A Glass of Milk

After handing in their quest to the NPC, Detrix decided to take Fluffles to a pub. In the Slums, there wasn't much, but there was something in this game. She had Fluffles find some seats as she went to grab a couple of drinks, returning to find Fluffles trying to sit on the small chair like a cat but finding it difficult.

"Put your legs down," Detrix sighed and placed a half glass of milk in front of the cat as she kept the other drink for herself. The brain simulated everything you ate and drank to an extent, the same with the other senses.

Seeing the milk Fluffles moved her head towards the glass, trying to stick her head inside, her tongue barely touching the liquid. "Almost...there."

Detrix shook her head, "try drinking it like this," showing Fluffles how a person is supposed to drink by grabbing the glass and tilting it back as she chugged it down.

Fluffles grabs the glass with both hands and jerks her head back with the glass. She didn't expect the rush of milk into her mouth and nose as she pulled away, coughing from the milk and spilling it everywhere.

"Guh, ah, this is horrible!" Fluffles shouted once she finished coughing.

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," Detrix shook her head with a faint smile on her face.

Everyone looked over at the gasping cat as Detrix waved her hand at them, "just someone roleplaying." With their curiosity satisfied, most turned back to their own conversation, with only a few still watching.

"Yea, your not a person. Even for a roleplayer, the way you drank that milk wasn't something a person could easily fake," Detrix concluded, watching Fluffles climb back up to the seat.

"You didn't believe I was a cat?" Fluffles' ears lowered as she glared at Detrix.

Detrix shook her head, "Sorry, no matter how many times I think of it, it just seems implausible."

"Hmph, anyway, I want more milk!" Fluffles smacked the empty glass down onto the table.

"Just don't spill it on yourself." Detrix stood up and walked over to the counter, coming back with another glass.

Before Fluffles could grab the glass, Detrix pulled away. "No, you'll make a mess."

"I want it! Gimme!" Fluffles hissed.

"Not until you watch again," Detrix picked up her empty glass and slowly tilted it. "You do this until you drink the glass and set it back down." She put the glass of milk down as Fluffles eagerly grabbed it but slowly drank it, copying what Detrix did.

"So when you completed the quest, did you get anything good?" Detrix asked.

"How do I check?" The moment those words left her lips, the white orb appeared in front of her.

"Open your inventory through the associated icon, or say open inventory," The white orb answered.

"HIISSS!" Fluffles swipes at the orb, but it dodges, causing Fluffles to hit the glass of milk, knocking it towards another player.

"Please resist attacking the help system," The white orb states.

The milk collided with a hulking man. The glass wouldn't break as players couldn't injure another player in town, but the milk still splashed onto him. The man stood up and walk over to Fluffles, "you trying to pick a fight?" the man asked, his hair soaked with milk.

As Fluffles looked up at the large muscle-bound man, she noticed a chain attached to the zipper of his jacket as she started pawing at it.

"Stop mocking me!" The man grabbed Fluffles wrist, causing her eyes to flare up and hiss at him.

"Unhand me!" Fluffles leaned in to bite the man, but the system intervened.

"You cannot physically harm someone in a town unless in a duel," The white orb stated.

"Then I'll duel or whatever!" Fluffles growled, her ears lowering.

"Hehe, then I accept." The man declared.

"You may begin," The white orb announced before disappearing.

The man expected Fluffles to try and bite him as she did earlier. However, she kicked off the ground and smashed her head against the man's face causing him to let go.

Fluffles followed up with her claws, but the man knocked away her arm and countered with his fist, punching into her stomach. "Hand-to-hand combat against a monk, what foolishness." The man's skin looked like stone for a moment before returning to normal. "Heh, now try to hurt me, brat!"

"Hiisss," She leapt onto the table and jump to the wall, kicking off of it as she tried to attack the man.

As her claws dug into the man, he grabbed Fluffles by the throat. Even as the poison made the man sluggish, he managed to hold firm and started punching her. She rapidly clawed at his face, but it didn't do much damage, feeling like her nails were grinding against stone.

"It's over, this will teach you to throw milk on people."

Fluffles understood her health would run out, and seeing how everything disappeared when it died made Fluffles anxious.

"Open...inventory," Fluffles gasped, not sure what else to do.

"Opening inventory," The white orb announced, appearing right beside her.

There wasn't much in there, and most of it was grayed out, not being usable in combat, but there was one item, a red orb. Fluffles didn't have time to read it, but it was her only hope to win this duel. She reached out as her claw tapped the item.

"Activating Orb of Flames," The help system announced, changing from white to a bright red.

Fluffles' entire body was enveloped in a small flame as the man let go as the flames surrounding Fluffles were causing minor burn damage. As she landed back on the ground, Fluffles pounced forward with her claws out. Energy started to swirl around the man's first, channelling his strength into one last attack. As it looked like his fist would make contact first, Fluffles twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the attack as her claws slashed through the man's side.

With the burn damage added to her claws, her attack took out a good chunk of his health. Since the man had used his aura to attack, his stone defence disappeared, and Fluffles took advantage of it.

"This isn't fair. What is that fire?" The man asked, turning around to attack again.

Instead of avoiding it, Fluffles took the hit to claw his throat, causing him to collapse onto the ground. However, since it was only a duel, the system reset the man's health to one and Fluffles was declared the winner. She was breathing pretty heavily as the flames had dissipated, and the help orb returned to its white colour.

"That was amazing. How did you get those flames?" Detrix asked, rushing over to Fluffles.

It wasn't just Detrix everyone wanted to know what it was. Seeing everyone gather around her, Fluffles stood on her tiptoes and hissed at everyone before jumping onto a table, running out the door.

Everyone tried to follow, but no one knew where she had gone. Only Detrix knew since she was still in a party and tracked her down, finding her in a box in an alley.

"Is everyone else gone?" Fluffles asked, her head poking out the box.

"Yea, you ditched them," Detrix smiled and knelt down. "So, want to tell me what that was?"

"No idea, just an item in my inventory," Fluffles shrugged.

"Well, you could ask," Detrix pointed to the white orb hovering near Fluffles. Despite being an emotionless help system, it seemed to be eagerly awaiting the question.

Fluffles looked to Detrix, then over the orb and glared at it for a few moments. "Fine, what is the Orb of Flames," She hissed.

The orb shot towards Fluffles at lightning speed and forced open her inventory, hovering over the red orb icon. "The Orb of Flames is one of many elemental orbs within the game. They're obtained by completing hidden requirements within missions or dropped from special bosses. Once equipped, you gain elemental damage and resistance. They also level up when used enough times. You can swap elemental orbs in battle, so use them to their utmost to win."

"How did you obtain one so early" Detrix pondered. "Could you open up your quest menu?"

"How do-" Fluffles immediately stopped herself, realizing every time she asked a question, the white orb appeared. "Open quests," she announced, hoping it worked the same way as opening inventory.

The quests menu opened in front of her as Detrix looked over Fluffles' shoulder. "Hidden quest, trust no one. Attack and kill the tutorial NPC before receiving a quest." Detrix readout, then looked over to Fluffles. "You attacked the tutorial NPC?"

Fluffles sat there for a moment, trying to remember who that was. "Oh, is it that first werewolf guy?"

"Yea, he tricks you or something. I didn't read the dialogue just did the quests. Didn't even know you could attack him, so why did you?"

"He didn't pet me."