---Maddy---
Madison swung her scythe through multiple rabbits – sweeping around in a low spin to bisect the cute targets.
Watching them burst into fuzzy nothing she glanced to the side at the achievement popping into her vision.
3️⃣ Achievement get: Triple kill.
Description: Description ‘Ouuuu baybeeee a triple’. Kill three within your tier within a single second.
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Stat: +1 arm speed.
☠️ Achievement get: Monster slayer I
Description: Directly kill 100 monsters within your tier
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Stat: +1 Reaction Speed.
Stat: +2 Arm speed.
Stat: +1 Arm strength.
Stat: +1 Core strength.
☯️ Achievement get: Scythemaster (rare)
Description: Kill 100 using a scythe
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Active Skill: The reaper’s blade.
Apply necrotic attack to scythe weapons. Cooldown 3 minutes. Cooldown reset on kills while the skill is still active.
⬛ Achievement get: Gain an affinity.
Description: “Necrotic affinity”
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Stat: +1 mental stability.
Passive skill: Skill Use
Knowledge on how to use your skill has been gained.
Maddy turned smiling back at Troy – “Got it!” she laughed, including her impromptu partner in her excitement.
“We need to get you an affinity next – using a weapon enough times is basically guaranteed to get you a skill from what I can tell. The requirements are really simple.”
Troy stood awkwardly holding his blowgun. Before he met up with Maddy he had grabbed a bow and managed to land a few kills with it.
…Maddison thought that was a waste, her party needed rare weapons to succeed – she had convinced him to swap to his current blow gun for increased uniqueness.
“It feels weird.” He spoke after fidgeting a bit.
“I know, that’s partly because of how new it is. My scythe felt incredibly weird when I first held it… but now its comfortable. You got knowledge for using a bow after destroying one monster with a bow and that’s why it felt better. I’m sure everyone started off with their weapons feeling bad – that’s just due to inexperience!” She spoke, partly from experience partly from hours of pumping the natives for information.
“Now…sadly because you already got the bow knowledge, this test is going to take a few more kills to get you blowgun knowledge…based on what that old women said you should get it after 10 kills. Hold off till then to see if you actually like it or not…okay? Anyone who drops a weapon without giving it a proper shot is weak-willed and I know you’re not that.”
“okay” Troy parroted back
Maddy stepped back and watched carefully as Troy fed a nib into one end of the weapon and raised it – aiming carefully despite his inexperience.
Thuck.
A faint sound was made as the projectile shot out – missing the rabbit by a good half a meter even as it noticed and jumped to the side.
Slashing out with her new skill [the reaper's blade], Madison bisected the escaping Rabbit – The first use of her skill being overkill when she could slice them in two normally.
“Don’t worry, Let's try again.”
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--- James ---
James moved onto his 5th weapon. He had tried a large sword, a spear, a dagger, a bow, and now he was picking up a spiked hammer.
Nothing felt right. Nothing felt satisfying, felt strong enough. Everything was awkward.
He had started switching shopkeepers so they wouldn’t know how many times he had swapped his weapon – they all seemed to accept trade-in’s funnily enough – even if they weren’t the original ‘seller’.
Heading out yet again, James stepped outside of the gates and activated haste – dashing forward immediately to swing the hammer into a now scarred and heavily wounded but still alive boar.
Haste deactivated even as his weapon collided and slipped away causing the boar to squeal in pain.
“DAMMIT.”
James lunged forward.
He grabbed the boar's bristled side, hands pulling loose-matted skin down, even as he scrambled up the side of the boar. With a flailing scramble as the boar pulled itself forward, James pulled himself sideways up and onto its back. Kicking when he got a good hold James managed to knock it over – pushing the creature onto its side with a demonic squeal.
James punched down onto the ‘monster’ its snarling snout snapping up at him as he pounded flesh.
Again and again.
The boar twisted underneath him as it attempted to escape, spinning its legs up into him and kicking James’s ribs hard – a crack sounding out but being ignored.
Flailing around with the dulled pain James eyed a rock and snatched it off the grass swinging his arm back and bringing it down onto the boar’s snout.
Up and down the rock fell – James bashing the boar’s head into the grass with no small amount of pent-up frustration activating haste partway through his smashing attack speeding up until he was battering the boar multiple times a second.
He kept battering until the boar simply disappeared below him and James realized he was just smashing the ground stupidly with his rock haste deactivated and on cooldown.
Slowly the frantic haze of battle faded.
James felt broken. Dozens of wounds littered his arms, his legs, his chest.
They hurt but in a diminished sort of way. Like a bunch of papercuts that ached deep towards his bones.
Even as the adrenaline faded and James gained enough coherence to read the floating achievements…he found that’s what stood out to him. He was surprised by how weak the pain felt.
☠️ Achievement get: First kill.
Description: Destroyed a monster for the first time.
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Stat: +5 mental defense.
🐵 Achievement get: Kill your first monster with a rock. (unique)
Description: A precursor to the glorious world changing invention that is ‘rock stuck on stick’ you have chosen to forgo that great technology and killed using nothing but a nice reliable rock.
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Stat: +1 body strength.
Stat: +2 body defense.
Stat: +3 right arm strength.
🦺 Achievement get: Test dummy.
Description: You have tried out a variety of weapons on a single opponent before finishing them off.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
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Stat: +2 brain power.
🐗 Achievement get: Grudge match. (uncommon)
Description: You have finally laid a personal grudge to rest – destroying something you saw as a rival. Paying back your pain and more by fighting in anger and killing in rage.
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Stat: +10 body strength.
James could feel himself getting stronger.
Physically feel himself getting stronger nearly all at once. Most of the stats were a general “tiny bit better” sense but +3 right arm strength was a rush.
It was a noticeable change – James’s right arm was noticeably stronger than the rest of his body – and James wanted more.
Standing up James wobbled slightly before turning and freezing in shock.
A long haired man carrying a thin curved sword in one hand and a spiked hammer in the other watched him struggle to his feet laughing slightly.
He had a wide disarming grin and spoke using a trembling voice that James could tell was making fun of him.
“That was probably the most pathetic kill I’ve seen yet. You rushed forward so fast at the start I stopped to watch…but man you got shredded.”
James hated dealing with people. Why had he stopped just to make fun of him?
The long haired man twirled his weapons slightly in the silence eyes travelling to James’s bloody chest before glancing back at his face.
“You mute? Or just stupid?” The man called out again, tossing the spiked hammer up once before catching it.
…that was my spiked hammer.
“Hey, thanks for finding my weapon for me. I lost it in the fray…”
“So you can talk? Perfect. Listen might as well tell you now, We all revive from death so its not a big deal what I’m about to do.”
Stepping forwards the thief continued talking calmly a new glint appearing in his eyes.
“You see, this tutorial zone is getting kind of boring and I’ve been let in on a little secret. PK is much more lucrative than monster killing. The achievement’s almost 10x as good. Dozens of stats”
James activated haste and lunged forward.
Towards the would be PK’er.
A brief flicker of surprise crossed the man’s eyes before he moved and suddenly James was skewered.
He had rushed forward and then dodged to the side at the last moment – meaning to get around and…he wasn’t sure actually. Either rush past him to the safety of the village or attack the man’s back – in preemptive self-defense.
Either way, nothing worked how he hoped.
Somehow the man’s arm had moved into James’s path stabbing his blade through his stomach and whipping the hammer around into the side of his head.
Everything spun as James fell, eyes glancing up at a boot. The last thing he could see.
🩸 Achievement get: Killed by a player.
Description: Rip.
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Stat: +2 chest piercing defense.
Stat: +1 head bludgeoning defense.
Stat: +1 neck bludgeoning defense.
Stat: +1 brain speed.
Stat: +1 mental defense.
James awoke standing in the street, a wave of static lifting away from his senses as he oriented himself.
He felt nauseous.
A shivering feeling of anxiety wrapped around his neck and chest – wholly mental in scope.
What the fuck.
James breathed deeply, looking at the death achievement fading away slowly in front of him.
No, what the fuck.
It took nearly a minute for the sense that he had lost to fade and his critical thinking to set in.
Death had…been almost a boon. His body was completely healed – no sign of the boar fight around him. He had gotten quite a few stats from “dying”.
James breathed out slowly staring at the stats themselves.
Chest piercing defense. Not enough to matter but…a small step towards preventing me from getting stabbed that way again.
Neck and head defense…a small step towards avoiding getting killed by a mallet again.
Brain…stuff. To better prevent myself from getting in the same position once more?
James stood in the street flipping between emotions.
On one hand, he had had more luck using a rock than he had a weapon. A literal rock felt better in his hands than a proper hammer – he could still feel the slight thrill he had while smashing it down.
On the same hand, he had been healed and given a reward for dying…it really didn’t effect him in the end.
On the opposite more pressing hand however, James was annoyed by the idea of the thief profiting off of him. Of getting an achievement worth a lot. Of getting an extra weapon for free.
At his expense.
That was his issue. He had just been used. The whole point of coming here…the whole hope he was starting to nurse was that he wouldn’t have to be used anymore.
James’s scattered mind got angry at being killed and then purposefully calmed itself down.
He had gone through worse. Having credit stolen after working unpaid overtime to get something done. Getting put on probation for ‘not being a team player’ after trying to report it…considering this didn’t seem to affect him going forward – all those “real” hardships were dozens of times worse.
James breathed and collected his thoughts.
I feel like it’s the wrong lesson to take away from this but…stuff the system gives me like stats and haste have been kept. The weapon the shopkeepers gave me was taken. It wasn’t actually mine, just borrowed. The system didn’t give it to me so I can’t trust it – I can only trust my body? Is that the best part to learn?
James narrowed in on this point his mind slowly coming to terms with his desires.
I want to be strong.
No…that wasn’t quite right.
I want…control. God that’s cringy sounding, ‘look at me, future control freak’ right here.
James batted the thoughts away before circling around and settling on them once again.
He really did want control.
Control over his body.
Control over his life.
He didn’t want to work for anyone else, rely on anyone else.
…and ‘being strong’ was the simplest solution. A side effect of his real desire.
If he was strong he wouldn't be an easy target for PK.
If he was strong he wouldn’t be pushed around just for existing.
If he was strong he could do what he really wanted and no one could stop him. Would even try stopping him.
…Maybe not completely a side effect.
If James was being honest with himself, that frantic fight with a boar was the most fun he had had in…years.
It was the happiest he had felt in years. He had been slashed and stabbed and nearly died…and it had felt amazing.
He wanted to do it again.
…
James exited the village from the back this time. The sun was setting, the light growing dim and casting long shadows from the few trees that poked up throughout the field.
The trees were closer together behind the town. Not quite what you would call a forest – especially with all the grass beneath it – but enough to cover the ground nearly completely in shade.
The trees were what James’s mother would have referred to as “climbing trees”. A mixture of large branches – both low and high – topped with green curling leaves. Similar to maple trees but with leaves that curled nearly into tubes.
A serpentine shape moved along a branch over James’s head – a faint hiss sounding out just before it dropped. The hiss alerted him to the danger seconds before it appeared and his reflexes pushed him into jumping forward – as he jolted into action James activated his favourite skill [haste] pulling him away faster than should be possible.
👂 Achievement get: Great Hearing! (Uncommon)
Description: Dodge a deadly sneak attack using nothing but a sound cue.
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Stat: +3 Hearing strength.
Turning, James looked about for a rock – realizing none were within reach – and settled for a large branch.
Even as the snake thudded to the ground behind him, James swiped the branch, smashing it down onto the snake's body covering it completely for a second in foliage.
The snake thrashed and started to climb up through the dead leaves of the branch – even as James picked it up once more and swung sideways like a batter.
The snake flew wide, its length visible in the dim light – just longer than James’s arm.
Damn, I was aiming for the tree trunk.
James ran after the snake jumping up and landing directly on its middle expecting a squish but getting a slight roll forwards as the tube bulged beneath his sneakers.
Raising his leg up and stamping as hard as he could, James caught the snake's head, finally killing the creature.
👣 Achievement get: Curb stomp a monster to death. (rare)
Description: You squeezed a snake like a tube of toothpaste.
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Stat: +5 sole defense.
Stat: +1 leg speed.
Stat: +2 leg power.
James felt his legs shift slightly as the “monster” faded to nothing.
The high of stats – the instant gratification of achievements pumping dopamine – fueled James’s search for something else to fight.
In the distance, he saw a turtle resting beneath a tree.
Got you.
Creeping forwards, James spent the time to pick up a large rock and step around the tree.
He held it under one arm and reached up, holding onto a solid branch as he did so.
Slowly, carefully, James swung his leg up onto a knot and kicked into a sideways hang.
Nearly dropping his rock, he shifted slightly before straightening up and peering through a split in the trunk spying his prey.
Still there, perfect.
Shimmying up into the fork of the tree with his back to one trunk and his feet to the other, James pulled himself up to a higher branch and then an even higher one.
Up, up James clambered, reaching one of the largest branches near the top – everything past it was too thin and, more importantly, this one spread out nearly directly above the turtle – who still hadn’t moved yet.
His hand gripped into bark as he began to shimmy forward, one hand holding his rock against his chest, the other pulling him forwards. His legs wrapped around the branch below him tightly and his eyes were locked on the prize.
💪 Achievement get: Climb carry. (rare)
Description: Climbed up to a reasonable height while carrying a heavy object.
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Stat: +1 grip strength.
Stat: +2 palm defense.
Stat: +1 arm strength.
Reaching a point he was satisfied with, James tried to figure out how best to brace himself.
Mostly in place James pulled back and aimed, before swinging downwards slightly throwing the rock at the middle of the turtle's body.
🧠 Achievement get: Killed with planning.
Description: You created a plan of attack that required set up and followed through with it until the end.
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Stat: +1 brain power.
🎯 Achievement get: A dropped rock. (Unique)
Description: Killed a creature from ‘up high’ after dropping a large rock on them. - you didn't even have a conveniently placed boulder beside a cliff to do it with
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Stat: +3 Planning power.
Stat: +3 Body power.
A shudder went through James’s body as the achievements faded and he felt the stats effect take hold.
Moving to climb back down, James paused mid-scramble and checked the distance instead.
…I should be able to reach that right?
Rolling over the side of the branch and dangling his legs downward, James dropped just over four meters – bracing his legs against the impact and finding them stronger than he expected – not even noticing the drop.
Crouching and landing sideways, James paused and looked to the front hopefully – to see if that warranted an achievement.
…Apparently not.
Guess I’ll find another monster to kill. Boar, Snake, Turtle…I saw deer and rabbits running around? Not sure if there’s anything else but let’s try and complete the set.