Chapter 3: A Wise and Lovely NPC

After wasting a lot of time questioning Miss Muay, Sila walked out of the Card Shop in the next hour.

Sila gained vast knowledge about cards from Miss Muay. For example, cards sold in the Card Shop were all supporting cards. Every card of this type, ranging from F to D Grades, could be found in the store. As for cards in the C to A Grades, they only dropped from monsters. However, few C to A Grade cards could be up for sales in some shops in limited quantity. The selection of cards also changes daily. Unfortunately, the Card Shop in the Town of Beginnings didn’t have any of those.

S Grade cards are mostly given by participating in special events or obtained through hidden quests. Not every S Grade card is powerful though. Rather, a card’s grade is classified by the ‘rarity’ of the card. Players should be cautious of this fact. There was a time when one player successfully bid on an S Grade card for 300 gold in an auction, but the result was horrible, it appeared that the card’s effect was only to make the user’s height decreased by half.

Moreover, only a limited number of cards of the same kind could be equipped in the card window. The same F to D Grade cards can be equipped with up to three duplicates, C to A Grades can be equipped up to two, while players can only equip a single unique S Grade card.

Sila bought two cards that increased his attack by 1% when fighting bare-hand, at 500 silver each. He inserted them in his card window together with three Pink Slime Cards, even if he did not plan to hunt slimes anymore, to have his window fully utilized.

The Hall of Beginnings was not far from the Card Shop. There was a small signpost in front of the entrance saying, “We, wise and lovely NPCs, welcome all new players.”

Sila stepped inside. He took a look and found that the atmosphere of this place was pretty much like a financial bank. There was a queue ticket machine, which was very contradictory to the traditional Chinese atmosphere of the town. There were no bank counters with lines of customers though. Instead, there were five doors serving players privately and individually. When a player stepped out, there would be a sound to call out the player next in the queue.

‘It’s designed like this for privacy, I guess?’

Sila was a bit startled when he received the queuing ticket number 1856 as he presumed that he would have to wait for a long time. But he soon sighed in relief when he heard an announcement.

“Number 1839, please enter Room Number Four.”

Sila noticed that the time taken for each player in each room wasn’t the same. The player who went through door Number Four still hadn’t come out, while players who entered room Number One, Two, or Three usually took about five to six minutes. As for the Room Number Five, players took less than a minute before running out of the room.

Sila waited around fifteen minutes until he heard:

“Number 1856, please enter Room Number Five.”

‘Lucky. It’s the Room Number Five, this is the fastest one.’ Sila stood up and went straight into the room. The door opened automatically, conflicting with the town’s atmosphere again.

If Sila thought the atmosphere outside was somehow contradictory, the inside was even more so. Inside the room was very dark, only the faint glow from the lamp on the table in the middle of the room made the surroundings visible. There were two wooden chairs located on the opposite sides of the table. One of the chairs was currently taken by an elderly man with white hair and a bushy beard. His face had a scar on his left cheek, and his eyes seemed very brutal.

“Ermm... my apology. It seems like I got into the wrong room.”

Sila turned back, wanting to go out. But the door was completely locked.

‘What? Why doesn't it open? And it doesn’t have a doorknob too.’

“Sit down first, boy,” a deep and intense voice came from the mouth of the old man, “That door won’t open until I finish my business with you.”

Hearing that, Sila was forced to sit down on the chair, thinking, ‘What did his word ‘finish’ refer to?’

“First of all, my name is Crow, a wise and lovely NPC of the Hall of Beginnings.”

The silence was there for a while, and the voice of Crow broke that silence.

“Don’t look at me like that. That was the sentence that the Hall of Beginnings forced every NPCs working here to say, I don’t really want to say it myself. I just recently have temporary work here because my niece, Lucy, is taking leave for a day. Actually, the rooms here were arranged by the popularity from Room Number Five to One, just so you know.”

Sila didn’t know what to say, but his stomach suddenly rumbled at such a wrong time since he hadn’t eaten anything yet.

“Are you hungry? Take this rice with fried pork then. We provide one free meal for each new player anyway.”

Crow put the bowl of rice with fried pork on the table. It was a mystery to Sila. Although he observed every moment of the old man’s movements, he still couldn’t follow when this rice bowl appeared.

“Eat it and listen to me. I don’t know what happens to newbies this day. They’re all so arrogant. When they saw me, they kept screaming ‘Let me out,’ without listening to anything.”

Sila nodded, not because he understood Crow’s feeling, but because he understood the reason why they wanted to go out.

Well, due to him being raised in a dojo since childhood, Sila didn’t feel afraid of people’s faces much. He silently ate rice bowl while listening to Crow. However, the things that Crow said were all irrelevant to what new players should know. They were just pure rants.

Sila could summarize what Crow said that; Crow was a real person who actually acted as an NPC in a place called the Madmen’s Valley. But today, his niece, Lucy, had urgent business in her real life, so she begged him to act her role for a day.

One day in real life was about five days in the game. Thus, Sila asked if the Madmen’s Valley was okay since the NPC in charge was missing. Crow answered that it would be fine since there weren’t many people who were able to reach there. Most of them would usually die before entering. His day normally just passed with him killing the time by slaying dragons. This request of his niece was actually good for him since now the dragons’ respawned time was too slow for him to hunt.

Sila put the chopsticks down after finishing his meal. He then went straight to the main topic.

“I am a new player. I came here as the NPC in the avatar-creating process suggested it.”

“Well, take these.” Crow gave items to Sila.

[You have obtained the Liquid Bottle (500 ML capacity).]

[You have obtained the Hotel Coupon (free 1-night stay).]

[You have obtained 10 Small Health Potions.]

[You have obtained 10 Small Magic Potions.]

[You have obtained the Small Bento.]

[You have obtained 2,000 silver.]

The Small Bento was full of rice and fried pork inside; it could store food for three days. The bottle was filled with fresh water. Crow told Sila that, if he wanted a bento or water bottle that was better than these; such as one that had more capacity or could keep food fresh for longer; Sila would have to buy them himself at the store.

After that, Sila asked many things, of which Crow answered only a few questions. Most of the time Crow gave out the sentence that greatly conflicted the title of a wise and lovely NPC: “I don’t know either. Go find out about that by yourself,” though Sila didn’t feel bothered much.

“Okay. You can go out now, kid. Don’t forget to pay me a visit at the Madmen’s Valley someday; I will cook a dragon soup for you.”

Sila promised he would do so if he could. Crow then pressed the red button on the table. However, nothing happened.

“Hmm? That’s strange.” Crow pressed the button once more. Still, nothing happened.

“What’s going on, sir?”

“It’s this button. I pressed it but the door didn’t open.” Crow kept pressing it again and again.

“Is it broken?”

Sila felt a little uncomfortable. It would be okay if he struck inside the room with someone else, not the old man with a savage face like this.

“God damn it! Take this!”

Crow’s hand was glowing with a red aura. He used it to slap the button on the table very hard. The table then broke into pieces and spread around. A piece of table debris flew toward Sila.

Sila raised his left hand to parry, but it seemed that the debris had some kind of inner energy within. So it slashed Sila’ arm, creating a long wound.

Sila felt numb at first, but later the pain sensation came. Blood flowed out from that big wound. Sila gritted his teeth while drinking two health potions that he just recently acquired. Crow saw Sila bled so he stepped closer.

“Health potions only increase health points. For the pain, you will have to wait for the wound to disappear.”

Sila, still gritting his teeth, nodded.

Crow somehow felt guilty, so he sighed and put his hand on Sila’s shoulder.

“Stay still and try to focus your thoughts toward the wound.”

Sila felt as if something flowed into his body. He then quickly concentrated his mind onto the wound.

His painful sensation had immediately disappeared. Sila also saw his wound recover gradually.

[You have learned a passive skill: Recovering Qi – Level 1.]

[You have learned a passive skill: Qi Circulation – Level 1.]

Sila stared at his left arm which now had only a blood stain remaining without any wound, then said, “What’s just happened, sir?”

“Oh. That’s Recovering Qi. It can’t regenerate blood cells nor increase your health points, but it can make wounds and pain disappear faster. It will be more effective if you concentrate it solely on the wound.”

“Thanks for your help, sir.” Sila put his palms together to show his gratitude. He started to have the thought that qi was very convenient.

“It’s nothing. For me, it’s the same as helping some insects.”

Sila paused but he couldn’t say anything because Crow’s next sentence quickly interrupted.

“More importantly, why did the door still not open?”

“Normally, in which case that the door would not open, sir?” Sila tried to help.

“It shouldn’t be broken; it has never been broken before. Else... maybe I still haven’t given you all the items.”

“Then, besides water bottle, bento, health potions, magic potions, hotel coupon, and money; is there anything else?”

“No, that includes all of them, unless you already have a race.”

“Oh, I do have a race.” Sila felt glad since they finally found what the problem was.

With that sentence, Crow was stunned for a while.

“Hmm? Let me see.” Crow put his hand on Sila’s shoulder again. “Inspect.”

Crow paused shortly, “You really have one. Strangely enough, it’s hard to find people choosing the slime race nowadays.”

“I’ve heard that it’s very weak, isn’t it?” asked Sila.

“I don’t think so. Personally, I think that, in this world, there is no being that is the weakest or the strongest. I also believe that nothing is useless; it’s just that we still don’t know its value. If we believe in the path we have chosen, then we just have to keep moving forward. By waiting to follow someone else’s footprints, you will never be able to create your own path.”

This statement alone made Sila delighted. He always found information telling him that the slime race was weak. Crow was the first person who ever said otherwise; it’s just that he still didn’t know its true capability.

When Sila asked if Crow knew what the good point of slime race was, Crow then replied: “I don’t know either. Go find out about that by yourself.”

Crow picked something out of thin air again. Sila still couldn’t follow Crow’s movement this time.

“Take it.”

Crow opened the palm of his hand. There was an emblem. Strangely enough, there was only half of it.

Sila extended his arm to obtain the item. However, Crow moved his hand back, making Sila slightly baffled.

“Be careful. Do not let the darkness swallow your mind. I can only tell you that, otherwise it will break the NPC’s law,” said Crow with a serious face, and then extended his hand to Sila.

Sila could only reply with, “I will,” as he didn’t know what exactly the situation. Sila didn’t ask for more information since Crow himself said that he couldn’t tell Sila more than that.

Sila touched the emblem.

[You have obtained half a piece of the Emblem to the Mansion of the Seven Deadly Sins.]

[Since the other half piece is already possessed by another player; the condition is completed. You will be immediately teleported to the Mansion of the Seven Deadly Sins.]

A black light appeared below Sila’s feet before sucking him into the ground, made him completely disappeared from the room. Crow was left standing alone; he murmured, “Good luck, kid.”

The door was now open. Crow went outside since the red button somehow had been lost, then shouted: “Next person, come in!”

Many new players were shocked to see the brutal face old man came out of the room that the loveliest NPC, Lucy, usually stationed.

One amateur male player, with a white and chubby build, sweated a lot. That’s because the next person in the queue was him. He slowly walked to the Room Number Five unwillingly. His two feet also suddenly felt very heavy as he walked.

During the walk, he, by chance, happened to overhear the conversation between two other newbies.

“Hey, the player who previously went in still didn’t go out, did him?”

“Oh, right. Is there a back exit?”

“Hell no. there is only one entrance.”

“Then maybe...” the two whispered lightly, but no matter how lightly it was, the chubby player could hear it clearly,

“...He was killed!”

His already pale face became paler. Eventually, he entered the room. In the room, the dim light shone from the lamp on the floor, enough for him to see the wood debris, which should be a table before, scattered. There was an old man stood alone with his savage face dimly lit, making him look just like a devil.

Slam—!

The sound of the door closing behind made the chubby guy shudder. He wanted to turn back but the door didn’t open. He then sensed the viscosity on the floor with his feet.

He looked at the floor and shocked even more.

‘B-Blood...’

The young man looked up and accidentally made eye contact with the old man who slowly walked toward him. The old man grinned with a reaper-like smile.

Suddenly, an old man spoke with a hoarse and intense tone:

“My name is Crow, a wise and lovely NPC of the Hall of Beginnings.”

The young man almost fainted. He turned his back and hit the door repeatedly while shouting, “Let me out!!!!!” to the point he crazily screamed and finally fainted.

Crow was confused. He wondered what had happened to the new players these days to make them want to go back out before listening to any information. He inspected the boy’s condition. Then he thought that, if he waited till this boy regained consciousness, someone would blame him for taking too much time. Thus, he decided to call the next person himself.

Outside of door Number Five, many players’ faces went pale as they heard the shout, door hitting, and screaming sounds coming from within. After all these sounds, the door opened, and the one who came out was not the player, but an old man.

“Next person, come in!”

The players hurriedly began to escape from the building to the point that there was not a single player left in the hall, none at all.

Crow shook his head and complained.

“They are indeed very arrogant, new players nowadays.”