by Phoenix Grey
"Morning," Azure said as he walked over to Goddart, stretching and yawning.
The fisherman pressed his index finger to his lips. “Shh. You'll scare the fish.” He didn't even turn to acknowledge Azure's presence.
Azure snorted. It was clear that he was no longer welcome. Their nighttime camaraderie had disappeared the second he had gotten the book back from Goddart. Oh well. What did it matter? They'd likely never see each other again anyway, and Azure needed to return to Squall's End to turn in his quest.
"I'll be off," he called overly loudly, smirking as he saw Goddart cringe. The fisherman shooed him away with a wave of his hand.
At least Azure hadn't had to part with the silver coin, he thought as he walked away. Once he had told Goddart about the book, the bribe took on a new form.
The walk back to Squall's End was blessedly uneventful. Azure had pep in his step knowing that his prerequisite quest was almost complete and that he was about to start making some real money. As soon as he got to Squall's End, Azure made a beeline for The Adventurer's Guild. A sigh left his lips as he saw how long the line was. Six deep again. What a slog, he thought as he filed in at the end to wait his turn.
Two hours later, he was standing before Ferne. While he was smiling from the triumph of having completed his quest, she still didn't seem happy. It was late afternoon, though, and she'd likely had a long day.
“Here is the book,” he said, pulling it out of his bag and placing it on the table. “Here is the fishing pole that Enno let me borrow. Here's the fish I caught as proof that I completed the quest.” Azure wasn't sure if she wanted that, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “And here is my report. Do you want me to be honest or to lie?”
A small chuckle left her lips, and Azure grinned at the fact that he had finally made her smile. “I suppose I'll take the honest truth first.”
“I still don't know shit about fishing, it was a miserable experience, and I have no idea whether or not the stuff in this book is accurate or not. It seemed a bit blown up and long-winded. What I did learn is that fishing is twenty-five percent skill, twenty-five percent the pole you're using, twenty-five percent your bait, and twenty-five percent your level in the skill,” he rehearsed what Goddart had told him, because he did believe it to be true. “The map in the book was useful, as was the list of fish that could be caught at each location.” Azure had enjoyed that, but it was a small portion of information compared to the rest of the book, which mostly covered Enno's fishing adventures in each location. “Honestly, I think this should be split into two books. One that is just the maps, the list of fish at each location, and the bait to use. The other should be Enno's memoirs. I don't think the two marry together very well.”
Ferne sat back in her chair and nodded, a strange expression on her face. “I'm impressed. That's a much better report than I had expected. It proves that you read the book. I had honestly thought you'd skip it and just go fishing to complete the quest.”
“Do people actually do that?” He raised an eyebrow. If Azure had known that, he might have tried to get away with it. Reading the book had been a giant time suck.
“You would be surprised the shortcuts that people try to take,” she said with a sigh.
“I'm sure you've seen them all.”
“I have,” she admitted. “Having said all that, congratulations. You are now an official Adventurer!” Ferne picked up a stamp from her desk and pressed it against his quest sheet. When she pulled it away, the word 'Complete' was left behind. Immediately, a notification popped up.
Congratulations! You have been granted the title Adventurer: Rank E. Complete more quests with The Adventurer's Guild to raise your Adventurer Rank.
Knowing that you are an Adventurer will automatically raise people’s trust in you. This will open up more quests that previously were not available.
Congratulations! Quest: Adventurer's Guild Quest: An Author's Dream has been completed.
You came, you read, you fished. Enno will be happy knowing that he has received an unbiased opinion on his book. He may not like your opinion, but that doesn't matter. You have earned 105XP.
“And now for your reward,” Ferne continued. “You may keep the fishing pole that Enno let you borrow as well as the fish you caught. He also gave me the following things to give to you.” She left her desk for a few moments and returned with a large box in hand, sliding it across to Azure. He peered inside.
You have received the following items:
Sardine
Quantity: 10
Level: 1
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Length: 10 cm
Weight: 0.12 kg(each)
Uses: Cooking, Restores +1 HP if eaten
Box of Basic Bait
Quantity: 10/10
Durability: 1/1
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0 kg
Uses: Must be used with a pole. Used to catch fish.
Azure wanted to be grateful, but he was almost out of inventory slots. What he was more grateful for was the experience he had earned from the quest. That made it seem like less of a waste of time.
“You will have to thank him for me,” Azure said politely.
“Tomorrow, you can step into the E line to start accepting quests,” Ferne informed him.
“Why not today?” Azure gave her a queer look. He distinctly remembered Lonnell being able to get his first quest on the same day that he had turned in his prerequisite quest.
“Because we're about to close for the evening, and there's no way you'll make it to the front in time,” she replied.
Looking over at the E line, Azure realized she was right. Why were the lines so long? He groaned internally. There were five people currently in the E queue.
“I suppose I'll come back tomorrow then,” he said, feeling a bit defeated, despite the day's triumph.
“Good luck, Azure,” she told him with a soft smile before immediately looking past him and calling out, “Next!”
Azure knew better than to dawdle. Their business was concluded, and it was time for him to leave. Heading towards the door, he took a brief detour to the Open Quests board. The Bower Boys quest was still there, though he noticed that a few of the others were missing.
I guess everyone is scared to take this one. I certainly hope I don't run into any of these Bower Boys before someone completes this. They sound like bad news.
With that in mind, Azure decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in town. He went to the tavern and ordered himself a beer, feeling like he'd earned it. More than likely, he'd waste a good amount of time standing in line at The Adventurer's Guild tomorrow. If the location of his new quest was as spaced out as the fishing quest had been, he'd probably spend the day mostly traveling. Azure could afford to have the slight headache that the beer would inevitably give him.
Opening up his inventory, Azure tried to figure out what he could get away with selling. Harvested plants were taking up a quarter of his inventory slots. They were common, so he didn't really need them. The other items he didn't think he'd need were the sardines, fishing pole, box of basic bait, and jade catfish. Out of all of that, though, he only really wanted to sell the jade catfish. Since the sardines stacked, it made sense to keep them as an easy food source...not that he couldn't always hunt. But that took arrows, and without Manny endlessly supplying him, he would need to buy more when he ran out. Perhaps it was better to save them. The only reason he wanted to keep the fishing pole and bait was just in case he got another fishing quest. Azure knew he'd be kicking himself if he sold them and then ended up needing them again soon after. Maybe he should be looking into buying a bag with more inventory slots instead of selling his stuff.
That could be a project for tomorrow. He would pick up his new quest, budget his time, and then swing by the market before heading out. Once he'd completed a few quests and felt more financially stable, he definitely wanted to
take the time to fully explore Squall's End. Time was money, though, and he needed to complete a quest before the week's end so that he could afford his portion of the rent for next week. Blegh. This was just like his world had been, living from paycheck to paycheck.
Azure tried not to think about it as he settled back, enjoying a warm meal and Analyzing the new people that came and went from the tavern. In the two hours that Azure sat there, he only saw ten new faces, but it was enough to level up the skill.
Congratulations! The skill: Analyze has reached Level 7. This skill allows you to see how dangerous a foe is in relation to your own level. Use this skill frequently to avoid getting yourself killed.
It felt like it was going to take forever before he'd reach his first perk. Oh well. At least, Azure was in an advantageous place to level the skill quickly. If he kept doing this, he imagined that it would take about a month to get to level fourteen.
Once Azure finished his beer, he went back outside to check out the market. As expected, all of the stalls were closed for the night, so he returned to his room at the inn. Lonnell was absent yet again. Perhaps he had come back last night while Azure was gone, though there was no way to tell. Azure hoped that was the case. To be honest, he was beginning to worry a little. It had now been three days since they'd last seen each other. Hopefully, nothing had happened to Lonnell. Even if it had, there would be no way for Azure to know unless someone reported it in town. And no one from Squall's End knew Lonnell, so he would just end up another John Doe. The thought made Azure uneasy. Made him want to listen more carefully for news and gossip when he was hanging around the tavern.
I can't let my mind get away from me. Lonnell is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. More than likely, we just haven't been able to cross paths because we've both been busy on these long quests. They were thoughts that would help him sleep at night.
Azure wondered what his next quest would be. At least this time, he'd have a choice. Ferne had said that the receptionist at the E window could give him up to four quests to choose from. That was exciting.
Thinking back on it now, he'd come a long way since arriving in The Realm. Azure no longer felt like a noob. He had faced fearsome foes with his friends, and now he was mostly on his own. It was a strange thought. There had been so much togetherness in the beginning, but now it felt like he had gone solo. Something told him it wouldn't always be like this, though. Rarely could you play through an entire MMO in solo mode. Eventually, something would give, and he'd be forced to party again. Azure just wondered what that event would be.
For now, he was just happy that he'd hit another milestone. Tonight, he'd go to sleep a nobody. Tomorrow, he'd wake up a true Adventurer.
The adventure continues in book three. Coming soon...
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Phoenix Grey is the super secret nerd pen name of a USA Today bestselling author. She currently lives in a secluded podunk town outside of San Antonio, Texas where she can hermit away while working on books and playing video games. When she's not busy plotting her world domination, she can be found hosting game nights at the local comic book store or checking out the latest recommended anime.
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Azure's end of book stats:
Name: Azure
Race: Human
Level: 7, 19% of the way to next level
Health: 210 / 210
Mana: 200 / 200
Stamina: 210 / 210
Vitality: 14
Intelligence: 13
Strength: 14
Agility: 13
Dexterity: 12
Charisma: 10
Luck: 12
Skills: Archery Lvl 3; 50% of the way to next level
Stealth Lvl 3; 57% of the way to the next level
Analyze Lvl 7; 10% of the way to next level
Cooking Lvl 5; 52% of the way to next level
Alchemy Lvl 3; 83% of the way to next level
Foraging Lvl 6; 55% of the way to next level
One-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 0% of the way to next level
Tracking Lvl 1; 80% of the way to next level
Two-Handed Weapons Level 5; 0% of the way to next level
Fishing Lvl 1; 10% of the way to next level
Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue
Lonnell's end of book stats:
Name: Lonnell Namud
Race: Human
Level: 7
Health: 200
Mana: 170
Stamina: 210
End of Book Shit
Hey guys and gals,
Phoenix here again! These past few months have been pretty crazy. I completed my first round of NaNoWriMo(National Novel Writing Month) which is how I was able to finish this book so quickly. I'm hoping that I can keep up the pace in months to come.
For those of you who were wondering why I didn't put the fight with the demon in book one, you probably understand now. The dungeon crawl took up half of this novel, and I really didn't want to feel like I was rushing through it because I wanted to give Uden's death more depth and meaning.
Two Brothers was originally supposed to be a bit longer, but a ton got cut out during the initial edit. Having said that, you can look forward to another Cut Scenes book in the coming days. It's completely free and only available to those subscribed to my mailing list. If you haven't joined yet, you can sign up here:
http://www.subscribepage.com/TheRealmBetween
In other news, I'll be at PAX South in San Antonio, Texas on January 18th, 19th, and 20th of 2019 from 2 – 6PM at the North Star Games booth helping them to demo some of their tabletop games. For more details about that, sign up for my mailing list.
Anyway, I hope you guys have enjoyed reading The Realm Between: Two Brothers.
Much love,
Phoenix Grey