44 Vol 1. pt. 44 Patch 8.0: How to Train Your Crew (1/2)
It turns out that Serra was paying close attention to everything Fenrir was explaining and demonstrating to Cassiel because she's able to properly cast the line right from her first try! Naturally, this triggers Cassiel's competitive side. The two girls get into a competition to see who can cast the line the farthest and with the most accuracy. Meanwhile, Fenrir gets some bonding time with Rock.
Fenrir lies on his back with Rock curled up on top of his chest. One hand rests atop Rock's back to pet her as he stares up at the sky. There are only a few clouds dotting what would otherwise be a clear sky. The sun is brightly shining down on everything around them, but fortunately, they are safe from the sun's direct rays thanks to the tower providing them shade.
Serra reels in her second fish. Cassiel has yet to get another bite since her first fish.
Three fish are flopping around within the barrel now trying to escape.
Fenrir thinks about how they're going to eat these fish.
”You bastards! Stop pricking me!” Cassiel shouts at the bucket of shrimp.
”Having trouble over there?” Fenrir asks, still staring up at the sky.
A shrimp lands right between his eyes before jumping off of his face. Amazingly, the shrimp gets lucky over and over with its jumps until it flings itself right back into the ocean!
He looks over at Cassiel. She's pouting with crossed arms.
”That bait was a gift, don't waste it,” Fenrir scolds her.
When she remembers how generous the men were to give them the free bait, she looks down and makes a mental apology to the two masculine men back on the pier.
”Boat,” Serra says.
Fenrir lifts Rock off of his chest and stands up. Surely enough, another boat is heading right for them.
The other boat is roughly the same size as The Shoebill, but shorter and simpler in design.
Seven people are standing aboard it. A few of them are waving to the girls and Fenrir. They appear friendly.
The boat pulls right up next to The Shoebill on the side where they aren't casting their lines.
”Hey there! Ole' Jax tell you about this spot?” the man behind the other boat's steering wheel shouts over. He looks like one of the most appropriately-dressed men that Fenrir has seen thus far. Everything about his outfit from the bandana around his head to the slightly-open vest and thick boots screams that he's a sailor in an old fantasy setting. He's even got a perfect pirate accent!
”Yeah, decided to come over here for some training for the tournament. You here for the same?” Fenrir shouts back over. Cassiel and Serra both look like they're pouting since he was the one whom told them not to make much noise, yet now he and this other man are shouting back and forth at one another.
”Aye! Reckoned that we oughta get some more practice in to compete with all of you adventurin' folk!” the man shouts back.
”Not adventurers yourself?”
”Nay, we're just fishers and sailors tryin' to make a living and enjoying life while we're at it!”
”That sounds like a pretty nice goal. By the way, is there anything that you can tell us about the tournament? I didn't want to bother Jax with too many questions since he already helped us so much.” Fenrir wastes no time getting to asking questions.
”No problem! Mind if I come over there so we're not disturbin' the fish for everybody else?”
”Not at all, hang on.” Fenrir drops The Shoebill's gangplank onto the neighboring vessel, allowing its captain to come aboard. ”I'm Fenrir, by the way. What's your name?”
”They call me Morven, and I'm captain o' The Yellow Minnow. Pleasure to meet ya, Fenrir,” Morven says. Now that Morven is standing before Fenrir and shaking hands with him, Fenrir can see that this man looks – well, he looks normal. Almost every other player that Fenrir has met thus far has been an exaggeration of one thing or another. Fenrir himself knows that he's perfected how he looks so that there aren't any flaws in his appearance, Bonekraka and the two men from the pier are all personifications of macho masculinity, Oleander is a trap, and even Thelmes was a stereotypical looking goblin. Yet, before him stands a middle-aged man with wrinkles, a crooked nose, a few missing teeth with the ones that he does have showing signs of yellow, and more. He looks truly realistic.
”You can tell, can't ya?” Morven asks.
”Tell what?” Fenrir answers the question with a question.
”That I'm what you and yours call an 'NPC?'”
”I – I didn't know, actually. I just thought you were… one of us, but… different? Sorry, I didn't mean to stare.”
”Don't worry about it. We're used to gettin' that sort of look. It's what happens when you're born ugly in a world full o' attractive adventurers!”
Aside from how Morven looks, Fenrir can't find a single thing about the man to give away that he's an NPC. He sounds like a real human, has little ticks in his speech and gestures that perfectly matches what some humans have, and doesn't look any different other than not looking perfect. ”Saya, NPCs are controlled by AIs, right? Are they controlled by the overseer, or do they have their own AIs like Rock has now?” Fenrir thinks.
”It depends! Random animals and monsters and villagers and stuff will just be controlled by the overseer, but the ones who gain lives of their own and really develop their own personalities will have their own AIs controlling them. Basically, anybody who acts like more than just a background character is an AI living its own life out here,” Saya explains.