Incidentally, Chelan knew Angelina fairly well.

The military wasn't the best at improving the lives of the common people: in the end, they were guarding at the edge of a possible war zone. The administration couldn't worry much about hygiene, economy, education, none of that, as evidenced by the questionable residential zones.

But they couldn't just let people die by wandering into the tainted lands. So, they held public safety and news seminars for the civilian population. These heavily recommended sessions, mandatory for children, in fact, updated citizens regarding the current state of the tainted lands, precautions, and whatnot. Organized by informal districts, Angelina and Chelan attended the same PSAs, at this very fountain.

Angelina suffered from a genetic deformity that resulted in twin bony protrusions from the shoulder blades. Additionally, the sickness distorted the kneecaps, making walking difficult. This wouldn't be all bad except for the magical, surgical removal of these growths by religious believers, leaving the young girl thoroughly handicapped.

In a way, Chelan and Angelina had suffered difficult lives thus far, and as the child population in their area was sparse, the two girls, both mature beyond their years, became friends - or perhaps more appropriately, acquaintances.

Was it odd that she found it so easy to sell her friend out to a stranger? Chelan didn't agree - that's exactly what Gyead required of them to survive. Besides, was there was no certainty John had any cruel intentions.

And so, Chelan led the strange thief to one of the small streets on the third floor.

But Chelan never fully considered the exact reason why John was seeking Angelina. Chelan would never have guessed the secret that the poor family had.

Angelina wasn't actually completely human but rather a weird mixed breed of the human and something else. Angelina wasn't her real name either: that's why John couldn't remember it. Her given name at birth was Rylai and the tale of Rylai and Anne was the story of an adopted motherly love that transcended race - one of tragedy. But at this point in the quest, Jade Cookies had described it such that it seemed that Rylai wasn't quite aware of her own identity.

John and Chelan soon reached their destination, an alley between two buildings. It was barely an alley, less than half a meter wide. It caused John to frown: an able-bodied person would have to navigate it sideways, and it was known that Angelina used makeshift crutches.

"Through here," Chelan instructed, leading the way. "You might be too fat though."

"Kid, you need to clean up your mouth," John scolded. "I'm technically your boss."

Chelan snickered.

John pulled out one of the magic stones from the rabbit's den, using it as a lantern. He followed the little rascal into the narrow opening.

They came to the space behind the two buildings. There was a sheet of metal that blocked the alley, serving as a sort of door if only for privacy.

"Go ahead, knock," John said.

Chelan tapped the metal three times, holding on to the sheet so it wouldn't fall over. "Angelina, it's me," her little voice called into the darkness.

There was no response.

"Again."

Another three knocks. "Angelina, are you there? Anne?" Chelan turned to her employer. "There's no one home."

"Here's a trick you'll learn if you become a proper thief," John said. "With enough concentration, you can notice the little things." He had activated Thief's Wit and the light breathing behind the door became audible for John.

This was part of Angelina's identity. How did Angelina know not to answer the door? She should have thought it was Chelan. Her powers unconsciously warned her of the thief.

John pushed down the metal sheet, making a loud clang. The light stone revealed a wider passage that continued forward then turned right. Around the corner, a soft little gasp could be heard.

John walked past Chelan. Frantic scrabbling was then heard as Angelina tried to back up. He turned the corner.

She was exactly like Jade's photos: she had surprisingly long, blonde hair tied up into childish braids; sky blue eyes; a weak body, skinny and dirty. The clothes were messy and thin for the cold winter, consisting of wool and rags. The legs, exposed up to the knee, were the worst – fairly normal, only with prominent surgical scars running along their length. They had the right form but none of the function, supported by braces and crutches made of scaffolding.

There was a terrified look on her face that made one want to give her a great bear hug.

"It's alright, it's alright," John reassured.

Angelina backed up against a wall and seemed ready to fight, raising her crutch in defense. The bottom cap was removed, revealing a sharp piece of debris.

"Here, just relax," John said. "I'm here to help."

Angelina waved the crutch spear around like a person trying to fend off a wild animal.

John sighed, he had never been the best with quests and NPCs, especially children. On second thought, it was probably a bad idea to visit someone so early in the morning. Moreover, he was a stranger in a city that always feared strangers. A little girl's DIY spear wasn't really threatening but John couldn't seize it by force and still hope to receive the quest.

"Alright, Angelina," John said. "Put down the - err, crutch."

"How do you know my name? Is it her?" Angelina instead turned the point towards Chelan. "Why did you bring him here?" she cried.

Chelan didn't speak the truth. "Don't worry, he's here to help."

"Yes, that's all I want," John added, trying to defuse the situation. "I just want to help."

"Didn't I say I didn't need help? I told you to keep quiet!" Angelina exclaimed. Angelina's mother must have warned about strangers, fearing Angelina might unknowingly expose her anomaly.

"He's trustworthy," Chelan insisted. Her tone was confident, but her words were empty.

"What, does he look trustworthy?" Angelina asked angrily. She then noticed the heavy recruit pistol and the Gyead imprint. Anne's warning must have been doubly true for the authorities. "You-You brought a soldier?"

"He's not a soldier. He just has ties with them…"

"Yeah, I'm a not a soldi-"

"Shut up!"

"Angelina, calm down, I can help. I really can," John tried softly, approaching.

-2

She swung the weapon, grazing John on the cheek. A drop of blood ran down his face.

Mirroring the blood, the first tear of Angelina's traced the same path on her pale cheeks.

"I-I-I'm… I'm-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to," she stammered. "Just… Enough," Angelina finally said, defeated, dropping her makeshift weapon. The slums of Gyead weren't suitable for the development of a young girl.

Chelan was silent. She knew it and Angelina knew it – it was just another everyday occurrence in Gyead. The lower floors were a struggle for everyone. People snapped all the time. But that didn't make it feel any better.

"Here, get off the ground," John comforted. "It's cold." He was gentle, but in his heart, he was cursing. Hadn't Jade Cookies described it as a simple hunting quest?

John carried the shivering girl under the legs and behind the back, bringing her towards the bed. He couldn't help but be conscious of the horrifying remnants of the scapel's work. Her weight was surprising, barely anything.

This was when he got a clear look at Angelina's home.

It was a little box near the western edge, around the size of a walk-in closet. The accommodations were bare. A small elevated area with some rags could be considered the bed for the family. At the edge of the city, they could at least get some sunlight through a hole in the walls that were currently covered up to limit drafts. A large bucket under the opening could cook food and provide warmth on the days they could get firewood. They did have belongings, but they were sparse and secondhand at best.

John placed Angelina gently on the bed. He broke up a biscuit from his inventory and sat cross-legged on the floor. "It's not much but eat up."

"Th-thank you," the girl whispered. She nibbled on it slowly.

[Affinity with Angelina has slightly increased]

Affinity with NPCs usually jumped by large chunks with quest completions or gifts, but small acts could also increase it by small amounts (less than one point). It could become a considerable amount due to the ease of these slight increases, but the higher levels of affinity weren't affected by small acts.

While affinity was one of the final goals, it would much easier to obtain large amounts by completing the quest. Jade Cookies had said that Angelina gave the quest even though Angelina didn't seem to know anything or was to shy to talk about it. It would be much easier to ask Anne.

"Where's your mother?" John asked.

Angelina was very quiet. "She's not home."

"Is she busy? Doesn't she need to work in the morning? Surely she needs to sleep doesn't she?" John asked patiently.

"She doesn't sleep at home anymore."

"Oh… I see."

[Affinity with Angelina has slightly decreased.]

John cursed inwardly again. This damn quest background was really too depressing. Wasn't Gyead famous for its combat? Why had one of its main story quests turned out like this?

John took a deep breath. He could only try to coax the quest out of the shy Angelina or wait for Anne to return in the morning.

…

It took John a while to finally receive the quest by persistently questioning the little girl. It felt bad asking so many personal questions, but by consistently feeding her, John was able to get five affinity points at the same time.

In classic games, it would just be a quick linear dialogue and the quest would be obtained. RISE, in its pursuit of immersion, dropped this, opting for realistic conversation. It was well done but John really hated these kinds of quests when the player had to deal with such sob stories. It really invoked feelings of pity that he didn't appreciate.

[Hunting Tainted Rats]

A–Grade Difficulty

Angelina is suffering because of a genetic disconformity. Anne, her hardworking mother is struggling to make ends meet for the family.

Slay and retrieve 50 Tainted Rats to help their situation.

Tainted Rats Carcasses: 0/50

Rewards: Variable affinity with both members of the family

At least he did get the quest in the end. The number of rats wasn't the same as Jade Cookies had described but that could be blamed on memory. Even though he had seen the description before, it still made John shake his head. It was really too misleading, starting normal, then taking a huge turn. He could only imagine confusion Jade must have experienced upon first receiving it.

John's foot landed on an unstable stair and he nearly tripped. He quickly closed the quest window and focused on the dark descent before him.

Tainted Rats were native to the underground of Gyead. In truth, the giant butte upon which the city stood was an abnormality: the Bulwark extended out from its otherwise straight path meeting with the rocky protrusion. The caused all sorts of complications.

Consider the life of the inhabitants of the city: it was kind of miserable, but they didn't have to deal with pests. Normally, in such a mess, one could expect a massive population of flies but there were none. Even if it was winter now, shouldn't there be abundant rodent life?

John was currently descending into the depths of the city, traveling along one of many accessways into its black underbelly. That's where the Tainted Rats were.

The Tainted Lands were enough to repel most inferior organisms, and the Bulwark was enough to repel most tainted organisms. Gyead was weird, repelling normal pests. But it was also a break in the Bulwark. Only in the deep underground of the butte could one find tainted monstrosities within the confines of a human settlement.

The indescribable odor of the cumulative filth of tens of thousands – no, it felt like a hundred thousand – filled John's nostrils. This was the unkempt sewage of the city. Public defecation was huge problem in the lower levels of Gyead, and ultimately, gravity pulls downwards, causing the stuff to enter the sewers from everywhere. John could only be thankful the olfactory settings of RISE were adjustable.

John reached the bottom of the metal spiral staircase, something out of a church. He took a look around in familiar displeasure.

It was a dark sewage tunnel. The walls were stone, heavily eroded and stained by previously varied heights of flow. There was a stream of fast-moving effluent that rose to the ankle. John was thankful he purchased a pair of magically sealed boots beforehand as he stepped into the water. Most players, his past self included, hadn't been able to afford the luxury.

He went against the current, the speed seemed to indicate a fall in the opposite direction. There wouldn't be rats there. With the light of the stone, the way ahead was exposed, revealing an intersection of tunnels. 'Two lefts, then a right,' John recalled.

RISE wouldn't leave players completely without beginner mobs to fight at night. Players would discover the two main options sooner or later: the inside of the Bulwark where the taint was weak, and the sewers. The latter became a great option for players from level 1 to 10, and also contained Gyead's first instance dungeon. Still, not all players, even many of the bold adventurers of Gyead, could bear the realistic, sickening environment.

John soon arrived at his favorite spot during his low-level grinding. In the past, when Gyead's surroundings were full of players, leveling speed was far lower. John had spent a good amount of time hunting the rabbits in the day and coming down here with Kevin at night.

It was an old place, probably part of the long history of Gyead. The room featured tired stone arches, vaulted ceilings, uniform stone brick flooring, and a huge tile mural on one of the walls. John wanted to run over and brush off the grime - inspect the weathered image recorded there, caked with the dust of time – just like he once had with his friends. The dim blue light of John's stone completed the mystical feeling, drawing rays through the chalky air.

Out of one of the four doorways in the room, a pair of eyes could be seen reflecting the magic stone