Quest: Paying Respects Part 1

Scratching his head, Ayden looked at another wall, and after a few seconds of concentrating, he could also see through that one as well. "Is this another effect of this eye?" Ayden would need to get used to such a thing, and luckily it only seemed to activate when he concentrated on things.

He looked around to see if there were any more question marks over people's heads before moving to the side to sit on the ground to check something on the cybernet. "What do question marks over people's heads in MMOs mean…."

It did not take long to figure it out as the search engine didn't even make him click a link as it explained it on the main page. "So that is a quest…. But are there quests in CyPunk Online?"

Ayden quickly checked that as well. To his surprise, finding quests in CyPunk Online was very hard. Not many people were able to find quests out of the billions of players, only a few hundred have been found, and once the quest is done, no one is able to take that quest again. In other words, quests in CyPunk Online were all unique one time quests.

"Well, I guess I will go check it out." Ayden stood up and walked towards the alley. It was kind of strange. While some things were different, the atmosphere of the game was no different than the streets he walked every day. From what he knew about the game so far, no one knew who was an NPC or who was a player unless the player themselves told you who they were. This was because there were NPCs running around doing the same things as the players were. Even outside the towns and cities, where things got less like normal society, players were able to team up with NPCs and talk with them as if they were real humans.

But for Ayden, this was different. Everyone had their names above their head. NPCs had their name along with (NPC) next to it to signify who they were. Along with how menus showed the stats of everyone as well when he concentrated on them, he found that the one thing that made CyPunk Online hard was basically null and void for him.

When Ayden made it to the back alley, he stopped in front of the old man who was sitting on the ground with one knee up and his other leg tucked under him. He had dirty, ragged clothing on and had empty bottles of booze next to him. The smell that came off his body was horrific, but it was nothing that Ayden was not used to. When Ayden looked at the man's name that hovered above his head, he was surprised to see that the old man had a title. "Ex-Sergeant Jackson."

"Hmmm? Boy, you know me?" The old man slowly raised his head. It was then that Ayden realized the man was almost full cyborg.

"Ah, no. I just recognized you, is all." Ayden replied while scratching his head after quickly coming up with a lie. He had forgotten names were invisible, so it would be strange for him to know someone's name who he had never met before.

"I see… So someone still knows who I am. It's good to know that not everyone forgot." Ex-Sergeant Jackson lowered his head for a moment before raising it again. "I'll tell you what, kid. Since we are fated to meet like this, I want to help you out. If you do me a small favor, I will give you something good. What do you think?"

"Alright?" Ayden did not see a reason not to help the old man. If anything, he might get something that will help him make some money.

"Haha… Good kid. Let me tell you a story, alright?" Ex-Sergeant Jackson smiled a toothy green before beginning to tell Ayden his story.

The story was about how he was once a sergeant for the city's main forces against the neighboring city. He was a man who had many merits and was making his way to becoming a general. But not everyone liked the fact that he was rising so fast. He was tricked into a honey trap. He was drugged and the next day woke up to find himself in the current city general's daughter's bed. A red stain covering the sheets since the two had a passionate night that he did not remember.

The general was enraged and wanted to cut Ex-Sergeant Jackson's head off, but in the end, the general's daughter pleaded for his life. He was stripped of his title and all his merits, and a man named Davis was the one who took his place. He even married the general's daughter in the end. "That rat bastard Davis actually took everything from me! What I wouldn't give to tear that bastard's head off but sadly…. He had long passed away during one of the city wars. Kid…. During that time, the General's Daughter Mindy… Kept sending me letters in secret.

"While she was forced by her father to marry Davis and bear his children, she never forgot about me. Hell, we only had sex once, but it seemed she had been in love with me for a while. That girl…. Because of me, she lived a life she did not want. What I want you to do is find me a Red Drill Flower. They grow outside the city a little ways into the forest under the canopies where only small rays of light are able to pass through. If you find me one so I can rest it on her grave, I will give you my most prized possession."

[Quest Received.]

[Paying Respects]

[Ex-Sergeant Jackson has asked you to find and bring back a Red Drill Flower so he can properly pay respects to his first and only love.]

[Reward: 1000 credits, 5000 XP, Ex-Sergeant Jackson's most prized possession]

Ayden's eyes widened seeing the rewards. Mainly at the credits, he would receive. That was one hundred real world credits! "I will do my best to find this Red Drill Flower you speak of."

Ex-Sergeant Jackson gratefully at Ayden as he said: "Here, I can not let a good kid like you go out empty handed. It is not much, but it is my old cybernetic that I used to use when I was your age. It should at least get you by to get the flower. This old man is no longer able to move as much as I used to. So I will be waiting here for you."