Quill and Jane shook their heads.

The guy looked knowingly at them, obviously proud to know something they didn’t. “Rumour has it some really rich guys are in here with us. Saudi prince, some Russian gangster-slash-politician, even a couple of Chinese tech billionaires. And lots of Americans with cash to burn, of course. They bought max level-ups, all the best starter gear. Like money means nothing to them. Probably lots of whales given how many people aren’t wearing stuff like this.” He gestured to his own plain shirt and pants.

Jane looked intrigued. “Level-ups?” She glanced quickly at Quill, then back to the other guy.

Quill understood the look. With his low Intelligence, levelling up was going to be really tough. But could he buy levels? Not that he supported pay-to-win play at all. But the system was actively holding him back and wasn’t fair at all.

The other guy nodded. “Yep. Max level right now is ten for Region One. You can buy your way up instantly.”

“How much?” Quill asked.

“To go to level five so you can choose a class? Two thousand US dollars.”

“Oh my gosh,” Jane breathed.

The guy waved her off. “That’s not all. The level boost from five to ten is another ten grand.”

Quill almost choked. “What? That’s insane!”

“I know. What can you do, though?” The guy shrugged. “With our lives on the line, they can charge whatever they want, and someone will pay it. Like I said, there are plenty of people in the game where even ten thousand dollars is chump change, even if this was just a game. It’s not all like that, though. But they’re selling things in the stores for mere hundreds of dollars, if you have it.”

Quill looked away. He hated wealth inequality. Hundreds of dollars was definitely not chump change for him. So much for getting a leg up that way. He hated pay-to-win stuff, but he’d been considering it, in this circumstance. But at the prices they were charging, how much would it cost to keep buying max level-ups? Surely the level cap would rise as new regions were unlocked. Getting to level fifty or seventy or whatever might cost millions of dollars.

Some people would have that to spend and would be able to play the entire game at max level the instant it was available. He sure didn’t have that kind of cash. And with his low Intelligence… Did he realistically have any chance, or would the rich people here just buy their way out and leave the rest of them to die? His spirits dropped, though he tried not to show it on the outside.

Jane frowned. “I can’t believe anyone would pay to jump to level five. I’m level three already. What a waste of two thousand dollars.”

One of the guys laughed. “Some people are lazy. And money means nothing to them when they have that much.” He grew more serious. “And a lot of people think this really is a race. The one who passes the game first is the only one who’s going to get out of here alive. So it’s not just pay-to-win, it’s pay-to-live.”

Her frown deepened. “We don’t know that for sure, though, right? I mean, we don’t know anything other than what those CEOs told us in the beginning. And they could have lied. Not that they said for sure either way.”

The guy nodded and shrugged. “Yeah. But I think most people fear the worst. Don’t you? I mean, those twits did trap us in here and all.”

That kind of killed the conversation.

They all resumed waiting in line. A few minutes later, Quill and Jane approached the receptionist, Sapphire at their side.

The receptionist sat on a wooden stool. Her medium-length hair shone bright orange, and oversized, circular glasses framed her green eyes. Freckles speckled her friendly face. “Hi! Welcome to the Stormstadt Adventurers Guild. How can we help you?” She spoke very clearly and professionally.

Jane put the bounty poster down on the counter. “We’d like to claim this.”

The receptionist, a tag on her chest read Elia, nodded. “Very well. Do you have proof of kill?”

Quill pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “The head’s right there.”

Elia leaned over and looked behind Quill. She smiled. “Very good. Thank you, adventurers! That’s amazing. How’d you do it?”

“We had Saphire! She helped us.” The other woman was quiet and looked lost, so Jane nudged Sapphire with her shoulder.

The receptionist looked up and waved with a welcoming smile. “Sapphire! Good to see you!” It was the perfect thing to say.

Sapphire turned to her slowly, then a huge grin broke out. “Elia! Thank you. It’s so good to be seen!” She laughed and waved back. Then she turned back to him and Jane. A change seemed to come over her, a lightening of her burdens. “She saw me!”

“Of course she did,” Jane assured her. “You’re alive!”

Sapphire looked filled with happiness and wonder. She looked at Jane, and you could see a real spark of intelligence in her eyes. “Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around Jane.

Now it was Jane’s turn to look embarrassed. But she gave a solid hug back.

Elia looked pleased. “The reward is ten gold. I’ll just count that out for you now.” She reached under the countertop and came out with a handful of gold coins. She made two stacks of five and slid them over. “Here you are.”

Quill pushed one stack over to Jane and kept the other for himself.

The receptionist smiled at them. “Will there be anything else?”

Jane looked around. “Um, is there, like, a brochure or something that explains how being an adventurer works? Like a guide or something?”

Quill looked at her in surprise. “Good call!”

Elia bowed her head in affirmation. She pulled out a thin book and placed it on the counter before them, turned to face them. “The Official Adventurers Guide. Everything you need to know about gaining skills and levelling up.”

The young woman’s words caught the immediate attention of every player in hearing range. Necks craned as other people looked to see the book. Apparently, no one else had ever thought to ask if the guild had something like this.

Elia continued. “The book is five silver. But I can answer a few quick questions for you as well.”

Quill slid a gold coin over, trying not to wince as he parted with money so quickly after earning it. “We’ll take it. But maybe you could tell us what we get from levelling up? We both reached level two but didn’t get any skills or attribute points.”

She answered brightly while making giving him his change in silver. “Of course! Levelling up is a simple process. All you need to do is acquire experience points. When you accumulate enough, you’ll automatically rise to the next level. Your current level is multiplied with your attribute scores, so the higher your level, the more health and energy you’ll have. And the more damage you’ll do, of course. You’ll gain access to class-specific skills and spells as you level up. Weapon skills level up as they are used.”

“Standard stuff,” Jane commented.

Elia continued. “When an adventurer hits certain milestone levels, that’s when big, exciting things start to happen. For example, at level five, you can choose a class and elemental specialization. At level ten, you get a keystone skill. The Guide will show you examples of what you can gain.” She opened the book and flipped to a chart. “Please note that the skills listed here are standard acquisitions. When you level up, there’s a chance of acquiring rare or unique versions of skills as well. You can also find access to special skills while adventuring. These might be added to your current skills, or they could replace them, for better — or worse. Class skills, like weapon skills, level up with use.”

Quill studied the table in the book. “Is there any way to increase our base attributes? Like Strength and Intelligence.”

Elia shook her head, looking sympathetic. “No.”

His heart fell a little, but he was expecting that answer.

Jane bit her lip as she, too, studied the guidebook. “Is there anything else we should know?”

Elia looked thoughtful and pushed a strand of orange hair behind her ear. “As you are already aware, the Adventurers Guild posts a number of bounties and quests on our boards. Some are ongoing, such as for goblin and gnoll ears, bandit tattoos, and a variety of useful monster parts. The quests are posted over there.” She pointed to the large board just inside the main hall, where they’d gotten the bounty poster earlier. “Also, please visit regularly to be notified of any special or seasonal events happening. Those will be posted here in the lobby in advance of the events.” She seemed to finish with this last bit of information and a smile.

Jane flashed her own smile and picked the book up. “Ok. Thank you so much.”

They moved away, out of the queue and towards the tavern. They saw receptionists pulling out Guide books for other players now as well. The mood in the guild rose a notch as players gained a way to get more information on how to survive.

Quill was pleased. He wanted to win the game and live, but he wanted others to have a chance, too.

The moss bear head faded out of existence, and those admiring and poking it drifted back to their business.

Jane grinned at Sapphire and interlocked arms with her again. “See? You’re alive. Told you so.”

Saphire hesitated but nodded and looked relieved. “Sorry. I know I was being weird. I just…um, I can’t explain it. Sorry.” She looked frustrated, like she was trying to think of something and couldn’t. Probably running up against the limits of her programming.

Jane waved her concern away. “Don’t worry. We’re just glad you’re feeling better. And thank you for all your help with that moss bear.”

She beamed at them and put her hands on her hips, standing proud. “It was my pleasure! Just another day for a Storm Scout.” She looked like she was back to normal.

Quill was relieved. Perhaps her AI was adjusting better now that she was interacting in a more familiar way with others. He looked at Jane. “So? What now?”

Jane hefted the gold in her fist. A slow, sly smile spread over her lips. “You know, it’s been a crazy couple of days. And we worked really, really hard today.”

“Yes…”

Jane glanced around and spotted a waitress serving a table in the tavern section. She jogged over. “Excuse me.”

The waitress put down the two mugs of beer she was holding and gave Jane her attention. She wore a maid-like uniform with a blue, knee-length dress and white apron, a frilly white band in her hair. “How can I help you?”

“How much is one beer?”

“Two copper.”

“How much for…a barrel of beer?”

The server momentarily froze as if caught by the question, then continued. “Two hundred-forty-eight beers will be four gold, nine silver, and six copper.”

Jane sucked in a breath at the price. But she slowly looked up at Quill, a daring question on her face.

He did a double-take. “Wait. Are you seri— How much do you think you can drink?”

She waved to the whole room. “I think we could all use a beer or two, right?”

Quill looked around. He noticed that only the obvious pay-to-win types had tables full of food and drinks. People dressed like him and Jane mostly had bread and water. But he looked down at the gold in his hand. “Half of what we made today on beer?”

“We still have this silver, too, remember?” She held up the small purse from selling the meat. “Well…?” She started to dance in place.

It was foolish. Crazy! That money could help them so much. And yet… He took another look around the room, seeing all the desperate people that, like him, had been trapped inside a living nightmare. He tried to fight back a smile and failed. “I guess a little liquid hope would do people good.”

“Yes!” She turned to the room and shouted. “Hey, everyone!”

Conversations died down, and dozens of heads turned their way.

Jane grinned. “We just had a great day, and we want you to have a great day, too.” She turned to the server. “One barrel of beer to share, please.”

There was some confusion. But some people looking in their direction half rose from their seats. Others threw each other questioning looks, and murmurs of tones of — hope — rose from all over.

A very muscular bartender appeared, wearing black pants and a white shirt with buttons that seemed certain to pop off at any moment. He rolled a wooden barrel out from behind the bar and over to an empty table near Jane.

Hopeful murmurs grew louder. More of the players in the tavern rose, and others from the foyer and shop started wandering over.

The server hustled behind the bartender and placed a cradle next to the table. Then the bartender grunted and lifted the heavy barrel up onto the cradle so it sat sideways. A bronze spout stuck out from the front.

Jane cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. “Who wants a free beer!”

The entire guild resounded with cheers. People rushed toward them.

Jane raised her fist in the air, closed her eyes, and her voice rang out across the guild hall in a sing-song wail. “Let’s get it started in heeeeere!⁠1”

People cheered even louder.

Jane continued, “Let’s get it started—ha! Let’s get the party started in here!”

A pair of bards appeared in one corner of the tavern and began singing an upbeat song, livening up the place.

Servers appeared, filling the table with empty mugs.

Shouts and whoops of joy resounded. Players pressed in close, eager for a drink.

Quill guarded the barrel, raising his hands up to block everyone. “Line up! No pushing!”

People obeyed.

The bartender began pouring foaming mugs of golden liquid sparkling with bubbles.

A player in a full kit of red leather armour eagerly grabbed a mug from the table and expectantly held it out.

Quill snatched it out of the man’s hand. “Nope. Sorry.” He raised his voice. “Pay-to-win can afford their own. Free-to-play players only!”

This time, the cheers nearly brought the roof down. The man in red armour slunk off with an unkind sneer but was instantly replaced by plenty of happy, poor people without any fancy gear, thrilled to have something good happen to them for the first time since arriving in this world of fantasy.

It was a good, good night.⁠2

Male

36

QUILL KRAU

Class NONE, Level 2

STR

1

STATUS

DEX

3

Currently feeling great.

HEA

7

SKILLS

INT

2

WIS

17

ITEMS

STA

14

CHA

11

Official Adventurers Guide

Female

26

JANE EULA

Class NONE, Level 4

STR

6

STATUS

DEX

11

Currently getting drunk!

HEA

19

SKILLS

INT

18

WIS

18

ITEMS

STA

2

Gilded Armour of the Nature Goddess (unique); knife

CHA

5