Though there was no need to spend time with my head in the clouds when there was a whole world waiting. I left the Guildhall before crashing into someone.
I could hear a loud thud as the person fell back onto the stairs, I wasn't sure who they were but whoever they were they seemed to be running for some reason...
Dusting myself off, I approached the figure and offered them a hand.
"Are you okay? Sorry about that, I was a little lost in thought."
'Hmm, looks like a human, is she an NPC too?' I wondered.
"If that was true, then you wouldn't be here helping me out now would you?" they responded with a gentle tone, getting me a little tongue-tied for a moment before collecting my thoughts.
The hood they were wearing had been knocked off, with her brushing her braids behind her ears, revealing more of her face. With a delicate and thoughtful expression about her.
Her sapphire-coloured eyes seemed almost to shimmer beneath her striking snow-white hair as her stunning features caught him off guard.
"I... I was the one who was in the way, had I paid attention you ran into me. Sorry about that. The name is Winn, a pleasure" looking at them as they ruffled their garbs before I helped them up to shake my hand.
"Not at all, I should have been looking where I was going instead of getting drawn in by every little detail, I'm the one that should be sorry" both her and I were locked in an apology, until I was able to convince her that it was no trouble to me.
"Well, aren't you a polite stranger, quite the anomaly online. My name is Vestralia Starfall. It's nice to meet you" she answered, getting closer as she took a look at me.
Her avatar stood almost a foot shorter than my own, with an athletic build to it, while she was still well endowed with the way her open collar shirt was filled. Her hair reached past her shoulder, tied in a braid with blue ribbon that matched her basic clothing. The blue skirt tied with belts that held her armour pieces in place completed her look.
"I'm not an NPC if that's what your wondering"
"Well can you blame me, everything looks...well so real. I'm so excited to have gotten a copy of the game." She said as her curious look was replaced with a smile.
"And well it's a breath of fresh to see someone act normal when they find another female player"
"Well, it's always fun to see a new player. But if that's all I'll see you around." This was more than enough social interaction for me to last a while, so before I did anything to embarrass myself I would be on my way.
"Hang on."
A new prompt appeared.
"You have a new notification. Friend invite: Vestralia Starfall. Do you accept?"
"Wait... eh…"
"Hmm, you seem surprised. In the game, only a few days have actually passed but pretty soon we're going to start seeing stronger and stronger players crop and even some teaming up."
"But we've just met?"
"And that was enough for me to know that you're a nice person. I'm a complete stranger and you were still kind to me. I'd rather just be straightforward with someone than beat around the bush"
"It'd be fun to have a normal friend to play with, don't you think?"
"Hmm. Well, I can't argue with that."
"Great. Now accept already, and I'll see you around" Talk about a situation that would never happen in real life, actually talking to someone…but I doubted that she was an actual girl.
Still, it was interesting being able to talk to someone without tripping over myself.
"New friend added"
"Great. We can party up if you're feeling free, just send me a message alright. Well see ya, Winn" smiling as she waved me off, standing at the door aimlessly before remembering where I was headed
"Wait, did she actually accept?" aside from the other players I was partied alongside, this is actually the first person I've spoken to that wanted to see me again.
Granted it's more like she wants to speak to my character than me but that didn't shake my grin as I walked down the street to the Craft and Market District.
Being true to its name, you would be pressed to find any place in Taluria that matched this area in diversity and the uniqueness of each curio that was put on display.
Though the prices of some of them would quickly shake your interest.
Entering a weapons store with a war axe and two muskets on it, I approached the counter and rang the bell. The shopkeeper quickly raced to the front, willing to tend to the next customer of the day.
"Welcome to Axes and Arms. Where you bring the coin, and I bring loins…still need to work that. Anyways the name's Lan, now how can I help you, kid?"
Getting past the lively interaction, my request was finally given a chance.
"Can you show me your racial wares? Blueprints included" oftentimes the option to display the method of construction for many items has to be filtered for or marked else most miss it completely.
A trick I owe to Hawkwing.
The status menu appeared with many blueprints and the currently available items.
Of those, there were two items.
One a blueprint and another a Cursed Item.
Cursed Items are quite rare to find and even harder for them to drop from enemies. Providing powerful gear and even skills that carry a status effect that inflicts the user.
Seemingly a price for the power they offer, it's no wonder most would ignore it.
Perhaps my low Luck stat seemed to draw disaster and trouble. After all, why else would there be a Cursed Item in Taluria?
The gold I received from the scales that were sold was spent on them. Along with a few other items, it seemed as though the Pale Serpent's arrival was a blessing and a curse.
Axes and Arms Purchase List:
Cursed Item Blueprint: A Rank(-3 gold) Cursed Item: ?? Rank(-5 gold) Leather Armour: D Rank(-2 gold) Navy Hooded Cloak: D Rank(-100 silver) Iron Greaves and Braces: D Rank (-300 silver) Mask of the Reviled: D Rank (-50 silver) Lesser Healing points x9 (-90 silver) Lesser Mana Potions x2 (-40 silver) Lesser Stamina Potions x 3(-45 silver) Basic Repair Whetstone x 5(-50 silver)
Axes and Arms Sold List:
7 Frost scales(24 gold) 10 Snow apples(10 bronze) 1 Sheep fleece(5 bronze)
Feeling a lot better about my gear, I left the shop.
Stepping out of the store, I was surprised to see the same face as before. the beggar who had disappeared now stood by the door.
A little unnerved by seeing his dishevelled frame and wanton posture had me drawing out a few bronze pieces.
Though the money would have gone a long way to supporting me, the fact that I found some Cursed Items for my race was enough to put me in a good mood.
"Your relationship with this character has increased. You may now receive a unique interaction"
"Huh?" Looking back at the beggar smiling with a hand full of bronze, I thought that might be strange, though seeing as how the beggar keeps appearing when I least expect it, I was willing to hold off the interaction.
'I wonder what kind of item is inside. I guess I'll have to open it when I get back to the Guildhall'
Done with most of the shopping for the day, I decided to head to the Guildhall for some room and board.
One of the benefits that came with being affiliated with the Adventurers Federation is the discounts that adventurers receive by being a part of them. The discounts can differ from place to place, but the extra gold you can save from different stores does go a long way.
Before calling it a day, I decided to begin allocating the points I received from levelling up. Since the battle with the Pale Serpent, I hadn't had time to sit and make a choice.
Though my walk to and from the shop gave me some much-needed clarity with my desired goal for my character.
'The same as before only this time, I don't intend on losing to them, the Sword Kings'.
Knowing that I made a choice for my Derived Class most suited to the task:
Race: ??. Class: Sword-Wielder Level: 4. Derived Class: Swordsman Level 2 HP: 150 MP: 90 Blessing:? Vitality: 17 Strength: 22 Agility: 30 Endurance: 17 Intelligence: 12 Dexterity: 27 Wisdom: 17 Luck: 0
"Administrator's Note: Due to the effect of the player's Blessing, no new skills have been learned for the chosen classes Swordsman and Swordmaster"
"What…what kind of Blessing is that? So I don't have any skills for my class.But…"
"If the Devs were the ones to send out that message, then they must have known that this could happen. Which probably means there's no way for me to fix it. Still, what am I supposed to do if I can't get skills?"
That being said, having my worrying bothered by an alert from the Guild attendant was a much-needed distraction.
I got up before stepping out, I took a moment to go through the Cursed Items.
While I did make sure to sort by race, it would be bad if the de-buff was something outside what I expected. Opening the item detail, my eyes couldn't help but widen.
Item Description: Cursed Item(?? Rank)
-> Faustian Prism.
'Once satiated with fresh blood, the prism will open up offering one random Curse Item of a particular rank,'
Item Description: Cursed Item Blueprint(A Rank)
-> Ring of Ash and Blood
'You do not have the required skills to appraise this item.'
"Figures that the level data would be locked for a cursed item. Can't say I didn't try. I think I'll need to stock up on more—"
"Knock knock. Winn...you in there?"