Guard Station
"Sergeant Albert, there is a suspicious fellow that says he's here to see you."
"Is he very thin, wearing the most basic of gear, and with strange facial expressions?"
The soldier nodded his head in confusion.
"Send him in."
The soldier clasped his hand over his chest and turned to leave. Outside, Locke stood around waiting with a scowl.
'I've never been barred to see that old man Bert, is this because of the quest? Where's my player agency!'
While thinking these nonsensical things, his facial expressions kept changing rapidly, the soldier he had talked to moments ago appeared and cleared his throat to get Locke's attention.
"The sergeant will see you. No funny business!"
Locke stopped his strange line of thoughts and only glanced once at the soldier as he strode into the newly set tent like he owned it. Looking around, the tent was filled with various forms of furniture: large tables, crates, barrels full of scrolls, a desk with a chair, and most interestingly, a podium with a fist sized crystal ball.
"Ah, Lucky Skeleton, it is you. I had wondered where you'd been these last few days. That last shipment has been all used up already."
"Wonderful, I've just brought the last shipment in. Given the situation, I hope we can come to an agreement on the price…"
"The situation? Last shipment? Out with it, what's going on!"
Locke just chuckled as he played along with the system. He had long since learned how to speak with NPCs. They were able to notice nuances in conversation, as well as picking up on changes in tone. Naturally, he was an expert smooth talker when it came to NPCs.
"I'm afraid that Bria was not able to survive the destruction of Carisle town. I've brought you the last shipment she reforged and her hammer as proof."
The man had an aged appearance normally. His hair was mostly dark, but had several gray portions along the top and the sides. Similarly, his beard was graying at a much faster pace. His face was dark and worn out, most likely due to the forges heat.
However, at the mention of the town's destruction and Bria's death, he fell backward into the chair that was fortunately there. His dark face changed several shades whiter and his hair seemed to gray at an alarming rate. He shook his head and laughed to himself.
"I'm such a fool, here I've been protecting the border only to lose the town anyway. Nevertheless, I must thank you for bringing me this news and the scrap metal. If this was a more peaceful time, I would have passed down some of my knowledge and aided you on the path of the blacksmith, but I must focus on the war efforts now.
However, I will leave Bria's hammer in your care, and hand you this book that helped me during my hot-blooded youth. I hope that these things will help your growth."
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[Hidden quest "Blacksmith's Regret" has been completed.]
[Reward: +100 xp, Bria's Hammer, Skill Book, Albert Carisle Affinity +50]
[Hidden quest "Blacksmith's Loyalty" has been completed.]
After delivering 30 crates of reforged scrap iron, you were given an opportunity to learn from a Master Blacksmith; However, due to the circumstances of the war, Albert Carile is unable to give you that reward. Instead, he has agreed to increase the price of the last shipment and grant you a rookie badge to allow you entry into Violet Star city.
[Reward: +100 xp, Rookie Badge, 80 copper, Albert Carisle Affinity +50]
[Relationship with Albert Carisle has increased to Friendly from Neutral.]
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[Bria's Hammer] Level 0
Rarity: Indigo
Attack: +8
Bonus: STR +2, END +2, +1 effective level when crafting.
A hammer once used by a blacksmith, who had the potential to become a Grandmaster. This hammer has been tempered through time and received a portion of the previous owner's will.
Restriction: Bria's Approval
Cannot be traded
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Skill Book:
[Bert's Crushing Blow]
Class: Any
Overhand swing with a blunt weapon at your foe and shatter their bones. STR*0.8-1.2 damage. Stun 0.1-2 seconds. 1% chance to cripple. Cooldown: 6 seconds.
Cannot be traded
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Locke stood there while he read each notification. He was completely dazed as he processed all the data. He closed all of the popups and started to huff and puff.
'I could've gotten a blacksmith class change? Indigo rated level 0 weapon!? Bria had the potential to become a Grandmaster blacksmith!? And what's with this skill, I've heard of crushing blow, but these stats are insane!?'
After equipping the hammer and reading the book, Locke walked out of the tent, still a bit dazed.
"One more thing, since we're friends, if you ever want to learn new skills in the future, I can teach you."
Locke turned and casually activated observation:
Albert Carisle Level 5
Titles: [Sergeant] [Master Blacksmith]
Affinity: Friendly (130/300)
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Locke remembered that he did gain 100 affinity with Albert from the quest rewards. One of the useful features of affinity is no restrictions on observation, and opening new options for quests and shop items. He noticed the shop window on Albert's panel and selected it.
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[Bert's Slam] Cost: 1 silver
[Bert's Vital Strike] Cost: 8 silver
[Bert's Defensive Stance] Cost: 5 silver
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He immediately turned around without saying a word. Locke acted as if he had not heard Albert's offer.
'What a scam, actually charging so much for a bunch of basic skills. Tch, dammit just you wait until I'm rich, I'll show you then!'
As he cursed at the world and all of the people with golden spoons at birth, he tried to kick a stone underfoot; However, Locke did not expect it would be so heavy and firmly lodged into the ground.
-1
[One Stab has attacked you. Their name will be red for the duration of combat.]
While stumbling forward, he had felt a cold blade stab into his back. If not for tripping, he probably would have gotten instant killed. He hopped a few times to regain his balance and turned around as quickly as he could. What he saw was a young girl, maybe 14 years old, with a dumbfounded look.
"How did you dodge that…"
Locke, with plenty of PvP experience, immediately used his signature move--running. He was already half way to the forest without having looked back once. He didn't gamble on his speed being better; Instead, he trusted in his knowledge of the forests that he spent two months in and around.
After about an hour, Locke hadn't slowed down. He wasn't sure if he was still being followed, but his stamina was running out. He had already reached the secret area which was discovered by him, so he flopped to the ground breathing heavily.
"Damn PKers, this is the problem with all these guild sheep. They are all high and mighty just because they gave up their freedom and joined a guild that hordes all the wealth, so they randomly kill unaffiliated players until they spend real-world money, join a guild, or quit!"
After resting for 10 minutes, he realized he lost the assailant. Thinking for a few seconds, he decided to stay here and farm for a bit. With experience from the quests, he was now at 225/1000 from level 1. Experience required to level increases exponentially, and experience gained from monsters is based on difficulty of the fight.
Typically, a same-level, white grade monster will give 5 exp. Violet will give 5 times that, indigo will give 5 times of Violet, and so on. One level higher will give 20 exp at white grade, with the same multipliers for grade as same level. And the base exp reward for levels increases by a factor of 4 from the previous base exp.
Therefore, killing a 3-levels higher violet grade monster would net 1600 experience, but that's easier said than done. The increase in experience gained closely translates to difficulty increase. A grade higher is 5 times stronger than the previous grade, and a level higher is 4 times stronger than the previous level.
However, level only has a suppressive effect rather than being actually stronger, grade difference is constant. This means being a higher level than something means you have an innate resistance to their attacks. The game's leveling difficulty can be seen in the current leaderboards. The current top player is only level 4 and the average level of players is 1, since there is a constant influx of new players.
Locke casually walked into the rocky cavern below the forest and began to strike down the level 0 white grade zombies with his new hammer.
…
[Group Chat]
One Stab: I died. Get back to Lambert Town and help me level up.
Crowned Saint: How did you die? Did you run into a high level PKer?
One Stab: No, it was that guy you had me ambush; He sensed my attack and barely dodged my backstab. He only got nicked by the tip of my dagger.
Raging Tiger: Haha, don't joke, that guy is a Super senior, no way he was that skilled. And even if he dodged your attack, how did he kill you?
One Stab: The guards attacked me immediately. He must have done some sort of quest and gotten affinity with the guard station.
Leftover Rice: You think maybe he expected us to come after him and set a trap…?
Raging Tiger: … If that's true maybe we shouldn't mess with him for now.
Crowned Saint: I sent a message to Guild Leader Violet Snow, she agreed to place Lucky Skeleton on the kill list. If he dares enter Violet Forest City, he'll be sent back to 0.