This NPC Seems Off

Chapter Two: This NPC Seems Off

In a shabby apartment with somewhat damp air in Star City, Xia Kingdom, a thin man slowly lay down in a gaming pod. A flush of excitement crossed his pale face.

"Kingdom of Heavenly Principles, here I come!"

After a spell of darkness and dizzying spinning, the man opened his eyes and found himself in a pure white space of indeterminate size. His body was gone, replaced by a glowing ball of light.

Please choose your ID. (Maximum ID length: eight characters.)

A mechanical prompt sounded. Without hesitation, the man shouted the name he had dreamed of since childhood.

"I, Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior!"

ID verification successful.

Please create your character.

A mannequin-like model, like one from a clothing store, immediately appeared before Tyrannosaurus Warrior. With a mere thought, he could alter its form at will.

—As long as it remained humanoid.

And so, a bizarre humanoid creature was born, with a rainbow mohawk, dead fish eyes, and magma-colored skin!

Character creation complete.

Please select your class. (Currently available basic classes: Swordsman, Knight, Lancer, Archer, Fighter, Mage.)

"Mage."

Class selection complete.

Loading game...

Game loaded. We wish you a pleasant journey across the Calvi Continent.

As the mechanical voice faded, Tyrannosaurus Warrior opened his eyes again and found himself standing in an open clearing. In the distance, smoke curled upward, seemingly from a village.

He turned and looked around, discovering that several others had spawned in the same beginner village as him.

"Bro, that character design of yours is pretty distinctive."

Tyrannosaurus Warrior looked at the person with two black horns atop his head, seemingly cosplaying the Bull Demon King, though his skin was Avatar-blue. He cupped his hands and said, "Likewise."

"Hahahaha! What should I call you, bro?"

"My name never changes, nor does my seat. I am I, Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior!"

"What a Tyrannosaurus Warrior! I, Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer, have truly found a kindred spirit. Our meeting must be fate!"

The other players nearby, whose character designs were relatively normal, looked at the two men cherishing each other's company and instinctively felt utterly out of place. They silently moved farther away.

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer could not be bothered with anyone else. He patted Tyrannosaurus Warrior on the shoulder. "Come on, Tyrannosaurus Warrior. Want to team up and explore?"

Tyrannosaurus Warrior thought about it and decided that having a companion would not be bad. He stopped hesitating and waved a hand. "There's a village over there. Maybe there's a beginner guide. Let's check it out."

"Alright!"

The two of them fiddled with the game system as they went, observing this new world that seemed no different from reality.

Yet after entering the village, no quest prompts appeared on their panels. On the map system, everywhere except the places they had already walked through was pitch-black.

"Looks like the advertisements were right. The freedom level is extremely high. We have to explore everything ourselves." Tyrannosaurus Warrior was the first to grasp the nature of the game.

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer was somewhat puzzled. "There isn't even a beginner guide? Then how are we supposed to know what to do?"

"Even running around the map without knowing what to do is part of experiencing the game." Tyrannosaurus Warrior spoke with the air of a philosopher.

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer was a little impatient at being unable to jump straight into quests. It was clear that he did not usually play many exploration games like this.

Just then, the experienced Tyrannosaurus Warrior seemed to notice something.

"Look over there."

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer followed his gesture and looked over. "Wrapped up in black from head to toe, hiding under a tree from the sun. Is there something wrong with that guy?"

As if he had heard Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer's jab, the hood of the black-robed figure twitched.

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer's body stiffened.

He felt a chill run through him. A pressure of unknown origin, yet seeming to exist directly within his soul, swept over him.

His throat bobbed as Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer said to Tyrannosaurus Warrior, "That guy... there really is something wrong with him."

"Let's go take a look!" Tyrannosaurus Warrior was thoroughly excited. "My instincts tell me he's definitely a special NPC. Maybe he's the village chief, or some hidden big shot."

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer did not really want to go, but then he remembered this was only a game. What was there to fear? So he followed behind Tyrannosaurus Warrior toward the black-robed figure.

Linton watched the two players approach him, thinking that someone had finally noticed him.

After seeing the two equally bizarre IDs, Linton's mouth twitched. He held back a laugh and slowly said, "You are travelers from elsewhere, aren't you?"

That warm, clear voice surprised both Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer and Tyrannosaurus Warrior.

In their imaginations, an old, hoarse voice would have suited a strange person like this much better.

But their surprise lasted only a moment. Tyrannosaurus Warrior spoke first, trying to build some rapport with the NPC. "That's right. You're really good at reading people."

"It's not that I'm good at reading people. Do you think you look like locals?"

Tyrannosaurus Warrior and Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer exchanged glances, both at a loss for words.

An NPC that could talk back, whose words did not sound like prewritten dialogue at all—this was genuinely interesting.

They carefully examined Linton again.

And that glance was something else.

??????

Several enormous, translucent white question marks formed the NPC's profile before them. They could not inspect any information at all.

"See? I told you so! He's a big shot!" Tyrannosaurus Warrior immediately became excited.

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer also lost his earlier tension and burst into laughter. "We ran into a hidden NPC the moment we entered the village. Our luck is insane!"

Watching their strange behavior, Linton found it somewhat novel.

Back when he played games, had NPCs looked at players behaving so bizarrely and thought they were just as idiotic as he did now?

"Ahem." Linton cleared his throat and said, "Travelers, you must be tired after coming from so far away. Would you like me to find you somewhere to rest for a while?"

Tyrannosaurus Warrior and Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer waved their hands at the same time. "Not tired, not tired. We actually haven't walked that far."

"Oh? If that is the case..."

Linton drew out his words. Looking at their expectant expressions, he slowly said, "Travelers from afar, you must possess exceptional strength. Therefore, I would like to ask you for a favor."

"Sure, no problem!"

"There's no quest we can't complete!"

"Hehe, very confident, aren't you?" Linton chuckled softly. "There is a mineral-rich area north of the village. I would like you to gather some iron ore for me."

Ding—

??? has issued you the quest [Mining]. Accept?

"Accept!"

"No problem!"

Tyrannosaurus Warrior and Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer selected the same option at the same time.

"Good, very spirited." Linton clapped his hands and took out two iron pickaxes.

Just as the two were about to reach for them, Linton suddenly pulled them back.

"One hundred gold coins each. Thank you."

"Huh?"

"If I lend them to you and you break them, what then? So you should buy them from me first."

The two players were completely dumbfounded.

Pure Love War God Bull-Slayer said irritably, "The beginner quest item isn't free? We have to buy it? What the hell? We just started playing! We haven't even killed a monster yet. Where would we get money?!"

"No, I think we actually do have it." Tyrannosaurus Warrior looked at his inventory interface, his expression strange.

Other than their initial beginner gear, a newcomer's inventory truly had nothing else in it.

But the amount listed in the gold coin column was exactly one hundred.

Not one coin more, not one coin less than the amount Linton had demanded.

This NPC was off!