It didn't take me long to arrive at the nearby village, in fact, I could see it from where I logged in. however, as I walked through the village, I got a few looks from the occupants. They weren't used to getting visitors, or travellers, as this village was outside the usual trading routes. But I guessed that I should be glad that I only received a little suspicion, as when this town will be flooded with players, tensions would rise. So, I made a point of getting what I needed done, before that happened.
While I walked the streets, I tried to decide what to do first, 'In my previous life, I was quite skilled in weaponry, especially the sword. But the problem was monsters, not only can they be huge, but have thick hides or scales. So, with the limits of a human body, it can only get so strong. Well, to begin with.' I looked down at the dagger on my belt on instinct.
When you hit mid game, the monsters you had to fight started to become highly resistant to normal attacks. So, fighters had to learn to either, push their bodies beyond human limits, or develop internal magic, often called Spirit. The easiest, and most popular was Spirit, as the other way turned you into a hulking goliath of a person, which only appealed to certain people.
'It's settled then. This time around, I'll focus on magic. Though, I won't abandon my body.' I decided, trying to push the image of giant, muscly men and women out of my mind.
I soon stopped just outside of a store, which sat just off the side of main street. This particular store had a sign of a potion hanging from the wall.
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, I was hit with the smell of herbs and the distinct smell of strong alcohols, probably used for disinfecting and for brewing. A few shelves of vials and dried herbs littered the walls that ran towards the counter in the back. Though, most of the things on display didn't look to be worth much and only placed there as to fill the space.
A particularly haggard-looking man sat behind the counter. His long salt and pepper hair was tied up behind him, with strands of hair that hung here and there. He had a pair of pince-nez glasses that sat on the end of his nose, as he intently looked at a stack of notes he held in one hand.
He didn't seem to notice me when I approached the counter. Even after clearing my throat, I thought that he still didn't hear me, but he soon raised a finger, telling me to wait a moment.
"Yes?" He finally spoke, after what felt like a lifetime to my impatient mind.
"Hello, I'm looking for a beginner herbalism manual. Do you perhaps have any for sale?" I asked, hiding the slight annoyance that had built up.
While herbalism, and subsequently alchemy, were good professions to have when you're in the field. And not to mention it was also good for making money. I had another reason for my inquiring.
"I do. 50 Nar for the manual." He replied coldly.
I nearly choked on my saliva, after hearing the blatant daylight robbery. Nar are basically copper coins; silver is Lods and gold is Krown. However, most people don't use their proper names, not unless it was for official business. Or unless they wanted to fleece someone of everything they had.
"That's a bit much for a basic manual, don't you think, how about 20 Nar?" I haggled, trying not to come across as a country bumpkin. Plus, I only had 50 coppers on me, as that's the starting amount.
"Ha, nice try but I'm the only one selling such a thing, outside of a big town or the capital. So, the price stays." He adamantly refused. A shit-eating grin on his face.
"Then how about a trade?" His eyebrows raised at the mention of it. As if to question what I could possibly have that is worth something. Even if he had a point, it still irked me slightly.
"I'm willing to go gather some herbs that you need for your potions. If I do, give me a discount." I proposed knowing full well that the man in front of me couldn't resist a deal, especially when it was weighted in his favour. And this deal was, considering you could sell a baker's dozen of herbs to this very man for 40 Nar. Though it was difficult to find without the necessary skill.
"...Alright. Collect me 20 Rife flowers and I'll give you a 30 Nar discount." After a once-over, he agreed.
[Quest received]
The shrewd apothecary has requested for you to gather some herbs in exchange for a discount.
[Rewards: Basic herbalism manual]
'Here it is.' In 'Realm' quests were generated depending on situations and conversations. While I was expecting a quest, I wasn't expecting the reward to be the item I wanted.
"Deal. Though, could you give me an example of the flower?" I asked with a dry smile.
The apothecary sighed and pulled out a quill and a scape of parchment and began to sketch the flower.
"Cut it at its base, don't pull it from the roots. Also, take care to not crush any of the petals." He instructed as he finished the drawing.
Taking the parchment, I gave it a once over. It was a daisy-looking flower that looked common enough. I nodded to the man and left his shop.
I had everything I needed to complete my quest and any other quests in the village won't be that profitable and boring. Unlike other games, quests were more of a guide to tell the player that there were paths they could take. Though the rewards are good, sometimes it's best to just do what you think is best as sometimes, and you might stumble into great situations.
The village was on the outskirts of the Greenhem forest. Here, usual forest critters roam, plus the added danger of wolves, bears, goblins, and a few other monsters. However, as long as you don't go too far inside you won't find any dangerous beasties. Thanks to the safety net of the beginning village. But that wouldn't always be the case, so it was good practice to keep the guard up.
Inside the forest, it was quiet and well-shaded. The gentle breeze blowing through the trees gave it a tranquillity that made you want to walk through it and let your mind be at peace. However, I didn't let it distract me, the little blighters I'm here for could be hiding anywhere, after all.
Ten minutes turned to thirty, then an hour. I wasn't experienced in herbalism, but I didn't expect herbs to be this hard to find. But then, as I rounded a tree, I saw it, illuminated by spears of light, as if a gift from the heavens. A large patch of Rife flowers.
Though I wasn't foolish enough to rush in without a care in the world, this is a dangerous world, after all. And the giant, seven-foot snake coiled around the tree was proof enough.
The snake was dark brown with green markings that ran the length of its giant body. It stayed perched up the tree with its yellow eyes firmly placed on the flower patch.
This snake definitely was intelligent enough to set up a trap, so there is no way it didn't sense me there. However, that just showed how intelligent it was for not trying to attack me as soon as it saw me, instead, it waited for me to approach.
For now, I backed away until I wasn't within range of the snake to sense me, I needed those flowers, but I wasn't suicidal. I knew what that snake was, it was called an acid viper since its venom can turn the blood into something similar to acid. If bitten, it'll feel like your blood is burning and will slowly begin to eat away your body from underneath your flesh.
As I was crouched under a tree, trying my best to come up with a strategy, I heard the sounds of chittering and squabbling coming from a few bushes over. So, I decided to creep my way over towards the sounds.
The noises belonged to a group of small humanoid creatures. They were none other than the typical fantasy creature that appears in most fantasy media, goblins. Like most depictions, they were hideous. These ones had greeny-brown skin, no hair, orange goat-like eyes and long floppy ears that were almost double the width of their heads. Each of them wore scrap hide rags and wielded rusty, or makeshift weapons.
There were only three of them bickering amongst themselves, probably from some missed prey. But none of that was important, what was important, however, was how I was going to feed them to old mister snake to make him all fat and sleepy.
'Now, let's play the part of matchmaker.' I snickered to myself as I climbed the tree I was crouched at.
Luckily for me, the goblins had stopped to water the local plants, so I had plenty of time to get onto a sizable branch out of sight. At first, I threw a stone a little way past them, but even though for their large ears, they couldn't hear Jack.
On my second throw, I timed it perfectly as the streams stopped and in between the chatter. And finally, they heard the stone hitting the brush.
With an exclamation, the three goblins jumped up and stalked their way over to the noise, completely failing to be quiet, but seeing as there wasn't anything to spot them, I gave them a passing grade.
The goblins had entered the small clearing that the snake had hidden in and seemed to be confused not to find anything but another pebble to lead them on was all it took. Thankfully, the snake seemed to have a sense that it was only noise and not something creeping up to it. That, or the tasty-looking prey that seemed to be wandering ever near, was far too distracting.
'Gah, stupid noise. Sound like prey, but no prey, only stupid plants.' I mocked the goblin as I watched them search the area.
Two of the three started to bicker again, as the other disappeared behind the snake tree, probably finishing its business from earlier. However, something tells me that it won't be able to finish it this time either if the moving snake is anything to go by.
Minutes later, the two squabbling goblins stopped their argument and started to call out, properly to the third in their party. But there was no reply. The two weren't suspicious at all, as if the third had a habit of disappearing. That, or goblins were just that dense.
Each of the goblins took a different side of the tree and began to make their way around. However, the one on the right didn't get the chance as a giant fanged maw exploded from the brush. Before even a note of surprise left the goblin's mouth, half of its body had been engulfed by the snake.
The other goblin, on the other hand, witnessed the whole ordeal. Now, goblins weren't known for their bravery, in fact, they would often flee leaving their allies to die. And this goblin didn't disappoint, as it turned tail and fled, even dropping its makeshift club.
As it fled under my perch, I took a leaf out of that snake's book and pounced. Timing it well enough, I jumped onto the goblin as it ran underneath me. I timed it perfectly and landed on its back with my full weight pressing down on it and the goblin's knees buckled and collapsed to the ground with a thud. Before it could make any noise, I ran my dagger across its throat and painted the ground crimson.
*Ping*
A familiar sound rang in my head, as the last of the goblin's life bled out. Before checking out the notification, I scanned my surroundings for any onlookers, while cleaning my dagger on the goblin's rags.
The coast was clear.
[Stealth: Level 1 *New*]
Helps to obscure the user from detection. Physical attacks made while undetected will result in a critical hit.
I didn't expect to get a skill so easily. Though it was only a basic skill. but I was well-versed in skulking around, so, it would have been stranger to not receive this skill.
Putting my new skill through the wringer, I snuck over to a nearby bush to see how the snake was doing. And what I saw was a nice plump snake with no traces of its prey.
Waiting for a few minutes, with the help of stealth, the snake slivered back up the tree and once again coiled around the branch. This time though, it fell into a food coma.
This wasn't an opportunity I wasn't going to miss out on. Careful to not make any sound, I crept out of the brush I was hiding in and slowly inched towards the flower patch. As I neared, I pulled free my dagger as my eyes darted from the sleeping snake and my quest target.
Careful to not step on any sticks or crunchy grass, I arrived at the flowers. Slowly kneeling, I gently gripped the stem of one of the flowers and drew my dagger along the base of the plant.
[Rife flowers]
The flower is used in Alchemy.
The item description didn't offer any hints, other than its name. That was simply because I didn't have the knowledge needed. Once I get my hands on that manual, hopefully, that will change.
Thankfully the snake didn't seem to stir, but that didn't mean I would dawdle so I quickly collected 20 stems and retreated slowly back the way I came.
I breathed a heavy sigh as I made it to a safe distance and followed a familiar path back to the village, careful to avoid any beasties as it wasn't time to grind yet. That came after I stole all of the hidden treasures first.