“So you’re the new Chosen One,” the burly man boomed with laughter, his large, calloused hand clamped around a big tankard of what smelled like alcohol. “To think that a humble smith as I would be able to speak to one, let alone have dinner with him!”

Taking the munchkin (Emmie?) home went pretty smoothly. I got my 200 EXP and 13G the moment I pounded on the door, the Quest Clear notice jumping out at me before my hand left the knocker (Levelled up to Level 8. I’d forgotten how easy it was to level up in the early stages). The mom was a plump, homey lady, with the sort of soft, grandmotherly type of face and the same crinkled up, smiling eyes as her daughter. She wore the usual type of embroidered cloth frock and shoes that all the randomly generated town NPCs wore (All [N] rarity. It discouraged players from attempting to commit mass homicide in towns) her fluffed up auburn hair tied up in a neat bun. Upon answering the door, she tutted despairingly at the sight of her daughter, and immediately whisked the drowsy Emmie away for a bath, “Whatever have you been doing this whole day, Emmie? You’ve got mud all over you!”, leaving me to deal with the overenthusiastic dad. Upon knowing that I was a Chosen One, presumably from the floating label above my head telling everyone who the fuck I was, he announced that such an occasion deserved a good round of drinking and promptly invited me to join them at the dinner table.

I picked up the collosal tankard in front of me and pretended to take a sip. One thing I had discovered since dinner started, to my dismay, was that Marge was right. You couldn’t eat. Well, you could, technically, but it wasn’t “eating” in the sense of putting stuff in your mouth and chewing. The moment you lifted any food item or drink to your mouth with the intention to stick it in, it just up and vanished. Bread, fruit, cheese, it all disappeared whenever I tried to eat any of it. I could feel my energy getting replenished, as well as a sense of increasing fullness, but I could not, for the love of me, bite, chew or swallow any of my food. The last tankard of strongly smelling wine I had tried to drink had just poofed when I moved to tip the contents down my gullet, tankard and all. The whole fucking tankard and all the alcohol. Just poof. Gone. Then I got a popup telling me that I was intoxicated and all my stats would temporarily drop by 20%.

I didn’t even get to taste the fucking thing, how dare you tell me I’m drunk.

The dad didn’t seem to think strangely of it.

“You’re a jolly good drinker for a lanky fellow like yourself!” and just laughed heartily and set down another brimming tankard in front of me.

Game logic.

While I pretended to take bites out of the baskets of food placed on the table, the dad, who I came to know to be called Richard, swayed his tankard and talked. He was a big man, with huge bulging biceps and a thick, grizzly beard that NPCs of the Dwarf class would often sport. His big, bushy eyebrows were like fuzzy, brown caterpillars crawling over his forehead, shadowing over his eyes to the point that you could hardly tell whether he was looking at you or not. Despite his overall hairiness and blinding stereotype of masculinity, I could tell that he was clearly the munchkin’s dad. They both had that habit of laughing big, toothy guffaws, their speaking voice far louder than what would be socially acceptable back in the old world. And they both talked. A lot. He told me that, in this here wee town, you couldn’t get by without a skill or two. You had to be able to make stuff with your own two hands, and sell them on the streets if you wanted to bring in the money at the end of the day. Nobody had time for the fine arts of Chess, and only travellers here were the Champions who only wanted to buy equipment and sell monster parts. Had to sell his old Chessboard to get that dinky little forge out back and try his hand at smithing. He didn’t like smithing, because it was all loud and noisy and went bang bang bang with sparks flying everywhere, but what could he do? His pa used to tell him that as a noble member of the Dwarf family, smithing was in his bones. Bollocks, he told me, bollocks. The best he could do was craft a rubbish looking [N] blade worth only 30G. Lucky thing that the younger Champions would buy his stuff because it was cheap, unlike all the fancy duds the other smiths around town made. By no means, was smithing ever comparable to the finesse of Chess. The moment he and his family were well off enough to not worry about putting food on the table anymore, he’d bought another Chessboard. It was just functional garbage really, not as beautiful and zing zing as his old Chessboard, you could only find that good stuff in the places where Humans had left their mark, but it did the job well enough and so it stayed.

“Say, lad, want to try your hand at Chess after dinner?” Richard waved his tankard at me. “Wifey’s a sweetheart but she’s rubbish at Chess, and my sweet girl Emmie doesn’t know the rules yet. I’ve challenged every Faerie and traveller coming through this here town but so far only one puts up a good fight, and I don’t know where to find him to play with him again.”

“I’m not that good at Chess either,” I remarked. Chess was one of the minigames you could play in Casinos in Briarwood Rebirth. In a way, it was gambling mushed together with actual chess. It required you to use your brain, and I didn’t exactly appreciate having my opponent knock the fact that I was stupid into my head. “I’d probably disappoint you.”

“Now, now, don’t be like that. Even if you fail I’m sure it’ll be a good experience for the both of us,” I must have looked pretty unimpressed, because he then leaned closer and whispered, as if sharing a secret with me. “You know what? I’ll throw in a bribe. You’re heading to Inner City to get your Class Change soon right? I’ll forge you your first weapon with a discount if you agree to have a few goes with me.”

Discounted stuff? Psht. I guess my ego can afford to be destroyed a few times if it’s for discounted stuff.

“I’m sold. Let’s go.”

Richard wagged his finger.

“Not so fast, lad. After dinner,” he took another swig from his tankard and started talking about how much of a sweetheart his growing girl Emmie was.

By the time Richard was done with his drinking, Emmie and her mom, Livia, had come and gone from the dinner table, Livia scolding Richard for “bringing another poor Champion down with Chess, do go easy on him, will you?”

Crudely brushing the stray droplets of liquid from his scraggly beard, Richard stood up made for the door, beckoning for me to stay and wait. While he was gone, Livia came into the room from the kitchen and began clearing up.

“I hear my daughter has been with you the whole afternoon,” she smiled through crinkled eyes, as she wiped down the surface of the table, dimples forming on either side of her cheeks. “I hope she hasn’t been giving you too much trouble. A little chatterbox she is, gets it from her father.”

“Yeah, she did talk a lot, but it helped me sort out my thoughts, so any trouble was worth it.”

“That’s good to hear. Our little Emmie has too much energy in her, it’s a hassle to stop her from getting herself into trouble now that most of the other Faerie children aren’t around to keep her company anymore,” Livia shook her head and sighed. “I know it’s good for children to be enthusiastic, but I do wish she wouldn’t be so ambitious.”

“Ambitious?”

“Yes. She dreams big for a small girl,” Livia smiled fondly. “She wants to become a member of The Wild Hunt when her level’s high enough.”

“The Wild Hunt?” I racked my brains for context on those words. “Aren’t they the Faerie Queen’s elite guards or something?”

According to the overly complex and lengthy lore of Briarwood Rebirth, while the Faerie King, Oberon and the Faerie Courts were responsible for the ruling of Briarwood and maintaining the Glamour around Briarwood that kept Ruin out, the Faerie Queen, Titania, was in charge of Briarwood’s military and security. According to the lore, she and elite members of the Faerie Knights, The Wild Hunt, would go patrolling around the borders of Briarwood, hunting down dangerous monsters and wanted criminals. The Hunt would go on for days, sometimes even weeks or months, herding and chasing down a single target until the Faerie Queen got bored of toying with it and killed it. Honestly, it just sounded like game hunting but instead of deer, it was monsters.

A few years ago, I’d tried tracking down The Wild Hunt with another player to see what level the Faerie Knights in that squad were, and after a month, we finally managed to separate one from the rest. It was Level 70, but from the way we struggled to fight it despite the Level gap, its stats were much higher than that of the regular Level 70 Faerie Knights that guarded towns to stop PVP from happening. If the munchkin wanted to become one of those monsters… she’d probably have a long way to go.

“Yes. Richard and I have tried talking to her about how dangerous and difficult it is, but she’s still rather stubborn about it,” she shook her head as Richard returned, a large wooden box tucked under one arm. “Table’s all yours, dear.”

“Much appreciated,” Richard gently placed the wooden box onto the table. On closer inspection, it wasn’t really a box, but more of a crude, thick, wooden plank, with the markings of a regular chessboard carved on it. Etchings of various Chess Pieces sat still in their respective boxes, except the usual pawns, knights, bishops and castles were replaced by Class counterparts from Briarwood Rebirth.

“I know it doesn’t look like much. My old Chessboard was a fine thing, made of marble, with these fancy pantsy gold leaf thingies around the edges,” he gestured at the Chessboard. “All the Pieces were made of crystal, and you could move ‘em around before even starting the match. Won it after beating an old gambler in the Inner City. Fine thing it was, went with me for almost 20 years. I was down in the dumpers when I had to sell it.”

“Richard-” Livia’s voice rang out from the kitchen.

“Right! Got carried away there, sorry about that laddie,” Richard scratched his head sheepishly. “Let’s begin, why don’t we.”

He set his big, calloused hand down squarely in the centre of the Chessboard. A screen popped up in front of me.

[Challenge Received from {Dwarf} Richard]

[Richard challenges you to a game of Chess.

Will you accept?]

[>Yes No]

The moment I pressed [Yes], the world began to warp. Richard and I were lifted from our seats as the chair, the table and the rest of the room disappeared into an empty void. Below us, the Chessboard expanded, its four corners stretching until it was several kilometers wide and long, almost like a battlefield with squares from our position up in the air. The carved Chess Pieces slowly peeled themselves off the Chessboard like bark off a tree, and popped into three dimensional Faerie NPCs. They stood stoically in their respective squares, their expressions unreadable.

Richard shook his head.

“With my old Chessboard, there were forests and towns visible in the distance. You could even see the cloud of Ruin that marked where The Decay’s Fortress was,” he gestured out to the void. “Not this whole bunch of nothing. Anyways, you go first. Make your first move.”

“Umm… B1 to C3,” I said off the top of my head.

The white knight sprang to life, its movements quick and nimble, and leapt over the head of a pawn. Its gangly knees bent and recoiled like springs as it landed daintily on the corresponding square. It then straightened and stiffened back to the default position, signifying the end of my turn.

“D7 to D5,” Richard shook his head and commanded.

The black pawn at D7 twitched, and marched over to D5.

“C3 to D5,” I watched as the white knight rose, and with a great swing of its sword, cleaved the black pawn in half.

“D8 to D5.”

My white knight fell to the hands of the black queen. Fuck.

“G1 to F3,” I quickly pulled the other white knight out.

“E7 to E5.”

The same trap with the pawn and the queen. I wasn’t going to fall for that a second time.

“D2 to D4,” I watched Richard’s queen with careful eyes. With this, my bishop would be freed.

“E5 to E4,” his pawn moved forward a step.

“C1 to G5,” I sent the white bishop sprawling across half the Chessboard. With luck, he would slip up and I could gun straight for the king.

“E4 to F3.”

The black pawn swallowed my remaining knight. Fuck, I forgot to watch the pawn.

The rest of the match proceeded in a similar manner, with me trying to predict Richard’s intentions but ending up getting solidly smacked in the face each time. Before long, half of my good pieces were gone, and the white king was standing lonely in the middle of the Chessboard.

“Checkmate,” Richard announced, as the world once again warped back into the small dining room, the massive Chessboard once more a plank of wood atop the table. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “You weren’t kidding about being bad, lad. I thought I was going real easy on you there, but still…”

“Ow, I know. I’m more of a do person than a think person,” I laughed awkwardly. “Now, about that discount…”

Richard shook his finger at me.

“Now, now, not so fast, lad. I said a few goes, not one. I won’t pass up such a golden opportunity to actually put my Chess skills to use.”

I spent the next few hours getting completely wrecked by Richard at Chess. At least after two more tries, I was able to survive past the first three minutes, so that was progress, I guess?

“You learn pretty fast, lad,” Richard mused as we exited the Chessboard for the last time. “You may not be very perceptive but with a year or two I could definitely pound you into Chessmaster material.”

Haha… No thanks.

“But yes, I did promise to give you a discount, didn’t I?” He stood up and tucked the Chessboard under his arm, making for the door, only to stop and turn back. “Ah, I almost forgot. You’re a Chosen One, and that means you’ve gone through this whole song and dance before. You intend to take the same class you had back when you were just a Champion, don’t you?”

“Yep. Kobold.”

With a new character, it would probably be more fun to try out some of the other classes, since they all had their own unique skills and all. It would probably be an interesting experience to stay as a Human, with the perks of being able to use class exclusive equipment and all. Yet somehow, the Kobold class still called out to me. Partially because I’d been playing the class for 15 whole years, and I still had a bit of a soft spot for it. Mostly because I wanted to try hardcore parkour with the sweet sweet max Speed that Kobolds specialised in. Parents tell you that after you graduate and get a master in whatever course you’re studying, you’ll have a job, have a stable income, and could do whatever you want in your free time. Yet once you leave university and all its wretched debts behind, you start to realise that all the springiness and energy you had in your prime is pretty much drained, and trying to risk a few fractures is not an option.

Yet it was different now. With what was presumably a body regulated by HP and stats, I wouldn’t have to worry about breaking bones or being sent to the ER with my wallet at stake.

“Kobold, eh? Not bad, not bad,” Richard nodded thoughtfully. “I can forge a simple Kobold dagger with the materials I have right now. Just come back in a couple days and I’ll have it ready for you.”

“How much? With the discount, that is.”

Richard thoughtfully rubbed his beard with his thick, calloused fingers.

“Discount eh? I’ll give it to you 30% off. I usually price my daggers at 19G so…” he slyly held up four fingers. “14G. I’ll let you have it for 13G if you pay in advance.”

[Offer from {Dwarf} Richard]

[Pay 13G to preorder Copper Dagger [N] ]

[Make transaction?]

[Yes No]

13G. I thought back to the reward I had gotten from the quest Rue gave me. Exactly 13G. Either the beanpole and Richard were conspiring with each other, or I actually got lucky for once.

“Fancy that, I happen to have 13G on me right now,” I pressed [Yes].

[Deducting 13G from total.]

[Wallet is currently empty]

[Copper Dagger [N] can be claimed after 3 days.]

Richard seemed to be checking the transaction on his own translucent screen.

“Good lad, I’ll have it finished in about 3 days. Perhaps you could go have a walk around Inner City in the meantime, there’s a teleportation gate to the Wall in the square. See the sights, earn a bit of moola. I’m sure her highness, the Briar Princess will have some quests ready for a Chosen One.”

Ding. Congratulations, me, I almost forgot about the other reason why Rue sent me here.

“Speaking of the Inner City, I’d like to ask you to do me a favour,” I proceeded to explain my situation and why I needed a guide to take me to the tutorial quest locations.

“A guide? Hmm, I know a gal bored enough to do it for free,” Richard nodded to himself in satisfaction. “When are you setting out? I’ll give her a heads up that you’re coming and have her come pick you up.”

“Now? Maybe.”

“Now? Don’t you need some sleep? Livia and I’d be happy to let you crash here for a night.”

“Well, I’m not tired, so I might as well make the most of my time.” Ha, as if I could sleep.

After discussing the location of the teleportation gate and the arrangements for my meeting with the guide, Richard, with the intention to take me to the teleportation gate, pulled on a large, heavy cloak, with Livia and the bleary eyed munchkin, who had presumably snuck out of bed, waving goodbye at the doorstep.

I followed Richard out into the night, the streets quiet and no longer filled with the bustle they had been during the day. The quaint, brick houses along both sides of the road were silent, no lights, no sounds, towering over us like sentries as we passed in between them. Now and then, a couple players would pass us by, the labels above their head like a spotlight shining onto the ground. It looked ridiculous, as if they were lighthouses. I watched as they disappeared one by one into a narrow alleyway off to the side.

“That’s the way to the Night Merchant, isn’t it? I asked Richard, who furrowed his brow and shrugged in response.

“I don’t know about that, lad. We normal folk don’t go down there. That alley has a hatch leading to the Underground, where The Decay’s minions lurk. Don’t want to go get infected by Ruin. Lord knows why the Court hasn’t sealed it off yet”

Hmm, more or less the default response when randomly generated town NPCs were asked about the Night Merchants. It would seem that despite being an ex-Chessmaster with a surprisingly detailed backstory, Richard was just a normal, clueless NPC after all. From what I knew from the game, all the regular towns had one of those shady alleyways with shady hatches leading to the Underground, and not far from the entrance, a dumpster diving Troll that served as a shop when the market was closed for the night. Players would have to go down a “hidden” hatch to the entrance of the Underground, a Tier 10 difficulty raid dungeon of a monstrous size that spanned across the inhabited regions of Briarwood, consisting of a great number of long, winding tunnels and The Decay’s Ruin infected monsters. Then, ignoring the big fancy door that marked the entrance to the dungeon, they’d have to head down a small side tunnel and find the merchant lounging about on a compost heap. I’d gone down to the Underground a few times with my old Guild, but since our Guild was a small one, we never really had the manpower to finish it. There was a lot of exclusive equipment in the dungeon. Maybe if I joined Marge’s Chosen Ones’ Alliance, I could convince them to carry me through a raid mission and hopefully let get my hands on some of that exclusive equipment to fill out my to-be grandiose equipment collection. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. I made a mental note to take Marge up on her offer after I finished the tutorial quests.

“Well here we are,” Richard stopped walking, and patted me on the shoulder as I snapped out of my train of thought. In front of us was a large portal of about four metres tall, its round, circular frame formed from the growth of entwining bundles of ivy. Glowing, horn-shaped purple flowers nestled among the leafy foliage, casting a warm, pulsating glow in the dark. The air in the centre of the portal waved and rippled like a pond surface, both me and Richard’s figures dimly reflected on its surface.

“Remember, after the Faerie Guards let you past the Walls, you’ll probably have to find a spot to sit tight and wait till morning for Poppy to show up. It should be pretty safe from The Decay in the Inner City, but you never know,” Richard regarded me with a frown as I walked towards the rippling portal. “The fuss that the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court stir up aren’t usually too much of a hassle, but it might be a bit of a hassle for a Level 7.”

“I don’t remember telling you what Level I was,” I turned around and stared at Richard as the world began to distort around me.

“You should learn to hide your Status soon, lad,” Richard chuckled amiably, his voice far away, as if I were hearing it from within a bubble. “It won’t do for a Chosen One to be scanned with Appraisal so easily by a simple smith.”

NPC’s could use Appraisal? Even the randomly generated ones? What else could they do? Well fuck, I thought to myself as the image of the town square reordered itself to take on the form of a completely new area. Looks like I can’t run from reading through the wretched Help menu.