Wielding A Weapon

In a typical fantasy world setting, the most common weapon that many people would pick would be the "sword" and honestly?

Why not? It's an epic weapon.

It's cool, it can stab and hit, and its weight can vary from light to heavy depending on which type of sword is used.

But I didn't choose the sword. After all, my wife already uses a sword of her own, so I figured it would be better to learn another weapon instead. Especially when a combination of different ranges could make up a deadly combination.

So...I picked the spear! For various reasons, obviously.

It's easy to learn, and effective in maintaining both a wide range and a defensive stance...but the most important point of using a weapon like this is because I'm a coward.

Separation from my father has withdrawn me from being proactive in all aspects of my life...including my relationships with people, my success in my academics, and my desire to become better.

It's traumatized me from within, but things shouldn't stay stagnant...not when you have ambitious goals for the future.

Ambitious goals directed to a better home, a stable lifestyle, and a happier mother.

Thus, the first step of my journey...and the first step with the spear, didn't start with traveling to a dungeon, but rather, with something rather mundane.

It started with monster hunting. 

In my case, I started with hunting slimes.

And don't you dare look down on these slimes! They may look like small and cute slimy blobs of jelly, but they're extremely fast and hard to aim at!

With their rapid reaction speed, many newbie players had to learn how to control their movements just so that the slime wouldn't know that they were going to hit them.

I went down the mountain, already feeling lightweight due to how many stairs I had to walk down on...but the idea of constantly moving my legs again just to catch slimes was driving me insane.

It won't stop me though. Not when pain is a great reminder that you're still living and thriving.

As I reach the bottom of the mountain, I'm greeted by the same guard who was holding a spear. She gives me another fake smile, and it immediately dissipates into a stern look as I look away.

She takes her job seriously like any other woman who is training on the mountain top...a contrast between most of the women below the mountain.

The lower the tier of women, the more they have no preferences or thoughts.

They're blind and empty-minded...a blank canvas that players can do as they wish.

It's despicable to know that many players use this to their advantage...but what can I do? I have no strength.

Thus, when I'm finally down the mountain, I immediately walk to a pathway that leads to a pasture.

A pasture vivid with fresh and green Bermuda grass.

In the forum post "Geography of Catelia", it said that there was one place in this continent that can potentially and heavily overpower noobs.

However, in exchange for faster growth, the levels of danger grew exponentially...

Of course, as a maddened man whose focus is to improve quickly and get money...it was a must to go to this area.

And now that I'm here...I will admit one thing.

The Pasture of Mire was truly no joke. I can see why this place can help noobs grow. It was a huge field of grassland that was mostly inhabited by slimes and other beginner "friendly" mobs. 

Soon after, I spot a group of slime and camouflage myself through hiding inside a bush.

...a few minutes of surveillance later, the group of slime seemed to lose their guard. So, I grip my spear tightly, and I try to raise it high up in my arms. This is to imitate a throwing position, which is essential in my plans to cause a surprise attack.

However, when I attempt to raise it high...I only find out I'm not that capable of doing it after all! I was too weak to even raise it high!

And just when I think it couldn't get worse...when I raise it high, I fall short of my strength and drop my spear instead, alerting the group of slime.

With widened eyes, I immediately retrieved my weapon as the whole group of slime jumped inside the bush, surrounding me. 

Helpless with their defense, I can only try to hit specific slimes from different angles to confuse the group...but it's fruitless, as the more I hit, the more they dodge...and the more I move, the more they pounce on me together!

It was madness! Individually, slime only hit a small percentage of HP as shown in other games, but right now, with a horde of them...a lot of my health is easily depleted! I can't see it because of the nature of this game, but I can feel it!

I pant, as I try to back away from the fray and move to an advantageous spot.

Spotting a tree from a distance, I figured this was my chance. And so, with all my courage, I run towards that tree and face my back on it.

The horde of slime follows through, surrounding me again...but this time? I no longer had to worry about being surprise-attacked from the back.

A smirk appears on my lips, as I grip my spear tightly to diminish their numbers...and for the first few attempts, they all end up in failure due to both the slime's quick senses and my inexperience as a spearman.

Sweat trickles down my face and body, a visual representation of how fast I'm quickly getting fatigued...this battle cannot go on too one-sided, or I might die! And what's worse? The fact that I have no visuals on my current health bar!

But desperation and the drive to succeed overpower thoughts of failure and death.

They push me to the brink, making me focus on all the minute details of the horde of slime's movement and whenever they initiate an attack.

This time, when they try to jump on me again...I can clearly see their leader, who jumps just a second faster than the others. And so, I dodge, moving in the opposite direction, my back still covered by the tree.

The group of slime seemed distraught, their formations both surrounding and attacking me, diminished in a second.

I use this to my advantage and hit one of their clumsy slimes-- the ones that jump just a second later than the others.

Thus, with a strong thrust of my spear, one dies...turning into a slimy mess in the dirt.

"Come on! I can take as many of you as I can!" I shout, making sure that it is loud enough for the whole slime party to hear, but quiet enough to not upset the other slimes in the pasture.

My breath grows heavier, my hands tremble terribly, and my eyes widen palpably, but I can't help but smile at the thrilling sensation of this situation in front of me.

This game is truly the best!