Beatrice used her Personal Information Device (PID) to migrate my dims from the external microchip to my newly gained internal one. Following this, she added another hundred credits from the sale of Dire Wolf meat to my account as we journeyed to the nearby outfitter. I wanted to check out their armor options.
As with most MMOs, my outfit was ridiculous by my own standards. Then again, leotards, thigh-high boots, and shoulder pads weren't in my wardrobe in real life. It didn't bother me too much, especially when I walked into the shop and saw what the cashier was wearing.
The individual working at the counter adorned themselves in a full body leotard in a light shade of purple, concealing their head and face. Over it, they had shoulder pads in a bright shade of yellow, which protruded outwards like wings, and a chest-plate constructed from metallic pieces that were painted in a vivid shade of green.
The shopkeeper's fashion sense may have been unusual, but the clothing options were quite typical, with a lot of earthy tones. I expected rotary racks or digital screens displaying selections rather than tall mirrors and dressing rooms. But I ignored the iron and picked out some a pair of blue jeans and shirts. At the counter, I discovered that the storekeeper's attire included a literal box skirt. I didn't inquire further, simply paid and departed.
Getting myself a land parcel replaced my disappointment at the lack of armor sets in the shop with joy. I must admit that I've had little experience with games that dragged on with their tutorials, and receiving a land parcel after nearly a full day of gameplay was feeling like an overwhelming amount. In the back of my mind, a thought was taking root, 'What if this isn't a game? What if I'm in some isekai or portal adventure?'
The thoughts persisted as I changed out of my costume. Beatrice escorted me to Town Hall. The process of registering for the land plot was considerably faster because of my pre-existing chip implant. Once the initial stamping was complete, it was still not considered mine until I received a second stamp. Bureacracy at its finest.
Using the distraction to get my mind away from the strange thoughts of being transported to a new world, I refocused. “So since the Frontier shop didn’t teach me how to skin a rabbit, how am I supposed to pick up the skill?”
“You took that long in there and didn't get trained? Get back there and get it sorted,” she stormed off towards a vehicle parked near Quentin's shop.
Bags in hand, I watched her leave, feeling a strange pang of dismissal. Was the helper NPC done? Did it mean the tutorial was over? More questions danced through my mind as I went back to the Frontier office where the bored girl was still very much bored behind the counter.
“Please take a number and we'll be with you momentarily,” she droned.
“There's no one else in here, can I just—”
“Please take a number and we'll be with you momentarily,” she said in a more definitive tone.
I pulled a number from the dispenser with gusto and held it up with an 'are you happy now' look.
That got me a sigh and an eye roll before she set down a small sign between us that read, 'On lunch, be back in 30 minutes'.
As I held my number, my frustration grew by the second. The girl didn't want to assist me, and I would not waste my time waiting around again. This tutorial was already way too long.
"Come on, can't you just answer a quick question?" I pleaded. "There's no one else here and I really need some help."
"Rules are rules," she replied flatly, not even looking up from a secondary device she brought out. The screen was cracked, and when she turned it on, the display was a mess. Muttering under her breath, she brought out her phone again and focused on some kind of game, tapping away at the screen.
The music was familiar, so I tried to get a peek at what she was playing. I'd seen something like it before - bright colors, animated characters. Was that some kind of mobile game? I didn't think the developers would make games inside their own game, but it wouldn't be the first time.
My curiosity got the better of me. "What game is that?" I asked.
She glanced up, surprised that I was still standing there. "It's an RPG, do you know what those are?"
The pixelated style and characters cinched it for me and I was too excited to respond to her snarky question. Instead, I asked her what it was called.
"Last Fantasy Six," she frowned and glanced at me.
"Let me guess, it's about a girl who's an Esper and you start off as some treasure hunter that reluctantly helps?"
That perked her up. "Have you played it?"
"You can say that." As a child, I was a fanatic for that game. I spent countless hours immersing myself in the intricate narratives, becoming intimately acquainted with each character's backstory and unique abilities. Especially the special combo skills!
"Amelia! What are you doing?" A large, bearded man came out from the back room, interrupting our discussion. "We've got customers waiting!"
"I'm just getting off my break. Hold your volchaks," Amelia said, shooting me an intrigued look. "Our guest from earlier is back."
The manager turned to look at me skeptically. I gave him a friendly smile and explained I was new in town and had some questions about registering as a Frontiersman and needing some lessons on skinning rabbits.
He looked down at my catch and nodded. "Alright then. Amelia, get this boy signed up. I'll handle the shop."
Amelia hesitated, but then folded her phone and stored it in her pocket. "Alright! It's this way..."
Despite the tense situation at the beginning, our shared curiosity about a certain Esper's life seemed to have lightened the mood. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the badge with a familiar character on Amelia's back, along with the small red ball hanging over its head.
I trailed behind Amelia, who led me to a rear chamber and pointed at a chair. Afterward, she retrieved a tablet, presented it to me, inviting me to sit down. "Alright, first things first - I need to get some info about your prior experience. Have you done any hunting or trapping before?"
I nodded. "Yeah, my grandfather taught me a lot about that kind of stuff when I was a kid."
Amelia nodded, typing away, "What kinds of things did he teach you?"
"How to set snares and traps. How to gut and clean fish. He even taught me how to track big game and identify different animal prints." I smiled. The rose-colored glasses were tinting my memories of the cranky old man.
Amelia typed away on her notes. "Why are you taking this course? You must be proficient in skinning and preparing your catches already."
"Uh, well..." I rubbed my neck awkwardly. "I was kinda squeamish about it so he would take care of all that after we were done hunting or whatever."
Amelia raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh really? Mr. Big Tough Outlander was too grossed out to skin a bunny?" She grinned teasingly.
I felt my face flush with embarrassment. "Hey, I was just a kid! Blood and guts freaked me out back then." We both laughed. It felt odd to admit now, but it was the truth.
"Don't worry, we'll get you over that real quick," Amelia's boss said with a wink as he came in with some tools.
I spent the next half hour telling them all about my experience, with some good natured teasing sprinkled in. By the end, I was feeling a lot more comfortable with them. That they were NPCs had already completely slipped my mind. I was too caught up with the fact that I had myself a few new skills!
----------------------------------------
“Amelia, can you tell me where I can get a PID?” I asked, hoping she had a more convenient answer.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"We don't have an authorized dealer out here for them. You'll have to go to Telstra, unfortunately,” she replied with a grimace. “You could walk there, snag a lift with someone hauling deliveries, or tame a volchak to ride.”
“Wait, what's a bowl, jack?” I asked, confusion clear in my voice.
She laughed, “It's pronounced vol-chak. It’s a blend of the words 'bowl' and 'jack', but with a 'v' and a 'ch' sound. And to clarify, they're those formidable panther lizards the Spectrii ride around.”
I blinked in surprise. “Really? How can I get my hands on one of those?”
Amelia smirked, “First, you need to be brave enough to tame 'em.”
“Do you own one?” I asked, curiosity piqued.
She shook her head, a laugh escaping her lips, “No! I have no interest in those things.”
Taken aback, I inquired, “Uh, may I ask why not?”
“Volchaks are incredibly dangerous to find because of their breeding grounds being near some of the Fire Geyser Springs. And they can bite a limb off quicker than they can smash you with those massive paws.”
"I have to say, that sounds like a delightful proposition," I dripped with heavy sarcasm, each word stressed with a playful roll of my eyes.
"I only mentioned it because it's a viable choice," she responded, her tone defiant yet laced with a hint of humor. "If you're insane enough to consider it."
"Well, given the choice, I'd rather keep all my limbs attached and my bones in one piece," I retorted in playful exasperation.
"Then it looks like you're left with two options," she concluded with a shrug. "Either walk it on your own two feet or find yourself a more conventional mode of transportation."
“How often do the shipments go out?” I sighed, resigned to the fact that getting around this game was going to involve a lot of hitchhiking.
“Depends. Right now it's not harvest season, so mostly it’s when people find something that’s of high value. That, or something incredibly rare that the rich folk back in town might enjoy.” She quirked her cheek to the side as she thought.
“Rich folk? Aren’t all of you frontier people actually out here, frontiering?”
“Nope, there are a few people that feel like the 'frontiering' is beneath them. As some would call us, the second generation snot-nosed kids that grew up pampered back in Telstra.”
“How many generations are on this planet so far?”
“Well, if you consider a generation being every eighteen years, then I guess the third generation is already being born now?”
I do the math and recall that Beatrice had mentioned she was a first generation frontier-woman, “Wait, Beatrice is in her fifties?”
Smack. “Never ask a woman her age.”
"When did you get here?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head as Beatrice walked up next to me at the counter.
“Doesn't matter, the fact stands. You should never ask a woman her age.
Amelia nodded in agreement.
"Either way, those jokers are all spoiled with imports from Rior," Beatrice continued.
“Rye or?”
“I wouldn't say spoiled," Amelia put her devices into a bag, " But they are nice to have if you can afford them. The Anh’Qatar and Spetrii have some pretty advanced tech."
“Oh, so that's where they come from? What’s the name of this planet, then?” I asked.
“It’s called New Terra.” Beatrice sighed and Amelia rolled her eyes.
“How original," I deadpanned.
“Yup. The best part is, this is New Terra thirty-something, if you count all the Ark ships that left Terra originally. I guess some of the other planets didn’t use the boiler plate to name everything. "But officials don't have a reputation for their amazing originality," Beatrice ranted, "since they're too busy spending all our energy reserves and funds on their Rioran toys."
“I’m sensing some animosity here. Did they kick your dog or something?” I chided.
“Something like that.” Beatrice sucked her teeth.
"Oh?" I looked at Amelia, who shrugged and shook her head.
Beatrice's eyes narrowed, her gaze boring into the counter. Amelia shot me a look of concern and fidgeted with the phone. I watched as she loaded up Last Fantasy Six, her fingers dancing across the screen. She didn't start the game though, instead; she let it idle on the home screen. The dark colors and dramatic music accentuating the tense atmosphere.
Beatrice continued to mutter under her breath, something about spoiled kids and Rioran toys. I glimpsed a grimace on her face before she quickly hid it behind a swig from a flask.
Amelia bit her lip and shot me another worried glance. I gave her a small nod, signaling that I was okay and that I would handle this. I had dealt with grumpy old folks before - hell, my grandpa was one of them - and I had a feeling that Beatrice was more bark than bite.
"So," I started, my voice cutting through the silence like a knife through butter, "I'm leaving now, thanks!"
Beatrice glanced up at me, her eyes hard but not unkind, taking another swig from her drink. "Well, boy, you're officially registered now. You got your gear, your PID, and even made some dims today. Now you need to figure out what you want to do here."
I blinked at her, surprised by her response. "What do you mean?"
"The frontier is not like Telstra, son," she said, exhaling deeply. "It's not all fun and games out here. We work hard every day, from dawn to dusk. Can't treat it like some game where you only log in, play for a few hours, and then log out when you're tired."
I felt a small pang of guilt at her words. That was exactly what I was planning - to explore the world at my leisure, to live out my adventures with no real consequences. But her words felt oddly true, and they were a stark reminder that I had yet to figure out how the game actually worked — or how to log out.
"So," she continued, her gaze unwavering, "you need to sort out what you want to do here. Are you going to be a farmer? Hunter? Tradesman? Or are you just going to wander around aimlessly until you run out of dims?"
A lump formed in my throat, making it hard to swallow. I hadn't viewed it in that light. I had been so enthralled by the allure of embarking on a fresh adventure that I hadn't contemplated the practical aspects.
I struggled to find the right words, or even understand why an NPC had me thinking so deeply. "I don't know."
Beatrice snorted at that, her lips curling into a smirk. "Well boy," she said, leaning forward with a twinkle in her eye, "you better figure it out fast. Because the frontier ain't got no time for indecisive folks."
It felt all too familiar. Butes and Alex's words rang out in my mind. I had to sort myself out before I met up with them. Stars, I had to figure out how to find them! Until then, I hadn't come across any other players. If this was the tutorial town, it had to be separate because I should have encountered many others by then.
"But don't worry," Beatrice added with a chuckle. "You got plenty of time to figure it out. Just remember - the frontier is what you make of it."
The words made me smile. Beatrice was right - the frontier was what I made of it. And I was going to make the most of it. After all, I had a new adventure to embark on, new skills to learn, and new friends to meet. The possibilities were endless. And for the first time since I had logged into this game, I felt truly excited about my choice.
As Beatrice and Amelia talked again, I leaned back in my chair, lost in thought. The frontier was mine for the taking - and I was ready to seize it.