Fighting with the remaining Inferior Demonic Treants was not very difficult. However, it required a specific plan and meticulous execution to prevent unnecessary injuries.

The Blackbelly Boars and the dead treants acted as baits, drawing out the Inferior Demonic Treants’ roots, which Zayn severed easily. What followed was the arduous task of cutting through the treants’ iron-like bark.

Despite all that, it didn’t even take half an hour before the next four Inferior Demonic Treants fell victim to Zayn’s relentless attacks.

Inferior Demonic Treant has been slain.

Inferior Demonic Treant has been slain.

Inferior Demonic Treant has been slain. +1 Soul Essence +Common Card Shard

Inferior Demonic Treant has been slain. +1 Soul Essence

Gaining two Soul Essences from four Inferior Demonic Treants was a decent haul. The Inferior Demonic Treants’ foundation was quite strong. It was much stronger than Zayn’s foundation. After all, Zayn had been focused on reinforcing the Star of Strength.

But that was also why Zayn managed to make such a great haul. Obtaining Soul Essences and a Common Card Shard from four enemies was great. It demonstrated perfectly well that fighting enemies with higher foundations was more rewarding than murdering entire populations of weak monsters. The former would provide rewards for almost every kill whereas one could be happy if the latter rewarded a single Soul Essence.

That was also why Zayn wanted to keep his foundation rather low for the time being. Keeping his Foundation low was a great tactic to collect Soul Essences. Unfortunately, it was only helpful until you accumulated a certain amount of Soul Essences. It would be increasingly more difficult to harvest Soul Essences without utilizing them. That could be circumvented but not many would be willing to slow down their progress to grind some Soul Essences while being Classless.

It was important to grow stronger to procure precious resources, Ranked Armaments, and precious Cards. The Cards didn’t even have to be high-quality. It was just a fact that stronger monsters tended to drop better Cards, even if their quality was Common.

Zayn’s tactic was unique at this point in the game, but he had a plan – a good one if someone were to ask him. He first integrated one Soul Essence into the Star of Vitality to strengthen his endurance and reinforce his vessel. Inferior 3/10 ought to be strong enough to endure upgrading the Star of Strength to the next rank.

One Soul Essence has been integrated into the Star of Vitality.

Zayn was just about to integrate the remaining Soul Essence into the Star of Strength when another message popped up in front of him.

A Set of 10 Common Card Shards has been detected. Combine?

“Right. I collected the 10th Common Card Shard,” Zayn mumbled right before commencing the combination of Common Card Shards.

Combining Card Shards usually resulted in a random Card manifesting, but it was possible to play around with the probability, even if it was just a little. Using 10 Card Shards dropped from the same monster would increase the probability of receiving a Card related to the monster’s abilities. That made hunting specific Cards easier – if not by much.

Of course, Zayn had no idea where the Card Shards from Scarface came from. It could have been from any monster, literally. All Zayn could do was stare at the glowing mass that formed in his hands. The glow intensified as the ten Common Card Shards were pulled out of his bags. He saw the Card Shards for a few seconds in the glowing mass, revolving around each other, until the radiance intensified.

The familiar sensation of mythical energies passing through the bright light grazed his range of perception and the subtle noises of the Card Shards scratching against each other resounded in his ears.

A full minute filled with silence passed until the bright glowing mass dimmed down. It dispersed in all directions, creating a small firework display of lights and revealing the Common Card that had just been created.

Scent of Treasure

Common - Level 1(0%)

Utility

Active

Requires Energy to be used.

Effect – Enhances the User’s sense of smell and allows him to decipher plants of all kinds.

The higher the quality of a plant the more potent the smell.

–

Efficiency of Scent of Treasure increases with Card Level

Energy consumption decreases as the Card Level increases.

Range of effect increases with Card Level.

–

At first, Zayn felt a burst of disappointment. However, upon re-reading Scent of Treasure’s effect, Zayn was actually interested. It looked like lady luck played in his favor, somewhat. There were better Common Cards that could have manifested, but it was fine. Scent of Treasure could be used for a while before he would remove and sell it for some quick cash.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Zayn pressed the white Card against his chest and linked it to his Heart Deck without thinking twice. He had enough space to spare, after all.

Utility Card has been linked to your Deck. Please prepare for the Influx of Information!

Zayn was already far enough to avoid the next closest Inferior Demonic Treants, but he took a step back as the influx of information reached him. He learned how to use Scent of Treasures, what it was usually used for, and how much energy it consumed.

“Finding truffles, herbs, and other valuable goods could come in handy in the next few days. Low energy consumption and decent range. That’s not too bad.”

Since he needed money, finding a few treasures didn’t sound too bad. It was something that could come in handy if utilized properly. Zayn activated Scent of Treasure, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose. Various scents filled his nostrils instantaneously. It felt almost like the scents attacked him. The sensation was unfamiliar to Zayn. It was weird. However, it was not painful. He could get used to it after a while.

Zayn kept Scent of Treasure utilized and turned to his right. He pushed a small thorny bush aside, unveiling a flower with azure-colored petals.

“Azura Lecantris?” Zayn asked himself, not quite sure if he was seeing correctly. The flower was known as one of the main ingredients used for Energy Replenishment Beverages. The azure-colored petals absorbed the ambient energy and hoarded it. Zayn noticed a faint glow around the petals. That meant the petals were almost filled to the brim with ambient energy.

Azura Lecantris Flowers weren’t worth a fortune but being able to find one this easily was certainly an advantage. He was not even trying hard, but his fortune should have increased by a silver or two.

“Looks like this Card is pretty good.”

Zayn told himself to use Scent of Treasure whenever he changed his location and when he strolled through the Arylin Forest. That should be enough to make a small fortune on the side.

Satisfied with himself and his new Card his focus returned to one of the most crucial parts of this step of his plan.

Zayn integrated one Soul Essence into the Star of Strength and waited for the messages that popped up right after.

One Soul Essence has been integrated into the Star of Strength.

Requirements to upgrade the Star of Strength have been met. Please seek a safe place before the upgrade commences.

Since the upgrade of his Foundation Star didn’t occur in reality, Zayn didn’t deem it necessary to go into hiding for a few hours. He was not even in a Gaming Pod right now. But despite being fully aware that the upgrade of his Foundation Star wouldn’t be as bad as it would have been in reality, Zayn didn’t underestimate his first Foundation Star upgrade. The first hurt the most, after all.

Just as he recalled the pain of upgrading his Foundation Stars in the past, Zayn felt like he had been thrown into a blast furnace. A heatwave invaded his body and coursed through his flesh and muscles. It felt like a dam filled with molten lava had been set free inside him. Zayn grit his teeth and closed his eyes. He regulated his breathing and allowed the molten lava to course through him.

His legs trembled like jelly and standing on his feet seemed like a sheer impossible feat. After a few seconds passed, Zayn groaned in pain, cursing his futile attempt to shut down his mind until the upgrade of his Strength Foundation Star had been completed. Slowly but steadily the molten lava reached every corner of his body. Every cell in his body was affected by the upgrade of his Foundation upgrade.

Zayn continued to struggle as the molten lava inside him seemed to be melting everything inside his body, ranging from his flesh and veins to his bones. His skin turned red and his pores all over his body opened up, releasing smoke from within. It felt like he was being cooked from within, and Zayn couldn’t even say whether that was actually happening or not. All he could think about was that it didn’t hurt this much last time.

‘Is it because my Foundation is weaker than last time? Should I have increased my Foundation a little bit before upgrading the Star of Strength to the Novice rank? No. My plan wouldn’t have worked out. Just endure it! It’s not the first time you've felt this miserable! Think about everything you’ve lost in the past and overcome the pain!’

Zayn thought about everything that happened in the past. Ranging from the day he started playing Forgotten Lands to the first appearance of foreign beings on Earth. Everything happened rapidly and Earth’s population dwindled in the blink of an eye. Forgotten Lands went offline, the dangers in reality replacing the not-so-dangerous VRMMORPG.

‘I need to grow stronger. I need to be better. I have to be!!!’ He screamed in his mind.

Zayn was sweating profusely, but the sweat evaporated near-instantly. He was not sure how much time passed but it sure damn felt like an eternity. He took lungfuls of air and gasped loudly as he noticed something from the corner of his blurred vision. At some point, his skin began to shed. Bits of his old skin were still clinging to his body, but a simple bath would cleanse it all.

He looked at the shed skin and saw that his skin didn’t look normal. Black dots sprinkled on his shed skin. It were impurities, the impurities from within his body – his in-game character’s body, to be precise.

Star of Strength[Inferior] has advanced to the [Novice] rank. Congratulations.

The ghost of a smile formed on Zayn’s lips as the message he’d been waiting for appeared at last. The pain spreading through every inch of his body dispersed slowly, tremendous physical strength replacing both the pain and the soreness within him.

Zayn clenched his fists and couldn’t hide his foolish smile anymore. He punched out several times, jumped up and down, and initiated some rapid movements to test if his vessel was truly strong enough to contain a Novice-ranked Foundation Star.

‘I cannot upgrade the Star of Strength any further without damaging my body, but that’s not necessary. It’s perfect!’ He thought, his eyes lingering on the Foundation Orbit’s sheet.

[Foundation Orbit]

[Star of Vitality – Inferior 3/10]

[Star of Strength– Novice 10/100]

[Star of Agility – Inferior 2/10]

[Star of Dexterity – Inferior 1/10]

[Star of Perception – Inferior 1/10]

[Star of Energy – Inferior 1/10]

[Star of Wisdom– Inferior 1/10]

‘Fortunately, the power transfer of one’s Foundation won’t be instant through Gaming Pods. I really don’t want to experience this shit over and over again.’

The first Foundation upgrades were truly horrible, but the results were extraordinary.

It was time for Zayn to turn into a full-time Logger.