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Memphis spent another two hours on the outskirts killing zombies. He could dispatch them easily, but each use of his skill drained some stamina. Most of his time was spent recovering lost strength.
[Player has slain Zombie (common)]
[Player received 1 “Crystal Shard”]
[Player has slain 20/20 Zombies]
At the same time, Memphis checked his status panel:
[Personal Status Panel]
Player Name: Apocalyptic Reality
Level: 3
HP: 100%
MP: 4/25
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Stamina: 5
Intelligence: 5
Charm: 1
Weapon: Kusanagi Sword (temporary)
Free Points: 3
At the same time, during his zombie hunt, Memphis obtained a piece of equipment and a skill book.
[Old Blacksmith’s Boots (White)]
Type: Equipment
Durability: 12/15
Equipment requirement: Can be used with 2 Strength points. If below 2 Strength, movement speed is restricted.
Attribute: When equipped, increases Agility by 1 point, and reduces fatigue while moving.
Description: The old boots of a blacksmith, worn with him through many years.
Rating: 2 (Note: White equipment is rated from 1–10 points.)
[Skill Book: Brewing]
Equipment requirement: 5 Intelligence points to learn
Attribute: Allows you to begin learning how to brew various liquors.
Description: A book detailing someone’s brewing methods, and he seemed to value it greatly.
In the apocalypse, the drop of equipment mainly depends on who lands the finishing blow. You can’t just kill a fish and expect a pair of wings to drop. It seemed Memphis’s luck was average; the boots were at least usable. He glanced at the skill book, after all, who in a survival world would care about brewing alcohol?
Memphis returned to town to turn in his quest to Steve, as he hadn’t spent long on the mission. The sooner he returned, the higher the chance for a better reward.
When he got back to the training grounds, Steve was nowhere to be found. After asking around, Memphis learned Steve had gone home, a small wooden house, looking rather cozy. Memphis walked up and knocked on the door:
“I’m here to turn in the quest, Steve.”
At that moment, Steve was preparing dinner. When he saw Memphis, he looked slightly surprised.
“I suppose this quest was too easy for you, wasn’t it? Well done, young man.”
[You have completed the quest: Show Me Your Ability]
“It’s late, young man. You can stay and join me for dinner.”
[Steve has acknowledged you. Your rapport with Steve has increased by 20 (Friendly).]
Memphis wasn’t particularly hungry, but building rapport with a guide NPC was never a bad thing, so he decided to stay for dinner with Steve.
“It’s an honor, sir.”
After dinner together, Memphis learned more about Steve. He had once been a swordsman in the royal knights, but later retired. It seemed Steve wasn’t keen on talking about it, probably because their rapport was still quite low.
“You’ve exceeded my expectations. I’d have granted you a skill already, but you performed so well that I’ll give you two choices.”
[Quest updated]
[You have 2 options]
[Option 1: Accept Steve’s training to acquire a skill.]
[Option 2: Steve sees your potential and decides to offer you an additional challenge.]
Option 1 wasn’t bad, but for Memphis, learning a new skill wouldn’t make much difference; he was curious what further rewards might come from taking the next quest.
“Thank you, sir. I’m ready for your next challenge.”
As if he’d already expected Memphis to choose the challenge, Steve wasn’t surprised.
“The next challenge will be much tougher.”
[Training Quest Initiated: Show Me Your Ability (continued)]
Difficulty level: LV. 10
Quest summary: Steve feels he’s still underestimating you. He’s given you a harder task to further test your potential.
Quest info: Leave the city and kill 100 zombies.
Time limit: 8 hours (Note: Finishing early may grant extra rewards.)
Quest penalty: Steve is disappointed, and your rapport with him will decrease.
...
Reviewing the quest, he found killing zombies extremely simple. The time limit didn’t pose a challenge either. He was sure he could complete it easily.
“I think this quest is still pretty simple. I’ll finish it right away.”
“Haha, just what I’d expect from a hero. I hope to see you again soon.”
“I hope to see you again soon as well.”
The real-world time and in-game time were almost the same. At this point, his parents were probably waiting for him to eat dinner together. Memphis decided to log out for a bit, he couldn’t let his parents worry. The steady image he’d built up couldn’t be ruined in a single day by becoming a gaming addict.
“Log out.”
[You are in a safe zone.]
[Logging out in 3...2...1...]
[Logout successful.]
Taking off his helmet, Memphis went downstairs where his parents were waiting for him. However, Memphis now felt his body was a little strange. It wasn’t obvious, but he thought he might actually be able to use the Wallace Sword skill in reality. But testing would have to wait, his parents had been waiting for him downstairs for a while.
Going downstairs, his parents were as usual, but they seemed to be hesitating about something, probably related to the company’s finances.
“What are you discussing, Mom and Dad?”
“It’s nothing much, just talking a bit about the company’s future. How’s your apocalypse game?”
“It’s pretty fun. I didn’t expect a game to feel so real.”
“We’re considering an investment in in-game supplies. What do you think?”
From his memories, he recalled this was an investment related to in-game trading of supplies. His parents didn’t know much about games, so they’d eventually decided not to invest, but he remembered this investment would be very profitable.
“I think this game is very special, especially in how real it feels. For many, virtual reality may even be more interesting than the real world. If you can, you should invest.”
During this period, Memphis had been giving his parents some business advice based on his memories, so they’d grown to trust his judgment. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be asking his opinion about investments.
“We’ll research it more closely, then.”
The family didn’t dwell on the topic, instead asking if he enjoyed the game, if he’d made any friends. He knew his parents wanted him to play in order to meet people, so he answered,
“I’ve met a mentor in the game, his name’s Steve. Seems like a good guy.”
“Not a girl? Oh well, you’ll make more friends eventually.”
Did his parents want him to make friends, or were they hoping he’d find a girlfriend through gaming? He pretended not to know and just kept eating.
After returning to his room, he thought more about his suspicions. Entering the training room, he picked up a wooden sword and focused on using Wallace Sword in his mind.
[Ding...]
[Player has comprehended "Wallace Sword"]
He hadn’t expected it to be real, he could use skills from the game in real life now? The game wasn’t supposed to descend on the world for another two years. Why was he already hearing the system’s notifications? Had the game begun its descent already?
A thousand thoughts raced through Memphis’s mind. He felt genuinely panicked. Everything he’d planned for the next two years was thrown into disarray by that system chime. Had something gone wrong when he returned to the past?
- Writer
