Putting off the problem for another day wins!
"I think Kitan's right about the training being worthwhile, and that we should stick with it!" You started off nodding to your mod, because they deserved to hear that they were right. Seto and Satoshi looked sad as you said that, and you continued quickly, "But! That doesn't mean we have to just... abandon helping others. I mean, I have nineteen of my beginner meals left, and a hundred gold. I bet we all have similar, no?" There were nodded heads amongst verbal agreements... Lightning Hoof frowned as she seemed to get what you were going to say before you said it, "It seems like if we pooled aaaaalll of it together!" You made a huge sweeping motion with your arms, bringing everything towards you, "We could probably have a few more days before people start really suffering. That'd give us enough time to finish training and then help more!"
Seto and Satoshi looked at each other for a moment, and Lightning Hoof pouted in her own little spot... but fluffy and Kitan were quick to agree with you.
"I'll happily give you all my food, Hita-hime~!"
"If you've decided to take care of people, I will do what I can to help you in that."
Dark Blade was a little more hesitant, but he gave a little nod, "If... if you think it's for the best."
The two Dragons talked amongst themselves as they seemed to consider it.
"We'd still be cutting it close..."
"But there's no telling we'll even be trapped here for that long."
"If we are though, will we have wasted time?"
"I mean, if it's as hard out there as everyone was saying, I don't think training is wasted. And having a bigger group is good - how many others do you think care about anyone out there?"
Seto sighed as Satoshi got the last word in, "I suppose if people aren't actively starving while I'm doing the training, it's a good idea to pursue it together." He seemed on edge still, but he gave a little bow of his head, "Pooling our resources is a good idea."
"Hey. I still didn't agree to this." Lightning Hoof looked offended that your offer was just accepted without her chiming in at all, "It's not my problem if people can't feed themselves. They could go walk to the temples and ask to get a job there. Or they could have come here and seen if the Guards would help them. Or even just go move boxes at one of those shops to keep some food on the table. Why do I have to babysit them?"
"It's not about babysitting anyone, Lightning!" You protested as she made it seem so bad, "We're just working together to make sure everyone survives this experience. It's not fair to any of us after all!"
"Yeah, it's not fair to any of us. So why should they just get to be coddled? I didn't sign up to be some caretaker of the poor or whatever you're thinking of yourselves as. I signed up to get stronger and hopefully beat up whatever dumbass developer avatar they have waiting around for us to stab." She crossed her arms, "If they wanna go take care of the poor and needy, that's on them - I shouldn't have to."
"I mean..." You hesitated for a second, you weren't used to dealing with this. "I can't force you to listen to me. I wouldn't even try. I just think we'll have a better chance working together than not... if you don't agree, you don't have to stay." It was quiet, implicit. You put her on the spot as you made it a her vs the group situation.
She looked to Kitan, the other person who had opposed babysitting the others... but she received far from the reply she wanted, "The only reason any of us are able to benefit from this hidden training quest is due to Hita-chan's influence. If she wants us to give her our food and gold to feed others as her payment for it, it's her right. If you do not want to pay it, you can always leave the quest behind and make your own way. If you think you can."
"..." She glared down at the ground as Kitan talked down to her, "...Fine." Soon enough the nineteen meals were out of her inventory, "You're right and I'm wrong. I don't want to leave the group." The stares from Fluffy and Kitan elicited a continuing response from the girl, "I'm sorry for being a jerk about it. Please forgive me." Fluffy looked smug from her spot next to you as the apology came out.
"Of course I accept your apology, Lightning! I get it - it's a really stressful situation. And we're giving up our safety net to provide for others - if the Guards decide we're not good enough, oops, what are we gonna do. But it just means we need to work together even more!" You did your best to try and inspire them, "We have this secret hidden opportunity just for us, and we're going to make the most of it. And then we're going to be so ready that we'll easily crush everything plaguing the town and it wont even be hard to help people if we want to."
Fluffy cheered loudly at your speech, the others mostly just nodded their heads - Kitan just kept a leveled stare at the still clearly not completely satisfied Lightning Hoof.
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The next morning came bright and early, as you had to fight for your life as a sudden ringing bell sent you literally falling out of the small bed you were in within the barracks. Kitan's threats had managed to secure you a bed to yourself instead of Fluffy sneaking in, but it was still small enough that the sudden noise sent you right off the edge from where you were laying. Only after you looked up from the ground did you see Raji the Kirin guard laughing heartily at you all from the doorway, "Up and at'm trainees. Don't you know us oldfolks like to wake early and go to sleep before it's dark? Chop chop! My bones aren't getting any younger you know!"
You were not the early to rise type - you controlled your own schedule after all, you streamed when you wanted to. Which meant you ate when you wanted to, woke up when you wanted to, did whatever you wanted to do basically when you wanted to. So having a schedule enforced on you was weird and foreign. But you did your best to smile as you said, "Yes sir!" There was nothing to gain by complaining or being mad about it.
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"Right, yesterday I got a feel for where you each were already and especially where you were weakest. Today I'm going to start training you according to those weaknesses - some people might say that a Kirin who is fast enough doesn't need to be able to take a hit." He looked directly at Lightning Hoof as he said that, "But I'm standing here at a hundred and twelve years old, and I've buried plenty of my fellows who were faster than I've ever been." His look was a little sad as he said that... and then noticed Dark, "Oh, right. Kuzu said to send you to where you were practicing yesterday. I tried to convince her that you needed to strengthen your body too, but she opposed the idea."
Dark looked right at you and frowned but as you smiled and waved at him he said, "O-okay. B..bye then..."
"Anyways." Raji turned back to the rest of you, "For my Tigers, you'll be doing agility training. I've set up an old netted rope over the ground with some stakes." He pointed down to where you could see it, "The rope's just big enough that if you step through it fully and then try to raise your foot without changing how you're standing, you'll trip yourself and fall. You're both going to be running that as fast as you can."
Fluffy seemed elated at being paired with you, while you were... grimacing. Physical hard work was hard, and you didn't quite like the fact that it hurt as much as exercising in real life. But you'd spent so much time and effort convincing people to stick with the training... you couldn't be the one to chicken out. "Of course, Raji-sensei." You gave a deep respectful bow, and he rubbed under his nose as you called him sensei, clearly flattered.
"For my Kirin grandchildren," the look was full of happiness as he called them that, "You'll be running laps around the perimeter until you can't run anymore. And then you'll jog until you can't jog anymore. And then you'll walk until you can't walk anymore. And then you'll crawl until I say you're done crawling. You need to build up your body's stamina more than anything."
"If you say so." Kitan gave a nod at least.
"Sure." Lightning Hoof didn't even nod as she took her instructions.
"And well... my Dragons... you're all hopeless. Your Ancestor should be praised for her dedication to the world, but I am sorry to say that I can see why most of your people eschew the battlefield, to instead work in record keeping and governance. You are equally sad in every respect, and I will be personally overseeing your training to try and see what, if anything, we can do for that."
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Your training was more hands off than the day before, but it wasn't easy. The ropes were sized exactly as he said - each time you stepped down, you had to angle your foot down. But if you tried to just stay on your tip toes, your balance was awful and your entire back hated you after just a bit. So you had to step down gracefully, and then as you raised your foot point your toes again. It was the oddest training you had ever heard of, and you tripped and fell dozens of times through the day. Fluffy was always quick to rush over to help you up, and you her though.
You saw Kitan and Lightning throughout the day running past you. And then jogging past you. And then running again. And then walking... Raji seemed quite serious when he said they would crawl if it kept them moving, because the only times you really saw him was when they stopped for longer than a minute or so to catch their breath. You weren't sure where he was even coming from until you heard him scolding them for not working hard enough - he had disappeared with the dragon twins for their individual training.
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You ate what felt like a late lunch but in reality was just around noon - once more Raji's servants had brought out a meal for you to enjoy. This time he stayed with you, Kuzu, the very loud Dragon who sounded like her throat was torn to shreds also joined you with Dark. The food was 'simple' veggie buns, but they were delicious to your tired self, and Raji laughed as you devoured two in bites, "Feel free to enjoy yourself. After a workout you need to eat. If you keep working hard, perhaps I'll have to make sure you make you a separate meal. Just because I can't handle a heavy meal of meat during the day doesn't mean you kids couldn't, hmm?" He raised an eyebrow, giving a laugh.
"You seem more alive than you have in months, Raji." Kuzu said it in a still loud voice, like she had to fight to make her voice heard, "Does it remind you of our time in the army, training those kids who didn't know their claws from their tails? Keeping them from getting themselves killed."
You perked up as you heard that, "Oh, you were in the military Raji-sensei~?" Showing interest in others was the best way to get them to like you - and it wasn't hard, since you were always interested in basically everyone. "Is that why you have so much to teach us?"
He raised an eyebrow at that, "I have so much to teach you because you're all hopeless!" He laughed at his own joke, "But I've worked with worse. At least you know how to listen, that's better than half those glory hounds we had to deal with during the last war."
"War?" Fluffy asked it with bun still in her mouth.
The both of them frowned and shook their head, "Don't ask." Was all Kuzu said on it.
It definitely killed the mood of the nice lunch, a dark cloud hanging over the two of them the rest of the day.
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You were already hitting the 'tired' debuff when you finished lunch, that was how intense the workout was. But Raji wasn't done with you yet, "Now that you've each done a lot of focused training, we're just going to do some light generalized exercise together. Just like yesterday, when I say to drop - drop and do a pushup. When I say to sprint, hit the wall and come back to your starting spot. When I say to dodge - you'd better not get hit with the training spear I'm holding. Pay attention and you'll do fine."
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"Good work everyone. I'm heading back for the night, but Kuzu said she'd send a servant out with food for you all in a couple of hours. Remember - bright and early in the morning. Whoever is the last one up and out of bed, I'm giving you extra lessons." The old man laughed as he said his goodbyes - you, Seto, and Satoshi bowed deeply to the man. Fluffy and Kitan at least gave small bows of their own.
You have completed hidden quest 'The Guard's Basics, Step 2 of 10'
You have gained +4 to your lowest physical stats - +3 has been allocated to dexterity, +1 to stamina.
You have gained the hidden quest 'The Guard's Basics, Step 3 of 10'
You saw that the quest info mimicked yesterday's quests - simply train with Raji until he was satisfied, and don't miss a day or the quest ends. But the reward had already gone up by one, relatively. You weren't exactly sure what the change was with the dexterity, but you thought maybe... just maybe? That you were walking a little faster. Or maybe your legs just felt so much like jelly that you felt like you were going faster.
"I gained three stamina and a strength, Hita-chan." Kitan reported his own benefits to you.
"One in each, and an extra stamina." Satoshi was next.
"I got my second point in dexterity instead. Guess it just chose randomly." Seto chimed in.
"I just got stamina." Lightning was last...
Except that Fluffy yelled out, "I got exactly the same as you, Hita-Hime!" As if it was a surprise. No one said anything as she seemed so happy about matching with you.
Until Kitan said, "Of course you did, you've got the same class and none of us have raised our stats at all, you idiot."
She looked dumbstruck for a moment, her eyes going wide as she took in that info. She lowered herself to the ground in a split second and started to 'whisper' to herself... very loudly, "Kyaahhh now I looked stupid in front of Hita!! Stupidstupid!!!" Before popping up suddenly and pointing her finger at Kitan, "How dare you make me look stupid!"
"It's not just looking. You are stupid." He laughed at his own insult.
"How dare you! Call blade!" Suddenly a small wakizashi was flying through the air around her, "I'll kick your butt, Kitan!"
Seto and Satoshi seemed really worried about the fight going on, but you just said, "Lets go hand out these meals and try to get things organized, before we run out of all our rest."
"...Shouldn't we stop them from fighting?" Satoshi-san asked you it with a worried glance to where Kitan was now throwing fireballs at Fluffy, her blade intercepting some, others missing, and just a handful being avoided by the girl.
"Oh, no, don't worry! They're always like that, it's okay!" You weren't worried at all, and the two dragons... slowly came after you as you left the chaos behind.
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'Four Spirits General Market' seemed like the best place to go based on the fresh fruits and veggies right outside on the outdoor stalls. You stepped inside to find an old human man and two younger looking dwarves running it, the dwarves wearing the same clothes as Raji's servants had been. "Oh." The owner opened an eye to look at you, raising a small circular glass to presumably see you better, "Another of the Awoken, is it? You'd best not try to steal from me as well. The guards will catch you, you hear." He coughed into a sleeve as he said that, his anger apparently fresh.
"I promise I'm not here to steal." You gave a bow to the older man, "In fact I am here to make a purchase if I could, Goto-sama." You had seen enough anime to know that respecting your elders was the right thing to do here, "I was wondering how much it would cost to purchase some basic meals for eating out in the field."
"Hhhrrrm. Fifteen gold." He gave a nod towards one of the Dwarves, who ran over with a [Basic Mealkit] that was equivalent to your Beginner ones, but had a level limit of twenty and below. "Thirty gold for the next step."
You did the math quickly in your head. And then you conferred with Satoshi before you said the number... and once you were corrected you said, "I'll take forty six of them." You may have almost only gotten thirty eight somehow. You weren't sure where your math had gone wrong, but you trusted Satoshi and Seto's correction.
His eye went a little wide as you made that order, "Perchance you could tell this old man why you need so much?" There was a little distrustful glint to his eyes, "Not hoping to take advantage of anyone if our supplies keep not coming in, are you?"
"Never!" The idea was ghoulish at best! "As you said, some of my fellow players haven't been adapting well to our being trapped here. Many of them, I'm afraid, might simply die if no one helps them. So my friends and I decided to pool all of what we had, to help those who were feeling less secure than us. I promise all of what I buy will be donated to help keep people from feeling like they need to steal!" You put a hand on your heart as if to show your sincerity.
"Hrm. I must be getting old, because I actually believe you. I'll tell you what, I'll knock the price down to twelve gold just this once... and throw in a couple extra for making a bulk purchase." He had a kindly smile now, "It's the job of us old timers to encourage you kids with good moral centers to keep doing good, after all."
"Thank you Goto-sama!"
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"Hello everyone!" You were practically standing on the Fountain of Four Spirits as you spoke to the square where most of the players were still lounging around in, being public nuisances by loitering at the least, "My friends and I are here to offer anyone who's worried about if they'll be able to have enough food a few of ours. If you wa-" People were already moving "Waitwaitwait if you want some please line up!" You had to screech out that last bit as at least a dozen people started to rush towards you to get food. They were the proactive ones, at least.
Seto was very detailed oriented and organized - and he noted down every person who you gave meals to, one by one, on paper. Satoshi and you meanwhile confirmed their background and whether they had any interest in trying to adventure... and the vast majority seemed to just be hoping that the proper authorities would be freeing them from their kidnapping as soon as possible. Others seemed too scared of the pain to even consider it an option. Most of the players who were willing to go out and fight had already taken upon themselves to go and do it, and weren't hanging out in the square lazing around during these daylight hours perfect for hunting.
It took nearly an hour and a half to get everything organized and the food given out... but nearly everyone had an extra two days of meals now. A few people had refused to take your pity help, one person had tried to rob you and got carted away by guards - and marked down by Seto as not deserving to be fed - but most of the players who weren't up to the task of finding their own way were happy to just... accept the charity. It left you feeling good, if nothing else.
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After training with Raji, you're usually around fifteen percent rest - on the cusp of the Exhausted debuff. That meant going out to try and fight monsters was almost certainly a terrible idea, even with seven of you. But you still had a couple of hours until sundown, and when you had to sleep. The first day you spent those hours comforting the panicked and recruiting Lightning Hoof, Dark Blade, Seto and Satoshi-san. The second day you spent it purchasing and handing out supplies for those who were least well adjusted.
On the third day and beyond you;
[ ] A. Focus on getting to know more of the players who have given up.
[ ] B. Focus on getting closer to some of the Guards.
[ ] C. Explore the town and get to know more about who is in charge and how it's organized.
[ ] D. Spend time getting to know your group better, try to build group cohesion.
[ ] E. Learn more about the troubles plaguing the town, and local monsters.
[ ] F. Spar with your fellow group members despite your Exhaustion.
[ ] G. Learn more about the Four Great Spirits from the temples.
Back to raffle because these are all equally interesting options I believe!
