The grassy plains were replaced by a bustling small town. Cinder glanced around in slight surprise. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but a medieval town was pretty close to it. It was a game based on an ancient myth after all.
Wooden buildings and cobbled streets. The only things that stood out were the occasional people with crazy and colorful hairstyles. Some of them also had crazy clothes while others had the same beginner clothes he had.
Cinder was surprised people would choose to look like that when the sense of reality was so high. Or did they look like that in reality as well?
'Wait, that only affected Naturalists, right?'
Cinder set the appearances of others aside for a moment as he focused on what he had to do. He wasn't in Sisyphus Online to gawk at others. He had started the game with a purpose. He was supposed to mine Tokens.
'Where do I start?'
Cinder looked around in confusion.
Getting into a game he knew absolutely nothing about put him at a severe disadvantage. He knew what he was supposed to do, but he didn't know where to look for Tokens, nor how to 'mine' them. He didn't even know what Tokens looked like.
With a sigh, Cinder started looking for someone to ask, but someone else approached him first.
"Excuse me, you're a newbie, right?"
Cinder looked at the ordinary-looking guy who had just asked him that question.
"No," he answered with a blank face.
"Riiight…Anyway. I'm a newbie helper. With how big SO is, it's only natural for people who are a little clueless about how it works start playing it. I wouldn't call myself a veteran, but only because I'm humble." The man reached out for a handshake with Cinder.
"I'm Kode."
Cinder skeptically raised an eyebrow and slowly shook his head.
"...Cinder."
"As I said, I help newbies, so, I'd be happy to help you if you want."
"For free…?" Cinder was full of doubts.
"Of course not." Kode smiled.
"You see, all newbies, regardless of class, start with five Tokens. For one, I'll answer any question you might have. For two, I'll help you reach level three. For three, I'll help you reach level five and make sure you get at least one half-decent piece of equipment."
"...Are Tokens that hard to get? It seems you will be putting in a lot of work for little pay?"
Kode shrugged and held up one finger.
Cinder crossed his arms.
"I don't need help leveling up, and I can just log out and ask the internet any questions I might have." Since he was a Naturalist, he wasn't even sure if he did level up. And he should have done some research before he entered the game.
But he was curious. Did he get those five Tokens even if he wasn't a Traveler? Where were they?
Kode gave a resigned look.
"If it was that easy, I wouldn't be offering my services. There are some things you can only learn by having another person guide you. But when you say you don't need my help leveling up…Do you practice martial arts or something? You don't look customized, and if you aren't, I must say you're pretty built."
Cinder narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if Kode was talkative or analyzing him and trying to figure him out. He decided to take a gamble. More than anything, if Kode was telling the truth, it would be a lot quicker to get his help than try and figure things out on his own.
"I'm a Naturalist." He figured the rest would be obvious just from saying that much. He didn't have a class, nor did he have levels. He also wasn't customized, so this was his natural look. Kode got all the answers he wanted.
"...I see. That means you don't have a system or anything, right? What's that like?" Kode asked excitedly.
'Yep. Chatty.' Cinder pursed his lips. He shrugged.
"I don't know. I haven't played with a system, so I don't know how it compares. Now, can I start asking you for Tokens since you keep asking me questions? Or is that not how it works?"
Kode froze for a moment.
"Ahem. Right. Business. I'll answer three of your questions, Newbie. On the house."
"How much is a Token worth? And where do I find them? I'll save the third for now."
"...Are you a Token miner?" Kode asked after a moment.
"..." Cinder answered with a blank stare.
Kode sighed.
"Why did a token miner decide to become a token miner without doing even the bare minimum research?"
"I needed the money. Now, are you going to answer? Or are you a scammer?"
Kode sighed again.
"Fine. One Token is worth half a dollar maybe for a Naturalist. You can find them anywhere. They just appear usually. It's just very unlikely to find them in cities. They can come as drops when you kill the monsters on the Mountain. You can also get them by selling equipment and materials to the NPCs or on the Market."
"Half a dollar…" Cinder repeated absent-mindedly.
If he made five hundred Tokens in a day as Brett had done once, that meant two-hundred-and-fifty dollars. That was a good amount of money for a day's work.
Cinder's lips curved into a grin without him noticing. Kode gave him a weird look.
"Anything else you want to know?"
Cinder snapped out of his reverie. His daydreams about how many potatoes he could buy with 250 dollars could wait. He hesitated.
He naturally wanted to know the best way to earn Tokens, but would Kode answer that? Only one way to find out.
"What's the best way to earn or mine Tokens?"
Kode looked at him for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Honestly? Killing monsters or crafting equipment. Good weapons sell like crazy, especially higher up. Down here…I'm not so sure. But if you're in a rush for money and have experience hunting or camping outside, I would say killing monsters."
Cinder nodded. Killing monsters. That sounded like a game. He could probably do that.
Kode saw Cinder's relaxed attitude. He wanted to let Cinder experience it for himself, but his kind nature wouldn't let him stay quiet.
"Just a reminder, Newbie. There's a reason it's called Token mining and not hunting."
"Sure, sure. Now, how do I kill monsters? Do I need a weapon?"