"What?" as she stared at him, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief. "Is this really your status? I thought for sure you were faking it with some high-level skills!"
"No… it's my real status." His voice was quiet, almost ashamed.
She shook her head, confused "But… the way you saved me and survived this forest… I assumed you were at least level 60, or higher! But… you're level 1?? That's… impossible!"
Her confusion deepened the more she think about it.
"Ah… about that…" He suddenly remembered, and she looked at him with curiosity. "It's the condition for that potion."
"Ah… I've read a book about it," she said, her eyes widening in realization. "High-level potions usually come with some sort of condition to use. What's the condition for this one?"
"It's nothing special… Don't worry about it…" He was sweating heavily, feeling the pressure of the situation.
"Please… you have to tell me," she insisted, "If you don't, I'll regret not knowing."
"Phew… okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't kill me." He said, his voice trembling slightly.
"Obviously, I won't do that… Why would I kill my savior?" She blinked in surprise, looking at him as if he were joking. "And what kind of woman do you think I am?"
"No… you misunderstood." He quickly corrected himself, his face turning red. "I didn't mean it like that… it's just that the condition is… well, a bit strange."
"Then tell me what it is." Her gaze sharpened, her curiosity now fully piqued.
He couldn't argue anymore.
"Both users of the potion must become lovers, and one must sacrifice their levels and status points to save the other… but…" he trailed off.
She was stunned. A deep sorrow filled her as she realized the sacrifice Nawfi had made for her.
"You're in such a bad situation because of me…" she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't you know! how important is levels and status?.. We're total strangers, you shouldn't have done that for me. I'm so sorry…" Her voice broke as she fell to her knees, overwhelmed with guilt and started sobbing.
The others at the camp didn't notice them. Nawfi quickly moved to her side, trying to comfort her.
"Please, don't cry… What will the others think?" he said softly, his voice full of concern. "Please, stop…"
After a few moments, the sobs subsided.
Wop… wop… She wiped her tears, and Nawfi couldn't help but feel a strange warmth in his chest, watching her nature he never expected to see.
"Are you okay now?" he asked gently.
She nodded, wiping her eyes. "I'm fine…"
"You should go and rest," Nawfi suggested, concerned for her.
She looked up at him. "You didn't finish your talk … You were saying something?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to continue. "Oh… It's just that…" He hesitated, his voice fill with uncomfortable.
"That what?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
Unable to resist her cuteness , he blushed and looked away. "Huh… okay, fine, you win…" he muttered,"It's… it's supposed to be a mouth-to-mouth kiss."
He quickly turned his head away, flustered.
A moment of awkward silence stretched between them.
"Don't wo…rry…" she was blushing deeply. "You did that to save me… I'm not mad at you… It's just…" She lowered her gaze, her voice softening. "That was my first kiss, you know?"
Her face turned bright red as she tried to hide it, clearly embarrassed.
"Your first? What?" Nawfi's face turned a deep shade of red as he scrambled to apologize. "I'm so sorry for stealing your first time… I mean, your first kiss…!"
She quickly waved her hands, flustered. "Don't worry about it…" she mumbled, embarrassed.
"And… it's also my first too…" Nawfi added quietly, his face as red as hers.
Another awkward silence filled the air, both of them unsure how to react.
Nawfi couldn't look at her face, too embarrassed to meet her gaze. But he forced himself to look at her.
"Pfft..… haha… ha…"
"Ha… ha…"
They both laughed uncontrollably, their laughter echoing through the air.
In the camp,
"Why are they laughing like that?" Leev asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Who knows…" Maria replied, unfazed, still eating her meal.
"Youngsters nowadays… huh…" Hamaki chuckled, a mysterious smile tugging at his lips.
After a moment,
"Hah… I haven't laughed like that in years," she said, a gentle smile spreading across her face.
Nawfi felt a sense of relief seeing her smile, something about it easing the tension he hadn't realized was there.
"To be honest… even though we're strangers, I feel so much comfort and safety around you," she continued, her voice sincere. "It's like I can trust you completely."
Nawfi froze for a moment, his mind drifting back to something he remembered. An image of a system notification flashed in his mind, and for a brief second, he felt like a criminal.
[Favorability : + 50]
He gave a confused smile, unsure of what to make of it.