Tacha made a quick stop to the blacksmith to search for a new weapon. However, finding the prices to be too expensive for what it was sold, she opted to try her luck with the Beginner Knife.
Rosecott village was surrounded by a forest of broad-leaved trees. Northeast of it, an old path lead to the hill where the Shrine of Beginnings lies.
Tacha didn’t want to go back to the shrine, since the guy that she tricked might be still lingering around. Instead she went to the west to explore. The mobs in the area were mostly oversized ladybugs and butterflies. “Weird. Usually bunnies and other small animals are the first mobs” She wasn’t inclined to taste bugs as her first meal. She had no experience cooking them.
Tacha Macha went further in, taking care to make as little noise as possible to not scare off any potential prey.
An half an hour in, beyond a dense thicket of red berries, a group of radishes with limbs and mouths was chilling under the sun in the clearing. They were as big as a toddler and of a dirty white color.
The biggest one yawned, while the other two were doing a weird dance with positions that Tacha didn’t think were possible.
Granny Ariel thought for a bit. On the way there she had found no way to see the health bar of the mobs, the general store too didn’t sell items that could help. She had no idea whether the radishes were weak or way strongher than her. However she didn’t want to pass on this opportunity. Those lively vegetables looked very nutritious.
After watching one of them eating the red berries from the opposite bush, she hatched a plan. She went to gather as many red berries as possible and slowly went to the side of the clearing, closer to the overgrown radishes.
Round Red Berry
A round red berry that grows in bushes under the shade.
???
Tacha threw a buch of berries a little distance from the closest radish, making a trail that lead to her. When she saw the radish eating her baits, she went further back so that the others wouldn’t hear their friend’s screams.
The radish followed the red berry path up to a secluded red berry bush. When it saw the bush full of delicious berries its eyes sparkled with joy. With a vigorous jump, the radish landed on the bush, but instead of the soft landing that it was expecting, a blade pierced right through its tummy.
Shocked, it reacted only when the blade was lifted up by a small, old human hidden inside the bush. It wriggled its limbs in attempt to get off, but seeing that it was no use, it screamed to call its family. But before a sound could come out, it went face-first to the ground. Before it could realize what happened, it kissed the ground again and again.
Tacha had lied in ambush for a bit before the gluttonuos radish appeared. She didn’t expect that the little guy would jump right where she was, so she instinctively raised her beginner knife. Seeing how the little guy was stuck on the blade, she tried to get it off by hacking it to the ground.
You dealt 3 points of damage
You dealt 4 points of damage
You dealt...
Amidst the countless battle notifations, realizing that the knife wasn’t losing any durability, she kept smashing the vegetable to the ground until it no longer moved.
You dealt 4 points of damage
You have killed Overgrown Radish.
You gain 18 exp.
The radish was a bit battered, but her knife was perfectly fine. She examined the body of the vegetable. It didn’t disappear or leave behind money or resources. It was unconventional since all games up until now just gave the resources to the player after defeating the monster.
Didn’t this mean that one needed to know how to skin and field dress their prey? If not, the only thing they could get out of combat would be the exp.
Tacha cut a slice of her prey and tasted it. It had a watery, fresh taste with a hint of spiciness and a fruity aftertaste. A notification rang out, describing the characteristics of the food.
Spirited Radish (HQ)
The rich taste comes from the Overgrown Radishes basking in the sun everyday. This specimen ate so many Round Red Berries that it gained a delicate fruity note.
Some cooks would pay very well to have a chance to cook it.
Mana Points +3
She looked at her status screen, and noticed that her Mp went up by three permanently.
Name: Tacha Macha
Level: 0
Race: Human
Hp: 13/15 (+3)
Mp: 23/23 (+5)
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Strength: 5
Endurance: 9
Wisdom: 11
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 14
Speed: 11
Luck: 10
Charm: 7
Unassigned Points: 0
Temporary Effects: Well Rested (+30% Hp, + 30% Mp, +50% Hp regen, +50% Mp regen)
(*Note: the numbers in brackets are those granted by a temporary buff. The numbers shown on the status screen show the total already, so base + buff. Ex: Normal Hp: 12; Hp with well rested buff: 15)
“Can I gain permanent stats by eating all kinds of foods?” She glanced at the berries in her inventory and put one in her mouth. After chewing for a bit she coughed and felt a light dizziness.
Twilight Berries
A poisonous red berry that grows in bushes under the shade. It’s the favourite food of Overgrown Radishes.
- 2 Hp per minute for 3mins
Tacha sat down, waiting for the poison to pass. She lost a total of 6 Hp, all because she was too eager to gain stats. It looked like there were foods that both increased and decreased stats, whether it be temporary or permanent. Maybe if she learned how to properly treat the poisonous ones, they could become beneficial after cooking them.
She waited for her health to go back to full before handling the other two radishes.
By looking at the combat log, she could see that the vegetable she defeated had between 31 and 35 Hp. Tacha considered if she could take on the two of them at the same time. Looking at the sleeping one, she opted to bait the other one before fighting the bigger one.
Like before she baited the Overgrown Radish with the Twilight Berries, and when it got to the same bush the other one died, she rushed at it from behind the tree.
Surprised, the radish couldn’t evade in time, its lush greens getting cleanly sliced.
You dealt 2 points of damage
Overgrown Radish is in despair over its lost greens
The radish covered the cut part with its hands before screaming and rushing towards the small old human to give it a kick.
Tacha was surprised that the little guy would be angry over that, but she didn’t let herself be distracted for long. When she saw it getting closer, she brandished the knife again to slice it in a downward motion.
The radish, blided by rage, didn’t see the slash coming. Its vegetable flesh got deeply wounded, stopping it in its tracks.
Critical hit!
You dealt 16 points of damage
The wounded radish looked up slowly. As it saw the increasingly sparkling eyes of the human, it trembled like prey before predator.
Tacha was excited in learning that critical hits could deal so much damage. She bet that hitting the weak points would guarantee a critical hit.
For the next few minutes of battle she did her best to find the weak points of the vegetable, the poor radish begging for it to end soon.
You have killed Overgrown Radish.
You gain 18 exp.
As she collected her spoils of war, she checked on her and her equipment’s condition. This time around she was just sightly hurt and her knife’s durability had decreased by three points. It was more than enough to take on the last Overgrown Radish.
Tacha went back to the clearing, knife in hand. The biggest radish was still napping on the grass, oblivious to the fate of its companions.
Granny Tacha decided to drop the silent tactics. It was time to weigh her capabilities. She took out one of the berries and threw it at the dozing radish. The berry landed in the creature’s open mouth, waking the vegetable up. It went into a choking fit, rolling around in an attempt to get rid of the thing that was choking it.
The radish changed color from an healthy white, to a purple and then a deep blue, before taking its last breath.
The Overgrown Radish is squirming with all of its strength
You have killed Overgrown Radish.
You gain 18 exp.
Looking at the notification, Tacha didn’t know how to feel. She was expecting a battle, not this…. weird ending. She silently put the spoils in the inventory before searching for more radishes in the area.
For the next few hours she hunted radishes nonstop. Once her exp reached 300 she leveled up.
Name: Tacha Macha
Level: 1 (Alter)
Race: Human
Hp: 15/15 (+3)
Mp: 23/23 (+5)
Strength: 5
Endurance: 9
Wisdom: 11
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 14
Speed: 11
Luck: 10
Charm: 7
Unassigned Points: 5
Temporary Effects: Well Rested (+30% Hp, + 30% Mp, +50% Hp regen, +50% Mp regen)
It looked like none of the stats would increase at the level up and that she might need to use the newly acquired points for that. In exchange though, both her Mp and Hp were filled. She then focused on the new world that appeared beside the level, Alter. All of the relative information appeared as a new notification.
Alter (Temporary Class)
The blessing of Yggdrasil grants to its chosen ones protection, until they can adapt to the world themselves. Just like a caring mother that looks after her children.
This class will be removed once the player gains its first class.
Class lvl limit: 10
It was interesting seeing that the game predicted that some people wouldn’t get a class right from the start. However, it seemed that this class could go no higher than level 10.
Tacha pushed the class info into the back of her mind. Right now her priority was the gathering of ingredients.