Ch.1Starting Village Potion Shop NPC

NPCs are crucial elements in games.

They bring the game world to life through interaction, give quests, and sometimes even participate in battles.

Some NPCs gain popularity as named characters, like capital city shop owners, guild masters, or kings of nations.

However, not all NPCs are like that.

Some NPCs don’t participate in the game’s story and have no special abilities or skills.

They’re just like kiosks that always exist in the same place for one-time events.

The potion shop NPC in the Starting Village is exactly like that.

Just standing there blankly, selling a few small Healing Potions with 50 recovery power at cheap prices to users who are just starting their journey.

No meaningful interaction, just repeating the same lines.

Treated like a vending machine for getting tutorial start packs.

Jack, the Starting Village potion shop owner.

That NPC with the most common name imaginable is me.

A min-maxer hiding his identity in rural life?

An important supporting character connected to the protagonist?

A key figure existing only for the story’s setting?

None of that at all.

No special connection, no abilities, no cheats.

I’m literally just a bunch of polygons in the game, without even a common status window.

Since I’ve been possessed, I do have knowledge of the original work.

But the problem is that my body is so weak that I can’t put it to use.

What can I possibly do with a body that only has 100 health points?

It’s certain I’d be instantly killed even by common goblins if I left the Starting Village, so what good is my knowledge of the original work?

Besides, I don’t even know the geography around the village.

In the game, I could easily find my way with the help of minimaps and quest guidelines, but now the game has become reality.

Such aids don’t exist in this world.

There’s a huge difference between looking down from above and standing on the same plane.

So I can’t just set off blindly with this weak body, crossing mountains and waters in search of special connections and artifacts.

No special connections, no abilities, no cheats, and it’s difficult to succeed with knowledge of the original work.

A messed-up possession.

How should I live in this game world?

There’s only one answer.

Do my best in the position I’ve been given.

This is the best method I can take right now.

If you have no talent, you must offset that absence with diligence.

And if possible, I need to ensure that the knowledge I have is used for the best outcome.

If I keep doing that, things will gradually improve, and even an incompetent NPC like me might be able to live a decent life.

That’s what I thought as I watched a customer enter the shop.

“Welcome to Jack’s Potion Shop in the Starting Village.”

“Oh, hello…!”

A girl with smooth silver hair and large, somewhat frightened gray eyes.

I immediately recognized her as Alreina, the protagonist of the original game.

The protagonist Alreina approached the counter and hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Um… I’d like to buy some potions…!”

Protagonist Alreina.

A child who will one day become a powerful warrior with no equal.

But if she chooses the wrong path, she could become the worst reaper.

This child could save the world as a warrior, but she could also destroy it.

“I, uh… want to buy… potions….”

When I stared at her intently, Alreina completely lost her confidence and mumbled in a shrinking voice.

“Sure. Wait a moment.”

I was about to take out a couple of Healing Potions from the shelf but changed my mind.

I went inside, brought out a sack, and swept all the Healing Potions into it.

Seeing this, Alreina was shocked.

“What?! I, I don’t need that many!”

“You will. For an adventurer, the more Healing Potions, the better.”

“But I only have this much money…”

Alreina showed the few silver and copper coins in her hand.

A Healing Potion costs two silver coins.

But what Alreina held was barely enough to buy two potions.

“I’ll give them to you for free.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“And take these too. They’ll be helpful.”

I stuffed herbs, flint, whetstones for weapon repair, fishing rods, and other items from the shelves and displays into the bag.

These are essential items for beginners, commonly known as the Beginner Start Pack.

You can find them in every village, but it’s better to have them all prepared before setting out.

Though they might seem trivial, nothing is more helpful to adventurers just starting out.

Alreina staggered slightly under the weight of the heavy bag.

“You don’t need to give me all this…”

“You do need it. The outside world is much more dangerous than you think. All of these will protect your life in extreme situations.”

“Oh, yes… Thank you…”

As I watched Alreina hesitantly putting on the bag, I asked:

“Where are you planning to go?”

“For now… I was thinking of heading north.”

“Hmm, I see. Then do this. When you leave the village and follow the forest path northward, you’ll come to a fork in the road. If you go right there, you’ll reach a large junkyard.”

“A junkyard?”

“It’s called Mestopin’s Junkyard, and you can often find useful items there. It’s worth stopping by on your way. But don’t go in too deep. There are many monsters, and you might get lost. Especially if you meet the bandit Vint, he’ll take all your money and items, so you must avoid him at all costs.”

“Oh, I see…”

Alreina nodded slowly with a puzzled expression.

“If you continue north, you’ll reach Reangso Village. Go there and accept quests from the villagers. There will be a request to kill the Mad Doctor who uses a villa on the outskirts of the village as his laboratory.”

“Mad Doctor? Kill him?!”

“Yes. But don’t worry. His weakness is cucumber juice. Funny, right? I think it’s funny too, but it’s true. He has a cucumber allergy. Understand?”

“Uh, hmm. Cucumber allergy… Mad Doctor…”

Alreina mumbled what I said, looking confused.

No, I shouldn’t just blurt everything out like this.

“I’ll write down the important things in a notebook for you.”

“But, but I can’t read…”

“That’s okay. In the first village, Reangso, a boy who could be your future husband candidate will teach you how to read.”

“W-what?! Future husband?!”

“He has a good heart but can be a bit indecisive, which might be frustrating. Judge wisely.”

Confusion appeared on Alreina’s face at the sudden flood of information.

“Sit down for a moment.”

As Alreina sat in the chair, I wrote a game walkthrough in the notebook.

The main routes of the game, core quests, hidden side quests and rewards, various factions, locations of special connections and artifacts, weaknesses and patterns of various bosses, and so on.

Since I was just writing down what was in my head, it didn’t take too long.

I placed the walkthrough in Alreina’s hands.

“You must never lose this. Make sure to read it before going to bed. Understand? You are the hope of our world.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you. But…”

With the bulging bag on her back and the walkthrough in her hand, Alreina looked up at me and asked:

“Why are you doing all this for me?”

“I’m just doing my best.”

“Pardon?”

What I possess is knowledge of the original work.

If I keep it to myself, it becomes a useless delusion, but if the protagonist knows it, it becomes a power that can change the world.

It’s better to give it to someone who can use it well.

“I’m just doing my best from where I stand, Alreina.”

“You know my name?”

Alreina asked with wide eyes.

“Now, you should get going. If you leave now, you can reach Mestopin’s Junkyard while it’s still light. What did I tell you?”

“Umm… Don’t go in too deep. There are many monsters, I might get lost, and if I meet the bandit Vint, I’ll lose everything I have.”

“Exactly. Well done. Now go.”

“Thank you so much, um… Potion Mister.”

I burst out laughing at that title.

Alreina set off on the northern path from the village, carrying a bag almost as big as herself.

As she moved away, Alreina turned back several times to wave at me.

Keep that mindset you have now.

If the world mistreats you and you turn to darkness, it would be really troublesome.

The world would end.

I gave protagonist Alreina items and even told her the game’s walkthrough route.

That’s all I, a mere Starting Village shop NPC, could give to that child.

It’s modest, but if Alreina can use it as a stepping stone to follow the proper route, succeed, and save the world, then that’s enough.

Well, I’ve safely sent the protagonist on her way.

Now what should I do?

Nothing.

This Starting Village is a remote and underdeveloped place, away from the kingdom’s attention.

A rural backwater where poor people with nowhere else to go live.

It’s just a place where adventurers who are just starting their journey buy a few items and leave.

With my weak body, it’s difficult to go outside the village, and the Starting Village is too impoverished to simply enjoy life.

No special connections, no cheats, no abilities, nothing.

All I have is advanced potion-making knowledge and knowledge of the original work.

“Potions for sale! Potions that restore energy and heal wounds for just two silver coins!”

What else can I do?

I can only do my best in the given situation.