Chapter 7- Joking, right?

Vincent passed out on his bed right after logging off. He had been playing Rise for a couple of hours, so it was understandable.

The goal that he had in mind was to live by only playing the game, and also avoid to be killed again. For that to happen, Vincent follow a strict routine.

He ate his breakfast right after waking up, losing no time with laziness laying on a bed. After a quick shower he ran straight to his run, preparing to play once again, but something had to show up.

"Hey, Nate," said Vincent answering the annoying ringing phone.

"What's up Vincent. Hey bro, did you see that mysterious rank one guy? I'm trying to find him so he can become my master," Nate seemed really excited, and Vincent pondered if he should tell him or not about his identity. He decided to not do so.

"I was killed last time. I can't put Nate in danger, at least not for now." Vincent thought.

"I saw. He's surely awesome isn't he?"

"I think that too. But hey Vincent, there's something else we need to discuss.

"I think I know what it is. My starting village is called the White Oak," Vincent was almost sure that Nate had started the game in another village.

"White Oak? I have never heard of that. I'm at the Highwater village," Nate hoped that he and Vincent were at the same village, but he also knew that it was almost impossible for that to happen.

"Highwater?" Vincent knew where that village was, and it was not near by.

"Don't worry, Nate. We'll meet up in the big city eventually."

"Yeah, I know. So Vincent I'm going to log in. I can't let The Seer surpass me that much or else he will not accept me as his disciple. Talk to you later bro."

If that they both parted ways, and Vincent once again took his game capsule, logging into the game.

Vincent needed 3 specific herbs to trigger the hidden quest inside Moonlight Forest. One of the three herbs could be found inside the forest itself, so Vincent decided to get the other two first.

One of the herbs was called Spicy Flax. It was usually used in cooking, but some alchemy recipes also needed it. That herb wasn't that common, at least not in the first areas of the game, so Vincent had to look for it. But before he did that, he went to that cave once again, killing endless bats and finally reaching level 5...

[The Seer] [Class: Mage]

Level: 5

[HP: 120] [Mana: 340]

Stats:

[Strength: 2]

[Dexterity: 1]

[Endurance: 3]

[Intelligence: 18+2]

[Wisdom: 13+1]

[Free points: 0]

Skills: Fireball (Level 1)

A ball of flames that does fire damage based on the user's intelligence, and equipment damage. The higher the spell level is, the more damage it does.

"These stats are starting to look more decent," Vincent had spent all of his free points in Intelligence and Wisdom, which gave him a huge bursting potential. Of course, he only had one spell. In Rise every class had its tutor, and it was from them that you could learn some spells. Most of the spells in Rise needed to be found by the player. A player could also create his own spells, but that was something only a few number of players achieved.

The Spicy Flax that Vincent was looking for could be found in a Level 2 area. All of the players would go there after killing wolves and reaching level 2, so Vincent knew that he would eventually encounter other players. That made him uneasy. He was indeed the strongest player in Rise at that moment. Everyone else was level 2 at max, and he was already level 5. But in the end, he was alone, and he was afraid that his fame could bring him trouble. That was the reason he needed that legendary shape-shifting skill. It would make his life a lot easier.

That same merchant who gave Vincent a ride was still in the village, and Vincent somehow managed to get another ride with him. Well, Vincent had to give him some of the bats fangs but it didn't matter. He had plenty of them, and it was worth the ride.

The trip would take them a couple of hours, so Vincent decided to scroll down the forum in the mean time. He discovered some interesting things. It appeared that the guild HellFlame, who had previously found out a boss and were trying to kill it, failed miserably. Vincent knew why. Players at these early levels didn't have a mix of skills to use, so there wasn't much strategy that could be used to overcome bosses. Vincent thought it was a silly move by them to try defeat a boss being only level 2. It wasn't worth it.

Hours passed, and players started to enter Vincent's sight.

"I hope no one disturbs my Spicy Flax hunting..." He thought, and a group of 3 players stood in front of his caravan right after.

"It's gotta be a joke..."