Wait… what just happened? I'm not in combat yet and I didn't attack, so how did the roulette activate?
A moment after he stopped to think, the axe vanished. He crouched behind a clump of marsh stalks and reviewed everything that occurred right before the axe appeared, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand what happened.
After wasting a few precious minutes with no results, he pushed on toward the nearest group of crogs once more. It would certainly be helpful to figure out how to manually activate the roulette now, but it wasn't as if knowing was the difference between life and death. And considering it had something to do with approaching combat, he was confident the answer would come to him eventually.
Raine had to wait for the group of four crogs to stalk in a wide circle before they were a safe distance from any other group. He dropped a steak and they predictably rushed toward it like mindless bugs. He sprinted into their midst and was completely ignored as he threw a rock to activate the roulette and pull one of the beasts.
Either due to not fighting since last summoning it, or by random chance, the axe flashed into his hand once more. Its dull blade bit into the shoulder of the second passing crog scout and it turned on him with a vicious jab of its spear.
With three attunements maxed out, Raine was significantly faster than the scouts. He weaved around a Double Thrust, positioning himself in a way that the crog pulled by his thrown rock had to go through its companion to get to him.
As it circled around, so did Raine, forming an unwilling meatshield between the two of them. After that first hit, Raine activated the roulette, hoping for a weapon with an uncompleted attunement. He shrugged off the pain of losing a bit of health and when his new spear appeared in his hands, he couldn't have been happier.
The axe's measly twenty six damage was a joke compared to the first Pierce Raine inflicted on his unfortunate prey. With the aid of his newest skill, the tip of his spear moved far too quickly for the beast to dodge. Its neck was punctured and a spray of blood released as Raine jumped back to avoid a counter. [Critical hit! -143] Raine was shocked by the number as it should be impossible for someone his level to pull off.
This ring is insane.
He batted away the distracting emotion and thoughts, continuing to dance around the two beasts. He stabbed the first to death, then moved to the second. It died just as the two he let pass earlier finished tearing apart the steak. They charged with croaking cries full of righteous fury and he rounded on them with a vicious smile.
image [https://i.imgur.com/7AF18SZ.png]
Two hours passed with Raine wiping out every group of level nine crogs. He took his time, carefully pulling the more compacted groups. The only escape from such a situation would be to waste a huge supply of his steaks to run, but then he wouldn't have enough left to finish what he came for.
[Hard Iron 2-H Mace: Common Gray - LVL 5 (Attack Power +19) (Defense +12) (PTC +4) (PHY +6) (Durability 40/40)]
[Hard Iron Sword: Common Gray - LVL 5 (Attack Power +10) (PTC +4) (ACU +3) (PHY +3) (Durability 40/40)]
[Hard Iron Shield: Common Gray - LVL 5 (DEF +26) (PTC +3) (PHY +3) (Durability 60/60)]
[Congratulations!]
[Shield mastery has reached Novice 100%]
[Axe mastery has reached Novice 100%]
[Staff mastery has reached Novice 100%]
[Wand mastery has reached Novice 100%]
[Spear mastery has reached Novice 100%]
[Sword mastery has reached Novice 100%]
[Potency: +14]
[Finesse: +6]
[Acuity: +8]
[Physique: +12]
[Connection: +12]
[Quest: Torell’s Grudge completed. Obtained 20,000 SP (excess marks may be turned in for additional rewards)]
[Level Up! +1 all attributes]
With the last of his weapon attunements complete, Raine had a permanent bonus of sixteen to all his attributes. Considering the base values of a level six player were eleven, the increases left him thrumming with energy and power that yearned to be released.
The reason attributes started so low, were not allocatable manually, and increased slowly at first was entirely due to the speed a human brain could safely adjust its mental state to sudden and massive increases in functionality. Eleven points in Potency, Finesse, Alacrity, and Physique was equivalent to a perfectly fit, athletic adult male. This, for many, was a vast improvement over their real bodies.
At twenty in each attribute, one would feel like they were inhabiting the body of an olympic triathlon. In the past, the euphoric rush from that kind of strength and speed was addictive to the point thousands of physiological health centers opened worldwide to help normal people cope. This severe issue was only magnified when attributes reached fifty, (the first threshold.) Without careful planning and time to adapt, players would be unable to even stand and walk, let alone fight.
With the completion of the novice attunements, Raine’s average attributes were twenty-seven, not including bonuses from his equipment. Despite feeling peak human strength flowing through him, it was nowhere near enough to satisfy him.
Itching for a fight, he greedily eyed the nearest crog which was nothing like the beasts he had killed up to this point. Heavy, coiled muscles bunched beneath its thick skin. Strong jaws with sharp teeth and beady eyes gleamed with barely restrained violence. Its fists were wrapped with metal gloves that Raine desperately wanted to steal from its cold dead body.
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[Mature Croglock Warrior: Level 10 - HP ???/???]
image [https://i.imgur.com/5s1fge8.jpg]
Likely as an introduction for new players, these level ten beasts weren't in a group, but separated by a few dozen yards. For a fresh party yet to grasp the law of five, these solo crogs might appear like easier prey than the groups leading up to them: that delusion would be shattered the moment combat began.
Raine and the crog charged at each other. The beast stopped early, sinking its clawed feet into the mud to skid the last few yards. Simultaneously, it drew in a huge breath that expanded a sac of flesh on its back. Realizing he wouldn’t make it in time with his current speed, Raine tucked into a ball with his arms protectively covering his chest and head. The crog expelled the stored air, unleashing a Paralyzing Scream.
[Negative affliction received: Paralyze - Duration 1.62 seconds]
Each attribute in ZL had at least one hidden, passive effect. For Physique, besides dictating weight and the physical force of blows, those effects were to both reduce the chances of receiving an affliction, and also reduce its duration based on the difference in level.
Raine’s higher than normal Physique lowered the duration from the full three seconds down to nearly half, barely allowing him to recover in time to survive. In that short window he was motionless, the crog towered over him with a feral smile while sending his plated knuckles directly into Raine’s protected head. [-103] The force of the blow sent him sailing away, landing near where he began his charge. If he hadn’t covered his head with his arms, that blow certainly would have been a critical hit.
Losing a third of his HP in a single attack hurt like hell but he was accustomed to worse. Free from the paralyzing effect, Raine blasted from his crouch, dashing beneath the follow-up punch sailing toward his face. The sword that appeared in his hand sunk deep into the crogs stomach, almost getting caught in its thick muscles when Raine leaped backward to escape the beast’s counter. [-98]
Not only was its Movement Speed higher than Raine’s, its Attack Speed was significantly boosted by the innate 1.5 bonus from fist weapons—which felt similar to having your arms pulled forward to deliver faster blows than you would normally be capable of. This combination of handicaps, coupled with the crog’s level ten martial prowess, put Raine at a serious disadvantage.
The beast’s blows fell like a meteor shower, its arms blurring in Raine’s vision. Yet he remained perfectly composed, counting in his head while watching the twitch of each muscle. He felt like a bird of prey, waiting patiently for his opening. Its upper jaw twitched in annoyance and its right shoulder flexed more than normal. The punch that whistled forward was sidestepped at the last second—the distance between metal plates and skin so narrow that Raine’s hair was blown backward. He dove in and sunk his sword into its armpit with Pierce. Following through with his momentum, Raine fluidly spun around to the backside of the towering monster, using the leverage of his movement to pull the blade free. [-125]
The crog howled and leaped away, sucking in air once more. Raine followed, burning Discipline to keep up. It had been a long time since he fought these crogs, so he was forced to guess regarding its skill’s cooldown. It was a good thing he decided to be cautious and manually test it, because he was off by a whole fifteen seconds. Still, he had been watching for this exact move and he reached the beast before its sac was full of air. He dodged its two clumsy swipes and his blade sank straight into its mouth with a merciless Pierce. [-125]
It reeled back with a strangled croak but quickly recovered and they began their mad dance of blows once more. Luckily, these introductory level tens always had large muscles, so it was relatively easy to predict their movements with enough training. Before long, Raine snuck in another three attacks and finished the fight when it attempted to use its paralyzing scream for the third time.
[Obtained 1,500 Superiority (200% bonus for defeating a monster 4 levels above you)]
[Obtained 9% Attunement (200% bonus for defeating a monster 4 levels above you)]
Eighteen copper and four marks of maturity dropped from the beast, along with the one thing Raine had been most hopeful for. Like lightning, he snatched the shining ball containing his newest weapon while checking his peripherals for an ambush that never arrived.
[Hard Iron Gloves: Common Gray - LVL 5 (Attack Power +6) (Attack Speed +1.5) (PTC +2) (ACU +2) (PHY +2) (Durability 40/40)]
Yes! So lucky today. Well, scamming that loser and getting this loot wouldn’t have happened without me putting in effort. I guess it’s true what they say: Luck is merely reaping the rewards of the actions you’ve already taken.
Over the next hour, he killed twenty more of the level ten crogs, bringing him a quarter of the way through level seven. Due to the need to sit and rest after each fight to recover his HP, it took much longer to progress. Unfortunately, he didn't have the currency to purchase recovery food after buying the steaks.
Raine also rounded out his equipment, missing only an upgrade to his staff and wand since the ones dropped by the crog mages were no better than the novice gear. He perused his status, pleased with the significant upgrades.
NAME: Alaric
CLASS: none
TITLE: Rock Crusher
ASPECT: Greater Aspect of the Werewolf
LEVEL: 3 > 7
EXPERIENCE: 29,250 / 40,000
HP: 80 > 310
ATTACK POWER: 16 > 57
DEFENSE: 15 > 49
RESISTANCE: 16 > 56
CRITICAL RATE: 5% > 15%
ELEMENTAL POWER: 16 > 56
DISCIPLINE: 16 > 59
ATTACK SPEED: 1.05 > 1.6
MOVE SPEED: 2.45 > 4
ATTRIBUTES:
POTENCY: 8 > 28
FINESSE: 8 > 29
ACUITY: 8 > 28
PHYSIQUE: 8 > 31
CONNECTION: 8 > 28
CLASS ATTUNEMENTS:
[Brawler - 72%]
[Warrior - 66%]
[Defender - 64%]
[Rogue - 71%]
[Cleric - 65%]
[Mage - 66%]
SKILLS:
[Strike - Novice - Discipline: Increase damage with blunt basic attacks by 20%]
[Pierce - Novice - Discipline: Increase damage with thrusting basic attacks by 20%]
Raine focused on the largest crog in the village, pondering if he was strong enough to take it down. Typically, it would be killed by three groups working together, and only if those groups had all reached level ten. If he were to attempt it solo at level seven, it would likely be just as difficult as his fight with the golem.
I don’t have a quest to kill it, but it does have a chance to drop decent armor and it always drops the free pass into Silverlight City which will save me ten silver. If I wait for tomorrow, I can wipe out the whole camp again and probably reach level nine or ten, then the fight wouldn’t be too difficult.
Raine shook his head and released a disgusted, “Ugh.” The very idea of backing down, of running from this worthy challenge was appalling. There was no way he would ever win against the corporations or old monsters if he wasn’t willing to push himself and improve his martial skills. The current him was utterly inferior to the greatest fighters of the past but he was on a direct intercept course to face those very people. They had managed to reign atop the entire world after facing countless obstacles far more extreme than the crog before him.
No, there was no question of what needed to be done. He would throw himself headfirst into this challenge and the next, seize every opportunity, and struggle with every scrap of willpower he had until he could face those old monsters in human skin. The stairs leading to the top were long and treacherous. Before him, was but another step.
[Elite Area Boss - Croglock Chieftain: Level 13 - HP ????/????]
It's you or me, ugly.