Kylar had probably forgotten about his promised introduction. He wandered off before Jay could remind him. Jay considered chasing after him but quickly dismissed the idea. That would be a weirdo move. Feeling a bit dejected, Jay pushed into the small building of Layman’s Acquisition Services.

The information brokers were just an excuse for the developers to include hoarders in Tumultua. Even though only two other players were present, four people were running the place that Jay could see. The interior itself reminded Jay of a disorganized mail room.

Stacks of loose parchment spilled everywhere from a row of desks on one side of the room. The other side of the room looked like someone had tried to organize but failed miserably. The parchment was rolled into scrolls of various shapes and sizes, which were then heaped into sections. It appeared to follow some form of categorization. However, the piles looked like they could collapse back into chaos at any moment.

Jay waited for someone to address him for five minutes before deciding his patience was in vain. Players were coming and going at a startlingly fast rate. The hectic nature of the environment only continued to grow.

Jay got someone’s attention by stepping in front of their path. It was a small, lithe Elvish woman wearing green clothes that fluttered in the wind of her movements.

“Excuse me!” she said.

“I need some help,” Jay said. “I need information.”

“We all do, friend. Get a number!” she ordered hurriedly before lightly dancing around him and continuing.

He looked around for where to get a number but came up empty. He wandered around the room, searching for the number system. Eventually, one of the other players took pity on him and pointed to a small magical machine buried underneath a pile of parchment that had succumbed to gravity. Jay threw a mental salute to the documents which had fallen in the line of duty.

He pulled a tiny slip of parchment from the device, glad to finally be making progress. The label declared him customer number 118 and noted that they were currently servicing customer number 73. The only other thing of note on the slip was a small button with a smiling face. Jay realized players were coming and going because they weren’t sticking around to wait it out. After they took a number, players went about other business until their number came up. As Jay stared, the number changed from 73 to 74 on the slip.

He felt a little weird leaving, but there was other shopping he needed to do. At some point, he’d stop to see if there were any ice cream buffs for his skills. But first, he needed a replacement crossbow. He wouldn’t see any action until later; he had felt its absence since it had been destroyed. He wasn’t going to turn in the quest to Nora until the others were present, but this left him unsure of where to go.

He wandered aimlessly for a while and was ultimately unsurprised when his feet took him where his mind had wandered. This time, Nora actually stood in front of her shop.

Jay considered staying away until he could turn the quest in, but Nora didn’t leave him any choice. She called to him, “Hey there! Jay!” He stopped to speak with her. She may be an NPC, but it would still be rude to run off on her after she gave him an excellent quest. “Glad I caught you. Were you able to handle the situation with the marked boars? It seems the caravans are running more smoothly.”

“We ended up taking care of it,” Jay said. “Even though one of your merchants ran off instead of helping us. I was going to wait until my friends return to turn the quest in officially.”

“They’re away on other business? I understand. Feel free to come back tomorrow.” Nora said with a bright smile. “But if you don’t mind me mentioning so, it looks like you’re looking for something. Anything I could help with?”

Interestingly, she had ignored the dig at her merchant’s behavior. Jay wasn’t sure if it was underlying social awkwardness, an unwillingness to talk about mistakes… or if her programming kept her from acknowledging certain things. As lifelike as the NPCs acted, they couldn’t be as nuanced as an actual player. At least, he assumed they couldn’t be.

Shaking his head, Jay focused on the task at hand. There was no reason to avoid telling Nora what he was looking for. She might have something interesting.

“I’m looking for a new crossbow,” Jay said. “The old one suffered, uh, catastrophic damage.”

“I’ve got just the thing,” Nora said. “Come in, come in.”

Nora led the way into her shop. It was definitely eclectic. Several weapons were hanging on the walls, but there were also art pieces. One of the portraits was even listed as being of legendary quality.

There were also devices strewn across the shelves. Inside a small glass cabinet, Jay saw a host of small items that he couldn’t imagine their purpose, all locked away from curious hands. On a nearby wall, there was another locked cabinet. The cabinet was full of opaque chests with locks on them. Jay pointed to the case.

“Do people steal from you often? Locked chests inside of locked cases is a little overkill.”

“Oh, not at all. That’s to protect you.”

Nora didn’t acknowledge it further as she browsed through a small paper journal. She glanced from the bound journal to different sections of the wall.

She was obviously looking for something, so Jay left her to it. He stewed in the ominous nature of her locked chests for a while. He eventually became distracted by a small magical amulet. The amulet was simply called Wrath. The item tooltip described that the charm would strengthen and corrupt abilities over time, the effects getting more pronounced when the amulet was worn for long periods.

“I would stay away from that at your level,” Nora said over his shoulder. Jay jolted to a start, surprised that she had been able to sneak up on him. He took two deep breaths to calm himself, then turned to see her holding a small item in her hand. The weapon looked like a miniature version of the crossbow he had recently broken. Still, the wood was cracked through with violent red energy. It was even of rare quality.

System Message: Netherbolt. This enigmatic weapon summons a magical bolt of energy. The enchantment requires three seconds to cool down between firing. The crossbow can be wielded one-handed. On impact, the bolt does an extra two chaos damage. Damage: 45-70 (+2).

Jay knew he could develop a fighting style around delivering point-blank attacks paired with his dagger. It was precisely what he needed. “How much do you want for it?” he asked.

“For you?” Nora asked. “Only thirty thousand and fifty gold.”

He whistled. The unique ability of the item would be invaluable, but the price was insane. Jay assumed it was a one-of-a-kind item. The party was also going to a dungeon the next day. He only hoped the party would discover something half as good in the dungeon.

“That’s a little expensive,” Jay probed. She showed no signs of letting up on the price, even if he would need to lower the price by six hundred percent. He stared at her. She stared at him. They spent ten seconds in a staring contest. He was the first to give up. “Do you have any regular crossbows?”

Nora let out a tiny sigh. “I suppose I do. The fun stuff is out front; the boring stuff is in the back. Let me go look around.” Nora left him for only thirty seconds before returning with two crossbow options. The first was made for level one characters. The second crossbow required at least level ten to equip. The higher level weapon was called Bone Crossbow.

“I’ll take the Bone Crossbow,” Jay said firmly, shoving the thought of the Netherbolt out of his mind ruthlessly. After all, he couldn’t bring himself to steal from Nora. Probably. “Where does the name come from? It’s a little morbid, isn’t it?

“Five gold Prints,” Nora said, handing the weapon to him. Jay took the coins and counted them out as she continued. “The cross pieces are made from wolf bone—a little harder to work with than wood but plentiful.”

Jay accepted the new weapon, storing it where his previous crossbow had lived on his belt. He looked at the small slip from the information broker, which had only moved by ten places.

“I’ll be back tomorrow with the others,” Jay promised. “Thanks for the weapon.”

Nora nodded and returned to her small journal book, so he took his leave. As he walked, his thoughts stayed on the fantastic weapon and how to make thirty thousand gold. The streets were getting a little less crowded, so he wandered over to pick up some ice creams he thought would suit his and Taylor Lynn’s skills. After a moment’s consideration, he added one for Jenny, not wanting her to feel left out. Following a longer period of thought, Ken got one, too.

After completing his shopping, it was no problem to find his way back to the broker. It was getting late, but he was hopeful that he could get some skill training done before the night’s end.

When he arrived, he was happy to see Lucille standing in a corner, with an indicator showing that she was going through game menus. Her eyes flickered back and forth as she went through the menus, unaware of the rest of the game world. Jay decided to wait by her since it made him feel like he wasn’t alone.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The information broker was still busy, despite the streets starting to thin out. He wondered if any players were making a full-time income from Tumultua Online. He and Taylor Lynn were, he supposed, but their situations differed significantly from the average player’s.

Players often made money trading game secrets in the real world. Guilds often charged real money for entry fees. Groups might run people through dungeons, billing them for the service. There were advantages to how Tumult Corp. set up its legal spider web, but players would always find a way.

“Hello, Jay,” Lucille said quietly, breaking his train of thought. He realized she had exited the menus without his notice. “I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here. I came here the moment I found out.”

Jay tried to maintain the confidence he had wielded previously in the conference room. “I thought it was a bit strange. There’s no wiki for the game, but they have brokers distributing random facts?”

“Indeed,” she nodded. “I believe they call this a gold sink. The information tiers vary quite wildly. The costs range from one silver Print to a million gold Prints.”

“A million?” Jay asked as his jaw dropped. “What information do you get for a million? How to print Prints and not get caught?”

Lucille smiled slightly. “Nobody knows. The information comes from the Elvish Royal Queen herself. It’s bound to be important.” When Jay’s face went blank at the mention of a queen, she continued: “She and a small collection of her advisors are the only non-players involved in the politics at the capital. Even the Ilra mayor is up for election by players next month.”

“Is that why your guild decided to-” Jay began to speak but was unable to finish.

“My number’s up,” Lucille interrupted, glancing at her magic slip. “You can join me. Come on.”

Jay followed her through the chaos, intercepted on their way by a broker who was already approaching her. The Elven man looked severely overworked but put on a beaming smile anyway. “Customer number 85, welcome, welcome. How can I help you?”

“Soon, Vinchio. Actually,” Lucille said, turning to Jay, “my friend here has a few questions before we get to me.”

Jay ended up meeting Kylar’s friend, after all. The broker’s smile fell as he looked back and forth between the two of them. His eyes stopped on Lucille, pausing for an uncomfortable few seconds. When the broker relented, Jay heard her chuckle under her breath.

“Yes, Mr. Miller. How can I help you?” the broker said, each word crisp and precise. His politeness was now a thin veneer over his dissatisfaction. Jay got the distinct impression that Lucille was bending some rules for him.

“Uh, skills,” Jay said, stumbling over the start. He hadn’t thought of how to phrase his question. “I want skills. I guess Alchemy or Herbalism? I’m interested in information on how to learn the Herbalism skill.” Others could focus on crafting if he focused on collecting the raw materials. Collecting ingredients was bound to lead to hunting exciting creatures, as well.

“And you have the coin?” the broker asked skeptically.

“No, I don’t have the coin. I have the Prints,” Jay joked. It went straight past the broker. He didn’t even acknowledge the joke.

“Very well,” the broker agreed. “Most skills are learned from a manual, which can be acquired through various means. There are currently 312 manuals spanning 37 topics currently available on the auction markets. There are 42 manuals spanning 13 topics available from private sellers. These manuals can be acquired as drops from dungeons for more specific skills like Enchanting or Trapmaking. Basic manuals like Cooking or Survival are available from trainers located in major cities.”

“Where are the trainers for Enchanting?” Jay asked.

The broker let out a sigh. “Masters of arts like Enchanting or Blacksmithing or Weapons-craft rake in thousands of Prints per day. They’re always in high demand. Why would they relinquish the art form to a bunch of ungrateful apprentices?”

“Fair enough,” Jay agreed quickly, deciding a philosophy discussion with the broker would be akin to having one with a frog and just as fun. “How much would it cost to acquire a bunch of manuals for Enchanting, Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Herbalism, Mining, Cooking, Survival, and something to do with runes?” Jay had no idea what might fit with Jenny’s class but assumed the broker would provide something worthwhile if he cast a wide enough net.

“Runic Imbuement,” the broker said. “And before you ask, yes, it’s different than enchanting. Enchantment focuses on forcing magical effects from magical materials onto objects. Imbuement is using runes to modify the properties of existing magical items. An Enchanter can create a magical flaming sword. The Imbuer can turn the flaming sword into a sword of icy flames that disrupt spellcasting as they burn.”

“Cool,” Jay said, appreciating the example. He made a mental note to look into bolts of icy spell-cast-breaking flames. “So, how much will it cost?”

“For everything you asked for, the information on skill books, and the delivery fees for the items...” The broker trailed off as he, Jay assumed, ran some mental calculations in his head. Jay thought the broker wanted to cheat him, especially since he had jumped the line. “Three hundred and seven gold Prints.”

Lucille nodded as if to indicate to Jay the price was fair. Apparently, the broker didn’t want to cheat him in front of Lucille. He frowned, resigning himself to the fact that necessary knowledge was rarely cheap. Jay knew the Runic Imbuement and Enchanting manuals were costing him heavily but decided it was worth it. He liked his party. If they were going to be successful, he needed to think about the party’s future.

“Alright,” Jay said, “I’m in. I’ll be over there counting out the coins.”

The broker ignored him, but Jay noticed the money was deducted automatically. He went to sit in the corner anyway, knowing Lucille would want her conversation to be private.

The minutes ticked by, and Lucille acknowledged him politely as she left. Jay opened his system menu. He was still doing well on money, carrying over four thousand gold Prints. Due to his death, his level 10 ability was greyed out, which was inconvenient. He didn’t plan to fight much that day, but the loss of progress was disappointing. He also couldn’t spend any statistic points until he recovered the experience debt and reached level ten for the second time. He would do so tomorrow, between the dungeon and the quest turn-in.

“Your items are ready,” a squeaky broker assistant said, breaking Jay’s concentration. He left the game menu to see a mousy young man in front of him. The NPC didn’t look at a proper age to work, but Jay didn’t want to judge.

“Thanks,” Jay said, placing the large stack of books into his inventory. It was fascinating for the sensation of weight in the haptics of his gloves to dissolve away as the books visually disintegrated into particles of light that flowed into his bag. The broker assistant immediately ran away to another task.

Jay left the shop to escape the hubbub and chaos, leaning against the side of the building in the alley rather than finding a new place to peruse his latest finds.

Instead of going over each book, he decided to go straight for the one he had chosen for himself. He pulled the Herbalism book from his inventory and started to read.

For the process to work, he needed to actually read about the process of Herbalism. He learned about many kinds of plants, primarily native to the Elvish territory. He read about how to ensure roots were protected and about signs to know if a plant was damaged, along with extracts to try and nurse them back to health. Perhaps most valuable to his experiences thus far, there were even warning signs a plant would be dangerous to handle if you knew how to look.

By the time he was finished, the streets around him were empty, lit only by the flickering light of lampposts and the occasional magical spell.

System Message: Herbalism Rank D acquired! A sparkle syntax will highlight harvestable plant life up to Rank D. Stoplight colors indicate the relative danger of the plant.

Jay wasn’t very tired. He told himself he was only suffering normal levels of tiredness. He could manage some practicing of new skills. It maybe wasn’t the wisest decision to venture out into the wilderness by himself, but he wouldn’t go far. He wanted to find some new plants, so whoever decided to use the Alchemy tome would be able to start their work immediately. By the time the rest of his party logged on, he would have something for them to utilize.

He made his way past the guards. He was glad they didn’t question what he was doing at this hour. As Jay considered it, the game’s marketing focused on North America. Still, there would be plenty of other players from other countries. His brain struggled to adapt to the strange mixture of immersion warring with his real-world understanding. He gave a small wave to another player that was also leaving the city, but they ignored him. Which was fair enough.

He stopped a short half-mile walk outside the gates and started searching around the Burlen trees. Different pieces of Burlen bark highlighted green for him in a way they hadn’t before. He immediately recognized how much easier it would be to spot the portions ready to harvest. The time he had found some bark during his first foray into the game was a happy accident. He scraped free a few more pieces of bark, his hands moving as his mind wandered to the sounds of the forest. His total amount of Burlen bark rose to eight units.

As he deposited it via light show into his inventory, he heard a sound much closer than expected. Turning, Jay saw a small owl making eye contact with him. It was almost like it was daring him to do something, so he activated his Analyze ability.

System Message: Analyze Success! Owl Entry: A bit more dangerous than they look, these owls hunt the various prey animals available in the Ilran forest. They do not spook easily, and a few farms keep them in captivity throughout Elvish lands. Their feathers are vital as a crafting reagent for Rank D Alchemy and Runic Imbuement.

“Sorry, Mr. Owl,” Jay muttered as he looked away from the owl. He unslung his goblin bow and drew an arrow. He wasn’t convinced a single bolt would kill the creature, and the crossbow took far too long to reload for a second shot. Whirling with all his speed, he fired an arrow straight for the owl. The owl, unprepared as it was, did not survive taking the direct hit. Jay activated Catalog to have the entry in his Bestiary for his posterity and collected some feathers. There were thirteen available units.

He continued through the forest, trying to keep one eye on the road, so he knew how to return to Ilra. As he walked, he browsed for more harvest-ready plants. The sounds of more owls seemed to be following him on his journey, something that distracted him until something sweet wafted to his nose. The smell approximated a less powerful version of chamomile. He followed the scent, owls forgotten, and looked for the now-familiar sparkles of what he hoped was a Rank D or less plant. To his delight, he found a small patch of sparkling grass growing out of the ground.

Unbidden, the manual’s text came to mind: he needed to pull these up by the root. He felt the soft dirt cling to his fingers as he fished them from the ground. The process would probably be more efficient with tools, but Jay liked the feeling of dirt on his hands. He hoped some worms wouldn’t come along to ruin the party. He pulled the small patches out, adding four bundled units of Springgrass to his inventory.

He hunted for a few more minutes, collecting a few more units of Springgrass but not finding anything else of note. He had just decided it was time to log off as he became too tired to rely on his eyes when he was jolted from a sleepy state by a novel sight. There was a wolf only a hundred yards in front of him. He wondered how he could have missed it until realizing he could only see it because of the bright sparkles emanating from some plants next to the wolf. Night vision clearly wasn’t his strong suit.

This wolf was different, though. It was bigger than the others he had seen, for example. He crept closer, trying not to set off the wolf with errant sounds. The closer he got, the more he realized: this wolf was much larger than those he was used to seeing. Even the largest of the usual packs was dwarfed by this creature. Jay hoped it was alone.

Holding his breath, Jay finally got close enough to activate his Analyze ability. Unfortunately, he was now close enough for the wolf to spot him, just as the system informed him of the results.

System Message: Analyze Success! Dire Wolf Entry...