"Aaaaagggghhhh!"
I screamed like a girl as I ran back down to the village, the wind whizzing in my ears. Thank God I had something to eat before that thing attacked because I would not be able to run this fast with the low energy I had.
Adrenaline is a life-saver. Never before did I think I had it in me to do the shit I did back there. The way I swung my axe, anyone would think I was a professional axe wielder, and the speed with which I dodged that thing… demon… was insane.
I kept turning back, terrified it was coming after and gaining on me but it was nowhere in sight. The pounding in my heart kept up but I felt my muscles relax a little. My running speed stayed the same. Truly, I didn't have what it took to be an adventurer. A brave player would've made use of the tool I had, but here I was, running with my tail between my legs.
Only when I reached the town once again did I slow down, bent over and resting with my hands on my knees as heavy pants sawed in and out of my chest. It took a lot, but I reminded myself that this was just a video game. It was virtual reality which made it scarier and sure, there were a few odd things like there not being a log-out button, but it was still a game and dying would probably only make me reset from my last checkpoint. Probably… Nevermind that I hadn't reached a checkpoint yet and would most certainly be restarting from the beginning.
After I'd caught my breath, I stood up straight again. There were people about and that made me feel so much safer. Surely, the game creatures wouldn't venture out of their pre-programmed boundaries unless it was for some kind of quest or story mode.
Still feeling shaken up, I decided I wouldn't be going back and found a few trees close to some houses to cut. They didn't seem good enough, like the type of wood a carpenter would need for a professional job, but what choice did I have? Immediately, I went to work, swinging but once again, my hard work was interrupted.
"What is all that racket out there?" A voice called out.
I paid it no mind and kept cutting, nearly done with my first tree when a young man walked out from the space between two houses with a scowl on his face. He had red hair that was tied up behind his neck and a serious air about him.
"Sorry about that," I apologized, scratching my neck. "I'm cutting down a few trees, but I'll be done and out of here soon."
"Doing what?!" He asked. "There's a forest right outside Woodpine town. It's quite literally where we got our name from so why don't you make use of it?"
"Why can't I cut these ones?" I asked sharply, suddenly afraid I might have to leave again and he facepalmed.
"Because they're ornamental. That's community property you're wrecking like that and I could have you turned in." He marched up to me, "Tell me your name."
"Um, I don't…" I hadn't figured out a way to change the embarrassingly funny name yet. In fact, I still only had the generic, starter avatar and hadn't even thought about customizing it. "Hero…" I finally muttered.
The young man snorted. "Hero? There's no way your mother named you that."
I laughed awkwardly, "Haha, everyone did say she was a little eccentric, haha."
"Good for her. My point is, you can't chop trees within the town. Ah, shit, this one's already done for," He said, looking at the tree in front of me. "You're paying a fine for that."
What are you, the mayor? The town tattler? Jesus, give me a break. I think all of this but I wasn't bold enough to say them out loud. They're going to have to throw me in jail because I had not one piece of gold to my name.
"Look," I start, "I'm just coming from those forests but there's a- a demon in there. I barely escaped with my life!" My tone turns final, "Nothing, and I mean, nothing you tell me can make me go back there."
"Demon? Demons don't exist in this world, at least not in Woodpine. It's just monsters all around." He laughs, "And aren't you an adventurer? Isn't that what you all run around doing, helping to keep the monster population down a little?"
"I…" Well, he had me there. When was it all going to end? How was I to explain to an NPC that I just landed here from some kind of outside world?
"Ugh," I grunt and throw my hands in the air in frustration. "You know what? I'm done with this. I'm picking another quest."
I trudge angrily back to the carpenter's workshop and through the door. "I'm here to return your axe! I'm not doing the job any longer." I yell, and from somewhere, I don't know where, his muffled voice calls back for me to drop it wherever.
I leave the place once more and on my way back to the main town area, I open my menu to pick another quest.
[#1 Slay the shadow sphynx and bring me its eyes — Mr Sonora
#2 Collect a strike of lightning from the thunderbird in a potion bottle for me — The Moonform Wizard
#3 I need 15 bundles of wood for a large project — Cherry, the carpenter
#4 Deliver a message to the town seamstress, Madam Goldhearte — Sir Nikolai Garund
#5 Investigate the mystery of the abandoned townhall — System Quest
#6 Find and retrieve my stolen earrings. They're an heirloom!! — Solana
#7 Defeat the hollowed goblin that has been terrorising Coal Village — Official Quest from the Chief of Coal Village]
Right beneath the super easy quest I just abandoned is an even easier quest. I would've picked it first actually, but it had a downside — the reward was just 100 gold and 70 XP. But still, something was better than nothing, right?
I didn't think I had the wits to choose number five even with its 5000 gold and 2000 XP reward, nor the time it needed. I would die of an empty hunger bar before the first day of investigation even ended.
And so I selected the quest and chose 'Accept'.
[A new quest cannot be accepted right now.]
I was confused, but then I realized I had to complete this current quest or cancel to pick a new one.
Well.
[Quest: The Carpenter's Project]
[Status: Incomplete]
[Tap here to cancel]
I tapped it and waited patiently while a loading icon turned. But imagine my surprise when an error message popped up.
[Error:]
[Player cannot cancel the current quest.]