Time went by quickly; he had increased his attack power to the caliber that it killed a wolf in one shot without much difficulty. After beheading entire packs and giving the teeth to the alchemist association, Kira finally bought a knife. He had gained several levels and even found a finishing move. He was going to test that one out later...
Now prepared and confident of his ability to kill the bear, Kira smiled as he logged off.
During break and lunch, Hajime once again talked about Endless online. "So then I said to her 'Get out of my face' and the second I died from a scratch! That weapon was too Op man I tell you."
"I got to level 10 and almost died. Some dude named King killed this giant, and it almost fell on me!"
"Oh yeah, did you guy hear about the newest update?" John immediately listened in. Updates usually improved gameplay. "The company has decided to get rid of health bars." Many of the listeners were in shock; the health bar was always prevalent in RPG games! Why did they decide to remove it? "They did a press conference on this. I recorded it!" Hajime went to a nearby computer and pulled out a memory stick. People crowded round the screen, including John.
The screen showed the CEO of the company that made Endless online. He was a large man but had an atmosphere that was both intimidating and friendly. How he achieved that, Kira didn't know.
The reporter started off by asking small talk and many people grew impatient, telling Hajime to get it to the correct place. "Fine, fine. Wait a bit."
Once he had finally found the correct moment, the video started playing.
"So why did you decide to remove the health bar? It is the way standard RPGs are played." The old man lightly smiled and replied "Well many at our company believe that when a person has a health bar in front of them, the tend to act recklessly, do not pay attention and throw caution to the wind; dying in situations that, if thought out properly, were doable."
"Alright, so how will this update affect health potions. Apparently, some alchemist players complained that their income would drop."
"Fear not, alchemist players. Potions that are the equivalent of health potions will replace said potions, but instead of filling the health bar, they will heal the body and restore stamina. A beginner potion might close a cut, whilst the most powerful potion might restore limbs."
"So, Mister Jiraiya, have you thought about the possibility of a level one player defeating a level 50 player? That sounds a bit unbalanced."
"If a level one player defeats a level 50 player, then its the player's fault for not paying attention to their surroundings." Jiraiya chuckled. "I personally think that this is more realistic and more beneficial. I am sure this update will be more enjoyable for all of you."
"I see. Well then, thank you for coming here tonight Mr Jiraiya. Now there have been several murd-"
Hajime paused the video. "Personally I agree with the CEO." John stated and everybody started to discuss their views. Almost everyone agreed. To be fair, it did make it more realistic and hardcore. To martial artists like John, this was a blessing.
At home, John did his homework and ate. As usual, his parents weren't home; they were at work. However, John didn't mind this; he had already gotten used to it and knew in the future he might have to do the same. 'Lucy wasn't in today. Wonder if Endless online allows you to play this whilst you're sick.'
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Logging on, Kira found out that the health bar was already removed. 'They sure act quickly.'
He then realised that all his stat points that were originally in health were now reset! Smiling to himself, he placed the stat points into agility, mana capacity and stamina.
Walking towards the forest, Kira strangely didn't encounter any wolf packs. Then he noticed. Wolves lying on the ground. Corpses upon corpses and in the middle of a pile stood a giant red bear. 'There was a massive brawl between the wolves and the bear. The bear won by miles.' The bear looked at Kira. 'It isn't injured.Dammit! It seems as though he's enjoying the breeze!'
Sensing the latest danger, the bear faced Kira. It knew that the one in front was more dangerous than the ones previously, so it tensed up. Kira took out his katana and got ready. He poured mana into it, making fire blaze on the orange handle.
Kira's weapon looked as though it was made entirely out of flames. Sensing danger, the bear roared, trying to scare its hunter away. "YOU ARE MY OPPONENT! IT IS AN HONOUR!" They both charged.
The bear swiped. If Kira had been three level lower, just as he was when they first met, the air claws would had taken Kira's head off. But alas, Kira was level 11 now, he had put the stat points he had regained from the lost health into agility so he was far quicker than the red bear. Dodging the claws, Kira slashed upwards, severing the limb of the bear halfway. The fire cauterised the wound, bringing intense pain to the bear. Seeing the bear howling in pain, Kira couldn't resist dropping a one-liner. "Looks like you can bear it can you?" He asked his prey. Growling, the beast tried to swipe at him with the injured limb. Bad move. Once again he dodged the paw but now he brought the flaming sword downwards, finally severing it.
Grabbing the arm, Kira retreated and started eating it. It tasted slightly bad, but what do you expect from raw meat? The intended effect was to scare the bear and boy was it effective.
"How does it feel eh? You did the same to me so why shouldn't I do the same to you?? Kira explained to the bear in-between mouthfuls of bear meat. Grimacing in pain, the bear stood on its hind legs, trying to intimidate Kira. Smirking Kira ran behind the bear and stabbed behind the knees. "Standing means you're less mobile, you lumbering shit." He then cut the tendons, but cancelled the flames on his blade; they drained his mana quickly and he didn't need them now. He then proceeded to cut the tendons on the bear's remaining good arm, causing it to slump forward. A fearsome hunter reduced to such a state was pitiful. The entire fight, if it could be called that, lasted barely five minutes. The best had various cuts along its legs, causing it to have the 'bleed' status. With a look of acceptance, it closed its eyes.
Seeing the act of the dying bear, Kira strode up to the head, raised his blade and infused mana into it. Instead of just flames, lightning roared across the katana. It was Kira's finishing move. It could only be used once; such was the mana drain.
Swinging the sword down, Kira screamed "SWORD OF THE LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON!"
It was a clean cut, no blood nor skin hanging off the neck, such was the speed and severity of the blow.
*Ding* Congratulations! You are now level 12! Please assign the sat points. Stat points available: 6
*Ding* Congratulations! Your sword mastery has reached intermediate! Your control over your sword is now much more fluid and precise!
'Oh, so I guess the higher the level, the more stat points you gain... Putting 2 into mana, one into agility, he put 1 into intelligence and 1 into wisdom.
Exhausted, Kira sat down near the corpse. Then he remembered the second reason as to why he had killed the bear: It makes a good fur coat.
Putting away the katana, Kira brought out the skinning knife. Thinking of how to make the best out of the mess he had made, he went to work on the corpse.