"Did you see the email?"

In the office where Nebula had been created, a few developers were sitting on their computers, answering questions about the game for confused customers via email. Most of the game balancing was done automatically by Nebula, as it was designed to do, so the developers had become the game equivalent of a help desk. Additions to the game that Nebula suggested, like additional races and storylines, were usually passed by the director. 

"Yeah, some guy who didn't get a class? If it's true, we'll have to run a diagnostic on Nebula and try find out what happened. In the meantime, somebody check to see if he's not just looking for compensation. " The director of the project was starting to stress out. He took a sip from his coffee, not seeming to care that it was cold. Walking to his own desk, he sat down and started to think. 

If Nebula was really starting to show problems, then they would probably have to shut it down for maintenance soon. Considering they had marketed it as " just as stable as reality", it would probably hit the company hard. His emails would blow up. He would have to speak to the press. Even his routine of relaxing with a coffee and doing nothing would have to change. Please, can this guy just be looking for compensation. Otherwise It would become a nightmare. Sip. 

"Nebula, bring up the information on Dorian#9900 " 

Account number: 722645

Started playing: 3 days ago.

Rank: ~90%

NPC interaction: Very Good.

....

....

Name: Dorian

Level: 8

class: N/A

guild: N/A

The director let out a sigh. Sip. Things like this were not what he wanted to be dealing with first thing in the morning. Taking out a sandwitch, he started eating the soggy bread as the tuna mayo came dangerously close to falling out of his sandwitch and onto his keyboard. Sip. Coffee and tuna mayo. Not the best combination. Next time he would just buy donuts from that shop around the corner. Damn good donuts, those. 

"Give him a class change book and send him.....hmm....10 gold. " Finishing his coffee, he stood up to refill his cup. 

"Director, the compensation needs two step authorisation to send. Please input your password. " A password box was created for him to type into, flashing gently around the border.

"Director James Moss" His hands flicked across the keyboard. Ding! Ding!

"Thank you director. The compensation has been sent. It will be put in his personal storage. " The box faded away and Nebula went silent. Director James Moss went to refill his cup of coffee. Maybe he would buy some of those donuts while he was up. 

Walking back through the town was an interesting experience, since Dorian left so quickly the first time. The cobbled roads were rickety but traversable, and the buildings themselves were made of stone, with basic wooden decorations and accessories inside. Wooden shutters took the place of windows, and nearly every building nearby seemed to have a sign hanging from its entrance. Karsis' Smithy, Sienna the Apothecary, Broken Potion, and The Humble Inn.They sold weapons and armours, healing services, magic items and a bed for the night. The Humble Inn also provided a place to store items you didn't want in your inventory, which is probably the only reason they were still in buisness.

In the Village center, he saw a single fully grown apple tree, bordered by a wall of stones to keep people away. It had been growing for at least 50 years, although the amount of apples it produced had only shot up during this time. surrounding it in a ring were market stalls, selling fruits and vegetables at low prices. A pub squatted on the edge of the village center, looking like it had fallen into disrepair. The entrance doors had, at one point, been destroyed, leaving the owner to replace them with a loose collection of wooden boards and nails. The sign read The Ancient Batchelor. At least it was honest.

Looking at his skills, he should probably learn at least one spell, since otherwise his mana would just be sitting there doing nothing. Dorian walked into the broken potion, squinting as he tried to see in the darkened room. As his eyes adjusted, he saw that the inside was very much like the outside. Rickety wooden shelves were attached to the walls, and the shopkeep was behind a counter that seemed entirely too fragile to support anything being put on it. 

" Hello there. Please do ignore the state of the place. We've had a dry spell, you see. No customers. " The man behind the counter was wearing dark robes that covered his feet. A spellbook hung by his waist, along with his money pouch and a short dagger on the other side. The hood was pulled back to reveal his face- slightly rounded with a hooked nose protruding from the front. Despite the contents of his message, a smile pulled at the corners of his lips, making him seem friendly and eccentric, rather than haunutingly creepy. 

" You can call me Lochland." He raised his arm, his fingers peeking out of the all encompassing robe to shake Dorians' hand. 

" ...So, what are you looking for?" 

Dorian opened the shop menu.

[ Lochland the Merchant Wizard ]

[ Spellbooks ]

 Mana Bolt ( 80 Silver )

 Mana Shield ( 80 Silver )

[ Consumables ]

 Mana Potion ( 5 Silver )

" Is this all you have? " Considering Lochland was supposed to be a 'Merchant' Wizard, his wares seemed to be a little lacklustre. Both the mana bolt and mana shield were automatically given to you at the beginning of the game if you chose the magician class. For someone who was supposed to be a wizard, he didn't sell many spells.

" It is. I'm working on some more at the moment, but it's going to take some time to figure out if I dont want to blow myself up. " A flash of a past traumatic experiment flashed through Lochlands eyes. Maybe a spell gone wrong, or an accidental portal to a demon world. Dorian wouldn't know. 

" Aren't they a bit expensive though....?" The price of 80 silver for one basic spell could buy 8 pickaxes. The pickaxe that Dorian had bought was only 10 silver. Granted, it was a beginners pickaxe, with overall pretty low stats, but still. 

' Even with saving everything I earn, learning something like this for 80 silver would take at least a week. If 100 copper is 1 silver, then I would need to collect 8000 coppers. And that's assuming I do nothing but hunt for money in that time. '

Dorian had started with 10 Silver. The pickaxe, to be exact, was 9 silver and 50 coppers, leaving him with 50 coppers. 

 " How about this. If you do something for me, I'll teach you Mana Shield for free. " Lochland had a grin on his face. 

" Take these to Blacksmith Karsi, and tell him I said hi. " He pulled out a box from behind his counter, long enough to fit a person in. There was a letter on top, and Dorian heard the jingle of coin from inside it.

[ Don't Shoot the Messenger ( C- ) ]

Quest description: Lochland won't deliver this himself. Do it in his stead to win his favour.

Quest requirements: Good affinity with both Blacksmith Karsi and Lochland the Wizard.

Quest completion: Deliver the box and letter to Blacksmith Karsi. (0/2)

Quest reward: Mana Shield.

+5 affinity with Lochland the Wizard.

Quest faliure: - 20 affinity with Lochland the Wizard.

Dorian looked at the quest. Unless this one happened to change halfway through like the first quest, it should be pretty easy, and the reward was very good, considering the difficulty.

" Sure. I was going that way anyway, so it's actually perfect. "

[ received quest- Don't Shoot the Messenger ]

[ received Lochlands Mysterious Box ]

[ received Lochlands sealed letter ]

[ you are over your maximum carry weight. Movement speed is dropped by 60% ]

[ you have learned Lochlands Mana Shield! ]

" Good luck! " Lochland waved goodbye to Dorian from the doorway, blending into the darkness inside the building as Dorian slowly got further and further away.

The walk to Karsis' Smithy was quite short. The two buildings were very close to each other. However, to Dorian, it took a very long time. 

Dorian was sweating and panting by the time he reached the door to Karsis' Smithy. Each time he tried to put the box and letter in his inventory, an error appeared. 

[ Error. This item can't be put in the inventory ]

Regardless, after reaching the door to the smithy, Dorian pushed open the door, picking up the box and taking it with him. A bell jingled when the door opened, tinkling before falling quiet again. Dorian walked towards the counter, dragging the box behind him as he did so. 

Just as he arrived at the desk, a man came through the back door, with his blacksmithing apron still on. His thick beard covered the majority of his face, but didn't manage to hide the piercing grey eyes, or the creases on his brow. The name above his head read Blacksmith Karsi. 

"See anything you like? " Karsi pulled off his gloves and tucked them under the counter. His hands were tapping on the wooden top, eager to get back to work.

'So this is Karsi. He seems...nice...' 

Dorian handed him the quest notice, as well as the 30 iron ores to go along with it. 

" Ahhh, I was hoping these would arrive. I've actually almost run out.Thank you. " Karsi started to become a bit more friendly towards Dorian. 

' Is this because of the affinity?'

[ you have completed Blacksmith Karsis Quest! ]

[ +50xp ]

[ +50 C ]

[ + 5 affinity with Karsi ]

' So it looks like I did get money from completing the quest, even if it was just a small amount. I wonder if quests display the monetary reward after it reaches a certain value? ' This was good news for Dorian. His previously meager moneypouch had instantly doubled in size, from 50 Coppers to 1 Silver. 

"Ah, I also took this huge box from Lochland the wizard, he asked me to deliver it to you..." 

" Perfect! That should be finished now. " Karsi smiled as he took the box, opening the letter after he set it down. However, while reading it, his face lost all of its happiness, and became gloomier and gloomier. By the end of it, his brows were so creased that they practically split his face in two.

" Dear Karsi...........sorry..........I tried..........couldn't be done..........turned to dust......accept this gold.........compensation...." Veins were pulsing in his temple. Throb. Wrapping the paper in both hands, he crumpled it into a ball. An instantaneous burst of fire from his hand turned it to ash. He slammed the golden coin on the countertop, cracking the wood with the force. A charring smell started to permeate the room, with smoke coming from Karsis hand. 

" This damn wizard!!.....He said he would definitely succeed. Now he went and ruined the Sword of Solomon! THE Sword of Solomon! How am I going to use this?! as DUST?! Oi! Go tell that wizard that he had better find a way to fix this, before i go over there and tell him what I think about his great magics myself! " Karsi grabbed the box, ripping the lid off and throwing it against the ground. A large pile of dust rolled out like a glittering silver hill. 

[ new quest! ]

Don't Shoot the Messenger II (SS) ]

Quest description: Blacksmith Karsi needs that sword. Find a way to recreate or repair the Sword of Solomon.

Quest requirements: completion of Don't Shoot the Messenger (C-)

Quest completion: return the Sword of Solomon to Karsi in good condition.

Quest reward: +30 affinity with Karsi.

20 Silver 

Blacksmithing recipe - Shield of Absalom 

Quest faliure: The sword cannot be recreated.

-50 affinity with Karsi.

-5 levels.

Dorian looked at the box, looked at Karsi, and took a deep breath. If he said no, there was a pretty high chance that Karsi would end up burning him to at least near death. The intimidation factor of a burly fire wielding man is not to be underestimated. Also, there was no time limit, so unless Dorian purposefully failed the quest, or there was no production method for the Sword of Solomon, there should be no problem. Although, there was no way he would be able to complete it anytime soon.

" I'll see what I can do..."

" Good lad. Now get out there and tell him what to do. " Karsi kicked Dorian out the forge, slamming the door behind him. 

[ you have taken 35 damage ]

[ received quest- Don't Shoot the Messenger ll ]

Little did he know how much this quest would cause him to gain...even if it wasn't straight away.