Cynthia turned around in surprise. Darius Redfield had suddenly appeared behind her, and she hadn't noticed! There wasn't any sound at all, which was surprising for a man with such a large frame.
"Huh? Me? But I'm only level 2! I'd just get eaten up instantly by those things." Worry filled Cynthia's face. She believed that her stats were far too low to be invited on such a mission.
Dags was also unsure of what this guy was thinking. Cynthia was too underleveled to deal with the creatures en-mass. If she fought the higher leveled [Giant Rats] then they would surely be faster than her. She wouldn't be able to run away at all with her current Agility, or survive any hits with her low Endurance. As she was, she was a glass cannon so to speak.
"Yes, you. You may be level 2, but I saw your practice in the shooting range on the cameras. While you're still basically a novice in my eyes, you improved quite substantially. In just four hours you managed to, rather consistently, get your shots on target. " The guild master revealed that he had at least been watching her a little bit over the course of her practice.
Cynthia's face turned bright red from embarrassment, but was also happy from the half compliment. She hadn't thought anyone was watching her down there since it was empty.
"E-Even so, I'm still underleveled for such a task. If a high level rat attacks me, I'll be a sitting duck." Cynthia shook her head vigorously and waved her hands back and forth.
"That's why you'll be assigned to the rear, and I'll also task someone to guard you from any [Giant Rats] that come through the line. Just set up behind us somewhere and take shots at any target that presents an opportunity. You'd be a great support for us with that high-powered rifle of yours, little miss. Even with the level difference penalty against some of them, you'd deal a decent amount of damage. Of course, you'll also be rewarded handsomely for your assistance." Darius grinned and made a money sign with his hand.
Cynthia was struggling internally, unsure if this would be a good idea. She could afford to die, but she really didn't want to go through it if she didn't have to.
"Mr. Dags, what do you think?" Cynthia muttered under her breath. Her already quiet voice was even quieter, but he could still hear it. Dags had been listening in, and gave it some thought.
"Hm, this would be a good opportunity for her to grow, but the risk is also immense. But even if she dies, she wont lose a level or equipment yet…" Dags tapped his head as he mulled over the request. After thinking a bit, he made up his mind.
"[This would be a great opportunity for you to experience more danger and get used to it. Learning to deal with the stress and not break down under pressure is a required skill you'll need. I think you should accept the request since there's no real danger for you yet.]" Dags messaged his thoughts to Cynthia.
Cynthia bit her lip and sighed before giving her answer to Darius.
"A-Alright, I accept this mission. Please guard me well Mr. Redfield." Cynthia, whose face was still filled with doubt and worry, accepted the guild master's request.
[New quest: Infestation Extermination][City-wide quest]
The infestation of [Giant Rats] has spread through the city. Thousands of the vermin are roaming the alleys and the sewers, wreaking havoc in the areas they stay in. These pests must be wiped out before more damage can be done!
In total, wipe out at least 90% of the [Giant Rat] population in the city along with the [Giant Rat Queen].
Recommended Level: 10
[WARNING: You are far below the recommended level. Death surely awaits you.]
Cynthia stared at the deep red warning at the bottom of the quest screen. She bit her lip, hoping that it wouldn't come to that. Eventually she tore her eyes away from it and asked Darius a question.
"When are we supposed to gather to go find this [Giant Rat Queen] and the hoard protecting it?"
"Hm, we've nearly reached the amount of people I'd like to bring, so it should be in a few hours. Just be here by noon and we'll get started." Darius gave a time that she should return, so Cynthia nodded and left the building. She was exhausted and wanted to rest for a while. Noon was a little over 4 hours away in-game, so hopefully she could log out and get a little rest in her room for an hour.
"When I get to a hotel, I'll log out for a while and rest before the raid starts. After training for so long, my mind is numb and I feel tired. I want to be in my best condition so I don't screw up." Cynthia informed Dags of her plan.
"[You've done well today. Get some much needed rest and I'll see you soon. Also, don't worry so much. Treat this mission as just a tougher training session than before. Your targets will just be moving this time.]" Dags tried to comfort her, knowing that she was still worried about being a burden and dying.
"If you put it that way, it might be ok… they're still gross though. And thank you. I couldn't have improved so fast without you." Cynthia said those last words with a smile. Upon reaching the hotel, Cynthia spent her last bit of credits. She once again wore a depressed look on her face, but she knew she could make back the money in time. Once in her rented room, she logged out again to take her well deserved rest.
"Sigh, alone once again." He sighed loudly as he laid down. It would be nice if this place actually had something for him to do.
"Maybe there's a skill to liven this place up a bit down the line?" He opened up the upgrade web again, checking out all his future options. Most were just mundane and practical, lacking flare. Eventually he found what he wanted a few upgrades down the tree from the Processing Power upgrade branch.
[Home Improvement]
Even an AI can want some comfort and time for relaxation. Create a virtual home for yourself and get comfy when you have down time. Processing Power and energy cost increases with additions to the virtual space.
Base PP cost: 250
Energy cost: Varies based on additions
Cooldown: None
Upgrade cost: 2
It was out of his reach for now, but it was definitely something he'd like to have in the future. This dark space he was in was far too lonely. After all, he's really just a human in an AI body. Saving it for later, he closed the upgrade menu again. In the time that he had before Cynthia's quest started, he wanted to read up on this [Giant Rat Queen] and learn its weaknesses and strong points. Dags sat down, and busied himself reading the Beast Compendium until Cynthia came back from her rest.
—
[User Cynthia has logged in]
After an hour nap, Cynthia woke up from her alarm and immediately logged back in. Dags, who had busied himself with reading the Beast Compendium the entire time, smiled. He had long gotten bored of reading through it, but was needed in order to provide more help. He hoped he could add more information to that section, otherwise he'd probably die of boredom in this place.
"[Welcome back Cynthia. How was your nap?]" Dags asked.
"It was refreshing. After staring at a target and hearing gunshots for 4 hours, I needed a break." Even when she was trying to nap, she couldn't get the image of shooting the target over and over out of her head.
"[Well, there's going to be a change of scenery soon when you face off against those [Giant Rats]. Anyway, it's almost noon in-game. You'd best hurry to the Resolute.]" After telling her about the time, Cynthia checked the time on her HUD.
"Ah! I'm going to be late!" It was 11:55am in the game. She would have to run fast to not be late for the meetup at noon. She didn't want to make the others wait up on her. She instantly broke out into a sprint through the streets, brushing past both locals and players who gave threw annoyed looks at her.
"Watch where you're going!" One yelled out after Cynthia bumped into someone in her rush.
"Sorry!" After a quick apology, she continued on. When she reached the entrance of the Resolute mercenary guild, she was completely out of breath. Her level was far too low to sustain these kinds of sprints for a long time.
"Phew~, just made it." She pushed open the door right as the clock struck 12. Upon entering, the room was already full of people. All of them were fully kitted out in advanced gear compared to her shabby beginner clothes.
"I definitely need to find something better soon…" After seeing everyone else, she looked down at herself and lamented at her financial state once again. It seemed money would be a constant problem for her here. Shaking her head, she made her way through the crowd to let Darius know she was here. After getting to the receptionist counter, she saw Darius talking to a tall woman she didn't know as they awaited their final member of the mission.
"Mr. Redfield, sorry for the tardiness! I'm here now. This is?" Cynthia said, still somewhat out of breath.
"Don't worry about it, you're right on time. Ah, this is Masterless Sword. I've picked them to guard you while you provide support. She's a pretty good close quarters combatant. Take some time to get to know each other while I organize everyone else into teams." Once the guild master introduced Masterless Sword to Cynthia, he left to go get the other players and NPCs together. Silence descended between them for a moment.