Arthfael: The Grinding Hero

Chapter 4. Mission For Arthfael

Arthfael's drenched body lay on the bed, covered with a thick white blanket. Slowly, his eyes blinked and his forehead furrowed, a sign that he would soon regain consciousness.

"Eunghh." Arthfael groaned as he felt the pain in his nose from submerging himself in the bathtub a few moments ago.

"Look, he's starting to wake up," said Valentina, her voice echoing in Arthfael's ears.

The three women in revealing clothing and curvy figures who had accompanied Arthfael since the end of the match, including the one who helped Valentina get Arthfael out of the bathtub, were also present. Slowly, Arthfael's eyes opened and began to adjust to the light coming into them.

"Hey! Are you awake?" asked Valentina.

Hearing Valentina's voice growing clearer, Arthfael immediately sat up from his lying position, exposing his upper body clearly. The three women around him, along with Valentina, were also surprised to see Arthfael's bare body. Arthfael looked at everyone around him and finally realized that he was still in the same world.

Realizing that he was only wearing a blanket, Arthfael quickly pulled up the blanket that originally only covered his waist, up to his chest.

"Why am I still here?! Shouldn't I have returned--"

Valentina immediately covered Arthfael's mouth as he complained shortly after waking up.

"What are you talking about?" Valentina asked, laughing quite loudly, as if what Arthfael had just said was a joke.

Valentina stared at Arthfael sharply, then flew close to his ear and whispered, "Don't say that!" Arthfael immediately fell silent and cleared his throat to neutralize his voice.

To avoid suspicion, Arthfael pretended to stretch his body, which actually didn't feel stiff at all.

"Sir, are you alright? Do you want me to make a warm drink for your body?" asked one of the three women.

Arthfael shook his head while smiling awkwardly, "No need. I think I'll rest for a while. Oh yeah, can I have some new clothes? My clothes seem to be very dirty."

"Alright, we will get you new clothes, Sir." the woman replied, and the three of them stood up and left the room together.

Arthfael and Valentina sighed simultaneously, then looked at each other and exchanged glances.

"Why am I still here? Shouldn't I have woken up from my sleep by now?!" Arthfael asked, just as the three women given to him as a prize for his match left the room.

"I already told you, your soul is bound here. You won't be able to leave until your mission is complete!" Valentina replied, stomping on the air with frustration and clenching her fists.

Although she looked angry and her face was sour to see, Arthfael couldn't help but hold back his laughter at Valentina's adorable behavior.

"What mission?" Arthfael asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Defeating Krakensaur." Valentina answered.

"Krakensaur?" Arthfael repeated Valentina's statement because he didn't understand what was going on. Valentina then flew near Arthfael's right hand and stepped on a thick black line that appeared to encircle his wrist.

"This object is a sign that you are not from this world. But you come from another world and are assigned to complete a mission." Valentina said.

Arthfael looked at the black line and nodded his head. "I already used it earlier in the arena against Dreadspawn. It displayed information about who I am and my level. Is this some kind of video game?" Arthfael asked.

Valentina tilted her head when she heard the sentence she didn't understand. "Video game?" she repeated.

"Yes, a game. You are an NPC and I am the main character. Is it something like that?" Arthfael asked again, explaining a little more in detail, hoping that Valentina would understand a bit more.

Valentina shrugged her tiny shoulders. "I don't understand. But what we understand is that everyone who has this mark is a person who has a soul from another world, and we fairies are tasked to help you. No one must know about your existence because this is a secret mission." Valentina replied.

"A secret mission? From whom?" Arthfael asked.

Valentina shrugged her tiny shoulders again, "We were created for this. It's automatically embedded in our minds that if someone comes from another world, we will accompany them."

"Why can't other people know?" Arthfael asked, curious as Valentina even cut her conversation to avoid complaining that he was not actually from there.

"Because if this information spreads, your life could be in danger," replied Valentina.

Arthfael fell silent instantly. The man with a thin six-pack finally gave up his desire to return to his body and live as Alvin.

"Okay. So, how do I get back? Beating Krakensaur, right? Is that all?" Arthfael asked confidently.

Valentina landed right on Arthfael's black mark and channeled her magical energy into the line, then information about Arthfael came out. Valentina then flew closer to the level title that Arthfael possessed.

"Krakensaur is a monster who lives in the middle of the ocean. He is an SSSSS-level monster that can only be faced by those who are at level 999. Because you are only at level 41, it means you still need 957 more levels." Valentina explained to Arthfael.

Arthfael was instantly stunned to hear that, "959 levels? Oh my god! How long does it take?!" Arthfael complained.

"Maybe around 20 years. If you're lucky, it could be as fast as 10 years," Valentina replied casually.

"20 YEARS?!!!" Arthfael shouted, then lowered his voice and looked at Valentina, "20 years? Are you kidding me? I could be 45 and still single! Oh my god!" Arthfael yelled, then pulled his own hair.

There was no turning back. The only way was for Arthfael to level up and then fight Krakensaur as Valentina had just said.

"And remember, if you die here, you die for real. There have been 13,597 guests from other worlds who died in this place. Don't let yourself be the next one," said Valentina.

Immediately, Arthfael looked at Valentina with an unbelieving gaze. But it was impossible for a fairy like Valentina to lie to him.

"From now on, your name is Arthfael. You are a hero from another world who must level up to defeat Krakensaur and return to your original world. Do you understand until this point?" asked Valentina.

Arthfael was silent for a moment and then looked at the screen in front of him, where he could see his blood had started to recover, his level had increased by 1, and the weapon column was still empty.

"Alright. I understand and will do it," Arthfael replied.

As their discussion ended, the three women returned with new clothes for Arthfael. It was only fitting that Arthfael receive such service as a reward for his victory.

Throughout the process of changing clothes, Arthfael continued to resist the urge to gaze at the curves and cleavage of the three women who were helping him change. Every time their skin touched, Arthfael shuddered.

"Damn, how long do I have to feel like this? It's so torturous." Arthfael muttered as the women finally finished changing him into the new clothes.

The clothes were almost identical to the previous ones, except this time they were gray and had a head covering that could hide his face.

"Is that all, sir? Is there anything else we can help you with?" asked one of the voluptuous women.

Arthfael immediately shook his head. "No, that's enough. Thank you."

Just as Arthfael finished answering the women's question, a loud knocking sound came from the door, causing everyone there to turn towards the source of the sound.

The door opened and revealed a tall, skinny man with long white hair, thick mustache, and beard.

"Why does he look like the headmaster character from one of the wizarding school stories?" Arthfael muttered to himself as he saw the man who had just entered the room, but he didn't look old at all.

"Excuse me, Lord Arthfael. The next match will take place tonight. King Galen of the Kingdom of Esteria requests you to fight against the S-level Ogreking monster," said the man.

Arthfael was shocked to hear this, "S-level?" Even the Dreadspawn monster with Level A was already tremendously powerful, let alone he had to fight against an S-level monster today.

"Please prepare yourself," he said again before leaving and closing the door, as if not giving Arthfael a chance to refuse.

The three women assigned to accompany him looked at Arthfael and encouraged him for the next battle. Meanwhile, Arthfael didn't know how to react to the match that a King had prepared for him.