After downloading a copy of the mission panel into my holowatch, I chose to take a seat on a nearby bench.
The downloaded mission panel would allow me to browse and accept missions on the go. With this installed in my holowatch, I don't need to come back here to check available missions. The only time I can choose to come back was when I submit the mission or gets promoted to a higher rank.
I was to busy running to look around earlier and when I finally got the time to relax, I was able to appreciate the desolate feeling of the city.
Most of the buildings near the center of the city were still in good condition, while the ones on the outer perimeter were already in ruins. As I appreciated the surroundings, I couldn't help but notice things that were rare to see.
Apocalypse children.
According to beta-testers, there were very small numbers of children they encountered on the whole beta test. They do nothing and they only learn how to survive by watching the adults.
They were watching the players running back and forth, entering the Administrative Building. After a while, an adult called them out and they scurried back home.
Only then did I remember that the game had intuitive AI NPC's that acts like normal people.
One of the guides I browsed mentioned that you can beg, rob, and kill any NPC in the game. However, only do those things as a last resort or if it's you're intended gameplay.
There's a hidden karma feature implemented in this game. If you keep doing evil things, the NPC's affection value would drop to the minimum limit, and there's a high chance that a set of NPC groups would never talk to you again or treat you as an enemy.
I accepted the collect resource quest "Gather Enchanted Wood." then stood up and headed towards an obscure alley.
The quest wants me to collect fifty kilograms of wood and submit it within 24 hours. It was a beginner quest and set up to help the players at the start of the game since gift packs aren't given away.
The rewards for the quest were one hundred gold, which is the official currency of the game.
A set of images were provided inside the mission panel for reference. It tells me that branches and blocks of wood are accepted as long as they have bathed a bit in the natural energy of the world, which means any kind of wood under the sun.
I probably can't cut trees inside the town, or should I try it? I don't have an ax or a saw, so I should stick with picking up sticks on the ground.
I arrived at the alley entrance and hesitated. I don't really like these kinds of places since I'm a bit weak and with my current weapon; a set of fists, things would be troublesome.
If someone were to harass me after I got inside, I could easily die. Still, I have no choice but to enter.
To be honest, I'm just trying my luck right now. I learned from a guide that you can find random loot inside dumpsters.
According to that guide, most of the dumpsters that had useful loot were found in alleys. They also advised other players to remain vigilant since desperate NPC's might attack and rob us.
After searching around, I found my first dumpster and looked around. There were no people nearby, so I quickly opened the dumpster.
There were random wastes inside and a weird smell was coming from them.
Most of the trash inside the dumpster was scrap metals and weird unknown animal remains. I left disappointed and move to my next alley.
The next dumpster I found contained more scrap metals but had damaged blocks of wood this time. Since they appear in a much better state, I took them and stored them in my inventory. Nothing beats free things.
After searching a few more alleys and only getting mostly scraps. I decided that it was time to move on. I walked back to the place where most of the trees gathered, at the Capital Plaza, R Park.
After searching around, I found a tree with lots of branches, enclosed by a wooden bench. I approached the tree and looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention to me. I made another scan of the surrounding before stepping on the bench to yank one of its branches.
Before I could even break the branch I set my eyes onto, someone shouted at me and ordered me to stop. Upon seeing an armed uniformed officer walking towards me, I decided to let go and run away.
I kept running until I felt exhausted and finally escaped from the officer. I don't know how I didn't get caught since I think the officer was stronger and much athletic than me, but hey... I'll just consider it a blessing. I don't want to do community service if I get caught.
With no other choice, I could only go out of the city by checking each dumpster I passed by.
And holy screwdriver and wrench, bless you for making me do so.
I found a rusty old generation military knife on a pile of trash. I know people prefer the standard alloy swords and daggers, and whoever tossed this away, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Now that I have a tool with me I can start doing things. To be honest, I feel like I've returned to being a barbaric savage.
I miss my multitool...
After getting the rusty knife, the first thing I did was to disassemble its handle and return it, It took some time and the handle was even shaking, but it only made me excited. I used Assemble to fix things up, and the handle tightened-up better than ever.
The obvious flaw of my skill is that I can only assemble and disassemble an item. That means things that need manufacturing or sharpening needed to be done first before I can assemble the finished product. Together with the fact that I have to manually assemble and disassemble the items first before being able to use it.
Despite that, I really like my ability and even my father likes it. He once told me that my ability was very unique and is hard to study. It's an ability that grows stronger the more things I learned.
I continued walking and felt envious to those NPC's who had strange old-era vehicles. Motorcycle scraps with obnoxious parts made to fit into a working transport. There were also cars that still retained the shape of common transport but had more defenses in front.
I had to take breaks regularly since I get easily exhausted. The furthest I walked outside of the game was when boarding the car to visit the orphanage. Speaking of cars, there are available public transports, but I don't have any gold on me so I could only look and walk away.
After walking south for a long time, I finally exited the boundary of the city. I also found a bunch of random scraps inside the dumpsters I passed by,
Outside the boundary, the immediate vicinity was clear and I could see other players running by. Actually, there's no way to tell whether they were players or NPC's except for their actions.
Players tend to group up and be rowdy while NPC's only watch them interestedly. Sometimes, I even wonder whether NPC's have souls due to my curiosity. It's just curiosity and I don't have any plans to delve deeper into it.
The land outside was barren and filled with ruins. The trees were a few hundred meters away and zombies were wandering mindlessly on plain sight. For the outer perimeter to be cleared this badly, I guess something must have happened here. Maybe a defense or some sort?
Now that I think about it, why does the city does not care about mobs near them? Was it because they're too strong to even bother about it, or is it because they allow lower leveled NPC's to hunt them?
I heard that mobs regularly spawn back after some time, and I'm curious as to how it happens here.
I have a lot of questions and I want answers.
There's a lot of information I want to know but there are insufficient data from the forums from the outside. The beta-testers didn't give much since not everyone was kind enough to do so. They're probably already busy profiting from their undisclosed information.
I became hungry for all the strenuous physical activities I did and started to munch on my barley bread. I should probably have listened to my father when he said that the body has to keep up with the mind.
After resting for a while, I decided that it was finally time to step to the outside world.
I felt scared and at the same time thrilled.
After getting cooped up inside my room for a long time, I'm finally taking my first step on my own adventure!
I raised my head in expectation and moved my foot forward, then suddenly felt my body shifting to the side.
The next thing I know, I was down on the ground staring at a familiar man running away.
"Move aside!" Spikyhead shouted, then continued cursing under his breath while jogging ahead. "Those bunch of idiots. I'll teach them a lesson. They just caught me off-guard, that's why! They got lucky, right. I'll kill them! Every last one of them! If only I had..."
Ugh... I got up after listening to the fading voice of mister spiky head.
I dusted myself and thanked the heavens that I didn't get pierced by those towering spikes on his head.
I usually feel calm, but this is the first time I felt something boiling inside me. I don't know what it is but I don't like it, and I don't think that it is something good.
I ignored the hot feeling in my chest while glaring at the distant spiky head, then continued my journey.
I retrieved a 1m 2x2 block from my inventory together with the rusty knife, then started shaving the corners of the woodblock to make them easier to hold onto.
I'm planning to turn it into a spear, the most simple pole weapon that I could use without much expertise. I just want the extended reach and the safety net that it gives me while I'm still in my vulnerable state of only knowing how to assemble a knife.
I didn't meet any zombie along the way since most of the players ahead have already dealt with them.
I examined the area from time to time while searching nearby ruins for loot and to make sure that nothing could ambush me.
After a few minutes, I was almost finished shaving the corners of the woodblock and was about to sharpen its end when I heard running footsteps behind me.
Mister spikyhead was once again running from the city's direction. He must have died again due to the enrage look on his face.