Phelin

A faint rustling sound caught her ear. She tilted her head, listening closely for a moment, and her spirits lifted.

Humans = NPCs = Quests!

Propping herself up on her elbows, she lifted her upper body and looked toward the sound.

About fifty paces away at the edge of the forest, a child wearing an oversized smock was crouching on the ground, carefully digging up a purple-spotted plant with her hands.

The child looked to be only seven or eight years old, sporting a jagged, uneven mop of short brown hair. A large leaf lay by her feet, with several similar plants neatly stacked on top of it.

【Fancao Village Villager · Phelin】

Wu Yao immediately stood up, brushed the grass clippings off her robe, and strode over with her most amiable smile.

Phelin and her mother, Benita, had arrived in Fancao Village four years ago, taking up residence in an old widow's house at the edge of the village.

Benita was in poor health, but she knew a great deal about herbs and worked with the town's apothecary. Whenever the villagers suffered from minor ailments, they gladly sought her help.

She didn't charge any money, so the villagers often brought her food in return. In this way, she managed to establish a secure foothold in the village through her medical skills.

Phelin growing up by her mother's side, had naturally learned to recognize many herbs. Usually, she would come here to gather herbs with her little friends.

However, it was currently the busy farming season, and every child who could walk steadily had been taken to the fields to help. Thus, Phelin had no choice but to come alone.

Fancao Village and the Cursed Forest hadn't been very close originally, but because the corrupted wasteland expanded outward every year, it had gradually crept closer.

The adults were deeply worried about this. The village elders would often mutter by the pond, “If this keeps up, the village will be swallowed whole,” but Phelin didn't understand any of that.

She was brave and held no fear of the corrupted wasteland that the adults spoke of with such dread.

Though the forest looked gloomy and the trees grew in bizarre shapes, she had never seen any monsters emerge from it. Consequently, as she wandered, she had ended up right along its edge.

There were quite a few wild Star-Scar Grass plants here. Crouching on the ground, she joyfully dug up and wrapped these precious herbs, which could sell for over a dozen silver coins each.

Her thin, bony fingers deftly teased out the roots of the herb as a few beads of sweat formed on her forehead, completely forgetting that the corrupted wasteland lay right behind her.

It wasn't until footsteps sounded behind her that she spun around in terror.

At some point, a woman wearing a soft black robe had appeared behind her. The cuffs and collar of the robe were embroidered with intricate silver patterns.

Her dense black hair fell loosely around her shoulders, with a few wind-swept strands clinging to her pale, youthful face.

The woman had a smile on her face, but her pitch-black eyes stared down at her, devoid of any emotion.

Phelin shuddered in fright. All color drained from her sallow face in an instant, and her eyes went wide and round. She didn't dare to move a muscle.

Her mind filled with the stories the village grandmas used to tell. Stories about monsters from the corrupted wasteland that looked exactly like humans, who would call your name in a gentle voice only to bite your face off the moment you turned around. Or monsters that mimicked humans, wearing clothes stripped from their victims, waiting to snatch up and eat any children who wandered near...

Wu Yao paid no mind to her reaction. She was long used to NPCs having all sorts of strange responses upon seeing a player.

Leaning down close to Phelin, she flashed a friendly smile. “Hello there, little one. Do you need any help?”

Phelin was not used to having anyone get so close to her. Because the adults in the village respected her mother, they respected her by extension; no one had ever leaned their face so close to hers.

It was so close that she could see every detail of the woman's face. Her skin was as pale as a ghost's, and her long eyelashes cast shadows that made her dark eyes look even blacker—making her look even more like a ghost.

She didn't dare resist, nor did she dare run. The Star-Scar Grass clenched in her hand left a sticky sap on her palm. In a small voice, she whispered, “C-Could you step back a bit?”

Wu Yao obligingly took two steps back, though her eyes remained locked onto her.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

She asked again in a cheerful tone. Although she didn't expect much, she found the little girl's terrified, blank expression quite amusing and couldn't help but want to tease her a bit.

The gaze felt almost physical. Feeling the pressure, Phelin's breathing subconsciously slowed as she blurted out, “Are you a monster?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. What monster would ever admit to being a monster? She must have been scared out of her wits to ask such a question!

Sure enough, the woman smiled and shook her head.

“What can I help you with?”

Why did she keep insisting on helping?

Phelin couldn't wrap her head around it, but seeing how eager the woman seemed to do something, she asked hesitantly, “Do you want to help me gather herbs?”

“Sure,” Wu Yao agreed readily. She squatted beside Phelin and reached out to nudge the leaf. “Teach me how to dig them up.”

Phelin was taken aback. She hadn't expected the woman to agree so easily, and she began to explain in a stammer.

“Y-You have to be careful with the roots. The roots of the Star-Scar Grass are very fragile, so you can't use a trowel to dig them up. You have to loosen the soil bit by bit along its veins, and then...”

She demonstrated as she explained, her dirt-covered fingers gently nudging the soil away from the edges of the stem so the dirt would slowly fall away.

The gathering mechanics in this game were surprisingly detailed. Wu Yao watched intently, her fingers itching to try.

“...And that's it!” Phelin was always focused when doing her chores. By the time she snapped out of it, Wu Yao was already reaching out to try it herself.

She watched Wu Yao's clean fingers get stained with dirt. After a moment of thought, she carefully shuffled a few steps closer to squat beside her, tilting her head as she silently watched Wu Yao's focused expression.

【Congratulations, player, on mastering the skill: Herb Gathering (Lv. 1)!】

Looking at the herb in her hand and the newly acquired skill, Wu Yao suddenly realized—this was a skill-teaching NPC!

Her attitude immediately did a complete 180. She cast an Appraisal on the girl first to see if there was anything else worth uncovering about this NPC.

【Fancao Village · Phelin】

【Age: 9 years old】

【Affection: 25/100】

【HP: 80/80】

【Skills: Herb Gathering Lv. 5, Medicine Lv. 2, Pharmacy Lv. 3】

Wu Yao was initially startled by the 25 Affection points. She hadn't even done anything yet, so how did she already have 25 Affection?

Since Affection was so easy to raise, Wu Yao casually asked, “Is there anything you like?”

Phelin had just secretly touched Wu Yao earlier and found that she was warm. Since she was also so friendly, she probably wasn't a ghost.

Having lowered her guard, she thought it over seriously before flashing a big smile. “I like Mama, I like Grandma, I also like Daisy, and I like...”