Chapter Two: The Calm

[Lopaine Grasslands: Levels 1-5]

West was busy mowing down low-level mobs with Ludwig down the vibrant plains of Lopaine. The weather was pleasant and there were tons of mobs to slay. The monsters that inhabited the zone were composed of your typical low-level monsters such as slimes and rabbits. They were running around the grassland that it made the place look like some sort of petting zoo, a petting zoo that you could depopulate to your heart's content. West was blasting some slimes with his basic six-shooter all the while hiding behind Ludwig for cover. It was a decent strategy, he could go around damaging the mobs he aimed his sights at without having to bother to take in the damage that they could dish out at him. Ludwig already got that covered, with him acting out as the party's tank after all.

West was also glad that they went to the armor shop to purchase some adventuring gear first before venturing out into the wilds. Back in the tavern, they wore nothing but standard issue newbie gear which consisted of a basic tunic whose color matched the class you chose (his was orange as he was a gunslinger, while Ludwig got red due to him picking warrior), boring white pants, and a pair of leather boots. But now, they looked like full-fledged adventurers. Granted, they were still starting out but they looked a bit better compared to before. West was sporting a set of range clothing that's tailored to fit the fantasy aesthetic that the game world was set in. To be honest, his getup looked way too similar to Han Solo's clothes. But he can't complain, because Han Solo was cool, and that's what the devs probably thought too when they designed the gunslinger starter gear. Ludwig was looking good too. The gear he was wearing fit perfectly to the game. A leather armor with short sleeves intended for optimized mobility? You can't go wrong with it. Once West was done checking out their outfits, he turned to look at his party status that was located on the top left portion of his vision.

[Gunslinger] WWest Lvl. 2

[Warrior] _LUDWIG_ Lvl. 6

Apparently, Ludwig got a slight head start ahead of him level-wise. But West doesn't mind. It's nice to always have a stronger member in your party. He was about to ponder on how he got to raise his level that fast in a short amount of time when a slime just came out of nowhere and jumped at him, but Ludwig was quick to respond though and shoved the slime away from West with his broadsword. And now that there's a decent amount of distance between him and the slime, West spent no time in peppering the tiny blob with his bullets. The slime instantly exploded into a cloud of glowing once its health zeroed out. Numbers glowing in green and yellow then appeared above its disintegrated body, signifying the amount of experience and gold earned from slaying it.

"Got another one!" West cried out in excitement at his downed foe.

"There's one more incoming, on your left!" Ludwig warned West as he hacked off another slime that was attacking him.

"Got it, casting first skill!" West said as he unleashed his skill called "six shot barrage" on a slime that was angrily hopping towards him. The slime burst into cubes the moment all the six bullets from West's skill connected with it.

"This is fun!" West said as he reloaded his pistol with rounds made of mana. "A bit tiring, but fun!"

"VRMMOs in a nutshell." Ludwig simply replied.

"Hey look, a rabbit!" West said as he fired his weapon at the ivory furball that was hopping around the grass near them. When the rabbit took damage from the hit, it immediately turned aggro and charged at West. But before it got close, West already emptied his barrels at it. The rabbit then burst into cubes.

"This is why I prefer ranged classes." West looked smugly at Ludwig. "Mobs die before they can get close to me."

"Look, I can do ranged too." Ludwig replied with a smug tone and threw his broadsword at a rabbit that was hopping nearby. The force of the blow was so strong that it sent the little critter's head flying off its body before exploding into cubes. Both West and Ludwig laughed hysterically at the grim sight.

A rabbit spawned just beside the now unarmed Ludwig, but West was quick to notice. "Don't worry, I got this one." West said as he aimed his gun barrel at the rabbit and cast his first skill. The rabbit burst into cubes after the hail of bullets landed on it.

After that quick kill, West's body began to glow white. The light engulfed his entire body before turning into a sudden flash. The light then quickly faded as it appeared, and a giant red number "Three" popped out above West's head.

"Hey, I leveled up again!" West said as he opened up his UI and quickly slid his fingers to find the skill slot. He looked disappointed at what he saw. "Oh, man. No second skill yet?"

"You'll get another skill when you reach level four." Ludwig explained to West as he too opened his UI. But unlike West, he was fiddling with the chat window.

"Oh, okay." West said as he closed his UI. "So what level should I be before I can get all my skills?"

"When you reach level ten." Ludwig answered, eyes still fixed on reading the chats.

"How'd you know that?" West asked. "Through chat?"

"It's in the wiki."

West raised a brow. "There's already a wiki for this game? But it's only been out for less than a week!"

Ludwig only shrugged in response while continuing to fiddle with his chat window.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you always checking your chat window?" West asked, he was genuinely curious at what Ludwig was doing behind that chat window of his.

"Oh, uh…' Ludwig said as he closed his UI. "I'm looking to see if other players have posted some noteworthy info in global, like a good area to farm gold and exp."

"Cool." West said as he nodded his head a little. "Let me know if you find anything useful. Most of what I see there are just people flexing their levels."

"Levels, huh?" West's answer piqued Ludwig's interest. "What's the highest level you've seen being posted there?"

West hummed in contemplation before replying. "Level eleven, I guess?" Ludwig's face darkened slightly upon hearing the number. "But the comments following it say that OP is probably a liar or a raiser. I don't even know what the latter means."

"Say…" Ludwig scratched his chin as he stared away at the distance. "You're already level three, right?" He looked back at West and grinned. "I think you're ready."

"Ready?" West tilted his head in confusion. "Ready for what?"

"To take on this area's boss." Ludwig answered matter-of-factly.

West raised a brow. "Are you sure? Shouldn't I reach level five first before facing something as tough as that?"

Ludwig patted West's shoulder and gave him a confident smile. "Don't worry, you're with me so everything will be cakewalk."

"Right." West responded with a smile. He was also infected with Ludwig's display of confidence. He then raised his pistol and cocked its hammer. "Let's go kick its ass!"

West and Ludwig were now making their way into the furthermost edge of the Lopaine Grasslands. Just a short a walk between them could be seen a valley whose surroundings looked distinctly different compared to the one they were standing on. Unlike the endless plains of grass, this passage of land showed a pathway filled with trees that lead to a deeper part of a forest. And what stood between them and that valley was a huge beast that marched idly around it. It appeared to be a giant stag beetle whose carapace shimmered brightly like polished armor under the game world's radiant sun. The light that came from the beetle body's was so bright that it could be blinding at times, but not to the point of it not being tolerable to look at. It's the biggest creature walking around grasslands and thus was easy to spot even from a mile away. West and Ludwig were crouching behind a small hill as they quietly observed the giant beast.

"There's the boss." Ludwig pointed his sword at the hulking bug. "The Mountain Beetle."

"That explains the name." West said as he stared at the giant beetle in awe. "Thing's as big as a mountain!"

"That's just for show." Ludwig shrugged at West's reaction. "Its health is much lower than you think it is."

"Really?" West turned to look at Ludwig with eyebrows raised. "How low?"

Ludwig positioned his hand to grip his broadsword like a throwing spear. He closed his right eye while making some adjustments to his aim. When he was finally ready, he took a deep breath and hurled his sword at the beast with all his strength. The force of the sword being thrown was so strong that when it hit, it caused it to stammer hard, almost causing it to stumble on the ground. The red line on its health bar gradually declined so hard that there was barely left of it after the attack.

"Dude!" West cried out in amazement. "You just like, reduced its health by like ninety percent!"

Ludwig looked at West and smiled. "Now deliver the final blow."

West looked at Ludwig in return. "You sure?"

"Honor's all yours."

A grin formed on West's face as he looked back at the mountain beetle. "Don't mind if I do." West slowly sneaked up on the now agitated bug by hiding behind the taller grasses. Once he found himself within effective attacking range, West aimed his sights at the zone boss's center. He then cast his six-shot barrage and the mountain beetle swiftly went down like newly cut timber. The earth shook a little bit when the behemoth of a bug hit the dirt. It then exploded into a large mist of glowing cubes while an array of numbers displaying an ample amount of exp and gold showed up above its disappearing body.

"Well, that was easy." West said as he rolled his gun in his finger, holstered it, then pulled it back out again. "How long until this boss respawns?"

"Right about…" Ludwig pointed his sword at the spot of ground that the mountain beetle just disintegrated into. Not a second later, a digital silhouette of white light that resembled the beetle materialized in that particular area. It didn't take long for the light to take on a corporeal form and transform into the zone boss that West and Ludwig just defeated.

"Now." Ludwig continued what he said as he rested his sword on his shoulder.

"That was fast." West said.

Ludwig then drew his sword downwards with such sheer force that blades of grass flew around it.

"Now let's grind this bug for all it's worth!"