7 The Seventh Says To Never Be Content

If I had to say...Drew is...she is...tall, lanky, has frizzy hair, and a lot of freckles. I mean, I have more, but...hers are probably not because she is weak to the sun like me. She probably worked on a farm or something. Did sports. Went outside...

I...I guess you could say she doesn't take care of her appearance, but...it should be fine, right? There isn't any makeup here and no major society to have to follow. We can do almost whatever we want.

So umm...if Drew wants to act like this, that should be fine...right?

I mean...I do feel a little awkward now that the wool was pulled from my eyes, but she still has charisma and courage. She is strong and cool and...

I'm being creepy again. Crap. I just...I need to go...

"I'm going to bed."

"Aww, see Drew? Your bad manners scared our new friend away!"

"...Thohhy..."

You don't have to apologize, Drew...with a mouthful of food. I mean...whatever. The faster I go to bed, the quicker it will be for me to get my tools. And perhaps I can visit those other Dungeons to find stuff to get other foods and materials.

Wait...am I actively thinking about going to these dangerous places? What am I thinking?! No! I shouldn't be willing to do such crazy things by myself!

No...I was fine on the first floor, right? So all I need to do is gather ingredients. I don't need to kill monsters. Yeah. Yeah, I should be fine. Just don't provoke the monsters.

And if any of them are in fact hostile, I can just run away! Yeah! The sooner I can make better food, the sooner I won't have to go back into...

No, I will still have to go into the Dungeon if I want to go back home, huh? Dang it. Then maybe if someone can assist me, I can defeat a couple of the floors at the other Dungeons?

That would be great. I don't need to worry if I have friends like Drew and Gary. Ah, right. I befriended them at dinner today. Now I can personally talk to them as if I was texting them or 'whisper' to them, in game terms.

This world feels so strange at times while also feeling so...stable? Because I have played games, I tend to just accept things. But I can't deny that there are many things going on here that mean danger or could lead to danger.

There aren't many people in this super town. Most of the buildings are completely empty, though in good condition. I am sure they are meant for us players, but how come there aren't that many people? Surely they can't all be dead.

Could they have gone to the other Dungeons? Maybe they are still inside the Dungeon? Yikes, that would be crazy.

Or is this actually a full world and there are many other Towers and Dungeons besides this one region?

Ah...right. The chat. My guess is that the area around this town includes the Region, but I do not have the capabilities to access Regional Chat. And then there is Global Chat. Just what is this world? Why does it exist? How come I came here? Where...where should I go?

What happens if when I defeat this Dungeon, I don't get to go home? If this is like a game, won't I have to defeat all of the Dungeons? That is too hard!

Terrible storyline! I need more plot! More characters! More dialogue! More modern stuff!

Whatever. I already know what to do, I just need to do it. Hah. So troublesome...

Zzzzzz...

>>>><<<<<

Back downstairs...

"Gary! You're so mean! You're aren't my friend anymore! You embarrassed me in front of Ardin!"

"You ate like a pig, sweetie. If you want to appeal to him, be more feminine, though I don't think that really matters to him. He seems to go at his own pace. If he wants to do something, he will."

Gary's entire attitude changed as he crossed his leg over his lap and inspected his nails and fingers. He had thought the food delicious, but the oils would no doubt soak into his hands and either stain the skin or cause early wrinkles, in his personal opinion.

Drew pouted and crossed her arms as she glared at her friend. As if feeling her gaze, Gary merely continued to rub his hands with his rag while speaking in a detached sort of way, like he was bored.

"Drew, sweetie, why even focus on him? Sure, he is rather stoic like Bear Man, but his appearance is just as bad as yours is, darling. I would suggest someone like that Bard fellow. At least he has the decency to maintain his appearance."

"Really? Really?! Snob. And Bard is an idiot."

Rolling his eyes, Gary finally turned to Drew and gave a very disgusted face.

"Please. This isn't some sort of Disney movie. How can you just fall in love with a man you only met today?"

"...Mother said that if I find a man whose cooking agrees with me, I should take him and quickly."

"..."

"...what is with that face?"

"...pbbt, what the heck? You can't be serious."

Being teased too much, Drew grumbled to herself and got up from the table to walk away when Gary leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair.

"Alright, my bad. I should have know someone as thick headed as you wouldn't chase after a guy for a logical reason. But if you want to get his attention...well..."

Waving his hands and acting with a sense of self importance, Gary grinned and left his words hanging, enticing Drew to sit back down. Begrudgingly, she did, while still glaring daggers at Gary.

"I can pin you in three seconds flat."

"And I don't doubt it. What you would have normally done in a normal situation as normal people would probably have been you cooking for him, but I doubt you can cook better than him with what we have."

"I can't cook at all. That is why my mom told me what she did."

Her face was so straight and serious, Gary almost didn't laugh. But he did.

"Pfff hahaha! You silly little goose! I guess he is using the method of going through the stomach to win the heart already, huh?"

Rather than be upset, Drew nodded and smiled. "Mm! His food is delicious! Better than mom's, in my opinion!"

"Alright, then what do you think he would need?"

"...he is weak. I need to protect him so he can get ingredients to cook with."

"Hoh, not so bumble-headed as I thought."

"What even is a bumble?"

"Like a bumblebee, darling, try and keep up. So you get it. If you want to get into his heart, you have to constantly be near him. Don't let up. Never think that what you have done is good enough. Men need constant attention. They are like big babies."

"Umm...okay?"

"Yes, like giant children. So you just have to go with him whenever he goes on a trip to the Dungeons in order to promote yourself in his mind. Simple, right?"

"Yeah! Thanks, Gary!"

And before he could ask, Drew jumped up and ran off.

"Drew, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to train! I need to make sure I am comfortable with my new skill so I don't end up hurting Ardin!"

And off she went. Gary smiled for a moment before frowning. He spoke to himself with sharpness in his tone.

"How simple. But she is an adorable one, I will give her that. And if this fatso even starts to think about hurting her..."

Gary silently couldn't hold himself back and he accidently ripped his rag, tearing it in half. Stunned momentarily, Gary waved the ripped rag with a lackadaisical attitude, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"Ooh, drat. What a mess. Oh well, now I have an excuse to meet that hunk Bear Man again, hehehe. Ah, but I guess I will have to see him in the morning, as it is too late tonight. Hmmm..."

While humming a tune, Gary lightly stepped towards the stairs, walking erratically but to the rhythm of the song. Hopping up the stairs like he was in a musical, he made his way to his room to sleep.

Jim and Beth, still sitting in the lounge and dining area, acted as if they hadn't heard a thing and just sat quietly alone in the room, as if they were just waiting to pass out Quests.

But an odd glance between the two sparked a strange tension in the air as the two merely smiled and continued to sit in silence. No words were said, but something seemed to have changed in the room, like a light came on somewhere.

Now, there were three people in the room, and the stranger was wearing large robes, obscuring their appearance from view.

(You two have shown signs of altered behavior. Be careful, or you will end up like the others. Just do your job and don't get any ideas. If I see this again, I will personally interfere and remove whatever is causing this activity. Beware.)

And just like it had appeared, the robed figure disappeared. The Innkeepers seemed to frown, but returned to their previous stoic and stone-like way of sitting in the room, as if they were meant for nothing more.

Time passed and soon a person came in the door covered in sweat.

"Whew, a good workout! Haha, time to go to bed!"

Ignoring Beth and Jim, Drew walked up the stairs and entered her room, too. Several hours pass and then the silence is disturbed by a young man yawning as he walks down the stairs. His belly was certainly prominent, but his expression seemed mature and focused.

"Morning."

Jim nodded slightly until Beth glared at him. But the two still greeted him by smiling. Yawning once more, Ardin entered the kitchen and began to cook. He chopped up onions, garlic, ham, peppers, and cracked open some eggs into a bowl.

He stared at the eggs for a few moments before using a fork to whisk the eggs into a consistent yellow color. Then he started the fire and poured a tiny amount of grease to line the pan. Once it was warm, he poured the eggs in and stirred it periodically with a spoon until it began to turn into solid chunks.

Taking the chopped up pieces of food, Ardin just dumped the ingredients into the eggs and mixed everything together. It seemed similar to what Beth did with the stew, but it seemed different at the same time.

And just like that, he was done. And this time, a large pot was made, so he didn't have to make more for the other people that woke up late. He passed a plate to the waiting Jim and Beth, who stared at each other momentarily before smiling and eating.

Somewhere, that robed figure was probably becoming grumpy, but the two felt that this was part of their job and felt no qualms about acting out of character for a moment.

[Spicy Breakfast Scramble]

[Speed +5 for the first 15 minutes after consuming one portion]

Again, another named food item with an effect. Not only that, it was also seasoned and delicious. The two felt that if they were to be punished, it would be worth the trouble after eating this food.

But Ardin didn't even stay behind to hear the praise from the other players, hurriedly heading to Bear Man's place for his tools!