Chapter 19 – Progress

After leaving the Hub, they immediately went into the swamp area to kill some Elite Lizardmen.

Unlike normal Lizardmen, these ones could use magic. But to Atlas, these enemies were just fodder. With Ferin's help, killing Elite Lizardmen would not be any different from killing a normal one for average players.

They weren't the only ones who thought that this quest was a godsend from Horizon Online's developers. Other players also did the same quest after they found out about the reward and the requirement.

Thus, the number of players exiting the Rudina City were massive. Those people didn't waste any time as they were heading for hunting grounds right away.

Nevertheless, the Swamp area was almost devoid of players. Majority of them were still Level 12 or 13. Achieving Level 15 without going against higher Level monsters was pretty hard.

In other words…

"The Swamp is still ours for the day!"

This kind of monopolization would be spread when people reached Level 20 and created guilds. Bigger guilds usually became out of control, even claiming a hunting ground for themselves and kept players away.

They had to use this chance to hunt and finish their quest because in the near future, doing so would be very difficult.

Of course, it depended on how well the players' guilds developed later on.

But in this current timeline, none of that was a problem for them.

"We will be ahead of everyone and don't have to worry about guilds. Rather, they should worry about us. Right, At?" Ferin smiled evilly and hummed happily as she jumped around playfully. "We can just monopolize all the good hunting grounds that way!"

"My Fer is so evil~" Atlas teased her while chuckling in amusement at her childish act. "But, here is the question. Do you really want to create a guild?"

"Wouldn't that be fun? In the past, we'd play solo until the end." Ferin paused and sighed regretfully at the thought before she shook her head and continued speaking, "This time, let's do it with others! You know what? We can also join the Horizon Cup if we have a guild!"

"Oh, right." Atlas nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face. He rubbed his chin and agreed, "That sounds good."

"See! This is why you are the best boyfriend ever~" Ferin cooed sweetly and held Atlas' hand in her smaller one.

They arrived at the Swamp's entrance shortly after and walked into it.

"There are only us in this area."

Atlas casted an open area Fireball and blasted a few Lizardmen surrounding them to death. His damage had increased and could actually kill them in one go after putting everything into his MAG.

By now, his status looked like this.

===

Name: Atlas

Race: Archdevil

Class: Mage [15]

Reputation: 560 [Good]

HP: 100%

MP: 550

Stats: [STR: 17] [AGI: 17] [MAG: 50+5] [VIT: 17]

Free Stat Points: 0

Skills:

– Mana Bolt (Lv 8): Launch a bolt of pure mana at a target. Damage scales with MAG x 1.8 [2 MP, 2.3 seconds cooldown]

Attribute:

– Archdevil: You are the Archdevil, born from the deepest of Hell, to experience the world's pleasure. Being a spawn of magic, you can handle magic better than anyone.

Effect: Magic Effectiveness +5%

Title:

– (First to Graduate) – EXP gain increased by 10%

– (First Rare Hunter) – Damage to all monsters increased by 5%

===

The result of his stat distribution was decent. As a Mage, he would prioritize MAG above all else. There was no second priority yet. Ferin was here for a reason.

"[Mana Bolt]." Atlas activated his skill while pointing his staff forward. With a swing, he unleashed another skill that shot out a bolt of magic. The bolt flew toward a group of Lizardmen that were unguarded due to being scared by his Fireball from earlier.

It was a critical hit. A Lizardman was killed in one shot while the other two were barely hanging on with half HP remaining.

"Stop right there!"

Ferin jumped in with a mad laugh and stabbed her sword into one lizardmen's neck, killing it on the spot. She pivoted and swung her sword again, turning the last one into red hehagons as well.

[Ding! 6x Level 15 Lizardman has been defeated!]

[3x Lizardman Claw obtained.]

[2x Lizardman Hide obtained.]

"Phew." Ferin heaved a sigh and looked around, "This place is empty now. But we haven't seen any Elite yet."

"They are hiding." Atlas said calmly and frowned as he looked at the swamp ahead of them, "I have a feeling that they're waiting for us to come deeper into their territory. Be careful."

"Got it." Ferin nodded and patted her sword with a mischievous smile on her face. "I wonder how much EXP they'll give out~ Ah, I am also curious about what they dropped! Will it be rare equipment? I want a pair of gauntlets!"

Atlas smiled warmly and shook his head at her cute antics. She always loved fighting and hunting. In his previous life, she always was like this. And, he loved her for that.

It wasn't easy to be like this, not in real life anyway. Unlike in the VR World, real life was too constraining. Humans had to follow the law, or else they would be arrested, jailed, or worst case, executed.

Acting differently from 'normal' would make people label them as abnormal or crazy, a loner who cannot be fixed. Not unless you had a special someone who would accept you for who you are.

Ferin was just that type of person who accepted Atlas. And he accepted her as she was.

And what more? Ferin was a beautiful girl at the top of her class. She was a world famous model, everyone wanted to be like her, and yet... She chose him and loved him with all her heart.

He wouldn't know what would happen if he never met her, nor would he care. As long as they could play together and live happily like this, nothing mattered to him.

As they walked deeper into the swamp, the water level kept rising slowly and their feet were deep in swampy water already. Atlas could tell that there was a hidden enemy nearby.

"Fer." He called out her name and warned. He heard a rustling sound from behind the tree, and added, "Our target is nearby. Prepare yourself."

"I'm ready!"

Ferin unsheathed her sword and raised it with a serious expression on her face. Her bunny ears moved around quickly as she focused on the movement from behind the tree in front of them.

And a few seconds later...

Swoosh!

They heard something moving through the air and quickly dodged the flying object that was heading toward them. The tree beside them was struck by the attack, and its bark was cracked by the sheer force of it. An arrow was embedded deeply into the trunk.

"Hisss!"

A lizardman stepped out from behind the tree with a longbow in its hands. It was a Level 18 Elite Lizardman with a higher level than both of them.

Worse... It wasn't alone.

"One... Five... Seven. Crap! At, this might be a bit troublesome." Ferin gulped and whispered with a worried expression on her face as she stared at the enemies in front of them.

The other lizardmen jumped out from their hiding places and revealed themselves while holding weapons such as a sword, a shield, and a spear. One of them had a robe on and was obviously a Mage too.

Atlas frowned slightly at their appearance and clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Shit."

That Lizardman mage had a slightly different name.

[Lv 20 Wizard Lizard.]

They were in trouble.