When Kit returned to the village, he had collected 20 x Yellow bulbine, 20 x Purple heart and 15 x Slipperwort. Purple Heart had purple foliage with a pink blooming flower, the stem was covered with soft white fibres. It smelled slightly fruity. Slipperwort had orange flower in the shape of a purse with green foliage. It was an unusual shape, its smell was also surprising, it had a strong similarity to oranges.

Kit decided it was time to hand in the quest. He headed towards the fountain in the town square to find mayor meadows.

‘There he is, that shiny head is easy to spot.’

Mayor meadows had not moved far from where he had picked up his quest next to the fountain.

“There you are my lad, did you find the rabbits easily enough.”

‘This rotten tomato, I bet he did not tell me about the rabbit’s size on purpose before I left.’

“Yes, thank you. Here is the rabbit meat you asked for.”

Ding!

[CAL]

1x burly rabbit meat.

Quest complete: Mayor Meadows request, common.

Rewards: 100 EXP., 10 bronze crowns, 10 reputation points with Mayor Meadow.

Ding!

[Congratulations, you are now Level 1]

Kit was surprised he had already made it to level 1.

‘Was gaining a level supposed to be so easy? Was it because it was his first level earned?’

“Young lad, what was your name again. Forgive this old man, I have a bad memory.”

‘Bad memory my foot, you didn’t ask in the first place.’ Kit smiled to soften his annoyance.

“Kit, sir.”

“You are a handy fellow Kit, could you possibly do me another favour. You see I have a bad heart that is why I don’t like to go hunting anymore. My wife makes me a potion to take every day to keep me healthy. I usually get the ingredients from the general store. Today they were missing one of the ingredients needed to make the potion, it is called Purple Heart. You can find it in the meadow where the rabbits are. Could you collect me 10, I will pay you the same price as the general store.”

‘YES, an easy quest I’ve already collected them.’ Kit celebrated in his head, but kept a calm smile on his face.

“Mayor Meadows you are in luck, I have 10x Purple Heart’s.” Kit passed the flowers over to the mayor.

Ding

[CAL]

Quest accepted.

Mayor meadows heart, common.

Bring the mayor 10 x Purple Heart before tomorrow.

Ding

[CAL]

10 x Purple Heart.

Quest complete: Mayor Meadow’s heart, common.

Rewards: 50 EXP, 10 bronze crowns, 10 reputation points with Mayor Meadow.

“Thank you, Kit. You have kept me healthy for another day, could you do me another favour?”

“KIT, OVER HERE.”

As Mayor Meadows was about to make another request, Kit heard a call of his name. When he turned to find out who was trying to get his attention, he saw Mars waving his arms at him from outside a building that looked like the village inn.

‘That big pirate rooster still makes me smile, I wonder if I should tell him what he looks like.’

“Excuse me Mayor Meadows, I will go and see what my friend is after.”

“If you and your friend are free, come and see me, as a mayor I always have some work for strong lads like yourselves.” Mayor meadows gave Kit a greasy smile. Kit felt a shiver of revulsion spread down his back.

Kit headed over to where Mars was standing. Mars was in front of a building called The Waddling Duck.

‘What a charming little Inn. I think something like the restaurant inside the Inn, would be a decent size to start my own restaurant.’

The restaurant was at the front of the Inn. Large glass windows allowed passers-by a glimpse inside. From where Kit was standing, he could see three long tables made from poor quality wood. The benches were the length of the tables to accommodate patrons. They were poorly put together, they didn’t look like they would stand against too much weight.

The bar was a long-wooden block that had seen better days, it contained multiple glass stains. It looked like the counter was decorated with circles. Wooden barrels were tucked in under the bar, Kit thought they didn’t look half bad, for bar stools.

There were a few patrons enjoying a meal and drink at the tables. Loud laughter could be heard through the door and the aroma of roast meat could be smelt floating down the street. It had a warm atmosphere, he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable dining inside. Kit turned from the window to stare at Mars.

“Kit, don’t give the mayor any ingredients. He buys them from players, then sells them to the general store at a higher rate.”

“Mars are you sure, I just gave him Purple Heart, but it was for a quest.”

Kit was a little puzzled, quests were a way to level up faster. ‘Is he trying to swindle me somehow?’

Kit was at a loss, he gave Mars a wary look. Mars noticed his change in behaviour, he looked a little confused at Kit’s change.

“The general store gives the same quest, but with higher rewards. I’ve watched five fresh players just like you get cheated by the mayor, so far. That’s why it is important to look around.”

‘Fudge on a stick! NPCs could swindle players. Not only will I have to be wary of players I will also have to guard myself against NPCs. Well at least this game won’t be boring, but I don’t know that’s going to help with my distrust of people.’ Kit sighed at this thought.

‘This big rooster was trying to help though. I really do need to work on this mindset that everyone will be out to hurt me in some way. He was just trying to be helpful, and I thought he was trying to deceive me.’

Kit felt guilty for thinking badly of Mars. ‘Someone like him is a better person than me, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to mention that to someone I had just met. He would make a good friend and Kat told me to make some friends while I played. It has been a long time since I interacted of my own accord with people my own age. I really don’t want to turn out a cold person like my mother.’

Kit decided to make an effort to see if Mars would like to be friends in game. Kit surmised having someone to go on quests with would be more enjoyable than going by himself. It could also prevent him from being blindsided, like he was with the burly rabbit. Having an extra set of eyes would be handy, and he did miss having friends. He had also made a promise to Kat he would try to trust people again.

After his father died, he stopped trying to maintain friendships, and they naturally faded away. The feeling of loss from his friendships had only started to influence him recently, when he started to miss the interaction with other people. Unfortunately, he found it hard to reconnect with his friends from the past.

‘Ok, I can do this. Let’s make a friend. Not all people are bad Kit.’ Kit felt a little nervous about what he was going to do. He took a deep breath, and plunged into the unknown.

“Mars, should we do some quests together? We have both just started the game, having someone to talk to while completing quest should be fun. I’ll add you as a friend. “

“OK”

Kit was a little shocked at how fast Mars had agreed.

Mars looked at Kit with an excited expression. He was almost bouncing up and down on his feet in excitement to have a companion. The smile on his face almost blinded Kit.

‘Is it that exciting to have a friend in game? Should I feel like this too? His reaction seems over the top to me. Maybe we both have problems with our personalities.’

“Open menu.”

Kit looked around inside the menu but couldn’t see an option for adding friends.

“Mars do you know how to send a friend request.”

“Haha. You really are new to the game. Send friend request to Kit.”

Ding!

[Friend request: Mars]

Accept/Decline

“Accept.”

Mars smile increased in volume, Kit did not know how that was even possible. He got the feeling Mars was going to have boundless energy, just like a puppy. He reminded him a little of Kat, maybe that was why he was ok attempting to make friends with him.

“We should do quests with the Inn Keeper so we can get some free board, sleeping on the ground at night is rough. I almost froze to death last night, literally I had to eat some bread to recover my health.”

Mars body shook like a shiver had gone down his spine when he had talked about sleeping outside.

“Ok, I’m glad you told me about that. I don’t think I want to experience it.” Kit thought back to the time he was kicked out of home by his mother. An intense pain gripped his chest, Kit lifted his hand to rub the spot over his heart.

“That’s a nice bracelet, where did you get it?” Kit automatically looked at his wrist without thinking, the glitter distracted him enough to pull himself back to the present.

“My sister gave it to me before I logged in, it’s a little flashy, but I promised her I would wear it.”

“You are lucky to get such a nice gift. I wish I had one to, it would go great with my outfit.” Mars was giving Kit a look of envy.

‘Well, that was not the response I thought I would get. Anyone can tell it’s a girl’s bracelet just from looking at it. I swear that’s why Kat got me this one. Looks like Mars has unusual tastes.’

“Thanks, so shall we head inside?”

“Right let’s make a party first, that way we can share any quests we get. Send party invitation to Kit.”

Ding!

[Party leader Mars sent an invitation]

Accept/Decline

“Accept.”

“Ok, now that’s settled let’s go in.” Mars had a spring in his step as he headed inside.

Inside, the smell of roast meat was stronger, Kits stomach growled.

“Should we get something to eat first?”

Kit walked over to the counter to order a meal. Behind the counter was a middle-aged woman with striking long red hair. As he approached, warm friendly hazel eyes greeted him accompanied by a huge smile.

“Hello there, I haven’t seen you boys in here before. What can I get you?” Her voice was light and feathery.

“Can we get two roast meats please.”

“That will be 30 bronze crowns.” she held out her hand for payment.

“Oh, I did not realise how much they would cost. Sorry I don’t have that much money.”

Kit’s face went red in embarrassment, he ducked his head down to hide his flushed face. Behind him he could hear sniggering from Mars, Kit turned to glare at Mars. Mars did not see Kit’s eyes, he was trying to cover his sniggers by holding both hands over his face.

The middle-aged woman gave him a sympathetic look. This confused Kit as he didn’t know the reason for the look of concern.

“Aye, is that your brother, tell him to stop crying. Tell you what, I’m in need of some help tonight. My normal waitress Rose, has gone to visit her family in another village. If you and your brother can cover the tables tonight, I’ll give you some food.”

Kit realised the woman couldn’t hear Mars’ sniggers. She thought he was crying and trying to cover it with his hands. Kit looked at Mars, if Kit had not heard the sniggers Mars really did look like he was crying. His shoulders were slightly shaking, his head was down cast, and his large hands covered his face. Hiding his face could easily be mistaken for embarrassment.

‘The big rooster is a good luck charm, without him we might not have been given this quest so easily.’

“Thank you very much, my brother’s name is Mars and I’m Kit. We would be happy to help in exchange for food.” Kit felt a soft kick to his leg.

“Great I’m Iris, you can start straight away. I will just need you to take meal orders, bring meals to the customers and collect the dirty dishes.”

Ding!

[CAL]

Quest accepted.

The Waddling Duck waiter, common.

Help Iris with the dinner service, do not let any customers leave angry.

Acquired: white apron.

Iris bent behind the counter to retrieve an item.

Mars whispered in Kit’s ear. “Why did you not ask about a free room.”

“We will ask after we have done the jobs, Iris should think more favourably of us then.” Replied Kit in a soft voice.

Mars made a thoughtful face, then nodded agreement. Iris had collected two white aprons from under the counter, she handed one to each of them.

‘Why is this part of the quest? It’s an outer garment to keep the clothes underneath clean.’

Kit studied the apron, information flashed in front of his eyes.

Clothing: White apron, common

Level 10

Agility + 5

Cook + 1

Speed + 3

After looking at the information Kit realised why they were given the apron. Kit rushed to wear the apron. He could not wait to see if there was a difference wearing the clothing. He slung the apron over his head and quickly tied it at the back.

Once the apron was on, he could feel a slight change to his dexterity, and a minor improvement to his speed. Kit pulled out a coin and flipped it over his fingers, he did it five times in a row, flipping the coin backwards and forwards without dropping it. At home he could only do this once before he lost control of the coin. Kit was amazed at the minor changes clothing could bring to his avatar.

“It is better to split the jobs since you are new to waiting. So, who would like to collect the dirty dishes and wash them?”

Mars quickly shot his hand up in the air.

‘That is a surprise, I thought with his outgoing personality he would want to wait tables.’

“I won’t be able to remember all the orders, so I will take the dirty dishes.”

“Ok I’ll take the orders and bring the meals out.”

“Great Kit. Here is our menu, there is only three dishes available and two drinks. Memorise those while I take Mars and show him where the dirty dishes go.”

Kit looked at the menu, it was an old piece of paper. It was covered in yellow stains from drinks being spilled over it. The paper was thick, Kit guessed that was the only reason it had survived being covered in liquids. The Waddling Duck was printed on top, underneath was a description of the dishes, stat boosts and pricing.

‘That surprised me there are not many options on the menu. This is the only restaurant in the village shouldn’t there be more choices? Maybe learning new dishes is going to be harder than I thought. If this place couldn’t offer a large variety, how many selections could I create for my own restaurant?’ Kit put aside this thought for now and concentrated on learning the menu.

The dishes available were carrot soup, roasted burly rabbit, pumpkin pancakes, sweet meadow beer and sweet meadow spring water.

‘At least the menu is small, so I won’t have any trouble remembering the items.’

Iris returned to behind the bar and handed Kit a small pad of paper and a quill. He was surprised to see the large white feather, he had no idea how to write with this. Hopefully his handwriting would be legible, or he was going to be embarrassed.

“Got it all memorised?”

Kit nodded his head, at least that part of the quest will be easy.

“Good, all you need to do is write on a piece of paper the customer’s order and table number. Bring it over to me and when the order is ready, I will hand you the food and drink to take to the customer. Easy, right.” Iris winked, then motioned towards a group of people walking in.

Kit took a deep breath. ‘No one wants to sleep outside tonight, so professional smile on Kit, this will be just like the convenience store.’

Kit headed over to greet the first group of customers that Iris had indicated.