'This town looks snafu.'
Seojin looked around the dying town, surprised by the state of it. It was much worse than he'd expected. The whole town was in a dark mood and the NPCs weren't cooperative no matter how hard he tried.
"It was never this bad in the community reviews…"
The NPCs should have been somewhat negative and unmotivated according to the information he'd read online.
However, what Seojin had experienced was different.
"I'm out of business. Got nothing to sell."
"Favor? I don't want a single thing from one of you adventurers. Get out of here!"
"Nothing to ask, nothing to give. Go look for someone else."
It was safe to say that the town had pretty much already collapsed.
Life Remaining: 4.5%
The first decimal point appeared as the town's life fell below 5%.
Seojin licked his lips impatiently.
'I'm running out of time.'
He'd already met around twenty people, trying to find any quests without a positive outcome.
Receiving the main quest prolonged the town's life, so doing a couple more would be of great help.
'What should I do…?'
The folks here had their minds shut tight.
Only time and patience would open them up, but he couldn't afford either since the clock was ticking. Seojin paused suddenly.
'Damn it, there was something!'
He smiled in relief as he finally found the answer.
Seojin was already moving.
He checked the map and ran towards his destination.
He arrived at the end of the alley he had run around earlier.
Seojin slowed down after finding a hammer on a worn-out signboard.
'I should've just come here from the start.'
He'd found it.
While the shop didn't seem to be operational, there were hammers, an anvil, and everything that would be needed in a blacksmith's workshop.
The empty display bothered Seojin slightly, but he knew the owner must be a blacksmith.
'Long live Ferguson. Even the blacksmiths in this godforsaken town should have heard about a Master Smith, right?'
Master Ferguson Diselheim.
He was the man who gave Seojin the world quest back in Movelon.
He'd also given him a buff, meaning all of the blacksmiths he met should like him very much.
"Excuse me…"
Seojin carefully called for the owner, but there was no answer.
He raised his voice a little.
"Excuse me!"
Finally, a haggard man staggered over to him weakly.
"…What?"
"Hello, are you the owner of this place?"
"Who else would I be? If you're a tourist, just do touristy things."
He spoke curtly and headed back to where he came from.
Seojin stood there for a while and swept over his face.
'Great, so it's not working.'
The buff he received helped him to gain favor with all blacksmiths. If the old man quit his line of work, it was no wonder that the buff didn't work.
'This is not the time to be thinking about that.'
Plan A had failed, so he needed to find a Plan B as soon as…
"Hey."
"I'm sorry, I'm leaving now. I'm not a tourist, so please don't take it the wrong way."
Seojin quickly added as the blacksmith hobbled over again.
He was about to leave after explaining himself, but the blacksmith stopped him.
"No, it's not that."
"What?"
"Come to think of it, I don't think there's anything to see around here. So, how about I show you how to harden steel?"
"…?"
It felt strange somehow.
Maybe the blacksmith did like him… but in what way?
Seojin, unfortunately, noticed right away.
'No, it can't be…'
The blacksmith was blushing.
'No, I can't take this! I'm out.'
He took a step back, ready to bail out, but…
Life Remaining: 3.7%
"Steel! Steel hardening is good! It's my favorite process!"
"I-Is that so?"
"Of course, hot, cold, hot, then cold again! I'd dare say that the fierce, artistic process is the birth of all weapons!"
"…That's right, you know what you're talking about."
"I'm glad if you think so. But it doesn't feel right to see your performance and leave you empty-handed. Do you have any favors to ask of me in return?"
"No, it's okay…"
"BUT I'M NOT!" Seojin held the blacksmith's hands tight. Looking into his eyes, Seojin spoke as if he felt extremely sorrowful. "I'm not okay with it. The skills of a craftsman shouldn't be put on show so easily! I'll have to do anything to truly appreciate it."
"W-Well, then…."
The blacksmith nodded, looking away in embarrassment.
"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
Side Quest!
Teatime with bronze-skinned blacksmith: Redrix, the blacksmith, wants to have afternoon tea with you.
* Objective: Have a chat with the lonely blacksmith.
* Default Reward: Redrix will favor you greatly.
"As for the tea…"
Life Remaining: 3.2%
"I'd love to. I especially like black tea. I'll be extremely grateful."
Redrix flashed his white teeth.
Seojin was terrified, but the system did not betray his expectations.
One user is undertaking a Side Quest!
The Tree of Life gains strength!
Life Remaining: 12%
* * *
"I see. No wonder you were angry, I would have been the same too."
"Well, thank you for your kind words. I knew that you were a good man from the beginning, I'm glad to know that I wasn't wrong."
"I'm just grateful that you think so. So, how did that work out? The thing you were just talking about."
Redrix's "room" was a small space attached to the corner of the workshop. He said he used to have a house, but it was gone now.
"Isn't it obvious? Business dropped and so did my income. The workshop can't operate without income. It's all gone. I already sold my house, and cleared all of my inventory at a low price…" Redrix let out a melancholic sigh. "I did everything I could to hold out, but I met my limit. I'll leave town soon. If it wasn't for you, I would have packed up and left earlier today."
"Ah…"
Seojin gave him a sympathetic look as he thought to himself.
'Phew, it might have been too late if I had messed around for even just a day longer.'
Redrix was calmly laying out the facts. The moment the village was almost completely drained of life, all of the residents would have begun to disappear.
"This is your hometown, isn't it?"
"Yup, born and raised, my father too."
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"For what? This town is already doomed. Our Lord abandoned it, the adventurers abandoned it, and now even the regular folks are about to make a run for it."
'Geez, what the hell is up with this game?'
Seojin snorted inwardly. The blacksmith in front of him was only an NPC, but every word that came out of his mouth was pulling at Seojin's heartstrings. At this point, he really wanted to help.
'Well, it doesn't hurt to be sincere. Immersion improves the gameplay experience, too.'
Seojin made up his mind. He stopped thinking like a gamer and shrugged off his irresponsible mindset.
"Damn, I must be depressing you. I didn't mean to do this. Why don't you come and see how I work…"
"Redrix."
"Huh?"
"Do you really want to leave?"
"Of course…" Redrix stopped as he sensed the seriousness in Seojin's eyes. He swallowed his light answer and smacked his lips. He soon finished his answer, his voice cracking, "…not."
Those three words held more sincerity than their entire conversation.
Seojin let the silence linger for a moment.
"I'm an adventurer, Redrix."
"What a surprise! I'm a blacksmith."
"I'm really capable. You may not believe me, though…"
"Well, I'm also capa… wait, you're not joking, so?"
Redrix soon became serious.
"It's not too late."
"It is."
"Berne can still be saved."
"I don't know why, but I like you, although you're a damn adventurer. However, what can't be done can't be done."
"You said you were planning to leave today, right?"
Redrix nodded silently, but Seojin noticed how his eyes shook at the question.
"Give me two days."
"Two days?"
"If I failed to change anything, I will give up and apologize for upsetting you."
"…"
Redrix's eyes continued to quiver.
"…Sure, staying for two more days won't change anything. Do as you please."
Finally, he agreed.
And naturally…
Side Quest!
Now, it was an official quest.
It all turned out exactly as Seojin had intended, but that wasn't the end of it.
The Side Quest in progress will be promoted to Main Quest!
"Main Quest: Help the townspeople of Berne" will be deleted.
"…What?"
"Why? Did you not expect me to agree?"
"Wait… wait… hold on."
Stopping Redrix from speaking, Seojin checked the new quest.
Main Quest: A Seed of Hope
* You gave hope to the dying town of Berne. Grow this small seed into the Tree of Life!
* Residents Supporting You: 1
* The decrease rate of the town's life is reduced by 1%.
* The town's remaining life will decrease 1% slower.
* The townspeople's fondness towards you increased by 1%
* Default Reward: ???
'…It's been promoted to the main quest.'
The quest from Redrix, the mere side quest, quickly got promoted to the main quest.
"Wait, just one more moment."
"Uh, yeah, I'll wait."
He asked for the blacksmith's understanding once more.
He still had one more message to check.
One user is undertaking a Main Quest!
The Tree of Life gains strength!
Life Remaining: 13%
Achievement Unlocked: The Hero Stands Until The End
* Effect: Attack power increased by 10% when all other party members are dead.
The effect does not apply due to class penalty.
Option changed.
* STR had been replaced with CHR.
'My vitality has increased… I got an achievement as well. Plus, the Tree of Life, charisma… no, that's not what's important now.'
It would be fine if he figured out the details later on since he'd already confirmed that the rewards were pouring in.
He closed the Status screen and stared at Redrix with blazing eyes.
"Redrix."
"Yes?"
"We're going to make it, you got that?
"I'm rooting for you…"
"No."
Seojin shook his head.
"I will do my best, of course. But, Redrix, to protect your hometown, I desperately need your help. We can make it happen if we work together."
"…Of course, I'll help."
"Then that's enough. I'll give you directions. The first thing we should do is figure the situation out. I'm going to set the course and separate our duties. Do you have any questions?"
Seojin kept pushing, giving him no time to answer.
"I guess you don't have any. All right, I'll need to gather some information first. Facts only, no bias."
"…Yes, yes. All right, I'll give it a try. Wait a minute."
"Where are you going?"
Redrix tapped the chest of drawers next to him.
"I kept a record of the situation since I was so exhausted by the entire thing. I opened it up just yesterday when I was wondering how it got to this point."
Redrix opened the drawer and took out a small book that looked like a diary.
Seojin grabbed the book, flipped through a few pages, and nodded.
"This will do."