The Kingdom of Vorheim was one the largest existing countries on the entire Listonian continent. It is also situated in a central location and surrounded by many other countries of varying sizes. Many players believe it is one of the last remnants of the Listonian Empire. For those that don't know, In the predecessor to HCO, the Listonian Empire subjugated the entire continent and brought all residents under its flag. However in the 1000 years of history between the 2 games, the Listonian Empire collapsed, resulting in many fractured and smaller countries being born and fighting over the territory.
Gii's current location is the Capitol city of the Vorheim Kingdom, Brena. In the days of Listonia it was an average sized merchant city, but now it was a thriving cultural center and military stronghold. It was easy to see why the city was able to thrive for so long, as it is surrounded on 3 sides by large and nearly impassable mountains. In fact the city itself was almost completely built directly into the mountainside.
Gii stood in a public courtyard that had the feeling of a central hub for commoners and adventurer types. Even though Gii had only taken around an hour or so on his character creation, other players were already completely engrossed in the game. Various craftsman stalls could be seen with players apprenticing to learn skills. Other players were yelling out prices for monster drops they were selling or looking for people to party with.
As the hustle and bustle of City life continued around him, Gii was amazed at the level of detail he was experiencing. All 5 of his senses were functioning. He took a deep breath through his nostrils and was assaulted by a variety of smells. Food, Dirt, Water, all of these smells swam through his lungs. He could even feel his fingers touch. His sense of smell and touch were dulled a bit but the fact they even functioned were incredible in and of itself. Until this point no other Vrmmo had been able to accurately recreate these two senses.
This is Awesome!
Gii couldn't hide his excitement as a smile spread across his face. He walked around the courtyard he was in while trying to take everything in. After he had finally calmed down and recomposed himself, he began to think about what he wanted to do first.
Hmm...first, lets see where I'm at.
“Character Status”
Status Window Name: Gii Alignment: Neutral Level: 1 Class: None Race: Human Reputation 0 - Health: 100 Health Regen: 0 / Sec Mana: 100 Mana Regen: 0 / Sec - Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Fortitude 10 Luck: 10
“...not bad.....but not good either”
As a Human, Gii didn't start with any outstanding stats. The good part was that he didn't have any bad ones either. Like this his character was essentially a blank slate that he could mold however he liked.
“alright...Inventory open”
Normally a player would start out with absolutely nothing according to the Beta testers he had talked to online. However, since Gii had per-ordered the game, he had a premium package in his inventory. He took out a small box wrapped in cloth and carefully opened it. Inside were 10 beginner potions, 100 gold coins and a brown >>Adventurer's Cloak<<. The cloak had no stats but it was a premium item only given to players who pre-ordered the game. Many people were wearing it to be fashionable.
Hehe...It's a must to have a good cloak!
Gii was no exception and donned the cloak on his shoulders. He let out a shout while raising his fist to the sky.
“My adventure begins!”
Some people around him snickered when they saw his pose but Gii ignored them. He started walking towards one of the nearest streets that came off of the courtyard. He had a very clear plan in mind. Even though the general setting and the game system itself was very similar to Listonia, the fact remained that many things were different about HCO.
Generally speaking, there were 2 types of people when an mmo just starts off and people are learning about it. There are those that are only eager to hunt and quickly rush off to the battlefield and level up. Then there are those that like to stay around the towns and complete quests for NPC's. Gii is one of the latter.
HCO boasted quests that were almost completely randomized. Beta testers mentioned how it was very rare for people to get the same quest over and over again. There were some Instanced dungeons that were repeatable, and quests that seemed similar (gave similar rewards and such), but having to farm the same quest or dungeon repeatedly almost never happened unless it was intended.
Gii's plan was to go around the city and complete quests for various NPC's while familiarizing himself with the game world and the game mechanics. Listonia was famous for having secrets hidden within quests and many people speculated HCO would be the same. The time in-game was sped up compared to time in the real world meaning 1 day in real life equals 1 week in-game. As such, Gii spent his first 2 days running around the city completing various tasks for NPC's.
“Could you bring this recipe to the chef on the East side?...it would be very helpful.”
“Collect all the letters this fool dropped and i'll give you a reward!”
“I heard you're reliable, do you think you think you could clear the mice out of my basement?”
“No Problem!”
Gii would always accept the quests with a smile and complete them as quickly as he could. He would gain experience for each quest he completed and even though it wasn't as good as hunting he still was able to reach level 4.
Hmm...do I want to spend anything yet?
Gii had saved up all his skill points and hadn't spent a single one yet. The reason was because he wanted to spend his skill points on his Class's strength. Since he currently had no class he was holding back spending anything until he decided on one.
Now that I think about it, I guess it's better to strengthen my base stats first...
After following all of the conversations from Beta testers, Gii had come across a lot of useful information. One of them was that it was possible to raise base stats through repetitive actions. Normally it would take quite a long time for the stats to raise significantly, but certain tasks worked better than others. While Gii was thinking about it, he suddenly remembered one such task.
Gii set off in the direction of the northwest district of the lower town. The city itself was set up into 3 tiers. There was the Lower Town where many farmers and other common folk live. There was the Upper City which was where many aristocrats and nobles live. Finally there was the Castle Town which was where the most important people in the city lived, namely the King and his direct retainers.
The northwest district of the lower town was a giant quarry that had been dug into the mountainside. This quarry had existed in the days of Listonia and was the main reason the city could remain so prosperous. The gems dug out from the mines here provided wealth while the ores fueled the blacksmiths of the kingdom.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
As the quarry came into view many holes could be seen throughout the mountain side. Mine-carts being pushed along rails by players and NPC's alike could be seen moving in and out of the mountain. Large stockpiles of ores were being loaded onto pack-mules heading towards the blacksmith and trade districts.
While taking in the scenery and carefully avoiding the people moving around, Gii began his search for the NPC in charge. Before long he came across a large burly NPC shouting orders by a stockpile. Gii approached the balding man who looked to be in his forties. He wore a big bushy beard and his large hairy limbs and general huge size made him look like a gorilla wearing a dirty tank top.
The man wiped his face with the rag draped around his neck before noticing Gii who was in his way.
“Excuse me, are you the one in charge here?”
“Outta the way pipsqueak.”
Gii frowned as the man ignored him and tried to push him out of the way.
“I'm just looking for someone who can give me permission to mine around here.”
At Gii's words the man came to a halt and took a moment to look him up and down.
“Hmph....lemme guess, you one of them adventurers whose lookin' to hit it rich in the mines?”
“haha...well...something like that”
“Hmph...while I don't recommend mining for someone scrawny like you, I can't deny another man's ambition....even if it is foolish.”
The burly man extended his hand and introduced himself.
“Name's Griff, Mining Operations Chief.”
Gii shook the man's hand while listening to his explanation.
“If you need it, there's mining equipment for sale in that hut over there. For a rookie like you I recommend it.”
“I'll allow you to keep anythin' you dig up to yourself, provided it's in one of the public mines. The ones marked by the Kingdom are off-limits”
With that the man gave a short 'Hmph' and went back to work. As he walked away a system message popped up in front of Gii.
Operations Chief Griff has granted you permission to freely mine areas of the Bren quarry not claimed by the kingdom.
* Mining Skill Acquired
With a satisfied expression, Gii made his way to the hut pointed out by Griff. After some negotiating with the NPC selling the equipment, he came out of the hut carrying 2 things. The first was an iron hardhat with a magic stone imbedded in the front that would emit light in dark places. The second thing was the most important, an iron pickaxe.
Gii equipped both pieces and made his way into the nearest public mine. Near the entrance to the mine there were many players who had the same thought process as Gii, toiling away at the exposed ore veins. As he moved deeper there were various monsters that began to appear. These mines were also used by players just starting out, to familiarize themselves with combat.
As he made his way into one of the offshoot mines where there weren't many players, there was a rumbling around him and dirt started falling from the ceiling. Gii quickly jumped backwards to avoid damage. Ceiling collapses were incredibly dangerous in mines and were one of the main reasons players tended to avoid the offshoot mines, even if there was less traffic there.
However, to Gii's surprise he didn't witness a ceiling collapse. Instead, a clump of rocks fell from the ceiling and then stood up to take a humanoid shape. What appeared before him was a >>Rock Golem (small variant)<<. At 4 feet tall it was about a 1.5ft shorter than him, but this was currently not a very good situation for Gii.
Most monsters that could be found in the town were things like level 1 mice or level 3 slimes in the sewers. Even in the mines there were similar monsters between levels 1-3. However there were some exceptions and the Rock Golem was one of them. At level 5 it was one of the stronger monsters found in starting towns. In addition to that it's nature made it resistant to some physical attacks. It was a tricky opponent for a low level player to fight solo.
Gii tried to ready himself but the Golem was able to launch a preemptive strike due to it's surprise appearance. It lowered it's shoulder and began to charge towards Gii like a football player. Even though he braced himself for the impact, Gii was still blown backwards losing nearly 25% of his HP in the process. Fortunately he was able to keep his balance and remain on his feet.
Lucky~~
The Rock Golem's >>>Shoulder Charge<<< skill was known to have a chance to stun it's target, but the effect didn't trigger this time. The >>>Shoulder Charge<<< skill might be the Golem's strongest move but it also slowed down it's movements after using it. Gii used the chance to strike back himself.
Rushing towards the Golem, he jumped up into the air and held his pickaxe with both hands over his head. Using all his strength and weight from his body he plunged the pickaxe towards the Golem's head. The Golem attempted to move but couldn't completely dodge the blow because of the slowed effect. The pickaxe scraped the side of the Golem's head and plunged deep into it's right shoulder. The blow was strong enough to cause a large crack to appear on it's body. A large portion of it's health bar disappeared.
Critical Hit!
“Hyaaaa!!”
Wasting no time Gii pulled out the Pickaxe and swung down on the same spot, causing the crack to grow larger. Bringing the pickaxe up again the slow effect from the Golem seemed to have worn off.
Too late!
Gii swung the pickaxe down for a third time on the same spot and finally the rock gave way, severing the Golem's right arm. Suddenly a blazing pain assaulted his right side and he was blown off of the Golem. On the impact of the hit Gii heard his ribs crack and because the Golem had sharpened it's left hand to a point it had punctured right into his stomach and internal organs. The sound of flesh tearing was mixed into the bone cracks. Normally a person would faint from such pain, but because his senses were dulled in the game, Gii was able to endure the hit.
You have taken a Critical Hit
* Bleeding Status Inflicted
Fuck!...I forgot about it's skill >>>Jackhammer Fist<<<
Gii had misjudged the situation, thinking that the Golem would die when he severed it's arm. As a result he left himself wide open for a counter attack. The critical hit on Gii left him with a less than 10% health.
good news is....he's not in much better shape
Gii's attack had left the Golem with a sliver of Health left. On top of that, he had a trump card the Golem didn't. He quickly opened one of his beginner potions and chugged it. His health went up by 30% and the bleeding status was removed. Without hesitation he rushed toward the now crippled Golem. The Golem pulled back it's arm, readying itself for another attack, but Gii was faster. He gripped the pickaxe tightly with both hands and swung with all his might in a horizontal arc towards the Golem's head. Upon contact the head shattered, sending debris to ricochet off of the cave wall. The rest of the Golem's body crumbled into a pile of dirt.
Level Up!
After looking at the system message that appeared, Gii collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.
“Whew!....man I suck at battle. But, well.....that was fun haha”
Laughing to himself, Gii lay sprawled out on the ground with a satisfied smile on his face, basking in the feeling of defeating his first strong foe.