Light flickered and Li Wei found himself in a hall surrounded by players. There were about 1000 players there. Most of them were showing dissatisfied expressions on their face. Grunts and complaints could be heard across the hall.
-"Already over? We can't even train how long we want!"
- “It is unacceptable!”
At that moment an elderly man appeared on a stage in front of everyone. He coughed quietly to gather people's attention.
-" Good afternoon everyone. Unfortunately, the training center is closing for the day. Please come back tomorrow if you want to resume your training but remember that the center is opened from 8:00 to 16:00. Thank you."
Immediately complaints rose from the crowd.
"That's the first time I hear that you cannot complete the tutorial at your own pace"
"We have nothing to do anyway... we can't really go outside the town at this hour..."
The elderly man's face hardened. He clapped his hand and a group of armed guards appeared from behind the stage.
"Sirs, you are the ones who took all your time. 4000 of your colleagues have already left the training center so please don't force us to use force... ah! And for your information, this entry was free but as from tomorrow, one entry will cost 1 silver"
Players wanted to continue to argue but in front of armed guards, they could only keep it inside them. The crowd left the training center with Li Wei following closely behind.
Li Wei did not really mind leaving now, he had already completed his tutorial and he needed to gain experience and the best way to do it was to fight monsters. But he also needed to learn about this town and other common aspects of the game such as items, equipment, and skills.
The crowd slowly started to disperse, each player going in random directions. As for Li Wei, he walked on what seemed to be the main street, looking at each shop, trying to find information.
He walked in front of a massive shop having an insignia representing an ax and a sword in the shape of a cross. Two players stepped out of the shop while discussing among themselves.
-"This is so expensive... the cheapest dagger costs 5 gold... We were given only 1 gold and we also need to consider our accommodation and meals. They are clearly taking advantage of the situation!"
Li Wei overheard their conversation but did not say anything. He actually planned to go into that shop but upon hearing them he gave up this idea. He thought that things were expensive here because he was on the main street. If the logic here followed that of the real world, prices would vary according to the location of the shop. Therefore, it was better to look for more recluse shops for now.
When Li Wei checked his inventory, he found that he actually had 2 gold. When he thought about it, he guessed that each player was given different starting amount of money and he was right. The difference came from the capsule he owned. The low class only got 1 gold, the Middle class got 2, the High class got 4 and VIP got 8.
As for the value of that money, the lowest currency was Coppers, 100 copper were equal to 1 silver and 100 silver were equal to 1 gold.
Li Wei wandered around the town, keeping notes of everything he saw. He instinctively compared the prices and found out which one was the cheapest. Having determined the cheapest place, Li Wei went there and purchased some consumables namely 5 Health potions, 5 bandages, 5 antidotes and 1 Mana Potion.
Health potions were basic necessities, even though they were of grade 0, they restored 20 HP.
Bandages were used to wrap wounds and stop bleeding.
Antidotes were used to cure poison; facing the unknown of the forest, Li Wei preferred to be on the safe side.
Mana potions were also of grade 0 and restored 20 MP. Li Wei bought only one because right now, he had no skills and did not use any MP.
For these, Li Wei spent 10 silver, a considerable sum but cheap compared to the price of equipment. Many players were actually doing the same thing as Li Wei, purchasing necessities for the adventures of tomorrow. It was already late and a bit pointless to go out.
Having completed his purchases, Li Wei resumed wandering and he eventually arrived in front of a huge board on which several announces were posted. He quickly found what he was looking for.
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[Looking for wild mushrooms! If you have any, please sell them to the Solas Department store. Wild mushrooms can be found in the forests north and east of Little Root town. We are purchasing 10 for 50 copper. Unlimited amount accepted.]
[System announcement: you have received the quest "Collect wild Mushrooms"]
[Information]
Collect 10 wild mushrooms and bring them to Solas Department store.
Rewards: 100 exp and 50 copper
Completion: 0/10
This was what Li Wei was looking for, it was written in the guide that the easiest and safest way to gain exp and some money was to collect these mushrooms. They were relatively easy to find and even when hunting, a few additional coppers for collecting them would not hurt.
Having accomplished his goal, Li Wei continued to wander around and ended up in the eastern district of the town.
While walking he found another shop that had the same insignia as the previous Blacksmith shop. Compared to the first shop he saw, this one was definitely not as prosperous; it was notably smaller and the lack of decorations apart from weapons was apparent.
Li Wei quietly entered the shop and was immediately greeted by a grunt. A large muscular tanned man wearing an apron stood up from behind the counter. Displeasure was obvious on his face, but he did not verbally express it.
-"Good afternoon customer, welcome to my blacksmith shop What are you looking for?"
-"I would like to have a quick look around..."
-"Sure, do what you want but it is already 16:50, the shop closes in 10 minutes!"
-"Got it"
The man went back to sit and picked up some newspapers and started reading.
Meanwhile, Li Wei went to look at the wall on the side, several weapons were displayed there, and a price tag was placed below each one of them. He instinctively looked at the daggers being displayed to compare the price with the other shop.
As he expected, the prices were lower, the cheapest dagger cost 1 gold but that was still expensive for Li Wei, he did not want to spend half his fortune on one single item. He continued looking around, but the prices just kept rising. The armor pieces were even more expensive, it looked like the more materials being used, the more expensive the equipment was. It was important to note that everything in the shop was mostly made of metal, lighter leather armors could be purchased at tailor shops.
While Li Wei was debating whether to buy the dagger or not, a thought crossed his mind.
-"Excuse me, but will it be possible to get a discount on this dagger... you are aware of our situation so could you show some kindness to a poor adventurer," said Li Wei while pointing at the 1 gold dagger and trying to look as innocent as possible.
-"Huh? Out of the 100 people that came to my shop today, you are the most shameless one I've seen. In what way are you poor? This old man has worked with metal for years, I can easily smell it and say that you can definitely afford this dagger."
The tanned man then stood up behind his counter and crossed his arms showing that he won't change his mind.
-"But Brother Blacksmith, it is important to maintain good relationships with customers. If you give me a discount, I promise to buy all my weapons here, what do you say?"
-"Who is your brother? Call me Mr. Carlos. As for your offer, what guarantees me that you won't run away after that transaction."
-"Come on Blacksmith Carlos, have you not been in business for years? Can't you tell that I am an honest adventurer?"
-"Tsssk so shameless," he crossed his arms, looking resolute on maintaining his decision but after a few seconds, Carlos added " Are you sure that you will purchase all weapons here? After all, I am only a Grade 0 blacksmith. The main street's shop has a Grade 1 Blacksmith that can produce better equipment"
Hearing that, Li Wei started to inwardly smile, "Yes yes, I am sure. Besides I believe that you will improve and become a Grade 1 Blacksmith in the near future"
-"Hmmp"
Hearing that Li Wei accepted, Carlos quickly took out a document.
-"Then sign this contract, keep in mind that laws are severe and that once signed, the contract must be respected"
Contracts were another element of New Earth, legal laws applied to them so if the player did not keep their promises, penalties would ensure and in the worst case, they would get disconnected from the game.
Li Wei took the contract and attentively read it. It said that Carlos would provide a discount on every item available in the store while Li Wei would exclusively buy all his weapons in this shop. In addition, Li Wei also needed to sell all the blacksmith related resources that he collected here at the market price.
However, Li Wei noticed something else, in smaller characters at the bottom, "The adventurer will within the duration of his stay at Little Root Town sell at least 10 middle-grade iron ores to the shop"
Li Wei could only wryly smile. He did not know where to find the ore or the level of difficulty of this task. After thinking for a while, Li Wei decisively signed the contract, the documents flashed and burnt down to ashes that disappeared in space.
[System prompt: You have accepted the quest "Help Blacksmith Carlos"]
[Information]
Collect 10 middle-grade iron ores
Condition: Unable to leave Little Root Town without 100% completion
Rewards: ???
Completion: 0/10
-"Happy to cooperate with you," said Carlos while extending his hand and smiling.
Li Wei shook his hand but could not help but feel that he made a loss.
-"I can give you 10% discount go ahead and grab it"
-"Only 10 %? Come on, with the close you added, you should at least give me 50%"
Both argued and finally, they settled on 25%. And so, Li Wei spent 75 silver for the dagger.
[Small Dagger](Grade 0)
Damage: 1-3
Requirement: None
Li Wei promptly picked the dagger and placed it on his belt in a tiny sheath that came with the dagger. Not knowing if he made a profit or a loss, Li Wei started to walk towards the exit. But he suddenly stopped and came back to the counter.
-"By the way do you know how to upgrade this ring?" said Li Wei while taking off the Ring of Chaos.
The Blacksmith took the ring and carefully observed it.
-"I have never seen such a ring, rings are usually made by jewelers. However, I can tell you by experience that if you want to upgrade this ring, you will need to improve its material..."
....
After leaving the shop, Li Wei walked into the surroundings to find an inn. After being rejected 2 times because the inns were full, he was finally welcomed in one of them, "The Sleeping Bear". The innkeeper was a middle age woman, she warmly welcomed Li Wei in.
-"Which type of room would you like? Shared, standard or En-suite?"
-"Standard please"
-"That would be 1 silver per night. Meals are not included, 50 coppers per meal"
-"Sure, I'll book a room for 5 nights and a hot meal for tonight. Here's the money. I would also like to take a bath," said Li Wei while handing 6 silvers.
-"Ok, the meal will be served in 1 hour. You can take a bath in the backyard, we have the showers located there." The woman gave back the change and a crystal and explained that it was the key to his room and how to use it.
....
1 Hour later
"Ahhh! I did not know you could take showers in Video Games... that felt really good. Now time for a good meal"
Li Wei went to take his dinner; the dining hall was booming with players, but Li Wei took his meal back to his room on a platter. He wanted to think about the events of today in private. His greatest harvest today wasn't the dagger but rather what he obtained when he asked about the ring.
When the blacksmith was explaining, a system prompt silently came up.
[System prompt: You have triggered the quest "Upgrade the Ring of Chaos(I) "
Collect 10 middle-grade iron ingot (0/10)
Collect 1 beast core (0/1)
Reward: Ring of Chaos (Grade 1)
According to the blacksmith, iron ingots could be made by blacksmiths by processing iron ores. Generally, 5 ores were required for 1 ingot of the same grade. So now Li Wei needed to collect at least 60 of such iron ores for the blacksmith if he wanted to complete all his quests.
As for the beast core, it would apparently be used as a medium for the upgrade. It could not be found in ordinary wild animals; only certain monsters would possess cores.
Li Wei rearranged his thoughts. He started eating his dinner; tonight the menu was a thick soup along with some rice and vegetables. And having nothing to do while eating as he would usually be on his phone, he decided to have a look at the forum to see if there was anything new.