Short Sword (Common)
Attack: 04
Durability: 10/10
Cost: 40 Origin Coins
Small Hunting Bow (Common) (For Archer’s Only)
Attack: 03
Durability: 05/05
Cost: 50 Origin Coins
Short Ax (Common)
Attack : 04
Durability: 10/10
Cost: 40 Origin Coins
‘It looks like I can’t use everything if I don’t have the right class for it, huh? I wonder why, it isn’t like I can’t learn how to use a bow…’
The costs seemed pretty high, but they will get even higher once people begin to buy things. Repairing gear shouldn’t be easy, only a few classes should have that kind of skill. A copy of my knife was only ten Origin coins, so this was pretty nice and the other didn’t lose any durability, so I could use them both for a while.
“You don’t have magic items here?”
“They can’t be created now since the materials to make them haven’t been found lately.”
Was it that hard to find them or there was another reason for it? It made me wonder if I would get a discount if I bought the materials to make something magical. In any case, I could wonder about that later… I bought another knife and then went to check the armor shop. They didn’t have anything fancy either, but the bracers seemed good enough and cost thirty Origin coins.
‘All right then… shall I return to the hunting grounds or look around the town for people that could give me quests?’
Quests could make things more efficient and that was the best thing for me now… Selling the materials could help as well make people give me quests. Maybe I should just ask the information broker for those.
‘I guess I will talk to him again.’
‘You should ask him if there is some question about making a harem.’
‘Dude, what the hell… you can’t be horny all the time.’
‘I have two sides: horny and hornier.’
‘Maybe I should take those meds again…’
I returned to where the information broker was after buying a canteen to store water. That costs ten Origin coins as well, and I had no idea how much it costs to rent a room here, so it was better to start gaining money again.
“Hey, you are already back? It is rare to see a newbie who is also a hard worker.”
“Really? Anyway, I want to ask about the people in the town who can offer me quests.”
“Based on the things that you can obtain and do in the plain lands, you can receive quests from the guards near the gates. You can get them as well from the restaurant and from the alchemist.”
You used 30 Origin Coins.
“What about hidden quests?”
“You can’t get them as an apprentice.”
They existed, and that was all I needed to know. I could tell that the alchemist would want the rat parts and the restaurant would want apples. I could stock a bunch of them… it would be interesting to do the same quest several times over, but since this wasn’t a game, I couldn’t gain the same amount of experience several times in a row.
“Hello, table for one?”
A middle-aged woman wearing an apron asked when I approached the restaurant. I imagined finding a plump woman with a warm smile, but she looked a lot more serious than expected. She was quite thin as well. Just like all the people who lived in this town, she had an almost flawless skin.
“Sorry, but I am not here to eat. I just heard that you could be looking for people to give you a hand.”
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“We don’t need workers and you don’t look much like a chef.”
“... I meant to bring you apples or something.”
“Is that right? If you bring some apples before nightfall, then I can pay you one Origin coin for each of them. Two apples for an extra apple if you bring more than 150 apples.”
You received a quest: Collect 150 Apples.
Rewards: 50 Origin coins + extra, 20 EXP and Chef Elaine’s appreciation.
Time Limit: 360 minutes
“All right, I will do it!”
I left in a hurry since I didn’t find that many apples before when I was moving… I probably would have to check all the areas around the town. It seemed like a waste when they could restore my health and stamina, but I had to open as many paths as possible before making big decisions such as stocking a lot of materials.
‘The alchemist can wait… I can’t risk failing this quest.’
‘Just hunting the damn rats is better. Why waste time with this?’
‘Maybe she will give me some information later. Increasing the bond with the people here shouldn’t be a waste of time.’
“Hey, Ryan! Where are you going in such a hurry?”
I slowed down when I heard the voice of my boss… when I looked to the side, I saw him moving toward me. He looked even more red with anger than usual.
“Just hunting some monsters.”
“Are they that easy to kill? Where did you get that other knife?”
“I just bought it. It only costs ten origin coins. You can get that much after killing ten dire rats.”
“Really? Then give me a hand with it.”
I wouldn’t mind giving him a hand since he was the only acquaintance that I had come here with… Still, I had a bad feeling about this. His tone wasn’t like someone asking for a favor, but giving an order.
“I can’t do that. I am going to move around the area to check some things. I am not sure if you can keep it up. If you reach level two, then you will change my mind about it.”
“What? Getting a bit arrogant here, kiddo? Are you finally showing your true colors?”
“Not really. I am just being honest. I am truly going to run around and you are quite out of shape, boss. Still, if you can show that much spirit by leveling up, then I will be able to tell that our partnership will be fruitful for both of us.”
“I am the one who gets to decide that, not you!”
‘Just tell this fatass to fuck off. He is pissing me off.’
“Sorry, but you hired me before because you could profit from my skills and time, not out of the goodwill in your heart. Fighting isn’t easy and until you can show that you can watch my back, I am not going to team up with you, boss. Or with anyone. Both sides have to benefit from this.”
“You little… the moment we return home, consider yourself fired! Go and die in some dirty hole!”
Well, that ended as well as I had expected… with him, it is his way or the highway. In any case, I didn’t let that bother me and just resumed my run. Before long, I was back in the plain lands and then moved to the closest trees. The number of apples was small because of the dire rats…
In any case, climbing the trees was a bit easier than I remembered, so the process had been pretty easy. In no time, I grabbed five apples from the first tree and then decided to head to the next… but soon I heard the squeaks of a pair of dire rats.
‘Should I do it or run?’
‘Increase your strength and this should be easy.’
All my points increased and I only have a single parameter free to use… I would only get eight more free points, and the parameters would increase eight times as well, so perhaps I should take my chances here… Still, while the other guy was a moron, he wouldn’t say or do something that would get me killed, so I followed his idea.
The beasts sensed my will to fight and soon they charged at me. I lowered my stance and focused on their movements when they leaped to attack my head. After seeing them doing that more than one hundred times, their attack pattern no longer surprised or scared me. I didn’t hesitate to thrust the knives at their heads.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins.
The knives easily pierced the monsters’ heads, and I barely felt any resistance during the attack or when I felt the weight of their charge… It looked like the increase in parameters truly made me stronger.
The monsters turned into dust and left some teeth behind, so I stored them in the inventory… it would be useful if they went right there, but it wasn’t that convenient. Putting that aside, this battle raised some questions.
‘I can’t see their parameters, but it looked like I caused a lot more damage than before. Was it because of critical damage or was it because the power combined of the knives increased my attack? I should ask the information broker later. It would be interesting if I could see the health bar of the monsters at least… Maybe I need a skill for that.’
There were so many things to learn, but all those questions only made me look more forward to the future… Perhaps I could take some chances in the tall grass as well. My defense should have increased given the weight of the monsters during the impact was weaker, but this could have been a combination of my attack slowing them down and my defenses.
This kind of question made me recall some old RPGs, the formula to calculate damage was quite broken, in some games, when the attack was much higher than the defense, a single point in some parameter or level could make the fight against monsters a lot easier… skills and items that ignore defense could be insanely overpowered thanks to that as well.
This made things quite realistic since it is pretty easy for someone who is just heavier to knock down another person who is lighter with a few hits. What didn’t make sense were those games where, at the max level, you have to use a bunch of skills to defeat a giraffe monster.
‘Hey, let me do some of the fighting as well.’
‘No way, you will only cause trouble and I can’t risk failing the quest.’
‘You can get the damn apples. Just let me do the fighting instead.’
‘No.’
‘Let me at least fight once or twice, come one!’
‘No.’
After that, the other guy went silent… I could feel that he was quite pissed, but I didn’t care. I had to make things really efficient and not do things based on how much fun they gave me. Still, I never realized that I would come to regret this…