Turning back to the surprised clerk, Candy quickly apologized.
“I’m so sorry, I made a huge mess and even destroyed part of the building. I promise I’ll pay for the damages, um…how much are they?”
The stunned clerk came back to her senses and she quickly assessed the damage.
“The wall will need to be patched and the scaffolding around that area will need to be repaired. The rest of the building should also be inspected for any collateral damage. With the cost of supplies and labor…you owe the guild 5 gold, 36 silver, and 70 copper. Would you like to pay now?”
‘Oh no. I really wasn’t thinking when I threw that doll. I don’t even have any money right now. It wouldn’t be a problem if I ‘d been given the starting amount, but I have nothing. This damn game!’
“Uh, um…that…I don’t have any money on me right now. Could I pay later? I promise to pay it back! I’ll come here every day to give you what I have!”
“Unfortunately, we still require some form of payment upfront. We can discuss the rest of the payment after.”
Candy looked through her belongings.
[Inventory:
Worn Dagger
Strange Doll (15+1)
Novice Adventurer’s badge (unbound)
Skeleton’s Silver Staff]
She silently held up the doll in her arms and showed it to the clerk.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t accept items that are unrelated to the guild’s business.”
“But they can be used as weapons!”
The clerk looked at her with a suspicious expression that screamed ‘who other than you could turn a doll into a lethal weapon?’
“Okay. Wh-what about this staff? It’s a dungeon item, a guardian drop at that! Although its previous owner was pretty wimpy…it should still have some use! And even if it can’t be used as a staff, the gems can be removed and the melted silver would sell for something, right?”
The clerk sighed.
“Very well. Seeing as how Miss Candy is a new adventurer and doesn’t have much of value at the moment, the guild will accept the staff as the upfront payment for the damage you caused. Your total debt is now 5 gold, 11 silver.”
‘No way, it’s only worth that much?’
“Then about the rest…”
Seeing her lost look, the clerk gave her an option.
“Seeing as how you just registered as an adventurer, why not use quests to make up the rest? Most of the posted quests have payment as a reward, so let’s have the guild take the majority of money earned and put it towards the debt. How about an 80-20 split, where the guild takes 80% of the money earned from each quest.”
“That’s straight up stealing!”
Candy looked around, trying to see if there was another way out, but she couldn’t think of anything.
“Okay, deal. I’ll complete quests and give 80% of my earnings to the guild.”
“Perfect. Please work hard Miss Candy.”
Dejectedly walking out of the guild, she went around the side to collect the doll she had thrown.
“At least I have you guys.”
‘But seriously, I barely finished the introductory quest and now I have to repay a debt?’
If she had the starting amount of 300 gold that was supposed to be given to new players, she this wouldn’t be a problem and she’d be rich for the rest of her life.
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‘Speaking of, was the economy always like this? In the last game, all transactions were made in gold. Copper and Silver coins didn’t exist. They must have changed it for the new game. I knew I should have read the discussion posts before the release! But I wanted to have a completely fresh start…’
“Oh well, the past is the past. I’ll work hard in the future and become wealthy enough to pay off 10 debts!”
‘Although, a goal like that is impossible to achieve in just 5 months.’
…
Candy continued walking around the city. After wandering for quite some time, she began to feel curious. She had been constantly walking and fighting since the start of the game, but she never felt hungry or thirsty. Although she could feel a drop in her stamina after walking for so long, she didn’t feel amount of fatigue one would expect. She sat down on a bench and pulled up her character screen.
[Character Name: Candy, Novice Adventurer (Boar)
Class [Magical Girl]
Skills: Danger Sense (novice) 0/10
Poison Almanac (novice) 0/10
Weapon Mastery (intermediate) 0/40
Stats:
Strength: 10
Agility: 5
Constitution: 4
Magic: null
SP: 8
Note: skill points can be used to raise player stats or to increase skill level.]
Looking at the screen in front of her, hunger or thirst was nowhere to be found.
‘This is strange. Most other realistic open world VR games have hunger and thirst bars. Some even have one for fatigue. But there’s nothing about that here…hold on.’
Candy narrowed her eyes as she looked at her stats.
‘I get that strength is high since I added 7 points to it, but what’s with magic being null? Didn’t the description say that this body could store magic, but not use it? Why isn’t there a value?’
‘Eh, whatever. I should use the remaining points to raise my stats. Upgrading skills can come later.’
Candy immediately added 3 points to agility, 4 to constitution, and 1 to strength.
Feeling her strength increase, she clenched her fist.
‘Having strength really is the best.’
…
Candy decided to look around the shops in the commercial district. Various shops and stalls surrounded her. Looking at one stall selling fruit, she went over to look at the prices.
‘Ugh, 20 copper for an apple. Are you kidding me? With the amount of money I’ll make from low tier quests, it’ll take me a day’s work just to buy one apple.’
‘Damn you game! Where’d my money go!’
Seeing her staring intently at the fruit, the stall owner came over to talk.
“Young miss, I see you’re an adventurer! You know, you really should buy some fruit. It’s great for keeping your energy up while you’re adventuring. Anything catch your eye?”
“Uh, I-I’ll think about it.”
The stall owner cast her a disappointed look. Candy flashed an awkward smile as she turned away.
‘I never thought that I, a veteran of Achievements of Heroes, would one day fall so low that I can’t even buy fruit.’
Wallowing in her sadness, she didn’t realize where she was until the harsh sound of metal clanging echoed in her ears. Looking up, she saw that she’d come across a blacksmith.
‘A blacksmith huh. Ugh, I really don’t want to go in, but I’ll need a proper weapon at some point. Might as well see how long it’ll take to afford one.’
Entering the open building, she was greeted by the sight of young workers busily moving around. Some carried tools or metal scraps, while farther back, some of the older ones worked at anvils. Soon, a tall, well-built man approached her.
“Hey, here’s a new face. How ya doin little miss? Welcome to Silva’s finest smithy.”
“Hi, I’m Candy! I’m looking for a new weapon.”
“A weapon huh? Well we got plenty of those. What kind’re you lookin for.”
“a cheap one…”
“Huh? What was that, I couldn’t hear you very well over all this clangin.”
“I’m a newbie, so something that I could use now.”
“Well, most Boars go with swords or axes as their first weapon. Come with me, I’ll show you what we have.”
Ducking under the doorway, the man led Candy into a smaller building nearby. Weapons were displayed all over the walls and floor, and a sturdy table stood in the center of the room.
“This is generally where people go to find their weapons. Go ahead and see if you find any you like.”
Looking around at the myriads of weapons, Candy knew immediately that none of these would be in her price range before she paid off her debt.
Seeing her eyes dim, the man spoke up.
“No money huh. That’s not uncommon for young adventurers like yourself.”
He spotted the dagger hanging at her waist.
“Hey, lookie here. You’ve got a weapon right here. Why don’t you show me?”
“Um, it’s just something I picked up outside, so it’s not very good.”
Candy drew the dagger and placed it on the table.
“I see. This aint really a fighting weapon, it’s way too small. Plus with all the chips and the dulled edge, it won’t cut much.”
She hung her head in dejection.
“But, I bet if I sharpened it up, it could be of some use. Low level quests aren’t that dangerous anyways. How bout this. I’ll sharpen it for you, no charge.”
“Really? You’d do that?”
“Sure! It’s thanks to adventurers like you that the residents of this city can live such carefree lives.”
Candys eyes sparkled as she jumped to hug the man.
“Thank you, Gramps! Thank you so much!”
“He-hey now, who’re you callin Gramps” I’m not that old! Call me Duncan. That’s my name.”
“Hehe, thank you Mr. Duncan!”
After her dagger was sharpened, Candy hugged Duncan again before joyfully leaving shop.
Duncan smiled as she left.
“So much energy. Reminds me of my granddaughter.”
“Whoops, look at me gettin all sentimental. Gotta get back to work!”
…
As Candy walked away, a new system message appeared in front of her.
[Favorability Increase: Duncan
Current Impression: ‘Just like my granddaughter.’]
‘There’s a favorability system? That’ll probably come in handy later.’
Candy checked the description of the dagger in her hand.
[Sharpened Dagger: A small dagger that was sharpened at a smithy. It has become slightly less useless.]
‘Why are these descriptions getting worse?’
Candy looked up at the sky. The sun was just beginning to set, and the whole city was awash with golden light.
‘It’ll get dark soon. I should find a place to rest.’
‘A place to rest?’
‘Crap, how am I gonna do that without any money! Curse you game!!’
