{ A large number of monsters have built a nest inside the abandoned subway on East Red Town. Your job is to dispose of all the monsters and reassure the safety of the citizens of Red Town. The time limit is 7 days and the reward is æ10,000 coins.
Mission complete! }
{ You have levelled up! }
Nico took deep breaths, his chest heaving and his body sweating from his excessive movements. He looked at the new weapon in his hands and smiled softly before falling on his ass, releasing a long sigh. A few seconds after, he opened his status screen.
{ Player: V-777 (Vortex_7)
LVL: 2
Race: Night Phoenix
HP: 400/400
STR: 230/230
DEX: 205/205
CHA: 70/70
LUK: 7/7
Mana: 404/404
Value: #1600
Aestrol Coins: æ3,200.00
Weapons: Steel Blade (D-rank); Voided Xiphos (Unknown Rank)
Items: Packaged Food (4); Healing Potion (2)
Abilities: Dancing Fire (D-rank) }
"My stats got doubled?!" Nico exclaimed excitedly. "This is awesome! Perks of awakening, I suppose. 'Voided Xiphos?'"
{ Voided Xiphos (Unknown Rank)
- Made from adamantine dipped in the volcanic lava of the underworld, this blade belongs to the son of the night, Erebus, and acts as a beacon of fire and light, granting its wielder fluid movements and pyrokinetic abilities. With a chain that can grow as long as the wielder's intentions, the blade can quite literally travel for hundreds and hundreds of kilometres }
"Pretty cool sword. It's no wonder I was able to move fluidly. It's got a nice guard too."
Nico suddenly gasped and immediately ran towards the nearest gryphon, digging his short sword into the monster's chest and ripping it open. Then, he dug his hands into the gryphon and rummaged around its organs, until he got a hold of its heart.
He pulled out the organ and a light holographic screen hovered above it, displaying its name.
{ Gryphon Heart (D-rank)
Effects: Poison (3:00) }
Nico tossed the heart away and made his way to the next gryphon, doing the exact same thing as before. After searching 7 of the 10 gryphons, Nico slowly started to lose hope in finding the item. But, he persevered and after searching the 8th gryphon's chest, he finally found it.
{ Curated Gryphon Heart (B-rank)
Effects: Health is doubled
Poison: (5:00) }
"With this heart, I should be able to double my health. But, the effects of it are really terrible. If I get poisoned for 5 minutes straight, I won't survive the first 2," Nico said as he inspected the slightly glowing heart. "Think I'll stash it into my inventory for now. I can always sell it for some decent coins."
"My Luck didn't go up, though I suppose it didn't go down either... Guess there's not much I can do about it at the moment."
With that out of the way, Nico placed his Voided Xiphos into his inventory and began making his way out of the abandoned subway, promising himself that once he's returned to the guild, he's gonna take a nice, long, well deserved nap.
***
A day after, Melissa spoke to a player and handed him 3 healing potions, a soft smile evident on her face. "Here you go, Xander; 3 healing potions."
Xander blushed gently and said, "Thank you, Melissa."
"No problem. Anything to make sure you don't leave in a body bag."
"Pssh, as if," Xander chuckled, his pride barely masking its presence in his voice.
The doors to the adventurer's guild slid open and chimed, Nico walking in with a burnt hoodie in his hands and a nonchalant expression. Melissa saw him walk in and her eyes slightly widened, genuine shock evident on her face.
"Melissa, you okay?" Xander asked as he looked at her face. Then, he turned to look at Nico, who walked to the front desk with a soft smile on his face.
"Yo," he greeted Xander, who responded with a curt nod. Nico turned to Melissa and smirked without saying a word.
Melissa sighed and leaned back on her chair. "What's with that face?"
"You had your doubts. And now, I have an account without my æ10,000 coins. So, if you don't mind," Nico cheekily responded.
Melissa rolled her eyes and checked her computer screen, noting that Nico did indeed complete the mission. She sighed and typed something on her computer. A few seconds after, Nico's AutoSiphers relayed a message:
{ Account deposited with æ10,000 coins
New balance: æ13,200.00 coins }
Nico smiled and said, "Thank you. Still think I won't survive for two weeks?"
"I'll get back to you in said weeks. While you're here, can I get you anything else, Vortex?" Melissa inquired, her gaze slightly seductive and confident.
"A room would be nice," Nico answered, scratching his head. "Also, maybe a fireproof hoodie..."
Xander scowled at Vortex. 'Who is this guy? How is he effortlessly making Melissa smile like that? Tch...'
Nico noticed Xander's scowl, then he looked at Melissa. 'Ah, that makes sense,' he said to himself. "I'm a bit tired. As much as I'd like to chit chat, my bones are killing me."
"Of course. I'll just get you the room and your hoodie will be teleported to said room. That'll be æ3,000 a night and æ2,000 for a decent fireproof hoodie."
"I'm cool with that," Nico responded as he hovered his hand above Melissa's, transferring the coins.
Once the payment was received, Melissa handed Nico a key card and smiled. "Don't go playing with your stick now."
"I-I would never!" Nico exclaimed in embarrassment, playfully snatching the key card and stomping away. He sighed as his cheeks flushed in red, entering the elevator that'll lead him to the floor of his room.
"Who's that guy?" Xander asked as he watched Nico.
"The literal epitome of naive," Melissa responded, her voice sounding a little genuine as she smiled.
***
Nico got to his room and scanned the key card, granting him access to his room, which immediately locked as he stepped inside. The room was decently spacious with a living room and a single bed. On the bed was the new fire and waterproof hoodie he bought, white in colour.
The room also had a large window that had a beautiful view of Red Town. Despite the neverending rain, and the dilapidated buildings, it was quite enchanting. The greenery that enveloped the abandoned buildings compared to the functional adventurer's guild gave it a feel for a boarder that separated the wild from civilization.
"It's kinda beautiful..." Nico admitted, his heart feeling at ease as he watched the city.
The light grey skies quickly turned black, indicating that it was nighttime. Nico wrapped himself in the bed's blanket and dozed off relatively fast, dreaming about a better life and hopefully a way out of the video game world.
The next morning came. Nico slowly opened his eyes and stretched. Upon waking up, a notification appeared on his status screen, prompting him to open it and read its contents.
{ Benefits of getting a higher value!
1. Being above value #1700 prevents you from releasing odours, which means no bad breath or smelly armpits for the rest of your life!
2. More Aestrol coins earned from completing missions, tasks, events and tag missions!
3. More presence amongst other players and street credit gets boosted significantly! No one respects a weakling!
4. The higher your value, the better the gear and items you may be able to purchase, along with the pricing of the sort!
5. Upgraded system through each value increase!
If you are feeling sceptical about increasing your value, don't hesitate! The benefits are quite literally to die for! }
"What is this self promotion BS?" Nico said as he finished reading the contents. "An increased value is good, but that doesn't mean they should actively push players to kill each other simply because it has a couple perks."
Nico groaned. "Then again, I can't stay a low level player simply because I don't want to kill other players... There has to be a loophole somewhere..."
Nico sighed and cast his bed sheet aside, dressing up and eating breakfast before leaving his room. He made his way downstairs and left the elevator, yawning and stretching his arms.
He heard sounds coming from the front desk and casually walked there, standing a relative distance. Melissa's head was dropped as two girls spoke to her. She raised her head, receiving a slap to her face, causing her to stagger to the side and face the ground.
Nico's heart pounded and he immediately walked towards the girl who smacked Melissa. He grabbed her wrist, which earned him an alienating glare from the girl, and he stared at her, his anger palpable.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, trying to conceal his anger.
The olive skinned girl shoved Nico and crossed her arms. "I don't recognise you..."
"Must be a new player," the other girl smirked as she looked at Nico. "He's cute, but I bet he's real ugly under that mask."
Nico gritted his teeth and almost charged in, but Melissa spoke up. "Don't," she stopped him. Then, she turned to the two girls. "... I'll handle things... I just need some more time-"
"We've given you more than enough time! Get it done or get mirked!" the olive skinned girl scolded. "You've got three days. Let's book it."
The girls turned around and walked out of the guild. Then, Nico glanced at Melissa, who released an exasperated sigh and smiled softly.
"Who are they?"
"... My superiors..."