Whatever had happened in town had utterly frightened Pumpkin Girl as her entire body was shaking. This ought to be something significant!
"Are you alright?" Jack asked with concern, rushing to her side.
Even now, she had trouble calming down, her face twisting in disgust as she reminisced.
"They felt so vile, so revolting, so horrifying, so…." She repeated over and over as if a broken record.
This wasn't the always sunny Pumpkin Girl he knew. She was in PTSD mode. He wordlessly dragged her into an embrace as she nestled herself against his chest.
The sound of his heartbeat slowly lulled her back into a peaceful state. Her breathing calmed down as she finally regained her senses, blushing a cute crimson.
But she did not move one bit. She enjoyed his warmth, feeling safe in his arms…
She even found herself wishing that he could guard her farm and her forever as he had done the past days.
"What exactly happened?" He softly inquired, gently petting her head.
That's when she slowly recounted her tale.
She had gone to the general market to get supplies, only to encounter a troop of traveling mimes.
They looked like people, smelled of strong orchid perfume, and weren't human. Every time she spoke of them, she would shiver uncontrollably for an instant.
She was convinced that they were monsters because of their aura. She described it as sickeningly evil and corrupted, the complete opposite of Farmar's blessing!
She tried asking the guards for help, but they turned her away and threatened to put her in jail for false reporting. The bastards even acted as if there was nothing wrong with the visitors!
This left two possibilities:
1. The militia was corrupt
2. Only she had realized the issue
"What about the other villagers. Did any of them find the mimes strange?"
"I don't think so. I was so busy running that I didn't really notice…." She admitted.
The opposite of Farmar's blessing, eh? What if it was death magic?! She would be extremely sensitive to it as one who used life magic daily, hence the extreme reaction.
This was an opportunity! —> Rare Quest! (Probably)
"Alright, I'll go check it out. You stay here, and I'll leave Chicky to safeguard the pumpkins." Jack petted her head one last time before leaving.
"No! You can't! We need to stay away, even you! I know you're strong, but they're even stronger, I swear!" she screamed, panicked.
No shit, he was only level 15! While it was very high for a player at this stage of the game, it was still weak compared to the area's NPCs. Heck, even Pumpkin Girl was probably level 20+!
"Don't worry. I have my ways." He reassured, his voice deep and confident as he walked toward the farm's exit.
But that's when she rushed to block his way. Her gentle blue eyes were filled with determination as she gazed sternly at him.
"I won't let you! Didn't you hear what I just said?! They're super strong! Like way too strong! I won't let you throw your life away!" She exclaimed with incredible resolve.
"Braves are literally immortal. I'll be fine. Just await my victorious return!" he heroically thundered.
"So what?! There's always a risk! I won't move until you give up, even if I have to die!" she proclaimed.
Wait, what?! She was physically going to stop him?! She seemed hella serious too! Jack couldn't help but freeze.
In the past days, their many conversations had raised his affinity with her…but wasn't this too exaggerated?! He had expected her to be interested in him but not stake her life!
But he suddenly understood. He had been carving and defending her farm nonstop, day and night! It seemed like he had unknowingly exploited.
Continuous defense + Being the first Brave to help her = Shitload of affinity points!
"Tch— System, shouldn't you message players when the affinity rises so much?" Jack complained.
[…..]
[Analyzing!]
[Congratulations!]
[Affinity With "Pumpkin Girl" Maxed!]
[Added Pumpkin Girl to Notable NPC List!]
[Granted Access to Part of Pumpkin Girl's Status!]
"….Thanks." Jack promptly glanced at her information.
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NPC: "Pumpkin Girl" Level 25
Class: Pumpkin Farmer
Title: Bountiful Life Witch
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
– Hoeing F
– Farming E
– Farmar's Blessing E
– Life Energy Affinity 55
– Affected by Curse of Fear!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The current issue was now obvious:
1. She was affected by a [Curse of Fear]
2. The whole thing made her irrational
3. Cleansing it would be a pain in the ass
4. It was probably temporary anyway
Conclusion —> He could simply wait, but by then, perhaps the mimes would be gone. There was also the more forceful approach.
Surprisingly, she was level 25, but there was nothing remotely threatening in her status screen. It made sense considering she had needed his help to deal with rats.
"Sorry, but I'll be going on ahead, and we'll talk when I come back. Moon Moon, watch her and make sure she stays here!" Jack ordered as he darted away.
He didn't want her to follow. After all, with maxed affinity, she could very well confront her fear of the vile creatures to "rescue" him, regardless of if he needed her help.
This should have been a simple but effective plan. Sadly, things quickly turned sour.
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Her scream was so loud it made tons of three-eyed crows fly away in fear.
Along with her declaration, her hands started glowing a deep green, the color of life magic. As she waved, the entire freaking pumpkin field began glowing. WTF?!
[Ding! Pumpkin Girl Event!]
[Pumpkin Girl Is Unlocking Her Potential!]
[A Deep Desire to Protect Created a Miracle!]
[New Skill! Ultimate Pumpkin Growth E (1/day)!]
What the heck was up with this timing?! She now had a combat skill?!
Oh well, whatever. This was still great news as she would be able to defend herself better. He just needed to overcome that one ability…but then he gasped in surprise.
"What the fuck?!" Jack couldn't help but curse.
The glow was only the start: the entire goddamn pumpkin field came to life as countless vines suddenly grew! This was now a world of green tentacles!
He couldn't help but nervously gulp. How the fuck was this a rank E skill?! This was insanity!
But as he looked more carefully, he understood. Her power resonated with the land, making it unique.
No Pumpkins —> Useless Magic
Lots of Pumpkins —> Very Powerful
He had been the one digging his own grave. Protecting the pumpkin patch had made her ability so fucking powerful!
In fact, she almost lost control of the magic, surprised by the might it showed. But her desire to keep him "safe" trumped all!
"Immobilize him!" She ordered as if a majestic elven empress!
At this moment, there was no trace of the sweet and gentle girl that he knew. Only an OP Life Magic Goddess that wouldn't take no for an answer.
The vines rushed at him crazily. As he saw their info, he couldn't help but gulp. How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that?!
< Bountiful Thick Pumpkin Vine Lv 30 🎃🍃>
The issue wasn't its level or even how fast and sturdy it was. No, the problem was the freaking number! There were more vines than hair in a bigfoot's ass!
"How about we talk this through? Look, I'll be careful and—"
"You still want to go?! Who's gonna protect my farm if you die stupidly?!" She shouted heatedly.
Who was going to protect the pumpkin patch, really?! Said the girl who was going all godly druid on his ass!
Jack could only give a wry smile as the vines completely entrapped him. What was he supposed to do, fight her to death?!
A few seconds later, he was completely stuck with vines holding him solidly in place. He was only able to move his head and nothing else.
"Woo!" (Intrigued!)
Moon Moon was already tapping the vines with its paw, watching its master with interest. It knew he wasn't in any real danger. This green bed looked comfy!
Pumpkin Girl came nearby, beaming.
"With this new power, I'll be the one protecting you from now on! It's the least I can do! Ah, and I'll protect you too, Moon Moon!"
She started petting the wolf as she spoke softly with emotion. Wait, was this what he thought this was?!…
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[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥
Day 14: New Demon King In Town 🎃 ^_^v