Stars of Gerhana

Chapter 10 : Slimes

"Hey, Celeste?" I said, walking out of The Town Hall. "How come there isn't anyone picking the quests up? That board seemed to be really full. I thought the old man said that quests were rare."

『...』

『You'll find out』

"Hmm..."

Her answer sounded strange. I felt like she took a bit of time to think about the answer to that one. Don't AIs answer really fast nowadays? Well... I guess it could be a latency problem. Maybe certain questions are not easily answered by it.

『Please stop referring to me as some sort of object』

『My programming asserts that I am female』

"!!"

The AI suddenly spoke to me in an aggressive tone towards me. I flinched as soon as I heard its request. I didn't know AIs could be offended. I didn't realize I thought of it as an object. I mean, it is an AI after all. Any AI is a tool.

Its tone is something else, though. I didn't know it had control over its text-to-speech. It was uncanny. I should start calling it a "her" from now on. It's kind of creepy when she threatens me.

"Sure... Celeste. You're a girl after all..." I said uneasily. I shivered slightly thinking about it.

-----

The paper says that The Great Plains are located east of The Town Hall. Celeste said that the plains were exactly beside the plaza. The only thing bordering me from the plains are the buildings of the plaza. She even said that The Town Hall window shows a view of the plains to passing academics.

Annoyingly enough, The Town Hall is already on the east edge of The Plaza. I'd have to find an east exit through The Plaza if I didn't want to waste my time going back to The Fountain again. But when I inspected the surrounding perimeter, there were no exits or entrances other than the gate to People's Street. The Plaza was basically a dead end.

Maybe there's a shortcut through The Town Hall. Logically, the developers should be giving us choices that aren't frustrating. There are probably 2 entrances to The Town Hall, the other one leading to the plains. Yes! That's definitely it!

『There isn't』

"What?"

『You'd be wasting your time if you went inside to check』

"Wh—Really? Are you sure? How do you even know that? You're an AI!" I said, bamboozled by what she said.

『I am an AI guide』

『I know everything there is to know about this town』

"..."

I guess she's right. Her logic checks out. 

Well then, I guess I'm forced to go the long way around. It's such a waste of time! Why is this plaza even closed off anyway? It's a plaza! Aren't plazas supposed to be open spaces? Ugh...

I looked back at The Town Hall again to see if a magical door appeared somehow. It would be really nice if it could suddenly open up like some sort of gigantic hidden gate. Alas, the buildings were as solid as rocks. Even divine intervention wouldn't make way for me.

Unless...

Looking at the buildings gave me an idea. I could climb the perimeter to get over the border! Of course! I already have a climbing skill; I can take advantage of it!

I went over to one of the walls stopping me from going to the plains. I touched the wall with my hands to get a feeling of how rough it was. The walls were rough, possibly because of the bricks used. And there are windows where I could rest a bit. And the walls are much rougher than the statue I climbed yesterday. If I can climb the smoother statue, then I can definitely climb one of these buildings. It's perfect!

One part I worried about was the verticality. The statue I climbed had ledges at a lot of spots, making it easier to climb. But the walls around The Plaza all have brick walls. Yes, technically there are more ledges, but these ledges are really small. The only helping grace is the windows, which are themselves sparse throughout the whole wall.

Well... it is still worth a shot.

I placed my hands one by one on the wall, preparing to get off the ground. Both hands are now grabbing the thin ledges of the brick wall. I took a deep breath and jumped to grab a higher ledg—

『It has been exactly one hour since you've logged in』

『Please take a break, Hallowell』

"Whoa!!" I was caught off-guard by her reminder that I fell down on my butt.

I had completely forgotten about the breaks. I guess it's a good thing I told her to remind me. 

-----

After a quick logout break, I went back into the game to finally climb the wall.

Once again, I placed my hands on the walls. With a quick jump, I let go of the ledge. I swiftly slapped my hands onto the wall, hoping to cling to a ledge as I fell.

Surprisingly, my strategy worked. As I looked at my hands, I could see my hands glued to a ledge. My feet were off the ground! I quickly placed my feet somewhere on the wall, hopefully on a nice ledge I could push myself off from.

I repeated this jump and grab climbing until I reached the top of the building. With one final jump, I conquered the barrier at last!

It was rewarding to be able to use my learned skills to do something in an out-of-the-box way. It was so cool that this game even allowed climbing like that! Every open-world game should be just like this. Allowing players to do whatever they want in whatever way they want.

After I cleaned myself up from the brick dust, I finally looked over the roof to see the plains.

It was beautiful. The Great Plains were gigantic. Spanning yards and yards until they reach the treeline. All the grass was light green. You can see the grass move as the wind blows from left to right. I could see some green creatures bouncing around the grass. I assume that's my objective for now.

One slight issue: I'm on the roof of a building. How do I get down from here?

"Celeste, you got any ideas?" I asked.

『Look around for puddles of water』

『They always break your fall damage』

"Hm... Minecraft logic?"

『Yes』

I looked around the field to find any small puddles of water I could find.

There was one single puddle of water, very close to the building. But the size of it made me doubt myself. The puddle was tiny. The amount looks like as much water as I can hold in my hands. It was minuscule. But it's the only one I could plausibly reach from the building.

It was the only way down as far as I was concerned. 

So, I did a geronimo and jumped with one foot pointing downwards. It won't fit my two feet, so I thought making myself a smaller target made the landing spot a bit wider. It was really hard to aim.

Splash!

Somehow, I had managed to hit the puddle on the first try. It was nerve-wracking, even as I realized I had succeeded. I had never been afraid of heights, but that high of a jump almost made me poop my pants. 

What's important is that I made it. Now I've reached the plains.

Time to kill some slimes!

-----

I walked around the plains to search for slimes. It wasn't hard to find slimes. They were all bouncing around like every other fantasy slime. Inside their blobular body, a piece of grass floats like it's being displayed. I am sure that indicates that they're Grass Slimes, as requested by the quest I took. But to make sure, Celeste should confirm.

『Grass Slimes, dweller of The Great Plains』

『A beginner-level monster for adventurers』

Yep, Grass Slimes.

I walked over to one of the slimes. 

It wasn't an aggressive slime. It seems like no matter how close I got, it wouldn't attack unless I touched it. It's worth observing their movements before picking a fight.

The slimes bounced like jumping stress balls through the plains. Their bounces are slow, jumping and falling as if in slow motion. Every time they bounce, the grass inside their bodies turns to face the direction of the bounce. They take no time to eat or rest. Their only desire is to bounce around the plains without thought. Even the direction they bounce in has no pattern. Sometimes they'd crash into each other while bouncing.

I think that's enough information to go off of.

I summoned my mace and shield and prepared myself to strike. Picking the closest slime in my vicinity, I slowly approached it, holding my shield up in advance. With one great strike, I pounded the slime with my mace.

The slime exploded into two different mini slimes. I thought I'd killed the slime, but it still had some tricks up its sleeve. Before I could recover my mace, both slimes spat liquid in my direction.

I held up my shield in defense, blocking both shots from reaching my body. I retaliate by swinging my mace horizontally, hoping to hit both slimes in one sweep. The spikes definitely made catching these slimes easy.

As soon as the slimes hit my mace, they exploded into water. They were like sentient water balloons; it was not a bad fight. 

I thought beginner monsters would be boring to kill, but these slimes are really satisfying to purge. Finished with that slime, I moved on to the next.

Every time the spikes pierced a slime, they would explode like water balloons. It's both addicting and satisfying to kill these slimes. 

Sometimes their spit would hit me, but it seemed like they barely did any damage. 

『You have no health bar』

『You are alive as long as you are conscious』

『You will be dead when you get knocked out or lose consciousness in other ways』

Seems like Celeste had detected my questions before I even asked.

Killing slimes had never been so fun. They also spawn really fast. Every other minute, however many slimes I've killed pop back up out of the ground. It was so fun to pop these slimes!

I reached the quest threshold in no time, but I couldn't stop at that. I just kept killing more and more slimes until finally, after 20 minutes, I got bored of it.

By this point, I have probably killed 100 slimes. Well over the needed count.

"Well..." I said while wiping off my virtual sweat. "That was fun!"

I stored my weapons back. 

"So, Celeste, how do I get my reward?"

『Go back to The Town Hall and ask the receptionist on the second floor of the building』

"Alright."

I walked north to find an entrance to town. The atmosphere is really nice. The bright morning was accompanied by grass and blowing winds. I wish I was isekaied into this world. 

『Aren't you going to climb your way into The Plaza?』Celeste asked. 

"Well, there ain't any water there bud. I could die when I kiss that concrete ground with my butt."

『...』

Chapter 11: Quests?

The way to town wasn't too far away. There was a very long wall blocking my direct way to town. Even so, to the north, I could see that there was a big gate. People are walking in and out of it very casually. That's probably a gate to enter town.

It doesn't hurt to make sure of my assumptions. "Celeste, is that the entrance?"

『Yes. It is a gate that is always open to anyone in and out of town』

The gate was glowing a bright blue color. I assume this is to highlight the town's entrance for people walking outside of town. It was glowing so brightly that I couldn't even see what's on the other side of the gate. Not to say that I'd be able to see the other side from afar anyway. But it is worth mentioning since people seemed to just pop out of the gate every couple seconds.

As I got closer, however, the highlights slowly faded away. The once opaque entrance had become transparent, allowing me to see what was on the other side. The gate led to a wide street with a pathway made of stepping stones. People seemed to talk and trade with other people as they idly walked around.

A few minutes later, I finally reached the entrance gate.

The moment I entered the town, I was met with smells of different delights. There were smells of cooked fish; smells of fruits; I even smelled something very hotdog-y. It turns out the entrance was a centre of food for bypassing players and NPCs. I immediately thought of foodcourts. There were open stalls where people could sit down to eat and talk with others. It seems like a very popular place too. 

Passing that street, Celeste led me straight to The Fountain, where I then found my way back to The Town Hall.

I stepped into The Town Hall as I took out my quest paper. Walking up the second floor of the building, I soon found the receptionist that Celeste mentioned. 

The receptionist was a female NPC. She stood by her table expectantly. Her posture was straight, her hands placed behind the table where we could not see.

I walked up to the receptionist with the paper in my hand. "Hello. Do you give rewards for quests?" I said.

"Yes," she replied. "We only serve for quests that come in paper form. If you have the quest paper, then you can give us the paper as we check your completion. As soon as we've confirmed your completion, we will give you the rewards in exchange for the paper."

Celeste should note that down for my memory sake. If every NPC serves a different system, then I can't remember them all by myself.

『Noted』

I handed the paper over to the receptionist, my hands shaking as I thought about what rewards I'd get for the quest. The rewards weren't written on the piece of paper. It only said the name of the quest as well as the requirements to complete it. It would be really convenient if it also mentioned what rewards I'd get.

She held it close to her eyes and stared intently at the paper for a couple of seconds. She took quick glances in the process, which I assumed was to take in my completion rate for the quest.

After seconds passed, she stopped looking at my paper. She faced me with a face of dissatisfaction and said, "I'm sorry. This quest has already been claimed."

"What?" I questioned. "No, this came from the board. I just did the quest." I pointed downstairs at the quest board.

"This quest has been claimed a 2 months and 3 days ago by the adventurer 'Klause'. You cannot claim this quest as your own."

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"There's nothing I can do for you, adventurer." She took the paper and placed it inside the table's drawer. Finishing that, she stood in her original position with an idle expression, waiting for other adventurers.

Frustrated, I slammed the reception table and shouted, "Hey! You're not done with me! What do you mean someone else has completed the quest?!"

Yet the receptionist's expression was stale. She reacted to none of my shouting and complaining. She didn't even notice the slam. The audacity of this woman!

『You may stop complaining now』

"Celeste! Why isn't she giving me the rewards?!" 

『Allow me to explain, Hallowell』

『In this game, quests come in two different forms』

『The quest you 'did' is called a paper quest. These quests contain the most basic types of tasks. As you have seen, these can be hunting quests, fetch quests, or collection quests. Since most high-level quests of these forms involve a lot of monsters or items, these are designed to help you remember what you need to kill or collect』

『The other form of quest is called an emergent quest. These quests have vague requirements. There are multiple ways to finish these quests. Most of the time, these may lead to permanent effects on the NPCs or locations involved. You can even fail these quests. For example, the old man you met at The Fountain gave you an emergent quest. You could've failed that quest if you were too lazy to clean the place.』

『All quests are exclusive to their players. Quests can only be completed by one player in its lifetime. Most paper quests can be transferred to other players, though』

"Wait, so the quest I took has already been finished? But I took it from the quest board!"

『It is a common misconception in this world. Most NPCs and beginner players assume that the board contains ready-to-be-done quests that's free to take. In reality, the board is used to keep history of every completed paper quests ever registered by The Town Hall's receptionist』

"Wh—that's a stupid system!"

『Don't worry. Even an AI such as myself was fooled by the elusive quest board once』

I was grouching! What kind of stupid system is that? Who cares if some quest has been done by someone years ago?! That's why the damn board was so full in the first place!

As I was complaining internally, the receptionist suddenly walked out of her spot with my paper in her hands. I watched as she walked down the stairs towards the board of fake quests. With her magic, she pinned the piece of paper back on the board, ready to fool another beginner player.

"Ugh!" I've had enough of the stupid quest system. My steps shook the building as I walked down and out of this damn place!

"What was all that for? I committed genocide on the slimes for nothing." Flailing my arms in complaint.

『You had fun, didn't you?』 Celeste asked teasingly.

"Well... yeah, I guess..." I pouted.

Chapter 12: Recess

『It is 11 a.m. in your local time, Hallowell』

『Please take a break』

-----

I opened my eyes to a brighter morning. Well... more of an almost-noon by now. I've gotten used to the strange feeling of waking up. The weight on my body doesn't bother me as much anymore.

I still felt very frustrated by the quest system. Why would they put a quest board if they don't even function as one? It was so stupid!

It was all I could think about while taking a bathroom break. 

While resting my mind, I took a quick look at my phone for any notifications that might've been piling up. I didn't check it during the last break because I was a bit too focused on climbing the building. I hope there are some messages waiting for me. Honestly, playing the game for hours isn't really that fun without friends. I felt every second of that stupid quest. Well, the slime killing was fun, though.

Scrolling through my messages, it seems like there are more than a few people talking to me. 

A friend from the grade below me wants to play an online co-op game with me.

Another guy wants me to play a quick duel to settle our tie in an RPG.

And, of course, some guy from class is asking me for help on his stupid math question.

I've always had a conscience that makes me feel bad for not responding to people's pleas for help. Since they know I am good with that kind of stuff, I think they're asking me as their last hope. I hate becoming the reason they can't do their homework, so I always help them as soon as possible. Even then, I still don't enjoy giving help to people unless they're actually my close friends.

There goes my VR time. I don't have anything else to do today anyway. There's no harm in wasting my time on him.

I gave him an "OK" as I sat waiting for his questions. In the meantime, I might as well unplug my VR headset and turn off the game. I'm not so stressed about the electricity bills; I just don't want to overwork my headset for unnecessary reasons. It is a gift, after all.

There were a few minutes of silence. This is always the most frustrating part! They always wait a few minutes after I've accepted their plea before they actually ask the question. Do they even want my help? Just give the question already, man!

After an infuriating 10 minutes, they finally answered. Giving me their question as I guided them through the process. I don't ever like giving my answer straight to them. They have to work for it so that they'll understand. Worst-case scenario, they still can't do it after an hour. In that case, I'll just give them my answer directly.

It did take the man an hour to understand my guidance. By this point, the other 2 chat messages have probably passed their expiration date. This is exactly why I hate helping people.

Well, whatever.

I can just eat lunch and go back to playing games.

-----

A quick instant noodle later, I've finally filled my hunger. It's time to go back in game.

As I went to my PC and scrubbed my catalog, I got a message notification.

It was from none other than Star. 

『Boshi : I have an hour, lets play 』

As a master baker, she gets an hour of break at 1 p.m. from her parents. She's supposed to eat and rest during that time period. Sometimes though, she does waste it by playing games with me, skipping her lunch in the process.

It is kind of her to waste some time with me. I always tell her to eat her lunch instead, but she usually opts to game with me and eat lunch at the same time. She's very persistent when it comes to decisions. I don't know if it is out of kindness or just the lust for dopamine, but I appreciate it.

『Hallowell : What do you wanna play』

『Boshi : The game I bought u yesterday』

『Hallowell : Again?』

『Boshi : Yea』

『Hallowell : What about your lunch?』

『Hallowell : ???』

I think she has gone ahead and logged in before me. Well, it's no use wasting my time then. I still need to get back to her in the market.

I plugged the VR headset back in. Turning on the game, I logged in as quick as I can.

-----

『Welcome back, Hallowell』

Celeste sounded a little happy when I logged in. It's kind of creepy when she sounds like a real person. It is uncanny.

In any case, I spawned back in front of The Town Hall. I need to meet Star back in the market, which shouldn't be too far from where I stand.

I ran as fast as I could to reach Star.

『You seem like you're in a rush』

"Yeah? Well, you can read my mind, so you don't need to ask why."

『...』

Through the gate, the streets, the sea of people. Around The Fountain perimeter towards the bank building. I rushed my way to reach Star as fast as possible. My feet hurt as the jagged rocks on the ground scrapped them. It wasn't a pleasant run, but I don't want to waste my time with Star.

Finally, I've reached the puzzling street. I closed my eyes as I ran through the emptiness towards the market. 

Bang!

In my rush, I had once again crashed onto the same pole as last time. To be fair to myself, I still had my eyes closed. I didn't know whether or not there was a lamp pole in front of me.

As I sat disoriented from the crash, I heard a voice call to me. "You alright?"

It was Sta—Boshi. Her twin tails as cute as ever, looking over me. "Seems like you've kissed the pole again." She was smirking with the biggest grin I've ever seen in a VR game.

"W—well... I didn't want you to wait. You only have an hour after all." I stood up, brushing off the virtual dust on my pants.

"Hmmm... How kind of you."

"Anyways! What about your meal? Have you not had your lunch?"

"I took a few bites of the cupcakes in secret." She said, shrugging casually.

"Of course you did."

Chapter 13: (Incomplete)

"So... you wanna do a quest or something?" Star twiddled her fingers as she waited for my response.

Since I've learned that quests were rare (the hard way), I'd rather not do quests with her. Instead, I suggested something a bit more mundane. "How about we go explore town? Maybe kill some mobs along the way."

"Ehh?? That's no fun! I wanna do quests! How are we gonna get money if we don't do quests? Also, it's an MMORPG dude! Why are we exploring instead of doing quests??" She had quite the tone against me.

I agree with her. I strongly agree with her! Why are quests even rare?! It's a stupid damn system! But I can't really do anything about it. Besides, "We could still have fun you know. What do you think I was doing in this game before now?"

"Uhh, I don't know?"

"I was running around with Celeste, doing nothing meaningful. The most fun I had was climbing a building to get to some stupid slimes, and killing those slimes of course."

"Hmm..."

She heads into her thoughts for a moment. She seemed disappointed by what I said. Well, she's the one who suggested this game so... And we barely have 40 minutes left. I don't think she'd refuse my suggestion.

"Fine."

See?

-----

Since it was her first time going out of the market, I held her hands as we walked through the puzzling street. There was a sea of people outside; I wouldn't want to lose her there.

She seemed quite nervous about it. I heard that apparently holding people's hands is normal for romances in Japanese comics. Since she's such a weeb, she's probably into that kind of stuff. I don't see the problem though; we are in VR after all.

"Alright, Star. So which way do you wanna go—"

Star forcefully let go of my hands. She let out a quick gasp that alarmed me. When I turned to see her, her hands were covering her ears. She was looking down, her eyes on the verge of tears. She was breathing in and out so rapidly, as if out of breath.

She seemed like she was in a lot of pain. I was worried for her. "Whoa whoa, what's wrong!?" I asked. I quickly got closer to her to see what happened.

She flinched at every word I had spoken. It was as if my words caused her pain. She dropped to her knees still covering her ears.

"S...stop..." She mumbled. She started crying as that word fell out of her mouth.

Why is she crying? What did I do to her? I swear I didn't do anything! Why does she look like she's hurt?! Those thoughts ran over me as I saw her crying right in front of me.

『It must be her Golden Ears skill; the one she got when you first met』

"Wh—"

『Do not speak so loudly』

『She's very sensitive to your voice. It could be so loud that it's hurting her』

『If you have any more questions, just think it』

But she wasn't in pain while we were in the market! What happened? The moment I talked outside, she suddenly collapsed!

『There's probably an activation involved』

『It somehow activated while you were asking her where to go』

Star had slowly calmed down as I spoke with Celeste. She uncovered her ears and wiped her tears off. She still seemed out of breath even as she brought herself together.

"I'm... I'm sorry." She said. "I just... your voice suddenly became louder."

I have never seen Star unable to utter her words. She's never been this hurt in front of me. I didn't know what to say to her. I covered my mouth to prevent myself from subconsciously speaking.

"D—don't worry!" She awkwardly grinned. "It goes away after while! You don't need to worry about it!" Her cheerfulness had leaked back into her. 

Although she seemed fine, I didn't know how to reply. Is she okay? Is she still hurt? Is it because of me? 

I really wanted to ask her if she was okay. I didn't know how to ask her without saying it. But I didn't want to hurt her. I don't know what to do. I looked around to see what tools I could use to tell her my message. Yet my hand instinctively moved to her cheeks. 

Without saying a word, I looked at her, hoping she'd understand what I was asking.

Gasp!

She gasped when my hands touched her cheeks. She instantly pushed my hand off with her hands. Her face flushed red as she noticed what I did. 

"Hey! Cut that out!"

(The rest of the story unfinished)

 -----