Day three

Despite having improved the sleeping arrangements, I woke with an aching back. I sat up and blinked my bleary eyes, somewhat perplexed that these little things had been captured so accurately by the game.

Nate was poking around the ashes of the now-cold firepit with a stick. Seeing me rouse, he grinned, “Hey boss. Just checking to see if there were any of those baked potatoes left over from last night.”

I nodded and grunted as I stood and looked around. “We have to get stuff accomplished today, or we’ll be behind the curve.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We aced our starter dungeon, picked up some skills, but we need to get to a city. There’s got to be an adventurer’s guild or something with quests.”

What can I say? The man is right. Quests would surely be the most efficient way to level up, as well as build social points with the NPC’s. I gently roused Laurel with a foot to the rump. She, as usual just grunted and ignored me. A second, less gentle nudge rocked her body slightly. To this, she responded by grunting louder and flailing an arm in my general direction.

I winked at Nate and jerked a finger at Laurel, “Who wants coffee?”

Like magic, Laurel sprung upright with a smile, “Did someone say coffee?”

I snickered, “Yeah, I said it, but we’re still stuck in a game.”

“You bastard!” Laurel pouted and crossed her arms.

“But we’re going to pack up and find some at the closest inn. Promise.” Nate added.

She stood, wobbly, “Ya better.”

“Yes, love. First thing.” I helped her to her feet and began packing our things into the backpack I had made the day before.

“Hey, did I give you a second batch of herbs to dry last night?”

I cocked my head in recollection, “Pretty sure you didn’t. We just ate and slept.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so, but the pouch I had them in is empty now.” She felt around in the pouch, “Ah! Except for my lucky stone,” She held up the egg-shaped stone we found when clearing out the slimes.

“I dunno, babe. Maybe they expired?”

“Hmm,” She inspected the stone carefully and pursed her lips. “Was it always so porous? I remember it as being smooth.”

“Chen, are you awake?” Laurel asked sweetly.

(Am now. What’s up?)

“Analyze this item please?”

(What, the rock?)

“Please.”

(Nice catch! That’s not a rock at all.)

“Well, what the heck is it then?”

(I’ll show you.)

A console window popped up in front of Laurel.

GEL CORE

RARITY: RARE

DURABILITY: 3/3

Hunger: 0/10

Thirst: 10/10

This Gel core was found in a slime colony. It has been fed on low-level healing herbs, it has bonded with Laurel.

It is dehydrated. If it is not immersed in water soon, it will die.

“Ooh! Water! Nate, do we have a container to use?” she stroked the stone in her hand.

“Nate looked around briefly, “No, not really. I was using a big folded leaf as a cup, but I threw it into the fire after I was finished.”

“Where was that stream you found?” She asked, her voice getting more impatient.

Nate hooked a thumb behind him, “Like five minutes that way.”

“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “there’s water in the cave.”

I had finished packing all the things that would fit into the backpack, and slung it on, “But that would mean clearing it again, and that would take hours. We’re going to the stream. If we’re going to find a town, we have to follow the water.”

Nathan nodded, “Where there’s water, there’s life.”

“OK! Lessgo,” Laurel nodded, as she continued to stroke the stone, “C’mon little guy, let’s get you a drink of water.”

***

As Nathan signaled us with a bird call, I put my arm out to slow Laurel, who looked up in confusion.

“What is it?”

I squinted into the distance, but couldn’t see anything. A few moments later, Nathan faded into view.

“There was trouble ahead at the stream, looks like some players passed through.”

I ran my hand over my two-days’ worth of whiskers I had accumulated, “Anyone still around?”

“Pretty sure everyone’s gone,” Nathan gestured, “Let’s take it slow, just in case.”

I nodded, caution was never a bad thing. Nathan faded from sight again and went ahead. After giving him a few moments to get ahead of us, Laurel and I continued forward.

As the stream came into view, the sight of a melee was apparent. Two bears had either attacked or been attacked and been killed. Looking at the wounds, I noticed that they had been made by weapons.

You have gained the Perception skill. Current rank: F (001/500)

“Yeah. Either some players came through here or we have some armed roaming humanoids nearby.

Nathan nodded, “Did you see the footprints? Barefoot, might be human.”

He was right, although I couldn’t tell for sure. We hadn’t seen any demihumans yet, so there was no way to be sure.

Laurel had hiked up her robe and tucked it into her belt as she waded into the water. The sight of her thighs never ceases to be a matter of interest to me.

“Ooh!” Laurel exclaimed as the Gel core started absorbing water. A moment later, goo started to extrude from the pores on the rock until it seemed as if it were the nucleus of an apple-sized, red-hued slime.

“You’re so cute! I’m going to name you Ringo.”

“Ringo? Really?” Nathan scoffed, as he attempted to skin one of the bears.

“Why not? It means Apple in Japanese, and it looks like an apple! …kinda.” She held it in her arms and snuggled it. A window popped up in front of her.

Ringo Lv. 1

Red Gel

HP 2/2

SP 2/2

STR 1 INT 0 DEX 3 END 1 CHA 15 LUK 10

SKILLS: Healing slime Rank F (001/500)

Ringo’s abilities have been influenced by the food it was fed as it hatched. It can dissolve and eat any organic material but prefers healing herbs.

Although non-intelligent, it seems to understand simple commands from its owner.

It has bonded with Laurel Pendergrass

Grinning, I moved my attention to the bears. If it had been demihumans or local hunters, wouldn’t they have taken the corpses? If not that, at least skinned them and taken some of the meat?

Something didn’t add up.

“Guys, this had to be players.”

“Yeah, who else would hunt and not take the spoils?” Nate piped in.

“Noobs,” I said, shaking my head in annoyance.

“I got this,” Nathan said, as he managed to skin the first one with little difficulty. Boy Scouts wasn’t so nerdy after all, was it?”

I laughed. “No. It’s still nerdy. Useful, but nerdy.

Nate harrumphed at me but continued to disassemble the bear into his inventory.

“Let’s get moving guys. These bears are going to attract scavengers soon.”

Nathan waded into the water and rinsed the gore from himself, “Yeah. I need to see civilization.”

“C’mon, Spaz, we gotta get to town,” I scooped several handfuls of water into my mouth, grateful for the cold, freshness of it, then kissed Laurel briefly. “Lessgo.”

***

Finally, after hours of trekking, the signs of the city began peeking through the trees. It seemed every bit of a medieval walled city, down to the lightly armored guards who stood lazily by the city gated, armed with spears.

“You wanted civilization, you got civilization.” I opened my console briefly and added the city to my map.

I reached over and tickled Laurel’s gel, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was not slimy, but rather like a squishy latex toy. It leaned into my tickle, and my finger penetrated its membrane briefly, then pulled away.

“That’s how it gets to know you. It takes a little taste.,” Laurel said, rubbing its lightly as she walked.

“I hope we don’t have to pay to enter,” Nate patted his purse, “I’m skint”

“Well, I see a few stands outside the walls, I suppose we could sell something to them if we need to.”

***

The three of us (four if you count Ringo) finally made it to the gate, where two guards made half-hearted attempts to stand at attention.

“Do you have anything to declare?”

“Nothing but some furs and herbs to sell.”

“IDs please.”

We looked at each other briefly and turned back to the guards. “Sorry, we don’t have one yet.”

One of the guards sighed, went to his guard post and retrieved a stone slate.

“We need to check your identity then, please place your hand on the slate.” The first guard said, gesturing to the plate his partner held.

I nodded. I expected some sort of security, so this wasn’t a big deal. I placed my hand on it, unsure of what to expect.

“Very good, nxt please,” The guard turned the slate to Nathan and Laurel who both took their turns with no obvious reaction.

“Excellent. It’s good to see that you’re law-abiding, please remain so, or you’ll be dealt with strictly.” If you want to sell furs, head to the end of Market Street and talk to Henning, he gives the best prices.

“Is there an adventurer’s guild in town?” Nathan asked.

The guard nodded, “It’s the big building in the plaza. You can’t miss it.

“How about a coffeehouse?” Laurel added.

The guard stood silently for a moment, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Laurel sulked, “I guess that means no coffee in game.”

“I’m sorry, hon. Maybe they have a nice tavern we can relax in once we get some cash.”

That brightened her up somewhat. “Well, that’s something. Shall we hit the guild first?”

I nodded. Getting quests equaled getting money, of which we had none.

Nathan rubbed his nose, deep in thought. “Spaz, were you going to use those herbs or sell ‘em?”

“About half and half, I imagined some would level up my crafting, the rest would pay for the other crafting materials.”

“Well wait on that till after we visit the guild. Oftentimes starter quests involve collecting herbs and other menial tasks. You might have completed a quest ahead of time, and not known it.”

“Nice!” She fistpumped the air.

As we made our way into the city, it was pretty obvious what was what, as the signs were designed so that illiterate people would still be able to understand them. The street opened up into a large plaza, displaying a large tree that dominated the canter of it. Below its branches were arranged benches so that people could relax under its shade.

“How pretty!” Laurel said in admiration.

I noticed a large building, three stories tall that had to be the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s marble steps and columns gave it a very stately feeling.

We headed inside and saw that there was a long counter of receptionists who were serving adventurers. On the far end of the counter, was a caged teller, who was apparently paying out quest rewards.

“OK guys, Let’s inspect our data, before we register, in case there’ some sort of choices we need to make.”

We pulled our respective consoles up, and had a look at our stats:

Jose Garcia

CLASS: Warrior | Level 1

STR 15 INT 13 DEX 12 END 13 CHA 16 LUK12

HP 25 STA 10

SKILLS:

One-handed axe: Rank F (035/500) | Shield use: Rank F (001/500)

Perception: Rank F (002/500) | Survival: Rank F (015/500)

Handcrafting: Rank F (035/500) | Cooking: Rank F (015/500)

TALENTS:

Leadership: Rank F (002/500) | Mapping: Rank F (065/500)

Indomitable Rank E (001/500)

Laurel Pendergrass

CLASS: Magic-user | Level 1

STR 6 INT 18 DEX 15 END 10 CHA 20 LUK 10

HP 10 MP15

SKILLS:

Magic use Rank F (020/500)| Alchemy: Rank F (080/500)

Herbalism Rank F (095/500 | Unarmed combat Rank F (030/500)

Gathering Rank F (095/500)|

TALENTS:

Beast training Rank F (020/500)|Hardworking Rank D (025/500)

Spells: 1/2

Spirit lamp (003/500) MP 1 | Unassigned

Nathan Ballard

CLASS: Rogue | Level 1

STR 10 INT 12 DEX 18 END 11 CHA 12 LUK 15

HP 15 STA 15

SKILLS:

Daggers Rank F (020/500) | Dual wield (020/500)

Stealth Rank F (100/500) | Ambush (010/500)

Hunting Rank F (020/500) | Tracking (010/500)

Archery Rank F (001/200) |

Talents:

Smooth Talker Rank D(005/500)

“Smooth talker?” I asked.

Nathan laughed. “I know my way around a word.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You haven’t chosen your second spell yet?” I asked,

“Well, I didn’t want to make the wrong choice, I thought I’d choose according to the need.”

Nathan nodded in agreement, “True, but your skills get exp like everything else, if you don’t use it, it doesn’t get better.”

“You know, Nate, with your skillset you’d make an awesome ranger,” I suggested.

“Yeah, but I really love stealth and traps and all that.”

“ I completely understand. OK, let’s get in line.” I got in the shortest line, and the others followed suit.

***

The lady behind the desk was dressed in a neatly designed uniform that all the other tellers wore, it gave off a businesslike atmosphere while showcasing their feminine beauty in a respectable way. She folded her hands and smiled.

“How can I help you today, Mister…” She looked at the paperwork I had filled out, “Garcia.”

“Ah, well I’d like to join the guild, but I’m not very well educated about it. If you wouldn’t mind, please start from the ground up.”

She nodded and examined his paperwork in more detail.

“It seems you’re a warrior. I see some advanced class potential in your talents, but we’ll have to see how they play out.”

She closed my folder and rested her hands on it.

“OK. We are the Adventurer’s guild. We are sponsored by all the governments in the world, so there’s no fee to join. As members of the guild, you have access to guild stores at any branch of the Guild, where you can buy basic sundries to support you as you travel. As you complete the quests that you see there…” She leaned around him and pointed to a large board covered in requests,” … you gain a certain amount of points that give you your guild ranking. The higher your ranking, the harder the quests you can accept. Much like your skills, quests are rated at F, which is the lowest to SSS, which is the highest. As of now, you are good to accept grade F quests. You could technically take higher level ones, but the danger rises along with the rank. You are not allowed to take a rank 2 levels higher than you are. Is that clear so far?

I nodded, “Yes Ma’am.”

“Excellent. This is the fine print. The Guild can force you to take a quest in the event of an emergency. You cannot refuse them in that instance. Do you understand?”

I nodded again, “Yes Ma’am. I am on board.”

She smiled and pulled out a thick scroll from her desk, and a silver-tipped quill pen.

“Then sign here please,” she unrolled the scroll and pointed to a line at the bottom.

Not being a fool, I took the time to read the scroll. It had, in fact, retold the details exactly as she had presented them, so I took the pen and signed it.

“If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact any of us.”

I nodded and rose from my seat, and headed to the quest board, wondering what sort of things the others had learned from their guild worker.