Chapter 2- Tear Ring

Rise was a game played by many, so to avoid crowded places, the game company created tons of beginner villages, and you would randomly spawn at one of those.

The world of Rise had three empires, and each one had the upper hand in some aspect. The Golden Dragon Empire, for example, was filled with ores and mines, which resulted in the best smiths among all the empires. The Green Leaf Empire had many forests and unique herbs, and it was also the home of the few elves that remained alive. Most of the knowledge regarding magic and alchemy came from that country, and it was known to produce the best mages. The last empire had once been the greatest, but now only wastelands remained. War stroke in Lodric Empire for many years and the magic beasts also didn't help, flooding the empire with attacks. It was almost impossible to live in that empire, which was why it couldn't be chosen as the starting point when creating your character.

"The Green Leaf Empire, of course. I'm a wise mage after all."

Vincent had explored all three empires in his past life. Hell, he had also explored another continent. The Green Leaf Empire had the best opportunities for his mage class. It wouldn't be wise for a mage to start at an empire that focused on crafting swords and armor.

The time flew quickly, and soon Vincent found himself in a village filled with other players. For some odd reason, he had spawned at the same beginner village he once did in his past life, which was kind of ironic. The beginner village was called White Oak Village.

"Woaaahh! It feels so real!" a player yelled in the middle of the village. Vincent understood how they felt. He was also amazed when he first played the game. Now though, he couldn't afford to lose his precious time.

Every player inside Rise would think that the best way to earn XP was by killing monsters. Well, they weren't wrong, but it was an impossible task at that stage of the game. The village had so many players that the monsters wouldn't be enough for all of them, and the power of parties and guilds would determine if you could earn XP or not.

Vincent wasn't that stupid to share XP with tons of players. He knew all the quests in that beginner village. He also knew that quests were unique in Rise, and only one player could take them. Excluding some of them, like clearing dungeons, etc.

"The actual game starts at level 10, in the cities. But that doesn't mean that I can't take advantage of the tutorial part of the game."

The first thing Vincent did was to walk towards a dark alley. A player named Lotus discovered a hidden passage in that alley. Well, Vincent would be the one doing that in that timeline. The alley was completely dark. Vincent could only see about one palm ahead of him, which was not comforting.

It was also disturbingly quiet. The reason was that almost all players rushed towards the fields hoping to kill mobs and reach level 2 as fast as possible. Vincent couldn't help but think how the hell that player named Lotus found that place. To open the passage, one needed to tap the wall bricks in a specific order, which was kind of absurd.

Vincent watched the clip Lotus had recorded, so he knew in his mind the exact sequence to open that passage, so he did it effortlessly. What was hidden behind that passage was an even smaller alley. It had a chest in the middle of it and a door at the end. Vincent rushed towards the chest, opening it before some random player passing by the streets saw it.

A blinding light erupted, and some information regarding the item popped in front of Vincent's eyes.

+1 [Tear Ring] [Silver Grade] [Low quality]

Description: a silver ring with a tear on the middle. Legends say that it was crafted using a single tear of a mermaid. It increases magical attributes, and some say that it boosts your mana regen.

+2 Intelligence

+1 Wisdom

+2 Mana regeneration every 10 seconds

"Hohoho, what a beauty."

Items in Rise were divided into tiers, and these tiers were divided into low, middle, and superior grades. The tiers were: bronze, silver, gold, legendary, mythical, and divine. Vincent had seen almost all tiers of equipment, excluding the divine. These items were considered only a legend in Rise, and Vincent was sure that no player had ever shared any information about those.

"This ring will make my starting so much easier. The best thing about this item is that it doesn't require a level to equip it," Vincent thought, leaving the alley. He didn't even bother to see what was behind that door at the end of it, because he already knew it. It was a special shop, and he was poor at that stage of the game, so it was only a waste of time.

After equipping the ring, Vincent opened his char tab to see his stats.

[The Seer] [Class: Mage]

[Level: 1]

[HP: 80] [Mana: 170]

Stats:

[Strength: 2]

[Dexterity: 1]

[Endurance: 3]

[Intelligence: 6+2]

[Wisdom: 5+1]

[Free points: 0]

"These low stats, damn..."

The ring couldn't do a miracle, but it did improve his stats a lot. Every point in Intelligence would increase his spell damage and casting speed. Every point in Wisdom would increase his mana pool, and also his mana regeneration. A mage needed both o these stats, and the rest would only be complementary.

"Now that I'm equipped, it is time to kill some mobs!"