When I awoke I was greeted by Grendel’s soft mews. Looking around, I appeared to be in some sort of clinic. Posters on the wall had warped into cartoonish imitations of their former selves. One stood as a reminder to always bring potions with you, while another outlined different status-effect-related treatments. Blinking, there seemed to be a soft warming glow coming from a crystal on a nearby shelf. I wonder what that is.
[Dahlia Stone] A magical stone that emits warmth and well-being. Often used by healers to comfort patients. Contains limited healing properties. Can be used to treat some mental illnesses.
“Huh… “ sighing, I laid back down on the soft bed. Grendel curled up between the crook of my arm and my chest.
Gently, the door of the room creaked open. My eyes flitted open to meet a young woman. A low hum of light resonated throughout the room, clearing out the dark that had resided around me. She pulled out a clipboard. Reading it silently, she took a moment before coming over to speak with me.
“Hello there! Seems like you’re finally awake,” her voice sounded almost robotic. The cadence was consistent, never wavering or lending any indication of fault. If it wasn’t for that stone I would almost say this was creepy. My body shuddered before speaking.
“H-how did I get here? All I remember was being on the street and that shop changed into a mushroom, no wait a lot of things changed.”
Again her voice was practically robotic perfection. “The system began working on Phase 3.”
“What is Phase 3?”
“Phase 3 is reversion.”
“I mean, what happens in Phase 3?”
“Phase 3 starts with the formation of safe zones for populations living on this planet. Next, safe zones are transformed into towns, equipped with necessities, such as shops, tutorial locations, quest givers, and more. This clinic was a product of Phase 3. I was a product of Phase 3.”
Huh. “So you’re not human?”
“I am human.”
“Well yeah, but are you an NPC?”
“If you are referring to adventurers versus those who have been reverted or created by the system, I am not an adventurer.”
“What does it mean to be… reverted?”
“Reversion is the process in which that which has gone is made new.”
“So, were you reverted or created?”
“I do not have that information.”
Strange. I wonder if those that chose not to accept the update were forced into becoming like her. Well… I wonder if she even knows the difference.
“Are those who are reverted, a part of the system?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like your job?”
“I like making people happy. My job allows me to do that.”
“Who brought me here?”
“Our clinic was alerted that someone was injured in the vicinity. Our helper golems went and retrieved you, but a man accompanied you.”
“Where is he now?”
“He is outside in the waiting room.”
I began to pull back the covers before she stopped me. “I need to give you a checkup before you leave,” she said, pulling out a bluish-gray stone.
“What was wrong with me?”
“You passed out due to fatigue and a panic attack. Given the timeframe, you must have been overwhelmed by the initialization of [Pinehill],” her voice wavered as she rehearsed the city’s name as if it was a foreign word in her vocabulary. “You were prescribed sleep and relaxation. After all, adventurers need to keep their strength up, both physically and mentally,” she said as she gestured to the Dahlia stone. She made a scanning motion with the dull stone in her hand, passing it over my arms and legs and lastly my forehead before letting out a sigh. “It seems like you’re all better now. You’re free to leave whenever you like.”
I pulled back the covers to reveal that I was still wearing my torn-up clothing. The red sash still clung around my waist. Opening the door to the waiting room, Grendel scurred out.
“Kitty!” the little girl squealed before resuming their game of chase.
Her father stood up from the waiting room chair. For some reason he couldn’t seem to bring his eyes toward the door, instead choosing to watch my shoes as he talked. “I’m glad you’re alright. You really scared me out there.”
“How long have you two been waiting out here?” I asked, my eyes catching on a bundled-up jacket that resembled a makeshift pillow.
“Only a few hours or so. We were pretty tired as well so we took some time to rest out here while we waited.”
The woman from before came bustling out of the room as I cleared the path. She rounded a corner and into the front desk area as she ruffled through some paperwork. As soon as she had appeared the little girl stopped chasing after Grendel and instead waddled over to the front desk to peer at the woman. Her small frame just barely gazed over the counter. Grendel mewed triumphantly before I placed him back in his bubble.
“Before you leave we just have to finish up with the bill.” There it is… Does she take health insurance? Do I even have health insurance? What am I thinking, of course, I don’t, I play video games for a living. Cautiously, I approached the desk.
“How exactly do I… um… pay?”
“You simply place your hand over this crystal here,” she said, pointing to the white crystal that spiraled up, towering over everything else on the desk. As my hand hovered above the crystal, a small circular screen appeared above it. Spinning, I watched as it transformed into numbers reading 50o.
“Is that five hundred, or fifty?”
“Your total is fifty orbs.”
“Fifty orbs? What are Orbs?”
“Orbs are the official currency of the system. Orbs can be earned from defeating monsters in combat, completing quests, selling items -”
“Okay, I get it. How do I know if I have enough Orbs?”
“Any money that was stored in a financial institution was automatically linked and converted into Orbs by the system, additionally small rewards should have been given out for any achievements during Phase 2. Anytime you are interested in your orb balance, you can access the information from any Orb ATM. Additionally, in order to use the orbs they must be in your inventory. The balance and contents of which may now be checked via the profile feature.”
Removing my hand from the crystal, I accessed my profile. More features like she had mentioned appeared as new tabs that I could access later. For now, I was more interested in how many orbs I had racked up throughout the night. Checking my inventory, I was shocked. 53 orbs. For all of that, and only 53. I switched back over to a new notification mailbox that I had also been given access to. Most were simply screens I had seen previously, but one seemed to indicate the rewards I had been given for the monster hunt.
[ Congratulations on surviving through Phase 2!
Due to your achievement of [Feller of Beasts], you have been awarded 50 orbs. In addition, you have been awarded orbs based on your overall performance given the total number of monsters slain during Phase 2. Total monsters slain: 319, level ratings: 1, orbs awarded: 3]
You’re shitting me. I killed over 300 level-one monsters and I only got 3 orbs. At least the Howler I dealt with awarded me 50. But then, what level rating was that? I think it mentioned striker something when it died. I still have a lot left to learn. Sighing in *broke*, I returned my hand to the crystal. Pressing the circle this time, bubbles of light poured from my hand and into the rock.
Leaving the clinic, my brain began to spin again as I slowly got used to the new scenery. The man and his daughter followed me out, watching as I took deep breaths in and out trying to ground myself. Hunched over on the ground, I spun around trying to take in my surroundings. A strange box stood out to me. It had another one of those crystals like the clinic did. It was shaped like a vending machine. Is that one of the ATMs they were talking about? Hobbling over to it, it definitely reminded me of an ATM. Instead of a pillar of crystal, which resided on top of the machine, the interface was a broad slab of crystal. Placing my hand on the slab, the machine sprung to life. A number appeared.
[Orb balance: 152]
Phew. At least I have something. I’m definitely going to have to figure out how much food is soon. I really don’t know if 152 is a lot or not, but considering how little was in my bank account before, I really doubt that it's a lot. I decided to leave my orbs where they were. Turning back around, I spotted the man leaning up against the clinic’s front window. His hands shrouded his face. His daughter simply stared at him, as if she understood something I didn’t.
“Hey, I never asked you your name.”
His hands receded from his face slightly, “What?”
“Your name, her name, any name. I didn’t ask before. Didn’t even really think to honestly.”
He let out a sigh. “My name is Clement.”
“And hers?” I watched as Clement’s daughter spun in circles trying to cheer him up.
“Julia.”
Joining Clement’s perch at the front window, I glanced back into the clinic at the young woman behind the counter. “Do you know her?”
He was silent for a moment. His daughter stopped gallivanting around. “How did you know?”
“Well… I don’t know your connection to her, but when we were in the clinic I noticed that you wouldn’t look at her. You kept looking at the floor, even when she wasn’t in the room.”
“My wife… didn’t make it.”
A moment of silence washed over us. Is that what happens when people die now? They get turned into NPCs?
“She didn’t remember you, did she?”
“Nope. Not even Jules.”
“Hold on for a moment,” I said. Looking around, I spotted a small dandelion that had sprouted up through a patch of broken concrete. Picking up the dandelion, I returned to Clement. “Here,” I said, giving him the flower.
“What’s this for?”
“Follow me and you’ll see,” I said, leading him back into the clinic.
“Welcome back! Do you need any more assistance today?” The woman asked.
“No, but I do have a question.”
“Please, ask away.”
“Do you accept personal gifts?”
“I have not received any as of yet. But I suppose I could, would you like to give me something?”
“Actually, he has something for you,” I said, pushing Clement toward the counter. The woman extended her hand. His hand shook as he slowly placed the small flower in her palm.
Her hand wrapped around the dandelion. Examining it, she said, “A flower? Just for me? Thank you Clement.” Her face warmed into a smile as the flower disappeared. Did it go into her inventory?
A small screen popped up in front of Clement. “It says my rapport with her has increased. What does that mean?”
“In a lot of games, you can romance certain NPCs, you generate rapport with them by doing quests or giving them gifts.”
“But why?”
“I’m not sure how complex people who were turned into or created as NPCs can get, but if it means that Julia can be around her mother, in any form then I think it might be worth trying.”
“I don’t know if I can handle all of this.”
“What did she do, your wife?”
“S-she was a nurse. She worked in an old folks home.”
“And why did she choose that job?”
“She said it was because she could help them. She wanted to make them happy.”
I remembered back to when I had asked her if she liked her job. She had said “I like making people happy. My job allows me to do that.”
“I think you’ll find you didn’t completely lose her.”
Returning back to town, I began to explore my new surroundings. There seemed to have been more arrivals and reversions since I had been taken to the clinic. I could sense a small amount of tension in the air, but all in all most people seemed to be settling in fine to their new life.
Ding.
[Required number of hidden conditions met. [Mage] tutorial questline is now available. Please see your questbook for more details.]
“I guess it's time I got started too then.”
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