Entering the game world again made him feel excitement in his chest, tension building up in his chest just waiting to be used. He hoped he could avoid David and his crew but otherwise there was so much going on in his head. First, figuring out how to train skills and he already had a plan for that. Leaving the courtyard he noticed it was slowly getting dark again in the world. With everything being faster here he could expect that, but it gave him an opportunity. Squatting down in the shadow of a house he made his way towards the north gate, back to the plains.
This time he continued to use stealth, avoiding people, sticking to the shadows and vanishing in alleyways. Sometimes people noticed him and gave him odd looks but otherwise it worked pretty well, where he got the confidence he didn’t know but did it matter? Planning every step before he took it he made slow progress, his breath became more labored and his calves started to burn again from all this sneaking. Still he kept going and reached the gate around thirty minutes later.
He leaned against a wall and rubbed his legs. Opening his notifications he smiled, it seems he finally figured something out.
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Unlocked- [ Resilience I ] : You escaped death multiple time all while taking damage that should have killed you.
You receive -1% damage when being attacked by an enemy (Does not apply to damage outside of combat)
Skill Upgrade- [ Stealth II ] : While in stealth you’re 10% harder to spot
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The resilience skill was unexpected but totally welcome when he thought about what he needed to go through for it, but what he wanted was to test his theory. The game rewarded you for doing certain actions to advance them, so he just followed the skill. Don’t get spotted by other people while using stealth. Doing so successfully made it advance, he was sure in the future those upgrades would be a lot harder to get but for now? Totally worth the effort.
Nox left the city gate, but this time because he wanted it. Smiling as he approached the open field, he had some bunnies to kill after all. It didn’t take long to find them again, he saw enough of his surroundings while getting attacked by them. The fluffy animals all spread out in front of him, eating grass or cleaning their fur. It looked almost peaceful, until Nox dropped into stealth and approached the first one. The dagger in his hand he felt no remorse and plunged the dagger into the bunnies neck, the stupid thing dying on the spot.
He smiled and sneaked towards the next one. Making sure he was in the clear before penetrating its neck with the blade. For the next ten minutes he was sneaking around in the tall grass, killing every bunny he could find. When he finally finished the last one with a stab to its eye he stood up. His arms covered in blood, the palms of his hands slick with blood but he managed to kill around twenty bunnies in ten minutes so not a bad deal.
He quickly checked his notifications again.
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Skill Upgrade - [ Stealth Attack II ] : When your target is unaware of your presence you deal 1.3x times more damage ; 5% chance to deal a critical hit dealing 2.0x times
You reached Level 8!
Stat points automatically allocated based on your actions
Class Selection at Level 10, offered classes are based on actions, used weapons and kills
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He didn’t know what the maximum level was but reaching level 8 just killing bunnies sounded a bit like cheating, well he would see after Level 10 but it seems before he could level up he needed to visit his favorite dwarf first. He only used a dagger so far but if he really wanted to go with a unique ranged class he needed a rifle. It’s time to visit his dwarven friend.
His way back to town was normal, he didn’t want to sneak around again because he was pretty sure doing the same stuff over and over again wouldn’t level the skill. He was already at the northside of town where the crafters were located. Going down the main road he noticed that fewer stalls were present here but most of them were selling actual gear like armor and weapons. He walked until he reached an intersection and picked the street on the right, stalls vanished completely after a while and he heard the rhythmic clinking of hammers striking metal. The smell of burned coal and freshly tanned leather invaded his nose.
After rounding a corner he stopped in his tracks, gaping at the actual crafter district. It was filled to the brim with people running around, dwarfs shoving through a crowd to reach a shop. Humans with heavy packs on their backs, trying to reach a client while constantly being pushed around. Crafter sitting in their workshops completing commissions and projects. But what surprised Nox the most was the forge straight down the street.
The building took most of the space along the wall, thick plumes of smoke drifting into the air only to be carried away from a breeze. The whole thing was built from perfectly cut stone while on a small courtyard in the front dwarfs repaired equipment, showing off their craftsmanship to everybody.
Nox pushed through the masses, shoving his way through while trying to stay on his feet. There must be something wrong with the game's code, so many people in one part of the city is a bug right? He managed to stumble onto the courtyard and approached a dwarf who wasn't working but was filling his pipe with tobacco and herbs.
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“H-hello! Could you help me? I’m looking for Brookr.” The dwarf looked at him and huffed, pointing his thumb to the building. “He’s inside but he won’t talk to you…said something about an experiment.” Nox smiled and thanked him, making his way over to the building and asked two more times where Brookr was before he stood in front of a door. He knocked and shouted. “Hey Brookr! It’s me Nox I’m coming inside!”
The moment he opened the door something exploded and threw him back into the hallway. Stars danced in his vision while he tried to sit up again, groaning. What. The. Fuck?!, he thought and blinked a few times rubbing his eyes before pushing himself off the ground. His back hurt like hell but he managed to stand up properly, approaching the door again but this time from the left so he had a sturdy wall to duck behind. Peeking into the room he saw Brookr standing there, stroking his beard like nothing happened just now.
Nox sighs and walks inside. “Next to you should put a shield on the door with an explosion warning, what the hell was that?”
The dwarf looked at him and smiled. “Well lad, you certainly grew a spine since the last time I saw you. So I tried to increase the power on one of my prototypes and sadly it exploded. Was quite the show if you ask me!” he laughs and looks towards the door, barely hanging on the hinges.
“But I have exciting news for you lad, I finished a prototype that should work over long range and still hit something.” he grinned and moved towards a large chest, opening three locks before he could even open it. Nox inched closer, looking over the dwarf’s shoulder, he only saw something wrapped in a white cloth but still felt excited about it.
Someone might wonder why a nerd wants a gun, the thing is Max had experience with guns in real life. His father was gone but his grandpa was a hunter and took the young boy with him whenever he could. So Max learned to use a rifle and care for it. Getting the chance to use one in a game like this made him excited.
Brookr put the rifle on the table and unwrapped the cloth, it looked like a world war two rifle but Nox wasn’t sure if any model would really fit as comparison. Made from a dark wood he didn’t recognize and blackened iron it looked menacing. Clear crystals are set into the wood, running parallel to the barrel.
He followed the line of crystals to the trigger, it was just a piece of metal really, at the top was an opening where a bullet would go. The chamber is just a piece of metal made to fit the bullet. The stock was straight forward, nothing new here. Nox looked at the dwarf. “Can you explain how it works?”
“Hmpf, alright…so as you can imagine I need to do some tweaks for it to work with mana instead of gunpowder but I pulled it off let me tell you. So you insert a bullet into the chamber and close it okay? That’s important or the air mana leaks everywhere.
After that you need to charge the gun with mana…I know that look on your face, hmm transferring mana it’s like, you push it out of your skin and guide it with your mind. You’ll figure it out I’m sure.
So after the weapon is loaded with a bullet and mana is infused the wind will build up behind the bullet and condense at the same time. Like capturing a tornado in a bottle, lots of power but on a small point. Hmph while that happens the crystals next to the barely form an actual tornado. That makes the bullet spin and gives it more speed too, so you have more velocity, penetration and stability.
When you press the trigger a small rune activates behind the bullet, making the spell collapse and launch the bullet through the barrel. Well it’s rather basic but it should work well for you until you reach…hmm level 25? That’s a very long time. But first…what’s your affinity?”
Nox was listening the whole time, nodding along with the Brookr’s explanation. It was a brilliant concept and if it works, well even better. Nox frowned as the dwarf asked for his affinity, because he didn’t know what he meant.
“What’s an affinity? I never heard of that…?”
Brookr raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
“The youth from today, alright. Everybody has an affinity, like some people have a light affinity and are good at healing magic, others have nature affinity and can work with animals and plants. There are also more unique or hybrid affinities, you’ll find out eventually. It’s a process that takes time. But for now? Take the rifle, raise your level and come back when you find out. Oh and here.” He grabbed a belt and a pouch from the chest. Putting them next to the rifle. “That’s a dimensional bag, otherwise you can’t carry much ammunition around, well lad…I hope we meet again very soon!”
With those words Brookr smiled and squeezed Nox's forearm before leaving the room. The young adventurer looked at the table and back at the door, whispering.
“Thank you Brookr, I won’t disappoint you…” Nox grabbed the rifle and slings it over his shoulder using the weapon belt, shortly followed by the belt and pouch. Much better equipped he nodded and left the workshop and smithy, making his way out north again.
It was time to earn some skills and levels after all. He even had a plan to achieve that.
A smile tugging at his lips and excitement glittered in his eyes.