"Today is a great day," Eden said, unpacking his newly received [Character Card]. QuantumPlay delivered it as scheduled.
Today was the day when Ahartohaim's opening ceremony will finally happen, and after that, the players will flood the new lands with adrenaline pumping through their veins.
"It'll be a race against time where every step forward counts," Eden said, feeling the surface of his gold-threaded card. A shiver of excitement passed down his spine as he rose to his feet, admiring the card in his hand. For some reason it felt really good.
Since the official announcement and the release of Ahartohaim's introductory video, the shops selling [Character Cards] and Ahartohaim's portable devices were filled with people. From kids to adults, everyone was there to buy themselves a ticket into the game world.
Eden's morning practice felt particularly refreshing, and when he looked at his bank account, his chest filled with elation. Everything, even the birds and the sun, carried an excellent vibe that announced the start of a new era.
The news, the commercials displayed on the buildings, the social media platforms—all were ready to celebrate Ahartohaim's opening ceremony. For those uninterested, it was an annoyance to see and hear the same things everywhere, but for the enthusiasts, these were the things that fueled their curiosity and thirst for adventure.
Of course that the strange method of connecting to Ahartohaim, via portals or portable devices, and the fact that the players will enter with their physical bodies was a little bit more then many people could comprehend.
However, the scientists and leaders of QuantimPlay Dynamics had prepared the public for months, successfully managing to transform the fear of the unknown into the hype of possibilities as even a terminally ill or bedridden person could walk and live peacefully inside Ahartohaim.
Neither Eden nor Cole went to the academy today. They had time to attend a few courses, but it was more important to prepare themselves. Eden filled his fridge with meat, vegetables, and vitamin drinks. He now had the money.
Taking a deep breath, he checked the time. "Five more minutes," he muttered.
'Why are you so excited? This isn't your first time,' Zizi said.
"When you're about to do something you've prepared decades for, you're bound to be excited. And I know what awaits me. This time, leveling up will have much more meaning, and I need to be on top. I need to feel that sensation again, that amazing power circulating through my veins," Eden said, clenching his fists.
He sat on the bed, focusing solely on his breathing. Minutes flew by like seconds, and the alarm on his phone announced that the time had come. Outside his room, the world was divided in two. But those two worlds were more connected than anyone could think.
Inserting his card into the portable device, Eden's physical body dematerialized. The next time he opened his eyes, he was in another world.
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[ Welcome to Ahartohaim! ]
[ You don't have an account. Do you want to create one? ]
[ Yes/No ]
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The notification appeared before Eden's eyes. He knew that his character and stats would reset. Hopefully, like in the past, his work in Ahartohaim wouldn't be affected. Without wasting time, he proceeded to create his character.
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[ Name: Eden Storm
Level: 0
HP: 120/120
Physical Attack Power: 12
Magic Attack Power: 2
Movement Speed: 12
Social Status: Commoner
Title: None
Race: Human
Age: 20
Jobs: None
Weapon: Sword (Common)
Attributes:
Strength - 6
Agility - 6
Vitality - 2
Intelligence - 1
Willpower - 1
Endurance - 3
Charisma - 1
Senses - 4
Skills: None ]
[ Items received: Sword User Common Equipment ]
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After verifying that everything was in place, he pressed the [Start] button. This time, however, there were no green lands filling his vision, but buildings and inhabitants. He spawned inside a city. Without bothering with the inhabitants staring at him and the rest of the players appearing in the middle of the plaza, Eden took out his card and checked the now available world map.
It should function now, he thought.
The world map was something created by the data obtained from all the beta testers working on the project. While it wasn't that detailed and much worse compared to the maps bought at higher levels from the inhabitants, it did its job. Especially since Eden almost had the complete map in his head.
Stolen story; please report.
Eden was marked with a blue dot, and while the map wasn't designed to show the player details about the location, and many places were categorized as [Unknown], it displayed the names of the human cities.
So, I'm currently in Aher Baizhun. At least I'm still in the kingdom of Sordia, Eden thought before looking around. He wasn't particularly familiar with this region.
"Hey, friend," called a player named Dust. "What's that thing in your hand?"
"That's a [Character Card]," answered another named Chalk Jonson. "Have you come without reading a thing about Ahartohaim?"
"I bought my card yesterday with my friend, but he is at work, so I just went through the portal following the rest of the people," Dust said.
"I know a few things. If you pay me 20 Copper coins, I'll be glad to help you," the knowledgeable player, Chalk Jonson, offered his help.
"You better keep your money and do some research on the forums," Eden intervened. "Your money is useful for buying food and other necessities. If you don't have enough, you will starve to death."
"No one will starve to death, that's why I'm helping him," Chalk said.
"How can we understand each other so well?" Dust asked Eden. Both he and Chalk were Germans.
"Everyone speaks the same language in Ahartohaim," Eden said, recalling his card. "This is not like the regular games you've played before. If you're not proficient at fighting, it will be hard to reach Level 5. And only at that level can you choose a profession. But until then, you must eat, so choose wisely."
"We can kill monsters and level up without a problem," Chalk said, brimming with confidence.
"You can do whatever you want," Eden replied. "I was just saying."
As more players started to appear, Eden left the plaza. He wasn't aware of any quests that could be done at the lower levels in this city. The only one he could remember was something that could be done at Level 40.
When he reached a quieter area, Eden took out his card and searched for Cole's in-game name, Cole di Capo Conte.
"Welcome to Ahartohaim," Eden said after the call connected.
"Good to be back, brother. Where are you?" Cole asked.
"In a city called Aher Baizhun," Eden responded. "You?"
"At another monolith, near the Green Fields of Sordia," Cole said.
"We're both too far from Akem City," Eden said, searching for another place where they could level up. Killing Javelin Birds and Wooden Golems was currently Eden's best way for leveling up, not to mention that Framus was also in Akem. However, the reason he was looking for another leveling place was because he had to be close to the area where a special type of mushroom was growing. Otherwise, how could he explain to Cole that they needed to travel for days just to get a mushroom? "Let's meet here. We'll decide from there." Eden sent Cole the coordinates for their meeting place.
"Alright, brother, see you there," Cole said, ending the call.
Eden headed towards the bank. He needed to grab the four "Griffin Tranquilizer" potions and their equipment before leaving the city. They could use the equipment only after reaching Level 1, but they wouldn't return to the city just to collect their belongings.
. . .
"I don't miss traveling long distances on foot," Eden muttered, stopping to catch his breath. He had chosen the meeting point near a leveling area where low-level monsters resided, but it took him over two hours to get there on foot.
At this moment, players hunted for quests inside the cities or killed monsters in the leveling areas. They competed for EXP, but there wasn't a leaderboard showing the player with the highest level. Until now, many of the newcomers were just starting to familiarize themselves with Ahartohaim's dynamics.
The cities where players spawned were crowded enough to anger some of the inhabitants. However, they couldn't attack the newcomers just for that. The godsent watched the waves of players with joy in their yellow eyes and even started giving them directions.
Eden arrived at the meeting point, but Cole was nowhere to be found. "Cole, are you here?" he called, preparing to contact his friend.
"Yes, brother," Cole's voice sounded from behind the bushes. "Over here."
Eden moved toward the sound and found Cole munching on wild berries.
"You're lucky they're edible," Eden said, identifying the fruits.
Cole swallowed, stopping his chewing. "They could've been poisonous?" he asked.
"Yes, and the effects can differ," Eden responded.
"How do you know?"
"Someone gave me the information," Eden said. "The same person who told me to send that plan to your father. Speaking of which, has your father looked at it?"
"Nah, he was busy. He said he'd make some time today."
Eden just nodded. If Martin (Cole's father) doesn't check the information, it'll be his loss, Eden thought.
"Alright, we've wasted enough time. Let's find a suitable leveling area around here," Eden said, getting on the move.
Even though he said that, Eden knew exactly where to go. After walking for about ten more minutes, they arrived at a glade with young, fresh grass and many little monsters jumping all over the place.
This was one of the more hidden areas, the small monsters being the food of the predators from the forest. The good thing was that the predators only came out at night, so for those who knew the place, this was a favorable spot for leveling up.
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[ Grass Minion (Level 1 Rare) ]
HP: 120
Defense: 0
Attack Power: 15
Movement Speed: 30
Description: Herbivore monster, low intelligence, high movement speed, sensing area of 6 meters, can jump up to 1.5 m, lives in groups that can reach up to a few hundred individuals.
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"Look at the speed and numbers of those things. Eden, we have no chance against them," Cole said after seeing the monster's stats with his card.
Cole's card was also a gold-threaded one, which made Eden quite happy as they had enough inventory to carry everything.
"Normally, you'd be right," Eden said. "But you forgot we still have four bottles of potions."
Hearing Eden's words, Cole's eyes grew big. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's gather as many as we can and put them to sleep."
"Same tactic, Cole. Use stones to gather their attention," Eden said, moving to gather a good number of projectiles.
When everything was ready, the boys started launching their projectiles at the tiny monsters to gather as many as possible in a small area. Then, Eden took out a "Griffin Tranquilizer" potion from his inventory and threw it in the middle of them.
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[ Enemy Status Effect Detected ]
Fainted: Time Remaining - 4:57
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Eden received the notification.
"Right on target. Now, let's butcher them," Cole said, running at the monsters like a hungry wolf.
This time, he didn't put more than one point on intelligence and instead copied Eden's attribute chart. Now, as both of them dealt [ - 20 ] damage with every hit, the life of a monster ended in six clean strikes.
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[ Congratulations, you have killed your first monster. ]
+ 16 EXP
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A notification rang inside Eden's head as the EXP got equally distributed.
"8 EXP?" Cole asked.
"Shut up and get back to work," Eden admonished. "If it was a normal Level 1 monster, we'd have received just 10 EXP instead of 16."
"I like Wooden Golems better," Cole said, slashing with his sword in a dissatisfied manner, dealing [ - 7 ] damage.
"Stop acting like a spoiled brat and attack seriously, or we're gonna waste this potion," Eden said in a deep voice.
"Alright, I'm done fooling around. No need to get mad at me, brother," Cole said, resuming his normal attacking pattern.
The five minutes passed like seconds, and when the remaining three Grass Minions regained their freedom, they immediately jumped to attack the boys.
A damage of [ - 15 ] appeared above Cole's head before his sword claimed the life of the monster. Eden dealt with the remaining two without taking any damage, and then both retreated to rest before using the same tactic against another group of minions.
Eden checked his EXP bar. He had 416/2,000 EXP.
"You still have three potions on you, right?" Cole asked.
"Yes."
"Then it will not be enough to reach Level 1. We have to gather more monsters together."
"What use will that have if we can't kill them until the effects run off?" Eden asked.
"You have a point," Cole replied.
Eden looked at the sun. It's around eleven o'clock. We have enough time.