The night wind blew, bringing a chill that was biting enough to wake Sami up. His eyes snapped open and the world came back into view.
Except, this time, the world was unfamiliar.
"...?!"
A panicked look crossed his face as he quickly looked around to regain his bearings. That was when he noticed he was sitting on the cold dirty ground, leaning against the side of a brick building like a lost traveler.
"Where am I?"
Looking around, he could see that he was on the edge of a street in an unfamiliar town. The architecture looked similar to the small town he had visited for the Food Quest, except, unlike the other that was barren, there was no green fog hanging around, and this place seemed to have people living in it.
The evidence of life was obvious from the fact that the faint noises of people, as well as the clatter of carts, could still be heard even at this hour. Although due to the fact that it was night, there were not a lot of people moving around on the streets.
One major detail about the place that caught his attention was the fact that it felt grim.
While looking around, Sami noticed that even with the flickering street lamps casting dim yellow lights, the town was still very dark and shadowy. Even the light of the moon barely reached the ground, as the dark clouds were too thick overhead.
Coupled with the fact that many chimneys were spewing dark smoke into the air, the town looked gloomy.
By the way, speaking of the moon, Sami arched a brow when he looked up and noticed that there were two moons in the sky. While one seemed farther away, the second gray moon seemed to be hanging lower over the town.
That alone was enough to tell that this wasn’t the Earth Sami knew.
Honestly, at this point, it was no longer surprising. It had almost been a full week since the apocalypse and the descent of Quests. So of course, many players had already confirmed the fact on the forums that everyone who went on quests ended up in strange places no one had heard of or seen before.
And based on the strange surroundings, it was not hard to deduce that these places were not on Earth but a different world.
’Strange... Nobody mentioned anything about a place with two moons.’ Sami frowned as he pushed himself off the ground.
The reason he had put off going on Weapon Quests until now was so that people would go first, after which he would learn from their experiences.
He didn’t like being the first to try out things.
And so, he spent time on the forums reading the comments of those who had gone on Weapon Quests... and were actually willing to share their experiences.
Although, according to what he had gathered, the experiences of the players varied wildly. Even the locations they had been sent to were different as well.
There was one central theme to these quests, however, which was to find the original owner of the weapon, then figure out a way to take it from them.
Simple, right?
Except it wasn’t!
Especially for the higher grade weapons. If someone possessed a powerful weapon, didn’t that mean that there was a possibility that the owner themselves were powerful enough to wield it?
Also, since most of these weapons were ordinary everyday weapons, their owners didn’t just leave their them lying around. Some left them in heavily protected spots or took them around with them almost all the time.
Because of this, players had to resort to all kinds of tactics to be able to retrieve them. Some seduced the owners or deceived them, while others found ways to steal the weapons from their owners without getting caught.
And even though many players had not openly said it on the forums, it was obvious that some even ended up killing the owners of these weapons.
’So I have to find this Mich... Michu... Michi Michi. No, uh... is it Michelin?’
To confirm, Sami turned to the screen that appeared beside him, displaying information about the quest. Then, he shivered from the cold and let out a sigh as he pondered how he would take the weapon from her.
’She’ll not be willing to part with the weapon that easily. Maybe I might have to fight her in the end.’
If things became too complicated, Sami felt that he could see an ending where he would have no choice than to just kill her and take the weapon.
...That’s if such a thing was possible.
There was a problem, though.
Where was he going to find this Michi lady in this town?
’This is going to be a bit tough. It’s a good thing that there is no time limit for this quest. I’ll take my time and look for her.’
After a few seconds of organizing his thoughts, Sami reached into his inventory and took out the Blind Wolf’s Eye. It was a smooth black ring without any design whatsoever. In fact, looking at it, one would think it was just an ordinary ring from a pawn shop.
Sami put the ring on his index finger.
’First things first...’ He shifted his gaze to the near distance where he could see a tavern.
’I need some information. There’s no better place to get that than a tavern.’
Having made up his mind on where to begin, he started walking toward the building. But along the way, he passed an alley that had a few homeless men sitting in it. Sami halted, looked down at himself, then changed his mind about heading to the tavern first.
Instead, he closed his eyes and dispelled all his lies. Then he smiled and muttered. "I am a rough looking, miserable man in my late forties."
Almost immediately, he winced as he felt discomfort all over his body. His clothes stretched slightly as his body aged another twenty-something years, his skin turning rough and weathered. Even his beard and hair had grown long and unkempt, making him look thoroughly haggard.
With that done, he turned and walked into the alley while summoning a pouch of wine into his hand.
It was the Fermented White Tiger’s Blood Wine.
Pretending to be slightly drunk, he walked on until he reached a man who looked to be in even worse condition than him.
The old man had dirty gray hair and gray eyes, and he was dressed in tattered, grime-covered rags.
"Oh god, my lower back..." Sami groaned as he tried to crouch down beside the man. "Forty-seven is a curse."
But wait... upon thinking about it, there were times Sami felt like this even back at his real age.
Was it because he didn’t go to the gym? Or was it just the result of sitting at his desk for hours at a time?
Or maybe it was just that young people’s bodies these days seemed to grow older than their ages.
’Stay fit, guys.
Go to gym. This is a bad look.’
The older man cast him a disinterested glance before looking away. But after a few seconds, he noticed that Sami was still staring right at him with unsettling intensity.
Shooting Sami an irritated look, he rasped, "What, what?! What is it? Shoo!"
Sami scowled. "Why are you so rude?!"
He scrunched his nose because the man’s breath was killing him. But he had to endure it.
’Jeez.’
"What do you want?" The old man growled.
"I don’t know," Sami muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with a confused look.
The man narrowed his eyes, taking in Sami’s posture and strange demeanor.
"What’s an outsider doing in this town?" He asked, with traces of suspicion in his eyes.
’I knew it.’
This was why Sami had not walked straight into the tavern right away. Despite wearing an old black shirt and worn-out pants, he still felt that moving around like this would draw attention to him, as his clothes were still somewhat strange.
But more than that, almost everyone knew that homeless people and beggars on the street are often some of the best sources of information.
They see everything because people ignore them. And while townsfolk are busy with their own routines, people who sit on the curbs all day notice new faces, strange outfits, or out-of-town habit immediately.
’He was able to tell immediately that I was an outsider.’
A small smile touched Sami’s lips before he sighed, a distant expression crossing his face.
He then took a swig from his pouch before speaking. "I remember that I used to be a physician. I think? I was traveling to meet a wealthy client somewhere when I was suddenly attacked by bandits. I got hit right on the head. Here, look."
He pointed to the side of his head and leaned in closer for the man to see.
The man, still completely uninterested in this whole affair, barely spared him a glance. But when he actually looked, he saw a nasty gash with traces of dried blood and bruised, swollen skin.
That wound had not been there a second ago, but Sami’s Talent made sure it was there now.
Sami winced from the sudden sharp pain, then took another swig before extending the pouch to his new companion. "Here."
For the first time, the beggar’s eyes seemed to shine and his demeanor began to soften.
Though he still pretended to be reluctant, he scowled and asked, "What’s that?"
Sami smiled weakly. "It’s really good stuff." His expression grew lost again. "Although... I uh... I don’t remember where I got it."
The beggar licked his dry lips. After a few seconds of trying to resist, and failing, he reached out and snatched the pouch, pulling off the stopper to take a gulp.
Then his eyes widened instantly. "White Tiger’s Blood Wine?"
When he heard that, Sami’s eyes widened too.
’Huh?!’