538 Crossed Paths



In the game, Ren found himself in the same position and with the same stat as before, like he had never left.

He was still on Hopten Beach, by the raft with the Princess beside him.

"Ren?"

Ren blinked. "What?"

"I said I'm going to go to get some shut eye." She grinned, eyes full of mirth. "You sure you're not joining me?"

"No," Ren said with a flat voice, almost too sudden for his liking. He got to admit that this timeline was making him a little confused and disoriented.

Elena's smile fell, and she made a face. "Fine then. You can guard the outside of the guest house while I take my rest."

"I'll do just that." Ren meant it, but it seemed like the Princess had taken his words as an offense.

[Your Relationship Level with Princess Elena has decreased!]

How do you shut this thing off? Ren asked to himself. This was getting on his nerves. He pulled out the settings on his screen and adjusted the notifications he would receive.

He didn't need to be reminded of his relationship levels with the NPCs. Just the four-level was enough, like Ruffians, Stranger, Friends, and Intimate.

He didn't see any harm in turning the other relationship notifications off for it was rather distracting.

Ren decided to pass the time by fishing. Maybe he could forage something in the sea.

Who knows? Maybe he could get something precious like a pearl.

After some time of fishing, Ren got bored when the usual seaweed, corals, and trout came up to the end of his fishing rod. As he had expected, he didn't have the necessary patience for this kind of craft.

Ren stored his silver Fishing Pole and was about to go back to the Guest Pavilion when he spotted something. In the distance, he saw four silhouettes going in this direction. Based on their forms, they weren't Frogfolks.

Upon using [Probe], Ren was surprised that they were players and, worst of all, he knew them. They were Lily and her cahoots.

Are they still alive?

Ren was impressed, if nothing else.

What could they be doing in this part of the map?

Ren didn't like to be associated with troublemakers. But it seemed like trouble was knocking on his doors.

Zack led the party with Josh, Kylie and Lily not far behind. Ren hope that they wouldn't come here, but it was just his wishful thinking for there was nothing on this parts but this village. They must have been attracted by the noise and fire.

Ren went to his feet and took a deep breath. Looks like a confrontation was unavoidable. This was just a relatively small village. Their path was bound to cross even if he stayed in the rafter.

Besides, it wasn't in his nature to hide, and with the Princess sleeping in the guest room, he couldn't just leave.

Ren knew that if he appeared now, he was sure that Lily would report his whereabouts to her brother Scar. Not that it was important.

Ren didn't care if someone knew his location. He got Pii and the Princess, so he had nothing to worry about. He wouldn't let his guard down, though, and he proceeded to the guest quarters where the Princess was sleeping.

He would take the first-night watch as he promised. If Lily and her friends were just passing by and sightseeing, then the night would go without bloodshed. But if they were going to cause some trouble, then he would show them no mercy – yet again.

Ren arrived in the Guest pavilion just in time for Lily and her group to meet with the Frogfolks at the entrance of the village.

The village was designed around an open courtyard of pools and corals, and the building was strategically placed so that wherever you were standing, you could see everything that was happening through the gaps of the huts.

Lilly and the others hadn't spotted Ren yet. Their HP was half, and their MP was near empty. They looked stressed and weary.

"Finally. Some village to take refuge to recover our health," said Kylie. "I'm sick of those creatures coming after us."

"What are they anyway? Why are they after us every day?" Josh questioned with a wry sigh. "All my items are gone and it had only been a day in real time. We still have like . . . six days to go."

"Wild Hunts." Zack sneered. "Didn't you read its descriptions? They're feys that hunt players and other creatures for sports."

"I thought the Fey Realm would be a magical place with unicorns and fairies and pixies and things like that," Kylie lamented, "but who would have thought that these Feys were ugly looking?"

Ren could hear their conversation from where he was standing. There were beautiful and ugly fairies, he couldn't help but think. Those guys probably spent a fortune expecting to see magical creatures out from fairy tales, and Ren bet it was because they wanted to please Lily.

From what he recalled, Lily had a thing for cute creatures. It was exactly the reason why she wanted Pii in the first place.

But Ren had to wonder why she didn't take up the Hunter class if she wanted to collect pets. Instead, she was a Black Mage, just like her brother Scar.

No matter. It wasn't his concern.

"Whoa, look at those!" Kylie gasped when she had a clear picture of the village. "Are those . . . frogs?"

"Hello there! Are you adventurers?" the village mayor asked the moment they arrived.

"A talking frog that walks on its two feet . . ." Lily was in a daze. "I want one . . . ," she muttered.

Kylie wryly smiled. "I don't think we can take NPCs as pets."

You couldn't take anything as pets because it conflicted with your class. Ren wanted to say. He seemed like a gossiper just standing outside the guest house and eavesdropping on their conversation.

It wasn't intentional, though. Their voices rang in the silence of the night.

Zack squinted his eyes at the remaining Frogfolks roaming the village. "The question is . . . can they be trusted?"

"They seemed friendly enough," said Kylie. "And look at this place. It's so . . . so pretty. I will welcome this kind of place any day than in our time in the forest with those feys."

"Do you have an inn here where we could rest?" Josh asked.

"Inn?" the village mayor shook his head. "This is just a very small village. I'm afraid that there's no Inn here. But we do have a Guest Room though right now, it's occupied."

"Occupied?" Zack frowned.

The mayor nodded. "Yes. Actually, they're adventurers too, just like you."

Lily and the others looked at each other. "Players?"

"Yes. They helped us with our problems, so we owe them a good deal. We even have a feast for them not long ago."

"Where are they?" Zack asked, wary and curios in his voice.

"They're staying there, at the Guest House." The Village Mayor pointed at the Guest pavilion, and every eye landed on Ren.

Great.