Strings Wrapped Around A Bone

Di! Ding! New Quest Acquired

Since they were standing by a nearby shed, it didn't take long for Shiori to find a box of moderate weight. "When crouching down, spread your legs to be perpendicular to your shoulders," Shori did the action as she taught, "Then, when you go to lift the object, don't forget to use your knee. Most forget that forcing all the weight to go down your back would cause lasting damage, especially if you move stuff around daily, across each day. The thigh and calf are made to hold your own body weight, including the things you carry."

Easily hauling up the box of seedling pots, Shiori asked Enri about its destination, which was the shed just across from where they were. "Right! Let's get this box home!"

The box was not at all heavy, probably due to her level of 69. Though Shiori thought more and more, weren't the villagers usually low-level? Farming, fishing, and wood cutting weren't the only way to gain EXP and level up, at least back in Yggdrasill.

Also, if that's the case, like all other DMMORPGs, won't the level-up requirements be harsher? Yggdrasill made it so that the players could experience all kinds of routes to take. So would that make the villagers weaker, since they have a harder time gaining EXP?

Eh, that probably wasn't the case.

No, it was the case. Shiori was just the dullest tool in the termite-infested shed. But that was to be expected. Who else would try to fight a level twenty-five king slime at level twenty because her summons were level ten and twenty plus ten plus ten equals thirty? No, unfortunately, her attack power did not scale like that. There are, in fact, more nuanced than just simple additions in programming for the in-game calculation.

When Enri opened the shed door for Shiori, the teacher started her lecture again, "Phew... When dropping off the box, just do as when picking it up." She dropped off the box of tomato seedlings beside another box, labeled clearly as potatoes. Shiori wiped sweat off her face, noting the magnitude of detail once again, 'This really isn't Yggdrasill anymore, is it?' She thought.

"Enri! We need a hand! The chickens got out of the pen!" Another villager, a man out of his prime, yelled as he ran. Chasing the said chickens. Enri and Shiori both turned their heads, looking out from the shed. The girl, whose name was called, gave Shiori an apologetic look before joining the chase. The one inside, for her part, gave a wave, sending Enri off to her new quest.

As her company left, Shiori took the full shed. Noticing the quality of the farming tools, she bets that it doesn't seem like the sturdy ones that can last farmers' years after being bought. They appear flimsy, she bet that if she were to hold it the wrong way, they would break. Looking a little closer, the wood seems to be rotting too. Is the water leaking from the roof? She looks up, expecting to see the hole that the rain had dug into the shed.

Instead of the gap between the aging wood, she caught the sight of Ningyo poking through, staring right at her.

"Ahh!" She exclaimed, backing away and tripping on a toppled rack, falling on her bottom, "Oww.."

The doll pushes itself through the tiny hole. Shiori finds the way Ningyo's cheeks were squeezed against the wood kind of adorable. A chuckle escaped her lips. "Bijou - Sama - Ningyo - Is - Here - To - Report - On - Weird - Energy - Fluctuation - Forest!" Ningyo said with some difficulty.

Shiori almost reaches out to squish the cheeks of the doll, yet she refrains, hiding her smile with a cough. "Yes, thank you, Ninnin-chan..." She noticed that her other summon was nowhere to be seen, "Hm? Where's Suzu? Did she not come with you?"

"Suzu - Is - Keeping - Eye - On - Area," Ningyo bobbed up and down in an excited manner, like children with their mothers, "She - Will - Follow - Up - Later."