205 [Bonus chapter] Love, Past and Present 2

Aldrich watched Valera take a moment to collect herself. Her lips twisted into a faint frown, baring a sliver of her sharp fangs. She clutched at her arm, her black fingernails pressing in dangerously hard, just shy of breaking the skin.

Valera did not like remembering her past.

This, Aldrich knew.

In Elden World, there was a surprisingly extensive amount of interaction with NPCs that allowed one to develop strong relationships with them.

How strong one's relationship was with a NPC allowed not only for more fluff things like romance paths to open up, but practical things like access to specific NPC questlines that usually had unique locations, items, bosses, and the like.

When Aldrich played, he had maxed out his relationship meter with Valera, though no paths actually led to a direct romance because of how much effort it took her to open up.