Off of the plains maybe 15 meters away from the tall grass stood a group of people, one with slicked short black hair held a sword in hand while he looked over the cliffside.
Vibrant orange and red lights painted the sky and highlighted the large scar on the side of his face. The color caused Gan to check his menu and see the time again, just to ensure they were still on task. Their cliffside expedition had gotten halted because this NPC had come by and caused the two people he was with to get distracted.
“Alright wrap it up, this isn’t getting us anywhere.” Gan said to his two men who were well aware of Gan’s strange level of importance on time.
They’ve been threatening that NPC for the past 15 minutes, are they daft?
Gan was feeling frustrated with their antics of attacking anything that moved. He was willing to put up with it till this point because they had yet to attack any players. Had they done so he would have disassociated himself from them that second.
If they attacked someone while grouped with him and they were granted a red name that would very quickly bleed onto him and that was not something he wanted to deal with at any point. Although he was familiar with the fact that red named players will receive custom quests that revolved around around hunting down other players as well as being invited to join certain factions, the inability to work with players after and safely go to cities was a major drawback.
“Alright girl one last time, you got any money on ya? Even just a bit and we’ll let ya go.” The rogue said while playing with his knife between his fingers, Gan had come to know him as Dustblade however Gan had begun affectionately referring to him as “The dumb one”.
Had he not needed just a couple more players he would have left far earlier, however their naivety on how the game worked made them excellent targets. The target of these buffoons had been a wandering NPC, one that Gan was certain didn’t even have a coin to offer let alone provide players a quest.
Most wandering class-based NPCs were like that, in fact they were normally able to be recruited by players. Not only does that not give you a quest but it also takes money away from you! And at this level? She would basically be more useless in fighting than these two.
Being bullied by these two is a feat I didn’t even think possible.
Gan sighed while thinking to himself, his patience could only stretch so far. After a certain point he would begin wondering it if was worth doing if they kept wasting his time.
“You should leave, I really don’t have anything-”
Awoo!
The woman was telling them before getting cut off by the sounds of a wolfs howl, the howl being a surprise to Gan and going unnoticed by the others.
What king of idiot starts a fight with a starving wolf..?
Just as Gan was thinking that many other howls sounding out only confirming his thought fully.
Gan quickly dismissed the thought, as it had nothing to do with him.
“Let’s get going, the faster we get this quest finished the faster you idi- you guys can get your Gold Maple Sap.” Gan said while specifically emphasizing the last part of the sentence, as he had been telling them about all the wonderful uses for it these past two days.
A complete waste of time in his opinion, but alas the guild didn’t pay him for his opinions.
“Terrin, rein your friend in a bit.” Gan said while trying to appeal to the brighter or the duo, well what seemed to be the brighter one at least. He had been having trouble differentiating the intelligence of this comedic duo.
“Hey Gan, do you get a red name for killing an NPC?” Terrin asked while ignoring Gans previous words completely. Taking a step forward while letting his longsword drag on the ground as he walked towards the woman. The blade leaving marks into the stone underfoot.
“If you kill enough, one or two will do basically nothing.” Gan said while sighing in relief, it seemed this delay was about to finally end. He had been feeling his impatience nearing its limits anyways. If he wasn’t promised a percentage of the Golden Maple Sap he gets then never even in his nightmares would he let himself be forced to help these imbeciles.
The sound of whistling grass quickly alerting Gan.
The loud sound of hedges shifting away and cutting through causing Gan to fully turn his head to look to his side in the direction of the plains, seeing an elf in neatly wrapped robes dashing towards him and out of the grass certainly caused Gan great confusion.
Although he considered the elf an unwanted character at this time, he felt the 25 or so wolves chasing after him to be much more worrisome.
“I’ve come to help you!” The elf shouted while clearly in a full sprint away from the wolves.
Are you really in a position to help anyone..?
Gan thought before backing away from the others quietly.
*****
Barron had decided to sprint off in a straight line away from the sounds of their howls, gliding through the tall grass without much trouble. Without any breaks he had run for the past 5 or so minutes however the wolves simply didn’t give up.
Relentless little fellows aren’t they.
Barron continued to run for a few more minutes before the soft ‘Ding’ of the system alerting him to another potential quest.
Looking back to gauge the distance he deems it good enough to make a quick check before opening up the UI while still sprinting at full speed, the wolves certainly gaining on him however somehow he was able to keep a reasonable pace.
Quest stage: 1 | A helping hand | Time limit: 10 minutes
The wandering rogue needs help! Help her escape the thieves.
Barron read the contents before looking behind him again. The wolves quickly closing the distance on him.
I think I have time.
Barron thought while nodding to himself and accepting the quest. Clicking the small ‘Active’ button provided by the system to lead him there, the distance showing less than a minute of travel time. The urgency of the situation following him not particularly bothering him.
The path on the ground that was previously leading him towards the mine, shifting a bit to the side to now show him the way towards the new quest location.
Rushing away at full speed, the wolves following closely behind, in the distance a small group of people gathered together just past the hills standing along a more mountainous area. Running through a small creek with water rushing towards lower lands, the water itself not strong enough to slow him down any. The ground in front of him splitting into two ways, one downstream going along with the water while the other went up towards the people
Looking back at the wolves and casting an Arcane Bolt to potentially slow them down, their howls crying sharply in response as one keels over knocking others down with it causing a large splash throughout the water and buying him a little bit more time. Following the path upwards towards the group, as that’s where the quest was pointing him towards.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Knowing he is able to reach the group before the wolves catch him, now the wolves within 5 or so meters of his robes. He quickly assesses the group of people and watches as one equips a longsword and makes his way towards the woman who seems to have been circled by two men, a third man standing just off to the side while ignoring the situation.
Dagger in hand she points it towards one man before switching to pointing it back to the other, seemingly unsure of which to defend against.
Bingo!
Barron sprinted, trying not to trip over his own legs as the hills in this area seemed to be getting much more rugged. Waving his arms into the air and shouts out towards the group.
“I’ve come to help you!” saying so seemed to get the attention of all four of them, some readying their weapons in response while one started backing away till he was out of vision, running away before the others noticed him.
Well, I didn’t think I was that scary…
Barron thought, not connecting the man’s disappearance to the pack of wolves following him.
Reaching the group within a few seconds, casting his Arcane Bolt at one before rushing straight at the other causing the man to back up a few feet and brace himself.
As Barron neared him the man lifted his longsword and swung it, letting its weight guide it forward.
Before Barron even reached the full length of the blade he made a sudden turn towards the woman, grabbing her hand and dashing away. Somehow moving even faster than before through the rough terrain.
The men’s curses ringing out loudly behind Barron before being promptly cut off, the sound of the wolves barking drowning them out. Taking a glance behind him, past the woman who had now let go of his hand however continued to follow him, the were a few wolves following closely still not giving up.
Barron took a look at his surroundings for a way out, noting the massive drops of the hills around them with more thick streams of water rushing downwards. The drops, in the mountain area they were at were only a few tens of feet, Barron didn’t think the wolves will give chase if he jumps into a small pit. In fact, he figured it would make it much easier for them to catch him.
Continuing the sprint towards what from a distance seemed to be a large cut off with no path in site.
Making a quick decision in his head before speeding up, unable to go any faster. The woman taking notice of this and looking ahead towards where they were going.
Hope this works.
Barron thought before hearing the voice of the woman behind him.
“What are you doing!?” She questioned, still following him closely, the wolves at their heels.
“Well, I’m not really sure.” Barron said seriously without elaborating further, much to the woman’s displeasure. Thought was short lived as Barron had already started a jump off the cliffs face.
The woman, with little option decided to follow Barron in jumping off the cliff.
Wind rushing past their ears as time passed slowly, they fell for nearly two or so seconds.
Seeing the mountains grow as they fell, making them look more sinister.
Sploosh! The water encasing him entirely as his body sunk down causing the water to splash and patter in response. The freezing liquid running along his body causing him to unconsciously shiver as he swam back to the surface.
Pulling his head out of the water and taking a deep breath in before surveying for the woman, Barron’s worry for her causing him to ignore the biting freeze of the wind against is wet hair. Although he didn’t feel the pain it still felt extremely cold, to a point any person would feel extremely uncomfortable.
After a moment of silence another sound was heard near him, the woman’s head appearing only a short swim away. A sigh of relief escaping his lips as he quietly swam towards the ledge leading towards land.
*****
Letting the warm orange light casting down from the sun through the canopy of trees glare onto his body while he sat quietly looking up towards the beautiful waterfall. Barron thought about what had happened before.
I honestly wasn’t sure there’d be water… I jumped because I was curious what would happen as I haven’t died yet, but the NPC..?
Barron scolded himself for putting her in danger. Although part of him told him it was just a game and it didn’t matter, he still felt it wrong to have done it on a whim. Looking at the woman sitting next to him didn’t feel like he was looking at an A.I.
After all the A.I that helps him arrange his groceries or set reminders for him was nothing like this. Speaking in a cold and robotic voice, although it could talk coherently it most certainly didn’t have thoughts or a personality.
Or not that I’m aware of at least.
Barron realized while thinking back to the embarrassing conversations he’s had with his A.I, as when it was first coming out he was very excited about the prospect of it.
Looking at the woman that was now sitting at the edge of the water gave him the impression of a person, a real living person. She was looking at her reflecting with a hand on her chest, clearly trying to calm herself from the incident before.
The color in her face had been completely drained, he hadn’t known if that was because of the fear or the freezing water. It did however somehow complement her straight dark hair which was now slick with water dripping down onto her lap as she had thrown her hair over her shoulder.
Barron wondered how he would have felt in the same situation, being robbed, chased by wolves, and then jumping off of a cliff? Barron would have simply let the wolves eat him and that’s if the bandits wouldn’t have disposed of him before then.
Well, it worked out and she’s safe…
Almost on que as if the system had been waiting for his thought a message appeared in front of him.
Quest “A Helping Hand” has been Completed!
Reward: 7 copper pieces.
Experience has been granted.
Anna’s Favor has been increased significantly!
Barron realized Anna was clearly in reference to her name, however the thought didn’t linger as he noticed his health was sitting at a frighteningly low single point.
That’s too close!
Barron felt a jolt of realization, as he had simply written off the feeling of numbness being attributed to the freezing water. Now it became clear that it was from his missing health, noticing the little icon showing a dizzy man by his health and clicking on it to clarify he finds his guess had been correct.
“Ahm-.” Anna said. She seemed to have gotten up and wondered toward him while he was in contemplation. “Thank you for the help,” she continued while handing him a small pouch. “It isn’t much, but it really is all I have at the moment-”
“Oh right! No problem.” Barron nodded. “I was in a predicament of my own if you hadn’t noticed there.” Barron laughed while remembering the wolves that were following him, arguably worse than the group of people that had tried to rob her.
“Nevertheless, you still helped me.” She readjusted the knife on her belt causing Barron to back up a bit, the single point of health weighing on his mind.
“Relax,” she said seriously “I can’t very well attack my savior, rather I have a debt to you now. Where are you from so I can find you in the future?”
“Oh, I spawned in Maple Leaf City,” Barron thought for a minute before lifting the pouch of coins “and don’t worry about paying me back, this much is fine.” It really was in his opinion as it was more than half of his current wealth. One could say it was 70% of his lifetime earnings so far!
“I don’t value my life at a few pieces of copper,” Anna said so as if it were obvious, ignoring his strange phrasing before continuing, “I’m currently heading there; would you like to travel together? It would be much safer than traveling alone.”
Perhaps this is what favorability is in reference to? Barron realized quickly that it was a quantified version of how much someone liked you. Although it was simplified it still was nice to see as a number.
“Unfortunately, I’m heading in the opposite direction right now, I do plan to return soon however.” Barron told her honestly.
“I see. Then when we meet again,” she said bidding him a farewell before slowly disappearing into the woods, walking along the side of the lake until out of view.
Checking his stats now that he was alone, noticing a series of notifications from before the quest completion.
Starving Wolf (Lv: 0) has been slain by your Arcane Bolt!
Experience has been granted.
You have Leveled Up! The Skill Tree has been unlocked!
You have assisted in killing the thief Dustblade (Lv: 1)!
Experience has been granted.
Although he was unfamiliar with the thief, he assumed it referred to the one he had attacked.
What a shame. Had he known he’d get assist EXP he would have made sure to attack the other too.
But Barron had been more interested in the skill tree that was newly unlocked. Although he wasn’t sure what it was he opened it nonetheless. A large index of caster spells appeared in a list before him with many categories differentiating them.
20+ options presenting themselves before him, causing him to sit for a number of minutes reading each of the basic skills that were available. Even after understanding each, he wasn’t sure which he wanted to choose deciding to focus on another relevant problem that had been weighing on his mind.
I’m certain this was one of the sub-talents. Barron thought while scrolling through the list.
“Alchemy, cooking, carpentry… Ah! Foraging!” he read the description and found that he could forage food through wilderness expeditions as well as locate alchemic ingredients to use for potions and tonics.
What he needed now more than anything was food of some sort.
Perhaps I should have asked her. Barron dismissed that thought as she barely had anything on her, and to his knowledge NPCs didn’t have any inventory at all.
However, it would be nice to get past the looming danger of sitting at a single point of health, it seemed there wasn’t any passive regeneration. Or if there was he had yet to activate it.
Unfortunately, he did not know how to go about the process of foraging for wild plants and such. Checking the time and finding it he had been playing for nearly 3 hours he decided to call it a night as he had the opening shift the following day. Opening the UI and pressing the sign off button at the bottom of the menu.
A countdown rattling numbers of fairly quickly as he sat down under a tree before the world around him melted into nothingness, standing in the center of a large opaque ball again back in the home room of his VR headgear.
A part of him missing the wonderous world that he had just taken part in, wanting to hop back in right away even though he was starting to feel quite tired as it was getting late. Setting it aside and going to resting for the night.