"You can play long-range support with this, and stay out of harm's way."
DragonSlayer offers a recurve bow and a loaded quiver.
The stats show up in the trade window before accepting it, and holy shit.
First off the system estimates the price at twenty gold, and the bow has a plus-five median.
The arrows deal three damage, and combined that's double what the current setup can do.
Not even the sword comes close.
"I-I can't buy it..."
The answer has him scoff, and the window's border turns green.
This means he finalized the offer without asking for anything in return.
"It's mid-tier loot, only dead weight." He claims, sounding nervous.
A grown-ass man acting this bashful, and people said I was hopeless.
Once the transfer is complete, he's fast to change the topic.
"Joe, you wanna come too? When was the last time you ran a proper mission?"
"Ah, skip, skip. I'm on me crafter alt, an' gone an' got meself the Textile Works."
COTTONEYEJOE waves him off, nodding to Selena.
"Did Noob deliver them bandages then? If yer needin' more, I got a whole five hundred right 'ere, about to pop 'em down the market?"
It's hard to decipher what he's mumbling, but the Assistant flashes a warm smile at him, and what is this? Jealousy?
It looks like she has other favorites too.
She can't answer before DragonSlayer slams him in the back though.
This attracts other players' glances.
"All right, carebear, have fun with your boring company."
He says, but the blue name suggests he's also one such carebear according to Wroddit.
If he did a lot of PVP his name would be grey at best.
"I'll take the contract and this guy too."
"Have a good hunt, sir Dragonslayer."
Selena hands over the parchment and winks like she predicted this whole thing.
And when did the three ratting errands end up in the inventory?
They're all in the eastern part of the village.
Damn, she's good.
The player nods at the exit and she starts bartering with Joe. So this is how the Guild looks when it's busy?
Or at least when the patches turn everything upside down.
It's loud with excited and angry chatter, while the billboards are emptier than ever.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Dragon Dude waits for nobody, so the character rushes after him.
Other players step aside as if he were some bigwig, and many wave at him or nod their heads.
To this guy? Who almost blushed while talking to me?
Shy or not, the system shows that he sent a friend request, so let's check the new gear later.
"We'll party up later, that way you won't have to share the Exp. You'll take full for all your kills, and keep the loot too."
That sounds like a generous offer, it might even be too generous.
As we leave, the red-named thugs are back in their usual place, and glare at us. Is he some celebrity here?
If the gankers hate him that's a good sign, unless it gets me into trouble.
He's not slowing down and doesn't wait for answers either.
"There's a place near this bandit camp I wanted to check out, you can snipe as much as you want until then. I'll come in after five minutes and finish the rest, does that work for you?"
Oh, so you want me to run the whole gig, huh?
His voice gets lower as we move as if he got more comfortable outside the Guild.
"Ah um, yes, thanks. What if something goes wrong?"
"I'll be close enough to intervene."
From nervous, he got very chill about this. What could his level be?
Wait. If the task takes us outside the village, he could stab me in that back whenever he wants.
Yes, my paranoia is alive and well, even if his name is blue, and he sent a friend request.
Well, the gankers' glare made him at least a bit sympathetic.
On top of that, both the Textile Dude and the Assistant seem to like him.
Come on, Arnim, it's five thousand Exp.
And he gave a decent bow, worth more than all my stuff, and the way looting works, he might lose it if he kills me.
Okay. If he can't win anything from betrayal it should be all right.
It doesn't mean I trust him, only that the rewards are too tempting.
We move through the streets where the ratting errands will be later.
It's incredible if Selena calculated with this too.
This small talk thing doesn't work between us though.
He remains quiet on our way and where do you start anyway?
Is it okay to ask about his real-life stuff or something about the game?
What if it's too personal and bothers him?
Considering how the other players looked at this guy, let's stay on his good side, if he wants to talk, he can.
After a better look at him, his gear doesn't match his name.
It's not some heavy armor that could protect him from dragons.
It's a light mail and protectors, no helmet.
He carries a backpack, an axe, and a bow that looks like he got it straight out of a fantasy title.
Well, this is a fantasy game.
Except the stuff encountered so far was rather grounded.
This settlement is like a medieval village from a history book rather than a magical place.
Early on a few players in fancy armor walked around and the Guildmaster is a wizard.
Zombies aren't exactly normal either, even if they look like people addicted to phones.
Most things are so lifelike that it's hard to tell them from reality.
We leave the village and bypass the spawn points nearby.
The stash is close too, and it still needs a chest to keep the items safe.
Tank didn't reset the tutorial, damn it, how is it possible to keep forgetting that shit, running by him so often?
"Their camp's that way, the map shows a hundred meters."
The player stops for a second, even though nothing is visible.
We are in the middle of the dense forest, almost a kilometer from the village.
"Okay, sniping them from here won't work. The woods are in the way."
He moves slower and the name disappears, which means he's in stealth mode.
We are still far so let's hope the character's stumbling won't reveal his position.
"There's that small hill."
He stops to point at a clearing ahead, and the trees are more sparse beyond it.
The edge of the bandit camp comes into view, everything's quiet.
"You'll get clear shots from there. Or if you're worried, wait a few minutes, and we can go together."
Is he mocking me?
To avoid making a noise, all he gets is a head shake.
He pats the character's shoulders and disappears into the forest.
It looks as if he teleported, one moment he's there, and gone in the next.
This stealth thing looks crazy. There's no sound, even though the minimap still shows his green dot moving away.
The bandit camp is still too far to show up on the counter, so it's hard to tell how many of them are. A note to self: never piss off this guy.