Alchemy

Chapter 3

Title: Alchemy

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With the increased agility and the fact that Azami is an elf, it didn't take her long to arrive back at the village.

Unbound Reality had a variety of ways to increase your level without fighting. While there were many classes for combat, there were just as many for non-combat.

Azami had come up with five possible methods she could use to level up without killing.

The first option was to become a merchant. It was an obvious choice for anyone who wanted to make money and level up while doing so. The second one was to become a craftsman. Most people who have artistic abilities choose this as their path in the game. It's simple and can gain lots of attention if the player has talent. Craftsman are usually merchants on the side to sell their goods.

The third option was being a miner.

"No." She said immediately.

The next choice was to try alchemy. There were many forums on the game telling people not to try this. The reason being, it requires players to travel across the map, even to the unknown locations. These locations could have high level monsters that could unexpectedly attack and instantly kill you.

In order to gather materials, players would have to search for what'd they need in order to create their things.

If a player was killed too many times in Unbound Reality it'd cause them to start losing levels.

While there weren't many, hardly any alchemist in the game, the ones who did become one said it's a great way to gain levels quickly and to earn money. The job did come with great risk, but the experience you gain from it makes up for that.

Finally, the fifth and last option was to get a job. No, not a real job. A job inside Unbound Reality. Many non-combatants chose this as a path for their gameplay. There were many types of in-game jobs ranging from being a fisherman to taming even the most dangerous animals. Mining and crafting was also a type of job inside of Unbound Reality.

If a player was good enough at their job, they could be lucky enough to make it their class.

"I don't have much talent in crafting things and getting a job in here is definitely not for me. That leaves me with either becoming a merchant or an alchemist.. Alchemy sounds more interesting." Azami said as she leaned on the wall of a building.

As she thought about her two options a small group of players had come up to her.

"Heyo, wanna go on a quest with us cutie?" One of the guys said. Azami could feel her lips twitch from his last words but decided to ignore it.

"I promise it'll be fun. You don't even have to help, we can do all the work. We'd basically level you up, but we'd need something in return." Another one added.

"No thanks." Azami responded. She had things to do and going on a mission with some randoms wasn't something in her plans.

"C'mon little lady give us a chance! You don't have to be afraid us, we aren't bad people! Us big brothers are real gentlemen." One of the guys said with a pleading tone.

Azami was getting ticked off by their constant begging. She had already declined them! What was so hard to understand?

"I'm not interested." She said with annoyance in her voice.

"Quite a feisty gal." A person who seemed the leader of the group said. His red eyes seemed to gleam as they stared into Azami's. His skin was slightly pale and everytime his mouth opened you could see two sharp fangs.

'He must be a vampire, and the others?' The first guy seemed to be a tiger beastman, one of the many beastman races in the game. The other was a lynx beastman, while the last person was a human.

"I like feisty girls. Join us will you? I promise we don't bite." The guy said as he went to pat Azami's head, only to be met with a dagger inches away from slitting his neck.

On her way back to the village Azami also thought of ways to use her magic to the full advantage. This meant even creating weapons out ice. While she couldn't do anything more than create a dagger, it was still very effective.

"Be grateful players aren't allowed to PK in safe zones. I would've surely killed you by now..tsk."

One second...two seconds...three seconds...

The guys had finally woken up from their stupor, unfortunately for them Azami had already walked away. The others passing by including the NPCs could only shake their head at this and keep going. It wasn't unusual to see this group of guys going from one girl to the next trying to get them to join their "quest". While they did actually take the girls on a quest, in return for helping they'd take her items and any loot she gained. It was win-lose situation, leaning more towards the losing side though.

"I-I'm going to go uh..go. Cya later!" The lynx said as he quickly walked away.

"Yeah me too! I have some quest to finish..yeah totally!" Said the human, leaving in the same manner as his friend. The last two looked at eachother, and as if using telepathy they spoke at the same time.

"I've gotta go too!"

"Y-yup cya bro!"

It wasn't the first time they had been threatened, but it was the first time someone had actually shown that they'd go through with their threats. What they didn't know was that, because they'd just tried to trick the new beauty in town, they just become one of the most disliked players there. Even the NPCs might deny them service for their actions.

While the guys were dealing with that, Azami was on her way to a place called 'The Alchemy Lab'. It was obvious what the place was used for.

She got there fairly quickly after asking for directions from some players.

She went towards the counter and lightly tapped on it. Sitting behind was a woman who'd been napping with a book over her face. She woke up to the sound of Azami's tapping and looked up at her. She gave a small smile and asked: "Would you like to rent a room?"

"Yes. I'll be staying for a few days." There was a time dilation between the real world and ingame. One day in here was only one hour in the real world.

The woman raised a brow at this. "Oh? A few days, huh. Its 5 copper to rent a room and 8 copper for a room with bedding. Unfortunately, we only have one deluxe room but it can be rented for 15 copper."

Azami gave the woman 8 copper, which she earned from the overkill rabbit quest.

She handed Azami a key and said: "Your room is the third door on the right down this hall. This key will only work for your door so don't worry about people walking in. If you need anything i'll always be at this counter. Have fun, Azi."

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