Chapter 5

The last wolf hit the dirt, twitching once before going still.

I exhaled, rolling my shoulders. Five down. Quest complete.

I bent down, grabbed the loot bag, and tossed it into my inventory. That made five. Time to—

Wait.

I glanced at my XP bar.

Not because I expected a level-up or anything, but because, well… I always checked. Years of grinding in MMOs had drilled that habit into my soul.

And yeah. Something was off.

My XP had moved. Barely.

I squinted. That can't be right.

I just killed five wolves. Even if this game was stingy with XP, it should've jumped up a decent amount.

Instead? I had only gained a tiny sliver. Like I'd smacked a training dummy for an hour.

What the hell?

Huh.

Maybe wolves just gave garbage XP. Maybe the devs had some weird anti-grinding system to keep players from cheesing early mobs.

I hadn't really checked their levels or anything, but now that I thought about it… there weren't any. No names. No health bars. Just regular-ass wolves doing wolf things.

Whatever. Not my problem right now.

I closed my menu and turned toward the town. Time to get paid.

The road back to town was quiet. Too quiet.

I expected to see other players farming wolves, maybe some NPC travelers, but instead? Empty streets, empty fields. Just the steady crunch of my boots on dirt and the distant hum of the city ahead.

Something felt… off.

And then I saw him.

A broad-shouldered man stood right in the middle of the road, arms crossed, watching me. His armor looked expensive, not the kind a low-level scrub like me could afford.

I slowed my pace. NPC or player?

The second I got close, he sneered.

"New guy, huh? You must not know how things work around here."

No level information. NPC. Definitely an NPC.

I kept walking. "Enlighten me."

He stepped forward, blocking my path.

"There's a toll to enter the city," he said. "Five gold."

I raised an eyebrow. "Five gold?"

That was literally my entire quest reward.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say no."

His smirk widened. "Not a choice. You either pay up, or we take it from you."

Oh? So that's how this was gonna be.

I stared at him for a long moment. Then I let out a dramatic sigh, rubbing my temples like I was personally exhausted by his incompetence.

"Wow. Nobody told you, huh?"

The thug blinked. "Told me what?"

I scoffed. Loudly. The kind of scoff you give a retail worker when they tell you coupons don't stack.

"This is embarrassing," I muttered, shaking my head. "Really embarrassing."

The thug actually looked nervous. "What the hell are you talking about?"

I crossed my arms. "You're shaking down the wrong guy, moron. I was literally just recruited this morning."

The thug frowned. "Recruited? By who?"

I squared my shoulders and gave him the most self-important look possible.

"By Georgio."

Silence.

The thug squinted. "Georgio?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Georgio."

His face went blank. A tiny flicker of panic flashed in his eyes. He had no idea who I was talking about.

But the thing about stupid people is that they'd rather die than admit they don't know something.

So instead of asking questions, the thug nodded slowly.

"…Right. Georgio."

I nearly burst out laughing. Got him.

Now to double down.

"You know how he is," I continued. "Always making last-minute changes, never telling anyone. Classic Georgio."

The thug gave a slow, thoughtful nod. "Yeah. Classic Georgio."

There was sweat forming on his forehead.

I sighed dramatically. "You must be new if nobody told you about the Newcomer Welcome Tax."

His eyes twitched. "The… what?"

I shook my head, giving him a pitying look. "Oh wow, they really didn't train you properly, huh?"

I patted his shoulder like he was a struggling intern.

"See, Georgio specifically told me that new recruits are entitled to a first-time visitor bonus. Meaning, you owe me five gold."

The thug's jaw clenched. His brain was overheating.

"That's not—"

"Oh? So you're saying Georgio is wrong?"

Pure panic. He had no way to dispute this.

"I—I didn't say that!" he stammered.

I nodded sagely. "Good, because the last guy who said that?" I whistled. "Yikes."

The thug visibly gulped.

I held out my hand. "Now, about that five gold?"

His hand twitched toward his coin pouch.

I could barely keep a straight face.

Then, at the last second, he froze.

"Wait," he muttered. "Hold on. That doesn't make sense. That's—"

Shit. He's rebooting.

I immediately clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"No, no, don't think about it too hard."

He blinked. "But—"

"Trust me," I whispered, leaning in slightly. "It's better that way."

He stood there, gears turning in his NPC brain, his face a perfect mix of confusion and blind obedience.

Then, slowly, he stepped aside.

"…Fine," he muttered. "Just get out of here before I change my mind."

I nodded seriously. "You made the right choice."

Then, with all the grace and dignity of a man who had just bullshitted his way out of paying a fake toll, I walked past him without looking back.

I half-expected the thug to suddenly realize he'd been scammed and come sprinting after me, but nope. I was home free.

Now, I just had to turn in this stupid wolf quest and—

"Oh, look who survived."

Markus was exactly where I left him, sitting at the same rickety tavern table, chewing on the same damn toothpick. He barely glanced up as I approached.

I dropped the five pelts onto the table. "One wolf genocide, as requested."

Markus grunted, picking up one of the pelts and inspecting it. "Huh. You actually did it."

I blinked. "Wait. Did you send me out there expecting me to fail?"

He shrugged. "Most of the fresh ones don't make it back."

Oh. Cool. So my first-ever quest was actually a death sentence in disguise. Awesome game design.

Markus tossed the pelts into a sack behind him, then reached into his coat and pulled out a small pouch. "Here. Your reward."

A system notification popped up.

[Quest Complete: Prove Your Worth]

75 XP

5 Gold Received

I swiped the message away and pocketed the gold. Nice. Now to—

Wait.

My XP bar barely budged.

What the fuck? That was a quest reward. Those always gave decent XP.

Markus's eyes narrowed.

He stared at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out.

"…Something's wrong," he muttered.

I stiffened. "Uh. What?"

Markus tapped his fingers against the table, studying me. "You should've leveled up."

I tried to keep my expression neutral. "XP must be kinda slow in this game."

Markus's frown deepened. "No. Every recruit hits Level 2 after this quest. That's how it's designed."

…Well. Shit.

I forced a laugh. "Well, guess I'm just built different."

He didn't laugh.

In fact, he looked even more suspicious.

For a second, I thought he was about to accuse me of cheating or something.

Instead, he just shook his head and muttered, "Hmph. Must be a bug."

I nodded way too quickly. "Yup. Total bug. Hate when that happens."

Markus eyed me for another second before waving me off. "Whatever. You're done here."

He didn't need to tell me twice.

I turned on my heel, walking away at a completely normal pace and definitely not like someone escaping a crime scene.

Alright. That was weird.

Markus made it sound like leveling up after that quest was a guarantee. But I was still stuck at Level 1.

I opened my menu and stared at my XP bar.

There was a bump. A tiny one. Like the system had given me XP but immediately regretted it.

I frowned. That wasn't normal. Quest rewards were supposed to be one of the fastest ways to level up.

Alright. Time for some science.

Test #1: Punching Something

I glanced around, then spotted a wooden crate sitting near a shop entrance.

I cracked my knuckles. "Alright, let's see if destruction equals XP."

I reeled back and punched the crate.

[THUD.]

Pain shot through my knuckles. "Ow. Shit."

The crate didn't even budge.

XP bar? Still the same.

A passing NPC gave me a concerned glance before hurrying away.

Alright. That's a no.

Test #2: Talking to NPCs

I turned to the nearest merchant—a greasy-looking guy selling apples.

"Hey," I said. "Do I get XP for talking to you?"

The guy blinked. "What?"

"XP. Do I get any?"

"…You want to buy an apple?"

I sighed. "Forget it."

XP bar? Still empty.

Test #3: Parkour?

Some games gave XP for exploring, so I climbed up onto a barrel, then jumped onto a nearby roof ledge.

Aaaaand slipped.

I crashed back to the ground, landing hard on my back.

[1 HP lost.]

A nearby player actually laughed.

XP bar? Still barely moved.

Conclusion? This game was bullshit. But not just normal bullshit—specific bullshit.

Something about my class was gimping my XP gains.

I sighed and dusted myself off.

Clearly, normal actions weren't giving me XP. Which meant something about my class was different.

And I had zero idea what.

I let out a breath. Alright. Fine.

If I wasn't getting answers here, I might as well explore the city and see what else this place had to offer.

With that, I turned and headed deeper into the streets of Shadow Land.

Shadow Land was weird. Half the city looked like rich aristocrats sipping wine in fancy courtyards. The other half? Felt like somewhere you'd wake up without your wallet.

I was in that second half.

The streets were narrower here, the buildings older, the people less likely to say "good afternoon" and more likely to say "give me your coin pouch."

Which is why I wasn't surprised when a voice called out:

"Hey, fresh meat."

I stopped walking.

A guy leaned against a nearby wall, arms crossed, giving me the universal 'you're about to get scammed' look.

He was tall, thin, and dressed in a long brown coat.

I sighed. "Let me guess. You want me to invest in your new cryptocurrency?"

The guy actually laughed. "Nah, nothing like that. Just a little… business opportunity."

Oh boy.

I glanced around. The street was mostly empty, just a few NPCs lingering nearby. Nobody watching too closely.

I crossed my arms. "Alright, let's hear it. What kind of totally legal business are we talking about?"

The guy smirked. "You're new, right? That means you're off the radar. Perfect for handling… deliveries."

I blinked. Ah. A courier job.

The NPC leaned in slightly. "All you gotta do is take a small package to a certain shop. No questions asked."

Yeah. Because that's not suspicious at all.

"What's in the package?" I asked.

The guy's smirk didn't waver. "No questions asked."

"Riiight," I said. "And if I open it?"

His smirk disappeared. "You don't."

Uh-huh. Totally normal. Definitely not illegal.

I rubbed my chin, pretending to think. "And how much does this very legitimate delivery job pay?"

"Ten gold," he said smoothly. "For a first-timer."

I raised an eyebrow. Ten gold? That was double what Markus gave me for almost getting eaten by wolves.

Which meant two things:

This job was shady as hell.I kinda wanted to see how far I could push this guy.

I sighed dramatically. "Man, I don't know… Georgio said I should stay away from jobs like this."

The guy frowned. "Georgio?"

I nodded seriously. "Yeah, Georgio. You know how he is. Always warning new recruits about bad deals."

The guy squinted, clearly trying to figure out who the hell Georgio was.

But like the toll collector, he didn't want to admit he didn't know.

So instead, he just nodded. "…Right. Georgio."

I almost laughed. Too easy.

"Tell you what," I said, lowering my voice like we were co-conspirators. "I'll take the job… but I need a little advance. You know, for expenses."

The guy hesitated.

I gave him the most confident look I could.

"You know how Georgio does things," I added casually.

And that was it.

He sighed and pulled five gold out of his pouch, handing it to me.

I took it, nodded like a true professional, then walked away.

Without the package.