Chương 4: First Quest
Still, in shock of the data in front of him, Fotas mind was in haywires with all kind of ideas.
'Just by having 20% in cold and ice resistances makes this Winterhorn the best place for me to level up. If any monsters here also deals with ice damage, I'll be able to run around without any problem. Man, I'm tempted to build a full defensive character, but for the competition, it would fall off. This [Foodie] skill though is amazing. If I try delicacy's of monsters from around here, then I can find out their weak points beforehand. Knowing the monster's weakness is like winning half the war before it even started.'
As Fotas was still contemplating on his skills, the mayor was looking at him as if he went mad. Seeing Fotas mumbling to himself, the mayor realized his mistake and slapped himself on the head.
"You must be famished for traveling all this way without eating anything. I'm sorry for keeping you at the gate. Come in, come in."
Awakening from his thought process, Fotas realized that he was still standing outside making the mayor wait. Seeing the look of concern and care from the mayor's eyes, a thought struck him.
'A.I. is advanced! They don't wait for you to finish whatever you're doing. They have their thoughts and actions. There are no repetitive lines for quest or greetings. Seeing that I was stuck in my thoughts, the mayor must have thought I was hungry, so he invited me in. Thankfully I have a friendly Favorability with him. If this were another NPC, they would've thought I was crazy and dashed away.'
Chasing after the mayor into the town Fotas started to realize how big the place town was. Buildings stood side by side each other spanning across the snow. People in big overcoats walked briskly around the town. A picture of a peaceful and cheerful town was cemented in Fotas's eyes. Shop keepers were shouting at the top of their lungs about their freshest products. The sound of a hammer hitting an anvil rang to the left of Fotas. To his right, the smell of new bakery floated out. Spinning around in a circle, Fotas never felt so small before. Even with Eureka Island being able to house over 100,000 people at a time, Fotas has never seen a sight of cheery peacefulness like this. Everyone seemed to belong in a complete picture of perfect serenity.
"DAAAAAADDDDD!" The sound of a squeaky child slowly became louder as it headed over to Fotas's direction.
Turning to his left Fotas noticed a little girl around the age of 7 running to him. The little girl took a short pause, squatted down, and then proceeded to jump at the mayor.
"Hohoho why are you here Abby, wheres your mom?"
"She's at the house waiting for you to come home. She made rabbit soup today!" Abby shouted back with more enthusiasm than Fotas thought her body could handle.
"Alright, I'll be on my way home. Tell your mother to prepare an extra portion for a guest."
"Eh?" Fotas was surprised by the sudden invitation. Looking at the mayor with confusion, he wanted to make sure he was the one that was invited.
"Are you sure you want me over to your house mayor? You have been kind enough to take me in. I don't want to have to impose on you."
"Nonsense, you won't be imposing on anybody. Please come, I insist. I know you must be famished after traveling to our humble town. We haven't had a visitor in 10 years!" The mayor responded in a caring and playful tone.
Reeling back in shock of what he just heard, Fotas thought about the information that he just heard.
'Did he say there hasn't been a person outside of the town to come here in the last ten years? I smell a quest coming out of this.'
With stars in his eyes, Fotas quickly followed the mayor back to his home. Reaching the house in the center of the town, Fotas realizes that it was bigger than most of the buildings near it. It has an elegant, but also primal feel to it. In front of the doors of the house were the same penguin totems that he saw in front of the outside gate. Ice decorations of snowflakes and snowmen surrounded the house. It was as though a snow wonderland passed though this house and left behind some gifts.
Walking through the door, the first thing that hit him was the warmth of the house. A fire sat 10 feet away from him in the fireplace. Dark brown wool sprawled all over. It covered every single inch of the floor. The aroma of meat and bread slowly filled up Fotas's nose. Looking around all he could see was a big comfy home.
"Stop standing by the door come in. My wife makes delicious rabbit soup, and your gonna love it."
Walking more in-depth into the house, the aroma of the food got stronger — the sound of rumbling filled the room. Holding his stomach, Fotas blushed and let out an embarrassed laugh.
Abby and Darrell looked at Fotas and then also burst out laughing too. A third laugh soon joined them. Walking out from the kitchen, a muscular woman in her mid-thirties carried out a pot of steaming soup. She had dark hair and delicate eyes, other then that nothing else about her was fragile. She was built like a Fortress. Her log-like legs stomped across the floor. Her arms were also impressive, holding the giant pot of steaming soup like it was child's play. Plopping the pot down on the thick wooden table, a thump reverberated throughout the table. Still laughing, she whipped away the single tear on her eye.
"HAHAHA you must be a starving boy, I haven't heard a rumble like that since my brother. Eat with us, and it tastes better when eaten with other people. The name is Mary by the way, not that you can hear me through that rumble haha."
Quickly lining up for bowls, the three other people started salivating at the smell of the soup. After receiving the soup, Fotas set his bowl down and started slurping. The full, rich flavor of the broth flowed though his throat with every spoonful. The rabbit was tender to the touch, melting like butter when it reached his mouth. With every spoonful, he took the warmer his body to become; it was as though he was receiving a body massage while eating this.
[You have consumed Icicle Rabbit Soup for the first time +2 CON for 20 minutes]
[Foodie skill has been activated]
[Now when you see an Icicle Rabbit you will know their health, skill, and a weak point when you look at them]
A series of dings rang out from Fotas's interface. Panels popped up explaining the basic anatomy of the Icicle Rabbit. A board for different ingredients for the soup also popped up, but the recipe was not included.
'This skill is pretty useful after all, next time I see an Icicle Rabbit, I'll be able to see its weak point. I also got stats from the amazing soup. Maybe I should get a chef class as a secondary or primary class.'
As Fotas was thinking about the potential of his skill and what his future has in store for him, Mary was staring at him. From across from him, Mary looked at him with a happy and sad expression at the same time. After a while, she sighed and looked away mournfully. Noticing her reaction, Fotas was perplexed.
"Is everything ok, Mary? You look sad, did I do something wrong?" Fotas spoke with a bit of rush in his tone.
"Ah, don't mind me, you just reminded me of my little brother. I haven't seen him in 10 years." After saying that Mary sighed once more.
"If I'm sorry for sounding blunt, but what happened to him?"
"Nothing, nothing happened to him. The problem is what happened to us. One day a snowstorm suddenly appeared and created a barrier that separated us from the outer world. You don't see it now, but that was because you were closer to the town. Just over the two mountains, a snowstorm barrier keeps us out."
A gloomy silence breaks out over the room. All 3 of the Winterhorn's heads looked down at there soup and started to swirl it. Abby, the little girl, began to sniffle in her chair and kept herself from making another sound. Seeing her daughter like this, Mary pulled her over into a hug and sat quietly with her.
Then suddenly Darrell stood up and slammed on the table with a hopeful expression on his face.
"Wait how did you get here, you must have been able to cross through the storm! This means that there is a way to go back out towards the outside!"
All three heads turned to look at Fotas with a glimmer of hope in their eyes. The desperation and need to leave poured out from their eyes. Clutching on to each other, they pleaded at Fotas with their eyes. Looking at the three people staring at him Fotas was a lost for words. Fumbling with his words, he tried to make himself clear without ruining their hopes.
"I-I don't know how I got here. Really. When I woke up, I was in front of Winterhorn's gate. I don't know how to leave the snowstorm barrier."
As if hearing a crack, Fotas noticed all three people stared at him with a sad expression. Abby couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying. Mary hugged her tighter and started to calm her down. Darrell looked at the table in front of him with dismay. Steeling his resolve, Darrell's eyes hardened and lifted his face upwards to match Fotas's eyes.
"Fotas, I am not imposing this task on you, for the path will be inexplicably long and hard many people from our town, as promising as you have set out before you to find the outside. The few that have returned have all failed. But I beg of you, as the only person to have passed the snowstorm barrier, please liberate us."
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[NEW QUEST]
Mayor Darrell and his people have been stuck at Winterhorn for ten years now. They are asking you to liberate them from the snowstorm barrier.
[Success]: Find a way to break the people out of the snowstorm barrier
[Failure]: You do not liberate everyone out of Winterhorn
[Rewards]: Favorability with Darrell +10,000, Reputation with Winterhorn +10,000, Reputation with Kingdom of Tural +50, EXP 10,000, ???, ???.
[Penalty]: You are forever stuck in Winterhorn and cannot leave.
[Time for completion]: 6 months
[Accept]: <Yes> <No>
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Looking at the first quest he ever received, Fotas was overwhelmed. Various thoughts rushed in and out of his brain.
'The main quest right off the bat, this is insane! What is with all these Reputation points, 10,000?, that is enough points to make me reverend as God. What is this Kingdom of Tural? Is this the kingdom Winterhorn is associated with? What's with the question marks in the rewards, is it a random reward? How much exp does 10,000 get me too? Level 10, 15, maybe 20? The penalty means that I'm stuck in Winterhorn forever, does that mean I would have to wait to be rescued or remake my account. Six months is about the same time when I get out of the gaming capsule, so this shouldn't be a coincidence. Also, why is the <No> button greyed out? Does this mean I have to accept it?'
Questions zoomed around Fotas's head like a speeding bullet. One thought after another popped up in his mind.
"Um, are you ok Fotas? If the request is too hard, we can pretend that I never asked and you can stay in this town for as long as you want." Darrell reaches out to Fotas with concern in his voice.
'Oh, yea I'm still in their house. I can't decline this mission, not that I had a choice. Let's try to milk more benefits out of this.' Fotas thought quietly in his head.
As much as Fotas was a kind person, he was also a gamer. He remembered his mission to be the top 100, so he can win the competition. Getting extra benefits from the task was only to ensure him a stabler lead.
"No. No. I would love to be able to help you with the snowstorm barrier problem. I as much as you want to return towards the outside world. It's just that I lost all of my equipment. I'm also a fledgling at hunting and gathering. I don't know if I would be able to survive outside without any skills to help me."
Looking up and down at Fotas, Darrell finally realized his mistake. Slapping himself in the forehead, he burst out laughing.
"Ah, I was so worked up I forgot to check for your level. I see that you're level 1 with no skills or classes. I would hand you down a class right now, but you have to be level 10 to receive a class. How about this, let my daughter take you around to the Healers Hut to receive a blessing for your journey. The healer will also tell you about our history with the storm. Then go with Abby to the Hunter's Building to learn some skills and survival tips. Come back to me when you reach level 5, and I will teach you something amazing!"
_____________________________________________
[Quest Updated]
Visit Healer hut in the center of the Winterhorn and listen to her tale of the history of Winterhorn and the storm. While talking to here ask for the Blessing of Winterhorn.
_____________________________________________
Turning around, Darrell started walking towards a chest next to the fireplace. Pulling out a rounded wooden shield, a short spear, and an old leather bag, he handed it to Fotas.
"Here, these are some of my older gear, but for your current level, it is perfect. Now go out there and do us proud, don't worry about the time. We have waited for ten years what's a little more going to do."
With a smile, he pushed Abby and Fotas out of the door and closed it behind them. Hearing notifications dings, Fotas looks down at the two weapons and bag in his hand.
[You acquired Short Spear, Wooden Round Shield, and Old Leather Bag]
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[Name]: Short Spear
[Damage]: <5-10>
[Durability]: <12/15>
[Description]: A spear used by Berserker Darrell
_____________________________________________
[Name]: Wooden Round Shield
[Defense]: <5>
[Durability]: <23/25>
[Description]: A shield used by Berserker Darrell
_____________________________________________
[Name]: Old Leather Bag
[Inventory]: <10 slots>
[Durability]: <50/50>
[Description]: A bag to put stuff in, has 10 slots. The weight of the bag is dependent on user's strength and item inside the bag.
_____________________________________________
After confirming everything was in place, Fotas asked Abby to walk him towards the Healer's Hut. Walking side by side with Abby, Fotas quickly remembered to check on something that he forgot about earlier.
'Interface, Ranking'
Quickly typing his IGN into the search bar, a result popped up.
'Dam, I need to pick up my pace now, to much time has been wasted.'
[Ranking User <Fotas> : 1000]
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