---James---
James finished returning his massive sword for a spear with several jagged spikes running down its side.
“I want to try this one out.” He spoke towards the shop keeper hoping that was enough.
“Excellent choice! The Alkul’a spear is a popular older model. Your trade in has been accepted. Come back any time if you want to return it and try another.”
James stood there for a moment awkwardly holding his newest choice. He wanted to ask for information outside of the spear but the shopkeeper was talking to someone else again and…he didn’t. He didn’t want to bother them.
James wasn’t good at talking to service workers.
It always felt like they were annoyed at him – if he was working a customer facing job he wouldn’t want anyone to bug him outside of business interactions.
After a few seconds of waiting to see if they were free, it became even more awkward to continue standing there then interrupting them would be.
James turned towards the door then paused just as he was leaving.
“Excuse me? Sorry Can you tell me about anything you know, and think might be useful? So, I already know: we resurrect when we die, have pain diminished, can get these achievement things for doing stuff…but I can’t figure out how to see my 'status'? All these stat points I keep getting? I’ve forgotten what they are, how do I find them. Also it's like a video game right? What’s my current level? Also why do monsters disappear into nothing when you kill them? Why don’t they have any blood?” The loud and excited voice of a third customer cut in turning the shopkeepers attention to them.
MVP right here. Thanks for asking what we were all thinking. Push through the cringe!
Stepping back in and standing by the door of the shop, James hoped he didn’t seem creepy for just standing there and watching.
“Woah there. Happy to help as a village guide, lets pick apart some of your questions. You seem to get most of the rules, can’t really tell you why they exist, they just do. As for your status…that’s something our small village hasn’t been given the resources to show you. I’m sure you’ll find ways to see all your achievements in the future. I don’t know what you mean by level but as a recent player you are bound to be tier 0. The barrier around our village is set to protect us from the wider world – it should allow you to pass once you reach tier 1 which you should get if you just keep gaining achievements.”
“So level 1 to leave, got it. Why’s my head fuzzy by the way? Also you never answered if there’s anything I should know. Oh and why does everything seem so fake?”
“I’m sorry I…don’t quite know why your head is fuzzy dear customer. Have you eaten anything strange? All my weapons are completely real I assure you. And… let's see. What would a newcomer not know…OH! Do you know how to search for quests?”
“Finally! I knew I could get something new if I kept prying. I know nothing about quests – what are they?”
“The great achievement system has benevolently given us an option for if you feel lost or need guidance.” The shopkeeper began.
“To see a list of personalized quests all you need to do is say ‘quest’ and three words you wish to influence the quests you get. This will give you a handy list of information on, or hints about achievements you could gain. The quest board can be re-queried once every three weeks or upon completion of all three of your last quests. At any other point you shouldn’t get a list – make sure not to say quest if you haven’t used your board yet for the week. Simple enough – can’t believe I nearly forgot to mention it. Thanks lad, I’ll tell any other newcomers I see – just in case they don’t know about it yet.”
James watched as the random customer finished asking his questions and left – carefully waiting a moment so it wouldn’t look like he was following them out – then moved to find an empty area to look at quests.
I have to get this right… let's think a bit…Okay got it.
“Quest. Help me grow” he spoke out loud.
Quest Board: 'Help Me grow'
Kill one of each monster: Collection Reward: stats.
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Help me grow enough food for winter: Quest start at barn. Reward: produce, Varies.
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Become a giant:
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
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--- Richard ---
Richard stood in front of a young NPC, grilling the dense bundle of repeating lines for more information. He was rushing through the interaction because he needed to know the bare minimum…but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
“…the quest board can be re-queried once every three weeks or upon completion of your previous three quests.”
“Ait. Thanks m8. Let's see…Quest! And then three words to seed it. Stronger! Faster! Smarter! Should be good enough for now.”
Quest board: 'And then three'
There’s no such thing as 'too far' for monsters: Kill the giant rat living in the sewers and then her three babies. Reward: Varies
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The Three stat leanings: Learn about stats in some way and then gain a stat in each major leaning. Reward: Stats.
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…and then: Part (3): Third part of a chain fetch quest. Involves bringing a bottle of wine to Esabella. Part (1) is unlocked by finding any shop keeper and asking if they need anything. Reward: Unknown.
Richard stared at the panel for all of a second before falling onto the ground and beginning to giggle holding his sides.
“Holy fuck that’s good. Not even mad, system has some sass. Technically the truth. Ehehehe. Fuck that’s good.”
Standing up while wiping fake tears out of his eyes Richard glanced at the achievements and the title snorting again before watching the panel fade away.
“Welp, fuck those achievements – I’ll figure something else out – they just seem like suggestions, not anything I’m forced to do…should be easy to scrounge something else up, games tossing rewards at us after all.” He started thinking out loud.
“…I see you’ve wasted a quest query. I’m awfully sorry about that but it's not the end of the world. It's only three weeks to your next attempt.” The boy said while looking slightly scared.
Richard looked at the NPC after forgetting they were still there. Huh.
Turning he left without saying anything else. Robotic sounding mother fucker. That’s not what children sound like.
“Something fun to do, something fun to do. Rewards are stats. Stats…fuck I hated stats but these are the other kind aren’t they? The fun kind? Guess I’ll use the help function – hey you! Tell me about stats.” Pointing at an NPC riding past on a bike he hailed them down.
“I’m sorry I have a delivery to make. I simply must be going”
“Got it. Yep. Understand. Okay tell me about stats.” Richard waved his hand dismissively. It’s the little details that show the developers didn’t focus too much on the game. This NPC is supposedly delivering something… but I see absolutely nothing but them and the bike. Lazy.
“Well…okay. Stats are the wonderful reward achievements give us. They are separated out into three types or ‘leanings’. Speed, Power, Defense…” the NPC began her explanation.
“The trifecta of simple games. Seems to be missing something…I’ve gotten leg strength and eyesight.”
“…Those three stats can be applied in different locations in your mind, body, and soul.”
“3x3…so 9 stats I guess?”
“Depending on the focus they can be further broken down into quite a few more specialized stats which are quite a bit stronger in their focus. Defense is the stat that can be broken down the most, and body is the area that can be broken down the most.”
“…so more than 9…”
“For example ‘Decay defense’ or ‘Bludgeoning defense’ give much more of a visible result than the generic defense…but that’s because the generic defense is focusing on everything you could defend against. You need almost a dozen generic defense points in an area to be as effective as a single specialized defense. Depending on locations in an area, stats can give quite drastically different results – power in your arm for example will make your arm stronger, but power in your ears will make you better at listening to people and power in your brain will make you smarter.”
“…that last line feels personal. You good?”
“Yes I am ‘good’. Beyond that, soul based rewards are rare for low-tiered players and can be ignored.” A solid pause ended the NPC’s explanation before she continued. “That is a general overview of stats. Feel free to ask any of us guides any questions you might have, we live to help you acclimate to the world after all. Now, I simply must get going. I have a delivery to run!”
Richard watched in slight amusement as the woman pedalled away on her bike.
“Now I just have to get one of each stat? Tutorial indeed. Tutorial wouldn’t be needed if the game didn’t make such a convoluted system.”
Richard stood in the street thinking about what to do next.
I got these leanings already. Mostly from running across the roofs…what should I do next? Fuck I’m getting tired of information gathering. Might as well have some fun next – I deserve it after sitting through that info dump. Maybe I’ll go try out the game's combat system?
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--- Maddy ---
“…so tier one is a total of 27 stats of any type in any location? And a skill? How do we go about getting the stats we want? So far they’ve just been given to me,” Maddy asked maintaining eye contact with the newest guide they had found.
Maddy had been talking to an older woman for close to 20 minutes now.
She needed to know everything these guides would tell her while they were available. It just made sense to get prepared.
Troy stood behind her like a lanky lost bodyguard – arms flipping between crossed and loose, occasionally glaring at people passing occasionally glancing at Madison’s hair occasionally looking straight down as he listened and fidgeted.
“Achievements give stats my dear. You get stats for doing things themed around the stats you want. Doing something brave usually gives power, doing something quickly usually gives speed. Defense is usually rewarded for surviving something hard. If your hands get burned badly and then healed you are likely to get fire defense on your hands. If you want more control over what type of stats you want you can quest for them. Use the exact stat names to get quests…something like ‘Stats Leg Power’ as your divine request.”
“You’re incredibly helpful, thank you. Can you tell us more about quests now?”
😩 Achievement get: Pestering Power. (uncommon)
Description: Collect more information from the guides than most.
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Stat: +1 mental power.
“Of course my dear. The stat board can…”