Chapter 4 – Running Up That Hill

While John and Chris were having their discussion and drinking at the Tipsy Witch, in the city of Spiriton, in the kingdom of magic Mnemosinia, a person was quietly reading in dimly lit room.

She was working as a librarian in the biggest building in the city, the ‘Third Eye’ library. A place so big being used only for her seemed like a blessing. Although it was only the seventh largest library in Mnemosinia it still had close to a million books.

In the beta testing and even now, the librarian job was the least favorite job in all the game the reason for that was because it was very boring. For people who bought the game with high expectations, seeking a thrilling adventure, this tedious job was unbearable but for people like Manna this was a dream job.

Like in all libraries, it was very quiet. The thought of reading books repelled most players and some only entered out of curiosity but never stayed too long.

“There’s my favorite bookworm. Did you think about my proposal?”

A group of 4 players entered the library. They all were wearing stylish clothing, very different from the beginner clothes that most people were wearing. The reason for that was because of their leader, Gallant, who invested a hefty sum of real money to start the game with enough funds to feed a quarter of the city for a whole day.

The other reason why this place was empty was because their group frequented the library a lot and they liked to stir trouble with anyone who displayed even the smallest intention of getting close to Manna.

“Yes. I thought of your proposal. I would rather date a pig than date you. How many times do I have to reject you before you get the message? I told you already that I have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t believe you do. Each time I log in, you are here. Why would someone who loves her boyfriend so much play games all day?”

That statement irked her. Because they needed jobs and doing quests took time, she and John scheduled to meet only so often so that it wouldn’t interfere with their gameplay. It was better to progress in the game than meet more frequently. After the one month ban was over and they could leave the city to hunt that won’t be an issue but until then she had to endure it. The fact that Gallant implied that she didn’t love John made her incredibly angry.

She rose from her seat. Her fingers were already clenched so tight they became white. Fighting four people at the same time would be hard but knocking Gallant’s teeth in would be an appropriate reword.

“Hey. Are you four going to just stand there all day? You either read a book or get out. This isn’t a bar. If you want to pick up girls, go to the red district.”

The one who spoke was Jojo Birch. As far as NPC’s go, he is the strongest existence within the city. He’s a well-respected fire mage capable of advanced level magic. Even if Gallant was incredibly rich, opposing Jojo would be foolhardy.

“Just go on a date with me. Who knows? Maybe we’ll make some happy memories together.”

With a grin, Gallant left with his party. Manna was boiling with rage but managed to calm down with a bit of difficulty.

“Thank you master Birch.”

“Bah. In the old days this place was filled with scholars and magicians that pondered and researched the mysteries of the universe. Seeing those riff-raffs just waltzing around in here is repugnant. By the way, have you finished the assignment I gave you?”

Another good thing about the librarian job was that unlike other jobs you didn’t have to look for quests, the quests would come to you in the form of chefs looking for recipes or villagers with strange and diverse questions.

Quest: Dusty Old BookMaster Jojo Birch has asked you to look for a cure for Rock Joint Syndrome. He is certain there is a book in the library that has the cure but he doesn’t remember which one. Find it and bring it to him.

Difficulty: C

Quest requirements: Librarian job

Rewards: Unknown

Failure: abandoning the quest

Rejecting this quest will reduce your familiarity.

“It wasn’t easy but I think I found what you are looking for.”

You have finished the quest: Dusty Old Book.

You have gained a level.

“Ah, thank you Manna. I knew it was here. My advice to you, never get old. You start losing things bit by bit each year starting with your mind.”

She was a bit disappointed that after all that effort all she gained was one level. Out of all the quests that she took while she worked here, this was the first one and she had high expectations.

“You know Manna; I didn’t expect anyone would ever find this book. It’s hard to find anything in this huge place, not to mention a book whose name I forgot long ago in a pile of books this size. As a special reword I want you to meet a friend of mine. She lives near Pendle Hill at the edge of the city. Please give her this letter when you decide to meet her. I’m sure you two would get along.”

Chain Quest: Dusty Old HouseMaster Jojo Birch has asked you to deliver a letter to a friend of his.

Difficulty: E

Quest requirements: None

Rewards: Familiarity with Master Jojo’s friend

Failure: abandoning the quest

Rejecting this quest will not produce any repercussions.

“I’ll go meet her after working hours.”

You have accepted the quest.

“There’s no need. Since I plan on reading this and it’s almost closing time anyway, why don’t you leave early?”

After getting her payment for the day and saying goodbye to Jojo, Manna started walking to the bad side of the city. Near the periphery of the city limits were the slums. People here were poor and because of that there were many thieves. Users avoided these parts of town and only entered here if they really needed to.

The sun was setting and the cool breeze of the night was refreshing. The sunset painted the sky in different tones of yellow, orange and red. It was so breathe taking that one couldn’t stop and admire it.

“If it isn’t miss librarian? Are you out for a walk?”

Gallant came from behind along with his three friends. As always, he had a smile on his face and was talking in a way that irritated people. Still fuming from what he said earlier, Manna lost her usual coolness. The thought of beating him senseless entered her mind a few times.

“Fuck off. I’m busy.”

The smile on Gallant’s face faded a bit. His friends couldn’t help but hold their laughter when he was so brutally rejected. After shooting then a glare each they regained their serious demeanor and Gallant put his fake smile back on.

“Oh, that’s right. You have a boyfriend. Someone who plays games all day and all night has a boyfriend. You clearly love him very much but I wonder if he feels the same way. I mean, he doesn’t see you for days. Do you think that maybe he has someone else to keep him company. Right now he might just be having the time of his life making sweet, sweet love to some girl he just met. That is if he truly does exist. I still don’t understand why you won’t just go out with me. It’s not like you’ll lose anything and besides, it’s just a game. It’s not like your boyfriend will ever find out.”

It took everything Manna had not to kill him. She was so full of rage she almost started crying.

“My boyfriend isn’t a pig like you who would just chase skirts all day. You said I wouldn’t lose anything? I would lose dignity for associating myself with vermin you. Here’s an idea for you. How about you take all that money you have and go buy yourself a good personality. While you’re at it, go buy yourself a brain too because you clearly don’t understand that words: I’M…NOT…INTRESTED.”

Gallant’s face was all red with rage. On his face, his smile was replaced with disgust and anger. The fact that the other three were bursting with laughter didn’t help to calm down the situation. With a wicked smile, he took something from his bag and threw it towards Manna. She avoided it but he kept throwing then randomly until one of them hit her.

You have been poisoned. You have been paralyzed for 5 minutes.

“You know Manna; I really wanted to do things the easy way. I wanted to take you to a nice restaurant, get you drunk and go to a nice inn but you just had to PISS ME OFF.”

For the first time in her life Manna was scared. The thought of what this sleazebag was going to do to her made her sick. While crouching next to her he took a bottle from his bag and dangled it in front of her face.

“Those darts I threw at you were expensive at about 20 g each but this is really expensive. Do you know what this is? This is the same poison that was in those darts. The only difference is that those darts contained only a small dose of poison, a little more than a drop. What do you think would happen if I made you drink this whole bottle?”

You can’t log out while you’re in combat.

She tried to run away but the fact that she couldn’t log out surprised her. The surprise was probably written on her face because Gallant started laughing.

“You can’t get away that easy. We’re in ‘Battle’ right now. You want to know the greatest thing about the battle system? All the other pesky systems like the one for sexual harassment are turned off so now instead of having a nice night alone with me, you’re going to have a nice time with the four of us.”

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t scream. Only one word could describe what she felt at that moment: Terror.

“So this little bottle contains paralysis poison?”

Out of nowhere a woman with red hair materialized. In her hand she had the poison that Gallant had only seconds ago.

“Who…?”

Before he could utter any more words she cut his throat and kicked him in the stomach. While he was pressing against the wound with both hands to stop the bleeding she flinged his head back and poured the whole bottle down his throat.

“Pigs aren’t allowed to talk.”

While this was happening, a guy dressed in black was hacking away at the other three and killed them with ease. With the paralyzing hex finally over Manna started crying. She felt so many emotions in such a short amount of time that she barely knew what was happening anymore. When she looked at her savior she relaxed and leapt into her arms without a single thought.

“ROSE. Rose. Rose.”

“It’s okay now. You’re safe.”

“I was so scared.”

“I know.”

She stood there for a long time while Rose held her. When Manna finally calmed down, Rose went next to Gallant’s body and took everything he had, leaving him almost naked.

“Tricks, can you take this ‘thing’ to the warehouse and tie him up?”

The guy dressed in black called Tricks only nodded and dragged Gallant away like a sack of potatoes. Rose took helped her stand and took her through a few dark alleys before they arrived at a bar. When they entered, everyone was a little tense until they saw Rose.

“Welcome to ‘Howler’s Moon’, the thieves den of Spiriton. I’m sort of a local celebrity. I already made a name for myself and have a poster.”

Drown on a poster on the wall there was a woman with the face covered by a mask and hair similar to Rose. Below it the words ‘Wanted: Red Will-O-Wisp’ followed by the reward.

“You have a bounty of 5000 gold?”

“I’ve been busy. What about you? Are you still a mage?”

“…”

Although Manna calmed down she wasn’t her usual bright and cheerful self. She used to be noisy and talkative and asked a lot of questions but now she stood silently in her seat, barely responding.

“I never told you how I got my name did I?” said Rose breaking the silence. “When I was in secondary school, I always felt like I was being watched. I told my parents a few times but they said I was probably imagining it but it turned out I was right. One night while I was walking home from school this strange guy appeared out of nowhere and pushed me to the ground.”

“What happened next?”

“I fought back and screamed. A cop in the vicinity heard me and the guy got arrested. But after that I wasn’t able to talk to or look at guys. The doctors called it androphobia. I recalled what happened that day each time a saw a guy and when the boys in class found out about my condition, they made sure to make my life a living hell.”

“How did you got over it?”

“My brother took me to this old boxing gym. He put gloves in my hands and told me to start hitting until the shaking stopped. The next time the boys in class tried to tease me, I was beating them up senseless. After that I realized that I wasn’t afraid of men. I was afraid of being powerless.”

“Wait. That doesn’t explain how you got your name.”

“Sure it does. Rose is my boxing name.”

After that they had a long conversation. Rose talked about how she and her brother used to get in trouble every week for getting into fights, about how she met Sage in real life and got hooked on videogames and how she and Sage applied for beta testing and ended up playing Legacy. At the end of the conversation, Manna wasn’t 100% her usual self but she wasn’t shaking anymore, if anything she looked determined.

“I have to go. I need to have a ‘conversation’ with our captive and then talk to the GM about the flaw in their system. Will you be alright?”

“Yes. I need to finish a quest first but afterwards I’m going back to work.”

“Call me if you ever need help or just to talk. Once the one month restriction is lifted, we should go hunting together like in the beta days.”

With a puff Rose disappeared. Her Sneak skill was already intermediate level so people could only see a red blur only if they paid attention. After a deep breath and a sigh, Manna left as well and finally arrived at the house on Pendle Hill. The house looked abandoned and in the darkness of the night gave off a creepy feeling. On the door there was a knocker shaped like a demon. The sound it made resounded in the whole house and far into the distance. With a creak the door opened by itself, inviting her inside.

A woman stood on a chair, drinking tea. She had long black hair and pail white skin. Her eyes were cold and strangely colored that gave her bewitching kind of beauty. She only looked at Manna for a second before losing interest.

“May I help you?” asked the lady uncaringly.

“Master Jojo Birch sent me.”

“Did he say why?”

“He gave me a letter to give to you.”

This surprised the black haired beauty. With a questioning look she took the letter from Manna and started reading. When she finished a smile appeared on her face.

You have finished the quest: Dusty Old House.

“It seems that Jojo thinks that you are worthy of becoming my disciple. I do remember asking him to send someone talented my way. I’m surprised he still remembers. I thought for sure he forgot all about me in his old age.”

Her voice was melodic and sensual, almost seductive to the ear. Her eyes no longer had that same coldness and her smile gave people a gentle warmth. She gestured to an empty chair and Manna took the cue to sit down.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Viviane. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

“My name is Manna. Did you say you wanted to make me your disciple?”

“That depends on you. I’ll have to ask you a question first and I want you to answer truthfully. Are you willing to become a monster in your search for power?”

This question took her by surprise. A few hours ago if she was asked that, she would have said no right away. Right now though, she was pondering the question.

“I don’t want to become a monster but if I have to choose between being a monster and being scared, then I rather do the scaring.”

“In that case, there is something you need to do first.”

Profession Quest: Ritual of PowerIn order to become Vivien’s disciple, you need to perform a human sacrifice. Bring someone back to the house alive to perform the ritual.

Difficulty: D

Quest requirements: None

Rewards: Vivian’s unique profession

Failure: abandoning the quest

Warning: Doing this quest will increase you infamy by 2000.

Rejecting this quest will lower familiarity with Vivien.

“I need to kill someone to get this profession?” asked Manna confused.

“Yes. It’s better to choose someone strong too. Don’t you have someone you really wish to see dead?” said Vivian with a wicked smile.

While thinking of Gallant, Manna had a wicked smile of her own. This was the start of a very good teacher-student relationship.

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