Dimension Beta

The next day, Tom checked his private messages first thing in the morning. To his surprise, five more people had reached out, all interested in buying potions. One even asked if it would be possible to buy two or three batches.

Without wasting any time, Tom logged into Beta and headed straight to Pech's alchemy shop. When he arrived, the shop was still closed, and the door was locked tight.

He circled to the back of the shop, finding an old, rickety wooden door. To his surprise, the key was still in the lock.

Turning it slowly, Tom opened the door and stepped inside. What he saw made his blood run cold: Pech was sprawled on the floor, lying in a puddle of red liquid. Green glass shards were scattered everywhere.

A young woman, dressed in simple clothing, stood over him, silently dragging him by the foot toward an unknown destination.

I need to get the hell out of here! Tom thought, his instincts kicking in. He tried to bolt back through the door, but the woman moved faster than expected.

She lunged in front of him, blocking the exit.

Left with no other option, Tom dropped into his combat stance, fists clenched, and tried to break past her defense. He launched punch after punch, even managing to grab a bottle from the counter and smash it against her head with all his strength.

Tom expected the hit to stun her, giving him a chance to escape, but she remained unfazed.

What confused him most was that she hadn't attacked back. All she did was stand her ground, keeping him from leaving.

"Let me go!" he yelled, hoping to get some kind of reaction.

She didn't budge, didn't even speak.

Backing away, Tom found himself near Pech's body. Slowly, he leaned down to check if the man was still breathing. As he got closer, an awful stench hit his nose, like rotting fruit and spoiled wine.

Tom saw that Pech was, in fact, still alive. His chest rose and fell, and with every exhale, the putrid smell grew worse.

He reached out to touch the red liquid on the floor, realizing it wasn't blood at all… it was wine.

Finally, it clicked. The old fraud had simply gotten drunk, fallen over, and smashed a bottle of wine in the process.

Tom felt ridiculous.

The young woman walked over and grabbed one of Pech's legs, glancing at Tom as if to say, Get the other one.

Understanding her unspoken command, Tom grabbed Pech's other leg. Together, they dragged him into the back room, where the woman stripped him down to his undershirt and cleaned him up.

What surprised Tom most wasn't the absurdity of the situation but the state of Pech's body. Despite his face looking like that of an old man, his physique was more like someone in their prime. The only thing stranger than his youthful body was the purple splotches spread across his skin, as though he'd been poisoned.

Lost in thought, Tom didn't notice Pech stirring until he began to move. The first thing Pech did was stumble to a nearby bucket and vomit what seemed like an impossible amount of food and drink.

Tom hadn't realized a human stomach could hold so much until now.

The woman handed Pech a fresh robe, helping him put it on with practiced ease. She also handed him a vial filled with a glowing liquid. Before Tom could ask what it was, Pech downed it in one gulp and turned to him.

"What do you want?" Pech asked, his voice groggy and irritable.

Tom blinked, confused. "I'm here about the quest. Yesterday, you said I could…"

"No, no," Pech interrupted. "I mean, what are you doing here so early? Can't an old man sleep off his hangover in peace?"

Tom thought about asking if a man his age should even be drinking that much but decided against it. "It's already past 10," he replied instead.

Pech ignored him. "Ah, screw it. My head feels like it got kicked by a horse."

The young woman suddenly spoke. "Should I go find the horse, Master?"

"Hell no! It's a metaphor, you dolt. Forget it."

With a groan, he waved Tom off. "Here. Take your quest."

A familiar prompt appeared in front of Tom:

[Pech's Repeatable Quest]

Find customers for Pech's shop and earn gold as a reward.

Reward 1: 300 gold for each customer who spends at least 3,000 gold (max: 3 customers per day).

Reward 2: 50 favorability per customer.

Note: The shop opens today at 12 PM!

Tom smirked at the last line and turned to leave, but then he remembered something. "Mr. Pech, I need more samples."

"Yeah, yeah, come back at noon, and I'll give you some," Pech grumbled.

"But I… oh, never mind," Tom sighed dramatically. "I was sure I could get six or more customers today, but if you're not interested, we can just drop it."

"Six customers?!" Pech yelled, suddenly snapping to attention. He jumped to his feet, seemingly sober. "Wait here, kid. I'll be ready in half an hour… no, twenty minutes!"

Tom's bluff had worked. He sat down to wait, watching as the young woman stood behind the counter, completely motionless.

"Hey," Tom tried making conversation. "You called him 'Master' earlier. How long have you been learning under him?"

She didn't reply.

Awkwardly, Tom fell silent and waited for Pech.

True to his word, Pech returned 20 minutes later with a sack of 100 samples. Tom glanced inside and said, "I'm probably gonna need 200 to lock in six customers."

Pech looked irritated but handed over another 100 without much fuss. "You'd better not waste these, kid," he warned.

Tom grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, Mr. Pech."

With that, he left the shop and contacted the people he'd spoken to on the forum. Thankfully, the game's communication system allowed him to message players even while logged in. He gave each of his potential buyers a location to meet him.

Over the next three hours, all five customers arrived, one by one, to collect their 30 samples each. The last buyer was the one who had asked about purchasing multiple batches. Tom promised to have more potions available tomorrow and said that he could only give him 2 batches today.

The customer reluctantly agreed and left.

Tom returned to Pech's shop to claim his reward.

Pech was standing at the counter, grinning as he counted a pile of gold coins. When he saw Tom, he waved him over.

"Well done, kid. Here's your cut, 1,500 gold, as promised."

A notification appeared, confirming that the quest was complete.

"How about finding me more customers?" Pech asked eagerly.

"Shouldn't it be 1,800 gold? After all, they bought six crates of your potions," Tom asked, confused.

Pech shrugged casually, as if the missing 300 gold were completely out of his hands. "It's 300 gold per customer. One of them may have bought two crates, but it's still the same customer."

Tom realized where he had gone wrong in his assumptions. He decided not to press the matter further and simply nodded, accepting the explanation.

"Fine," he said, pocketing the 1,500 gold and making a mental note to be more careful next time.

"Not today. I've got other things to do," Tom replied.

A -5 favorability message appeared above Pech's head, but Tom didn't care anymore about keeping him happy.

"I'll be back tomorrow to bring more customers," he added.

Hearing that, Pech brightened up again and let the matter drop.

Tom left the shop, heading toward Pablo. With almost 3000 gold in his pocket, he was eager to get himself some proper equipment.

As Tom entered the tavern, he noticed everything had been renovated. No more broken tables, repaired benches, and even the hole in the wall was patched up like it had never existed.

Suddenly, a heavy hand clapped him on the shoulder. "You're early, boy," Pablo said.

"Good day, Pablo. I'm here to ask a few questions about my new class," Tom replied, looking up at him.

"Sure thing. Come on, sit at the counter, and I'll get you something to drink. I've got a surprise for you, too!"

Pablo poured Tom his usual juice and grabbed a beer for himself.

"First things first. What's your question?" Pablo said, taking a swig from his mug.

"I wanted to know what kind of armor I should buy. Do we wear cloth, leather, or maybe even plate?" Tom asked.

He figured plate was unlikely, but he couldn't completely rule it out.

"Hmmm... what a coincidence," Pablo said with a grin.

He bent down, pulling out a roughly wrapped crate, and shoved it in Tom's direction. "Come on, open it!" he said, his grin widening.

When Tom opened the package, he was a little confused. Isn't this the wolf pelt I gave Pablo? he wondered.

But as he pulled it out, he noticed the difference immediately. The wolf pelt had been crafted into a sleeveless vest, lined with soft fabric on the inside.

Tom slipped it on. It was a little big at first, but within moments, it adjusted to fit his frame perfectly. Tom had heard of gear that could adapt to its wearer's size, but this was the first time he'd experienced it himself.

He inspected the vest and saw its stats for the first time:

[Uncommon Wolf Vest]

+20 ArmorWeight: 0.7 kg

The stats weren't particularly impressive, Tom thought. He knew that armor gained more bonuses as its rarity increased.

Common armor offered no bonuses other than not being naked.

Uncommon armor provided a basic defense boost.

Rare armor often included one special effect.

Epic armor could have multiple effects.

Legendary armor... well, that was a mystery. Little information about it existed, and while some screenshots floated around the internet, nobody knew for sure if they were authentic.

Tom didn't concern himself with legendary or even epic armor. It was unlikely he'd ever see anything like that.

"How do you like it?" Pablo asked, clearly eager for Tom's reaction.

"It's awesome! Thank you, big brother!"

"Hahaha, that makes me happy," Pablo said, ruffling Tom's hair.

"To answer your earlier question," Pablo continued, "we Brawlers aren't tied to any particular armor type. But keep in mind, we only put one-fifth of our stat points into agility. If you wear heavy armor, it'll drag you down even further.

"That's why light or leather armor is best for us."

He gestured to the vest Tom was wearing. "That vest is actually part of a set crafted by one of my old comrades. If you bring me a few more pelts and some leather, I can make the rest for you."

"Really, big brother?"

"Hahaha, of course!"

Tom drained his juice and bolted out the door. "I'll get the pelts!" he shouted back, already running.

Pablo called after him, "Just make sure you're back before 6 PM! I've got some work for you!"

Tom paused briefly, then waved as he ran off again. "Okay, see you later!" he yelled over his shoulder.