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Chapter 10: Material Points

Maybe he isn't completely sure if he can take me head-on and was learning my strengths and weaknesses. Or maybe he was waiting for me loose some HP. Let's get some distance first, 50 seconds should be enough for complete recovery. I jump back a few metres and then up into a tree to take cover.

3 seconds…10 seconds…30 seconds…50 seconds…1 minute…2 minutes…

No movement. I can't see or hear anyone nearby. I jump down from the tree and head in the direction where the sound came from stealthily and carefully.

I'm greeted with the smell of blood followed by the sight of a beautiful girl lying motionless on the ground. My senses tell me that she's unconscious, but I am still vigilant as I approach her.

She is dressed in a pink dress with a cake symbol on her left chest. Her feet seem to be bruised. Did she loose her footwear on the way? She's lost and is still loosing a lot of blood from her injuries. With such a status effect, she will die since her HP will have no chance to recover.

I want to buy a health potion, but I have no U coins left as I used the last on to by a meal ticket.

"I should save U coins for emergencies in future. I don't have any weapons to sell…Definitely not selling my scythe. Hmm…the skill book is a consumable item and cannot be resold once used…What else?"

"You have monster parts, don't you?"

"Ah! You scared me." The admin showed up. By the way, I don't see its physical form, I only hear its voice. Well, I guess it's also for the best since it would have likely taken up my mom's appearance.

"…Then should I ring a bell before speaking?" That's a rhetorical question, right?

"No need. You showed up. I hope it isn't to tell me it's hopeless."

"It's not. You can sell monster parts in the store for Material Points which can be converted to U coins."

"What?! And I haven't been storing or selling them until now. What a loss!" So, the admin just watched me waste precious goods. Ah! I feel like my head got struck with a hammer. So regretful. Those corpses have probably rotted by now or have been sold by other passersby.

"I just killed a monster not long ago…let's start there."

I sit her up and place her to rest on a tree while I head over to the monster corpse and sell it. I had to divide the parts (skin, meat, bones, liver, etc.) of the beast and input them into the system one by one to be evaluated.

"What a troublesome task. Why can't I just throw the whole thing in?"

Once I'm done exchanging all the parts that are useful for M points, I now have [57/1000 M points. 1000 M points = 1 U coin]. I should do less damage to the fur, hide and skin of beasts so that they'll have higher values. Now, let me retrace my steps and find the corpses of the beasts I recently killed.

"Ha. Ha." I am panting as I had to hurry to reach my goal. "Phew. That was hard. I had to kill more beasts to meet the target. She's still alive. Good."

[1013 M Points →13 M points]

[0 U coins → 1 U coins]

"I can't get anything extraordinary, but this low-grade potion should hold off your death a little longer."

It isn't even a complete low-grade. A full vial costs 2 U coins but the admin made an exception and sold me half. This should buy me enough time to hunt for more M points. It'll take a while, but I'll have to get you a full vial if you are to survive.

I can't go far and leave you behind. Guess I'll carry you on my back? Nope. Leaving you here is dangerous. Carrying you while fighting…leaving you nearby during the fight…all out of the question.

I think for a while before coming up with an idea.

"it's risky but I can only bet on this. Admin, can someone who isn't me enter the singularity?"

"Yes."

"So, it won't affect her negatively to bring her around in the singularity then. Great!"

"But there is a time limit. If you use this method, you will have to bring her out every 600 seconds after the last time the gate to the singularity was closed."

So, the timer doesn't count down till the gate is closed. Doable. I just have to make sure I don't forget to check the timer. Opening the portal should reset the counter. I'll do it every 8 minutes to be on the safe side.

*** *** ***

"Groans." That's the girl I saved. I just sensed her wake up.

"You're finally up. No need to get up. Your HP should be stable now, but you should wait till it's fully recharged."

It's been 2 and a half hours since I first found her in the woods. My HP would have been emptied and refilled several times over in that time. Why did it take her long? She looks human and I doubt there's any race in this game that has such low INT (regen speed). Was a status effect skill used to attack her? It didn't look like. I wonder Maybe because she had several injuries? Forget it. I will figure it out one day as long as I keep playing this game.

"I'm alive? Did you save me?" She asks.

"Mm. You should have some water. Here." I give her a bottle of water I bought with my meal ticket.

"Thanks Sir…" She wants to add my name.

"Dexter…Dexter Bloom. And no need to call me Sir. Makes me feel like I'm old."

"Oh? Ok then S…Dexter. You can call me Elise."

"Elise. Good name. By the way, your avatar is a baker, right?"

"Avatar?" She asks.

She doesn't know what an avatar is? Maybe she's new to gaming.

"Like. What's your job?"

"Oh.  Yes. I am a baker." She replies. "I came to the woods to ick fruits to make fruit cakes for my bakery like I do everyday, but I got attacked by an Orangutan."

"I see." I walk over to her with some food. "What about your HP? Is it full yet?"

"HP?"

"Health points. The green bar in your status window."

"…" She stares at me blankly.

"I guess you really are new to RPGs, aren't you?"

"R…PGs?"

"Uh…just say STATUS. That should open a screen for you."

"…Ok. Status."

There's a brief silence.

"Nothing happened?"

"Nope. I don't know if it's something I'm supposed to always see but I suppose my bad luck wouldn't allow me to even if I wanted to."

"Bad luck? I doubt it's bad luck. You're just new to games. That's all." I pause then call the admin. "Is there something wrong with her status window?"

"No. She doesn't have one." The admin pauses. "She never did."

"Huh? Aren't all players supposed to have one? That could only mean…it can't be she's an NPC?!"