Reborn 1-5

by D. W. Jackson

  After killing his first bunny he checked his experience bar and found that bunnies only gave him one experience now. He also checked his abilities section and found that the bunny absorption had restarted though now each one only gave him 1%. He was tempted to find new prey but knowing that he could get another ability kept him fighting the now easily killed bunnies.

  With the small boost in stamina and the extra coin to spend on drinks to refresh his stamina when he was forced to return to town he killed close to another sixty bunnies before returning to the store to sell the forty-nine rabbit furs that he had picked up. After receiving three copper and forty-three iron pennies Ash rushed over to the small bank-like place where he had gotten the ID plate.

  After paying the five coppers his Id was cleared of its special status. Without the debt hanging over his head he felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He even had enough left over to spend a night in the common room of the inn if he wished but spending a full copper coin on such a luxury when he only had two copper and eighty-four iron pennies. Having spent most of his life on his own moving from foster home to foster home he was used to sleeping in hard and uncomfortable places.

  As he sat tucked away in the alley Ash looked over his status.

  Name: Ash

  Level: 2

  Experience needed for next level: 152

  Race: Human/Demon 70/30

  Occupation: None

  Title: None

  HP 40/60

  MP 8/60

  SP 3/12

  Strength: 10

  Agility: 11 (+5)

  Vitality: 12

  Stamina: 12

  Spirit: 10

  Intelligence: 12

  Endurance: 11

  Luck 10: (+50)

  He was still low level but things were coming along. His abilities were moving slowly as well but he felt no need to rush. Demon Absorption only seemed to get experience when he finished an absorption so it was still at 5%. Fleet Foot on the other hand seemed to slowly level up as he fought and while still level 1 it was at 83% to its next level. The absorption level of the bunny was moving along as well and was currently at 58%.

  “Where can I find stronger monsters?” Ash asked as his eyes began to droop.

  “Why didn’t you ask at the adventurer’s guild while you were there earlier?” Rachel said sounding annoyed.

  “Adventurer’s guild,” Ash said making the words more of a question.

  “The large building that you went to pay your debt. I would suggest you go back tomorrow and take a better look around,” Rachel said before popping back to wherever they went when they disappeared.

  1-4

  Ash spent the next two days fighting bunnies at a more relaxed pace until he heard the welcome sound of the last one being absorbed. Unlike last time only two of the abilities were present on the small screen. “Looks like I can’t get the same one twice at least,” He said to himself as he waited to find out which one he would get. [You have received Rabbit Punch.]

  As soon as the message disappeared he quickly opened up the abilities menu to check it out. Rabbit punch (active) cost SP: 1 level 1- 0%. Using either feet or hands quickly lash out with a lighting quick attack.

  Seeing another bunny not far away, Ash quickly scooped up the drops and rushed over. As soon as the saber bunny was close he activated Rabbit punch and lashed out with his foot. As soon as his foot connected a large -15 appeared above the head of the creature sending it quickly to its death.

  After picking up the spoils he absorbed the fallen creature and checked his abilities again. What he found shocked him. While he could absorb the bunny it only gave him .1%, meaning that he would have to absorb a thousand to get the last ability. Not wanting to spend that much time on killing the weak bunnies Ash decided to return to town and repair his clothes that were beginning to look more like rags and look for stronger prey.

  It cost fifty iron pennies per piece of clothing to have them repaired. The loss of a copper coin hurt him but it was a necessary cost.

  The adventurer’s guild still looked like a bank but he found a large square board with numerous pieces of paper stuck to them. “Are you part of the guild?” A young woman asked walking up to where Ash stood reading the notices.

  “No I was just seeing where I could find something a bit stronger than the saber bunnies,” Ash said as he continued to look at the notices.

  “You could always hunt rock wolves in valley to the south. They are level six but the guild pays well for each tooth since they are harassing the local herds.”

  “Thanks,” Ash said before running out of the building headed to the south. He had sold the last of the rabbit fur and had a few bundles of bread and juice in his inventory. The past few days had been well to him and he still had five copper and sixty-two iron pennies.

  It took almost an hour to find his first rock wolf. At least that was what he figured it was. It looked a little like a wolf though its body was covered in black spikes that looked more like obsidian than skin. The real problem was that it wasn’t alone there was three others beside it.

  Ash was sure that he could fight one of he was careful but fighting four at the same time would only mean a quick death. After looking around for a little more he found a lone rock wolf. Looking around to make sure that it was alone he picked up a rock and threw it at the wolf. A small -1 popped up as the rock struck the wolf. With a snarl the wolf turned toward Ash and bared his teeth and rushed forward.

  The wolf was much faster than the bunny though its movements were pretty straight forward. Ash moved to the side swinging his sword hitting the wolf in the shoulder. A small -2 appeared and Ash started to feel uneasy. He didn’t know how much health the wolf had but he doubted that only hitting it for 2 health at a time would take forever.

  The wolf turned back racking its claws and striking Ash in the leg. HP 40/60, bleed lose 1 HP every five seconds for a total of 10 HP.

  “Crap,” Ash cursed attacking the wolf again. The fight drug on for twenty minutes with Ash doing everything he could to dodge to wolf’s attacks. When the wolf lunged too far Ash took the chance sticking it hard on the head and was rewarded with a -12 in purple meaning he had made a critical strike. At the same time the number rose into the air Ash heard a loud snap as the blade of his sword snapped. “F***.” “Rabbit punch,” as the strike connected another purple number appeared above the wolf, -24. The wolf shuddered and slumped to the ground.

  Weary and tired Ash edged over to where the wolf lay and started to absorb it. As the wolf disappeared Ash looked at what the wolf dropped. A full copper coin lay on the ground along with a large white tooth and a small glittering stone. Putting the coin and tooth away Ash picked up the stone.

  [Level 6 Demon Stone: low grade stone used in making magic potions.]

  “They drop coins and items but no weapons or armor,” Ash said slightly disappointed.

  “You already get coins don’t be so greedy. Humanoid monsters drop weapons but the lowest level you will find is seven and they tend to travel in groups of three or more.”

  After picking up his spoils Ash rushed back to town afraid that he would run into more wolves. The walk back to town took the better part of an hour since he had to rest often due to his low stamina. He had learned the downsides to using too much of his abilities. If you ran out of MP you start getting headaches, and trouble concentrating. If your HP got low you would get lightheaded and woozy. Low stamina meant that you would feel fatigued as if you haven’t slept in a week.

  Once he made it to town he headed straight to the guild to turn in the lone tooth that he had got hoping that it was worth at least a few coppers.

  Walking up to the counter Ash placed the tooth on the counter. “Killed a rock wolf… Not bad,” The lady said taking the tooth and placing three copper coins on the counter. When Ash didn’t leave the lady frowned. “Did you need something else?”

  “Yes…Umm…I was wondering if you knew where I could sell this,”
Ash said placing the demon stone on the counter.

  As the light purple stone glittered the young ladies eyes widened. “You must be lucky to get a demon stone from a rock wolf. They only drop about .5% of the time. As for selling it the guild is the only place in town that will buy it. If you go to a larger city you could get a better price but it is what it is.”

  “How much?” Ash asked his voice trembling slightly.

  “Level 1-5 stones are 10 silvers, 6-10 are 15 silvers, 11-20 are 50 silvers,” she said happily. “Do you wish to sell it to the guild?”

  “Yes please,” Ash said his voice still quivering. The young lady picked up the stone and placed it behind the counter and counted out fifteen silver coins and placed them in front of Ash who quickly scooped them up.

  With his purse heavy with coin Ash went back to the blacksmith that had fixed his sword a few days before. As he saw Lily standing behind the counter Ash let out a small smile. “Already back?”

  Ash placed his broken sword on the counter and blushed slightly. “It broke.”

  “Papa need you for a moment,” Lily said as she looked at the shattered sword with a frown.

  The smith picked up the sword and looked at Ash. “This can’t be fixed.”

  “Can you make a new sword?” Ash asked frowning.

  “I don’t have the skill but if you need a new blade the shop in town carries a few, though they aren’t cheap,” the smith said while shaking his head.

  Ash moved toward the shop where he had sold the rabbit fur his feet shuffling and his hopes crushed. Once inside he looked around but all he saw were common goods; salt, a few bits of clothes, pieces of parchment, quills, and the like. Walking up to the counter the bald man gave him a tooth grin. “Bring me some more fur. I must say thanks to you my next trading session in the city will go far smoother.”

  “Not today,” Ash said trying to smile. “I need a sword.”

  “Oh buying even better,” the man said before disappearing through a door and quickly returning with three swords.

  Copper sword: Durability 15/15 Attack 2-4

  Iron sword: Durability 20/20 Attack 3-6

  Steel sword: Durability 30/30 Attack 5-7

  “How much are they?” Ash asked as his hand clutched the small coin pouch in his hand.

  “Copper sword is three silver coin, the iron sword is eight silver coins, and the steel sword is twenty silver coins.”

  Ash really wanted the Steel sword but right now he didn’t have enough coins. “I’ll take the iron sword,” Ash said as he counted out eight silver coins and placed them on the counter.

  Now that he had a stronger sword he had a better chance against the rock wolves but their attacks were still devastating. Turning back around Ash let out a thin smile and greeted his teeth. “I could also use some armor.”

  The shopkeeper smiled again and brought out numerous kinds of armor from cloth to steel. The steel armor looked inviting but it weighed a lot and would slow his movements not to mention just for a breastplate it cost a little over a gold coin. The leather armor was more reasonable and after a few gut wrenching moments Ash decided on a tunic, trousers, and boots. After having gone barefoot for nearly a week wearing boots felt slightly odd.

  Leather jerkin: Durability 10/10 defense +6

  Leather pants: Durability 10/10 defense +4

  Leather boots: Durability 10/10 defense +2

  The stats of the leather armor wasn’t great but compared to what he was wearing before it was a great upgrade and had still cost him six of his remaining seven silver coins. With new gear Ash once again stopped by the adventurer’s guild and checked out a large map that was posted on the east wall. It showed the different towns as well as the most common monsters that could be found in what areas.

  The area he was in now didn’t have much in the way of things to hunt. There was the saber bunny at level 1, rock wolves at level 6, and goblins at level 8. There was too big a gap between the bunnies and rock wolves.

  As he scanned the map he noticed a few areas with black squares. Looking at the legend of the map he found that it signified a dungeon or labyrinth. “What’s the difference between the two?” Ash asked Rachel who was standing on his shoulder looking over the map as well.

  “A dungeon is controlled by a particular kind of demon and are high level. One they are defeated they are gone but because of the difficulty most kingdoms leave them alone unless they are forced to deal with them. Labyrinths on the other hand have floors that reach into the depths of the earth. The first floor is the weakest and they become stronger the farther you go in. It is a great place for adventures to gain experience and knowledge.”

  The closest labyrinth was in Aloan city a little over two hundred miles away. Even with a fast horse it would take him three days of steady travel to reach it. Walking would take six to eight days and there were plenty of strong monsters between the two places. Remembering that the merchant had mentioned a trip to the city Ash decided that he would talk to him about it.

  Leaving the guild Ash returned to the small store. “Something wrong?” The man asked seeing Ash return so quickly.

  “Not really…I was just wondering about the city and the safest way to reach it.”

  “Oh… Well the best way would to be with a group. I travel there six times a year to restock. In fact I am making my next trip in seven days. If you want you could travel with me.”

  “Really you wouldn’t mind?” Ash asked skeptical of why the man would make such an offer.

  “I normally hire two guards from the guild to guard me while I travel even then it can be dangerous at times. Having an extra sword never hurts.”

  “Then I will see you in seven days,” Ash said before leaving the shop.

  With his travel plans finished Ash made his way to the inn. After paying thirty copper coins for six nights and another twenty iron pennies for hot water to be brought to his room so that he could wash himself for the first time in days Ash made his way to his room.

  Though at first five copper coins felt like a small fortune now he started to learn how little it was. It bought him a room or what they called a room. In truth it barely had enough room for the bed with just a little room to walk around it. The bed itself wasn’t that good either, nothing more than a large sack filled with something that while soft was extremely lumpy. The inn did have better rooms but they cost a full silver a night and he wasn’t that much in need of a better room.

  After washing himself he felt refreshed and quickly drifted off to sleep. When he woke the next morning he felt more refreshed then he had in days. Feeling better than he had in a while Ash once again set off to hunt rock wolves. He had plenty of copper left so he bought some bread and juice before leaving town knowing that he would need them after each fight even with his new equipment.

  After searching the valley for a short while Ash found his first target. A long rock wolf was stalking a small lamb that had gotten lost from the rest of its group. Moving quickly Ash rushed the wolf scoring a shallow hit on the creatures left leg, -8. It wasn’t a great hit but still much better than he was getting the day before with his novice sword.

  The wolf was not so kind as it would sit still and wait to be killed and turned striking with its claws. Ash moved back quickly but he wasn’t fast enough to completely dodge to attack and a sharp pain shot through his left arm as he felt his HP drop by seven points.

  Not wanting to drag out the fight longer than needed Ash activated his rabbit punch hitting the wolf in the ribs with his left hand scoring a -12 and knocking the wolf on its side at the same time. Quickly rushing forward Ash attacked with an overhead strike hitting the wolf in the exposed belly and a black -30 appeared causing the wolf to shudder than lay still. The sight of the wolf dying was followed by a “tring” that let him know that he had finally reached level 4.

  He placed one point in each Strength, vitality, stamina, and intelligence. He had neglected strength so far but as he fought stronger opponents he k
new that he would need it in order to get past their defense.

  “What is the meaning to the different colors of numbers?” Ash asked as he bent over to start absorbing the wolf.

  “Normal-red, critical-purple, fatal-black,” Jun said in a matter of fact tone.

  After absorbing the wolf Ash checked its rate and found that just like with the rabbit it gave 2% per kill bringing it up to a total of 4%. The wolf dropped a copper coin again as well as the tooth but nothing else. “Can’t get lucky all the time,” Ash said with a laugh and a thought hit him. He quickly opened up the stats menus again and read the definition for the luck stat.

  [Luck: increases drop rate, chance of critical strike, as well as a number of other things in daily life.]

  It was a very useful stat and at the same time a useless one. Ash decided that every five levels he would add one point to luck. With his 500% bonus it would be the same as adding six points into it. Ash still had a hard time deciding where to put his points but from what Rachel had told him the first ten levels weren’t all important as you couldn’t pick your job until then. Once your job was decided then it would become more important. His main goal now was to simply survive until he reached level ten.

  Ash was able to hunt a total of four wolves throughout the day. He gained four copper coins, and four teeth though nothing else it was still a big win. As an added bonus since the wolves were much higher level than him he gained thirty three experience per kill leaving him only 301 experienced needed to reach level five.

  After turning in the teeth Ash had a total of ninety-four copper and forty-two iron pennies. With a smile on his face he decided to eat a real meal instead of just bread and juice.

  As he sat at one of the inn’s tables one of the young barmaids came by and giving him a coy smile asked for his order. Ash ended up ordering a mug of ale and a bowl of lamb stew with a side of bread. The entire meal cost two coppers and thirty pennies but giving his earnings for the day it was a small cost.