Rowan descended the creaky wooden stairs of the inn, his footsteps muffled by the thick, dusty rug that lined each step. He adjusted the cloak around his shoulders, which was just slightly too long and dragged at his ankles. In one hand, he held what was supposed to be "gear"—a rather unimpressive set of shoulder pads made of leather and stitched metal. Rowan examined them with a furrowed brow. He didn't quite understand how shoulder pads would help with magic, but he brought them anyway, just in case. He figured it was better to be safe than sorry, especially in a world where everything was unknown.
[Lope: Strange gear for a mage...]
[Laik: I don't even know if magic-type shoulder pads exist in Eon.]
Ignoring the comments from chat for the moment, Rowan opened his inventory menu with a casual flick of his hand and began to place the armor inside. As he did, something curious caught his attention. A small panel popped up, displaying the stats of the robe and shoulder pads. It was the first time he had truly paid attention to equipment bonuses.
"Woah?! Wait... why am I surprised? Of course armor gives a stat increase," he muttered to himself, slightly embarrassed.
He inspected the robe first. The details were simple, but the stat bonuses were surprisingly decent for starter equipment: +1 Speed and +3 Intelligence.
"Not bad," he nodded. He then tried to wear the robe, expecting it to instantly snap onto his body like it did in the game. But this wasn't a game. This was real life now. And in real life, wearing a robe was far more annoying than a simple click.
[Ola: It's just a robe! Wear it already!]
He grumbled as he struggled to find the end of the garment, spinning it around, trying to figure out which part was the back.
"I can't find the damn ending of this robe," he muttered through clenched teeth.
Eventually, after a minute or so of fumbling, tugging, and a bit of swearing, he managed to get it on. With a relieved sigh, he opened his stat menu.
[STATS] Strength: 1 Speed: 4 Mana: 1 Intelligence: 4 Durability: 1 Dexterity: 1 Endurance: 1 Luck: 1 Perception: 1 Agility: 1
He stared at the screen for a few seconds, the numbers barely making an impression.
"Hmm... I'm actually so weak," he thought aloud.
[HOA: What do the shoulder pads do?]
Prompted by the viewer's curiosity, Rowan took out the shoulder pads again and looked at their stats. They weren't flashy, but they had a bit more going on than he expected.
[+4 Durability] [Passive: Increase temporary Intelligence by 1 every time a skill is cast. Lasts for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the passive resets.]
His eyes lit up.
[Hok: I thought he got something good...]
[Hjao: That's not bad though...?]
"It is good," Rowan whispered, smiling to himself. "Once I level up more and get more skill tree points, I'll have tons of spells. That Intelligence boost will stack like crazy!"
As a professional gamer, he knew better than anyone that small bonuses could snowball into game-breaking advantages when used right. Without hesitation, he equipped the shoulder pads. His stats updated accordingly, and he felt a faint sense of resilience build in his frame. Even though he still looked skinny and unimposing, the shoulder pads made him feel... sturdier.
He made his way to the reception counter of the Adventurer's Guild once again, passing by other adventurers clad in more impressive armor. The young woman behind the counter greeted him with a cheerful smile.
"Can I look at the E-Rank quests?" he asked.
"Sure thing! Also, the gear you're wearing... you're a mage? That's so cool!"
Rowan gave her an awkward smile, caught off guard by the compliment. She began rummaging through a stack of yellowed papers behind the desk. After a moment, she handed him a sheet of parchment.
The paper was rough and slightly curled at the corners. At the top, in bold lettering, were the words: E-Rank Quest. At the bottom, written in less elegant but clear script, was the objective:
"In the Southern Plains, there are multiple Blinkers currently harassing and killing civilians who pass by. Your task is to exterminate them. To prove that you've completed the task, bring back 5 Blinker fangs."
Rowan skimmed the quest, noting the lack of an experience reward indicator.
"That's weird... in the game, it always showed the amount of EXP you'd get," he mumbled.
But just then, a soft blue notification box popped up above his vision, similar to his chat and inventory menus.
[Quest Completion Reward: 20 EXP]
"I'll accept it," he said to the receptionist.
"Okay then!" she responded brightly. "Remember, bring back 5 Blinker fangs."
"Got it. Thanks."
[Flahwg: Finally, some action!]
[Gol: Only watching for the fights.]
[Jola: Would him fighting a Blinker even be a fight? LOL]
[Goa: Oh no... Direction.]
Rowan froze. He hadn't thought about direction. He didn't know where south was.
He spun around in place, scanning the room, and eventually wandered over to a large map mounted on the left wall of the guild. The map was detailed, showing various regions of the world, and his current location, Zedi Village, was marked with a red dot. It was almost embarrassingly small compared to the rest of the world.
As he squinted at the Southern Plains region, a familiar ding rang in his ears.
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: Map Tracking]
[MAP TRACKING: You now gain access to a dynamic map. Swipe, pinch, or place flags. A direction arrow will appear pointing to your flagged location.]
[Jalk: What the hell?]
[Ga: Imagine being so bad at the game you need plot armor to help you out lmao.]
[Hoaa: Lazy writing, smh...]
"Oh? This is so useful. Thank you, system!" Rowan whispered, genuinely impressed.
He stepped toward the guild doors and began mumbling random phrases to try to open the map.
"Open map... map open... map on..."
None of those worked. But when he muttered, "Direction Map," a translucent map materialized in front of him.
At first, the map only showed the local area—the layout of Zedi Village. But with two fingers, he tried pinching the screen, and it zoomed out just like a touchscreen phone. More areas became visible: forests, mountains, and finally the Southern Plains.
He swiped, adjusted, and eventually found a cluster of green dots labeled "Blinker Habitat." He flagged the location. Immediately, a bright blue arrow appeared in front of him, floating mid-air, pointing east-south-east.
"This will be the way," he said confidently, talking aloud to his viewers.
A few civilians nearby turned to look at him, confusion and concern on their faces. To them, Rowan looked like he was talking to himself while waving his hands in the air, mumbling gibberish, and staring at nothing.
They probably thought he was crazy.
Rowan, however, was blissfully unaware of the strange looks. He stepped out of the guild and followed the glowing arrow as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The streets of Zedi were cobbled and busy. Merchants yelled about fresh bread and exotic herbs, while children darted through alleyways with wooden swords. As Rowan walked past, some people stepped aside, giving him a wide berth.
[Fel: Look at this dude, marching off like a chosen one.]
[Sorell: His cloak is dragging, lol. He looks like a lost wizard.]
Despite the teasing, Rowan kept moving, feeling more confident than he had all day. Maybe he wasn't strong yet, maybe he didn't know everything, but with a floating arrow and a chat full of backseat adventurers, he had all he needed.