Arriving in Morning Cafe, a cafe within Riverwood, I sip at a cup of tea.
There was a lot to think about, and not enough time to do so.
Message from Harry the fairy.
My old guild mate? I didn't even know he still played L&L. I click on it.
Bro, I don't understand what happened. I just hoped on because it was the last day and felt nostalgic, and now I am in my avatar's body. Can we meet, you're still in Riverwood right?
I send him a message.
Sure, I will wait for you in the cafe.
Damn he better not be too far, or else I am going to be sitting here awhile.
I bite on a scone, shifting my eyes around the new arrivals.
In L&L the respect of NPCs was shown on a scale, the more evil acts you did, the more it would shift in one direction, and vice versa. But right now, all these people just feel like people. They're all living their life to the fullest. It makes me question a few things.
Ding ding. The bell on the door jingles as a golden haired girl walks in.
Harry sits at my table with a sigh. "Yo."
So casual, it has literally been five years. "What's up?" I sip the tea.
"You don't see anything wrong with this?" He questions.
"Hey it could be worse, you could have made your character incredibly ugly like some of our guildmates." I offer up a scone, and he takes it.
Taking the largest bite his mouth could hold, he speaks well chewing. "You're calling Tickle out, aren't you. If he is in the same mess as us, I would feel really bad."
Tickle, he was a masterminded attempt to make the ugliest character possible. His face is warped, his skin bright green, and those eyes, god those eyes. It gave me nightmares.
"Your girlfriend online?" I ask.
He nods. "She is in the capital as we speak, figured I would have you give me a ride."
Well damn, she is only level fifty, not exactly high enough to feel safe, and she went for a normal build.
"Harry my man, let's say this, you know, get the guild back together." I chug the remaining bit of tea.
He frowns. "In a time like this? Really? Do you only think about the game?"
Do I? Well isn't that obvious, the game is my life, so I couldn't be happier. "Well…" I am interrupted as Jack the Ripped walks through the doors.
He gazes at me with venomous eyes.
"You didn't respond, so I figured I would follow the drag queen." He arrives at the table, stealing a seat.
"Damn Jack, must you always piss me off." Harry glares at him.
"Wo, your voice changed too, ain't that something." He sets a pare set of god tooth daggers on the table.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Harry sticks his tongue out at him.
He might not be, but I am impressed, that is two hundred hours of grinding, for only the second best daggers in the game. Crafting them gives the rare achievement, A god reforged. Only .0001 percent of the playerbase have it. It must have been a pain in the ass.
"Have you tried them yet?" I can't help but ask.
He nods. "Assainate did two thousand damage on the queen moth."
Jack uses a cheese build found in multiple open world games. The stealth archer is the most famous of which. Well sneaking up to an unaware enemy the player does twice the damage, but he takes it to the next level. By combining the main class of assassin, and the sub class of thief, he does twenty eight times damage with the assassinate skill. He theoretically has the highest single damage out of every player in L&L, so high that if raid bosses could be sneak attacked, only three would survive more than one hit. That is some real good cheese.
"Cool." Harry mocks. "Come back when you have a real build, stupid assassin."
"Hey, don't leave me out." I proudly show off my armor.
But they both just snicker. "Proud of being a tank, you never change." Harry flicks me off.
Jack joins in. "Get a life." His two fingers are also rudely pointed to the sky.
"Hey this was really hard to get, I put my blood sweat and tears into this armor." I defend myself.
"That is why it is funny." Harry slumps to the table. "You're basically useless in a fight, thanks to that black knight class of yours. I would generally take the number two tank Hanko over you."
Jack nods. "If it was up to me, I might pick number three. He at least gets out of the single digits."
Why are they so mean? "Yeah but unlike them, you can't kill me."
"Is that a bet?" Jack grabs his daggers.
"Wo." Harry stops him. "Do we even know if we can revive?"
Jack nods. "I killed one of my friends to find out, and yes I was able to revive him." You're not a very good friend.
"Sounds just like you." Harry snorts with reminiscent eyes. "I shouldn't have quit, I have regretted it for a while."
This game does that to people, it feels like I actually know people. Even though they are living on the other side of the world. I wonder if I am the only one that feels this way?
The higher ones level the slower they age, that is a commonly known fact in L&L. Riding on the back of my bone dragon, we arrive at the capital. So, this man.
Level 476, human, Dark the old guard.
It is strange, a middle aged man, just standing on air. He walks over to us.
"Loctrace correct, your name proceeds you." We are currently a thousand feet off the ground, yet this man is treating it like some casual walk. "I am Dark, the king's bodyguard, have been for eight hundred years. I don't get out as much as I used to, but I figured a meeting with you would suffice as an outing. And there is even Harry, I have heard your magic talent rivals the mages guild master."
This man is way too highly leveled, why, no wait that's the wrong question, how can someone be this strong? "I am indeed Loctrace, it is nice to make your acquaintance."
"Uh." He glances down. "Yes, well it seems I must spoil the mood."
A magic lance splits the air between us, as a wyvern knight arrives.
Level 210, human, knight captain Wyme.
"Don't listen to this criminal, he escaped his cell. If you wouldn't mind leaving, so I might capture him."
I may technically hold the same rank as this NPC, but I would still prefer not to get on his bad side.
We leave the freakishly strong man, landing in the capital's beast runway.
A few players look at my dragon with awe.
Level 150, bone dragon, Nail.
Hoping off, Harry abandons me to find his girlfriend. Speaking of which. In a warm summer dress Sophia watches me with expecting eyes.
Level 188, higher vampire, Sophia Supreme's guildmaster.
Supreme is the strongest NPC run guild, and marks a gold standard for any player run guild to follow.
Not going to lie, she is damn cute. Is that wrong? Yeah I think that's wrong. I can't believe I am perving on a NPC.
"Sophia you didn't have to meet me here." I walk with her as we travel to the tower.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud, we don't get many dates like this anymore." She sways the flowers I bought her.
I can't believe I have to hang out with her all day. We arrive at the tower.
What is the tower you might ask, the answer is simple. It is a structure built in the first age, the age of giants. But now it is just used as a register for capital class quests. Not that I want to do any of those overly hard things, I came for something else.
It is absurd the increase in players within the capital. The tower alone has a hundred.
"Look." Someone points at us, or should I say, at Sophia. It isn't everyday you see someone of her level, even if I have been feeling the opposite.
Most players here are about average, level thirty five to sixty five. No one suiting of the difficulty of these quests. But I guess it was like that in the game as well. The tower was for most gathering spot, mainly because it can be seen from miles away.
I still remember when I first saw it, I was blown away, and skipped all side quests to make it my way there.
Climbing the stairs Sophia and I arrive before an office. I lightly nock, and the door opens on its own.
"Hmmm?" The old man, with even older glasses, stares at us. "Who are you two?"
"I am Loctrace your grace." I bow on one knee.
Sophia glances at me as she lightly bows. "I am his wife Sophia."
Really? You have the higher title, yet you announce yourself as my wife? Does she not understand how negotiations work?
"Oh?" He sets down his pencil. "Take a seat, take a seat, surely your arrival must bear meaning." Way to put the pressure on me, I just came for the unique quest, blood and roses. But now that seems impossible.
In L&L, when we refer to something as a unique quest, we don't mean it can only be done once. Instead each player gets a completely unique version, involving different NPCs, monsters, and locations, but all involving similar events.
Blood and roses is one said quest, a noble party is striving for power, and offer you support if you help them succeed.
Not that I can do it with this atmosphere.
"Yes, your grace." I take a seat in the chair opposite him. "Would it be possible to add a quest to the board." I hand him the sheet of paper.
He glances at it.
Abled bodied adventurous wanted in the city of Riverwood.
You are to garrison the city, receiving a steady reasonable payment.
"What has the old vamp so worried that he would send you here?" His tone changed in an instant. "I am able to post this, but I would need to hear the reason." Damn, I thought this might actually be easy. I tell him what the lord told me. And he nods. "Now that I have heard it, I reject your request. It is my duty to strengthen the empire, not weaken it, and having so many fighters away from the capital could only make us weaker."
I figured he would say that, oh well it was worth a try.
Sophia raises an eyebrow. "If you need extra men then why didn't you ask me? I was thinking of moving the guild anyways, and that zone is perfect for monster hunting." That would mean I won't have any time alone. But then again, she does run the strongest NPC guild.