Leon felt a little sluggish as he moved through the streets. This was another aspect of the game that was hidden from players. Stamina. It allowed players to engage in combat and move around.
If stamina was low, they would feel sluggish. Recovering stamina was simple: sleep or rest. It sounded paradoxical – sleeping within a game while sleeping in reality – but the brain needed rest and continuous gameplay wasn’t healthy.
Luckily, they didn’t need food, but they could still eat it for bonuses like what Jack gave Leon, or for the taste as they could make new delicious food with magic.
He looked at the sky and noticed it was around noon. Leon looked at the map from Jack to find a nearby inn. Inns were places where one could sleep and even eat a decent meal if they wanted to. Leon was quickly at the inn and entered.
Inside the inn was a simple counter with a man behind it and an area with some tables and chairs. Leon noticed there were stairs behind the man that likely led to the bedrooms. A few players were chatting here minding their own business, some were even eating some food.
Steeling himself as usual, he walked up to the counter. “Uh, can I get a room?” Leon mumbled, glancing away.
The man behind the counter looked at Leon and didn’t comment on his odd behaviour, mages were a little eccentric. “How long are you planning to stay?” the innkeeper’s gaze was unwavering.
Leon gave it some thought. “Three hours. I’m only planning to take a nap.”
The man nodded. “Three copper pieces, please.” Leon paid the man and got a key to a room upstairs. Once inside, he locked it and noticed it was a pleasant room with a bed, desk, and nightstand.
There was even a closet to hang clothes in. “Meanwhile, my main body is asleep in a rotten house.” He sighed as he compared it to his own room.
Leon shook the thoughts away. Rose would upgrade their housing situation soon enough. But he didn’t enjoy freeloading off his sister. He would likely argue with her again, as he also wanted to pitch in a little.
Suddenly he remembered that he still had some unspent attribute points and quickly remedied that, adding two points in intelligence and wisdom, each making them 13 and 12, respectively.
His money came down to 26 copper coins after paying for the room. Leon checked his inventory, ensuring the Class Soul Seed was secure. Nine apples, ten water pouches, and Jack’s map. He had enough supplies to last him through several encounters.
He set an alarm with the use of the system and crashed on the bed. I wonder how sis is doing. Leon thought as he quickly drifted to unconsciousness.
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Rose was currently sitting in an open field, resting to recover her stamina. “Level 7, I guess that’s a good enough speed.” She muttered. Around was evidence of a hard-fought battle. She guessed that the main population was around level 3. Levelling was easy in the beginning, but later on, it would turn into a massive drag.
She used her previous experience and countless stories she heard to find a silver-graded rapier. She had used rapiers in the past, so it was a perfect tool for her. I wonder how Leon’s doing? She recalled what she knew about Leon in her past life.
Leon had also played Souls Online, but they both had to start much later. At first, a small-time guild contracted them to farm gold. It wasn’t a well-paying job, but it was much better than waitress work. They likely would’ve been stuck there had a stroke of luck not come.
One day while they were working, they had come across a piece of paper, which was classified by the game as a Treasure Map. They were puzzles and riddles and, if one solved them, a Treasure Chest would appear rewarding the players. Rose couldn’t make heads or tails out of the map, but Leon was different.
He always had a nose for finding patterns and he was quick to solve the riddle. The map led to a Black Treasure Chest which turned their lives around. It contained the same Half-Legendary item that got leaked and put Leon in a mentally vegetative state. I wonder if that chest is still there? She would have to check that out, eventually.
What class would he end up with? Rose pondered about Leon’s future class. In the past, he was an archer, but the guild mainly forced that on him. Likely a magician of some sort. She theorised.
“Alright, enough rest, that Bronze Bear will not kill itself.” As much as she wanted it to do that, she knew it wasn’t going to. Rose stood up. Every tutorial village only has one of these, and will hand out substantial rewards to those who kill it. She thought as she walked to a cave in the distance.
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Leon awoke to a buzzing alarm in his head. One good thing about the alarm was that one would always wake up from it. After doing some stretches, he felt mentally refreshed. He also spotted an icon next to his health and mana.
[Well Rested: Gain 10% bonus EXP. Time Remaining: 1 Hour 29 Minutes.]
This was the difference between resting in the field and sleeping in an inn. The bonus EXP would allow Leon to catch up to those who didn’t sleep. Every hour of sleep would grant 30 minutes.
Looks like those books will have to wait for longer. Leon wouldn’t waste the buff by reading books in the Wizard’s Tower. He walked out of the room and downstairs to see that there were a lot of players at the inn. He spotted someone talking to the innkeeper and could hear them talking.
“Apologies ma’am, we’re fully booked at the moment.” The innkeeper tried to placate the player in front of him. “Ugh! Great, how long until a room becomes free?” The woman with bunny ears asked, coincidentally Leon recognised her. It was the same person who had got the rabbit’s soul.
“Well…It shouldn’t be long now,” the innkeeper turned to see Leon walking down the stairs. “Ah! There you are!” He said, making the woman also focus on him. Leon’s breath hitched, his palms growing clammy as he locked eyes with the woman.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He felt as if the world had narrowed to just the space between them, the noise of the inn fading to a dull roar. He tried to ignore his beating heart and quietly handed back the key to the innkeeper.
Leon was about to leave when the woman suddenly called out to him, “Hold up!” Leon turned around to the woman and avoided eye contact.
“Y-Yes?” He asked her uncertainly.
The woman cocked her head, clearly puzzled by Leon’s odd demeanour. “Hey, was the room okay?” She asked, her tone softer but curious.
Leon was a bit confused by the random question. “Yes.” he nodded.
“Thanks!” the woman she spun around to get the key, leaving Leon alone. He shook his head, trying to calm down his anxiety, and left the inn.
What Leon didn’t notice was a man with black short hair and a scar on his face from a table in the inn who had noticed the entire scene and got up a little later with a cruel smile.
Leon was walking the streets of the village. He thought about getting a quest, but he realised it would take too much time and his buff would be over by the time he had one. It was better to just find some random enemies to kill. This way he could practise his spell.
He looked at the map from Jack and it described a forest past the plains which was home to a den of Grey Wolves, Grey Wolves would be tougher than the rabbits but Leon knew he was too strong for the rabbits now.
The tutorial was a simple setting, a village, some open plains, and a forest with tougher monsters. Players couldn’t find an end to the forest as it seemed to span infinitely. So was that it to the game? Not at all. Once players hit level 10 and had a class, they could go to the proper main world.
Leon, who became familiar with the streets, quickly got out of town. He went deeper through the plains, ignoring the rabbits and people still there. He noticed there were more players here than before. The game was quickly gaining traction.
Leon came to the entrance of the forest. The smell of the forest oddly reminded him of home. The trees softly carried the sounds of birds, insects, and other small creatures. Leon could also rarely hear other larger creatures, like the cry of a wolf he was looking for.
Walking through the forest was fairly serene for Leon. It wasn’t long before he found a wild animal about. It was a boar with brown fur. Leon got close enough to assess it.
[Brown Boar] (Common)
Level 3
HP 80/80
It was the same level as the Elite rabbit he had fought earlier and had higher health. It was to be expected of a boar against a rabbit.
Leon analysed the situation and mentally prepared himself for combat. The boar hadn’t noticed him, so it mainly stood still. The boar had a red name, meaning it was aggressive if it had spotted Leon.
Perfect time to get familiar with the spell. Leon wanted to cast the spell at full power soon.
He activated the spell and put three points of his mana in there. His control was already better than before as he didn’t leak an extra point in there.
It was harder than before to mould the spell into place, but Leon could still manage it very well. He fired the spell at the boar and another 70% spell completion message came to him.
-12
The missile hit the boar in the sides, which caused it to squeal in pain. It was a step up from the 8 against the dummy, but still far from the maximum. The boar turned to face Leon, anger clear in its snarls and face.
It ran straight at Leon, wanting to tackle him with all its weight. Leon noticed it was slower than the Elite rabbit and calmly dodged out of the way. The boar circled and charged Leon again. Leon kept dodging and fired off an Arcane Missile when it was off cooldown.
This pattern continued until the boar was dead, [Level 3 Brown Boar killed. Obtained 33 EXP.] The experience wasn’t much, but every bit helped. Leon could also fire off the spell quicker with each cast and maxed out his control at 5 mana. The boar also dropped 5 copper coins which was better than the rabbits.
If I try to do 6 mana, the spell will fail. Let’s keep it at 5 for now. Leon thought as he collected the boar, he could always practise the spell once the buff ran out and he would be at the Wizard’s Tower by then.
[Well Rested: Gain 10% bonus EXP. Time Remaining: 57 Minutes.] Leon checked the timer and noticed he had a little under an hour remaining. Should I keep with the Common enemies or look for an Elite? He pondered, the Common enemies were a little too easy for Leon.
He shook his head, finding an Elite led down to luck. If he didn’t run into one, then it was too bad. Leon continued to walk towards the wolf territory and after walking for 5 minutes, he found his wolf.
[Grey Wolf] (Common)
Level 4
HP 60/60
A large grey-furred wolf was walking around the area. Leon spotted no other wolf, so he assumed it was a lone wolf. Leon wanted to analyse it calmly, as he did with all his enemies, but the wolf had other ideas; its head sharply turned to Leon and growled at him.
How did it-!? It instantly spotted Leon, surprising him, but he soon realised the answer. Did it smell me? Wolves came from the canine family and they have very sharp noses. The wolf didn’t give Leon much time to think as it charged at him, intending to bite him down.
Leon forced himself to calm down and swiftly jumped to the side as the wolf lunged at him. He quickly fired off an Arcane Missile his experience with the spell allowing him to cast it quickly.
-19
It was another step up from the initial fight, but the spell was still only at half-power. Leon calculated it would do around 38 damage. That would only take getting used to his magic and the spell. It would only get easier to master spells as time went on. This damage was already better than he would do with his dagger.
Speaking of which, I should probably replace it with another weapon. Leon suddenly had another idea to boost his damage. Focusing back on the fight, he had blasted the wolf a little distance away.
The spell also had a built-in knock back that would only get stronger the more mana he put in. The wolf growled at Leon, but it didn’t charge at him blindly. It slowly walked towards Leon, caution clear in its actions.
This was useful to Leon. He could keep his distance and wait until the spell was off cooldown to attack again. Leon kept the same distance as he walked back. The wolf noticed the plan failed and rushed at him once again.
Similar to what happened with the boar, it was another dodge-and-fire session. The wolf fell after four shots. [Level 4 Grey Wolf killed. Obtained 39 EXP.] Picking up the wolf and 7 copper coins. The common enemies became too easy for Leon.
Do I ignore the commons and try to find an Elite? Leon asked himself. It wasn’t a matter of confidence anymore, as he knew he had enough strength to put up a decent fight.
Leon walked around the forest, prepared for an eventual fight with an Elite wolf or boar. The wolves could spot him from afar. He wouldn’t have time to think if he spotted one. Also, mentally preparing for every battle was very inefficient, and it was something Leon had to fix.
He walked around trying to find an Elite for 5 minutes. He had found plenty of commons the deeper he went into the territory. Suddenly, he spotted a larger wolf prowling around. Leon quickly checked where the wind was blowing and lucky for him, it was going past him.
If the wind had been blowing behind him, the wolf likely would’ve smelled him already. Leon slowly got closer to the wolf until he was in range to assess it.
[Grey Wolf] (Elite)
Level 6
HP 110/110
It was a higher level than him and had higher health than the regular wolves. Leon knew he had to take risks in order to fight this Elite properly, so he took in a deep breath, put his hands together, and tried to gather extra mana.
6 mana is too little, I have to go with 7. Leon gritted his teeth and calmed his beating heart, focusing his entire being on the spell. He quickly got to 5 mana and carefully added in the last two bits. He could feel the spell being on the edge of breaking, but his experience came in handy.
Moulding the spell felt rough, but he did his best and the invisible hand giving him a guiding hand helped complete the spell. He fired off his biggest Arcane Missile yet, and it slammed directly into the Elite, catching it by surprise.
-26
Spell Completion was only at 63%, but the damage was much greater than before. The Elite turned around and looked at Leon with anger. His second battle with an Elite had only just begun.