Chapter 4- Serendipity Inn (4)
Determined to keep her manners and retain her bearings as an elegant and lady-like woman, she voluntarily moved from her position and walked towards that brazen basta- man
With a polite smile still plastered on her lips she gave him a greeting in her silky and soothing voice
"Are you talking a walk in the forest? I got lost do you know where the road is?"
"..."
"Sir?"
After enduring a few seconds of scrutiny, he finally opened his mouth
"A player?"
His tone was curt and his words brief, his manner of speech showed that he valued his words like gold
She appropriately displayed an expression of confusion and bewilderment
"Pardon?"
She couldn't trust this suspicious man, he looked like some criminal, wearing all black with that naturally distrustful vicious look in his eyes, he looked like the type that can summon a sword out of nowhere to kill you
She was indeed a player but late-coming players that arrived later than the rest usually would have very contradictory tasks and sometimes aren't even required to solve the main task of the dungeon
Instead the system would encourage them to cuase chaos and wreck havoc, painting them as priority for elimanation upon discovery
Clyde stared at her for a brief while, she pretended to be uncomfortable under his quizzical stare
"Sir?"
"Why are you here?"
He didn't give up inquiring, how troublesome
Showing a bashful embarassed expression she started lying through her teeth without even blinking
"Believe it or not I woke up here after my parents kicked me out of our cabin"
Faced with his unchanging stare, she feigned awkwardness naturally as if she was put on the spot by joking with someone who doesn't share her humor
"I'm joking, this forest is actually my family's private property and we have a cabin in these woods, I grew up in abroad and just returned to the country so it's my first time spending the summer here, I'm a bit unfamiliar with the terrrain and I got lost"
Clyde just nodded, he seemed to have accepted her explanation but at the same time seemed to still find her suspicious but postponed asking more questions
"I also got lost, what's that tree over there"
He pointed towards the tree which bark she had peeled, she displayed a troubled expression
"Someone carved their names in the bodhi tree, it's strange bodhi trees means rebirth, it's not even a cedar tree for eternal love"
"You seems to know your trees well?"
His calm voice disguised as probing were as irritating as his face, but she responded without betraying her personal feelings
"As you know the trees in this forest usually are found in different regions with different soil neccessary to thrive but they're growing here in the same place without problems, my uncle specializes in Forestry and Botany so I learned along the way"
He stepped closer towards the Bodhi tree and his eyes glowed imperceptibly in excitement, 'a clue' is basically what he's thinking, she knew just by his display of enthusiasm by studying it even more closely, his movements although subtle didn'tb escape her eyes
This man...
Probably just got his first clue
And by his sudden lost of composure from sheer happiness, it definitely haven't been easy gathering useful information
Thinking of this, her gaze towards the man took on a more sympathetic hue
They were all being played by the sytem, dancing to it's tunes like dolls hung on a string, comrade don't worry I'll make your death painless
He looked around a bit more before he turned towards her, his gaze no longer as distrustful and suspicious, in fact, he was looking at her like someone would to a hen that can lay golden eggs
He had regarded her as valuable NPC that can spit out clues that'll help him clear this dungeon
Standing beside him pretending to help speculate and 'accidentally' drop some 'hints' she smiled inwardly
[SPECIAL TASK: GAIN THEIR TRUST 1/5]
[ADDITIONAL TASK: KILL THEM WHILE THEY TRUST YOU 0/4]
[SUPPLEMENTARY TASK: (PERMISSION TO FAIL) CHOOSE ONE TO KILL YOU 0/1]
Trust was subjective, and the sytem's standards of acceptance was always exploitable
You trusting that a stranger wouldn't suddenly turn around and stab you with s knife, is general trust that would have been widespread in the outside world where peace was the norm and war was rare, where the possibility of large conflicts happening were slim
But not within these dungeons
The treacherous world where not even strength can gurantee your safety and where schemes are rampant, where death wasn't as valuable as task rewards, here, even a 3 year old child is someone to be wary of
So the standards for trust missions were lax but they were the one of the hardest task to complete
So how can you succeed?
***
"Why are you in your pajamas?"
"Ah"
She was wondering when he'd ask that
"I told you I wasn't familiar with the terrain right? I had an argument with my parents at breakfast and well we exchanged some unpleasant words and I just kinda.... walked off"
"Before I knew it, I veered off the trail and got lost, I was planning to make up with them during lunch after we all cooled off but I don't know the way"
She held her neck awkwardly, looking like she regretted her childish decision of just walking out impulsively
She shifted her green eyes down like a child that knew they did something wrong, she was naturally attractive and with her looking repentant, no one could stay mad at her
Normally Clyde would still be suspicious even with a well thought of foolproof excuse, but he didn't know if it was because she was good looking or he felt her genuine sincerity but his eyes softened and his vigilance against her lowered
Noticing this, she cursed in her heart
Why does this guy have such thick walls, even that wasn't enough to completely win his trust?
Unbeknowst to Clyde, a blue panel was present within her vision
[BUFF 'LOOK OF SINCERITY' APPLIED]
"What's your name"
The man suddenly asked her a question, finally remembered that huh? After talking for so long, you only remembered now to ask this?
"Lina"
Not that I'll answer honestly but isn't it basic manners?
"My names Clyde" didn't ask, who want's to know your petty name
[PASSIVE SKILL 'LIES EXCHANHED FOR TRUTH' TRIGGERED]
[RESULT: TRUTH]
Who asked for you?
Giving him a smile I replied politely
"Is it derived from Claideamh meaning sword in Gaelic language?"
Clyde paused for a moment
".....I don't know"
.....Uncultured swine
"But your name is really fitting, your eyes are sharp and vigilant, your gaze cool and calm, your built lean and muscular, your aura gives off the feeling of an unsheathed sword"
Stunned, he blinked his eyes and as if a bit flustered Clyde opened and closed his mouth multiple times but the only thing he uttered was a weak "Thank you...."
Inwardly Clyde felt embarassed, he was never good with words and he was at lost on how to respond, he became a bit self-concious when he recalled his dull reaction when she gave her name, comparison is really poison
Normally he would have been unperturbed by such casual small talk but when faced with her pure innocent crytal green eyes full of gentle smiles and her warm and clean temperament
He just couldn't remain aloof
"Your name.... Is pretty too"
Letting out a small chuckle she gave him a smile
"Thank you"
Looking at the setting sun, she had to abandon her plan with the bodhi tree with the carved names, it was such a shame, she thought she was gonna get something good, but maybe not today
Keeping her smile, she gently suggested
"We should probably look for the trails, it's getting quite dark and my attire is a bit sullied"
Clyde glanced at the conspicous red stain on her white pajamas and agreed, the stains were on her cuffs, she probably got them dirty while touching the heart painted with blood on the tree
"I remeber the way but this forest can be a bit confusing"
"It's better than staying here until dark"
'Lina' started following his lead passing by trees and avoiding ditches, suprisingly they actually managed to arrive at the backgate of a garden in an inn
"Is this where your staying?"
"Yes it's called Serendipity Inn, stay here temporarily for the night then you can use the telephone to contact your parents"
She looked at him a bit moved before she gave him a smile full of gratitude
"Thank you, I'll enjoy my stay here"
How generous, he directly lead me towards my mission targets