Chapter 5: A Quest for the Reward Huh?
It has been days when Shibo saw his apprentice. The kid is called a traveler in the world they live in. Travelers were the term they used to describe people who are not from their world. Shibo arrived just a day ago and he waited for Requiem to come back. All that happened in the past weeks were not a mere coincidence thought the man, this led Shibo to assess the kid for the duration of the quest. The kid never disappointed in that aspect.
After delivering the wood to the kings men he headed to visit one of his friends. Arriving at the building with a weapon sign he opened the door. The man was his old companion since his adventuring days, the swordsmith Rucha.
"Its been a while Rucha." Greeted Shibo.
Rucha nodded at him, "What do you want?" Shibo had the tendency to visit his friends only if he needed something.
After talking for a while Shibo decided to tell the reason why he visited.
"I need you to make me a two handed sword."
"Why do you need a two handed sword if you use an axe Shibo?" Rucha questioned.
"Its not for me its for my apprentice."
Rucha never imagined him to take an apprentice. The man who once was called a War God by people declined every person who wanted to be his apprentice. He once destroyed a battalion because he declined a king's proposition to teach his son. This piqued Ruchas interest, he liked interesting things the most. Ever since he opened his shop he never got to travel anymore and facing a room each day isn't an interesting thing. This changed when travelers started coming around, he saw different kinds people come and go in his shop the past months who wanted to buy weapons from him. This became his past time but as the days past by only a few costumers piqued his interest when they came to his shop. The last one was a kid who he thought would just be like the others that pick weapons just by looks, they dont care about the quality and effectiveness of the weapon, they said your weapon reflects you the most so its important to choose wisely, instead the kid chose a weapon for a different reason and he is compatible with his chosen weapon. The kid tried swinging the bastard sword at first he seemed to be having a hard time but after a few more slashes he showed more control. The kid piqued his interest that he sold him the weapon for 1 gold.
"Your being kind Shibo, tell me why and maybe I'll make him a weapon."
"The kid shows promise. When Pepe told him to buy an axe because he needed it to help me in my job he showed up with a siege weapon instead. When I told him to get working he nodded and started hitting the tree, he never complained and he learns fast. A really talented kid." Shibo explained.
"Was it a two handed bastard sword which is more bigger than the usual bastard sword?" Rucha asked.
"I guessed correctly then, he got it from you, yes the kid used the sword for cutting trees. He has been with me for a month now using the job for training." Shibo answered.
"Interesting indeed." The swordsmith smiled hearing this. "Are you going to teach him your class then?"
"No because a man threads his own path but I'll push him to the right direction."
The swordsmith hastily closed the shop and went to work. Shibo always found Rucha eccentric but all the masters he knows were eccentric even him. Now the plan is starting to get set in motion.
'Show me what path you choose kid, It seems that interesting things will happen soon.' Shibo pondered as he followed his friend to his workshop.
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Logging in Requiem headed down the mountain. He was anticipating what rewards he will gain from the quest. It has been days and he thought maybe his master is back from the trip. Looking at the view, the mountain really deserves its name Mount Majesty though he wondered why no mobs are seen in the area. He thought maybe it was a safe zone but little did he know that the mountain called Majesty has secrets he can never imagine.
As he arrived he was greeted by his master who seemed to be expecting him.
"Greetings master Shibo."
Shibo nodded at him and walked to his cabin. Requiem followed his master knowing that the man wanted to say something.
"I have been waiting for you Requiem." Shibo went silent.
The silence was killing Requiem he cant wait any longer, "Master?"
"It seems that you have finished your training kid." The man looked at him.
"Yes master, I have received the max bonus points for a beginner." Requiem answered.
Shibo smiled to himself not letting Requiem see his emotion, " Thats good now do you want to receive your reward?"
Requiem couldn't hide his happiness he instantly nodded his head, "Yes master."
"Good." Shibo let out.
Ding!
If you want your reward head to this location. Show me the fruit of your training. -The Great Shibo
You have received a map of Mount Majesty.
-The red circle on the bottom left of the map will turn to green if you're at the location you needed to go.
-The color yellow will show on the circle if you're getting near the location.
Quest Rewards : Unknown
Difficulty: +D
Requiem was dumbfounded at the quest, 'What kind of map is this? A traffic light map?(lol) Most of all why do I need to go on a quest for my rewards for a quest I finished?"
"Master what kind of map is this?" He asked.
"It wont be a challenge if I give you the exact location right? Shibo smilled evilly.
'I see he really wants me to work hard for it.' Requiem smiled at the challenge."Okay master I will go right away."
The mountain was really majestic in size, a place where you can easily get lost if you dont have a map. Requiem never had any trouble going to the clearing where they worked because Shibo made a path to follow but now he needs to look for a place in this majestic mountain covered with flora and who knows what creatures live in the mountain.
Requiem felt it when he crossed some kind of boundary. The surrounding gave off an earie feeling causing him to test out his theory. He walked back a little and the air was light again, walking ahead a little the earie feeling came back again, the change was evident and this confirmed that his master owns this side of the boundary. Now he knows why theres no mobs in the area, like an animal who marks their territory his master did the same thing, this made him think how strong really is Shibo.
Requiem headed out, now more aware of his surroundings. He readied his weapon in case of a surprise attack by some monster. Walking carefully he spotted a boar a few meters ahead of him. 'The observation skill is really handy.'
Tusked Boar Lvl ??
'Seems that I cant get some information about it. I need to get the identify skill or some kind of skill that gives information.'
"Not knowing the enemy and attacking will be dangerous." Requiem silently spoke.
'Sleeping Forest'
Activating the skill he ran then pounced at the enemy like a lion stalking its prey. He didnt underestimate the enemy thats why he activated his skill. Doing a vertical slash the enemy was knocked back a few meters away by the sheer weight of the weapon and the speed he added to his attack. Looking at the boar it turned grey and faded.
Ding!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
"One hit k.o? What the heck is that mobs level that it gave 2 level ups" He let out, "Still I wasnt fast enough I will die if I cant move fast." He added.
Leveling up by two he distributed the points gained accordingly, 5 points to agility and 3 to strength, 1 to vitality and 1 to intelligence for the mana. He needed more speed but he also needed survivability so he added a point to vitality, the damage would be given by the weapon mastery so he only added 3 points to strength. In MMORPG's stat distribution is a big factor when fighting mobs or players, if you put points in the wrong stat it would be fatal late game because other players will have more damage or tanks better than you though it depends in what type of class you have. Mages needs more int to have more mana and such. Requiem knew of this thats why he put more points in agility, yes agi type classes will be more faster than him but with his inflated stats he can fight them easily. Also stats can gain points by means of leveling or by a players certain actions in game. Requiem decided to prioritize his main stats which is strength, agility and vitality although he knew that he does not have a class yet which will affect his status point distribution in the future right now he needed to survive through this ordeal first.
Taking the loot he headed north carefully avoiding the territories of strong monsters, Requiem knew that monters like to mark their territory. After a few minutes he saw another but it was different from the boar he killed earlier, this boar have no tusks like the other one and its size is smaller also. Like the first time he dashed toward the enemy and slashed it clean in half. 'What an overpowered weapon.' He thought. He didnt expect that the training had this effects and he didnt even activate his skills. Requiem knew that if he relies too much on his skills he will suffer for it in the long run thats why he worked on his swordplay associating some techniques perfected from his last game. The boar didnt give him a level now but only a 5 percent increase in his experience bar. The boar was a normal mob he thought but the tusked boar was maybe a higher level than the normal boar he killed.
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This continued as he headed north, he didnt see tusked boars but only the normal boars roamed the area. He saw deers also and some foxes like always he killed them with ease. Looking at the map the circle was still colored red. He has been roaming the area for 8 hours in game now. He only gained 2 levels more from the mobs he killed, he expected it seeing as they are not many in number but only a few as he went up north. Requiem was now heading to the more condensed part of the north area and he decided to log out.
Awoooo!
The sound that greeted him when he logged in.Requiem quickly looked around, 'Wolves.'
The wolves are dangerous to a low level player, they leveled from 20 -30 and they travel in packs. He remembered this information from the guides beta testers posted in the forums. He is in a tight situation, his instincts kicked in and he climbed a nearby tree. Looking down he saw a pack of wolves heading east of his direction. Suddenly a different roar was heared in the area, he quickly scanned the area and thanks to his observation skill leveling to 5 he easily located the roars owner.
A thick haired animal was heading straight to the pack, it clawed the nearby trees as it moves. The animal was a bear it looked menacing as it moved closer. Requiem's heartbeat was beating fast, a battle will occur with the pack and the bear.
The pack clashed with the bear, the bear clawed as the pack fought with it. Every move the pack did was synchronized but to no avail the humongous bear had the advantage, with every hit it did its long thick claws scratched the wolves even if they moved fast. The bear was on a frenzy and not long the pack lose some of its members. The 11 members of the pack dwindled to 5, this caused the leader of the pack to withdraw. Roaring a load roar of triumph the bear ate the dead wolves.
"What the heck is your level?" Requiem let out. He looked at the bear as it went away, it has one wolf dangling from its mouth.
Climbing down Requiem heard a faint whimper. He followed the sound and saw a wolf with a broken body sprawled beside a big rock. Looking at the wolf they were bigger than normal wolf mobs in other games. They were like the wolves in the movie twilight slightly smaller but facing that huge ass bear was a like facing death itself. Requiem felt mercy for the wolf as he stared at the wolf's eyes he knew what he neaded to do.
"Im sorry, please rest well." He then slashed the wolf to ease it from its pain.
Ding!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
"3 levels." Requiem felt thankful for the levels, but it left a bad taste in his mouth. It seemed like he stole the last hit from the bear. The wolf maybe was level 20 to 25 this only showed how hard it is to level in the game if it was another game he would be around level 15 to 20 now but he still is level 7. He found a strong enemy to fight but as he is now he cant face the bear in a 1 on 1 match.
Picking up the loot he gained some wolf pelts and a fang. He continued his travel and now he needed to be more careful as he is going to a more dangerous area.
Requiem knew that he needed to grind for levels if only he can find a place where he can grind. Walking carefully he saw a clearing filled with waist long grass, he scouted to see if the area is suited for grinding. Slowly and carefully he threaded onwards, the ground started shaking and instantly he activated S.F looking for a safe spot where he can be of an advantage, terrain manipulation will help you much in battles. He saw a slope and ran towards it. What he saw made him nervous a hoard of mountain elks were grazing in the area and while they ran the ground shaked with their mere number. The elks had large horns protruding from their heads, the sizes differed from each other and in the middle of the hoard he saw an elk with red horns, the red horned elk stood with pride as it seems to be the king of its kind.
"This should be a good place to grind."
He chose an area where a few elks were grazing. The clearing was wide and it served as a good hunting ground. Clutching his sword he dashed towards them, hitting the first elk he didn't expect it to charge forward using its horns as a shield unlucky for it Requiems vertical slash cleaved through the horns causing the elk to be knocked back. Requiem instantly rushed towards it slashing the elk as it layed stunned for seconds. The other elks attacked after seeing their comrade die. Thanks to his inflated stats he fared well against the mobs they give a lot of experience also. Requiem understood that the outer area of the clearing was roamed by lower level elks and the inner area are for the stronger ones, a caste system of some sort.
"Come to me my lovely exp." Grinned Requiem.
Continuing this process for days he hunted elks efficiently, he was moving from the outer part to the middle part of the clearing now. He leveled 8 times as he grinned. Now at level 15 the experience the outer elks gave him were low so he decided to move to the middle area. Grinding was a process which one player repeatedly kill mobs in a certain area for experience, Requiem was a player who knows hard work pays off at the end. Finding a spot where he saw an elk with a smaller frame he thought it was a female, something was odd about the situation causing him to move away. He was correct to say it was a female because as he was about to move away a group of 13 elks were standing ahead of him.
The one at the front seems to be the leader and it isnt pleased seeing Requiem in the area. The leader was readying his stance leading Requiem to activate Sleeping Forest. Requiem didnt expect this kind of trap from mobs, battling 13 elks can lead to his death but he wont go down fighting.
The first blood was dealt by Requiem as he dashed towards the leader hitting it with all he had causing the elk to be thrown a meter away. He won't go down without a fight. The elks started attacking simultaneously, all he can do was guard using the sword as a shield because the continuous onslaught of attack is pushing him on the defense.
The sword acted as a good shield blocking the frontal charges the elks did, his attacks dealt a considerable damage to the enemies but he cant attack continuously. He noticed his hp nearing the critical level. If this continues he will die in a few minutes. Then it hit him like a light bulb being lit in a dark room, he remembered the bear's battle with the wolf pack. The bear fought the pack and his attacks were like a frenzy of blows causing the wolves to lose some allies. The best defense is offence.
"Requiem of Souls." He huffed looking at the enemies.
With a duration of 15 seconds he needed to act fast. He ran towards the enemies slashing and smashing them as he moved. The frenzy of attacks were causing the elks formation to crumble, with out their leader they charged towards him but they assessed the situation wrongly. With every hit Requiem did he added more strength and speed to his attacks. It was like going berserk but not losing your mind. With one last slash the last elk died as it got knocked back. He looked at his health bar and he saw that it was down to 5% left.The exp bar was nearly filled after the battle and a few seconds after he shouted a shout of victory. Looking at the bottom left of his screen interface he was stunned with what he saw.
"29 Hit Combos." He looked stunned.
In 15 seconds he did that many slashes with his giant sword, remembering his training he thanked his master silently with a smile. Requiem knew that he needed to have more agility in order for him to hit and move faster. So he continued to hunt again after resting, he avoided the traps the elks laid as he hunted in the area for now.
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It has been weeks since Shibo sent his apprentice to a quest, 4 weeks in game to be exact. He was starting to think Requiem failed the quest seeing as the location of the rewards was in a bear cave. He sighed at the thought of Requiem running away, his tail between his legs. 'What a let down.' The man said to himself.
Little did he know that the young man would exceed his expectations.
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