The character screen staring back at Jayce threatened to overwhelm his already exhausted mind. What kept him barely conscious was the empty skill slot that now appeared beside his other two. After hunting Kobold after Kobold throughout the night, the white haired girl he met shrieked in glee somewhere around four in the morning. With the tap of a button she rotated her loot window around changing it to a mode where he could see. In the center of the screen in bold letters was <<Moonlit Silver Dirk>>.
An odd sensation hit him the moment he saw the item in her inventory. He had gained enough experience to not only achieve level 5, but to push past it to 6. Each camp yielded another <<Amberthorn>> and by the end he had amassed a decent quantity of the herb. What perplexed him in the moment, however, was that he didn't care about the gains he had made. There was a deep sense of accomplishment and pride that they had accomplished what they set out to do.
They had been together hunting for over seven hours, and the moment she saw the dagger she had been searching for he saw a look on her face that only served to accentuate her features further. It was one of pure elation, that in the final hours of moonlight framed her entire body beautifully. For the first time in almost a month he had forgotten the game was life or death. It was the freest he had felt in a long time.
"I really owe you one. I had a feeling about this!" She exclaimed as they walked back into the Town of Beginnings around five in the morning.
"It was nothing." With the excitement having worn off, Jayce was just trying to make it back to the inn without falling asleep in the street. Although in a virtual world, the human brain required sleep. Those feelings of fatigue were very real and it was always dangerous if you pushed too hard. Falling asleep in the wild for instance meant creatures could come upon your body and attack you while you lie there helplessly.
"Well, I guess that's it then yeah?" Why was it Jayce kept catching subtle tones and nuances that made little sense? Did she sound disappointed or was it just the fatigue?
"Mhm, I'm glad you got what you were looking for. Congratulations." Ten words. The longest sentence he had strung together in a month. Her mouth twitched in a slight smile as she looked down at the dagger on her hip.
"Yeah, well...good night Alchemist." With a wave of her hand and once more a slight sadness in her tone she headed off in a different direction than where Jayce needed to go. He watched her go for a few seconds wondering if he should have said something further. Maybe something was troubling her? He shook his head at the thought. Even if there was it wasn't his business, they had only just met anyway. A window appeared in front of him showing that their party had been disbanded.
"Good night Jemza." He said quietly. Less than twenty minutes later he was in his room staring at the open skill slot torn between sleep and deciding on what he should add. His mind went back to the white haired girl and he found himself making a noise he hadn't made since before logging into this game. A very low volume laughter at the realization that he already knew what he wanted to choose next after the past evening he just experienced. Without any further hesitation he scrolled through the list tapping on <<Hiding>> before closing the window and falling asleep.
December 2nd 2022
Jayce rubbed his hands together and bounced his leg anxiously as he sat on a bench along one of the side streets of town. He glanced back and forth before taking a deep breath. On the bench next to him was the same book that had guided him towards the <<Amberthorn>> last night. Another portion of the book had caught his attention, but he needed more information. Now that he had the materials to continue his <<Mixing>> it was time to look towards the other pieces of his equipment.
"Nice book ya got here!" Jayce's head snapped to his left at the open space on the bench beside him. At least, it had been open just a moment ago. Now, a short figure in a brown hooded cloak sat kicking their legs back and forth holding his book. The hood turned towards him while the book rose up until both were facing him side by side. He looked between the cartoonish feline girl on the cover of the book and the curly haired face of a girl beneath the hood. A toothy grin was plastered on her face identical to the book cover. Completing the image were three black lines traced across both cheeks like whiskers.
"You're...her?" Jayce managed to say making her double over with laughter.
"Nyahaha! One in the same! Name's Argo the Rat." Her laughter and voice matched the nickname. Nasally and ending on a slightly higher pitch. She was small and thin wearing only light clothes with no armor. She almost seemed frail, but as he looked her in the eyes he could sense an intelligence and drive he could only hope to achieve.
"You wrote this entire book? A strategy guide about quests, crafting, monster spawns? The consignment merchant had it listed for free." Conversing with Argo was different than with others. He had already heard about her and the <<services>> she provided. This wasn't a social call, nor two friends meeting. It was a business meeting and although she spoke playfully there were inner working of her mind already running full speed.
"I did." She answered with another grin. She hopped off the bench and walked around behind it leaning her rear against the bench from behind him.
"The <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>> quest...how difficult is it?" He asked. It was like going through the motions with an NPC. Maybe that was why he spoke more words to her now than even Jemza last night. This was all just formality before getting to the transaction. Argo shifted her weight and brought forth exactly what he was waiting for.
"500 col and I can tell you everything you need to know." It was a sum of money that he never had before. After last night's excursion, however, he had managed almost double that amount. He opened the trade window and sent the request to Argo with the desired price attached. She accepted pocketing the coins before turning and leaning on the bench, her face near his head.
"Northwest of here is a town called Horunka. The quest can be found there. It will take you to the nearby forest where you must obtain a rare flower. The flower only grows atop a plant creature called <<Little Nepenthes>>. They are fairly common, but finding one with the flower is very difficult. Expect a long grind until one appears." Jayce nodded sullenly at her explanation.
"Is there no alternative method to completing the quest? It's called <<Secret Medicine of the Forest>>, is there anything that could be acquired through mixing?" The girl's cheeks moved slightly like an animal making the whiskers on her face wiggle.
"Perhaps, but not at this level. The only path to completion is to find the proper creature, kill it, and acquire the flower. I advise bringing a friend with."
"Thank you for your time miss Argo." He looked over his shoulder as she pushed off the bench and stood straight. She cocked her head slightly looking at him before waving a hand dismissively.
"Thank you for your patronage. Good luck Jayce." She gave a wave and bounded off, It wasn't more than a few minutes before he realized he had never introduced himself, but she still knew his name. He looked back in the direction she had ran off, hit mouth tightening. So that was Argo the Rate, Aincrad's first Information Broker. She bought and sold information of any type and took personal pride in her ability to make a profit off it.
"A friend huh?" The words came out of his mouth, but sounded hollow. He didn't have any friends he could call on. The thought of leaving town scared him enough without considering that he would need to complete a quest. These past twenty-four hours seemed to be pushing him further than he anticipated. The fact that he was even considering this dangerous adventure had to be partially because of how well last night had gone.
"I'd owe you big time!" The words flitted through his mind subconsciously. Jemza had told him that last night. Could he ask her to help? This was far more dangerous that hunting low level Kobolds at night. He certainly couldn't call her a friend. Why would she risk her own life to better him? For all the questioning he came up with, her attitude seemed to contradict all his worries.
Jayce opened the system window switching panels until he arrived on the <<Messaging>> tab. As long as they were both on the same floor and not in a dungeon he could send her a message. Since this was the only floor available and he highly doubted she would be in the dungeon that led to the boss of this floor he was confident she would receive it. A holographic keyboard materialized below his hands as he typed a quick message to her. He hovered over the <<Send>> button a bit before closing his eyes and pressing it.
He took another breath leaning back on the bench closing his eyes. A chiming noise rang in his ears almost immediately making him jump in surprise. She had already responded which made his anxiety rise as he opened the <<Messaging>> tab once more. He let out the breath he had been holding and smirked closing the window. The response had been simple and to the point. He pushed himself up and looked back towards the inn he had called home for almost a month. One foot in front of the other Jayce headed towards the Northern gate of the Town of Beginnings where a certain white haired girl would be waiting.