Chapter 52: One Small Favor
--Chapter 52--
Title>> One Small Favor
Xavier stepped aside so the first sprinting fairy could reach Fiona without clattering into him.
Then came the second and the third. And Xavier deciding to just get out of the way completely.
Before long, it seemed like every fairy in the village had decided that the space around their Chief was suddenly the most important place in existence.
Xavier pressed his back against the wall and watched closely.
Children flew in from the surrounding branches, some of them calling out to Fiona in pure happiness.
Older fairies gathered around her as well, their expressions ranging from disbelief to poorly concealed relief. They were the ones that truly knew what was happening.
Even the two guards who had spent most of the day watching Xavier with suspicion. Stopped paying attention to him completely.
All the attention and eyes were completely fixed on the hovering Fiona.
Xavier couldn’t blame them. For the moment, he was probably the least important person in the entire village.
He was getting ignored by everyone but the System which quietly flashed before him.
[Minor Quest Initiated]
[A Villager’s Gratitude]
[Receive recognition from the inhabitants of Fairy Village I]
[Progress: 0%]
Xavier was momentarily taken aback.
’What?’
He hadn’t done anything right?
Well...
Technically, he had.
But he hadn’t exactly done anything that he believed would trigger a quest.
He had simply restored Fiona. And apparently, that was enough to do more than unlock a hidden quest.
A small fairy, barely reaching his knee, broke away from the crowd and stopped in front of him.
She remained at a distance and stared at him. Xavier stared back, doing his best not be too intimidating.
The little fairy slowly moved close and finally she bowed deeply.
Xavier’s brows lifted at the sight.
[Progress: 8%]
The fairy hurried away without even acknowledgement from Xavier.
Another one noticed him shortly afterward.
An older woman with silver-streaked wings approached, still wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
She stopped when she reached him and said something Xavier couldn’t understand.
He couldn’t make out the words, but the meaning behind them wasn’t difficult to miss.
Xavier gave her a small nod.
[Progress: 16%]
A familiar guard approached next. The same one who had been keeping a close eye on him earlier.
He didn’t say anything. Instead she simply looked Xavier in the eyes and nodded once.
[Progress: 24%]
Xavier’s lips twitched as the progress kept improving.
Not too long after, a few more fairies acknowledged him. Some thanked him directly. Others simply stared at him with a strange mixture of gratitude and curiosity.
At some point, Xavier even heard himself referred to as the dragon who healed their Chief.
Then the notification appeared...
[Minor Quest Complete]
[A Villager’s Gratitude]
[Progress: 100%]
[Rewards: Reputation +50 | Experience Acquired]
[Reputation: 100 → 150]
Xavier looked at the notification for a moment.
’That was surprisingly simple.’ he thought as he closed it..
Another notification immediately took its place.
[Hidden Quest: Fallen Grove]
[Present Objective: Save the Fairy Chief]
[Progress: 25%]
[Your rewards are compounding.]
Xavier’s fingers twisted slightly. 25% meant healing Fiona had only been the first stage.
And if the rewards were compounding...
The further he went, the more valuable the final reward becomes.
’Okay... Let’s get this.’
Xavier smiled, dismissing the notification but like an Ex that wouldn’t just go away, another one appeared.
[Restore --Mastery : 25%]
His mastery had increased considerably from using Restore on Fiona.
More than anything else, this made sense. It had been a much more complicated application than anything he’d attempted before.
Xavier looked toward Fiona again. He had initially thought of Restore as a healing ability because that was the easiest way to understand it. The description did say Minor injuries.
But that wasn’t really what he’d done. He hadn’t simply healed Fiona. He pulled her back to an optimal state.
When he really thought about it. This was why the potions and healing magic had failed.
They were trying to treat a corruption. But restore had simply reversed it.
Xavier’s eyes shifted back toward the notification. That changed again.
[Restore | Mastery: 25% → 30%]
Xavier coughed softly. Even understanding counted too?
Mastery didn’t just come from experience and repetition.
The more he understood what Restore actually did, the more proficient he became with it.
That was a new mechanics and it was good damn good .
Xavier’s finger lingered when he was about to close the notification. He was practically waiting for the next notification but nothing popped up.
He barely closed the interface when a sudden fluctuation of mana drew his attention upwards.
Looking at the direction where the mana pressure came from. He saw that Fiona had separated herself from the crowd.
She hovered several meters higher, her emerald eyes scanning her surroundings before she lifted her right hand.
Green strands of mana gathered around her fingers like orbs, twisting and turning before shooting upwards like a rocket.
Simultaneously, a massive tree at the center of the village responded in synchrony.
Light spread through its ancient structure even as hexagonal magical lattices appeared across the branches, expanding through the canopy before spreading outward toward the village’s boundaries.
For several seconds, the entire settlement was covered in a faint green glow.
Xavier squinted, looking back at Fiona. And how large there spherical glow expanded.
Truth be told, he didn’t need anyone to explain it to him. The source of the barrier was a connection between Fiona and the tree.
Whatever the corruption had been doing to her hadn’t only been affecting her body. It had been affecting the village too.
And that was why he was able to enter the village in the first place.
Fiona lowered her hand as the glow gradually disappeared till no sign of it was left.
Once she was done, Fiona looked toward Xavier.
***
A few moments later, she walked over to him. Her posture was as straight as ever.
If anything, she looked even more composed now that she wasn’t fighting against her own body simply to remain standing.
She stopped in front of him. A string of silence intertwined both of the them.
Then Fiona finally spoke even as the Fairies watched her.
"Thank you," she said more openly this time. Her voice soft and sincere.
Xavier blinked at the remark. ’Was that it?’
He had expected something more from the woman who had spent half the day looking at him like an impending time bomb.
But the sincerity in her voice was obvious that it forced Xavier to acknowledge her.
Xavier nodded and spoke. "You’re welcome."
Fiona’s emerald eyes remained on him for another second before she turned slightly.
Xavier’s gaze wandered around the alcove. Now that he suddenly had more leverage, the alcove suddenly felt more uncomfortable.
His expression slowly soured. This was something else he needed to deal with.
"I have a small favor to ask."
Fiona immediately looked back at him. Her expression turned wary.
Xavier raised his hand in a placating gesture. "It has nothing to do with our debt."
The statement eased her heart for a second as he spoke.
"What is it?"
Xavier sighed and pointed toward the alcove.
"I need somewhere else to sleep."
Fiona glared at him. Her gaze was so sharp, it would leave diamond in pieces.
Xavier ignored it and gestured toward the cramped space behind him.
"This place is terrible," he said casually but before he could continue.
Fiona intercepted. "There are no human-sized structures available."
"I know," Xavier placed a hand on his chin.
Then, after a moment of consideration, his eyes stopped at the large tree that balanced the village.
Finally, they returned to Fiona. Raising a snarky brow.
"What about your place?"
--End of Chapter--