After years of physical and mental abuse, experimentation, and drug trials conducted by his parents, Ren was rescued by the police and his parents were taken away. The court case was sensational and captured the public's attention while it was in the media's spotlight, and when it was over, Ren was shuffled off to a permanent care ward of a hospital and assigned round-the-clock nurses to give him the constant care that he required.
It took years for him to recover enough to be able to move around without assistance, and the constant babying and pampering had eaten away at his personality and mental state just as much as the experiments had. He knew that the nurses really cared for him; especially his night nurse Barbara. She was like the mother he never had, and that was a bitter pill for him to swallow.
She thinks she's so much better than my own mother. Ren thought. I know with every good deed she does for me, she thinks it's earning her points with me.
He never let any of his real thoughts show, because he knew that if they suspected how much he hated being confined to the hospital, he'd be under constant psychiatric monitoring from, in Ren's opinion, that completely sadistic bitch, Suzie.
Ren smiled every time he thought of her. She still didn't suspect that his amnesia had been a complete fabrication; or that he remembered she was a part of the team of scientists that regularly visited him while he was under the care of his parents.
Ren did his physical therapy every day; but, not because he wanted to get better. He had overheard the doctors saying that he never would. What he was doing was staying in everyone's good graces. He knew that he would eventually have to leave the hospital, and hoped that he could manipulate a few of his personal care workers away with him when he did.
It had taken years of hard work, but he had finally convinced everyone that he was a well-adjusted individual, and they had all gathered together to watch the announcement of the VR contest the latest company had run. He had written the saddest story he could think of, milking his history for all of it's now irrelevant details, and even had several of the nurses endorse his submission.
“And the winners of the 5 special classes are...”
“YES! I'm first pick!” Ren yelled, and threw his hands up in the air, and the nurses there cheered and hugged him, then he felt a sharp pain in his chest. “N-n-n-no!” He said, and collapsed because the excitement was a bit too much for him.
It had taken another week for him to recover enough to receive his special class, and he'd regretted not getting the Heroic Prince one. When the doctor finally said he could load up the game, he entered the simulation for the first time and did all the physical calibrations that it asked him to do. He had so much fun that he was almost disappointed when it was over and it said a guide would log in to meet him.
“This... this is amazing! I've never run so much ever!”
“That's because the Stamina system isn't in effect until you enter the game. You could run forever and never get tired.”
Ren turned around and met the most beautiful redheaded amazon woman he'd ever seen. She was almost 2 feet taller than him, and his eyes widened at her partially revealed gigantic chest.
“You are Ren Haddon, correct?” The woman asked.
Ren nodded several times.
“I didn't think the character creation option was open for you. Did you pick a halfling race already?”
“No, this is how I normally look.” Ren said. “The doctors said I have a growth impediment, and won't look any older than I do now.”
“And how old is that, may I ask?”
“I'm 17.” Ren said. “But I'll be...”
“Eeee! You're so cute!” Elise said and took him into a hug to bury him in her massive chest. He flailed his arms by reflex, even though he technically didn't have to breathe and was actually enjoying the sensations of her soft mounds. She noticed his flailing arms a few moments later and let him go, then introduced him to the game called F.L.O.W., made him a cute elfling character, and gave him his class.
Ren thought about how cooped up he was all the time and not being able to do anything, and realized that being an Artificer, a master crafting class, would suit him much better than being a plain fighter like a couple of the other special classes were.
“So, what do you think?” Elise asked.
“It's awesome!” Ren responded, and she smiled.
“You'll find the level ups are different than the other classes, and they'll be assigned automatically.”
So, I'll have something else that's going to tell me what to do all the time. Ren thought, but didn't let it show.
“That'll be less for me to worry about, then. All I have to do is play!”
Ren's enthusiasm was hitting Elise's cute-o-meter pretty hard, and she was trying her best to resist smothering him in kisses.
“I guess that's it. Good luck!” Elise said, then couldn't resist anymore and hugged him again and buried his face in her chest. He reached out to grab onto her massive chest, then he faded away to go into the game.
Ren appeared in the game, set his name, and wandered around the city. He mentally mapped it, so he would remember where everything was. When he got to the Artesian District, he looked into various shops, and found one with an older lady sewing a dress. She invited him inside, and her attention piqued when he said he'd like to learn crafting. She taught him how to make simple coin pouches and gave him a quest. He sat down at the workbench and completed the quest quickly and easily.
When Ren looked up the skill trees and saw how complicated they were, his eyes sparkled. He could do a lot of things with this new class, and immediately started thinking of what to do next. Even though he had finished the easy quest, he knew there should be something else for him to learn at such a low level.
“Sally, can you show me something else?” Ren asked her sweetly. “You're such a great teacher.”
“I... well, I suppose.” Sally said and smiled knowingly. “You are enthusiastic about it, at least.”
“I'll learn anything you have to teach me.” Ren said, and moved over on the seat and pat the available space with his hand. “Please.”
“All right.” Sally said, quite happy to have someone so young interested in her trade. She sat down and Ren hadn't quite moved his hand out of the way. “Oooo!” She said hopped up. “I'm sorry!”
“No it's my fault.” Ren said and pushed blood into his face to make it look like he blushed. “I was trying to hold the seat steady for you.”
“So gallant.” Sally said and sat down again. “We should both be a little more careful from now on. I wouldn't want you to get hurt.”
“I don't want you to get hurt, either.” Ren said and beamed a smile at her.
Oh... oh, my. Sally thought, then started to show Ren her basic stitching techniques. Ren stayed there for nearly 2 months real time, worked day and night, and learned everything he could from her. He had treated her like a queen, and bought her presents with what little money he had earned in the shop. Ren had convinced her that it was the time he spent with her that mattered, and not the money she paid him.
By the time the 2 months was over, Sally was well and truly in love with the dashing young man. He had learned all of her secrets; but, he wasn't quite at the Master level for his Tailoring Skill. It wasn't far off, with only a few levels left for him to grind.
“I can't believe you have to go.” Sally said as Ren embraced her to say goodbye. “I'm going to miss seeing you every day.”
Ren chuckled. “I'll still come by and visit, Sally.” He said. “I'm not leaving the district. I'm only going to see what else I can learn.”
“You can keep staying here with me, then.” Sally said. “Rather than waste your money at an inn or sleeping on the ground outside.”
“Are you sure?” Ren asked. “I won't be able to pay you rent or room and board until I...”
“Pish-posh!” Sally said and waved his concerns away. “Having you around has been a balm to this old woman's lonely heart.”
“Sally, we've talked about this.” Ren said and she bent over slightly so he could kiss her cheek like he did every day. “You're not old. Just experienced.”
Sally's face flushed a deep red as his lips met her cheek, for what she thought might be the last time. She was so tempted to turn her head at the last second to get an actual kiss from him, just to see what it was like, and her face showed her desire. Ren saw her reaction, and took pity on the old woman.
“Sally, can I... I mean... um...” Ren stammered because he knew women loved the coy game.
“What is it, dear?” Sally asked. “What do you want to ask?”
“Come closer.” Ren said.
Sally bent over again and turned her head so he could whisper in her ear; but Ren put a hand on her chin and moved her head to face forward, and her eyes widened in both shock and pleasure as he kissed her. Sally's heart couldn't take the onrush of feelings she experienced, and she started gasping for breath.
“Sally, what...”
Sally put a hand over her heart and fell to her knees.
“Sally?” Ren asked and knelt in front of her.
“You...” Sally gasped. “I... lo...” She grasped his hand. “You... are... my...” She squeezed his hand. “Master... Tailor.” She said, then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed to the floor in a heap.
I guess her heart couldn't take the excitement. Ren thought as he got the popup for the Master Tailor title, and it pushed everything he'd learned from her up those last couple of levels to Master. Nice. He thought. “Thank you so much, Sally.” He said, and looted her body. Thanks to his title, he received a Master Tailor Sewing Needle that let him do free repairs to clothing and the deed to Sally's Shop. The deed included the surrounding lot, the warehouse out back, and the attached apartment. He was surprised when he found a few platinum coins as well.
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Wow, platinum coins! Ren thought in amazement, then received another popup telling him that he was the new business owner, and could change the name of the shop. Ren declined, because he knew he would lose a lot of customers if he did. A little key appeared around his neck, and he closed the shop up for the day.
Ren walked down the street, wearing new clothes, and quite happy with the way things had turned out so far. I wonder if there are any other older ladies running things around here? He asked himself and searched. The only other old person he found was the old man alchemist, and Ren went into the shop.
“Hello, sir. I'm looking for work.” Ren said. His affinity with the Artesian NPCs was quite high, thanks to all the time he had spent with Sally, and the old man was more than happy to let Ren work for him on the side. For the next month real time, Ren hunted and gathered herbs and ingredients during the nights, and made clothing for customers during the day. With the pause quest feature, he could leave any difficult tasks for when he had more time, and he enjoyed milking the customers sympathy over Sally's death, just as much as he milked the nurse's sympathy in real life over his own predicament.
Ren learned as much as he could from the old man alchemist over the next 3 months, more than he ever could have discovered on his own, and built a large stockpile of potion ingredients that anyone would envy... if he ever told them about it. He could make Health potions, Mana potions, Poisons, Antidotes, Acids, Tonics, Vials, Elixirs, and everything else that any alchemist worth his weight could do; including both offensive and defensive potions. It was unfortunate that Ren couldn't convince the old man into giving up the business so that he could get a lock on the market himself. He left the old man's shop both wiser and richer, however. With his nights now free, he looked along the shops and saw the line of people waiting to get into the blacksmith's shop.
You know, blacksmithing could be a lucrative job if handled properly. Ren thought and joined the line at the end. When he reached the blacksmith, Donan was tired after working all day.
“What do you want?” Donan asked the kid that stood in front of him.
“I'd like a job, sir.” Ren said in as innocent a voice as he could muster.
“Sorry, kid. You don't look strong enough to wield a hammer, let alone be able to smith properly.”
“Then show me how to swing a hammer!” Ren said enthusiastically. “Let me show you what I can do!”
Donan looked at the kid and after a few moments, reluctantly nodded. Ren's affinity with the Artesian Districts NPCs was extremely high at this point, and Donan handed him a hammer and pointed to an anvil.
“If you can break this hammer before sunset, I'll think about teaching you.” Donan said, and knew the scrawny little kid would never be able to do it. Ren took the hammer with confidence and struck the anvil with it. The shock and vibrations went up his arm, and he gripped it with his other hand.
He's trying to trick me. Ren thought and looked at the hammer. Okay, let's do this! He lifted the hammer up high in his right hand and struck the anvil again, and the same thing happened. His arm vibrated, but this time he had taken 2 Durability from the hammer. Yes! Ren thought and kept going. His arm started to go numb with half of the hammer's durability gone and thought about giving up to try again tomorrow, then he glanced at the blacksmith and saw his smug face. Oh, I'll show you!
Ren struck the anvil again, with anger and hate for the man driving him to strike even harder. He imagined the anvil was the blacksmith's face, and smiled as he drove the hammer into the metal.
“Only... a little... more!” Ren said and struck the anvil again. His arm had no feeling left in it, but he held onto the hammer with an iron grip. “I won't...” Clang. “...let you...” Clang. “...beat me!”
With a resounding smash, Ren vented his hatred onto the metal, and the hammer shattered into tiny pieces.
Notice! You have unlocked new skills:
Iron Grip Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Shock Absorption Level 1 (Beginner 0%)
Ren did two more of the blacksmith's tests over the next two nights and let his anger help him cope with the nearly impossible tasks. During one of the tests he met the enchanter Issac, and thought he would be a great target for manipulation. Ren passed the trials, much to the blacksmith's astonishment, was quickly named his apprentice, and Ren learned the Repair skill. For the next 6 months, Ren learned everything he could from Donan. How to properly smelt, how to forge, how to cast, how to use the Repair skill properly, and how to form metal into any shape that he needed. It was then that he learned how to make everything that a blacksmith would ever need to know.
With the money he made during the day running Sally's Shop, Ren could easily afford to buy the ore from the mines to keep his forging lessons going. He worked tirelessly day and night and slept when he could, and Issac had come by several times to enchant the things he and Donan made. Ren asked Issac if he could teach him how to do that, so he could make better weapons and armor, and Issac agreed because Ren's affinity with the Artesian NPCs was so high that no one could refuse him such a simple request.
“Come to me on your days off, and I'll see about giving you a proper education.” Issac said.
Ren nodded and Issac left the blacksmith's shop just as a messenger arrived with a letter, and Donan opened it.
“It seems there's a quest for the city that needs a blacksmith.” Donan said and held up the letter. “How would you like to do it?”
Ren looked at the letter and thought about it. “Well, I haven't done a real quest in a long time.” He said. “I guess I should.”
“Ha!” Donan said and slapped Ren on the shoulder. “You're reluctant to leave the forge.” He smiled. “Good, good!”
“Well...”
Donan handed him the letter. “You've got the Repair ability mastered now. Go ahead and show them what a real blacksmith is made of.”
Ren nodded and left the shop to go to the mansion in the center of town. Ren looked at the opulent building and wanted it. He wasn't sure how he was going to ever get one like it; but nevertheless, he put the thought in the back of his mind that he would either build or buy one just like it someday. He went to the door and was taken inside to meet the Lord of Aurora, Eric.
They had a brief meeting where Ren repaired an ornamental sword, and knew whoever had made it hadn't done a proper job of it. He discovered the plans for it and smiled. When he got back from the quest, he'd make a much better version of it.
“You have three days to prepare.” Lord Eric said. “Be ready.”
“I will.” Ren said, bowed slightly, and left the mansion. Now that he had three free days, he took Issac up on his offer.
“No, no.” Issac said and wrote out what books Ren needed. “Read these first and then come back to see me.” He said. “Ignorance won't help you with enchanting.”
Ren took the note and left Issac's shop. You could have told me that before and saved me the embarrassment, you idiot! He fumed in his head and went to the Library. Ren walked inside and looked around. Whoa! Look at all these books! He thought. I bet there's lots of things in them that I could learn!
“Like what you see, do you?” A female voice asked. Ren turned and looked at the young woman that sat behind the reception desk.
“I like it very much.” Ren said and grinned at her. “Hi, there. I'm Ren, an elfling.”
“Hi, Ren. I'm Rosie.”
“That's a pretty name.” Ren said. “It matches you perfectly.”
Rosie giggled. “Thank you.” She said. “What can I do for you, cutie?”
“I can think of a few things.” Ren said, and he saw her face flush a little red. “For now, I wonder if I could get a loan of these books.” He said and handed her Issac's note.
“I normally would have to get the head Librarian in to issue a Library card.” Rosie said. “I think I can skip that with Issac's recommendation.” She smiled at him “Why don't you have a seat over there, and I'll have these brought to you right away.”
“Thank you very much.” Ren said and walked over to the closest desk and sat down to wait. He kept glancing over at her, and made eye contact with her several times. With his great hearing, he could hear her giggle each time. Ren saw a worker come over to her with the 4 books from Issac's note, and she came over to his table with them and his Library card. Ren thanked her and read through the books quickly.
They were only short, and when Ren finished with the first one, he gained the Speed Reading ability and read the others much faster. He learned about the element the books were based on, then gained both a little bit of affinity and resistance to them. Now that he knew what these kinds of books could do for him, he went back to the reception desk with as big of a smile as he could muster, and returned the just borrowed books.
“Rosie, are there any other books like these?”
“Of course there are.” Rosie said. “Would you like to see them?”
“I really would.” Ren said. “Would that be okay?”
“Well... they're a little above your level...”
“Is there... ah... a place in the back... where you could show them to me?” Ren asked. “Privately?”
Rosie looked around and gave a little wave to someone. “Come with me.” She said to Ren and came out from behind the desk when her replacement arrived to take over the reception desk. Rosie was about the same height as Ren, and he followed her without looking at anything else except her backside as she walked.
Rosie opened the door to the side hallway, and motioned for Ren to go through. He did so, and she shut the door behind him. She pointed to the third door on the left.
“I'll be right in with the books you want to see.” Rosie said.
Ren put a hand on her arm and spoke in a slightly deeper voice. “Thank you, Rosie.”
“Don't thank me yet.” Rosie said and smiled sweetly at him, then made shooing motions with her fingers. Ren went into the side room and saw it had 4 chairs and a table. Rosie came in a few minutes later with 5 more books, and they had elements he hadn't heard of being in a game before.
“Wow.” Ren said and looked at the covers of the books. “Rosie, I don't know what to say.”
“Say, 'I like you Rosie'.” Rosie said, and her face flushed red. Why did I tell him that?
Ren put the books on the table and stepped close to her. They locked eyes, and Ren leaned in close.
“I like you, Rosie.” Ren said in a deep voice, then pressed his lips to hers. Rosie shivered slightly, and Ren wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back, and they made out like that for several minutes. Rosie suddenly broke the kiss and leaned back; but, she kept her arms around him. “I... I have to go.”
“Okay.” Ren said. “What do I do with the books when...”
“Just leave them here on the table.” Rosie said. “The workers check for books in the rooms when they're empty.”
Ren nodded. “Thank you, Rosie.” He said. “You don't know how much this means to me.”
“I hope it means enough that you'll come back to see me again.” Rosie said and her face burned a deep red.
“Wild horses couldn't keep me away.” Ren said and gave her a quick kiss. Especially not from this treasure trove of knowledge!
He let her out of the embrace and gently stroked her face. “See you soon, Rosie.”
“Bye, Ren.” Rosie said and left the room. Ren sat down immediately to read the books. He read through them quickly, and learned about 5 more elements and gained extra affinity and resistances for them, then a special bonus of resistances for learning about all 9 elements at once.
So, learning a set of knowledge gives you extra bonuses. Ren thought. Good to know.
He thought about reading through them again, but he really didn't want to waste any more time. He left the room and the hallway, gave a little wave to Rosie before he left the Library, then he went back to Issac's Shop and told him he had read about all 9 of the elements. Issac was so surprised Ren would go so far above what was asked of him, that he didn't hesitate to teach Ren about runes, glyphs, and enchanting; which imbued objects with elemental magical power. Issac gave him a small book of the starter runes and told him he would have to find other runes on his own. Ren enchanted a simple copper ring with Lightning, and Issac stopped him when he tried to pick it up.
“Whoa, there.” Issac said. “If you put that on, you'll shock yourself with Lightning. You would eventually die when it wore all of your Health away.”
“Really?” Ren said, and remembered to keep that idea for later. Something like that could always be useful. He thought.
“Try using Earth instead.”
Ren did so and the ring granted a +2 to his armor value, which was kind of useless since he wasn't wearing his armor at the moment. But I can equip armor whenever I want. He thought and smiled as he put the ring on. “It worked!”
Issac nodded. “You're now on the road to becoming a great enchanter.” He said. “I have no problem declaring you my novice.”
Ren dismissed the popup about getting bonuses for being in Issac's shop while he enchanted, since he was probably never going to be back in the shop anyways. Issac himself had said that Ren had to discover the runes himself, and he wasn't going to find any if Issac guarded them as well as he said enchanters do.
“Thank you so much!” Ren said and gave Issac a hug.
“Hey! Um, okay. Get along now! Go out there and see what you can do.”
“I will!” Ren said and ran from the shop. He shivered in disgust at the feeling of Issac's body when he had to hug him; but, he did it to keep up appearances. He made it a habit to hug everyone that helped him significantly, and he would keep doing it.
It always pays to be nice. Ren thought and went back to Sally's Shop. I've got two days to grind my enchanting. He smiled. Let's see how high I can get it before the quest starts.
It turned out he could get it pretty high, actually. Ren had taken out one of the many swords he had in inventory, and had enchanted it continuously. First with Earth runes, then he hit Beginner Level 5 and could do glyphs with 2 runes combined. It used more Mana, but that was pretty high because of the Wisdom and Intelligence bonuses he'd gained while he worked for the old man alchemist and created potions and Elixirs for himself to boost them.
Ren had several slots filled with Full Health and Full Mana potions, and when he ran out of Mana, he drank a potion and kept going. After almost 48 game hours straight of enchanting, with a brief break to log out and eat and use the bathroom, Ren had his Enchanting skill up to Intermediate Level 1, which gave him 2 glyphs of 3 runes each.
They are going to be so surprised. Ren thought, and left the shop. I can't wait to show them what I can do!