Ch.3
*World's Online-Forums*
'"I can't figure out how you get any quests! All I'm doin is fighting some damn slimes everyday, and I still haven't leveled!"
"How do you look at your Stats?"
"Why is this God Damn F*cking game so HARD?!"
Among the threads of outrage and confusion, there was one that facilitated calmness.
"If you would like to understand World's Online Hard Mode, come here. -Fairy"
The masses flocked to this thread, because of two things; one, they sucked at the game, and two, FAIRY was hosting it.
Most people recognized the handle as one of the top gamers, one that always played a fae class if available, elf if not; a beautiful girl that would smile and laugh... as she destroyed mobs with her ice magic. Even though she was quiet violent, a fan club full of rowdy fanboys sprung up to support her. It was quite popular, you could say, coming to the two millionth mark.
"Now, you came to this thread, confused, angry, and possibly ready to quit this game. I can't let that happen, mostly because I'm one of the people that helped make it. So I'm going to give you a few clues, just a few, mind you. If you can't figure out the rest yourself, just switch to normal mode, it'll be just like any other MMO you've played.
Okay, now to the clues.
1.Don't think of the people in the game as NPCs. They're AIs. And probably smarter than you.
2.There is no Stat Chart. At least for awhile. You still have them, but you're not going to be able to look and see what they are.
3.You can see your level, yes, but most of you probably see a big, fat 1, don't you? Well, you'll probably see that for a while, from the way your going. The only way to level is to either (1) kill mobs stronger than you or (2) get quests.
4.And now we're back to the AIs. I don't know where you spawned, as it IS random, but depending on the town or village or big city you got, the AIs act accordingly in trustfulness. I know most of you suffer from social interaction, but this is the way to get quests.
Oops, did I give too much away? Teehee, no, this game is so confusing, I just scraped the top of the ocean, boyos. Good luck, and try not to die! It huuur~ts.
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In the middle of the farm, I stood surrounded by a moving ocean of wheat, whisking one way and back, moving in designs to spark and artists imagination. Oh, and there were about fifty rats the size of rottweilers showing their fangs in a most gang-like manner.
I settled on the balls of my feet, wondering if I could just stare at the wheat some more. It didn’t seem as if the rats circling me were going to make the first move, and Three was flittering with "oo"s and "ah"s at the farm. It was pretty, I guess, but Third's reactions made me smile. She was always the more innocent one, ready to stop and smell the roses. A small grin slipped on my face at her antics--
They're coming.
I snapped my attention back to the horde, to watch them rush me. Most leaped, and I dodged those, carefully stepping on the ones that thought they could bite me from below. Skipping from their heads I knocked about five to the ground before a scream of rage burst from their throats. Beady eyes turned red, showing their enraged status, and they charged me again, this time covering all angles. Well, until I punched a few out of the way, their limp forms flinging past the wheat, buried by beauty. I punted those coming at my feet, and twisted, in a move I had combined from the various martial arts I had learned over the years, to snap a side-kick at the rats behind me, palm slapping the ones in the air.
The remaining rats backed off, startled. Half of their numbers were reduced to twitching corpses, none seeming to have the ability to get up again.
Humph, like these peasants can-
HA! Did you see the looks on their faces--!
Aww, poor little rats... though they ruined the wheat...
*Snort* Do you see the look of fear in their disgusting eyes?
'Ssssh', I thought to them. The rat's seemed to be rallying. A bigger one, the size of a bear, swaggered forward, fangs descended from his muzzle. 'Probably the big bad boss,' I thought.
"Get off my land, you meat sack!" The Boss rat squealed at me, rather comically, with his high pitched voice. I couldn't help it, I snorted. A clamor of laughter filled my head, so it wasn't just me amused, but, I mean, come on. He was a rat the size of a brown bear, and he SQUEAKED.
Of course, this just made the squeaker—I mean, Boss rat, even more enraged, as he squealed, "I was going to let you go, but after that, forget it! Charge!!!"
Oh God, I was dying. Figuratively of course. His voice... Snicker. Waves upon waves of rats rushed me, way more than the initial count of fifty. Just as I was thinking that--
You have Enraged the Area Boss!
Quests are raised one difficulty
A box popped in my view, followed quickly by--
Rid the Farm of the Area Boss and his minions!
Difficulty F
Kill the Boss Rat
Reward
1 Silver for the boss' tail
Increased affinity with the village of Fluegerveagen
Wow, a Boss on my first try—Too bad he's a squeaker toy—Shhh, Fourth. I swiped away the boxes then concentrated on the incoming rush of furry bodies. I thought came to me, and I decided, what the hell, let's do something fancy. So I jumped, closed my eyes and--
Left.
Kick.
Do that Matrix thing.
Bottom Behind.
Twist Kick.
Flip, Hammer foot.
Palm Strike.
The instructions continued to come, and I systematically demolished the horde of over a hundred rats, leaving only the Boss remaining. I landed on the ground, slightly winded, and popped my neck. Turning, I looked at the stunned face of Squeaker Toy, aka the Boss. He seemed to be shivering. Was that a puddle of—It smell's like piss—Thank you, Fourth.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"U-u-uh. Y-y-you know, we c-c-could j-j-just let this pass, r-right?" The Squeaker stuttered out. I think his voice even rose a few octaves. It was actually hurting my ears to hear him speak.
I tilted my head, as if I was thinking about it, and Squeaker got a hopeful expression on his face.
Sucker.
I smiled, the one that Fourth said made me look like a scary SOB, and simple said, "Nope." Before Squeaker could run, I rushed his position, punching him in his little snout, then kicked him in the air. Airborne, he flailed until I punched him in the diaphragm, then jumped and slammed him back into the ground. I considered the sack of fuzz and blood in front of me, and punted him about ten meters. Walking calmly over to him, I set a foot on his throat and pressed down slowly. Muffled squeaks could be heard, until a quick snap sounded out, and poor little Squeaker's head lolled to the side, the light going out of his eyes.
Level Up!
You are now Level 2!
Ranked F Quest Complete!
Take your findings back to the farmer.
Ranked G Quest Complete!
Take your findings back to the farmer.
With a ding, three boxes inserted themselves in front of my vision, and I swiped them to the side. Then I looked around. The field was in disrepair, bodies bloodied and lying everywhere, wheat crumpled down, and I think Third was crying in my head. But it w-was so p-pretty... Sigh, I never knew how to soothe Third. She felt things I barely even thought about. I shifted her crying to the back of my head, and got to work.
Since I had no knife or any sort of sharp object, I just picked up one of the rats, grasping the bottom end, since the front was still dripping blood. Firmly holding the butt—Pffffft—Second, you have the Humor of a two-year-old. Firmly. Holding. The butt. I grabbed the tail and pulled. With a pop, the tail came cleanly off, like a gecko's tail, only difference was the spray of blood.
"Really?" I said, my arms covered in red goop. Giggling started in my head, but I ignored them as I proceeded to gather 50, as per the quest wanted.
Finally, I dropped the bundle next to the now-dead Squeaker, and studied it. I looked at my hands, covered in blood and on the small side, and looked at the tail. It was about the size of a fire extinguisher, and my hand would just slip off...
It's just TOO big...
Some people just have a hard time getting a GRASP on things.
I donno, it looks kinda like an octopus.
Dick joke, dick joke, Big Black Dick joke.
I would put my hands in my face, but, blood. "Shut up you dinguses. Why am I stuck with you?"
Because you love us?
I smiled at that. "Yes, Third I... like you all a lot." Love wasn't in my vocabulary, but that's why I had Third. She was the good side of me.
Now, back to the problem. I shrugged, then stepped on the back of the rat with both legs and picked up the tail with both hands. Staring down uncertainly, I gave it a few test yanks, then pulled with all my might. The tail separated with a sickening pop, but I pulled too hard, my momentum flying backwards, and I landed ass-first on Squeaker's bloody, broken back. Well, that went swell. To make it even better, the crowd in my head were an orchestra of laughter, from a high pitch giggle from First to Fourths booming laugh.
Sigh. I got up and dragged my sore ass over to the other tails. Taking the giant one in my hand, I bundled them all up and tied them all up with Squeaker's tail. There. It's like a present, complete with a bow.
No one wants that as a present.
I tilted my head at First's words, but since I didn't have many good memories of presents, I didn't argue. Throwing the load over my shoulder—My clothes were already covered in blood, so what the hell—I walked out of the field.
Entering the village was a little of a hassle, as the guards tried to stop me, but I just pointed with my free hand to the tails and said, "Quest." Both males in their thirties, the guards hesitantly stepped back, but their hands were still on their swords.
As I walked through the village, most people gave me one look and ran. I was used to it, so I didn't notice, but the chorus in my head were making a racket. Ignoring them, I strolled down the alley to where the farmer was before.
Sitting on a bench in front of a little cottage, a bag at his feet, he had his head in his hands. His body language said he had given up on life... or something. I never could get emotions right.
Tired of holding the bundle, I thumped it down at his feet. He jumped, and did a quick take at my face, then the bundle, then my face, then the bundle, then--
"Ok. Yes. Hello. I finished your quest. Oh, and I also beat the area boss." I stopped the bobble head motion before he got a concussion or something. Now he was just staring up at me, open mouthed.
I motioned to the tails that were bleeding into his shoes, and he quickly looked down again, then up at me. I sighed. Was this man simple?
He's probably just shocked
Or and idiot.
I was more leaning toward Fourth's line of thought, when the farmer said, "Umm, w-well, yes. Thank you for, um, defeating the vermine and, um, the area boss." Under his breath, he muttered, "Thank God, I can go back to my house."
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
You are now Level 5!
I heard three dings, as the level up signs popped up. I guess I got the experience only when I turned the quest in. Looking down at the farmer, I saw he was fiddling with his bag, until he pulled out a small purse. "Um," The farmer started, "Here's the 50 copper and 1 silver. Thank you for ridding my crops of the pesky things. I was almost out of a livelihood!"
Don't say anything, cautioned First, so I didn't mention that the farmer didn't really have any crops... unless he was in the business of rat meat. But I got what I came for.
Opening my inventory, I walked away, inserting the pouch. Inventory was pretty much the only thing this game's menu provided, other than your name and level. I already had a pouch of 5 copper, which you're given at the start of the game, and ten pieces of bread. Placing my jingling reward into the interdimensional space that held your goods, I took out one piece of bread. Like in real life, my body was slow to hunger, and I rarely ate. A doctor I went to once said that my digestive system baffled him, and he was uncertain how I was able to even function. He told me that nutrients was the only thing I was lacking, and suggested that I at least take vitamins once a day. Back then, the voices in my head were barely a whisper, but I got a positive note from them, so it's been my habit to eat one every morning.
Of course, when I did finally obey the summons of my stomach, it was usually some bread or jerky. Tearing into the bread, I smiled in...happiness-- right, happiness, at the familiar taste.
Oni
Level 5
55c1s
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So, this one ended up longer than I thought it'd be, it just kept GOING. Welp, hope you like it. Comment and shit, that'd be great. :P