Chapter 6: From Broke To Broke

Eager to listen to what Reccu had to say, I immediately took off from my chair.

PING! The speakers behind my monitor chimed a familiar sound.

Popping-up on my desktop was a window application of eIRC, an ancient software that facilitates online communication, like a chat service. A rare application in this day and age, but I like it. It’s lightweight, runs fast on this old hardware, and has all the tools I need. It also has an awesome 16-bit logo that perfectly loops its three-frames, bulgy-eyes mailbox animation.

Within the eIRC client, a connection instantly formed between me and another user that goes by the alias ‘DD-Pebbles.’

“Mit-Han-Rou, I hope your recent shopping experience with us was enjoyable. Please rate your experience with merchant Pebbles.” A plugged link automatically redirected me to my browser with another pop-up window that displayed, “Thank you for purchasing the Full-Feedback Diving-Casket.” Accompanying it was a clickable scale of one-to-five stars and a small feedback box.

I immediately exited the feedback survey, and typed, “Thanks, maybe next time.” Next time, as in never.

“Butthole.” A red emoticon of an angry face appeared afterwards. “Anyways, are you playing that new game that everyone’s raving about? My services also extends to there, and I’ll also add a discount for a returning customer.”

“Services?” I scoffed. “Don’t got money.”

“You could afford a FFDC, there’s no way you’re empty. C’mon, I’ll also accept in-game currency.” An especially irky emoticon with dollar-sign eyes gestured hither with an open palm. “Trade-ins of valuable items are also acceptable, too, I guess. My discount won’t apply to that, though.”

Items… huh.

Accessing my character’s information from the game’s website automatically displayed my character sheet, which was mostly the same as I remembered.

ID: Mit-Han-Rou

Class: Monk

Title: Dungeon Master

STR

1

HP

100/100

Level

1

INT

1

MP 50/50

next LEV

20

WIS

1

CON

5

EXP

0

A.EXP

0

Ascension

0

DEX

1

GOLD

0

GP

0

next Ac.

0

Next to the “Character” tab was my character’s “Skills/Spells” tab that pulsated with a yellow highlight. Within that tab were many empty rows and columns under the skills and spells header. ‘Assail,’ ‘Kick,’ and ‘Avoid’ occupied the first three slots under the skills header, and the rest were filled with question marks. Hovering over the identified skills popped-up another small notification:

"Assail (Bhuail Tusail) [50/100]: The first discipline for practitioners who walks the path of body-mind."

"Kick (Breab) [1/100]: Balance within power. It starts with a basic kick."

"Avoid (Scapail) [1/100]: Entrust yourself to your senses; an avoidance of utmost confidence."

The next tab revealed my character’s inventory: an outline of a blank human body with empty boxes pointed to its various outfitable parts. A white dobok occupied the top and bottom of the armor slot. Underneath it were the same peasantry clothes I worn since the start of the game. That was it. Just glancing at this screen screamed 'newbie.'

“Do you accept starter equipments…?” I asked. “It’s not much, but it should go for something, right? If there’s anything in the pockets, you can keep them.”

“Wah…That’s it? ...Anything else?”

“Nooope.”

Immediately after that was a notification from the client that the user DD-Pebbles has disconnected from the private room. It happened so suddenly. But, I nodded my head and couldn’t agree more. It’s not worth it to chase after a broke customer like me. Better profits can be made elsewhere.

Without anymore distractions I lifted my butt off my chair and into the diving-casket.

***

Within seconds of beaming into the world I had already forgotten how fascinated I could get; how surprised and in awe I could be at the wonders around me.

The warp stone behind me was a thing of beauty, glowing with this subtle deep-ocean blue. The mightiest and tallest object in the plaza naturally had this mysterious attraction to it. On this darkest hour, it lit the entire plaza with its ocean glow that rested a tad bit high from the cobblestones below my feet. A glow I never realized until the lights were dim.

Looking around me proved that I wasn’t the only one enthralled by its beauty. Merchants had their own stalls camped around the outer ring of the plaza. Adventurers relaxed all around the pillar with their picnic-style blankets and munchies. Guards in an orange tabard and chainmail took quick, delighted glances at the warpstone every once in awhile as they patrolled the streets.

A thing of wonder, much more appreciated here than the one at my dungeon.

Besides that was another irresistible appeal wafting through the air: the sweet smell of temptatious smoky BBQ. Strong scents of grilled food and barbeque strung me along as I mindlessly strolled through the west side of the central plaza, hypnotized. Even within the virtual world I can’t escape the beauty and art of alluring foods.

Food vendors camped both sides of the western road with their stalls set up. Mouth-watering aroma of grilled scent suffused through the smoky air. Grilled kabob, smoked fish, cajun-seasoned potatoes, and spiced-smoked corns stretched their hands out to the patrons’ wallets. Needless to say, patrons gladly obliged at the thought of biting into a piping hot and succulent meal. The majority of the food were tailored to be hand-eaten and on-the-go, contained within disposable carton trays. Accompanying those delectables were transparent flask-filled fruity drinks of various bright colors to quench their thirst.

Signs of the vendor’s prices reminded me that my pockets could use a little bit of weight to fill the void.

Walking around the plaza presented opportunities for pay and craftsmanship. Shops of all kind were filled to the brim with gawkers and window-shoppers. Blacksmiths, tailors, and alchemists were just some of the many shops I could see within the street-lit roads. However, the thought of a day job wouldn’t be sufficient for the goal I have in mind. Learning an artistic craft for money would be fun, but would take too long. I needed something bigger, something riskier that pays a lot more within a short time frame.

Upwards at the bulletin board were shameless advertisements. Once pictures of various shops had cycled through, different Paths came next. Stylish graphics of the Warrior, Cleric, Wizard, and Rogue Paths displayed onto the dynamic bulletin board, each with their own catchy one-liner. After those was an advertisement of the Guild agency. With what little space they had, they allocated it to their main message: “‘Live life with the people you cherish. Hunt rewards with your family. Earn renown and spread your family name across the lands.” Afterward came a patriotic advertisement for the recruitment of Suomi’s army.

Rewards for bounty hunts certainly sounded intriguing. If the rewards scale with the difficulty, then this could be a quick way to earn money. Intrigued, I waited for the bulletin board to change to the overview of the map, and then traced my respective location to the Guild agency. According to the board, it could be found on the northern road of the city, a few blocks just before the inner castle walls.

As I approached my destination I noticed a different air surrounding the adventurers in this part of the city. Their equipments were well-maintained, and had a nice shine. But, more so than that, there was this noticeable air surrounding them. Not noticeable to the naked eye, but just by being around them it was easy to tell they were a league above others -- they were intimidating just by being them. These adventurers carried loot bags filled to the brim, traveled in wagons and groups, and seemed overall more experience than adventurers like myself.

Is it… possible to recruit them into my dungeon? If so--

A sudden pair of soft hands squeezed my left wrist and yanked me out of my thoughts. I quickly turned around to see a frowning Reccu; her eyebrows pinched together and the curves of her lips tilted downwards. There were worries in her eyes, though I don’t know why.

“Reccu...” I yanked my hand back, rightfully so. “If you want my hand so much, I’ll sell it to you."

“You…” Reccu clenched her fists while fighting back the urge to cry. That small mouth of hers opened and closed again and again, like she wanted to say too many things all at once. But nothing came out. “Ugh… Where have you been?”

“Just looking around.” I quickly answered.

WIth her here, there’s more important matters to discussed. As I resumed on the road towards the Guild agency, Reccu followed behind me with her mouth shut. I took a glance back, only to notice a childlike temper. She didn’t seem quite satisfied with my answer. Quite obvious by the loud stomping of her feet.

“Reccu, please stop that.” I asked, politely. “People will stare.”

Somehow, her stomp became louder than before. I glanced back, and from the corner of my eye I noticed a semblance of a monster, restrained by hundreds of chains, willing to pierce a knife to my spine. Those feet reached as high as her waist, and then bolted to the ground. Her eyes stared straight into mines, unkindly. My neck involuntarily snapped itself towards the front, as if to have mercy on my eyes.

What an unbelievable woman.

As expected, we’ve garnered the attentions of some of nearby folks, especially of the guards patrolling here. Hopefully, Reccu wouldn’t dare to commit murder with this many witnesses.

If only I could pretend like I didn't know she existed... But, I took a deep breath in, slowed my pace until she was by my side, and whispered, “Reccu, have you heard of Earth-Sea? Do you know anything about it?”

“Earth-Sea...?” Her voice drifted to the swaying wind.

The stomps suddenly stopped. I glanced over my shoulder, and she was completely stilled. Anger and frustration completely felled to a new expression all over her face. Those eyes explosively widened, completely shocked at what I just asked -- which made me even more shocked. Did I say something wrong?

She began walking again. Her arms forcibly linked with mine as she pulled me along to a brisk pace. Only now did I notice the chamomile perfume on her. A pleasant scent, in contrast to her rough handling.

“Where did you hear that?” She kept her voice quiet and direct.

“I decided to gather intel for the future of our dungeon, and I stumbled upon this information.” I replied with the same quietness.

My answer had her squinting and tilting a face of doubt and confusion at me. Not convinced by my answer, she shook her head, and said, “Anyway, don’t think too much about it. There’s nothing to gain from it.” Either out of spite, or aversion, she avoided eye-contact. No longer stomping, or acting like a child, she just walked. A lonely walk, without a destination in mind.

“Reccu…” Looking at her, she seemed so distant. A hinderance vibe lingering between us, like the subject we’re talking about is taboo. She definitely knows more about the mysterious Earth-Sea, but I remained silent about it. Bringing it up now would only upset her.

“So, how did things go on your end?” I inquired. “You were gathering intel, right? Found anything useful?”

She shook her head -- a bit livelier than before. “Not anything useful, really. But I do have an idea. We can’t build a base without resources. So, Instead of building our base, how about starting on our force?”

I was confused, but intrigued. To ask people to defend a non-existent base… how would that even work?

“What do you mean? We don’t have any money, let alone anything for them to defend.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Reccu shook her head with this irritating grin all over her face, all the while wagging a finger at me. “I’ll show you; it’ll be much easier than explaining. We’ll need to acquire a recipient, but first...”

She circled around me, examining my tender muscles and scoping me from top-to-bottom. Just from following her with my eyes I could already tell how dissatisfied she was with my squishy physique. What an uncomfortable feeling. My calves, arms, abs, and back were harrassed with random pokes, and only then did she finally look at me, dead straight in my eyes, and shook her head.

“What…? Don’t do that again, please.” I urged.

“You’re still at level one, aren’t you?” She asked.

“Level… what?” It took me a bit to recall that the character sheet did state that I was level one. Impressively, she could tell just by poking me.

“All Paths converge to their respective ascension.” Reccu rolled up my left sleeve up to my shoulder, but there was nothing there. She then rolled up my right sleeve, and to my surprise, revealed a roman numeral one. “I should have known better to let those useless Mundanes teach you a thing or two. What to do...”

She rested her chin on a hand while nervously tapping her foot. “Mmm… We don’t walk the same Paths, so there’s not much I could teach you… But the basics should be fine. Mhm… Basics…”

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, while rolling down my sleeves.

“We’ll have to venture out of the city to capture a recipient… but I’m worried that you’ll just keeled over the moment combat begins.” Reccu chuckled. “Our duel is pointless now, too. You’ll just lose before you even know it.”

“Asshole.” I pinched her cheek and stretched it far enough to rid that mocking grin on her face.

“Ow…” Reccu rubbed both sides of her cheeks, delicately, with a pouting look. An over exaggeration of a dramatic act that failed to garner any sympathy from me. I didn’t pinch her that hard. Though, it was nice to see her in high spirits again.

“Come on.” I began walking towards the Guild agency once again. “If we’re leaving the city, we should get a quest to earn some money while we’re at it.”

Stores of all kinds lined the streets, separated into their own blocks. But the Guild agency had an entire block solely dedicated to them. Surrounding the perimeter of the Guild agency were tall, metal fences dyed in white. A long gate, big enough to fit two carriages, was open to allow people to freely enter and leave.

Granite and slate statues at least five meters high aligned symmetrically alongside the road to a five-story building. Each statue had a plaque with a single name engraved onto it. The “The Librarian: Vorlof,” stood with magical orbs floating by his sides. “The Dancer of Ceannlaider: Jutspi,” wielded two daggers with a plain mask covering their face. “The First To Understand The Heart: Hohenheim,” sat cross-legged in mid-air, naked, and meditating. There were a few more statues modeling other notable figures, but at the end of it was a statue of marble.

It stood a meter higher than the others, right in front of a flight of ascending stairs to the Guild agency. But, unlike the others, this one had more than one title. “The Champion of Temuair; The Hero Of The Cthonic Wars; The Spawn of Ceannlaider: Ringin-Gula.” This masterful work of art posed with their hands towards the sky. A surreal layer of marble sheet, easily capturing the fine details and physics of a real sheet, obscured their entire physique.

“These names stretched across the world.” Reccu commented. “From Abel, to Oren, to Tagor… No one born in Temuair could escape the fairy tales of these heroic spirits. All kids dream of having their legacy here.”

“You, too?” I asked.

“No.” Reccu denied. “I’m not a kid, anymore. What about you?”

I looked at all of the statues, in their grandeur, their imposing will, and their beauty. As a kid, I probably wouldn’t be able to escape the allure of such fairy tales. “Perhaps in another life I would… But I have a different goal in mind.”