Being in such a central location, the great market town of the plains was, of course, a great hub of trade for the land. Warriors and creatures and peoples from all corners of the known world came through here, meeting up, swapping stories of their adventures, living their lives or simply arriving for the lucrative trading opportunities. The blacksmith was hard at work, the sound of his frequent hammer strikes ringing throughout the street. The vendors were all calling to passers by, hoping to sell their wares. And every once in a little while, there'd be a barbarian mercenary, glaring quietly at those who looked at them funny. Amidst all of this was, of all people, Flash Sentry. Clad in the clean armour of the knights of the holy order, the teen glanced around, letting out a sigh before looking to the clock. A clock that absolutely fit in with this medieval and fantasy setting, yes Sir. Seconds passed him by, and eventually, there was a loud "bleep" to the side, and he turned, smiling as he did so.
"Glad to see you made it, Timber."
Sure enough, Timber Spruce had indeed arrived. Unlike Flash, however, he was decked out in far lighter gear, more akin to a ninja or thief, and after taking in the surroundings, he grinned.
"Oh yeah! Tirek's Revenge! I can't even begin to say how much I love this game!"
Then, he turned to Flash, sounding just a touch apologetic.
"Hey, sorry for getting here so late. My internet connection was lagging a bit."
But Flash merely chuckled.
"No problem. Happens to the best of us."
Putting his hands on his hips, Timber looked around for a bit.
"So...where's that monster we were gonna slay?"
Turning around, Flash raised his hand and pointed westward. There, far in the distance, was a large an imposing mountain, complete with dark-looking storm-clouds at its peak. Seeing that, Timber considered it.
"Huh...ominous."
Nodding in agreement, Flash walked beside him.
"So...ready for an epic adventure?"
Timber let out a laugh.
"You know it, buddy."
Flash nodded.
"Great! Then let's...oh."
Timber raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
Flash looked to him, then to something just behind him, before starting to walk off. Timber followed his movements, and noticed that he was walking towards one of the local merchants. Specifically, it was one selling weapons, with a wide variety of swords, axes and maces on display.
"Finest steel in the realm, my friends! Come and have a look!" the NPC declared.
Flash walked to the stall, looking to one sword in particular.
"Hmmm...this sword has two attack points higher than the one I have right now."
Timber, who now finally reached him, looked to the weapon.
"Alright. So get it then."
Flash sighed.
"But...it has three fewer speed points. So my attacks will do more damage...but it'll take longer to do them."
He pulled out the sword he currently had on him, looking from it to the sword on the stall.
"Okay...stronger...or faster?"
Timber rolled his eyes.
"You know, on average, it probably won't matter which way you choose."
Considering that, Flash let out a chuckle, sheathing his sword yet again.
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry."
Smiling, Timber gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"No problem. So...now?"
Flash nodded with determination.
"Yes! Now we slay the monster!"
"Yeah!" Timber agreed.
They turned, heading for the direction of the nearest gate, ready to sally forth and meet their monstrous foe. But, when they'd only taken about ten steps away from the vendor, the voice of yet another NPC, a local guard, called out.
"Hear ye, hear ye! A thousand gold pieces awaits whoever brings us the bandit King, Ragnar One-Eye!"
Flash halted.
"Oooh! A thousand gold? That'll be enough to help me get that magic amulet I saw a while back."
Stopping, Timber let out a groan.
"Really?! We're doing bounty hunter work now?"
Flash shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey, there's a lot of cool stuff at the market right now and...well...you know those monsters only drop things like bones, right?"
Timber sighed.
"Yeah...but think of the experience! I'm only, like, a hundred points away from the next level! We kill this thing and that'll skyrocket me up the levels!"
Thinking on that, Flash nodded.
"Okay, sure, experience. That's good too. I mean, this bandit quest isn't going anywhere, right?"
Timber laughed.
"Nope! And hey, you know how it goes. Even if some other player does take that quest while we're gone, that bandit will still be there for us to get."
Flash matched his laugh.
"Yeah...that reward's probably been offered for him about a thousand times by now."
As they walked off, Timber was clearly amused by that prospect.
"Yeah, funny how stuff repeat like that in these games, eh?"
However, much to the chagrin of Timber, Flash soon halted yet again, for he had noticed something close by. The blacksmith, who had been hammering away at that same piece of metal for some time now, eventually stopped, and began to move away. Granted, he appeared to be walking into a wall for a few seconds, but even so, he was leaving. And with that disappearance, Flash soon spoke up.
"Actually...there's something else."
Now stopping himself, Timber grunted in irritation.
"What now?!"
Flash pointed to the now-abandoned blacksmith's forge.
"The guy left, so I can use the forge now. And I've been carting around a hundred pieces of iron ore all day."
Timber looked to him with incredulity.
"Who carries around a hundred pieces of ore?!"
Smirking, Flash pointed to himself.
"A guy who's gonna make himself a fine-looking sword, that’s who!"
And so, onto the forge he went, and after pausing for a few moments, his equipped sword was soon replaced with a blacksmith's hammer, which Flash promptly took and began to beat away at the anvil before him. Timber, who now resigned himself to this, simply stood to one side.
"You know...you play this game just like my sister."
Looking up from his work, Flash seemed intrigued by that.
"Oh, Gloriosa plays this?"
Timber nodded.
"Yeah, but...you know how much of a perfectionist she is. She tried finishing and completing every little thing she came across."
Flash raised an eyebrow.
"Wait...this online game, filled with thousands of quests, that's being constantly updated and expanded by the creators...and she tried to hundred-percent it?!"
Timber sighed.
"Yep."
The hammering of Flash's ore carried on for several minutes, and Timber, growing increasingly frustrated by this, eventually just rubbed his temples slightly.
"You know what? You stay here and do all this stuff if you like, but I’m gonna go off and fight that monster!"
Hearing that, Flash looked to him with concern.
"Er...I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's a little difficult if you're going solo."
Timber snorted to that.
"Pfft! I've played this game a bunch now! I think I can handle it, buddy!"
Pulling out his dual-daggers, Timber gave Flash a wave.
"See ya later! Have fun with your sword-making!"
Flash sighed, shaking his head before getting right back to his blacksmithing. Minutes passed, and eventually, he seemed more than pleased with how the sword was coming along. NPC's walked on by, repeating the same two or three phrases, but he got used to it. And then, right out of nowhere, the words "respawn" started to flash close to where he was. He turned, looking at those words and starting to quietly count down alongside the numbers that appeared with it.
"Five...four...three...two...one..."
A flash of light, and then, right next to him, was Timber Spruce. The green-haired boy was panting furiously, still swinging away, as though some terrifying creature was still around him. Then, he soon realised where he was and, more importantly, that Flash was watching him. The latter, after letting out a long sigh, put on a smile for his friend's benefit.
"So...how'd things go with the monster?"
With his situation sinking in for him, Timber sheathed both of his daggers, folding his arms and putting on a somewhat pouty expression.
"...I don't wanna talk about it."
