As Jason read the message in front of him he smiled a little bit. At first he was going to refuse but after seeing the rewards he could not refuse. This was a huge field at least 10 acres long. He had never tilled the land once in his life but he was more than happy to do it after seeing the results. He was planning on going for the 70% completion reward. 20 silver, 3 random stat points but most importantly a rare treasure map.
He could refuse the old mans request and not receive any penalty but was there a reason to refuse? Absolutely not.
"I've never tilled the ground before." Jason said as he looked at the old man.
"Don't worry about that, I will guide you for a while but I let you do it yourself."
"I would be more than happy to help you." Jason said. Immediately the ongoing quest tab on the screen was filled.
"Very well then, follow me and grab that hoe." Jason did as he was told.
The old man guided Jason and told him what to do. 10 minutes had passed and the old man was still with Jason.
GRRRRR!
The ground erupted from the ground jumped out a monster. It had 5 long spindly legs and several eyes on its head. It had smooth fur and on its leg was a sticky white substance.
The old man moved forward and from his walking cane he pulled out a thin sword. He quickly used it and cleaved the monster in half. The green blood from its body splashed onto Jason and he groaned as some of it had gone in to his mouth.
"The monsters are the main reason why I can't plow the fields myself. I am old and sooner or later they always overwhelm me when I grow tired. Surely a young fellow like yourself would find it much easier than me."
The old man turned to face Jason however Jason was vomiting once more. The disgusting taste of the monster's blood refused to leave his mouth no matter how much water he used.
"Here..." The old man reached into his pocket and brought out a small object the size of a soap bar. "Eat it, it should remove the disgusting taste out of your body."
Jason ate it and the taste disappeared immediately.
"Well then please be on your gaurd, these monsters appear when you least expect them."
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A few hours had passed and Jason had managed to reach a 5 percent completion rate. Had the monsters not attacked he was sure that he could have reached at least a 15 percent completion rate. Jason noticed something while plowing the fields. Every once in a while the old man would kill a monster.
The monsters that he killed, their corpses remained however when he killed a monster their corpses would disappear. He came to the conclusion that NPC'S had a different set of rules compared to players.
Night came and Jason had managed to reach a 15 percent completion rate. "If I continue at this pace then I will reach only a 45 percent completion rate. I need to go faster."
Jason rested for an hour. The old man brought him food and drinks and he got back to work. Despite the old man advising him to rest he did not. His hardwork paid of when he discovered that the monsters attacked him less often.
( You have recieved +2 points in stamina)
( You have recieved +2 points in strength)
Jason paid no mind and continued working. He was really tired. Incredibly so. However when morning came the monsters started to attack him and he killed them.
His experience bar was full and he levelled up. He had previously been level 19 but now he had reached level 22. An increase in 3 levels. With the stat points he received he divided them between stamina, sense and dexterity.
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Level: 22
Str: 35 Agi: 55 Dur: 35 Int:35
Stam: 35 Sen:35 Dex: 35 End: 60 Vit: 35
Unused stat points: 21
Unused skill points: 7
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He added 10 stat points in stamina 5 in senses and the remaining 6 in dexterity. This is how it looked.
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Level: 22
Str: 35 Agi: 55 Dur: 35 Int:35
Stam: 45 Sen:40 Dex: 41 End: 60 Vit: 35
Unused stat points: 0
Unused skill points: 7
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He found it much easier to plow the fields. He felt rejuvenated and by the end of the second night he had reached a 60 percent completion rate. There was only one more day left and only 10 percent completion rate left before he could receive his rewards.
"Adventurer, please slow down. You have been working hard and over exerting yourself. Come have some food." The old man called out to Jason. Jason almost refused. After remembering that he had only 10 percent left he accepted the invitation.
He sat on a wooden chair eating the food the old man had made. The house of the old man was simple. There were not many decorations however there were several photos on the walls.
Jason looked at several pictures and his eyes landed on a certain picture. "Who are they?" Jason asked. There was 4 people in the photo and they were all dressed like adventurers. A woman wearing a light armour with part of her face covered, a man holding a giant sword and wore heavy armour, a teenage boy on top of a horse and a man dressed like a knight with a well made sword.
"That was my party..." Jason noticed the old man frown as he looked at the photos. His eyes were those of a person who was remembering his good old days. "I wonder where they are now?"
Jason ate the food. "Which one is you?" Jason asked.
The old man used his cane and pointed at the man donned in armour like a knight. "That was me."
"You looked happy."
"I was..." the old man scratched his forehead and sighed. His eyes reminded Jason of his grandfather's when he used to talk about his glory days. His eyes conveyed pain, happiness and sorrow all at the same time. "But not anymore..."
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Bang!
A bullet flew through the air and killed a monster. Jason smiled and let go of the hoe he was holding. Time had ran out and he had reached a completion rate of 85 percent. He could have stopped at 70 percent however Jason was curious if he would receive extra rewards. He also continued because he felt bad for the old man.
It wasn't pity that he felt but actually sympathy.
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Thoughts!