Teaming up

As Floki made his way through the forest, he began to encounter other players who were also on their own quests. Some were hunting for rare monsters, while others were gathering resources or completing tasks.

He knew that in order to succeed, he would need to learn from these other players and eventually find ways to cooperate with them.

As he was about to loot the rabbit, he heard a rustling behind him. He quickly turned around and saw a group of players approaching him. They were all heavily armed and had a menacing look on their faces.

Floki knew that he was no match for them and quickly realized that he had stumbled upon a group of players who were known for their kill-stealing tactics.

Without hesitation, Floki quickly gathered his loot and sprinted away from the group. He could hear them chasing after him, but he was determined not to let them catch him. He ran as fast as he could, dodging trees and jumping over rocks, his heart pounding in his chest.

Finally, he managed to lose them and took a moment to catch his breath. He knew that he had been lucky to escape, and he made a mental note to be even more careful in the future. He couldn't let his guard down in a world as dangerous as Swardo.

With a sense of accomplishment, Floki checked his stats panel again. He was pleased to see that he had leveled up and received some XP and loot for his efforts. He also took note of how his increased agility made him get away safely from those players.

So he made a decision to continue investing in that attribute. He knew that agility would be crucial in his survival in this dangerous game, especially if he was fighting all by himself.

<Received 3 XP for killing a Lvl 0 brown rabbit>

<Acquired 1 brown rabbit fur>

<Leveled up!>

With this level increase he went ahead and put all of his free attribute points back into his agility.

Name:

Location: Belli Tania kingdom, beginner's town

Level: 1 (1/20XP)

Title: None

Class: None

Hp: 110/110

Mp: 140/140

Stamina: 110/110

Shield: 0

Vitality: 2

Agility: 13

Strength: 2

Intelligence: 5

Physical endurance: 2

Mental endurance: 5

Free attribute points: 0

Inventory:

Novice sword Lvl 1: 1 piece. Adds 1 strength. Durability 10/10

Rusty old sword Lvl 2: 1 piece. Adds 3 strength. Durability 11/15

Elastic novice bandage: 2 pieces. Adds 25 hp over 1 hour.

Elastic green bandage: 3 pieces. Adds 50 hp over 1 hour.

Brown rabbit Lvl 1 fur: 2 piece.

Tattered cloth Lvl 1: Wrap it around your head to hide your appearance.

Coins: 5 copper coins.

With renewed determination, Floki ventured deeper into the forest, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. He knew that the road ahead would be filled with danger, but he was determined to succeed and make a name for himself in Swardo.

As he walked, he was suddenly startled when a figure emerged from behind a tree. Floki's hand instinctively reached for his sword, ready to defend himself. But as he looked closer, he saw that the figure was unarmed and he relaxed his grip.

"What do you want?" Floki asked the stranger, his voice filled with suspicion.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there buddy," the guy said, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"I'm not here to fight. I saw you running and I thought you might need some help. My name's Jake, and I'm also venturing on my own."

Floki eyed him warily, but lowered his sword. "I'm Floki," he said. "What has that got to do with me?"

Jake smiled. "Well, I'm glad I found you. I happened to see your fight against that rabbit and how you managed to get away so quickly from those guys. I must say I'm impressed with your movement speed. Shall we form a temporary team?"

Floki was hesitant at first, but he realized that he could use all the help he could get. He nodded and followed Jake deeper into the forest.

As they walked, Jake told him about the different beasts that live in this forest. He also gave him tips on how to level up quickly and efficiently, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that most players often fall into.

"How do you know all of this?" Floki asked the guy.

"Let's just say that I know a lot about virtual reality games." Jake said, clearly not wanting to explain further.

Floki and Jake continued their journey deeper into the forest. As they walked, they encountered many different monsters, each with their own unique abilities and weaknesses.

Jake taught Floki how to analyze the monsters and come up with strategies to defeat them. They worked together to take down tougher creatures and Floki started to gain more confidence in his abilities.

As they continued their journey, Jake revealed that he had a map that showed the location of the boss and its estimated level. He also showed Floki some strategies on how to defeat it, including where to attack and how to dodge its attacks.

Floki followed Jake deeper into the forest, now even more unsure about this stranger. As they walked, Jake told him about the different beasts that lived in the forest and gave him tips on how to level up quickly and efficiently.

But Floki couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Jake. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Jake was hiding something.

As they walked, Jake suddenly veered off the path and headed towards a dense thicket of trees. "This way," he said. "We're almost there."

Floki hesitated for a moment, but he decided to follow Jake. As they pushed their way through the thick underbrush, Jake suddenly stopped and pointed. "There it is," he said. "The boss of this forest."

Floki saw a large, fearsome creature looming in the distance. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and he felt a surge of excitement and fear.

The boss was a massive rat-like creature, standing at least twice as tall as a grown man. It had matted, greasy fur that seemed to be infused with a greenish-black color.

Its eyes were red and glowing and seemed to reflect the evil that lay within it. Its sharp teeth glistened in the dim light of the forest, and it had razor-sharp claws on its front paws.

"Are you sure we can take this thing on?" He asked Jake.

"Yes I am sure," Jake said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I've fought many scarier bosses in other games before. Trust me, as long as you listen to me, we can take this boss down."

Floki still had his doubts, but he knew that he needed to trust Jake if they were going to succeed. He took a deep breath and followed Jake into battle.

The creature had a long and thick tail that seemed to be covered in a hard armor. It had a powerful looking body and it was clear that it was not to be underestimated.

As the creature let out a deafening roar, Floki could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that he was in for the fight of his life.

Jake quickly explained the strategy to Floki, they had to dodge its swift attacks while delivering their own as fast as they could, they would do this in an alternating form.

They had to be careful though, the boss had a lot of HP and dealing too much damage too fast could lead to it's enrage mode. They would have to focus on its weak points, which were its eyes, and the base of its tail.

With both of them standing in a triangle with the beast, Jake shouted: "Floki, I am about to charge, be ready to follow behind!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, the boss let out a deafening screech and lunged towards Jake.

Jake quickly had to step aside and narrowly evaded the sharp claws of the rat.

Without a moment's breath he turned back to the creature and charged forward, striking it with his sword. But the boss was faster and stronger than he had anticipated, and it quickly seemed to overpower Jake.

Jake could barely hold on to his sword while he was receiving the claws of the creature.

Seeing the dire situation, Floki tried to join the fight, but the boss was even too quick for him. It scratched Floki's arm with its razor-sharp claws, causing him to lose a significant amount of HP. He fell back, trying to regain his footing, but the boss was relentless.

"AHH, why does it hurt so much!??" Floki screamed in pain as he felt the pain in his left arm.

"Floki, get your head straight!" Jake screamed.

Quickly heal yourself and join the battle back!" He shouted to him, clearly being frustrated with his performance.

Floki then went on to put all the bandages he had on his wounded arm. It was crazy to imagine Jake holding the beast down all by himself.

After a whole minute went by, Floki finally felt confident to rejoin the battle. Gripping his sword with only his left hand, he snuck his way closer behind the beast.

Floki's eyes were burning with resolution as came closer, "I won't fuck up this time." He mumbled.

He was three feet away from the tail of the rat, then he began his acceleration and before the rat could turn its head around.

CHAAK!!

His sword left a deep cut in his tail.

<CRITICAL HIT>

"OW!! OUW!! OW!!"

The beast screamed in pain as he turned around to face Floki.

The sudden attack of Floki made the rat immediately turn around to face him. This left a big window open for his teammate, Jake, who now stood behind the rat.

CHAAK!!

As soon as the rat turned around Jake knew what he had to do. The tail of the rat dropped to the ground. The creature was now totally enraged and focused his attacks on Jake.

Floki quickly jumped up and delivered a quick strike to its eye, causing it to scream out in pain. Jake followed up with a heavy strike to it's belly, causing the creature to remain focused on him.

The battle was intense and Floki found himself focusing on delivering his fast attacks as Jake did most of the defending. He and Jake were able to work together to weaken the beast with their efficient strikes and dodge the deadly attacks.

As the battle wore on, Floki could feel himself getting tired, but he knew that he couldn't give up now. He pushed himself to keep going, and with one final strike, he managed to deliver the killing blow to the creature's eye.

The beast let out one final roar before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Floki and Jake let out a sigh of relief as they looked at the fallen creature. They had done it. They had defeated the boss of the forest. Floki felt a sense of accomplishment wash over him as he realized that he had just achieved something that he never thought possible.

<Congratulations, you have defeated the Forest Boss!>

<You have received 100 XP>

<Leveled up>

<Leveled up>

<Leveled up>

<You have unlocked the Forest Boss Achievement>

<Kingdom Fame increased with 10 points>

As they walked closer to the defeated creature, their body's still glowing green, indicating that they had just leveled up, Floki couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

He had faced his fears and emerged victorious. He knew that he still had a lot to learn about the game, but he was confident that continuing this way, he could become a true champion of Swardo.

He turned to Jake and grinned, "That was amazing! I couldn't have done it without you."

Jake smiled back, "I told you that we could do it. Now let's see what loot we can scavenge from the boss."

They began to loot the fallen boss, and found many rare items and equipment that would help them in their future battles.