Let's Go Hunting!

[You have completed the Quest Beginner Village Training successfully! ]

[You have received 300 XP and 5 silver.]

[Reputation +10]

[You have leveled up. You have got 5 stat points.]

[You have leveled up. You have got 5 stat points.]

[Familiarity with Trainer Zakran +10.]

'Huh? The quest is completed? I didn't even train for a day. The timer showed 49 hours left. Also, I just broke the training scarecrow and my sword. Or, is it because I broke the scarecrow? Did I trigger the hidden completion route or something?' Shadster thought to himself while watching Zakran walking to him.

"To think adventurer Shadster could actually slice through the duskwood as a beginner. Though duskwood is not too special, it is almost 3 times harder than normal wood" said Zakran complementing Shadster's feat.

"Ah... No wonder my wooden sword broke right after."

"Yes. If it wasn't for the skills you created, it was pretty much impossible. You are really gifted."

"Haha… What can I say? Maybe I really am a genius after all."

"Hahaha, not so humble either huh? Anyways, congratulations Adventurer Shadster. You have finished your training."

"Thank you, Trainer Zakran."

"I didn't do much anyway. Also, if you are interested, meet me before you leave the village."

Shadster instantly knew what this was. A Hidden Quest, which could be triggered only when certain conditions are met. In this case, it was Shadster impressing Zakran with his sword skills. As to prove his thoughts were correct, the system notifications popped in his vision.

Ding!

[You have unlocked a Hidden Quest - Zakran's Interest.]

[Quest - Zakran's Interest.

Rank - E

You have caught Zakran's eye with your skills. Meet Zakran once you reach level 10.

Clearance Rewards: ??

Failure: None.]

Shadster had no reason to refuse this. "Yes, Trainer Zakran. I will make sure to meet you before I leave this village."

"Good. Also, you might need this." Zakran handed him an iron sword.

"Oh. Thanks Trainer Zakran." Shadster thanked him wholeheartedly.

Hearing Shadster's response, Zakran just gave a small nod and left for this bench.

[ Weapon Name: Iron Sword

Grade: Common

Requirements: None

ATK + 15

Durability: 40/40

Just a normal iron sword.]

'Whew… What a day! Let's check my stats and logout for now.'

[Player Name: Shadster

Class: Beginner

Level : 3

HP: 144

Mana: 0

Attack/ATK: 14 + 15

Defense/DEF: 12

Agility/AGI: 9

Magic: 0

Reputation: 0

Stat Points: 10

Weapons: None

Armor: None]

'ATK and DEF have increased significantly. The AGI stat is a bit disappointing but I guess it's better than nothing. Alright, let's start hunting tomorrow. '

"Logout."

[Logging out Player Shadster…]

As the screen went black, Shadster removed his VR headset.

He was Sagar now (Indian name, pronunciation goes like sa-ghar). A tall 6'4, a 19-year-old teen with an average build.

'Damn, I have been playing for almost 6 hours. Also, I don't even feel tired. It's almost like sleeping.'

The time flow was different in Fantasy Realms Online. It was at a ratio of 4:1. This meant that 24 hours in-game was only 6 hours in real-time! Sagar had started playing around 3 in the afternoon, now it was almost past 9 at night. After a light dinner, he went to sleep.

----

[Welcome back Shadster!]

Shadster started playing the next day after his breakfast.

'Today begins the real adventure. Let's go hunt some monsters.' Shadster thought to himself after beginning teleported to the middle of Duskwood. A similar scene of players running around could be seen.

'I almost forgot, maybe I should try talking to some NPCs for quests.'

After asking around the village, he made his way to the hunting grounds. The hunting grounds in Beginner Village had monsters ranging from level 1 to 10. Also, players above level 10 could enter the village but not the hunting grounds. This was to prevent players from getting carried and missing out on the basic experience of hunting monsters.

'Alright, let's just hunt some rabbits as I have to collect 10 rabbit hides.' Shadster internalized while making his way to where the rabbits are found. He could see a few players running around hunting rabbits. There was nothing hard about it other than the fact that they were a little agile. Moreover, Shadster had the iron sword given by Zakran. With that rabbits were basically one shot.

After a few minutes…

[You have collected rabbit hides. 10/10]

'The rabbits are too easy to hunt and even their XP drops are bleh… I guess I should go hunt the Giant Rats or Wolves.' Shadster internalized and set off to his next destination.

While Shadster was on his way...

A group of 3 players, 1 man, and 2 women noticed Shadster.

"Hey, Mitch. Isn't that the training freak from the video yesterday?" said Karen pointing out at Shadster.

"Yeah, it's that guy from the video." agreed Mitch.

"Hey! Training Clown, done with slashing scarecrows? Did you get your enlightenment?" shouted Mitch making Shadster could hear.

Hearing that, Shadster turned and started walking towards him.

"What did you say?" asked Shadster calmly.

"Couldn't hear me? I said `clown'." replied Mitch with a haughty expression.

Shadster didn't snap back at him. Instead, he looked to his right and left as if searching for someone and said, "A clown you say…? I don't see your dad anywhere here though.".

Causing the 2 females to laugh at the disrespect.

"You…! How dare you, do you know who I am?" told Mitch filled with anger.

"Of course, No. Who even bothers about side characters anyways." said Shadster with a carefree expression.

"You…! Good, let's see how you survive after leaving the beginner village. You have no idea whom you have offended." growled Mitch.

"Yeah yeah. Now shoo, I have to level up." Shadster left as he said that, not wanting to waste his time anymore.

'Now. time for the Giant Rats to meet their death.'

[Name: Giant Rat

Level: 4

HP: 265/265

ATK: 15

DEF: 20

AGI: 5

Skills:

Chomp:

The Giant Rat takes a mighty bite with 150% of its ATK with 30% chance of causing <Confused> status for 2 secs.

Confused: Makes it hard to control your body due to pain.]

'Nothing impressive. Let's start.'

"Come greet your death you overgrown rats!" shouted Shadster. Of course, there was no way for them to understand what Shadster told, but it did work in gathering their attention. 2 rats that were close were now running towards him.

One of them leaped in front of Shadster as if ready to bite him. In response, Shadster lifts his left leg to kick it mid-air, which causes it to fall a few feet far. Simultaneously, he swung his sword at the other rat. Due to their low AGI, they were pretty easy to read.

[-4]

[-25]

The first giant rat then used its skill <Chomp> opening his mouth wide open. Instantly, Shadster activated his <Charging Stab> which increased his movement speed by 10%. With the increased speed Shadster ran past the first rat and stabbed right into the second rat's head .

[Critical! - 250]

[You have defeated a Giant Rat. ]

'The Defense Penetration is really useful.' Shadster had 10% of his Defense Penetration given by his <Basic Sword Mastery> and another 10% due to the skill <Charging Stab>. With that, it wasn't hard to break the defense. Also, Shadster had a +15 ATK from his Iron Sword. So it was pretty easy for Shadster to fight them.

After a while…

[You have leveled up!.]

[You have reached Level 5. You got 5 stat points.]

Shadster pretty much killed all the rats in the area in a half an hour or so. The other players nearby were staring at him like he was a monster. Though the Giants Rats were nothing special, it was hard to stop their attacks with no shields and skills. Players had to continuously dodge their <Chomp> and attack them, which was easier said than done as they were still beginners. But.Shadster here was just 2-3 shotting them with ease.

'Alright, I have collected all the loot. Let's move on to the wolves now.'

On his way, he checked the equipment drop he had got from the rats.

[Name: Giant Rat Tail Ring

Grade: Common

Requirements: Level 4

DEF + 10

Curled up Giant Rat's tail, turned into a ring.]

'+10 DEF… I guess hunting those overgrown rats was worthwhile afterall.'

In a few minutes, Shadster reached the wild wolves hunting zone. It had many players compared to the other hunting grounds. It was because of the drops and XP given out by them. The XP was quite generous and even the drops were highly demanded by the NPCs in the village, this was why many players had partied up to hunt the wolves.

'I will have to be cautious as wolves usually stay in packs. Let's first go around and see if I can spot a lone wolf anywhere. The outer region is full of players, maybe I should go deeper.'

After searching for a while, Shadster found one wolf sleeping under a tree.

[Name: Wild Wolf

Level: 7

HP: 175

ATK: 25

DEF: 15

AGI: 35

Skill:

<Overhead Claw>

Dashes towards the target inflicting damage of 200% of its ATK with a powerful hit.

Very high chance of causing <Bleed> status for 3 secs.

<Bleed> : Makes the target lose 2% of their total HP every second.

<Battle Cry>

Howls for 3 secs calling out to all the wolves nearby.

Skill will be cancelled if interrupted within 3 secs.]

'Low DEF, but high AGI and ATK. If I just read its movements carefully and avoid attacks as much as possible, it's possible to 2 shot them with the help of my defense penetration. '

Staring at the sleeping wolf, 'Let's try sneak attacking it.' Shadster began sneaking closer without making any noise. But, when he was around 3 meters away from the wolf, he placed his foot on a small twig hidden in the grass.

Crack!

On hearing the sound, the wolf instantly woke up and got alert. Seeing this, Shadster didn't give it time to adjust itself and instantly activated <Charging Stab>. With the movement speed buff, he covered the 3 meters in a second and stabbed his sword towards its head. The wolf due to its high AGI was able to react and dodged its head, but the sword was able to make a cut on its back.

[-40]

The wolf growled at Shadster due to the pain. It went back a step and immediately used its skill <Overhead Claw>. The wolf came running with high velocity and reached Shadster within a flash. It launched itself and opened it's claws wide to strike at Shadster. Shadster tried to use his sword to block it but the wolf was too fast. Its claws made their way into Shadster's chest.

[-60 ] (Shadster)

[Bleed Effect has been triggered.]

[Losing 2% of players max HP for 3 secs.]

[-40 (Bleed)]

Shadster immediately retreated back to safety. The HP loss was too great to take any risk.

'Damn Bleed effect. I am confident in blocking its normal attacks but I have to be careful of its skill. But from what I have seen, it should take a step back to prepare itself to use the skill. Maybe I can use that as a cue to react.'

Shadster kept making distance to buy time for his HP to recover and did some basic attacks when he had a chance. After a few seconds, it took a step back again. Shadster immediately got alert and took a stance. As expected, the wolf used its skill and launched itself after closing some distance. Shadster using this as an opportunity while it was midair used his <Charging Stab>.

The wolf was too fast for someone to react when it used its skill. Players had only about 0.25 seconds to react/attack when it was midair. But, it wasn't too hard for our sword genius.

Using its own speed against it and supplemented by the movement speed buff given by the skill <Charging Stab>, he thrusted his sword into the wolf's chest.

Pkkkhht!

The sword penetrated right into it and came out from its back.

[Critical! -300]

[You have defeated a Wild Wolf. + 60 XP]

'Whew! That Bleed effect can be scary though. Let's carefully search for some more wolves while I recover my HP.'

Shadster headed deeper, unaware of what was waiting for him in the deepest part of the forest.