Impressed by the fruit of his labor, Riley fist pumped and summoned the Quest window.
As expected, the previous main quest was marked as complete; however, there was a surprise reserved for him in the quest menu.
There was a new time-limited quest, entitled "Defense: Extortion". Next to the title was a small italicised description, which stated "5 hours left."
Clicking into it, Riley was able to see more information and details.
"Time-limited Quest - Defense: Extortion : Your neighborhood has been under the shadowy influence of a criminal syndicate, which has fostered the growth of crime and chaos. Although their operations go mostly unnoticed by the average Joe, sometimes these mobsters strike out into the daylight and conduct outlandish operations such as extortion and assassinations. Your task is to teach them a lesson."
"Quest Prerequisites: Enter the target location within the time-limit.
"Quest conditions: Stop the criminals in the act, and ensure that all the mobsters are apprehended by the cops."
"Quest rewards: 100 exp, 2 Class Points."
Riley accepted the quest and thought to himself, 'Hmm, it's rather odd that there isn't a new main quest. Maybe there's a hidden condition that I need to fulfill before I can unlock it. Guess I should take this chance to buff up my gear, since main quests get progressively tougher and tougher.'
Riley pulled out his phone and looked at the time. It was 2pm. Riley had been diligently practicing and training with his newly-discovered vigilante skills, and right now, he felt excited for the chance to finally put them to good use.
Walking into his house, Riley deactivated
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After walking for about 15 minutes, Riley arrived at the quest location, a local food place called "Uncle Chucky's Diner". Despite being relatively close by, Riley had never been, although he had walked past it many times.
Uncle Chucky's Diner was similar to the same as any other diner; the outside was chromed, with red stripes circling the exterior of the building. The diner's name was written in cursive and displayed on a big neon red sign. In areas that lacked chroming, the building sported big round glass windows which allowed passersby to peer into the interior of the diner, showing happy and satisfied patrons surrounded by a bright and nostalgic decor.
As it was after lunch hours, the diner was fairly empty. Inhaling a deep breath, Riley walked in. Because the quest description was very vague, the crime could happen at any time, which meant he had to stay alert and vigilant.
Riley walked in and was immediately greeted by an enthusiastic waitress.
"Welcome to Uncle Chucky's Diner! I'm Edith, and I'll be your server today. How many people?"
Riley nodded at her.
"Just one, thanks."
Edith smiled and grabbed a menu.
Similar to most diners, the interior was in the shape of a long rectangle, with the window-side being hugged by booths, and the other side a long bar which overlooked the kitchen. Riley contemplated shortly and decided that the bar would put him in a disadvantageous position, as he would have his back turned against the door and windows.
Riley opted for the corner-booth at the very end of the diner, which provided him a strategic view of both the entrance, and the area immediately outside of the diner. Edith walked him to the table, placed the menu in front of him, and said, "Alright, let me know if you need anything!"
After that, she started whistling as she disappeared behind the bar. Riley scouted the area and spotted 8 other patrons other than himself in the diner. From what he could see, there were 3 waiters, and probably several other staff in the backroom. Suddenly, a window popped up.
'Task Completed. Time-limited mission will commence in 8 minutes".
The timer started counting down, and Riley knew things were about to get messy. The worst part was that Riley basically had no information. Who was causing a ruckus in the diner? Why were they doing this? How many of them were coming? What exactly would they be doing?
Normally, in such a situation, Riley would be losing his mind to his nerves. For example, even after representing his school's baseball team competitively for 3 years, Riley would still get the jitters before every match. Just before boss raids in World of Legends, Riley's hands would shake. However, right now, thanks to [Roleplayer's Mind], Riley was able to remain calm. He tapped his fingers on the table as he peered out of the glass window, counting down together with the timer.
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As the timer neared the one minute mark, Riley broke out of his daze as he saw two black trucks blaring loud songs come to an abrupt stop outside the diner. Five men, two of them wielding metal bats, filed out of the cars.
Riley wasn't one to stereotype, but every single characteristic he could see was a red flag.The way they dressed, the designs of their tattoos, even the way they talked was almost exactly like the thugs he had confronted previously. Riley rushed into the bathroom to hide. He had to observe the situation before he made any potentially disastrous decisions.
The men noisily entered the diner. Riley noticed that Edith's demeanour had changed from cheery to concerned. As Riley was watching her, she rushed into the backroom. At this point, the other diners were beginning to look worried. However, the thugs ignored them and went straight for the bar.
Now, with a much clearer view of them, Riley
"???, Soldier of the People's Brotherhood. In charge of ensuring the neighborhood businesses cough up their protection money. Tier 2+ thug."
Despite the stress of the moment, Riley was glad to confirm his hypothesis; that the
A man sheepishly walked out of the backroom, with Edith nervously tagging along behind him.
"Hey Ol' Chuck, how you doin?", chimed the leader of the gang.
One of his bat-wielding associates laughed and added, "I'm sure he's doing well… considering how much more he's making on the SIDE!"
As he was finishing his sentence, he slammed the metal bat down on one of the bar stools, smashing the leather seat into pieces. The impact of the sound caused the onlooking staff to shriek, and the other customers to quiet down and stare at the commotion.
Chuck winced at the noise, and replied.
"Argh! Stop! C-can we discuss this in the backroom please? You're scaring th-"
"What? Scaring the customers? First you steal from me, now you're accusing me of being rude? Get a load of this guy."
"Yea, no one talks to the Chief like that."
"Hey Chief, should we teach him a lesson?"
"W-wait, that's not what I meant! I-I mean, let's discuss this quietly in my office like gentlem-."
"Why bother? Here seems just fine, right?"
By now, one of the thugs had made his way to the back of the counter and pulled the coffee jug out of the heater, and poured himself a mug. He then walked over the owner, and placed an arm around him.
"Look, let's just make this simple. You were supposed to pay us last week, but you didn't. You thought we were kidding, but we weren't. Now, y-"
Chuck's face had gone pale, and he was trembling. "I-it's not like I didn't want to pay! Business has just be-"
The thug placed a finger on Chuck's mouth and shushed him.
"Shhhhh. That's your problem, not mine. The deal was simple. You pay us for protection every month, no matter what. I couldn't care less if you were turning a profit or filing for bankruptcy. You didn't pay us this month, I guess you need a demonstration of what happens when we're not there to protect you."
After he had finished his sentence, he smiled. Gripping one of Chuck's hands and pulling it towards him, he poured the piping hot coffee all over his forearm. Chuck let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried to pull his arm away as the hot coffee scalded him as the rest of the thugs started laughing.
"AHHHH! I-I'm sorry! I'll pay you, I promise. I'll pay you half now, and I'll get the rest by tomorrow, I-"
The thug that previously destroyed the chair interrupted by smashing the bar top with his bat. "That was the old payment. The price has gone up since we had to waste our time coming here. You know, additional 'service' and 'delivery' fees. And we don't do installments. It's all or nothing."
The man referred to as Chief had made himself comfortable, sipping on a cup of coffee another thug had poured for him. He had even told Edith to bring him some food. Clearly he thought the situation was acceptable.
'I can't just sit on my ass and watch. I have to do something before they continue torturing the poor guy.'
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Patch 13.0
- Bonus Event
Name: Riley Petesgeralt
Age: 16
Job: The Roleplayer
Class: Vigilante
Level: 10
HP: 250
MP: 220
EXP: 58/244
Strength: 27
Dexterity: 23
Vitality: 25
Intelligence: 29
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 26
Luck: 20
Skills:
Roleplayer's Mind
Virtual Body
Analyze (Level 5)
Blunt Weapon Proficiency (Level 4)
Physical Endurance (Level 1)
The Cinderella Effect (Level 1)
Dodge Step (Level 2)
Counter Flip (Level 1)
Leg Sweep (Level 2)
Power Punch (Level 2)
Extreme Agility (Level 2)
Sense Danger (Level 2)
Trash Talk (Level 1)
Power Swing (Level 4)
Quick Draw (Level 1)
Minimap (Level 1)
Incognito (Level 2)
Equipment:
Vigilante's Mask (Level 1/5)
Vigilante's Cloak (Level 1/5)
Vigilante's Pants (Level 1/5)