16 Songstress (2/2)

Suddenly, the beautiful maid realized how close she was and immediately pulled her head back.Her cheeks blushed furiously.

I called up my player screen and winced.I saw that my exhausted condition was still in effect.Apparently, I hadn't slept enough to recover from the adverse effect.However, my Health did recover slightly as I now had 7 more Health points than before.”How long was I asleep?” I asked.

”You slept for an hour, milord,” the maid replied.

I nodded.Adding back the loss of one Health point just now when Amelica pinched my ear, this meant that my natural recovery rate was 8 Health points per hour.I wasn't fully healed but a good night's sleep should allow me to completely recover my health.I tried to pull myself off the bed but I dropped back down immediately with a ”plop” sound.My back had locked up again.

”Please forgive me for being too forward with this request but join my party,” Amelica requested.

I turned my head over to look at Amelica and saw that she was blushing and looking down at her hands.My mind returned to the last time I had partied with another character—Kalistra.I wondered what sort of abilities this barmaid had.I finally hit ”Yes” on the pop-up and joined Amelica's party.

She made a face upon seeing my condition and reduced health.She put a hand on my chest, closed her eyes, and started to sing.

I was unable to make out the words as it was not in English.However, the song was beautiful and Amelica had a wonderful voice.Her song was soothing and her purity reached out to my very soul.Warmth emanated from my chest and slowly spread throughout my entire body.By the time the song was over, I felt completely refreshed.A check on my player screen confirmed that my exhaustion had been removed and my health was completely healed.

Out of curiosity, I decided to check Amelica's player stats and the middle column read: ”Name: Amelica [X], Race: Human, Alignment: Lawful Good, Profession: Barmaid/Songstress, Level: 7, Experience: 26,962/28,000, Reputation: 12,851, Attack: 36, Damage: 5-7 (Unarmed).”The right column read: ”Health: 52, Stamina: 53, Mana: 125/140, Strength: 17, Intelligence: 18, Wisdom: 22, Dexterity: 20, Constitution: 15, Charisma: 23.”

I sighed deeply when I finished reading her stats.Why was everyone I met so much more powerful than me?But then again, I understood why she was treating me so nicely—she had a Lawful Good alignment.Her former profession of songstress was not one that I was familiar with.My best guess was that she was a support character similar to a Bard.What bothered me, though, was the ”X” in place of Amelica's surname.Did it mean that she was formerly a member of the nobility?If so, how did she lose her heritage?

Amelica's face turned into one of puzzlement.”If I may ask, milord, how old are you?”

”I'm 36,” I replied.

”How can an adult like you stay at Level 1?” she asked rhetorically.Also, she was very surprised that I was that old!Normally, people at that age would carry gray hair on their head like her uncle had when he was still alive.Yet, I looked strong and as healthy as a bull!Physically, I looked at least ten years younger.My chest was broad and she felt strong muscles under her fingertips.If I ever decided to pour my time, energy, and money into training I could easily become a match even for Vern as a fighter!As a man, I was full of contradictions!

”Honestly, I woke up on a nearby street this morning and found myself in this world.I came from a very different world,” I replied.

The songstress looked at me intently as if she was seeing me for the first time.She then grabbed my left hand and squeezed it warmly.”I don't know why but I do believe you,” she said quietly.The only people she had encountered in her life at level one were children.It was nearly impossible for an adult to stay at level one because the world was dangerous and few would survive at that level.

Suddenly, Amelica's thoughts returned to the incident on the street near the tavern this afternoon.Her patrons were talking about it for hours over drinks at the bar.”You did a very foolish thing this afternoon,” she commented while squeezing my hand a little harder.

”How so?” I stared blankly at her frown.

”You fought Ebenthal the bandit on the street.You were very lucky that he didn't kill you on the spot,” she glared into my eyes as if to dare me to deny it.

I sighed again.”I was just trying to defend myself.During the fight, I heard dice rattling inside my mind.When it stopped I got a pop-up saying that I had made a Dexterity saving throw,” I admitted.

Her hand suddenly squeezed even harder but not enough to incur another loss of health.”Milord, Lady Luck has blessed you.I would like to take you to visit her shrine so that you could make an appropriate offering,” she said.

”How so?” I asked again.I strained to remember what the Dungeons & Dragons rules said about saving throws.

”When you hear dice rattling, it means that you have reached a critical point in your life.If you miss the saving throw it could lead to instant death,” Amelica explained patiently.

”Oh,” I pursued my lips into an ”O” shape for the second time today.It appeared that I had escaped death by luck alone.

Suddenly, an ”Oh!” escaped from the maid's lips, too.”Your dinner is getting cold, milord,” she said.The maid quickly got up and walked around my bed to retrieve the forgotten tray of food.She took the tray and placed it on the nightstand.

”I have to go back to work, milord.I will return to retrieve the tray,” she said.Amelica offered me another warm smile and left the room.

I couldn't help but stare at her as she walked out.I learned a lot about her today.As I began to eat my cold supper, my mind continued to think only of Amelica.