Chapter Six: An Abyss Between Gamers

Yushin was still walking around looking for Red Clay Guild when he found [The Crafter’s Street]. Of course, that wasn’t its real name, but it became known that way because almost every crafting guild in town was there. It was quite packed with player’s left and right.

The street was long and wide, so people could carry stuff around without bothering others. There were many professions near, especially potters. Even though everyone’s clothes were still very simple, like the newbies they are, most people had already some symbol that identified which craft they belonged to.

It was only then that Yushin realized he didn’t pay much attention to his clothes. He had a very simple attire on and nothing discerning his class or skills. With the absence of a very clear class clothing, it would hard to identify people’s skills and fighting style at first glance. That could be either very useful or very annoying if used right.

To his left was [The Cauldron’s Smoke], an [Alchemist Guild]. It was pretty easy to spot with all the vials going in and out of the place…

‘It’s probable that [Kruik’s Blood] and [Kruik’s Teeth] are alchemist’s materials. I might as well go in and learn a bit about, maybe strike a deal.’

Compared to the Adventurer’s Guild, it had much less manpower around and a lot fewer guards, but the number of attendants was doubled. One quickly approached Yushin. It was a sickly looking, long blue haired girl. Honestly, she looked about to faint.

“...Welcome, sir…”

“Uhm, hello. Are you alright…?”

“Oh, yes, thank you very much.” She bowed again and again. “Would you like to browse our wares…?”

“Oh, maybe later…” He was honestly worried that she’d faint on the spot. “I would like these appraised and some information.”

Yushin slowly took out [Kruik’s Blood of Hatred], [Kruik’s Blood] and [Kruik’s Teeth].

“I see… Then please follow me...” She then zigzagged to a side room, where many alchemists were waiting. All of them were NPC’s since players were not at that level yet.

An old man was mixing a few vials while they approached. The attendant bowed, pointed to him and then left. Yushin was relieved she didn’t talk any more. He seemed to have forgotten this was only a VRMMORPG…

“Son, which color are these?” The alchemist asked, holding a red vial.

“Red,” Yushin answered right away.

“...Your skills suck. If you are looking for a [Master], then leave.”

Whoa!

‘Such huge difference in treatment. So, since I have no alchemy skills I am treated this way?’

“I am only looking for info on these items and other subjects. I am not looking for an honorable master right now.”

“Humpf, at least you have manners. The younger generation sucks. Badly.”

‘Weird. Definitely weird, the A.I. In this game is.’

Yushin then showed him the items.

“Hmm… Interesting. Those are [Unknown Monster Blood Type], [Rare Unknown Monster Blood Type] and [Monster Material Type]. All three of them can be used as alchemy material, however, I do not know their effects.” The old man held the items and used [Identify Alchemy Material] skill on them.

“I used a skill on them. If the Guild had any info on those things called “Kruiks” I would’ve known about it. Those need to be researched, but the quantity is also too little.”

Yushin just realized another difficulty in Tales: since there were many other worlds, there were many unknown monster types and materials. That means every new material would have to be analyzed and researched before their effects could be known. Many rarer materials could also pop up from new monsters, some very precious.

Also, the old man saw the item as “Kruik’s Blood”, not “Kruiknansian’s Blood”. That means the name Yushin gave it became the new label for the item. The system really worked on perception and information.

“Kid, I’m too busy to research this stuff. You take it and bring to a newbie. There are many outside who just joined.”

“...I will. Thank you, senior. Can you tell me a bit about Alchemy?”

“Do I look like your goddamn moving g**gl*?! Honestly, those brats!”

‘Eh? Did he just… mention RL stuff? Is it a bug?’ Yushin bowed and then turned around to leave, but the old man spoke:

“Oh...Wait!!! You younglings give up way too early! Here, sit, sit… I’ll tell you about alchemy… I am an alchemist, after all!”

‘Make up your mind, old man!’ Yushin sat down.

“Honestly, there is no secret. You just [Research] stuff, [Experiment] stuff and then [Mix] stuff! By the end you’re so stuffed you can’t see another vial.” The old man seemed pretty happy with his own small pun.

“So, you need to research an item to know its effects, experiment with it to find [Alchemic Formulas] and then mix the materials? Something like that?”

“Wasn’t that what I just said? Are you even listening, kid?!”

‘This old man…’

“That is the basic stuff! The rest is trade secret, if you’re really interested you need to join... Hehehehe… But I still won’t take you as a disciple. Though you can do pretty much everything with only those three steps, like potions, pills, poisons, and others.”

Yushin was about to thank him and find someone else to explain a few more things, but the old man was faster.

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“I know, I know, you want to know about the guild, right brat? It’s written all over your face… I’m no guide, but I’ll tell you about it. You remind me of a pet dog I had. He also looked sad and lonely…”

‘...WHAT…’

“You know, the [Alchemy Guild] accepts any alchemists. They can take requests and see formulas, as long as their rank is enough. If they contribute with a few formulas of their own, it rises pretty quickly…. They’ll probably pass me soon… What a sad world.” The old man was lost in thought for a while.

*Ahem* “Other guilds also recruit alchemists, so like most crafting professions they are not bound, unless it’s an [Exclusive Contract]. You might not know, but ever since that Nameless Mage thing used his power and made all mana go kapuff [Contracts] are a big thing in this world. You can also enter in an [Exclusive Contract] with an alchie or any other [Crafting Class] and exchange some benefits. Oooh… that’s what you should do. Find a trustworthy fledgling alchemist and make him your personal. That might get you access to good stuff.”

‘That is an interesting idea… I would be able to focus on other things and build a relationship. I’ll probably need a lot of alchemy stuff later on. But who to choose and where to find…’

“That’s about it. I can’t tell an outsider anything too specific. Just remember we are very important in every country. [Master Alchemists] are as important as kings. If only I was one… Ah, woe is me…”

“Thank you, senior. I will remember your words.” Yushin bowed.

“Humpf, good kid. Now off you go. You made me talk too much.”

‘You talked all on your own!!!’

Yushin was really tired. That was more draining than the entire beginner’s dungeon. And much harder to go through.

Outside the room, the sickly looking girl was already gone. A plain man took over, and Yushin told him he was looking for an alchemist to form a contract with. The man then pointed around the room, where many people were trying to find their own partners and maybe form a party.

Some of them cast a glance to Yushin and then moved on. He tried talking to a few people, but most of them already had guilds or friends to partner with. Finally, one was interested in it. It was a confident and bright looking fellow with sharp eyes and long brown hair.

“Sure, I’m also looking for a [Contract]. What do you say you give me the materials, I experiment with it and then give you the results. If I make something interesting we can sell and share the profit. 70/30, since I’ll be doing the hard work.”

Yushin pondered about it a little and nodded. It seemed a bit greedy and very vague, but he wanted to build a relationship anyway. If things didn’t work out he could break up the deal later on.

“Hey, you!” A coarse and sort of annoying voice spread. “You’re an alchemist, right? Our group just joined [Red Clay Guild]. Do you want to become our private alchemist?”

That request was directed at the alchie Yushin was talking to. The one who spoke was a fairly good looking man with blue eyes and golden hair. He carried an axe on his back and even had some equipment. He was in the lead of a group of five, with two women and two men in the back. The others only had basic starting equipment, but they seemed very organized about roles with diverse weapons.

The Sharp-Eyes Alchemist looked towards Yushin and then the group, and quickly made a decision.

“Sorry.” He said before going off. Yushin simply bowed slightly. The golden haired man gave a proud “heh” look to Yushin and the group left.

‘Back to square zero…’ He kept looking around once more until his eyes rested on a young alchemist trotting forward and backward in a corner of the guild. He looked really young, like around fifteen years old, and was worried out of his wits. It looked like he didn’t know what to do.

“Hello.” Yushin approached slowly and smiling.

“...H-Hello!” The boy answered back quickly, showing his good manners. He didn’t even look Yushin in the eyes and was already burning red with shyness.

“...Are you an alchemist?”

“...Y-yes!”

‘He looks a bit young, but… Well, let’s just see how it goes.’ Yushin tried not to look aggressive. “Do you want to make a contract?”

The boy’s eyes suddenly lit up. “C-can we r-really…?”

“Do you not have the confidence to do it?”

“...I d-don’t… I-I mean!!! I d-do… but my skills are low level…”

“I don’t care, as long as you do your best. Would you like to go adventuring as well?”

“N-not really, s-sorry… I w-want to f-focus on Alchemy and become an [Alchemy Master]... I h-hate combat.”

Wasn’t that even better for Yushin? Someone that had the guts to focus on his craft until he became one of the best? He really liked that sort of people.

“I see! That is a great goal.”

“T-Thank you! You are very kind, sir.”

“Then, let’s set the terms. I will provide you with the material I find and you’ll report your findings to me. Formulas are yours, of course, but I will pay only the production cost of the items you can make. If we can sell them, we’ll split fifty-fifty. Is that good enough?”

“Good!” The boy answered.

“I am called Yushin. You are?”

“Aurei!” Yushin was a bit surprised with the name, and a long carefree smile appeared on his face...

Happy with the terms, both of them called up the system and made a [Contract]. Of course, right now there wasn’t much use for it, but it was proof of their deal and shared relationship. It was obviously a flexible system inside the game designed for people to make deals with some security.

“I will add you as a friend, is that okay?”

The boy nodded. He was very happy.

“Then, please feel free to PM me anytime. I will give you these for now.” He then handed over [Kruik’s Blood of Hatred], [Kruik’s Blood] and [Kruik’s Teeth]. [Soul of a Hero] could not be moved nor taken out of his inventory. He still had no idea what was it for.

“T-Thanks! I will work hard!”

Yushin nodded. “I will go now, I also need to find a blacksmith to partner with.”

“O-Oh! W-wait! My sister is playing with me, she is a blacksmith. She went over to the [Blacksmith’s Guild] right now! D-Do you want to meet her?”

“Sure, let’s go then.” He was happy to speed things up.

“Hum!” Aurei nodded.

Both of them left and then headed towards the Blacksmith’s Guild, which was not a long way from there. In the middle of the way was a commotion in front of a building.

“...Your character is trash. Either you change it or you’re no longer welcome to play with us.” Yushin could see it was the same golden haired man from before. He was arguing with a female member of his troupe.

“...Why? Wasn’t it agreed before that we could play whatever we want?” The woman had white, double braided hair, and a lean, sad face. Her glittering blue eyes were quite alluring. She wore a common outfit and a [Mage’s Hat].   

“I can see this game is gonna be big. I want to take it seriously, what is wrong with wanting the best party?”

“I will also work hard with this character. We just started.”

“You don’t understand. You’re a [Pure Mage]. With thin mana, you can only use a couple of skills and they even do lower damage than normal attacks. Why the hell would you play that? It’s still early to change. Later on, you will drag everyone down and need to start over your skills.” He did not mince any words.

“But… I want to try playing it, for as long as I can. We don’t even know much about the game yet!”

The Golden Haired man sighed. “Then, you have to leave.”

The woman looked around at the rest of the group, but they were all silent. Not a single one of them said anything, including the recently joined Sharp-Eyes Alchemist.

“...Fine. I will leave [Red Clay Guild] and our group then. I hope you’ll be happy.”

“There’s no way I’ll be, you know that. You should be less stubborn.”

The woman didn’t answer and instead turned her back to leave. She passed by Yushin with tears in her eyes.

He did not know it was possible to cry in the game.

But he already saw that sort of scene many times in the past. To some people, games were more important than anything. To those that wanted to be the best, being casual was only a hindrance.

That was the abyss between hardcore and normal gamers.

Yet it wasn’t something he was willing to approve. It would never be.