"Shit, sorry." This is mindbending but apart from the avatar and the shopkeeps the Pharmacy was empty a moment ago.
And yet, stepping out, a player almost knocks me over as he rushes past from behind.
Two more leave the building before reaching the other end of the crossroad.
None of them are the Pharmacists, the minimap marks them as players with yellow dots.
This messes up the brain so much that I almost miss Tank's waving from the Training Grounds.
And there was something important to talk about with him, remaining elusive what it was.
"Scatterbrained idiot." Despite how annoying this is, it's better to keep going with all the potions instead of stopping to figure it out.
While the gankers ignored them once, it doesn't mean they will always do so.
And if it was that easy to forget, it wasn't that important after all.
With a wave back, let's head for the Adventurer's Guild.
The red names watch with the usual curiosity, making no moves.
The entrance to the hall is clear, and players start to pile up, scratching their heads as they look for new quests.
It's easy to tell the fresh ones or the crafters from the rest because they look the most satisfied.
It's the first they have something to do that doesn't involve fighting.
It's too bad they're locked behind Premium and there's no time to dawdle.
"You're back, Noob." Selena waits with the usual smile.
The players never line up at her desk, taking the jobs from the billboard instead.
They don't know what they're missing. She always gives the best missions, offering shortcuts, advice, and exploits.
I'd confess an undying love to her despite the age difference if she didn't use that tag.
She knows the drill and checks the invoices before the avatar can open its mouth.
"Did you bring the potions? Have you dealt with the rats? Anything worth reporting?"
"Yes, yes, and also yes."
First, the rack of vials lands on her desk with a clink.
"One of the infested homes was full of Plague Rats, and the owner got sick. It was nasty, but after consulting the Pharmacist it's all fine now."
Let's keep it as immersive as possible so the headset has no reason to mute.
The option to turn that off is Premium only with no guarantees it will stop the system from doing this.
"Oh, are you feeling all right?" She looks surprised, double-checking the papers.
She finds the contract and writes and stamps it like a machine. Okay, she is a machine but tends to act more human.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"This means an increased payout, and thank you for healing that villager."
[Congratulations! You reached level 8.]
She hands out another job to bring bandages to the Pharmacy and the Guild, with a third task for poison flowers.
Who would have thought that it has a D-rank version too?
"Thank you, and don't worry."
No words can express my gratefulness towards this woman as she waves the character off.
There's no need to ask for anything easy to chain, she knows better by default.
It will be an easy round, though the poison flower is further away than usual.
The fact that it promises a thousand Exp hints at an increased difficulty.
Still, if even the Guild thinks the character can do it, it shouldn't be that crazy.
Judging from the distances shown on the map, this will be a light stroll into the northern woods.
The previous round with the two near-misses and a trip to the stash took twenty minutes.
Those Plague Rats boosted the progress, no matter how scary they were.
They gave more Exp alone than the rest of the mobs and missions combined.
[Government Issued Quest: Reach Level 10 within 3 days. Importance: Utmost. Difficulty: Average. Progress: 8/10, Exp to next level: 1634/12800. (23/72 hours left).]
Add to that eight hundred and thirty-eight copper, with six thousand one hundred in the stash.
Some are silver and gold coins, but for the sake of simplicity, it's better to count them as copper.
"It sounds better to have thousands of coins."
The Textile Works are in an unexplored part of the village, though the building is easy to find.
The minimap points an arrow at it and the structure itself is so out of place, that it has to be player-owned.
It's a three-story tiny tower with a square base no longer than five meters.
No greeting message like near other landmarks.
"Is this even the right one?" A small door opens onto the street, and the stairs suggest it has a basement too.
Whoever built it, wanted to use the smallest footprint possible.
Entering, a double door larger than the main one leads to a tiny field with sheep idling around.
The entire building smells of them, and it's not much better than the rat stench.
A player stands at a Crafting Table with a silly tag floating over his head.
There are mountains of bandages at his feet, and new items appear every few seconds to add to the pile. At least this means it's the place.
He must be AFK because he hunches over the table motionless.
Is this his shop? Someone else sits behind a tiny counter called Receptionist, staring into the abyss.
And this one's an NPC, so what's the deal with this tower?
Before figuring it out, a red-named player bumps into me, and the heart almost stops.
What the hell? There's nothing valuable here, only a few coins and a rusty sword, what does he want?
He stops to stare, scratching his head, and walks past to sit on the counter.
Is he a delinquent, bullying the shopkeeper or something? If he does anything funny, grab the shield and sword, and...
No, wait, the potions replaced the shield. To sort it out, I'd have to open the inventory, which would give him an opening. He doesn't even look here though.
Keeping the NPC between us is a good idea until the inventory opens and a convo starts with him to foil the plan.
"Welcome to the Origin Textile Works, traveler. Are you looking to buy textiles, clothes, or bandages?"
He asks while staring into the abyss ahead of him.
The character is off to his side and he won't even try to look at it. Okay, the quick access should be good now.
The red-name guy won't make a move, and watching him through the inventory is easy.
Quick, sort out the quests and scram, the NPC's eyes finally find me, his face distorting into a weird smile.
"Ah, you're Noob, the adventurer. So the Guild sent you for a shipment of bandages."
He drops two boxes into the inventory, to the brim with dressing, and the guy's tag on the counter changes color.
This is such a surprise, that the window closes as the avatar takes a step back.
"Wot?" He grumbles as he notices the stare before following the gaze over his head and jumps off the counter.
"Oh, bleedin' 'ell, finally! Bo, you 'ere? The name's gone back to normal. 'Ow long's it been, mate?"
It spells COTTONEYEJOE all in capitals, in the usual grey color and he looks ecstatic about it.