Clang! Clang! Clang!

In a dark and musty tunnel a small light can be seen in the distance. The sound of a pickaxe echos off the walls. Gii was merrily chipping away at an exposed ore vein on the wall of the mine. He was currently in one of the offshoots of the main tunnel because there was much less traffic and he could monopolize all the ore veins that he came across.

Clang! Clang!

As he chipped away at the exposed ore, a piece fell onto the floor at his feet and a system message popped up in front of his face.

Due to repetetive actions the following stats have increased:

Strength Increased by 1

Vitality Increased by 2

Fortitude Increased by 1 

“hehehe...things are progressing rather nicely.”

He wiped the sweat from his brow and began to make his way out of the mine. Normally it was very easy to get lost in the labyrinth of mines but Gii had picked up a few tricks from other games he had played. By leaving a mark on the right wall while entering, all he had to do was follow the marks by keeping them on his left to find the exit.

While walking along the tunnel, suddenly the light from his headlight reflected off of the wall. Excitedly, Gii rushed over to the source.

Ohhh! Just like I thought, Iron!

Iron wasn't very rare in the world, most of the base equipment was made from it. However, in these beginner mines, Iron was pretty uncommon to come by. Part of the reason why Gii liked to risk the offshoot mines was because he was more likely to find untapped Iron ore veins. Taking out his pickaxe, Gii started chipping away at the ore.

Suddenly the wall started to shake. Jumping back to avoid any debris, Gii kept a wary eye fixated on the Iron ore. As he watched, the dirt fell from the wall and a small humanoid figure made out of Iron ore crawled out.

JACKPOT!

What had appeared was an >Iron Ore Golem<. It was a unique mob that only appeared while gathering raw resources. Unlike Gii, most people didn't enjoy spending hours upon hours doing a repetitive task like mining in order to get the raw resources needed to support crafters. The developers had incorporated mobs like the >Iron Ore Golem< in order to speed up the process and keep it interesting for the people who gather those resources. Essentially, the monster would drop 10-20 items of whatever it was made of, which in this case was Iron Ore.

Gii didn't waste any time in charging the golem. The golem saw Gii rushing towards it and extended its palms towards him. Parts of its body then began launching out of its palms and blasting towards Gii as if it had been shot out by a shotgun. Expecting this, Gii blocked his face with his arms and grit his teeth while continuing to run forward.

Unfortunately because of the narrow corridor they were in, it was impossible to dodge this attack. However the golem was also at a disadvantage because if Gii could get close, there was nowhere it could run to.

Good thing it's a ranged type

Charging forward, Gii began to weave back and forth from wall to wall, forcing the Golem to adjust it's aim and slow down the speed it was backing away at. The ore pummeled Gii all over his body, slamming into his chest, arms, and legs. Blood began to ooze from his arms as the force of the attacks broke the skin. Between each attack there was a few seconds where the skill had a cooldown. Using this chance, Gii rushed forward to close the final gap.

Noticing that it wouldn't be able to get the skill off in time, the golem retracted its arms and morphed them into the shape of a shield. It then raised the shield to protect it's face. Having closed the gap, Gii readied an attack in front of the golem. Before launching his attack however, he suddenly crouched down in front of the golem. Making a sweeping motion with all his might towards the golem's feet, he shattered the right leg and buried his pickaxe into the inner part of the left knee.

The force of the attack made the golem lose it's balance and slam its back onto the ground. The impact jarred the tight defense of the shield and loosened it a bit. Not missing his opportunity, Gii raised the pickaxe above his head and brought it down to pierce the golem's chest. The golem crumbled at his feet and a series of windows popped up in front of Gii.

You have gained 20 Iron Ore from defeating an >Iron Ore Golem<

Inventory is full. Deposit some things into a bank account or sell items to make room.

Level up!

Sweet! Another level up!...this means I’m level 10 now!

The reason why Gii was so easily able to defeat an iron ore golem who's strength was comparable to a rock golem was because it had been roughly 2 weeks of in-game time since he started playing. By completing quests and occasionally fighting golems, he was able to to raise his level to 10. If he had decided to go hunting instead than it was possible he could have doubled his level or even more by now but reaching level 10 in the way he did was still very respectable.

With a wide smile on his face Gii headed out of the mine and headed towards the merchant district.

***

The Griston International Bank. Every player in HCO is granted an account with this independent entity. It is said that this bank wields more power than any of the countries in this world. In fact at certain points in history, the Griston bank had bailed out countries from crushing debt. For the players this Bank mainly acted as an item and currency storage area. You can store large amounts of items with the bank for free but have to pay a nominal fee in order to access them.

Amongst the traffic coming in and out of the Bren branch of the bank, there was a dirty looking human. His shaggy black hair was pulled back underneath a dark green bandana with a blood red skull painted onto it. He approached the nearest open teller. A man wearing glasses and the traditional Vorheim golden business robe greeted him with a professional smile.

“How can I help you today sir?”

“Yes, I'd like to deposit some materials into my bank please”

“Very well, please pay the fee of 10 gold to access.”

“..ah...right, sorry.”

Gii rummaged through his coin purse and threw the gold coins onto the counter.

“Thank you very much”

The man smiled and turned around to place the money into a vault. As he did so, a window displaying the contents of Gii's bank appeared in front of him. He placed everything that was clogging up his inventory into the bank account and took note of what he had gathered.

Hmm....how should I go about selling all this?

Because Gii had spent almost every hour playing HCO mining, he had accumulated a large amount of Ores. His plan was to give these ores to a crafter who could then make equipment for him, essentially a trade. Paying a crafter to create a weapon or armor from scratch was extremely expensive, as such it was a common practice to gather the resources needed beforehand and then pay labor fees for someone to craft it.

However, Gii was in a dilemma. Most of the higher level crafters were associated with guilds and would only make equipment for their guild members. As a solo player, it would be difficult to find a solo crafter who he could trust and who could make quality equipment.

While thinking about what to do Gii exited the bank. While Stepping outside, he suddenly remembered an option he could use.

“Aha! I could just use that!”

The Griston Bank was located off of the merchant district's open courtyard. The large circular courtyard was lined with many different shops and stalls. At it's center was a large stage-like platform with a huge bulletin board behind it. Gii began walking towards the platform and then behind it to the bulletin board.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The Platform was something unique to the merchant district of a city, however in every courtyard there was a message board. In the past a player would have to log onto the game's website and post things in forums in order to ask for advice, trades or business. Now, this board functioned the same way. People could filter searches on it and every board was connected through magic. It was used by all the adventurers in the world to share information.

Gii approached the board and opened up a message window. After entering the specifics of what kind of person he was looking for, he motioned as if to pin a piece of paper on the board. The message stuck there before quickly blending in with the messages already on the board.

well...it should take a while to get a response...might as well finish up the quests in the mine while I wait.

Ever the diligent worker, Gii began making his way back to the mines. As he approached the edge of the merchant district, he could suddenly hear footsteps running towards him.

“hey mister wait up!”

Turning around to see who was yelling, Gii could see a small child dressed in rags approaching him. They finally came to a halt right in front of him and took a moment to catch their breath. While they were doing so, Gii took a moment to get a good look at them.

A small boy with short black hair and green eyes stood in front of him. He looked no older than 10 and was wearing grey rags with holes in them. He wasn't wearing any shoes and he was covered from head to toe in dirt. But what caught Gii's attention was...

Isn't this an NPC?

While Gii was observing the NPC in front of him the boy regained his breath and held out a piece of paper to him.

“this is your letter right?”

Gii took the piece of paper and looked at it. Written on the paper was the message he had just posted onto the bulletin board. He nodded and looked at the boy quizzically.

“I know of someone who can help!”

The boy struck a pose like giving the thumbs up and had a forced smile on his face. At the boy's words Gii realized what this was about.

In short this NPC was hired by a player to search the boards for specific things. When playing the game it could be really tedious to sift through the boards waiting for a good deal to pop up. As such, many crafters hired NPC's to bring customers to them so they could continue working.

Hmm..am I just lucky? Normally it takes quite awhile....whatever it won't hurt to see my options.

“All right, bring me to them then.”

With a shocked expression that read 'wait, it worked?' the boy hesistantly nodded and began leading Gii through the alleyways to the blacksmith's district. To his surprise, even though they didn't use the main roads they got to the district very quickly.

Perhaps there's a shortcut? I should keep a note of that..

Expecting to head to the main part of the district, Gii was surprised when they suddenly turned down a narrow alleyway. As if noticing his suspicion the boy spoke.

“The person who paid me said it's too distracting in the main district, so he stays in these back alleyways.”

“...I see...”

It was a little odd, but there didn't seem to be any red flags yet. As they weaved between the buildings, the alleyways seemed to be getting narrower and dirtier. Eventually they turned onto an alley that was a little wider then the rest and Gii could see a small open courtyard up ahead. As they approached, the sound of a hammer and anvil could be heard.

When they entered the courtyard Gii was surprised. A makeshift workshop had been set up in the courtyard that couldn't have been any bigger than a 20ftX20ft square. However it wasn't just a blacksmith's workshop, there was workbenches for various things including tailoring and leatherwork.

When he spotted them, the large burly dwarf that was hammering a piece of iron stopped what he was doing and got up from his seat.

“What's this? A customer?”

The boy nodded enthusiastically and responded.

“Yep! I've brought someone just like you asked for!”

“Good work....keep it up”

With that the dwarf flipped a coin to the boy who caught it with both hands.

“Yes sir!”

with a beaming smile the boy ran off in the direction they had com from. While Gii was watching the boy run away with an amused expression, the dwarf brought his attention back.

“So what is it that you need?”

“Ah..”

Gii turned his focus back onto the dwarf. Even though he knew this was a player he couldn't help but marvel at how his body had been changed. The short and stout look that was so common from fantasy dwarfs was perfectly replicated and his pudgy face was framed by long fiery hair and a bristling beard that reached his stomach.

“..Well basically..”

Gii took the time to explain his situation. It was a bit long winded but the dwarf listened intently and was very understanding. After he was finished the dwarf spoke up.

“I see, I see...that is a bit of a tricky situation.”

“lucky you found me! Us solo players need to stick together right!?...or wait isn't that the opposite? HAHAHAHA!!”

The man gave a loud and hearty laugh.

“I-I guess?...haha”

Gii responded hesitantly to the man's overly friendly attitude.

“Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Gustav.”

He held out his hand for a handshake that Gii returned.

“Gii...”

While shaking his hand vigorously, Gustav smiled and said

“I've been looking for someone like you. It's damn expensive to buy materials from the NPC's, we can definitely help each other.”

Having heard the players name Gii asked a question.

“Hey Gustav, do you sell your wares at the auction in the market district occasionally?”

“Hmm? Oh yes... since i'm not in a guild it's pretty much the easiest way to sell things until I can save enough to open up my own store. What? You know of me?”

Gii nodded.

“Yeah, I like to keep track of the market just in case I can find some deals. I've come across your equipment a few times, it's always very good.”

Gustav crossed his arms and nodded in pride.

“That's good, that's good....seems it will be easier to convince you of my credibility.”

“So, what kind of equipment do you want me to make?”

“Ah...that is....I haven't really decided yet.”

“oh....well since you're raising you're physical stats I guess you're going for a close combat class?”

“something like that...but...well I don't want heavy armor..”

Gustav was a little surprised at that fact. Normally if you were going for a close combat class it was natural to use heavy armor. Unless you were trained in some sort of martial art t was difficult to fight effectively in close quarters and heavy armor, although slow, would provide great protection.

“Well...you seem to have something in mind, care to explain it to me a bit?”

“Eh? ...but it's kind of embarrassing...”

“cmon cmon, we're friends right?” Gustav said while nudging Gii with his elbow

but we haven't even registered each other yet...

Gii sighed and caved in to the pressure.

“basically...it doesn't fit my character? ...or something.”

While watching the embarrassed Gii scratch his head with a wry smile, Gustav stared at him a minute before bursting into laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHA!!”

holding his sides, Gustav continued to laugh for a few more moments before settling down and wiping the tears from his eyes.

“Man I knew you were interesting the moment I laid my eyes on ya!”

Gii opened his mouth to respond but was stopped when Gustav put up his hand.

“Say no more, I understand, you intend to roleplay a bit right? If that's the case then I won't force you. Just promise you'll come to me for any equipment you might need.”

Gii stood with a blank look on his face for a moment before smiling with a response.

“of course, thank you for being so understanding.”

“I'll go get all the materials I can carry and bring them here for you.”

as Gii walked away, a smile floated across Gustav's face.

I've met a pretty interesting person.

Truthfully it wasn't too uncommon to find role-playing communities in HCO. However there weren't any that Gustav knew of who were dedicated enough to forgo armor just because it didn't look or feel right for their character. HCO was incredibly realistic and just like real life, getting injured really hurt. Even if there were no fatal wounds because it was a game, it was still possible to feel the pain from such a wound. Even if your senses were a bit dulled most people wore armor so they didn't have to go through that.

hehehe....i wonder what kind of interesting equipment he'll have me make?

“HAHAHA! I'm all fired up now! Let's make some stuff!”

the thought of making something to match Gii's dedication urged Gustav's crafter soul and the sound's of a hammer and anvil began to echo throughout the back alleys of Bren's blacksmith's district.