━━━━━━━━━━━〔 PLAYER STATUS 〕━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Vera
Level: 1
Race: Unknown
--
〔 VITAL STATS 〕
HP: 125 / 125
MP: 85 / 85
--
〔 ATTRIBUTES 〕
Prowess: 1
==> Blades[] || Heavy Weapons[] || Polearms[]
Precision: 1
==> Marksmanship[] || Ballistics[] || Throwing[]
Endurance: 1
==> Athletics[] || Riding[] || Fortitude[]
Cunning: 1
==> Reconnaissance[] || Tactics[] || Subterfuge[]
Authority: 1
==> Charm[] || Command[] || Commerce[]
Cognition: 1
==> Arcana[] || Engineering[] || Logistics[]
--
〔 Proficiences 〕
————————〔None〕————————
'Interesting, my race is unknown and thereby no racial bonus as well, this will cause unnecessary problems, not to mention my eyes.'
Suddenly, a long 'ding' came to Veronika's ears as an ornate black test box decorated with gold popped up in front of her.
━━━━━━━━━━━〔 QUEST ACQUIRED 〕━━━━━━━━━━━
Title: Echoes of Origin
〔 Description 〕
Somewhere within Aetheris, buried beneath ruin, memory, and blood
lies the truth of what you are.
Seek it, or remain a stranger to yourself.
〔 Objective 〕
• Discover your true racial origin
〔 Restrictions 〕
• This quest cannot be shared
• This quest cannot be abandoned
• Progress is bound to the individual
〔 Duration 〕
• No time limit
〔 Rewards 〕
• ???
• ???
• ???
〔 System Note 〕This quest has been forcefully assigned.
Further details are currently unavailable.
'Just, wow, I regret selecting hybrid.'
"Elias, how is your situation? My race is unknown, and I was granted a quest to find it. On top of that, there is no racial bonus."
"It seems we are on the same boat; we will have a tougher start than most. Also, my looks have changed as well."
"Oh, how so?"
"For starters, my skin has this golden glow, and my pupils look strange."
"Like moon and stars reflecting on the bluest of water." Veronika finished while looking impressed.
Elias nodded before he spoke with a shiver, "Even before that, we have another great challenge to fulfil."
Veronika grimaced as she spoke, "We both are wearing rags and standing inside a forest with snow all around, we will die of hypothermia before long."
Elias was about to speak, but stopped suddenly as his head turned towards a particular direction.
"I hear someone approaching. Let's hide."
Veronika, or as her in-game name 'Vera', quickly followed after Elias as the duo hid inside some thickets.
"Hey, Elias, why did you choose Adrien as your in-game name?"
"Nothing special, I got it from a name generator."
Vera's brow twitched; she had chosen a shortened form of her name, Veronika, but Elias's was pure laziness.
The shivering duo did not need to hide long as they soon heard a pair of voices.
"I told you I saw something fall."
"Then where is it, idiot?"
"I could be enjoying that young lass we captured, but now I will have to follow you here in this cold."
"Hmp, if you wish to go back, then go, I can find it by myself."
"Yeah, right with your sense of direction, you will get lost and die, then we will be a hand shorter for the next raid, and the boss will be angry at me."
"They are bandits", Vera whispered.
"Unfortunately, we have no means to deal with them."
A smirk formed on Adrien's face as he spoke, "I have a plan, just hope these two are not very strong."
"See, there is nothing here, nothing!!!"
His companion grumbled, and as they turned to leave, a breathtakingly beautiful woman stumbled in front of them, shivering as her frail cry for help came to their ears.
The duo consciously licked their lips and took a step, and a terrible pain erupted in their head as their vision went black.
Vera quickly moved towards Adrien as she spoke rapidly, "Are you alright? Jumping down from the tree on top of them and hitting their head with the stone in your hands."
Adrien chuckled, but his face quickly became shocked as he spoke, "They are still alive!!"
His body moved as he spoke, grabbing a knife from one of his victims, he stabbed the person deep in his neck before tearing his throat apart.
〔 Achievement Unlocked!! 〕
First Kill: 50XP
Adrien quickly tossed the knife towards Vera as he spoke, "Quick, Vera, there is an achievement on first kill."
Vera quickly took the knife and stabbed the second person before letting out a shocked gasp."This... it felt like I... I just murdered someone."
"Vera, get hold of yourself. This is just an NPC. If you want, you can turn on the 'Hemophobia' settings."
"They shouldn't have made these things so life-like."
Adrien gave a curt nod as he spoke, "True, and they no longer need their clothes."
The duo quickly stripped the bandits of their clothes, but as they tried to wear them, the duo gagged from the smell.
"Did this idiot never take a bath since he was born? Ugh, I want to throw up," Vera complained as her face turned an interesting shade of green, and Adrien was not far away.
A gust of cold wind hit them, and they were forced to put on the clothes, doing so under protest.
Aside from the much-needed clothing, the two bandits received a pair of knives, a hatchet (which Vera commandered), a kukri for Adrien, and a pair of rather ill-made revolvers along with some bullets.
When the game was being developed, the developers claimed that it was closer to reality. Consequently, the game had no inventory system; everything you carried depended on your bags, pouches and pockets.
"Well, we are safe from the cold for now, but what is our next course of action?" Vera questioned Adrien.
"We need shelter, and the closest one is the bandit hideout, and..."
AWOOOOoooooo!!!
Duo's eyes widened in panic as they heard a familiar sound of a wolf's howl.
"I hope they don't aggro on us, that howl was really close, let's get out of here."
The duo did not hesitate to make them scarce towards the direction from where the bandits came.
Vera turned to look back before speaking, her frown deepening, "I don't know if the wolves are following us."
Suddenly, Adrien pulled Vera back behind a tree and spoke in a whisper, "Sister, Vera, we might have reached the hideout, and I spotted a lookout tower."
Vera's eyes widened as she spoke, "I hope they did not spot us."
Adrien peeked from behind the tree as he spoke, "I hope so, also it seems that the tower is unmanned."
"That means we have to be more vigilant, who knows where one of them is hiding? Also, Adrien, do you know how to use this strange-looking gun?"
"Okay, show it to me; it is better to be ready before commencing our assault."
As Vera handed her gun to Adrien as she spoke, "I was only able to get a quick look at it, but this gun is strange."
Adrien looked at the gun as its description flashed before his eyes.
━━━━━━━━━━━〔 ITEM IDENTIFIED 〕━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Berg-96 Autopistol
Type: Ranged Weapon (Handgun)
Rarity: Common
Level Requirement: 1
〔 Attributes 〕
Damage: 22 (Physical)
Range: Medium
Accuracy: Low-Moderate
Fire Rate: Semi-Automatic
Recoil: High
〔 Handling 〕
Weight: 1.2 kg
Durability: 78 / 100
Stability: Low
〔 Ammunition 〕
Type: 7.63mm Cartridge
Capacity: 10 rounds
Compatible Ammo:
• Standard Ball
• Hollow-Point (Uncommon+)
〔 Effects 〕
None
"Interesting, this gun is based on the Bergmann 1896. Let me show you how to handle this."
He rotated the weapon slowly, his fingers moving with quiet certainty. "This one feeds from a fixed magazine housed in front of the trigger."
Vera blinked. "…Meaning?"
"It doesn't open the way you expect."
Adrien hooked his thumb and forefinger through the cocking 'ears' at the rear of the bolt. With a firm, gritty motion, he pulled the assembly back until it clicked into place. The exposed hammer clicked into full cock.
"First rule," he said, angling the open action so she could see the brass-colored follower inside. "Always check if it's loaded. See the empty tray?"
Vera leaned closer, her breath catching slightly as she peered into the narrow gap. "Empty."
"Good. That means it won't kill you by accident."
He reached into his pouch and pulled out a thin, flat packet of cartridges.
"Second rule: this one doesn't take loose rounds. You load it through the side."
He pressed a thumb-latch on the right side of the frame, and the magazine cover swung down like a small door. He positioned the 5-round clip into the internal guides and pressed. The rounds seated with a metallic 'shink' against the heavy spring.
Vera winced. "That looks... delicate."
"It is," Adrien replied flatly. "The clips bend easily. If you drop one in the mud, this gun becomes a very expensive paperweight. You don't reload this in a hurry unless you've practised."
Once the rounds were seated, he plucked the empty tin clip out and let the bolt fly forward with a sharp, mechanical snap.
Clack-zip.
The sound was crisp and final.
He held the pistol out by the narrow, rounded grip. "Now it's hot."
Vera hesitated before taking it back. "…That's it?"
"Yes. These are a treasure for enthusiasts, but in the modern meta, they're temperamental. If you don't hold it firm, the blowback won't cycle, and it'll stovepipe on your first shot."
Vera's finger strayed toward the trigger, but Adrien's hand clamped over the frame, tilting the barrel away from his boots.
"Not yet," he whispered, his eyes scanning the flickering campfires of the bandit hideout below.
"Rule three: the safety. On this model, it's this lever right here by the hammer."
He flicked a flat piece of steel upward with his thumb. It moved with a heavy, deliberate snick.
"Up is safe," he explained, his voice barely audible over the wind. "It's a physical block. Even if you drop it or the sear slips, the hammer can't reach the primer. It's the only thing keeping this antique from barking before we're ready."
Vera mirrored the movement, testing the tension of the lever. It was stiff, requiring a purposeful shove. "And to fire?"
"Thumb it down. But don't do it until you've decided someone is dying. The click it makes when you disengage it is loud enough to give away our position if the wind dies down."
He looked her in the eye, his expression hardening as he gestured toward the jagged rocks overlooking the camp."Tuck it into your waistband or a holster, but keep your thumb on that lever. We're moving in. If things go loud, remember: it's a semi-auto, but the trigger reset is long. Don't 'slap' it, or you'll pull your shots wide right."
Vera nodded, her knuckles white as she gripped the cold steel. "Stay behind you. Thumb on the lever. Don't miss."
"Exactly," Adrien whispered, drawing his own blade. "Let's go."
"How do you have so much knowledge regarding guns?"
Adrien smiled mysteriously as he replied, "I am a teenager, dear, and thus I know things that I am not supposed to know."