[Dear Tank, you lost the bet. Noob took combat tasks and even killed some undead on his own. You owe me one gold piece and a good meal to this child. Much love, Selena, the Guild Assistant who better understands the humans than you do.]
That self-satisfied grin on her face is priceless.
"One gold?!"
These guys must be rich.
She laughs, folding the letter, and I can't help but think how long it would take to earn that much from these errands.
Also, what child? She doesn't look older than thirty, even less when acting like this.
"So take this to the Training Grounds?"
"Please, if you will. There are some things to prepare for your exam, and you should also rest before it begins."
While spending that time grinding more Exp would be better, the avatar is at her mercy.
There's nothing to do without the tasks only Selena can hand out.
"Okay then. I'll be back in an hour."
This gives some food for thought, leaving the Guild's halls.
The devs copy a single villager for every ratting job while letting these NPCs troll each other.
And that wording in the letter with the human part, is she self-aware?
"Enjoy your meal." She waves, as always, without a single glitch.
Her expressions are what you'd expect from a smug official bored out of her mind.
If it's an actress trying to fool players she's damn good at it.
Ugh, think of that trader girl by the market, that's how an AI behaves.
For what did this game win an award, the wildest swings in quality?
Whatever, let's focus on the task at hand.
And not on that little errand to take her letter to the Trainer, the ones I'll be doing once this exam's over.
The forum said they create those on demand, but there are no guarantees they'd know what they talk about.
[Government Issued Quest: Reach Level 10 within 3 days. Importance: Utmost. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 6/10, Exp to next level: 373/3200. (39/72 hours left).]
E-rank quests, huh?
If she's willing to give three of them close to each other, that's fifteen hundred points.
How long did it take to clear one? Five minutes, ten?
Let's count with one hour for three, as there's the back and forth to the guild, and the grouping isn't guaranteed.
"Let's see, that's um, forty-seven divided by..."
Catching the red-named thugs follow with their eyes is enough to stop the mumbling.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Why does the system let them hang around on the main square all day, when it's clear they're up to no good?
Even if there's nothing here to kill for, they urge people to walk faster.
Thank God the Training Grounds are this close.
It would be nice to know what level these gankers are.
The tutorial's tooltip claims nobody over the tenth can enter, so it should be safe if they're above that.
Ah fuck, yes, only until the avatar reaches it, which should be soon too.
"It'd take thirty hours to clear the Govt Quest with these ratting jobs and nine remains for sleep."
Since the feds want twelve hours of gameplay anyway, this is better than having no plan, even if not by much.
"Thirty fucking hours."
Well, this is the worst-case scenario, of course.
If they give another promotion, shit could go even faster.
And the current math left plenty of room for error and used generous rounding. This is possible.
As Baldie predicted, it won't be easy, but there is a way out now.
The best part is how the Assistant stressed about all the ratting jobs and was thankful for taking them.
Rather than how the Boss treats the boys in the real world, Selena tries her best to push someone forward.
It's not even a question if she likes her work.
"She must be popular with the other players too."
This might be the only thing that hints at her being a real NPC because humans are dicks.
They have every reason to be, as most of us no longer have the luxury of a job. Besides, what would they get out of being nice to others?
Mom's example shows that no matter how kind you are, it won't save you from illnesses.
Dad proved that running away is the easiest, and not even a family can survive everything.
He didn't like fixing stuff, he did it so people would rely on him, to make him matter.
He didn't care about anyone though.
When he left us with all that broken crap we sure felt that he was gone.
At least he taught the basics, so there was no angry mob to worry about, only Mom with her worsening condition.
And then, that ended too and it was quiet until the boys showed up.
The Boss would not fuck around, he beats everyone until they do as he pleases, then give them some scraps.
In comparison, the Guild Assistant never demanded anything.
She asked, and offered fair rewards, going above and beyond with the exploits and all.
Yes, the bar is low, she didn't have to do anything special.
"What's wrong with me?"
This is getting out of hand. Does the game trigger these emotions, or is this how the brain rebels against maths?
It's too late anyway, the solution to that equation was thirty hours.
The Training Grounds is dead ahead, and Tank waves with his usual vigor.
"What brings you here today, Noob? How is your dare going?"
It's crazy that he still remembers the cover story when the character explained the cop's task.
Thinking back to it, those words rolled off the tongue so fast.
"Hmm, what's that?"
He notices the parchment, taking it from my hands.
"It's a letter from Selena."
Knowing what's in it, it's impossible to hand it over without a smug grin, and he's already scratching his head.
"She mentioned a bet to sort out before the adventurer exam. Is it normal to get a promotion this early?"
"They promote you? You started today, what the hell?"
This is another confusing aspect of how the NPCs talk in real-life terms.
Selena said the exam's in one hour without specifying it, and that's a day within the game.
Is it an hour for them too, or do they only copy the players?
"Yes, whatever their reason might be. It's not my heroism for sure, I ran from a few bandits less than an hour ago."
This has his eyes widen. So it's not normal to encounter them here?
"They almost minced me up so I wanted to ask how best to defeat them."
"You don't mean those thugs in front of the Adventurer's Guild and the market, right?"
He raises his eyebrow, reaching for his mace.
"Those became parts of our everyday lives but bandits should have no business near Origin. Where did you see them?"
"Ugh, they tried an ambush outside the village to the southeast."
Seeing him this excited is a surprise.
How's best to confirm his question without ruining the immersion?
"These weren't gankers, they were much better armed than these guys."
"Hmm, would you help hunt them down?"