Aevum - A VRMMO LitRPG Story Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Read chapter 3 of Aevum - A VRMMO LitRPG Story by Purg on NovelPedia.

Chapter 3 The quest seemed relatively simple. Just collect some plants to help Kyle while he was under the weather, and get some coin and hopefully some experience as well. Looking in my quest menu though, it really didn’t have anything I didn’t already know. No flavor text, no clear cut rewards, just the information that Kyle gave me about the plants. It seemed like through this simulated world, even the quests were generated naturally rather than predetermined. As I’m walking throughout the woods surrounding Brackenhold, I go over the descriptions of the plants Kyle gave me again. One of the plants is frostweed. Apparently it’s a bit of a nuisance of a plant because it becomes even colder than the surrounding area as it grows, causing other plants near it to freeze. It’s useful in potions though, so Kyle needs some. The second plant is called nixnium. This one is used in topical remedies and sometimes as a spice for food. Kyle said it is a popular additive in Brackenhold, but it’s kind of a regional thing as people from other areas of the continent might fight the taste a bit extreme. Kyle gave me a small list of other plants that I could pick up if I came across, but frostweed and nixnium were the main two that he needed. Frostweed is a bit more common, and I was already finding some as I walked on the path he suggested. About an hour into the walk and a few sacks full of mostly frostweed, I got a notification. ›You have gained the skill Herbology‹ ›You gained 20 experience points‹ It didn’t feel very earned, as I would have had no idea that these plants were even useful if Kyle didn’t tell me, but I was happy to get another skill nonetheless. It was the same as with the other skills though, no flavor text, no clue as to what the skill does, nothing. Not even an experience bar to show how much further I needed to go for the next level. I did notice this time around that getting the skill gave me some experience points. When I gained one handed swordsmanship and athletics earlier today, I guess it must have conflated the experience points from defeating the Elafos and gaining the skills into a single notification. I do like being able to gain experience through non combat activities, and it gives a path for players who maybe just want to be a blacksmith or a researcher to progress in the game. After resting for a bit while I looked over the skill, I continued on my quest of collecting plants. I felt like I was getting pretty competent at identifying the plants that Kyle wanted, and being able to spot them from a distance too. I kept an eye on the sky though, and while it was still cloudy, I could tell that the sun was getting a bit lower in the sky. While I could probably be safe enough if I stuck to the main path, I really wanted to get more familiar with the area and maybe level up more before I was caught out of town in the darkness of night. I continued on, finding more frostweed and filling a few sacks of nixnium as well. After reaching down to pick a final frostweed, I felt like I had done enough. I had seven sacks of frostweed, three sacks of nixnium, and two sacks of assorted other plants. I had gone about as far away from the town as when I started when I was first dropped in the wilderness here, but it was on the main paths and roads laid out so it was much easier going. Still, it would be a good two hours to get back to town, but I felt confident that I timed it right and that I should be back in Brackenhold before it gets dark. I put the final sacks in my inventory, and I begin to walk back to town. But before I get very far, I hear something. It’s faint, in the distance, but it was unmistakable. A scream. Someone’s in danger. — — — — Not only was the direction of the scream leading me off the path, but also away from the town. I thought for a second that maybe I should ignore it, why should I endanger myself for seemingly no reason? Especially when I still don’t know what the penalty for death is in this game. B