Chapter 2

It is often when you want time to go faster that it seems to slow down, mocking you. The agonizing wait for each rotation of the hands builds your irritation closer to a boiling point.

This is the situation Kristen now finds herself in. Everything had been fine until she realized that she only had 20 minutes left of her shift. Now every second seemed like an hour and every minute seemed like a day. As she quietly seethed her way towards the back room, a voice called out to break her concentration.

“Hey Kristen, do you really want to leave that badly?”

It was the head waiter, her boss, Steve. He was a little older than her, maybe in his late 20’s and a very clean cut sort of fellow. She quickly tried to put a smile on her face as she answered.

“W-What do you mean haha….of course not, what gives you that idea?”

A disappointing look came across his face as he responded “Don’t give me that, I’ve worked with you long enough to know when you’re in a bad mood. It’s obvious since you’ve been staring at the clock for awhile now.”

“Is it really that obvious?” she laughed hesitantly at the embarrassment of being discovered.

“Geeze, if you really want to leave that badly, then just go.”

Kristen was about to respond until she realized what he said.

“Wait, say that again?”

Steve scratched his head while giving a response “The truth is I was planning on letting you out early anyway because of how hard you’ve been working lately.”

Kristen was genuinely surprised. “Is it really alright?”

“What, do you think I am some kind of slave driver? …unless you want to stay?” an evil grin spread across his face.

“I’m going!” she quickly decided to take advantage of this rare moment of mercy from him.

She gathered her things and clocked out. As she headed in the direction of her apartment, she realized that she forgot to thank him on the way.

I’ll have to remember to thank him the next time I see him.

Walking down the sidewalk she became lost in thought.

“The last time I was this excited about something was when that bookstore opened near my apartment.”

Kristen didn’t consider herself an avid gamer, but thanks to her brothers she had been forced to play games more than most people. She would often practice in secret because she needed to be good enough to beat them at a moments notice. She may have even enjoyed the challenge of trying to beat them, but that’s something she would never admit to their face.

As she finally made her way back into her apartment and turned on the lights, her eyes slowly drew their attention to the large capsule set up behind the sofa.

“hmm…should I try it right away or read the manual?….wait I should probably take a shower first.”

After taking a shower and changing out of her work clothes she sat down on the sofa, now fully relaxed. On the table was the manual that the boy in the baseball cap had handed her.

“let’s see what it has to say.”

She grabbed it off the desk and began perusing through its pages. After about 10 minutes of doing so she quickly lost her patience.

“AGH!... there’s too much terminology I don’t understand, not to mention all this fantasy mumbo jumbo. I’m better off just jumping right in!”

With that, she got up and slid into the capsule behind her. She closed the lid and waited for something to happen. After a moment there was a flash and a message appeared in front of her.

Do you want to Connect to Royal Road?

Yes/No

“Yes.”

A red light flashed into her eye making her blink a few times to regain composure.

“The scan on your Iris vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?”

“Yes, I would like to.” As she said that Kristen quietly wondered to herself if the feminine voice she was hearing was an actual person’s or a synthetic one.

It’s so soothing.

Looking around Kristen could see nothing but white space, the only one in the area seemed to be her.

“Select the name of your avatar.”

This was a simple choice for Kristen. Ever since she started playing games to beat her brothers, she had used a particular name for all the characters she played. It was her lucky charm for playing games and with it she had never lost to her brothers even once.

“Sen” she said with confidence.

“Select your gender-“

The second she heard the word gender she knew what to say “Keep me female please.”

“Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine.”

“Human is fine”

Kristen had read enough of the manual to know what the other races are but she had little knowledge about what the differences between them was.

Better to just stick with what I know.

“You may alter your appearance if you wish. To do so now, say yes. If not, say pass.”

Kristen’s attention suddenly peaked. The thought of changing her appearance had never even crossed her mind until this point. After contemplating for a few moments she was about to decline before a realization hit her.

“Yes, I want to change my appearance!”

A full detailed 3d model of Kristen appeared. It was a weird experience for Kristen as it was the first time she had seen herself like this. She quickly regained her composure and, looking at the model that had just appeared, began to laugh maniacally.

“This is perfect, now I can finally fix my bad genes!”

As she laughed with these thoughts of joy, she made her way towards the model and began shaping it the way she wanted. After spending a few minutes fiddling around with the model she stepped back. She gave a self satisfying grin, crossed her arms, and nodded in approval. The model seemed exactly the same as it had been before, except for the jaw line, which seemed slightly less chiseled.

“Do you wish to keep these changes?”

“Of course!”

“Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.”

“Can we get on with this, its taking too long!” Kristen shouted, now becoming irritated slightly.

“Select a city and Kingdom to start in.”

“Uh…..crap, I wish I had read enough of the manual to know a city name.” she tried to think of what she might want in a city and suddenly an idea popped into her head. Kristen’s first love had always been books; one of the things she was curious about in Royal Road was the kind of books that were available.

“I know! I want to go to the city with the largest library!”

“Welcome to Royal Road.”

Suddenly a bright light flashed, forcing Sen to shield her eyes with her arms. Slowly the sounds of people filled her ears. As she moved her arms away to take in the scenery she found herself speechless at the sight before her.

The first thing she noticed was the buildings. They varied in all shapes and sizes as if they had each been made by a different person. Many of them had carvings and paintings on them which made them pop with color and character. The second thing she noticed was the people. Artists of all types littered the roadsides, painting caricatures and singing songs. The rest of the people in the area seemed to be comprised mostly of beggars asking for money. Occasionally she thought she saw a warrior or wizard of some kind, but the amount of them could probably be counted on one hand.

After taking a moment to gather her thoughts she turned her attention to herself, marveling at the realism of it all. She could feel the sun on her skin and smell the cooking of a nearby restaurant. She brought her hands up in front of her face and tried opening and closing her fists.

“This is amazing!”

As she did this she began to hear snickering from a few people that had noticed her entrance.

“She must be new.”

“Is this her first time playing a virtual reality game?”

“I remember when I started.”

Suddenly realizing the attention she was bringing to herself, her face became red with embarrassment. She quickly ducked away from those gathered and weaved her way down the busy streets. Having recovered a bit from the initial shock of things she tried to think of what to do next.

“I know I want to check out the library but I have no idea where to start, maybe I should ask someone?”

As she was walking around the plaza where she started, she noticed a large group of people looking and pointing at a Mural on the side of a building. She went closer until she could tell exactly what it was.

It’s a map of the city!

Written in large letters above the map was the line “The City of Rhodium”

“Rhodium…..I guess that’s where I’m starting.”

All the depictions of buildings on the map were labeled with what they were supposed to be. A red dot marked the spot she was currently in. Sen began looking for anything regarding the library and quickly found it labeled on one of the largest buildings depicted.

“The Geihar Von Arpen library huh? …looks like it’s on the other side of the city.”

With that, she started in the direction of the library. On the way she was able to take in the beauty of the city. There were paintings, carvings, and sculptures dotted everywhere. However, after a bit, she realized that many of the buildings were falling apart and in disrepair. As she rounded a corner she was stopped in her tracks with another fantastic sight.

The face of a grand building now towered over her. A huge staircase led up to a massive entrance way outlined by four massive pillars. As if that didn’t make it stand out enough, the building was one of the few that didn’t look as if it was in dire need of reconstruction. The words “Geihar Von Arpen” were written across the top of the structure.

“I-Incredible! This is a Library!?” she said, the excitement building in her voice.

She quickly tried to run up the stairs but tripped over something before she could even make it up the first few steps. As she turned around she realized she had tripped over a particularly bright colored human figure. It seemed to her like he had been sitting on the bottom of the stairs.

How did I not notice him before?

“Ah~ what a crappy start to my adventure..” said the boy now lying sprawled out on the ground.

As Sen reached down to help him up she was able to get a good look at him. He seemed younger than her by a couple years, about the age of her second oldest brother John. He had bright golden hair that flowed almost as long as hers and he had sky blue eyes. He was wearing a bright yellow robe that looked like something a noble might wear; only it was made out of a cheap cloth material. As he finally got to his feet, the hair covering his ears parted, revealing them to be pointy. Kristen couldn’t help but stare as she engaged in conversation.

“Uhh….I’m sorry that…..I…you know…tripped and...stuff….” as Sen distractingly tried to apologize, the boy hardly paid attention, seeming to be lost in his own world.

“I wonder if I could create a new account?” he said mumbling under his breath.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Seeing how he was distracted, Sen let her curiosity get the best of her. She had never seen anything like it and wondered how real they were. She slowly brought her hands up from the boy’s shoulders, and as he mumbled to himself under his breath, quickly grabbed the tips of his ears between her thumbs and forefingers.

Instantly the boy let out a sharp yelp and jumped back away from Sen.

“W-What the h-hell are you doing to m-me!?” his voice was trembling and tears welled in his eyes as if he had just been violated. Sen tried to think of something to say in order to justify her action.

“Ah well…I mean, they just looked so real that I wondered what they felt like.”

The boy was taken aback by her blatant honesty “O-Of course they’re real! They’re sensitive too!” he then cupped his ears with his hands, expecting Sen’s still outstretched arms to reach for them again. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over her and she tried to quickly be rid of this situation.

“W-Well you seem ok, so…I’ll just be on my way then.” She quickly turned around and began to make her way up the stairs but was stopped before she could get further than a few steps.

“Hey where do you think you’re going after doing something like that?” he reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt.

Sen looked over her shoulder at the boy and pointed to the top of the staircase “I’m going to the library.”

“That’s a library?” asked the boy, like he had just realized where he was for the first time.

Sen turned around and grabbed the boy’s hand, not able to hide her excitement about the topic.

“I know! Doesn’t it look amazing? Just imagine how many books they have in there!”

“huh..books? sure I guess…” the boy now seemed confused at the abrupt change in personality.

Sen mistakenly took his expression as disinterest in the thing she loved “Hey! What do you have against books? Don’t tell me you don’t like them!?”

“What? No I don’t really have a problem with books….”

“Then what’s your issue?” said Sen, finally letting go of the boy’s hand.

“it’s this city, it has no money!” he shouted in despair.

“Well I understand money is important but it’s not everything.” Sen lectured from experience.

“It is to a merchant!”

“Oh…well why don’t you go to another city?”

“That takes money!...also I just started playing a week ago so I can’t leave the city.” As he said this his voice slowly trailed off.

Now Sen understood the boy’s frustration, but it didn’t stop questions from worming their way into her brain.

“Wait, new players can’t leave the city? Why didn’t you start somewhere else if you knew that?”

The information didn’t phase Sen that much as she was more interested what was in the library at the moment than anything that is outside the city walls.

“Well I figured I’d take a gamble with the starting city….wait you didn’t know that?” the boy asked with a surprised look on his face.

Ignoring the question directed at her Sen continued with her lecture. “Well, giving up before you try isn’t good. I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with an answer.”

“Really? Like what?” the boy now gave her a look of hope. Feeling the pressure, Sen racked her brain thinking of a solution. An idea formed as she glanced at the library behind her.

“The library!” she shouted. A look of disappointment spread across the boy’s face, as if he had just been betrayed.

“No wait, hear me out. A library of this size might have more than just books in it. There could be something in there that can help you remedy the situation!”

“Really?” asked the boy, still skeptical about the whole thing.

“Definitely..uhh….sorry what was your name again?” Sen asked, slightly embarrassed she hadn’t thought to ask sooner.

“My name is Lance.” The boy said with a smile across his face. “Are you sure I can find something in there?”

“At the very least it couldn’t hurt to check out… I’m Sen by the way.” With that, she grabbed his hand and began hauling him up the staircase.

As the two opened the door it became obvious that the outside wasn’t the only thing grand about the building. Standing behind a reception desk, located directly in front of them, were lines of 20ft tall bookcases. The entire center of the building was open space and from where they were standing they could see the balconies of a 2nd and 3rd floor. The staircases leading up were located on either side of them.

Lance turned to say something to his new companion but was met with empty space where she had just been. Looking around he found her darting between the bookcases wagging her imaginary tail.

She’s like a dog that just found out where the treats are hidden.

Since it didn’t seem like he could regain her attention any time soon he turned his focus towards the clerk behind the desk. “How may I help you today sir?” she asked.

“Well, does this library have anything other than books?”

The clerk considered for a moment then said “No, we don’t have any other departments if that’s what you’re asking. If there is a particular topic you are looking for I’m sure we have some books on it though. You’re free to browse all you like.”

Lance couldn’t hide his irritation, but was quickly able to dissipate it since he wasn’t too hopeful to begin with. Since he was already in the library he decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least have a look around.

“Do you have any books about business?” He asked not expecting much.

“Of course, follow me and I’ll show you where they are located” pleasantly surprised, Lance followed her toward the staircase. He looked around before going up to see if he could spot Sen, but didn’t see anything.

She’ll probably be fine.

Sen was now lost in a maze of bookcases. She had become so excited at the sheer volume of books that she couldn’t help but rush over to inspect them. On top of that she had gotten separated from her new companion in the process. As she was looking for a way back to the entrance, the sound of a sniffling nose resonated through the bookcases.

Sen tracked the sound until it seemed incredibly close. She rounded a corner and was met with a small boy sitting on the floor crying softly. Sen, being an older sister, couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. She approached the boy and offered a hand.

“I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m sure we can do something about it if we work together.”

The boy was surprised at the stranger now offering to console him. Suddenly he wailed loudly and buried his face on her shoulder. After a few minutes he seemed to calm down and Sen decided to try prying for information.

“Now why don’t you tell me what’s wrong so that I can help?”

“A *sniff* book…” whimpered the boy.

“Book?”

“*sniff* yea…I was supposed to secretly hold on to an important book…but..but WAHHHH!!” the boy suddenly started crying harder. As Sen tried to comfort the boy a message popped up in front of her.

Sniffling Secret

A crying boy in the library is distraught over a lost book. It seems very important to him. Perhaps another set of eyes will be able to help him in his search?

Difficulty Level: F

Quest Reward: Unknown

Sen was taken aback by the sudden quest.

This kid is an NPC then?

Since She had already planned to help the kid anyway she decided to accept the quest. Not to mention she was curious about what kind of book it was as well.

“I’ll help you find your book.”

You have accepted the quest

“*sniff* really? Thanks miss….its a big green book…. *sniff*and it glows a little. I’ll go look this way!” suddenly the kid dashed off before Sen could get anything more out of him.

Well at least I got a description out of him.

Sen then began to make her way around the library looking for any sign of the book. Doing this allowed her to really take in the sheer size of the place. After nearly an hour of searching she had scoured the entire bottom floor.

“It must be on one of the upper floors-“ her thoughts were cut off when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Located behind a small sitting area with a table and chairs was a little bookcase that came up to about Sen’s waist. On the bottom shelf there was a fairly large book and even though it was light in the room, it seemed to have a faint green glow somehow.

Sen walked over and picked it up. She inspected it and to her surprise couldn’t open it even though there were no bindings or lock.

This must be it.

She found her way back to the spot where she had found the boy but he was nowhere to be seen. She remembered that there was a clerk at the front desk and decided to see if she could find him that way. As the reception counter came into view a surprising scene was unfolding before her.

The boy she had met in the bookcases was sitting on the counter with an angry look on his face. He was being lectured by the girl that had welcomed her and Lance. When the boy saw Sen approaching he quickly ducked under the counter. The girl was about to lay into him with threats when she saw Sen and the book she was holding.

“I’m so sorry!” said the girl.

“I’m not sure what there is to be sorry for, but it didn’t trouble me that much whatever it was.”

The girl seemed surprised by her response “even still, I’m sorry for my brother making you go through the trouble of looking for that book.”

“He’s your brother?” asked Sen curiously.

The girl pulled the boy out from under the counter. A painful expression was on his face. “Yes, My name is Lily and this is my brother Brayden. I work here and my brother is often forced to come with me. He’s been complaining about how boring it is here so I tried to make a little game for him to play by hiding that book. I didn’t think he would make someone else find it for him!”

Horrible memories of her own brothers flashed in Sen’s mind. “Don’t worry about it too much I’m use to this kind of stuff.”

“Really!? Thank you!....you can keep that book if you want since you went through all the trouble to find it. The person who sold it to me said it was valuable.”

Quest Complete!

The crying boy you met in the bookcases tricked you into finding the book his sister had hidden for him. After talking to the sister, she agreed to let you keep the book in compensation for all the trouble caused.

You have leveled up!

“Wow! My first quest!” Sen thought to herself.

As Lily went back to lecturing her little brother, Sen took the opportunity to inspect the book she had just been granted.

Maybe I can open it now?

She pried open the cover and suddenly the green light emanating from the book grew brighter. A second later the book itself disappeared and a message window replaced it.

Skill: you acquired a new skill, Item Identification

Before she even had a chance to check her newly acquired skill, a familiar voice came from the direction of the staircase. Sen looked up to see Lance on the stairs, frantically waving what looked like a book in his hand.

“Sen! You were right! I found something!”