Bria Ortega has leveled up!
Hit Points: 34+9=43
Mana: 29+7=36
Strength: 31+8=39
Defense: 29+6=35
Agility: 27+9=36
Magic Might: 24+6=30
Magic Defense: 29+8=37
[Enhance] Learned!
As the Red Slime crumbled, the stat increases flooded her veins with that thrilling rush of newfound power. The gains were slowly diminishing in how much they increased her comparative power to the previous level, but each improvement was still felt. More than that was the new skill that just landed in her repertoire.
[Enhance] did exactly what it said on the tin. It increased her physical strength and defense for the cost of five mana. It only lasted a few short minutes, but it was effectively a level or two worth of extra power that she could call upon at will for the price of two potential [Heal] castings. A worthwhile trade if it kept her from coming to harm in the first place.
“Congratulations,” Neth-amii said. “You’ve reached our goal for the day. Shall we retire back to the surface?”
Wiping sweat from her brow, Bria grinned. “Sounds good. I’m eager to get on the road tomorrow, so we should probably rest up.”
“Agreed. The journey will take several days by foot.”
Bria let out a low whistle, then cursed when a Green Slime slinked out of the shadows at the call. It took almost no effort to dispatch, and she would take the single experience point regardless of how small of a drop it might have been. Every little bit helped when it came to accumulating future power.
Despite the teasing from her friend over the mishap, they made it to the surface without any further encounters with the little menaces. Yet, when they stepped out into the open air it was with the stark realization that they weren’t alone. A simple wooden cart sat parked beside Neth-amii’s home, and a large man was sitting atop it.
Covered in bees.
Yet, there was no screaming, or even any indication that he was being attacked. Instead, they almost seemed to be fawning over him fondly. A quick glance at Neth-amii had Bria relaxing slightly. She was shaking her head fondly at the man and made to march right over to him without a care.
“Kro-ahnk, how does the road find you?”
“Nethy!” the man shouted, jumping to his feet. The bees scattered, buzzing loudly, but none moved to attack even after all that. One of the bees settled upon Neth-amii’s shoulder, and it wasn’t hard to guess that it was Bumble. “I thought you might have been in the dungeon, so I waited! Oh, you have a friend too! Hello friend of Nethy, I’m Kro-ahnk! Call me Krow.”
“Hello, Krow,” Bria said slowly. “Call me Bria, I guess.”
[Wandering Merchant Lv. 13]
Strong, but it didn’t seem to be a combat class. He nodded along happily at the introduction, and didn’t say a thing about being given a girl’s name despite her being obviously a boy. Which was again strange, but the last thing Bria wanted to do was cause a commotion by calling attention to it all. If Neth-amii wasn’t making a bigger deal of it, then she wouldn’t be either.
“Bria, a fine name indeed! Nethy, how goes the honey production?”
The woman sighed, shaking her head as one hand reached up to pet Bumble, who seemed to almost purr at the attention. “Given it has only been two months since your last visit, I’m afraid I do not have as much to sell you this time.”
“I expected as much! I just wanted to let you know I found a wealthy buyer who makes mead down in Coastridge! He wants to exclusively source his honey from you!”
Neth-amii blinked, then crossed her arms. “I doubt very much my simple hives here could produce enough to source anything more than basic mead production.”
“He agreed,” Krow said. “He also said it would be sold to Nobles and such, so lots of money for little work!”
“Neth-amii’s honey is considered that good?” Bria asked.
The merchant bounced excitedly. “Oh yes, simply the best honey I’ve found on the island!”
Island. Had Neth-amii mentioned that this was another island? Probably, but Bria had a lot going on when she first arrived. Retaining information wasn’t high on her priority list at the time. Well, that was yet another thing to learn more about when on the road.
The pair settled in to discuss the finer details of supply and compensation. Neth-amii seemed to be growing more excited by the minute as the details were given, which boded well? Then the merchant reached into his pack and pulled out a massive pan with a handle long enough to make the thing a melee weapon.
Maybe it was.
A stone platform followed and the man set the pan atop it, where heat began to rise almost immediately. Bria stared at the portable cooking surface while Krow withdrew, then prepared, a bunch of ingredients. The man moved unlike anything she had ever seen, and within minutes there was a confection simmering away in the massive pot.
“That was incredible,” Bria said, hoping she wasn’t drooling over the wonderful aroma coming from the pan.
“Thanks! I’ve always loved to cook, and even took the merchant class to help me find new and exotic ingredients. It was how I came upon Nethy’s amazing honey for example.”
“You flatter me,” Neth-amii said, looking away. “I merely planted flowers for the bees already living nearby.”
“And they promptly moved into the hive boxes I brought you after sampling, didn’t they?”
Neth-amii let out a sigh and seemingly accepted the defeat. Sitting there, Bria felt lost for a moment before she shot to her feet. This man was exactly what they needed! She ran past Neth-amii, who had risen swiftly with staff in hand, and found the supplies they couldn’t carry with them to Brookvale. She quickly hauled some of the sugar out and held up the bag triumphantly.
“Please tell me you’re willing to buy or trade,” Bria exclaimed.
The large man let out a belting laugh. “Oh, you’ve found a fun one here. Let me see what you have. My [Appraise] should give me an idea how much this is—” He cut off, his eyes going wide as he leaned in closer. “My word. Is this pure sugar? How in the world did you refine something so cleanly?”
And just like that, Bria’s mind went blank. For all their planning on how to trade some things for supplies and the like, they never came up with a proper explanation of just where it all came from that wouldn’t sound crazy to most people.
“She isn’t from around here, leave it at that,” Neth-amii said sharply. “Are you interested in it? She brought four such bags to trade with.”
The merchant nodded vigorously. “Oh you betcha I am! I’ll give you a single golden core for all four.”
“One gold each,” Neth-amii countered.
“Two gold for the lot,” the merchant haggled.
“Sold,” Neth-amii said.
The speed at which the deal had been struck left Bria’s head spinning, and two shining gold orbs were handed over to Neth-amii as the merchant made the bags of sugar vanish into his daunting pack. Just like that, she had some money, or at least, Neth-aiii had it.
“Do I get a say in these deals?” Bria asked meekly.
Neth-amii blinked, then her face burned crimson. “Oh gosh, I apologize. Those weren’t mine to bargain with. Here, take the cores, they are yours after all.”
Bria accepted them, unsure what to say as she held the tiny golden little marbles. The merchant however had gone pale.
“Oh dear, it seems I have committed one of the gravest of sins a merchant can make! Please, accept my deepest regrets and tell me if there is anything you might need. I’ll make sure you get it at cost!”
Despite how sudden the offer had been, a smile crept onto Bria’s face. “What sort of swords do you have available?”
The answer was ‘a bunch’. More than a dozen blades had sprouted from the man’s pack, and it was abundantly clear that the thing held far more than Neth-amii’s own. The blades were fairly similar to one another, ranging from soft metals like copper and bronze, all the way up to proper steel.
“These are the ones I have on hand,” Kro-ahnk said. “I’d recommend starting with the Steel Edge here, as it is less likely to break than the bronze or copper options. From there, it gets increasingly more expensive, even if I cut all my profits from the equation.”
The sudden shift in his tone when talking prices was a bit unsettling, but at the same time, this was business with all the frills stripped away. Krow wasn’t lying when he said things got more expensive the higher the quality. Yet, there was one blade that stood out near the middle of the set. In a way, it reminded her of the knife gifted by Mother, with similar runes engraved along the blade. The handle was different, but that could easily be due to a replacement.
“What about this one?” Bria asked, picking it up.
“Ah, an Ancient Blade,” Kro-ahnk said. “Quite rare, and usually expensive, but you’re in luck because I found that one myself and got it refurbished by a Smith that owed me a favor. Overall cost is way down and while I’ll cry over the lost profits, I can let it go for three gold cores.”
Neth-amii opened her mouth, but Bria’s hand flashed out, pressing a single finger to her lips. “I think that’s fair, all things considered. I do have other goods with me, if you’re interested.”
Relief flooded the man’s face before being replaced by that same wide smile he’d worn before the mess with negotiating cropped up. “I’d be happy to look things over. Given how you have things packed away in boxes, I’m guessing you lack a proper travel pack. I have some spares in the wagon and would not mind parting with one.”
“Sure,” Bria said. “If you can save us from dragging everything down to Brookvale then that would be a huge help.”
“I’m going towards there next!” the enthusiastic merchant said. Really, his energy was just infectious while also being a touch overwhelming. “I’ll be diverting off towards the Silent Abbey, but we can travel together until then!”
“Oh no,” Neth-amii whispered, too quiet for the excited man to hear. “Bria, what have you done?”
“Wonderful! Simply amazing! I can cook all the food you can eat with more companions! Just wait until you try my mango ribs, or cabbage soup! Wait, I’m making that one right now!” Sure enough, he pulled a head of cabbage out, then looked at it for a moment with great intensity. “Cabbage prices are only just now back to reasonable levels. Six months back this bald kid smashed through one of the biggest cabbage grower’s fields and ruined the entire crop.”
The man’s fist closed, shattering the head of cabbage. Thankfully he did it over the soup, but it was still disconcerting to watch someone so casually crush something the size of her own skull. Right, just because he held a non-combat class didn’t mean he lacked the stats needed to defend himself. There was something to be said for a lone merchant out on the road and what it meant. Neth-amii had mentioned bandits before, hadn’t she? Of course a merchant would need to be able to drive them off.
Which had Bria’s eyes trailing back towards the massive skillet currently simmering away. Just the thought of that thing hitting her sent chills down her spine and right to her toes. And speaking of the simmering pan, the soup appeared to be ready.
Settling in beside Neth-amii, Bria took the time to appreciate the flavor of the rich soup. It was nothing like how her parents prepared cabbage, but she would like to learn. Glancing at the merchant who could pass as a chef, Bria resolved that he probably wasn’t the best person to ask. He’d likely go for it, and for a reasonable price, but Bria wasn’t certain that she had the social battery to endure that level of enthusiasm for an extended time.
Actually, could Neth-amii tolerate it? She’d muttered something earlier and it got Bria thinking. Had she made a mistake by agreeing to travel with the man? Well, it was a bit late to ask about that, but it still felt like the right thing to do.
“Hey, are you alright with this?” Bria asked, gesturing towards the happy man draining bowl after bowl of soup.
With a heavy sigh, Neth-amii leaned against Bria. She stiffened on the sudden contact, and tried not to think about how a beautiful woman was now leaning against her so casually.
“I’m not the fondest of men, if you haven’t noticed,” Neth-amii whispered. “Kro-ahnk is generally an exception to that rule, but I can only tolerate so much of him at once.”
“But, I’m a guy,” Bria whispered.
“Are you?” Neth-amii asked, and unless Bria was completely misreading things, she sounded amused? “Bria, the system recognized you by your chosen name, just as it did for me. You’re already changing, surely you’ve noticed?”
She reached out, brushing a strand of hair that was draped over Bria’s shoulder. When had it gotten so long? Her last haircut was a month ago, and that had brought it to just above her chin. Hair didn’t normally grow that quickly, not for anyone. That brought her mind back to her last shower, where her chest had been a bit swollen and tender.
More than that, the thought of being a girl didn’t immediately invoke the feelings of dread she had expected. She’d always played as a girl in Dungeon Heroes, which was where the name Bria came from in the first place. In a way, she had been thinking of herself as Bria since shortly after coming to the other side. It helped that Neth-amii had immediately taken to using the name, but something told her it went deeper.
As the implications of it all washed over Bria, she could only blink as Neth-amii grinned back at her. No, it couldn’t be that simple, even with magic! There had to be some other reason that Bria was changing physically…
“You’ll figure it out eventually,” Neth-amii said, patting her on the shoulder. “Just take your time, I wanted it and it was still a struggle for me to embrace.”
As the Shrine Priestess drank her soup broth, Bria was left with her entire self-image collapsing like a shattered mirror.
Status:
Name: Bria Ortega
Level: 05
Experience: 04/238
Class: NONE
Hit Points: 43
Mana: 36
Strength: 39
Defense: 35
Agility: 36
Magic Might: 30
Magic Defense: 37