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As dale walked and took his first few steps into the world, he observed his surroundings trying to understand where he was.
And he couldn't help but notice how irregular this place was.
"This place is bordering on being a wasteland… The plants are small and scarce, and even the ground seems a bit dry as well…"
Dale turned his head to the right, looking at a few brown mountains in the distance, then he turned his head to the left, looking at what seemed to be a thick forest filled with tall trees and thick vegetation.
"What is this place... I can see a thick forest in the distance further South but if I look North the environment seems to get worse as it turns into a dry wasteland..."
"I am not that versed in geography, so I can't say the cause of this or if it's naturally possible, however, for me, this is clearly unnatural since the transition between a desert in the North and thick forest in the South is a bit too sudden… One or two Kms?"
"At least that is what I think..."
Dale opened the game menu and took a look at a picture he took a minute ago, it was the game map.
He was smart after all, since the game gave him such a detailed map, why not make use of it?...
[Image has been deleted]
"?! Come on!" He said in annoyance
'Tsk. So this won't work huh…'
"Well, it doesn't matter much, I bet I can buy a map of the surroundings of the village once I get there… I really want to know if there were any roads nearby..."
'This place already seemed rather isolated in the selection Menu, so I wanted to know how much it truly was.'
Shaking his head, Dale made his way to the village.
…
As he approached the village, its overall look became clearer.
It was protected by a rather tall gate around 6-7 m tall. Its walls were just as tall, being made from a combination of giant blocks of stone and thick wood stakes.
It seemed shabby and not so shabby at the same time.
Dale could see a few tall buildings within the village from his angle, including a small hill with a church.
In front of the village's gate were two guards that looked like 2 statues.
One of the guards immediately noticed him and he pointed at Dale, trying to get the other guards attention.
The other guard nodded and discussed something with the other guard before he proceeded to grab a bow…
"What are they… ?!"
/FWUSH!/
"URG!"
Dale bent to the ground, barely avoiding the arrow.
"What are these guys doing?!"
Seeing his reaction, one of the guards scratched his head before he looked at the other guard for help.
The other guard just shook his head before he waved at Dale.
"..."
'Are they expecting me to approach them after this? As if, I only have a single life!'
For the next 5 minute, Dale and the guards stayed far away staring at each other, the two guards seemed helpless while Dale was focused...
"Kid, how long are you going to stay there in the middle of the road?"
"?!"
Dale jumped forward as he rolled. Meanwhile, the old woman behind him looked at him with an interested smile.
She had a basket of things on her back covered by a white cloth and her back was curved as she walked with a wooden cane.
"Did I startle you? Oh my, that wasn't my intention young one."
"... Who…"
But the old woman interrupted him.
"You must be from very far away seeing how confused you are, so let me explain a few things first."
She pointed at the guards.
"They attacked you with an arrow because outsiders are very very rare, so rare that 9/10 times, someone coming is actually a Mirage Yirg."
Dale was confused.
"What is a Mirage Yirg?"
"It's a terrible creature that prowls these lands, it's rather uncommon and I would even say it's rare to see one.
"As for why they are dangerous... They have the ability to disguise themselves as someone else in many ways, but when they do so, they become really immobile and inflexible, so throwing an arrow like this is often times the best way to determine if it's a person or a monster."
When he heard that, Dale scratched his head and said in a low tone:
"But they aimed at my head..."
Unfortunately, the old woman ignored him...
"Also, we shouldn't talk so much out here, come with me, we can talk on the way…"
The old woman started to walk away.
"... What if I hadn't evaded the arrow…"
This time she said:
"Life isn't fair, kid…" She said without turning around
Dale looked at her, she seemed harmless, but he was sure there was no way for an old woman to just sneak up on him like this, especially deeming her speed…
Was she perhaps a powerful master in disguise?
…
Dale and the old woman eventually arrived in front of the village gates.
"Welcome back miss Eino." Said one of the guards as he bowed slightly
Granny Eino nodded slightly and said:
"Thank you for your work."
They looked at Dale and said:
"It's very rare to see outsiders, and normally we wouldn't allow you in, we aren't sorry for what we did, you are only here because of Miss Eino."
"##!"
Dale got rather pissed, but he didn't really care, so long as he could enter and learn more it was fine.
The old woman said nothing and they eventually went inside.
"Don't let them get to you, this is just how everyone ends after spending their lives in this place... It hasn't been easy for them." Said the old woman
Dale on the other hand looked around the place with curiosity, most of the village houses were actually 2 M above the ground, suspended by wood beams and stones.
The houses were actually rather good looking, although they had a grim look to them… Dale couldn't explain why.
Seeing his childish curiosity, the old woman said:
"Guess there was no need to worry, you seem fine..."
"! Sorry, I was too distracted."
She let out a sigh.
"It's okay, I can understand that our village can be confusing… Deeming our circumstances."
She stopped walking, they had arrived at a plaza where multiple dirt roads intersected.
It was at this moment that Dale noticed this place was actually bigger than it seemed...
"Let me first introduce myself, I am Tina Eino, one of the elderly residents of Resko."
Dale smiled and nodded, saying:
"I am Dale Houston… I came from…"
But the old woman said with a smile.
"Very far away, I can tell from your voice, expression, actions… Strength."
She used her old cane to hit his leg and said:
"You have quite the sturdy body for a young lad your age, how old are you?"
"Me? I just made 19…" Said Dale as he held in the pain in his leg with a small tear in the corner of his eye
She seemed a bit surprised.
"Did you train a lot? What was your occupation?"
Dale was quite surprised by this question so he had to think deeply.
"It's hard to say… I spent most of my life studying and in the past few years, I have been rather lost as to what I wanted to do, although I have found solace in training and… I guess here I am."
'Not a bad explanation, my life was all about studying and gaming in my free time, and now, the reason I am here... it was all because of this game…'
Hearing his reply, the old woman stayed silent for some time before she lifted her cane and pointed to a road on the right.
"Our village is small and as such, everyone knows each other. Follow this road and talk with Old Misgurd, he was an old mercenary and is the sole one in our village."
"Just be patient with his personality, although I imagine he is going to like you quite a bit, he is still a retired veteran. He is currently the head of the Mercenary guild branch… Or what remains of it."
She pointed towards another road, the one on the far left.
"If you follow that road you are going to find an 'Inn', although to be honest, that was only an Inn during the time when I was just a child, now it's nothing but a big house where Illia and her family live."
"Tell them I sent you and they will probably take you in… You have coin right?"
Dale scratched his head and asked:
"How much would a night cost here?"
The old woman smiled and said:
"Around one Zull of Iron per night."
"..."
Dale looked at her with a poker face.
"That's a lot..."
"Are you saying we are not worth such an amount?"
But Dale shook his head.
"I will pay, I am just saying its quite a lot."
'And I am sure there is a reason, this is a high Level area, so there must be a reason why it's so expensive just for the sake of it...'
"Continue with that thinking process and you fit right in." She said with a smile
She turned around and waved her hands.
"Until next time young Dale, I hope you can find your place within this place at the end of the world…"
But Dale replied:
"Thank you for your help… But isn't that basket too? heavy for you? Do you need some help?"
She stopped and looked at him in wonder.
"Ho?... It's been a while since someone offered to help me."
"Thats… Quite sad."
/Chuckles/
"I won't refuse if that is the case… My house is right at the end of the road…" She said as she pointed at the road in the middle.
She took her basket and gave it to Dale.
"So help me carry it there… If you can."
She dropped the casket!
/THUD!/
"!"
But nothing much happened, and the old lady smiled cheekly.
"This is quite heavy, madam…"
'Are you telling me this old lady was carrying this? Something that seems to weigh around 100Kg?! Also... How did this basket survive?!'
'Is she one of those disguised masters?'
Looking at his confused eyes, she said as she shook her head:
"Something I've noticed so far, you think too much… Chop chop, if we take any longer my house is going to leave on its own."
[DING]
[You have received the quest, Old lady of the countryside village]
[Quest Type: Miscellaneous (Common)
Help Lady Eino carry her basket to her home 0/1]
"..."
Dale on the other hand thought deeply:
'I see it now… If this is the level of a miscellaneous quest… Then this place is a deathbed for any new players…'
Dale followed the old woman carrying the basket easily with one hand…
…
"Thank you, me and my back appreciate your little action."
[Quest completed!]
[10% Level xp
Resko Reputation +1]
"Here, for your troubles." She said as she threw him one of the objects inside her basket
"?... An apple?"
'But why is it silver?... It's even shining a little? Was she carrying fucking iron on her back or something?!'
"Never seen an Iron Apple before? Really, from how far away are you kid?" Asked Tina
"... Very far…" He said with a poker face
/Cruch!/
Dale took a bite of the apple with difficulty, it was very very hard… Like ice before it breaks.
Tina looked at him with a funny expression.
"How does it taste?"
/Chomp chomp…/
"I don't know… I feel like I've eaten charcoal…"
"Wahahaha…"
Tina let out a hearty laugh.
"Indeed… You are quite the interesting kid aren't you?"
"After you talk with Misgurd and hopefully pass his test, go and talk with Old Testros. It's pretty easy to find him, he is always in the training camp near the Mercenary Guild."
[DING]
[Chain Quest activated]
[Welcome to Resko! Quest type: Chain Quest (Slightly Rare)
Pass the Mercenary Guild's test 0/1
Become a Mercenary 0/1
Talk with Testros 0/1
]
'A chain quest?! These normally have good rewards… Alright!'
"I'll do it… But there is one thing I've been wanting to ask…"
"Say it, the thing I lack the least is time."
"So… I've seen literally no one… And the few people you talked about are old people… Where are the young?"
"That is simple, did you notice how the soil was barren around our village?"
Dale nodded.
"This has quite the deep story but that doesn't matter right now, what matter is how we get our food."
She pointed towards the South.
"If you go South, you will see that the environment greatly changes, and that thick forests soon rise from nowhere, this is connected with the desert but again, it does not concern us right now."
"The only place where we can farm and procure resources is over there, so every morning, almost everyone from the village leaves and goes to work in the fields near the forest."
"The kids are left with Illia at her Inn, while we old folks stay behind to keep everything in check, although I am a bit of a busibody as I like to venture out from time to time…"
"As for the dangers, this is why most of our guard force goes with them, to keep an eye out since they are our lifeline, but don't you think we are unprotected… That would be a very terrible mistake."
Hearing this Dale nodded in understanding.
'It's quite the dynamic village, no wonder this is a high level zone, it's incredibly dangerous and if they managed to live here for so long then it means they are far from ordinary… Everyone most likely.'
"I see, things are quite rough over here. But why not just move the village?"
The old lady nodded with a sad face before she said:
"It's not as simple as it sounds... Our village is located at the border... It's the safest place, and between moving it and keeping it here, it's much safer to stay in this place."
"It wasn't always this way, but the desert is slowly increasing in size, and 20 or so years ago, it became impossible to farm near the village and we've been moving closer and closer to the forest... Food is becoming harder and harder to get."
"That is why try your best to earn your keep, else we will kick you out."
"... Yes…"
Dale gave her a slight nod before he turned around and left towards the Mercenary Guild.
Tina on the other hand looked at him and whispered to herself:
"Body Reformation… What a kid… But it's no wonder he came to this place, only around here would such a child find the challenge he needs to grow stronger…"
"Testros, I've sent you the rookie you always desired, so make sure to not send him away like the others…"
'Whatever his reasons may be… I will leave it to you to judge.'
With a thin smile and a mysterious gaze, the old lady easily grabbed the basket and went back to her home.
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Notes