Chapter Sixteen: Finina
As soon as Zhao Nan accepted, a line of dark gold text unexpectedly appeared on his task panel. In other words, meeting Haidien’s daughter and winning her heart was actually a divine-level quest!
Zhao Nan did his best to steady his emotions. He already knew that any quest to acquire that class would not be easy, but he hadn’t expected anything this terrifying.
Xu Yang’s quest to collect moonlit grass was also a divine-level quest. Just think—he had only logged in for a day, yet was required to cross a level 5 berserk bull area alone to fulfill the conditions. That was already daunting enough.
But why would merely answering a question reach this level of difficulty? With countless doubts swirling in his mind, Zhao Nan ascended the weapon shop’s stairs under Haidien’s instructions, heading up to the second floor.
The wooden steps creaked with every footfall. When he reached the door to Haidien’s daughter’s room, Zhao Nan’s nerves peaked.
He took a deep breath and knocked.
“Come in.”
The soft voice was as ethereal and serene as rainfall. Startled by how melodious it was, yet without a moment’s hesitation, Zhao Nan pushed open the door and entered.
The room was shrouded in layers of gauzy veils, dimly lit, and Zhao Nan could hear the tinkling of wind chimes. By the window was a slender silhouette—a young woman stood with her back to him, toying with the chimes.
“Haidien asked me to come find you,” Zhao Nan went straight to the point.
The woman seated at the window didn’t turn around. She simply paused, resting her hand on the windowsill. Through the veils, only the outline of her profile was visible.
Zhao Nan muttered inwardly; to win someone’s heart at first meeting—wasn’t that asking the impossible? Did love at first sight really exist? How had Duan Tianlang completed this quest?
Unfortunately, even when drunk, Duan Tianlang only ever spoke of his proposal, never what came after.
“The first question: Why have you come to propose?” the woman asked, even more direct than Zhao Nan.
Remembering that only honesty with the natives could earn their favor, Zhao Nan replied, “Because this will grant me greater power.”
She didn’t get angry. Instead, she laughed, her voice as clear as silver bells. “At least you’re honest. I thought you’d say something pleasing to the ear.”
Zhao Nan shrugged, “We’ve never met—there’s no affection between us. Even if I tried to sweet-talk you, it wouldn’t be sincere. And if it’s not sincere, how could it move anyone?”
“Second question: How can you prove to me that, if I become your wife, you’ll always protect me?”
She pressed forward with the second question.
Zhao Nan pondered, his mind racing. Then, cautiously, he asked, “Miss, perhaps you could tell me what I must do to make you believe?”
She shook her head, replying softly, “No matter what you do, I could never trust someone I’ve only just met… Let’s pretend I never asked that question.”
After speaking, she suddenly rose and walked straight toward him, parting the veils as she came, her features gradually becoming clear.
“Third question: Are you willing to take me away from here and let me stay by your side always?”
Zhao Nan’s breath quickened. Before him, half of the woman’s face was breathtakingly beautiful, but the other half was hideously deformed, like the rotting flesh of a zombie.
In that instant, Zhao Nan understood why Duan Tianlang had never allowed his native wife to be seen by others. The rumors were true—she was an exceedingly ugly woman.
How ruthless!
“No problem,” Zhao Nan replied calmly, regaining his composure.
“Give this to Haidien, then wait for me downstairs,” she said.
Quest item obtained: Comb.
Following her instructions, Zhao Nan left the room, still puzzled as to why Haidien’s daughter referred to her father by name. But he soon dropped the thought—there were too many native tribes, each with their own customs. Perhaps that was just how things were here.
“Haidien, your daughter asked me to give you this,” Zhao Nan said, uncertain if the quest was complete, forcing himself to hand it over. This kind of strange task was more exhausting than fighting monsters.
Haidien stared at the comb, his expression surprised, then shook his head. Seeing this, Zhao Nan felt a pang of dread—had he failed?
“So, it’s this…” Haidien mused for a while, then looked up solemnly. “From here on, I’ll entrust Finina to you!”
At that moment, a system notification sounded.
“‘Win Her Heart’ quest updated to ‘Traveling Companions.’ Accept?”
The dark gold text remained, but the quest’s content had completely changed. Zhao Nan had heard of quests changing objectives, but this was the first time he’d seen it himself. Yet… there was no time limit, no clear goal.
How could he complete it? Was he just supposed to travel with Finina indefinitely?
After a brief thought, Zhao Nan resolutely accepted. Whatever came next, at least he’d bound the quest to himself—it was better than nothing.
Moments later, light footsteps approached. At the turn of the stairs, Finina appeared, dressed in pure white swordmaster attire, a slender rapier at her waist.
“I’m ready,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse. A pure silver mask covered her face, revealing only her eyes, which shone like blue gems.
“Finina requests to join your party. Experience gained from killing monsters will be split evenly, loot distributed freely.”
“Accepted.”
After forming their two-person party, Zhao Nan was surprised to be able to view all of Finina’s details.
Name: Finina
Affiliation: Zhao Nan (temporary)
Race: Unknown
Class: Swordsman
Level: LV0
Constitution: 10
Strength: 10
Spirit: 10
Agility: 10
Vitality: 500
Mana: 500
Health Status: Good
Equipment: White Beginner’s Sword
Skills: Double Strike (Mastered), Slash (Mastered)
Items: None
Money: None
Experience: 0/500
Affection: 60% (includes +20% from Proof of Honesty). If affection drops below 50%, she may leave the party.
After reading, Zhao Nan was speechless. She was only level 0, yet all her base stats were maxed out, with two mastered skills… Wasn’t this overpowered?
As he pondered, the system chimed again.
“Ding! Congratulations, player Zhao Nan, for unlocking the simplified companion system. Reward: 100 experience, 500 reputation. Announce to the world?”