Chapter 11. Rewards

The system didn't keep him waiting too long, and only a week later, a prompt flashed in front of his eyes when he woke up.

[ Achievements calculated! Proceeding with reward...

Warning! Warning! Warning!

Interference detected!

Rewriting the code... Processing... ]

"What the fuck is going on!?"

[ Setting character as 'Hardcore! No respawns allowed!

Rewriting difficulty options... Processing... ]

"???"

Watching the system glitch made Michael's hair stand on ends. What if the game processing units on Blizzard servers would consider him a bug, and a patch from the devs would delete him?

Plus, from what he knew from other similar games, a 'hardcore' option was exactly as the system mentioned. Once he died, there were no respawns, and you had to start from zero on a new character.

However, the system classified him as a 'character' and not a 'player.' Does that mean there are no do-overs once a Boss slaps him into the High Heavens?

To say he was surprised would be a lie, as he wasn't exactly expecting infinite lives after his goddamn soul was hauled over into this world. He knew he had only one shot from the very beginning.

Maybe hopes were buried deep inside, but the system crushed them with impunity.

[ Adjusting difficulty to World Tier 2!

Rewriting experience gain: enemies give 20% more XP

Rewriting currency gain: enemies drop 15% more currency

Rewriting reward... Processing... ]

'Holy shit, I dodged that bullet! For a moment, I thought the system would force me to fight enemies in World Tier 4 difficulty or some shit while still at Level 1.

At least now I know what Tier 2 does in terms of extra gold and XP.'

Sighing in relief, Michael wiped the sweat that unknowingly formed on his brows. Fortunately, the worst part is over, and the goodies should be handed next.

[ Releasing leveling feature for the character!

Rewriting rewards for the first completed quest: experience gained - 0

Rewriting rewards for the first completed quest: currency gained - 26.494 gold coins

Rewriting rewards for the first completed quest: Murmuring Obols gained - 95 ]

Michael was stunned for a couple of moments after reading the prompts.

The unlocked experience gain was there, which was to be expected. Luckily, the system didn't mess with that.

He didn't gain any XP from his quest - an acceptable loss. He did earn over 26.000 gold coins instead, making him filthy rich. Albeit, only in this place... in the middle of nowhere.

He could barely buy Level 5 armor to equip himself with that kind of money.

As for what the Murmuring Obols were... no clue! But they were probably a rarer currency one could use to access more unique items. Only the future will tell.

'I was expecting a bit more. Like, for example, what am I supposed to do...'

[ Issuing quest: Travel to the nearest established town

Reward: Access to the Main Storyline. ]

"...next. Heh!"

[Hmm? What's wrong, child?](Al)

"Old man, it seems that it's time for me to hit the road."

[Oh!? Did you gain the Sanctuary's recognition?](Al)

Hearing the excitement in his voice, Michael was temporarily left speechless. It seemed he wasn't as hyped up as this old guy.

Michael explained his quest while laughing and shaking his head at the old man's antics.

[Hmm... the nearest settlement the Sanctuary would recognize as a 'town' would be Nevesk. It's about four days from here on horseback. They are the neighbors we benefit from most since merchants head there from other nearby locations. Inadvertently, they stop through our small outpost on their way there or back due to a lack of better options.](Al)

"Nevesk... I see."

Playing with his inventory for a bit, he realized that just by willing the coins to appear in his hand, they would, so he nodded thoughtfully and looked back at Al.

"Say, old man. You're smart and have enough life experience not to be greedy. The system just gave me a good amount of gold coins. How much do you think I can leave here with you without it causing harm to the villagers?"

[Zero.](Al)

"*Sigh* Stop being stubborn, old man! You heard from Gonk how easy it is for us to gain coins. Plus, I told you before. I wouldn't say I like owing anyone and believe in paying back favors. I've been staying here for over five weeks, so I need to pay some rent."

[Rent?](Al)

"I mean paying for housing and food."

[You already paid by hunting with Orla and Bonny so often...](Al)

"Whatever we gained from hunting with my help was just the pay for the lessons those two gave me. So this and that are separate matters."

[*Sigh* And you call me hardheaded. Ten... no, five gold coins! No more!](Al)

"Okay, I'll leave 100 with you."

[What!? No! What would we even do with that much?](Al)

"Don't forget who taught me the cost of things, old man. You said your son is coming here in a couple of days, so use that money to pay back some of his 'investments' in this camp. Meanwhile, for the rest, hire some guards from Kyovashad.

Gonk said that retired mercenaries and Wanderers would join if provided with enough coin. Hiring ten to twenty people to guard this camp would cost you about a gold per month, even if you pick professionals. That means you can protect this place for at least a few years with what I leave behind.

Also, I heard from Bonny about the town recognition requirements. Safety is one thing, but the population is just as important. If you hire guards to keep this place safe, more merchants would pass through, and people might even try to find refuge here in the near future."

The old man looked pensive but didn't agree to the proposal. Ultimately, he only said to wait until his son arrived and that they would discuss it then.

Shaking his head, Michael hoped to be able to talk more sense into the new arrival. The old man wasn't aware of how much gold he had gained and probably thought he was blowing a considerable portion of it by leaving it for the camp's development.

Initially, he wanted to leave even more with this village, but their inability to spend them would make them sit on a vast amount of currency, probably turning them into targets for bandits.

Merchants are not good people in general. There are a few good seeds, but most are rotten to the core. If, upon a visit from such a piece of trash, they somehow see that this town suddenly received an influx of wealth, they will investigate the source.

It doesn't require Sherlock Holmes to piece things together. All it takes is a drunk adult or a fooled child to bring about the demise of the entire camp.

---------------------------

Three days passed rapidly, and right when the old man started to worry, his son arrived at the camp.

Five horses pulling big wagons followed him, even if two were empty. It seemed like he was running a caravan from town to town, and this place was indeed a pitstop for them.

About twenty well-armed men and women rode on horseback beside the caravans while three more were at the forefront.

Wanderers!

'Judging by their attire, it should be a Rogue, a Sorceress... and maybe a Shaman? The last guy had a pair of goddam reindeer horns on his head, so it was perhaps a priestly Class.'

[Rolo, you're finally here!](Al)

[I'm sorry, Dad... We got held up in Nevesk. We were supposed to stay there for only a day, but we added another as they emptied three of our carts while we bought an extra one filled with pelts from them. I figured this place and many others would need such goods, so we stayed to collect them.](Rolo)

[It's good that you're here. Come! Don't leave these people staying at the gates. As usual, forgive our poor camp, as we don't have enough to provide like the bigger towns. We'll do our best to welcome you with meat and ale.](Al)

[Old man, don't lie to us. Meat and ale? Did you guys rob a merchant?](?)

[Aylin, you snarky brat! Would we even have enough strength to do that!? It's thanks to this new friend here. He helped us tide through a rampaging wolf pack and even hunted with us after. Thanks to him, we had plenty of pelts to sell to a merchant that passed through here about two weeks ago and bought some barrels of ale with some of the profits. Now, we can appropriately greet visitors.](Al)

[Hehe! Eh!? A new face, huh?](Aylin)

[Miss Aylin... Forgive her, young friend. She's been a bit on the edge ever since Nevesk. If Dad says that you helped, I know that you did. He's a hard man to please, after all.](Rolo)

[Hmpf!](Al)

"Haha! Don't worry about it. Old man Al and the villagers helped me more than I did them. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Rolo, Miss Aylin, and everyone else."

Aylin was the Sorceress, and she did seem jumpy for some reason. The hooded Rogue was more or less the same, scanning him and the other villagers for 'something.' The guy with the reindeer horns on his head also had his eyes closed but was emitting a strange aura.

'Maybe a skill?'

"You said that something was odd about Nevesk? Could you please tell me more about it? I'm planning to head there soon."

[Wanderer?](?)

The hoarse voice of the Rogue startled Michael, but he nodded nevertheless.

[I'm Martel. Level?](Martel)

"Level 1. I just gained the Sanctuary recognition about three days ago."

[*Tsk* I can smell death on you, meaning you're probably a Necromancer. My advice: if you aren't particularly confident in your skills and your World Tier is above 1, don't go there.](Martel)

[Excuse me, sir. Did something happen there? Were you attacked?](Al)

[...](Martel)

[*Sigh* Ignore him, Grandpa Al. He values his words more than gold coins. The fact that he spoke so much is a miracle in itself. As for Nevesk... we weren't attacked or anything. It's more of a feeling. The whole city felt... wrong. Aaargh! I really don't know how to put it into words. It felt...](Aylin)

[Corrupted.](?)

The surprisingly low yet soothing voice of the last Wanderer echoed and carried traces of magic with it through the air. It was not an active skill, though, as he saw what an active skill feels like when Gonk demonstrated his Whirlwind while drunk.

'Maybe it was a passive of his? The calming voice was similar to what he would feel when traveling the woods.'

[Dad, this is Mr. Hoduin, a Druid. He was immensely helpful on our way here. It was thanks to him that we didn't encounter any beast tides and only had bandits to worry about.](Rolo)

[Mr. Hoduin, thank you for taking care of my son!](Al)

[It's alright, old sir. It's not like I'm doing it for free. Plus, help should be given where it is needed.](Hoduin)

'A Druid, huh? I wonder how that Class works. Can he transform into beast totems like in other games? That would be pretty cool to watch.'

[Young friend, I take it that you haven't seen my kind before?](Hoduin)

"Indeed, I haven't. My apologies if I was staring too much. I've only read about you and your Class in books, and I'm not sure how much of them are true and how much was added to spice up the legends."

[Hahaha! No doubt there is much deviation, but there's always some truth hidden within the false. Does young friend plan to travel to Nevesk?](Hoduin)

"*Sigh* It seems like walking through the woods often has made me forget my manners. I am Michael, a Necromancer, though a fairly new one. After gaining my recognition recently, I received a Quest to head to Nevesk."

Michael was taking a huge risk here as he had no clue what reaction these people would have to the word Quest.

He didn't dare risk it with the Barbarian, but he was out of options now. Hearing these people who were much stronger than he was mentioning something odd about his destination scared him.

[*Sigh* A newbie... strange though...](Aylin)

[*Scoff* Another entirely clueless brat.](Martel)

[Haha! Now, now! We've all been there, but we had someone to guide us. It seems like it's our turn to do the same. Come, young friend Michael. Let's go inside and talk. Most Wanderer subjects are better discussed between Wanderers.](Hoduin)

Nodding awkwardly and realizing that he had just botched another social taboo, the group of four headed to the best empty house in the camp.

It was usually kept clean and ready for traveling merchants and other people passing through.

It was like an inn, though free of charge. Villagers found out that by doing that, they could get discounts on wares sold by those staying the night.

After the trio settled in the empty rooms, they came back to the indoor kitchen/living room to meet with him for the teaching class.

The tables were soon filled with food and drinks that these people pulled out of their inventory, making Michael's eyes grow the size of saucers.

[It looks like he doesn't even know the function of the inventory page. We have a long night ahead of us.](Aylin)

[Haha! Dig in, young friend. Miss Aylin here has the best food I've tasted in many decades, while Mr. Martel's drinks are as potent as his poisons.](Hoduin)

"Thank you all for your help, and please excuse my ignorance if I in any way offend you through our conversation."

Seeing the friendly trio, he sighed and dropped his guard somewhat. After all, even if it was up, there wasn't much to do against one of these people, much less three.

Hopefully, this night would clear many doubts and questions he's been holding inside his heart.