The market was crowded as always, maybe more so than usual. People were so busy with their daily tasks—buying groceries, bargaining with sellers, and merchants trying to make the highest profit—that outsiders would never guess that a monster invasion notice had been announced only a few hours ago. These people had no sign of worry on their faces, not because they were confident of their safety, but because it wasn't their job to take care of such matters.
That's how life here is. Common folk didn't care about those things, monsters, magic, and battles fought across the land. 'If I die, that's just my luck' is more like their philosophy. Daily, mundane tasks concern them more.
"Freshly picked high-quality cabbage! Get them before we run out. Special offers for the first ten at the stand!" The subtle, manipulative sales tactic was unnecessary, but just laying them out for sale was boring in multiple ways.
"Aoi! Don't be like that! We need to make sales, too, you know?"
He smiled at the shopkeeper a few stalls away. The market was competitive. Attracting customers and convincing them to buy was a recurring challenge for the sellers. And while he knew for sure that the shopkeepers and villagers alike would feed him three meals a day if he couldn't afford it, they would never let him off easy while he was a fellow business rival.
If it weren't for the built-in farming knowledge, he wouldn't even dream of standing against these battle-scarred professionals. So he had to give it his best effort while thanking his 'cheat-skill'.
KS had been an odd game even before it came to life. The players ran around across the continent like headless chickens to fulfill quests. On the other hand, most of the NPCs carried on with their lives, not bothered by the turmoil of their homeland. Or at least that's what it looked like from the outside.
There was a joke within the forums that they had hired outsiders to deal with problems that they didn't have the time to solve.
Hats off to the first speculator; they might as well be a modern-day foreseer or an underrated psychic.
Which being said, rather than fancy job classes, the life of a street vendor was more admirable on this land, at least to Ryuu.
"Thank you. Have a great day!" His wish was perhaps heard as he was currently selling vegetables in the market. There couldn't be an easier task in this world. Living in the safest regions, one could grow their own food and, with enough effort, could easily live a decent life in a small town. What more was there to ask for? This was the modern dream.
A blue envelope fell from a customer's sleeve as he paid and left hurriedly. Aoi, no, Ryuu's smile didn't waver as he picked it up stealthily and put it in his pocket. "We're sold out for the day!" He announced and closed the stall, smiling mischievously at the relieved shopkeepers.
Aoi greeted every familiar face on his way out.
However, his smile turned into a frown the moment he was away from the crowd. Ryuu opened the envelope, and a screen popped up in front of him.
The black screen was something that fell between extravagant and lousy. The screen itself wasn't much different from the usual blue screen, but the content, from the font to the information, was, as Ryuu would say, 'Utter nonsense.'
System: [Mission Accepted. Report to the checkpoint in 13:58:30 seconds.]
'If you're going to accept missions on your own, what's the point of me being here? Do it yourself!'
'Kyros' Sanctuary' as a game was nothing more than tens of other VR RPGs on the market. The users log in, get a character, customize it, and set off on a mission.
The difference was in the worldbuilding and unpredictability. That's what made the game famous.
As a game.
Six months ago, when 500 people were transferred into the game they had spent hours mastering, Ryuu was sound asleep. After spending three days fighting and grinding, he had just climbed up the global ranking and needed the overdue rest. But who knew that the day he finally ranked 499th would be the game's last day as a game?
At least he didn't.
So when he woke up in a cowshed the following day, it was more than a shock. Not only had he been thrown into KS with zero explanation, but his character was a farmer, unlike the one he played initially.
Aoi, who resembled his original self as per the system protocol, had an ideal skillset of a top farmer. Ryuu's in-game character being a frontline hunter, he was rather relieved by the change. After all, fancy job classes were fun only when you didn't have to put your life on the line. And the scale didn't go any lower than this.
To top it off, he always wanted a garden of his own. This was maybe the best bargain.
The satisfaction lasted until he received an envelope for the first time, and the black window popped up in front of him. As the world would have it, the peaceful, mundane life wasn't for those who dreamed of it. They were bound to be matched wth troublesome roles, in Ryuu's case, that of an assassin, namely, 'Scarlet Eye'.
He didn't finish—no, didn't even start his first quest as 'Scarlet Eye' out of spite towards his rotten luck. His in-game character had the primary job of killing monsters, which was perhaps one of the riskiest jobs in KS. And suddenly, when this place could no longer be called only 0's and 1's, he landed a job worse than before with the guise of an ordinary citizen.
And even that wasn't the worst of his troubles.
***
Nightfall.
System:[Checkpoint loading. Please wait.]
Ryuu was hiding in the grove near the mansion, observing the tight security. But even if he wasn't hidden behind the trees, with how he hid his whole being under the dark cloak, the guards would need night vision goggles to spot him. Fortunately and unfortunately, this world was not yet that developed scientifically.
It was a relatively large mansion. Ryuu had guessed that this was a big enough task, as the envelope was dark blue. But it seemed to be more than that.
Guards were stationed every ten steps around the mansion. This was the first time he came across such serious security.
But unfortunately for them, they were up against the greatest disturbance of all time.
System: [✓]
The coast was clear.
System: [May luck be with you.]
'What?' Ryuu was baffled by the remark. The system didn't even wish him luck on his first…second mission.
Ignoring the trivial matter, He slipped into the mansion through a window. The security was high inside as well. But it still didn't stand a chance. Ryuu easily navigated to the targets' location, and the rest is history.
After he was done with the task, he escaped the same way without anyone noticing.
System: [Tip: Tasting the blood of the victims can increase an assassin's fame and notoriety.]
'Go to hell! Do I look like a psychopath? This is already beyond my moral compass.'
The system was always quick to throw weird suggestions like this.
Another message popped up as he kept running.
[Tutorial mission complete.]
Like a car suddenly hitting its brakes, Ryuu came to a standstill with an imaginary screech. 'What tutorial mission?'
It had been six months. On the first day, the system appeared and informed him of all that had happened while he was catching z's. It told him to tend to the vegetables and connect with the townsfolk.
It was closer to an order than a tutorial.
Half a month later, his first mission as Scarlet Eye appeared. And since then, there has been no break. Task after task. Training over training. All of which were like orders. Not once was there a line about the tutorial mission.
[You have met the requirements to continue to the next stage.]
Had he been killing people left and right for a freaking tutorial? No, no, no, no. That couldn't be right. If this were Earth, he'd already be a death row convict. And for what? To get into elementary school?
[Your skillset has been updated. New skills have been added.]
[Scarlet Eye title effect 'Scarlet Night' has been added.]
[Preparing missions for the main quest.]
[Preparation complete.]
Screen after screen popped up, and he stood there, dumbfounded.
[Initiating Upgrade. Preparing new mission outline.]
[After a thousand years of putting up with Humanity, Lord Kyros has begun to lose his cool. If ignored, the continent might suffer from his wrath.
Lucky for you, he has yet to experience being a target of an assassination. Embark on your journey to his sanctuary. Sharpen your skills and become the best assassin of all time.
With your unparalleled skills, keep Kyros occupied until the hero can seal him.]
[Penalty for mission failure: Death.
Penalty for dropping out of the scenario: Kyros's wrath/ Ultimate destruction.]
[Character: Ryuu Aoi.
Class: Farmer; Subclass: Mercent
Special class: Assassin;
Subclass: Potion master; Subclass: Hunter
Title: Scarlet Eye
Special Title: Radish Farmer]
[Thank you for playing Kyros's Sanctuary. We are pleased to officially welcome you into our world of wonders. The lord of our land awaits you to pursue your journey.]
[All the best.]