A familiar sight greeted Kashi as he rode into the grasslands around the town called Kerta. Several adventurers — mostly humans — were hunting the local wildlife, which consisted mainly of rabbits and ferrets. The sight of grown men in armor chasing down defenseless rabbits never failed to amuse.
Kashi and Leon drew curious glances from the mob. It was far too early in the game for Summoned to have acquired the funds to buy a horse, yet Kashi was waltzing into town on the coveted mount. Furthermore, Kashi's identity as a daeben was even more eye-catching. Everyone knew the daebens lost the war, and as a consequence, their favorability among the Residents was as low as it could get. Choosing a daeben was akin to willfully placing giant shackles on your feet.
No one should have been that crazy.
"Be careful." Leon noticed the looks the adventurers were giving Kashi and warned him. "Your kind is not welcome here."
"Pardon?" Kashi rose an eyebrow in question.
"Since the war, dark elves have been persecuted by the rest of the continent. I suggest you find yourself a disguise once you've settled in."
"The war..." Kashi looked to the sky, remembering the battle that had ended far too quickly. "How long has it been since then?"
"Eleven years."
"Eleven what!?" In his surprise, Kashi sharply pulled on the reins, causing his ride to buck wildly. The daeben lost his balance and was thrown clean off the horse. He fell on the ground, then quickly rolled out of the way as the horse galloped past him.
"You okay?" Leon called as he placated his own horse.
"Ah, yes. I am unharmed. Pardon my outburst." Kashi nimbly got to his feet and dusted himself off.
Leon dismounted and pulled his horse by its reins as he walked over to the daeben. "I told you to quit with the formal speech. What was so shocking?"
"It's nothing," Kashi said. Since Leon continually insisted, he decided to use informal speech. "I was just a bit surprised, is all." Now that Kashi thought about it, it was quite common for games to start during an event, and then fast-forward several years into the future. Once the initial shock was over, he calmly remembered that fact.
"If you say so."
Kashi's horse was long gone, so Leon, in a show of respect, walked alongside the daeben with his horse in tow as the approached Kerta's gates. Two guards in bright green glass armor stood on both sides holding large spears. They gave Kashi nasty, hate-filled glares as he passed but did not engage.
"This is no town," Kashi muttered under his breath as he crossed the city gates. The city was huge! The roads were paved with beautiful green stones with a majestic shine that allowed pedestrians to view their own reflections on the ground. Each building had its own unique charm and beauty. It was evident the city had been built by lovers of art.
The city bustled with life as Summoned and Residents ran around completing quests and forming parties for hunting, while Residents went about their daily lives. Kashi watched all this unfold around him as he followed Leon to an inn in a lesser developed part of the city. The duo could not afford the price of the higher-class inns.
Leon generously paid for the both of them with money he had pilfered off the guards back at the prison.
"See you in a few." Leon waved as he entered his room.
Kashi entered his and went straight to the bathroom. The room contained a large basin filled with freshly poured water. Steam rose from the tub, revealing it was recently heated. Kashi nodded, impressed by the service.
"Equipment," Kashi said. The keyword activated and a window containing all his currently equipped items appeared, and he unequipped everything. Naked, he soaked himself in the bath's hot water. The slightly hot water refreshed him, and he felt a vast load lift off his shoulders.
Kashi slightly frowned as he received the prompts. Typically, one would be happy to see the level up prompt, but Kashi was actually slightly pissed off. Damn game. When did he ever agree to a quest? Kashi's anger slowly abated as he knew that, though the level-up prompt had thrown a wrench in his plans, all wasn't lost yet. He just had to be careful not to carelessly level up from here on out.
Kashi finally allowed himself to relax. He brought up the Status Window and inspected his stats.
It was a pretty straightforward RPG setup. Health was the amount of damage he could endure before he died. Mana was the energy used to cast spells and special skills. Strength affected what weapons he could wield and the damage he dealt. Agility governed his overall speed, while Dexterity impacted his hand speed and accuracy.
Wisdom and Intellect helped increase the effect of spells. High Luck meant higher chances of getting critical hits and obtaining rare items. Stealth was used to reduce chances of detection by others, while Instinct, its natural counter, increased the chance of spotting something unusual in the surroundings or sensing danger.
Charisma and Charm both affected how Residents in the world viewed and reacted to a Summoned. Charisma was useful in galvanizing troops, affecting morale, and convincing others to do something. Charm was more helpful in making others have a lapse in judgment, temporarily going against what they believed in to do what you wanted instead. There were any number of applications for both, but typically, leader-like players had high charisma, while Merchants and other sneaky types had high Charm to hoodwink Residents and other Summoned.
Leadership affected morale and determined the number of party members a person could lead. It did not matter much in solo-play, but it played a significant role in large-scale battles. Finally, Fighting Spirit was a stat that boosted attacks, but could only be trained through fighting monsters with levels significantly higher than the Summoned.
Kashi had ten points to distribute, but he decided to hold off on picking anything just yet. He continued to browse through the menu, familiarizing himself with the various commands, until someone knocked on his door. Kashi got out of the bath and reequipped the tattered shirt and trousers he'd been wearing since the prison. He made sure everything was in place, then walked over to the door and opened it.
Kashi froze at the handsome man who greeted him. "Who are you?"
"O-oi, that's mean," Leon cried, chuckling at Kashi's reaction. The scruffy man from the cell was replaced by a handsome devil. His beard had been shaved off completely leaving only a trimmed triangular goatee on his chin. His shaggy hair had been cut and treated, so it fell around his head in an untidy-yet-cool kind of way. With nothing obstructing his face, Leon's brown eyes seemed to leap out shouting, "I'm cute! I know I'm cute!" Leon had also traded his jumpsuit for a half decent piece of leather armor.
Kashi cleared his throat as he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. The room had been rented for the day, though he most likely would not be coming back if things went the way he planned.
"You sure you came from the same prison I did?" Kashi joked as they left the inn. He knew it was time to part ways. This was the way of the world. Momentary meetings and partings. This would certainly not be the last time
Leon burst out laughing and held out his hand which the daeben took in a firm handshake. The older man relaxed into a smile. "It was fun, Kashi. If you ever come around Torgus in Mònòch, ask for me. We'll catch up."
"Sure. Thanks for the help." Kashi watched Leon's back until he disappeared into the crowd. There was no way to contact him anymore. Not yet, at least, because Leon was a Resident, not a Summoned, evident by the lack of a diamond floating above his head. This meant he could not 'friend' him and message him.
With his partner no longer visible, Kashi took his time and toured the city.
As ever, the moments when a game was first released was the most crowded. Kashi secretly thanked the producers of this game for not implementing the standard 'Villager A' quest giver system. That would have been pure hell, as thousands of Summoned would all flock to the same place trying to get the same quest.
As it was, the dynamic nature of L.N.E.'s living A.I.s ensured there were more quests than there were players available all around the city. The Summoned scattered across the city, which significantly reduced the congestion. However, the roads were still tightly packed, and Kashi could not wait for the Summoned to gain some levels and begin to venture farther into the world.
Kashi avoided entangling himself with anyone as he walked through the streets and paid attention to some major chokepoints. The Adventurers' Guild, Mage Tower, and Dojo were some of the places with the most players. Summoned and Residents acquired quests from the Adventurers' Guild. The Mage Tower, as the name suggested, allowed Summoned to quickly advance into the common Mage classes, while the different Dojos allowed Summoned to promptly push into the different Warrior classes.
Kashi shook his head as he watched many Summoned enter the buildings and come out moments later. These people only went for the advancement quests. They had no intention of actually using any of the facilities to their full potential.
Kashi's tour came to an end in front of a small building with a bow and arrow signage that lacked the charm and opulence of the other classes' buildings. The building was surprisingly nearly empty with only three Residents seated around a table. Bows of different sizes and colors hung on the walls, but there was no one to appreciate them.
"You lost, kid?" one of the Residents, a wisben, asked. He was extremely tall, standing at just over 200 centimeters. He would have looked intimidating was it not for the warm smile underneath a dark brown mop of hair.
"Kind sirs, if I am not mistaken, this is the Training Centre for Archers?" Kashi bowed politely. "I humbly request your permission to use your facilities."
The wisben raised a brow, and a mischievous glint shone in his eyes, but Kashi failed to notice it. "Around back."
"Many thanks." Kashi walked past them to the door. He opened it and entered a large training field. There were several shooting galleries lined horizontally starting from right in front of the door. The galleries were numbered from one to five. Each number had approximately ten galleries dedicated to it; this meant there were around fifty of them. The targets were bullseyes painted on a cardboard cut-out. Some were human, and others were animals depending on the difficulty.
The wall to his left held several practice bows of varying size and strength. A sign revealed they could be used for practice, but the user had to return it after use. Finally, across the room at the other end was a door with a sign placed above: Comprehensive Test. Kashi was intrigued by the contents of the test but decided he would give it a look at a later time.
Kashi walked to the first gallery, equipped his bow, and picked up an arrow from a quiver next to the shooting range. He notched it onto the bow and tried to draw the string, but just as he expected, he lacked the strength to pull it to its full length. Kashi was not discouraged by this. Instead, he was incomparably pleased as he felt the strain in his muscles from trying to force the draw.
Kashi turned his attention to the target, which, on the first level, was approximately thirty meters away. He let loose and missed the middle by a few centimeters. He did not falter and continued firing one after another, aiming to hit ten bullseyes in a row.
A frustrating half hour later, Kashi finally scored the tenth bullseye in a row.
The notification was akin to manna from heaven for the daeben. It assured Kashi that he was not wasting his time. He studied the stats that increased. Practicing at the range would raise these stats, but the bow and arrow would not improve his Agility, which was equally important.
Kashi's stomach suddenly released an angry growl while he pondered how he would increase both his Agility and keep up with practice. His vitality was at an all-time low, and if he did not eat soon, he would starve to death. It was understandable. He'd been in this world for several hours already and had not eaten anything. At much higher levels, he would be able to go weeks without needing to eat, but right now he was just a weak beginner. He still needed to eat!
After paying for the room and calculating his transportation costs, Leon had left Kashi with only thirty large copper coins, the equivalent of 150 Syros. L.N.E.'s world had one common currency called Syros. The currency was broken into six denominations: small copper (1 Syros), large copper (5 Syros), small silver (10 Syros), large silver (50 Syros), small gold (100 Syros), and finally, large gold (500 Syros).
Possibly as a result of starting from prison, Kashi had no money and was not given the obligatory bread RPGs usually gave new Summoned. He did, however, have all the weapons he looted from the armory. Kashi decided to check out how much he could get for those.
Kashi left the practice room and noticed the three Residents were still seated at the table. He paused to greet them then walked out of the training facility. The trio paid Kashi no heed, having assumed the daeben had given up.
Kashi walked to the marketplace, where he met with a raucous, jam-packed crowd. There was barely any room to breathe as Summoned and Residents alike gathered to either sell their products or buy essentials for a quest or hunt. Kashi squeezed through the crowd until he found a neglected area with very few people. This section of the market was not neglected because their products were inferior, but because they were too good for the current Summoned. The wares at this section of the market were for adventurers from level 25 and above.
However, it was precisely this type of place that Kashi needed right now. The other low-level vendors most likely lacked the funds to buy out the loot in his inventory. A group of Summoned saw the daeben enter the shop and snickered inwardly at his stupidity. They chuckled as they pictured the dismay on the daeben's face when he realized the prices of the items in the shop.
"Welcome, customer," greeted an old masonian behind the counter as Kashi walked into the building. The shopkeeper, who had his back to the daeben, said as he turned around, "What brings you—" The shopkeeper's sentence instantly cut off when he laid eyes on Kashi. The masonian's smile warped into a snarl filled with so much hatred, it stopped Kashi in his tracks. An enormous pressure descended on the daeben's shoulders and froze him in place.
However, the shopkeeper seemed to realize the error of his ways, as a second later, the pressure was gone like it had never existed.
"What can I get for you?" the clerk asked, all business-like.
Kashi recalled Leon's warning of the common people's hatred towards daebens. "Forgive my impertinence, sir. This young one did, in fact, take part in the atrocious war all those years ago. My people have wronged you, and for that, I humbly offer my apologies." He bowed before the innkeeper. Take the bait, take the bait.
This, of course, drew the attention of the Summoned who were watching the daeben from outside the shop, waiting for his miserable failure.
"Gross. Is he bowing to an NPC?"
"Oi, you can't say that. It's banned."
"Still, what kind of player bows to an A.I.?"
"Did you hear the way he was talking? Try hard much?"
Kashi paid no heed to the mocking laughter behind him. He kept his head down, hiding his twisted expression from both the adventurers and the clerk.
"You have honor, unlike most daeben." The clerk scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the commotion. "Stand straight. A man should not bow his head so easily."
"Alas, I am not a man, but an ex-convict without a country or home, in a land foreign to me." Kashi raised his head and smiled at the clerk. "Your kindness warms this one's heart."
"I don't blame you for what happened. That was eleven years ago. Much time has passed and should not be wasted on hatred."
"Wiser words were never spoken."
"Ah, I still need training if I'm still letting my emotions get the better of me. What can I get for you?"
Kashi felt the coins in his pocket and was about to draw them out when an idea flashed in his mind. 'Let's see just how flexible these Residents are.' "I would ask for a loaf of rye bread, but as I have but ten Syros to my name, I am inclined to settle for whatever you can give me." He put on his impression of a man in severe pain and rubbed his stomach with his left hand.
"Unfortunately, I cannot give you any more than three rye bread," the clerk said. Downcast, Kashi nodded solemnly, and this drew the clerk's pity. "I cannot give you any more than that, but to apologize for my earlier behavior, I will teach you something useful."
Kashi shivered but kept his eyes downcast. "I am not worthy of such kindness."
"Nonsense. Here, take this." The clerk handed him the three loaves of rye bread and leaned over the counter. Kashi took a step forward and leaned in to listen. "That pressure you felt earlier when you walked in is called bloodlust. It's a skill that channels rage and anger into a pressurizing force."
"Many thanks, kind sir. This one cannot thank you enough for your kindness." Kashi bowed again and shook the clerk's hand firmly. "Now, could you kindly appraise these items for me?" Kashi said as he emptied his inventory onto the counter.
Summoned started the game with twenty General Inventory Slots, Weapon Inventory Slots, Crafting Inventory Slots, and Herbal Inventory Slots. The General Inventory Slot could hold any item found in the world. The Weapon, Crafting and Herbal Inventory Slots, as their names implied, could only carry weapons, crafting materials, and plant materials respectively.
Although the number of slots seemed small, it was important to note that almost all items could stack, except for large weapons which always took up individual slots. Throwable daggers could stack up to ten times before a new slot was required, while arrows could be stacked up to 250 before taking up a new slot. Also, each inventory was increased by 1 every 10 levels.
Kashi had filled up both the General and Weapon Inventory Slots during his looting session. As a result, an assortment of thirty-something swords and spears flooded the counter.
The masonian clerk's expression darkened as he stared at the pile. "Good. Good. What an excellent trick. As expected of a sleazy daeben."
"I would appreciate it if you did not liken me to any common daeben," Kashi calmly rebutted. "I am unique."
"Unique indeed," the clerk cursed under his breath. Despite his obvious hate, he still did his job and appraised the weapons. "Weapons of unknown origin, bearing the mark of a garrison. It would cost me to remove traces of the original owner."
"I know," Kashi calmly stated. "What is your appraisal?"
The masonian looked up from the weapons. "The going rate for one of these is forty Syros. I'll give you eight hundred Syros for the whole lot."
"I accept," Kashi candidly replied even though he knew he was getting fleeced big time. Who told him to not only be a daeben, but also trick the shopkeeper? He should be grateful, only about half was taken off. It could have been much worse.
Per Kashi's instructions, the shopkeeper handed over six small gold coins and twenty small silver coins. Kashi bought ten extra rye bread, which cost a total of 30 Syros, and stacked them in the General Inventory Slot. He left the store, taking a bite of the bread on his way out. It was quite lovely.
Kashi's victorious exit caught the attention of the onlooking Summoned. They gaped at the daeben, stunned for words as he disappeared into the crowd. Did that make any sense? How could someone with such shabby dressing be strong enough to have obtained so many weapons?
Or could it be luck? Did he stumble upon a weapons cache? The Summoned considered this possibility, and their eyes turned red as they sought out the daeben, but unfortunately, he had disappeared into the crowd. They could only gnash their teeth and wait for the next time they encountered him to drain him of his money.
Oblivious to the commotion he had caused, Kashi stopped at a small vendor on his way back and bought ten stale bread for 10 Syros then returned to the Archery Training Centre. Kashi needed to eat about twice a day, and stale bread worked fine in filling him up even though it tasted like sand. All he needed to do was keep from starving, and he would live. Kashi convinced himself of this as he cheered himself up, even as a long week of stale bread reared its ugly head at him.
The Residents were quite surprised to see Kashi return and watched with piqued interest as he entered the training room.
Kashi walked over to the second gallery and equipped his bow. The target this time was about forty to fifty meters away. He fired the first shot, but it fell short of the goal. Kashi let out a sigh as he nocked, then shot another arrow.
It was going to be a long day.