Ethan made his way towards the spot where the quest was said to be encountered. The location was said to be behind the town, well, not behind per-se, but past all the houses where the buildings gave way to scrubland and scattered treed.
The quest giver was supposed to be a merchant named Aldric Moss. In the game, he was just a generic NPC with a single simple dialogue tree, or so it was said. The quest's backstory was a simple and tragic one. His son had been murdered by the mayor's son, but the mayor had covered it up. Aldric sought revenge but was powerless to dish it out himself, so that was where the player came in!
The quest was meant to be straightforward – Kill the mayor's son.
The problem however, was the fact that the mayor's son was a level 13 mage, far beyond what players who had just started the game could handle. Even worse, he was usually protected by a level 15 bodyguard.
In the game, if the players knew of this quest before hand, it would be very possible to prepare for it with serious grinding before the day reached, but no one had knowledge of it. The few who did the quest only stumbled on it, nothing past pure luck.
Anyway, as for the target, the crucial detail that helped the only player who killed him was this—the mayor's son, Corvin, had a lover. She was a commoner girl he'd sneak out to meet occasionally, and on the third day after the quest was accepted, he would leave his protection behind, wear casual clothes instead of his mage robes, and wouldn't carry his casting staff.
Of course, it was clear the one who succeeded in this quest had proper background in detective games or something, since he was the only one who didn't rush in and actually tried to see if the game would give him clues on how to carryout the quest, which he did… God bless his heart!
Well, the crucial detail in all this was the simple fact that leaving behind his casting staff, Corvin was doomed. Without the staff, a mage who had yet to reach Journeyman rank in casting mastery couldn't use spells, they relied on the casting staff. This meant that Corvin would be defenseless against an attacker… hoping his stats were mage heavy of course, that part wasn't clear, but Ethan could only hope.
Anyway, the timing had to be perfect on his end. Accept the quest that night, then wait three days and strike.
While walking past the last buildings, he soon came before the spot where the merchant was said to be at. It was a small clearing behind an old wooden warehouse, far enough from the main town that people rarely ventured here after dark, and there, sitting on a barrel with a half-empty bottle of probably something alcoholic, was a middle-aged man with the look of someone who'd given up on life.
He approached slowly—this was the part he wasn't sure about. Apparently, you just had to walk up and select the dialogue option: "How may I help you?"
But this was real now. The man in front of him was a real person with real grief. Just asking "how may I help you?" might not work. It might sound dismissive, or suspicious and weird, or—
'Arrrrg, just try it,' Ethan told himself.
He stopped a few feet away from the merchant. The man didn't even look up.
Gathering air in his lungs, he asked, "how may I help you?"
For some seconds, Aldric didn't respond, and Ethan almost started berating himself, but then Aldric snorted bitterly and took another swig from his bottle. "Help me? Nobody can help me, boy. Go away."
Ethan's heart both leaped for joy and sank. He answered, but this dialogue certainly wasn't working.
He mustered his courage. Even if he wasn't an introvert, he seldom conversed with people face to face, so he still needed to bring himself to do it while really thinking about his responses.
"I mean it," Ethan said, keeping his voice steady. "You look like a man with a burden. Sometimes sharing it helps." He said. He wasn't sure how that came out, but at least he got ti out, and that was what mattered.
Swirling the bottle in his hand, in a melancholic motion, "Sharing it?" Aldric laughed, a harsh sound with no humor in it. "What good will talking do? Will it bring back my son? Will it put that bastard in the ground where he belongs?"
Just then, Ethan felt something click. This was the quest hook!
"You never know… What happened to your son?" he asked quietly.
Aldric finally looked up, his eyes red-rimmed and full of pain. For a long moment, he just stared at Ethan, as if trying to decide whether this stranger was worth trusting.
Then, slowly, the story came out.
His son, Marcus, had been a good boy, worked as an apprentice at the carpenter's shop, saved his money, never caused trouble. One day, he'd accidentally bumped into the mayor's son in the market, spilled wine on his expensive robes.
Corvin, the mayor's son, had been furious. He'd demanded an apology, which Marcus had immediately given, but it wasn't enough. That night, Marcus was found dead in an alley. Officially ruled an "accident."
But Aldric knew better. He'd seen the burns on his son's body, where would the fire come from in such a place? Only a mage could have done that, and there was only one mage in town arrogant and cruel enough to murder someone over spilled wine.
"The mayor covered it up," Aldric said, his voice breaking. "His own son, a murderer, and he just… covered it up. Said it was an accident. Paid off the guards. And I… I'm just an old merchant. No money, no power, no way to get justice."
He looked at Ethan with something desperate and broken in his eyes.
"So no, boy. You can't help me. Unless you're willing to do what I can't. Unless you're willing to put a blade in that bastard's throat and give me the justice the law won't."
A translucent blue window materialized in front of Ethan's eyes:
..
[QUEST RECEIVED: A Father's Revenge]
Aldric Moss seeks vengeance for his murdered son. Kill Corvin, the mayor's son, and bring proof of his death.
Difficulty: Very Hard
Time Limit: 7 days
Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: None
Accept? [Yes] [No]
..
Seeing the quest pop-up, Ethan didn't hesitate and selected yes!
Aldric's expression shifted immediately to one of surprise, then something like hope mixed with horror. "You... you'll actually do it?"
"I will," Ethan said. "But I need time to plan. Meet me here in three days, same time. I'll bring you proof."
"Three days," Aldric repeated numbly. "I've waited this long. Three more days won't kill me." He looked at Ethan with an intensity that was almost frightening. "But if you fail, if you try and he catches you, don't mention my name."
"I won't fail," Ethan said, with more happiness than confidence.