Level Up

A few minutes prior, within a tavern in Red Dawn Town, a group of three players were gathered, drinking.

[Zed, Level 18, Assassin]

[Drakon, Level 17, Mountain]

[Zara, Level 18, Cryomancer]

Their levels were unusually high for players in a beginner village, as most players left right as they reached Level 10. After all, there was more opportunity to level up and get good loot in the higher leveled cities.

His head thrown back in exasperation, Zed, the Assassin, said, "I'm starting to think taking that quest really wasn't worth it. Although it is an A Rank Quest, we lost so much time searching for this Dark Wizard that we've gotten behind in Levels."

Zara looked equally as annoyed as she added, "Most experts in Silver Fall are already in the mid twenties, and I heard Dad even reached Level 30."

Drakon, who was the calmest of the three, took a sip from his large mug as he warned, "Comparing yourselves to your parents will only result in unfair frustration. They have decades more of experience, and also have an entire guild helping them. Besides, the reward for this quest must be quite something, to have us run around for so long."

"Well, we weren't very lucky either, with that damn Dark Wizard not being in the two other towns."

Drakon nodded and asked, "Should we go and deal with it then? It shouldn't be too hard to find a Dark Wizard…"

As he said that, they all heard the sound of a distant explosion. The three looked at each other in confusion, neither of them even sure they had really heard it, when a wave of dark mana washed over them.

The three players did not immediately understand what this was, but the bar owner cried out, "Dark Bomb! We're under attack!"

All hell broke loose in the bar as the NPCs ran out, while the three players were even more confused.

"How come there's no quest appearing, if the village is under attack?"

Thankfully for them, the bar owner hadn't run out straight away as he grabbed a weapon, and hearing their weapon, he spat on the ground as he explained, "That cheapskate Francis is too much of a rat to issue a quest to defend the town."

"Francis?"

The bar owner nodded, "Yes, our mayor. I swear, if it wasn't for Sir Cailin… Alright, watch yourself lads, I got to go."

He stormed out of the bar, leaving everything unattended for, while the three players continued looking at each other.

After a moment, Drakon said, "I doubt it would be the Dark Wizard, considering he has been hiding himself."

Zara asked, "If there's no quest to defend the town, then should we just ignore it?"

"No, even if not simply to help around, getting in the good favors of the villagers should help with our investigation. Besides, this is a beginner town, and defending it should be a piece of cake."

The two younger players nodded, and so they got out of the bar, following the NPCs who were going to fight.

As they ran through the streets though, the three observed an odd thing. While at first most players were running away from the fight, the closer they got, and the more players started running back to it. As if they were attracted by something.

They were confused, but when they finally reached the battlefield, they understood why.

The monsters, the Ocuminis, were almost all dead, so there wasn't much danger left.

What really caught their attention though, was the one fight taking place next to the ramparts. The monster was the strongest of the bunch, a Level 20 Elite Ocumini.

To Drakon and his two companions, this monster was far from invincible. Although the arms would certainly prove to be quite the bother, they were almost Level 20 themselves, and had all gotten classes.

No, what really caught their attention was the player fighting the monster.

[Runefather Odin, Level 1, Runic Mage]

There was something severely wrong with this. A Level 1 having a Class was already mind blowing to the three, considering what they had to do to get their classes.

But a Level 1 fighting a Level 20 Elite, it was simply unbelievable.

The way he fought was special too, as it was something none of them had ever seen. He was quite strong for a Level 1, especially considering his Class was a magical one.

Hence, the three came to a terrifying conclusion: This Odin's strongest stats were his magical ones, which it seemed he abstained from using. In other words, he was fighting a monster 19 levels higher than him while using his weakest stats.

So if he could match a Level 20 Elite with only his close combat, then how powerful must his magic be?

On the other side of the battlefield, Felix had no idea of the misconceptions the other players and NPCs were making about him as he looked up at the ravaged eye of the Ocumini.

It was a tough foe for sure, as he had already been fighting it for more than a minute, and it was accumulating quite a few hits.

Something that differentiated it from its Common brethren was its ability to feel its surroundings even with its eye ravaged, as Felix was sure he had damaged it more than enough to block its vision. Even its Fear ability had stopped.

Yet it still stood.

As for Felix, because for every attack he needed to make at least one air platform, and if he wanted his attack to do actual damage, he expended his Mana at a rapid pace.

Right now, Felix had already expended more than half his MP, meaning he had less than 30 Runes still to use. In other words, were it not for his Title, his MP would have ran out before he could even kill the thing.

That was the difference in levels.

Unfortunately for the Ocumini, Felix did have the title.

Gathering power in his legs, Felix made a quadruple jump, reaching well above the Ocumini, and using his entire back, Felix violently swung down his spear at the Ocumini's eye. Moreover, he added a 'Heavy' Rune right above the point of impact.

Despite its greater strength, the Elite Ocumini was staggered by the powerful blow, Skera lacerating what remained of the eye as it reached deeper than any other strike before.

And this time, Felix did not immediately go away, but instead channeled Mana into his weapon, causing the skill to activate.

The Mana blade went all the way through the eye, coming out from its nape.

The Ocumini tried to move its hands to grab both the spear and Felix, but before it could manage to do so, the monster's last shred of HP disappeared as it lost all its strength, falling to the ground.

[You have defeated a Level 20 Ocumini (Elite).]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Panting a little from the intense fight, Felix twirled his spear as he turned around to look at the rest of the battlefield, eventually focusing his gaze onto the first two Ocumini he had dealt with.

The two had stopped trying to tear each other apart for the simple reason they had torn each other's arms already. Well, one of them still had an arm left, but it was bent the wrong way, so it could hardly be of any danger.

His spear resting against his arm, Felix walked to the two downed monsters, and finished them both.

[You have leveled up.]

Meanwhile, the rest of the monsters were also finished, finally putting an end to the fight.

Rolling his shoulders, Felix approached Chris, who looked fine, if not a little tired. So was Felix, honestly. His fights had been short, but very intense.

"I didn't expect you to be able to use your Class so well this soon."

Felix shrugged at Chris' comment and replied, "It just came naturally… I needed something, so I chose the right Rune. My training with Caleb also helped me know which Runes were best to use for any situation."

Chris patted Felix's shoulder, before groaning, "As expected, Francis did not even bother generating a quest for the defense of the town."

"Why? Wouldn't it motivate people to fight for the town?"

Chris snickered disdainfully, "Because the quest would need to have a reward, which would come from him. He is too much of a cheapskate to offer any reward."

Scratching the back of his head, Felix asked, "Can't you… I don't know, report him to the Kingdom? For incompetence?"

Chris shook his head and replied, "Unfortunately, no. He is too well connected for that."

Felix nodded, when three players approached them. They were Zed, Zara and Drakon.

The young Cryomancer praised with a smile, "That was very impressive. You are probably the strongest Level 1 I have seen since the start of the game. May I ask which Guild you are part of?"

Felix placed his spear on his back as he replied, "I am an independent player."

Zed and Zara failed to hide their joy as the girl asked, "Then may we invite you to our Guild? We are part of Silver Fall, a First Tier Guild. We would offer many benefits to an expert of your level."

"Sorry, I'm not interested in joining a Guild."

The three looked surprised, if not shocked, at his refusal, and Zara pressed on, "Are you sure? You would be offered a spot on the main team of our guild, and you would receive a salary of at least several thousand dollars every month."

Felix smiled slightly at the offer of money, something he could use, but he still shook his head as he replied, "Thank you for the offer, but I did not join the game to enter any Guilds. Besides, my play style would not go along with Guild play."

Zed and Zara both seemed ready to continue arguing, but Drakon stopped them.

"You should let it go."

The two narrowed their eyes at the older man, who remained impassive. As for Felix, he sent him a smile, before asking, "So, what are three high leveled players doing in such a small town? A quest, maybe?"

The two young players tried not to show it, but they reacted to his question. This made Felix snort softly as he said, "It's fine, no need to tell me. Finders keepers, as they say."

Felix turned to look at Chris, and asked, "Any idea of why this attack came? It looked organized."

Chris nodded and replied, "Ocuminis are dwellers of the dark, they only naturally exist within the realm of Izrath. For them to be here, they must have been summoned. Considering they attacked the south wall… they must come from the Murky Woods."

Chris followed with a sigh, "First the Mountain Pass getting overrun, and now this… there may be dark times ahead of us."

Felix nodded at the man's guess, as it would make sense for there to be trouble for the start of the game, and asked, "Any chance I'm getting a Quest for checking things out?"

Zed and Zara both flinched, which Felix promptly ignored as Chris said, "Well, I wouldn't count on Francis for that. I could give you one I guess, but it's not like I really have anything great to give. Some XP, maybe?"

Felix dismissed the idea, "Don't, it's fine. I'll get experience from killing some more of them anyway."

He turned to the three, and asked, "Something to say to that?"

Zed and Zara looked like deer caught in headlights, making Drakon snort in amusement as he replied, "We're heading there ourselves, so we may as well travel together."

Zara nodded and added quickly, "We'll be going right away though, so if you need to rest, you might as well stay here. Not that we wouldn't want an expert like you to come with us!"

Felix shook his head with a smile, "Lead the way."