Unlucky?Player

"Hmmmmppphhh," Nate stretched his arms as he sat up straight. It was around 9 in the morning when he finally woke up. Unlike Luke, he had no rush, he could take things as slowly as he liked, enjoying everything around him, the peace and the quiet. He switched on the water heater and walked to the kitchen.

Coffee was a staple for him, and it wasn't something he could suddenly stop, it was one of the things both of them thoroughly enjoyed. After about two minutes, Nate poured the cold coffee into a mini flask and pulled out a few slices of bread, after he put a little butter on them, Nate went ahead and freshened up as the butter started melting. Every 30 seconds he would come out and check on them.

"Next up! Eggs and some chicken salami!" He said out loud as he looked in the fridge, thankfully, the fridge was already filled, perhaps it was only a one-time thing, but it didn't matter, it's not like they couldn't afford to buy groceries. 

Within the next hour, he was ready, he was done with coffee and breakfast and he was done with his shower. His body felt energized and ready to conquer the day, naturally, for him, this was the perfect moment to login to Genesis. There was a separate room dedicated only for this purpose, it was furnished with gaming capsules, the same kind from the tournament.

"He wasn't wrong…" Nate looked around the city of Linto, it was a little sad to see how they tried so hard to keep their spirits up high when all their relatives were slaughtered a decade ago.

It had a very far-off desert town vibe and calling that wouldn't exactly be wrong considering it was nearly impossible to reach. It was like Vraun in a lot of aspects, although, the latter had now become accessible to the public thanks to Night.

"Mom! Mom! Can we buy this?" he looked at a small girl in pigtails and glasses ask her mother, who looked old and tired, but still forced a smile and replied, "not today sweetie…perhaps another day? I promise okay?"

"B-bbut….Okay…." By the looks of it, the little girl really wanted the miniature wooden statue of a man wielding a sword, it was a rather weird choice, but Nate wasn't someone who cared that much.

Without a second thought, Nate walked over to the store vendor and tossed him a gold coin, there was no doubt that the gold coin was worth more than 10 of those figurines, but he didn't care to ask for the change and simply walked to the little girl and handed her the figure.

"Here you go," he smiled and patted her head, "this is what you wanted...no?", the little girl hid behind her mother with and slightly nodded in agreement. Nate couldn't help but smile, it was a sad one as he looked at the state the monster wave left them all in. 

"T-tthank you…thank you so much!" the mother bowed multiple times without knowing how to properly respond. Nate waved his hand and made sure she stopped the repeated gesture of respect, "Please! It's quite alright….Can I ask for the little one's name?" he fell to his knees so he was her height.

"Go on then…" the mother whispered and nudged her daughter forward, she held onto the figurine tightly and slowly took a step forward. "L-laura…."

"That's a pretty name," Nate replied, he could feel his heart melt, "I'm Nate. Oh I know, wanna see a magic trick?" he asked to which the child obediently nodded, she tried to hide her excitement, but she was just a child after all.

"Alright here goes," Nate brought both his palms together and concentrated the mana flow in his body, he could feel the thick energy rush towards his hands, the second he pulled his hands apart, the girl looked inside with wide eyes, unfortunately, she was fooled as there was absolutely nothing in his hand. "What? How's that possible? Oh right!" he reached for her ear and pulled out a bright yellow flower from behind.

The girl's expression changed from that of a dull one to one filled with excitement and shock, pretty flowers were a rarity of sorts in Linto, and when she realized Nate somehow formed a flower out of nothingness, she was genuinely shocked.

"Y-you…but how?" the mother asked with a hand over her mouth.

To which Nate simply shrugged his shoulders as if not knowing what she was talking about, he then looked at the girl and asked, "why did you want that figurine so much?" it was an odd one, why would this young girl want something like this?

"…..My Father…." She said in a low voice. Was the figure her father? Was that why she wanted to get one? For his sake and so that she can remain close to him?

"Oh? He's a warrior I see," Nate replied not knowing what to say.

"The greatest!" the little girl said with a confident tone, but behind that confidence was a hint of hesitation and grief, it was brave how she managed to push that lump of feelings back.

The mother looked at Nate and spoke in a defeated voice, "he was killed a decade ago….she was barely two years old back then, but he died protecting us.." She smiled dryly.

"I see….I apologize if I was intrusive…." 

[Affinity with Laura and her mother +30]

[You have been marked by Laura, should you complete a linked condition, you shall reach max affinity with Laura and her mother!]

[Additional rewards may vary based on performance and situation]

He simply brushed aside the notifications and focused on the people, he didn't stop at just Laura and her mother, he went around talking and getting to know the locals of Linto. Although, most of them were rather confused to see a traveler much less an ascender caring for them so much.

Meanwhile, Kenny and Reed observed every move of Nate's with great intent, this was their usual routine, if Night wasn't online, then they would spectate Nate. Even though both of them stared at the screen carefully, there was a difference, Reed's eyes had no purpose in them, he simply watched for the sake of entertainment, whereas, Kenny's eyes had curiosity and passion behind them. He wanted to know why Nate did what he did, and the best part was he would get those answers.

"He's simply talking to everyone?" Reed mused. It was weird, wasting time was a huge mistake, especially in the current times of the game. Everyone is rushing around from place to place working towards leveling up their characters just so that they could earn and live a peaceful life.

As the days go by, the value of levels proceeds to decrease, with the large chunk of level 100's coming in, the value was bound to decrease. The value of the players would gradually decrease, players who would work for companies at a lower price but give the same performance were bound to appear.

In such a situation, what Nate was doing could be deemed as a waste of time by many experts. He could've easily covered more ground if he didn't stop and talk to the locals. Wasn't that much better?

Not only did he stop to talk to them, if he could, he would help them out with any micro task they had. He particularly made sure to ask them if they had any concerns with living there. All of this was the duty of the city lord, who clearly wasn't doing the best job, but in all fairness, it wasn't particularly his fault either. Linto was a destroyed and literally deserted city. Bringing it back to its feet and making sure it's self-sufficient was nearly impossible.

He was in no rush to deal with the people he spoke to, even though they were slowly reaching the deadline to face off against the monster wave and possibly Damianos, who was at the least the same level as Noel. If they were to go off against a Noel-level character at the moment, then perhaps the only one who would even last a few seconds would be Night.

Nate's affinity with the locals was steadily increasing as they found his interest and kindness to be genuine, he wasn't there for a quick word, he was there to talk and comfort them, as a matter of fact, he even went inside and chose to have a cup of tea with a family. In just a day, he completely changed and brought out the inner repressed feelings of the massacred city. He showed them that it was okay to fall down and remain there for a while, laughing and pretending wasn't doing anyone any good. 

"Hahah…." Kenny laughed, he had an impressed and proud expression as he looked at the screen, he turned to his companion and said, "You asked me why he's doing what he's doing. Tell me, Reed…"

"Where is a King's place…if not with the people?"