Chapter 10 — Tricking NPCs Like A Real Gamer
Just as Misho and Maia were wondering to themselves, Gerald approached them from afar.
"Kea, my dear!"
Gerald waved his hands at her.
When Misho learned the wife's name, the text above her head changed.
[NPC] Kea
"M-My dear! Welcome back!" Kea waved her hand back shyly.
She felt bad that she held another man's hand when her husband was away. She was such an unfilial wife.
"Gerald, hey!"
Misho waved at him with a smile on his face.
When Kea saw that, her eyes widened. It was as if nothing had happened between the two of them. Kea's innocent mind slowly learned from Misho…
"Hey! I heard you were looking for women in the village…"
Gerald looked at him weirdly.
"Ahahaha…" Misho laughed awkwardly.
"Misho?"
Maia stared at him disapprovingly.
"I know. It's normal for someone like you to find a companion. There are many girls in the village that just reached 18," Gerald said.
"Oh? Where are they?"
"Misho!"
Maia grabbed his hand and crushed it.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"Huh? Is she your wife?" Gerald asked as he saw the two of them hold hands.
Misho and Maia looked at each other before their faces turned red in embarrassment.
The two of them quickly separated and turned away from each other.
"Is she?" Misho said and avoided Gerald's eyes.
"Ehehehe… We are just friends," Maia said shyly.
Gerald squinted his eyes and became even more suspicious at the two of them. As for Kea, she covered her mouth in shock. She didn't expect that the woman following behind Misho was his wife.
It made her confused. Why didn't she say anything when the two of them held hands? Could it be that she allows it!?
Kea's heart skipped a beat. Something started to awaken inside her NPC heart…
"Then we can visit them right now," Gerald said.
"Wait! I'm actually his wife," Maia said and embraced his arm.
"???"
Misho stared at her in shock. He felt his arm get squished in between her soft breasts.
"I knew it."
Gerald smiled at them.
"Why don't we go inside?" Gerald said.
They entered his house and sat in the living room.
Misho and Maia sat together while Gerald and Kea sat in front of them.
"I'm Gerald, and this is my wife Kea," Gerald introduced the two of them.
"My name is QuarterPounder, and this is my wife… Maisha," Misho replied awkwardly.
Maia smiled happily when she heard him call her 'wife'.
"So, where did the two of you come from?" Gerald asked curiously.
Misho and Maia glanced at each other.
"We came from another village far from this one," Misho answered.
He just made that up. Though, he was really impressed by the NPCs. He reckoned that they were all living AIs. Due to their intelligence, he almost forgot that he was playing a game.
"What happened to that village?" Gerald asked.
"..."
Misho looked down. He doesn't know what to say at this moment.
"Monsters attacked us!" Maia responded.
She covered her face with her hands and pretended to feel pained. Misho immediately understood what she was trying to do from the long time they spent with each other.
"Y-Yes… Our friends and parents died…" Misho said with a bitter expression on his face.
"Mom… Dad…" Maia continued.
Kea covered her mouth in shock, and horror covered her face. Gerald's face turned grim.
"Is it the green goblins!?" Gerald exclaimed as he panted heavily.
It was as if he had just thought about his greatest nightmare.
Seeing the reaction of Gerald, Maia made eye contact with Misho.
'Go, Misho!'
'Mm.'
"Yes. There were so many of them," Misho replied and looked away, pretending to feel hurt.
"Oh no! They might attack our village next! Those bastards breed like animals. Once they eat a full village, they might double in population!" Gerald stood up and shouted in alarm.
"Dear…"
Kea held Gerald's hand with fear in her eyes.
Both Misho and Maia stopped acting and stared at him in shock. They didn't expect goblins to be so horrible.
"I know! Why don't the two of you help us search the area around the village? If you find anything, I will convince the Village Chief to reward you two," Gerald said.
"Really? What if we don't find anything?" Misho asked in surprise.
"I will still personally give you two a reward," Gerald replied.
"M-Me too. I will reward you," Kea added shyly, for some reason.
"Alright. Let's do this, Maisha," Misho said and stood up, brimming with confidence.
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Normal Quest Accepted!
Goal: Find traces of goblins around the village.
Rewards: [Unknown. It depends on the performance.]
Issuer: [NPC] Gerald
Failure to do the quest within two days will result in Gerald kicking you out of his home.
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"Yes, Quarter!"
Both Misho and Maia received the same quest notification. They can't help but feel happy to get their first quest.
"We will rely on the two of you!" Gerald bowed to him.
"What are you going to do, Gerald?" Misho asked.
"Me? I need to tend to my farm. I wouldn't be able to meet the quota if I didn't," Gerald replied.
"You're a farmer?"
"Yes. I farm grains."
"Hmmmm… I see. Then we will go prepare ourselves," Misho said.
They left the living room, and Maia followed Misho to his room. Once inside, they immediately closed the door.
"M-Misho, that was awesome!" Maia raised her hand up.
*PAH*
Misho slapped it in a high five. Their hearts were rapidly beating up in an adrenaline rush.
"It should be okay, right? They are only NPCs," Misho whispered to her in his room.
"Mm. Mm. We can have a look around tomorrow. If we find nothing, we still get rewards!" Maia nodded her head happily.
"Okay. I will go check on my status first."
"I will do the same," Maia replied.
Misho sat on the bed cross-legged and closed his eyes.
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Name: QuarterPounder
Race: Demon Incubus
Element: Wind
Cultivation: Essence Lake
*
BASIC STATS:
[AN: The value enclosed in () is the previous one]
HP: 25/25 (10)
MP: 5/5 (2)
INT: 9
LCK: 1
ATK: 5 (2)
DEF: 2 (1)
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"Congratulations, QuarterPounder. You have unlocked the in-game store!" Aphrodite's voice rang inside Misho's head.