CLA.S.S NEUTRAL: Stranger Is Coming

House on the Outskirts. Narylna. Herbalist's Knowledge.

The Herbalist, Narylna, lived in a small house near the village. This house looked a bit clumsy but very cozy. There were bunches of herbs everywhere, and lots of beautiful flowers with white petals were growing behind it—they slightly resembled the ones that had scratched me so painfully.

A small vegetable garden impressed with an abundance of different vegetables and herbs. Even weeds seemed to grow where they were allowed. The woman was nowhere to be seen, and I got a bit sad.

Sitting down on a bench, I began to think about further plans. It would be necessary to level up. Now only the first levels of each skills were available for me. That wasn't enough. I need to learn alchemy and collecting herbs.

I gave a quest to three players not knowing how to cook even the simplest potion. The herbalist came up to me at the time when I was sitting and pondering.

She turned out to be a rather attractive girl, probably only a couple of years younger than me, although I might be mistaken; perhaps she was even younger. I liked Rainea because almost all the girls here were attractive. There were no ugly women here at all. Her long blonde hair was in a tight braid, and several long strands covered her temples and ears. Her blue eyes were filled with fatigue, and her very beautiful face expressed some surprise.

The simple dress, covered with green stains left by the grass, was slightly shabby. In the hem of the dress there was a hole in which a daisy grew, and exactly the same flower adorned her shoulder. A belt of daisies gently circled her waist. She was holding a basket of flowers and herbs.

"Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. You are Narylna." I smiled.

"Yes. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I've been looking for you."

"Wait for me a moment, please. I've just got out of the forest, and I need some rest." She sighed, opened the door, and headed into the house. "Come in, don't stand on the doorstep."

It was very comfortable inside: low ceilings, old massive cabinets with a bunch of dishes and alchemical accessories, and bundles of herbs. A fire was burning in the heater, illuminating the room. It was getting dark, and I hadn't even noticed it.

The young lady, I would call her so because she was very attractive, lit a candle. It got lighter immediately. Narylna put the basket on the bench next to the table and went over to the bed, standing near the wall.

"What do you want?" she asked with a sigh. "I don't remember strangers waiting for me before."

"I'd like to sell you these ingredients," I said, laying out the teeth, fangs, ears, and tails.

"I can give you five silver coins."

"They are soaked with the Hellish Abyss's emanations." I decided to increase the goods' value and boast that I was able to overcome such evil creatures as hares, squirrels, and other small animals.

"Then take them back. I don't need them."

I was surprised. The herbalist hated such ingredients. After talking with the chief and Prax, I thought I was going to earn a fair amount of money, but I failed.

"What do you think about it?" I showed her the pine-cones of the Stone Lime, seeds, white flowers with sharp poisonous thorns, the oak twig, the bottle of crystal water, and a handful of dust. I didn't take out the elk-tahr, I was afraid that she would drive me away. Noticing her interest and surprise, I added, "I would like to know more about it."

"Well," she pulled herself together and put the pillow behind her back.

"I've spent the whole day in the forest, so I'm very tired and couldn't tell with you sitting, so I apologize."

"It's all right." I smiled and began to listen carefully. "Scales from the pine-cones is an interesting ingredient if you make a broth on their basis, you can get the effect of strengthening the skin, which can repel one of five arrow-attacks.

"The effectiveness will depend on your skill, the number of scales in the broth, on the water, and on the fire. The probability of a hit is one to five." She drank some water from a wooden mug.

"The seeds of a Stone Lime are also rare ingredients. I've only seen them a couple of times in my life. Grandpa told me about a potion that could sprout them, but its recipe is incredibly elaborate. He didn't explain to me the use of that potion.

"The rest of the ingredients are just incredible: a twig of fox oak, crystal water, and Alyrra's White Glow. I can't even imagine how you managed to get them; they were all considered almost fiction.

"There's only one fox oak in our forest, and only an adamant blade is able to cut its branch. However, nobody has seen it. Crystal water is able to freeze time, so it can only be collected in a Vessel of Emptiness, which doesn't exist.

Alyrra's White Glow is named after the first herbalist of these places, my great-grandmother. These flowers are able to heal any wound, and their poison repels both life and death. Nobody but me believed in their existence. And yet, only a decent guy is able to collect them."

Her eyes were full of tears, and one tear rolled down her cheek, leaving a thin trace on her beautiful face. "I believed they existed.

"Thank you, Stranger. You've restored the honor of my family." She wiped her tears away and continued, "The silvan's mushroom cap… did you kill the Forest Keeper?"

"Don't worry, he's a nice elderly man, though he's very secretive." The girl looked at me with admiration. "This mushroom fell on my head and saved my life, although, at first, it was going to kill me."

After my words, she slid down from the pillow and seemed to faint, but she regained consciousness after ten minutes of me fussing over her. To be honest, I was worried—I hated it when good people got sick.

"It means that you've got a Keeper's talent, and this mushroom is your mascot now." I tried to look calm.

"You're just awesome."

Wow, even my real-life girlfriends never talked this way. I'd never seen so much interest in a girl's eyes. Though I had only managed to bring her some water, passed through thickets of flowers, looking like climbing roses, having broken an unbreakable and receiving a personal Fly Agaric in my bag.

"Your dust seems unusual also, Stranger." The girl stroked her hair. "Now, wait a minute."

She got out of bed and went to the closet. After searching for a couple of minutes, she finally pulled out a heavy book, blew off completely ordinary dust, and then sat on the bed.

She flipped through it for a long time and then showed me a picture. After this simple action, the description of the ingredient changed.

Narylna. Alchemy and Cooking. Unpleasant Meeting

Dust of the Interworld

Description: There are many worlds in this universe, and the space between them is enormous. This space is called the Interworld. It connects other worlds, filling the void and taking the space fragments from the Great Nothing

Completely different laws exist in this space, and they change over time, which passes oddly

Everything in the Interworld is formed from Dust. Dust between the Worlds is the basis for creation, so it can be found only in the farthest corners of the universe

Quantity: 1

Effect: unknown

Class: out of any class

She passed out again for a long time, and I was devastated. It's very cool that I have an out-of-class ingredient. But I was more struck by another fact. I need only the fox's emerald hair now to make the potion that I invented. I was shocked. Although the possession of these ingredients changed nothing. To prepare a potion, I had to become an advanced alchemist. I didn't have any knowledge in this area. I looked at the unconscious girl and thought she was too tired and exhausted. She seemed asleep. I was tired too, so I sat down on the floor, put my head on the feather bed and immediately fell asleep.

***

The game timer turned on at eight o'clock in the morning. This nice device sounded in my head only. It woke me up, but I didn't bother the girl. The sun was shining outside, and I decided to take care of Narylna a little.

The kitchen was small but quite ordinary. There was a heater instead of a gas stove and a trough of water instead of a sink. I managed to find some potatoes among the girl's stuff. I remembered how my grandmother from the village fried such potatoes when I was still very small. It was impossible to forget the taste of such a dish. I found and added a kind of dill and garlic, seasoning the potatoes at the last stage of cooking.

The girl woke up to the smell of cooking and looked at me in surprise. I looked at her, and as I did so, a message with wonderful information emerged before my eyes.

Skill 'Cooking' is obtained

Description: You can eat raw vegetables, fruits, berries, and other vegetation. But ordinary people won't eat raw meat

To enjoy tastes the sentient beings began to mix different ingredients and thus learned to cook

The number of recipes for bakery products in the world is so great that no chef will be able to study them all. In addition to wheat flour, there are many other ingredients. Therefore, the sentient beings began to invent new tastes and remember how to cook

Find your own unique taste and learn how to cook the dishes of other chefs

You'll always be able to please your friends and companions with new, excellent dishes

Skill Class: normal

Skill level: 3

You've created a new recipe 'Stranger's Fried Potato'

Description: Having remembered a dish, which you used to eat as a child, you've created a similar dish in Rainea

You used some ingredients that don't exist in your world and cooked a dish that even Royal gourmets would appreciate

Class: unique

Effects: +10% to the Speed Recovery, Health, and mana for two hours, +100% to the recovery of Stamina, -10% to the speed of running,

'Charming taste'— 2 hours, 'Sense of Satiety'— 4 hours

Your level increases! Current level: 6

Wow! I decided to try and please the girl and got bonuses! I was mostly showing off and doing stuff before. I won't waste my points because I am very greedy. I could level up without them. Why do they call the cooking of ordinary fried potatoes a unique recipe? I received the third level of the skill for it! I'm very surprised. Why did none of many millions of other player guess to do it? It's hard to believe. Most likely I added some rare ingredients instead of onions and dill. I hope Narylna won't get angry.

I wonder how many unique artifacts I have. The stretcher was no longer unique after I pulled out the nail and the log with a feather. I'd like to unlock a second achievement someday. I wonder how many quests I need to complete and how many artifacts I need to have to get the next achievement.

"M-m-mmm," Narylna said, eating the potato. "I've never thought that ordinary small potatoes could be cooked this way."

"My grandmother cooked me wonderful dishes, but I didn't reach her level." I smiled.

We then talked to each other and didn't even notice that many hours had passed. It's strange, but I have never talked to someone for so long, and I don't care that Narylna is an NPC, not a real girl. She was prettier than most people—and more alive and honest.

I felt much better after this ordinary conversation. Maybe because I used to be more silent and listen to other people, and now I was rather talkative.

"Narylna, can you teach me alchemy and the secrets behind gathering herbs?"

"Of course, it's very simple. You'll quickly be able to improve your skills, if you have a number of experiences and read books. I have a lot of them," the herbalist replied happily. She also seemed to talk with people rather rarely as she agreed so quickly.

It's strange because she's so awesome. In my world, she would be considered the first beauty.

After about ten minutes, I looked at the interaction between a usual sorrel, a kahrel (a purple flower with a blue border of petals and a pleasant smell) and the crushed root of an eberutos (a tree similar to eucalyptus, only much smaller and not so odorous).

A bright flash blinded me for a moment, and then the current liquid turned bright yellow. The flask suddenly seemed to be filled with an egg yolk-like substance. Narylna took the flask, and we went to a big rock at the end of the path.

Without warning, she threw the flask at the rock, and there was an explosion. A thick yellow cloud emerged the air and quickly dissipated, revealing to our eyes the completely unharmed stone; however, there was a wonderful fragrance of flowers everywhere.

"I've recently discovered this effect," the herbalist explained. "As you may have noticed, the explosion deals no damage to inanimate objects, but it's deadly for any living creature." She slightly lifted the sleeve of her dress and exposed her forearm, and there was a scar from a severe burn.

"Just a drop fell on me. Now, watch this." The girl poured a lime-green liquid over a small flower, and the plant increased in size by several times. "This is my other discovery. The elixir of growth. Now it's your turn to brew a potion."

***

We went back into the house and entered her little laboratory. I heated a small cauldron and put the fangs, tails, and ears of the hares, the squirrel legs, and a badger's tooth into the water without hesitation.

At the same time, I walked around the cauldron, making evil faces and laughing like an evil wizard, pretending to be a cliched alchemist; the girl covered her face with her hand, hiding a smile.

Finally, I crushed the stone and poured the powder into the cauldron. Something unimaginable then happened. The brew started boiling; large bubbles began to burst on the surface. A few times, the color changed from dark-red to grey and then back and forth several more times. Finally, the potion settled on dark-red. I read the message that popped up and froze in surprise

You have created the concentrate 'Hellish Abyss's emanation'

Description: Having collected particles containing another world's energy, you've received a certain amount of Hellish Abyss's pure energy

Be careful, this experiment is very dangerous for beginners

Quantity: 5

Class: rare

"Newcomers are lucky," the herbalist muttered, looking at my brew. "Even I don't always manage to get five portions of emanation from the first time. It's very clever to use stone dust as a reaction stabilizer... You definitely have a talent for alchemy. However, you'll need to work on the purity of the current emanation, but this is a completely different stage of alchemy. We'll get back to it later."

The message appeared in confirmation of her words:

Skill 'Alchemy' is obtained

Description: Having learned about the potions and methods of their brewing due to the herbalist Narylna, you want to try your hand at this difficult skill

Thanks to your innate talent, you've been able to do things that a beginner can't usually do

Very few strangers are capable of this, so develop your natural talent and improve your skills in every way

Skill Class: rare

Skill level: 2

It's so unusual—even Narylna is mentioned here! This skill is rare because most players simply don't want to remember recipes and learn about various herbs' properties; gamers are interested in monsters only; so, it's the most common and unremarkable skill.

Narylna then taught me how to gather herbs and how to find rare plants among a large variety of weeds and common grass.

To be honest, I didn't want to leave, but I had to level up, so I decided to go back to the forest and look for the creatures affected by the emanations.

"Narylna, I'll go into the forest now. I need to gather ingredients and improve my skills."

"I understand. Good luck, Stranger." She seemed a bit embarrassed. "I'll always be glad to see you at my house. Please, can you tell me your name?"

"Allone," I said, and then added quietly, "Though, you can call me Alexey."

"Call me Nary."

Reputation points with Narylna increased!

Status: Affection

Hmm... I want the status 'Love'

What if I'm lucky in this world?

"I'll come tonight, and here is a little gift for you in the meantime." I gave her Alyrra's White Glow.

Of course, it was wrong to gift a girl a poisonous flower, but she wanted to restore her family's reputation. She has never even asked me about it. What a wonderful girl!

"This flower is priceless; I can't accept it."

"I like you, Narylna, so I wanted to give you something worthy of your beauty." Sometimes I'm good with words. After these words, she kissed me. Perhaps, now I have the status 'Love'. I didn't check. It was amazing. I almost danced when I went to the forest. I had walked less than a mile before, suddenly, four familiar players appeared in front of me.