What I need the most is money.
“I’d like something with a monetary reward,” she told the receptionist.
“Sure! I found you a quest that fits those criteria. Please take a look.”
The NPC made a few swift gestures, and a quest window opened in front of MagNe.
Request: Catch That Thieving Cat!
From: Sharon
Time Limit: 48:00:00
Details: A cat has stolen our heirloom jewelry box! The dastardly stray is often seen near the fish market. Catch it and get my jewelry box back! Anything else you find besides the jewelry box is yours to keep.
Objective: Retrieve the Heirloom Jewelry Box (0/1)
Reward: 1,200G, 80 EXP
“Twelve hundred gold?!” shouted MagNe.
She couldn’t believe it. One night at an inn cost 50G. Catching a single stray cat would earn her enough money for twenty-four nights. The men she was seeing were giving her 500G on average as pocket money. Financial support from Crest was 2,000G per month. Meaning she’d have so much spare money for entertainment!
“I-I’ll take this one!”
She tapped CONFIRM, and the quest’s status appeared on one side of her field of vision.
“I’ll mark the location of the fish market for you. Good luck!” the NPC receptionist said with a smile.
MagNe left the Adventurers Guild in a great mood, heading straight for the location indicated on her minimap.
As soon as MagNe arrived at the fish market, she saw a black cat with a small box in its mouth.
“There it is!”
This quest seemed really easy. However, a more experienced player would have noticed the red flags—fetch-type quest rewards were usually between 100 and 120G. But this was MagNe’s very first quest, so she had no idea what to expect.
When she approached the cat, it gave her the slip, escaping into a back alley. She ran after it and saw a tall man looming at the end of the alley.
“Nice job, Zereh, you smart kitty,” the man said, stroking the cat’s chin.
He was wearing chain mail and very good equipment, although the ax on his belt looked filthy. When he noticed MagNe, his expression changed.
“…Lookin’ for this? Sorry, but it’s mine now. Yer not gettin’ it back.”
He opened the box and held up the ring inside it as if appraising it.
It…wasn’t supposed to be like this…
MagNe started walking backward.
“O-okay. You can keep it…”
The man heaved a deep sigh and slowly pulled his ax out of its holster.
“Can’t let ya go, can I?”
Wanted Man Rick Level 6
“What…?”
MagNe didn’t understand what was happening.
Rick hit the ground with his fist. “Mud Wall!”
The earth rumbled, rising behind MagNe. She fell over and felt there was a wall right behind her. It took her a moment to realize her escape route had been cut off.
He trapped me…?
“Ya saw too much. Now I gotta kill ya.”
He leaped into the air and swung the ax at MagNe. The blade sank deep into her unprotected shoulder with a blood-spatter effect.
“?!?!?!”
MagNe was speechless with shock. Her LP dropped down to 30 percent from that one hit. First, she felt the weight of the ax, then a hot sensation, fear, and lastly—the horrific pain of the blade cutting through her flesh and bones.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Writhing in pain, her face wet from tears and snot, she tried to creep away in panic.
“Th-th-this is a city… You can’t…attack players… Owww… It huuurts!”
Attack skills didn’t work in the city—that was what MagNe had mistakenly believed. For the first time since starting the game, she was experiencing real pain.
It was true that players were unable to attack one another within towns, at least as long as the town walls remained intact. But that rule applied only to players. While the thieving-cat quest was presented as a regular item-fetching task, it was actually a special type of quest that involved fighting an NPC at the end. Crest had that quest on their “caution advised” list due to the risk of players dying in the event battle.
Rick was slowly walking toward MagNe, etching lines in the mud wall with the tip of his ax.
“No worries—it’ll stop hurtin’ soon.”
“No… No… Don’t hurt me… I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything you ask!”
But pleas like that didn’t work on an NPC. He stopped right in front of her and raised his bloodstained ax to deliver a final blow.
MagNe was certain she was about to die. For some reason, she remembered what Gallarus had told her earlier:
“To defeat a man, a woman should aim for his weak point with deadly precision. You could’ve easily kicked them in the jewels…”
“Power Enchantment: Leg Strength,” she muttered under her breath.
Her right leg began to glow red. She gathered up all her strength and kicked Rick in between the legs. His face contorted in pain, and he was sent flying, his LP decreasing by 30 percent.
“I promised I’d die together with my bae!!!”
Somehow, MagNe had snapped.
Her battle spirit ignited, MagNe miraculously managed to get to her feet. She took a battered sword out of her storage and held it awkwardly.
“You can have it. I don’t need it anymore.”
It was the first and only gift she ever got in the game—one from her beloved boyfriend.
“Power Enchantment: Weapon!”
The well-used sword started glowing red.
Power Enchantment was MagNe’s unique skill, which enabled her to strengthen a part of her. She currently had the second tier of the skill unlocked.
MagNe had gotten used to wielding Power Enchantment whenever she went out to the field map with the love of her life; it’d made him so happy. It all came back to her now as she stared death in the face.
Rick staggered on the spot, and MagNe struck him with every ounce of strength she had.
“Hyaaah!”
The leg buff added momentum to the blow, greatly increasing its power. MagNe broke through Rick’s guard and stabbed him in the right cheek.
Her sword’s durability dropped to zero, and the blade shattered.
“Gwaaah!”
Rick had less than 10 percent LP left. Fueled by desperation, he grabbed MagNe by the neck and lifted her off the ground. She made a fist, her eyes on the NPC’s neck.
“Power Enchantment: Arm Strength!”