Chapter 2, Part 6
Laya knew enough about rpg game mechanics to figure out what she needed to do, but the problem was that just because this game borrows heavily from rpg mechanics doesn't mean she knows how to do it.
She now stood holding an unknown ring in the middle of dirty shelves and was facing a moral dilemma about whether she should keep it or leave it where it fell. Laya isn't comfortable with stealing because she's never stolen before, but this unknown item began to feel like a devil's call because the item's value is unknown, and it could be worth a lot or nothing at all. Without much thought, Laya put the ring down on the floor, and as she was doing so, Alice came.
"Are you okay, Laya? I heard rattling bottles." Alice said. She noticed Laya looking like she was picking up a ring on the floor.
Laya looked back after hearing Alice’s voice and stopped her motion. Then, though she was innocent, she quickly caught on to her state without context. Nervously, Laya tried to explain, "It’s not what it looks like. I was putting it down after it fell from above the shelf."
Alice just said, "Is that so? Well, you don’t mind if I look at it?"
Laya handed over the ring to Alice while sweating heavily. Laya had a habit of being a pessimist, as she always expected the worst in every situation she encountered.
Alice held the ring between her fingers and said, "[Identify]".
The ring was shrouded in gold mist, and it glowed for a second before going back to its original black color.
Alice then faced Laya, staring into her eyes. Laya had already closed her eyes, anticipating harsh words.Then she felt Alice grab her hand. She was about to apologize, even though she was innocent.
"Here you go, I identified it for you; you know, people who know how to identify charge an insane price even though identifying it doesn’t even use that much mana. I mean, seriously, people are so greedy for money these days that even simple things are expensive. Well, sorry about that rambling of mine. You're alright, right? You didn’t hit your head or anything, right? Well, stay here. I’ll get the potion for you so you don’t need to traverse this maze of garbage."
Laya thanked Alice as she exhaled a sigh of relief. She again stood between the crevices of the shelves, holding the ring between her fingers.
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Then a yellow window popped up containing the ring’s information popped up.
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Item Name: Nice Deceitful Black Ring
Item Type: Ring
Rarity: Tier
Description: A nice looking black ring. Looking at the ring causes confusion.
Special Effect: Look at Me! (Rare) (Passive): There is a slight chance enemies will direct their attention to the ring.
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Laya was disappointed by what the ring contained, but she was happy nonetheless. She wore it on her left hand.
Alice just finished getting the agility boost potion and was happily approaching Laya.
"Here you go, Laya," Alice said, handing the potion to her.
Laya received the yellowish-green, clear glass bottle, and then a notification popped up.
[You received [Agility Boost Potion x1 (Normal)(Tier 1)]
Smiling widely, Laya gave forth a heartfelt facial expression that touched the heart of Alice, even making a notification pop up.
[Your affinity with ‘Alice’ has increased]
[Your relationship with ‘Alice Braumer’ has turned to ‘High Friendship’]
Alice responded with a same heartfelt smile and said, "If you ever need me, I will always be here; maybe, I don’t know for sure, but there’s a ‘but,' I will be here most of the time, ehem, I’ll stop talking now."
Then, as Laya was about to respond, a red window appeared. The text containing the window made Laya remember that this was a game.
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Device Message:
Laya, are you there? Its night already out here, you went in there in about 5pm and its 9pm now, If you wanna log out now just say ‘LOGOUT!’ and you’ll be logged out safely. It’s not that I’m desperate to play or anything; I just don’t want you to go back home very late at night. Wait this sounds like I’m kicking you out ain’t I? Wait why am I even typing this? I’ll stop typing now.
<3 <3 <3 Emma <3 <3 <3 *: 3
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Laya giggled after she finished reading the message and decided that enough playing was done for today. She then looked at Alice and informed her that she was going to leave now.
"Alice, I’m leaving now, and It may take a few months till I come back, though I’ll come back for sure and look for you first." Laya said.
Alice was sad that Laya was leaving now and that it might be a while before she returned, especially since she had to leave so suddenly, but she didn't say anything and just nodded.
Laya said her last good bye for a while to Alice as she said "Logout" and a window saying,
[Are you sure you want to log out? Yes or No?]
She picked ‘Yes’ and she began to turn into golden mist slowly, and like she was being taken out of the world itself, her ashes seemed like they were being taken by the heavens.
Laya's first day in the "Book of Lithias" has come to an end.