Name: Adam
Class: Warrior
Lvl: 8
SP: 0
AP: 200
Experience: 3,480/19,200
Strength: +55
Constitution: +10
Dexterity: +5
Intelligence: +5
Speed: +6
Physical Attack: +150
Health: 120/120
Hit-rate: 6%
MP: 60/60
Movement: +11
Physical Defense: +45
Magic Defense: +10
Dodge-Rate: ???
Magic Attack: +5
Resistance:
Blunt: 5%
Slashing: 5%
Piercing: 5%
Skill Name: Slash
Description: A basic skill where the player swings his or her weapon and attacks the enemy!
Current lvl: 5
MAXED
Ability: Causes 150% damage to enemy if it hits
MP consumption: 1
Cooldown time: 0 seconds
Skill Name: Thrust
Description: A basic skill where the player thrusts his or her weapon at the enemy!
Current lvl: 5
MAXED
Ability: Causes 200% damage with a 5% chance at getting a critical hit.
MP Consumption: 5
Cooldown time: 1 second
Skill Name: Blood Sacrifice
Description: By sacrificing 50% of your blood (HP), you gain the ability to increase your physical attack power for a limited period of time! This skill is unique to the player Adam.
Current lvl: 2
AP needed to next reach next lvl: 1,000
Ability: Raises Attack Power by 200% for 30 seconds.
Disregards skill cooldown times, allowing the user to attack with every skill without limit
MP consumption: 20
Special limit: Drops HP by half
Cooldown time: 30 seconds
Once he finished upgrading his stats and skills, Adam went over to the door at the far end. It was unlocked now. He stepped through and found himself in another hallway. Unlike the previous one, this one didn’t branch out at all and led to a room that looked remarkably similar to the first one at the beginning of this cave. It was practically empty, save for the single figure standing in the center of the room.
The figure standing in the very center of the room was another undead, but this one was listed as a level 12 1-star [skeleton knight]. It was decked out in ancient armor, held a broadsword in one hand and a shield in the other, and possessed the same glowing red eyes as other undead monsters. It was three levels below the [necromancer], but that was still four levels higher than him.
The moment he appeared and the door locked behind him, the knight removed its sword from its sheath and attacked. Adam did not hesitate to leap out of the way. He dodged the first downward swing, which struck the ground and caused sparks to fly, and then attacked with a combination of [thrust] and [slash]. Sparks flew off the [skeleton knight] when his sword struck its armor.
-200; -160; -160; MISS; MISS; MISS; MISS; -160!
Adam backed away and tried to shake the numbness from his arm. It seemed the armor this [skeleton knight] was wearing gave it a powerful defense. He didn’t know what was going on, but he could feel the sturdiness of this enemy, which had a solid enough defense that it felt like he had been smacking his arm against a rock wall. The amount of damage he inflicted was also less than he normally did.
Fortunately, fighting against this enemy was easier than fighting the [necromancer]. Adam might not be a swordsman by nature, but he had a lot of experience with close quarters combat.
Dodging the [skeleton knight] was very easy. Its swings were predictable. Adam was able to determine how it would attack based on how its shoulder joints twitched. The only thing he needed to watch out for was that shield. It occasionally used the shield to bash him, but he was still able to determine when it was coming and move out of the way.
-160; -160; -160; -160!
Adam saw the small numbers constantly appearing over the [skeleton knight] and could not help but feel angry. Triple digits might sound like great attack power to others, but this enemy was at level 12 and had a 1-star ranking. That meant it had to possess a lot of HP. If he kept going at the pace he was going right now, it might take another five or eight hours before he defeated it.
[Blood Sacrifice!]
Because he wanted to defeat this creature faster, Adam did not hesitate to activate his new skill. Activating this skill felt odd. A strange heat surged through Adam’s body, his skin turned blistering red like blood was coming to the fore of his flesh, and the muscles and veins in his arms all bulged. Not only did the visuals look unusual, but he could feel the strength flowing beneath the surface of his skin.
His health also dropped to +60, but he wouldn’t let that concern him.
With his new skill activated, Adam charged in.
-320; -320; -320; -320; -320!
The amount of damage he dealt now was much better. With just five attacks, Adam delivered -1,600 points worth of damage. He didn’t know how much HP this [skeleton knight] had, but he was certain it wouldn’t take too long to defeat it now.
Like this, Adam attacked the [skeleton knight] with everything he had, constantly whittling away at its HP. When [Blood Sacrifice] entered a cooldown time, Adam dealt with this creature normally, dodging that massive sword it swung while delivering regular [slash] and [thrust] attacks.
-160; MISS; MISS; MISS; MISS; -160; MISS!
He did have to be careful. His HP kept getting chopped in half every time he used the [Blood Sacrifice] skill, bringing his HP from +120 to +60 to +30 to +15. His HP eventually dropped so low he was no longer able to use [Blood Sacrifice]… which sucked and made him realize he should have invested some money in potions. Once he left this place, Adam promised himself he would buy a crapton of [health potions] from Trader Wilkins.
While he eventually became unable to use [Blood Sacrifice], Adam still defeated the [skeleton knight] a lot more quickly than he had the [necromancer]. After the final [slash] struck the monster’s chest plate, it toppled backwards, its bones scattering across the floor.
Ding!
[You defeated the 1-star enemy [skeleton knight]! Items dropped: [greater broadsword] and [steel greaves]. +5,000 experience points! +500 ability points!]
Adam gained quite a bit from killing the [skeleton knight], but he didn’t level up again, and he didn’t gain enough AP to upgrade [Blood Sacrifice]. That was the only skill he had left that he hadn’t maxed out.
Instead of focusing on the experience and ability points, Adam checked out the two new items he had gained.
Item Name: Greater Broadsword
Item Type: Sword
Grade: Medium
Use requirements: Can be equipped by a Warrior level 5 and above
Description: A powerful sword that requires two hands to wield, or a unique skill/class to wield one-handed.
Abilities: Physical Attack+100; Speed-5; 5% chance of causing bleed status affect
Item Name: Steel Greaves
Item Type: Armor
Grade: Medium
Use requirements: can be equipped by a Warrior level 5 and above
Description: Well-made greaves that protect a warrior’s feet.
Abilities: Physical Defense+40
Both items were fairly good, so he decided to equip them. This brought his Physical Attack up to +245, though the cost for equipping this massive weapon was that his speed dropped to +6 again. His Physical Defense also increased to +70, which he had no problems with.
Now equipped with even better equipment, Adam left this chamber and traveled into the next room. It was just a stairwell. He walked down the round stairs for what felt like hours, eventually reaching the end, and entered another door. It was a hallway. Great. Another hallway. He wondered how many of these he would have to travel through before reaching the end. Finally, after who knew
how far he had walked, Adam reached a door.
The moment Adam placed his hand on the rusted doorknob, a powerful shock traveled through his body, going from his tailbone all the way to his brain. He trembled for a moment as his instincts screamed at him not to enter this room. Something dangerous was on the other side. He didn’t know what, but Adam had always been one to trust his instincts.
However, it wasn’t like he could go back. The doors leading to the surface were all locked. All he could do was press on.
Adam opened the door and entered.
Far longer than it was wide, the room on the other side was brightly lit with torches, but he could not see to the end because a massive obstruction was blocking the way. It lay on the ground, a four-legged monster composed entirely of bones. A long neck with spiny ridges held aloft a skeletal muzzle with a distinctly reptilian appearance. It had a wide body, large legs, and was probably six times bigger than he was tall. As he stared at it, the creature lifted its head and glared at him with glowing red eyes.
The information above it told him it was a level 20 3-star [skeleton dragon].
Adam cursed. “Motherfucker! Who the hell designed this game?! FromSoftware?!”
The Rusted Spear
Adam died. There was simply no way he could defeat a level 20 3-star [skeleton dragon] at level 8 when his health had already been depleted to just +15 HP. After being swatted by the claws of the [skeleton dragon], everything went black and he woke up inside of the cathedral where players first appear.
The first thing Adam did was check his stats. He wanted to make sure his level hadn’t dropped by being killed. Some games liked to impose penalties on players for dying. He’d even heard of one game where dying meant you had to start from the very beginning again.
Fortunately, it didn’t look like his level had dropped here. That was good.
After confirming his level was unchanged, Adam left the cathedral and walked onto the dirt road. The Mayor looked up from what he was doing and caught sight of Adam. He blinked at the mask covering Adam’s face. Then a wry smile appeared on his own face.
“You died?” he asked.
Adam rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah…”
“I’ve heard you otherworlders can be revived at cathedrals you’ve been to, and I have already seen a number of you come back.” The mayor’s expression of admiration made Adam a little uncomfortable. “I have always been envious of how you otherworlders can return from the dead. However, you should avoid dying at all costs. While you won’t lose anything if you die in the Village of Beginnings, you will drop by at least one level every time you die after leaving. Please try not to be too reckless once you leave this island.”
“Do not worry,” Adam said with a nod. “I plan to be much more careful from now on.”
After talking with the mayor, Adam went back toward the potion shop, a scowl marring his face. He’d been defeated by that blasted dragon, but there was no way he could leave things like this, no way he would be satisfied with his loss. Adam was out for blood now. He wanted revenge.
“Welcome,” Trader Wilkins said when Adam entered the store. “What can I get for you—ah! It’s you! Thank you so much for saving my son! I can never thank you enough for what you have done! This is not nearly enough to adequately compensate you, but please take these as payment.”
Ding!
[You have received x10 [health potion], x10 [mana potion] and 300 gold coins from Trader Wilkins.]
Ding!
[You have completed the quest: [Find Trader Wilkins’ missing son]! +5,000 experience points! +50 SP!]
It looked like coming back might have been a good thing after all. Adam didn’t hesitate to put the +45 status points he had earned into his Strength stat, though he put at least +5 in his Constitution stat. Right now his health was abysmally low. One hit from that dragon would be enough to kill him. He didn’t think adding some points to his Constitution would change anything right now, but even a little bit might help.
Plus more HP meant he could activate [Blood Sacrifice] more often.
His Physical Attack had increased a lot thanks to the additional +45 status points. Combined with the +100 Physical Attack offered by the Greater Broadsword attached to his back and the damage he dealt now would be much higher than before.
With that out of the way, Adam took a quick glance at the items he’d been given as a reward.
Item Name: Health Potion
Item Type: Potion
Grade: Low
Use requirements: None
Description: A low-grade health potion.
Abilities: Restores +100 health
Item Name: Mana Potion
Item Type: Potion
Grade: Low
Use requirements: None
Description: A low-grade mana potion.
Abilities: restores +50 mana
The potions weren’t bad and restored a decent amount of HP and MP, but he didn’t think he had enough. Adam sold all of the items currently clogging up his item pouch, then used all of the money on him and bought another fifty [health potions] and fifty [mana potions]. They were 10 gold coins a piece.
Now with sixty health potions and mana potions, Adam left the Village of Beginnings and began journeying back toward the cave that he had discovered. He already knew the way thanks to his perfect memory. All he needed to do was follow the route he took to get there previously.
He reached the forest in record time. As he began walking through the forest, Adam received a call. A window opened before him. The person calling him was named Changing_Fate.
He accepted the call.
“Fayte?”
“Adam! Hey!” Fayte said from the other end. She sounded excited. “I’m glad I was able to get through to you on the first try. I didn’t know if you were one of those gamers who played solo on everything and never accepted calls.”
“Well… to be fair to you, I normally don’t accept calls, but I am making an exception for you, so feel free to call me whenever you want.”
“That… actually makes me feel pretty special.” While Adam could not see it, he could somehow tell from her voice that Fayte was blushing. That made him smile. Just a bit. “Anyway, Susan and I were lucky enough to wind up in the same Village of Beginnings, so we’ve been grinding together. We’re both at level 5 right now.”
“What is the average level of players right now?”
“Level 5. Some of the bigger players like the guild masters for the larger guilds and players who are listed on the International Power Rankings have already reached level 6, but there aren’t many of them. The Power Rankings only consist of the top ten best players in the world.” Fayte paused after answering him. “Can I ask what level you’re at?”
“Level 8.”
“WHAT?!”
Adam almost flinched when Fayte shouted in his ear. He didn’t necessarily blame the woman for her response, but did she have to blow out his eardrum?
“How did you get your level up so quickly?! This leveling system is absolutely atrocious! After reaching level 5, the experience points required to level up becomes nearly five thousand.”
Of course, Adam understood Fayte’s shock. Leveling up in this game was really hard because the experience points required doubled after each level. This meant grinding was truly ridiculous in this game. Just to reach level 6 from level 5 required someone to spend at least ten to twenty hours grinding, which was why most people were still stuck at level 5. A level 7 [wolf] only yielded about +100 experience points at that level. That wasn’t even mentioning how experience points were shared between members when people formed a party to grind. If two people at level 5 formed a party and killed a level 7 [wolf], they would only get +50 experience points each.
“I’ve been doing solo quests instead of grinding,” Adam admitted. “There are a number of quests you can do in the Village of Beginnings that earn more experience points than if you just grind your level. The quest I’m currently doing r
ight now also made me face several very powerful bosses that granted me even more experience points.”
“So that’s how you did it. All of us have just been grinding. I don’t think the idea of taking on quests occurred to anyone since it’s considered a rule of thumb that quests at the beginning of the game never yield good experience points. Maybe Susan and I should be doing that instead?”
“It certainly couldn’t hurt.”
Adam spoke with Fayte for the entire half an hour it took him to reach the underground passage. Once he reached the familiar cave entrance, he said goodbye and traveled inside.
None of the previous monsters he had defeated appeared to greet him, which meant it was a straight shot down to the dungeon room where the [skeleton dragon] was located. He was grateful. While those monsters yielded some good experience points, he really just wanted to destroy that blasted dragon.
Adam finally reached the room where the [skeleton dragon] was located and went inside. The door sealed shut behind him, meaning he was now trapped, but Adam had no intention of running. His blood was boiling. After suffering that humiliating defeat at this creature’s hands—claws—he would not feel satisfied until he defeated it!
The [skeleton dragon] glared at him with its red eyes. It opened its mouth and unleashed a mighty roar as it once more tried to swipe at him with its clawed hand.
Adam ran forward and ducked low, letting the clawed hand pass over his head before he skipped back onto his feet and continued running. He reached the [skeleton dragon’s] legs and struck them with a [thrust] and a [slash].
-600; -480!
He twitched. His current Physical Attack stat was at +300 thanks to the SP he gained from his last quest, which meant [thrust] did -600 and [slash] did around -480 damage, but he felt like that wasn’t nearly enough. This enemy probably had even more health than the [necromancer] did.
He needed to find a way to deal even more damage.
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