As the tunnel of black passed by, Jisha found herself standing in a serene plain. On her right was a village with under twenty buildings. It was a small village - a hamlet. On her left, the plains were vast. Green grass grew as far as the eye could see. Wildflowers of various colors occasionally sprouted in sparse locations. Trees were also few and far between. As Jisha surveyed her surroundings, indescribable feelings welled up within her.
*I'm truly back...*
It was confirmation of her return that stimulated her. This was truly the Uval Hamlet, Fae Sol's original spawn location 11 long years ago.
A resolve that was previously absent was kindled within her.
*I'm going to change.*
Jisha had lived a life with little regret. She believed that decisions built one's character. You wouldn't be who you were today if it weren't for what you've done in the past. In addition to this, it was impossible to go and change the past, so Jisha figured it was useless to dwell on it. She was also privileged from birth, and she was grateful for her circumstances. These reasons were why she didn't truly have any regrets. However...
*Something went wrong.*
If her life was perfect, why did it have to come crashing down without warning? What exactly happened?
*My life was perfect except for the fact that our dynasty collapsed. Is that a joke?*
After witnessing these events, Jisha naturally felt deep regret for the first time. Due to this, she gained new resolve. She wasn't going to live idly like she had in the past - she was going to take every step with purpose. She wasn't going to let the same thing happen again.
*And to do that, I need strength.*
The path was clear. Jisha was sent back in time with vast knowledge of Synergy and the future of Etmos. All she had to do was exploit everything.
With a deep breath, Jisha stepped towards the hamlet.
---
The hamlet was sparsely populated. There were various NPCs wandering about, but the player population was little to none. Though Synergy was a long-awaited release, the player base at launch was a drop in the bucket compared to what it would become. In addition to this, hamlets were everywhere. In fact, 11 years into the procedurally generated world of Synergy, there might have even been more hamlets than players. It was due to this simple fact that Jisha only saw a few players.
She decided to open her status window to see what it looked like.
*>Status Window*
*>Name: Fae Sol*
*>Class: Ranged*
*Level: 0*
*>HP: 10*
*>Atk: 1*
*>Def: 0*
It was the body that every player character spawned with. Regardless of whether you selected melee or ranged, everyone started with this blank slate. Minimal hit points, attack and defense, as well as no skills to work with. In addition, magic didn't exist within Synergy until level 5, so stats like MP and magic attack were hidden.
Jisha decided to open her inventory.
*>Inventory*
*>Ranged Starter Pellet: 50*
The Ranged Starter Pellet was a cruel item. They were black spheres whose diameters were half of a human palm. They inflicted one point of true damage minimum upon contact with an enemy, and it disappeared immediately upon use. They couldn't be found or purchased and only appeared in a Ranged character's starter inventory. These pellets were Jisha's starting weapon. They were projectiles that could be launched by any means necessary. These seemed to be her only option in combat, but she was going to save as many as possible.
*I can't believe we start with fifty of these...*
In the future, these trash items would become extremely valuable due to the lack of access to them. In fact, the Sun Dragons, Jisha's old org in her previous life, only had a couple thousand of these in their guild inventory. The pellet's sister item was the Melee Starter Stick which appeared in a starter melee's account. Due to them being upgradeable upon first class evolution at level 1, almost no one kept the original Starter items. Even the upgraded versions would be discarded as soon as players found better weapons.
Jisha's ongoing mission would be to collect as many of these Starter items as possible so she could sell them for a high price later. It would be many years before this action would even be thought of as logical, so she had a more urgent priority at the moment. She was going to complete some secret quests, collect some hidden items, and level up as fast as possible.
An ordinary new player would spend around an hour at level 0 fumbling around in the new world. This may seem like a long time, but time passed twice as quickly in Synergy. One hour in the game was 30 minutes in real life. However, Jisha knew of a quest that could instantly raise her level by a few. With this quest in her mind, she headed towards the only restaurant in the hamlet.
---
The Lyocal Eatery was located almost in the center of the hamlet, and it was bustling for breakfast time. And "bustling" meant there were about 15 people in the place, none of which were players.
"Welcome!"
An amiable female voice called out to Jisha as she entered the building. The waitress at the front desk was a very average looking girl that one would instantly forget about, but the one Jisha was here for was indeed her.
"How many in your party?"
"Just one."
"Alright, follow me to be seated."
The waitress led Jisha to a small, empty table meant for 2 people at most.
"Would you like anything to drink?"
"Yes, please give me some Ariosha."
At this response, the waitress raised an eyebrow. Ariosha was a strange beverage and its taste was difficult to describe. In the future, some people would eventually recreate Ariosha in real life by adding honey to carbonated milk and heating it up.
"A very peculiar choice. Then. One cup of Ariosha it is."
With that, the waitress departed.
The quest Jisha was hunting for relied on this waitress. One had to pass a favorability threshold with her in order for her to mention it. Originally, this was a difficult and meaningless task. Why would you try to curry favor with a nameless waitress in a nameless hamlet? It was currently made even harder due to Fae Sol's character - there was no option to view favorability with NPCs at level 0. However, Jisha was experienced, and could easily tell what her favorability was with "small-time" NPCs like this one.
Jisha observed her surroundings. Lyocal was a small restaurant that appeared to be constructed of dark oak. It had a very home-y feel due to the small commotion emanating from the few guests in the lobby. Every chair and table appeared to be handmade, so they weren't as flawless as mass-produced furniture. However, these flaws gave the restaurant its own charm.
After a few minutes, the waitress returned with a clay cup full of what appeared to be sparkling water.
It looked like water but tasted like milk, and it was also a warm carbonated beverage which was oxymoronic in reality. These features were only possible in a virtual world.
"Here is one cup of Ariosha for you. Have you decided what to order?"
"Yes, may I have a small serving of potato crisps?"
At this request, the waitress raised an eyebrow again.
"Crisps with Ariosha for breakfast? What kind of person are you?"
"Just somebody who's looking for something."
"I see... A small serving of crisps is coming right up."
The waitress departed once again.
Although what Jisha did was extremely simple, no one would have realized this method to raise the waitress' favorability to the required threshold for the quest until a few years later. This was because Ariosha wasn't even on the menu nor was it from this region, yet it was her favorite drink. But this waitress' favorite breakfast was Ariosha and crisps. This breakfast combination was so unusual that no one could luckily stumble upon the quest.
As Jisha was idling at her table, she received a notification on her heads-up display. It was a friend request from an account by the name of Synycal.
*Syny...*
It was her best friend in her previous life whom she shared all her joys and sorrows with. However, towards the end of her life, Jisha slowly became distanced from her due to personal issues and the Slyker Dynasty's expansion. In the end, she didn't even have a chance to contact her before she was assassinated.
*This time, I won't let you go.*
Jisha accepted the friend request, and a message immediately appeared in her inbox.
*>Synycal: Jish, you've been online and you haven't added me yet? What kind of friend are you?*
*>Fae Sol: Ah! I'm so sorry! I was so excited about the game that I forgot...*
*>Synycal: Ugh, that's so like you. Don't tell me you forgot about the conversation we had so we could start at the same spawn?*
*>Fae Sol: Um.*
*>Synycal: AAAAAAAAAAA you airhead, wtf am I going to do with you? Where did you even spawn?*
As Jisha and Syny chatted over the messaging system, the waitress approached her table once more with the food. Jisha hurriedly closed the HUD and focused her attention on the waitress.
*Sorry, Syn. You're gonna have to wait a bit.*
"Here are your crisps. Enjoy."
The waitress set down the paper bag of hot crisps on the table and stood there absentmindedly. As she stood there, Jisha took a crisp, dipped it in the Ariosha, and nibbled meticulously. The taste made her nostalgic.
One reason Synergy was revolutionary was this aspect - the virtual sense of taste was refined to a high degree. In previous virtual reality games and experiences, the development of senses such as smell and taste were neglected or poorly developed. However, Synergy strove to perfect all 5 of them... and more. Though it wasn't perfect yet, it was still a huge advancement compared to current technology.
Jisha noticed that the waitress was still standing around watching her eat.
"Did you have something else for me?"
"Well... yes. What exactly did you say you were looking for?"
"Um, I'm not exactly sure, but someone from the center of the Cosmolai Continent said their friend had some belongings around here."
Hearing this, the waitress' eyes widened.
"The center of the continent? Don't tell me..."
"Ah, I don't know if it's the person you're thinking of, but he said his name was Razor. A friend of Shahar?"
"Ah..."
As Jisha spoke these bullshit lines, the waitress put a hand to her mouth as tears started forming in her eyes.
"You... really met Razor?"
"Yes."
Of course... she hadn't. However, the waitress had no way of confirming this besides asking a few questions which Jisha obviously knew the answers to. This was because Razor and Shahar were legendary NPCs on the continent. There would be no NPC or experienced player who wouldn't know their names. Jisha was beyond experienced, so she knew much more about their lore than most. And this waitress... was the adopted daughter of the late Shahar.