Never Go Off-Script

Chapter 5 - Archer's POV

I realized I probably should have just let the trader keep the arrows; he could have used them as a weapon if something bad happened. I mean, yeah, they're pretty useless without a bow, but it would have been better than nothing.

My shoulders slumped as I rode into the village atop my wimpy steed. If something happened to that trader, it would be my fault. Should I go after him? No, that would be weird — especially since I couldn't use the excuse of a trade. He had nothing to offer anymore, now that I'd bought everything off of him... 

Whatever, it's not like something terrible was bound to happen to him. Why would anyone attack an innocent, puppy-dog-eyed trader?

Still, my stupid anxieties wouldn't shut up as I pulled my horse to a stop at the town center. I tried to reassure myself that the path the trader took was a popular route; many people traveled on it every day, heroes included. If he needed help, someone would be there to assist him. Not that some rando wannabe hero could do a better job of protecting him than I could...

I had to verbally shut up my thoughts with a forceful, "Shh!" as I stepped up to the bulletin board in front of the Info Center building, groaning irritably as the NPC standing next to it greeted me.

"Greetings, traveler! Welcome to the town center! Here, we help ambitious travelers with quests, events, and ranks! So, how can I help you, brave adventurer?"

I half-listened to the NPC's high-pitched voice, having learned that trying to interrupt them was pointless — it only made them restart their lines from the beginning. "I need a quest," I said bluntly when it'd finally finished.

"A quest, you say? Well, brave adventurer, you've come to the right place! I have new quests every day" — that's a lie; you have to complete a quest first before new ones come in — "and none of them are quite the same!" — another lie. they're all pretty much the same: find antagonist, defeat antagonist, collect reward — "But be careful, some quests aren't for the faint of heart!" That part's true.

The NPC then held up the large scroll that listed the quests, and I looked them over, mainly focusing on the difficulty ratings in the stats. I needed something challenging to help take my mind off the nonsense that stupid dragon force-fed me.

I chose the quest that sounded the most difficult — something about finding the whereabouts of a long-lost "Lyfe stone" — and the NPC jumped into the warnings. 

"This quest is a Difficulty Level Five! That's the highest level of difficulty there is! Are you sure you're up to the challenge?"

"Yes," I responded, deadpan.

"You've got a heart of steel, o' great adventurer! Here's a token of gratitude for your courage!"

My XP suddenly went up by fifty, and I couldn't help but smirk — the higher the difficulty, the bigger the rewards, even for just accepting the quest. I learned from experience that you only gain as much XP as the difficulty level — the Level One's give you ten XP, Level Two's give you twenty, and so on. And the more XP you earn, the higher your ranking gets, and with a higher ranking comes proof that you're better than everyone ranked below you.

The NPC handed me the quest scroll, which was filled with all the information I'd need before starting the quest. Then, it squeaked, "Best of luck! I look forward to sending you off on your next exciting adventure!"

The NPC stood there waving stupidly as I walked away, quest scroll in hand. "What a waste of time," I muttered, trying to banish the NPC's squealing voice from my memory. It kept ringing annoyingly in my ears. 

Hopping back on my horse, I skimmed the quest instructions, searching for the starting point. I'd just read more into the details once I got to where the journey began, which appeared to be —