The inside of the building was extremely different than the outside would have led Colin to believe.

He expected a lot of tables, both long and short, surrounded by chairs and stools. The lighting in the establishment would have been subpar, and hell, there might even have been a cigar or smoky cigarette smell in the air. The bartender would have been standing behind his counter, cleaning up a spill or some poor saps vomit while he waited for his next order.

Instead of that, Colin found sturdy iron stools surrounding smooth marble counter and tabletops. The lighting was excellent without being overbearing, and the entire room smelled like barbequed chicken and crisp beer. Moving around from patron to patron worked a woman and a man in black and white outfits reminiscent of butler and maid outfits from home but somehow older styled. Behind the bar stood an amazonian woman in a clean grey and blue dress, with dirty blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, and writing something down on a piece of parchment.

Colin watched for a moment, unsure if she was the person to talk to, but she was the person behind the bar. Reasoning that there was a reason the trope of talking to bartenders for info existed, Colin walked up and took a seat. Looking up from her work a moment later, she stood up straight and took a step closer to Colin before she spoke. “What can I get you?” she asked casually.

“I don’t know. What can I get for… ten bits or less?” Colin asked.

“A basic brew. Nothing fancy but its liquor,” the bartender said with a shrug. “I like it well enough.”

“I’ll take one of those then,” Colin said, pulling out the ten copper bits from his pocket and setting it on the table.

Nodding upon seeing the money, she bent over and poked her head under the counter for a moment. The sound of a mug being filled reached Colin as he waited for his drink. A moment later, she stood up straight again and set a stein of a copper tinged fluid on the table. She took six of the ten bits and slid the slightly foamy stein just a little closer to Colin.

“Thank you,” Colin said as he accepted the drink. He lifted the giant mug to his nose and sniffed for a moment before nodding in appreciation. This alcohol smelled eerily like one of the brands Colin like at home. It was a bit on the cheap side, but that was why he liked it. Taking a tentative sip, Colin smiled between swallows as he drank a third of the alcohol in one pull. “That’s pretty good,” Colin said with a smile. “What’s it called?”

“Rotgut,” she said deadpan.

He looked down at the tasty drink for a moment then looked back up at her, “seriously?”

“No, its called Fjord Harvest two-one-four-eight. That look on your face, though, was priceless when I said Rot Gut,” she said with a playful smile. “I made that particular brew, so I hope you like it.”

Smiling at her, Colin said, “yes, I do. Do these come in bottles?” he asked curiously.

“Yeah, but they’re an extra two coppers. So eight coppers for a bottle of Fjord Harvest two-one-four-eight,” she said with a nod to herself.

“What’s with the two-one-four-eight?” Colin asked.

“It denotes which batch of the brew it is associated with for quality control. We make three or four dozen casks of these at a time, so if you got sick, we’d know to take these out of the rotation. So with each batch, we number them in sequence. This one you just drank is batch number two-one-four-eight.” “Huh, makes sense. Can I also assume that you use it to judge how long the alcohol is aged?” Colin asked, offhandedly.

“Yes, it does.” She said with a genuine smile.

He took another, the small pull of the drink, and looked at her with a smile, “you did a good job then. it is quite good.”

“You should try one of the older batches sometime. The taste only gets better,” the bartender told him proudly.

“I will after I get some more money. That is part of the reason I am here, miss…” Colin said, trailing off. Neither person had introduced themselves, and now was a good time to do so.

“Lane. But you can call me Solis,” she said with a mildly flirtatious wink.

“My name is DevilWalker,” Colin said with a nod of his head to the woman in greeting.

“Wait, is that your real name?” she asked with an incredulous look on her face. “Oh my gods, it is?!”

“Yeah. Why?”

Suddenly, Solis seemed a little sheepish that she’d been laughing at a customer’s name. Her face flushed as she explained, “it just sounds more like a title than a name. Is there something else I can call you?” She asked and continued without waiting for Colin to answer. “I think I will call you Walker. I like that. Can I call you Walker?”

Shaking his head, he smiled at the shortening of his name. He could live with that. Character sheet Update. Add Nickname: Walker? Yes/ No? Anyone with the appropriate skill will see both your name AND your nickname and will know what to call you. Selecting yes, Colin looked at the barkeeper and gave her a nod. “Sure, you can call me Walker.”

“Good,” Solis told him. “Easier to remember and quicker to say.”

“Agreed,” he said before turning back to the original subject. “I am here because I was hoping that someone here, someone like yourself, might be able to tell me how a person could make some money in this town without affiliating themselves with any of the organizations in Willows Cross.”

Without needing time to think about it, Solis pointed to the opposite end of the establishment, near the stairs. Standing from floor to ceiling was a giant hunk of wood that had a few pieces of parchment tacked to it. None of them were legible at this distance, but the concept of the board itself was easy.

“That job board is for all the jobs that fall between the cracks of the various guilds in Willows Cross. The only rules are first come, first serve and bring evidence of the job done.” She intoned with the voice of someone who’d done this little speech over and over and over. Something told him that she’d given him the abridged version of the explanation but was sure that if it were necessary, he could ask her later.

“Thank you,” Colin said as he finished his drink and stood up from the bar.

“Wait,” Solis called. “I, uh, have a proposition for you.”

Colin stood in place and waited for a moment before saying, “what is it?”

“What level are you?” she asked bluntly.

“Three,” he stated.

Blanching at that statement, Solis looked hesitant to speak now that she knew just how low leveled he was. Annoyed, Colin looked at her sternly and told her, “why don’t you just tell me?”

“It’s just that I expected you to be at least a few levels higher. Most people don’t go wasting money on drinks until they have some levels in them to make the spending less taxing on their wallets. I’d rather not see a nice person who knows how to appreciate good quality alcohol and good prices die.”

Oh, now he needed to know.

“Why don’t you just tell me what it is and I will tell you whether or not I can help you?” Colin told her calmly. “Levels don’t mean everything.”

“No, but they do denote both experience and power,” she responded cooly. Exhaling her breath, she laid it out for him, “In this building, my siblings and I do everything to make our drinks and food from scratch. Beyond the growing and slaughtering of our food stock,” she amended. “We have built a few basement levels under the building for the brewing, casking, and fermenting of all our alcohol here. We keep some casks elsewhere in the city, but that is just for long term storage.”

“In our deepest basement level, where we keep some of our finer brews, something dug through the reinforced walls and several feet of solid stone. We aren’t exactly sure what is down there, but we are certain that is has eaten through one of our casks — probably drunk through the contents too. What I want is for someone to go down there and kill the thing before it goes through all of our more expensive stock,” Solis informed Colin with a stern look. “At the least, I will pay you to go down there and figure out what it is. Get a good look without ruining all our stock.”

Nodding, along with Solis, Colin could see himself doing this job. “How much will you offer me?”

Folding her arms over her chest, Solis responded, “a copper coin to scout it out. The minimum I will give you IF you kill it will be five copper coins. Might be more if its a fairly strong creature. How does that sound?” Quest: Unwelcome drinking guest. Objective: Go into the deepest level of Brewed Perfection’s basement levels and find the creature within. You have to either scout it out well enough to have it identified or slay the creature itself. Reward: 1 copper coin if the creature can be accurately identified OR at least five copper coins if you slay it. The extra amount depends on the level of the creature. Increased relationship with Solis Lane. Time limit: Until someone else comes to kill the creature. Odd. Solis hadn’t mentioned a time limit. Maybe these prompts interpret desires for quests as well as spoken word requests. Also, Increased relationship with Solis Lane? Did that mean she would like me more if I completed this request? That could come in handy, but if this implied that he could, uhm… get busy with NPCs if he got their relationship increased to a certain level, then maybe he should tread lightly. Mckenna could be watching right now.

“Alright, Solis. I can take a look. Could you show me where the door to the basement is?” Colin asked but only got an appraising look that roamed over him quizzically. “What?”

“Aren’t you going put on some armor? Hardened wool, leathers, anything?” she inquired incredulously.

“Don’t have any,” Colin informed her. Then he immediately fibbed a little, “would only slow me down, and I prefer to move fast.”

She eyed him for another moment before relenting and pointing towards the job board she’d indicated earlier. “To the left of the job board, there are stairs that go up. To the right of it, there is a second set that will go down. Take those stairs, and you will quickly find a set of locked doors. Use this key,” she produced a key from a well-disguised pocket in her dress. “to get through that door. Lock it behind you. Don’t let it out, okay? Can’t get the bad publicity.”

“Just a quick question,” Colin told her before continuing. “how long has this mystery monster been down there?”

Wincing as if she’d been stung, Solis admitted quietly, “two days. We’ve been trying to keep it quiet, so please do the same.”

Nodding once to the woman, Colin took the proffered key and walked across the bar floor. A few people with alcohol flushed faces cat called him with phrases like ‘threadbare newbie’ and ‘chump change.’ None of them meant anything to him but figured that they were just calling him weak and poor. Nothing to be too concerned about. He wouldn’t be for long.

With the instructions being easy, Colin found the stairs quickly and started down them. The wooden steps creaked as he walked down, but none of the even slightly shifted or bent under his weight. A testament to the sturdy construction of the building, Colin found even more evidence of this fact when he reached the door. It was banded with iron like the front door of Clyde’s shop and had runes etched into the door in several places. Colin would not have wanted to break into this basement without a lot of much-needed knowledge. In theory, these runes could do anything.

With the key in hand, Colin inserted it into the lock and turned it. They were a pale blue flash as the lock clicked, and nothing else seemed to happen. Whatever that was, it probably didn’t trigger since he had the key. Withdrawing the key, he tentatively grasped the handle of the door and turned it.

As expected of doors, it opened with a quiet squeak.

The first of the basement levels were conveniently lit up with perfectly square, transparent, crystalline cubes that hung from cords in the walls in the perfect distance to banish the light from the whole floor. It was easy to see the giant vats that sat above unlit burners, waiting for their brews. Tables with notebooks, bottles, and other instruments sat around the room. All probably abandoned since the creature took residence below him. Unfortunately, liquor hadn’t been one of the things he’d studied but got what little he knew from television programs. Congratulations! You have gained a new skill: Knowledge: spiritcraft Level 1. You know a single step in the process of making many types of alcohol. Boiling! You get a 1% increased effectiveness in charisma when applying this knowledge near other people. Gather or discover more understanding in this area to level this skill and get more detailed prompts towards any alcoholic beverage. A knowledge skill? Interesting, but did it have to be in spiritcraft? It sounds like the kind of skill needed to create spirit gear or make ghosts. Though one part of that skill stood out in particular, that last line made it sound like knowledge skills could make more detailed prompts appear when applying that skill. He hadn’t gotten very many prompts as a whole when he picked up items or did things. Maybe it had something to do with this?

As a quick test, Colin walked over to one of the work tables near the vats and picked up a small clear glass flask that looked like it was holding a little bit of some kind of beer in it if the color was to be trusted. So he looked at it carefully as if to ask, ‘what is this?’ His answer came a moment later. Flask of test beer. Given that this is where the tavern AND brewery makes their excellent drinks, it makes sense that whatever is down here could be either experimental or too raw to drink. Closing the prompt, Colin quickly decided that he need to get as many knowledge skills as he could and in any subject. Even that little bit of information, while not helpful this time, could be beneficial if leveled up. Who knows? Maybe he could have gotten the recipe for that brew if his skill was high enough.

Unlikely.

Setting the Flask down, he crossed the large room that looked like it was primarily for these vats and found the next set of stairs. Walking down them, Colin discovered the next set of stairs quickly, not needing to look closely at any of the various stations and machines on this floor. It didn’t matter to him anyway since this area looked like it was mostly filled with copper stills, bottling equipment, and other devices that he had no idea what they could be. So he elected just to pass them without a second glance.

From here, according to Solis, he would be entering the area they used for storing their less expensive brews, and the one below that was where the creature was last heard. Cautiously, Colin drew his daggers and started to move down the stairs carefully. Step by step, heel to toe, he stepped down the steps while trying his damnedest to make as little noise as possible while entering the lower level since he hadn’t seen a door yet. Congratulations! You have gained a new skill: Stealth level 5! You know the basics and even the right amount of advanced techniques of hiding one from both sight and hearing. +5% chance to conceal an action, +5% sound canceling, and +5% movement veiling. This skill can only be triggered when wearing light or no armor. Also reflective and noisy gear can negate these chances. Finally, A skill that he could use. Stealth would be one that he could guarantee would be used often and to significant effect. It was interesting that the game was able to recognize his experience level with stealth in the real world and gave him more levels accordingly. Maybe it could passively scan his surface thoughts when he did an action so that it would see where his mindset was taking him? With this info, it could determine a skill level to give for new skills.

Creepy, but possible. The headset Colin was wearing was scanning his brain and playing with the signals to put him in here, so clearly, it was able to do so.

Frowning at himself for the mental detour, he realized that he’d started to walk normal instead of his quieted steps down the stairs, so he turned his focus to the task at hand. He needed to find the creature before it found him after all.

The next floor down was nothing but racks and racks of casks that nearly to the ceiling. There were some wine shelves mixed in here and there, giving the level a very disorderly set-up. Colin, however, suspected that it was more set up as the need arrived. Need another shelf unit for vodka? Lets put one up here, sort of thing.

He felt this theory get validated when he cautiously walked through the room, that might as well have been a small warehouse, and found enough empty, unused space in the back near the stairs that led downward to imply that he was right. He might have to ask to see if he called it.

He took one more look around the well-lit room only to find nothing alive and no evidence of anything breaking into any of the booze here. So with the thought, Colin looked down the stairs that led to the final floor of the basement and took a deep, quiet breath. He’d done scary things in his life, and no game could make him frightened before he even found out what he was fighting.

So again, he took every step slowly and carefully as he stealthed down the stairs.

About halfway down, the smell hit him. It was pungent in both the good and the bad way. The scent of honeyed wine and smooth top-shelf beer met his nose along with scotch that he could almost taste on the air. Then there was the smell of something else mingled in the aromatic scents that made him suddenly almost want to vomit. It was intense and smelled like a wet, unbathed dog had been rolling around in these drinks.

It was unsettling, but Colin fought any attempts to gag and took in a couple of deep breaths, acclimating himself to the stench. With that done so that he could function, Colin continued and entered the room, which seemed much smaller compared to the storeroom above him. Racks of similar casks as the ones above him, but these were all made with a much darker wood. He stared at it, hoping to glimpse what they were made out of and was surprised at the response. Knowledge: Spiritcraft: partial success. Holy Ash Wood Cask(filled). You are unsure why they used Holy Ash Wood to make these casks compared to any other wood type, but you can just tell its special. I could just tell, huh? He’d admit that he was curious about the difference in the wood, but it’s not like he couldn’t stop staring at it. Colin thought as he looked at each of the barrels as he stealthed through the aisle. All of them appeared to be made from the same wood type, and each had its seven-digit number burned into the front of the containers. No other labels marred their surface

Looking away from the Barrels, he took in a whiff of the air and noted that the smell did seem to be getting stronger the more he walked.

“Grrrrr-wooo,” something howled absently through the basement level. It almost sounded like whatever had made that sound was muttering in its sleep.

Moving along, it wasn’t long until Colin peeked his head around the corner and internally groaned.

The creature was a giant dog the size of a pony due to the sheer amount of muscle mass it had. Short black fur covered its entire body, and thick fangs jutted out from its mouth, making the monstrous mutt look almost like a hellhound. Seriously, all it needed was hellish flames to complete the look.

Currently, the giant hound was lying on its back and was asleep in a puddle of what looked like three different broken barrels. Its tongue lolled outside its mouth, and one of its back legs twitched as if scratching the air with its thick claws. At least the beast explained the disturbing smell.

Unfortunate that the thing had somehow found a way in here, but he couldn’t argue with Solis about the look of this thing. It seriously looked dangerous and had already gotten into her merchandise.

So he crouched low and thought quiet thoughts as he moved closer to the giant dog.

It was, of course, at that moment that a soft breeze moved through the level and made him upwind from the monster. Its nose twitched, and a growl escaped it just seconds before its eyes opened wide.

But Colin didn’t stay in the same place for it to just find. The instant he felt the air move, probably from the hole the hound used to get in here, he scrambled up one of the barrel racks and went statue still the moment he reached the top. The mutt rolled to its feet with more fluidity than Colin would have given it credit, and it looked around. It sniffed the air furiously for the source of the smell that it had caught.

Colin observed it quietly as a fierce doggy smile spread across its face. Was it happy? Its short tail was swishing through the air behind it implied the fact. But there was something in its coal-black eyes that made Colin nervous.

The giant dog monster let out a short series of chuffing barks that could be construed as laughter as its eyes swept back and forth, its nose working all the while.

“It looks like I have a rodent in my home?” the thing said in a rumbling basso voice that was easily understandable. “Who are you? You don’t smell like one of the former owners of this space. Perhaps you’re here to feed me after basking in my might. I couldn’t blame you for that, of course.” It said, oddly amused with itself.

Oh shit. This situation would either get really bad or really interesting.

“Not many who face me can match my power, so I understand the hesitancy to come out from wherever you are hiding, but you are only wasting my time and making me impatient. Let us just say that making me impatient is not a good thing,” it growled as it kept looking around the floor. A moment later, it screamed, “Where are you?! I can smell you, so I know that you are still here somewhere!”

Colin knew he was running out of time. This thing was intelligent, significant, and getting angrier by the moment. He watched it round one of the shelves and thought about what he could do against THAT. He wasn’t sure there was much he could do against it. Even if its hide wasn’t super thick, he was confident that all that muscle would protect its vital areas. Unless he got a perfect headshot, there was no way he would be able to kill it quickly.

So what were his options?

“There you are,” the beast said, and Colin looked down at it and swallowed as it looked right back at him. A vicious grin playing upon its face. “Why don’t you come down here before I risk breaking all these containers going up there to get you.”

It wasn’t a question. It was pure certainty, and Colin thought quickly.

Nope, nothing came to mind. So Colin slid down from the top of the shelf, minding his blades, and landed with a small roll to avoid damaging himself.

“So you’re the intruder. You don’t look like much. You look less like a meal and more like a snack.” It said with its same chuffing laugh. “Not that it matters. I am going to eat you. The drinks in this room are excellent, but I still need meat.”

“Do you always talk this much, or am I just lucky?” Colin asked before he could stop his mouth.

“Oh, we have a brave meal. That’s good. That does make you taste much richer.” It said with a rumble that resembled a purr. “But I am afraid that it is time to stop bantering with the food. Any last words?” It asked as it went still in preparation.

“Yeah, I hope you like fast food,” Colin said as he loosened his grip on the blades in his hands and charged.

Surprise changed its features for a moment while Colin sprinted forward, but the man-eating beast was nothing if not quick to adapt. With a growl, it crouched and pounced at the human who dared to attack it so recklessly. Only the human did something that it did not expect yet again. He dove into a roll and moved under the lunge. Immediately, he stood up and ran at the dog and thrust both daggers at its left hind leg.

It roared in both fury and pain as Colin attempted to pull the weapons loose. Only one deigned to come loose from the dog, and Colin stepped back as the creature pawed at the air where he’d been standing.

All chatter had left the beast, and only animalistic fury remained in the creature that faced Colin. He’d hurt it, and that made it extremely angry. The only pieces of good news were that the wound had lamed it and that it was slowly bleeding it out. That’s if the puddle that was forming was any indication.

It let out a ferocious roar and slammed a front paw into the ground.

“Oh shit,” he let out as he leaped towards the nearest shelf and tried to scramble up and out of the way of whatever was coming. He wasn’t fast enough, though. A thorn of stone impacted his torso and slammed him into the shelf he was about to climb. The sharp piece of stone was big enough that he had to pull on it with his whole hand but small enough that his hands couldn’t find good purchase on it. You have been hit by an earth spike and have taken 47 points of damage. You have 73 out of 120 health remaining. “Ow ow ow,” Colin muttered as he tried to remove the spike again only to stop and move out of the way as the giant mutt roared and sent another spike at him. It impacted the shelf where he had been leaning only a second earlier. Colin turned the corner and started moving away from the enraged beast. Yet again, he wished he had money to get as outfitted as he would have preferred in the real world.

“Running away!?” it roared. “You came into MY lair! you aren’t getting away!” It howled as it started after Colin.

As soon as it rounded the corner, a throwing knife was thrown and sailed into its thick shoulder. Colin was hoping for the mythical eyeshot with that throw but had another knife ready in his hand. His eyes moving around, Colin swallowed as he thought about his next move and winced at the first idea. This was going to hurt his shoulder.

The mutt roared and stomped its front paw again, and Colin sprinted towards it the moment he caught its intention. After a few steps, Colin leaped to the left and planted his foot on one of the barrels immediately to his left and pushed off. Going to the right and forward, Colin jumped to the other side and repeated the motion going closer to the dog’s location. Acrobatic attempt fail The prompt appeared after Colin’s foot slipped and sent him falling forward and headfirst onto the Dogs back. Not ideal, but he could make this work.

He landed chest first onto it with a thud and plunged both the throwing knife and the dagger in his hands into the dog’s sides to stabilize himself and held on for dear life.

The thing howled in pain as the blade pierced its sides and started jumping from its front legs to its hind legs in an attempt to buck him off and almost immediately succeeded. Colin fell off with both blades still in his hands and the spike suddenly coming free from his shoulder. Aggravating the wound in your shoulder has caused 10 more points of damage. You have 63 out of 120 health remaining. Scurrying to his feet, Colin inspected the canine for a moment, and grim satisfaction raced through him. Now the thing was bleeding from several places, and the two new ones, in particular, seemed particularly nasty. While it didn’t look unsteady on its feet yet, given the size of the creature and the amount bleeding it was doing, Colin figured that it was only a matter of time. Howling, it ran at him, and the pain in Colin’s shoulder made him react slower than he would have liked. The dog shoulder tackled him and sent Colin sprawling into the rack next to him as slowed to a stop and padded its way back over. It seemed to believe that the fight was over since Colin was staggering due to his impact. You have been thrown bodily into a heavy rack for 51 damage. You have 11 out of 120 health remaining. Satisfaction gleamed in its hate-filled eyes as it approached, unperturbed with how Colin was trying to get back up. All he managed, in the end, was to go from lying on his chest to lying on his back. His breathing heavy from pain and exertion.

Chuckling to itself, it got up close to Colin and opened its maw wide as it approached Colin’s exposed neck.

When its teeth were mere inches away, Colin thrust the dagger still in his hand into the beast’s thick neck. Quickly, he twisted the blade before it could back away from him and keep his weapon still in his scruff. Now panting and whining, the giant dog padded a few feet away, looking both pitiful and angry at the same time.

The holes in the dog leaking blood all over the floor, especially the fresh neck wound, and with it, the dog was finally staying down. Too tired to do anything else. Colin laid there panting and groaning from that last hit he’d taken. He’d impacted it with his side, and it felt like he'd a broken rib or two.

Smiling, Colin looked up at the ceiling and gave a big thumbs up at the air as a laugh escaped him from adrenaline. “I beat that scary-ass mutt. Did you see that McKenna? I did it.”

The hound was gasping out its last breaths when the phone on Colin’s belt vibrated. His own breathing was ragged as his health started increasing every second since he was out of combat. Health: 12/120 Health: 13/120

His health regeneration was pretty low, maybe one health per second outside of combat. Most games have the health regeneration connected to the constitution stat, and Colins is currently dead average. For a moment, he considered adding a point or two of his bonus stat points into the constitution to increase his healing rate but threw that idea aside. He still had no idea what this class he was working towards could entail, and he didn’t want to throw points into his stats pointlessly.

So Colin simply let out an exasperated sigh and let the natural healing continue to ease his broken body.

The phone on his belt vibrated again, and Colin could almost feel the annoyance come through the line this time. Grabbing and opening it quickly, he read it and wanted to slap himself for his stupidity.

The first one read; ‘Colin, you moron! You have a health potion in your backpack!’ the second one read simply, ‘are you ignoring me?!’

Oh shit.