[Achievement for first player to reach level ten! One additional skill point dropped]
Raine’s hand shot out and snatched up the dropped skill point in the perfect parody of a bullet shrimp. When he confirmed his free skill point count was sitting at two, he happily pulled out the equipment from the crog chieftain that he couldn't previously equip and donned them one at a time.
[Superior Scaled Pauldrons - Common Grey - LVL 10: (DEF +17) (PTC +3) (FIN +3) (PHY +3) (Durability 75/75)]
[Superior Scaled Chestplate - Common Grey - LVL 10: (DEF +21) (PTC +2) (PHY +5) (Durability 75/75)]
[Superior Scaled Greaves - Common Grey - LVL 10: (DEF +18) (PTC +5) (FIN +2) (ACU +2) (Durability 75/75)]
[Bandit Face Shroud - Common Grey - LVL 10: Obscures identification skills up to beginner tier]
He lost a single point of Physique and four of Defense for replacing his tutorial helmet with the face shroud dropped by the bandit leader, but it was a worthy sacrifice for becoming immune to low-level identification skills.
Blast wasn’t part of my planned build, but neither was the ring. The reasonable adapt, the unreasonable persist.
Raine spent both skill points to purchase Slash and Blast. Even though general skill points were harder to acquire after level fifteen, what they could be used for was mostly limited to utility that he didn’t currently need.
Next, he split his free attributes between Connection and Acuity. A common mistake for new players was pumping all their free points into a single attribute in an attempt to create a ‘build.’ What they didn’t know was that upon reaching fifty, each attribute gained a significant increase in effectiveness. Depending on how bad the disparity, their build could instantly turn them into an invalid.
Without sufficient Finesse to manage the raw power from Potency, every swing of a weapon would send you flying. Without the mental Acuity to track the speed of your movements from Finesse, you could barely aim. Potency without Physique led to broken bones, while the opposite resulted in barely being able to move. Over time, it was unanimously considered optimal to evenly spread attributes early on. There was a point where specialization made sense, but Raine wasn’t anywhere near that yet.
He spent a few minutes adjusting to the boost in Connection. Sudden increases to the attribute were a common cause for dizziness and confusion. It directly influenced the brain’s integration with the world, making colors more vivid, actions smoother, and eased the subtle intricacies of moving an artificial body. Beyond that, it was the primary attribute for increasing Discipline, Elemental, Demonic, and Celestial casting.
While flowing through a complex series of stretches and hops, he browsed his status, more than pleased with the rapid progress.
NAME: Alaric
CLASS: none
TITLE: Rock Crusher
ASPECT: Greater Aspect of the Werewolf
LEVEL: 7 > 10
SUPERIORITY: 8,400 / 150,000
ATTUNEMENT: 18.72%
Excellent, I’ve already reached max attunement with my weapons and two classes.
Any additional Attunement for completed weapon types were distributed into an Attunement Pool. Once Raine chose a class at level fifteen, the excess attunement could be used to purchase more advanced class-based skills.
HP: 310 > 390
ATTACK POWER: 57 > 77
DEFENSE: 49 > 93
RESISTANCE: 56 > 68
CRITICAL RATE: 15% > 18%
ELEMENTAL POWER: 56 > 68
DISCIPLINE: 59 > 73
ATTACK SPEED: 1.6 > 2.0
MOVE SPEED: 4 > 4.8
ATTRIBUTES:
POTENCY: 28 > 41
FINESSE: 29 > 37
ACUITY: 28 > 35
PHYSIQUE: 31 > 39
CONNECTION: 28 > 34
CLASS ATTUNEMENTS:
[Brawler - 72% > 85%]
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
[Warrior - 66% > 82%]
[Defender - 64% > 100%]
[Rogue - 71% > 100%]
[Cleric - 65% > 76%]
[Mage - 66% > 79%]
The only one I really care about is Brawler since that’s the class advancement chain I know. Crazy the others are higher than I ever got them in the past. This ring is forcing me down a path I never anticipated. It feels great though. And my lower attributes are giving me a perfect chance to brush up on techniques I haven’t used in years.
SKILLS:
[Strike - Novice: Increase damage with blunt basic attacks by 20% (Cost: 1 Discipline) (Cooldown: 1 second)]
[Pierce - Novice: Increase damage with thrusting basic attacks by 20% (Cost: 1 Discipline) (Cooldown: 1 second)]
[Slash - Novice: Increase damage with slashing basic attacks by 20% (Cost: 1 Discipline) (Cooldown: 1 second)]
[Blast - Novice: Launches a ranged attack with staff, wand, or bare hands increasing damage by 20% (Cost: 1 EP/CP/DP) (Cooldown: 1 second)]
Raine set off in the opposite direction of Vile Peak Town to bail his younger brother out of trouble. The inexorable pull of wasted time twisted his guts as he committed himself to at least an eight hour detour. The moment he had the feeling, he discarded it with an annoyed head-to-toe shake.
I’m not a sub-commander of CronGate anymore. Helping my family should be a priority, not an annoyance. I’m actually a bit disappointed in myself for not considering making him a larger part of my plans already. He’s someone I can trust absolutely, and people like that are more rare than phoenix feathers. Richtor’s known those friends of his since we were kids. I should help them out, too. Though, that will largely depend on their mentality. It’s not possible to drag people to higher levels in ZL, that drive has to come from within. Richtor’s got it for sure, it might need a little polish, but it’s there.
A few pesky bandit ambushes slowed Raine’s determined pace on the way out of the forest. He dealt with them quickly and hit the road running. Due to his increased speed, not only were the low level beasts no longer able to catch him, but he arrived in Dawson Creek Town in a little over an hour, rather than his estimated two. As he approached, he was confronted by three players on the road who held up their hands for him to stop.
One of them—a short, scrappy man with a vicious glint in his eyes—called out to Raine in the crude simile of an amicable tone, “Hey there friend, I'm MercilessLee. Nice to meetcha. You new here? Looking for something or someone? We're happy to help. Why don’t ya tell us what you’re after, eh?”
Raine continued walking, saying nothing. He had enough experience with retrieval operations inside enemy territory to know that the less information he gave them, the better.
The little man moved to match his stride, having to jog awkwardly to keep up, “Hey now, friend. No need to be rude. Our guild owns this town already so why don't you take a minute to listen? I promise it'll be worth your time. Or are you already affiliated with a guild? Who is it? We can't just let any old body inside, could be a spy, y’know?”
Unperturbed, Raine continued at a casual pace. The little man grew infuriated. He leaped in Raine’s way and was instantly knocked five steps back when they collided. Three sets of eyes flew wide with realization and fear as they reevaluated the stranger.
It took MercilessLee's rambled senses a full three seconds before he remembered they weren't in reality and the man before him had no way of actually hurting him with the PVP restrictions in place. He sprinted to catch up, spitting mad, “That's bloody damned far enough! If you don't wanna die back to zero, you better listen up, you little shitstain!”
“Cool it, Lee. his gear ain't no joke, his Potency is way higher than ours so we can't even push him around like the others. With gear like that, he's gotta be backed by a guild. We better just tell the boss.”
MercilessLee made a gargantuan effort to regain his composure, which was only marginally effective. He spoke through clenched teeth, one eye twitching as he sidled up to Raine in preparation to throw his arm over his shoulder, “C'mon friend, I'll give you one more chance to be a decen—”
The moment his arm made contact, Raine grabbed his hand, firmly planted one foot and bent over. His back leg slid up and into MercilessLee’s groin. The lift from Raine’s leg combined with the downward force of his arms, pulling the little tyrant over his back in a classical uchi-mata. The foul-mouthed goon barely had time to register that his feet left the ground before his face was hurtling toward the dirt.
Raine released MercilessLee at the last second before he kissed the soil. Due to a quickly patched bug that Raine had only drunkenly laughed about in the past, he knew that so long as there was no physical contact at the moment of impact, ZL assumed the player had taken fall damage. With the large gap in Potency, he crashed into the ground at a ridiculous speed. His face crumpled, the air was blasted from his lungs, and a mouthful of blood splattered across the road. Nearly a third of his HP drained away in an instant.
Before his rattled brain could even think of recovering, Raine scooped him off the ground and threw him again. The second he slammed into the ground, he was lifted and thrown a third and final time. When MercilessLee died pitifully without having a glimmer of a chance to fight back, the other two goons practically pissed themselves.
Five pieces of tutorial gear dropped from the corpse. Raine was all too happy to relieve him of the spoils. The two recruiters said nothing, not moving a centimeter as Raine casually snatched up his ill gotten gains. He resumed his path toward town, leaving the flabbergasted idiots behind.
In the past, Raine had not moved to Carter City before joining ZL, so Dawson Creek was where his adventures began. Being back on the same streets pinged his brain’s nostalgia centers but he didn’t stop to look around. His eyes were set straight ahead and his steps were swift, knowing they would be set upon by dozens of pests if they took too long to leave. Raine had a pretty good idea of where Richtor was, since he himself had once shared a similar fate at the hands of CronGate’s recruiters.
He made a beeline to the local graveyard where players would respawn shortly after death. The resurrection platform was empty so he headed into the church situated off to the side. Inside, over a dozen people had their heads together, attempting to find a solution to the recruiters. Raine ignored them, checking the rooms one by one and finding each full of beleaguered players. On the third to last door, he found them.
Raine took a quick glance at the five of them miserably huddled against the walls. His gaze rested on Richtor. For Raine, they hadn’t met face to face like this in years. The last time, they fought over the death of their mother and neither were ready to mend those broken bridges, even after years. That same brother, who only hours ago looked like a kid on Christmas morning, was currently buried in sorrow. To say Raine’s thoughts and emotions were conflicted was an understatement.
What ailed them was something Raine understood all too well. It was the oppressive, crushing weight of a dark reality they were powerless to resist; those with money, power, and influence would always rule over the weak, especially in a world as unforgiving as ZionLine. There was only one cure, and it had taken a miracle for Raine to find it.
Words found him, and they came out strained to his ears, “Let's go.” When Richtor failed to move and only blankly stared up at him, Raine yanked him to his feet and strung him over his shoulder.
“W-what the hell, put me down!” Richtor continued to yell after his initial outburst, but his struggles had no effect on his current situation. Richtor’s party was quick to follow, each attempting to shout over the others.
“Hey! What are you doing?! Let him go!” The only female in the group scrambled to get in front of Raine but he easily walked right through her, sending her bouncing into a wall amidst a shimmer of red energy.
A dozen pairs of eyes tracked them as they left the church. The moment they stepped into the graveyard, a familiar figure equipped with five less pieces of armor than minutes ago zeroed in on them, “How dare you kill me like that?! I'll murder you a thousand times! You won’t live long enough to regret this!” Spittle flew from MercilessLee’s mouth as he stomped toward them.
Raine ignored the raging douchenozzle and confidently paced toward the gates out of town. Richtor and his friends had a very different reaction to seeing one of their tormentors. They stiffened up instinctively until TwistedReligion pointed out his missing gear. Together, they quickly put together what must have happened and their shouted complaints toward Raine vanished in a heartbeat.
Richtor craned his neck to look at Raine and whispered, “Did you really manage to ki—”
MercilessLee, seeing his threats having no effect on them, finally lost the last tether remaining to his sanity, “No! Killing you in some game isn't nearly enough! You all spawned in this town, that means you live in Lincoln City, right? Those three chums of yours already joined up, since you were so grabass from the get-go, I bet they know where you live and work. Ohhhh, yes-yes-yes it’ll be so much more fun to pay you a visit in the real world. This is going to be so good. I can't fucking wait!” His threat sent an audible round of gulps through the party.