After about 30 minutes of walking in the forest, they stopped. According to GasStar, this was the farming spot, but he saw nothing before a moment later a pair of kobolds jumped from the treeline and charged at them with chipped and rusty shortswords. Some orbs started to bubble out from the ground where GasStar stood, and Sheko took his spear, striking very hard into the sword-wielding hand of the first kobold before striking at his head with the butt of the spear, making the kobold dazed. But the other kobold was just behind the first and ready to cut into Sheko before one of GasStar's orbs crushed powerfully into the chest of the kobold, popping to reveal a large rock inside it, going on to crush the kobold and killing it immediately.

What job is that? 'Cause it looks really cool. sheko thought to himself

"So, how do I get to do that?" Sheko asked as he was taking out his map, then continued, "Ha, lucky. This spot is like 200 meters from the kobold tribe for my quest."

GasStar replied in turn to both, "I'm just a geomancer; it was the rock missile spell. The bubble thing is my embryo, though, so you can't really replicate the entire thing. Don't worry about it, though; the bubble is more to make the attack stronger, but you can still use the spell like that." Sheko and GasStar continued like that for the better part of an hour. Sheko killing kobolds as they appeared with his homemade spear, and GasStar crushing any kobold that might've hit Sheko. The tactic wasn't perfect, as Sheko still took some hits. One time, a kobold even jumped GasStar from behind and cut him on the arm, but the damage was pretty minimal, and GasStar had potions he was willing to share with Sheko, so they were fine. Sheko stopped for a bit to check his level, seeing he got all the way to level 10, and In his kill count, it showed he killed 32 kobolds, but it was weird. He felt he was moving faster but also, since his pain was turned off, all of his scratches were unnoticeable, and he didn't feel winded as much as he thought he should. "This thing can really be addicting. How isn't there dozens of people staying in the game for days?" Sheko did think in the right direction, and it was true that many people have stayed in the game for days at a time. At this point, however, the triple time the game offered meant that people could enjoy several days on the weekend and even several hours each day, so most people would be satisfied.

"So how many kobolds am I supposed to kill to finish my quest?"

"What do you mean? The quest is to eliminate the kobold tribe. We are just killing some wandering foot soldiers. You'd have to kill the kobold war master to disperse the tribe and finish the quest."

"How hard would that be to do then?"

"Our group can definitely do it with all of us here. Kaizo can probably solo the quest with Summer."

"Wait, so he's really good, no? What do you mean by Summer anyway?"

"I wouldn't really say he's very good. It's a matter of leveling and your build, but some people from the same time he started can probably level that tribe. So in reality, he's just fine, even a little slow." About 5 minutes and 3 more dead kobolds, the other 4 members of the group entered the forest clearing, Kaizo with his lumpy bag now much fuller than before.

"So, Nooby, had fun? I see you didn't go for scout."

Sheko cringed again at the use of the word.

"Yeah, I got hit a few times, but GasStar shared some health potions, so it's fine."

"So, you got hit and wasted potions that each is worth 1000 lir. I told you that you should've gone for scout. You would have avoided them if you had better awareness."

"I was doing fine, thank you very much. We used only 2 potions. If you want me to pay back--"

GasStar piped in, "It's fine. Don't worry about it. I got plenty of potions. The drops you got from the kobolds definitely would cover it and still leave you a bit more even if you had to pay for the potions. Which, like I said, don't worry about it." Sheko's image of GasStar improved quite a bit by this, but he still didn't want to offend Kaizo or insert himself into whatever was happening in the group.

The walk back to the city was silent, with minimal conversation. Once in town, they took a different route from the one GasStar guided Sheko through to the guild building. Before feeling like he spent quite a bit of time in the game, Sheko was ready to split from the group and check some sellers for better equipment as his makeshift spear was almost broken. But it was nice to see the game immediately understood what he did when he made it. Before he told the group he planned to split, the sack Kaizo was holding started to wiggle frantically, and then someone inside it shouted, "Help! I didn't do anything to deserve this!" There was a silent moment as Sheko made sense of the situation. "Kaizo wanted to improve quickly and needed money to get ahead, so he kidnapped someone. No, the group kidnapped someone. I'll be grouped with them if anyone sees this." Panic crept into Sheko as he thought, If I end up getting blamed for This now, I probably won't be able to return to the city later. I have to make it clear I'm not with them, quickly making up his mind, Sheko sprang into action, slashing with his spear the top of the sack, causing it to tear apart and release the victim who promptly got on his feet and started to run away.

"You idiot, Pearl, get this guy back."

The girl that pulled Kaizo from the argument parked and replied, "Why? What did he do? You told us it was a bounty mission, not a kidnapping."

"Do as I say and get him! He's worth 100000 lir. You hear me? I'll punish this idiot for ruining my quest."

The girl reluctantly turned after the kinappy joined by the other girl now wearing a spotless guard uniform. Kaizo then walked purposely in a slow rhythm toward Sheko before rearing his front left leg for a kick. Sheko held his spear in a defensive stance, using the broad broomstick to block the incoming kick, but Kaizo kicked right through it.

Time moved in a cruel manner as Sheko tried to think of anything. "Move, duck, block it, anything." All those thoughts passed through Sheko's mind, and yet, trying to move, he already realized he was too slow to prevent his death. "I'll get back at you, Kaizo. What a jerk." Sheko gave a mental sign, ready to receive his death penalty, before his left hand glowed with a bright white light. Just before the great kick of the centaur connected, Sheko spun around, moving at the last moment, the hoofed leg stopping in front of his eyes where his head was a moment ago.

"What the hell?" Sheko exclaimed. The centaur replied in a heavier tone, "Congrats, nooby. You got your embryo. You're still doomed, though." Sheko knew he was right, but there was no reason not to give his best right here. Before he could truly decide what to do next, the centaur stomped his currently lifted leg and with such force, it dug into the soil. Sheko felt a tingling sensation - somewhat like the distant feeling when the kobolds cut him - on his left knee, or at least what was once his knee before it was apparently pulverized by an ice stalagmite that suddenly burst from the ground.

Sheko, focusing on staying upright, looked at the centaur as he spoke again. "Like I said, even if you got a great embryo, I've got more experience than you, better equipment, lots of levels higher, some reinforcements, and we can't forget my embryo, Chiron. Now, I'm not totally for griefing new players, s..." Before he finished, Sheko jumped with all his strength, holding in each hand a remainder of his makeshift spear, slashing with the sharp end at the foe's smug face.

Normally, Kaizo Tremor would have dodged Sheko easily, but both sides failed to account for the new status correction given to Sheko from his embryo, Odysseus. And Sheko, trying to use his embryo like before, added immense speed to his attack, letting it just barely pierce Kaizo's skin when he raised his body in reaction. The strike, insignificant as it may be, triggered Odysseus' first ability on contact, wrapping the centaur's horse body in a blue fractal whirlpool pattern.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

However, as impressive an attack as it was for Sheko to land a strike on Kaizo using Odysseus like he did, it dislocated his shoulder and broke it a little, causing him to drop his knife from his now gloved hand. "Ok, you had your fun. Now you're really dead." Kaizo kicked with a raised hoof once more, but before his leg fully stretched into a kick, his body spun sideways like Sheko's did. But realizing quickly what happened, Kaizo took a hatchet from a belt on his human torso bottom and cut through Sheko's head, killing him immediately.

In the real world, Kai stood up from his chair, taking off his helmet. "Damn it! I'll get back at you, Kaizo!" Kai raised a hand in obvious, pretended theatrics, trying to make himself feel better about his death. "Is everything alright, Kai?" Kai's mom called from her bedroom. "Yeah, just got killed in a game." Kai looked up, seeing barely 10 minutes had passed since he powered on the device. "I guess it's true." Kai spoke to himself, then put the helmet back on. Trying to power it on now, it simply displayed to him a counter. "23:58." "I guess it also means I really did die and need to wait 24 hours. Damn it." Putting the helmet aside, Kai then opened his computer and sent a message to Tam.

KaijuMonster(kai): "So I checked it. I've got to say, I really like the design of the game. It has a real powerful 'lived-in' aesthetic. It does seem like people are a bit too invested in it though."

Tam: "I told you it's good, right? I guess you met a worlder. Don't worry, they are usually inviting. Where are you at? I've got free time as well. We can hang out. I found an awesome ore mining spot. It's pretty safe. You can level while I do my stuff."

KaijuMonster: "Actually...I didn't pause to talk with you. I got killed in the middle of town by another player. He was a real jerk from what I got from one of his teammates. I guess it's a little more complicated than that."

Tam: "Bummer. Did you get to see what embryo you got? Did you get a rare type?"

KaijuMonster: "Wait, embryos are a gacha? So, you could get screwed by luck from the start and be stuck like that? Anyway, I did get my embryo, but it was when I was fighting the centaur player, so I didn't get to check anything about it."

Tam: "Bummer. Well, did you get anything about it?"

KaijuMonster: "Before he punched me to death, he was about to kick me with his front leg, but I shifted to the side without any movement just before I would've been hit. Still, he destroyed my leg with an ice attack, and then killed me a second later after I broke my shoulder cutting him a bit."

Tam: "So, meet tomorrow, I guess, at the gate?"

KaijuMonster: "Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you. I went to Legendria."

Tam: "What, dude? Come on, I told you I'm at Caldina. Why do you gotta be a bummer?" KaijuMonster: "Well, I read about the starting locations, and it said Caldina isn't really recommended for beginners because it's a giant desert with strong monsters. Also, I want to get going on my own. I don't want to feel carried around by you all the way to the endgame. The other player I met was pretty clear that it was a good decision."

Tam: "Wait, the one that killed you?"

KaijuMonster: "No, the one that argued with him."

Tam: "Well, whatever. I guess I'll tell you good luck and have fun." The snide from that last message was pretty obvious.

Before Tam might take off, Kai continued.

KaijuMonster: "You mind helping me plan a build? I wanna get back at this Kaizo guy."

Tam replied with an animated picture of a sinister-looking man smiling and rubbing his hands.

Tam: "It will be my pleasure. So, explain to me how your embryo works again?"

KaijuMonster: "From what I gathered, I spin my entire body or a specific part of it super fast, but I can be hurt from it. Considering my shoulder immediately broke from using it to barely cut the other player."

Tam: "Could you figure out what limitation it has?"

KaijuMonster: "Nope. I'm sure I got a bit faster after I got the embryo, but it could've been adrenaline. But I don't think it had much of a limitation of the spin, except I guess hurting me from using it."

Tam: "No, that can't be it, I don't think so. You probably have a delay limit or an activation cost, I guess. Now, I'm not sure how you should go with this for your build, but maybe you should consider using an axe thrower build since you could probably give the spin to the axe, adding to its attack power without taking damage. But you would have to practice the timing of it. Everyone trains; it's part of the fun. You could use a chakram instead, but I don't think those are common to buy in Legendria. It's very little to go on from what you told me. Did you get a job before ending in the fight?"

KaijuMonster: "Yeah, sure. I took lancer, but I doubt it would be very effective with the whole spin thing. The only skills from it were _brace_ and _charge_."

Tam: "Well, you should remember that embryos are made around the user, so you probably don't know everything about your embryo that could synergize with the job you decided to take. Actually, I think I remember hearing about a flow fighter high job, but I don't have a clue about how to get it. You could maybe go for ninja, but I'm not sure it's available in Legendria. I think you should just try to train and see how it gets going. Oh wait i found something you might like, Matador the job has a skill that gives you a buff when you dodge an attack"

KaijuMonster:" I think I will mix them I'm sure theres space for that in the build. well thanks I'll be ready for him next time I'm sure"

Kai closed the chat and decided to look up Kaizo on the internet. It wasn't too hard as he was surprisingly popular, using the same name for his channel - KaizoStomp - and Dendro. He was livestreaming at the moment, but Kai wasn't interested in waiting for anything that slow. Instead, he went to look at Kaizo's past videos and noticed a clear change in them after a period in the channel that had no videos.

The last video before that period had GasStar prominently featuring with Kaizo, but the first video after that period had GasStar nowhere to be seen, replaced by a picture of all the other masters in the group he met. Collectively taking less space in the picture than GasStar did originally, it seemed that GasStar wasn't fully honest about when he met Kaizo, but it was clear they had a serious falling out. Probably Kaizo took down the videos that clearly showed their falling off.

Ignoring all of the personal drama the group had, Kai chose to look up some fighting footage. The naming scheme of the videos didn't help one bit, but after another hour of looking at Kaizo's channel, he believed he had a good idea for his fighting style, at least in 1v1 settings in the arena. Kaizo usually started by surrounding himself with a field of thorny veins to stop any advances from his enemy. Then, using a long warhammer, he would charge into his vein field and run around his enemy to push them deeper into the vein field.

Once inside, Kaizo continued with a barrage of hammer strikes and sometimes kicks, like he did to Kai. If his enemy proved problematic, Kaizo would use a skill to light his entire field on fire. This seemed to harm Kaizo as well, but his embryo, apparently his centaur body, had high resistance to both cold and heat. Together with Kaizo's job focusing on creating the field of fire, once he did that, Kaizo focused mostly on defense until his enemy died from his fire.

It seemed that Kaizo had quite a lot of success with this strategy, both when fighting in random encounters and in the arena, boasting around an 80% win rate in his videos. But clearly, he probably didn't upload all of his fights, and many of the fights that he did lose featured a player with a pyromancer or a cryomancer build that countered his setup or had embryos that did similar stuff to those jobs.

After thinking about it, Kai realized that in all the fights Kaizo uploaded, he never used that ice stalagmite attack he used against him. He probably wanted to end Kai quickly, and that attack was weak, but there were plenty of times for him to use it in his fights that could have won him the battle if it was just used as destruction.

Kai realized that Kaizo's ice attack wasn't too weak to be used in fights. Instead, Kaizo was probably angry and accidentally revealed his embryo's power to create ice when he tried to kill Kai quickly. Kaizo's embryo replaced his lower half and created ice when he stomped the ground. It wasn't as confusing as whatever Kai had, but he still considered getting a pyromancer job to counter it. However, there was a simpler option to learn how to fight Kaizo, and that was to ask GasStar for tips. Kaizo had been acting like a jerk to GasStar for weeks, so GasStar would probably know the best way to beat him. Setting aside his plans, Kai went to the kitchen to grab a snack before doing his boring homework.

Later, Kai went to make dinner, and his mom entered while he was cooking some sweet chicken breast. She mentioned that she was planning to cook an omelet for dinner, but she was happy that Kai took the initiative to cook. When everything was ready, she called Kai's sister to sit down with them. She came quickly without someone having to call her from her room. When Kai went to call her on those occasions, he wondered how she wasn't completely deaf when he could easily hear the chatting from her earphones almost a meter away. The dinner was calm, and they fell into their routine conversation, talking about something mundane like problems with public transit. They ended up talking about the old Hercules and the turtle paradox, concluding with Kai's sister saying that Hercules should have put his leg on the turtle so he would stop moving. They all agreed that the paradox was just silly.

After dinner, Kai returned to making his build. He decided to start by taking the matador job for its abilities and the irony of using it to fight a centaur. He would focus on improving the matador buff skill and try to get its high job. This could take a week or two, so the first thing he would do is meet GasStar and get whatever information he was willing to share about Kaizo and his embryo. After that, he would see if he could find any blacksmiths who knew how to make a custom chakram for him. He had always wanted to learn how to use throwing knives but thought it was too time-consuming and dangerous to practice. However, in dendro, it might end up being useful, and the triple time meant it was much less of a waste of time.