Eye Candy - My Superstar System

66 The Brunswick

Wednesday, 22nd February 2017 0715hrs

“Good morning, Laura. I would not be able to stay long here since I need to be somewhere later on at 9 am. I would be heading down to Skoob Books at Brunswick just behind Tesco of Russell Square Station. So, right after breakfast and housekeeping, I would need to run off, alright?”

I mentioned to Laura who was preparing the breakfast for some of the sleepy heads that had too much drink outside before coming into the shelter and had trouble waking up in the morning.

Even though there was a sign outside stating that everyone should enter the place with a positive attitude and negative test results for both drugs and alcohol, but then, there would still be people who would try against the system.

Besides, these people are NPC so it does not matter much to me at all.

After I had done my morning tasks, I bade farewell to Laura and headed to Knightsbridge Station where it’s a direct service to Russell Square Station. Since my debit MasterCard was also a contactless payment for Metro rides, Gett and Blacktop Cabs, I was able to simply tap and enter through the gantry.

I saw several players on board the train as well and they were all wearing the generic pair of t-shirt, jeans and sneakers like me before but now I was wearing a red polo t-shirt so I stood out among the rest of the so-called newbie players since I had been around for some days already.

I tried to strike up a conversation with one of them and introduced myself. “I’m Adam and yeah, I am from London too. Where are you heading, mate?”

“Oh, I’m just going to chill for a while and meet some friends. How about yourself?” I asked.

“Well, I am going down to see if I can find a job as a DJ or KJ here in the outskirts since the demand is much more than in Central London. The pay is good too. It pays out about £400 6 days a week on every Sunday. Yeah, that’s the highest-paid that I could find right now. Unless you are a VIP player than you could be a CEO of a company and earns at least £2,400 a week for at least 3 months on a renewable subscription!”

Never heard about the subscription before since I knew I was directly reenacting the character of this player that I am in right now instead of controlling it with a mouse and keyboard!

Well, right now what I need to do is to get to Skoob as discreetly as possible since I am not dressed like the players when the first time I arrived here. With the red polo t-shirt, I looked like any other NPCs on the trains and the streets as well. I should be able to blend in and then would be able to find what I wanted in the used bookstore.

“Russell Square Station. Ding.”

The train’s announcement sounded as it had reached my destination and I quickly exited the train and looked for the sign that directs me to Tesco. From the supermarket, it would be a few minutes walk right behind the building and I found it quite easily.

*TINKLE TINKLE*

The door sounded as I opened it up and entered. The soft tingling sound was made by several bells that attached on the top side of the door and it jiggles and alerted the shop’s proprietor the moment the door is opened.

“HI, welcome to Skoob Books. If you need any assistance, just holler at us and we would be there to render help as much as possible.”

“There are a lot of discount books here and this area behind is are those recently arrived and had not been sorted out by us yet.”

“Maybe you would like to help us rummage through the mountainous pile of paperbacks and hardcovers there and then get what you need and at the same time to toss the books into their respective bins according to the genre.”

“Would that be okay with you, young man?”

A bespectacled middle-aged man and his associates were mentioning the issues they were facing right now and it seems to me that it would be a BIG DEAL if I were to find the books that I wanted and at the same time to return the favour of tossing the books accordingly to their genre. Won’t the books get damaged if tossed carelessly into the bins?

I looked at the pile and it seems that I would need more than a month to clear it at my kind of rate since I would only be able to be here for only 2 hours right after I had done the housekeeping over at the Shelter.

In a layman term, the shop proprietor is giving me a task, mission or quest just like in any other MMORPG platform, but since I am a newbie in this MMORPG, I do not have a single inkling of what it is all about until Sue sounded in my mind and told me about it as a Quest. Once a Quest is being issued, no one would be able to go near the pile of books and I could take as long as I want to complete tossing the books in their respective genre bins.

“Oh, A Quest, is it? So that means after I had rummaged through the pile, find my books and on top of that I cleared the mountainous pile of books, I would have completed the Quest? So what kind of rewards would I be getting?” I asked since the quest got me piqued and I knew that a Quest like this would reward me in such a bountiful way!

“I am not sure but at the moment, don’t miss this opportunity and just say you accept and do it quickly.” Sue insisted and she sounded rather excited as well.

“I accept, my dear proprietor. Could I start now?” I asked as I was about to bulldoze my way through the pile of books.

“Yes, thank you, young man. You will be rewarded handsomely by the end of the task. Please place all the books into each specific genre and also to look for the books that you wanted from the pile. It seemed that you are working, so you could come here and spend 2 hours before you commence your work, would that be alright?”

The proprietor was able to see through me like onion skin and immediately knew that I am working and starts by 11 am. I wondered what else this proprietor had seen in me and I hoped he does not find me to be such a bore since I do not own any skills yet!

“That’s all right, my dear proprietor. I would be here daily at 9 am and ends at 11 am to proceed for my work, even though it may be a little tight for me to have my lunch in peace. By the way, could I ask you for a small favour?”

“Yes, what is it, young man?”

“You see, I would knock off from a place about 15 minutes past 7 am or so, could I come in before 9 am instead? At least about 8 am or so and then I would be able to commit right till about 1030 am before I leave for my work. My lunch starts at 11 am and my work commences at noon. I do hope you would be agreeable to this since this is your locale and I would not want to disrupt its opening hours.”

“Oh, that’s fine, young man. Do not have to be specific! Once you are done in the mornings, straight come here no matter what time it is. This used book store would be open for you once you arrive and you can start work immediately on that pile of books. Once its time t leave, just let me know and then you can proceed to your workplace. It is just too bad that you have to travel up and down the Metro just to help a poor old middle-aged man to settle this matter.”

“Ah, no worries, my dear proprietor. I will familiarise myself first today and then I would perform the massive damage tomorrow for the mountain of books. Hahaha!”

“Right on, young man! I like your style! Please assume your position then. I would be back here with some tea.” The middle-aged shop proprietor gave me a thumbs up and disappeared with his other associates.

I looked at the mountainous pile of books which was about 3 times my height and I wondered is this the 55,000 books that a lot of people were mentioning in their reviews?!