Rick frowned on the inside. How was he supposed to make a real emotional moment?
He didn't know Carmilla very well, and the only things he knew about how to interact with other people came from video games and anime. Not the best places to get advice about relationships in the real world.
Rick could see Thornwick in the distance as they climbed a hill. The stone walls around groups of buildings with thatched or tiled roofs made it look like something out of a medieval fantasy game. Rick could see people moving around even from this far away, and smoke was coming out of the chimneys.
"We'll be there in about thirty minutes," Carmilla said. "First, I'll take you to the adventurer's guild."
"They can help you sign up and find a place to stay for the night, but do you have any money for the registration?"
Rick checked his pockets and found nothing. "No. I really don't have anything."
Carmilla let out a sigh. "Of course you don't. Okay, I'll give you enough money for a room at the guild's inn. You can pay me back when you start making money from quests."
Rick said, "You don't have to do that. Besides, you've already done so much for me."
"Think of it as an investment," Carmilla said with a small smile. "I'll feel awful for bringing you here if you die of hunger or exposure on your first night. And I have a feeling you'll be fun to watch as you figure things out."
[CARMILLA CRIMSONFORD'S LOVE: 3 → 4]
[REASON: YOU WERE TRULY THANKFUL AND DIDN'T ASSUME HER KINDNESS]
[NOTE: She is beginning to see you as someone who needs help, not just a stranger who is lost.]
They walked down the hill to the town, and Rick tried to come up with something important to say. The quest timer in his head told him he had about four hours until the sun went down. He had to make Carmilla smile or laugh in a way that showed they had a real emotional connection.
"Can I ask you something private?" Rick said out of the blue.
Carmilla looked at him. "You can ask, but I might not answer if it's too private."
"Why do you do this? The patrols, fighting monsters, and keeping people safe. You said it's more duty than passion now. What changed?"
Carmilla was quiet for a long time, and Rick was afraid he had gone too far. But then she said something, and her voice was quieter than before.
"I lost someone," she said plainly. "My husband. He was a knight, and one of the best."
"We used to patrol and fight together. We were going to retire one day and maybe open a small training school for new guards."
"But then we came across a monster nest that was supposed to be cleared. It was an ambush, and I lived, but he didn't."
Rick's chest felt tight. He didn't know what to say because any condolences would sound empty and meaningless.
"That was five years ago," Carmilla said. "Since then, I've just been going through the motions while doing patrol, fight, sleep, and repeat."
"The passion I used to have for this job died with him. Now I just do it because it's what I know how to do."
Rick said softly, "I'm sorry... that must be very hard."
Carmilla said, "It is what it is," but Rick could hear the pain in her voice. "Life goes on, even when we don't want it to."
For a while, they walked in heavy silence. Rick's mind raced as he tried to come up with something to say that didn't sound stupid or boring.
He thought about how empty and pointless his life had been on Earth. He had spent so much time escaping into fantasies and videos because real life was too boring. But at least he had never lost someone he really cared about.
Rick said slowly, picking his words carefully, "For what it's worth, I think your husband would be proud of you."
"You're still out here protecting people and keeping them safe, even when it's hard and you don't feel passionate about it anymore."
"That takes real strength, and it's not the kind of strength you use to swing a sword, but the kind that keeps you going when everything feels pointless. That's... that's really admirable."
Carmilla came to a stop. Rick also stopped because he was afraid he had said something wrong.
But when she turned to look at him, her eyes were bright with tears that she hadn't cried yet, and she was smiling. It wasn't a big smile, it was just a small, real curve of her lips, but it reached her eyes.
"Thanks," she said in a soft voice. "I needed to hear that from someone."
[QUEST COMPLETE: MAKE CARMILLA SMILE]
[+50 EXP]
[EXTRA REWARD: CARMILLA'S RESPECT GAINED]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: BASIC COMBAT AWARENESS (PASSIVE)]
[CARMILLA CRIMSONFORD'S LOVE: 4 → 6]
[REASON: YOU GAVE REAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING WHEN SHE WAS VULNERABLE]
[NOTE: She thinks you might be able to understand how she feels.]
Surrounding Rick's body was a burst of golden light that shocked both him and Carmilla. She stepped back and reached for her sword, but the light went out just as quickly as it had come.
[LEVEL UP!]
[RICK ROLLAND: LEVEL 1 TO LEVEL 2]
[STATS WENT UP]
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE]
Rick stared at the notifications that were flooding his vision, not really able to understand what had just happened. He really did it, he had finished his first quest and leveled up just by being honest and nice to someone who needed it.
Carmilla asked, "What was that?" Her hand was still on the hilt of her sword. "Did you just say a spell?"
Rick was trying to think of an answer. "I... uh... I think I might have woken up some kind of power? I'm not sure. I'm still really confused about everything."
Carmilla looked at him for a moment before slowly nodding. "Spontaneous ability awakening."
"This doesn't happen frequently, but it does happen. It usually happens after something traumatic or emotional. Congratulations, I guess...?"
Rick said, "Thanks." He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had just leveled up and gained fifty experience points from a real conversation. This system was crazy.
Sebastian appeared with a dramatic flourish. "Well, well, well. Look who didn't completely embarrass himself."
"I'm really surprised. That was real emotional intelligence and empathy. Did you steal someone else's personality?"
"Please just let me have this moment," Rick thought back.
"Okay. But don't get too big-headed. This was the easy part. Just wait until you have to deal with a demon general or a dragon queen who could kill you with a thought."
Rick pushed Sebastian's voice to the back of his mind and paid attention to Carmilla, who had started to walk again. They were almost at the town gates, and Rick could see guards standing at the entrance.
"Thanks," Carmilla said again as they got closer to the gate. "For earlier, I mean."
"Most people don't know what to say when I talk about my husband, so they either change the subject awkwardly or give me a meaningless platitude. But you really meant what you said. I could tell."
Rick said honestly, "I did mean it. I know I don't know you very well, but from what I've seen, you're a wonderful person."
"Thank you so much for helping me today, not just with the goblins but with everything else too."
Carmilla smiled at him again, and this time it was more friendly and open. "Come on. Let's get you signed up with the guild."
"Who knows? Maybe you'll surprise us all and become a good adventurer one day."
Rick couldn't help but feel a strange sense of hope as they went through the gates of Thornwick. Yes, it was strange and embarrassing that he could cheat.
Yes, he didn't know how to fight or how to stay alive in this world. But for the first time since he woke up in those ruins, he thought that maybe things would turn out okay.
The last time he heard Sebastian's voice in his head. "Don't get too comfortable. This was just the tutorial. The real challenges are coming, and believe me, they won't be as easy as making a lonely widow smile."
Rick sighed to himself but kept walking next to Carmilla, ready for whatever came next in this strange new world.