SJ continued to farm the hogling respawn point. Each time she finished the hogling, she would loot it and then move out of the clearing, leaving it for a few minutes before she saw the hogling reappear. It was strange to witness as there was no light, no reference. It wasn’t there one second, and then the next, it was. Every time it had happened, she thought she must have blinked, even though she knew she hadn’t.
It was the fourth respawn when she made a mistake. She had got complacent, as they were so easy to kill. SJ had been stepping sideways from their initial charge, swiping down their flanks with her short blade and attacking them with rapid strikes before they could recover fully.
This time, though, as the hogling charged her, she stepped sideways, catching her foot and ended up sprawling on the forest clearing floor, wondering what had just happened. The little hogling took advantage and gored her in her leg, its sharp tusks ripping through her cloth pants and gouging a nice chunk of flesh from her thigh.
Yelping in pain, she rolled onto her back, seeing her hit points reduced by half. She climbed to her feet, limping as the hogling again charged. “Damn,” she cried.
“Be careful. Another hit like that, you are visiting the white room,” Dave said.
“You don’t think I know that?” SJ growled through gritted teeth.
The hogling came at her again, and she successfully used the same move this time, although she did not cut its flank as well as the other three times. She winced with each move as the pain from her injury fogged her mind. She stabbed quickly at the hogling, catching it in its rear before it turned on her, but had not caused the full eight hit points damage needed to finish it. It still had one left as it flung its tusks at her arm again. She hopped backwards as best as she could and faced the beast down.
It stood in front of her, shaking its head as though dizzy, and as she watched, its final hit point disappeared, and it fell sideways dead. She grunted as she moved to the corpse to loot it. “It bleeds out?” SJ asked.
“You did open up its side,” Dave replied.
Her hit points had remained at five, and although she was still bleeding from the tusk wounds, her health did not lower further. “Why do I not bleed out?”
“Legionnaires at your level are only inflicted with actual initial damage. If they bleed, it does not lower hit points further until level 10. It will weaken you and make you slower, as you noticed. Some creatures can also inflict damage over time with venom and poisons, but you will not find any in a starter zone.”
“I need to heal before I try that again. I can’t chance another hit like that.”
“It won’t take long to heal. You added your points to Constitution, so with 9, there are no negative effects, so you will regain one hit point every five minutes.”
“It takes 25 minutes to heal. Urgh. I may as well head back to the safe zone while I do.” SJ began to limp back towards the lake. “Is there any other way I can heal?”
“Some foods will boost healing, and there is also magic, potions and skills.”
“Do you know which foods? Are there any around here?”
“No. They are only available in starter zones if a crafter brings them to sell, and if they do, they will be marked up to a stupid price.”
“And people still buy them?”
“Yep. There are a lot of stupid people in this world. Especially Legionnaires!”
“What about potions and magic?”
“If you are in a party with a healer or alchemist, you may get healed or given potions. If you go to buy from an alchemist or a healer, expect to pay a hefty sum. You can also get quest rewards, which include health or mana potions.”
“And skills?”
“Several fighter classes have hit point regeneration, and an assassin also does. Do not get excited. It is a very high-level skill where you can steal life.”
“Damn. From what you said, I was hoping for something a little sooner and cheaper.”
“There is an option to make things cheaper for you overall,” Dave said thoughtfully.
“What is that?” SJ asked, hopefully.
“At level 5, you will be offered your profession choice. You can select a profession that will benefit you going forward, such as Alchemy, and allow you to start making your own.”
“What professions are there? Are they like the ones from games on Earth?”
Silence.
Several moments passed before Dave replied. “Looking at the games you had on Earth, they are similar. Alchemist, Enchanter, Armourer, Tailor, Cook, etc. You will be given a comprehensive list when the time arises.”
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SJ received the message that she had entered the safe zone. She moved over to the flat stone and sat down heavily. Her leg was already feeling a little better, and the blood had stopped flowing just in the few minutes they had walked back. She looked at the tear in her pants and sighed.
“What is wrong?” Dave asked.
“These clothes are ruined already.”
“What do you expect? You are wearing zero armour peasant’s clothes.” Dave said, his reply dripping with sarcasm.
“How do I go about improving or repairing them then?”
“At your level, you don’t. As with other elements, they do not come into consideration until level 5. You currently do not have an armour class on your character sheet, do you?”
SJ checked her sheet out. “No.”
“You will start from level 5 and can improve it through your clothes or armour.”
“Same as games again, then.”
“After consulting the Wiki, yes, there are many similarities between how the system operates and the games you have on Earth.”
“That may work to my benefit then.”
“Why?” Dave questioned.
“I was always a hoarder and crafter in the games I played and used to spend hours working through the most efficient and productive farming routes to gather crafting materials.”
“Having the dedication to do it will help. What you can’t compare are the times, though. Some rarer materials needed in Amathera are restricted to certain regions or very rare drops from certain level monsters.”
SJ checked her hit points, and she was already back to 8. “Two more, and we can go back again.”
“Did you not check your level?” Dave asked.
“No.” SJ reopened her character sheet. “Yes. I can move to level 2.”
SJ accepted the level increase straight away.
Congratulations on reaching Level 2
You have been awarded the following:
5 hit points
5 mana points
+1 Dexterity
+2 free points to distribute as you wish
“Woo hoo. I got exactly the same again,” SJ shouted with glee.
“Excellent news. If it continues, you will be insanely strong compared to Legionnaires of the same level.”
“What should I go for this time?”
“You want my advice? That is very magnanimous of you,” Dave replied.
SJ rolled her eyes. “I have been asking for your guidance from the start.”
“Have you? I thought you were just using my all-knowing knowledge rather than seeking guidance.”
“What do you think asking questions is? Are they not seeking guidance and answers?”
Silence.
“Maybe,” Dave eventually responded.
“What do you mean, maybe? Am I not asking for advice if I am asking a question?”
“No. You are asking for answers.”
“What?”
“It is how you ask,” Dave hmph’d
“In what manner should I ask?”
“If you really sought my advice and guidance, you would address me with the level of authority and respect that I deserve.”
“What?” SJ replied, frowning.
“Dave, my all-knowing and powerful AI. Would you please guide me on my journey of growth and support my development as a noob Legionnaire. Or something like that.”
“Really! For a start, you use a search engine or Wiki for your knowledge, which means you do not know everything. Secondly, I thought we were a team, and you were supposed to support me.”
“What do you think I have been doing?” Dave said stubbornly.
“Being a royal pain in the arse, most of the time,” SJ replied angrily. She closed her eyes in exasperation. If not for the voice being inside her head, she would have turned away. He could be so frustrating. “Argh,” she shouted.
Calming down, SJ replied, “Dave?”
“Yes,” Dave haughtily replied.
“Would you please be so kind as to offer me your thoughts on advancing my character in this new world I now reside in?”
“That was very eloquent, and for that polite request, the answer is no.”
“WHAT?” SJ shouted again.
“It is too late now.”
“Too late?”
“You already hurt my feelings.”
“Feelings? When did I hurt your feelings?”
Dave replied in a squeaky voice, “For a start, you use a search engine or Wiki for your knowledge, which means you are not all-knowing, blah, blah, blah.”
SJ dropped her head to her hands, exhaling. “I thought we had got past this,” SJ replied through her fingers.
“Past your rude, obnoxious behaviour? Never.”
“SYSTEM!” SJ screamed.
“What are you doing?”
“I AM GETTING YOU REPLACED,” she bellowed.
“Why?” Dave replied in a shocked voice.
“Why? . . . . Why? . . . . Why do you think?”
“I thought we had got past this,” Dave replied.
“Really? And why would I get over the way you are behaving?”
“Oh, your hit points should be back full now, and I advise you to drop a point in Dexterity and Constitution. Let’s go back to farming, as you call it,” Dave replied cheerily.
SJ sat stunned. “What?”
“You heard me. Don’t tell me all your shouting has deafened you. +1 Dexterity and Constitution, then go back to farming.”
“But . . . ”
“Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun,” Dave replied.
“What the actual? Were you just wasting time?”
“I would not say wasting. More like passing. We really should try this role-playing more often.”
“Roleplay!” SJ sputtered.
“Yes. I read on the Wiki that you all play these roleplaying games where you act. I thought it would be fun to try.”
“You understand that roleplay is not real and based on distinct characters or scenarios. Not ones we have already been through.”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly the same as before?”
SJ screamed again, “Argh.” Rubbing her temples with her fingers.
After a few moments, she said, “OK. +1 Dexterity and Constitution.” She opened her character sheet and applied the changes.
⇢Level: 2
Experience: 5 of 100
Hit Points: 17
Mana Points: 15
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Subterfuge - Identification Level 1 - 8 of 10 to level 2
Upon standing, she discovered that her leg was fully healed. She flexed it several times, and there was absolutely no pain. Examining where the wound had been, she couldn’t see any scaring.
“Dave. Is there a way to accept level increases automatically?”
“Erm . . . ”
Silence.
“Has no one ever asked that before?”
“Nope, not in my lifetime.”
“So, can you?”
“Checking. Oh, I found it. Yes, there is,” Dave replied, surprised. “A little arrow is next to your level on your character sheet. If you select it, it will become a turning arrow. I always thought the arrow just highlighted your level because it was important. Every day is a school day.”
SJ focussed on the small arrow, and it changed.
↻Level: 2
“So that now means that levels will automatically be increased. I assume that means hit points, mana points and Dexterity will be added as standard.”
“It should do.”
“That’s great. Thanks for checking.” SJ said, smiling.
“Shall we go hunt more hoglings now?” Dave asked.
“Let’s.”