A Good Guess
As the blinding lights started to fade, Evan was enveloped by an amber, golden-colored room. The walls and ceiling were tall and slightly transparent. At the end of the short and narrow room was a widely decorated golden chair with the same theme as the rest of the room.
On top of the chair sat a male figure, adorned in a majestic golden robe, with his body hunched over, elbows resting on his knees, and hands clasped together.
The man on the chair noticed someone heading toward him and raised his head before greeting Evan.
"Good evening, adventurer. Welcome to Aerth." The man's voice spoke. "I am the Amber Guardian. Who might you be?"
What was strange was the fact that the man's lips had never moved.
'Telepathy?' Evan thought to himself.
"Correct, adventurer. You catch on fast, which is a promising sign.
Your consciousness is connected to Aerth, after all. Hence you can communicate with your designated Guardian through telepathy. In this case, that would be I, yours truly."
Although caught off guard by the surprise, Evan hoped he didn't let it show. 'That would be embarrassing even if he's an NPC.' He thought.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." The Guardian chortled. "You can think of us Guardians as superintelligent AI, programmed to emulate human feelings with 99,9% accuracy.
Yet before you get worried about AI world domination or brainwashing, please be assured that our sentience is only connected to Soulbound Online.
We cannot exceed what we're programmed to execute. Also, you can simply mute the telepathic connection between us if desired by simply thinking it."
Evan did just so as suggested, closing the link between them and quickly adjusting his posture before responding.
"Hello, Amber Guardian. I'm Evan, pleased to meet you. Are you here to teach me the basics?"
"Correct again." This time using his actual voice since the mind-link had been closed, the man chuckled while brushing his golden hair away from his face, revealing his well-developed facial features.
"If you can solve my riddle, you would be correct thrice. I'd be obliged to offer you a small gift as compensation."
Evan nodded enthusiastically, wishing for some exclusive epic or legendary loot that would give him a head start compared to other players.
"Good. Now pick a difficulty." The man telepathed and gestured with his hand so that a system message flashed before Evan.
A small transparent window with an amber-colored design encompassing it arrived in front of Evan. There were seven choices available.
—
—
'What the hell!' He screamed inwardly at the last two choices.
This time the Guardian wasn't able to read his thoughts, but his shook-up emotions were still somewhat visible, making it easy for the Guardian to catch on.
"Ah, I know what you might be thinking." The Guardian expressed. "I indeed do suggest that you only attempt the three last options if you don't mind failing your attempt.
It's of no use to log out and search for answers that might be posted in some forum. Each question is randomized by an advanced algorithm.
In other words, each question is unique. Also, you only get one chance."
'Damn, he's good at his job.' Evan conceded, twisting his neck from side to side to loosen it up after being tense for a while.
After a short moment, Evan came to the conclusion that there was little point in choosing the 'cakewalk' or 'easy' options, though he was close to guaranteed a reward, albeit probably a minor one.
The 'intermediate' and 'difficult' riddles most likely offered decent rewards, but Evan somehow felt he wouldn't be satisfied unless he knew what better rewards he would potentially miss out on.
"Ah, before you choose, here are the attainable rewards for each difficulty." The Guardian hurriedly chimed in before waving his hand in a dignified fashion, as if he'd just forgotten his role as a Guardian before briskly correcting himself.
Seven lights shone down from the ceiling as if seven different gods were approaching. In each ray of light, a unique assortment of items was displayed.
—
Rare weapon placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-10 (T)
Rare Armor piece placeholder x2, Restrictions: Level 1-10 (T)
14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Common companion egg x1 (UT)
+20 Aerth coins>
—
Rare Weapon placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-10 (T)
Rare Armor set placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-10 (T)
14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Common companion egg x1 (UT)
+30 Aerth coins>
—
Unique Weapon placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-15 (T)
Rare Armor piece placeholder x2, Restrictions: Level 1-10 (T)
14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Rare companion egg x1 (UT)
+50 Aerth coins>
—
Unique Weapon placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-15 (T)
Unique Armor set placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-15 (T)
14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Superior 14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (3S)
Weapon appearance customization ticket x1 (T)
Rare companion egg x1 (UT)
+100 Aerth coins>
—
Epic Weapon placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-20 (T)
Unique Armor set placeholders, Restrictions: Level 1-15 (T)
14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Superior 14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (3S)
Weapon appearance customization ticket x1 (T)
Armor appearance customization ticket x5 (T)
Unique companion egg x1 (UT)
+250 Aerth coins>
—
Unique Weapon (2G) placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-?? (UT) (G)
Epic Armor set placeholder, Restrictions: Level 1-20. (T)
14 days +10% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Superior 14 days +10% exp boost potion x3 (UT) (3S)
Weapon appearance customization ticket x3 (T)
Armor appearance customization ticket x15 (T)
Unique Companion Egg (1G) x1 (UT) (G)
+600 Aerth coins>
—
-Hidden-
Epic Armor set placeholders, Restrictions: Level 1-20 (T)
Insane 14 days +15% exp boost potion x1 (UT) (NS)
Insane Superior 14 days +15% exp boost potion x3 (UT) (3S)
Weapon appearance customization ticket x3 (T)
Armor appearance customization ticket x15 (T)
-Hidden-
+1500 Aerth coins>
—
After looking through the varying rewards for a while, Evan made up his mind.