What a day! What a day!
Atharva didn't know that so much could happen in a day.
It started with routine checking of bank account. Then the result came. Then...the talk with the family. The ott reactions. The spontaneous get together was sort of ...planned? Had job offer from Mrs Briggs, the type of offer where he could write job description and expected salary by himself.
In the game too, Artha ( Atharva's game character) had a spectacular day.
Unexpectedly he turned into herbologist. He got new gig cleaning the training rooms. And the dungeons opened.
Strange how something that could make millions of players scream with wild joy took third place in the list of spectacular things happened to Artha.
If you think a bit, the answer suddenly becomes clear. Artha did not join play the game to enjoy it. To him, it was a way to earn money. Which he did. Unexpectedly, but still, he did it. The backgrounds, the various jobs, the monsters....blah, blah, blah.. everything he had read, he could just correlate only when he thought for sometime. But otherwise, he discarded much of the preconceived notions and old details.
Wasn't he detail oriented person? Obviously he was. How else could he created an history in Saint Augustine otherwise? The details he concentrated , though, were in different directions. Perhaps, that's why he could make such money.
He should be one of the very few players who actually made money in the game instead of spending it.
Now he was getting more coins in this dungeon raid. Only bad part? He may have to die before getting these coins and other items.
The dungeon raiding team under the aegis of Sylvester had finally killed and elite bunny and gotten the monster loots after frisking?touching? Whatever, they had their pot of gold. Now they had only two options. Exit the dungeon while there were in non- combat state. Second, continue the raid, with ever increasing chances of death. There was no such thing as saving the dungeon progress. So each time, they entered, they had to start from the beginning.
Sylvester, being a good leader he was, told about the options. As a better salesman, he didn't forget to stroke the spark of desire in others too.
Some of his enticing words even tempted Artha. Wasn't Artha getting tempted to many times in the dungeon? Was he turning wishy-washy?
This is a great chance. We may not get such good team mates in later run. We may not get a chance to face the elite at all next time before dying. We had to help others as they had sacrificed themselves and helped us mapping this dungeon. We may earn few coins more if we can update a bit of the map.( If it was not done by others before.)
He used various reasons, good for conscience, better for wallet.
Artha didn't have any vote as he was tag along. Sela obviously voted to move on. Others just chorused yes after her.
The end result - team wipeout, ten minutes later. They had barely survived the increased number bunnies attacking when an elite just popped out like a ninja and started decimating the team.
Good point - they resurrected in the village, not at dungeon entrance. Bad point - they lost XP (though not as much as due to dying out in the maps) and had death debuff. Good point - Sylvester paid. Better point - Artha didn't have to walk back to village, so he could start his new job early.
All players dispersed. Some went to handover the completed tasks, some to get new tasks, some went towards makeshift market, some just went around to unwind. They didn't have much time to do anything productive. And with death debuff, grinding in maps, so close to ending of the day was out.
Artha went to training rooms. Nodded to Keini, went to back to put on cleaner garb ( sort of hazmat suit but way cooler) and went to work. He had only 1 floor to clean. But the rooms had been occupied while day. That too with apprentices.
The sheer amount wasted! Tsk, tsk! Artha's heart bled looking at the waste. So much raw material, so many coins, so many credits.
Just like the first time he handled trash near the inn, nothing much happened in the beginning. He could just identify the items name. Morugha leaves essence, burnt -50%.
Wimpli flower - essence not removed.
Maybe it was culmination of his Nitpicker title, Herbologist job and gathering skill, cleaner work, maybe cosmos was just aligned right, something clicked.
Artha suddenly laughed like a hyena. Ever heard the sound coming through a hazmat suit? Now imagine if person was laughing creepily, maniacally within it. Stuffs of nightmare.
Good news - Artha really could use these items. Just like the items he cleaned collected in the mornings behind the inn.
Bad news - he still didn't know how to use them. So he just collected them. Want not, waste not. The thriftiness gene raises it's ugly head again.
As it was still the first day of the job, the sorting out the trash took time and the items he could salvage were not so good, but even a mosquito has meat, whatever that idiom meant. Artha was happy. He finally could realise his childhood dreams and on top of it, become a collector.
The timer rang as he was removing the cleaner grab. Ah, he had some doubts he needed to clear. Guess, he has to do it tomorrow. Probably. If he logged. He still had two minds about entering the game.
As he walked towards inn, he had to pass through the evening entertainment. He had to say, these NPCs knew how to make a successful party. Today's gayness and exuberance was even higher than the first evening. Nearly everyone had a glimpse of the pot of gold at the end of rainbow.
Reflexly, he adjusted his cloak whenever he saw his customers. These rich people didn't log out on time. They could afford to spend few coins to stay a bit more. But if he got struck with them, talking nonsense or otherwise (about purchases), he may not be able to log out on time. Better not get tangled with them.
He safely made through his room and logged out. Full marks to his village in the survey. And...fade out completely.