It took a little bit of time for Fyera, Waelen and Plyne to gather up the folks of the town in front of the storefront of The Dapper Crate. I on the other hand, spent my time attempting to secure my clunky 90’s style polaroid to the fantasy selfie stick which thankfully took after a few failed attempts and some pointers from Plyne. Now it was time to address the crowd that ambled around talking between themselves.

Oh god public speaking was WAY different when I was in the safety of my studio behind my microphone. I took a breath calming the butterflies in my stomach as Plyne came to my rescue.

“Alright everyone,” He said loudly, directing everyone’s attention toward me. Surprisingly they all listened and seemed attentive, like they were used to his direction. “MykaReviews needs our help for her compendium. So everyone stand here and smile for a little bit okay?”

There were a few grumbles but no one seemed to be outwardly opposed to the idea of me taking their picture. I gave a wave and pointed to my morning star of a camera mount.

“Hey guys! Thank you so much for agreeing to help me with this. I need a picture with 50 people in it and I thought what better way to showcase the lovely town of Green’s Peak than with the whole town being present for the picture! If you’ll bear with me while I get it set up that’d be great.”

“Places!” Plyne called out as he stepped back and helped place people in better spots so everyone would be featured, acting as a supportive photo shoot director. All that was left once I was set up was for us to take our spots. Plyne gave me a nod of approval as he stepped off to the side wing of the group. I took my spot, crouching at the very center of the group and I held my selfie stick out.

There were no buttons on the handle as it was all thought guided as Plyne had shown me earlier while we waited. He’d been the one to ultimately secure the camera to the stick, helping me with the straps as he gave a few pointers on how to work it. The stick extended, the thin metal pole lengthening until it was a good half a building away from us. My [Photography] skill said this would be a good enough distance to get everyone in the shot together.

“We’re going to take one serious one first and then a silly one, so everybody say ‘Cheese’!” I called loudly getting ready for the picture. A chorus of cheeses came from behind me. Ker-chunk. I could hear the camera click in my mind even though I wasn’t there to press the button.

[Quest Complete: ::Say Cheese::]

[Reward: Unbreakable Camera Strap]

[Skill Increase: Photography level 3]

My compendium updated several times as an icon for a camera strap materialized in my inventory.

“I got it!” I cheered happily. Several voices behind me congratulated me. “Alright time for the silly one! Give me your best pose! Everybody ready? 1-2—3!”

I pulled out my signature silly pose: peace sign. Ker-chunk.

“Great! Thank you so much everyone!” I addressed the town, retracting the selfie stick which slid back quickly to it’s original state like a tape measure.

“Happy to help.” Plyne smiled as he approached. I unbuckled my camera and slid the selfie stick into my fanny pack. The town’s people talked among each other, congratulating me and peeking over my shoulder to see the picture. I quickly pulled up the photos in the small screen to show everyone.

The last picture of the whole town together was full of bright smiles, silly faces and exaggerated vogue poses. Off to the side my eyes rested on Waelen and Fyera, still in her peach dress from when I’d taken her picture earlier today. They’d been standing next to each other in the first picture and my eyes widened to find that for the silly one Waelen had taken a bold chance. Fyera was in a deep dip, her eyes wide as Waelen planted a kiss.

CRACK

I gave a look to Waelen who seemed to be dealing with the flustered aftermath of his peck. Fyera was a deep shade of crimson, hiding her cheeks in her hands as she fussed at him. Waelen grinned roguishly, sporting a bright red mark flaring across his face. The cat had caught his little canary, and I had the picture to prove it.

“I gotta go change.” Fyera muttered. She gave me a quick hug and stomped back towards her house, leaving me and Waelen staring after her. He rubbed the side of his face, the grin never having left.

“Pretty ballsy.” I commented to him, holding up the camera screen to show him. He peeked at it and nodded.

“Worth it.”

“Great work [Tourist].” Plyne nodded in approval as he looked between the shots I took. “Come see me in the shop when you’re done showing everyone.”

With that he left me to the small crowd of people who wanted to see the photo still. The screen on the camera was so small that I had to pass it around to show everyone the picture. If only I had a projector screen I could use to display my pictures for everyone to see. Soon the novelty of the picture wore off and people dispersed back to their homes.

I went into my compendium into the different tabs and pulled up Green’s Peak. The first picture was there of everyone smiling together. I clicked the icon and it said I had the choice between two photos I could use as the main photo. The first picture had been a formality to get my new camera strap, it looked the most composed. The second one of the whole town laughing and playing together, I squinted to the side and found that even Plyne had joined in the fun. He’d pulled out a hat and monocle from somewhere and gestured grandly back toward The Dapper Crate which framed everyone nicely.

I picked the best memory.

The compendium updated accordingly, replacing the formality with fun. Satisfied with my choice I walked back inside The Dapper Crate. Plyne was busily setting up a few extra stands around the counter filled with themed items featuring The Dapper Crate’s logo. Key chains, water bottles, pencils, postcards, tee shirts and even a homemade snow globe made from a canning jar.

The shirts had Dapper Crate logos as well as a typical ‘I visited The Dapper Crate and all I got was this tee-shirt’. One said ‘I survived the Rainbow! [Secret Recipe: Rainbow Curry]’ with a stylized bulls-eye in the same form as the bowl I’d been served. Oh hell yes. I snagged one of each of the three designs.

The key chains astounded me: by magic or design they somehow had my name. Well, not my real name but my handle: MykaReviews, spelled right and everything! The backside held the logo in the center of the words Green’s Peak. Sign said five key chains for a gold, I bought twenty figuring they’d make for good name tags for my items.

I grabbed a handful of pencils and paused when I finally noticed a familiar picture nestled among the postcards. A woman taking a picture in a mirror, wearing a beach bum body tee shirt, and a pair of Bermuda shorts. The text at the bottom said: ‘Wish you were here~♥ The Dapper Crate, Green’s Peak; Floor 1’ My photo entry for my camera was here among the postcards! Like an instant print copy I found myself smiling like an idiot.

There were more from my compendium, Fyera and her home, the [Viewpoint], the [Star Map (Basic)]. Even the Yellow Curry Leaf stalk I’d taken a picture of before Plyne transplanted it into a sunny yellow pot, where it sat happily in the rounded windowsill next to an already brightly flourishing red and orange pair of plants.

“These are from my compendium!” I picked up the one of me in the mirror again.

“What better way to reward someone for doing their class quest than with postcards of their own shots?” Plyne said.

I went through the other stacks, the silly picture we’d taken for the ::Say Cheese:: quest was already there too now. A golden border around the edges saying “Welcome to Green’s Peak; Floor 1”. It felt magical to hold it in my hands, my triumphant proof that I was on the right track.

“You get one free postcard per floor as a perk of your class.” Plyne said. “That one’s on the Crate.”

Pat pat. It zipped away into my personal inventory.

The other stand on the other side held things like basic toiletries, sunscreen, chapstick, beef jerky, some un-themed canteens and even some ponchos. Most of the useful stuff he sold were things I already owned from the starter pack from Roqor’s tower. I snagged the chapstick.

“Plyne you were holding out on me!” I gasped as I picked up my sunglasses to admire everything I’d purchased. Under 40 gold for everything I wanted which was STILL under my two hundred gold budget I’d imposed on myself when I’d first come in.

Plyne shrugged. “I run a [Themed Store], what else would you expect but branding?”

Now that he’d mentioned it I wondered why it had all been put away in the first place.

“Are there more themed stores on the other floors?” I asked.

“There are and that’ll be where you’ll find some more of those [Secret Recipes] to try. Don’t forget to watch out for hole in the wall places too, you might be surprised with what you find there.” Plyne said giving me a knowing nod. Pretty amazing the kinds of information you could get from asking the right questions.

Time to press for some meta information.

“So Plyne, you said you know Roqor the Immortal and he warned you about me?”

The smile never left Plyne’s face as he nodded. “Yes. He warned me about you, Mica.”

He pronounced my name as MY name fluently, not as my handle shown in my ID. My lungs clenched uncomfortably for a moment.

“He told you my real name?”

“He did, but only yours out of all the Betas. He was very insistent that we get it right if you accepted the summoning. He seemed assured that you would and told us to take care of you when you got here.”

“Summoning?” I asked in confusion. There had been no summoning—oh, the invitation he’d sent asking me to come beta for the game? I could see that being summoning adjacent. “Yeah, I accepted the summon and— wait take care of?”

“I’d originally thought he meant for me to kill you or at least expect a fight when you showed up and I didn’t want your blood getting on the merchandise, so I put it away until I’d dealt with you.” Plyne admitted. He’d been sitting on the couch waiting for me to come in when I’d first seen him. A chill ran down my spine, the man had been ready to kill me! No wonder his meter was already in the red for that skill challenge.

“But seeing you turn up in your [Tourist] outfit made me realize what he meant.” Plyne said. “I run the only themed shop on the floor and am the only place where you can learn more about the [Tourist] class and it’s quests. He said to take care of you, so I will be doing what I can with what I’m allowed to do.”

Allowed to? Shoot- that’s right, this is a virtual reality, Plyne had protocols he had to follow.

“Is that true for other Themed Shop owners as well?” If Plyne was bound by rules the others probably were as well.

“They will also be available to help you should you be able to find them. Remember, branding is key for a themed shop’s survival.” Plyne nodded. It was helpful information to have and now I had an idea of what to look for on the next floor.

“I can’t believe Roqor mentioned me by name.” I said going back to the topic at hand. I knew he was a fan of my channel on You-niverse but going so far as to code the NPCs to help guide me along, personally as Plyne was, seemed not fair to the other Betas. “Have any of the other Betas come through here yet?” I asked.

Plyne shook his head. “The stairs for the next floor are on the other side of the mountains so most of the group went there without exploring. There was one gentleman who stopped through though it was only in passing and not for too long, I think he was a [Detective].”

“Did you help him like you helped me?”

“He asked questions but nothing that required extra emphasis.” Plyne said, a slight smirk crawling up one side of his face. He was teasing my obliviousness to my class. True, I’d never seen a game that had a class like this in it before, but I was still trying my best. “He was quick to leave though, you’re only a day or two behind him.”

Huh! So I was a few days behind the [Detective], I checked my Journal that had the entry for [Quest Object- Choose your Own Adventure by J. Roqor]. Only one page full of names and class choices. Two usernames said [Detective] next to them: TrinityInfinity and DevinTheGr8. Devin’s was the name right above mine, the last to enter before me.

[New Side Quest Available: ::FIND THE OTHERS::]

[Find the other Beta Testers in Trick Tower.]

[::FIND THE OTHERS::

TRACK THIS QUEST?

Y/N?]

Looks like I was supposed to find more of the other Betas and I had a lead on at least one. Click. The text digitized, filing itself accordingly in my HUD. I needed to learn more about my own class before I tried to snoop on the others. Plyne was the man for this job, he’d given me hints and seemed to know the inner workings of the class and it’s features.

“What are good skills for [Tourists] to level?”

Plyne’s eyebrows raised momentarily as he nodded in approval. I was asking more of the right questions. “You’ll find all the skills you have leveled on your ID. If you’ll pull it out I’ll help you go over it.”

I opened my ID on my HUD.

“I meant summon it, you can call your ID forth like your camera if you concentrate on it since it’s a part of your inventory and HUD at the same time. The good news is ID’s cannot be stolen from players so you’ll never have to worry about losing it.”

I concentrated, summoning it to my hand. It appeared between my fingertips, thin and almost laminated in feel it had all my current statistics and skills on the reverse side from my picture and name.

SKILLS:

Haggling- Level 1

Herbalism- Level 1

Investigation- Level 3

Lock Picking- Level 1

Photography- Level 3

SPELLS:

Light- Level 3

WEAPONS:

Daggers- Level 2

“Investigation is always a good skill to level.” Plyne nodded as he looked over it. “Some of the things you’ll need to catalogue are hidden and hard to find. Once it’s high enough you’ll be able to track the things you’ve already catalogued to make gathering easier. I see you leveled Haggling, that’s a good one for your class that most people don’t think to try. Word of advice: haggle for everything you can, when you can, those early levels compound themselves later on. You’ll also want to start finding a way to level in Charm and Bluff. They can get you out of sticky situations if each is applied in the correct circumstance.

“You’ll need to find a book to jump start your Survival skill levels. Fortunately they can be gained easily enough when practiced. Cooking and Arcana would also be beneficial for you to fill the cook book section of the compendium.”

“I have to catalogue the food too?” I groaned inwardly as Plyne piled more onto my list. Now that he mentioned it there was the letter C tab that had several sparkling stars glittering around it. The icon for cooking had the picture of the Rainbow Curry I’d taken, the yellow highlight around the outside meant there were more things inside.

“Recipes are important but don’t worry too hard about them right now, you can always buy cook books later. I’d focus more on Herbalism for potion ingredients. You’ll find places that will sell recipes but sometimes it’s cheaper to try and test for yourself.” Plyne handed the ID card back to me and it pixelated as it vanished back into my HUD. “You have a great start for your class, a little lacking in spells but I can’t fault you for that when we don’t have a spell caster on this side of the mountain.”

“What spell should I try looking for next?” I asked.

“[Create Water].” Plyne said seriously. “If you can’t find a Survival skill book then you’ll need a way to keep yourself hydrated while you travel. [Create Water] is always overlooked even though it’s a great tier one spell, like [Light].”

I thought back to the sink in the tower whose pipes weren’t connected to the wall. There was probably a [Create Water] spell tucked in there somewhere. Being able to fill my canteen for a little bit of magic was definitely a fair trade.

“Is there a spell caster in Seamyst who sells spells like that?”

“I’m sure there are but I don’t know of them personally.” Plyne shrugged. looks like he didn’t know specifics of the other places on the floor. “Seamyst is a much larger town than ours.

“Where is Seamyst from here?”

“Follow the river south out to the sea and hook a right at the beach.”

[New Quest Available: ::FOLLOW THE TRAIL::]

[Follow Plyne’s directions to get to Seamyst.]

[Reward: Discovery- Seamyst]

[::FOLLOW THE TRAIL::

TRACK NEW QUEST?

Y/N?]

Click. A quest to see if I could follow Plyne’s directions on my own, interesting. My compendium pinged with more notifications that I sent away. “I don’t suppose you have a map of the floor do you?”

“Not for sale but I do have a map.” Plyne wandered back to the stairs and vanished up them. His footsteps tromped around above my head and soon he came back down carrying a very old map. I scooped all my Dapper Crate Memorabilia into my fanny pack to give him room to lay it out flat on the counter top.

The whole floor was encompassed in a circular shape. We were on some sort of peninsula where the mountains split the land dividing it in half. Green’s Peak was on the right hand side of the map, Seamyst further south by the beaches and water where it sat at the crest of a large bay. On the left half was another city that looked to be much larger than either Seamyst or Green’s Peak called Dawnrise. My compendium updated.

“I know you said it’s not for sale, but could I snag a picture of it?”

Plyne shook his head with a smile.“I was wondering how long it would take you to ask.”

I snapped a shot for my compendium. I pulled it up in the new tab to the left on my HUD labeled ‘F1’ and immediately a bulls-eye marker blinked into existence on the right side of the mountain. I could click it, so I did and it pulled up the photo I’d taken from the Viewpoint. On the lower portion of the tab sat the trackers for all the things I had to take pictures of.

[Floor 1 Viewpoints 1/4]

[Floor 1 Animals 2/25]

[Floor 1 Secrets 3/10]

Somewhere out there was the way down to the next floor. My ultimate overall quest [::ESCAPE THE TOWER, ALIVE::] and it’s subquest wanted me to go searching for the way down. It probably would be helpful to know where it was so I could come back to it at my leisure. I pulled out my unbreakable camera strap I’d gotten as a reward from the ::Say Cheese:: quest and attached it to the two small outer loops around the edge of the blocky camera body. I tucked one of the MykaReviews key chains through the clip as well and it made a tiny clacking whenever it bumped up against the side.

“Points of interest will usually reveal themselves on your map if you get within an acceptable range. It’s an approximation more than a direct coordinate though so you’ll have to look around. Good news is your [Investigation] is already pretty high to begin with so you shouldn’t have too many problems if you look carefully.” Plyne said, watching me set up my camera.

I nodded, looking back to the tracker list I could now use to keep up with my progress. It wasn’t as far as I would have liked but it was still something. There was still some daylight so I could go get some pictures and come back before it got dark. I’d chase a few more animals, maybe see if I could find any bird nests with eggs in them to fill the mundane entries. At least I didn’t have to keep track of plants otherwise that’d be a doozy. Right?

“I don’t have to take pictures of all the plants for a fully complete compendium, do I?”

Plyne laughed, “No.”

Thank noodles for small favors.