The next morning, grandma Ariel made some simple breakfast with homemade jam and a cup of milky coffe. After doing a quick round of plant watering, she put on the VR earpiece to continue playing.
Synchronizing…
Welcome back, Tacha Macha!
She opened her eyes in the old inn’s room, her whole body tucked in a bun carefully. Exactly as she left it. Checking on her status screen, she was happy to notice the well rested bonus under the ‘Temporary effects’ section. Molly’s blankets were truly the best ones.
In a good mood she put away the blankets and pillow in the inventory and went downstairs to greet her dear innkeeper.
Tacha however, didn’t know how much nervous was the old man at the thought of seeing her again. The shock that he received was enough to give him a heart attack. If not for the promise of revenge at the sight of those two copper coins, he might have already left this world because of heartache.
He didn’t even notice the rising of the sun as he stared like an hawk at those two old coins. When Hans heard the creaking of the stairs, he reluctantly put them on the side, behind an old and dusty frame on the counter. The coins would be hidden from the guests, but always on his line of sight.
The first guest to come down was a scrawny man. Without giving a glance to the innkeeper he rushed straight for the exit, soon disappearing down the road.
Soon after a young couple with haggard expressions came down. Giving a hateful glance to the owner, they left grumbling. Hans cared not for their complaints, for they had already paid in full.
Almost an hour later, a burly beastman with wolfish traits came down to the counter, smacking his palm loudly right in front of the old innkeeper.
Hans gave the guy a look. He wasn’t impressed at all. “What’s up with that sh*tty room of yours!? It doesn’t even give a bonus. I want a refund!” The beastkin was showing his teeth, his fist clenched. Hans smiled, he might not know what he meant with ‘bonus’, but he very well knew what a refund was. As if he would give one to this rude beast.
When the player, enraged by the smile, went for his throat, Hans took out a black shotgun with golden decors and went for his shoulder. A loud shot reverbrated in the old inn, followed by the sound of crashing and wood breaking. The wolf beastkin looked up in terror while clutching the mangled shoulder. He saw his Hp dropping to a glaring 2.
“Dear guest, no refounds are allowed in this establishment. The room details are clearly displayed by the counter” he pointed to a yellowed, words almost faded out, pamphlet sticked on the side of the counter. The half dead player could barely make out the ‘inn’ world, and that was by using a lot of imagination. “If you wish to file any complaints, please refer to the Village Elder”
The beastkin player stood there in a daze, but once old Hans pointed the shotgun at him again he got up and ran away with his tail between his legs. The old man sighed, he wasn’t scared of gutless people like that.
Not long after slow, creacking steps were coming from the stairs direction. Once he saw who was coming down, his pupils shrank and his breath quickened. For him it was like gazing at the devil incarnated, those light green eyes of hers looked like they were ready to strip him bare of his possessions.
Tacha had rushed to the stairs to see what the commotion was about. Once she saw that it was the old man that had the advantage, she stopped on the first floor to watch the situation. The innkeeper’s weapon looked peculiar; she wondered if he always keeped it under the counter.
The wolf beastkin was a player by the words he used, but Tacha couldn’t see the nickname over his head. It seems like no matter the situation the players names won’t be revealed. Thanks to that, she was able to cheat the player that had give her a piggy back ride.
When the player ran, she slowly went down the stairs, like a good grandma would. Looking at his expressions she couldn’t help herself and smiled. But poor Hans only saw a wicked grin.
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“You old crook, you’re going to scare off all of your customers by pointing that at other people” Hans, already agitated by her mere presence, screamed isterically “You old witch, I’m not going to let a random smuck rob me!” “Hmph, weren’t you the first one to rob him?” “Business! It’s called business! It’s not my fault if they’re stupid enough to get cheated!”
Tacha rolled her eyes. There was no point in arguing with him. Old Hans trembled in anger and after a long, reluctant glance at his dear shotgun, he put it back in its place. Grumbling he took a seat at his usual place. Tacha could fantly hear the words “… witch… only… Molly” Between one whisper and another.
He looked like an old dog left behind in the rain. Before that sight could evoke any pity in her, she left the inn. When she wasn’t in his sight anymore, Hans looked like he had gotten twenty years younger.
Tacha went first to Molly’s house to thank her. The two chatted for a bit before continuing on with their day. Following the advice she received, Tacha went to the bakery near the village elder’s house in the main street to grab breakfast.
Rosecott village was a busy one this morning with all of the players running about. Once she was done stuffing her face with food, she went to see if the bulletin board in front of the village elder’s house had any good quests.
Posted in it were a few miscellanous quests: rat extermination by the general goods store, herb gathering by the general goods store, an old ad for the Smiling Pilgrim inn, monster material gathering for the general goods store, food delivery for the general goods store, and other five or six requests by the usual general goods store. “Is the owner even taking a step outside his shop?”
Looking at how many quests were posted by the general store, Tacha thought that the owner was the kind of person that would pay someone to post those quest for them.
Granny Tacha thought for a bit. She wanted to relax and have fun while playing the game. And what’s best to enjoy the full VR game by tasting all of the delicious dishes in the world? A fantasy world like this one was sure to have new exciting tastes.
So, ignoring the bulletin board she checked the inventory to see what she was missing. She had a beginner knife, a couple of bandages and an item called ‘Star Crystal’. The last one couldn’t be thrown away, probably because it was related to a main quest. Speaking of main quest, she still had to find one. Was this what they meant by you’re free to do what you want? Even the main quest was optional?
Beginner Knife
An old, simple knife. Be careful, it might break at any moment.
Attack: 3~4 Durability: 15/55
Simple Bandages
They are some simple straps of cloth that can be used for a simple first aid.
Hp Regen: +15%
Star Crystal
A crystalized star of unknown origins. When you woke up at the Shrine of Beginnings it was already with you.
Key Item
Anyway, the only useful item she had was the knife, and even that looked like it was going to break after a few swings. Seeing that she had 100 bronze coins, she decided to take a look at the general store, to see if they had any cooking supplies.
The general goods store, Sally’s Trove, was located a few hundred meters down the main road, towards the local Shrine of Beginnings. The store looked quite nice from outside, completely the opposite from old Hans place.
The bell at the door rang when Tacha entered, and the sight was exactly as she expected. Out of the 15 shelves, only one had stuff on it. At the very back, behind the messy counter, was a head of black hair hidden under a magazine.
She looked at the shelf, there was a bit of everything on top of it. Bandages, herbs, cultery, ink, canned food, just to say a few of them. Tacha picked some cultery, a pot and some fire starters. After making some space on top of the counter she knocked on the table to wake the owner up.
As he groggly lifted his head, the magazine fell off the table with a ‘plop’. The shopkeeper lazily blinked his eyes and took a while before realizing that there was a customer. Tacha looked at him, he looked no older than 15 and was surprised, in fact, that it wasn’t a woman named Sally to run the store.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Ahem. Welcome, what can I help you with granny?” The boy fidgeted in his seat before getting up. With an akward smile he hastly put all of the stuff on top of the counter away “I’d like to buy this stuff” With a nod he quickly calculated the total “That would be 26 bronze coins”
Tacha payed for the items and the put them inside her inventory. “How come this place is called Sally’s Trove?” The boy scratched his cheek “That’s my mother’s name. I’m just taking over while she’s away” With an understanding look she patted the boy on the head “You’re a good son for trying to run the business while your mother is absent”
The boy let himself be patted quietly. Tacha then left the store to search for some food in the wild. The black haired boy looked at the gently granny that just left. He then picked up the magazine and put it on top of his head before laying it down on the counter. He hoped for the granny to come back again soon.