s destination was neither the merchant’s shop nor the antique shop where stolen goods were disposed of.
In the dead of night, in an empty park.
What could she possibly do in a place like this?
‘Please don’t tell me she has some annoying hobby.’
If she were a young lady indulging in secret strange hobbies, it might tarnish the boss’s reputation.
If that fact came to light, she might need proper training instead of just etiquette lessons.
While preparing himself mentally, Oknodie’s wicked nighttime escapades finally began.
Walking along the stone edge of the park’s fountain.
Jumping between shop signs.
Spreading her arms and walking on the top of the wall.
‘…Worrying about this seems like a loss.’
What on earth is she doing?
Did she develop a habit of secretly playing around at night while living on the streets?
Her remarkable sense of balance and agile movements were so impressive that he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I should be here by now… Ah, is that it?”
What was she looking for?
As he narrowed his eyes and observed her, she picked something up from on top of the wall.
It was still just a stone.
Was she trying to keep a pretty-shaped rock?
What a cute hobby.
Still, it would be dangerous if the patrolling guards or shady figures on the street caught her, so she should be more careful.
He decided to wait until breakfast the next morning to caution her about it.
Just as he made that resolution, the Oknodie girl popped the stone she had just picked up into her mouth.
This girl had really gone and done it.
*
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Eep?!”
“Spit that out at once!”
Suddenly, the butler who had appeared somewhere grabbed her from behind and started patting her back, but she wasn’t in a position to spit it out.
Glug!
Just like a serpent swallowing its prey, the stat stone disappeared down her throat.
That’s right, the stat stone.
A stone that raises one’s stats when eaten.
Her head began to throb as a familiar notification popped up before her.
[Stat stone used.]
[Random stat increases by 1.]
In the game world, merely pressing the use button would make it register the usage of the stat stone.
But now, reality had turned into the game.
There was no use button, no method to use it other than swallowing.
‘It’s not that I dislike grinding in the training ground, but I can’t just give up on nighttime park grinding either.’
The sense of balance would help in various situations.
If she didn’t raise it while she could, it would be too late later.
[Walked along the park fountain’s edge for more than a minute at night.]
[Balance Sense Experience +2]
[Night Walk Experience +1]
[Jumped between shop signs for more than a minute at night.]
[Balance Sense Experience +6]
[Night Walk Experience +2]
[Walked on the wall with arms spread for more than a minute at night.]
[Balance Sense Experience +4]
[Night Walk Experience +1]
A madly efficient route of experienced players that allows for simultaneous skill experience and stat boost!
Furthermore, she should collect stat stones whenever possible.
‘Stat stones that appear in every known location are rarely found.’
Five locations altogether.
Stat stones appear at certain fixed spots, changing their appearance based on probability.
If you don’t know where they appear, you may miss them, and if you arrive too late, someone else may pick them up, or the object might get destroyed and disappear.
‘While I’m grateful for the butler’s training, I can’t just give up on eating stat stones!’
She never expected she’d actually end up swallowing them.
“Why did you swallow a stone?!”
“It’s a, a secret…”
“I prepare your meals, don’t I?”
“Sorry…”
“If you keep doing things like this, the boss will be sad, too.”
From the NPC’s perspective, they wouldn’t know about stat stones. It would merely look like a perfectly fine girl suddenly went insane, wandering around at night and swallowing rocks.
…She would indeed seem completely mad. She needed to come up with some excuse.
“I had no choice. If I didn’t eat it, I wouldn’t survive.”
The lack of stats was a serious issue.
This game imposes no restrictions on stats.
You can pick up any item as long as you can carry it.
The price for lacking stats is paid in the form of physical punishment, jinxes, and elimination in real battles.
Stats should be raised in advance, or you risk being hindered later.
Perhaps her desperate feelings were conveyed, as the butler, instead of a stern expression, seemed to be taken aback, almost like he had been slapped on the back of the head.
“From tomorrow, I’ll give you more food.”
“Wow. Really?”
“But please never again fill your stomach with stones.”
This is becoming slightly unsettling.
This is akin to treating her like a poor child baking mud cookies in a third world country.
Even if it’s a misunderstanding, there’s no way to persuade otherwise.
“…I’ll try to do better.”
All she could say was that she would eat less moving forward.
It seemed that wasn’t enough to satisfy the butler’s piercing gaze.
She felt sorry for the butler.
Even if he looked at her with that kind of eye, she wouldn’t be able to say she wouldn’t eat.
The world is vast, and there are plenty of stat stones to consume!