When Theo's vision cleared up again, he was sitting on a green grass field, clear blue sky above him.
A light breeze moved the stalks of lush grass and petite flowers strewn about the field and caressed Theo's cheeks on this perfect summer day as he observed the brutal murder of Rabid Hares and Feral Chickens all around him.
Well, not really brutal per se, there wasn't actually any blood being shed, this feature had been excluded from the game to prevent player stress when fighting monsters, but even without the gore, the dying screams of the monsters still felt very real.
Hyakkkk!
Just then another dog-sized Rabid Hare was hacked to death by a broadsword not even 2 meters away from Theo. It cried out angrily for a moment before disintegrating into specks of light, leaving only a small animal hide in its place.
"Hey, are you a new player?"
Theo raised his head to meet the eyes of the player who had slain the Rabid Hare.
The other was holding out a hand for Theo to grab and help him get off the ground. Theo gladly took it.
With a short tug from the very muscular player, Theo stood up and patted off some loose blades of grass that had stuck to the back of his brown linen pants.
"Yes," he nodded with a polite smile.
"Just as I thought..., you had such an overwhelmed look on your face, a tell-tale sign of a newbie," the player grinned, "In that case, you should head to Nofferdorf, it's right that way!"
The player simply pointed in the direction behind them while balancing his broadsword on his leather armor-covered shoulder, trying his best to look cool.
Theo thanked the player who was still deliberately posing, hoping to impress a newbie, and departed in the direction of Nofferdorf.
It took him a few minutes to reach the town gates but Theo didn't mind the short walk, his surroundings were simply too breathtakingly realistic and idyllic not to look around in wonder, the only thing that disrupted this relaxing atmosphere was the ongoing massacre by the players around him.
Well, at least he wasn't attacked by any Rabid Hares or Feral Chickens.
"Halt! Identify yourself."
One of the guards at the tall wooden town gate stopped Theo in a strong voice, staring at him with such intense eyes that Theo would have been unable to lie even if he wanted to.
"I am Theodore, sir, a new Traveler."
Immediately a spark of understanding surfaced in the guard's eyes.
"Ah, a new Traveler you say, very well, you may enter. But don't you dare disregard the laws of the Kingdom of Mirkwind, you will suffer the harshest punishment if you do."
Theo involuntarily swallowed at these words.
Not because he had been planning on breaking any laws, it was just that the guard's aura was much too intimidating when saying this. Creating the illusion that the other would personally hunt him down if he even just thought about committing a crime.
But the guard didn't wait for Theo's reply, simply ushering him inside the village so he wouldn't block the way anymore.
It was only after Theo had walked a few meters inside the town that he recovered his wits enough to remember reading about this event on the internet.
Apparently, this string of dialogue would only appear the first time you entered a town or city in the game and was meant to caution the players to not go too crazy and keep civil when among other people.
And he had to say, it was a really clever move, because it ensured the same playing enjoyment for everyone without having to fear it being ruined by a few murderhobos.
Just imagine it, in a game where NPC deaths were permanent, what would happen if an important tutorial or class change NPC was simply killed without any repercussions for the killers?
The game world would be in shambles in no time.
But this didn't concern Theo anyway, as mentioned earlier, he had absolutely no intentions of committing crimes and potentially end up with a negative reputation. In fact, he planned on befriending the NPCs, it was pretty much a necessity for the class he had in mind.
First, however, he had to reach his next destination.
The Mercenary Guild.
Also known as the Travelers' Hub among the community on the internet, as it was the only place where you could claim starting gear for free, buy cheap supplies, rent a room without any reputation requirements and pawn off monster drops you had no use for.
All these benefits, just on the condition that you fulfill at least one of the Mercenary Guild's quests a month.
Considering this, the choice of whether to drop by the Mercenary Guild or not was a no-brainer.
So, Theo made his way down the lively main street, stopping a leisurely strolling passerby to ask for directions.
"Good day, I'm sorry, but do you know where I can find the Mercenary Guild?"
The other person's face immediately darkened a few shades upon being stopped and realizing that Theo was a Traveler, but she still answered.
"Just go straight ahead, it's not that easy to miss," the woman replied harshly, brushing off the hand Theo had used to get her attention.
She didn't even try to hide her disgruntlement when she walked away, grumbling a not too quiet 'Always these annoying Travelers...'.
Theo stood around a bit awkwardly for a moment but he actually didn't feel too bothered by this incident. It was a well-known fact that a Reputation and Fame Value System existed in the game, in fact, this was one of the bigger selling points of 'Arleus'.
In other words, it meant that NPCs would treat you according to your Reputation stat, and the less you had of that, the ruder and rougher they acted towards you. The only solution to this was to slowly build goodwill with the NPCs or achieve great feats in the 'Arleus'.
So, if you wanted to enjoy the realistic and deep characterization of the NPCs for yourself and maybe get a chance to receive exclusive quests you better work hard to please the NPCs around you.
Yet another safety net that kept the players from running wild.
With this thought in mind, Theo finally reached the Mercenary Guild.
Entering the hall, it was immediately clear who of the people inside were the players and who the NPCs.
And there were a lot of players, walking in and out of the Mercenary Guild constantly.
They all wore variations of the same attire, a pair of brown linen pants beneath a wide white linen shirt and a basic pair of brown leather boots, the only difference was occasional pieces of armor or other equipment they had most likely chanced upon while fighting monsters.
Meanwhile, the handful NPCs wore actual outfits that fit their professions, from mercenaries to receptionists and barkeepers.
Ignoring the crowd of players standing around hoping to form parties or debate which quests to take, Theo walked up to the wooden reception desk with a friendly smiling receptionist sitting behind.
"Nice to meet you, how can I help you?"
Theo returned the neat-looking woman's smile.
"Nice to meet you too, I would like to sign up as a mercenary, I'm a Traveler."
The woman nodded and quickly took out a document from the drawer next to her. Quill in hand, ready to write, she asked Theo for his information.
"Could you please tell me your name, Level and class if you already have one?"
"My name is Theodore, I'm Level 1 and I don't have a class yet."
Despite this not too great of a resume Theodore had revealed just now, which sounded not the least bit sufficient to start employment as mercenary, the receptionist just nodded and calmly filled out the document.
"Do you have any preferences for the quests you wish to be recommended?", she asked without even looking up.
"Yes, actually I would like to focus on quests inside the city."
The receptionist nodded once more and finished filling in Theo's information. Finally, she slid the paper over to Theo along with a stamp pad.
"Please put your fingerprint on this spot to complete the employment contract," the receptionist tapped on a line on the paper.
Theo didn't hesitate for even a second, quickly staining his thumb with the red ink of the stamp pad before pressing his finger down on the contract.
The receptionist smoothly withdrew the contract before leaning down beneath her desk and pulling out a bag that she handed to Theo.
"This is your starting bonus, please return to us after reaching Level 5, you will then be able to receive your first quest of the Mercenary Guild."
With this, the receptionist bid farewell to Theo and sent him out to raise his Level.
