There’s Levels To This

Within a field of tall swaying grass of yellow, a man of dark complexion stood above it all. The hair atop his head, coarse in nature, remained unmoved by the passing breeze as did the beard attached to his jaw. Afloat above his body the title 'Leek (12)' showed itself, a slight tint/hue of green causing it to contrast the terrain. 

-Leek: "Bro. Full streaming has come a long way. The U.I. alone is barely noticeable." Bending over slightly, and closing one eye, he focused directly on one of the many crops planted in the vast fields before him. "I can see each individual strand of this hay-thing. How would you even begin designing something so detailed!" Gazing with amazement he frolicked from place, to place, to place, taking in every sensation he could. With passing time he eventually stood still, mouth agape as his eyes fell upon a distant construct. "There's no way... is that a floating castle!? Confirmed. This game is on another level." He nearly fainted, as the excitement cut off circulation to his brain.

Once the honeymoon phase eroded, Leek pulled himself from the scenery and properly took in his surroundings. Seas of yellow as far as the eye could see, winding dirt pathways segmenting the ocean of crops, and the impossibly distant floating city. None of these were familiar in any sense, making the warm blowing breeze, shifting environment, and the setting Sun quite unnerving.

Deciding to leave, in an attempt to locate a nearby town/city, Leek searched his body on the off chance he was equipped with a physical map. He found nothing besides a curved dagger with a reasonably dull edge and a small buckler-esque shield. Putting them both away he started scanning his field of vision. Upon actively looking for it, a floating box depicting the terrain in top-down view revealed itself.

-Leek: "Why put it so far out to the left, then turn around and lower the opacity to nearly zero?" Putting his hand out to grab the mini-map he dragged it into the center of his vision, using both hands together he increased its size. Pressing an icon of three dots attached to the map he navigated a drop-down menu to which he changed the opacity to a slight translucent, allowing for it to be properly read without restricting his sight.

The map gave accurate representation to any area it encompassed, stretching to a distance further than Leek's current horizon. A green circle was centered in the middle of it, within one of the many fields. Relatively distant to it were four red, lightly coloured, circles moving around in a group, taking the paved path rather than cutting through the reeds. Other indicators of life, miniscule at best, were filtered out as to not consume the displayed map.

-Leek: "Okay, now we're getting somewhere. I'm the green marker, so all the other ones must be different types of mobs." Processing the newly acquired information proved tactical. "This would be the best time for me to test my capabilities! Light red markers mean weak opponents, at least in most games, and there are only four. I'll just scope them out and decide how to act from there."

Taking a deeply shallow breath he crouched downward, letting his presence be masked by the waves of tall crops. Moving eastward, the direction which previously faced his back, he angled his legs enough to keep his stature from deviating from its current set. Intent was on his mind; that to kill. One of two outcomes will result from this expedition of his; running with dignity, or gallantly slaying the monsters who dare taunt him with their presence.

Reaching the edge of the field he stood in, Leek separated the last layer of crops in blockage of his sight. A thin clearing, used as a walkway to traverse the swamp of crop fields had three monsters passing through, as represented by the mini-map.

Protruding from atop their elongated bodies were ears, which twitched to nearly every sensory input, covered in straight fur. Limbs swaying with each step, occasionally brushing the ground due to their length, created an ethereal nightmare out of these things, in concept.

-Leek: "Humanoid bunnies, what kinda freak designed those?" This made his stomach turn, however slight, with disgust. Hopping trains of thought, he inferred on whether "Monsters don't have descriptions?" Scanning through the collective in search he took note that not one had the descriptor above their heads.

Stare. In attempt to decipher what exactly his eyes feasted upon Leek stared deeply at these lumbering giants. Taking notice of his presence one of the three gazed back, taking lead as the others turned in response. As they proceeded closer [Wandering Angora (6)] appeared over their heads.

-Leek: "So focusing on them makes the title pop up. Does it read your mind, or track your eyes to notice what you're looking at?" Letting his mind become occupied he tested any theory he could, and ceased not with the questions, his intent seeping further into the environment as they crept closer. "Are they given false thoughts, letting them mimic a living being, or just some adaptive behavior programmin-" A headache erupted, throwing his train off its tracks.

Stumbling back, the pain dispersing quicker than it came, he snapped from the stupor he let himself fall under. Towering before his vulnerable body was one of the [Wandering Angora (6)] up close. Its height easily cleared that of the tall, dwarfing it by nearly two and a half feet. Its eyes holistically fixated on the small existence cowering before it. Confusion as to what it was doing, and why. Regardless of the questions it posed not a sound came from its mouth, or movements, instead letting its eyes tear Leek to pieces with deafening silence.

-Leek: "Wait... how did it?" His eyes blurred slightly as they moved, looking again at the mini-map. There were light red coloured markers surrounding his yellow. Three coming from the west, the one in front of him, and the other two still standing on the path. "Six? There was only four... three!?" As his frail voice let these words drip from his mouth, a change occurred, the shock of predicament loosened its stranglehold on him.

Rooting one foot in the ground and refusing to acknowledge any presence near him he launched forward, heading southeast in direction. Angled just enough he was able to avoid the two who were further back on the path. Darting from the field he hid in, onto the paved path, and into the field parallel to his own; entering only surface level deep. The [Wandering Angora (6)] lagged a fair bit behind, as they spent time consolidating in force before pursuing, grouped together into a pseudo wall.

As his mind began to slow in thought a solution came to mind. Opening a dropdown menu, positioned to the right of the mini-map, he scrolled down to the bottom. Finding what he was looking for, the 'Sign-Out' option. Leek wasted no time in logging out of the game... to no avail. 'You're Within The Vicinity Of A Potentially Hostile Mob. Logging Out Will Leave Your Character Susceptible To Death And Looting. 'Proceed? (Y/N)''

-Leek: "Dammit. There's no point if I die anyways." He selected 'N' in response to the prompt. The choice leaving him oozing with disdain for the log-out system. "Who decided to add that as a feature in a live-service game? That's so stupid."

Reacting to his decision the system chimed, 'Okay! This Penalty Won't Apply Once You Enter A Neutral Zone Or Leave The Vicinity Of Any Potentially Hostile Mobs!' Once Leek read through the pop-up in its entirety the tab closed itself, reminding him of the unprecedented situation he faced.

-Leek: "Well," an underhanded sigh slipped through his teeth, "If I have no other choice, so be it." Leek began to quickly run his hands throughout his avatar, pulling out the dull Dagger which rested on his person, equipping it to his left hand. Taking the bit more time he bought for himself, Leek strongly analyzed the in-game map located to his left. "How did they go from three to six?" The light red markers continued closer.

His conviction solidified as his thoughts came to a consensus. Creeping backwards, moving deeper through the field he now inhabited, Leek's grip tightened around his Daggers handle, testing the craftsmanship of whom, creator of such a currently crude item.

Three of six [Wandering Angora (6)] set foot into the, relatively low, crop field which shielded their sight from placing the cowering human they searched for. The nearly grounded arms protruding from their torso swayed through the pool of yellow, parting it as they moved forward ahead.

Evading these apparent attacks, even by a inch, Leek pushed his body backwards, committing further to this minor retreat. Again. And again. Every swing resulted in greater distance. Then, through a half step, a cold feeling sprang itself into feeling; the back being where it stood first.

-Leek: "What!?" Lifting his head up slowly, in hopes his thought was unfounded, Leek's eyes fell upon a yellow mountain-like figure, above its head [Wandering Angora (6)] sat itself. "Did I not." Looking once again at the miniature map depicting the surrounding land, seven light-red markers surrounded him, only one located to his back, the east.

Focusing on his left hand, a slight shake prefaced an abrupt turn. The dagger's teeth, having now been grinded down to minor stubs due to time, set to sink itself directly into the one east of Leek.

Taking notice, it jumped back in clear avoidance. It stood still, tilting its head to the right, ears twitching continuously. The sense of emptiness, which sat abundant till this moment, became observable in nature; shifting. Leek's heart began to palpitate, leaving his chest to heave with each extraneous breath; in tandem the fur/hair thickly coating the [Wandering Angora (6)] straightened, to then curl tightly. The creatures split upper lip retracted to expose numerous rows of serrated fang-like teeth, the front four peering like two pairs of twin daggers.

While this occurred the air now had a nearly tangible thickness to it, as consistent as blood. The [Wandering Angora (6)] could be felt tugging at Leek's spine, breathing down his neck, and piercing his back with sweltering needles/pins.

-Leek: Beads of sweat perspired on his forehead as he was forced onto one knee. "GET UP," he shouted at his self. His feet began to move together once again, rapidly succeeding one another. His center of mass remained low. The dagger he fashioned in his hand prepared to slash, as tension built up from the stance Leek held as he dashed to the monster in his path.

After reaching the creature, of whose icon now flaunted the title [Wandering Angora (7)], Leek released all the built-up force he had access to. He shot forward in the manner of a fencing straight. Lacking distance he got into close proximity, wagering on the cumbersome movements it portrayed before. The form of his attack greatly deviated from his attempted thought, shining light on his lack of discipline.

His strike landed on the now power gorging monster, just above its waistline. The dagger pierced the fur surface of the [Wandering Angora (7)]. The red highlighting the entirety of the icon above the monster moved itself backwards partially, in response to the damage it sustained at the hands of Leek. Around (2/11) vanished from the bar.

-Leek: "After something so fatal I scratched it at best!? And what the fuck is with my stance, I had no problem moving my body before." Thinking this to himself Leek once again fell into inherent questioning, "Maybe this has to do with my stats, would explain why only after my attac-"

Cutting through his thoughts, Leek spent little time in evading the retaliation from the [Wandering Angora (7)]. Though he did get grazed, scraping off a fraction from his pool of health (3/14).  Compressing again Leek sprang into a counter, as the left portion of its torso was left exposed after its swatting motion by its left arm. The dagger seeped into the coarse coating once again, sitting longer in the side of its abdomen.

Wailing in apparent pain the creature, this time at an effective speed, threw back at the source of its agony. Recognizing a threat, the Angora picked up its pace. Sweeping through the tall grass, using the abnormal length of its arms to comb through it all.

-Leek: In a fair panic Leek proceeded to backpedal, "I'm still nearly six levels above it, regardless of stats how is this not a slaughter?" Through this thought he maneuvered south, as the accumulation of monsters, informed by the mini-map, were to his north/west. Given this lead Hakeem accrued he took a glance at the status page regarding his character.

Status Page: Leek (12)

[ Level Skill Points: 7 ]

HP 14(+2)

SPD 7(+1)

VIT  3(-0)

TEQ 0(-0)

EVN 2(+1)

SSK 0(+0)

[ LUCK: 7 ](+5)

Inventory: Dagger (Poor), Shield (Fair), Clothing (Used), Shoes (Poor), (4)Elixir: Vitality/Basic, Coin Pouch: 32/Poor, (17)Angora Tails: Rotten

""

Standing a distance away atop an incline, a person watched the scene play out between Leek and lumbering attackers. Regardless of their uninvolved status they, a figure of strong build and stature, commented on the situation.

-Figure: "What exactly is that Belvirian doing?" A deep sigh eased its way through their lungs, the sheathed saber on their hilt did the same. "I can tell by their aura that they're holding back significantly; enough to get themselves killed."

""

-Leek: "The shield is nothing new, but these potions..." Reaching into the pockets of his jacket, which extended to nearly match that of a robe, he managed to fumble with three bottles, each filled with a dense liquid. "Vitality, huh? I'll assume it's in stead of an in-game base defense, that's a pity." With the limited time he had left Leek, anticipating the taste, downed two of the slugging liquids.

The crowding environment lightened itself in time to allow evasion of the trailing [Wandering Angora (7)] and it's not far behind brethren. Leek, ducking below the two reaching arms of the Angora, threw one of the empty Elixir bottles point-blank at its exposed mouth. Shattered pieces of glass clouded the Angora's vision and cut into its face/eyes. As the Angora became stunned he lunged forward, driving his dagger once again into it. (2/11) of its Health Points remained after adding the compiled damage.

-Leek: "Seems to be very useful. I wonder if those buffs stacked?" Before he finished Leek pulled the weapon out of the Angora, and placed it into its neck, ridding it of any left-over Health Points. "I'll have to distribute my stat points, there's just too many to take on individually otherwise."

Darting away from the collapsed [Wandering Angora (7)] Leek utilized incremental gaps in distance to place levels into his character, totaling four of the seven. After this he drank one of his last two bottles of Elixir.

-Leek: Halting his retreat and equipping the shield from his person, which was small in nature, Leek planted both his feet to face his pursuers and exclaimed for all to hear. "I'm getting the hang of this, SO LET'S PLAY!"