A tall, well built, dark-skinned goliath had approached Alex while he was deep in thought. He was covered in red inked tattoos that seemed to radiate with power. He wore a leather vest that cut off at the sleeves, only accentuating how strong this stranger seemed to be. A cloth pair of baggy shorts seemed to be the only thing protecting his legs, and though Alex could see no visible weapons on the man, he had no doubt that he was not someone to be trifled with. Hell, he might even be the weapon himself.
"Y-Yeah, that would be me. Alex the Hero. What can I do for you?" Alex had no idea whether he should treat this guy as a friend or as a threat, but he was in no position to put up any real fight if one broke out.
This guy was easily two times Alex's height, and his biceps looked nearly as thick as Alex's head. No way would he even stand a chance against this dude, even with his newly acquired gear.
Eliza had tensed up when the man spoke, but she too was caught unaware, and couldn't make a move or draw her weapons quick enough. Somehow, this behemoth of a man had snuck up on both of them, and had them at a complete disadvantage.
She mentally kicked herself for being so lax and unprepared. Being alert and aware of her surroundings was how she had made it so far by herself, but something about Alex put her at ease.
As the tension reached an all time high, the goliath stranger knelt down on one knee, bringing himself down to Alex's head height. "I humbly request that you let me join your party, and aid you on your journey." He bowed his bald head as he spoke, revealing even more tattoos. This display of a goliath kneeling before a human drew attention from players and citizens alike. Nobody could believe it.
[Agnor Stone-Cleaver, Goliath, Level 12 Monk has requested to join your party. Do you wish to accept?]
Alex and Eliza could hardly believe it themselves, this scary intimidating man wanted to join their party? They blinked rapidly as they processed the man's words, and then slowly turned towards each other with a dumbfounded look.
A momentary silence passed over the trio before Alex clapped his hands and stood up. "Of course you can. All are welcome in the Hero's party, and together we will share in the glory of saving the realm."
And that was that. Issue resolved. Crisis averted. A new name appeared below Eliza's, leaving only three more slots to fill. The system seemed to be following the same train of thought because it soon announced that the second player had joined the Hero's party, and reminded everyone how many spaces remained.
Those who witnessed the spectacle now realized the error of their ways. One paladin in particular was proven right, but it was too late now. There weren't enough spots left for the rest of his friends, and they had already all agreed to go and stop the elite forces of the enemy.
Every other player in the square tried to get Alex's attention to ask him for permission to join, but he ignored every single one of them. To him, they weren't worthy of a second glance.
An older gentleman stood off behind a crowd of a few players, the ghost of a smile tugging at his mouth. He tapped the dwarf beside him on the shoulder, and the pair of them walked away without a second glance. They had duties to attend to, this hero would be just fine without them.
Alex swore he could see a familiar face in the crowd of useless idiotic players, but the second he tried to pinpoint who it was, a loud mouthed player got in his way. By the time said player was shoved out of the way, the face was gone and Alex questioned if he even saw it in the first place. Maybe he was just imagining things.
He turned to look at his fellow companions, who were also struggling to tear themselves away from other players, and shook his head. This notoriety was gonna be a pain in the ass.
Eventually the party of the Hero was freed from the harassment of players, Agnor's loud booming voice and imposing figure was partially to thank. All it took was a very loud, very hollow, threat and they suddenly found themselves left in peace. Finally alone once more, the three of them could think for themselves. Alex's eyes trailed up to the list of party members, and then the numbers associated with each name.
Alexander Khelton, Human, Level 1
Eliza Shadowkin, Dark Elf, Level 8 Ranger
Agnor Stone-Cleaver, Goliath, Level 12 Monk
He was severely underleveled. It felt nice knowing he had capable party members alongside him, but he didn't want to drag them down and hold them back. A team is as strong as its weakest link afterall, and right now? He was the weakest link. It was time to do some good old fashioned grinding.
[Quests]
[Active quests, 3. Know this! Active quests are the only type to be ranked, as they are administered by the adventurers hall. The rewards are equal to the rank associated with a quest.]
[F-rank, Hunting the Hydro-croks: A wild nest of Hydro-croks has been plaguing Tendrassil village. Hunt them down and eliminate them. [Rewards: 30 gold pieces, random Bronze tier equipment, 20 Reputation points, 250 Experience Points.]
[F-rank, Tending the Garden: Local plant life near the village of Tendrassil has grown out of control and villagers are no longer safe to harvest their own crops. Eliminate the threat. [Rewards 25 gold pieces, random Iron tier scroll, 20 Reputation points, 250 Experience Points.]
[F-rank, Saving the Treasure: Dendrick the blacksmith lost a valuable treasure chest when his caravan was attacked by a savage beast. Hunt the beast down, and return the treasure chest to Dendrick. [Rewards: 50 gold pieces, 2 pieces of random Bronze tier equipment, a valuable ore, a favor from Dendrick, 30 Reputation points, 400 Experience Points.]
Alex closed his quests menu as he and his compatriots walked into the Grand Temple of Vienna with a smile on his face. He recalled the words the kind receptionist had said to him when he was checking out the quest board in the adventures hall.
"At your current level, even with stronger party members, you may only accept F-rank quests. You will be registered as an F-ranked adventurer. In order to increase your rank, complete quests and earn the reputation points that come from them. Once you have collected enough points, return to any adventurer hall and you will be able to promote your rank. A rank does not necessarily determine the difficulty of the quest, just the nature of its contents. Due to this the rewards will vary from quest to quest."
After that, Alex just took the top three quests on the board and walked out. Once more he was reminded just how game-like this world was. Maybe it was intentional, but even if it was, he refused to allow himself to believe for a second that this was a video game. Aside from the players, these people were real, this world was real. And this war was all too real.
The radiant smile of the Goddess shone down on the three party members as they walked through the temple. More people were materializing as they arrived at Fareon for the very first time, priests were offering blessings and attempting to give personal sermons about their goddess on high.
It was all so surreal to Alex, but this was his second chance, and he wasn't going to waste it being a useless piece of trash. He stepped onto the portal alongside Eliza and Agnor, said the name of the village they needed to travel to, and then everything faded.
***
Alex rematerialized in the open air of Tendrassil village, Eliza and Agnor appearing beside him moments after. His mind was a little foggy, and he swore that he could hear the voice of a woman slowly fading in his mind. Was Fate trying to contact him and failing to do so? He closed his eyes and attempted to hold on to that voice that was swiftly fading. Just as it seemed like it would disappear from his mind forever, a connection formed between him and the voice.
[I know it is not the fate you were expecting mortal, but I hope this small boon will aid you.]
[Vienna's Boon Acquired (Passive): The eldest and wisest god of Vorcast has seen fit to grant you a boon to aid your journey. Effect: You will receive 2X the amount of Experience Points from all sources.]
The voice was as soft as a pillow, and as gentle as a Summer breeze. Alex felt like he could get lost in it forever and just listen to it on repeat, but he had a mission to do. He had people relying on him. He had a sister to get back to.
The Hero had no relationship with the speaker, but he thanked her anyway. Gaining double the amount of EXP would greatly boost his growth, he might even outpace Agnor at some point.
[Boons are bonus passive effects that can only be granted to you personally by the gods. They do not take up a Blessing slot, and you may acquire an indefinite amount of them. So long as the god is willing.]
The monotone voice of the system drew Alex back to the moment, and he opened his eyes to take in the village they had arrived at. It appeared to be a farming town that had fallen on hard times. Two central buildings dominated the square they teleported into, one of which appeared to be the tavern.
The other building was most likely the adventurers hall, or the town hall, based on the sole fact that a small trickle of players continuously entered and exited it. Aside from those two major buildings, smaller dilapidated townhouses dotted the village-scape. It was a sobering sight, and a sign of the troubles that had plagued the village.
"Well. This is just depressing." Eliza spoke everyone's inner thoughts aloud. It was obvious that this had been a once thriving town, but the outside threats had either driven away its populace or scared them into hiding. To Alex, it felt like a ghost town. There were no kids playing, no animals strutting about and most importantly, no signs of commerce. This town was a hollow shell of its former self.
"Alright, let's get to work." Alex finally spoke after gathering his bearings, "I know it's dangerous Agnor, but I want you to track down the beast's lair for the third quest. Eliza and I can handle the other overgrown plants by ourselves."
Even at level 1 he was pretty confident the two of them would be more than capable of cutting down a few weeds. "We'll regroup for the hydro-croks, and tackle the last two quests together." The other two nodded their heads in agreement, the finer details could be refined once they were back together again.
It was a sound plan, and as long as everything went well they'd be back in Fareon before they knew it. Agnor walked off in the direction of the tavern, while Alex and Eliza turned towards the main village road and the farms beyond. It was time to chop down some weeds.