Shawn rubbed his eyes and let out a large yawn. He had been through more in the past twelve hours than he ever could have imagined, and his body was certainly feeling it. He leaned back against the alley wall and considered his options. The smartest thing to do would be to wait for Anisha to talk some sense into the colonel and get some rest.
Then again… Shawn’s mind flashed back to the blue demon.
The razor-sharp claws descending down and the empty feeling of hopelessness that filled him in that moment.
If I want to get anywhere in this world, Shawn groaned but forced himself to stand up straight, I’m going to have to work as hard as possible.
He flicked open his menu and brought up his skill’s tab.
Shawn Driggs
Level: 2
XP: 634
Skills:
- Blade (Level 1): You know which end of a knife to hold. Gain Proficiency with basic edge based weaponry.
- Firearm (Level 1): Do not point towards your own face. Gain Proficiency with basic handguns and bolt action rifles.
- Observer (Level 1): Basic object permanence obtained. Unlocked the active ability ‘identify’.
- Identify: This active ability allows you to see the race and basic title of any person, object, or item you use it on. Leveling up the ‘Observer’ skill will allow for more detailed information to be gained by use of ‘Identify’.
Shawn looked over the identify skill carefully. There was no indication that the active ability had a limited number of uses. The progress bar next to the skill still had the small sliver of progress from when he had used it on Anisha earlier.
Maybe I can earn some easy points this way. Shawn quickly glanced around for something to identify.
His eyes settled on the streetlamp posted in the center of the road next to Shawn’s alleyway. He focused on the unlit bulb and uttered his skill.
“Identify.”
A small text box appeared in the center of Shawn’s vision.
Streetlamp.
The corners of Shawn’s mouth tugged upwards. It was just as helpful as he remembered. He glanced down at the progress bar. No visible movement had been made.
So, I guess I can’t just identify every brick and street lamp in the city. Shawn chuckled. That’s a shame.
It had worked when he scanned Anisha though, which led Shawn to reason that perhaps he could use it on the actual residents of the city instead. Central Maston was large enough to be home to at least a hundred thousand people. That would definitely earn him a few levels in the observation skill, maybe even level it up.
Shawn hesitated as he looked down the street at the guarded entrance to Anisha’s manor. Other than the guards posted outside, there was no sign of movement from the property. Shawn didn’t want to miss Anisha coming out to get him.
She said it would be a few hours. Shawn justified to himself. I can be back in plenty of time.
Determined to make some actual progress, Shawn turned and began to walk towards the river. While pondering the question of where exactly he was heading, Shawn remembered the side quest he had been given by the lieutenant. Another flick of his hand brought up a tab he hadn’t opened before, the quest tab.
Active Main Quests:
-Fresh landing: Head to the nearby town of Talonstead.
Side Quests:
-Dishonoring the Uniform: Investigate reports of reservists abusing their authority in the southern slums of Central Maston. Talk to locals and gather further information.
Completed Quests:
-Desperate Defense: Protect Trench Line Center from the demon assault. (Completed, press to accept reward)
- Quest Modification: Eliminate the remaining enemies that have broken through the southern section of Trench Line Center. (Completed)
Shawn halted in place. Reward? The mandatory quest popup hadn’t mentioned a reward before.
Then again, there were hundreds of explosions, gunshots, and screams happening all around him at the time so it's not completely surprising to Shawn that he missed it. Shawn tapped on the completed quest, and it vanished from the screen. A small chime sounded.
Congratulations on completion of ‘Desperate Defense’, you have received the single use buff, ‘Survival wasn’t enough?”
Curious, Shawn flipped over to his status screen and saw the newly added buff. Shawn tapped on the name but, to his surprise, no description appeared. Shawn tapped it a few more times, each tap stronger than the last, but no matter what he tried, he received no explanation of the buff’s function.
Perfect. Shawn sighed. Yet another thing broken in this place. Hopefully it helps, even if I don’t know what ‘it’ is.
Shawn closed his menus and continued his journey south. Though his quest reward had been disappointing, he still had purpose. Shawn figured that he could walk to the southern portion of the city and get a sense of where the side quest was located. Walk there. Walk back. Identify anyone he passed along the way. Easy.
The first residents he spotted along his walk were an older married couple that were dressed in extremely fine clothing. They eyed Shawn nervously and crossed to the opposite side of the street once he grew too close for their comfort. Shawn would be offended but gazing down at his dried mud-covered shirt and pants gave him pause. He did look like a miscreant.
Leaving social stigmas aside, Shawn began to chant ‘identify’ under his breath repeatedly until the skill activated.
Human Merchant.
Human Merchant.
The pair of notifications sprang into existence when Shawn drew within thirty feet of the nervous couple. Shawn turned away and flicked open his skills menu again just as the couple passed him by. His observer skill had gone up by a small margin.
Progress. Shawn smirked.
Wanting to be thorough, Shawn cast the skill again on the couple before they walked out of range. Confirming his suspicion, the progress bar did not move a second time. Meaning Shawn would have to make unique identifications in order to level his ability. Shawn picked up his pace, hoping that the southern and less affluent part of town would help his grubby attire stand out less.
Shawn passed by a few more people on the North side of the river before he arrived at a small footbridge. Keeping his head low, Shawn continued his steady stream of identifications going as he walked across the semi-crowded wooden structure. Having passed a few dozen people, Shawn noticed a fair number of stares aimed in his direction.
I know I look like trash but there is no need to be so open about it. Shawn grumbled to himself as he hurried over the last part of the bridge.
Unsurprisingly, every single person he identified was a human. The titles of each one varied but there were a few that were common. Merchant, accountant, factory worker, warehouse worker, and transporter seemed to be the most prevalent. Once on the south side of the river, the number of factory and warehouse workers tripled in frequency while the number of merchants dropped. The streets on this side of town were much less even, the buildings were built closer together, and there seemed to be far more garbage left on the curbs. Shawn paused in the center of a street market. Vendors called out their wares and goods while a large crowd shopped freely.
Probably more crime over here too. Shawn nervously eyed the tight alleyways between the lines of buildings and stalls.
As he was doing so, Shawn spotted an odd individual pass him by. This man stood a few inches shorter than Shawn and wore a torn suit, homburg hat, and crooked glasses. His tired expression and slightly wrinkled face placed him in his late fifties.
“Identify.” Shawn spoke out of reflex.
Human Necromancer
Shawn felt a chill run down his spine. The man continued on as Shawn’s brain struggled to comprehend the information he had just been presented.
Necromancer? What does that mean?
Shawn knew what a necromancer was, at least, in a normal game or fantasy sense, but what he didn’t know is what that meant in this world. Was this man in a homburg hat bringing the dead back to life? Was that a common practice? Questions bounced around in Shawn’s skull as he tried to reason with himself.
I should follow him. Shawn immediately began to do so. Maybe he’ll lead me to a clinic or something and it won’t be a big deal.
Shawn kept enough distance between himself and the homburg hat man that he always remained in sight, but Shawn wasn’t close enough to easily be detected. The homburg hat man continued his westward direction and Shawn was just about to follow him out of the market square when someone stepped in front of Shawn.
“You there, you a reservist?” A plump woman asked while carrying a rather large basket of bread.
“What?” Shawn stopped but kept his eyes on the homburg hat man. “No, I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“Oh, my mistake.” The woman nodded but continued to talk. “Say would you happen to be heading to the town of Faronview? I haven’t heard from my sister in months now and I’m not sure what happened to her. Could you look into that and send me word that she’s okay?”
A side quest has been issued: Silent Sister.
See more information in the ‘Quest’ tab.
“Oh,” Shawn looked at the notification and blinked a few times. “I suppose I could…”
“Hey!”
A gruff hand spun Shawn around. A tall, mean looking warehouse worker tapped angrily on Shawn’s chest.
“My supervisor has been working us to the bone. We were supposed to receive overtime pay from the company, but we think he’s pocketing the extra and giving it to some thugs. You need to bring him to justice for what he’s done.”
A side quest has been issued: Crooked.
See more information in the ‘Quest’ tab.
Before Shawn could respond, a third voice chimed in.
“I’ve got these tunnels under my home. I don’t know how long they’ve been there or who’s responsible for digging them…”
A side quest has been issued: Tunnel Trouble.
See more information in the ‘Quest’ tab.
Then a fourth.
“My shipment of crabs hasn’t arrived yet…”
A side quest has been issued: Shipping Lanes.
See more information in the ‘Quest’ tab.
Pretty soon, it felt like the entire market was crowding around Shawn, all yelling about their problems and asking, begging, or threatening him to solve them. Chimes continuously rang in Shawn’s ears as the system struggled to keep up with the influx of quests.
Is this what happens if a world has too many unresolved quest lines? Shawn thought to himself as the crowd began shoving each other in an attempt to get closer to him. Or maybe this is due to only one hero ever being sent down to this world. Like a damn that’s trying to hold back too much water and it just found a release point. Me.
Shawn felt immense pressure as bodies were forced uncomfortably into his own. The crowd’s actions grew unstable and Shawn felt it was only a matter of time before things grew violent. The man in the homburg hat was nowhere to be seen but Shawn had far more pressing issues at the moment. Struggling forward, Shawn tried to force his way out of the mob. He pushed, shoved, and threw his body forward. No matter how he struggled, Shawn could make little forward progress.
Multiple whistles were blown, and a new group of shouting voices entered the fray. Shawn spotted the brown uniforms of members of the nation’s military on the edge of the crowd around him. The military police began to force people away from the crowd, by force, if members resisted. Their presence seemed to break whatever hold Shawn’s existence held over most of the citizens and the crowd began to disperse. Not wanting to be arrested, Shawn rushed through the throngs of escaping civilians and slowly made his way back to the footbridge he had initially come across.
This certainly complicates things. Shawn thought as he heard the continued sounds of whistles being blown and arrests being made behind him.
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