I'm back in the town of Lily Corvo. Passing through the same gate I exited the town from.

The guard who gave me my Lamp Bug noticed me and gave me a wave, which I acknowledged and waved back. Heading to the town square afterwards.

I would like to buy more potions since I'm almost out of it. According to the map, the general shop is this way.

Ah. Found it.

After spotting the shop's sign, I entered the store.

"Oh. Greetings, lass. What can I get for you?"

Upon stepping into the store, I was greeted by a bearded old man behind the counter.

I'm guessing he's the owner then.

"I would like to buy some HP and MP potions. Fifty HP potions and a hundred MP potions, if possible."

"Sure thing, lass. That will be 2,000 gold."

Geh. 2,000 gold!? That's almost all of the gold I have!

"Mmm... Here you go."

I paid the amount anyway. Since potions are crucial for my survival.

"Thanks for the purchase." the old man said delightfully as he swept my money away. "Anything else you looking to buy, lass? How about some skill scrolls?"

"A what scroll?"

"It's something like this thing right here." the old man pulled out the item from underneath his counter. As he'd said, it is a scroll with some sort of runic script written on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Item: [Skill Scroll - Fireball]

Reading the contents of this scroll will allow the player to acquire the skill: [Fireball].

Price: 5,000 gold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, I see. So I can use more attack spells if I get this.

But, the price though.... I don't have the money for that.

"So what do you say, lass? Interested in buying? I got some other ones, if this ain't your stuff."

"I am interested. But unfortunately, I don't have the golds for that, so I'll have to pass."

"Aw, that's a shame. In that case, why don't you do a quest for me and I can give you the golds you need to buy it from me?"

"Wait. I can do that?"

"Of course! An unhappy customer is an unhappy business. That's what I always say to mah wife before she kicked the bucket! Kakaka!"

Hmm... So I just need to do a quest, huh?

"All right. I'll do it. So what's the quest?"

"Go out to the Shade Forest in the east and gather me 5 magicule herbs."

What? That's it?

"Sounds kind of simple, ain't it?"

"Kakaka! Oh trust me, lass. It's not. Those herbs, I tell you, they are a real bugger to find when the lights are on. Meaning you gotta turn off any light you have, if you ever want to find them in the wild. But if you do that, those beasties will start ganging up on you like no tomorrow. Which is why I'm offering 5,000 gold for 5 of these herbs. So, what do you say? You still in or nah?"

"I'll do it."

If it only requires me to keep my Lamp Bug off, then there's no problem since I have my Night Vision and Night Walker skills. So of course I'm in!

"Kakaka! Great. Glad to see you ain't a wuss, lass."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have received a quest from [General Store Owner Jim].

Collect 5 Magicule Herbs: 0/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have obtained my first quest in the game and left the store.

"See ya, lass! Try not to put a scratch on that beautiful face of yours!"

Again with the beautiful...

"Don't worry. I will."

Waving the old man goodbye, I proceeded to make my way to the Shade Forest which is where I previously was apparently, killing Scrowlers to almost no end.

Back then, it didn't seem like I had explored deep into the forest because I couldn't tell where I was going. But now, I think I can go further in with confidence.

"As for you, my friend, you can just rest on my shoulder." I said to my Lamp Bug, patting its head as it quietly sat on my shoulder and slept.

So, I'm back into the wilds. There are other players nearby, of course. Seeing as how there are multiple lights all around me.

But I ignored them, since they're doing their own things while I'm on my way to do mine. Heading deep into the forest to search for the herbs for my quests.

"Hm?"

About five minutes later, I spotted some glowing leaves among the grass and bushes. Thinking those might be what I'm looking for, I went closer to inspect them and sure enough, it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quest: Gather 5 Magicule Herbs for [General Store Owner Jim] - 3/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok. Now only two more to go.

They're pretty easy to find in the dark like the old man said. But considering that these herbs were perfectly blending in with the grass and bushes, I can see why they may be hard to find if the light from a Lamp Bug was on. It'd be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, as the proverb goes.

Except this needle can be found if you remove the light and have the Night Vision and Night Walker skills, which I do. So this is going to be a cakewalk for me.

Sure enough, I easily found more herbs not long after in another spot nearby.

Now, the quest is done. So it's time to go back to the old man.

*********

"Oh? Welcome back, lass! You sure have returned quick." the old man greeted me upon my return.

"Yeah. I got the herbs you'd asked for."

"Kakaka. I can tell from the look on your face. Well, just put them on the counter here and I'll hand you your reward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quest cleared: Gather 5 Magicule Herbs for [General Store Owner Jim].

Reward received: 5,000 gold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweet! Now I can buy a skill scroll.

"Thanks for the herbs, lass. If you ever want to do this quest again, just ask and I'll give it to you."

Wait... what?

"I can do the quest again?"

"Of course! The potions aren't gonna make themselves, y'know. So if you can gather more herbs for me, this old timer here is more than happy to pay as much as he wants for them."

Oh. It's a repeatable quest. In that case, I'll put off buying the skill scroll first.

"Can I do the quest again?"

"Of course! Here you go~"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have received a quest from [General Store Owner Jim].

Collect 5 Magicule Herbs: 0/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"All right. Then, I'll be going to the forest again now. See you later, old man."

"Take care, lass. Try not to get your beautiful face scratched up, aight."

Once again, I returned to the Shade Forest with a plan in mind.

If the quest can be repeated as many times as I want and considering how easy it was for me to clear it so quickly, then all I need to do is gather as many herbs as I can beforehand and hand them all in to the old man by taking the quest over and over again until I'm out of herbs.

This way, I can get a load of gold in my pockets in just a short amount of time. It's perfect!

And so, I gathered and gathered and gathered and gathered and gathered....

They're all so easy to find if you pay enough attention. So, without stopping my feet and hands, I continued to gather and gather more herbs. Sometimes encountering some monsters which I easily killed, before going back to gathering. Until...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Condition cleared: [Collect 200 crafting materials of any type.]

Skill Acquired: [Material Detection (Basic)]

Crafting materials within 5 meters of the player will be detected when used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh. I've gathered two hundred herbs already? And it seems like only thirty minutes have passed so far. That was fast.

I still wanted to gather more, however. So, after seeing what my newly acquired skill can do, I immediately used it on the spot as it allows me to detect any crafting materials around me in a few meters radius, which can also be pinpointed to one specific material if I want it to.

In other words, I know there are some magicule herbs behind that tree in front of me; a bunch more behind those bushes over there; and many more right behind where I am currently facing.

And as I walked to gather them all, more and more herbs got picked up by the skill's radar. Allowing me to just collect them all at a much faster pace than I already was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Condition cleared: [Collect 500 crafting materials of any type.]

Skill Evolved: [Material Detection (Basic)] → [Material Detection (Intermediate)]

Crafting materials within 10 meters of the player will be detected when used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My skill has improved. Now I can locate more herbs!

And eventually.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Condition cleared: [Collect 1,000 crafting materials of any type.]

Skill Evolved: [Material Detection (Intermediate)] → [Material Detection (Advanced)]

Crafting materials within 15 meters of the player will be detected when used.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without realising it, after around two hours have passed. I have collected over a thousand herbs, to the point where my inventory is just full of magicule herbs.

Yup. This is definitely enough. Now it's time to hand them all in to the old man.

So, I went back. Upon returning to the general store once again, the old man greeted me with a cheerful laugh.

"Kakaka! This time you're pretty late, huh, lass. Got some difficulties finding the herbs, did you?"

"No. It's quite the opposite actually." I replied honestly. "Anyways, here's your five magicule herbs." I placed the goods on the counter.

"Great. And here's your reward, lass." the old man handed me 5,000 gold again for the items.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quest cleared: Gather 5 Magicule Herbs for [General Store Owner Jim].

Reward received: 5,000 gold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All right. Got my reward.

"Now, can I do the quest again?"

"Of course! Here you go~"

I received the quest again. Then, I pulled out five herbs from my inventory and placed them on the counter.

"Here's your five herbs, old man."

"Oh. That quick? Well, I wasn't expecting that. Anyways, here's your reward, lass."

"Thanks. Now can I do the quest again?"

"Of course! Here you go~"

Quest received. And then...

"Here's your five herbs."

"Wow! That quick again? All right then, here's your reward."

"Thanks. Now can I do the quest again?"

"Of course! Here you go~"

Quest received and repeat.

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

"Now can I do the quest again?"

.

.

.

.

"Now can I—"

"Umm... Hey uh, lass?"

"Huh? What is it, old man?"

"You know... You've done the quest like over fifty times already. Don't you think it's enough?"

When the old man asked me that, I responded with a chuckle.

"Nonsense. After all, the potions aren't gonna make themselves, right? That's why I have gathered over a thousand herbs just for you. Now, can I do the quest again?"

"O-O-Of course. H-Here you go..."

The old man gave me the quest once again and I gave him my herbs then.

At some point during this process, I got another skill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Condition cleared: [Gained 1,000,000 gold within a set amount of time.]

Skill acquired: [Gold Digger]

The number of gold acquired by quests, monsters & chests will be increased by 10%

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey. That's kind of rude. But kind of neat though.

But anyways, around... I would say, forty minutes later, perhaps? I was finally done handing in all of my herbs to the old man. Having to do the quest over two hundred times.

But, good grief. The repetition in completing the quest over and over again is really tedious. The developers should really do something about that.

However, now that I'm all out of herbs in my inventory, there's only one thing left to do before I log out.

"Hey, old man. Now can I—"

"PLEASE! No more, lass! Don't ask me if you can do the quest again! You've handed me more herbs than I can count! Just no more! Have mercy! Please!"

Whoa. What happened to him?

"Nah. I actually just wanted to see what skill scrolls you got now."

When I requested to see his wares, the old man went under his counter and brought out five different skill scrolls. Throwing them onto the counter in desperation.

"Here. These are all I have! Take them!"

"Wait, what? I haven't even looked at them though."

"I don't care! Just take them and leave. Please!"

"Uh... But what about the payment?"

"I don't need it! It's free, alright! Just leave me alone already! I'm begging you!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have received the following item(s) from General Store Owner Jim: [Skill Scroll - Fireball], [Skill Scroll - Power Blow], [Skill Scroll - Haste], [Skill Scroll - Snipe], [Skill Scroll - Magic Shield].

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Uh, oh. Umm, ok. I'll accept them then? Thanks."

Feeling confused yet grateful, I placed the scrolls into my inventory and left the old man alone, exiting his store.

I wonder what got him so agitated all of a sudden? It's not like I've done anything wrong, have I?

"Eh. Oh well." I shrugged my confusion off. He'd probably be back to normal when I see him again. I thought.

And so, with the time in real life being already way past midnight, I believe it's time for me to log out of the game and go to bed.

Oh. But before that also, I patted my Lamp Bug which had been resting on my shoulder all this time. Saying goodbye to it.

"See you, buddy. Hopefully tomorrow if I have the time to play again."

My Lamp Bug responded by cuddling its head against my cheek, before going into my inventory which I didn't know it could do.

But now that I have said goodbye to it, I stretched my arms out, tired, and clicked the logout button as a blue light flashes me out of the game.

On my first day of playing the game, I have reached level 10, attained many skills, got a cute pet, and got loads of money from a repeatable quest.

The game has been fun so far. I'm looking forward to playing it again.

<This is an event not long after Yoru left the general store.>

Another player entered the general store, hoping to do the repeatable herb collecting quest from the store owner, Jim. But when he went to ask the old timer for the quest...

"Hey, old man! Can I do the quest again?"

"GO AWAY!"

"Huh?"

...The player was strongly refused by the NPC.

"Umm, but what about the herbs?"

"NO! No more! I don't want your herbs! I don't need your herbs! I had enough of herbs already! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Just leave me alone! Leave me alone.... Herb! Herbs! Herbs!"

The NPC crouched down and went into a fetal position behind the counter. The player who became visibly concerned, approached the old man and asked.

"H-Hey, old man. What's wrong? What happened to you?"

"Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs!"

"Old man? Hey! Seriously, what's wrong, man?"

"Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs!"

"What the ****?"

On that day, a report was made to the devs: A NPC's AI seemed to have bugged out.

According to the player who reported the bug, the NPC, who was normally a nice and quirky old man, suddenly behaved aggressively towards him for no reason. Refusing him a repeatable quest when he'd asked for it. Only to suddenly break down into tears and begin chanting the word "herbs" over and over again, as if he had been cursed.

When the devs had received the report, the problem was fixed fairly easily in just under half an hour. However, they were unable to identify the underlying cause for the bug.

In the end, while the issue itself has been resolved, the case on how it happened to begin with remained a mystery.