City Gate, Outside Meteo City

With Winfrey fully equipped with her own set of Beginner's Bronze, on top of her fortuitous acquisition of more Skill Gems than I was intending to get for her, I feel confident that the three of us can handle Farmer's Folly, a 5-man, Copper-Tier Difficulty Level 5 Reminiscence managed jointly by The Empire of Stone and The Pioneer's Alliance based in Meteo City.

"Are you sure we don't need a healer for this? It's four levels higher than us," Windy sounds concerned, though nonetheless more confident now that she's wearing proper equipment.

"And why don't I get any armour, huh?" Jade follows up with yet another complaint.

"You're a Ranged-type Scout. If you're in danger from the enemies we're set to tangle with, it's because either Windy or me fucked up, or else you're hilariously out of position," I start with Jade's whining first, "Said enemies are not enough of a threat, and there's no Boss. So long as you dodge and block appropriately, the damage you take will be negligible. They're just mutated rats with no thoughts going through their head other than 'bite adventurer roarrr'."

Windy's lips form a line, "Exactly how big are these rats..?"

I measure up Windy's body, "Just below your knees? Thereabouts."

She shudders, "Ew. Hate rats."

"Is this going to be a problem?"

If it's a bad phobia, I won't risk it.

"No. I'll manage," Windy psyches herself up, "I'll just...channel it into anger. I guess."

"Don't worry, I'm here too," Jade pats her side.

"If you're sure. Alright, we good to go? It's a long walk, so if you need a snack to keep your Stamina up over the journey, last chance to go to the market," I offer. I do have a couple of extra pies in my inventory just in case, but I'd like to save them to eat between dives.

Not seeing them move, I clap my hands together, "Alright, Windy, you're in front, I'll take the rearguard. Jade, stay between us. Let's go."

---

 

Dungeon Observation Outpost, Former Ulis Farmstead

The journey is uneventful as ever, peppered with the odd conversation between the two friends about subjects I either don't understand or don't have much to contribute to. Hearing them talk about modern trends in gaming and the entertainment world at large reminds me of how much older I am mentally, and puts me in a sour mood.

That's because it also reminds me of all the relationships that I lost when I got shoved back to the past. My friends, my sister after she recovers from the accident in a few years time, and my former guild. Some of the people I knew aren't even born yet.

Taking a deep breath, I sigh. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet. My situation, I mean.

Jade glances back, "What's up with you? Tired? 'We're nearly there'."

She sniggers at her impersonation of my voice, but indeed, the farmhouse is just a minute's walk down this worn dirt path. Though, these days calling it a farmhouse wouldn't quite be accurate, given the wealth of armed personnel wandering about the area. Mostly NPCs from the Empire's military, dressed up in uniform and a few players.

The Pioneer's Alliance maintains a token, purely administrative presence here. The Empire is the one ultimately in control of the land and its security, so they get the final say in decisions. Which is good, because I'm almost certainly on the Alliance's shitlist thanks to that vindictive ass, Geronil.

"Nothing you need be concerned with. Something I have to work through on my own time," I reply, scratching my brow, "The NPC we need to talk to is Captain Jelle, from The Empire's army. She's the one in charge around here and the one who decides whether we can go in or not - which thanks to our Citizenship Pins, shouldn't be an issue. If you're not a Citizen, you need to be a part of the Alliance, so Klint Maxn would be the one to negotiate on your behalf here."

Windy slows down to close the distance, "So, where's this Captain at?"

I point at one soldier in particular, "See that woman with the green feather cap? That's her. Empire officers wear caps like that as part of their uniform, just for future reference."

"Strange stipulation," Windy notes, "What, do their generals wear feathered headdresses or something?"

"No, it depends on what the feather came from and the colour of the trim on the hat itself. Jelle has a Rock Rooster feather in her cap, so she's a Captain, and her cap has a dark blue trim, so she's at least Level 30, but no higher than 49."

Jade chokes, "30?!"

I nod, "The Empire takes controlling dungeons within its borders seriously because of the potential threat they pose and the value they provide. Not too different from placing armed guards near a diamond mine. If I had to estimate, the Captains overseeing the dungeons near Meteo City should be in the top 10 of highest levelled NPCs. There's a few roaming World Bosses that can match and overcome them, but they're dormant at the moment."

I nod to Windy, "Incidentally, estimates place Gragg as being around level 20. If he had both arms, past level 40, easily."

Her mouth hangs open a little in surprise, "Huh."

"Regular soldiers and City Guards in the Meteo City region, on the other hand, run the gamut from 10-15, and they're functionally cannon fodder for the most part. As the game progresses, they'll have opportunities to steadily increase in level just like the players up to a region-specific breakpoint. Keeps them a relevant threat."

Finishing my explanation for now, we come up to the Captain herself, "Greetings, Citizens. How can The Empire assist you today?"

"We'd like to challenge the dungeon as a Party."

Pretending to glance at a clipboard since she's already hardcoded with the knowledge of whether you're eligible or not, she nods, "There are no problems. Please proceed to the checkpoint and collect your Kinstones. The sentries on duty will explain further. Good luck, and Stars Bless."

The NPC returns to her scripted motions, forgetting our existence.

"The checkpoint is on the other side of that knoll," I wave us on, "Kinstones will allow us to form a party and enter the Reminiscence together. Keep it in your inventory at all times and do not lose it because they are extremely expensive and we will be fined."

"Why do we need an item for this?" Jade complains, likely mourning the lost inventory space.

"Because. After The First Step, there's a Quest that lets you just do it at will without it. It's dumb, I know," I grumble.

As we head to the checkpoint I give a quick explanation of how Reminiscences work.

"So we're like paranormal investigators, solving old murder mysteries through visions provided by ghosts?" Jade muses.

"Sometimes literally, yes."

"Neat."

"What's the story with this one?" Windy asks, taking a Kinstone from a sentry NPC.

"Farmer's Folly. Basically, a Gratt nest popped up nearby and got out of hand. Farmer tried to clear them all out himself instead of ponying up some money to the Alliance or putting in a report with the Government. Our job is to get to the end of the tunnel and destroy the nest through waves of Gratts," I take my own Kinstone then form the party, "Then we get rewarded, kicked out, and have to wait an hour to go back in. If we do it quickly enough and with no deaths, the Satisfaction rate increases accordingly."

I pause as another group of players heads in past the barricade, "But we're don't care about that."

Jade cocks her head, ears twitching, "We uhhh...don't?"

"Why not?" Windy is just as confused, "Do we not want a good reward?"

I shake my head, "Nope. The drops here aren't great. Cheap Gratt materials mostly, and a chance at a random piece of Level 5 Copper-Tier gear. Which, since we've got Bronze-tier gear good till level 6, is no good for us."

"Then why are we here instead of farming monster camps?" Jade thumbs through her quiver, checking her ammo supply.

"Developer oversight," I grin, "See, part of the gimmick of Reminiscences is that they're influenced by what was going through the mind of the person responsible. The Farmer was swarmed by what seemed like a seemingly endless horde of Gratts, and never got to the nest further in. See where I'm going with this?"

Windy's eyes widen, "They keep respawning until you get to the nest?"

I chuckle, "Infinitely, or close enough not to make a difference."

Jade starts giggling maniacally, "So it's an endless xp farm?"

I waver, "Not exactly. We don't have an ideal set up, and we'll run out of HP and Stamina eventually. Plus, the experience point gain starts to hit diminishing returns once you pass the intended Level 5. With the supplies we have on hand, we can hit Level 5 in two trips with a bit of leeway."

Jade continues laughing, "Fuck, this game is a janky mess!"

"The devs will catch onto the exploit for dungeons with a similar problem across Merrow eventually, but for now it's the most efficient way to Level 5 and a little beyond."

Windy smirks, "Beta tester perks. You didn't report this to them?"

I raise a single finger to my lips, then head into the tunnel's mouth.

---

 

Farmer's Folly, Former Ulis Farmstead

 

 

The tunnels are roughly twice the size as the real thing in diameter, easily 10ft tall by 15ft in width, the air chill and the darkness deeper in foreboding, the scritch-scratching of clawed rodent paws echoing along.

Shaking off the disorientation, I draw my zweihander and wait for the girls recover from their own transference. Hearing the noise of the accumulated Gratts, Windy flinches, hastily drawing her shortsword.

"Calm down, they can't come this close to the entrance until we get closer," I assure her, "Jade, light please."

Since myself and Windy are going to be on the frontlines, I've put Jade in charge of changing out and refilling the lamps we need to be able to see.

"Uh huh, gimme a sec to figure this...out..." Shouldering her bow, Jade fiddles around with the crude oil lamp until eventually I get fed up and show her how to do it again. It gives off a soft, flickering light barely enough to illuminate ten feet around it, but each lamp will last a fair while before needing to be refuelled.

Properly lit, the path leads a few paces ahead before starting a sharp incline down, "We'll be setting up at the bottom of this ramp. Windy, you take the left side, I'll take the right side. Jade, place the lamp behind us and stand a little further up the ramp itself so you have a better angle past us - prioritise Gratts that are on their way toward us over those already being engaged and please try not to shoot us in the back of the head."

Jade sniffs, "I'm offended you'd even mention it."

Windy smiles, "For what it's worth I agree on the not being shot in the back thing."

The Panoplast pouts, "I'm not that bad with a bow!"

"We'll aim for two lamps of light per trip. When the second starts to run out, we break through to the end, destroy the nest and take a break until the timeout period ends - so call out when there's about a quarter left, Jade," I brush the bickering aside, "And with all that said and done, Operation Gratt Blender is underway."

""Right.""

---

 

Settling into our positions, a group of Gratts rush down the passage at me and Windy, paying no heed to the arrow that appears in the neck of one of their number - killing it instantly. Compliments on her aim, however, will have to wait until later.

Gratts are Level 2 or 3, oversized rats mutated by exposure to magic, their bodies swelling and straining against the limits of their skin and bones - making their movements awkward and no doubt painful. They aren't a threat individually, relying on outnumbering weaker opponents and ripping into unprotected flesh with their filthy fangs.

The survivors crash into us, the first of my opponents getting summarily skewered before I twist into a cutting arc, slicing apart several more mid-pounce. Windy, on the other hand, lacks the range and power at my disposal, but handles them with efficient stabs and shield bashes, tossing one unfortunate Gratt in the air to be immediately launched back to the floor by an impressively timed arrow.

"Impressive!" I call out, understanding a bit of the coordination they've developed through working together.

"Told you!" comes the smug voice of Jade as another arrow pierces the forerunner of the next wave of Gratts, "How you doing, Win?"

"Not bad! Still feel a little sluggish, but I can manage!" Windy calls back, readying herself to receive the larger group of Gratts.

With a reasonably skilled archer to thin the incoming hordes of monsters, two well-equipped Fighters can hold this position almost indefinitely, the only thing we really lack is a second archer or a caster with spammable AoE spells and a healer loaded up with Stamina restoring consumables. Some groups would swap out a second fighter for another ranged damage dealer if they had confidence in their timing and the ability of the Tank.

The Folly Farm is pretty nostalgic. Never would have imagined I'd be back here again.

Mowing down each Gratt awards us a conservative 8-12 exp depending on whether it's a Level 2 or 3, as if they knew that giving weak little shits like this decent exp values would be too much for a challenge that expects you to advance to the end before you get overwhelmed - and indeed, that is the smart thing to do when you're going through so many of them at once. You can probably expect it to even out with other dungeons' exp rates if you're going for high Satisfaction rates.

However, neglecting to account for people farming the infinite respawns renders that consideration hilariously incorrect. By the time Hectic Works catches the exploit, thousands of people have run the Folly Farm into the ground, along with its counterpart, the Messenger Farm by Nostraza Town.

The Messenger's Last Delivery is much too far away to be of any significance to me though, and by the time we're done with the Folly Farm, we won't get anything out of it anyway.

The second wave is destroyed with slightly more efficacy than the first, and by the end of the fourth, we appear to have fallen into a rhythm.