My mind raced as I made my way through the city, seeing people appear and disappear out of nowhere. Whenever they appeared again, their figures would have changed noticeably, and they would have the brand of a chosen on their forehead. This was a day that we had been waiting for, the advent of the players.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t familiar with Brita’s layout, so I couldn’t be sure where the training grounds were. According to what I knew, this was where the majority of the players were likely to first travel to.
For the time being, I needed to keep my forehead covered, at least until I had either a hat or helmet that would cover the brand. I need a basic combat skill…
As I ducked through alleys, I did my best not to be noticed, which was… particularly hard for someone as tall as myself, especially with the muscular build that my player had given me. Still, I kept in the alleys, making sure only to leave when nobody was paying attention to my direction. Thankfully, that part was easier, as everyone was celebrating the appearance of so many players.
|
New Skill Acquired! Sneak (Utility – 3☆): Allows the user to avoid the gazes of others. |
My eyes widened when I saw that skill appear. This wasn’t as powerful as the full Stealth skill, but it did help me to mask my presence. I immediately turned the new skill on, and… admittedly didn’t feel anything different. If not for the icon in the corner of my vision, I wouldn’t have been sure that the skill was active.
Being three stars meant that this skill was suitable for my level, which would explain why it was so easy to learn. If I wanted a truly impressive skill, I would need to train it to at least the five star level, or even higher over time.
Still, three stars was enough for now. I couldn’t afford to be greedy. At the very least, the skill’s experience was steadily climbing while it was in use around people.
That was, until I heard someone call out to me from behind in a small voice. “Orc.” She said, making me turn my head to look. There weren’t many orcs in Brita, or even half-orcs like me. What I saw was a halfling girl with black hair and striking, purple eyes. She wore the same simple, cotton clothes that were given to all new players, and stared at me.
“Can I help you?” I asked, cursing under my breath. The fact that she noticed me meant that she was a perceptive person. And, although her hair covered her forehead, I could faintly see the red glow of the player mark beneath her hair.
“Teach me your stealth skill.” She said in a firm tone, catching me off guard. “You’re using a skill, aren’t you? You don’t move like you know how to hide from others.”
My eyes twitched wider when she called me out like that, not really having a way to retort. I thought about it for a moment, before I just spoke honestly to her. “It’s not a hard skill to learn. Just do your best to hide from people, and it should appear for you, even at level one.”
The girl thought about that for a moment, before shaking her head. “One of my traits makes me easily noticed. I won’t be able to get the skill like that.”
I pursed my lips, thinking. From her gaze and her tone of voice, I could tell that she wasn’t going to let this go without getting what she wanted. And given her status as a player, the guards would certainly be on her side if an issue really arose, though violence was still strictly prohibited.
As I was thinking about that, my eyes widened. There was one way that I could give her the skill. “In that case, are you willing to run a quick errand for me?”
The girl blinked, giving a firm nod of her head. “A quest? As long as it’s reasonable.”
That’s right, what I wanted to use was the Quest system. When an NPC or fallen was creating a quest, they could choose any of their own skills to be part of the reward. If the Quest system determined that the reward was too lacking, it may even throw in a new skill that the NPC didn’t possess, typically one related to the quest that they took.
“In that case… I need a sword. If you can buy a bastard sword for me and deliver it to me here, I’ll give you the skill.” As I said that, I mentally manipulated the system, creating the quest according to my description. I even left my name out, calling myself the ‘anonymous half-orc’.
The halfling paused, looking at the quest that would have appeared in front of her. This quest meant that she would need to spend her own money to get the sword, but she seemed like she was willing to do so if it meant getting my Sneak skill. Thankfully, cheap swords were always mass produced in cities like this, so it would be easy for her to afford even with her starting money.“Got it. Wait here.” She said, turning and walking out of the alley. I let out a sigh, glad that that problem was dealt with. If I had a weapon, I might be able to go out and start hunting, though I would still prefer to get a martial skill first. It wasn’t impossible to receive one while fighting, just as I had gotten the Sneak skill.
Once she was gone, I turned, looking for somewhere to wait. Now that I had issued a short-term delivery quest, I could feel a small area which the system would let me walk in. For this quest, that area was the alley where she found me. If I left the area, I would be penalized for violating the rules of the quest.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t anywhere to get comfortable within the alley, so I could only lean against the wall and wait. Either she would return, or I would get a notification that my quest was abandoned. In this case, that was likely only going to happen if she managed to get the skill herself along the way.
After nearly half an hour, I heard footsteps coming from the entrance of the alley, causing my brows to furrow. Her trait really does make her more noticeable. I thought to myself. Given her frame, I shouldn’t have been able to hear her approach, even if I was paying attention.
I looked over in the direction of the footsteps, and saw the player walking towards me, carrying a bastard sword across her back. She came in front of me, took it off and held it out to me. “Here.” She said simply, and I smiled as I took it. With that, the quest was immediately registered as completed.
Her eyes darted off to the side, lips curving slightly upwards. However, after a few moments, she pursed her lips again. “What is Mana Burden?”
I gave a small nod, answering her question. “Whenever you use a skill, it causes a burden to your mana circuits. Once the skill is deactivated, you won’t be able to activate it again until the burden from that skill is healed. Be careful, though. If the burden exceeds your limits, the skill will immediately be disabled, and you won’t be able to use any skill until you clear your injury.”
The halfling thought about that for a moment. “So, instead of an MP cost, it’s a built-in skill cooldown.”
I didn’t know what she meant by MP, but I nodded my head. Any NPC was taught in basic education simple player mechanics. It was said that we would need to tutor them when they arrived. “Anything else, then?” I asked, looking down at her while strapping the sword to my waist.
She paused, brow furrowed. “Add me as a friend.” She said in a firm tone, and a message appeared in front of me.
|
Diane wishes to add you as a friend. Accept? |
I let out a sigh, nodding my head. When she received my acceptance, she glanced off to the side again. “Drake? What’s with the F?”
“It means that I’m a fallen.” I said simply. “I was chosen like your current host, but my player deleted the character.”
Diane blinked at that, thinking. “Deleted characters remain in the world… interesting.” I had expected her to show some measure of scorn at my situation, but it seemed like she truly did not care about it one way or another. “In that case, goodbye. Let me know if you get another stealth skill. As long as I don’t have it already, I’ll pay whatever I can.”
My brow twitched, but she didn’t wait for my response. Her footsteps became softer, and she almost disappeared from my view as she began walking away. That’s just Sneak? I asked myself with wide eyes. Compared to how obvious her presence had been a moment ago, it felt like she had become a ghost. If I didn’t keep watching her, I was sure that she would have vanished as soon as she stepped into the crowd.
Shaking my head, I gripped the handle of the bastard sword, and started making my way back to the city gates. Now that players were starting to appear, there would surely be too much foot traffic to notice me. Of course, I turned my Sneak skill back on as I moved, just to be safe.
When I arrived at the gates, I saw a veritable flood of people leaving, some armed with weapons while others were just charging out with smiles on their faces. I picked up speed, merging into the crowd while receiving the notification that my Sneak had hit level 2. It was still only a three star skill, but progress was progress.
Once outside the city, I followed the path of the other players, and we soon came upon a band of hungry dire wolves. These were the weakest monsters in the area, which even normal NPCs could fight if well-equipped. However, they were scattered, and there were definitely not enough of them for all of the players.
Despite this, the players charged over with bright smiles. Some of them cast basic magic, others shooting arrows, but most surged straight into melee. Seeing this chaotic scene, I had no intention of joining them. Once those monsters were killed, it would take hours for others to move in from other areas.
Instead, I walked deeper into the forest to the west of the city. There were bound to be stronger monsters here, but I had to take the risk. If I fought the starving dire wolves with the players, I was more likely to be shot in the back by mistake than actually getting to kill anything.
With that in mind, I searched the forest with slow, cautious steps, trying to imitate how Diane had walked before. It was… not successful, given my build. Whenever I spotted a deer or a horned rabbit, it immediately looked up and fled.
I almost managed to sneak up behind a sleeping buck at one point, but stepped on a loose twig. The sound of it snapping jolted the buck awake, and it kicked back at me before running off. Thankfully, I had jumped back as soon as it moved, but that meant that hunting would not be a simple matter unless I went deeper to where the hostile monsters were. Passive beasts just weren’t going to cut it.
Realizing that there was no chance to easily hunt here, I instead changed my plan. I had never held a sword before, so I wanted to familiarize myself with it. I moved to a small clearing where I could swing my arms without hitting any branches, and drew my sword. As expected, it was just a mass-produced iron blade.
Still, I held the handle with one hand, and began swinging it downwards. Every swing, I tried to put more force into the strike, hoping to awaken a skill. After a minute or so, I wasn’t really counting the time, I began to swing at various angles, growling to myself.
I didn’t know how long this lasted. However, before I obtained any form of skill, I heard a deep, rumbling growl behind me. A chill shot down my spine, and I turned to see a dire wolf. Not one of the starving ones that were forced out of the forest and lurked near the city, but a proper dire wolf. It must have been wandering around thanks to all the commotion, and noticed me training here.
…Please tell me that this isn’t how I get my first death…
