Haven Online

Chapter 18: Giant bugs again?*

Putting the fishing rod into his spatial inventory, Xinya thought about what he should do next. He had already gotten all the cooking skills he needed and, just now, he had gotten the fishing skill, the only thing left for him to do was to get the skills that were related to potion-making. In the beginner town, there wasn't an Apothecary but instead, there was a woman who lived in an old house in these woods where Xinya currently was.

In the woods were different herb patches scattered around and, usually, the woman could be found in the forest, collecting them. If players were interested enough to listen to the town's gossip, they would hear the woman being called a descendant of a powerful healer. Her presence matched those rumors remarkably well, for she had a godly aura and had helped heal countless villagers with her potions.

Many male players, in the future, would seek her out and try to gain favor with her to ascend past just mere friendship because, in this game, a player could actually date an NPC if they wanted to and, if a player was of age and willing to marry an NPC, they could do more. Only a few people ever ventured that far though, their reason being if they couldn't get a real girl an NPC will do.

Xinya walked through the woods, intent on finding the woman. After wandering around for an hour, and getting lost for a moment, Xinya finally stumbled upon her. She wore a white robe while carrying a wicker basket, filled to the brim with herbs. At the moment she was kneeling, examining a freshly picked herb in her hands.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Xinya said, startling her from her observing the herb in her hand.  When she looked up at him, he saw that she was as lovely as people reported, but the more he looked at her, the more his skin crawled. So much so that he had to look away.

Standing up, the woman brushed off her robe, "How may I help you, young man?"

"I saw that you were gathering different herbs and was wondering what you were doing?" Xinya asked, even though he already knew.

To get what you want from NPCs a player must never be too straightforward, only asking in a roundabout way, can get one a quest. The NPC's are highly intelligent and any two quests will never be the same. 

For example, although the cooking skill quest started with a crying little boy, there were so many different directions it could have gone. One player even said that he had to make a grand meal for the mayor of the town. So even if most quests started the same and gave the same rewards the middle and the end would always be different.

"I was collecting herbs for potion making." the woman said while looking at the herb in her hand in disappointment. "Sadly, I can't find usable ones in the woods, it seems the woods have become infected with parasitic bugs who use the herbs as their food source.

"Do you need some help in getting rid of them?" Xinya asked.

"Why would you want to help me? We've just met." The woman asked curiously.

Looking down and pretending to be sheepish, Xinya said, "Well, I always had an interest in potion making and was wondering if you could give me some pointers?"

"Very well, if you help me in getting rid of those insects, I will teach you the basics." The woman replied with a kind smile.

Quest has been created. A mysterious young woman wants you to exterminate the insects in the wood so they won't contaminate the herbs for her potion-making. Kill 20 Insects.

Reward: 200 exp 150 bronze coins

Learn: Potion Making & Herbalism

"I won't let you down. I will get rid of all them for you," Xinya replied.

The woman gave Xinya a map, showing him where the bugs hive was located, and also two potions. One was called Benzo Apyrene, it was a potion that was able to smoke out the insects from within the hive, so he could kill them. Xinya thought that it was nice to look at, it was a glass bottle with smoke swirling within. The other potion was called Organophosphate. The woman told Xinya to spray it on the hive and around the area after he dealt with the insects. That way, no other insect would think about trying to come into the woods.

Xinya followed the map until he arrived at this giant, cone-shaped hive. It was golden in color and, all around it a gooey substance coated its walls. There was a large hole in the middle of the cone, opening it up to what felt like a cave, but Xinya guessed there was probably a tunnel situation going on in there.

Taking out his weapons, and the armor that he had gotten from his battle with the spider, now he was ready to go. Xinya sneakily walked up to the hive's entrance and threw the smoke potion inside. The woman said it would take about a minute for it to take effect. So, while he waited, Xinya got into a battle stance. Not a minute later, the first insect came out, and it was the size of a dog.

"Urg, what is it with all these giant bugs, do people like fighting them or something?" Xinya said grumpily as he started slashing at it.