Novels2Search

Chapter 3: Level grind

Hiyo, Shadyna here! I overheard some really scary rumors at school today.

"If you sell the 0-stats girl to DFC Sages, they will pay you 2000 Gold"

Are you going to be alright, discussing gaming stuff at school…?

Still, they were sharing information about the bounty, including the target's appearance. Described me perfectly, at least for the main features.

By comparison, they said that the current strongest weapon in the game sold for around 10000 Gold.

Am I a rare end-game monster or something?!

Oh, game finished loading.

I appear in the forest just where I logged out yesterday.

Seeing no weirdo lurking around the area, I sigh in relief. Don't want to get chased again.

First thing first, let's check on Jelleaf. If it's still around, I think I should really name it.

The grass seems to be untouched, so I pick it up again. Waste not, want not!

And in there, the Jelleaf is half-burrowed into the ground. This creature race doesn't move around at all huh.

It makes a ^^ face as it sees me. So cute~!!!

After a session of squeezing, I decided to call it Gelly, the Ultimate Plushy!

_ Shadyna: Now then, what should we do today…

I need some way to protect myself from all the kidnappers, who will be after me for a while. In fact, some people in school are probably participating in the manhunt too!

New equipment is in order, I think. Some defense against attacks and chloroform… I mean, [Sleep], will help me greatly.

The problem is, I do not know how to craft, and have no tool either.

Sigh.

Maybe I can gather the grass and make grass sandal by hands or something…? The forest still has a lot of grass after all.

But not here, because I can still see the plains. Some random weirdo with some detection skills may detect me and ruin my day.

So I put Gelly back on top of my head and venture deeper. Let's hope I won't encounter an aggressive strong monster.

Remembering yesterday, I threw many things at the kidnappers, and something exploded in their face. It's really hard to fix personality huh, my own that is. I retaliated out of reflex, and now my pacifist run is ruined.

Sigh.

For now, I open the Play Record menu. It contains many historical data for the current character. What I am looking for is [Damage dealt], which is the amount of damage I have dealt to others.

_ Shadyna: …0? Why?

I'm pretty sure that was a big explosion back then, and I doubt that the mage and archer had enough defense to completely negate it. Why did it not go to the record?

[Inspect], any idea?

[Damage dealt: The amount of damage inflicted on other beings.]

No dice. If this is not a bug, does that mean back then it was not my attack, but the [Sleep Arrow]'s doing?

…While I'm happy that my pacifist run can still continue, this is just technical pacifism! Sure, the priestesses who only heal others and not attack anything count as pacifism, technically. It is not true pacifism if your own actions indirectly cause the downfall of others!

Oh well, since this game does not differentiate between the two, it does not matter. I will do my best to stick to true pacifism though.

"Do my best" being the keywords, for I have failed the true pacifism goals already.

I arrive at a big lake in the middle of the forest. In contrast to the dim shades by the trees, the lake area is lit brightly as there's nothing blocking the sun.

On the water surface, several aquatic plants reside. I wonder if I can swim in this game? They look like nice collectible items so I want to pick up at least one.

Anyway, this is probably a good place to stay. If I camp on the other side, people entering from the plains will have to go around the lake, and I will have clear sight of them. There's no monster around here either. Maybe Sateri wanted this to be a tranquil rest stop or something?

Okay, onto the grinding!

As of now I can only collect grass and various plants. Grass in particular is in abundance and has no use, so let's try making grass sandals as previously planned.

…How do I craft in this game?

So uh… I select the grass stack in inventory… then… concentrate REALLY hard.

_ Shadyna: Grass sandal, grass sandal, grass sandal…

[Condition fulfilled. Unlocked Skill: "Armor Craft Lv.0"]

[Begin craft: ]

It really happened!!!

The grass merges into a light sphere hovering above the ground. Above it is something like a HP bar. Is it the progress bar of the crafting?

_ Shadyna: Ah, um, let's craft! [Armor Craft]!

As I put my hands around it and concentrate, the sphere starts spinning, and the transparent progress bar starts filling up.

…And… done~

[Received Grass Sandals x1]

So is "x1" a sandal, or a pair of sandals…?

[Inspect], I'm counting on you~!

[Grass Sandals: A pair of sandals made from grass]

There's no equipment status, not even the basic defense value. How am I supposed to know how strong it is?!

I want to cry…

That reminds me, I do remember seeing "Identification Shops" in Tyrel… Nah, I cannot go there. The whole town might just chloroform me the moment I get close!

Oh well, these sandals can't be worse than going barefoot right?

However, not knowing my equipment's statuses is bad. I need to grind [Inspect].

I gather more grass in the area while inspecting as many things as possible. In the process, I felt like I was becoming a bit insane from reading the overly obvious descriptions!

With the amount of grass enough to feed a cow for a few days, I try to craft more grass items to fill my equipment slots. While filling up the progress bars, I use [Inspect] on the surrounding.

[Received Grass Gloves x1]

[Hollow tree: Remains of a dead tree]

[Midae: An aquatic flower found on lakes]

[Received Grass Crown x1]

[Lietus: An aquatic plant found on lakes]

Definitely losing sanity points!!!

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

[Skill Leveled up: ]

[Attribute Leveled up: ]

[Skill Leveled up: ]

[Attribute Leveled up: ]

[Attribute Leveled up: ]

[Character Leveled up]

Finally! That was tougher than I expected. Pacifism is hard work!

…Wait, there are more messages than expected?

Oh, attributes went up! I have a feeling the MEN increase is due to my sanity slippage though!

My level went up too, yay~

Let's equip my items and check my status. I wonder if my overpowered debut is now?

Ah, I got 5 new attribute points and 1 skill point on leveling up. In that case, I should [Inspect] my equipment and titles again, to see if there is more information.

I notice something as I select my [Grass Tunic] in the inventory menu.

It changed to [Grass Tunic (Trash)].

---

[Grass Tunic]

- Creator:

- Quality:

- Enhancement: 0

- Enchantment:

- PDF: 1

---

I understand its quality is much to be desired because of my skill level, but that mockery still hurts, Sateri~

And there're newly seen statuses as well. Let's find all of them in my current equipment!

[PAT: Physical Attack. Power of physical-based attacks.]

[PSP: Physical Attack Speed. Attack speed when dealing physical-based attacks.]

[PDF: Physical Defense. Protection against physical-based attacks.]

[MAT: Magical Attack. Power of magical-based attacks.]

[MSP: Magical Attack Speed. Attack speed when dealing magical-based attacks.]

[MDF: Magical Defense. Protection against magical-based attacks.]

[SPD: Movement Speed. Travel speed and maneuverability.]

I have no equipment with PAT and MAT stats, but the [Inspect] result kindly gave me those terms when I asked for attack stats. Thank you for the consideration, Sateri~

Onto the titles~

[Unstopping Hero: The hero who never stops. Grants .]

Yeah, I guessed that much. I wonder if there's more information on even higher [Inspect] levels?

[Absolute Zero: The one who rejected the Goddess's blessing. Removed on change of heart.]

…This looks… bad. It has a removal condition. And I have no idea what that condition means! You sure are holding a grudge against me huh, Sateri.

Well, if the condition for this title is refusing the given points in character creation, it's likely that the "Change of heart" means using the points I was given on leveling up?

I try to assign no point in the attribute menu and accept it.

[Leftover points will be discarded. Continue?] [Y/N]

…I can discard all of them.

For now, I close the attribute menu. The main problem is not knowing the effect of the title. It may be amazing, or totally useless. Maybe I should try grinding [Inspect] some more?

Same thing for skill menu, I suppose. Skip~

[Aspiring Pacifist: Inspired to walk the path of non-violence. Removed on harming others.]

Totally within expectation. I doubt that you can keep anything pacifist-related after whacking others. Since it's still here, my pacifist status is safe, technically.

[Halfblood (Title): One of the impure bloodlines. More vulnerable to the Darkness.]

Vague as ever, [Inspect]-chan. I'm not really worried about this one, since many players will have it. Even if it has drawbacks, Sateri won't be able to cripple a large part of the playerbase.

Okay, looks like it's not certain what kind of additional information will be added on [Inspect]'s level up. With the new info being generally easy to guess, I think [Inspect] reveals info based on obscurity. The more behind-the-scenes it is, the higher the required [Inspect] level to reveal them.

…Or just brute-force finding it out, like the case of the [Begi] bulb.

[Begi: A common edible vegetable found around Tyrel. Has a big inedible bulb. Bulb explodes on impact.]

Sigh. So it was your doing huh, [Begi]?

Let's not do that again. The next time I might not be so lucky to have the enemy triggering the damage on their own.

And so, my current status:

---

[Character information]

[Name]: Shadyna

[Race]: Halfblood (Elf - Treant)

[Gender]: Female

[Age]: 13

[Level]: 1

[Status]:

- HP: ======.... (20/32) (27+5)

- MP: ====...... (15/32) (27+5)

- PAT: 8 (7+1)

- PSP: 2 (1+1)

- PDF: 3 (2+1)

- MAT: 26 (25+1)

- MSP: 3 (1+2)

- MDF: 8 (7+1)

- SPD: 11 (10+1)

[Attributes]:

- STR: 0 (0+0)

- DEX: 1 (1+0)

- CON: 0 (0+0)

- LDR: 0 (0+0)

- FOC: 1 (1+0)

- WIT: 0 (0+0)

- MEN: 1 (1+0)

- LUC: 0 (0+0)

[Equipment]:

- Head:

+

+

- Body:

+

+

- Arms:

+

+

+

- Legs:

+

[Skills - Active]:

- Inspect

- Cheer

- Armor Craft

[Skills - Passive]:

- Accelerate Power (Title)

[Titles]:

- Unstopping Hero

- Absolute Zero

- Aspiring Pacifist

- Halfblood (Racial)

---

All the bonuses (numbers on the right of the + sign) are from equipment. Other stats are added to [Status] part, thanks to [Inspect]'s level. So, without [Inspect], you'll have to visit an Identification Shop in town to know your current strength huh. Then again, the time you need to see it is when you are in town upgrading equipment. In combat, knowing HP and MP is enough.

…And seriously, grinding [Inspect] at its earliest level alone qualifies for mental torture already.

Unlike MP, my HP is not regenerating. Maybe I need food or potions? I wonder if I can make some with these flowers and plants.

Before I could do it, a party emerges from the other side of the lake. It looks like they haven't notice me, so I hide behind a big tree with Gelly.

[??? - Beginner warrior - HP: ==========]

[??? - Beginner blacksmith - HP: ==========]

[??? - Beginner priestess - HP: ==========]

Oh, I can see their HP bar now. No exact number like my own status though. They are still far away so I can't clearly see their appearances.

_ Warrior: Found any silver ore yet?

_ Blacksmith: Don't see any here. Argh, what a pain!

_ Priestess: That's why I told you to use iron for the time being! Everyone said silver is really rare even in this place!

Hmm, I haven't had the chance for metalworking yet. No tool. Sigh.

And the priestess sounds cute. May be an old man in real life but hey, in-game cuteness is still cute. But for some reason, I have this impression that low-leveled priestesses who walk in dark places filled with monsters have a really low chance of getting out in one piece.

_ ???: ROAAAARRRRRR!!!

A deafening roar hits me during my daydream. No fair, even talking is a free action in manga!

I look out of hiding place, trying to find the source of such scary noises. The party, at the shore, is facing against a big hydra-like head emerging from the lake.

_ Warrior: What the hell?! Why is this…

_ Priestess: Be careful!

[Merexxa: A head of a great monstrosity, can be found in lakes in the forest near Tyrel. Considers adventurers edible.]

What the heck is that last remark, Sateri~!!!

More importantly, was I unknowingly playing around THAT THING this whole time?!

____________

The tavern today is also busy, with half of the conversations revolves around the 0-stats girl, who now earned the nickname of "Illusive Sprout" after various polls on the board.

_ Waitress: No news of her at all! Stop asking like a creep!

Poor waitress who had to answer the same question over and over again the whole day has finally snapped, to the blissful enjoyment of the weird patrons.

_ Knight: Why don't we just arrange a large scale search in the forest? She was first seen around this time yesterday, was she not?

_ Waitress: Don't do that. She might logout if she sees you idiots marching in. Worse, you don't want to crowd the forest.

_ Knight: How so?

_ Waitress: Merexxa, that's how. There are a lot of lakes in that forest, and Merexxa appears if at least four people wander nearby. Its level exceeds every normal spawns in the forest. Lakes have no monsters close by apparently because of those things, lore-wise.

_ Knight: …Whelp.

_ Waitress: …Need more materials. Anyone free right now? I need to enter the forest to gather food!

_ Spearman: Sure, but please step on me first!

The cold, harsh stare is working overtime as usual in this tavern.

--- Topic: WTF is with the crafting system? ---

## OP alchemist

This game is !@#$%^&* confusing! Where the heck is the crafting menu?!

##

## Nearseeing Sage

Prepare materials then call out the item to be crafted. Sateri-chan procedurally creates item recipes as needed. Statuses affect the end result but that's the gist of it.

You can join the BB Conglomerate guild as they focus on crafting and provide recipes of powerful combinations to their members.

P/S: This game is kind of casual but can be really complex once you dig into certain aspects. It requires some patience and is definitely not for everyone.

##

## OP alchemist

Sorry if I sounded angry, was confused on how this game works.

Can I join BB Conglomerate, learn the recipes then leave?

##

## Manly Warrior

You can, but if you leave on bad terms (abusing their rules, for example) they may also teach you about economic sanctions. Trust me, it's bad news.

##

------

--- Topic: Cute girls appreciation thread #34 ---

## Heaven Piercer

The maid… I mean, waitress corps is on the move today! -Pics-

Wish they would hunt me down like those monsters! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

##

## Newbie Charisma build

A party full of beautiful girls/ladies \(^o^)/

What is the waitress corps again? Newbie here.

##

## CuteIsJustice

They are the 12 waitresses of Phoenix Ashes guild, working around the clock in Tyrel's biggest tavern. Head waitress leading the party in pic is the famous cold mistress you all know and love.

Every few days they would go out to gather cooking materials. Picking a fight would them is not advised. Despite their commitment to their job, over half of them are at level cap and will not hesitate to wipe the floor with you. Unless you are into that of course.

PM me if you want their bios.

##

## Mage of Sin

Make that 14. New recruits are at tavern in place of the mobilized corps. -Pics-

Btw, the remaining 3 taverns in town have their own waitresses, but none at this level. It's like pitching gun trucks against main battle tanks.

##

## CuteIsJustice

In-game names, NAO!!! ( ゚ Д゚)

##

## Heaven Piercer

Why are they not a guild on their own again? Waitress Corps sounds like a good guild name to me, unlike SOME big guilds out there!

Without them, Phoenix Ashes would fade into irrelevance real quick.

##

------

--- Topic: SG master thread #2 ---

## Manly Warrior

Old thread hit limit, so this is the new one.

Summary:

- SG stands for S-rank, Globally Unique.

- Confirmed SG skills: None.

- Confirmed SG titles: None.

##

## Fire mage of Justice

All that discussion for a whole day and still no info. orz

What have you been doing, you damn lolicons of DFC Sages!!!

##

## Nearseeing Sage

You know we earn our livings by selling info right? I'm sure many would pay a good chunk to have a chance on getting their own SG.

That said, why don't you help me catch a particular loli? I may have some SG-related info to share with you in addition to the bounty reward.

##

## Curious big boobs elf

Reported. Damn lolicon. Is the whole army forming search parties in 0-stats thread not enough for you?

We found the first S title and skill two hours after it was added, yet somehow failing this one despite having more players.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

##

------