Stars of Gerhana

Chapter 6 : Market

I let go of her hand as I stand back up.

We've finally reached what seemed to be the market. An area no smaller than a soccer field. There was a border of stalls decorating the market. Although there was no one around us. The market was as empty as I expected.

The stalls looked like medieval stalls you'd see in fantasy comics. There were trays of different sizes, presumably to store goods for trade. Of course, they were all empty; no one was using them. Even then, they were already set up for possible trades that might take place.

Inside the border of stalls, there was a clearing—an empty plot of land, unused for unknown reasons. Curious, I took a walk around the place to see what we were dealing with. Star followed me around, probably unsettled by the utter silence of the place.

All of the stalls had the same design on them. They were all made out of dark wood. Even though this place was deserted, the market stalls still seemed to be quite intact. Tapping on the wood, I could tell that they were sturdy.

『Droudes Wood』

"Bah!!" The voice of a girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The familiar voice named the wood I had just touched. It startled me, almost putting me on the brink of slipping.

"Lucy?" Star said, "What's wrong?"

"Wh—did you not hear that?" I waved my arms around, pointing in an arbitrary direction.

"No... You just suddenly shouted like that." She seemed very confused by my response.

Weird... I thought the voice was loud and clear. I swear I heard it ringing in my head. How did you not hear that??

『You're the only one who can hear me, Hallowell』

"Ah!! There it is again!"

"I heard nothing, Lucy. Stop it! That's creeping me out, you know!"

I took a step back, astonished by her reaction. There was a voice of a girl, though robotic in nature, that I heard just then. I thought it was Star messing with me. But her reaction just then seemed genuine. I guess she seriously can't hear the voice. The voice did say only I can hear them.

...

Wait... It is a familiar voice. I've heard it before. Back on the fountain statue, it was definitely this voice that came to me. I think it had a name. Something along the lines of Celtic? Celine?... Oh... It's Cel—

『Celeste is my name』

"Yeah, I almost got it... Wait... I didn't say anything about your name! You've just read my mind!" That realization started freaking me out. How was it able to hear my thoughts? Quite accurately at that!

『I am always able to read your mind』

"AI has gone too far!"

That's a breach of privacy! How is the game able to hear our thoughts anyway? Also, I didn't ask for the AI's help. It just appeared out of nowhere. Well... I tapped on some wood, and it came up. But I didn't ask for it!

I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn't realize that Sta—Boshi was tugging at my shirt. Snapping out of it, I soon saw the expression on her face. She was pale, almost to the brink of crying. 

"Lucy... Wh—who are you talking to? Please, stop. We're the only ones here." She said, holding her tears.

Boshi had always been afraid of ghosts. I had completely forgotten that. She's always avoided empty or deserted places because of it. I thought she might've been okay with it in-game, but I think I've overestimated her. 

The tears in her eyes had told me enough. She definitely thinks there's a ghost here. I feel bad. Her eyes look beady from this close; it makes me sorry for her.

"It's fine," I comforted her while pulling her hands off my clothes. "There's an AI speaking to me right now, directly into my mind. You just can't hear it."

She let go of my clothes reluctantly. She didn't respond to my words. I couldn't tell if she was still afraid or relieved. Seemingly not wanting to disturb, Boshi kept her hands to herself. Although she stood really close to me, probably for safety reasons.

"Look, I'll tell you whenever this AI finishes, alright?" I said.

She nodded.

Now then, time to find out the quirks of this AI.

"You said I'm the only one who can hear you. Does everyone have their own AI then?" I asked the voice.

『No, you're the only one who is being assisted』

"Follow-up question: Why am I the only one?"

『At 03:16 P.M. today, you became the first person to climb The Baron』

"The Baron?"

『The statue in the middle of The Fountain of Beginnings』

"Ah... I'm the first one? Really? No one else had thought to climb that thing?"

『Yes』

『In this game, the first person to achieve a goal receives a unique prize』

『That way, players are motivated to try and discover new things』

"That just brings back the question: I'm the first one to try to climb the statue?"

『Yes』

"Well... I guess that's cool. What can you do as my personal AI?"

『Currently, the only thing I'll do is answer your questions』

『I do not know my capabilities as a personal AI』

"... I see."

I didn't know what to expect. I guess an AI can only do so much to help the player. But a mere narrator won't do me any good, so as long as I don't need your help, you should stay silent. I would appreciate it if you could avoid startling me every time you appear.

『Understood』

...

It seems like the AI has stopped responding. 

"Okay, Boshi, I'm done with the AI now," I said. "I wanna go do whatever we were doing before this AI interrupted me."

"O—okay..." she said while looking at her hand for some reason. 

I've never seen Boshi this nervous before.

Well... at school, Star was always the cheery type of girl. As the class president, she lives up to typical expectations. Social, smart(ish), cool, and kind. That's just how she is at school.

Yet, for some reason, whenever she's anywhere else, all of her weaknesses kick in. Being scared of ghosts is just the tip of the iceberg. She's afraid of the dark, she's clumsy, she's a klutz. I don't know how she has these two super differing sides to her.

However, I think non-school Star is so fun to be with. She's so interesting whenever we play online. I always think Boshi is the best Star in the universe.

Well, that's beside the point.

Currently, the Boshi beside me is toying around with her twin tails. I should probably continue our investigation. I wouldn't want her to go into a Twin Tails Frenzy in the middle of this fun.

"Come on," I said, pulling her over, "check out these crates over here!"

"Ah! Alright."

I have been eyeing the crates on the northern corner of the market for some time now. They were placed under one of the stalls, stacked into a really nice pyramid.

These crates were made of wood. About a meter long, a meter thick, a meter wide. I know because the crates actually had the size stamped onto one of the edges. The tops of these crates can be opened with our bare hands.

One by one, we took each crate on the stack and placed it on the solid ground. By the end of it, there were 7 crates ordered in a straight line. We were careful not to open any crate up; I wouldn't wanna spoil the surprise that might ensue.

"What do you think is in these?" Star said.

"I dunno. It better be useful stuff, though."

"Should we open them in order then?"

"Sure. Which side should we go from?"

Star pointed at the crate closest to me.

I couldn't wait to open these crates. What could be inside these crates? Well... considering this is an MMORPG, there's probably basic loot in there. Materials and potions and stuff. Maybe if we're lucky, armor or weapons! That would be so lucky.

Once Star finally arrived at my end of the worm, we placed our hands on the crate. With a heave and a ho, we pulled the crate open, revealing the first of 7 crates.

A blinding light flashed in our eyes.

Our excitement was over the roof. I could literally see glimmers in Star's eyes. Well, anyone would be excited over their first crate opening.

"What's inside? What's inside?" Star said excitedly.

After the blinding light settled, the real content of the crate was revealed. 

It was... disappointing to say the least.

Inside, there were a lot of leaves. It's basically a box of green. I think these are likely herbs that can be used to make potions. They're barely of any use for now. Even digging further in, there was nothing else inside.

"Well... alright..." I said, "Next box then."

But the next in line was the same. And the next. And the next.

Every single crate we opened was a disappointment. They all contained the same green plant we saw in the first crate. Boxes of green all throughout. What is this green thing even? This would be a good time for some exposition, Celeste!

『Greenest Grass: A minty plant from the human dimension』

『Players have yet to find out the use of this plant』

『It can be found in very few spots across the dimension』

"I'm sorry, did you just say, 'Players have yet to find this plant's use'?" I instinctively ask.

『Yes』

"Well, why the heck are people collecting these then?!"

『No one is』

『Your chances of meeting this plant in anyone's inventory are near 0』

".... Great."

We weren't done opening crates. The last crate was still unopened. Although, after subsequently opening 6 boxes of plants in a row, I don't think there's any suspense left for the last.

We held the top of the crate together. In a final heave-ho, we opened the lame box. The glimmer in our eyes is nonexistent. We know what's coming.

A bright flash flashed in our eyes.

...

"Is this..."

There was no green visible in the crate. This time, the contents were different. Finally.

Excited for something different, Star rummaged through the crate immediately. The crate was almost empty; there were just a couple of things inside the crate.

Star pulled out a somewhat mediocre t-shirt. There were a few stitches on it, signifying its preused state. It has a subtle off-white coloring, a slight yellow tinge specifically. It's perfectly my size; I can definitely wear it if I want to. Well... it's in better shape compared to my current clothes. I should definitely switch.

Star then rummaged back into the crate. There were stars in her eyes as she pulled out the second item. "Pants!" she said while holding the said item. Looking closely, they'd barely reach my shins if I wore them. But they're definitely better than my current one. It's brown, and it's also devoid of stitches anywhere. This pair might be relatively new. I'll definitely change into them.

Back in the box, her hand pulled out an assortment of belts. Whoever made these crates must've had too much spare clothing. There were 3 belts that she laid down on the ground. "Come on! wear them!" she said excitedly. 

"I think 3 is a bit much..."

"Just pick one, idiot."

There were 3 choices on the ground. All three belts were made of leather. The first one had words engraved onto the belt. It reads "Of Great Duti". Bad spelling... but you can barely see it from afar anyway. The big turn-off for this one was definitely the buckle. The buckle had a bunny rabbit shape. I don't even know how someone made that buckle rabbit-shaped, but I'm not enough of a softie to wear that one.

The next belt was brown in color. There were no engravings or any decorative aesthetics on the belt. It was a plain old belt.

The final belt is very eye-catching. The belt had a silver lining, which shined whenever light hit it. The buckle was also made of a gold-like material. On the buckle, the word "Shine" was engraved onto it. There's definitely a use for this belt. Likely to blind the opponent. But I don't know... it's a bit tacky.

After contemplating the choices in front of me. I decided that for now, I'll take the second belt. The plain aesthetics will probably blend in with my new clothes anyway.

Star had been emptying the crate while I was picking my choice. It turns out there were weapons in the crate.

"Lucy, look!" Star called.

I came over to see what she had uncovered.

There were weapons lying on the ground.

There was a sword made of gold. On it, engraved were the words "Unlucky". The hilt was made of leather, making a very ugly blend of colors when seen from afar. It looked barely sharp. There were parts of it chipped away, probably from past uses.

There was a mace-like weapon. It was covered with really sharp spikes that ought to hurt the foe when struck. I think the proper term for the weapon would be morningstar. Its shaft was about arm's length, maybe an inch or two thick. It looks quite worn out. Almost rusty in certain parts. But other than that, it looks usable in combat situations.

Finally, a sword and shield lay on the ground. The shield was very Viking-like. made of wood with a metal perimeter and a bulge in the middle. The sword was also Viking-like. An arm's length with a wooden leather hilt. The metal still looked quite new. These two items seem like the least worn out of the weapons.

"So, Boshi. Which one do you want?" I asked.

Boshi took a quick second to think. Immediately, she picked the sword out of the 4 weapons. "This sword looks cool!" she said, brandishing her new sword.

"Take the shield then."

"You take it. I don't want the shield."

There were no rules that indicated she had to take both. Even though the Viking items were laid down as a pair, they probably still counted as different weapons. So, heeding her advice, I took the shield. As an offensive item, I took the mace since it looked the coolest.

"Nice," I said while swinging the mace on the ground.

I took the time to change into my new clothes. Star said that we had to manually wear clothes since there was no inventory system, technically. So, I told Star to turn her back while I switched out. The starting clothes were then put inside the crate. Maybe someone could get some use out of that... who knows?

"You can look now, Star."

She viewed and inspected my new attire. 

"That... looks perfect on you!" she exclaimed.

I guess that's good then.

We placed every unused item back into the crate.

We didn't know what to do with the crates, so we just left them there for safekeeping. Since no one seemed to want to go to the market, we should be fine leaving these items here. I wouldn't mind them getting stolen, though. They're useless.

"So... what do we do now?" I asked Sta—Boshi.

"I don't know."

How long have we been playing anyway? The street puzzle and crate thing kinda took a while.

Celeste, intel!

『The current time is 05:53 P.M.』

"Whoa! We've been playing for 3 hours!" I said in surprise.

"Oh, really? Damn."

"That was the fastest 3 hours of my life!"

"Same! I barely felt it. Should we stop then? I might need to eat in a bit," Star said.

"Yeah, okay."

Star conjured an interface in front of her. I'm assuming that's her way out. She did a big wave and said goodbye.

As soon as she pressed a button, her avatar turned into cuboids. Each one stretched thin into nothing. Her departure was decorated by a bunch of shining dust and sparks. Finally, she had logged out.

My turn now.

I swiped my hands up while thinking the word "Menu" in my head. I saw it in the game screenshots; it said this was the only way to log out. A 2D screen popped up in front of me. I navigated to the log-out page, finding the log-out button.

Finally, I tapped on the button. 

Chapter 7 : Logout

The moment I opened my eyes, I felt the weight of my body pushing me down. I felt the VR game simulated my weight while playing. However, it turns out that simulated gravity and real gravity feel very different. It was surprising to know that I was actually quite heavy in real life.

It took me a few seconds to adjust to my weight. I was glued to the bed for a solid minute or so.

Once I was able to get up, I took the helmet off my head. It was a strange feeling. My hands felt like they were heavier than before. Same with my legs. Even just looking with my eyes felt somewhat different. This is definitely the result of playing too much Sleeper Tech game.

I looked at the helmet as I placed it on my shelves. I still can't believe that Star bought me a 4-grand headset. Does she think I'm that poor? I'm capable of buying expensive things, but I've never flaunted my wealth to her. But even then, just by looking at me, I think people can tell that I'm not that screwed monetarily. Why would she buy something this expensive just for a birthday gift?

Well... I guess I'll have to ask her later.

I checked my PC to see today's playtime.

2.8 hours

Since I'm a gamer by birthright, 2.8 hours isn't a lot. I've definitely spent more hours in one Minecraft session than just now. Nonetheless, 2.8 hours is still a long time for practically sleeping. I don't know how healthy this new VR headset is. It might actually eat away at my life if I'm not careful.

But for now, I'm not going to worry about all that. My fun is more important than my mental and physical health.

My stomach had been gurgling for the past few seconds. The hunger has definitely gotten to me. I need to eat right now.

Suddenly, as I took 2 steps towards my kitchen, I felt it. All the stored-up urine I've been holding suddenly screeched at me. I need the toilet ASAP!

I ran through my house to the only bathroom we had. Quickly, I relieved myself of this suffering.

I hadn't thought about it before. I don't know how people don't talk about this part of VR. Since we're basically transcendent beyond our bodies while in VR, we couldn't feel our real-life pain or anything for that matter. We won't know about our body's condition until we log out. 

Nowhere did I find warnings about this online. They always talk about the futuristic uses for this VR tech, yet they never mention anything about pissing yourself! I don't want to imagine the harm this could possibly have on someone who's sick. 

That led me to more curious thoughts. Have people died in VR? Maybe out of hunger? of sickness? or maybe of anything else that's caused by this "transcendence" effect of VR?

I took my phone out while also searching the fridge for food. While waving my hands endlessly to find food, my other hand typed in "death by vr" on the internet explorer.

As I took out a box of instant sausages, I scrolled down the page to find anything relevant to my query.

I moved to the pantry as I wondered about the question. People have died from playing games for too long. There are definitely recorded deaths caused by VR as well.

Taking out the box of macaroni, I clicked on one of the pages that showed up. The article was titled "Death of Virtual Causes: Man Dead in His Sleep". The article was quite long, so I took the time to read it while cooking the macaroni and sausages.

I finished reading as soon as I finished serving the bowl of food.

It was horrifying!

In summary, the man had died of starvation while playing a simulation MMO game. Apparently, other people saw the man just disappear from the game as if he was logging out. There was even a virtual recording of the man disappearing, which produced the believed timestamp of his death. Players said he barely showed signs of sickness or hunger. One moment he was there, the next he faded away. This had happened just earlier this year.

I nervously ate my macaroni and sausages as I thought about the article.

He died of hunger, yet he felt no hunger in the game. For all we know, he didn't even know himself that he had died. How could the VR sites not have any warning for this? My hands were shaking by this point.

I should be careful when playing the game. If I don't want to die like that man, then I should maybe make a schedule? 

Yes! Of course! If Celeste is an AI guide, then it can probably be an AI assistant. I should tell them to remind me to log out every hour. That way, I can be reminded to eat and relieve myself every hour. That's a very good idea!

Well... I'll have to remember that for tomorrow. I don't really have the energy to game anymore. I'll spend the night reading about linear algebra or something. Some practice questions would be fun. Oh! Maybe I'll start on calculus! This is gonna be fun!

Once I finished my bowl of good food, I took the time to clean up. I went to my bedroom, taking out a linear algebra book and a calculus book from my "To read" shelves. I sat down at my desk while taking out my pens and pencils.

I turned the desk lamp on, starting my crunch hours of math.

I have always enjoyed doing math. Although I'm good at most lessons, I think math is the only lesson that's fun to study. So many problems to solve and explore! It's fun to find an out-of-the-box solution for something so generic. It's like doing a puzzle.

I always spend 3 hours on math, usually around 7 until 10 at night. This is why I never get any messages from anyone at this hour. All the friends I have know I'm a bookworm. Even the always-enthusiastic Star knows to hold back her thoughts while I'm doing math. This is why I'm always immersed in my math sessions.

After scribbling for 3 straight hours, I tidied up the desk and changed into my pajamas. I don't immediately sleep. Star usually starts pinging me endlessly at this hour. Her shut mouth just can't hold the words longer than 3 hours.

Today, however, Star was silent. There were 0 pings from her direction. Well... sometimes she does do this. I've always assumed she's playing games or something when she's not pinging me. Probably playing the VR game we just played or something else.

Hmm... I've just realized. Star has had her VR headset for quite some time now. And the game has been out for a bit longer than that. I assumed that when we met, she was still a newbie to the game. She did say she had starter clothes. But come to think of it, she should've been playing the game for quite some time now.

Even though I've only been introduced to "Stars of Gerhana" just today, I've heard that name being thrown around in my class almost every day. That leads me to assume that everyone's been playing the game. Why did Star have a new character? Shouldn't she already have progressed far into the game by this point? 

It's something to think about. But for now, I'll just sleep it off.

Chapter 8 : Weekend

It was 8 a.m. I woke up on a bright Saturday morning. The curtains were wide open, so I didn't need an alarm. The sun shines brightly in my room, I always know when to wake up.

I never know what to do on Saturdays. I would usually wake up, take a shower, make food, and then game for the rest of the day. I could do that today, maybe play the VR game instead of the PC one. Wouldn't that be considered sleeping through the whole day, though? After all, people still consider playing those games "sleeping". I don't get the logic behind that, though.

I'll decide what I'll do after I eat, I guess.

I took a quick shower and switched to my daily clothes. Today, I'm wearing a skull emoji T-shirt and black long pants. I don't get the hype about this skull emoji expression, and I still do not understand why people would use it.

I took a look in the fridge for some breakfast food. It was almost empty by this point, devoid of any cereals or milk. I probably should've thought of that before devouring the whole pack of sausage and macaroni last night.

Well... time to go to the convenience store, I guess.

I took out a hat and a hoodie from my cupboard. The weather forecast says today's going to be quite sunny. I won't be out for too long, but I think it's worth keeping myself away from Sunburn City. 

The convenience store isn't too far from my home. It's 3 blocks away from my house, so the walk was very quick. It was a good walk. The wind was keeping the air quite humid despite the sun's gaze.

After a quick minute in the store, I went out with 2 plastic bags worth of food. It's always the same assortment of items whenever I go to the store. There's a box of cereal, 2 gallons of milk, 5 cans of corned beef, and 2 weeks worth of canned vegetables. Sometimes I'd buy other things too. This time, I wanted to try out these instant noodles people have been talking about on social media. It's a lot of food, but I'll ration these out for 2 weeks. If these run out, I can always order takeout or online.

These cost me something like $50 to $70 each trip. I wouldn't worry about money. Sure, I have a limited amount. But I think even if I waste it, it'll still last me till I'm 20. By that point, I would've already gotten a job (I hope).

Though it doesn't weigh much on my balance, it does weigh a lot on my hands. I'm not the weakest boy on Earth, but I think these bags are still quite heavy. I could barely lift these off the ground. But I always persevere, after all my house is only 3 blocks away.

I reached my house after an unbearable 5 minutes. I quickly placed everything in the fridge except for the gallon of milk and the box of cereal. I made a quick serving of cereal in a bowl and ate it while looking out the window. Good view today!

I cleaned up after finishing my meal, placed the box and gallon back into the fridge, and went back into my room. 

As per my schedule, I should be gaming right now. I sat on my chair and went on the PC, intending to play random PC games I could find. I had forgotten that the game was still running in the background. Since my PC is always up and running, "Stars of Gerhana" has been just sitting there expecting my return to the game. Apparently, all VR programs have to be manually exited after getting out of VR. I forgot I didn't quit the game. 

Well... since it's already running, it would be a waste to not play it.

I took the helmet off my shelves and wore it. I then lay down on my bed and prepared myself to log back in. 

I then pressed the button.

-----

I opened my eyes to see my surroundings. Since we logged out in the market, it's not surprising to find out that I woke up on the spot I logged out. It was complete silence. Since there was no Star to accompany me, I couldn't hear anything whenever I was not moving.

Star is never online on weekends. She does her cake decor work with her parents. That's probably why she's a pro at making cakes. Her dedication to cakes is outstanding.

Whenever she's offline, I would usually play games with my other friends. They're the ones from the grade below me, a.k.a. grade 10. I actually have a lot of friends down there. Even so, I doubt they have VR gear, so I didn't really ask them to play with me today.

So there I was, left alone in a deserted market. Of course, I still had that AI guide, Celeste. But a real human would be nice to be with.

Oh, right!

"Celeste," I called.

『Celeste is here』

"Remind me to take breaks every hour."

『Noted』

Great job, me! I actually remember something, for once. Well, now I guess I should continue the game.

Hmm... Thinking about it, we didn't even start playing the game yesterday. When I was alone, I didn't start any quests. I only climbed up the statue and shouted Star's name. And when we were together, we only discovered the market and opened crates. Only one of which was actually useful.

It's cool that I have these clothes and all, but what am I supposed to do now? Also, it would be nice to not be holding my weapons whenever I don't need them. 

『You can store your weapons away for later use』

Storing weapons would be very useful. Inventories don't exist, so I guess it's a helping hand from the developers. "How do I do that?" I asked the air around me.

『Simply think of the word "Store" while holding your weapon with both hands』

Okay, let's try it!

I chose to store the shield first, so I placed my mace on the ground to free my other hand. I held the shield with both my hands. I said the word "store" very aggressively in my mind. 

Just like that, the shield glowed a bright yellow. The outlines of it became highlighted as the object faded. Once it faded, the outlines followed suit.

It was the coolest thing I've seen in my life. My weapon disintegrated into nothing just by thinking about it. It was cool to see it in normal PC games, but in VR it looks magical.

The question now is, how do I get it out again?

『To equip the weapon, simply picture the weapon in your hand』

I imagined the shield, equipped on my left hand. Immediately, the shield popped up in a golden glow. It was strapped onto my hand, just as I've imagined. That spurred another question into my mind: to what extent can I summon my weapons? In what ridiculous state can I summon my weapon? For example, can I imagine it on top of my head? Can I summon the shield covering my face? How far can I go with this concept?

『As long as you imagine the shield touching one of your hands, it will be summoned as such』

I experimented with the shield. According to Celeste, as long as it is touching my hands, it will be summoned.

I stored my shield again. This time, I imagined holding it by the edges with both my hands. One moment later, the shield had magically appeared, held in my hands. One more time. A finger would technically be a part of my hands. I imagined the shield balanced on the tip of my pinkie finger. The shield appeared as I've imagined. It was in the exact position and the exact orientation as I imagined.

"Celeste, take note of this. It's probably going to be useful someday."

『Note taken』

For now, both weapons shall be in my "storage" until further needs.

-----

Now then, with nothing but a bunch of crates in my hands, what do I do now? Yesterday, we barely did anything. We didn't even start a quest or anything to begin with. Honestly, I don't even remember why we went to the market in the first place.

Considering our gear is already decent enough for beginners (I assume), we should probably start with the beginner's quest.

"Celeste, what's the first quest to do?"

『You can find your quest in the aptly named "Beginner's Building", found near The Fountain』

"Alright."

I went to the street we entered the market with. Going out of the market was actually not as complicated as entering. The street led immediately to the bank... somehow... 

There wasn't a trick to exiting the street. It was very straightforward. Even the distance from one end to another isn't far. It was a house block long, which is not that far.

It seems like whoever made the street didn't want people in but didn't stop people from getting out. It's like a Tesla Valve for players.

I walked to the fountain at a medium pace. I didn't want to rush things, nor did I wanna be too slow. If the Beginner's Building is close to the fountain, then it shouldn't be too far from the bank. I also wouldn't wanna get lost in the crowd. There were a lot of people near the fountain perimeter.

Fortunately, the Beginner's Building had a gigantic sign with the words "Beginner's Building" written. It wasn't hard to see, even in the sea of people. I walked in the general direction for a few minutes until I reached a clearing. I reached the front of the building.

The building was made completely out of wood. It was old and overrun by crawling vines. It looked like it had 2 floors, but from the outside, I couldn't see a single staircase leading upwards. I guess the extra floor was just for the sign.

I went inside the old building. It was then that the smell finally hit me. It wasn't an offensive smell, but it just kind of smelled like trash. The whiff of damp wood combined with rotting food just hit me like a truck. When I looked around, there was a corner of the building that was filled with rotting food. 

I couldn't even imagine a possible reason for that trash corner. Why would the designers of this building make a trash corner? But then if it wasn't them, why would players go out of their way to throw trash in that specific corner of the building? It was confusing. But I moved on anyway.

The building was more like a house than a building. The size was as big as the first floor of my house. There was an old man sitting on his chair in the middle of the room. Why he's sitting there is beyond my comprehension. I walked over to him.

"Hi, old guy," I said.

"Hello, young boy. What brings you here?"

"Uhh... I came for a quest?" I said confusingly. The guy was probably an NPC. I've never had to speak to an NPC before, so this is a first.

"Ah, are you just beginning your journey?"

"Yes."

"Very well then, boy. But first, I must tell you about the Emergent Quest System," he said calmly.

"Emergent Quest System?"

"The Emergent Quest System is the basis for this world's quest. Quests are not common in this world. In fact, quests are, in essence, limited. Other adventurers like you may only be assigned a quest that only they can do. Even the same quest giver in this world won't give you the same quests as they have given to others. Rewards for completing a quest are kept secret until you've successfully finished. If you fail the quest, there might be consequences at certain times. Remember, your acts in this world will always have an impact." He sipped his tea as he finished his exposition.

I nodded at the lengthy explanation.

"As your first quest, boy," he said after sipping the tea, "clean that pile of trash for me." He pointed at the corner of trash near the entrance.

As soon as he said that, a box of text popped up in my vision.

『Quest: Old Man's Trash』

"This is kinda cool!" I said to myself. Without hesitation, I moved to said pile of trash.

I wondered for a second about the specific method of cleaning the place. There were no trashcans in this world after all. There were no landfills, or holes, or sewers either. Therefore, logically, the trash should just be brought outside of the building. This way, the building is technically clean.

So I worked on the trash bit by bit. It was a very stinky quest, to say the least. At first, I thought I'd just take the trash with my bare hands. With so much piled up, it could take an eternity that way. So, I went a bit creative and summoned my shield. I scooped the trash with it, thus increasing the efficiency of my work.

"Young boy," the old man said, "you can throw the trash into our Fountain. The Fountain has powerful cleaning properties. You should use it to your advantage."

I nodded.

I walked out of the building bringing my stinky pile of trash. I walked up to the fountain and dumped the contents of my scoop. As soon as the trash hit the water, it disintegrated into nothing, leaving the water as clean as before. It was just as the old man said. Even the stink is gone.

Knowing that, I pumped myself up to clean the place up. Every last bit of trash all thrown into the fountain. Not leaving a single trace. 

No matter how much trash I threw in the fountain, the water was kept clean. After finishing the work, I realized that there was a bit of trash on me. It made me stink real bad. I took a plunge into the fountain to clean myself and my shield. And just like that, the trash had disappeared. It was like a magical, powerful detergent had touched my clothes.

I brought in a scoop of fountain water to the building. I threw it at the now-clean corner to finish things up. In the end, there was nothing left, not even a speck of dust.

"Thank you, young boy," the old man said. "For your efforts, I will give you 10 Gold."

He handed 10 coins to me. I placed them in my pocket immediately.

『Completed: Old Man's Trash』

The old man gave me one more piece of advice before I left the building. "Young boy, you might find some luck finding quests in The Town Hall." 

I thanked and waved at the man as I walked out of the building.

Chapter 9 : Plaza

Heeding the old man's advice, I went around the fountain to search for the town hall.

Celeste told me the town hall was away from The Fountain. I could take the east exit from The Fountain area, where I'd be met with People's Street. The street is supposedly less crowded than The Fountain; people don't really have a lot of business there. It's a good motivation for me to go there.

The street leads straight to a clearing called The Plaza. It's a large rectangular area made for special events. The place doesn't have a medieval look to it. Unlike the buildings near The Fountain, all the buildings bordering the Plaza were made of red bricks. There were street lamps placed in strategic locations.

The entrance to The Plaza from People's Street looked somewhat European. There was a gate separating the medieval People's Street from the English Plaza. It's wide open to allow any player to go into it. There were detailed carvings on the marble arch of the gate. The decorations were magnificent. 

The Plaza was very large. When I came in, there must've been hundreds of people here. But it wasn't crowded at all. In fact, it was somewhat silent around here; you could only hear the toned-down whispering between people. If I had to guess, this place was as large as a concert stadium.

A lot of the people here were wearing suits. I assume these are NPCs walking around, but I could be very mistaken. Celeste said that this place is used for in-game events.

『The Plaza changes shape based on the event currently taking place』

『Sometimes, they even bring in real idol groups to have a show here』

It seems like this place is quite important for collabs.

The buildings surrounding The Plaza were all connected by bridges with each other. Celeste said that all the buildings bordering The Plaza are actually one building. It's a place of study for NPCs and players alike. Apparently, in this game, you can learn magic by enrolling in schools such as this. However, since the prices for enrolling are quite high and the time it takes to learn magic is really long, most people skip learning magic altogether.

From the gate, a big-looking building can be seen on the other edge. It was The Town Hall, as Celeste had said. The Town Hall is connected to the school buildings bordering The Plaza. Academics, a.k.a. players and NPCs studying in these schools, frequently go into The Town Hall to study in the libraries inside. 

『The Town Hall serves as a cultural center for academics』

『There is a library, a clinic, a training room, and a quest board in The Town Hall』

『For now, I suggest you focus on the quest board』

I walked from the gate to The Town Hall. There was a path of cement leading me to The Town Hall. It was a leisurely walk; the clear area really made the wind's gust much more enjoyable. 

The Town Hall had stairs leading to the entrance. It was very grand, in my opinion. Pillars of marble decorate the outside of the building, holding the roof up. I entered The Town Hall, excited to see what's inside.

The moment I opened the door, I was met with cold air. The place didn't have any ACs, but it was still very cold, especially since I was wearing quite thin clothes. There were not too many people inside. It felt like entering an office. There are people talking but you can't really make out what they're saying.

It was a really nice change of atmosphere. It felt very official, like walking straight into a castle as an RPG character. The floor was made of very reflective marble, tiled in a pattern of white and brown diamonds. All the walls were white. I'd assume cement, but I have no idea what buildings were made of in 19th-century England. Strange though, the walls from the outside looked like they were made of bricks, but inside, they were very cement-like. It must just be the game logic. 

Following Celeste's advice, I looked around to see where the quest board is.

There were a lot of stairs leading up. I didn't really want to waste any time exploring, though. I just want to kill some monsters right about now. I've been meandering around for about too long without any action. In a typical RPG, this would be unforgiveable. Who would want to play an MMORPG where you have to spend hours and hours just walking before fighting mobs? I'm sweating my hands just being patient here! I need action!!

After walking around for a while, I realized that the quest board was right beside the entrance. I couldn't see it before because the door was blocking my view. That's just bad room design, not my fault.

Approaching the quest board, I could see that there were a lot of papers pinned on it. Just like in any typical RPG, there are quests written on these papers. On each paper, there was a picture accompanied by 2 lines of text underneath. The first line contained the name of the quest, and the second line contained the objective of the quest as well as who to report to after finishing the said quest.

It was a nice system. I remember what the old man said about quests being rare. I think he was very mistaken. I mean... just look at the amount of paper pinned on the board! There are hundreds and hundreds of quests to pick from. There are quests covering other quests; this board can barely fit all of 'em!

I couldn't even choose from the board! There were so many quests. A lot of the quests were hunting quests, like "Kill 10 Grass Slimes" and "Kill 2 Creeping Vines". But there were also fetch quests like "Deliver the Orb to the Barkeeper".

I was craving some killing by now; I think I'll pick one of the hunting quests.

-----

I ripped one of the papers from the board. It was a slime hunting quest. I thought slimes must be easier to kill than most monsters, so it must be worth a shot.

I didn't know where I should go to kill slimes. In fact, I haven't really seen any monsters around here since I've only explored The Fountain area. I didn't really know where to go. I thought the game would give me an arrow pointing to where I needed to go, but there were none even as I held the quest in my hand.

『Flip the paper; you can see the quest details on the back』

Go to the Great Plains, east of The Plaza. Kill at least 10 Grass Slimes to finish this quest!

Huh... whaddayaknow. It was written on the back.

Alright, it's time to get going then!