By the time Jack was done with the pile of dry grass and had crafted all the fibers into cords and then all the cords into ropes, he finally unlocked a new level in bushcrafting!
Congratulations! You’ve crafted [Weak Rope].
+20XP in [Bushcraft]
You’ve reached level 4 in [Bushcraft]!
You can learn a new skill: [First Aid].
First Aid, Lvl. 1
You can use medicinal herbs you forage to cure some lesser ailments and sicknesses. An essential survival skill.
Skill effects:
You can craft wound dressings.
Requirements:
Bushcraft, lvl. 4 {complete}
Character, lvl. 5
Jack paused. “Huh? That's new.” He was first struck with the difference in wording from when he had leveled up a profession previously. The system notification didn’t say, ‘You’ve learned a new skill: [First Aid].’ It said, ‘You can learn a new skill: [First Aid].’
Once he read the description of the new skill, he realized something—this skill required not just a profession level, but also a character level. He glanced at his own level and sighed. Only level 2. No wonder he couldn’t unlock it yet. He’d been focusing so much on crafting that he’d completely overlooked his avatar’s level. Crafting XP only contributed to progress in a profession; it didn’t fill his character’s XP bar. Those were entirely separate progress systems!
Just as he gained momentum from unlocking a title, he bumped into another obstacle.
“Don’t panic, Jack. This is level 5. It should be fairly easy to level up your character this early on,” he told himself. This revelation changed things. It was the first time he was learning about this. He needed to adjust his plans accordingly. He could use a break after this grinding session anyway. He also had to eat something and probably use the bathroom.
He picked up all his supplies and ran to the marketplace. While he was crafting, most of the items in the marketplace had finished selling. He put all the new ropes he’d crafted for sale. Once he returned online, they would probably be sold too, and he could use the funds for whatever was needed. Jack opened the menu and logged out.
*
When Jack came to, he was hit with several sensations: a rumbling stomach, a bursting bladder, and a sore back. He removed the helmet and tried to get out of bed to run to the bathroom. His sore legs failed him, and he almost stumbled and fell. He waddled out the door, his joints and muscles warming up with each step, and finally reached the bathroom.
He then walked down to the kitchen and grabbed the first thing he could find: a banana. A colorful pomegranate and persimmon called for his attention from the fruit basket, but he wasn’t about to go through the trouble of skinning and preparing them.
As he wolfed down the banana, he browsed his phone. He first checked how much New Earth silver translated into real-world currency. Some websites allowed players to sell game currency in exchange for in-real-life money. Wealthy people in real life couldn’t be bothered to grind for coins in the game and were willing to pay money for it.
This was a viable business in popular games, and Jack quickly found a website that did the conversion for him. Plenty of spiky charts showed the value of in-game currency compared to real-world currency. Seeing how much one day of work in the game was worth, Jack chuckled wryly. One gold wasn’t worth even one credit. He had half-expected it, but the numbers confirmed what he already knew—this was never going to be a get-rich-quick scheme.
As he was about to search for quick, easy ways to level up in the game, Jack noticed the clock and decided there might be an easier way to find answers to his questions. His cousin had likely left work by now. Feeling his sore legs and back, he decided he could use the walk, too.
He made a cheese and ham sandwich, grabbed a jacket, and headed to Roberto’s house.
*
Ding Dong!
Roberto answered the door, towel over his shoulders, hair still wet, and a knowing grin on his lips. “I had a feeling you’d show up.”
“You know me well, Rob.” He waited for his cousin to invite him in, not wanting to be too forward.
“Come on in. I want to hear about your first day on New Earth,” he prompted.
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Jack was happy his cousin had taken the initiative to discuss the game. As a noob, Jack was in a somewhat embarrassing position and wasn’t sure how much Rob would mind him pestering him with questions.
“How was work?” Jack asked politely.
“Hard. But we got a lot done,” Rob answered proudly.
Even though his cousin was visibly tired, he had a confident smile. He admired Rob for coming home after a tough work day and looking this satisfied. Admired might not be the best word to describe his emotions. He was jealous. He wished he could do such dull, hard work and look this happy. He put the thought aside.
“Thanks again for telling me about New Earth and letting me use that referral code.”
“No problem. Do you like the game so far?”
Jack hadn’t considered this. Did he like it? He was stuck doing tough, hard work. Before he could think it through, he had already answered. “Yes.”
Jack surprised himself with his answer. He was braiding ropes and crafting pots. It was hard and sometimes tedious. Even so, he had to admit that he was into the game. Why else had he spent the whole day playing and, as soon as he logged out, walked here to talk more about it? As Jack tried to make sense of his emotions, Rob interrupted his thoughts.
“Good. So, I guess you have lots of questions?”
“I do. However, I know you must have better things to do than entertaining a noob like me. I don’t want to impose.”
“Nonsense. We’re family. If I weren’t willing to guide you, I would never have given you the referral code in the first place. Let’s hear it. What questions do you have?”
Reassured by his cousin, Jack tried. “As I told you, I’m working on my rare quest. I need to get pottery and bushcraft to level 10.”
“Go on.”
“Here’s the thing. I just realized that some profession skills also require a character level.”
His cousin blinked a few times. “And why is that a problem? Oh, wait. I see it now. You’re what? Level two?”
“Yeah,” admitted Jack, embarrassed. “I just unlocked a bushcraft skill that requires level five in my character level. I’ve already checked online and found that other skills later on have even more stringent requirements.”
“I see. I’d forgotten you were only pursuing crafting to do this quest, but yes, professions also come with character-level requirements.”
“Which brings me to my question. What’s the fastest way to level up in the game?”
From the short survey he had done online, there were countless theories and guides to help players level up faster so they could unlock their class. He had hoped that by coming here and posing the problem to his cousin, he would either volunteer to carry him or tell him the quickest way to level. He had his fingers crossed for the first option. He wouldn't decline the generous offer if his veteran cousin were willing to take him hunting t-rexes and letting him jump several levels in one go.
“Uh… let me think about it. Last I checked, running party dungeons was the best way to get from level 1 to 10.”
“A party dungeon? What is that? I need to go dancing or celebrating in a cavern or something?” Jack joked.
“No, no. That’s not it. The game has different types of dungeons: solo, party, competitive, infested, non-infested, limitless, shackled, etc…”
Jack blinked uncomprehendingly at the list of unfamiliar terms. “And which one should I do?”
“Well, party dungeons require different players to cooperate. The rewards are very generous, but the party has to play ball. You have to cooperate with your allies and communicate well. Some people do it with friends, but you can also go there cold turkey and ask the system to pair you up with a random party. Party quests offer the most XP, provided you get good colleagues.”
Jack frowned. He didn’t like the idea of cooperating with others to run the dungeon. So far, the thing he’d been enjoying the most about the game was doing his own thing. What if he got stuck with unreliable jerks?
“You mentioned solo dungeons,” Jack tried.
“Oh, yes. The rewards you gain from them aren’t as good as party dungeons, but they’re still quite good.”
“And what was all that other mambo-jambo about infested and shackled?”
“If a dungeon is infested, it has monsters. If it isn’t, it means that all you have to worry about are the puzzles and boobytraps. Limitless means you go in with your character as is, and shackled means everyone who runs the dungeon has access to the same skills and attributes. It levels the playing field so that all that matters is your skill.”
Jack tried to absorb all the information. Probably, he wanted to run dungeons that didn’t have monsters in them. As for shackled or limitless dungeons, it looked like shackled was best for a weak character such as himself.
“So, question. Imagine that I, a level 1 player, run a shackled dungeon. And now another player who’s level 50 runs the same dungeon. Do we get the same rewards?”
Rob grinned. “Good question. Yes. But these shackled dungeons are hardcore. Only the best gamers complete them. I’ve only managed to complete two of them so far.”
“Two?”
“The two easiest ones, yes. It wasn’t for a lack of trying.”
Jack gulped.
“The rewards are awesome, and both a level 1 and level 50 player would enjoy them; however, I didn’t mention them because they’re difficult. I suggest doing the dungeon tutorial and moving on to an uninfested, limitless level 1 dungeon.”
Jack nodded. “And where is the tutorial for dungeons?”
“Any gate town.”
“I don’t want to leave my beginner town. If I do that, I won’t be able to turn in my quest.”
“The coach ticket only costs one silver. Nothing prevents you from going back whenever you want.”
“Really?” Jack had several silvers to his name, so traveling to a gate town and running dungeons there to come back later didn’t seem like a bad idea. He'd go for it if that were the quickest way to level. That settled it. “Any hints for running dungeons?” asked Jack hopefully.
Rob nodded approvingly at the pertinence of Jack’s question. Even though they were practically the same age, Rob seemed older today for some reason. Maybe it was because he was teaching him.
“Don’t get too caught up on reading guides. Every time you run a dungeon, the system changes it slightly, so getting walkthroughs will only help you so much. You need to develop a sense for dungeons. There’s no better way to get good at dungeoneering than practice.”
It wasn’t the advice Jack wanted to hear. He had hoped for a secret, winning formula, but Rob was making it sound like it involved work. He was expecting dungeoneering to be easier than crafting, but it looked like nothing in New Earth was simple.
After some moments, Rob continued. “Also, remember that it isn’t only your class that has a bearing on how you tackle a dungeon. Some professions can help. For example, my [Locksmith] profession allows me to pick locks and open treasure chests, which allows me to bypass certain puzzles in dungeons. [Trappers] can see through booby traps more easily. In your case, [Bushcraft] will probably come in handy to recover stamina and stuff. Make the most out of the tools you have.”
Jack soaked in all the information. “Cool. Next question. What can you tell me about classes?”
“OK. Let’s start with warriors…”