Author's corner; nothing That moment when you're helping dig a hole and you find a tomahawk. #truestory

Enjoy

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Roxanne nodded with a smile as Steel accepted the quest. "I thank you for your help young traveler. With your help, perhaps our people can one day reunite and find a home again."

"About that," Steel stared at Roxanne with a raised eyebrow, "If you are this mysterious sixth race, than why do you look human?"

"That knowledge is not for your ears yet." She said simply, "Help me and someday perhaps I will reveal more secrets to you. For now, are you interested in completing your first quest for the cause?"

"Depends on what it is, my vengeance comes first." Steel would give no ground on this as he stared into her eyes.

Roxanne gave a slight nod, "In order to leave this city, you must be as strong as a town guard. Even then, with that level of strength there would be few safe roads for you to travel. My advice is to stay here and complete quests until you reach level 20, at which time you will be able to travel to more places to train. Your first quest for us," She continued, "is to gather a rare red herb in the farmland. Feel free to also gather the green herbs for my shop, as it will provide you with a cover for your activities. Also, if you come across a legendary yellow herb, I will reward greatly. Be warned, the two herbs will naturally attract stronger monsters, so take care."

Gather the Herbs II has been updatedAdded objectivesGather 5 red herbs

Optional: Gather any yellow herbs found

Steel nodded his head, "Understood, but my strength has been severely reduced by the curse, so I am uncertain to whether I can survive the beasts." Steel knew that NPC's with high intimacies could be persuaded to assist with quests by providing unique assistance. Also, Steel had the persuade skill and was not reluctant to use it.

Roxanne tilted her head as she tapped her chin in thought. After a moment, she nodded her head and walked over to the altar. She removed a necklace and handed it to Steel.

"This is a necklace said to have been blessed by the goddess before her downfall. While it cannot restore what you have lost, it can help you deal with your curse."

Necklace of DisguiseType:JewelryDurability:100/100Quality:RareEffects:Illusion magic

+100 ManaA necklace blessed by a goddess. When worn, this necklace uses the wearer's mana to create an illusion over his or her body. The illusion lasts until the magic is canceled or dispelled.

"Thank you for your help." Steel didn't care how he looked, but he wasn't going to complain about a free gift. He could probably sell it one day for a decent price.

"Go now young traveler. Return when you have completed your task." Roxanne shoo'd him out of the room and paid him no more attention as she sat down and began grinding herbs. Steel bowed his head at her dismissal and left the room.

After Steel left the apothecary shop, he walked into an alley and activated the necklace. After checking it, he found that the illusion could only change the disfigurement's appearance and not restore him to how he used to look. Scrolling through the options, he settled on a tattoo disguise. Now, his entire left side was covered in intricate tribal tattoos that gave him a wild and intimidating look.

Satisfied his current appearance wouldn't cause the guards to arrest him by accident again, Steel removed his trashy hood and walked to the mage tower. Even though the quest had ended in disaster, he still had leveled up to 5. Marie the receptionist had told him to return for the next magic lesson, so he figured he might as well see her first before he went to the farmlands.

The mage tower was busier than when he had last come. Player mages now sat at the tables and interacted with some of the NPC mages, obviously trying to solve quests or raise intimacy. He ignored everyone and walked straight over to the receptionist desk. Once again, Marie was by herself and looked bored to tears. She didn't even notice when he sat down in front of her.

"I don't want to talk, go away." She rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively.

Steel rolled his eyes, "Oy, it's me you introverted bitch." Steel didn't have time to deal with her attitude, and frankly he didn't have the patience anymore either. Her quest didn't involve gaining more spells, so he wasn't inclined to be polite.

Marie started and fell onto her face. She quickly recovered and turned to glare at Steel. "Oh, it's you again. What do you want?"

"You told me to come back when I got stronger, so I got stronger." Steel folded his arms and waited.

Marie frowned and scanned him with her eyes. She nodded her head, "You are stronger, quite a surprise. Your attitude also seems to have gotten worse though." She gave him a frown, "You should be more respectful towards me you know."

"Don't care; what's the quest."

Marie glared at him and a small ball of fire appeared in her hand, "Correct yourself, or you'll be banished from the mage guild."

Steel gave a low chuckle and shrugged, "If you don't want my help, I'll be happy to leave. After what I've been through, it's not like I need to learn to rely on others anyway."

She stared at him a moment, then dismissed the fireball in her hand and gazed at him. Steel began to feel uncomfortable and coughed awkwardly.

"For your first quest," Marie began talking as if the entire incident had not just occurred, "I need you to bring me back some wolf fangs, rat fangs, and devil rabbit fangs. All of them can be found in the farmland, and with your current level you no longer require a letter to enter it. Bring me 20 rat fangs, 10 wolf fangs, and 5 devil rabbit fangs, and I'll reward you with a new spell."

Quest Updated (Special)Learn Magic IIMarie has acknowledged your strength and requested you bring her animal fangs. You have no idea why she wants them.Objective:Obtain 20 rat fangs

Obtain 10 wolf fangs

Obtain 5 devil rabbit fangsReward:New spell, intimacy with Marie

"I'll take care of it." Steel said as he accepted the quest, "Just have my reward ready when I get back."

Marie rolled her eyes, "It'll take a day since I'm so busy, so try to come back when I'm available." Steel couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle as he got up and left the tower.

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Thanks to his disguise, the guards at the gate only gave Steel a strange look before allowing him to pass into the farmland. It was just a little past the middle of the day, so he had plenty of time until dark to get started with both quests.

"Let's see which one is closer." He muttered to himself as he opened the mini-map. Unfortunately, both quests had large areas in stead of markers, and the fang quest was divided into different areas of the farmland.

"Looks like the rats are closer." He muttered to himself as he gazed at the closest farm. As he stared, he had a sudden idea.

Smiling like he had won a lottery, Steel casually strolled down to the farm and knocked on the door to the house. The door opened up to reveal a farmer's wife who glared at Steel distrustfully.

"Yes, what do you want?" She asked him gruffly.

Steel bowed, "Hello ma'am, I am a traveler and was wondering if I could do anything to help you?"

"We have no money until the harvest, look somewhere else." She began to close the door, but Steel stretched his foot out to block it.

"I understand that ma'am, but won't the rats be a threat to your harvest if you let them continue to live in your barn?" Steel asked.

"We have no rats." The wife declared, but Steel could see a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

"I understand that ma'am, but what about later? The guards can't keep them all out, so why don't I help you so you bring in a great profit." He said with all the suave of a salesman.

The farmer's wife clearly hesitated, "I can't pay you with anything though . . ."

"My dear," Steel's voice began to exaggerate with honey and flattery, "A women as beautiful as yourself should never have to worry about paying with coin. Why, I bet you are a wonderful cook as well."

The women began to blush and fidget; it was doubtful anyone had ever called her beautiful before. She wasn't bad looking, but was just plain to look at. "Yes, I often win the pie competitions when the harvest festival comes around." She admitted.

"That's perfect!" Steel announced with a flare, "If you teach me how to cook, I'll be sure to take care of those pesky rats, that don't exist of course." He winked at her, causing her to giggle.

"Bring me their pelts to prove you've killed them, and I'll teach you what I know." The wife agreed, and she shut the door.

With her gone, Steel's smiling face disappeared as he rolled his eyes. A few days ago, he likely would have done this for some food or other trivial reward. Now, he was more pragmatic and could see how to get the best deals.

"Getting paid for something I'm already doing, how convenient." He chuckled to himself as he walked toward the barn. The quest had popped up, but he had accepted it without even looking at it. To his additional pleasure, his 'Persuasion' skill had increased by a lot also.

"Now, let's kill some rats." He twirled his spear with a sadistic grin.

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Short one today; helping relatives important.

With luck, I'll have a nice long, juicy fighting chapter for you guys tomorrow. Cya