The Dragon's Wrath: A Virtual Dream

Chapter 6: It's a Grind

(Tuesday, January 5th Game Day / Saturday, January 2nd Real Day)

Rolling over to my side I fumbled with my hand over the edge of the bed searching for my water glass. My eyes were closed as I was too lazy to open them, plus it was bright outside my window and I hadn't acclimated yet. Finding my water I took a sip to soothe my dry throat and set the glass down. With a glance at the clock I saw that it was 7:54 AM and I had six minutes to log in.

I couldn't waste the game's daylight hours.

That was a verifiable crime.

Making my way into The Cube and strapping in, I initiated the log-in sequence that had the entire square room dim into complete darkness. My sleep schedule had been appropriately screwed up these past two days as I continued to play the game during every four-hour daylight period and then would log off during the dark hours.

That meant I was playing from 12:00-4:00 AM, 8:00-12:00 PM, and 4:00-8:00 PM. It was an unhealthy schedule but I at least ate three meals and received enough sleep.

Today was officially the fifth game day yet only the second day since the game had released, but I was making strides. Having recently finished that annoying rabbit quest and finally acquiring suitable clothing, I could now properly hunt for the full duration of the day without fear of death due to the cold.

Looking down at my clothing was certainly an upgrade as well, as my eyes were no longer offended by the sight. The white fox-fur boots were the biggest items as my feet were no longer numbed by the snow, while the white wolf-fur coat was able to cover my shoulders and midsection quite comfortably. The white fox-fur cap was a nice little addition too.

Everything was white and fluffy though.

Oh well.

Before I could head out to hunt the village elder approached me once again, "Young one, thanks to you we have enough food to last us the week but there is one problem. There are too many foxes in the forests hunting the rabbits that we need to survive. Will you help us with our problem?"

And just like that another system message popped up:

[Will you accept this Quest?].

I selected [Yes].

Without bothering to look at the details of the quest I started jogging out towards the forest to the east, having forsaken the western forest that appeared to be normal again. Even if it looked normal, that western forest had proven to be a bit dangerous… my best guess was that was the higher level forest for beginners in the level 10-20 range. Having just recently hit level 5 I was still working my way through the easier forest, mostly due to lack of items though rather than lack of stats.

I had plenty of attribute points after all.

Mid-jog I decided to pull-up the [Quest Log] and look at what the requirements were. A quick glance told me all I needed to know, kill ten foxes in the Eastern Forest.

Done and done.

From what I could gather it was just a simple chain quest for beginners that started you off with rabbits, then led to foxes, and would eventually lead to wolves.

In the Middle Kingdoms where there were actual towns and cities the quest systems were much more robust. Even the Southern Kingdoms or the North-Eastern Elven lands had towns and cities… but here in the far North there were just a few sparsely populated villages.

While other players in different regions were getting rewarded handsomely for collecting furs, I was busy doing charity work to feed the homeless. No, that's not right, they have homes… they're just foodless. They also didn't have to worry about the winter months nearly as much either, with the weather much more tolerant down south.

All in all, I had to spend nearly sixteen hours just to collect clothing so I could hunt properly and the quests that I received only gave me small increments to the NPC's loyalty bar. My end game was to receive bonus reputation. Everywhere else players got paid in coin and items.

I almost regretted choosing the North.

Entering the forest I soon came across the first of my targets, a [Northern White Fox] that was digging at the ground. I had snuck up from behind as it was still clawing away at what looked to be a small hole of sorts when it dawned on me that there might be a rabbit inside.

Two birds with one find?

I'll take it.

Quickly going through the motions and drawing my bow, I release with a thwack and watch as the fox immediately slumps down from the one-hit kill. Nocking a second arrow I make my way towards the fox as I see a [Northern White Rabbit] leap out and make a dash for it.

Unfortunately it took the easiest path for me to trace and with another thwack it collapsed a moment later. Now this was hunting that I could get behind. Tying the feet of the two animals together with some twine I bought, I slung them over my shoulder and continued on.

By the end of the fourth hour as the sun started to set I returned to the village with a treasure trove of animals swaying to and fro. Not only did I collect the ten foxes but I also netted seven rabbits and leveled up twice. Excited and jubilant from my successful hunt I was soon frowning when the village elder approached.

If he wanted to take ten foxes from me as compensation for simply issuing a quest with no reward I would be quite upset. No, I would be quite pissed… I'm not that nice of a guy to continue giving things away for free.

The village elder continued his approach and waved at me with a smile, the same smile that con-artists used on their victims… I shuddered at the thought of what was to come.

Stopping just short of bumping into me, the elder patted my shoulder and spoke, "You are truly the First of the North, such a splendid hunt and in such a short amount of time. You have earned the appreciation of every inhabitant here… but we are still quite short on food…."

…Yeah.

Yeah, I understood what he wanted but he wasn't going to get the whole fox.

If he was going to word it that way and leave it open-ended then I was going to give him an open-ended type of reply, "I will share the extra meat of the foxes I have slain once I have finished skinning them, I would have no use for it otherwise." This way I was only losing 30 copper opposed to 120 copper coins… it was bearable, and kept me in good standing with the village-folk.

It was… bearable.

Eyes beaming with pride and what appeared to be genuine gratefulness the elder bowed his head as he continued to pat my shoulders. The quest had completed and he spoke up once more, "You are a blessing from the Gods just as the tales have told, with this meat I believe we can survive until the end of the month without a hungry mouth. If you are up for the challenge…" …he continued on until I received the next part of the quest-chain, slaying ten wolves.

Just like I had thought it was a simple pre-determined numerical kill-chain that just advanced up the ladder. I didn't expect much more but it would have been nice if I at least received bonus experience or something for these quests. I wasn't receiving anything at the moment and it was a bit disheartening.

Oh well, after selling the fox furs I would be 90 copper coins closer to my goal which meant I could now afford a woodcutting axe and a small ice-axe as well.

Things were looking up!