There was something weird when he logged into the game for the second time. When he woke up in the inn once he entered the game, he felt like he was waking up from a dream. As if his normal life as a history professor were just a dream. It didn't bother him a lot, yet it felt a little strange waking up in another life in a virtual world. Then again, this was his first VRMMO and video game he ever played. Added to the fact that the VR policies made it difficult for him to know more about this kind of games. As he left the inn, he quickly noticed how many players, NPCs, and stores all around him. Virtual or not, this literally reminded him of the bustling crowd in Times Square. Also, he did notice how real those NPCs acted as he saw most of them look and act too life-like. In fact, he can't tell if some of them as NPC or player. This made him more wary of these people than ever. Which was strange as he was completely cautious due to his distrust of living people that may have the chance to lie or take advantage of him. Regardless, no matter who or what he saw, he felt alienated around him. Not only that, he felt that he had nothing to do right now, despite he just logged in for the second time.
_____Days like this most considered a blessing. Nothing on their list to do, nothing trying to kill them, and the whole day ahead of them. Reaper called those people useless pieces of shit for feeling that way as he walked the streets grumbling in his head at how, ‘HAPPY’ people seemed. This game had so little threats to the common people and they casually acted like darkness would never reach them in the bustling city. It was almost as annoying to stop himself from rotting someone’s face off with Maleformancy as it was to stomach such peacefulness. _____His black cloak and blindfold kept most people decently away from him giving him some shoulder space, mostly because they seemed to grasp he was either about to snap at someone or steal from them. A set of town guards followed him loosely, not so much as even trying to hide themselves as Reaper growled lightly and kept walking. Eventually however someone did not notice Reaper, and likewise for the dark mage as he bummed into them and caused a small scene. ”Watch where you're going creep.” _____The remark Reaper could take, but when the man began to tap himself down the guard rushed over and slammed Reaper to the ground with a loud thud. His hood being quickly pulled off his head as they kept his face slammed against the pavement and Reaper just sighed lightly. He had so many choices, he could take the sword from the guard and kill one then stab the other, he could use magic to teleport away from them, but he just laid there and felt them patting him down now. ”Ok so because a cloaked figure bumps into someone they get tackled and checked, and not exactly asked to freeze or it being done politely.” _____Reaper honestly was just happy the peace was broken, that was until the guard slammed his hand he was trying to raise to the ground and slamming a knee against it. His temper began to boil up to the surface as everyone just seemed to enjoy the show, Usual day.
Just when he thought there was nothing to do today, fate just had to drag him into a new predicament. In fact, witnessing a man in a black robe being pinned down by a guard made him feel he shouldn't be here. On one hand, he felt that man might deserve on what kind of crime he just did. Yet, since this was just a game, he wondered if he was just a player and he somehow triggered some kind of event that might frame him for some reason. But, despite he really wanted to ignore this, he can't help but to step in and find out what was going on. He knew that he didn't know that player, yet he felt that there was something more to this incident. This will give him trouble, but he just wanted to know what was going on. Groaned out of frustration as he decided this, Verity approached the chaos and asked, "What's going on here? I was just walking around until I found this mess."
_____When someone finally decided to step into action the only thing the guards let Reaper do was turn his head to see before once more slamming it to the ground for moving. Thankfully though he was not the culprit of the crime he was being accused for currently and they let him go, Reaper slowly standing up and rolling his shoulder and trying to not feel the pain from getting slammed to the ground. Looking at the person who chose to act as he dusting his cloak off and waved farewell to the guards with a sarcastic vibe to it. ”Oh the usual guard getting board and chasing the first suspicious thing they seen all day, not even giving that person the chance to… They took my coin…” _____Reaper glared in the direction of the knights, those greedy fuckers took the one coin Reaper used to decide if someone’s life was spared or taken in some cases. Growling as he wanted to go hunt them down but not fully in the mood to watch this city go into another high alert after the last group of knights he slaughtered, much less when he had to get a shipment out, and later tonight a shipment in. Turning to the male Reaper bowed his head and took of his hood. ”I thank you for stepping in sir. If you had not I feel they might have kept me pinned until the streets had less people.” _____Reaper looked the person over a couple of times, not exactly someone he would offer a job to on the outside, but not someone who looked like he would get in the way of Reaper’s work. Rolling his shoulders again for a few moments before Reaper figured the ‘human’ thing to do was thank them in some fashion. Looking over to a small restaurant Reaper waved towards it and beckoned the man to follow. ”How about I get us some food to say thanks for the save? My mind would not rest easy knowing there was a favor I had left un-returned with someone in the world.”
At least his appearance was enough to avert the crisis without getting into a fight. Besides, the last thing he needed was a brawl in the city. While he still worried about the consequences, he did feel relieved that the man in the black robe got off without any problem. "Well, I just did it so I don't want to see any violence around here. That's all." He would have accepted his thanks, but he was still a stranger and he was still suspicious about him. The last thing he needed was trying to be an idiot just by being nice to him. But regarding his invitation... "I would say no, but since I got nothing else to do, I guess I would accept it." His tone remained monotone, yet his words remained true to what he just planned. He did have nothing to do on his second day in Terrasphere, so he might as well make the most out of it.
_____With the invitation accept Reaper began walking towards his choice restaurant, his gloved hands reaching up to move his hood revealing his white hair and the blindfold that covering his eyes to help hide his gaze from others. While Reaper had a favor to repay, he also still had a job to finish as he picked a seat outside the small restaurant and waited calmly for the waiter or waitress to arrive. His focus seemed slightly broken towards the streets when the young girl arrived and set down menu’s and cups. ”Hello, thank you for picking Full star eatery, can I get you two started with some water?” _____The girl seemed cheerful enough, the light scar across her was slightly off setting and the fact she seemed calm around Reaper was another weird thing. However Reaper took the chance to remove his blindfold and look over the menu. The downside to the item was trouble seeing dark writing or in the dark. Nodding for the water as she began to fill Reaper’s with some water with a smile. If Verity wanted water she would pour him some also before making one last comment like most waiters. ”Whenever you're ready to order just raise your hand and someone will be with you as soon as possible. If you are not fully sure what to order I’d be happy to give some suggestions and list today’s specials for you. Right now I have to go run to some other tables, we are a bit slammed and understaffed sadly.” _____Reaper simply nodded in understanding as he overlooked the menu, if Verity had nothing to say to her she would head back inside to the packed area and do her best to work. Reaper simply hummed happily looking over to the street every so often, his hand tapping lightly just before each time and always seemingly when a guard or noble passed the spot. It was mostly testing to see if Verity might call him out on it, and to record better for the upcoming job. Why his employer wanted to pass here, unknown.
The sight of the restaurant's interior was enough for the new player to grew uncomfortable. It's not because of how many people in there, but the fact he was invited by a player that he never met before. And even when they sat down, all can Verity will do was to stare most of the customers while he accepted some water from the waitress. For now, he should try finding something to eat on his menu while he kept his focus on the black robed man. "I was just wondering... Why did those guards attack you? Was it part of a quest or event that I've been hearing about?" That was all he can ask to @Reaper as he felt that there was something happened earlier.
_____Verity nearly triggered a claymore as Reaper stopped tapping his hands and looked at the now clear player before him. If this person knew about the delivery tonight what was his role in it? Was he among those dropping it off, part of the group to retrieve it, a third party, or someone ready to stop the drop off? Reaper’s eyes quickly glanced to a knife, it would be easy to quickly cut his throat but would clearly label Reaper as a player killer if he did that. Not to mention players could respawn and cause Reaper more trouble later. ”I assure you I don’t give quest like the natives of this area. The work I deal in is more under the table law or deals with fair trade to say the least. If you had been looking for quest it might take some talking with many people to get one to come your way. A tavern is always a good start, but the events you just saw was guards being paranoid. There is a rumor of a black cloaked figure going around killing people, if you ask me it gives an entire group of people a bad name.” _____Reaper spoke a fair bit and had to take a sip of his drink to slightly catch his breath. This person would warrant added caution to his normal social approaches, but as Reaper smiled and set down his menu he was ready for his own order and simple needed to wait for the other person. Taking a few moments to see if maybe he was ready also before raising his hand to try and get someone over to take their order. ”I’ll have the turkey salad please.” _____Reaper was glad some of the players had already started to bring dishes from the real world into the game. Although some places still only had large meat dishes or soups that tasted like salt water and piss. Slowly stretching backwards before Reaper resumed the tapping against the table. One finger for a passing guard, two for a noble, three for a merchant passing.
Natives? Did he mean the NPCs in this game? He knew this was just a game, yet he wondered why this black robed man acted differently to them. Also, he wondered what he was doing before that incident. Then again, when he noticed him stopping his tapping fingers, Verity knew he triggered something from what he said. "Work, huh? What kind of 'job' you do in this game?" He said this while he was staring at him. There was something off about him and while he didn't know what it was, he felt that he should be more cautious around him. However, he did avert his eyes from @Reaper for a moment to take his order. "I'll have the turkey salad as well." In his honesty, he thought the items were just there to aid him in battles, but he was just surprised that there was even a working restaurant in here. He even wondered if the food here tasted the same as in real life. However, he didn't want to change the subject here as he still got more questions to the black-robed man. "And about this black-cloaked figure you've mentioned, do you mean that there was an event where an NPC killed previous people before?"
”I suppose my job would be a trash cleaner, I help make the world a better place for others and cleaner. Not the best job but I have a talent for it.” _____Reaper could not help raising a eyebrow at this person, why was he so intent on calling things that happen in this game events like it was all quest? However Reaper could slightly understand the logic, it was somewhat the same for him when he first started playing video games like this. Tapping his fingers some more as he took another sip from his water and decided to humor himself by talking about some of his old actions that sparked the rumor. ”At first it was just small thing this black cloaked figure did, a robbery here, a kidnapping there. But over time he seemed to scale up his game, a pile of bodies found in a noble’s house, bodies dropped from clock towers, some think he is a ghost story and others claim to have seen him in the act...” _____Reaper would cut himself off as the food was set down for them and the waiter moved away. It was rude to speak of dark things in public to some that might not wish to hear it. However Reaper also felt this person did not need anymore information about this cloaked figure since there was enough information about him spoken. Reaper took the moment to allow the male to ask any questions, and to rip his turkey into smaller bits and mix it into his salad. Oddly he also opened his UI to get some chili peppers to mix into it before speaking again. ”Just to clear the air, referring to things that happen in the game as mere ‘events’ might upset hardcore gamers like myself. To us that might be the case but considering how real this game is these ‘events’ are history for these natives. Would you like some chili pepper in your salad?” _____Reaper would offer the pepper, if declined he would add the rest into his salad and begin eating it in silence.
That part just made him more suspicious at the player. But even if he can't trust him because of this, he still needed to know more before he can change his mind. Besides, his first priority was to know more about what @Reaper just explained to him. "Did anyone got a quest involving the black-hooded figure?" Just as he refused some chili pepper (since he preferred the mild spicy type), Verity just groaned at what the hardcore player said to him. "I-I'm sorry. I'm actually new at this game and video games in general. And I'm still having difficulty at grasping at how different this game that I was expecting when I first logged in. And I just got this from that strange email."
_____Reaper tapped the back side of his fork to his chin at the question, trying to recall if anyone had tried to approach him while he was doing his job to clean trash off the streets. Stabbing another part of his salad and chewing it slowly as he kept thinking before he spoke up again. ”A few including myself, we never caught the guy and now he seems to hop around, his MO in a few places in the game but now mostly seems to be here in Stokbon.” Reaper was far to calm, despite taking about a serial killer he looked like it was just someone on the news for attempted robbery. _____In his defense his real world record of kills before he chose to retire was over two hundred, while in the game he had maybe thirty under his belt. He saw himself as a aspiring model and goal to overcome. Another bit of his salad downed and a sip from his water happened before he was inclined to laugh lightly at the male’s reasoning for calling everything events. ”I’m just know to have easy to hit buttons, I’m sure other games might not take this as serious. As for the email that is how a lot of us got into this game, I like the level of reality into the game, makes it harder in my opinion.” _____Reaper moved to finish his drink before the waitress came back to refill it without him even getting chance to raise his hand, however she also left a small note under the cup. Reaper took the time to stop stabbing his food to read it over with a light sigh and glance into the restaurant. His focused locked on a group of guards glaring him down and causing a slight scene because of that. ”I honestly hope they find that bastard already so I can enjoy just one meal out without some guards wanting me to leave town. If I could I would wear other clothes but my skin does not fare so well under daylight, and I like black.”
If that was true, then he imagined how many quests or events will occur just to capture this unknown killer. Not to mention that he felt uneasy when he learned that they mostly stayed in this city. "It would be better if you purchase some other black clothing. And I still don't get the AI of this game, but if this killer is very dangerous as an NP- I mean, native, do they have the chance to kill any players?" As he dug into his salad with his fork, he wondered about the email that he got now that @Reaper told him the number of them sent to would-be players. "Yeah. But there is still a worry about the conditions before playing the game. Namely that we weren't supposed to share or tell about this game to the public. Does that even bother you when you think about it?"
_____This person and all the questions, Reaper was starting to get annoyed with them, why ask things when it was better to go find out about them. It started to show on Reaper’s actions as he slammed his fork down into his salad as another question was asked, the guards now growing more focused on them as he tried to calm himself down. Taking a few sips from his water and finishing his salad before he decided to speak up again. ”For all anyone knows he could be a player himself, working on perfecting his craft to later try in the real world who knows.” _____Reaper’s face turned dark as he leaned in to keep speaking. ”As for the game conditions if you don’t have a social life it would not matter. Honestly I’ve been wanting to see just what might happen if I said something about it… BUT I don’t leave my house and so I got nobody I need to talk to.~” Reaper’s voice turned so dark before it had lightened up again. Pushing his chair back and setting the amount of gold for both meals on the table before he started to leave. ”Who knows he could by that cloaked figure watching his right now, Anyways it’s about time I started heading for my job site for the night. Maybe next time we meet your are not so much a questioning sissy and have some balls to find things out by doing them.” _____Blunt to a point Reaper was done playing the nice guy as he waved farewell behind himself and walked into the alley. His UI opening and casting his teleportation magic to reach the roof as he walked to his perch for the time. His job was to be the lookout and unknown attacker of the other group later, so flipping his hood over and laying down he took the time now to sleep and get ready. Leaving for the real world for the moment to go do his ritual before a killing spree, he wondered where he left his old pipe from his father. ~Reaper Exit~
Just hearing this was enough to make him horrified at that thought of a killer being a player that might have the same "hobby". This caused him to stop eating his salad out of shock and disgust. He didn't comment this right in front of @Reaper as he began to wonder how did that email got to that player in the first place. Of course, after he heard the black-robed man's explanation, Verity's expression turned serious once he saw Reaper's demeanor changed. He might not be like other gamers who preferred the virtual world over real life, but he just wanted to try this game out of relieving his boredom and to alleviate his curiosity about it. Besides, he still focused on his life outside the game such as his job as a history professor and working hard to pay his bills. Yet, the one thing he was a little annoyed was that the man called him a "questioning sissy". He asked questions because he was very new to VRMMO and video games, but he rather not defended himself as it might fuel the flames in this conversation. "Alright. Just make sure you won't end up losing your reality offline just for this game." Whether if Reaper heard this or not didn't bother him. He just wanted to say this out loud as he finished his meal and left the restaurant because he wanted to. Besides, he was still cautious about that man and even if he helped him didn't mean that he will trust him so easily. [Verity Exited]
