Soul Core, Part 1

After logging off, Alexandre took a quick shower and heated a frozen pizza. He sat down and took his phone out, opening the forums to 'New Eden'.

He re-browsed the leaderboard to see if it had changed, and was floored. The top ten had already changed.

#1: ??? / Level 23

#2: Grinding_Beast / Level 21

#3: Real_Number_One_Gamer / Level 20

#4: I_Am_Rich / Level 20

#5: Azamus / Level 20

#6: Number_One_Gamer / Level 20

#7: Phoenix / Level 20

#8: No_Life_Gamer / Level 19

#9: Monster_Slayer / Level 19

#10: Stormbringer / Level 18

Azamus, the top player from 'Tower of Babel' Had risen three ranks, Phoenix had raised two ranks, and Stormbringer, who was fourth in the old game, was now tenth.

The thing is, the rest of the top ten ranks had moved little. The 'Heavenly Thousand' was no laughing matter.

Plus, the more he scrolled down the list, the more he saw names from the top players. It was like they were leveling on steroids.

He guessed they were most likely using the tier upgrade mechanic, to boost the exp they earned. If they did that on all their kills, they effectively doubled their exp earned.

But not everyone could do that. Alexandre closed the board and looked at other posts, while he shoved the pizza in his mouth.

One post especially caught his attention. The title was 'Heavenly Thousand cheating?'.

He quickly opened it up. In the post, the OP was complaining about how he had seen Azamus taking on a group of same-leveled creatures solo and winning.

Some people then replied by saying they had seen other players from the 'Heavenly Thousand' doing the same thing. Like their characters were much stronger than the masses.

Most people complained about that, saying that they had received boosts from the game company. Or that they were hacking their stats and many other stupid theories.

Alexandre knew better though. He was confident that if he were to fight a group of four level ten beasts, he would have the upper hand.

Most players didn't yet know how to reinforce their character. It would come out soon, but he would not be the one spilling the beans.

He was going to milk his advantage as much as he could. He closed the post and scrolled a little more.

He found another post titled 'Death Penalty'. He opened it up.

The poster was calling the game unfair. He recounted how he had kept dying in the starting zone because he couldn't find a party.

Every time he died, he would lose Exp equaling the Exp the creature that killed him would have given. But when he dropped back to level one, it became way harsher.

He lost the equivalent to his level, but at a debt. Then 90% of his experience would go towards paying the debt.

But after he died five times without being able to repay the debt, his character was deleted, and he was locked out of the game for 24 hours.

"I'm so happy I didn't die against that bear." Alexandre said, shivering.

He would have been screwed.

'What a harsh penalty' He thought.

He kept reading the post and a little lower, another piece of information almost made him choke on his food. PvP gave experience.

A player wrote that, when he died, he lost the required amount to level, dropping him down a full level and some.

Another wrote how he killed a player of the same level and gained his level fully, aligning with what the other person had said higher.

So that meant that you gained what the player lost. Now that was going to spark a PvP war.

Players would try to kill the people on the leaderboard now. Because that was the best way to take someone down from it and take his place!

The Leaderboard would fluctuate a lot in the next few days, with the grinders getting knocked off, and the talented players going in and up.

Since he was in a zone with no other players, he was safe from that, but that also meant he couldn't use that tactic to level up either. He would have to grind.

He smiled wide. He was in the best place to grind, given that he could sortie out with a higher-level NPC.

He just needed to dish out maximum damage and collect Exp from their kills! Alexander closed up the forums and quickly finished his pizza.

He then took a nap for a few hours and logged back in.

*Launching 'New Eden'*

*Logging in*

*Welcome back player Astaroth*

As soon as he opened his eyes in his alcove, he jumped up and left. He practically ran to the barracks.

When he got there, he slowed his pace down. He could still see the respect in people's eyes when they looked at him.

They were no longer looks of mockery or disdain. Astaroth walked into the barrack building, the warriors inside piped down.

One man got up and walked to him with a pint of ale. He extended his hand holding the pint towards Astaroth.

"This is for you, lad. Had you not shot that arrow yesterday, I would be dead." The man said.

That was when Astaroth recognized him. He was the man that was pinned down by the Alpha!

Astaroth took the pint and nodded his head. He then took a big swig of the beverage, before making the biggest grimace his face could perform.

This thing was not only strong, but it was also hot! He swallowed the hot, piss-like, liquid and smiled awkwardly.

Everyone in the barrack exploded into laughter. Astaroth wasn't sure if they were making fun of him, or if they were just hazing him.

Not that it bothered him, but he wasn't used to having this much attention on him.

So he just looked at all of them with a confused look, thinking 'At least they don't seem like they are mocking me anymore.'