Chapter 16- New Ability

Arthur blinked as he took in the amazing sight in front of him. Nina, who was already an incredibly seductive woman, was now in front of him, almost fully naked with a towel wrapped around her upper body.

Her hair was dripping wet and her skin was glistening with droplets of water. Arthur's mind almost froze completely when he saw that. He didn't even know a beautiful woman could make him react like this.

Surprisingly, a few seconds later, he snapped out of it. However, he didn't know how he was able to regain his composure rather quickly.

'Am I growing desensitized to beautiful women?' He asked himself. 'I mean, she's quite literally naked right in front of me. I didn't even have a proper reaction. Oh no, am I not attracted to women anymore?!'

Realizing the problem at hand, Arthur panicked for a second. 

"Arthur?" Nina noticed the myriad of expressions he went through in a matter of seconds, from shock to awe, to confusion, and then to panic.

"Shhh, I'm thinking." He said as he held his chin. 'Technically, I did have a reaction. But, I guess it takes more than this to make me react like I would expect. Oh well.'

"Ehem." Then, he coughed awkwardly and asked. "Why are you naked?" 

"... I heard you calling so I came to check. Hold on a second, I will change." She said as she turned around and left.

"I don't know why, but I'm glad I was the one to discover this place first. It's definitely one hell of an experience." Arthur muttered as he approached the counter and waited.

A few minutes later, Nina came out, wearing some clothes on her. However, that didn't seem to hide much of her seductive aura since that didn't even require her to show anything.

"So, did you get me the mushrooms?" 

"Of course. I really had to fight for these, you know? I killed one deer, three wolves, and three humans just to get them." He said as he got the mushrooms out of his inventory and put them on the table. He also made sure to sound dramatic for a better effect and perhaps a better reward for his efforts.

"For these mushrooms?" Nina raised an eyebrow. "Well, that sounds way harder than it should've been."

"I know. I guess these mushrooms are some kind of precious item or something." Arthur smiled. "In any case, here they are."

Picking one of them up, Nina examined it before she nodded her head. "You've chosen some good ones. Thank you."

[Ding!]

[You have finished Nina's quest successfully!]

[You have gained +20% experience points.]

'Oh, I get experience points for this too? That's nice.'

As Arthur was reading the notifications, Nina turned around and walked toward the door. "Wait here, I will bring you your reward."

"Take your time~"

'Finally, let's see what I can get.' Arthur mused.

Although the quest was only E-Ranked, he still expected something useful for his current level. 

"I can't let my expectations be high. Anything will do as long as I can use it. I wouldn't say no to an SSS-Rank scroll, though."

A few minutes later, Nina came back to the room carrying what seemed to be three scrolls in her arms. Sprawling them on the table, she said. "Here, I have brought you three different scrolls. You can choose one for yourself." 

"... Three huh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow as he looked at the scrolls. 

"Take a look at them." Resting her head on her arms, she smiled at him.

"Ok." 

The boy then picked up one scroll and opened it. Immediately, he received a notification in his retina.

[Wretched Crawler's Eye: Increases the ability to see in the darkness by 30%. Consumes mana to activate and maintain.]

"Oh, night vision, that sounds really useful." Arthur rubbed his chin with an interested look. Night vision was a rather simple but extremely helpful ability that could save him in many situations. If he were to hunt in the dark or end up in a dark place, this could prove to be a very crucial ability to have.

However, he didn't immediately choose that and instead decided to check the other options. Putting down the scroll, he opened the next one.

[Lonesome Warrior's Howl: Increases physical damage by 30% for 10 seconds. Consumes mana to activate.]

"Hmm, a physical buff, huh? Not too bad."

Arthur was aware that buffs are also a crucial part of getting stronger. They aren't permanent, but they are also very helpful in many situations when Arthur needs that extra boost of strength that normal leveling up cannot fill practically.

Finally, he picked up the last scroll and opened it to see what it had. He hoped for an ability that looked far better than the others to make it easier for him to choose as the first two are quite close to one another in terms of utility.

'Please, give me something really good.' He prayed in his head and opened his eyes.

[Blood Arrows: Manifests several arrows of blood that can be controlled. Consumes mana to activate.]

"Oh!" Arthur's eyes widened as he exclaimed. "That's what I'm talking about."

"Did you like the last one?" For some reason, Nina's smile widened as she asked. 

"Yeah, that's a pretty nice ability," Arthur replied. 'No, this is just perfect for my class, isn't it? I literally use blood on everything. Having a long-range blood ability is just perfect for me.'

Even when he barely saw anything from this ability, the ideas it gave him were surprising. He knew that this would complement his fighting style well if it was as good as he imagined it to be. No, it could very much boost his power to a whole new level since he wouldn't have to worry about targets that use magic or other long-range abilities to defeat him.

"Ehem, well, it's settled. I will take this Blood Arrows ability." He said.

"Fufufu, of course, go ahead." She said.

Arthur nodded his head and looked at the scroll again.

[Would you like to learn this ability?]

[Yes.] [No.]

'Yes.'

The moment he thought of that, Arthur felt something enter his head. A flood of information assaulted his brain out of nowhere which gave him new knowledge he didn't have before. At the same time, the scroll started disintegrating slowly, piece by piece till there was nothing left of it.

'Oh damn, I haven't felt this before. It's like I'm being taught something without actually being taught something. I know how to use the ability now!' Arthur thought to himself as he blinked. The knowledge was quite clear and precise, telling him exactly how to manifest and control the arrows.

It didn't feel uncomfortable either being taught the ability this forcefully. It was just a weird feeling.

"Congratulations, Arthur." She smiled as she clapped for him.

"Thank you, haha. I appreciate this ability. However, isn't this too much of a reward for just harvesting some mushrooms? I mean, I'm not complaining."

"Fufufufu, I did say I will give you a pretty good reward. I was just fulfilling my promise, wasn't I?"

"... You certainly did," Arthur muttered as he stared into the woman's eyes. Something in them gave him a weird feeling. It wasn't a bad feeling per se, but it did capture his attention. His guts told him that Nina was hiding something but he didn't know what it was.

'Oh well, this is a fantasy world. Of course, everyone has a secret or two.' He shrugged. If he had to focus on every person that lived in this world and what they lived through, it would be endless.

"Say, Nina."

"Mhm?"

"How much for these two abilities?" He asked.