The Plight of a Newbie (II)

"I'm quite surprised that Growth has such a unique function." Zeraph got up and brushed off his clothes. "It's unheard of for a player to be born from an egg."

Zero rolled his eyes. He opened his status menu. I forgot I have this transform ability. I wonder what it will do, he thought.

"Check Transform."

Transform.

Beginner Level 1. (0%)

Human Form- (mp cost 10) An ability that will allow you to turn into a human. Can stay in human form indefinitely.

Hybrid Form– (mp cost 2500) A unique form that combines the human and origin form together. It can only be used once a day. This form is not available until you have reached lvl 250 and Master level 1. The cooldown time is one day.

Origin- (mp cost 500) An ability that will allow you to turn into your creature form.

You can only stay in this form for 1 hour. Once the time limit is over, you will transform back into your human form. It is possible to stay in this form for a longer period of time as you level up. The cool down time is 6 hours.

Hmm. Three forms. That's interesting. I wonder what each one does. Let's try it out.

"Transform into human!'

"Zero, I don't think that is a good idea right now," said Agnis worriedly. A couple of players had come into the shop and were looking at them curiously.

Zero's body grew longer and taller, turning him into a five-year-old child. He trembled in the cold. He looked down and was shocked. He was completely naked. With his hands he tried to cover himself and frantically looked around, but there wasn't anything to cover him with.

"I warned you…Now you're naked. Are you going to parade around like that?" Agnis said without a single blush showing on her face.

Zero turned bright red. Agnis folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.

"I don't think you want to go streaking outside where thousands of players are at. You might go viral. Pfft. That's not a bad idea. I wonder if I could get some money off it," said Agnis as she chuckled to herself.

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated." Zero glared at her.

"Who's saying I'm being sarcastic?" She looked at him innocently. She was like an alligator that caught its prey and was ready to go into a death roll. "By the way, it seems that in human form your red mark is gone. That's strange," said Agnis as she circled around him, looking for the red mark. Zero inched back from her inspection. It was making him really uncomfortable.

"No clue." Zero shrugged it off. He wasn't too worried about it right now. His main concern was clothes.

"Change back into Origin!" exclaimed Zero. Once again Zero turned back into his small fox/dog form.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you both, but I have a request for Zero," said the shop owner loudly behind the counter. For a moment, Zero had forgotten all about the store owner that was present there as well. He turned around.

"Sure?" said Zero, tilting his head slightly to the right. He felt stronger now and was able to move without any trouble. He jumped up on the counter.

"It seems you're a unique species that even I don't know much about. I think you are the perfect candidate to do the job." The shop owner tapped his fingers anxiously on the counter.

"And that is….?" Zero slinked slowly away.

"I want you to infiltrate an underground black market slave trade that sells rare monsters, humans, and other races. It is held on a weekend around midnight at the Mansion of Dion. I only need you to go there and find me someone. He goes by the name Tino. He is my brother. This shop was named after him. Please, you are the perfect spy for this job," said the shop owner with a tone of sadness in his voice. His brow furrowed as he pleaded to Zero.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I was just born. I can barely defend myself. Wouldn't it be better if you have someone who is stronger than I?" Zero tried to back away from this unwanted quest. He felt like this quest was going into the lion's den, where he would get eaten alive. It was better to stay out of trouble as much as possible.

Taking such a quest when he was just born would be a suicide mission.

"It is rare to come across someone as unique as you. Please accept this quest." The shopkeeper got down on his knees, and his eyes filled with tears.

"What about Agnis here? She'll probably pass with flying colors," said Zero. He pointed his nose towards her.

"No, it is not enough. Please do not refuse."

Zero was backed up on the edge and he was about to fall off the counter.

Zero sighed. "Okay. I'll do it." He dropped his head in submission. It seem like he couldn't get away from this dreaded quest.

Ding!

The woe of the Pet Trader

The owner of Tino Shop, Tyrell, has requested that you find a missing person named Tino at the Black Market Slave trade in the Mansion of Dion. This month the trade takes place on Saturday at midnight every week. He asked that you find information about his brother. Infiltrate the base as a specimen for the black market trade. You must go with your partner. It is recommended to go on any one of the Saturdays.

Difficulty Level: C

Requirements: A pet that has been contracted or is a unique race. Also the owner must join.

Reward: Special item will be given depending on the information. If you save Tino you will be rewarded handsomely.

Failure: No rewards will be given if Tino dies. Failure will decrease your fame and will be blacklisted in all pet stores.

"I'll do what I can," he said dejectedly. The shop owner whooped with joy and did a small dance.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" said the shop owner. He picked up Zero and twirled him around, kissing him on his head.

"Aw, gross. Keep your mouth to yourself," said Zero as he was about to hurl from disgust. He smacked the shop owner in the face a couple of times with his paws.

"I got the quest too. Strange. I didn't even accept it. I'm guessing it's because I'm your partner?" said Agnis confused as she looked through the quest.

"It's a level C Quest. I'm guessing it's not too hard?" said Zero with little interest.

Agnis's mouth dropped open. "What are you talking about? C is for players level 50 and up. Don't you know your quest ranking system?"

Zero shook his head slowly.

She let out a big sigh. "Are you really a gamer?" said Agnis. She said the next part as if talking to an idiot. "The lowest level quests, for newbies like us to do, are Level E. From E it goes to D, C, B, A, S, and SS. There might be a SSS rank, but that's just a rumor."

"O..h…" He hadn't expected the ranks to go up so high. But he didn't like Agnis's tone. Even though he did not know much about the game, he was a very quick learner.

Zero turned toward the shop owner. "By any chance do you know where I can buy some equipment?" he asked. The shop owner took out a pencil and paper and drew a simple map.

"Go outside, take a right, and in a couple blocks down there will be a General store. If you get to the Phoenix Inn, you've gone too far."

"Thanks."

Zero hopped off the counter and trotted towards the door. The moment he pushed open the door, his eyes were blinded by the bright light. He squinted. Fancy merchant shops lined the sides of the street.

It was crowded and busy with merchants selling items, while new players with tattered clothes were running around doing their quests. Bards played lovely music, and dancers performed in the square. Curious pedestrians turned their heads towards Zero.

"What is that? Is that a dog?" said one of the dancers as she pointed at Zero.

"Awww, it looks so cute. I want one!" said a young girl as she pulled on her mother's arms.

"Hey, that dog monster has a killer mark over its head. It looks vicious!" yelled a man out to the crowd.

"Stay away from it. It's not going to be a good idea to even be near it," said one of the newbie players as he pushed back his friend with worry.

"Agnis, are you coming?" said Zero. He looked behind him.

"I'm right behind you."

Both Zeraph and Agnis followed right after.

"Kyaah, that guy next to the girl is so hot. I want his number," swooned one of the female players. Many females looked upon Zeraph with hearts forming in their eyes.

"Wait, did that dog just talk?" said a newbie player.

Players inched over as they become more curious about him.

"Is that the new update the company was talking about?" said a player as they talked amongst themselves.

A young boy with curly red hair walked up to Zero. His short stubby legs tripped over and fell grasping Zero's fur. A sharp yank could be felt. The kid dropped to his knee and hugged Zero tightly. As the kid reoriented himself, he began to ruffle Zero's fur and pet him.

"Doggie?"

"Hey, kid. I'm not a dog. Stop that. Ouch! That hurts." Zero grimaced in pain from the sharp pull of his ears. The young boy was enjoying Zero's fluffy fur and his downy soft ears. Zero couldn't take it anymore and pushed the boy aside. Stumbling backwards, the boy cried out loud.

"That dog just attacked the poor child!" gasped an old lady as she fell backward and fainted. A couple of people caught her just before she hit the ground.

"Someone call the guards!" yelled a man frantically.

"Nice one, Zero. You're creating more of a scene for yourself." Agnis looked at Zero in disbelief.

"I'm not a dog." Zero growled. He hated how the world treated him like some kind of animal, and he especially disliked being in this restricting form at this moment. It was creating too much of an attention.

"Well you sure do look like one at this angle." Agnis tilted her head as she exam Zero.

Zero sighed and sat down in front of the boy. If he wanted to get this problem solved, he needed to deal with the kid first. "Hey, kid, where's your mom?"

"I….I don't know," the kid sniffled.

Zero shook his head in disbelief. Now I have a lost kid, a crazy woman, crazy people who think I attacked a kid, and a guy who tried to buy me. What is this game coming too.

"Kid, let's go find your mom." Zero nudged the boy's hands.

The kid brightened up and laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah, before I change my mind." Zero stood up. He just wanted this problem to go away.

Ding!

Find the lost child's motherThe young boy has strayed away from his mother and is now lost. Find the kid's mother in the Kingdom of Terra.

Difficulty Level: E

Requirements: None.

Reward: Unknown.

Restriction: A contracted pet.

Let's use this creature's form to its fullest ability. Even though I don't like it much, let's see what I can do. What was it that animals are good at? Oh yeah. They have really good noses. Let's try it out. Zero thought. He sniffed around the child like a dog. All of a sudden he could see different colored aura-like trails connecting to different people.

You have learned a new ability! Keen Nose Beginner level 1 (0%)

Keen Nose allows you to track and differentiate different smells of people. Be wary of strong smells. They can confuse you.

"Did you just sniff his clothes?" Zeraph raised his eyebrows.

"Bwhahahaha. You're becoming more like a dog. Are you sure you're not a dog, Zero?" Agnis slapped her knees as she laughed hysterically. She was having a difficult time trying to keep herself from falling over.

"I pray to god I'm not," said Zero and he ignored Agnis.

Zeraph paced around Zero with even more curiosity. "Your character is quite fascinating. It's a shame. You would be such a great tracker."

Zero ignored his comment and begun to use his nose. He followed the pink line that was sticking to the kid's body. They walked down the town square where merchants were selling goods.

Thousands of different-colored smells wafted through the square, and a couple of time Zero almost lost the mother's scent. This is a lot more difficult than I thought.

Zeraph walked beside Agnis as Zero was in the lead. "So how did you two even meet?" asked Zeraph curiously.

"He broke my phone so he's paying me back with labor," said Agnis without any remorse in her voice.

"Ah, I see. That's quite a meeting."

"What about you? Why were you at the shop?" said Agnis. Her white hair fell down her face as she peered up at Zeraph.

"I heard about the famous 100 million gold egg, and I was luckily walking by that shop and decided to drop in. By the way, may I know your levels?" said Zeraph as he quietly walked next to them.

"I'm a level 15 wood elf. My job is undecided. I didn't have time to play this week so I'm pretty low, but I was lucky enough to get all the free stats," said Agnis happily. "You don't know how difficult that was. I don't want to do that again."

"Impressive," said Zeraph.

"I'm a level 1," Zero said. "Undecided on the job, and I'm a hybrid human race that's unknown." He continued to sniff around from side to side, trying to keep track of the parent's trail.

"I'm level 50. A hybrid water elf. I still haven't figured out what I want to do either. It's a bit difficult to find the so-called unique jobs," said Zeraph as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"A hybrid water elf? I have never heard of that. How many different species of elves are there?" asked Zero.

"Well, that's the thing. We don't know," Agnis said. "This game originally started out with Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and Trolls. Then there are different branches of these races that live in unique terrains. This game has only been out for eight months. We haven't explored even a twelfth of the world yet. This continent is the only continent that is considered to be safe to live in. It's been getting pretty crowded on the Fire Continent lately from the explosion of users. There are rumors that the larger guilds are getting ready to explore the neighboring Electric Continent east of the Fire Continent."

"Only one twelfth?" Zero said with surprise.

"Yep. By discovering new places, new races appear," Agnis replied, sounding excited.

Zero laughed. "You're a bit geeky about this stuff, aren't you?"

Agnis became embarrassed. "Hey, I love this game. I read all the gossip and news and guides. Have you guys thought about what jobs that you might want to have?" she asked as she looked at each of them.

"Well, I was thinking more on the line of a fighting type. Not really sure yet," said Zeraph as he scratched his chin.

"What kind of jobs are there?" asked Zero.

Agnis dove into the explanation. "There are three main types of job classes. They can be divided into Magic, Warrior, or Specialized class. Magic job classes are magicians, bards, dancers, enchanters, summoners, and priests. The Warrior types are paladins, warriors, barbarians, thieves, and hunters. Then we go into the Specialized types that are tamers, merchants, and blacksmiths. Out of the main jobs you are allowed to choose one. You can change jobs later on, but it takes extra steps and requirements. The jobs that the Yami Hikari Company is looking for are special quest jobs. When you take on these jobs they become main jobs that are magic, warrior, or specialized classes. Those are more difficult to find. There are also secondary classes: artists, cooks, maids, butlers, farmers, fishermen, etc…" Agnis was talking so fast that she ran out of air. She wheezed a big breath before finishing, "Those can be obtained anywhere without much trouble. You get one main job and one secondary job."

Both Zeraph and Zero looked at her with awe.

"The specialized jobs are either a hit or a miss," said Agnis, who seemed a bit worried about finding hers.

"Turn right on this corner. The smell is getting stronger. I think we are almost there," said Zero as he trotted faster towards the smell.