Chapter 39: Old Wang (1/2)
In the end, the four of them ended up buying Holographic Lenses. Allan, Rakna, and Nyx picked contacts that were made in such a way that it would literally become a part of their eyes, they wouldn't even need to take them out. On the other hand, Flavia decided to go with glasses, which gave a certain boost to her teacher aura.
After that particular shop, Rakna stopped at a few other shops. He bought things such as blankets, lighters, food, all sorts of tools, spare clothes, and a few secondary weapons. Compared to the Holographic Lenses, these weren't very expensive.
So, after an hour of shopping, he only spent around 800 Talys in total. He obviously put his new possessions inside his spatial ring. Or else he wouldn't have bothered; he didn't want to buy things he'd have to carry around 24/7.
Then, the group finally came to a stop as they found a small noodle stall ran by an old bearded dwarf. Other than Pronos, they hadn't eaten that much at the buffet so they decided to give it a try. After paying ten Talys each through a System window, their bowls were quickly served.
”Fuck, this is good,” Allan uttered as he slurped the long string. ”Totally new flavors too. Never tasted a sauce like this.”
”Indeed,” Nyx nodded. Her table manners were flawless compared to the three others. ”Although I have eaten many luxurious dishes in my life, I have to say, this is delicious.”
”There is something about simple but well-made dishes that just never gets old,” Flavia said.
Rakna hummed in agreement while eating. Even after eating an entire chicken, he still felt like he could eat ten times more.
”I'm happy you like it,” the old dwarf said with a smile. His stall was located in a pretty quiet area and currently, his only customers were the four in front of him. This was one of the best parts of having a street stall for the old dwarf. Since he had just a few customers at a time, he could always chat with them about the food.
”Say, old man, what can you tell us about this city? We're kinda new here,” Allan said.
”Oh, so you four are new Hosts, huh?” He said with a nod. ”Let's see… First, this city is very old. It's as old as the Plateau in fact. The very first Hosts thousands of years ago made the foundations for it and it evolved until this point. It became a massive hotspot over the years. There are a lot of people living here and the traffic makes business boom. This is the second biggest city across every Plateau but I can assure you that we're the most technologically advanced.”
”I have been wondering until now, but how big are we talking about?” Nyx asked. ”Even while we were standing on those elevated platforms, we couldn't see the end of the cityscape.”
The old dwarf laughed lightly. ”Of course. If you want to see it, you would need to travel hundreds of miles in one single direction. But you can take the underground train for that. You will get there eventually since every new Host needs to go out into the wilderness to ascend Plateaus.”
”Oh?” Rakna's interest was picked. ”So, there is something out there that we will need?”
The old man chuckled. ”Sorry, sonny. I can't reveal too much. You will be filled in at the Pavilion.”
”Sir, do you mind if I ask a more 'personal' question?” Flavia was the next one to inquire something and the dwarf looked at her. ”Though, I have to admit I'm not aware if it's something normal to ask or not.”
”What is it, young lady?”
”Are you a Host?”
The dwarf first blinked then laughed. ”Hahaha, no. No, I'm afraid not. I'm one of the 'Locals'. I've met some Hosts who called us NPCs if that helps you.”
Rakna snorted. ”Those are probably dead by now or had a very rough awakening.”
”Hm? Why would you say that?” The dwarf asked confusedly.
”NPC is the abbreviation for Non-Player Character. It's game jargon. In other words, those people you met were taking you as nothing more than a game feature. Those are signs of foolishness and self-pretense,” Rakna replied.
”I see… That explains a few things,” the dwarf said with a nod. ”I was never told what it meant until now.”
”I'm confused though. Anyone with a functioning brain should be able to tell this isn't some stupid kid game. I wonder how people can get that delusional sometimes,” Allan shook his head.
”Now, now, youth can often be a bit misled. Nothing we can blame them for. Younglings like you are rarer if you ask me. And, maybe, it's because of this,” he said and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a window appeared in front of the group's eyes.
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Old Wang, The Noodle Store Owner, offers you a Quest.
Objective: Finish eating your meal.
Rewards: 5 Experience Points
Do you accept?
Yes/No
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”Nice. So, you can give quests to Hosts, huh?” Allan unhesitatingly accepted the quest. It was free experience after all.
”This is probably why even the weaker Locals are left alone by Hosts,” Old Wang added. ”We are not really mistreated since each one of us is in essence a good opportunity to get rewards.”
”Wait, there are no rules to the quests you give? For this one, you're giving us experience points for just eating… You must have a limitation of some sort, right?”
Old Wang nodded. ”You're right. First of all, I can't give quests more than once a week. Secondly, the rewards must be provided by me. Even experience points. Like you, we Locals have a System. Though it's very minimal in comparison. The only thing we have access to is our Level. We have absolutely no control over our attributes and skills and the only way for us to get stronger is through pure training.”
”So, wait, you're giving us your own Exp right now?” Allan was surprised. ”Are you sure it's fine?”
”Don't worry, sonny. I can get that amount back easily. Even if I'm a bit lacking, I can still beat up a few monsters and even small things like making use of your proficiencies can give you Exp. For example, if I invent a new dish with my Cooking proficiency, I will get rewarded with a nice amount of experience. You can get the same result by coming up with new battle moves too.”
”Uh, cool. Thanks for the info, old man.”
Meanwhile, Rakna had silently cast an Appraisal on the old man and was forced to hide the shock he felt.
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Name: Wang Faezi
Age: 96 | Level: 123
Race: Dwarf
Affiliation: First Plateau
Titles: The Noodle Store Owner, The Hidden Master Blacksmith
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