Yuta had woken up the next day totally refreshed. He looked at the time, and realized it had been about twenty hours since he started playing the game. It truly felt like reality though, even the fact that one could even sleep in the game. Furthermore, sleeping in a bed in the game instead of just logging out provided a Well Rested Bonus, which slightly improved XP gains.
That said, this game really was quite real. For one thing, he was even able to feel the sweat and dirt that got on him from battle. And of course, he could also feel hunger and thirst. This game was advertised as a new reality after all.
On that note!
Yuta discovered he quickly had to use the bathroom shortly after waking up, and so rushed off to do so.
----------------------------------------
"...they take attention to detail very seriously. To think the village doesn't even have modern plumbing. And that there would be such a long line...a lot of people were just wearing a shirt or underwear because I guess they got surprised...like me".
Now that Yuta was dressed and satisfied, he made sure to eat and drink properly before heading out. Thankfully, he wouldn't have as much of those issues in real life while playing. After all, one's body was more or less asleep while playing, making the game sort of like a dream. As a result, it used less energy, so hunger and thirst was developed less. As such, one might even be able to skip a meal or two. Not only that, but the NSS, as well as other support systems, would further help to make sure no other issues emerged from this. One could go on strong for a good long while.
As for what Yuta decided to do in game, he decided on something twofold. First of all, he would try to level up some more, but he also wanted to start harvesting crafting materials. He figured that if he started to make his own stuff, he could use it in battle, and perhaps even use this as a way to make friends in game!
As such, he decided to go out towards the forest. As he did though, he felt like he heard various people gossiping, and wondered if there were some eyes on him. It felt uncomfortable, it reminded him of those who were jealous, even though what had happened was a tragedy.
As such, he decided to rush out of there. He was not sure why they had been looking at him like that, but he didn't want to dwell on it too much. Furthermore, he had a hunch. A hunch that he was imagining it, having a panic attack like he sometimes did. That was how bad things had been for him.
Either way, he made it back to the woods, this time with renewed zeal. Not only was he determined to not be defeated this time, but he would scour every nook and cranny for useful resources! After all, he figured if this game was this in detail, perhaps the really good stuff would in fact be hidden in ways normal gamers wouldn't expect!
And so he marched into the forest.
That said, at first gathering did not go all that well. He found some things, like Mystral Grass, Eldion Flowers, and Corai Roots, but that was some basic stuff. Furthermore, they were for making potions, which was a skill he did not have. That said, he got some XP every time he gathered, although it was minimal. As a result, he started gathering various random stuff. His experience with battle yesterday had taught him that it would be better for him to go like this, rather then having to spend time walking back whenever he respawned. Furthermore, thanks to his Fae Wings, he was able to fly up and gather materials from the tallest trees as well.
A lot of what he got came up as unknown. They looked like normal grass, bark, weeds, and such, and showed zero benefit to harvesting. Yuta had just gone crazy with harvesting, but ended up collecting a lot of useless things. Still, he did eventually find himself at a stream. He had been walking for awhile and his feet were sore, so he took off his shoes and soaked his feet in the water, enjoying the feel.
He had done this once during a school field trip, and it felt exactly the same. The sensory experience was fantastic.
"To think, only a little over an hour has passed in the real world. That is kind of crazy".
Still, as he was relaxing, he suddenly heard a growl and a combat notice emerged. He turned around, only to see it was his arch nemesis, a Fang Squirrel.
In fact, there were three of them!
"Wind Blast!"
He hit them all with a wind blast, an AoE wind magic attack. However, while yesterday it did 2 damage, this time it did three damage to all of them. Perhaps it was because his magic stat increased. However, this also meant Yuta had a way of dealing with the swarm! He quickly cast Wind Blast again, and took them all down by another 3HP. The Squirrels went and attacked him, but thanks to his increase in agility, and being familiar with the attack, he was able to dodge. He unleashed another Wind Blast, and now they all were down to 1HP.
Unfortunately for him, at this point he stepped on a pebble. He was still barefoot, and it was quite the shock, so he fell backwards on his butt. The Squirrels did not miss this chance and attacked him, but Yuta was able to let out a wind blast. However, with them so close up, the AoE zone only hit two of them, leaving one left as he reached two HP. He quickly punched the remaining one in a hurry, and it dissipated.
"...I somehow managed to not die! Yes!"
That said, he was worried next time he might end up fighting 5, if this pattern continued. Leaving math humor aside, he ended up getting a level up from that. He quickly decided to allocate his points properly.
Name: Yuta Race: Mixed-Blood Elf HP: 3/7 MP: 2/14 Class/Level: Mage 3 Str: 0 Dex: 2 End: 3 Mind: 10 Magic: 11+1 Luck: 1 Agi: 4+4 Torso: Basic Mage Robe Head: Legs: Basic Shorts Feet: None Left Hand: Right Hand: Accessory 1: Accessory 2: Accessory 3: Accessory 4: Accessory 5: Accessory 6:
There.
He put the Agile Mage Shoes back on after he let his feet dry a bit more, and then proceeded to go on his adventure picking up materials. Not only that, but he was finally able to obtain Fang Squirrel materials since he didn't die this time! One had to manually harvest materials from bodies or traces, although it was likely far easier and simpler, since after a bit of toolwork you got everything you needed, and Yuta was pretty sure normally there would be far more actual guts and blood in reality.
As such, Yuta continued to harvest every random thing he found. He even took his shoes off again, and headed into the stream. He saw a shiny rock, and he decided to sttart collecting those as well, in the off chance he found any ore or such. Elven Crafting involved special Elven Magic to help create objects and items. It wasn't like it was a super powerful skill from what he understood, but it was one that could be hard to get and could have some interesting aspects to it. At least, that was what he gathered from the descriptions.
As he was picking some stuff up however, he noticed something strange.
"Hold on, aren't there stone bricks in this water?"
Without a doubt, he could feel it with his feet. After he moved some of the rocks and picked up others, what was underneath was smoothed down. However, he soon realized whatever it was, it was not bricks. Instead, it was pure solid smoothed stone. Whatever it was, it felt nice. But as he took a step forward, he suddenly was glowing, and his vision became pure white. The moment it was over, he came to in an unknown location. Whatever the place was, it looked grand and magnificent. That said, the interior looked a bit basic and old. While the base structure was magnificent, the decor could use some work.
"This some sort of special zone? Maybe a dungeon, although if it is I don't have much faith in facing it. Not when I am still so low level".
He had increased his stats so they were better, but it wasn't like he was some sort of god level character. However, no notice of any dungeon appeared, nor did he get any combat indicators as he looked around. Certainly, it was quite an interesting place. There were some oldd books, some crafting tables, things like that. It was all very basic however, with nothing really fancy. Yuta could purchase a basic workkit to do what one station could do for 500 gold. However, it was still clearly quite interesting. It was a sort of workshop. As he stepped into the center however, chains of golden light emerged from the floor and imprisoned him.
"What is your goal in life? What do you desire? Answer truthfully, or be punished and barred from this place forever".
What?! Was there an event like this?!
Yuta found himself suddenly facing some sort of expulsion. Furthermore, the golden chains seemed to interfere with the ability to log out or use any recall options or items. Yuta was not sure who set this up, but he decided to try and answer honestly.
"I want to make friends...and I desire safety!"
He answered what was in his heart, although he felt flustered. He knew this much about himself to be sure, but he was nervous to admit it openly, even to an NPC or NPC like thing. And yet, the golden chains seemed to release him.
"Your answer is full of kindness and wisdom. I believe I can leave this legacy to you".
Suddenly, Yuta got a bit more of XP, and leveled up to Level 4. Furthermore, he got a strange new thing. He recieved notification that he had suddenly come into possession of a location, Riverbed Workshop. It even gave him an option to rename it, but for now he decided to leave the name alone. He was more surprised that suddenly he gained a location.
He even unlocked a new tab in the character page for location management. That said, he noticed that while it was a location, it was not that great. It was a six room facility, but three were storage rooms, one was in a state of massive disrepair, that was the bedroom of course, and then there was the workshop room. Then finally there was the study. The portal was also in the workshop room.
However, he also got a strange magic known as Construction Magic, and furthermore it was at level 5! His Elven Magic and wind Magic also recieved a free level each.
Name: Yuta Race: Mixed-Blood Elf HP: 7/7 MP: 16/16 Class/Level: Mage 4 Str: 0 Dex: 2 End: 3 Mind: 12 Magic: 13+1 Luck: 1 Agi: 4+4 Torso: Basic Mage Robe Head: Legs: Basic Shorts Feet: None Left Hand: Right Hand: Accessory 1: Accessory 2: Accessory 3: Accessory 4: Accessory 5: Accessory 6:
Skills: Wind Magic 4, Fae Wings 1, Archery 1, Elven Magic 5, Acrobatics 2, Elven Crafting 4, Construction Magic 5 Passive Skills: Elven Physique, Silver Wayfinder, Silver Child
With more HP and END, I wont die as quickly to what are essentially bottom tier enemies now at least! That means I can grind properly like in a proper RPG!
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
As he thought that however, he loooked into Construction Magic. Apparently, it was magic that was used mainly to build bases. Since you needed a lot of resources to build bases however, it was apparently hard to level. You couldn't use points to level it up, so he guessed this was some sort of special thing he found.
That said, as I just started, its not like I have that many resources yet either. I mean, iv been collecting random stuff and putting it into my inventory, but that was just to level gathering. It was all kind of random junk....huh?
When he checked his inventory again, he discovered that the random stuff he had picked up, at least a good portion of it, all had more details now. That said, those details were almost entirely construction based, however there were a number of them that showed up as core materials used by Elves, including the white stones he had picked up. Apparently they were called Astrite, and were used mainly in Elven Architecture and weapons.
Also, apparently they were ores, not stone. He had just been randomly picking things up, but it seemed by chance he got a lot of the stuff.
"With this...I could make a bunch of really cool secret bases! And cool looking bases! The dream of any man! This is awesome!"
He was sure if he built truly great bases, people wouldn't see him as weak. He had died to the lowest tier enemy after all, repeatedly. Without a doubt he was weak, and he wasn't sure players would want to get to know a weak player. He wanted friends to just be friends, but considering how much of a loser he had been, not having any real friends in real life, just people who wanted to be with him because of money, he wasn't sure.
He absolutely didn't want to get near anyone like that, but cool base enthusiasts. Those were people he could definentely befriend! And perhaps even fellow mages, or others who just want to have fun!
Either way, he now had a marker on his map for this place. There wasn't any fast travel in the game, at least not yet, but at least he could find it again easily. As he looked around though, he clearly saw that while this place was hidden, he wouldn't want to live here. At least, not yet. Not only was it far away from town, but the bedroom was completely in disrepair. There was no way he could sleep there, and he was not sure about sleeping in a place that had no bathroom or bath. Sure, he could bathe himself in the stream outside, and go in the forest, but what if people saw him? It wasn't like it was his real body, but embarrassing thoughts aside, he would be vulnerable to PvP out there, or from another monster attack. He would like to avoid that if at all possible.
After all, although harassment was no good, the game was not going to stop players who set up ambushes out in the wilds. It was a valid tactic after all, although certain zones did have PvP disabled. Most areas in town were like that, but also there were various hunting grounds as well. And if a group continuously tried to go after the same person too many times, the admins might end up getting involved after all, since it would count as harassment.
That said, Yuta decided not to leave right away. There was one thing he wanted to try first. He had that Astrite after all, it was a very light weight metal. Well, it was the ore, but there were things here to help him refine it into workable metal. Once he completed that however, he ended up learning Smithing 1. After that, he went to the workstation, and proceeded to process it. Naturally, as this was a game, it was much faster then it would be in real life. However, as he was working on his staff, a notificaiton came up.
[Would you like to use Elven Magic to enhance the creation of this staff? Y/N]
Naturally, he was curious what it would do, so he accepted. He felt some of his MP get siphoned, and then the magical energy flowed from him and into the workstation. Suddenly, Smithing went up by an entire level, and he gained another level as well. It caused the staff to take shape a little. It was made of all metal, so it was more elegant then a wooden staff. It was a bit short, but as he was a mixed blood elf, that would be perfectly fine. When the staff finished, it was silver with a small golden sphere at the end, with four prongs closed in on it.
He examined the staff, and found it to be a decent one. Considering how much of a beginner he was, it was really good for him.
Name: Elven Staff (200/200) Abilities: Magic +6, Mind +3, Small Boost to Elven Magic Potency, Small Boost to Elven Magic Efficiency, Small Boost to Ritual Casting
He had no idea what Ritual Casting was yet, but if it was an Elven Ritual Casting, he might be able to do something amazing. That said, he had no idea how to ritual cast, so he would have to look it up later. The devs asked to not haphazardly post information about the lore or basic details, because there were actually libraries in game that one could visit. They wanted people to use the in game resources to find information like that, and they also hinted that "you might gain more information reading the primary sources then what people just posted on the forums".
It definitely sounded like the stuff in the libraries might hold secret lore, that could end up leading to hidden locations like this lab, as well as other secrets. That said, most players probably are still going out to fight monsters. It was a game after all, and that was what they probably wanted to do first. In other words, it might be best to go quickly, before all the good stuff got found!
After collecting his staff, he headed towards the platform. He took off his shoes again though first, since the point would still be in the stream. Once he stepped on it, he was immediately teleported back to the stream. The water went up past his knees where he was, so he quickly got out of it.
I suppose I should be thankful I got shorts, and that the entrance wasn't deeper in. If it had been, I might have needed to enter naked or something. Or at least get a spare change of clothes.
He then made his way back towards the beginning town once he dried his feet a bit and put on his shoes. He encountered a few more Fang Squirrels, but thankfully now he could deal with them.
Still, to think picking up random stuff got me such a score! What luck! Although now my inventory is nearly full and is such a mess, but I can sort it out tonight. Library first!
When he made it to the library, it was not quite as empty as he thought it might be, but it wasn't as crowded as he feared. Most people were there solo, but there was one table with a group of eight players, all together with books and paper. He went over to the receptionist, who recommended a book detailing basic magic and the basics of how to cast it as well. Yuta thanked her, which made her give him thanks in return a bit more warmly then when they first greeted.
Hmmm? Maybe NPCs are programmed to like it more when you treat them like people? Ill make a note of that and be sure to treat them well, might lead to some special unlocks! Plus, it really made me feel good.
He headed over to the shelves, and went to find a book. As he did, another person started to reach for the book under that book, but they reflexively at first thought they were reaching for the same book.
"Oh, sorry to startle you".
"No no, its no problem at all. I was just after that math book over there".
"I was going for the magic book".
Relieved that they were after different books, Yuta and the girl let out a bit of relief.
"By the way, my name is Yuta. Im just curious, but...why a math book?"
"Summer homework. My and some others still needed to get it done, and we keep getting hounded by our parents for it. We heard about the time dilation of the game, and since we were all gamers, we decided to also use it to study and get it done to get our parents off our backs".
"Wait, so you are studying in a game?"
"Three hours of studying in here is only a fraction of the time in the real world. We can transfer documents from the system to our computers just like how we can bring episodes of anime in or eBooks and enjoy them here".
"Ah, makes sense".
Such a thing could potentially lead to abandoning reality though, but thanks to the NSS, that sort of thing was generally avoided.
So I guess there are going to be a lot of students using it to cram for tests then. Well, certainly it makes sense.
"By the way, if you think that is shocking, there is a cram school already made inside the game".
"The hell?!"
"Yep. After all, saves time as well".
"...people are really putting the time dilation to good use".
"Yeah. Well, the whole point of it was to make sure you could play the game like it was reality, without it actually messing up your actual real life after all".
"They definitely delivered on that front...sometimes a bit too well, but its overall still enjoyable".
"Haaa...tell me about it. They were really dedicated to realism in this world. To even replicate the need to use the bathroom, that was a bit much. But they also replicated flavor well, although the most common food you can find, rations, tastes terrible. But there are some things that are good, granted more expensive, so at least that is something".
"Yeah. Well, it was nice talking to you".
"Thanks. Oh right, you can call me Yia. Nice talking to you!"
Oh man, that was close.
Yuta had been seconds away from sending her a friend request. It was likely she was several years younger than him, and this was the first time they had met. He wasn't sure it was appropriate to send a friend request for just this, but he was so excited and into it he nearly did so several times. As much as he wanted friends, he was worried that might just creep her out.
Well, it seemed like she might be a regular at this library, so he thought maybe if they kept running into each other here, they would just become friends naturally. His plan to make friends might just be making some progress!
Either way, he decided to look up ritual casting in the book, along with some other aspects. Apparently, ritual casting involved doing some sort of ritual or preparation, or required the use of a specific type of activity or doing sometthing. Some ritual castings involved dancing, but Yuta was certain he would avoid those. He would never want to be caught dead trying to dance. It was apparently very bad, sort off childish. Others involved the use of certain items, or a certain combination of items, while pouring magic power into it. Others involved singing, while a few involved simply meditating in place. There were various sub-categories, but Yuta only read through some of them. He noticed in the book there were handwritten notes scrawled into it, which he found odd. After all, would there really be this many at the start of the game?
He decided to take screenshots of them, thinking they might hold some sort of hidden meeting or message, until it got late. He went and got some lunch, but turned around suddenly when he felt like someone was staring at him. He didn't see anyone though, so he continued on his way to get some food, and then head to the inn to organize his inventory and sleep.
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Rumors in Town Thread!
A place to chat about various rumors and gossip, and maybe get some juicy intel!
Screenshots are appreciated. Don't make stuff up. Dont accuse people of lying without a good basis, assume people are telling the truth.
Be nice!
Shiga: So there is still that mysterious playerkiller going around?
Del: The Amethyst Assassin yeah. Rumor has it if you carelessly take back alleys, especially at night, he will show up. Although iv heard rumors that the player is a girl.
Ruti: Yeah. It was just a flash I caught out of the corner of my eye, but I saw them decapitate two players and a third one running away crying. Kinda feel bad for the kid.
Aki: Hold on, isn't that a bunch of assumptions though? Iv been hearing a rumor that they are actually only targeting other player killers, especially those trying to extort and harass other younger players.
Ruti: Really? Haven't heard that at all. Besides, I doubt someone could become the top ranked player killer and earn a title called Amethyst Assassin by being that nice. The guy is definitely some sort of heartless bastard, definitely prefers solo play, and loves the feeling of ambushing others!
Del: A title like Assassin, you just dont see good people getting those.
Aki: H-hold on, isn't this starting to get kind of vicious? And a lot of that is just from how the devs named the title, not from what he is actually like!
Shiga: It is true, try to be nice people. Although I agree completely.
Rethi: Same!
Ozlo: I once saw him behead three people at once!
Dagmar: He probably gets a thrill out of each kill.
Aki: G-guys...
Ender: Well, this certainly became something. Leaving the assassin's bloodthirsy personality aside, I discovered something interesting.
Shiga: Oooh, share the deets!
Ender: I saw a cute elf playing in the forest!
Rethi: Boy or girl? And what do you mean playing? Like not fighting?
Ender: Saw it from a distance, but honestly the avatar was super cute. They were playing in a stream, and then they disappeared. I tried to look for them, but couldn't. It was in the middle of nowhere, but I thought maybe it was a rare encounter. Frankly, the cuteness transcended gender, it was that cute.
Del: Sounds like it. No one should have a teleportation skill yet. Maybe a tamable monster even?
Ender: Here is a screenshot.
Ender has posted a screenshot!
Ozlo: C-cute!
Ruti: I agree! Cute!
Del: ...now I understand when you said the gender doesn't matter. Certainly, even if thats a boy, id feel nothing but joy from having such a person with me.
Ozlo: That has to be a girl though right?
Ruti: No no, I think its a boy!
Ender: And this is why I said gender didn't matter, rather then causing this sort of conflict. In any case, I will keep an eye out. Although, I gotta avoid the stream myself. Went in once to cool off, ended up slipping and getting washed down and died day 1. *sobs*
Del: There there.
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Yuta, unaware his impact on the forums was only growing, continued to keep doing what he was doing.