Kaden stared at the three gift box icons dancing on the system interface in front of him with his heart beating like the drums. One was a normal gift box, the second was a gift box with a silver sheen and the third one was a gift box with a golden sheen!
"Hot damn! No wonder so many people were crazy about solving the horror mode!" He had just completed the beginner's tutorial dungeon and there were so many perks? His hand was itching to open the packages so he hurriedly clicked on the basic version, the normal Welcome package. Everyone who finished the beginner's dungeon would receive this reward. But it was only a reward for the namesake. There was pretty much nothing special about it and it did not matter if one had it or not. Still, Kaden opened it and a system interface flashed in front of him with a bunch of items listed one after the other.
[Ding. You have received a Simple Shirt]
[Ding. You have received a pair of Simple Pants]
[Ding. You have received a Rusty Short Sword]
[Ding. You have received a Carry Bag]
[Ding. You have received a Loaf of Bread]
[Ding. You have received a Flask of Water]
[Ding. You have received a Flagon of Healing Medicine]
At the same time, a Carry Bag appeared in his arms with all the items listed stuffed inside it. "Ok. The usual." Kaden took a look and clicked his tongue. He then placed the bag on the ground and selected the second welcome package, the Special welcome package that had the silver glow.
[Ding. You have received a Troll Hide Chestpiece]
[Ding. You have received a pair of Troll Hide Spaulders]
[Ding. You have received a White Fang Dagger]
[Ding. You have received a Backpack]
[Ding. You have received Mitta's Special Cookie box]
[Ding. You have received a Flask of Water]
[Ding. You have received 5 Health Potions]
[Ding. You have received 5 Mana Potions]
"Woah! Two Troll Hide items? They should at least be Uncommon rank or maybe even Fine rank pieces! White Fang Dagger also should be quite good. This is amazing!" Kaden could only barely control his glee as he accepted the rewards and a backpack magically appeared on his back. "That feels heavy." He quickly swung it around and opened it to take a look inside. Just as promised all the items were there. Grinning like an idiot, Kaden took out his reward items one by one. He first kissed the Troll Hide Chestpiece and focused on the item before its information came up.
Ding!
[Troll Hide Chestpiece]
Item Type: Chestpiece
Grade: Fine
Material: Troll hide
Requirements: None
Special Attribute: Grants the wearer a bonus to health regeneration in combat.
Stats:
Armor: 500
Strength: +20
Stamina: +25
Health Regeneration: +5 per second in combat
Durability: 200/200
Kaden was shocked to see the ridiculous stats of the armor. He had expected the armor to be good, but this was way too overpowered. In 'Apocalypse Online', the items were graded from Basic, fondly nick-named as Trash grade, then Common, Uncommon, Fine, Magic, Rare, Epic, and Legendary.
Kaden had read in forums that there were even grades above Epic and Legendary, but that information was not well publicized. At least a pleb like him did not have access to it. Now among these grades, most of the beginners only had access to the Trash grade and Common grade items. These barely provided a few stat point bumps, at most totaling 10.
However, this single Fine piece had already given him a bump of 20 + 25 stat points, not to mention a special regeneration ability. The reward was simply too good. "Damn. No wonder the guys who finished Horror Mode were all top-tier Gods!" Kaden clicked his tongue, shaking his head, and then proceeded to equip the chestpiece.
Whether it was fair or not to the other players was not his concern. This time, he was in it to win it, so no matter how overpowered a cheat was, he was going to use every last bit of it to claw his way to the top. The chestpiece fit rather snugly around his body as if it was perfectly tailored for him. Kaden tried to move his arms and legs and twisted his torso on this side and that side. All of his movements were smooth, and there was no hindrance. There was only a small added weight. Except for it, there was no difference. It was as if he had never worn the chestpiece in the first place.
"Perfect!" Kaden then took out the next item, the Troll Hide Spaulders. Wearing this was more cumbersome than the chest piece as he had to tie a couple of tight knots here and there, but once in place, the shoulder piece was also equally invisible. He practiced a couple of air punches and then nodded in satisfaction. Now, it was time to look at the fine print. "Please be another awesome item!"
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Ding!
[Troll Hide Spaulders]
Item Type: Shoulder piece
Grade: Fine
Material: Troll hide
Requirements: None
Special Attribute: Grants the wearer increased resistance against poison and acid attacks.
Stats:
Armor: 200
Strength: +10
Stamina: +15
Poison Resistance: +20%
Acid Resistance: +20%
Durability: 200/200
Ba ha ha ha! Kaden let out an excited howl! One after the other, every single item was simply amazing, and if it was all added up together, the boost he was getting was way too juicy! Barely containing his excitement, he adjusted his attire and then reached into his backpack once again for the last item, the White Fang dagger. He took out this dagger and held it in his hand, giving it a thorough look. Once again, the item was impressive. The dagger looked exquisite, with its razor-sharp edge glinting menacingly in the light. The hilt was wrapped in supple leather, providing a comfortable grip, and overall it was light and easy to wield.
Ding!
[White Fang Dagger]
Item Type: Dagger
Grade: Fine
Weapon Class: One-Handed
Material: Fang of the white wolf
Requirements: None
Special Attribute: Increases critical strike chance.
Stats:
Damage: 150-300
Critical Strike Chance: +15%
Durability: 100/100
"This will do!" Kaden grinned. "Oh! This will do!" If this was his starting gear, then his starting was going to be spectacular! After equipping everything, he then shifted his attention to the last gift box that was still remaining. The reward from the second one was already so amazing, that he couldn't wait to see what the Deluxe Welcome Package would give him. His hand nervously clicked on the third and last box that had the golden glow.
However, unexpectedly not many notifications flashed in front of him this time. In fact, there were only two notifications but Kaden was staring at these two with his jaw dropped on the ground.
[Ding. You have been awarded 20 free stat points]
[Ding. You have been awarded 5 free skill points]
"20 stat points? 5… 5 skill points?" Kaden couldn't believe his eyes. He now had 20 extra points to distribute on top of his starting stats. Even an Olympic swimmer wouldn't have this much edge at the beginning of the game! This was more than enough to give him a huge head start in the game, that too, right from the get-go! More than any item or armor, this was the ultimate boost any level 0 could ask for!
"Ok. This means that I need to change my plans. I don't have to finish any of the time-consuming quests to increase my level. I should already be strong enough for that quest." Kaden thought as he recollected a specific quest in his mind. While he was mentally calculating a few things, a couple of chubby teenagers swaggered over to him, giving him peculiar glances.
This made Kaden realize that his clothes alone were different and he also had gear to boot, making him stand out among the few players who were only just now arriving at the starting village. Not many players had yet entered the game since many go through the video and check out the beginner's dungeon. However, there were still some who skipped these things just to first check out the main game world.
"I can't afford to stand around and waste my time talking to others." Kaden made a quick decision, rushed off into an alleyway, and took a couple of turns, losing his new friends in a second. "Cloverleaf village. Ah. It's good to be back." He chuckled, turning around and confirming that he really was alone.
In reality, there was nothing special about this village. The only thing it was famous for was the nasty grueling starter quests that gave very few experience points for a lot of effort. A normal player had to spend about one to two weeks in this damned village, depending on how much time they spent inside the game. However, Kaden had no such plans.
Others might not know it, but he knew very well that there was a ticking time bomb over everyone's head. They all had one year! Exactly only one year, and then everything was going to change. In one year, there were only 52 weeks, so how could he afford to waste two weeks here? A minute spent here was the same as a minute spent in the outside world. Time flowed the same both inside the game and outside the game. Even if he spent all of his time playing here without eating or sleeping, he would still not have enough time to do everything he wanted.
Kaden clenched his fists as a weird excitement coursed through him. He felt both excited and nervous at the same time. With a big grin plastered on his face, he continued walking through the alleyways paying no attention to any of the village NPCs crossing him, all of them with several quests to offer. He only stopped at the border of the village, where he turned to glance at a couple of eager players scurrying away to finish some quests. They were simply catching some runaway chicken, but there were wide smiles on their face since they had gotten here faster than the others.
Walking past them, Kaden silently exited the village and headed towards the dense forests that surrounded the newbie village on all sides. "You there! It's not advisable for a youngster like you to venture alone in the forests." One of the guards warned him, giving him a stern once over. There was even a notification.
[Ding! You are now leaving the safety of the novice village!]
However, Kaden continued to walk into the forests because he knew what he was doing. Well, sort of. His plan was to head into the forest even if he was still at Level 0, and his final target destination was the city that lay beyond it. Sure, it was risky but if he played his cards right, it would be worth it!
After entering the lush forest, Kaden walked for a few seconds and then turned around to check and make sure that he was really alone in the forest. Not that he needed to. The game had only barely begun. Most people should still be stuck listening to the introduction or messing around with the beginner's dungeon tutorial. Even if they somehow decided to ignore both of those, they still should only be loitering around in the newbie village. No one would be crazy enough to venture into the unknown forest without gaining a single level, well, nobody except for him.
In all honesty, even Kaden would not have dared to venture into the forest if not for his troll hide items and his bonus stat points. He had already equipped the troll hide items but as for the bonus stat points, he did not allocate them just yet. He had a solid start so he wanted to be prudent here and prepare for the future. After all, Kaden had some knowledge about the future. And he was not aiming for the normal player route. If possible, he wanted to grab the impossible.
In 'Apocalypse Online', there were many hidden and powerful legacies that granted unique skills and classes. Naturally, he was not entirely aware of full details regarding such legacies but he did have some clues. Depending on which path he pursued, these extra stat points might come in handy to help him out. So he did not want to invest them in the wrong attribute by jumping the gun.
For example, if he was going to select a mage-related path, investing these points in strength would be a mistake. Even though later on he might be able to balance out his stat distribution, he did not want to start on the wrong foot. Besides, if there was really an urgent need for it, he could always invest them whenever he wanted in whatever was required. Kaden checked his attire one more time, and he then headed right into the thick of the forest, crossing the boundary of the outskirts. His real challenge was going to start now!