"Don't run! Come back here and die!!!"
[BlazingFlame] shouted furiously, ready to charge after the fleeing monsters—
but Liang Chuan grabbed him by the arm.
"Are you trying to die? You want to go running into the forest in the middle of the night? Out there, you'll find more than just a few slimes waiting for you."
"But… if I don't kill them, I won't get any EXP…"
[BlazingFlame] muttered under his breath.
"Is EXP more important than your life? Stay put and help me clean up the base!"
No sooner had Liang Chuan spoken than a series of notifications popped up in [BlazingFlame]'s field of vision.
The BOSS has issued you a quest — [Clean the Base].
Quest Objective: Clean the bloodstains in the base and tidy up the scattered supplies.
Reward: EXP ×1, Copper Coins ×10.
[Accept] / [Decline]
"What the— I'm a dignified Pyro Elementalist, and he wants me to do janitor work? I'm a mage, for crying out loud!"
As [BlazingFlame] was about to click Decline, a bright red warning flashed across his interface.
Declining a BOSS quest will decrease your Favorability with the BOSS.
If your Favorability drops below zero, you will be expelled from the faction (forcibly logged out and permanently banned).
"Wha— Damn! I accept it! I accept it! Don't kick me out!"
"I finally found such a realistic game, no way I'm getting banned over cleaning duty!"
So, [BlazingFlame] immediately accepted the quest and began cleaning with great enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Liang Chuan used his Pyro element to ignite a massive bonfire, ensuring no monsters would sneak up on them again.
"BOSS, I'm done cleaning!"
When [BlazingFlame] finished, he ran back to turn in the quest.
He knew he could submit it because the '?' icon above Liang Chuan's head had lit up.
Everyone who'd played MMOs knew the rule:
"!" means a quest is available,
"?" means it's ready to turn in.
No way this game would be any different.
After submitting the quest, [BlazingFlame]'s EXP bar rose to 1%, and he received 10 Copper Coins.
"So… I need 100 EXP to level up from 1 to 2, huh?
Looks like the grind's gonna be real.
If I don't kill monsters, I'll need to do 100 chores just to level once…"
He rubbed his chin.
"These 10 Copper Coins, though… what can I even do with them?"
He approached Liang Chuan and asked,
"Hey boss, can I use Copper Coins to buy stuff from you?"
"You can. What do you need?"
Liang Chuan nodded.
The players' quest rewards came from the system,
but he could reclaim their coins and use them to purchase items from the same system—
a nice, efficient little loop of profit.
"Got any gear? Like… the best sword in the village, maybe?"
"You're a Pyro Elementalist. What do you want a sword for?"
"My little fireball doesn't exactly pack much punch…"
[BlazingFlame] admitted awkwardly.
"No swords. I do have a bow, but that one's not for sale."
Liang Chuan replied flatly.
"Then how about some food? My Satiety's down to 30%, and I'm starting to feel hungry."
"Food, huh…"
Liang Chuan thought for a moment, then went into the wooden cabin and rummaged through his supplies.
He pulled out a small loaf of bread—
loot originally stolen by a Hilichurl, now in his possession.
He sliced off a piece so thin it was almost transparent and handed it to [BlazingFlame].
"How much?"
[BlazingFlame] asked.
Liang Chuan raised a single finger.
"1 Copper Coin? Alright, I'll take 10 slices."
"Not 1 Copper Coin. 10 Copper Coins per slice."
"WHAT?! Ten coins for a piece of bread thinner than paper?"
[BlazingFlame] was dumbfounded.
"Boss, I swear, you better never run into a dropout from an art academy—
they'd eat you alive for pricing like that!"
Liang Chuan chuckled, then asked,
"So, are you buying or not?"
"Grrr~"
Before he could answer, [BlazingFlame]'s stomach growled loudly.
"Satiety's down to 29%… this game doesn't actually let you starve to death, right?
Even if it doesn't… this hunger effect is way too real.
Still… 10 coins for one slice? That's ridiculous."
His gaze drifted toward the forest.
"Maybe I should go hunting instead?
But going in alone, at night… there's a good chance I won't come back.
I should probably check what the death penalty in this game is before I try something stupid."
Muttering to himself, he opened his personal interface and scrolled through the death-related rules.
"Upon death: no equipment loss, no EXP loss…
Hey! The devs actually have a conscience for once!
Not like those other games where you drop all your gear and lose levels."
He continued reading.
"Revival requires… Bio-Energy?
Level 1 revival: 10 Bio-Energy.
Level 2: 20 Bio-Energy… and so on.
Wait—if you don't have Bio-Energy, doesn't that mean your character's just… gone?"
"Oh, no, you can buy it from other players.
So… you can come back, as long as someone's willing to sell."
"Damn… that means Bio-Energy's actually more valuable than in-game currency!"