A Family Heirloom

*persuasion changed to speech

*changed his character name from 'Zero' to 'Romeo' just bc I think it could get confusing calling someone 'Zero' in a normal conversation.

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I looked at my 'Skills Tab'. It said my thieving level was already 5 and my speech was level 2.

The game allows you to level up your skills in any way possible. (Example. Thieving can be leveled up by pickpocketing someone. If you lie to someone to get something from them, you are gaining xp in both Thieving and Speech!)

The only real challenge is finding out what the skills are. When you first open up the 'Skills Tab', it is completely empty. The skills only appear after you level it up once. But how do you level it up if you do not know what is there?

Simple. You play the game.

In my past life, players discovered the skills this way. The simple skills were the first ones discovered. People used magic to gain magic xp. People crafted items to gain crafting xp. There were also more… interesting skills. Some players accidentally burned bones and gained prayer xp. I remember reading that someone tried squinting at something to read it better and they ended up gaining vision xp.

This was part of the reason why so many people began playing the game. The leveling system gave you a near infinite amount of ways to level your character. This kept the game feeling fresh and new every time.

This was my first time seeing the player interface since I never got the chance to see it in the past. I kept staring at it and looking through each tab.

I was so caught up in it that I forgot about the boy that I had just saved. The boy suddenly groaned and it made me remember what my main objective was. I close the player interface, clear my throat and speak to the boy.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go see a doctor?"

The boy just stares up at me. He shakes his head.

"No. It's okay sir. Please just take me to my families home. My mother can heal me."

After he says that, a window pops up in the corner of my eye. It was a quest! I looked at it and pictured myself opening it up. When I did that, the quest unraveled itself so that I could see the contents of the quest.

~The Young Master~

Quest Details: Walk the young master back to his families home.

Time Limit: 1 hour

Reward: A treasure of your choice.

Will you accept?

<Yes> <No>

I immediately hit yes. The quest moves from into my 'Quest Tab'. This was the quest I was looking for! It was one of the quests that couldn't be repeated. It was first come first serve.

"Sure, I will take you. My name is Romeo. What's your name?"

"My name is Jack Finny. I'm 6 years old."

"Well it's nice to meet you Jack. Let's go. You can show me the way."

I carefully lift up Jack and placed him on my shoulders. I exited the alleyway and waited for Jack to give me instructions. The road was busy with players and npc walking around. It took him a moment before pointing in a certain direction.

"That way Romeo. My house should be in that direction."

I look in the direction he is pointing and nod. I begin walking through the crowd.

After a few minutes, I decide to talk to the boy. I only knew about the game's mechanics and other unique features. I knew nothing about the lore so I thought this would be a good chance to understand it better.

"There sure are a lot of people in this town. Is there a big event coming up or something?"

"Hmm. I think so! I heard father speaking about a festival being thrown! The hero will be visiting our town before leaving for the Demon Continent!"

After Jack said that, a small window appeared in the corner of my eye. I opened it and was quite shocked.

~Befriend the Hero~

Quest Details: You feel the urge to befriend the hero. You're destined to fight along side each other.

Time Limit: None

Rewards: ???

Will you accept the quest?

<Yes> <No>

Befriend the hero? It's has no time limit either… hm… I might as well accept. Since there is no time limit, I can take my time on it. I select yes and it moves into my 'Quest Tab'. Jack continues to talk about the hero.

"My father said that the hero had received a quest from Shiva the God of Life. No one knows what the details of the quest is but the hero is strong so we don't have to worry about it!"

"That's so cool. Maybe I can see get a glimpse of the hero during the festival?"

"I hope I can too!"

The two of us kept talking but I had only one thing on my mind. Shiva the God of Life. When PATCH NOTES 1 came out, I heard stories of individuals and even groups of people claiming to receive quests directly from him. Many news outlets attributed the chaos at the beginning of the PATCH NOTES to these quest receivers.

In the game, Shiva seems to be loved by many. If I really came to a different timeline then maybe Shiva is different this time. I really wish I played it in the past now. Having my knowledge be limited to just forum posts and tutorial videos might be my downfall.

The two of us continued on our way. We spent the entire time talking and getting to know one another.

-

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Finny Residents

Jack and I were just outside the gates of his home. I knew he was a noblemen's child but they were rich rich.

The town had the layout of a well defended capital city. The roads close to the outside of the city were more traditional. However, the closer you get to the center, the more curvy and twisty it gets. There are no completely straight roads like the outside.

The closer to the center you are, the more expensive it gets to live. This was where Jack and many other rich families lived.

Jack's home particularly looked like a small castle that rich people from my own world would own. (Just Google castle like homes, you'll get an idea of what Jack's home looks like.)

"Halt! Who goes there?" A guard shouts at us. I stop with Jack still on my shoulders. Jack was going to speak but one of the guards interrupted him.

"The young master is back! He looks injured! Surround that peasant!"

Before the two of us could say anything, I was surrounded by guards. They all had spears that were pointed at my neck. I tried explaining but a strong pressure kept me from moving. I couldn't stand anymore and fell from the weight.

Even when I fell, the pressure continued to hound me. I could see Jack reaching out to me as the guards took him away. That was the last thing I saw before I lose my consciousness.

When I woke up, I was lying on a fancy couch. I quickly got up when I remembered what happened. I looked around but that was when I saw Jack. He was sleeping in a chair that was seated not to far from me.

I check my quests tab to see if the quest was completed.

~The Young Master~

STATUS: COMPLETE

'Looks like I finished it. Now I just wait for the-.' Well I was lost in thought, the door to the room swung open. A butler entered.

"Oh you're awake sir. If that's the case then the Master Finny would like to meet with you. Please follow me."

Before I could say anything, he already turned to leave. I got up and quickly followed behind. The butler was already halfway down the hall. I rushed to catch up to him.

I tried talking with the butler as we continued through the halls but he remained silent. After a while, I just give up and walk in silence.

After a few more turns, the butler stops in front of a door. "The master is waiting for you inside." The butler then disappeared in front of me, leaving me alone.

'So he's that strong huh?' I couldn't sense anything but I figure what spell the butler used. It was called 'Void Step'. It was taught through buying a spell book and reading it. The spell book itself was expensive.

'The Finnys really are different from the others.' I went ahead and knocked on the door. When I heard an older voice call for me to come in, I entered.

Inside the room was an office space. One wall had a few painting. The other wall was had a window that could see into the back yard. The wall behind the desk was lined with bookshelves.

Behind the desk sat an older gentleman and standing behind him was a beautiful lady. I would assume that the two are Jack's parents.

"My name is Romeo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I figured leaving a good impression would be the right thing. But to my surprise it was the two adults here that wanted to leave a good impression on me.

"No no! Please, it's our pleasure to meet the one who saved our only son!"

"Yes please! It's just like my husband said, we're very grateful that you saved him. Ah and please forgive our daughter for attacking you! She didn't know any better."

The two had their heads hung low when I looked at them. They must be apologizing for that pressure that attacked me.

"It's no problem and please don't worry about it. I can handle a few punches." I laughed to show them that everything was okay. If I had to guess, the doctor that cleaned up Jack, cleaned me up as well.

"Thank goodness you're fine." The mother seemed really worried. I guess their daughter must have done a lot to me. The father got up and shook my hand.

"My name is William Finny and this is my wife Helen Finny. We once again thank you for bringing Jack back to us."

Before I could say anything he stood up and motioned for me to follow him. I did so and we leave the office. He walks down the king hall until we reach the last door.

"As a show of our appreciation, please chose something from here."

He opens the door and I couldn't help but smile. I was about to get my hands on one of the best items in the game.

The family heirloom of the Finny family.