Nature Chose Me

The First Big Step

“Come on, don’t be shy.” Her voice is so soothing, it carried the aura of maturity around it. Yet her childish side still shine when she dealt with Staas.

She’s like a clingy daughter who is always excited whenever her father comes home. Memories he spent with Nymfrik more than a thousand years ago are still crystal clear in her mind. Yet anyone can tell how ancient she is just by a glance, even with the youthfulness of a nymph look she possessed. The only things that gave a sight of physical maturity on her are but her bust and hip.

“If you insist.”

Staas then neglected every single fabric on his body and Gytha followed along. Riviera was smiling when he did that since his body is now completely different from what she knew back then.

“Hehehe... never come to my mind, that I’ll ever see you look this... child-like.” She giggled.

“Well… I am who I am now.” The two travelers entered the small pool. However, they need to adjust their seat before they could relax, since there were lots of jewelry drown inside the water.

“Won’t it be more comfortable if you just keep the whole pool clean?” Gytha asked. Those jewelry were quite heavy, she needs Staas' help just to be able to sit.

“You two are the first to enter my throne, but my seat over here is always clean and comfy. Besides, every precious thing in this room is of utmost importance… to me. Well after you of course dear All-father.” Riviera pridefully replied.

“Now, let’s begin our fun chit-chat~”

As the three finally sat, Staas began to retell the stories of his journey and all the things he knows and experienced. About how he found out who he is, the 9 essences, the fight with the humans, and so on.

“I see…” Riviera slowly digested the information she got. “So you came here for your [Water Essence]? Sure, I don’t mind giving them back to you. It’s yours after all Stabby~” She looks quite pleased with Staas' request.

“Really!? You’ll do that?” The boy went all excited after hearing her words.

“But, before that, there’s something I wanted you to do first.” Riviera fiddle with her hand and called upon a stream of water from the edge of the room to bring her something of her belonging.

“Oh… of course it won’t be that easy…” Staas was a bit disappointed, but he could understand it.

“No no no, I will give the [Water Essence] to you for FREE. However… you said you’ll be going on a journey. Hence you need to be more prepared to overcome what lies ahead.” The Naiad quickly grabbed the item.

“Prepare?”

“See this?”

Riviera showed the two of them what appear to be an emblem made out of winterstone with diamonds embedded in it. “This is an [Adventurer’s Badge], you’ll need this thing to get easy access to each village and city. Or else the gatekeeper there will annoy you.”

“Ah… so that’s why.” Staas showed his understanding out loud.

“Hm? Do you have a problem with the gatekeeper?” The Naiad was quick to catch up.

“No! No no no, we don’t have any…” Gytha immediately shut Staas mouth with her hand. Yet Riviera glanced at her with a faint smile, making her even more nervous.

“Huft…” Gytha sighed. “The gatekeeper here suspected Staas because of his round ears and human weapon while being clothed in green.”

The Naiad giggled. “You don’t need to hide things like that from me, I’m not gonna scold you or anything.” She once again fiddled her hand and another stream flowed to her side.

“Here.” Riviera gave the two each the same item. It was a golden ring with purple runes transcribed on it.

“A ring?” Asked Staas confused. He liked the looks of it, yet he didn’t get why she gave it to them.

“They are [Inventory Ring]s. Try activating it by channeling your elemental energy to it.”

As Riviera suggested, Staas and Gytha proceed to do just that. Two black portals the size of a vent then opened themselves. They were shaped like a black mist slowly spinning in a spiral with a circle pitch-black hole as its center.

“Now put both of your weapons inside it.” Guided Riviera.

Staas nodded and do what he was asked. He put the spear inside, head first, and it went easily. The hammer which head is bigger than the portal also went through without difficulty. It was magical and weird.

“Now, the size of this ‘inventory’ is based on the wearer’s magic capacity. Hence, what Staas has is probably the most massive space in existence, or at least if he was at his prime.” Riviera explained.

“I don’t know much about Gytha’s capacity but the smallest it can get is the size of a normal bag. However, since you’re capable of being a vessel to an essence, yours is probably bigger than a bedside closet.” The Naiad went on.

“Is it really ok for us to have these?” The gifts were overwhelming. These rings must be expensive.

“Of course! You two are my most beloved~. Besides, I have plenty of those and I’m… filthy rich.” Riviera put up a huge grin on her face. It was the proud expression of someone who bathed in treasures.

“Ahaha… of course.” Gytha let out an awkward defeated laughter. “You’re one of the first creations after all.”

“Now, before you two went on to get this adventurer’s badge—”

“Eh? You’re not gonna give that to us too?” Staas cut off the Naiad with a disappointed face.

“I will if I could, but this badge is personalized. It contains your information as an adventurer, like rank, name, type, and so on.” Riviera proceeds to explain without any hard feelings.

The opposite of it, she might even give him her kingdom if he asked for it. The 9 first creations are like fanatics to Nymfrik, they’ll do anything for him, even sacrifice their life.

“So what you wanted us to do right now… is become an adventurer?” Gytha asked to confirm.

“Bingo!” A bunch of water started exploding like fireworks to congratulate the girl. “But before that… Stabby, let’s do a little learning about auras.”

*

After a quick lesson from the Naiad, Staas finally realized what happened to all the ones seeing them until this point. He is now also able to suppress his aura, so no one will notice he’s an almighty being which made them fear him.

There are exceptions of course, but it was enough to make him able to roam freely in this human-dominated world. Humans are relatively weak as an individual (except for adventurers), but they are almost unmatched in a disciplined large number. Especially with their greed which knows no bound.

*

Staas and Gytha went to the west side of the city, after receiving guidance and material help from the Naiad. Through the steps and bricks, they walked into the front yard of an Adventurer’s Guild Tavern, named the Azuresheet Tavern.

“Is this the place?”

It was located on the side of a waterway, right at the end of a bridge. The ground before it was made out of marble and its walls are fully created from cedar logs. There are four windows on the front side with a tall door in the center.

Each of the window’s glasses was enveloped with yellow curtains so no one could see what’s inside. A shield is platted above the door, and on it written the tavern’s name.

“Let’s just enter and find out!”

The boy agreed and proceed to open the tavern’s door. And right after, the crowdy atmosphere immediately struck them with its noise and sight.

“Whoa…”

Inside, tens of adventurers were sitting, drinking, and dancing on their desks and chairs. Each of them dressed fully protected, except for the female adventurers... they somehow looked like experienced exhibitionists. The weight of their attires was diverse, some are lightly armored, and others are heavy, while the colors which they wore are varied. You can easily tell one's race without even checking on their physical attribute.

Yet, of course, someone with round ears and green outfits will surely attract attention.

“Are they human?”

“Look at the brown hair and green eyes!”

"That's curious... aren’t faeries and nymphs have deer-like ears?”

However, as soon as Staas and Gytha fully entered the facility, things that come out of their mouth suddenly changed.

“Gorgeous…”

“Ah… so fragrant.”

“So cute! Are they siblings?”

“I think… I’m in love.”

“Bro bro, check her out!”

With Staas aura no longer visible to fill the air with fear, people can finally notice how visually and aromatically pleasing those two are.

Gytha is a nymph, her looks will easily paralyze any male with the beauty she possessed. Her smooth skin and silky humanlike hair will mesmerize anyone who sees it. Not to mention her stunning crystal green eyes, it was enough to make a man’s heart stop beating.

Staas on the other hand, attract the ladies. He’s extremely handsome for someone who looks like a child, but the cuteness of his feature is on another level which makes females crazy adore him. Added with his scent of blooming hyacinth, he’s like a walking lure for aunties and grannies.

The two stopped on a counter located at the back of the tavern, which was guarded by three female receptionists. One an azure-eyed human, one a knife-eared elf, and one a light blonde angel. Yet something stayed common, their faces were completely red just by being in the two’s sight.

Behind the counter, is a wall filled with boards that contain much information. While on the side and under it, racks filled with booze decorated the place with their clink clank. On the top side of the wall, the words ‘Adventurer’s Guild' is written in huge font.

“Hello miss, my name is Staas, the Druid of Spirit Grove and this is my aide Gytha. Following the Naiad recommendation, we’re here to become adventurers!” Staas stiffly recited the words which Riviera told him to say.

Hearing that, everyone on the Tavern instantly stopped whatever it was they were doing, and all the attention suddenly got pulled on to those two.

The arrival of new blood is always a big event for every adventurer’s group. Especially with someone as eye-catching as they are. It was a sign of a big catch.