He reviewed the quest mechanics one final time as he made his way to the location behind the town, past the last row of houses where the buildings gave way to scrubland and scattered trees.
The quest giver was a merchant named Aldric Moss. In the game, he'd been a generic NPC with a single dialogue tree. His backstory was tragic but simple: his son had been murdered by the mayor's son, but the mayor had covered it up. Aldric wanted revenge but was powerless to get it himself.
The quest was straightforward: kill the mayor's son.
The problem was that the mayor's son, a young mage named Corvin, was level 13—far beyond what a new player could handle. Even worse, he was usually protected by a level 15 bodyguard.
But—and this was the crucial detail—Corvin had a lover. A commoner girl he'd sneak out to visit, and on the third day after the quest was accepted, he'd leave his protection behind, wear casual clothes instead of his mage robes, and wouldn't carry his casting staff.
Without his staff, a mage who hadn't reached Journeyman rank in casting mastery couldn't use spells. Corvin would essentially be defenseless—or at least as defenseless as a level 13 character could be against a level 0 attacker.
The timing had to be perfect.
Accept the quest tonight.
Wait three days.
Strike when Corvin was vulnerable.
Yamamoto found the spot easily—a 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.
Yamamoto approached slowly—this was the part he wasn't sure about. In the game, you just walked up and selected 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, or—
'Just try it,' Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto 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."
Yamamoto'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," Yamamoto 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 it did, and that was what mattered.
"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, Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto, 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 Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto'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]
..
Yamamoto didn't hesitate and selected yes.
Aldric's expression shifted—surprise, then something like hope mixed with horror. "You... you'll actually do it?"
"I will," Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto 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," Yamamoto said, with more confidence than he felt.
He left Aldric there in the darkness and made his way back to the Copper Mug.
Three days... He had three days to prepare for the most important moment since he'd arrived in this world.
Three days to complete his first quest.