"So this is 'The Sweet Court' Inn."
From outside, the Inn looked modest and welcoming. Wood and stone pillars made up most of the building's outer structure. The rich ambience could be felt outdoors, making it very charming too look at. As he enters the Inn through the wooden door, unsought silence and stares where aimed at him from the surrounding Npc's, after a few seconds the chatter and noise resumed and a sense of ease started to return in Mylo's expression.
The Inn itself was full of Npc's and a few player's here and there. The Npc's seemed to be the primary clientele, which was seen as a good sign for players. This would allow them for easy information gathering from the npc's discussions, allowing them to find hidden quests.
"I guess those players eavesdropping on the npc's conversion had the same thought."
Several tables were occupied by joyful, animated groups of people.
"It's as charming inside as it is outside."
Mylo starts scanning each table and finally finds Efferus waving his hand at a small table in the corner of the Inn, close to the stairs leading to the rest area.
"Managed to survive I see. Not too difficult I hope? "
"…"
"Haha, well not that it really matters now. Show me the proof of the hunt."
"Proof?"
"Yes, show me the prize of your hunt."
"Is that what u mean?"
"Ho~, the Crimson Wolf Hide and intact at that. Not bad."
"Is that proof enough?"
"Yes, here's your reward."
Efferus stretched out his hand towards Mylo's whom was expecting an item held in it. But to his surprise it was empty.
"…?"
"As a hunter I usually craft my own leather equipment. As a reward I'll craft a body armor with the crimson hide, if you have other wolf hide it would be useful in strengthening the item."
"Ah~, I see. Here."
[-1 crimson wolf hide]
[-20 wolf hide]
[Congratulations, you have completed the Quest 'Crimson Wolf's Hunt'.]
[+20% affinity with Efferus.]
[You have reached 50% affinity with NPC 'Hunter Efferus' you have unlocked his store wares.]
[The higher the Affinity the better the item he sells.]
The unexpected message surprised him, "store?".
In Second Chronicle's reaching 50% affinity with an npc allowed them to sell items to players. Obviously the item sold depends on the npc's social standing in the game. A normal citizen whose quest was to deliver a milk carton would have useless item for sale, like consumables that can easily be obtained from misc. store's. As for Efferus who was considered the best hunter in the Kingdom of Valsea, his wares were much better than the former.
"I actually own a few useful wares and would sell them to those whom I recognized as comrades. Of course they aren't free, you may own those items for the right price."
"Could I see your wares then?"
"Of course."
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-HUNTER EFFERUS STORE -
Affinity: 50%
Items:
*Animal Trap x20 / 20-copper coins each
*Animal Bait x100 / 10-copper coins each
*Lesser Health Potion x5 / 50-copper coins each
*Lesser Mana Potion x5 / 50-copper coins each
*Short bow x1(Common) / 100 copper coins
*Short Sword x1 (Common) / 100 copper coins
*Skill Book 'One-handed weapon Mastery' (Rank E) x1 / 5 silver coins
------------------------------------------------------
"One-handed weapon mastery? Isn't my rapier considered a one-handed weapon?"
Mylo owned 1178 copper coins and 12 silver coins. He purchased all 5 lesser health potions and mana potions for 500 coppers lowering his copper amount to 678. He also bought the skill book lowering his silver coins to seven.
-------------------------------
Passive Skill: One-Handed Weapon Mastery Lvl.1 (Rank E)
*Increase One-handed weapon physical damage by 5%
*Increase One-handed weapon attack speed by 5%
-------------------------------
"The lesser potions were expected but I'm surprised you purchased the skill book. Most would rather train into the warrior's path in order to gain the skill without paying anything."
"My path hasn't been decided yet, not being certain of my choice I felt like I had to buy it in case I chose an unorthodox path."
"I see."
"By the way Efferus, how long would it take you to craft the body armor?"
"The time it would take you to finish my request?"
"Huh? When did you give me a request?"
"Just now."
[New Quest Acquired!]
"…"
"After hunting down the crimson wolf, I was supposed to head further into the forest. Hunting the wolf wasn't the only task given to me. I was also charged to find out what kind of creature could hunt the demon that the wolf ate, as well as the reason for the appearance of that said demon. As you may already know, Demons aren't welcome in the Kingdom of Valsea. My guess is that the demon was a scout sent from the Demon's territory, Azok. Unfortunately, my condition hasn't improved much, and so, here I am requesting you once more for help."
----------------------------------
Quest: Unknown Beast
Rank: Unknown
Requirement:
*Find the unknown beast that killed the demon.
*Available action to be taken:
-Kill the beast and report back to Efferus
-Do not engage the beast and report back to Efferus
-Find nothing
Reward: Will depend on your action.
Failure: Unknown
Time Limit: 7 in-game days
[Would you like to accept the quest (YES/NO)?]
---------------------------------
"Might as well see it through until the end."
"Thank you friend. I understand that you might have difficulties finding clues since you're not trained into the hunter's way. I do not wish for you to stay longer than a week finding the beast."
"I understand."
"Have a safe journey then."
Mylo then walked toward the Inn owner and ask him to rent a room for a few hours. Resting in a inn would increase the players speed by 20% for 1 hour. Allowing him to have a faster start to his journey.
"Log out!"
***
"Ha~, how long has it been? I've been in game for 23 hours. So in real time … 11 and half hours."
Players are able to fully enjoy the game for as long as they liked. Time inside the game allowed players to fully immerse themselves without worrying about their responsibility in real life. Playing the game for 1 year would equal half a year in real time and its for that reason that the game was considered the second earth.
Mylo exited the VR capsule and headed to the washroom.
"What a skinny young boy, stress can really change a person's inner and outer appearance. Don't worry though, Il make sure to bring you back to health. Can't have you fall apart because of bad nourishment."
"Since I lack money, ill have to eat junk food for now. It would help the body in gaining more weight, even though it's the wrong way to do it."
"After eating, I'll work out by doing basic exercises; push up, pull up and squats for a week or two. After gaining more coins ill convert them into real life currency and register to a gym center."
While shaking his head. Mylo says;
"Indeed, this sounds like a good plan."
After eating and training, mylo headed back inside the capsule.
"Log In!"
[Welcome back to Second Chronicle's]
[Buff has been granted for 1 hour: increased movement speed by 20%.]
"Okay, shall we start the investigation? Let's first head back inside the forest"
***