They arrived at the Inn with only a mouthful of beer left. ‘Ahh, this horse is really a pain in the behind. Any further and we would have been stuck.’

Kit and Mars unloaded the barrels at the back of the Inn against the wall. Kit used the last mouthful of beer to get Pint into his stall. He was glad to finally be rid of the stubborn horse.

“Pint, thank you for pulling the wagon. I’m happy this will be our first and last trip together.”

Pint snorted and shook his head as if he was in agreement, with Kit. He laughed at the horse’s antics. “Well, I suppose you were not that bad. Apart from needing constant beer, at least you did not run off on us.”

Kit patted the horses head and went inside to find Iris. He wanted to tell her the good news about the Spectral Nile Reptiles. Iris was cleaning a cup and talking to a customer when Kit arrived. When she saw them, she put the cup away then headed over.

“How did you go? Distract them, ok? Its ok if you couldn’t do it, they are quite difficult to handle. They have been giving me a hard time for a while now.”

Before they could even reply Iris gave them a sympathetic smile, as if she knew that they would not be successful. Kit chuckled at Iris’ reaction to their return.

‘Well, I can’t blame Iris for thinking we would not be able to do it. I didn’t think we would be able to kill the Spectral Nile Reptiles when I saw them. I wonder how surprised she will be when she finds out that we killed both.’

Kit could not help a big grin forming on his face at the thought of what Iris’s reaction was going to be in a moment, when he told her the good news.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about them from now on Iris. Mars and I killed both of them.”

Iris’ look of sympathy morphed instantly into a stunned one. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes bulged. Kit got a little worried when Iris continued to stay in that state after a whole minute had passed.

‘Did we break her?’

“Iris did you hear me? Are you ok?”

Iris closed her mouth, then opened it once again, but no words came out.

‘Haha, she must not know what to say. I guess the surprise was too much.’

Iris visibly collected herself, then tears started to pool in her eyes.

“Ahh, Iris don’t cry, it’s ok. I’m not pulling a prank we really did kill them.” Kit started to panic after seeing Iris’ reaction.

“No, no, I’m not upset Kit dear. I’m just happy.” Iris rounded the counter and enveloped them in a big hug. Tears were falling from her eyes, in contrast a big smile was plastered on her face.

“You boys are amazing! How did you do it? Wait, first I’ll get you some food. Oh, and reward you boys, you two definitely need a big reward.”

Ding!

[CAL]

Quest complete: Iris’s Spring Water, uncommon.

Rewards: 2000 experience, 20 silver crowns, 50 reputation points with Inn keeper Iris.

Ding!

[Congratulations, you are now Level 4]

Ding!

[Congratulations, you are now Level 5]

Ding!

[Congratulations, you are now friends with Inn Keeper Iris]

‘Lucky king crabs! Look at those rewards. We hit the jackpot with this quest.’

Kit could not help being a little shocked at the result of his quest. Kit glanced at Mars and could guess from the stunned look on his face he was thinking the same thing.

Kit looked at the last line of information with a little curiosity. ‘I wonder what I get from being friends with Iris.’

Kit hoped it would be something useful. He didn’t quite understand what benefits he would gain from being friends with an NPC. While Kit and Mars were distracted with their notifications, Iris had ducked into the kitchen. Kit decided to have a look at his stats while he waited for Iris to return.

“CAL open stats menu.”

Kit

Level: 5

Health: 200/200

Attack + 14

Class: Swordsman

Stamina: 15/15

Speed + 9

Sub class:

Magica: 50/50

Intelligence + 14

Money: 20 sliver 70 bronze crowns

Experience: 0/2000

Weapon: Rusty knife

Agility + 10

Defence + 7

Free Points: 10

Clothing: White apron

‘Holy pink peaches! The surprises keep coming. I’ve gained 100 health, 5 stamina and 20 magica. That’s amazing for my second day of game play. My attack is now + 8 thanks to the new skill incapacitating stab. I wonder if it is possible to upgrade a skill. I must find out about that.’

‘This was a worthwhile quest, I have gained four levels. It’s my second day and I’m already level 5. I’ve also started to earn money to go towards starting a restaurant. It’s really starting to feel like I can do this.’

Mars broke into his thought process when he spoke to Iris. Kit was too engrossed in his menu to notice Iris’s return.

“We unloaded the barrels out back and put Pint back into his stall. But Iris, we almost didn’t have enough beer to get Pint back, we literally used the last mouthful to get Pint in the stable.”

Iris placed two hot meals of roast on the counter.

“Sorry Mars, I thought because you had beer, he would be well behaved for you. If you had run out of alcohol, it wouldn’t have mattered too much. He would’ve stayed in place until you came back with some more beer. He really is stubborn about not moving an inch without some liquor.”

Mars and Kit sat down at the bar to eat the meals Iris had placed there for them.

“I’m still relieved that I don’t have to worry about collecting water from now on. You boys were a blessing coming through my doors.”

Kit blushed at Iris’ words. “Thank you, Iris. Mars and I were happy to help.”

“Look at you being so modest. Well, I have some rewards for you as promised.”

Kit gave Iris a look of surprise. ‘What is she talking about we already got the rewards for the quest.’

Kit glanced over to Mars to see if he had any clue what was going on. Mars was as clueless as well.

“Iris, we don’t need any rewards. We are friends, so we are happy to help.” Kit didn’t want to take anything else from Iris. He felt the rewards they had already got from finishing the quest were enough.

Iris shook her head.

“Thank you, Kit. You are right we are friends. That doesn’t mean I can take advantage of you. How about this, I’ll give Mars Pint as a thank you.”

Mars eyes widened with a look of fear. Kit could tell he did not want to be gifted the troublesome horse.

“Iris seriously that’s not needed, you keep Pint. I don’t need a horse.” Mars quickly replied.

“Don’t be silly Mars, he is all yours now. I had noticed you two didn’t have a mount, it will be hard to travel without one.”

Mars opened his mouth to refuse.

“I’m not taking no for an answer young man.” Iris gave Mars a stern look.

Mars bowed his head. “Then, thank you Iris. I will take good care of him.”

Kit could not help having an internal laugh at Mars’ misfortune. He made sure to keep his face blank, so he did not offend Iris. Iris then turned to Kit.

“Now for your turn young man. I know you would prefer to learn something in the Kitchen.”

At those words Kit’s excitement started to bloom. He was going to learn his first recipe. Kit wondered if this was because they had made friends with Iris.

“Tomorrow morning come to the kitchens, and I will teach you how to use some of the magical appliances you love so much.”

Kit was a little disappointed he wouldn’t be learning a recipe, but learning about the magical equipment was a good consolation prize.”

“Thank you, Iris. I would love that.” Kit gave Iris a beautiful smile.

“Look at you so easy to please. I will also teach you how to make beer, or you boys will be broke in no time, feeding that horse.”

Kit felt his emotions soar, he was so happy he was starting to feel a little dizzy. Kit felt the silly grin plastered on his face once again. ‘I’M GOING TO LEARN MY FIRST RECIPE.’

“Iris ….”

Kit couldn’t get the words out he was so happy. Iris and Mars started to laugh at his lack of response and the look on his face.

“It’s ok Kit. I know you are too excited to talk right now.”

Kit just nodded his head like a bobble head doll. Iris continued to laugh at him as she walked off to serve another customer. After their meals were eaten, Mars turned to Kit.

“We should head into town, to go sell the ingredients we’ve collected at the grocer, before dinner service starts.”

“Good plan, I forgot all about that, with the distractions from handing in the quest.”

Mars waved to Iris.

“We are going to head into town. We will be back before dinner.”

Iris gave a casual wave of understanding. Kit followed Mars out the door. Outside the streets were still bustling with people going about their everyday tasks. Mars headed down the street, he seemed to know where he was heading, so Kit followed behind at a leisurely pace.

Mars walked over to a building that was slightly larger than its surrounding neighbours. Kit looked at the building and had the feeling there was something different about this store, compared to the others in the village.

The building was made from loose field stones stacked on top of each other. Kit thought the walls looked like an intricate jigsaw. He was amazed at the level of craftsmanship it would have taken to complete the building. Compared to surrounding buildings made from wood and twigs, this one looked more upscale.

The roof was made from wood, instead of straw. Most of the shops in the area had a hanging sign out front advertising their name. This one had a large stone plaque with the name, Green Bundle Grocer, engraved into the stone. What made it even more eye catching, was that the engraving was filled with a bright forest green colour, making the name pop out.

Underneath the name was one shiny golden star that glowed with a soft light. Kit’s eyes started to shine when he noticed the golden star.

“Mars, is this a level one store?” Kit could hear the amazement in his own voice.

Mars gave a little chuckle. “Yes, are you going to go all space cadet inside, like you do with the magic items at Iris’.”

Kit just nodded his head, there was no point denying this, as he could already feel his excitement starting to build.

“Pfft, alright my little magic junky friend, should we head inside.”

Kit had a little skip in his step as he followed Mars inside the doors. As soon as he entered a series of smells greeted his arrival. The floral fragrance was the strongest, it was heavy, and overpowered most of the other scents. Underneath the strong smell he could make out a sweet fruity aroma, along with a spicey herbal perfume.

Kit felt his nose start to tickle, he then sneezed from the sensory overload. Kit started to breathe through his mouth so he would stop sneezing. He glanced around the store and noticed it was split into sections. Against one wall were multiple hanging woven baskets filled with all kinds of flowers. Underneath was large wooden barrels overflowing with the beautiful blossoms.

The back wall was of similar design but was filled with herbs of all shapes and sizes. The last wall was covered in a large fruit stand. The fruits were separated by wooden boxes. The middle of the store was a large open area. Kit thought it was a waste of space, but this was not his store, so he held that comment to himself.

Kit continued to roam his eyes over the inside of the shop. He could tell that the wood used in the shop was a better quality than in Iris’ Inn. Even the floor was noticeably more appealing to the eye. The flooring was made from wood just like at Iris’, but this floor had a polished finish.

He could tell the difference in a store having a one star, compared to none, was a huge visual advantage. He wondered if the quality of the stock would also differ. He made a note to check Iris’ stock tomorrow to see if he could notice a difference.

Seeing a level 1 store really made him want to see what the difference would be with even more stars. Pity there were none in this village.

Kit walked over to the fruits on display, he was drawn by the rich colours. A crisp fresh smell that all good quality fruits have made his mouth water. He wanted to try all the different fruits to see if they tasted as good as they smelt. He started to pick up different fruits to smell the different scents they gave off.

“Kit stop sniffing everything. You look like a dog that can’t decide where to put his nose first.”

Kit realised what he had been doing after Mars pointed it out. He put the fruit down and pretended like he had been doing nothing out of the ordinary. Mars shook his head at Kit’s behaviour, Kit could tell it didn’t bother him by the smile on Mars’ face.

Mars headed over to the counter and proceeded to sell all the ingredients they had collected this morning. Once he was finished Kit did the same, he was a little disappointed at the amount he earnt. Kit was given a total of 43 bronze crowns, he did not feel the effort of collecting the 17 purple hearts, 25 yellow bulbine and 25 slipperwort was worth the price.

Quests gave better rewards at this point in the game. If this was all he was going to get from harvesting ingredients, it was going to be slow earning money.

‘I think we were lucky with the amount of money we got from the Spectral Nile Reptile quest. I shouldn’t expect to get so much in the future.’

Unlike Kit, Mars seemed to be happy with the amount he earnt. Mars saw Kit’s look of disappointment.

“Kit, we got a good price for these, don’t be disappointed. We hit the jackpot with the quest from Iris. Don’t expect all quest to be like that. It is actually very rare to get one with such good rewards.”

Mars confirmed Kits thoughts.

“I know, it’s just hard to think how long it will take to save up money.”

“Kit you just started, you will be poor for a long time yet. As fast as you make it you will be spending it to buy equipment that you will need to go exploring.”

Kit sighed, he knew Mars was right. He couldn’t stay in Sweet Meadow forever. He would need some better equipment before they left. He was just so impatient because he couldn’t wait to open a little restaurant.

“There is just so much I want already, Mars. It’s actually a little overwhelming to think how long I will be broke for.”

Kit’s mood turned sad. All he could think about was, if he couldn’t succeed, his dream would end. He started to get anxious at the thought of leaving this world. It had only been two days, but he was already attached to the pleasant feelings he developed from playing the game.

“Things will fall into place naturally. Stop worrying, lets head back to Iris’ so we don’t miss the dinner service.”

Kit followed Mars back to Iris’ in a sombre mood.