Chapter 4: Negotiation
[Quest Issued]
—
Quest: [ Would you help this weak old man?]
Rating: Uncommon
Difficulty: Easy – ???
Info: The old man has been keeping an eye on you and is convinced of your kind heart. He is requesting you to feed 10 homeless children.
Reward: ???
Note: The quest can be cleared by multiple routes. Depending on the player's choice, the rewards will differ.
—
Noah's eyes shined.
Among the quests being handed by NPCs in the town, none were above Free rating. The players were searching frantically, to no avail.
He had hit the jackpot by finding an Uncommon quest.
"I will do so."
"Hohohoho, thank you for helping this town, immortal child. I'll be leaving then."
[ Quest Accepted ]
[ Garb +30 Favorability ]
The old man left just as abruptly as he had arrived.
Noah entered the smithy next to the alleyway. He would complete the old man's quest after leveling up and earning money to feed children.
Hot air mixed with the smell of sweat struck his face.
The shopkeeper let out a crafty smile upon seeing him.
"Welcome, customer. What would you like… Oh, are you an immortal immigrant?"
'Do all NPCs call us immortal? This must be the setting to explain our revival after death.' thought Noah.
"Yes, I want a sword."
"Please look at our newest stock."
Noah walked towards the weapon racks.
After searching carefully for a few minutes, he chose the one with the highest durability.
—
[Rustic Sword] (One-Handed/Two-Handed)
Rating: Free
Durability: 27/100
Attack: 5-10
Requirements: None
Cost: 100 Copper Coins
Item Description: A dull sword that is on the verge of breaking.
—
"That's a good sword," the shopkeeper gave a perfunctory smile.
"A good sword? This can't be worth more than 60 coppers."
Noah's words brought a frown to the shopkeeper's face.
"I'm sorry, dear customer. But 100 copper is already very cheap. If you go somewhere else, you would need to spend 500 copper coins for the same quality."
Noah let out a cold smile.
[High-Heaven Online] was called the 2nd reality. He was checking the degree of freedom offered by the game by trying to haggle the price.
If he failed, it would be a failed experiment.
If he passes, it would be a successful experiment and some copper saved.
"That reminds me, we had 100 copper when we arrived in this town and your cheapest stock also cost 100 copper. It's a strange coincidence, isn't it?"
Noah didn't stop smiling.
"It couldn't be that you knew about our savings. Ah! Are you using old scrap weapons and selling them to us at high prices because we don't know about market prices?"
"O-Of course not, customer. Our shop's motto is 'faithful and fair price'."
The shopkeeper was panicking. Noah had hit the nail on the head.
The NPCs were tricking the players, as they didn't know much about this world yet.
An example was how the homeless approached the players for food and money. And the foolish players were complying, hoping to find a hidden quest.
The shopkeeper gritted his teeth. 'A smart one came'
At the bare-faced lie, Noah flashed the righteous smile of a saint.
" 'Faithful and Fair', is it? Such a good store, I'll recommend this shop to all of my friends." He added innocently. "How much was the sword again?
The shopkeeper was practically fuming. He understood Noah's hidden threat.
Noah would expose the store's fraud if the shopkeeper didn't comply.
"Hahaha. If you are advertising us, then I can take the loss of 40 copper."
The shopkeeper had no choice but to back down. He could cover the loss in the future as long as he wasn't exposed.
[ Rustic Sword purchased ]
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Noah's expression twisted soon after he left the shop.
"The NPCs of the beginner town are swindlers. Only a devil will develop a game like this. I need to be careful in the future when dealing with NPCs."
Almost an hour has passed since the launch.
Yet Noah hadn't leveled up at all. However, he wasn't worried. He had a plan for leveling.
[High-Heaven Online] allowed a great degree of freedom. The earlier occurrence proved it. In that case, Noah's gamble should also work.
On the way, Noah entered a butchering shop and inquired about the monsters in the forest.
He paid the 40 copper after much haggling. In return, the butcher gave Noah a pamphlet which contained information about useful parts of the monsters.
In [High-Heaven Online] players needed to skin and butcher the monsters themselves for the loot. The loot wouldn't magically drop after killing the monsters. It was necessary to know what part of the monster could be sold and what couldn't.
It was a small piece of information that many players overlooked. They would take a few days to realize this mistake.
Exiting the butcher's shop, Noah continued to the town's gate.
He roamed around for a few minutes and ultimately spoke to a fruit vendor.
"Where are the town gates?"
"...In that direction."
Noah nodded and turned around. He did not ask for directions because he was lost, definitely not.
Wooden fences barricaded the beginner town 'Coniferous Forest Town'. There were two entrances. One in the North and another in the East.
The guards at the entrances didn't react as Noah passed through the East gate.
It didn't take long for Noah to encounter other players.
"What are these mobs!? Why are they so hard to kill!?"
"Die for me, you damn duck!"
"Kill these monsters! I refuse to believe I can't level up even once!"
"Why isn't any Mage class being sent to this starter town!? This game balance is shit!"
"Ahhh! Fuck, don't forget the formation! We can't afford the Death Penalty!"
Chaos ensued as dozens of players attempted to kill the ducks, only to die in 5 hits themselves.
They were fighting desperately against level 0 monsters.
The lack of mages wasn't helping either.
With a fleeting glance, Noah went deeper into the forest. This place was infested with players and could lead to kill steals.
Many players were standing in the back, hoping to kill the monsters after their HP was whittled down by others.
Quack! Quack!
Soon, a monster jumped in Noah's path.
—
[ Knife-billed Duck ]
Rating: Normal
Level: 0
HP: 100%
—
The white duck was half as tall as him and wider than his waist put together twice. Its beak shone sharply as it set its eye on Noah.
Noah entered a combat stance.
Quack!!!
Noah threw a stone at the monster and dashed behind it.
While it was dodging the stone, the duck lost Noah's track. Noah attacked its nape twice with the sword before it could find him.
[ -8 HP ]
[ -10 HP ]
Quack!
The enraged monster swung its beak widely.
"18 HP for a hit on the back of the neck? That wasn't its weak point then."
The duo engaged in a clash of swords and beaks.
[ -6 HP ]
[ -4 HP ]
[ -11 HP ]
[ -7 HP ]
[ -3 HP ]
[ -0 HP ]
[ -7 HP ]
The monster's eye turned red, and it flapped its wings once, before suddenly pouncing on Noah.
Twisting his heel, Noah spun his waist.
He narrowly dodged the beak and jammed his sword into the monster's eye.
[ Critical Hit! ]
[ -20 HP ]
Not letting the chance go, he twisted the sword further.
[ Critical Hit! ]
[ -15 HP ]
[ -10 HP ]
[ -17 HP ]
[ Level 0 Knife-billed Duck slayed ]
[ +5 Exp ]
Noah was breathing heavily by the end.
He didn't get hit a single time, however it took him over 5 minutes to defeat the duck. Fortunately, he was away from the crowd, so no one tried to steal his kill.
"5 Exp in 5 minutes. It would take 1 hour 40 minutes to level up once. This grinding efficiency is too low."
If someone else would've heard Noah, they would've fainted from anger.
Normal players could barely fight against the ducks in a one-on-one.
A party consisting of 5 players had become the norm to hunt these ducks. Even so, they would risk losing one or two members.
The monsters' attacks were too erratic and swift for them to react to.
Unlike conventional VRMMORPGs, the monsters in [High-Heaven Online] didn't seem to have a set pattern.
And a reward of 1 exp awaited the party at the end of the trial.
On the other hand, Noah hunted a monster alone. He wasn't hit even once either.
But his disappointment was understandable.
Noah's goal was to become the best player. He couldn't be satisfied with an average result.
"I should focus on my original aim for entering the forest."
Reaffirming his goals, Noah stared at the corpse of the monster.
A smile tugged on his lips.
He decided to learn a few more skills before venturing deeper into the forest.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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