Strongest Man in the Neighborhood
Vecna continued building on his small successes on the second day since becoming a Reincarnation for an Evil God. He swung the sword relentlessly against the Scarecrow, reaching closer to his 5,000-mark goal, but he wasn't in a terrible rush to overachieve his set goals.
It was a job that was expected to get done in 2-4 days and it depended on his work-rate.
Midnight settled over the Training Ground inside Valoria, it was the moment he called it quits for today's work, leaving out his acquired Blood Servant, or Maid, as he liked to call her when talking to her to be settled down in one of the available rooms of Alistar's House adjacent to the Training Ground.
He had to pay a hefty sum for such benefits, and even more endure the annoying face of that old man who tried to extort money from him.
What the old man asked out of him that night? Two gold each night Elysia was staying under his roof, where he would assure her protection and food after his departure.
With that in mind, having everything settled down on his second day, he stepped out of the rented Capsule, followed by checking his phone for notifications that appeared from his Bank App.
[Rothschild & Co: Gold Exchange Services Transfer: +560.000$]
"Thank God. They didn't scam me."
The lingering doubt still remains as Vecna tinkered with this Bank App, double checking the transfer info, the sum of money, and not last the least, his Overall Balance.
It was an overwhelming sensation for him, to feel that all of his sacrifices were now paying off.
'Good work, Adrian. Now. You can relax for a bit. Maybe enjoy life at its fullest.'
He was self-motivating himself to keep his spirits high, and the changes evident to the outside began appearing, first noticed by the cashier at the Satisfy Club House who couldn't help but mention.
"Did something happen to you? Got a girlfriend or what?"
"... Why?"
"I might overthink this, but I never saw you smile for half a year that I met you. You'll always come here by night with an average, maybe tired look, and leave the same as when you arrived."
"Who knows."
Vecna didn't feel like sharing his story with someone he still saw as a stranger, even if they would chat in between the procedures required to access the services of the Club, they could be said to be at most acquaintances.
The following day he surprised the middle-aged man since he arrived at the Club House too early for the schedule he was adjusted to meeting him.
"Hmm? Good morning?"
"Register my card, and also recharge it with 10 sessions."
Throwing the gaming pass card at the cashier, he walked to the changing room, taking care of his belongings, and returned to the reception room holding a small-sized bag, containing who knew what.
"This is awkward. How long will you stay?"
"Ten Hours."
"... Are you taking Satisfy Full-Time? You know that not many make it? I've seen a lot of destroyed people who lost themselves trying to get big in this game."
Vecna took out his phone as he received the payment request from the cashier, and as he paid, his eyes locked on the man's blue eyes.
"If I wasn't prepared, would I have taken this step? Six months."
"Pardon?"
"That's for how long I've been playing this game. Each day, after getting off from my work, I would religiously stop at this club to spend 2-3 hours playing."
"Okay, man. Hope you're successful and all the stress you've been living off goes away."
Nodding at the man, Vecna walked toward the Capsule Room, noticing that the capsule he was using each night was occupied. There was a new sensation that he experienced that made him chuckle.
'It feels as if someone stole my toy. Well, those capsules are not mine to begin with. Let's get one available.'
Stepping toward the neighboring capsule of his usual partner, he did a short stretching of his body before settling down bringing along the small bag that he left at his feet.
'Now, I have fully grasped the hand of Fate. Ten hours, hopefully my body adjusts well to this schedule.'
'Should set some alarms to take a 30 minute break by the 4th hour mark.'
[User confirmation process completed]
It took him a brief moment to log in into his account, with the Capsule an in-built recognition feature that reacted based on the user's Fingerprint, Eyeprint, and neurological signals.
The state of the art technology was at the fingertips of some plebs that barely had access to Holographic Technology.
[Loading…]
Vecna's surroundings swiftly turned the moment he loading reached 100%, appearing once again on the Training Ground which got filled by a rush of souls that he didn't recognize, and at the end didn't need to.
Most were for the first quest Alistarl would grant them to get a quick or slow level 2 according to each player's pace.
'Should I check on Elysia? No. Let her seek me.'
'The blood connection I established with her activates the moment I log inside the Game, making her aware of my presence.'
After he scanned his surroundings out of habit, and with no one surrounding him and his Scarecrow, he started working, drilling his Basic Sword strikes that he learned online from people whose validity could be questioned.
Even if the information they shared could be the tears and blood of a Sword Grandmaster from the 14th or 15th century, the way of the Sword was just an ancient lost art the Modern World discarded along with many traditions in a quest of Total Globalization.
Hours passed, and from the starting minutes of his drill, Vecna was alone, him, the wooden sword that started cracking, and the Scarecrow.
The players moved in and out along with their quest completion, but they went along spreading the information that some crazy dude was swinging for days on end, hour by hour, without stopping.
Various techniques began flowing into Vecna's drill, from the basic solo drill where it involved his basic sword attacks to footwork training, followed by combining both into simulating endless possible attack patterns.
His Enhanced Senses allowed him to move as his mind ordered, unlike in the past where he was limited considerably.
From the sideless, as the swings turned from dozens to thousands, an old man stood not far from a young woman veiled by a dark cloak that shaded her figure, leaving out only her face and neck revealed.
"Child, do you want to help this old man gather more customers? As you can see, that guy is completely ignoring me."
"Vecna told me to stay out of trouble, and mind my own training."
Elysia was practicing her Archery as the old man Alistar who had nothing better to do, started nagging her, asking her to show off in front of the Players who were only interested in doing some basic drilling before moving on with their journey.
Her decline resulted in old man Alistar pathetic, downcast look. Yet, he was relentless in his quest for quick cash.
"Come on, it's a small thing to do for an old retired man struggling to earn his bread."
"No. Don't bother me, or I'll tell you on Vecna for peeking into my room last night."
The long, white mustache on Alistar's face started rising as if it had a life of its own, a dangerous situation might befall him.
"Urgh. Child, you took my intentions wrong. I was just worried about you since you were shedding tears. Besides, it is not my first time seeing a High-Elf."
"Mister. I will tell you once again. Don't bother me, and leave me alone. Otherwise."
She stopped from shooting her arrows, reaching a freeze that had Alistar smile like a sly fox, expecting something entertaining to escape her plump cherry lips. However, he felt a sharp pair of eyes staring at his back, sending off an murderous intent that jump-scared him.
Turning around, he noticed Vecna's crimson eyes shining with a cold glint, while his body was resting on the wooden sword that reached a breaking point.
"You got it wrong kid! I wasn't bullying her, just curious about her. I'll keep to my end of the bargain." called Alistar from where he stood, slowly stepping back from Elysia, as he went along to inspect the other players and how well they performed his assignment.
Elysia felt a throb in her chest, slightly pleased that Vecna dealt with Alistar without her asking for it, subconsciously telling her that even though this Master of hers was cold and indifferent to her, he was going to keep to his promise of protecting her.
She too lost her sharpness after 3 hours of practicing her archery, and couldn't help but feel her hands sting in pain, the start of calluses reaching a starting point in her tender flesh. Only that she didn't allow this to happen, beginning to chant in a corner of the Training Ground a spell.
"[Healing Touch]"
The Nature's Mana sprung from her body, and it slowly morphed into green leafs that wrapped her hands, rendering the signs of practicing archery for too long, be only felt by her Experience in utilizing the Bow.
'Far better. Should I cast a spell on Vecna to remove any calluses on his hands?'
'He barely stops from hitting the Scarecrow, and at times it feels as if he doesn't even need to breathe.'
She walked back to the wide area of the Training Grounds, noticing from a distance the way old Alistar was looking at Vecna, there was something wrong with the old man, Elysia could feel it.
'Don't tell me… The old man is into men? Ahhh. Maybe I don't bother warning Vecna. Let him suffer a bit.'
Elysia would take breaks from watching Vecna training, pondering about how much drive one had to train in such a manner since there weren't great benefits from such type of work. It was minute gains that wouldn't count for much in the short term.
She reacted by night when Vecna swung his sword so fast that it played illusion tricks on her eyes, and the head of the Scarecrow got blown along with the wooden blade of the sword.
"Old man. I'll not pay you for the damages. Those gold coins of mine would be worth the entire Training Ground."
Elysia felt a strong wind blow past her, as the shadow of the muscular old man formed standing tall before Vecna who destroyed the Scarecrow and his Wooden Sword. Instead of anger and dissatisfaction, Alistar's face had a pleased, satisfied expression.
What she failed in her observations of Vecna was to count the number of strikes he delivered against the Scarecrow. Any object had a breaking point regardless of how durable it was.
The poor Scarecrow whose head got blasted into splitters, and its body was in tattered state that even the Master of all Woodworkers couldn't save it, resigned to its own defeat against the crazy human.
[Warrior's Initiation (E)] Quest Clear Mark: [10000/100]
As for Vecna, from the moment he reached the 5000 swing mark, he could tell that his EXP acquisition stopped completely, placing a break of his leveling to level 4, while his Status Point Gains also got rarer.
There was a set limit to how many benefits a player could gain from the Beginner Training Ground, and he still tasted the benefits of those Hidden Benefits of training like a possessed man.
In those many hours that flew by the Training Ground, the passing players couldn't help but think about Vecna as someone with many identities. From a fool who didn't know how to waste his time, to a crazy nutjob who wanted to destroy the indestructible Scarecrows.
The players with a head over their shoulder, couldn't help but believe Vecna to be an professional swordsman since his performance of striking for hundreds, if not thousands of swords swings wasn't something to scoff.
Each of his swings was deliberate, controlled and executed with proper form to maximize skill development and minimize the risk of injury.
'The Event should be near. Hah, damn, my mind feels tired from all the thinking.'
When his final strike crushed the scarecrow, the sound of the notifications breaking again into loudness after about a thousand strikes, let him know that he reached his goal.
His body was enveloped into the lights usually generated by leveling up.
[Ding!]
[You have destroyed the <Training Dummy (Beginner)>, the first user to achieve such a feat!]
[As a reward for your achievements, you will be rewarded with: +2 Lvl; Title: Strongest Man in the Neighborhood]
[You reached the maximum limit of the quest <Warrior's Initiation (E)>]
[The Available Bonus Status Points of <Beginner Training Ground> have been exhausted!]
"Hah, to think I'll get to see such a fascinating thing from an Beginner. Even if you're a Monster Spawn, it doesn't change the fact you're a Beginner."
'This leveling sensation sure is refreshing. Let me check the rewards before the old man starts assaulting me with his dialogue for the Hidden Quest or Event.'
'Check Title; Strongest Man in the Neighborhood.'
'Urgh, the title makes me cringe.'
[Strongest Man in the Neighborhood]
Destroying a unique Scarecrow easily, a feat that even the Training Knights find it hard. You've proven yourself to be the strongest man in this region of Valoria City.
* Strength will be increased by 5
'Not bad, all the bonuses are well received.'
'Open Status Window.'
.
[Status Window]
User: Vecna / Class: Caine's Reincarnate / Race: Low-Grade Vampire
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Level: 6(154/1,350) | Title: The Fallen One / Strongest Man in the Neighborhood/ Avid Explorer / Sharp Lumberjack / Rookie Explorer / Novice Adventurer
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Health: 1184/1184 | Mana: 416/416
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Strength: 72 | Stamina: 47 | Agility: 45 | Persistence: 20 (From Lumberjack)
Intelligence: 52 | Charm: 230 | Dignity: 40 Composure: 10 (Novice Adventurer)
Regeneration: 42 | Indomitable: 40 | Insight: 20 (Avid Explorer)
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Available Stat Points: 50
.
'I am getting closer to my previous stats and I'm not even level 10 or 20.'
'This is living up to the image of a Vampire Lord.'