Leveling Up (1)

Chapter 4: Leveling Up (1)

"Welcome back! I've been waiting for you!" Richard called Jake out immediately after he'd logged in. He had been raring to go with Jake to the forest and have him evolve into a better archer.

Jake had been diligently training his archery for the past week and building his muscle memory. 

He'd been so diligent that it was frightening. 

Jake hadn't just stood rooted on the ground and let his arrows whistle, but he took necessary breaks at perfect intervals, allowing his stamina to regenerate much faster. He didn't exhaust his mind with too much information, keeping his training efficient and at the highest level.

Having no need to remind him about that, Richard's impression of him only increased this week.

"Morning, Richard," Jake smiled.

"Good morning!" Richard laughed without caring about manners or keeping his impatience in check.

Jake was such a fresh breeze amidst the avalanche of notorious newbies that it had been such a pleasure to have him around and see the progress of his growth. 

He didn't look down on NPCs, wasn't one of those virgin players that left the island as fast as possible to see female NPCs and build relationships with them and was overall a good dude to have around. His image of the otherworldly archery was such a nice concept to talk about that Richard hadn't been keeping lots of information away from him, telling Jake about the world beyond the tutorial island.

Jake didn't hold back with his ideas and practice, aligning his interests with Richard's. Therefore, these two were now on the same page when it came to descending to the forest.

The forest in question didn't have a name, so everyone called it The Tutorial's Forest. Even Richard had done the same when he had introduced it to Jake. Conversely, the mountain and its invincible presence was known as The Unconquerable Mountain.

Though it may have been named like that, the mountain's spire had been obtained by players.

Those players, however, weren't casual existences, but either those with ambitions or twisted minds or perhaps both…

After all, no sane person would climb the mountain without any insurance. Even if this was the game world and players respawned, everyone was here in person. 

Some would tremble in their legs only from imagining looking down from a skyscraper or looking into the bottomless pit.

The Unconquerable Mountain's spire had been drowned in the clouds, and it was so steep that even the most courageous person would get cold feet. 

Though damage from falling from the mountain could be turned off, and the player would only lose their consciousness and wake up in the black room where they'd be told they died, the feeling of the wind clobbering at the body and throttling the ears couldn't be prevented.

A few frames of falling into death after losing their footing also couldn't be erased, and all could turn into a trauma so devastating that some wouldn't return to the game world, let alone climb any mountain or stairs of apartments.

"I want to climb that mountain," Jake said after hearing numerous stories and warnings from Richard's side.

Having gotten to know him so well this week, Richard nodded, "You told me yourself that you like to go against the mainstream and the impossible… I knew you'd want to try it even without me telling you about the mountain's infamous woes."

These two had long since begun descending the cliff and making their way to the forest. With the mountain overlooking them, it was common to start talking about it.

"The level cap here is ten, right?" Jake asked.

Richard nodded.

Jake opened his game system and peeked at his stats.

[Archer Lv.1 HP: 100/100 MP: 100/100]

[VIT: 10 STR: 14 INT: 10 DEX: 16 END: 10]

His strength and dexterity had been increased due to his archery practice. It hadn't been too much stats-wise, but Richard had often mentioned how impressive it was that he could improve himself so fast. 

Apparently, only a few mages with a talent for mana had increased their intelligence stats from hurling fireballs at effigies. The same went for swordsmen swinging their swords at them to improve their strength and tanks protecting themselves from the enchanted effigies bashing their shields to increase their endurance.

Speaking of those practices, it was important to highlight another stat.

[Archery(Beginner—II)]

Jake was at the beginner stage, level two.

Each stage had ten levels—X being the highest.

Anyone could get that stat upon picking up a bow and shooting arrows. Currently, Jake's archery level at the beginner stage only slightly increased the damage and speed of his arrows, but it was so little it was better not mentioned.

It could be raised faster by wielding a better weapon, skills, or targets or by having an actual archer class.

That's right.

The Tutorial Island only served to give familiarity and ideas to the newbie players about weapons and what they were compatible with, as well as have them taste a little of the fantasy world with a safe zone to which they could run off to save themselves.

Jake stood at the forest's feet, feeling the ominous aura of danger creeping in its shadows.

It wasn't just the mountain that could leave trauma in players.

The monsters and the rest of the tutorial island were the same unless a player wanted to go for crafting or any other class unrelated to fighting. 

Such dangerous experiences could only be mitigated in this way.

Jake extended his hand for an arrow and seamlessly nocked it on his bow, "I'll now head inside."

"Good luck," Richard smiled.