Just as I opened my mouth to ask another question, Alex signaled to me to be quiet, as if trying to listen to something within himself. A few moments later, he suddenly got up.
“Sorry, Cat. I’ve gotta go. I’ve been called. If you need anything, let me know.” Then, he rushed out of the tavern, almost at a run.
I was left sitting with my new clothes and overwhelmed by what I had just learned. The innkeeper approached to take the dishes away. I realized he served every visitor personally.
“Erm… Excuse me,” I said, “Alex told me you’re renting?”
“I sure am,” the NPC nodded. “I’ve got three rooms available upstairs. I can give you the one Alex rented. Ten silver coins per day and three golden ones per month. Two meals per day included. Would you like it, mister?”
“Of course! And no mister, Karn! Just Cat!”
Your reputation with Karn has increased by 5 points. Current value: 95/100. (Neutral)
Having received one golden coin in advance, the innkeeper gave me two keys, one large and one small. When I asked what the second key was for, he looked at me as if I were a fool (I never thought an NPC could do that). Then he politely explained that the second key was for the chest in the room.
The keys did not occupy any inventory space, which was nice. Having opened my wanderer’s bag attached to the belt, capacity 12, up to 10 kg, I found a thin, unlocked bronze ring fitted inside a small pocket, to which I conveniently attached the keys. On the same ring, they were displayed in the corner inventory interface. Apparently, you could add an unlimited number of keys to the ring. On the way up, I realized the staircase in Karn’s tavern, which, by the way, was called “Merry Mill,” squeaked in much the same way as the stairs in my country house.
CHAPTER 4 DAY ONE
ENTERING THE GAME...
The room located on the second floor resembled a mansard with sloped walls and was nice and cozy. Opposite the door was a window; two neatly made beds were arranged symmetrically, along the opposite walls. Right under the window stood a small table and two chairs. A glass vase containing dry branches of various plants was placed on a white tablecloth. A wardrobe stood next to one of the beds, and beside the other was a large wooden chest with a sloping lid. A small round mirror hung on the door. The room was neat and very comfortable. I lay down on one of the beds. Too hard, damn it!
The system prompted:
Would you like to sleep?
Oh… I remembered, my capsule featured sleep support. I didn’t ever have to leave the game if I didn’t want to. I could sleep and eat right here ... I heard some rich people with certain disabilities were fully immersed in the VR without ever leaving it. They enjoyed the gaming experience nonstop connected to a life support system, intravenously injected with nutrition and the necessary vitamins provided by special tubes connected to the body. The technology even removed body waste ... Yuck!!
I had to look through my belongings, purchase some initial equipment in the city, and visit the local auction. I reminded myself to check out the game quests. So, let’s get started. What do we have here? Inside the bag, strapped to the belt Alex had given me, it turned out there was something more. The things I discovered included the following items:
A small tin box with a gray piece of stone and a bizarre-looking piece of iron inside, obviously used.
Flint and tinder, Durability: 113/200
Something resembling a spoon, a small knife, a three-toothed fork, and several small canvas sacks. Traveler's Small Cooking Set. Contains cutlery, salt, sugar and three kinds of spices.
Leather, durable, lightweight, with a chain for attaching it to the belt. Traveler’s Flask, 1l. Durability: 27/30
Quality: common
Crafted by: Abel.
Bandages: two rolls of tightly stretched, wide, gray fabric.
Portal token, charges 2/3. Hmm. Let’s put that away in the chest.
Soul Reviving Stone. I immediately bound the artifact to the room location. If I ever got into trouble, I could always teleport back there.
Two of the books that Alex gave me last night visually took up the entire bag. However, the interface notified me of five more available spots. I sent the leather-bound book right into the chest and then I picked AlexOrder's Complete Atlas, put it on my lap, and opened it. I couldn’t believe how beautifully he had drawn all the maps. They were styled as ancient maps with vignettes in the corners and various fantastical monsters. Some were extremely detailed, featuring a variety of unknown names, while others contained white gaps. The book contained a world-map and three detailed maps of the continents, as well as many city maps and very detailed maps of other specific locations. Having checked out the settings, I zoomed in on Eyre’s map which was scaled to the corner, much the same way as they did in the ancient, classic IMOs. When I was trying to put the atlas away in the chest, the game informed me that if I wanted to refer to the map, it had to be in my inventory. Hmmm, everything seemed to be tailored to provide maximum realism… A loud knock on the door interrupted the silence.
“Breakfast is served, Mr. Cat!” A sonorous female voice said, “It’s waiting for you!” I opened the door. In the hallway stood a tall girl wearing a long gray dress with lacing at the waist. Blond hair curled from under her cap. She had blue eyes and freckles and a pointy nose. She looked at me in a manner that was bold, even daring.
“Here. Dad told me to give it to you.” She tossed me some clothes. “Change and come down, or breakfast will get cold.”
The service was great, despite the fact I had not asked for anything. In the pack Alex had given me, there were three things:
Simple, white shirt, linen, durability 8/10
Plain pants, linen, durability 9/10
Lleather shoes, leather, durability 23/25
All the items were clean, although, had low durability, which meant they had been worn. I changed into new clothes and threw the old, disgusting rugs I was wearing in the chest. Looking into the obscure copper mirror, I finally felt like a human being.
The delicious smell of borscht and stewed meat filled the tavern as I made my way downstairs. There were already several other patrons sitting at the tables. I wondered whether they were players or other NPCs? It was tricky to tell one from another at first glance.
The innkeeper was nowhere to be seen. The fair-haired girl brought an appetizing-steaming soup, bread, and a glass of light beer and placed them in front of me on the table. Apparently, breakfast was a fixed menu.
“You look much better now,” she giggled. “You haven’t said a word. Can you speak, Mr. Cat?”
“I ... I sure can,” I said, a little dumbfounded by her remark.
“Fine,” the beautiful girl said, throwing up her hands. “I am Kirana, Karn’s daughter. Let me know if you need anything. Now, eat. I'll bring you seconds later.”
I tried the soup, and it tasted just like authentic Ukrainian borsch! I realized something I didn’t notice yesterday: besides satisfying one’s hunger, the food gave a boost to HP and Stamina, which restored 10% faster for the duration of one hour.
When I was done with the borsch and started eating the vegetables stewed with meat, one of the tavern’s patrons sat down at the table opposite me. He was a red-bearded dwarf with a funny wide, potato-like nose. He was wearing chain mail beneath his green, hooded raincoat. However, I could see no weapon.
“Hi there,” he said. “You’re living here too now?”
“Hi. That’s right,” I replied, “My first day here. I’m a total noob.”
“Flame!” he extended his hand out, which was as wide as a shovel. “That one, the Elf, is Valkyrie, my wife. We’re from Rostov. What about you?”
“HotCat, but I go by Cat. I’m from Ekaterinburg.”
Just as we introduced each other, our nicknames lit up above us. Turned out, Flame and Valkyrie had been renting a room here for a week. According to them, only two of the three available rooms were currently taken. Besides them, and of course myself, nob
ody else was staying there.
“We’re noobs, too,” Flame told me, sipping his beer. “Been playing for a couple of weeks now. We’re totally hooked. I’m a tank. We’re going outside the city walls, got a couple of quests. Wanna come along? The more, the merrier!”
I politely declined but talked to them a little more. They turned out to be very young, laid back, and down to earth. I would’ve loved to go with them, but I had a plan of my own. I needed basic items and to check out the auction and quests. Quests? Why not start right now?
The innkeeper was standing behind the counter. I walked over to him, said hi, and thanked him for the clothing.
“No problem,” the innkeeper said dismissively. “I’ve got tons of stuff in my closet. Your brother brings me all kinds of stuff. I don’t offer him much, but he still brings it!”
In the world, NPC could only sell goods they had previously bought off players. I read about that earlier. Some of them, however, could craft something of their own.
“Dear Karn, I would still like to express my gratitude!” I said politely. “If you won’t accept money, perhaps I could be of some use to you?” He’s gotta give me a quest. NPC-quest givers weren’t specifically marked in this game, but I had heard almost any of them could give you multiple quests, depending on your reputation, from a simple one (find and bring them something) to a more advanced one involving multiple steps, featuring a great reward. I had also read every NPC had a very special, unique master-quest they possessed, a skeleton in the closet of sorts. Getting assigned for this kind of quest was tricky, but the reward could be enormous.
“Use? Hm…” Karn was thinking, scratching his thin head. “I ain’t got nothing. Maybe… Perhaps… The guards’ foreman, Wallan, asked me to send a keg of beer to the market square. Wanna do it?”
You are offered a quest: Beer for the Guards
Take a keg of beer from the Merry Mill tavern to the market square and hand over to the foreman of the city guard, Wallan.
Reward: XP, reputation
It was not exactly the kind of quest I was hoping for, but I couldn’t refuse. Karn brought out a round, wooden beer keg bound with two copper strips. Groaning, and not without some effort, I hoisted it onto my shoulder. Twenty liters at least I thought, kinda heavy.
Outside the tavern doors, I could see the city’s winding streets flooded with the cheerful morning sun. I set up the route on the mini-map, and set off, stumping along, keeping the keg on my shoulder and supporting it by my hand. According to the map, Eyre was divided into three blocks: the castle of Eyre located in the center, the arena, guard barracks, several temples and manors belonging to the local aristocracy, the clergy and the richest merchants were marked on Alex’s map as the ‘Upper Quarter’. The ‘Trading Quarter’ included the houses, shops, craftsmen’s workshops, market square, and public housing. The ‘Residential Quarter’ included a bunch of cheap taverns, brothels, and residential buildings. The entire city was situated within a perimeter of massive stone walls with towers, surrounded by a moat filled with water. The lifting bridges were at the only two town gates, Big and Small, and led inside.
Eyre was bubbling with life. I noticed a beautiful, curly-haired girl smile at me from the balcony of the second floor. She winked at me. A bunch of beggars were sitting in the shadows, waiting for change; NPCs were going about their business; the guards were slowly walking around ... Suddenly from behind a corner, a girl in a blue dress with a white bodice stepped out and literally walked into me. A few parchments came flying out of the basket she had dropped. She looked around nervously, quickly picked them up and rushed away. I wondered what they were. Perhaps it was a quest or just a weird scene?
The keg got heavier with every step. By the time I reached the market square, it was almost unbearable. Fortunately, the guardhouse was situated right at the entrance to the square on the first floor of one of the houses. Inside, there were a handful of guards wearing armor. They had placed their fighting equipment along the walls and benches. The local guards, I noticed, differed from those I had seen in Fairs, where both their armor and clothing resembled that of Greek or Roman warriors. Here, they looked more like medieval baron warriors. With iron mail up to the knees, a green cape over the top, they had round helmets and triangular shields. Among their weapon were long swords, spears and heavy crossbows. On their tabards and shields the Eyre coat of arms was depicted—the image of an unripe barley ear surrounded by a wreath of grains.
“What do you want?” asked one of the guards, without bothering to get up from the table. He was writing something with a goose feather inside a thick, bulky volume.
“I’m looking for Wallan, the foreman.”
“That would be me,” the guard with a mustache said, when he saw me with the keg on my shoulder. He grinned.
“Guys, the beer from Karn is here! He’s quick! I only just sent a boy out.”
“Put it over here and tell Karn we appreciate it!”
You have completed the quest: Beer for the Guards!
You receive 55 XP! Current value: 160/225.
You receive 5 reputation points with Eyre Guardians! Current value: +5 (NEUTRAL)
You receive 5 reputation points with Karn! Current value: +110 (FRIENDLY)
That was all? It was just a bit of reputation and experience if I was honest. Let’s try them.
“Mister Wallan, would you happen to have a quest for me?”
“I don’t know you,” the foreman grumbled. “Never seen you before. Try asking around the market.” He dismissed me pointing in the direction of the door.
The market square, that was literally in the shape of a square, was paved with gray cobblestone. In the middle was a stage-like structure called "herald rock". Around it and along the perimeter of the square, numerous shops and NPC stores occupied the ground floors, selling everything from pies to full plate armor. There was also a barber, a tattoo artist, and a fortune teller. A stand-alone bank, an auction and a mysterious Mercenary Guild were also located in the square.
I decided to check out the auction—the implementation of my plan solely depended on the auction’s capabilities and functionality. It was one thing to read about it on forums and in guides, and quite another to try it out first hand. Inside the auction building, there was a long hall. One of the walls featured lots of small, barred windows. The players seemed to gather around them, looking inside. I too peered in and saw an NPC at the table with stationery and a puffy ledger. Choosing an unoccupied window, I spoke to one of the officials.
“Morning. It’s my first time here. Can you tell me how I can use the auction?”
“The auction storages are at the far end,” the official explained, sounding bored. “You can bring your stuff there and also pick up the goods you purchased there. To the right of each window, there’s a board and chalk. See? Fill in your lot number and change the price if you wish to. You can’t change the price more than once every five minutes.”
Your Trade skill was increased to 55.
Wow! The system generously gave me 5 skill points just for listening to the official and picking up a piece of chalk. The black board next to each window showed the game interface every time it was touched. It looked like the usual format. On one side were branches of merchandise types, below were the lots for purchase, and above, the lots for sale. Search…. Types of trade… Contracts… Auctions vs Simple Trade. Taxes… Statistics… Limit for quantity of lots—one lot per 10 trading skill points. That meant I could sell items… It wasn’t enough.
“How can I increase my number of lots if I don’t have enough skills?” I asked the official in the window.
“What do you think we’re here for?” The NPC laughed. “You hire one of us, an auction representative and, for a fee, we get you lots according to our skills. For example, I can give you about 30 lots.
“What else can you do?” I asked.
“What else? We can change lot prices according to your instructions. We can increase and decrease.�
�
Without further ado, I got into the auction representative’s info. Yes, there was a customization interface and, I realized, the official was a customizable trading bot! What was banned in other games, was absolutely legit here, sitting at the table in front of me, moreover, smiling. How much is the fee?
Hmm, expensive, but manageable... It should work for me. Just out of curiosity, I poked around the auction and found a leather belt, the same as mine, available for purchase. The starting price was a hundred gold. The price of the portal token—three hundred gold—shocked me. That amounted to 10 terro per teleport. Wow! No kidding! Looks like Alex has invested in me quite a bit, I owe him one. Now, let’s look for suitable weapons and some armor. Gonna go wild with my ninety-nine gold!
However, I was in for an unpleasant surprise. The problem was that using armor and weapons required a certain skill. For example, the simplest sword required 50 One-handed weapon skill points, and almost all leather armor required between 50 to 100 Light armor points, and so on, incrementally, depending on the quality of each particular item.
HotCat: Alex, help!!!
AlexOrder: What’s up?
HotCat: I can’t seem to find any clothes for noobs! Anything that doesn’t require skills…
AlexOrder: Those practically don’t exist… You gotta level up… The fastest way is at the arena.
Alex explained that despite the fact the items required particular skills, some were still completely useless. Until certain skills were sufficiently leveled up, they didn’t add any bonuses to either attack or defense. On the contrary, some were even penalized. That proved to be so complicated that I realized that I was yet to understand how the system worked.
Cat's Quest Page 6