“Hurry up, or they’re going to catch you!” Eden shouted, his voice echoing across the valley.
“I’m running as fast as I can!” Cole called back, his breath ragged from exertion.
'Aren’t there too many monsters?' Zizi’s concerned voice resonated in Eden’s mind.
“No, we can’t take them all down with the boulder, but they’re not very bright. We should be able to handle the rest,” Eden replied calmly. From his vantage point atop the hill, he watched as Cole was pursued by a frantic herd of Javelin Birds.
'Hope you know what you’re doing—there must be around fifty of them,' Zizi said.
“Just watch and learn,” Eden said confidently, bracing himself against the massive boulder and planting his feet firmly on the ground.
Cole sprinted, his legs pumping furiously, but the Javelin Birds were surprisingly swift.
“It’s coming down!” Eden roared, heaving the enormous boulder with all his strength, sending it rolling down the hill with a thunderous rumble.
“Damn you!” Cole bellowed, his voice straining as he saw the boulder barreling towards him.
“Keep running, and you’ll be fine!” Eden yelled, drawing his sword and moving deliberately to assist his friend. There was still time.
Cole’s heart pounded so violently it felt like it might burst from his chest. Trapped between the advancing monsters and the colossal rock, his legs felt like they might collapse. This wasn't what he had signed up for. If he knew he would end up in this situation, he would've allocate more points to agility.
“No, no, no, no!” Cole chanted, eyes squeezed shut as he fled for his life. The ground quaked as the boulder neared, and he could hear the roar of the rockslide behind him. A cold sweat broke out on his skin as the air rushed past him.
The Javelin Birds screeched in terror as the boulder smashed into them. Red damage numbers flashed continuously: [ -173, -381, -120, -26, -512, -230, -169, -85… ] as the birds were crushed and the EXP bars of the two players began to fill.
One of the remaining birds, with its long, clawed arms outstretched, was about to strike at Cole when Eden’s sword intercepted it.
“Climb the hill!” Eden commanded, kicking the bird back. He aggressively engaged the remaining Javelin Birds, drawing their attention away from the exhausted Cole.
“Come at me!” Eden taunted, slashing at one of the birds and inflicting [ -20 ] damage.
With about eighteen monsters remaining, Eden maneuvered around them, attacking and causing the creatures to bump into each other. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t avoid taking damage himself—one bird’s claw slashed his back, leaving him with a [ -30 ] damage notification and a searing pain.
It hurts as much as i remember, Eden thought.
Inside Ahartohaim, sensations were real, pleasure, pain, emotions, everything. All the good and bad things could be experienced here. And pain remained one of the most undesirable experiences that made many people choose to retire from entering the game world again.
Quickly, Eden pulled out a “Griffin Tranquilizer” potion from his inventory and splashed it on the ground. A cloud of purplish vapor rose from the potion, and the monsters' movements slowed before they fell into a deep slumber for five minutes.
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[ Enemy Status Effect Detected ]
Fainted: Time Remaining - 4:57
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With the monsters incapacitated, Eden wasted no time. He began attacking them vigorously, aware that he had only a short window to finish the job.
Cole managed to climb halfway up the hill before collapsing to catch his breath. His body shook with fatigue, his heart still racing as he watched Eden fight.
Never listening to him again, Cole thought bitterly, observing how Eden sliced through the birds with practiced efficiency. Not once. He wanted to kill me, traitor.
Eden kept up the assault until the status effect timer dropped to two minutes. With several monsters still unconscious, he shouted, “Are you going to sit there all day? Come give me a hand!”
Cole, jolted from his exhaustion, slowly got to his feet. “I brought all these monsters here by myself, almost dying once, and you’re struggling with just killing a few?” he said in an angered tone, but still hurried down the hill.
“Just for saying that, you’re going to gather more monsters,” Eden retorted. He was tired as well. Running for one's life was exhausting, but slashing and dodging continuously for more then three minutes straight wasn't a walk in the park either.
“The world regenerates on its own. Depending on the extent of the changes, it could take anywhere from an hour to a few days. So we’ll repeat the strategy,” Eden said between breaths.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“No, no, no. You'll go gather the monsters, and I'll push the boulder to kill you. I'm not giving you the chance to kill me ever again. I’m not letting you live out that fantasy,” Cole said, starting to dispatch the fainted monsters. “I saw the most beautiful years of my life passing before my eyes. And it was not a graphic illusion, i really saw my death there.”
"Stop complaining like a spoiled girl and kill the monsters before the potion's effect runs out," Eden admonished.
"And you stop interrupting my acting session and make a good public for me to finish complaining about the hardships of my life. Gosh, i swear you're a difficult man. You won't ever get yourself a girlfriend if you don't learn to shut up and listen," Cole said.
"That's why you're acting like this?" Eden asked. "Have you been traumatized by your girlfriend?"
"Probably." Cole laughed.
Working together, they finished off the remaining Javelin Birds before the status effect wore off. They then collected the loot from their kills: 1,040 EXP each, 9 pieces of equipment, and 47 copper coins.
Cole, having risked the most, received two pieces of Level 2 equipment, while Eden got just one. Unfortunately, none of the equipment was usable at Level 0, so they stored it in their inventory.
“Monique said she reached Level 2 in a day, right?” Cole asked. “How did she manage that? We’ve been killing Level 2 monsters and we barely have half the EXP needed for Level 1. Does she have a better method?”
Eden fixed his friend with a thoughtful look. “Did you see any equipment on her?”
“No, but it’s possible the game company took their equipment,” Cole speculated.
“That’s a possibility, but she’s probably lying. Look at how they presented themselves. No ordinary players, especially newcomers, would reach Level 2 in just a day. If she really is Level 2, she’s been in Ahartohaim for several days already,” Eden explained. He couldn’t believe anyone other then him could achieve Level 2 in less than 10 hours.
Cole pondered this for a moment before responding, “But if you’re using this method to level up, don’t you think others might have discovered similar strategies?”
“Not everyone is like me,” Eden replied with a smirk. “Let’s go hunt some more monsters until the land recovers.”
With that, Eden set off in search of more prey. They had about five hours left before they needed to return to the monolith, so every moment counted.
After battling dozens of Javelin Birds over the course of an hour, the land had finally recovered. The massive boulder was back in place, ready for another round. Cole was less enthusiastic about reliving the experience, but the prospect of rewards and the need to overcome his fears compelled him to face it once more.
This time, Cole was more cautious. He kept a safer distance from the herd of monsters pursuing him.
'Do you really enjoy seeing him suffer?' Zizi’s voice inquired with a touch of concern.
“No, I just want to turn him into a capable ally,” Eden replied earnestly.
“Ready?” Cole shouted, approaching the ambush site.
“Always,” Eden responded with unwavering confidence.
This time, Cole kept his eyes open, maintaining a safe distance from the approaching herd. As the massive boulder descended upon the monsters, it crushed into them with a resounding impact, drawing admiring looks from Eden and Zizi.
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[ Congratulations, you have reached Level 1! ]
- 2 Attribute Points
You have unlocked:
- Weapon Mastery
- Vital Spot Extra Damage
- Equipment Usage
----------------------------------------
The announcement echoed in their minds, marking Cole's achievement.
“Let’s clean up the survivors,” Eden said, preparing to lure the remaining Javelin Birds.
Using the second “Griffin Tranquilizer” potion, Eden sent the remaining monsters into a state of fainting. With their advantage secured, Eden and Cole attacked the birds until none were left standing.
After the battle, they collected the loot: 63 coppers and 7 pieces of equipment. Eden equipped a Level 2 Common sword with [ +12 ] Attack Power and a pair of Silent-Iron armguards, which provided [ +4 ] defense. Cole donned three pieces of equipment, two of which were Silent-Iron rank. The rest of the gear was unsuitable for sword users and was stowed away in their inventory.
Eden examined his new gear with mixed feelings. Although it was an improvement over his previous equipment, it was still far inferior to what he had before being sent back in time.
In Ahartohaim, the equipment tiers were as follows: Common, Silent-Iron, Dark-Bronze, Luminous-Silver, Black-Gold, Lavish-Platinum, Epic, and Legendary.
“You stay here and take a brake or continue grinding,” Eden instructed. “I’m going to explore further north to gather more information for us to report. Hold onto the money in case something happens to me.”
Cole shot Eden a skeptical look. “Wouldn’t it be better if we went together?”
“Since this is a leveling area, there will be more monsters. We risk losing 10% of our EXP and sometimes equipment upon death, so it’s safer if I go alone,” Eden explained, his tone serious.
Cole reluctantly agreed. “Alright, but don’t push your luck too far. We can earn merit points gradually.”
. . .
More than an hour had passed since Eden set out to explore. Cole, exhausted from fighting Javelin Birds, sat down to rest. His Level 1 EXP bar hadn’t even reached 25%, and their chances of completing the Special Quest seemed slim.
What’s taking him so long? Cole wondered. He had sent several messages to Eden, but received no response.
“Don’t go there— she said, it’s dangerous— she said, don’t be an idiot— she said. No, I’m fine—I said, I have experience—I said, I know what I’m doing—I said. Damn it, I’m an idiot.” Eden’s frustrated voice echoed from the other side of the hill.
Cole recognized his friend’s voice and rushed to meet him. Upon reaching the top of the hill, he saw Eden limping towards him, his clothes torn and stained with dust and mud, and his left arm missing.
Eden raised an eyebrow, glaring at Cole. “What are you staring at? Close your mouth and just let me be,” he grumbled, sitting down and pulling out a piece of bread from his inventory.
The bread restored 10 HP, while water replenished 10 MP. Eden was down to 37 HP, and his arm wouldn’t regenerate on its own without full HP.
“What happened to you?” Cole asked, approaching cautiously.
“I ran into something unexpected and got into trouble,” Eden replied loudly, finishing his bread. He got up and started walking again. “Let’s head back to the city and see if we can find someone to regenerate my arm.”
“What happened to your arm?” Cole asked, swallowing hard at the thought of such a fate befalling him.
“I left it as a tribute,” Eden said quietly, his tone carrying a hint of fear as if the monsters might overhear him. He was in no condition to fight and could no longer eat, as his stomach was full.
The journey back to Akem City was silent, with Cole remaining vigilant and Eden brooding over Zizi’s silence.
Upon arriving in the city, the boys headed straight to the healing center to get the Newcomer’s Assistance. As before, in his past life, Eden received a special Low-Grade Healing Potion that instantly restored his full HP and regenerated his lost arm.
'I’ve never liked relying on others’ mercy,' Eden thought while flexing his newly restored hand.
With his health fully restored, Eden’s spirits lifted. After purchasing a new set of clothes for 3 coppers, he and Cole set out once more to grind for experience. They decided to explore a different area, as they had already reached Level 1 and the Javelin Birds were now too distant for them to afford the trip back.