"A werebeast?" Liya thought as she recognised that the girl down on the ground, sitting on her b.u.t.t – Faiy, was a werebeast, one of the five races that she could have chosen to become when first creating her character; the other four races were: humans, dwarves, elves and oni.Extending her right arm and hand to Faiy, Liya asked, "Are you alright?"
Hearing a voice, Faiy hastily nodded her head and said, "Mhm." She raised her head, and her eyes widened and mouth opened from surprise as she the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. But then, her eyes widened and mouth opened even more as she saw the blue robe Liya wore and the two two-handed swords sticking out from her back. "You were the one that killed all those goblins?" she mumbled.
Nodding her head, Liya said, "Yes, I did. Take my hand?"
Blinking her eyes, Faiy raised and extended her left arm and hand towards Liya"s right hand. She clasped it and Liya pulled her up. But once she got pulled up, she saw Ryan and she couldn"t help but shout out, "Ah!"
Following Faiy"s line of sight, Liya saw that Faiy was looking at Ryan. "Don"t worry. Ryan is my pet and he won"t attack you without my command."
"*Woof!*"
Shaking her head, Faiy said, "No, I was not worried. I was just surprised as it has been a very long time since I last saw a wolf and a wolf as big as Ryan." She turned her head to Ryan. Then raised and extended her right arm towards him and stroked his head as she said, "h.e.l.lo, Ryan."
Liya raised her eyebrows in surprise as there were not many people that would go and pet wolf dogs, just moments after seeing them, as usually they would be afraid of getting bit by them and they would just keep their distance.
Faiy moved her hand away from Ryan"s head and Ryan barked, "*Woof!*" She turned her head to Liya and bowed her head. "Thank you for saving the village, hero."
"Hero, huh? Well, that"s fine." Nodding her head, Liya said, "For my payment, I will spend a night in your town and ask you a few questions."
Nodding her head, Faiy said, "What do you want to know, hero?"
"You can start me by telling me how this came to be."
"What do you mean by how this came to be, hero?" Faiy said as she tilted her head in confusion.
"When did the goblins first appear and are there any monsters beside the goblins?"
Widening her eyes from surprise, Faiy said, "You don"t know?"
Shaking her head, Liya said, "I don"t."
Slowly nodding her head in understanding, Faiy lowered her eyes to the ground, and deep sadness appeared in them as she recalled the first time, she had encountered the green monsters. "I first encountered the goblins seven years ago. When they attacked my village, which was in the forest between this village and the human capital which is said to be the safest place in the tiger country…" She raised her head and continued, "Some say that they first appeared seven years ago and they came from the cave that connects the tiger country with the dragon country. Some say that they appeared eight years ago and they came from the cave that connects the tiger country with the lion country. And some say that they appeared nine years ago and they came from the underground. But there were not any other monsters than goblins."
"So in the spirit realm, I spent more than nine years." Liya furrowed her eyebrows and her thoughts continued, "But what were the other players doing the last nine-plus years?" "Were there any heroes in the last nine years?"
Shaking her head, Faiy said, "Not that I am aware of."
Unfurrowing her eyebrows, Liya thought, "If there were not any heroes in the last nine years, then there are two possibilities. One, the other players have found a way out of this game, before the goblins attacked. And two, the players have found their way into something similar to the spirit realm. And the latter option is 99% more likely than the former one." "If the only safe haven is the capital, then why are you, and these villagers, here in this town?"
"The only people that are left in this town are middle-aged men and women who refused to leave their town. And I didn"t want to leave my grandpa behind."
"The grandpa that ran deep into the building and left you for dead the moment I broke down the door?"
Faiy frowned and nodded her head shortly after. "He fed me and took me in when I had nothing to eat and nowhere to go, and for the last seven years, I thought of him as family, but after today…" she shook her head and a frown disappeared from her face.
Liya nodded her head. "Thank you for answering my questions. I would like to retire for today."
"Okay, you can use my grand—mayor"s son"s room."
"Alright," Liya said as she nodded her head.
Faiy showed Liya and Ryan to the mayor"s son" room and left them be.
Closing the door, Liya lied down on the bed and Ryan lied down by the bed, by her side. They closed their eyes and quickly fell asleep.
The night pa.s.sed and the morning came. Liya and Ryan opened their eyes and her stomach grumbled. She quickly made herself sandwiches and eating them, she with Ryan left the room and the house.
The moment Liya and Ryan walked out of the house, they were greeted by a group of sixteen middle-aged men and women and an old man in front of them.
"So you are the hero! Thank you for saving our village." The old man said with a broad smile on his face.
The middle-aged men and women behind the old man bowed their heads and said in unison, "Thank you very much!"
"Hero, can we ask you of a favour? Can you stay in our town for a few days until we repair our walls and our gate?"