I remember a quote from another dimension. ‘What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.’
The quote isn’t even connected to my current situation. I just suddenly thought of it because well, I like thinking about stuff that isn’t even related to me.
Should I make a run for it after I finish eating? That sounds… tempting. No. I can’t have myself go crazy because of food.
Let’s just get out of here before they serve all of those. Ah, those foods looked really tasty. What the heck is the player doing, not getting me out of this place? Do they intend to torture me?
Ping!
Oh? What is this glowing thing in front of me? A status board?
╔═══════STATUS════════╗
Name: Leonora Stryker
Gender: Female
Job: None
Title: None
Level: 1
HP: 2105/9999999
Mana: 1087/9999999
Money: 2 Reals
╚═════════════════════╝
It really is a status board!
Hmmm… Reals must be the currency in this game. Anyway, seeing that I only have 2 reals doesn’t help my current predicament at all. Who knows how much those food costs.
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
What’s all that noise?
Ping! Ping!
Huh? Is the status board… glitching?
OH! Is this one of those occurrence? Hmm. The board is stabilizing, let’s see what we have here.
╔═══════STATUS════════╗
Name: Leonora Stryker
Gender: Female
Job: Novice Adventurer
Title: Old Money
Level: 10
HP: 102790/99999999
Mana: 15784/99999999
Money: 1000002 Reals
╚═════════════════════╝
*Cough* *Cough*
I kinda have an idea what’s going on but to see those upgraded numbers feels amazing at some point. Looks like we got a generous player here!
Let’s see… My HP and Mana increased and seeing that Old Money title, the player must’ve purchased a VIP pass. The level also jumped from 1 to 10.
Am I inside a pay-to-win game? Doesn’t matter. Not like I am the one spending the real money here. Heh~
“Thank you for waiting, customer! Here’s the food you ordered!”
Just in time. But wait, isn’t it usually like pay before you get the items? It’s like that in games, right? Oh well~ I’ll think about that later. I can’t afford to get distracted when I have salivating foods infront of me.
“Thank you! I shall enjoy this food!”
I gobbled all of the food without questions and drank the craft beer beside it.
Puah! That was the best!
I slammed the beer mug on the table and burped. Excuse this old, flaky, and raggedy roaming soul acting without manners. Not really excusing myself.
I looked at the polished plate on the table and my body stood up and walked to the counter to pay the bill.
“How much was it?”
The huge man smiled at me and raised his hand.
“That was 100 reals, adventurer.”
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Ping!
I checked the status board again and saw that the reals have been deducted. Looks like it’s been paid.
Well then, where do I go now, dear generous player of mine?
As if on cue, a magical circle appeared below my feet and without further notice, I was teleported to a new place.
I looked around and saw some tall buildings and a huge statue in the center so I presume this is the main lobby of the game. What was that place earlier then? For background purposes? To build up the story?
I bet you need to grind a lot before coming here. VIP players sure have it easy.
I walked to the statue and stopped only when it’s an arm’s reach from me. I clasped my hands and bowed in respect. The player probably motioned me to do that. After staring at the statue for no reason, my body moved and I found myself standing in front of what looked like a guild. I entered the building and a woman who is slightly taller than me approached me.
“Welcome! Are you perhaps the novice adventurer that was sent as an envoy by Earl Yosef?”
I have no idea. Believe me, not a single clue was presented to me before I came here.
I gave her a mischievous smile and was about to answer the way I wanted when my mouth opened and said something I have no idea what it is about but still paid attention to it.
“Yes. I am here to deliver a message from the earl himself. Is it possible for us to talk about it with a cup of coffee?”
I just drank beer, what do you mean by a cup of coffee?! The food selection of this game is questionable. I’m gonna have an upset stomach later, that much is guaranteed.
“Of course. Please follow me.”
We both stopped in front of a huge door and entered. Another woman was in the room and the woman who greeted me earlier stood beside her. I sat across the chair she was sitting in and waited until the maid has finished serving the coffee. I looked at the coffee with dread and picked it up even if I don’t want to.
“The Earl has confirmed the information the guild sent earlier. The distribution of illegal armor appeared to be common in West Gamaras. That is all the contents of his message.”
And all of the sudden, an envelope appeared in my hand and gave it to the woman.
”He sent the message along with the envelope. Any further information that you want to obtain shall be sent through Marquess Julian.”
“I see. Thank you for delivering the message safely, traveler. You can now proceed to the front table to receive your rewards.”
Oi, it’s only the beginning of the game. Isn’t it too early to be discussing about illegal stuff? No matter, this is making me curious about the storyline.
I went to the front table to get the rewards and as I suspected, it really is too early. What the heck is up with these huge amount of reals being added to my status board? 20,000 Reals? Just for saying something I don’t even know about? Or is it because the player is skipping all those other chapters by buying a VIP pass?
Don’t leave your character in the dark!
I sighed as I observe the lady smiling in front of me. A button with three choices appeared above her head.
╔════════════╗
TALK
WHO ARE YOU?
NOTHING
╚════════════╝
She began talking so I presume the player pressed “Talk”. I listened to her blabber and according to her, this place is called “ASWAIN” and I am inside the “Odyssey Guild”. A minute passed by when she finally stopped talking. After a few seconds, she suddenly introduced herself to me.
“Hi there! I am Elliana and I am the current guild librarian. If you are interested in joining-”
“Okay! To confirm your registration, please enter your name!”
“Congratulations, Miss Leonora Stryker! You have successfully register in the guild! Please follow Mr. Trevor as he is the one who is tasked to show you around the building!”
“Waste no time and follow me around, young traveler.”
Huh? What just happened?
“This is the guild-”
“Every guild is required to have this feature. This will be-”
“You are not yet allowed to-”
… I can feel it. My veins slowly popping in my head.
LET HIM FINISH TALKING! STOP SKIPPING THE DIALOGUES! I WANNA KNOW!
Dumbfounded, I sighed as I watch the maids preparing something in front of me. I swear I was just inside the guild earlier. What am I doing inside this huge mansion? Did the player also purchase this or is it a function that is automatically unlocked after completing quests that I have no idea what?
“Madame Leonora, I will guide you to the master’s bedroom.”
I followed her without any words. She stopped walking and opened the huge door in front.
“This will be your room from now on, Madame. Please pull the bell beside your bed if you need our help. I’ll excuse myself then as there are many things that are needed to be done.”
I sat on the bed, thinking about what just happened.
Just… how many chapters did the player skipped in barely 10 minutes?!
Anyway, I’m starting to feel horrible now that I’m coming in terms with the fact I am controlled by someone else. Playable characters won’t die unless the players themselves would delete them, right? How do I make them delete this account then? Flunk every mission until they decide I am useless due to the bad luck associated with this character and make them delete the account? Do I even have the capabilities to do that? No, no… what if they won’t delete it and just abandon it instead? That would also work, I’ll be a free character exploring this world myself.
*thud*
…but what if I will have to stay forever, unable to move, on the place where they abandoned me?
AHHH?!!!!!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHH?????!!!!!!!!!
*sigh*
I’ll rest my brain for now. I think I need that. This old, flaky soul need that.
