FZZZ!
The scent of vaporized digital flesh lingered in the air. It was a harsh, metallic tang that Sebastian found oddly comforting.
He stood at the edge of the glass crater. The heat radiated through the soles of his starter-tier leather boots. The physics engine of The Ethereal Plane was still having an absolute meltdown.
GLITCH! A few feet away, a pine tree was half-rendered. Its textures flickered violently between bark and a neon pink wireframe.
'Well, shit. That's one way to stress-test the servers,' Sebastian thought, shaking his head with a tired smirk.
He stepped carefully around the molten edges of his handiwork.
Where the six Level 5 Demon Wolves had stood, there was now only smooth, cooling glass. A handful of loot drops had somehow survived the miniature sun. The system's loot protection was the only reason they hadn't been atomized.
He crouched down. CLINK! CLINK!
[System Prompt: Loot Acquired]
↳ Demon Wolf Fang: 6
↳ Singed Wolf Pelt: 4
↳ Currency Acquired: 120 Copper Coins
Adding his remaining five copper, his total net worth was now 125 copper coins. It was a pathetic sum. But right now? It was exactly what he needed.
Sebastian turned his back on the strange crater and began the trek back to Novice Village Number 109.
As he approached the rolling green plains, the contrast was shocking. Thousands of new players were still running around in chaotic circles. They screamed in panic or laughed hysterically as they chased low-level slimes.
THWACK!
A group of three players—a Guardian, a Mage, and a Cleric—were currently getting completely routed by a single Horned Rabbit.
"Fuck! Heal me! Cast a heal, you idiot!" The Guardian shrieked loudly. He swung his rusty sword at the empty air while the rabbit headbutted his shins.
"I'm out of mana, shit! I used it to cast light!" The Cleric wailed back in response.
Sebastian walked right past them, letting out a heavy sigh. In twelve months, these were the people who were supposed to defend Earth from the Void Titans. Humanity is so fucked, he thought.
He reached the village gates. The atmosphere here had shifted dramatically in the short time he had been gone.
Players were crowded near the entrance. They pointed up at the sky above the Wailing Woods. The skybox was glitching, painting the clouds in violent streaks of orange and purple.
"Holy shit, did you guys see that flash?" A player asked frantically while typing into the global chat.
"Yeah, my screen went entirely white. Must be a world event spawning!"
Near the village fountain, the Village Chief NPC was in a state of absolute panic.
His programmed AI routines were snapping under the strain of the environmental anomaly Sebastian had caused. The old man was pacing back and forth, clutching his head.
"The Wailing Woods! The balance is shattered! The very earth weeps tears of fire!" The Chief repeated on a loop, his voice trembling.
Scores of eager players were swarming him, trying to trigger a quest.
"I will save the woods, Chief! Give me the quest! Press X to accept!"
Sebastian ignored the chaotic circus. He slipped into the labyrinth of narrow, dirt-paved alleyways that made up the poorer district of the village. He didn't need a quest marker. He had memories forged in the fires of an apocalypse.
He stopped in front of a dilapidated tavern named The Rusty Bucket.
CREAAAK.
Pushing open the door, he walked to the counter. The barkeep, a burly NPC with a scar running down his cheek, glared at him.
"We don't serve beggars here," the barkeep grunted.
THUD! Sebastian slammed a pouch onto the counter. It contained the copper he had looted from the wolves, along with his starter funds.
"Give me a bottle of Moonshine," Sebastian said, dropping the cold act for a tired tone. "The vintage shit. The one you keep under the floorboards."
The barkeep's eyes widened slightly. This was a specific dialogue trigger.
"You got a death wish, kid? That stuff is 90% ethanol. It'll melt your intestines."
"Do I look like I care?" Sebastian asked, a bit annoyed. "Just hand the bottle over."
Grumbling, the NPC reached down and produced a dust-covered bottle of clear liquid.
[Item: Old Iron's Moonshine]
↳ Quality: Trash/Consumable
↳ Effect: Causes severe intoxication. -50% Accuracy, -50% Agility for 10 minutes.
↳ Warning: May cause permanent liver damage to character data.
Sebastian took the bottle. It cost him nearly all his money, but the return on investment would be astronomical.
He left the tavern and walked deeper into the alleyway, stopping at a dead end filled with piles of refuse and discarded crates.
There, slumped against a wall, was a pile of rags that smelled worse than the sewers of the Necropolis. BZZZZ. A swarm of flies buzzed around the figure. Most players would see this as set dressing, a bit of immersive grime added by the developers.
Sebastian saw a legend.
"Clay," Sebastian said softly.
The pile of rags stirred. A pair of cloudy, rheumy eyes peeked out from under a hood stained with grease.
"Spare a coin... for a dying veteran?" the beggar rasped, his voice sounding like grinding stones.
Sebastian didn't offer a coin. POP. He uncorked the bottle of Moonshine. The sharp, chemical scent of high-grade alcohol instantly cut through the stench of the alley.
The beggar's eyes snapped open. The cloudiness vanished, replaced by a razor-sharp clarity that lasted only a fraction of a second before he feigned the drunken stupor again.
"Is that... is that the good stuf?" Clay whispered, licking cracked lips.
"It is," Sebastian said, crouching down so he was eye-level with the NPC. "But it's not for free."
Clay laughed…a wheezing, hacking sound. "I have nothing, boy. Just fleas and bad memories."
"I know who you are," Sebastian whispered, his tone shifting to something softer, more respectful. "You're Clay the Silent. The Shadow Saint. The man who slit the throat of the Orc Warlord in the Second Era."
WHOOSH.
The air in the alleyway suddenly grew heavy. The temperature dropped five degrees. The pressure didn't come from the system. It came from the beggar!
Clay stared at him. The facade of the helpless old man evaporated. For a moment, Sebastian felt like a knife was pressed right against his carotid artery, even though Clay hadn't moved a muscle.
"You know too much for a Drifter in rags," Clay said, his voice steady and dangerous. "Who sent you? The Guild? The Crown?"
"Neither," Sebastian replied, maintaining eye contact. He held out the bottle. "I'm just a guy who knows the value of a drink."
Clay stared at the bottle. Then at Sebastian.
The tension held for a long, agonizing second before the old man snatched the bottle with a speed that defied his appearance. GULP. GULP. He took a long, desperate swig, sighing as the burning liquid hit his stomach.
"Fuck," Clay wiped his mouth. "I haven't tasted that in twenty years."
He looked at Sebastian with a newfound curiosity.
[System Prompt: Hidden Quest Triggered!]
↳ Title: The Beggar's Test
↳ Difficulty: Impossible (S-Rank)
↳ Description: You have uncovered the identity of the former Assassin Saint. He is intrigued, but not convinced. To earn his legacy, you must prove you have the hands of a thief.
↳ Objective: Steal the Mayor's Signet Ring and his Black Ledger from the Town Hall vault.
↳ Restriction: If you are detected, you will be executed by the guards and banned from the village.
[Accept?]
"The Mayor of this miserable village is a fat, greedy piece of shit," Clay spat, his voice laced with venom. "He taxes the poor to line his own pockets. He wears a heavy gold signet ring on his right hand. I want it."
"Just the ring?" Sebastian asked, already standing up.
"Just the ring," Clay confirmed. "The manor is guarded day and night. If you get caught, they'll throw you in the village dungeon, and I'll pretend I never met you."
"Keep the bottle warm," Sebastian smirked, turning on his heel. "I'll be back before you finish it."
As he walked out of the alley, Sebastian pulled up his system interface.
Stealing a ring off a heavily guarded NPC was supposed to be a stealth mission. It required careful pathing, distractions, and precise timing.
Sebastian wasn't going to do any of that. He was just going to break the laws of physics again.