OL - 02: Forming A Party

“We did it! We defeated the boss! And it’s all thanks to you Merlin!”

Merlin blushed. “Now, now, if it wasn’t for everyone doing their part this hunt would have been a failure.”

“Nonsense! It’s all thanks to Merlin! We’ve decided you should have first pick of the treasure.” A knight in battle-worn armor led Merlin towards a pile of treasure.

Magical swords, and armor, chests full of gold and jewels, rare scrolls and tomes, as well as priceless regents and medicines were piled up on the ground in front of him. A magician and a priest, both in tattered robes, patted Merlin on the back. “Go ahead Merlin. You’ve earned it.” They said.

Merlin smiled bashfully. “Thank you, noble friends. I will choose this.” Merlin chose a gleaming sword flowing with magical power. When he checked its properties this is what it said:

[Ultimate Sword]

DMG: Infinite

Effect: Slays monsters instantly.

User basically becomes a god.

Cannot be broken or lost.

Only usable by Merlin.

“By the way, Merlin, you never mentioned your class.” Said the knight.

“My class? Oh yes its…Huh?” As Merlin was about to answer, his mind went blank.

“Are you alright?” asked the magician.

“Yes...um…” Merlin muttered. He began to feel weak.

“You don’t look so well. Should I cast a healing spell on you?” said the priest.

'No…my class… why can’t I remember?’ Merlin thought. He began to feel light headed and lost his balance. Fortunately, he was caught by the knight.

The knight laid him down and began to shake him gently. “Hey! Are you alright? Can you hear me…. Hey…”

Merlin fainted, but he was slowly being shaken back into consciousness. Eventually, he was able to open his eyes, albeit slowly. A pretty girl in a white robe was kneeling by his side with a concerned look on her face. She was so close to him that he could smell a scent of flowers as her hair brushed lightly against the side of his face. The lighting, along with the halo effect he received from hitting his head, made her look almost angelic.  “Hey… Hey… Are you alright?” she said, helping him up.

“Yes…” he said with a serene smile on his face. Then his expression changed as if he suddenly remembered something. He jerked back to life and yelled. “No, I’m not! Show Stats!”

Name: Merlin

Class: Jester

Level: 1

Available Stat Points: 0

Stats:

Health: 100/100          Mana: 100/100

STR: 1                         AGI: 1

DEX: 1                        VIT: 1

INT: 1                         WIS: 1

CHA: 1                        LUK: 21

DMG: 1           DEF: 1

Skills:

Joke - Lvl.1: 10% (+21%) chance to make target laugh uncontrollably. Effect is cancelled is target is attacked. Can raise intimacy between friends. Mana cost: 50

Equipment:

Dagger: +1 DMG

Cloth Tunic: +1 DEF

Sandals

Merlin fell to his knees weeping. Tears puddled onto the dirty wooden floor beneath him, “It’s true…It’s really true…How could things end up this way?”

“Hey, don’t be too sad. It’s ok.” She laughed. “You are kind of funny, aren’t you? Did something happen?” asked the girl.

Merlin pulled himself together and explained how he let the system distribute his stats only to have it dump all his points into LUK, and then how he let the clerk pick his profession only to have the useless Jester class dumped on him as well.

“Oh, a Jester, huh? So that’s how it is! My name is FieryPebble by the way. I just started too. I chose the Acolyte class – a healer! What’s your name?”

“I’m Merlin…” He said with a forced smile.

“Merlin, huh….” She smiled sweetly. She put a finger to her lips as if thinking of something. Then, she made a fist with one hand hammered her palm with it. “Hey, I got it! Do you want to form a team?”

Merlin looked up in disbelief. “Is that alright? I’m not sure a jester would be useful…” he said. Merlin’s thoughts were like this: The jester isn’t a combat class. Its purpose is to entertain, not to inflict pain. In a sense, a jester is like a beggar, relying on the goodwill of others to survive. Except, instead of inspiring pity, they inspire laughter. However, in Merlin’s mind, a beggar is still better than a jester because if a beggar fails, he is still a beggar, but can a jester still be called a jester if no one laughs?

FieryPebble saw the conflicted look on Merlin’s face and tried to reassure him. “It’s okay! This game is about having fun! Isn’t fun a jester’s job?” She said. She pulled him up by his arm.

“If you say so…” said Merlin with a sigh.

[Party request received from FieryPebble. Add to party?]

[FieryPebble joins your party!]

‘My first party…’ Merlin couldn’t help but smile.

After forming their party, Merlin and FieryPebble decided to look for two more members. Hunting parties were limited to four members. Having a full party would make hunting monsters easier. They went around the tavern inviting people to join their party, but the results were as Merlin feared. No one wanted to team up with a jester.

Merlin didn’t blame them. Who would want a fool to cover their back in a fight? After all, to die is to risk losing it all. If a body is unrecoverable, such as being eaten by wild animals, or falling into a pit of lava then its game over—permanently. Although, players had the option of starting a new character after this happened, they had to buy another license for the game. However, many became discouraged after losing a character they worked hard to grow.

Merlin sighed. “FieryPebble, it seems that no one wants to join because of me. I don’t want to be a burden. I should go. Goodbye!” Merlin turned around and wiped the tears from his eyes. He walked toward the exit with his head hung low.

“Merlin, wait there’s a-”

“Don’t try and stop me… ouch!”  Merlin bumped into what seemed to be a wall. ‘Huh?’ he thought. ‘Who put this wall here? And why is it breathing?’ Merlin looked up and saw the wall was really a player the size of a bear. Merlin jumped back immediately dropping on his hands and knees. “Wah! I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t… huh?”

[Bors sent a party request. Add to party?]

Merlin looked up to examine the player before him. He was equipped with a simple cloth tunic, a wooden shield, and a small wooden club. Merlin stood up slowly. “Y- you want to join our party?” he asked.

Bors said nothing, only nodding slightly.

FieryPebble walked up to Merlin and nudged him with her elbow, whispering, “Hurry up and accept!”

“O-okay!”

[Bors joined your party!]

“Great! Welcome Bors!” cried FieryPebble enthusiastically. Bors remained silent, only nodding slightly.

“Okay, well, still have room for one more.” Said Merlin.

“…Right, but who?” asked FieryPebble.

Merlin and FieryPebble scanned the room. Players of all types were scurrying about, forming teams, eating, drinking, and forming bonds that could last forever. Looking around, Merlin spotted a lone player in a dark corner of the tavern. The player was hooded, so their face could not be seen clearly. However, the player had two daggers tucked into their belt, identifying them as one of the stealthier classes—a thief perhaps.

“How about him?” Asked Merlin.

“He looks scary…Do you think he’s a PK?” asked FieryPebble.

“I don’t know…” Merlin replied, “Why don’t we all approach him together? If he is a PK, then at least we can outnumber him if he pulls anything funny.” Merlin, FieryPebble, and Bors approached the hooded player cautiously. As they neared, the player looked up. ‘Huh? His eyes aren’t red. Doesn’t that mean he’s not a PK?’ Merlin thought, calming down a little.

“Hello, my name is Merlin, and this is my party. We’re looking for a fourth member. Would you like to adventure together?” asked Merlin

“…yes.” replied the player in a low voice.

“Okay! Great!”  Merlin sent out a party invitation.

[Robin joined your party!]

“Welcome to the party!” cried Merlin.

“Hello, " said the new member, "thank you for inviting me. I’m Robin... a thief."

“Ooh, how mysterious…” remarked FieryPebble

“…” Bors just stood there, eyeing the thief.

“Hello…” said Robin while looking up at the towering Bors, who was almost thrice the little thief’s size.

“He doesn’t say much,” said Merlin, “but Bors here looks to be a reliable warrior.”

“…” Bors nodded slightly in agreement.

“FieryPebble here is our healer, and I’m… a Jester…” Merlin said, embarrassed.

“Oh… how funny.” Said Robin not seeming to mind at all.

“Well,” said FieryPebble, “since our party is now complete, let’s go on an adventure. Follow me!" FieryPebble led the party to the counter where the cute female NPC stood ready to assist players.

“Hello! How may I assist you, miss?” she said.

“We would like a mission please.” replied FieryPebble.

“Very well, here is a list of available missions. Please discuss it among yourselves and let me know which one you’d like to undertake.” The clerk said as she handed FieryPebble the list.

FieryPebble turned from the counter and held up a long scroll, letting it unroll until it reached the floor. “These are missions.” She said. “Missions are categorized into different ranks according to difficulty. An F rank mission is considered the easiest with little impact on the peace of the kingdom. An A-rank mission is considered among the most difficult and can affect the prosperity of a kingdom. Above this are S-Rank quests which are reserved for the guild’s elite members. The outcome of these missions can determine life or death for everyone in this world. It is equivalent to a special forces team being sent to stop the detonation of a rogue nuclear bomb in the real world. In this world it would probably be related to slaying a dragon or some legendary evil.

“Any player can go on a mission on behalf of the Adventurer’s guild. Players are also categorized into ranks from F-rank to S-Rank. All players start at F-rank, and can increase their rank by completing missions above their level. The rule is a player can only accept missions one rank above their own, but only after completing a mission in their own rank to prove themselves. After completing a mission, a player can return to the guild to receive compensation such as gold, items, and experience. Many missions actually start off as quests, but if players fail to complete them, or even discover them at all, then the original quest-giver may commission the guild to complete it. When that happens, the original reward is reduced due to the guild taking its cut.”

Merlin raised his hand. “Merlin, I see you have a question. go ahead.” FieryPebble said.

“Yes, I do.” Merlin said. “If that’s case, why don’t we just find our own quests? Although it could be said a player is paying for convenience, isn’t is better to accept quests directly from a quest giver since the rewards are greater?” he asked.

“Yes, you’re right.” She answered. “It is better to accept quests directly from the quest-giver when given the opportunity, however, accepting a mission from the guild has its advantages as well. Due to the Adventurer’s guild reputation with NPCs, rare quests that would otherwise be unavailable to players are readily available. Another advantage is that once you take a contract, no one else can take it until you complete it, give it up, or the time limit expires. Besides, a good quest is hard to come by. It might be days before we are offered one. Not only this, but NPCs would prefer to entrust an important task to an experienced player rather than leave it in the hands of a newbie.

Hearing this, the party was satisfied and eagerly looked through the list. Choosing to forgo the basic hunting and gathering quests, they decided on a mission that would surely lead them to adventure. This is the way it was written in the missions list:

[Mission: Find my husband]

Difficulty: F

My husband has yet to return from gathering wood. It’s been several days and I fear for the worst. I last saw him heading into the forest north of Tintagel.

Reward: 100 gold, EXP: 1000

After accepting the mission, the party gathered outside of Tintagel’s main gate. The vast world left them in a daze. They weren’t quite sure what awaited them in their destination. Although the game had been out for a few months, something like maps and quest guides were rare. At this stage of the game, most players kept information to themselves in order to monopolize the rewards.

Despite the possible dangers that awaited them on this adventure, Merlin’s party fearlessly marched toward the forest north of Tintagel. However, when they reached the edge of the forest, they found it difficult to enter. Try as they may, the tree line was too thick to pass through. They walked along the border hoping to find an entrance. Luckily, with the help of Robin’s detection abilities as a thief, they stumbled upon a hidden path leading directly into the forest.

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