3 Bandits

A day or so had passed, and Ferris was halfway to lvl7. He continued to help the farmers, after harvesting he was fitted with a plow and turned over the soil, fertiliser was then applied and finally a new lot of seeds planted. There were nine fields and each new task was worth an extra 5 exp.

Experience wasn't the only benefit Ferris had received, he collected many large sacks of vegetables and seed, which would let him plant his own crops in the future. The farmers also gave him a few other items such as a basic horse saddle and reins and an introduction letter to the Farmers Union, as an appreciation of hard work.

A small wooden barrel full of Starlight Apple Cider had been given to him by the wife of one of the Farmers, and while working at night he acquired Essence of Darkness.

He kept everything in his inventory and was unsure if any of this would be useful but in the worst case he could simply sell it.

Only the reins and saddle particularly worried him, as he required others to take them on and off and he felt extremely repulsed by the idea of someone riding him. So he could only promise to himself to never use them.

His experience bar was now barely increasing and after finishing the last two fields he would look for a better quest.

Very few people seemed to have left the starting town. The fields were alongside the road and Ferris had only seen two small groups pass by.

Was it possible that the quests in town are extremely good and players didn't feel the need to leave? Or does this road leads to an undesirable location? He wondered.

He could not check either possibility as the in-game forum and chat groups were only available after reaching lvl10. Returning to town and asking a few players would also solve the mystery, however he still felt self-conscious about his equine body and had no intention to personally ask other players.

The afternoon sun slowly sank over the mountains and the breeze that had been pleasant, now felt uncomfortably chilly.

A few rabbits left the protection of the trees and cautiously searched for food in the overgrown grass by the side of the road.

Ferris found this game to be surprisingly peaceful, in the advertisements, guilds would fight each other in huge bloody battles and cities would be lit ablaze.

However the fields were always tranquil, he hadn't even seen a mildly dangerous animal wandering around. The NPCs were generous and easy going, Ferris decided if he found some rare veggie seeds in the future he would bring them back to Old Tim and the others.

A farmer called Old Joe sat in the cart throwing handfuls of seed, a large rake tied to the cart followed behind mixing the seed into the rows of dirt. It was all extremely boring for Ferris who merely walked up and down the rows. He planned to find an exploration quest next, something that would let him get a better understanding of the game world and maybe have a few exciting adventures here and there.

In the distance a few figures appeared on the road. As they got closer it was obvious they were players, they all had exactly the same face. It was only possible to tell each apart by facial expression and gear. For personalising facial features was only available after lvl10 and this only applied to humans. Spirits and animals had to rely on evolutions to change appearance and the results were unpredictable.

The players soon got closer. Equipped with cheap looking leather armour and dull swords they began to run at Old Sam who was the nearest farmer. Two players slashed down with their swords and blood flew everywhere.

The dying man let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the swords fell again.

Six players altogether, the two who killed Old Sam searched his corpse while the other four sprinted towards the farm house.

The house was close to the road and it didn't take long for the door to be kicked down and more screams to be heard. The farm house was home to all five farmers and their wives and children.

Old Joe jumped from the cart and ran to save his family.

Ferris wanted to help, but the field was surrounded by a fence and the gate was locked. Normally he might be able to jump the fence but he couldn't remove the cart. Using a fence post he tried to wear down the leather harness around his chest, but wether It was because this is a game or the leather was too strong, Ferris really didn't know if this method was reducing the durability.

But it was the only thing he could do.

A young woman ran from the farm house. Her face was extremely pale and blood ran down from the back of her head and dyed her simple tattered dress a bright and vivid red.

The girl thought she'd found safety as she spotted two figures rushing towards the house and desperately threw herself into their arms, sobbing and begging for her family to be saved.

However of those two were not saviours, instead they had just finished looting Old Sam's corpse.

With a delighted laugh one of them fondled her chest and lifted her skirt. However the game system took a strong stance against such actions, irrelevant if it was a player or an NPC being taken advantage of.

Lightning struck from the cloudless sky and the two players were blasted away.

"Ah! Damn it! That took half my heath!" One of the players leapt up cursing.

The other player was even more distraught, he hadn't done anything inappropriate yet was caught up in the punishment.

"I already told you not to go around touching girls! Idiot! Absolute idiot!"