Infinite Realm

Landon was a casual gamer who only participated in most VR games just for the fun of it. While he didn't exactly take games as seriously as professional gamers, he did take it a bit more seriously than regular casual gamers.

Landon had a certain quirk for chasing after loopholes and perks in various VR games. Similar to explorers [IF], he valued the plotlines of games more than actual gameplay. 

Due to his 'studio' behaviour when gaming, Landon had managed to discover a hidden trick in the now popular Infinite Realm. As a Cleric, Landon had theorised that working in a hospital would help him level up faster since the process of levelling up for Clerics required them to use their spells more on injured living beings. The best place to find those was indeed in battle, but the safest place was in a hospital.

Going through with his idea, Landon had applied to work as a doctor in the hospital in Black Rock City's North district. Surprisingly enough, the process was exceedingly difficult and he had only managed to pull it off thanks to his high IQ as well as his impressive skills. It was then Landon had managed to confirm his suspicions and since then, his level had been rising sky-high.

Running a combination of field service as well as his side job as a doctor in the game, Landon was able to reach level 15 with ease but he had kept his level hidden from the public. With the help of a special equipment he had found in one of his adventures, Landon was able to keep his level hidden even when he joined a party.

'I joined the hospital because I could level up faster but it's getting boring now. I have no leads on the main plot of the game. It's kinda frustrating.' Landon, clothed in a typical modern doctor's attire, sat in the waiting room of the hospital as he stared at the ceiling.

'Ugh. I think it's about time I spend more effort on adventuring. Maybe I will find a lead then. Or should I wait till I'm level 20? After all, most NPC adventurers here are at least that strong.' Landon remained conflicted.

As a casual gamer, Landon didn't spend much time gaming so he wasn't as competitive as most gamers. However, he did like to explore the world of a game. In his free time, he would even compile reports about his experiences or some relevant and irrelevant knowledge and sell as an information hunter. This was how he made some spare cash in VR games despite not being a hardcore gamer.

'Oh? A player is in the hospital?' Landon raised an eyebrow.

The existence of healer class players made hospital visits pointless to players as they could get rid of any anomaly or injury with a simple cast of a spell. Added with the fact that barely anyone would be interested in taking on the job of a doctor in a VR game filled with fantasy elements, it was very very rare to find a player visiting the hospital unless they were on a mission. 

'Hmm?' Landon was originally not going to pay the player any attention till he saw him walking towards him.

'Probably planning on asking for directions.' Landon thought.

Most of the players who came to the hospital to complete a mission and happen to have a chance encounter with Landon, usually ask for his help. It made sense to do so since Landon was pretty much the he only player in doctor's clothing so requesting his help would make things easier for them. Asfor Landon, he didn't reject such requests but usually asked a bit of payment for his efforts.

"Any problem?" Landon decided to take the initiative and be done with it.

"You work here, right?" Sato asked the young man before him.

"Yeah, what about it? Need any help with directions? It will cost you though." Landon smirked.

"What's your level?" Sato asked.

Landon frowned imperceptibly at the question but he fluidly replied without slipping up, "Level 13. Not something to be proud of but I don't mind."

Sato smiled at the response because he has noticed the slight change of expression in Landon's eyes. The reason for that was mostly because Landon was irritated by the question so there was a high chance that hos reply was a lie.

"I'm here to offer you a role in my team. We require the services of a healer and I'm pretty sure you would like the job."

"Not interested." Landon replied as he faced the other way and ignored Sato.

"I didn't say you would go unpaid." Sato dropped a space bag on the table in front of Landon.

With the amount of wealth he had, purchasing a basic rank space bag was nothing for him. Sato could even afford a hundred of them and still not feel a dent in his wealth. The materials he had reaped from the corpse of the monster in Maldora Canyon as well as those of the guards, added with the ones he already had in his possession was enough to make him rank in the top 10 richest in the whole game, even if guilds were included in the list.

Landon's interest was immediately piqued by the space bag on the table. Space bags were classified into three; basic, intermediate and advanced. While the space bag in front of him was of the lowest rank -basic rank-, it still cost at least 30 silver coins. 

The amount might not seem like much but it would take an average player 2-3 days of farming[1] to make that much. Since the bag was quite costly, the contents within would surely not be cheap.

"You can take that as advance payment. Once we're done with the dungeon raid, you will get the rest. Of course, since you're being paid, the dungeon loot won't be shared with you." Sato spoke up.

Landon didn't hurry to check the contents of the space bag as he frowned at Sato's words.

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"You're a Cleric who's working in a hospital. If I'm correct, you're at least level 14, if not 15. It's only right that I pay you the right amount to motivate you to work to the fullest."

Landon was stunned as he knew that Sato's guess was on point but before he could even ask how he knew that, Sato continued.

"As for the task at hand, it's like I said; a dungeon raid. Excluding myself, there are six others; a [Paladin], two [Elementalists], an [Assassin], a [Ranger] and a [Swordsman]. We only lack a healer and that's what's delaying our progress. Even though I haven't seen your skills, I trust that it has to be good enough for you to be able to keep your job here. 

"So, what's your answer?"

[AN : Remember to check out 'Reborn In A Magic World: From Cultivator To Mage.']