You use this day to tend to your garden and pick berries for food. In doing so, you max out your gathering skill and get a ridiculously overpowered talent, as always.

You've maxed out your「GATHERING」skill!

Talent Unlocked: Outdoorsman

Description: You yield twice as much from picking plants, and you no longer get poisoned by the plants you gather. Items now contain a short description as part of your honed gatherer senses.

This day would otherwise be like any other, were it not for the masked stranger you bump into while entering your house. They carry a backpack and cover their face with a plain white visage. The only detail is the openings for the eyes.

The person is ironically startled by your presence and pulls out a sword from their back.

"What?! An elf in this region?!" they yell at you, retreating to the other end of the porch. "Reveal your intentions knave!"

You cannot understand them. Your friend jumps in front of you and growls at this armed intruder. Truthfully, you're more so happy to meet another bipedal being other than yourself. You casually approach them and try calming them down.

"Uh... I no dangerous!" you awkwardly get out. "I am... uh... friend!"

The person gradually lowers their weapon with your every assurance and hesitantly responds.

"You speak Old Tongue, elf?" they finally say something you understand.

"Old... Tongue..? You know how speak..?"

"Yes. I'm well-versed in the languages of this world. I'm a scholar you see."

"Scholar..."

When you are mere meters away from them, you catch a glimpse of their description box.

Darius

Human [♂]

Level: 27

HP: 15000/15000

"Darius..." you read out loud.

A drop of sweat trickles off his chin.

"H-how do you know my name..?" he raises his sword once more and keeps his guard up. "Were you sent here by somebody, elf?!"

"No? I live here."

"That doesn't answer my question!"

You're lost as to how to placate him, and instead invite him inside. Your friend is unhappy with your nonchalant demeanor but tolerates the decision.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh, house."

"I can see that! I mean, why?! Can't you see the weapon in my hand! "

"Yes. I have too."

You unsheathe your blunt and dented dagger and show it to him. The man is unimpressed.

"H-hah! Is that supposed to be a threat?! That butter knife is no match for my Dragonsteel Blade!"

Inspecting his sword, you register the crimson glow emanating from it. The steelwork is pristine and precise. You are no blade connoisseur, but you can tell decades went into this particular piece.

[Dragonsteel Sword]

Description: A powerful sword forged from Dragonsteeel. It is imbued with a powerful flame spell that burns any who gets slashed by its blood-red blade.

Quality: Epic

Weight: 7.5

"Ooh!"

"Brilliant is it not!"

"Let's trade!" you present him with your dagger.

"Oho, but certainly I'll—Why the heck would I do that?!"

It was worth a shot. You hang your head in disappointment and walk back into the house with your friend. Nothing of worth was gained from this exchange. You close the door behind you and unload all the berries from your bag into the bowl you set out.

Interrupting the process are knocks at the door.

You answer the door slams that become increasingly intense the longer you take, and find Darius with a face redder than an Apple Berry.

"You change mind about trade?" your eyes light up.

"That was never on the table!"

You shut the door on him and heave out a sigh. Another set of knocks comes thereafter.

"I getting tired of this..." you tell him with a frown.

"That should be my line you dumb elf!" he loudly exclaims.

The man lets himself inside and scans the place, arms akimbo.

"You've wasted a government official's time! So you are to take me in for the night and treat me to your finest food and wine, lest you face punishment from the state!" he demands with a confident grin.

"You want eat with us?"

"Yes. I suppose I do!"

Your smile widens at the prospect of sharing a meal with someone you can understand, and you quickly head into the kitchen to prepare the plates to pass around.

"That being said, this is a quaint little place, isn't it..? How'd an elf like you come to possess property so far from your people?" he asks you from the other room.

"I find this place. It empty, so me and friend live here."

"Ah... of course, it'd be hard for human settlers to live so far from the kingdom..."

"Kingdom?"

"Oh yes. The kingdom I hail from is the greatest in the land. I don't expect an elf to understand that though."

You finish whipping up the dishes and go out to the living room to serve them. One for you, one for your friend, and one for Darius.

"Food ready! Here you go!" you hand him the plate.

"Uh..." Darius looks down at his plate and sees nothing but a colorful mass of berries. "Is this an appetizer of sorts?"

"Hm? It dinner!"

"You expect me to stuff myself with nothing but raw berries?!"

"You want more? I can give from my plate."

"That isn't the issue here!"

Your friend, on the other hand, dines happily on his plate of berries and pays no heed to the man's complaints.

"This is no different than what the dog's having..."

"Friend not dog! He Mystfox!"

"Oh, sue me," he glances over at the animal. "Though now that you mention it, I have not seen a fox breed of his type. Is he native to this region?"

You don't know how to answer his question, as you don't fully understand the words he utters. He catches on to your blank gaze and groans to himself.

"Eh, whatever..." he drops his backpack and takes a seat on your stool. "I was a fool to expect anything out of this backwater region. But beggars can't be choosers as they say."

And he removes his mask, revealing a face like yours underneath. Only this time, it's ragged and chiseled. He dons a short dark beard and eyebrows that could cut through stone.

You find yourself staring at him. You've truly met another person in this lonely world, and that puts your heart at ease.

"Um..." he catches you looking intently at him. "Is there something on my face?"

"This the first time I meet a person. It is weird knowing you real."

"A-ah... well, you elves usually keep to yourselves. It's no surprise the sight of a human is so fascinating to you. We humans are much more open to interspecies communication. It's in our blood you know?"

"Mm... I don't get what you mean. But I'm happy there's another like me, sitting in front of me."

Darius pauses as he processes your sentiments. The only sounds filling this silence is the crackles from the fireplace and your friend's unreserved chewing noises.

"I see..." he replies vaguely.

Night falls and you graciously offer him your bed. As you haven't really exerted yourself today, you don't feel tired. Perhaps stumbling into another talking biped has imbued you with energy, thus preventing you to sleep.

He takes you up on your offer and you sit by the dying fireplace, rereading the rolled-up letter you found at the campsite.

"T-to who..." you start slowly. It is written in the same language Darius spoke during your first encounter. The clues are there, but you lack the answers.

You want to learn more about other people. You wish to understand why you were cast here from the void. And you hope to find others like you, those who are acquainted with the void.

Abruptly, your efforts in cracking the code are cut short by the footsteps behind you.

"Is that a letter written to you?" the man asks.

"W-why you here? You no sleep?"

"As if I could. Your incessant chantings sent chills down my spine, and I thought you were summoning a demon to swallow me whole or something."

"I too loud? Sorry..."

"Nah, it's fine besides..." he sits on the ground beside you, staring at the dwindling embers in the firebox. "I can't fall asleep on a young maiden's bed while she's staying up all night doing work. That hurts my pride as a man you know?"

"Maiden? I maiden?"

"I don't see anyone else who fits the bill."

You scrutinize Darius' appearance and compare it with your own. The lump of flesh hanging off your chest area is certainly not present on the man's body. It takes you a minute to take all of these observations into account and come to a conclusion.

"So, this is the power of a maiden..!" you hold your breasts and gasp.

"What the heck are you on about?" Darius doesn't miss a beat with his retort.

And that was the end of that short epiphany.

The man motions you to lend him the letter for a bit, and you do so not expecting much. He reads it over and scratches his head.

"Remind me again why you want to know the contents of this letter?"

"I want find person who wrote that and thank them for camp and fire. It help me survive."

Darius feels a twinge of guilt breaking this to you, but he presses on out of kindness to his host.

"Then you're out of luck," he clenches the parchment and looks you straight in the eyes, "the author of this letter, is dead."