Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – A Village Trot

The crowd around the quest board had gotten noticeably smaller. I managed to slide my way to check out the available quests in no time at all. There were a handful of tiny paper notes pinned to one half of the board, with the other half of the board being totally empty.

I strained to see the postings, nearly jumping backwards out of shock when a detailed quest window flew out as I squinted at a specific paper slip.

~~~

Take down Forest Goblins! (Repeatable)

An aspiring adventurer’s first major combat quest! Goblins are a common sight in the New Forest of Equilibrium! Help out the local residents by clearing them out.

Requirements: Kill at least 20 Training Forest Goblin(s) without dying!

First Time Reward: 1 Blank Training Skill Book; Training Equipment of Your Choice; Copper Coins

Repeatable Rewards: Copper Coins

~~~

~~~

Clear out Training Forest Bandits! (MAJOR QUEST) (Instanced)

Bandits have blockaded the roads leading to the rest of Equilibrium! Clear them out, and explore the world!

Requirements: Clear the 3 Bandit Encampment(s) without dying!

You cannot enter the instance with players that have already completed this quest!

Clear Rewards: 1 Blank Basic Skill Book; Basic Equipment of Your Choice; Travel outside of the New Training Forest Region

~~~

~~~

Turn in Forest Slime Goo! (Repeatable)

Perfect for new players. The goo from Forest Slimes are essential in beauty products and potions in the world of Equilibrium.

Requirements: Turn in at least 5 Forest Slime Goo(s)!

Repeatable Rewards: Copper Coins

Extra Rewards will vary on the quality of the goo.

~~~

I clicked my tongue in disappointment as I saw that I only had three normal quality goos left in my inventory. Thankfully, I had plenty of low quality goos to turn in, but I would have loved to see the better tier of rewards. 

“You’re back a little later than I expected. Got caught up in a PvP scam?”

Artemia was still seated at the same window, raising an eyebrow as I approached. I paused for a moment, wondering how she knew about my scuffle. She flipped something around in the air, revealing a translucent screen that showed a clip of me beating Kevin XYY’s shoulder, titled “BRUTAL DUEL OUTSIDE FOREST GUILD HQ!”

I winced.

“Unfortunately, yeah. Not my proudest moment — I don’t have enough Normal Quality Forest Slime Goos for this quest because of the loss.”

The low quality goos made sad squishy noises as they fell out of my inventory and into the bin on Artemia’s desk. 

“Still a decent haul. How many normal quality goos do you have? If you have any, I can give you a special new player discount for them. The reward will be scaled down proportionately, but I’m sure you’d rather have that than nothing.”

Gratefully, I dumped out the normal quality goos onto the tray, which landed with slightly more dignified splats. The clerk tapped the air a few times, glaring off to the side occasionally, before a Guild Quest Complete! window finally appeared on my end. A loot notification flickered by, letting me know that a few dozen copper coins had been sent to my character.

“The spirits wouldn’t let me sneak you the full reward for the goo deposits, but they let me give you a choice. Do you want a sword, armor, or a shield?”

Artemia flicked her fingers towards me, flinging another set of windows in my direction. The items that were presented were rather drab in stat and completely lacked any special effects, obviously meant for new players. I gave each window a cursory look over, making sure to read the flavor text attached to each item. You never knew when there was some sort of hidden quest locked behind lore.

Tutorial Sword - [Weapon/Offhand] Good for adventurers who are not used to the weight of an actual sword. Perfect weapon to slice through slimes, but think twice about attacking real flesh and bone.

Tutorial Tunic (FOREST) - [Top] Lightweight outfit made from leftover material. Function and fashion were clearly not important traits, as the threads holding the pieces of mismatched leather are already fraying, and the straw filling is falling out. 

Tutorial Shield - [Weapon/Offhand] Small enough to wear on your forearm and light enough to not wear you down. Looks like someone cut a plank in half and called it a day. Thankfully, the leather strap seems tightly secured, so it won’t fly off. Maybe.

“…This sword looks made of plastic.”  I squinted at the cartoonishly blue sword. 

“So what if it does? Those things hurt you know.” The guild clerk pulled out a copy of the Tutorial Sword out, giving it a few hollow knocks against the flat end of the blade. 

“Isn’t this a medieval setting? How do we have plastic swords?”

“You just regrew an arm and shattered a rock into dust with your bare fist, and you have a problem with a potentially plastic sword?”

I silently nodded.

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“Well, it’s actually just a cheap wooden sword made out of leftover scraps. Some forest spirits painted it this way so that players would have a more aesthetic starting weapon.”

Artemia tossed the sword to me, the unmistakable texture and heft of cheap plywood landing in my hands. I handed it back to her, unimpressed.

“Is there a point in using shields? I thought the Block spell seemed to cover defensive options pretty well.” My attention shifted to the even more flimsy looking shield. 

“Hmm. I could tell you, but the answer spoils a pretty important game mechanic. I’m sure that most players will know sooner rather than later though, so maybe it’s not a big deal if you find out now.”

I locked eyes with the clerk’s expectant brown eyes for a few moments, before deeply sighing and selecting the shield. Her satisfied smile was an emotional reward. Or was that an impish grin? I had a feeling that I would understand the difference in due time.

An urgent thought flashed through my distracted mind.

“Actually, could I trade for the sword? I forgot that I broke my stick in the PvP duel earlier.”

“No take backs.”

…

Exploring the modestly sized village took more time than I expected. It turned out that the shoddy and fragile-looking buildings that peppered the outer districts were actually player-owned and created.

Well, owned was a loose term. No one had enough currency to straight out buy land, so players were attempting to physically call dibs with the poor excuse of huts lying around. These buildings had no functional purpose, and it didn’t seem like there were any players even using them as a place to rest. The few doors I knocked on swung open easily, revealing nothing but dust inside. 

It was clearly a waste of time to knock on every door, so I decided to swing by some of the NPC-owned buildings. 

First up, the potion store. I had noticed an incredibly long line trailing around the block when I first entered the village. By the time I found myself there again, it was significantly shorter.

The inside of the store was sanitary and smelled like fresh peppermint, which was the first system-enforced smell so far. While carefully browsing the various potions on the shelf, I realized my first major gripe with the game.

Training Healing Potion [3 Charges] - [Consumable] The weakest but cheapest healing potion on the market. Sipping this might relieve a hangover, but don’t expect much more. Well, minor scratches and bruises might also clear up.

Training Stamina Potion [3 Charges] - [Consumable] The weakest but cheapest stamina potion on the market. Sipping this is like sipping a watery and over brewed coffee from your local bodega or deli. It might perk you up a bit, but will definitely ruin your taste buds.

Training Antidote Potion [3 Charges] - [Consumable] The weakest but cheapest antidote on the market. Good for the lactose intolerant. Worthless for everyone else, probably. 

Training Death Protection Scroll [1 Charge] - [Consumable] A scroll that prevents players from looting your items after a duel. Only valid in the Training Starting Zones. Great item to make duels friendly, unless you trust your “friend” to give your items and coins back. 

None of the item descriptions actually broke down exactly what the items did. There was simply the name, usages, and a label, with frivolous flavor text that vaguely referred to the item’s effectiveness. I even asked the potion store clerk about the lack of numerical details, but received a canned NPC response in return.

“My apologies, Player Magnum D. I do not know the answer to your question, but perhaps another player or NPC will.”

I opened my incredibly light coin purse, toggling my currency tab with the action. There was simply no way I could afford testing all of the potions that lined the shelves. Maybe someone significantly wealthier already had a spreadsheet with exact details for the potions here, but there was simply no way it would be publicly available before the tier was cleared. 

I exited the potion store without purchasing anything, resolving to drop by tomorrow and ask the players in line about their experiences with the potions. The weapons store was next on my list.

“Player Magnum D. I am sorry to inform you that we simply do not have any weapons that cost less than two hundred coppers. I do have a quest that rewards a Training Sword if you collect 100 Sticks for me, however I must emphasize that my wares are much higher quality than these Training-tier items.” A quest window flew out as the dwarf finished speaking.

~~~

Bring the Blacksmith Some Sticks!

It turns out that the random sticks that are lying around the village are perfect material for new blacksmiths to train with. Since the Blacksmith can’t freely leave his post, he needs adventurers to help him out.

Requirements: Turn in 100 Sticks!

Reward: Training Sword; Copper Coins

~~~

I blankly stared at the blacksmith NPC (in stereotypical MMORPG fashion, a dwarf), silently cursing the shield strapped to my forearm. While I could probably pick up a new stick off the ground and grind out some more Forest Slime Goo, the process was clearly tedious due to my poor weapon choice.

I also had not the slightest idea on where I could find that number of sticks in a timely manner, so I dismissed the quest window. 

“You picked the shield instead of the sword huh? Looks like someone didn’t look up the guides online.”

A snickering player overheard my interaction with the dwarf, the name Kevin AB flickering above him when I narrowed my eyes. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at the sword and shield hanging at his sides. 

Feeling pretty defeated, I took another look at my inventory and decided on a last ditch effort.

“Sir, is there any way you could smelt this item into anything usable?” I took out the melted and rusted copper axe from my inventory. The dwarf NPC paused for a moment, which was a promising start.

“Player Magnum D. This copper axe is in awful shape. While I am unable to fully restore it, I should be able to extract some amount of usable material. I am happy to give you some copper coins in return.”

“Are you able to create a usable weapon?”

The dwarf shook his head. “Even the smallest dagger would need at least ten smelted down to guarantee even the lowest quality of edges, and I would still need a light fee for the commission.” 

I eyed the singular ruined axe in the dwarf’s hand, and opted for the copper coins. There was one location that I spotted on the map that would likely solve my issues, but I could already hear Felix’s mocking laugh in the back of my mind. I was also putting off this trip, fearing the inevitable decisions that I would have to make. 

…Better to have him make fun of me for a minute than delay the inevitable.

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