I now understood why Blacksmith Taylor couldn't help but laugh and why he told me to enjoy myself.

"What? That's not why you are here?" the woman asked. She looked around in confusion and slightly closed her nightgown.

"No."

"But you're in luck," I continued with a grin. "because it's not an offer I can possibly resist."

I began to undo my shirt. This game was a game which bolstered almost a hundred percent reality, and even sex between users and NPCs was possible as long as one's age was past eighteen.

So horny – I had not had sex in a long time. After a couple of months on Pluto, I had even stopped to masturbate. The memories of women began to fade and it all turned dull. Now, however, that fiery desire exploded like never before.

"Come." I swiftly pulled her into my embrace. Her fair skin was smooth and I ran my fingers through her brown her as I kissed her neck. She let out a moan. Placing her hands on my cheeks, she lifted my head and started kissing me furiously. She bit my lip teasingly and I inspected her goods to see if they were as full as they seemed.

No, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I pushed her down on the bear pelt, ripped open her nightgown and pulled down my pants. My rod was on fire, rock hard and ready to be launched. Her face was flushed red and her lower mouth was dripping on the pelt. She breathed hot air into my ear and whispered. "What are you waiting for?"

Both my mind and rod exploded simultaneously. She let out a moan as pushed into her. The cottage was soon filled with constant thumping and moaning. Sweat dripped down our bodies and I went blank as I finished the deed. I gasped for breaths and rolled over to my side. Gaia was likewise completely spent.

「Intimacy with Alchemist Gaia has increased from neutral to friendly.」

We lay there until she broke the silence. "Why did you come again?"

"Does it matter?" I replied.

She chuckled. "Guess not."

"How was I by the way?"

"Like a bull," she answered me.

I laughed. How invigorating! Having sex in the game was just as good as it was in reality, and you didn't have to care about using protection. Of course, this didn't mean I would start going around having sex all the time. However, if the opportunity presented itself like today, I wouldn't mind.

There was a mirror in the room. I go up and inspected myself. My body was riddled with scars and I had cords of rippling firm muscles on my body, there was barely any fat for a guy in my age. However, what made me smile was not this.

No, what made me happy was the fact that I no longer stood hunched. My back arched slightly back and even though my eyes weren't bright like my younger days, they had at least regained some of their former glory. Was it the sex? No, that's not the whole explanation at least. I had begun to take the first step of a phoenix rebirthing from its ashes.

"Hey, is there something I can help you with other than what we just did?" I turned around and asked Gaia. She sat up and tied her hair into a ponytail, still stark naked.

"Well, It'd be kind if you could get me some starflowers form the mountain. I'm out of stock," she said. "Just mind the bears."

Starflowers for Gaia

Description: Gaia needs some starflowers since she's out of stock.

Task: Pick 10 starflowers from the mountain range nearby.

Reward: 500 XP, Gaia's Favor.

"Alright, no problem," I said and accepted the quest. "By the way, do you perhaps have some potions I could borrow? Nadu told me he'd compensate you for this."

"How do you know about that name? Are you perhaps...?" Gaia stared blankly.

"I suppose you could call me his successor in a way."

Out of the blue, Gaia began to laugh. "That's awesome! I've been trying to get that old magus into bed for years but he always blames he's got someone he loves. Now I at least get to take his successor."

That old man will probably never forget Sylvia. I smiled sadly and then gestured I was leaving.

"Take care, my vigorous bull," she said and winked at me. "Get me those flowers and I'll give you a good, nice and long favor, along with those potions you wanted. Alright?"

After leaving the cottage, I looked up to the clear, blue sky and laughed. This game is just incredible.

I started making my way toward the mountain. Right now, I was infinitely close to lvl 6 and some bear hunting would do the trick. The hard thing about Armistice was that while you would get bonus XP for killing mobs at a higher level, you would recieve no XP if you were at a higher level than what you hunted. This implied that players would constantly have to strive to hunt stronger opponent in order to cope with the general population of players.

However, for me, this currently held a certain benefit. Since I was alone in my beginner village, had overpowered stats for my level, I was able to farm the level seven field bosses over and over as they respawned every 24 hours as well as decimate a large number of common mobs in a small amount of time. I could then proceed with stocking up crafting materials and get great equipment and useful items made by the profession masters which would help me later on.

I picked my first starflower not too long after having left Gaia. It was deep-blue with beautifully twinning stems. The shape of the flower itself resembled a star so the name made sense.

Next, I traveled upward along a gentle spring stream. The environment was similar to the European forest in summer on Earth. Not too hot and not too cold.

After a while, I had picked up ten starflowers and was ready to hand in the quest. I had a vague guess about what the reward was except for XP and I had to say, I was slightly looking forward to it. However, before turning back, I was surprised to see an extremely large bear further down the stream. It was covered in thick scars all over.

Big Paw (Field Boss): Level 7

Health: 2200/2200

Another field boss. My luck is quite good right now.

I chanted a fireball.

-228

It was a reasonably large number for its endurance. Normal bears would take over 300 damage. In other words, two or three so spells would suffice for them but not for this field boss. It possessed higher endurance and stamina.

As the fireball hit, the bear let out a savage roar. It stopped drinking water from the stream and rapidly charged toward me. Unlike what people may think, bears are a lot faster than what their big size seems to imply, and so I had only dropped half of its HP before it entered a ten-meter range from me.

I smiled and activated my staff's second active ability.

A sizzling, red light emitted from my staff and streaked toward the bear like a lightning bolt. When it hit, there was the sound of a minor explosion and a discharge of crimson electricity caused dust in the surroundings to scatter.

-1340

「You have gained 120% XP for killing an enemy above your level.」

「You have leveled up!」

Crimson beam had critted and taken down the bear in one swoop. Of course, I had been ready to climb a tree and keep the DOT on if it didn't, but there was no need for that now. However, the damage truly stunned me. Crimson Beam was like a warhead, just too OP for the beginner village.

Thud. The colossal figure fell to the ground and slowly faded away. I went forward and picked up the loot which mainly consisted of crafting materials as well as a leather west. The leather west had a level requirement of level eight so I stored it in my inventory along with the crafting materials.

The leather armor was quite good in terms of stats. Of course, once I reached level ten and received a spellcaster class, I suspect I would only be able to wield cloth, and not leather, as that was a garment more suited for thief/rogue specialized classes.

I looked for additional field bosses or elite monsters. It was a shame, though, I found none and had no choice but to go back to Gaia. However, when I came in, she wore a green robe, held a curvy wooden staff in her hand and a grave expression covered her face. It did not seem she would give me that favor anytime soon.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Something happened in the Dungeon," she explained. "We have no time to waste, I'll explain on the way. Follow me."

She brushed past me and I hurried along. Suddenly she stopped outside the cottage.

Whistling her fingers, I soon heard a swooping sound. From the sky came a large bird out of nowhere. Well, it was more of the blend between a gigantic bird and a lion. A griffin to be exact. She hopped onto the saddle and stretched me her hand. I understood what she meant and grabbed it, allowing her to pull me up to sit behind her.

The Griffin took flight and the trees below soon seemed like small dots.

As we flew, I was forced to lean against her in order to not fall off. Her wonderful back figure pressed against me and it made me think about the favor she owed me. However, reading the situation, I decided to ask her later and not now.

"A dungeon is a place of long ago where our ancient ancestors bred different types of animals," Gaia told me under the sharp winds. "Some were used to create Warbeasts and others for special materials or ingredients. This dungeon close to us is inhabited by a special type of spider which produces a certain poison. Jenny's student is the caretaker of the dungeon, and not too long ago he was attacked and poisoned by the giant tarantula ruling the deep cave for no reason. He barely escaped with his life but will die in two days unless cured with an antidote. You need to enter the dungeon, defeat the tarantula and gather poison from its sack so that I can connoct an antidote for him. There are other ingredients for the antidote I don't have which I must prepare so I cannot help you with this task. Do you think you can do it yourself?"

Spider Trouble!

Description: Jewelry Crafter and Engineer Jenny's student was bitten by the tarantula ruling the nearby dungeon. Enter the dungeon and procure the tarantula's sack for Alchemist Gaia so she can connoct an antidote as quick as possible.

Task: Clear the hidden dungeon [Spider Cavern].

Reward: 2000XP, major affinity with Jenny.