The trio all hit yes on the notification. They had been expecting something of the sort ever since they engaged the man. Once again, this whole notification and floating screen business was one of the topics that could be freely discussed, and everyone coming into the dungeon more or less knew to expect it. As a result, what followed was still somewhat surprising to them, but not unexpected. It was more the shock of discovering what they had been told to be true and the shock of a new experience than the shock of genuine surprise, being caught off guard by something unexpected.
?? Crystal Notice ??
You have accepted a Quest!
If you would like to see the Quest details, simply think or will for the System Menu.
??
Additionally, they have earned a new achievement.
?? Crystal Notice ??
Achievement Acquired: Questing Time!
Description: Accept your first quest.
??
So far, no one had discovered what the achievements did, and there was a blockage on information as to how to get most of them, but not about the fact that you could get them. As for the menu situation, well, that was something everyone could be informed about, and the three friends opened their menus simultaneously and, yet again, were amazed that it worked.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? System Menu ??
Quests.
Achievements.
Party.
??
The menu was a simple thing, and everyone knew what it all did by now. Quests gave details about the active or completed quests.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Quest Menu ??
Active Quests: 1.
Speak with the Alchemist.
Completed Quests: 0.
??
Achievements simply showed someone's accomplishments. It wasn’t much, but many people liked the sense of progression it gave, along with the quest menu.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Achievements ??
Achievements: 2.
Forest of Beginnings.
Questing Time!
??
Finally, the party option allowed people to have parties, which sometimes allowed them to share quests. Still, more importantly, it allowed groups to participate in certain events together or share progress with certain quests or events.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Party Menu ??
Create Party.
??
Seeing the menu, Alexion quickly hit Create Party, which prompted him to invite people. To invite people, he had to look at them, and from the information he somehow innately knew, he could will for an invite to be sent or think of the person he wanted to invite by name. Of course, seeing the surprised faces on his two friends told him it had worked.
?? Crystal Notice ??
Alexion Storm has invited you to a Party. Would you like to accept?
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Yes or No.
??
It didn’t take long for his two friends to accept, and his party menu was quickly updated.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Party Menu ??
Alexion’s Party -
Number of Party Members: 3.
Alexion Storm.
Arctur Boltuz.
Adriana Tearwave.
Disband Party.
Send Invite.
Kick Party Member.
??
With the party created, the next thing they were curious to investigate properly was the quest details. The prospect of having a mission easily explained to them intrigued them, and they quickly tapped on the name of the quest they were given.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Quest Details??
Name: Speak with the Alchemist.
Description: After speaking with a citizen of Typic Town and offering your service to the town’s folk, you have received a quest to help the local alchemist with their work. Follow the arrow in your vision to find the alchemist and see what they may need help with.
Reward: A Quest.
??
The trio had noticed the small arrow that had appeared on the ground in front of them. The arrow moved, pointing in a different direction depending on the direction they were looking. Of course, that was yet another thing they were briefed on but had trouble believing.
Regarding the quest details themselves, there was nothing surprising about them, and what they needed to do was clearly spelled out. Not that it would always be like that, and as far as they had been told, things would change from quest to quest.
Following the arrow, the party arrived at the alchemist's shop, and it turned out they didn’t need the arrow. The shop was the same alchemist shop they had visited earlier.
The Misty Mushroom was a quaint little shop owned by a kind gnome lady named Misty. The party didn’t stay with Misty for long, and after gaining their new quest, they quickly left her shop to go and complete it. Of course, they also checked their new notifications, which could be muted or set aside with a simple mental nudge. Apparently, they were also naturally suppressed during combat, which was one less thing the trio had to worry about.
The first notification was about their quest completion.
?? Crystal Notice ??
Congratulations! You have completed the Quest: Speak with the Alchemist.
??
They all felt like the notification was pointless since they knew they had completed it, so they would probably ignore most future ones. As for the other notification involving their completed quest, well, that one was nice to see. The trio wasn’t sure why one notification about progression was annoying to see, but another was so nice to get.
?? Crystal Notice ??
Achievement Acquired: One Among Many.
Description: Complete your first Quest.
??
The last thing the trio did before setting off into the forest was check their new quest details.
?? Quest Details??
Name: Collecting Sun Daisies.
Description: Upon speaking with Misty the Alchemist, you have been given a new quest. You must now head into the nearby forest in order to find and collect Sun Daisies. Misty requires the daisies for a simple concoction that helps appease the effects of certain common and weak magical sicknesses.
Reward: A Quest.
??
Seeing the reward, they weren’t sure what to expect, as they thought they would receive an item or something. However, to be fair, Misty hadn’t said anything about a reward, and they had offered to help, so maybe this was the result of that. Also, they did know that sometimes quest givers didn’t give rewards themselves, but instead, the item simply appeared. Of course, the people in town didn’t fully acknowledge this when questioned and just accepted it as a fact of reality.
The Typic Town Zone, as the dungeon called it, because no one was sure who Dan was, though assumptions had been made. Mainly, the assumptions of a new god, The God of Dungeons, even if the rest of the gods denied it. Anyway, the zone in which the town was located was the one area that people knew the most about, since information about it was not heavily censored. The primary reason for this was that the area was intended to serve as a proper training ground for individuals to achieve D Rank. So, whatever had created the dungeon had ensured that everyone knew of the various dangers within the zone, or rather, the lack thereof.
To that end, the trio was already disappointed as they walked through the southeastern corner gate. One of the reasons they had come to the dungeon was to find a good challenge, and because it was really a great place for starting adventurers. All three had powerful parents and had traveled around at one point or another. They had been trained in combat and other areas all the way up to the point where normal methods weren’t enough to advance.
Upon reaching that point and having met through their parents, the trio had formed an adventuring party to experience the world for themselves. From there, they had adventured for a year or two before the dungeon mess came about. Of course, their parents, being who they were, got a scoop of what it was all about before most and decided it was best for them to experience the dungeon.
Apparently, some lessons learned in the real world would be very traumatizing, and from what the trio had been told, the dungeon was a place to experience certain aspects of life in a more controlled environment. Naturally, there was the chance of dying, but knowing who their kids were, all of their parents agreed the dungeon wouldn’t be an issue.
The problem with that was that even if the entire place was very intriguing, the trio really wanted a challenge. Sadly, that wasn’t something they would find within the Typic Town Zone, but at the same time, they would rather take things slow in case they were underestimating the dungeon and overestimating themselves. Thankfully, their party held hope that even if they trumped the monsters in the nearby forest, there would be more unique and powerful challenges ahead. Although, to be fair, they already knew there were, just not what they were.
There were certain areas within the dungeon that were already being talked about by the people who explored the dungeon. However, no one knew the specifics due to the information censorship. What couldn't be censored were straight-up warnings for those on the weaker end to avoid said areas. Still, it was all good since if anyone did the dungeon in the manner recommended to new rankers, there shouldn’t be much for them to fear.
In that regard, the trio planned to follow this plan, not because they were weak but because they wanted to experience the entire dungeon while slowly building up to the good parts.
