“Open stat window.”
Status WindowNameNullFame0Level1Infamy0RaceHumanSatiety93%GenderMaleEndurance16/16Main ClassLibrarianSub ClassesCalligrapher, PainterTitlesNoneHealth190/190Health Regen0.053 / secMana700/700Mana Regen0.21 / secStrength9Dexterity16Vitality13Charisma1Intelligence30Wisdom30Luck1Knowledge57Attack7Defense0Magic DefenseNone
'30 must be the maximum number of points for level 1. It took 4 months to get those stats to level 30, and it hasn't grown since. It wouldn't be worth it if I were just trying to get extra stat points for leveling. Endurance looks like it doesn't depend on any stat. It measures exhaustion. That's the only stat that didn't decrease when that guild came after me. I guess it depends on how much you work out your avatar.
Dexterity is pretty high because of all the work I did I guess. Knowledge is a weird stat. It keeps growing and doesn't seem to be affected by the stat level cap. It doesn't seem to do anything and I can't distribute stat points to it. Well that doesn't matter. Time to find a way to raise my strength. Let's go to the basic training hall.'
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“You still can't come in!” The owner of the training hall yells at him.
'Oh yeah, I forgot I'm banned from here. New plan. Leg weights! It worked for Rock Lee it can work for me!'
Null goes to the blacksmith and asks, “Do you have leg weights?”
“No, but I can probably make some. Any reason you need them? They don't really do anything. You've been watching too much Naruto.”
'Fuck You!' “No, I still need them. How long until you can make it?”
“Come back in 2 days. It won't be that hard to make, but I need a tailor to make the sleeves for it.”
“Okay, good.”
Null goes outside the town border.
'Okay, running. I'll just keep running .'
He ran those 2 days along the border and gained 1 vitality and 2 endurance. He went back to the blacksmith, and pays 30 silvers. He went to a place where he knew there wouldn't be people.
'Okay. The real reason I'm doing this is to work on my fighting. Since I can't rely on swords or spears, hand to hand combat is the only way to go.'
He puts on the leg weights and immediately regrets his decision.
'Yeah. I'm barely strong enough to train my own body as it is. Getting leg weights was a terrible idea.'
He takes them off and puts it in his inventory.
He starts practicing his fighting. He knows that his avatar body can't handle the more difficult exercises for now, so he does the warm ups that he did at the very beginning of his gym training. 'Leg bending exercise goooo!'
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2 weeks later and his body was forced to adapt to his harsh training. He has the moves down to where he can adequately defend himself. Along the way he gained 3 endurance, 2 vitality, and 1 strength. With this, all the stats that he cares about have at least reached back to the point to where he started the game. “Open stats screen.”
Status WindowNameNullFame0Level1Infamy0RaceHumanSatiety68%GenderMaleEndurance21/21Main ClassLibrarianSub ClassesCalligrapher, PainterTitlesNoneHealth280/280Health Regen0.079 / secMana700/700Mana Regen0.21 / secStrength10Dexterity16Vitality16Charisma1Intelligence30Wisdom30Luck1Knowledge57Attack8Defense0Magic DefenseNone
'Finally. All the stats I care about are now 10 and above. Now I can hunt monsters. And seriously, look at my stats! I'm the strongest level 1 character to ever live! I used to be the weakest!'
Even though Null is level 1, he has the stats of a level 10 player, not counting the knowledge stat, but he still doesn't have any advantage against someone starting at the same time as him. The average person starting at the same time Null did now has a level of around 140.
He goes out deeper into the forest than he's ever been. He's looking for the weakest monsters first. After 10 minutes of walking, he finds a mouse. “Identify”
Field MouseLevel 1. Attack: Chomp
It gives a nasty bite.
'Guess I will have to level up my identify for it to show more information. Okay, here we go.'
The mouse got into an attacking stance and squeaked loudly. He hit the mouse with a punch. It retaliated by jumping on his body and biting him in random places.
'Ouch, you fucker!'
Null was trying to grab it, but it kept running around his body. He finally grabbed it and tossed it in the air. Null punched it in midair. This scene repeated about 4 times before the mouse finally died. Its body turned gray and disappeared after around a minute. It dropped a single copper coin. He thought he looked cool fighting it, but to anyone watching him, they would just see him angrily flailing around.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The mouses blood were sprayed on his hands. He ran to a stream and vigorously washed his hands thinking, 'Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. I need gloves, gloves with brass knuckles on them.'
He ran to the blacksmith and bought weighted knuckle gloves.
“Identify”
Worn weighted leather knuckle glovesAdequate gloves for beginners.
Attack: 2-5 Durability: 7/11
While he was there, he also bought leather armor and combat boots. He did identify on those as well.
Worn leather armor.It's better than nothing
Defense: +5 Durability: 12/17
Worn combat leather boots..Kick in the balls for maximum effect.
Defense: +2 Attack: 3-7 Durability: 12/15
He goes back out to hunt mice. After he killed his 20th mouse, he leveled up to level 2. He was given 5 stat points, which he put all in Strength.
'Okay, now I'm ready for the bunnies.'
He was not in fact ready for the bunnies. They kept dodging his punches and kicks. People have swords and still have trouble hunting rabbits. It was only after wearing it down after 40 minutes of fighting where he could hurt it.
“*pant* This shit *pant* is not gonna work.”
Null once again goes to the blacksmith and gets a worn bow and 20 arrows. People prefer bows and arrows over guns for several reasons. First, the guns break down more easily than the bows. Second, even though guns have an advantage over bows at the start, arrows overtake them later on. Third, the bullets can't become enchanted without throwing the whole gun out of wack. Fourth, you need continuous gunpowder.
The blacksmith chuckles and says,”Bunnies?”
“Bunnies.”
Null then leaves. 'There goes half my savings.' Null grumpily thinks.
When he spots a bunny, he's about to fire his arrow when he remembers something. 'I just realized that I don't know how to use a bow and arrow. What the hell is wrong with me lately? Oh Right. I forgot I have low intelligence and wisdom.'
Null decided to go to the tracker guild. He sat and watched how people shot arrows and wrote it down. There was one person there who was really good, and he paid extra attention to him until the guy went up to him and told Null he doesn't swing that way. Null realized what he was doing is creepy, but he got all the information he needed. He organized his notes and made it into a book. Null was trying to make a skill book.
'As a librarian I can make and sell skill books! That's something a librarian can do! I can make a lot of money! Wait, I can't help but think I got sidetracked from my original purpose for playing this game.'
It took a lot of trial and error. Some of the books he made had a lot of redundant information and some had not enough information. Most books he made had some information missing. He went back to the tracker guild and made sure that he didn't miss anything. When you touch a skill book, an option is supposed to show up asking if you want to learn the skill. As none of the books he made showed the option yet, that means he's doing something wrong.
Finally, after almost a week of trial and error, the option showed up. He decided to cancel it for now and copy all of the information into a new book, just in case something happens and he has to relearn it. He went to the original book and press yes to learning archery.
You have learned archery.
Archery MasterySkill typePassive/ActiveSkill ProficiencyBeginner level 1Can shoot arrows. Arrow shoot 4% farther and 2% more powerful.
Null was feeling pretty proud of himself when he realized something. He smacked his face and groaned.
“I could've learned the archery skill a lot faster by just practicing it. I really need to raise my intelligence and wisdom one of these days.”
Null once again went into the forest looking for bunnies.
'Now nothing can defeat me, except for anyone or anything stronger than me.'
He saw a bunny nibbling on some grass. He did identify on it.
“Level 1 Bunny, Attack Name: Hop n kick.”
Null quietly made his way to it. While he was walking, he stepped in grass and made a crunch sound. The rabbits ears perked up, but it still continued eating. He loaded an arrow in his bow and continued walking forward, careful not to startle it. He fired off his arrow and hit it in the back.
“Yes!”
He then ran up to the bunny and attacked it with his fists. Thanks to the wound from the arrow, the bunny couldn't dodge as well as before. Instead of dodging, the bunny decided to switch to attack. It jumped and headbutted him. Null was a little surprised it attacked him like that.
Thanks to his armor, It only managed to do 8 damage. When the bunny tried to attack again, Null punched it while it was still in the air. Fist and head collided. Ultimately the bunny lost in that collision and fell to the ground. Null finished it off by stomping on it until it died. It didn't drop anything when the body faded away, but Null was satisfied. This time it only took 6 minutes to finish the bunny off. Not only that, he learned how it moves.
Null kept on hunting bunnies with the same strategy. Sometimes the bunnies dropped meat, leather, and very rarely more arrows mostly depending on their level. The bunnies ranged in level from level 1 to level 3. Null hunting the bunnies grew up to level 4. He put all his points into strength and dexterity.
While he was walking in the forest to look for more bunnies, Null heard grass crunching sounds and growls. He looked to his right. It was 3 wolves, all level 11. They were slowly closing in on him. Null looked the wolves in the eyes as if declaring he's not afraid of them.
The next move that happened startled even the wolves. Null started running towards them. The wolves were confused. People usually run away when they can't win, not toward them. Null yelled out while charging at them. The wolves got in a defensive stance ready for battle. Just when they were ready to attack, Null ran completely past them. The wolves can't help but think they just got played, and started chasing Null.
Null, running frantically, was thinking, 'Of course I'm not going to fight 3 level 11 wolves! This direction is the only direction back to town. Fuck that warriors never run away nonsense. Who needs dignity?' Null started climbing a tree like a cat being chased by a dog.
The wolves circled around the tree. Null looks down and thinks, 'This is a good opportunity. I'll shoot the arrows in the wolves' eyes to blind them, then attack them by jumping off the branch with arrow in hand, stabbing them.' Null loaded his arrow. When he shot it, it ended up 2 meters away from the closest wolf.
'Dammit, of course I can't hit wolves in the eyes from 10 meters away. Why am I always imagining myself doing all these amazing things as if I were some protagonist of a shitty web novel?' The wolves circle the tree until they got bored and walk away.
Null waits an hour just to make sure they're gone. He then runs back to town.
'You know what? I'm just going to take a break for a while.'
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Author's Note: Null seems stupid right? In this virtual reality game, your intelligence and wisdom stats directly affect your intelligence and wisdom. He would not be this stupid in real life. He started hunting for the first time, and it only took around 7 months. Don't worry. We'll get to the good parts soon enough.