"Welcome to the Origin Textileworks, traveler. Are you looking to buy textiles, clothes, or bandages?" Wow, that's cold, did the NPC already forget about me? You know I have a thirty percent discount and friendly relations with your owner.
Well, at least he didn't call me that stupid name, this is how he greeted me the first time too. These hired NPCs can't measure up to Selena and Tank. As long as he helps me out, I don't care.
The shop is open, even though they closed the doors towards the sheep's back garden. That's where their crafting table was too. Can these mobs use it, or only the players? The walls are barren, it's clear that those guys built the place, and didn't put much effort in.
They went for the smallest footprint possible, building up and down, and no fluff. Did they want to cramp a huge factory into a tiny lot like this? For a single crafting table? Or do they use this as their living quarters too?
And what about security? COTTONEYEJOE said something about locking red-named players out. Nobody's here to enforce it though, and the entrance is wide open. Not to mention, the stairs to the basement and the higher levels are right next to the door.
What would stop anyone from looting this place? The NPC doesn't seem much of an obstacle, and he is staring at a corner, even though he's talking to me. Are there any game mechanics to protect your private property, or they don't even care?
"I'm looking for your boss, and wanted to ask him if he can repair my armor?" Should I also buy some bandages? There are five in the inventory and four more in the stash. You never know when you'll need them, they're cheap and don't weigh much.
No, focus on the armor. I didn't bring money, expecting the bows would sell for more. Unless he accepts rat tails as a payment, there's only two silver and some change in the purse. He stares at the ceiling now, anywhere but at me.
"We can repair clothing, and textile armor sets." Does that mean your boss is around somewhere? The light mail has some metal parts, though the rats couldn't chew through those. I hope it counts as a textile armor.
"It would be this one, can you fix it?" The system prompts me to unequip the set before showing him as if he couldn't look at me. It feels like it's two or more different games Frankensteined into one.
Some parts are amazing and detailed, others are dumb shit like this. The quality is a rollercoaster. He's still not looking at me or the item in my hands, but the conversation continues, so whatever.
"Of course, depending on its condition, it might take up to one hour, and the cost could be one gold." Wow, it isn't cheap, but since they sell it for thirty on the market, it's still better to repair it. His response sounded like he replaced a few words in a pre-recorded message.
"Hey, I'm back. Sorry, I was checking stuff on my other alts." This voice is much more lively and makes me jump. What the fuck? Oh, it's Little Red, she was quiet for a while. Now she scared me and the armor disappeared from my hand.
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Did I accept his offer by accident? He didn't take the money though. Crap, this voice chat or telepathy thing is dangerous. Is it too late to cancel? The NPC walks around in a circle, without doing anything, then returns to the counter, looking to the side.
"I will let you know when it's finished. The estimated price will be five and a half silver." Well, that's that then. At least he didn't demand the money upfront. He can hold on to the armor until I pay, so he's safe.
The character no longer has any damage reduction though. I'll have to pick up the old padded armor and some cash from the stash. A new entry appears in my journal, almost like a quest, saying 'Pick up your item', and the arrow points at the counter.
There are conditions to meet, is this how he'll notify me?
"You scared me," I reply to Lilith, and she chuckles.
"I'm the big scary CrimsonKitten." She has a strained voice, like someone who shouts a lot. If she's using this weird telepathy like me, how would the system even know what she sounds like? Or could she be using an actual microphone? CineMraft is open for PC players too, after all.
She keeps me entertained, heading out of the shop and towards my stash. Let's hope it's not like when I talked to myself on the first day, and players shot those glances at me. It should be safe as long as my mouth isn't moving.
"So yeah, we can be friends if you want, Arnim." She offers, using my real name at last. "I run errands often around Origin when I'm off the school. Trying to level up my wizard character, but it's pretty useless alone."
"I only have this one, hoping to reach the tenth level today." It would have been nice to have a party like hers to help me with that. Although the character who cast Stone Skin already had a class, why does she keep leveling it?
"Haha, good luck, you should be close. Try not to die though." She doesn't have to jinx it. The minimap's counter shows zero when I reach the forest, and the rain stops. Good, it feels even more dangerous and vulnerable to leave the village without armor.
Let's avoid the spawn points too. Go straight for the stash to pick up the padded vest, and a few extra silvers, and unload the rat tails. Without the armor, my gear is around ten kilos so running should be fine too. The faster I'm done here the better.
"If you're not done by tomorrow, do you want to party up and check out the dungeon?" She's nice to offer, but the mission would time out before that. How much would it be safe to share with her? She's still a stranger after all.
"Isn't the dungeon dangerous?" Assuming she means party up only the two of us. The padded vest has its structure points at the max and still has less than the light mail had. It should be fine if it's only an hour though. The shield also needs some repairs, but it's not made of textile.
"Hah, I'll have you know, this character is already level fifty, and has some decent gear." Is that a lot? DragonSlayer is level a hundred and something. No, a hundred and fifty-eight. And he's a multiclass with the Stone Skin spell, and the advantages of a warrior.
"I stole your idea to escalate two ratting jobs, and they should be ready in an hour." Let's hope she won't try to steal them. She'd have to find them first. Can you track your friends in this game? It seems unlikely since you can even turn off your online status.
"Yikes, careful with the Death Rats though." She laughs, the picture of me getting slapped around by a few mobs must be hard to forget. "Those are cool quests, but takes about a day to escalate, and you need some backup on your level."
"Yeah, no, I'll only do Plague Rats." At least that's the plan.