He removed the game screen in front of him with a swipe of his hand. Everything was clear to him at this point as completing the quest would increase his basic status.

"Melissa, stop crying, okay? Everything will be fine," Riku said sweetly, patting her head slowly.

With her bright face, she looked at him. "Really, mister Riku? Are you going to the forest to find my father?" she inquired, hoping that this man would assist her.

He nodded and carried her on his back. "Of course, Mellisa, I\'ll do everything I can to find him," he said as he stood up to tell Arisu he was changing his mind.

His plans would change slightly since he\'s not expecting to receive a quest in this type of location. Furthermore, he can\'t pass up this opportunity as this could help him increase his mana pool and become a good vessel from the monsters\' genes. To be more specific, he wants to use the [Manifest] in this world though since he sees a monster that can only be found inside the dungeon.

__

Riku was riding Melissa on his back as he walked across the brown surface to Arisu\'s room. Farmers were staring at him and chatting, as expected.

"What exactly is Melissa doing there?"

"Come on, get her; that man appears to be a good friend of Lady Arisu."

Well, the villagers and farmers started to recognize him. Thanks to Arisu as he declared Riku will be the number one inventor of the Arzotoc village.

"That\'s embarrassing... How she can say that in front of everyone," he thought as he remembered Arisu introducing him to the farmers last night.

And then, out of nowhere, a skinny woman with emerald green hair, fair skin, wrinkles on her face, and black eyes bowed in front of him.

"Mother!" exclaimed Melissa.

"Is this your mother?"

He can\'t finish his question because Melissa\'s mother grabs her and orders him to kneel on the ground.

"I apologize for my daughter\'s behavior; you may punish me," Melissa\'s mother said to him for no apparent reason. She also asked her daughter to do the same. "Hey, Melissa, don\'t you know who he is? He\'s the inventor who came from the country, so you must know what our level is; come on, apologize to him."

Melissa, on the other hand, simply nodded and said. "I recognize him, mother; he\'s mister Riku Hirota, and he said he\'ll come up to find my father."

Her mother appeared shocked and terrified at the same time. "I sincerely apologize, mister Riku! My daughter didn\'t understand what she was saying, so please excuse her."

Riku looked around, noticing that the villagers were staring at him. \'What is her issue? \' He thought to himself as he realized the situation. He needed to change what the villagers thought of him, so he lowered himself to the same level as her head.

"You don\'t need to kneel to me; we\'re all humans in the same world, and Melissa isn\'t asking me to find her father; I volunteered to do it." He smiled at her and helped her stand up.

Look, mister Riku didn\'t punish farmer Solomon\'s daughter!

Eh? It\'s impossible; if Lady Arisu finds out, we\'re all screwed.

His main goal was to change how the villagers and farmers perceived him. He wasn\'t expecting it, but he seized the opportunity. Those people would undoubtedly believe him and obey his commands if he did this.

"May I ask your name?" Riku asked politely, taking a step back to avoid putting pressure on her.

"My name is Jara Bandit, and I\'m one of the farmers in this village," she explained, bowing her head. "Why are you going to assist me in finding my partner?"

He smiled at her again and said. "Hmm... I\'m going to scout the forest as it would be a waste if we didn\'t try to find Melissa\'s father; don\'t be mad at Melissa; we\'re just having a small conversation."

He then walked up to her and gently tapped her on the back. "Don\'t worry, Jara; I\'ll do my best to find him; also, raising a child alone is difficult." He turned to face Melissa, "And you, Melissa, you should help your mother, okay? It\'s nice to have a mother.

"Yes, mister Riku! I\'ll be a good daughter to her!"

"Thank you so much, mister Riku! I didn\'t know how I\'m going to pay you!" Jara said, can\'t be helped to didn\'t cry.

"Take care! We wish that you come back here safe!"

While walking to Arisu\'s room, he heard these words. Moreover, the main reason why he left there was he didn\'t want to get emotional as he remembered his mother.

___

One hour had flown by, and it was now eight o\'clock in the morning. Riku told Arisu that he had changed his mind and that he needed to see the location of the lake first before beginning his research.

Arisu will not oppose his decision but has stated that she will be unable to accompany him. Because that was one of her rules when she was with King Luke. She is free to travel throughout the Arzotoc village, but she is not permitted to venture beyond the village\'s perimeter.

75 farmers and 120 guards gathered in the village\'s western section. With this number, they can ensure that the guard will be able to protect the farmer.

Each section had a small passage that led outside of the village. So, if the invaders were to attack them, they would have an escape route.

"Well, lady Arisu, we have to go; we\'ll be back here before the sun goes down," he waved his hand, following the expedition\'s guards.

"Of course, if you don\'t want to be killed by those monsters." Arisu seemed to be aware that the monsters were more aggressive at night. "Please don\'t die, Riku; I have a message for you."

Riku was perplexed, blinking his eyes, wondering why this woman hadn\'t mentioned it to him when he was close by. Nonetheless, he was a cheerful response to her. "The strong man, of course, never dies."

...

After a few moments, Riku, the guards, and the farmers passed through the forest. Farmers began digging closer to the Arzotoc\'s wall, with the first day being the safest as they could flee inside the village if the monsters approached.

"I\'m Eric Nok, the third commander, and I\'ve been assigned to protect the farmers with your project." A man with blue hair, narrow green eyes, an average build, and four centimeters taller than Riku.

Riku extended his hand to him and said, "I\'m Riku Hirota." They shook hands as they both respected each other.

After that, Riku entered the forest without anyone noticing him, knowing that if the guards found out, they would pursue him.

...

"I\'m far away from them, it\'s time to find Solomon." Riku muttered, checking his back if someone followed him. Yet, it was clear it seemed the guards weren\'t aware of it.

Riku wasn\'t bothered walking in the vast green forest alone as he have done it for a month. Also, he can now use his [Fly] skill freely.

He was looking around, thinking where he should start to find Solomon. Based on the quest, Solomon lost after he tried to get some water from the lake.

"Hmm... I think it\'s better if starts there."

[Fly!]

Swish!

Dark gleaming wings appeared on his back it was darker than usual, or he only noticed it after a month. He took a leap into the air and spread his wings. From above, he thought it would be much faster to find the lake and Solomon.

It took him ten minutes to find the calm lake. Arisu was correct; the lake was 33 meters away if you started from the wall.

Next to the lake was the part in a deep part of the forest. He shook his head as it was impossible for a farmer to get deeper into this forest.

"If I were Solomon, where would I go?" He rubbed his chin, having found no clue at the location until... The tall bushes on his left side shook violently.

Squeak!

He took a glance at it and said. "Who\'s here?!"

No one responded to him so he put to his mind that behind this bush was the monster. So he stepped back to avoid any sneaky attack that might happen.

"If I better to leave this place-!"

Boom!

A splash of water poured him as someone threw solid things into the lake. To be exact, a green monster with sharp teeth, had a human body, skinny texture, and it was looked like a monster that could fight under the lake.

Seemingly it was the monster who was guarding this territory.. "What this monster doing in this place. I-It\'s the Naga monster!"