Zerix

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Well, <Searching> was either out of the question, or all it did was extend his range a little and there was just nothing out there. Zerix double checked the <<Cursed Compass>> just in case, but that arrow was still meandering. So, what was left to do, but try something else? With his back to the forest’s edge again, Zerix marched forward once more, making sure he wasn’t retracing his steps exactly as he moved. This thing had to lead him somewhere, to something. He knew it wasn’t just a piece of junk. After all, it had led him to that one material. Wait a second… O

Ugh, this was such a disaster. How had Zerix gotten all the way back to the starting road? Had he really been wandering that far in one direction? Sure, he’d gone out of the clearing the way he’d came in. Maybe that was the problem. There was probably plenty more forest beyond the camp that was ripe with materials. He just was ditzy enough to turn around and go backward rather than forward. Grinding his teeth out of frustration, Zerix looked down at the <<Cursed Compass> and gave it a good shake. Of course, this did absolutely nothing but make the arrow spin even faster to the p

Well, he’d found something at least. Zerix looked down at the <<Cursed Compass>> again, wondering what the heck had changed. He supposed he must have just wandered in range of the material. If that was the case, the thing didn’t seem to have a very wide radius. What use was it then? He couldn’t have had to walk more than ten meters or so to find the reed-like Material. With another heavy sigh, Zerix began to trudge on again. The arrow kept on meandering as it had when the NPC had first handed it to him. He just had to trust it for now. Move forward and see if he lucked into s

A sigh escaped his lips as Zerix was once again wandering aimlessly. It was just like trying to find the camp, but worse. This time he just had a compass that didn’t even work on his side. He moved forward in a straight line, unless he had to move around a tree, keeping watch on the compass as it swayed back and forth, back and forth. He just wanted it to find something, anything at all. And suddenly, just like that, the arrow quivered, stopping for a moment as it hadn’t done before. It suddenly turned and pointed very deliberately on the left diagonal. Zerix turned in the direction it w

Glancing down at the <<Cursed Compass>> and back up again at the wild edge, Zerix tried to search where the arrow pointed with his eyes. They darted back and forth. He even tossed his head over his shoulder to see the camp behind him. The NPC was just standing there with her arms folded and shaking her head. She seemed a bit disappointed. That made Zerix go a little red. Looking down at the compass face again, Zerix shook his head. Why should he care what an NPC thought of him, anyway? She wasn’t going to help him, so there was no shame in him having a little bit of trouble!

Zerix watched the arrow moving north to south east, south east to north west, north west all the way around past south and up to north again. He struggled to follow it, wandering away from the wagon. Spinning all the way around, the world in his periphery began to blur and he almost stumbled aside. What the heck was he doing, he felt a bit silly. Looking up from the compass he realized he had almost turned to walk right into a tree! Frowning, Zerix realized that this wasn’t working at all. The <<Cursed Compass>> had certainly earned its name. There was probably some kind of t

It was a small circular device, no different looking from any other compass, really. It looked a bit ornate, probably to get that fantasy aesthetic, Zerix was sure, and seemed heavily worn from use. The thing was, the arrow didn’t seem to want to settle down. It drifted this way and that way, spinning all the way around as it built momentum before slowing again. Zerix squinted at it and looked back up at the woman. “Uh, how does it work, exactly?” He asked tentatively, giving it a little shake. Surely this wasn’t all there was to it? Well, it was a skill in a video game after all. He pro

Just as he was getting used to the idea of partying up with two whole new people, a third appearance. Zerix turned his head to see who she was and was surprised by her myriad of equipment. She was almost certainly not level one, that much he could tell. Why was she going on this quest? It made him a little uncomfortable, but she had given him no other reason to suspect her, so he just nodded his assent. From there, the guy of the blindfolded duo spoke up. Zerix almost jumped at his enthusiasm. He was pretty friendly, which was good even if a bit startling. When the party invite came up,

Of course, that changed almost as soon as Zerix slowed to halt in front of the fire. There was a creak and the wooden door on the side of the wagon house opened. Out stepped a rather surly looking woman with incredibly long blonde hair braided with mostly gathered flowers and a few jewels, clothed in a simple brown hooded robe. Her green cursor told him she was safe and the situation told him she was almost certainly the NPC he was looking for. Thankfully, Zerix didn’t even have to open her mouth for the NPC to engage him in conversation. Although, she did not seem to realize exactly wha

In that moment, Zerix felt attention being pulled toward a very faint smell. At the same time, his gaze was nudged skyward once again. Was that… smoke? Zerix could recognize the smell now. In the air, now he could see the thin wispy white curling up in one of the spots of blue sky he could see through the canopy. That could definitely be a campfire and should signal the NPC’s location. “Yes!” Zerix pumped his fist and whispered to himself excitedly. He was on the right trail, at the very least. That was cause for at least a little personal celebration. With renewed vigor, Zerix ste

As he moved through the forest, Zerix realized that his first impression hadn’t been quite correct. The forest wasn’t really all that dark. Perhaps it was merely anxiety influencing his perception, or that part of it happened to be a bit darker. Beams of light pierced the canopy in plenty of places, creating a rather beautiful effect, if he dared to think such a thing of this place. Admittedly, Zerix did allow himself to become slightly distracted, his neck craning as he followed trails of light upward to the dots of blue amidst the greenery above. Wait, no, focus. You’re here for a reas

With the knowledge in mind, the quiet boy now made his way toward the gate at the edge of the Town of Beginnings. He had approached this gate many times before, sometimes crossed it, but usually didn’t. This time, he was determined enough that he did not even paused at the threshold. He just kept right on walking. He had his polearm, basic as it was, in hand, just in case, but didn’t feel like he would be needing it. Normally, he would just continue on the road ahead, but instead he turned and faced the forest on the right. It was here that he paused and took a deep breath to steal himse

As scary as it was, a game was still a game. Resources were everything. Zerix knew that. Gathering was an easy enough task, but getting something out of it was pretty RNG-dependent without an associated skill. Luckily, there was a mechanic in this game to help with that: the professions system, specifically the gathering professions. Zerix had heard about them before: you had to go on a little quest. There wasn’t supposed to be any combat involved, although in a world like this there was no real guarantee, but he could always run away if he had to, right? A little visit to the local tave

Zerix knew he had been in the Town of Beginning far too long. Progress on the frontline was steady, but slow. They needed all the help they could get. There was nothing Zerix wanted more than to help, but he didn’t know anyone. He didn’t know anything. How could he even help? He couldn’t. So, every morning, he went out, planning to do something, but he ended up frozen. Really, what he needed was a little push. As he wandered out today, there came a push. The mayor himself strode up and addressed him. Zerix turned around, blinking, and pointing to himself as if to say ‘who me?’, but not a