"Hey, weapon shop old man! I brought the lunch you forgot!"
"Oh, if it isn't Zephyrus. Sorry about that, I was careless."
The first thing I did after setting my primary goal to fulfill job unlock conditions was to deliver the lunch that the weapon shop old man had forgotten.
Despite being a stern-looking old guy with a square face, the lunch box I handed him was a cute-sized one in a floral-patterned bag. Totally doesn't suit him.
Well, since the client was the old man's wife, it must be a loving wife's homemade lunch.
I'm a bit envious.
I wait expectantly for the old man's next action as he receives the lunch with a happy expression.
"Come to think of it, Zephyrus, you're 16 now, right? You're going to the academy, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm planning to leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?! That's pretty sudden... wait, I guess it is that time of year, isn't it?"
The weapon shop old man put his hand to his head, groaning as he convinced himself, then pulled out something long wrapped in cloth from under the shelf.
"In that case, here's a farewell gift. It's a sword I used back in the day, but it's still got plenty of life in it. Take it with you."
When the old man removed the cloth, a simple one-handed longsword was revealed.
Yes, the reason I started the subquest "Deliver the Forgotten Lunch" was because I wanted this sword as a reward.
I accept the sword with a beaming smile, just as I'd expected.
"Thanks, old man. This really helps. I'll use this sword to mow down monsters left and right."
"Yeah, don't mention it. But in return, advertise for my shop too!"
"Ahaha, got it. Oh right, do you have any other errands? I'm making rounds to greet everyone in the village, so I can take something along if you need."
"Oh, then could you take this to the armor shop owner? I can't leave the shop right now and it's been troubling me."
"Sure thing, leave it to me."
The weapon shop old man pulled out a small package from the shelf, which I accepted.
At the same time, an announcement flowed through my mind.
"Subquest 'Deliver the Forgotten Lunch' cleared."
"Reward: Short Sword acquired."
"Subquest 'Deliver the Package to the Armor Shop' accepted."
I leave the weapon shop inwardly smirking at having successfully accepted the subquest.
What I'm doing now is part of the greeting quest from the early stages of Dan-katsu.
In the game, it was positioned as a tutorial where you exchange greetings with villagers while traveling throughout the village, and the story progresses by clearing 3 out of 10 subquests occurring in the village.
If this is the game world, then first I need to advance the story, enroll in the academy, and obtain a job.
So right now I'm advancing subquests.
I head to the armor shop carrying the package, but the route is the same as in the game, so there's no chance of getting lost.
Man, it's so fresh seeing scenery I'd only seen on a game screen right before my eyes as reality!
While I'm being moved, I arrive at the armor shop, enter, and complete the quest.
"Armor shop old man, delivery for you!"
"Subquest 'Deliver the Package to the Armor Shop' cleared."
"Reward: Buckler acquired."
"Alright, now I've got a sword and shield. Let's move on to the next one!"
Maintaining my still-high energy, my next destination is the forest on the outskirts of the village.
Even though all the subquests occur in the village, why am I going outside the village? Because a hidden quest triggers here, I answer.
One of the most important events in progressing through Dan-katsu is the hidden event that occurs here.
Clearing the hidden event increases your job options.
In this game, Dan-katsu, there are an insane number of job types, but can you become any job you like from the start? The answer is no.
There are several unlock conditions to obtain jobs.
For example, if you "have a sword and certain level of skill," you can select the Swordsman job, and if you "have high affinity with animals," you can select the Beast Tamer job.
And these job acquisition conditions can be fulfilled by completing quests, subquests, and making certain choices.
For instance, if you complete the subquest "Sword Combat Training," you're considered to have cleared the condition "have a sword and certain level of skill."
Why such a roundabout condition? Because there are countless subquests for acquisition conditions. Just from what I remember, there were over 200 quests and choices that fulfill the Swordsman requirements.
The hidden quest I'm heading to now is one of those job acquisition conditions.
When I first played Dan-katsu, I didn't know about it since it was hidden, so I progressed without doing it and got stuck, unable to select it, which made me cry.
That's a nostalgic memory.
Since then, whenever I play from the beginning, I always make sure to complete this quest.
Being hidden, it's a delicious event quest packed with rare job conditions.
There's no way I'm missing it here.
Now I've entered the forest and come fairly deep.
Should be soon, right?
Just as I thought that, a high-pitched scream echoed from deep in the forest.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
Alright. Quest triggered!
I triumphantly run toward the scream.
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