The door creaked open, gaping like a hungry maw. Within, only darkness could be seen. Not a single window opened in the wall of the tavern. Vivian blinked, and a few flickering candles came into view, barely illuminating the stuffy, shadowed space.
As usual, the tavern stood mostly empty. A small party sat in the corner, discussing something. They glanced up sharply at Vivian and Kyung’s arrival, and one of them stood. “Hey!”
Ignoring him, Vivian stepped inside. Kyung hesitated just a beat, then followed.
The party member grabbed Vivian’s arm, and Vivian abruptly recognized him. It’s that guy with the crook! The one who dragged the armored slime away… what’s his name, Skylar?
Skylar squinted at him, leaning in. “Oh. It’s just you.” He released Vivian and turned away.
“What the hell, Skylar. Chase them out,” one of the women said.
“It’s that NPC again, Ana. He’s not going to tattle on us,” Skylar returned, rolling his eyes.
Ana shot Vivian a look. “Are we sure he’s an NPC?”
“I mean, we haven’t been stopped once since the armored slime almost ate him. If he’s a Player, he doesn’t tattle. I mean, right? He’d be a glitch Player if he was. No way a glitch Player would go out of his way to chase down a manners-style Player,” the other man at the table reasoned.
“Fair enough. I’m just saying, it’s suspicious,” Ana argued.
“And Jacob’s saying, it’s none of our business. If he doesn’t want to report us, then we’re all good, whether he’s a glitch Player or a true blue NPC,” Skylar returned, lifting a mug of beer.
“The beer is fine, but don’t have the soup,” Vivian advised them in his best NPC voice.
Kyung shot Vivian a look.
“Hey, thanks, buddy,” Skylar said, rolling his eyes.
Vivian nodded toward the two cannibals sitting at the counter. Come on, let’s get this party started!
Kyung raised his eyebrows, subtly gesturing toward the party. In front of them?
Vivian rolled his eyes and waved his hand a little. It doesn’t matter. It’s NPC-on-NPC violence. An Event!
Kyung pressed his lips together, reluctant. Are you sure? We could wait.
Ignoring him, Vivian strode forward, heading toward the cannibal. No time like the present.
Kyung looked at him for a moment, then sighed. He crept up behind the opposite cannibal.
Anders and Allen chatted away, ignoring the two close behind them.
Vivian put up three fingers. He tightened his grip on his trowel. Two fingers. One.
In sync, Vivian stabbed, and Kyung slashed. Vivian’s eyes flashed. Dig!
His spade darted toward the man’s back. The System guided him, twisting his arm slightly. He saw the shape of the man’s ribs, the space where his spade fit between them. Those roots are too thick—ahem, bones are too thick to cut through. Avoid them, and dig here!
The spade struck home. It dove deep into Allan’s back, passing easily through his flesh as if Vivian dug soft earth. Allan jolted upright, crying out. Blood gushed from his back. He grabbed his chest, touching the tip of the spade where it poked through.
“Ha! Knew it was a good investment!” Vivian said, grinning. He yanked the spade out, and Allan slumped onto the bartop.
Beside him, Anders pressed both hands to his slashed throat. He tried to rise, only for his eyes to roll back halfway up. He thumped onto to his barstool, then fell over backward, collapsing to the floor.
Level +1!
“Alright! Got those two levels back yet?” Vivian asked.
Kyung wiped his blades on his apron. “One.”
“One more to go,” Vivian said, tossing his spade in one hand.
Across the bar, the party jolted to their feet. Beer sloshed over the floor. Skylar stared, wide-eyed. “What—what—”
“I told you! I told you!” Ana said, jabbing her finger at Vivian and Kyung.
Footsteps echoed over the wooden floor from the bar’s kitchen. Vivian snapped upright. “Look sharp.”
Kyung nodded shortly.
Roaring, Angie slammed the door open, brandishing a thigh bone with most of the thigh still attached. “Who—?”
Vivian whipped up his spray bottle and pulled the trigger.
Sptzz!
Stun!
Angie pulled up short. Her eyes glazed.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Kyung whipped past him. He struck quick and short. The scissors’ blade darted across Angie’s throat.
Angie gurgled. She threw the thigh at Vivian, who ducked. It bounced harmlessly off the bar. Angie fell backward, thumping heavily to the floor.
Skill unlocked: [No More Human Meat]
“Good thing I refilled my spray bottle,” Vivian said, spinning it around his finger and tucking it through his belt like a gunman in the Old West.
“I have a spray bottle, too,” Kyung said, eyeing Vivian’s.
“They’re pretty handy. Stun chance?” Vivian asked.
Kyung shook his head. “Blind.”
“Not bad! You should use that more often. Not… that I know how you usually fight, but…”
“Do you want it?” Kyung said. He opened his hand, and a spray bottle appeared.
Vivian raised his eyebrows. He took the spray bottle, looking it over. “I mean, sure.”
Spray Bottle
Dmg: 0
Stun: 40%
Although this weapon does no damage, it has a high chance of inflicting Stun!
“Wait… you said Blind?” Vivian asked.
Kyung nodded.
“This does Stun,” he said.
Kyung held his hand out. Vivian handed the spray bottle back to him. Kyung looked it over, frowning, then pointed it in Vivian’s face and pulled the trigger.
The world went dark.
You’ve been inflicted with Blind!
“Hey! What the hell?” Vivian asked.
“So? Did it blind you?” Kyung said neutrally.
“Yes, but… did you have to test it on me?” Vivian complained, rubbing his eyes. I know it’s just the Tower, but it still stings, dammit! You piggish teammate, why is your first instinct to use it on me?
Kyung snorted quietly. There was a brush of fabric, suggesting he’d put the bottle away. “Equipment doesn’t usually change based on who equips it. I wonder if this is an NPC restriction?”
“Could be,” Vivian said, blinking rapidly. The world slowly faded back into view, emerging from shadowy darkness, and he looked around, taking in the party sitting at the table and the shadowy figure still occupying the back corner table. “Something like, if we equip equipment that we can equip, but isn’t our equipment, the other equipment becomes our equipment when we equip it.”
Kyung gave him a look.
“Equipment,” Vivian said slowly, a smile spreading across his face.
Kyung rolled his eyes. “Let’s go. We’re done here.”
Ana ran over, blocking their way out. “Wait, wait. You two. Is this a new glitch?”
“It’s a great time of year for tomatoes,” Vivian said blandly. Is that what I said last time? I feel like I said it at some point. Eh, close enough.
“It’s too late for that. We know you’re Players. I wanna know how you get the glitch! I want to role-play as an NPC, too,” Ana complained.
“Ana…” Skylar said warningly, coming up behind her. He gave Kyung and Vivian a calculating look, then pointed his hand at them. “Status.”
Name: Vivian | Age: 21 | Sex: M | Level: 11
Role: [Gardener] [NPC]
Name: Cha Kyung | Age: 19 | Sex: M | Level: 10
Role: [Barber] [NPC]
Vivian nudged Kyung. Kyung’s lip twitched, and he gave Vivian’s elbow a look as though he’d like to cut it off.
Come on. Take the hint. “It’s a great season for tomatoes,” Vivian said.
Kyung stared at him for another few seconds, his eyes utterly dead. At last, he opened his mouth, though begrudgingly. “What style would you like?”
“Tomatoes are great to harvest this month!” Vivian said encouragingly.
Kyung shut his mouth and glared into infinity, as if that would make Vivian vanish.
“They’re NPCs, Ana,” Skylar said.
“I know it says they’re NPCs. They’re glitch Players! That’s the whole point!” Ana said.
Skylar shook his head. “Didn’t a pair of NPCs kill the bartenders a day or two ago? It’s an Event. There’s something going on here that the Players haven’t been proccing often enough, so the Tower’s letting us know through this Event.”
“What Event? What kind of Event has a Gardener and a Barber kill the bartender? That doesn’t even make sense! They’d be Guards, at least. Or maybe Adventurers. Floor One still has NPC Adventurers, right?” Ana asked.
“Tomatoes are—” Vivian started cheerfully.
Skylar pulled Ana to the side, clearing the way for them to exit. “Come on. They’re just NPCs. Let them go.”
“Skylar—”
“And if they aren’t, they aren’t worth our time. We’re trying to clear the Floor. We can’t play around with glitches,” Skylar chided her.
Ana twisted her nose. She stared after Vivian and Kyung as they walked out, Vivian deliberately walking with a robotic lilt. “Looks like fun, though.”
“Let’s hit Floor Twenty, then we can talk about it,” Skylar said, waving his hand.
“Deal,” Ana said eagerly.
Jacob sighed. “Skylar, what’d you sign us up for…?”
Vivian stepped out into the light of day and sighed deeply, taking in the world with a smile. “That was way easier the second time. I didn’t even need my clippers!”
Kyung grunted.
“Hey, have you died yet? No, right?” Vivian guessed.
Kyung shook his head. “I don’t intend to.”
“That’s the spirit,” Vivian said, raising his hand, only to awkwardly pat his own shoulder. Damn, I’ve got to remember the no-touchy thing before I make a fool of myself.
He nodded toward the exit gate. “My Mage friend is supposed to come back any time now. Shall we wait for him, maybe polish up our skills a bit?”
Kyung nodded. “I’ll be in my shop.”
“Don’t wanna spar?” Vivian asked, tilting his head.
Kyung shook his head. Leaving Vivian behind, he vanished into his shop.
Well… fair, I guess. He hasn’t died yet. I imagine that’s pretty traumatic, the first time.
I don’t remember my first death. By the time I woke up, I’d already been killed a dozen times. I pretty much had to accept I respawned. If I was in Kyung’s place, I’d probably feel the same about dying. As in, I wouldn’t want to. After all, if I didn’t know I came back… yeah.
I’ve still got some skills to regain, on my part. Might as well take care of that while I’m waiting for the kid. Oh, and that level I just gained…
SP: 6/6
5 SP is nothing. Now that I have [What is Lost], a 3 SP skill, I’m really facing down the barrel of the sad reality that most skills cost more than 1 SP. If I don’t start allocating points to SP now, I’ll never be able to use skills.
I don’t want to rely on the System, and I won’t. But it’s useful to be able to use the System’s skills when I need a boost. There’s a thick line between using the System, and being used by the System and becoming a System junkie.
Speaking of, though, I might as well practice Dig until I make that skill my own, too. I lose my skills when I respawn, but I keep my memories. He drew out his clippers and looked around. An azalea bush caught his eye. Vivian lunged, clipping madly at the bush.
The rough shape of a rubber ducky emerged from the wild lump of the bush. Vivian stepped back, proudly looking down on his work. Even without Trim, as long as I remember how the Trim skill guided my arms and showed me the places to cut, I can still trim!
[Trim] Lvl 1
Vivian glanced at the notification, then nodded silently to himself.
Knowing how to trim is good, but ultimately, it’s not comparable to the Trim skill. After all, I’d need to practice to cut something other than a rubber ducky, and I’m sure the technique I used isn’t the ideal technique for azaleas, as opposed to yews. But the point is, I can at least approximate the System’s skills as long as I spend the time to learn them.
The higher level I get, and the more complex Skills become, the less realistic this becomes. That, and magic skills are right out. It’s not like I could learn the ability to make people notice things less the way [What is Lost] does. But having the basics at hand gives me a head up on being Level One with no skills when I respawn.
“But first, it’s time to grind,” Vivian muttered to himself, calling his rake out of his inventory. Time to relearn all the weapon skills yet again! Yay…