After he got thrown out of the house to touch some grass, Zayn roamed around Emberfall. The Beginner Village had changed a lot. More Players roamed through the crowded streets of Emberfall but none of them acted out. He was almost expecting some street fights wherever he looked, and chaos devouring the village. But that was not the case. The first Guards sent out to reinforce the Immortals’ Beginner Villages arrived.
There were only a few Guards but their Foundation was several times stronger than most Players, allowing them to return peace and discipline to Emberfall.
Zayn heard rumors about some Immortals trying to attack the Guards with their numerical advantage to plunder the Guards’ Ranked Armaments and loot both Soul Essences and high-ranked Cards. However, the Guards weren’t foolish enough to fall victim to the Immortals’ traps. They exterminated all threats and threw the corpses in jail to let them rot there for several days. Everyone knew that the Immortals would resurrect from the dead, but that didn’t mean they could escape jails with power-restraining Enchantments.
The Players quickly realized that it was foolish to stir trouble within the Beginner Villages. Offending the village guards would result in jail time – something they couldn’t afford if they didn’t want to fall behind. They had to progress and grow stronger, and not rot in jail and stagnate.
Zayn planned to visit the former blacksmith, but he quickly noticed that his workshop was flooded with customers. He was too busy to deal with him. Igor waved toward him, happy to see Zayn outside his workshop, but they didn’t talk. Zayn gestured to Igor that he would come by later and that he would leave.
“I wonder what he would say if I told him that Old Farthma is jealous of my ‘talent’. It’s not exactly talent but the advantage of being an Immortal in Forgotten Lands. Well, being a time traveler is an even greater advantage,” He mumbled to himself, chuckling lightly as he recalled Old Farthma’s angry face.
Zayn understood how she must have felt. He achieved something that took her months, maybe even years, within a few days. It was understandable that the old Alchemist was irritated.
‘But she didn’t have to throw me out of the house until tonight. What the hell am I going to do now? I already did my daily workout, and I’ve finished my work with Percy and Nicolas as well…should I just log off and come back in a few hours after my potions have been sold? No, spending several days doing the same mundane task for almost 20 hours straight is getting boring. How about a change in routine?’
Staying in the Farming Hall and concocting potions might be where he would earn a fortune, but Zayn wanted a little change. He was hoping for a little bit…fun.
‘I could test my power and go for a hunt.’
Growing tired of growing his plants and concocting potions was not good…but it was not as if it was exhilarating like a dungeon raid or hunting a Region Boss.
“Hunting it is!”
**
“There are fewer Players with Ranked Weapons than I expected,” Zayn mumbled as he walked past the last group of Players. He moved deeper into the Arylin Forest, one hand lightly touching the Shanyt Axe’s handle.
Inspecting the Players had always been quite intriguing. It was interesting to analyze their combat style, gauge the distribution of their Foundation, and determine the quality of a Player’s equipment.
Zayn was also often curious about whether a Player obtained their equipment through hard work, or if they used the power of Credits. It was fun to watch newbies invest heavily into expensive equipment, only to get too full of themselves, and die miserably. They died and lost the majority of expensive equipment instantly.
That was also why only experts were willing to use Ranked Armaments at this point. Others invested their Credits into Cards because they were unlikely to drop upon dying. Player Hunters wouldn’t even glance at you. They wanted to earn a quick buck, preferably a fortune without having to lift a finger.
And what could earn more money than the equipment of other Players? The drop-rate of monsters was nowhere near 100% and even if a monster dropped something valuable, would it be as valuable as a Player’s armor, weapons, and accessories? No, obviously not.
To obtain Soul Essences and Cards one had to kill many monsters or monsters with a higher Foundation. It had to be a challenge. Killing a new Player who used his Credits to purchase expensive equipment was hardly a challenge, but the rewards were enticing. It was also the reason why numerous Players chose to hunt other Players, weaker Players. They were easy prey and tiny treasure troves.
Why was that important to mention? It’s pretty simple.
Zayn ran into a group of Player Hunters.
“Why would a Player with a Foundation at 30 roam the Arylin Forest with a Ranked Weapon, alone at that? Are you just stupid, or do you like pain?” A burly man, probably their leader, asked, “Are you one of those disgusting pigs who use Forgotten Lands realism to fulfill your dirty desires?”
The burly man stared at Zayn in disgust. He stepped forward and retrieved a large double-headed war axe.
“Unfortunately, I won’t give you any fulfillment. I will cut you in half with one swoop and strip you naked!”
Zayn raised an eyebrow, his eyes glancing across the scenery in front of him. There were at least 10 Players in the burly man’s group. None of them wielded a Ranked Weapon, but their equipment was fairly decent.
“I never expected dirty scum to be so talkative. That’s news for me.”
Zayn’s comment struck the Player Hunters harder than expected. They unsheathed their swords and spears simultaneously. Arrows were nocked on two bowstrings, pulled back, and aimed at Zayn, who smiled brightly.
“We are not scum, you fucking peasant!” One of the Player Hunters screamed, charging at Zayn, who could only chuckle.
“Hearing this from your kind sounds like you’re praising me, lil ant.”
The Player Hunter charged ahead, his spear grasped tightly. A white glimmer shrouded the spear blade as the Player activated a Card. In the next moment, his speed increased. He arrived in front of Zayn, who’d retrieved the Shanyt Axe.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Two arrows, both coated in energy, whizzed past the Player Hunter and were about to pierce Zayn’s throat and eye when he disappeared.
Zayn used Blink to appear next to the spear-wielder and cleaved down. The Shaynt Axe was about to hit the Player Hunter when a second barrage of arrows reached Zayn. The arrows were shot hurriedly and didn’t possess the same power as the first volley. They didn’t even aim at his vitals.
Zayn used Iron Bark, creating a bark-like shimmer all over his skin. The arrows impacted but they didn’t manage to pierce his skin. Iron Bark at Level 31 managed to protect him. As the arrows impacted, the Shanyt Axe’s blade found its target as well. It glowed faintly as Zayn triggered the Sharpness Enchantment right before the razor-sharp blade cut through the Player’s leather armor in one go.
The spear-wielder screamed aloud, a fountain of warm blood gushing out of his split shoulder as he collapsed on the ground. Zayn moved swiftly, retracting the Shanyt Axe right before delivering a final blow to the defenseless Player. His throat was sliced open, killing the ignorant Player Hunter within seconds.
The other Player Hunters didn’t remain idle. They didn’t watch their colleague die for nothing. The six Players focusing on close combat had surrounded Zayn, whereas the two Archers prepared a second attack. All they needed was a second to fully charge their arrows. However, a second was too long. Zayn was not generous enough to give them a second chance to attack him.
He unleashed Root Strike twice.
Two roots as thick as Zayn’s forearm burst out of the ground next to the Archers. They appeared without warning and pierced through their chest before they could scream. The roots returned to the ground and the bodies of the two Archers fell lifelessly to the ground. But Zayn was still not done. He used Root Strike a third time to eliminate the Mage Apprentice, who had been hiding from Zayn’s view to strike him with an elemental attack, or a curse when his attention was pulled to the melee fighters.
An ear-deafening scream escaped the Mage Apprentice’s lips as the roots around him came to life. A root struck his head, breaking the Player’s skull instantaneously. He was killed on the spot, leaving only six melee fighters for Zayn to deal with.
‘Root Strike is a lot stronger than I expected,’ Zayn noticed.
He had been using various high-level Cards in the past, but it was still a surprise that Root Strike was this strong.
‘Well, it makes sense. I doubt that many Players have a Foundation above 50 at this point. Investing more than 20 Soul Essences into the Star of Vitality would be stupid. Even 15 would be over the top if they want to create a properly balanced Foundation.’
Root Strike was at Level 31. He doubted that many Players would level their Cards to such a high level. At least, not until they selected their Class. And that would still take a while. Zayn’s power leveling in the early game had been an overkill. It was not something anyone sane would do, not to the same extent as Zayn did. But it gained him a great advantage Of course, that was only good for him.
For his enemies….they had to suffer the consequences of their actions.
“You basta–...” One of them screamed but his throat was pierced by a root bursting out of the ground before he could finish his clichè-like exclamation. Zayn looked at the leader and flashed a smile. A moment later, he used Blink to appear behind a Swordsman. He used his control vines and roots to root his feet to the ground and restrain his movements. The Shanyt Axe did the rest, beheading the Swordsman.
Several Cards were utilized against Zayn, resulting in a momentary loss of sight and tone-deafness. By activating Scent of Treasure, Zayn’s smelling sense improved drastically. He distinguished the scents that hung in the air and evaded three incoming attacks before using Root Strike once again to act as a shield.
Zayn was pretty sure that he could block most attacks with Iron Bark, but it was not necessary to risk anything. An energy bolt burst in his chest when his sight and hearing senses returned, but the damage was insignificant. Even a thousand energy bolts at that level wouldn’t be enough to harm him.
He continued to use Iron Bark and Blink to move out of the mass of enemies before he began to slaughter the remaining Player Hunters with Root Strikes and traditional attacks using the Shanyt Axe.
Zayn didn’t sustain any real damage. He was hit by a few attacks but that was mostly intentional because he knew that he could take the hits with Iron Bark. It was better to get hit while continuing to move rather than lose his momentum. His rhythm was not disturbed even once, giving him enough playground to experiment with Iron Bark, Blink, and Root Strikes.
10 Players have been slain. +6 Soul Essences.
Fortune shines upon you. Your enemies dropped 2 Cards from their Heart Deck!
“Their foundation was a little bit higher than mine. That’s to be expected. Forgotten Lands has been launched five days ago. My progress is a little slow,” Zayn mumbled after he diverted his gaze from the notifications.
His Foundation might be rather low, but he was not far behind the rest. Furthermore, it was not like he had been focused on his Foundation, in the first place. His priority was to earn money, which was exactly what he was doing. The potions and his channel were going to make him rich.
If that was not enough, Zayn could still use his over-leveled Card Set to catch up to the other Players and surpass them easily in less than a day. But he did not want to catch up to the other Players. Not yet, at least.
[Proficiency of Blink reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Iron Bark reached 100%. Level Up!]
Iron Bark advanced to Level 10. +1 Soul Essence.
[Proficiency of Root Stike reached 100%. Level Up!]
[Proficiency of Root Stike reached 100%. Level Up!]
“Having a weaker Foundation is truly advantageous,” Zayn chuckled lightly, “It’s just sad that Root Strike will reach level 10 soon. I will have to work harder to level the Card Set.”
It would be great to level up the Demonic Treant Card Set since Iron Bark, and Root Strike were powerful Cards in combat. As for Rapid Plant Growth. The Card’s power at Leve 34 was strong enough to develop a common seed into a fully blossomed flower with two uses.
Using Rapid Plant Growth twice wouldn’t consume much energy either!
Of course, the energy consumption would increase if used on more complex plants, or plants of higher quality. There was no shortcut for growing Legendary plants, either. It required a green finger, hard work, and lots of energy!
Fortunately, Zayn didn’t plan to nourish a Legendary plant.
He collected the two Cards dropped from the Player Hunters and inspected them lightly. They lost a considerable amount of proficiency for being forcefully removed from the Players’ Heart Decks, but that didn’t affect Zayn. The Cards didn’t break. That was already good enough.
Power Shot
Common - Level 2(1%)
Hunter’s Trail
Common - Level 1(62%)
“Power Shot is useless to me, and Hunter’s Trail is similar to Scent of Treasure. Both are still good though. They can fetch a small fortune.”
Zayn didn’t think twice before he auctioned the two Common Cards via the Forsaken Auctionhouse. He completed all settings within a minute and peeked at the bids for his potions and grinned like a foolish girl.
The average bid for the Minor Fire Resistance Potions was at 1 Gold 10 Silver and the Energy Recovery Potions increased to 22 Silver Coins per bottle. That was a great success!
“Now…how am I going to bring you guys back to Emberfall?” Zayn asked, looking at the Armor Sets and Weapons he would obtain right after stripping the corpses of the ten Player Hunters naked.