C5 Unforgettable Friend
Matthew had been toiling away under the NPC's employ for some time now. The mere thought of overtime used to be unbearable for him, but these days, he found himself longing to spend every waking moment in the shop, eager to earn just a few more gold coins. In the face of life and death, nothing else seemed to matter.
The deeper Matthew delved into the game, the more baffled he became. It seemed designed to coddle newcomers on the periphery, yet the dungeon quests were merciless. Despite lengthy intervals between missions, his personal growth was painfully slow. He was still clueless about the manipulation mode. Initially, Matthew had thought the game was a talent scout of sorts, a means for some ancient Earth civilization to cultivate a new breed of humans. But to his frustration, there wasn't even a practice area—just a collection of shops in what resembled a quaint, retro city. But come on, these quests were lethal! The least they could do was provide an abattoir or a martial arts gym.
It was as if he'd been living the life of a recluse, only to be abruptly thrust onto a battlefield with no chance of survival. Did the system take pleasure in watching the underdogs perish, or was it haunted by a history of treating players as cannon fodder? Matthew couldn't help but grumble to himself as he continued his embroidery work.
After a long day's labor, Matthew trudged back to what he hesitantly called home. In this place, where everything was unclaimed and people were scarce, he had settled into a relatively peaceful little building, which had once filled him with excitement.
"Damn it, are you ever going to stop?" A man's bellow erupted from a two-story villa nearby, accompanied by the clatter of bottles and the cacophony of an argument. Matthew recalled that a couple, who had entered the game together, lived there. He had once crossed paths with the man at a tavern during a break—fairly handsome, though not as much as himself.
As Matthew was about to move on, the man was ejected from the house. Standing at about six feet tall with a robust build, his features were discernible even in the dim light, and he exuded a sense of resignation. Upon noticing Matthew on the sidewalk, an awkward silence fell between them. The man approached with a wry smile. "Brother, sorry you had to witness that mess. Care to grab a seat at the bar up ahead?" Matthew considered the offer and then nodded in agreement.
Two men sat at the bar without ordering anything. One of them, pulling out a cigarette, offered it to Matthew, who accepted without fuss. They sat in silence, smoking and watching the rings of smoke drift away. Matthew felt a bit lost in thought, reflecting on his own job and how slacking off could have serious consequences. Observing the man next to him, Matthew considered how fortunate it was to have a wife to share life's struggles with.
The man caught Matthew's gaze and inhaled deeply from his cigarette. "I was rushed last time and didn't get to introduce myself. My name is Frasier."
"Oh, I'm Matthew, 27, single, no bad habits, and straight," Matthew said, attempting to lighten the mood with humor.
"We were just arguing over a trivial matter. She wasn't always like this," Frasier explained.
"Having a wife isn't always great. I've been single all my life. But in places like this, I think it's better to have someone," Matthew mused, unsure who he was trying to comfort.
There's something about the presence of strangers that can make it easier to open up. Frasier tapped his cigarette ash and shared, "You're not wrong, brother. We started the game together with big dreams because there were two of us. We used each other's cards to pass the missions at first, but as we lacked high-quality cards, the missions got tougher. Now, my wife and I are both at level 17, and we need to pass five more missions to reach level 20. But my wife only has three years left to live, and we've failed the last two missions. She's been getting more irritable, and just now, she blew up over nothing."
Matthew didn't even know what his next mission would be or if he could make it through. He could only speculate based on what he'd heard from others. "I've got nothing to boast about. The first mission doesn't count, and I've no idea when the next one will be. Sigh..." he sighed deeply.
Their conversation meandered from the game to women and back to the game until Frasier noticed the empty cigarette pack. Standing up, he said, "Brother, next time, let's grab a drink together."
Matthew quipped, "Man, you getting booted out by your sister-in-law just now was a sight to see."
"Hahaha... You little rascal..." Two men who had only met twice inexplicably became fast friends, often sharing smokes and drinks at the bar. As for Tina, she never answered another call. Women can be so unpredictable.
"Ding! You have a new email. Please check it out!" With a sigh, Matthew set aside his sewing and clicked on the email.
[Mission title: Reaper's Gambit]
[Mission location: King's Canyon]
[Mission content: You are to take the place of a hero in the canyon and engage in battle. Ensure zero deaths to achieve victory. (Friendly reminder: Low-Star King's game)]
[Mission participants: 1]
[Mission duration: 1 hour]
[Note: Abandoning or failing will result in a loss of 10 years of your HP. You have 24 hours to head to King's Canyon and complete the mission. A handsome reward awaits upon successful completion...]
[Please choose to accept or to give up.]
Feeling fortunate, Matthew recognized that the King's Canyon mission was one of the more quality-driven quests, which suited his current situation perfectly. Having spent time with Frasier, he had come to understand the various types of missions. The simplest involved traveling to different locations to eliminate enemies or gather items. The second type was the King's Canyon mission, which had the unique perk of granting a random card upon completion. However, the mission objectives could be quite bizarre. Frasier once shared that his mission required him to achieve a score of three sixes and secure a victory. Luckily, he had a two-star Athena card that time, which helped him scrape through unscathed. The final type was the battlefield mission, where players were transported to a combat zone to accomplish survival and elimination tasks.
Matthew glanced at his gold coins, totaling 256. He dashed to the card shop and purchased a mid-tier and a beginner's pack, as the high-tier pack was beyond his budget. He hurried back home, secured the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and settled onto the couch. Humming an off-key tune about good fortune, he eagerly began to open the packs.
The first pack yielded two common cards—a modest start. But the real anticipation was for the second, mid-tier pack. His first time around, he had pulled a Tyler card. With the music playing, Matthew clicked to unveil his new cards with a mix of reverence and excitement. Alas, the sky was not blue but green, or rather, his luck seemed to have been misleading.
Card name: Liu Bei
Card type: Warrior
Quality: Green
Use: Summons the hero Liu Bei
Note: Insightful yet not overbearing, simple without being mundane. In life, loyalty is paramount.
"Not too shabby. Both heroes excel in the jungle," Matthew reassured himself. The remaining five white cards were Zhuang Zhou, Arthur, Da Ji, Apate, and Di Renjie, but not a single Pair card among them. A Pair card indicates having two identical cards in hand, which means acquiring another would upgrade the card to two stars. Two-star white cards are more formidable than one-star green cards since they can summon two heroes with enhanced attributes. In contrast, one-star cards only feature two skills if they are blue cards or higher, hence the term high-quality cards for those of blue caliber and above.
Matthew clapped his hands together and limbered up his joints, a pre-game ritual he never skipped. With preparations complete, he was ready to take on the challenge.