Preparations

"Rule number 1: You can absolutely not enter the central part of the danger zone!" Samantha, Eli's mother said.

Elijah knew what rules his mom would be making, but he also knew that if he didn't listen he wouldn't be able to leave without his mom spanking him continuously.

"Yes mom, this is an obvious one! I'm still young, it'd be a pity if I died already!" Eli answered.

His mom nodded profusely, he was still young.

Even though people usually look at 17 year olds as adults already, since they don't look far off of them, they were still children.

People at these ages were usually the most rash and made the most stupid decisions.

Samantha knew her child was already pretty mature for his age but she also knew he had an innate desire for adventure.

Every since Eli was young, he always talked about wanting to go outside and fight with Monsters like other Players did.

She always brushed it off as it wasn't something realistic, with the chances of awakening being ridiculously low.

But now, Elijah had actually awakened, she knew she couldn't change his mind about fighting Monsters.

"Rule number two: If u encounter a Monster, don't start fighting it without having an idea of what it's abilities are."

"You've told me what your ability is, and while I can acknowledge its strength, it has a major downside as well."

"It only lasts a minute. You have one singular minute to kill the monster and then you have to wait for another day until you can use it again."

Elijah was shocked, his mom was teaching him battle strategies now? Did she have some kind of experience.

'The people must've had it rough during the Apocalypse, huh?'

He was right, the people during the Apocalypse had all encountered a Monster before, whether it was in a group protected by Players, or alone while running for their lives.

Eli responded to his mother with an "Okay." as they kept going over the rules.

By the end of their conversation, there must've been around 15 rules.

Most of them weren't very important, but others were.

Elijah was tired, it was already getting late.

"Mom, you have a weapon I can use tomorrow when I go out, or do I have to go buy one myself?" He asked.

Samantha started thinking when she walked towards an old closet they didn't use anymore, it was there to look good.

She started rummaging through it when she exclaimed: "Found it!" 

Elijah looked in anticipation and was surprised when he saw what his dear mother was holding.

It was a sword with a thin blade, looking like its origins came from somewhere in Asia.

He didn't just look at the word with a normal, surprised expression.

There was also shock evident on his face.

The sword was slightly glowing in a grey colour.

"Mom, how and why do you just have an artifact laying around? Those things cost a fortune!" Eli asked.

Artifacts were expensive, as one could expect from something only Players could obtain through killing strong Monsters, with a relatively low chance of dropping.

Sure, this was a common artifact, the lowest tier possible.

That didn't matter though! Even a sword like this would go for about 10 grand in any shop!

His mother looked at him with a smug expression.

"Your mother isn't as green in the awakened field as you'd think she is."

His mother gave him the sword as she said goodnight to Elijah, not giving him any explanation to why she had the artifact.

Eli didn't know what to say, so he just replied with a goodnight and entered his own room.

'I don't know how she got this, but this will surely improve my ability to kill Monsters!'

He opened his System and looked at the [Equipment] tab

[Commoner's Sword]

[Increases strength by 2 and gives 5% chance to deal a Critical Hit]

Eli inspected the blade as he smiled in happiness.

'This sword is pretty good!'

'Strength is important but the real benefit is the Critical Hit chance.'

'If it activates, it'll double the damage of the attack. This way, even if I have 20 strength, I would deal some insane damage!'

He was truly happy, he had an artifact now, and he would be going on an adventure tomorrow.

Nothing was going to make him unhappy now!

He brushed his teeth and dived into his bed.

'I can't wait for tomorrow!'

And so, the final night before having a monster kill had arrived.

At least Eli was hoping he would be the one getting a kill, and not the Monster.

He fell asleep at around 11:00 PM and woke up the next day at 7:00 AM.

It was finally the day.

Eli said goodbye to his mother after they went over the rules another time, and stepped outside once again.

Today, his story would start. 

Today, he would get his first level-up.

Today, people would start to know the name Elijah King!

Just as the good looking blond guy was having great thoughts, a car drove by.

It drove through one of the many puddles of rain on the ground.

Where did the rain go? you might ask.

"F*CK YOU!" Eli yelled at the driver of the car.

He was soaked.

Nobody would stop him from choking that driver out if he ever saw the b*tch again!

Eli quickly went back inside to change and ran out again, this time staying far away from the road as he started running towards Central Park.

'"This is such bullcrap, I can't take the bus because of this sword on my back. Running for 20 minutes isn't my style!" Eli yelled out as he started getting a few weird looks.

He completely forgot an [Inventory] existed, plus he liked the look of the sword tied on his back.

Some might confuse it with Eighth-Grader Syndrome.

He couldn't wait for his first fight.

Fighting is fun, that was something everybody could agree with.

Adrenaline pumping through your body as time stops playing a role.

'I hope I don't die today.' Eli said while chuckling.

He stopped running when he saw what used to be an immense park pop up into his field of view.

He had arrived, the beginner Player danger zone.

The danger zone where his story would start, Central Park.