Chapter 3: The Tomato Throwing Experience.

Red-Leaf Town. A chaotic-looking town with stuffed architecture mostly made of red-bricks. Countless bustling streets filled the area and NPC's crammed every available corner.

After a few seconds, Lin Ke landed on the ground with a thud, looking down at the red brick street below him. He stared out over the area, surveying his surroundings. The faint smell of burnt charcoal and pine trees enveloped his nose and an early morning breeze tousled his hair about.

*Dong…..Dong…..Dong…..*

Turning around, he found himself in front of a large church, its giant steeple towering above all, a large copper bell within slowly ringing. As he turned around, countless people passed by him. Some were eager players, dressed in their plain grey garb, while others were the town residents, dressed in a variety of colors, but most noticeably, dull red. Above, giant trees grew out of every corner of the ground, their hagged grey-brown branches filled to the brim with vibrant red leaves.

Above, the sky was a clear blue, and clouds drifted lazily. The Sun's rays glared down upon him, and Lin Ke smiled. This truly was beautiful.

Looking down on himself, he now seemed to resemble what seemed to be a bargain-market cosplayer who loved Assasin's Creed. Lin Ke had on a fuzzy grey shot-cloak and a pair of worn leather boots. His pants were loose and partially torn, and a small slightly rusted dagger sat in its loose scabbard at his hip.

Reaching out, Lin Ke tapped on air, and the player's Stat Panel appeared, transparent and tinted blue.

Character: FF (Human)

Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon Kingdom

Title: None

Job: Assassin

Level: 0

HP: 100/100

Physical Attack Power: 6

Defense: 2

Attack Speed: 6

Movement Speed: 9

Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 5, Endurance 2, Intelligence 3, Vitality 2.

Free Attribute Points: 4

[Assasin's Leather Cloak] (Gray-Trash)

[Rusted Dagger] (Gray-Trash)

He roved through his "bag" or inventory. Inside, were ten loaves of bread, crusty and somewhat stale. There were also ten leather canteens, filled with water. As they were some kind of mystical bread and holy water from another world, they had restoration effects. Handy.

Now, for the attribute points. Lin Ke stared at it for a moment before shrugging. How should he disperse everything? Endurance wasn't much of a problem, as for agility…. Not really. [No-Clip] not only allowed one to phase through stuff, but it also made one able to go at some…. Pretty fast speeds. Though he might need the attack speed.

Thinking this through, Lin Ke in the end, decided on strength. While he could vaguely remember agility being a "secret strategy" of some sort, that wasn't really his thing. He was going for the glass cannon. It would be more fun that way.

He tapped away, watching his strength and attack power rise. After finishing the process, he headed off, whistling a small tune. Shi Feng had told him a few things…. He flicked his hand, the virtual panel appearing before him once more. Scrolling through a menu, he found his friend list and clicked.

*Di…. Di….. Di…..*

A bright green calling sign appeared before him flickering. Lin Ke watched it vibrate for a second before a distinct ping was heard. Shi Feng had answered his call it seemed.

"Brother Feng…. I'm in Red-Leaf Town. Nice place. Wonder how good this bread tastes." Not really caring about the value of the item and its restoration effects, Lin Ke chomped down. He wanted to test the sensory details of this game.

And he definitely wasn't disappointed. It wasn't exactly the most memorable of food. In fact, it was actually sort of bad. Dry and crumbly, the bread had obviously seen better days. Its texture was hard on the outside and a bit weird on the inside, with a tinge of salt.

"Really? It is the same for me. Meet in the central plaza, by the large fountain." Shi Feng's voice seemed a bit surprised, but much excitement was in it too.

"Hm. Well, meet you there." Lin Ke hung up, walking to the side as a large warehouse trotted by, its luscious black mane swinging about, and its tail flicking about.

He scanned the rider, a knight in shining iron armor. It truly was a medieval world.

Lin Ke debated stealing from the guy but decided against it. He had plenty of time later….

While [Switcheroo] was useful for combat and retrieving items, using it to pickpocket was also a valid strategy. He could "switch" various items even if they were out of view. It was just a bit more concentration, but he'd tried it before. On his friends. Of course, he gave their stuff back.

He never stole anything from anyone in real life permanently. Unless they were people he completely despised. But those were far and few between.

Wiping some crumbs from his mouth, he weaved through a few robed figures, before finding a large marble fountain in the middle. Small red leaves floated about within and ornate vines were carved upon its base. The water was clear and a small brown sparrow flew about, its beady eyes surveying the surroundings.

Around Lin Ke, other players wandered the area, some in amazement, while others were on the grind, talking to various NPC's. The users seemed to far outnumber the residents of this place, as the main area seemed to be a prime spot for some quality quests.

He soon found himself sitting by the fountain, tapping his foot. After they met, Shi Feng would probably be off to slink around in some small dark alley to gain that Unique Quest. And then, he would proceed to provoke the mayor who was a….. Werewolf?

Lin Ke shrugged his shoulders. He forgot a "few" details.

"Brother Ke, you're here." Suddenly, he heard a brisk voice before him, and Lin Ke looked up, his blue eyes blinking.

Shi Feng stood in front of him, wearing a long cotton shirt dyed a bland gray. A dull-looking longsword sat at his side, and he had his hands crossed.

"So, what are you going to do? There must be some strategy in that small brain of yours…." Lin Ke coughed, getting to his feet slowly.

"So, I was thinking…" Shi Feng smirked.

One Boring Conversation Later....

"He wants me to help throw tomatoes at the Level 15 Mayor....? Who happens to be a werewolf....? At level zero?" Lin Ke muttered as he tossed a ripe red tomato into the air, before catching it.

"What a good idea! Let's do it!"

Flexing his muscles, Lin Ke made his way to a nearby bench, sitting down. Easing himself onto its old wooden frame, he narrowed his eyes as he stared into the near distance. By the fountain, was the Werewolf Mayor in question, a chubby man with what seemed to be a beer belly.

He was dressed in a fur-covered black coat and a pair of elegant silk dress pants. A guy by the name of Cross. A warm smile painted his face as he shook a nervous player's hand. The bastard was pretty good at acting.

[Cross] (Elite, Friendly)

Level 15

HP: 2400/2400

MP: 1500/1500

The target. He quickly judged the distance between himself and the mayor, who stood upon a large black stage. Lin Ke winded up his arm, smirking. His one month of baseball experience told him that he could.

Closing his eyes, Lin Ke smiled, initiating an ability of his.

[Counterfeit]

Under the noses of everyone around him, his hands glowed dimly, and a tomato rolled out into his other hand. There were now two tomatoes. Both looked identical, but one of them was "fake". While it looked exactly the same, it was probably less juicy and less filling. Its stats were probably worse too.

He stretched his arms and legs slowly, biding his time to strike. That one month of baseball camp he attended in the third grade would not fail him.

Hopefully.

Shi Feng had fed him some fake news about where he received the information, but Lin Ke really didn't care. It was natural for transmigrators and reincarnated to hide their identities with elaborately horrible excuses.

It wasn't his problem.

And then, his eyes glinted. Lin Ke watched as Shi Feng made his entrance, a tomato also in hand as he cut through the line of players, climbing onto the stage. The players were sort of pissed, to say the least.

"Who do you think you are, bastard!"

"What is this guy doing….?"

"This man has a tomato….? Rich."

"Cutting imbecile."

Lin Ke watched as Shi Feng took a bite, chomping down, before his arm hurled out, the red projectile streaking forth, and nailing Cross in the face. Red liquid splashed about, and the mayor was caught by surprise as he stumbled back a step. Immediately, anger painted the man's face, and Lin Ke knew it was his time to act.

"Hypocrite! Fatty! Bloodsucker! You're not fit to be the Town Mayor!"

*Fwoosh!*

His arm lashed like a whip, and blistering red shot forth.

*Tsquash!*

The tomato flew true, nailing the man in the face. Shi Feng added on with another volley of tomatoes.

*GROOAR!!!!*

Soon, the man's face was painted red in humiliation, and that kind face from before was now murderous with hatred. Gritting his teeth, Cross let loose a ferocious roar, filled with resentment.

The players in the square stepped back in fear. They were all, after all, mere level zeroes. Somehow, no one seemed to have noticed the flying tomato. Amateurs, really.

Taking a bite of the juicy ripened fruit, he felt vigor fill his body as he prepared once more. As Cross raised his shoulders, preparing to strike out at Shi Feng, another red fruit made its mark on the werewolf's face. The pudgy man snapped back, even more, enraged as red juice dampened his whole body. It truly was humiliating.