Kit flicked his gaze to her then nodded stating with his actions she should continue. “I was wondering if I could take the position for the market stall in Fairweather town.” Surprise flittered across his eyes. He honestly thought he would have to do some schmoozing to get someone to go.
Bree caught the fleeting surprise and must have misjudged the reason, she started to explain her motivation to take the job. “I actually come from a small hamlet not far from Fairweather town. My husband currently runs a market stall in Fairweather market. When I took this job, my husband planned to move his stall to Spartan Fire if my job worked out.”
“If I don’t have to disrupt his business that would be fantastic!” Bree suddenly blushed a deep red then lowered her lashes in embarrassment at her outburst. Kit watched as she hesitantly glanced at him through lowered lashes. He was honestly surprised at her words. He hadn’t even known she had a husband!
Bree hadn’t long joined the restaurant and she was very quiet when she worked. They hadn’t discussed much personal information between them. Snickers had told him that her aura made her trustworthy, so Kit hadn’t pushed her to speak.
He thought she would just naturally share things when she was ready. Kit finally got himself together and answered. “Bree I would be very grateful if you took the position. That would be one less thing for me to worry about. As soon as we set the plans in place for the market stall, I’ll take you there to set it up.”
A beautiful smile graced the older woman’s face. “Thank you, Kit! I will work hard and if the stall becomes too busy to handle on my own, I can ask my kids to help out!” Bree was beaming with delight.
Kit felt a shock wave pass over him at Bree mentioning she had kids. First she talked about a husband, and now kids! Kit felt like he really had neglected his duty in getting to know Bree properly. Suddenly Bree’s words sunk into Kit’s head. A picture of young children handing out food to customers appeared. He immediately started to panic, he couldn’t condone child labour!
“Bree, I don’t think it will be a good idea to get your kids to help out. If the stall is too much to handle on your own, I want you to send me a message and I will hire someone.” Kit was suddenly regretting saying yes to Bree.
“Kit, I promise my kids will do a great job! No need to worry about hiring someone else.” Bree smiled at Kit then continued to speak. “Camembert and Blue were going to apply for positions at your restaurant next time you posted applications anyway. Camembert wants to become a chef like his mother and Blue just wants to work somewhere she can talk to people, she is very friendly.”
This was the most Kit had ever heard Bree talk and by the looks of things she was still going. “Oh, should I get them to come over to Spartan Fire so they can meet you? That might be better, then they can learn from you and the other employees before we open the stall.” Bree started nodding to herself.
Kit could only stand there and gape. Who was this chatty woman in front of him? Wait that wasn’t the main point, she was going to bring her children here to learn the restaurant business!
Then a thought dawned on Kit, he suddenly had a feeling that her kids mightn’t be young. He looked at Bree once again, fine wrinkles covered her face. If you didn’t look closely, they were easy to miss but the point was they were still there.
He started to wonder how old Bree actually was. He wasn’t stupid enough to ask, instead he thought it might be better to ask how old her children were. “Bree out of curiosity, how old are you kids?”
Bree beamed at Kit’s interest in her children. “Oh, Camembert is 22 and Blue is 20 years old.” Relief flooded Kit at hearing their ages, considering they were adults Kit had no qualms hiring her children as long as Snickers gave the aura ok. Bree’s plans to bring them to the restaurant were actually quite handy.
From his previous experience running a stall by himself, he knew trying to cook and sell products to customers was difficult. It would be much easier to have more than one person running the stand.
“I think your idea to train them before letting them help in the market stall is actually a good idea. But before I can officially give them a position, they will have to pass Snickers interview. Even if they are your family Bree I can’t just say yes, you understand right?”
Kit thought Bree might have been a little upset over him needing to verify her children. To his relief she was still all smiles. “No problem, I’m positive they will pass. I’ll send them a letter now to come to Spartan Fire” Bree then bustled back to her room to presumedly send a letter.
As she was leaving the other employees started to filter into the dining area. Soon breakfast was over, and everyone was heading out the door except for Pretzel and Dove who were staying behind for lessons.
A thrill of anticipation ran through Kit as he left the boarding house. He was going to the town hall before heading to his restaurant to collect his rewards for the monster run! Restless energy filled Kit as he walked, he decided to run to the town hall to try to calm his excitement.
Upon arrival he was once again taken with the changes to Spartan Fire, it would take him a couple of days to get used to the bustling streets. A familiar voice called him as he was about to head into the town hall. “Kit, there you are. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you, but it looks like we have both been busy since you returned.”
Kit swung around to see Grandpa making his way towards him. A smile automatically formed on his face, he really liked the old man. “Hello Grandpa, I was just about to collect my rewards for the monster run. Can we catch up after I have finished?”
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“Of course, I’ll go in with you.” Grandpa waved Kit to enter the building first then followed him into the town hall. Kit looked around for Willow the clerk to help him collect his rewards. The tall young woman soon walked out of one of the offices attached to the main hall.
Recognition flashed in her eyes at the sight of him. “Kit, hello. I take it you are here to collect your rewards, let me just go and get them.” Willow turned on her heel and went back into the door she had just came out of. Kit was very pleased with her actions, he didn’t have to say a single word and she knew what he was here for.
He had a feeling Willow was going to thrive in her work at the town hall if she was this intuitive. She didn’t keep him waiting long and soon returned carrying a large wooden crate. Kit’s eyes were rooted to the box in Willows hands getting closer, his heart thumped in time with Willows steps.
When she arrived just before him, she dropped the heavy box. A loud thud echoed through the hall as the box fell to the floor. Kit’s breath hitched thinking about what was inside. His eyes glittered with anticipation.
Ding!
[CAL]
Special Event: Monster run complete.
Kills:
Trampling thick heads x 520.
Mutated trampling thick head x 1
Spartan Fire residents alive at end of special event:
152/175 Spartan Fire residents.
Special bonus: Sacrificing oneself for the greater good.
Rewards:
Trampling thick head pelts x 2
Trampling thick head meat x2
Trampling thick head horns x 4
Trampling thick head eyes x 4
Experience points: 25,000,000
Spartan Fire reputation points: 500.
Crowns: 1 platinum, 500 gold crowns.
Bonus points:
Experience points: 1,000,000
Spartan Fire reputation points: 10,000.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you are now Level 85]
Ding!
[Congratulations, you are now Level 86]
Ding!
[Congratulations, you are now Level 87]
Ding!
[Congratulations, you are now Level 88]
Ding!
[Congratulations, you are now Level 89]
Ding!
[CAL]
Player Kit worked hard to raise his reputation in Spartan Fire village, as a reward he was bestowed the title of a Lord.
Reward:
New title, Lord of Spartan Fire.
Access to Lord benefits of the royal line. (Visit a castle to access the Noble shop.)
Kit’s eyes practically fell out of his head. What the hell was all this information in front of him! A ringing started in his ears and a trembling finger scrolled to the top of the messages in front of him. Kit slowly ran his eyes over the rewards he received from the monster run.
When he reached the part about the number of crowns he just obtained, his mouth dropped in shock. “Haha, incredible absolutely incredible!” A dazzling smile spread across his face, happy laughter bubbled out of his mouth.
He now had enough money to add an extra month onto his subscription. That meant he had an additional 60 day inside of CAL! He was currently on his 5th week inside CAL he had 7 weeks remaining from his original subscription, now he could add an extra 4 weeks! That was 165 days to play before he had to come up with the next instalment!
Thankyou triple time in game! Adrenalin filled excitement coursed through his body. If he went up the mountain and found the treasure, he could add even more time! He needed all the extra time in CAL to get his restaurant to the point it could sustain his game play with out having to find external sources of income.
He knew that the restaurant was a long way off churning out those kinds of profits. He figured he would need to at least get his restaurant to a two or three star before that was possible. So, he wouldn’t only need to work on upgrading his restaurant but also Spartan Fire’s promotions.
This thought didn’t dampen his mood. He felt with the help from his friends they could achieve this feat given enough time! Kit let out a contented sigh then continued to explore his rewards. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the number of levels his swordsman had jumped.
When he got to the last announcement from CAL he frowned in confusion. “A Lord of Spartan Fire?” What the hell was that? How was he supposed to visit a castle when Spartan Fire didn’t have one!
“Lord Kit, well I’ll be damned. Congratulations my boy!” Grandpa’s praise broke Kit free from his internal musings. “That is something to celebrate, we should hold you a special dinner. I’ll go and speak to Snickers about it.” Grandpa was about to leave when Kit quickly caught his arm, he didn’t want to make a fuss about something he received after so many people had died.
The guilt still hung heavy on his shoulders that he had been part of the cause of their deaths. “Grandpa, can we keep it a secret for now, please.” Frankly he would have liked it if no one knew about his new Lord status.
“I see you want to make it a surprise, but that won’t be possible. You see an automatic announcement is sent after one receives a title, by the time you leave the building everyone in Spartan Fire will know about your great achievement.” Grandpa was beaming in delight at him.
Kit dragged his hands down his face in frustration. There was nothing he could do about it, so he would just have to roll with it. All he could do was step outside and see what the outcome would be. So far no one had blamed him for his part in instigating the monster run, in fact the only time the monster run was mentioned was when people were talking about the rewards.
Kit was starting to think that he might’ve been over reacting about what the residents would say about him on his return. He really would have to adjust his thinking in the future when it came to the game and death.
Kit looked down at the wooden box at his feet and threw the title situation to the back of his mind for now. It was time to look inside the box!
The wooden crate looked plain, there was nothing to tell it apart from any ordinary box. Kit knelt on the ground then lifted the lid without any fanfare. An inventory screen popped up in front of Kit, his rewards were displayed in the slots inside. He clicked on the most eye catching reward, the trampling thickhead meat!
[unavailable, limited space]
Kit stared stupidly at the words. He turned to Willow then explained his dilemma. “Willow why can’t I take the meat out of the box?”
Willow stared at him like he was stupid, Kit vaguely felt a familiar feeling from this look. That’s right, Snickers looked at him like that when she was about to give him some education! Kit realised he had said something wrong and waited to hear Willows response.
“Of course, you can’t. There is not enough space in this room. The meat would crush the whole building. If you want to take the meat out, go to one of the empty fields. You might want to do it soon, although the trampling thick head meat has a longer shelf life that most meats, it will still expire at some point.”
The size of the trampling thick head entered his mind. No wonder he couldn’t take the meat out, it must be one enormous chunk of meat! Out of all the rewards in the box Kit only wanted the meat. He wondered how he would sell the rest of the rewards.
He thought others might have already sold their loot from the monster run so someone must know what to do. He turned to Grandpa, he was sure this nosey old man would have an answer. “Grandpa where do I sell the items, I received from the trampling thick heads?”