After his grueling mock battle with Farne, Julian was more than happy to make a quick exit. To his disappointment, a thin man stopped him on his way out the doors, handing him a few potions.
“Here, you look like you’ll need them. Who’d you end up with for a sparring partner?”
“You mean there were options?”
The man laughed.
“From your reaction, I’m guessing you didn’t know?”
“No,” Julian growled.
“There are three. The game picks one at random. So, who’d you get?”
“Farne.”
The man froze, horror creeping across his face.
“That explains it. You got unlucky, kid. Farne’s a real fanatic. Takes everything a little too seriously, in my opinion.”
Julian only nodded, feeling Farne’s training was actually pretty good. Brutal, but worth it. He may not want to subject himself to the torture of learning magic from the man, but at least there in the arena, his life was guaranteed.
An enemy would not be so kind.
Leaving the man shaking his head in sympathy, Julian picked his way through the crowd of people entering the training hall. Their bright, eager expressions mirrored his own when he first arrived, and he fought to swallow a peal of laughter. They would learn soon enough what they were in store for.
He headed northeast to a spot on the map labeled the “Golden Meadow.” It wasn’t far from his current location, and according to Ginger, it was the best place to find the materials needed for his first crafting quest.
A stone bridge marked the edge of the town, and the moment he crossed it, Julian felt a strange sensation crawl over his skin, as if he’d walked through a film. Ginger answered his unspoken question without his even needing to ask.
Towns and designated safe zones are protected by a barrier preventing monsters from entering, just like the Tutorial zone.
Julian had a slight, grudging appreciation for the game developers when he entered the meadow, realizing now the depth of the game’s realism. Playing the game felt more like stepping into another world than a game. It might just be his inexperience with virtual reality, but even so, the lifelike quality of Thalesium was uncanny.
Walking through the wheat field, he could feel the gentle tickle of the stalks against his arms, while a light breeze brought with it the invigorating aroma of freshly turned soil. He could hear birds chirping in the distance and bugs buzzing in his ear. From the sights to the sounds, and even the subtlest sensations, every element was flawlessly programmed to create an indistinguishable experience from reality. The tranquility allowed him to truly immerse himself in his surroundings. It was nothing like his harrowing journey to Keidale, nor Farne’s training.
This was the Thalesium his father created.
Julian searched the area, not really needing Ginger to explain the barrier, but still grateful for the reminder. Every game he’d ever played had similar mechanics, but it took on a different meaning when the stakes were so high. Preventing low level players from getting attacked by monsters far beyond their skill level was essential to keeping players in the game, and their character alive. A shudder racked his spine at the thought of a town overrun by monsters like the silver wolf.
He waded through the wheat field carefully, wary of monsters, and kept an eye out for the sparkle signifying hidden items. When he was certain nothing was going to jump out at him, Julian grabbed his dagger and used it to hack at a clump of stalks in front of him.
The wheat fell at his feet, disappearing in a burst of blue sparks the moment it touched the ground.
Straw (2) has been added to your inventory.
Achievement Completed: Gathering (1/10)
Julian continued to hack at clumps of the tall grass, soon collecting a sizable amount of straw.
Achievement Completed: Gathering (10/10)
Curious, he opened his menu, searching for the list of Achievements. Not including Tutorial completion, Achievements fell into four categories. Hunting, Gathering, Crafting, and Misc.
He stared at the bundle of straw in his inventory. There was just shy of twenty bundles, but how did he go about crafting anything?
“Ginger, you got any tips on crafting for me?”
The tutorial provides a crafting recipe for free, and the recipes can be used an unlimited number of times so long as you have the required materials. More advanced crafting recipes have a cooldown, so keep that in mind.
Recipe: Straw Sandals Unlocked
Julian nodded along, checking the crafting page of his inventory for the required materials for making sandals.
Straw Sandals
Required materials: Straw (10), Rope (1)
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“So, all I need is rope, then,” he mused.
Ginger continued, answering his remark with a weary sigh.
Items can be found by looting enemies or purchasing from a shop. Like most games, watch for sparkles in your surroundings, as these items can be added to your inventory. Some items may be dropped by other players, while others are random spawn locations within the game. Unlike loot, they do not vanish after a set amount of time. Common items will reappear after time, however rarer items will not.
“Good to know.”
With his crafting items acquired, Julian headed back to Keidale, certain he could buy rope at one of the shops. The layout was similar to most of the RPG’s he’d played in the past, but in this case, the virtual reality experience was something he could do without.
The stench wafting off the tanners stall burned his throat and threatened to choke him, and the mouthwatering aroma of fresh baked bread set his stomach to grumbling. Forcing his hunger aside, Julian activated the quest locater and followed the golden trail along until he found Silan's shop. The crafting shop was four shops down, and to his chagrin, right next to the one with steaming trays of food and a heaping pile of buns.
A few minutes later, Julian tore his gaze away from the food and instead focused on the coil of rope and the pile of straw he’d placed on one of the tables behind the woman’s shop. He tried weaving the two items together, but nothing happened. The bundle refused to budge. In fact, he could not remove even a strand of straw. The rope was more cooperative and behaved as rope should, allowing him to uncoil it and tie it in knots.
“So, how exactly do I make anything with this, Silan?”
Julian chose to ignore the muffled snicker coming from the stall , resolving to do as little business with the man as possible. It might be petty to fault the man for his own ignorance, but right then, he really didn’t care. He didn’t care to feel like a fool just because he had no experience with virtual reality games.
Silan smiled, a gentle curve of her lips that somehow brightened his mood as well. The woman's
"Some crafting items can be used on their own, like the rope. Others are useless beyond their crafting purposes and cannot be changed from their original forms. The bundle of straw, for example, could be used as feed for a horse but not strewn across the ground as a bed. To process it into a useable form, open your crafting menu and remove the recipe you wish to use."
Julian did as she instructed, removing the recipe from his inventory and spreading it on the table. The recipe scroll, a thick roll of material similar to a silicone mat, remained open even after being unrolled. Acting on a hunch, he placed the little bundles of straw and the rope on top of the recipe, watching with interest as the items glowed a pale blue and burst into sparks.
When the sparks faded, all that was left was the flattened recipe and a pair of roughly made straw sandals.
Straw Sandals have been added to your inventory.
“Well, that was… easier than I expected.” And definitely not something he would try doing in the field. It had taken almost three minutes for the new material to reform. If a pair of straw sandals took three minutes to craft, how long would it take a higher level item?
He couldn’t imagine how dangerous it would be to hover over something for that long.
Potion (5) has been added to inventory.
Coins (500) have been added to your inventory.
Julian reviewed the items, immediately stashing three of the potions on his quick access belt. He didn’t want to resort to the nasty tasting things, but it was better than losing his character and his items. It also freed up his inventory. Twenty-five item slots didn’t get you very far, not when multiples of the same item counted towards that number. He tossed a few bundles of straw to the ground to free up space before second guessing himself and returning them to his inventory.
Perhaps he could find someone to purchase them instead. A few coins were better than just leaving the items on the ground for someone else to snatch.
“You looking to sell those?”
His gaze snapped up to the shop owner, the one who he’d heard snicker earlier, and wondered how the NPC’s were coded. Did they respond based on proximity, or did he simply get lucky?
Either way, the question’s timing was uncanny.
The man looked at him, a calculating look crossing his features, before finally grinning.
“Oh, Don’t look at me like that. I’m not an NPC. The name’s Kyle.” The man’s voice, a deep, throaty growl fitting of a drill sergeant, held a hint of amusement as he gestured around the street.
“I’m another player like you.” He gestured to Silan, who smiled again, then down the row of shops. “Actually, all the shop owners in Keidale were part of the beta program, the same with the tutorial guide volunteers. The first few players even started several guilds to help newbies get started.”
"So all of you chose to stick around here? Why? I would leave the tutorial for the NPCs, not set up shop in this tiny town."
"We wanted to give new players a more welcoming experience," Silan said.
"We thought the game was a bit lacking, especially for players who'd never experienced a game like Thalisium before. It can be a bit overwhelming."
Julian grunted, accepting the explanation, while inwardly thinking they were probably paid a hefty sum in return. No one was that nice, not without some reward. Still, the man's words loosened something in his chest, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least this was familiar.
Everyone needed a job to survive. This was theirs.
He knew that.
On some level, he knew not everyone working for Enigma Realm Studios were as corrupt as the ones who destroyed his father, but it was a hard bias to overcome.
Someone had to test it, to guide new players. Someone had to make sure those players would not experience any serious harm while in the game. Julian was just happy it wasn’t him.
Running around in a game full of metaphysical bugs—especially a virtual reality game—was not his idea of fun.
No one could pay him enough for that, though clearly, these people hadn’t been paid enough. If they had, Thalesium wouldn’t have as many bugs as he’d already run into. No one who truly like their job would have such crappy work ethic.
He wasn’t even past the tutorial.
How many more were there?
Eager to see if any of the other shop owners had good advice, Julian made his way down the street, noting each of the shops on one of the sheets of paper he’d received from Kyle in exchange for the leftover straw. Right now, the markers on his in-game map would be better saved for important quest locations or monster sightings.
He would carry around a map the old fashion way, for now.
As he walked down the road, Julian realized each shop had its own specialty; from Kyle’s general goods, to a tanner, a seamstress, and a chef. Further down, almost at the edge of the south gate, he saw the blacksmith’s shop and what looked to be a shop selling ore and crystals. After speaking with each of the shop owner and getting a few tips, and even better, a few free items, Julian decided to head back to the Golden Meadow. Apparently, it was a good location for starter mobs if you headed out further into the field.
Since he was just starting out and had little experience with VR games, the others suggested the best course of action was to level himself up and start filling out his Beastiary. One of the guys had laughed at him when he said he wanted to play it safe, but clearly the man was not pressed for money in real life.
Julian refused to risk his life and future fortune just for an adrenaline thrill.
Battling a few monsters in the area would help him gain experience, both physical and literal. Leveling up would improve his stats and give him a few points to work with. He could worry about racking up coin once he gained a few levels and started taking on higher-level quests. The faster he did that, the less he had to think about the massive debt that would pile up if he died in the game.
That was a topic he never wanted to think about again.