"Haaa, my legs are killing !"
"Yeah, mine too, but we gotta find that Boss Room. It had already been three weeks since the tutorial started, and I am starting to miss my family…"
Players whispered among themselves as they moved in and out of the doorway that led to the third floor. It had been a few weeks since they entered the third floor, and so far, they hadn't found the Boss Room.
While that was happening, so of the players also hung around the mission board, planning to visit previous floors to do so missions to increase their point total.
It was sothing that most of the players started to do after noticing that it would take so ti for anyone to find the third floor's Boss Room.
Most of the missions barely gave any points and were only a drop in the bucket compared to the points one would get from killing the Boss of one of the floors. Still, every point mattered at this point.
At that mont, the door of the first floor flashed, and from there, Adam stepped through while dressed in thick winter clothing. There were snowflakes falling from his coat.
After Adam removed his winter gloves, he noticed a familiar figure standing near a mission board. She was writing sothing down on the clipboard.
"Muriel." Adam approached her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Oh," she turned around and showed a smile. "Welco back. A successful mission, I hope?"
"Yeah." Adam showed a bag of loot that he had collected. For so reason, the bag was bleeding and turning a deep shade of crimson.
Muriel's nose scrunched up as she caught a whiff of the tallic scent.
"Maybe you should take that to Flakeeper." She suggested before focusing her gaze back on the mission board.
"What're you doing?" Adam asked curiously.
"Writing down stuff," she said. "So players have gone missing after taking their missions. The ti limit is also up. It ans they're most likely dead."
"Anyone I should know about?" Adam asked curiously.
He knew there was danger in every mission, but so players have a habit of chewing more than they can swallow.
"The most noticeable ones are Samuel and Fama." Muriel said. "Their mission should've ended three days ago. If they're not back by now, they're most likely dead."
"I see. I didn't really interact with them." Adam replied and shrugged his shoulders. "Any luck with the third floor yet?"
"Not that I know of." Muriel said. "They're done for tonight, as it is getting late. I heard they will be gathering in the common room tonight. Maybe you should go there as well?"
"Hmm…" Adam nodded and then showed the bag. "First, I'll receive my reward. I think I can afford my first skill now."
"Oh, a skill." Muriel's eyes brightened and she said, "You're the first one from this group with a skill. Good job."
"Mm, well, see you later." Adam replied as he walked away with the bag slung over his shoulder.
Muriel watched as he left, and once he was away, she turned back to the mission board, and a smile appeared on her beautiful face. She started humming a tune, rejoicing in the fact that she was currently the Top Handler of the tutorial.
It was the first ti for her.
The handlers with the top recruit in the tutorial received that title. While so of the handlers already had it, gaining them greater status among their peers, this was Muriel's first ti.
As she didn't have that title before, she was treated differently from the rest. She was treated like a bad on, and there was a chance that she was going to lose her job.
Now, her future was secured.
…
"Welco back." Flakeeper said in his elderly tone as if there was sothing stuck in his throat. His brown beard seed to have grown even longer.
Adam placed the bag on the counter and said, "The head of the Snow Worm, like requested."
Flakeeper quickly peeked inside, let out a chuckle and nodded, "Very good, indeed. I'll report to others that the mission has been successfully completed so you can get your points."
Then, he reached out to his dusty pocket and brought out five Shinecoins before placing them on the table in front of Adam.
Adam placed his own pouch of Shinecoins next to it—there were exactly 295 Shinecoins inside.
"With that, I now have three hundred Shinecoins; I want to purchase sothing."
"What is it?" Flakeeper asked with a curious expression.
"That." Adam pointed at the wall behind him. There was a worn out scroll tied to the wall, covered in dust, and barely visible in the dimly lit room.
"Oh, a skill scroll." Flakeeper grabbed it from the wall and placed it on the counter. "It is exactly three hundred Shinecoins. It is a basic-ranked skill, the lowest rank."
Flakeeper then opened the scroll, and it had drawings of various sword techniques and their corresponding movents.
Then, magically, information about the skill appeared in the air as holographic images. The words were written in calligraphy, blue in color, shimring slightly in the light.
***
[Skill: Basic Blade Handling]
[Rank: Basic]
[Progress: 0%]
[Description: A basic skill that focuses on learning proper grip and control of a blade, essential for any aspiring swordsman]
*** 'As my master taught , the basics are the foundation of any skill.' Adam said. 'I know swordsmanship, but I am not great at it. I still have much to learn and improve upon.
'I'll begin with the basics and move on to more advanced techniques as I progress.
'This is a mont I'll have to decide what kind of fighter I want to beco in the future. I already decided that I'd focus on Kiryoku, but I don't ignore the other two of the Three Powers.
'What kind of sword style would fit the most with Kiryoku? I believe I will need to experint and train with different styles to truly find the one that fits best.'
"Do you want to finish the transaction?" Flakeeper asked with a smile.
"I do." Adam said, and as soon as Flakeeper accepted the Shinecoins, the skill scroll appeared in Adam's inventory.
"Thank you for your purchase." Flakeeper said, then bowed as much as he could with his tall and old body.
Adam nodded, then left the rchant store and headed up the stairs towards the common room. It was where the other people from his group were going to have their eting.
'I wonder how their search is going,' he thought.
After a short mont of walking, he pushed open a pair of doors and entered a cozy room with a fireplace crackling in the corner and windows showing the misty outside world.
The walls, strangely enough, were built from wood, and there was a soft carpet covering the floor. The couches and chairs looked comfortable and inviting.
It gave off a very hoy and welcoming atmosphere. It made Adam rember the tis when it was storming outside and he and his family would gather around the fireplace, playing board gas and telling stories.
Those tis felt like an eternity ago.
There were players gathered, so seated around a table playing so gas, so reading a book near the fireplace, and so lounging on the floor with blankets wrapped around them.
In the corner of the room, a group of players were discussing sothing. Adam heard words such as the third floor, boss, and such. "Yo, Adam, want to play a ga?"
Adam turned to the voice and saw Ramon and Hannibal rolling marbles on the table. It looked quite unique, and Adam recognized it. It was a ga that was only playable in Mortal Online.
"Sure." Adam grinned.
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