About half an hour had passed since the arrival of the "Blessed" or what Crow had gathered to be Players, and apparently, they were "prophesied" to arrive today and save this world.
Many of the "Blessed" had already scattered, either in search of quests or heading out to kill monsters in order to gain experience.
Yet as the boy walked along the cobblestone street, he couldn't help but think to himself that the world is truly unfair.
He thought to himself as he walked, 'Strange… I don't even have one of those halos, so does that mean I'm really just-'
"Agggh!" A piercing scream echoed through the streets, causing Crow to whip his head towards the source of the sound.
Standing a few meters away was a human with a near-transparent halo over his head, stabbing an NPC male walking through the street, "Woah… this is so realistic."
Crow observed this with a raised eyebrow, 'Christ, I know these are NPCs, but I didn't think Players would start killing in town so soon.'
A mischievous smirk arose on the Player's face, taking his sword in hand and widely swinging around.
Screams and the smell of blood filled the air as everyone panicked and made a run for it, Crow, unarmed as he was, amongst the retreating crowd.
Yet, as the boy ran, he thought he could barely make out figures donned in armor fast approaching that Player.
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Finally…
Another 30 minutes later, the boy had long since stopped running and was making his way down the street, considering everything he had just seen up until now.
Most would be shocked at the scene Crow had just witnessed, yet the boy could only nod his head at this, 'They're just NPCs yet... everything felt and looked so real.'
A nervous feeling tingled down the boy's back.
NPC was short for Non-Playable-Character, and were like automated background AI to make a world feel more alive.
The sight of seeing all those civilians being murdered wasn't such a shock to Crow, the same way killing a character in any other game would be, yet Crow couldn't shake a feeling in the back of his mind, 'Something feels... different about these NPCs though. It's like there's... more to them...'
The boy thought of his conversation with the man yelling at him to move and the way the crowd of civilians pushed into each other to get a better look at the gate, even before any Players had arrived.
A nervous sweat ran down the side of his head as he walked, 'Almost like... they are alive.'
...
'No, no, I'm probably just weirded out by how I came into this game, I'm just overthinking things.' Crow shook these thoughts out of his head as his mind moved on.
The boy narrowed his eyes and squeezed his fist in frustration, 'I feel so powerless though, running from a new player like that, yet... without a weapon, I wouldn't have been able to do anything there if he did try to attack me.'
Yet, as Crow was deep in thought…
FWOOOOOOOOOOSHHH!!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
A torrent of flames arose before Crow with a screaming body struggling within.
Yet, just as soon as the flames appeared, the body finally quieted down, before disintegrating and tiny specks of gold dust floating away.
Crow stood still in his tracks, cold sweat dripping down his back, yet at that moment, he heard a noise from the door on his left.
"Heh, damn thieves think they can take from me."
With that, a figure with a black cloak concealing the entire body stepped out from the shop door to the boy's left.
Crow's mouth formed the shape of an 'O'.
The man's presence was oppressive, with there nearly being a circle of invisible pressure around him, 'A high-level NPC?' the boy thought to himself, though he was uncertain what lay behind the black garments…
The figure towered around 6'5 (1.98meters) and had 2 piercing red eyes that shone from underneath his hood, causing Crow to faintly shiver as he stood there.
The figure reached down and picked up a gleaming sword that lay on the ground, his hands still concealed in black bandages, and then turned to face Crow, "Haven't seen ya round these parts before, lad."
Crow's eyes widened before realizing his situation, 'Damnit, what do I say? Am I an NPC? Am I a "Blessed"?'
But he simply gave a kind smile, "Hello, Sir, I'm… new here, I came here from far away."
The figure's crimson eyes narrowed beneath his hood, seemingly not completely convinced, yet he chose to ignore the boy and began to walk back into the store.
Crow's mind raced as he stood there in the still bustling streets, as the corpse of the player was now gone, and the smell of burning flesh was once more replaced by that of sweet pastries, yet a chill still lingered on the back of the boy's neck.
'Strong… even as players, we don't stand a chance against these NPCs.'
The boy looked at the man's figure that was slowly disappearing into the shop.
It was a tiny shop with a metal hammer and shield icon touted on top, and in the interior, Crow could spot some swords, shields, and other weapons propped on the wall behind a counter.
'Weapons!' he inwardly exclaimed.
He glanced back to where the corpse was moments ago, piecing together the reason for his death.
"Wait!" Crow suddenly blurted out.
The figure who had begun walking back into the store stopped, causing the surrounding air to become hot, and a tightening sensation began forming around Crow's neck.
Yet, even so, he did his best to maintain a straight face, "I- I would like a weapon."
The air became normal as the man turned his body sideways to allow Crow into the store, yet the boy spoke once more, "I… don't have any money, though…"
RUMBLE
Crow could feel a slight ringing in his ears as he felt heat and pressure on his entire body, nearly causing him to kneel, "W-wait… I'm new to this area, and I need to hunt and grow stronger. Please give me a weapon to defend myself, and I promise to pay you back!"
The pressure finally stopped, and the figure stood there staring at Crow for what seemed like ages, yet after 5 minutes, he went back into the store without uttering a word.
GASP!
After the shop owner's figure fully disappeared, Crow nearly collapsed once more, gasping for breath, yet he couldn't afford to show weakness, not now.
'Scary, what power is that? Can players even become that strong? Will I ever be able to become that strong?"
The boy stood there awkwardly waiting for what felt like 2 minutes, yet seeing as how the man hadn't returned, he glanced once more into the store, then turned to walk away.
"Wait!" a gruff voice called out to the boy, causing him to turn back and see the cloaked figure.
"Here," he handed Crow a sack, "Do stay safe, because you will be paying off this debt."
Crow inwardly gulped, yet nodded his head and thanked the figure before strapping the bag over his back and walking away.
As the boy walked away, he thought back to that player who met his end to the cloaked NPC, 'Thieves with eyes bigger than their stomach typically end up like that. Though I wonder what happened to that Player who was killing NPCs earlier...''
With that, Crow departed deeper into the crowd, unaware of the lingering gaze from within the weapon shop…
.
.
.
Along the way, Crow couldn't help but feel uneasy…
As he walked, he could see a player carrying a woman over his shoulder while she screamed with tears in her eyes. Behind the player was a man with 2 broken legs and tears of blood crying out with an outstretched hand.
Crow shook his attention away as he continued onward.
.
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.
Another 15 minutes later, Crow finally reached the village exit where 2 guards suited in iron armor and helmets were stationed.
Seeing him, they briefly questioned him upon not recognizing him, but seeing as he was leaving the village to hunt, they gave him a temporary hunting pass for the day to return by nightfall.
With that, Crow took his 1st step towards leveling.
His mind churned as he left, 'I wonder what weapons that guy's given me.'
He reached into the bag and rustled around, finding only 4 items.
Some bandages, some ointment, a throwing knife the size of his index finger, and a glass bottle containing a green potion with a note attached that read, "Drink only if needed, debt increased if used."
'Is this a joke?' he then brought his eyes to the 3rd item, the miniature throwing knife.
'...And to think I'm indebted just for these items, though I suppose it's better than nothing.'
He stored the items back into his bag, except for the knife, which he kept in his hand as he walked.
He played with the knife as he continued on, testing its sharpness on his thumb, to which he paid the price, "Youch!! Definitely small, but its sharpness ain't a joke!"
Now satisfied with his miniature throwing knife, the boy continued onward whilst sucking his leaky thumb.
5 minutes later, after exiting the safety of the village, he was greeted by the grasslands with green whiskers that nearly came up to his shoulders, greatly obscuring his vision.
WHOOSH
The sound of movement instantly made the boy on alert as he narrowed his eyes and readied himself.
He was able to make out gray objects zipping throughout.
He steadied his breath as he leapt forward and stabbed out with his newly acquired knife, 'There!'
WHOOOOSH!!
Yet it was no use as the gray figure easily avoided his strike and continued jumping around.
Yet the field seemed to be plentiful with them as he spotted another gray figure and leaped forward again.
WHOOOOOSH!!
He was avoided again, and that scene played out for nearly 20 minutes before he collapsed onto his back in exhaustion.
'Bahh! This is too difficult; my reactions were some of the best among my peers on Earth. How can I not catch even one of these things? But… at least they seem harmless,' he thought to himself as he watched the gray figures continue dashing along.
Yet at that moment, he heard a sound behind him.
RUSTLE
He slowly rose to his knees and turned his head back to see a young girl who looked to be about his age walking towards him.
Her skin was fair with freckles, thin lips, and peach blonde hair that swayed with the wind and draped down to her upper back.
She wore a simple white dress that came slightly below her knees.
Crow narrowed his eyes, 'She shouldn't know I'm here, I'll wait and see what happens.'
The girl hummed an optimistic tune as she frolicked on, swinging the knitted basket in her hands as she did so.
Just as he thought, the girl actually continued on her path and walked past him, unaware of his existence.
She came up to a spot with ankle-high grass and crouched down and began picking herbs in the field without a care in the world.
As she picked the herbs, the gray figures came rushing towards her and finally stopped, allowing themselves to be pet.
Crow's eyes widened as he saw what they were, 'Rabbits?!' he almost yelled out.
They were about the size of normal rabbits, yet with a strong vitality about them.
The girl smiled and continued singing her tune as she petted the rabbits in between picking herbs into her basket.
Then, he saw something that astonished him.
The girl reached her hand out, causing a pink light to appear.
With that, a bushel of lush greenery and herbs sprang from the ground, causing the rabbits around the girl to bounce around in delight.
The girl who saw this chuckled to herself as she continued her harvesting.
The boy, whom she was unaware of, lay watching, astonishment still on his face as he planned his next action.
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AUTHOR NOTES:
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