I explained what I could over dinner, clarifying details regarding the destruction of Elm’s universe and the status of the fragments as Sinbad followed along, his eyes glinting. He asked in-depth questions about the different universes, his curiosity about the different cultures and sights nearly overwhelming. He was an explorer, after all.
Once his questions ran dry, I approached the subject of Zenith Online.
“There is one additional tidbit of information you may be interested in,” I added tactfully. Across the table, Sinbad slipped another piece of meat off his plate in front of the waiting Ani. Ani flicked his tail in joy, devouring the meat in one bite.
“Oh?”
“The ‘worlds’ I’ve been traveling to are fictional ‘stories. Mostly from books, but yours is a special case,” I blurted, getting the most challenging conversation segment out of the way.
His eyes danced like those of a puppy in the light. “So you’ve been interacting with living tales and legends?” he wondered softly.
Thinking on the quality of the works I’d ended up in, legends was a bit of a stretch, but I supposed it was accurate enough for the time being. “Yes.”
He dug through his pockets, pulling a full-sized book out of somewhere it definitely wouldn’t fit. Inventory was a very useful skill indeed.
…if that book fit in his pocket, would my now-empty backpack fit in my pocket? If so, would the items in it be added to the inventory in my pocket, or would I have to dig the backpack out to check? I vowed to test out the capabilities when I had spare time.
He flipped through the pages, then gently glided the book over the table so I could read. “Does that mean legends like Heirs are real?”
In slight disbelief, I skimmed over the pages. There, printed in black, was Heirs. I thumbed through the book, scanning the pages. The writing style differed from the one in my world, but I was certain it was the same story. “Yes. This was my first world.”
Sinbad leaned over the table excitedly, displacing Ani from his lap. “Amazing.” That realization sparked another inquisition as question after question about the previous worlds I’d visited fell from his lips.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
I flipped the book shut and drummed my fingers on the cover. “...aren’t you curious about the story you’re from?”
Sinbad shook his head venomously. “Not in the least. I’m an explorer. I’ve spent my entire life searching for new adventures and new surprises. My ‘story’ won’t be exciting if I know what will happen.”
A very unique perspective. It was the same sentiment I’d decided on for other reasons. I didn’t want the responsibility of having to act on my knowledge. In contrast with the younger and more adventurous Sinbad, I felt foolish and cowardly.
It made me wonder if my desire to inform the characters was because I wanted to avoid the heavy burden of future knowledge or if it was because I genuinely believed it to be the correct method. I couldn’t tell.
“We should explore the town this evening. If I recall correctly,” and I was sure I did, “there are some…people… who only roam the streets at night. It might save us time later on our quest.” Speaking the word ‘quest’ in a sentence like that disconnected me from the world, reminding me that this was, indeed, a video game and not reality. ‘Quests’ were not something that existed in the modern day. Or were called such, at any rate.
“I defer to your judgment,” Sinbad said, angling his head in a slight bow. His excitement was palpable.
Monsters and player killers alike were banned from entering the towns and cities, meaning (barring specific missions) they were perfectly safe to roam at night. I relayed this information to Sinbad, suggesting he remain within the city boundaries. Any information regarding his companions I kept to myself, respecting Sinbad’s wishes in the matter, although I was tempted to inform him he wouldn’t find any here.
We split at the entrance to the Inn to cover more ground, vowing to return in an hour. Knowing we had three more days, I wasn’t too concerned about the Merchant’s quest and set that aside for later. My objective for the evening was to roam through and collect and complete what simple fetch quests I could by speaking to every NPC I saw.
To my luck, or rather, simple statistics as Zenith Online was a lazy game padded out to the extreme with fetch quest after fetch quest after fetch quest, the first quest I collected was hardly further than a couple feet away from the inn. My notebook and pen appeared in my hand when I reached into my backpack, and I jotted the information down before dropping the notebook and pen into my endless pockets, moving on to the next NPC.
There was a map near the large fountain in the center of the city, and after collecting a few quests, I used it and the quest details I’d written down to plan my path to the city, maximizing my time. As I predicted, the fetch quests were simple. Bring someone milk. Oh no, the store’s out of it too. Pick up milk for the store from the dock. The key to the warehouse is missing. Find the key. Etc, etc.
Even in person, I found fetch quests to be boring, monotonous work. Perhaps they were even more so, as there were no cutscenes to skip, and politeness fixed me in place as the NPCs drawled on and on and on. I managed to collect a decent number of coins in the meantime, as I’d planned around time passing quicker in-game than it did in real life. Delightedly and somewhat oddly, game time proved not to apply while I was here, and I managed to slip in a few extra quests.
By the time Sinbad and I met back up, my wallet was significantly heavier.