Chapter 34: Right?

Jaxir looked up, his expression a bit weird. A second ago he had looked like a kid in a candy store, and now, well...

’Is she going to kill me?’

Candles that lined the room began to flicker on, moving rapidly until the entire place was illuminated.

If Jaxir hadn’t already known that Luxy was right in front of him he would have jumped out of his own skin. The way the red-orange line cast shadows across her wrinkles was nothing if not creepy as all hell.

But it only took a split second before Jaxir was grinning.

It seemed he had finally crossed the threshold.

Luxy blinked, seemingly caught off guard by Jaxir’s reaction. Usually this was the part where people pissed their pants in fear.

She cleared her throat, raising the side of her fist to cover her mouth.

"Ah, yes. Right." She cleared her throat again. "You, young lad, have the echoes of the Twinkle Constellation on your breath, the howl of the―ah, forget it―."

She stretched out her back and a series of cracks echoed.

"Hey, kid, do you know how to give people a bit of face. You could have at least given me a little jump―something. Forget it, forget it. I have a quest, blah-blah, should you choose to accept it, you will be in great danger, blah-blah. Will you take this on?"

This time, Jaxir really was a bit stunned. Did the dialogue change just because he grinned? This game really was too realistic for its own good.

"Uh... can I know what the quest is?" Jaxir asked a bit awkwardly.

"Oh now you’re interested."

Jaxir blinked. This was the entire point of what he was doing, when did he ever make it seem like he wasn’t interested?

Still, he realized that Luxy was a bit grumpy, and she hadn’t been the most patient person from the start, so he hurriedly nodded his head.

"Yes, of course. I’m very interested."

"Good, good," Luxy nodded, feeling satisfied. She stretched out her back again and another series of cracks echoed. "I’ve mentioned the Sparkle Village already. There is actually a trifecta of villages in this area, the Twinkle Village, the Sparkle Village, and the Glimmer Village.

"We share a territory, equidistant from one another, that echoes with the faint call of our history. If you head there, you may find yourself lucky to stumble onto the truth of a time long lost. And should you prove yourself worthy..."

As she spoke, Luxy seemed to slip into a more serious persona, her words becoming more wizened and ancient.

And then Jaxir received a notification.

―

[Quest Received]

―

Quest: The Secrets of the Trifecta

Description: You have stumbled into the hearth of an ancient priest playing the role of merchant. Her ambition had long dulled, but memories of a forgotten time still tug on her heart. Your passion for Twinkle Mana―and obscene wealth―have awakened a curiosity within her. Meet her expectations and you may yet learn more.

Objective: Learn the ancient forgotten history of the tutorial villages by traveling to their mesh point.

―

Jaxir couldn’t help but notice that unlike usual games, the quests in this game didn’t come with grades for difficulty. Or maybe the quests he had received until now were just unranked for some reason.

What he did know for sure was that getting to a mesh point between tutorial villages was a lot easier said than done.

According to Lue, traveling between tutorial villages was very difficult. That was why Lue had suggested he reset his character when he offended the Golden Fleece Guild.

This sounded like a simple quest, but Luxy was essentially asking him to travel further than any newbie reasonably would or even could.

That far from a tutorial village, there were good odds of running across monsters beyond Level 10, and from what Jaxir learned from Lue, there was a huge dividing line at Level 11.

"Okay, no problem. I’ll do this." Jaxir said with a smile.

Not long after, Luxy was watching Jaxir leave. She fell to silence, the flickering flames in her shop snuffing out and the shutters slowly opening.

Even as the light swept in, though, her words felt incomprehensible.

"... Oh Goddess of the Light, when will your brightness return to us...?"

...

Jaxir walked with a nice pep in his step. He felt good.

He got some nice fancy equipment, and now he had three new Vestigem Cards that really caught his fancy.

―

Name: Twinkle Vacuum

Grade: Uncommon

MP Cost: 4

Description: Form a void pocket that sucks enemies in and diverts attacks toward it.

Recommended Classes: Magic; Tank

―

Name: Twinkle Pulse

Grade: Uncommon

MP Cost: 4

Description: Form a star of light that pulses with a strong repelling force, shoving enemies and diverting attacks away.

Recommended Classes: Magic; Tank

―

Name: Twinkle Rupture

Grade: Uncommon

MP Cost: 4

Description: Trap attacks, whether physical or formed of mana, twist and bend them, then erupt with a greater strength.

Recommended Classes: Magic; Tank

―

All three of these Vestigem Cards were intriguing and had a ton of potential for use in battle.

"This is going to be great." Jaxir said to himself.

Soon, the gates of the village were in sight and Jaxir noticed a figure leaning on it. The guards didn’t seem to notice the man, but as soon as Jaxir approached, he looked up, smiling at him.

It was a kid, probably no more than 14 or 15 years old, but he was equipped to the gills. He had a twin pair of swords on his back, a tight black tactical combat suit, heavy boots that left a hint of a navy blue sparkle with his every shift, and he even had a ring for both thumbs and a headband that danced in the wind.

From every video game Jaxir had ever played, anyone who dressed like this either sucked and had way too much money to spend, or was the elite of the elite.

And unfortunately, likewise in video games, a younger face didn’t tell you a damn thing. In fact, the little gremlins were often demons on the game because they had nothing else to do with their lives but game.

"Hiya!" the boy waved a hand, getting up from his leaning position and jogging right up to Jaxir with a wild grin on his face.

He got right up and personal instantly, leaning forward, tilting his head to the side, and looking up like he was trying to see if Jaxir had a booger to pick.

If Jaxir didn’t know there were heavy penalties for attacking in the city, he would have thought the boy was trying to assassinate him with how fast he ran up.

Jaxir chuckled and gave the boy a weird look. "Hello? Do I know you?"

"No. Well, probably not. But I definitely know you."

"Oh yeah? Where from?"

"Jaxir Chance, right?"

Jaxir raised an eyebrow. "That’s right."

"You’re Maxine and Elena Chance’s son, right?"