《Alter Ego Ninja》 Chapter 01 - The Annoying Voice in my Head ¡®Hm?¡¯ All of a sudden, I found myself in a staircase and staring at a big and fat ass, my boss¡¯ ass. I blinked in disbelief and then wished I could delete that memory of my head somehow. He turned around and saw me rubbing my eyes like my life depended on it. ¡°Hey, Ryan! Where the hell are we?¡± ¡°I was wondering about myself¡­¡± I turned around while I was hoping that my eardrums were still fine. Whenever that guy opened his mouth, it made me recall some people on the internet that only talk with the caps ON. Behind me, there was a blonde middle-aged woman that I had never seen before and she looked as confused as us. Behind her, more and more confused people looked around. On the sides, there were simple gray walls. It made me recall the emergency exit of some buildings, but the distance between them was just too small. Not even two people could pass side by side. My boss, who probably never jogged in his entire life, could barely turn around. ¡°It looks like there is a door ahead, boss. Someone is trying to open it, but it is locked.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that fool have any arm strength?¡± People began to make a lot of noise since they found themselves in the middle of a weird place surrounded by people they didn¡¯t know. It was a pretty confined place as well, so it was no wonder people were starting to make noise. The staircase going down took a turn to the left and since a lot of noise was coming from there, I imagined that a lot of people were here with us. I tried to recall the last thing that I was doing before suddenly finding myself here¡­ I was putting some coffee in my cup. While I had just arrived at the machine, my boss told me to stop wasting time and get back to work. It looked like my head was working fine and I couldn¡¯t sense any pain in my body. So, the situation was indeed odd. There were no windows around and the ceiling was only half a meter above us, so it was a place that made me feel a bit claustrophobic. Still, there were no sources of light, but the place was weirdly well lit. While I was thinking about that, the door ahead opened and the people ahead began to calm down. Soon enough, the news spread and people realized that they weren¡¯t locked there¡­ Still, the door was locked when five people got inside the room. When the guy in front of my boss tried to stop the door from closing, he was zapped and let go of the door. ¡°What the fuck is this?¡± ¡°This seems like a rather elaborate prank¡­ do you have anything to say in your defense, Mister Winters?¡± I let out a sigh. It is always like that when trouble arrives. ¡®What the hell is this fatass saying?¡¯ ¡®Quiet you, I don¡¯t have time to deal with you right now.¡¯ It looked like my boss took my silence as an answer¡­ he knew that I didn¡¯t have the balls to prank him, much less pull a prank of this scale. Regardless, my name is Ryan Winters. I am basically a glorified handyman working for my boss¡¯ company. I am good at fixing things for some reason. Currently, a twenty years old college student is being slaved away in order not to graduate from college with hundreds of thousands of student debt. Right now, I¡¯m studying business and management, hoping that someday I can overthrow my annoying boss and then take over his company. It was impossible, but he was so annoying that I couldn¡¯t help but think of that. At least half of me was. ¡°Hey, can you hear anything beyond the door?¡± ¡°... No.¡± After my boss¡¯ question, the guy that was zapped replied while shaking his arm. Considering his reaction, I thought he suffered quite the damage, but I couldn¡¯t see any vestiges of it. The door didn¡¯t have a handle, so I couldn¡¯t help but frown. After waiting for around three minutes, the door was opened again and then we checked the interior, but we found nothing¡­ There was a door on the other side, but it didn¡¯t have a handle either. ¡°Hurry up!¡± ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± ¡°Get moving!¡± Those five who had got in first probably had left and there were no signs of anything weird inside the room, so we got inside alongside the woman behind me and another older lady with a cane. When all of us got inside, the door immediately closed with a large thud that put us on guard. The room was very odd. It seemed like the kind of place where you leave things that could be used, but were too old or needed some repair. It looked like a small warehouse of some sort. While we were busy looking around, the other door was opened and then a shoulder length, black-haired woman appeared while carrying a scroll and a pen, the feather type¡­ as if that wasn¡¯t weird enough, she was wearing something like a very old secretary uniform, with a long blue skirt and a blouse of the same color made of what appeared to be silk. All of us couldn¡¯t help but blink in confusion. ¡®Hehehe, I bet that she looks amazing without those ridiculous clothes.¡¯This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡®I told you to shut up already.¡¯ Thanks to the annoying voice in my head, I made a weird expression and then the woman squinted her eyes while looking at me¡­ for a second, I almost thought that she could hear my very unwelcoming thoughts. In any case, she turned to the others and then wrote something on the paper. ¡°Roy Carter, John Williams, Ryan Winters, Melissa Kent, Christina Fernandez.¡± I knew that John Williams was my boss¡¯ name, and it looked like the other names were correct too. This prank was starting to look very scary¡­ things started to look even more dubious when she moved her hand toward the first guy and then a simple knife and a piece of paper appeared in her hands. ¡°Take it and read the paper thoroughly if you want to remain alive. The same applies to all of you.¡± The voice of the woman was as cold as it could get, to the point that the first guy didn¡¯t hesitate in following her orders immediately. My boss also took a piece of paper and a knife without saying anything, even though usually he would just shout at her and ask what nonsense was going on. I accepted mine knife and paper as well, and I felt a shiver when our eyes were locked for a moment. Her gaze seemed a lot colder for a moment. ¡®The straight-laced type, huh? I like to mellow these types.¡¯ I felt like sighing¡­ I don¡¯t remember the last time I heard this annoying voice so many times in a row. It must be because my mind was all over the place thanks to the situation. Still, I soon recovered my focus when I began to read what was written on the piece of paper. Instructions: Your old life is over. The only way to live now is to fight. We only welcome those in our settlement that are willing to survive and strive. If you want to be able to do both, use the knife that you received and your wits. To use the system, you can use mind commands. The system can follow simple and complicated commands, but they need to be precise to work as they should. The words: status, map, party, and inventory can be easily used in your mind to access those functions when you obtain them. You can¡¯t commit the following actions within the settlement. If you commit them, you will have to pay a fine determined by the closest guard. If you can¡¯t pay it, you will have to spend a determined amount of time in jail. Money and power can give you anything as long as you have enough. Those were some weird instructions¡­ The final one was particularly concerning. It made me think that those who had power and money could do anything, considering the third instruction, it seemed that as long as you had money, you also didn¡¯t have to worry about the consequences of your actions. ¡®So, nothing changed?¡¯ ¡®I guess so¡­¡¯ I turned the paper and then found some more paragraphs, but they weren¡¯t instructions. That seemed like a skill list, but it was too odd to be true¡­ Inventory (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 02) Upon reaching level two, you gain the ability to carry and manage up to 20 types of items in your inventory, organizing them for easy access. This skill allows you to store items you acquire during your journey. Party (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 03) Upon reaching level three, you gain the ability to create and manage a party of up to 3 members, allowing you to share experience and gold gains. With this skill, you can invite others to join your party, making it easier to work together on objectives. This skill also allows the group to share progress on quests, so everyone stays updated on their collective goals. Chat (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 04) Upon reaching level four, you gain the ability to send text messages to other members of the group, facilitating basic communication. This skill enables you to communicate in real-time with others in the world, whether through private messages or group chats. Friend List (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 05) Upon reaching level five, you gain the ability to add up to 10 friends, see their status and location, and communicate with them. This skill allows you to track and maintain connections with others. You can check when your friends are alive, awaken their conditions and send them messages. Trade (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 06) Upon reaching level six, you gain the ability to trade items and currency with others. This skill lets you open up trade deals, offering items, resources, or gold in exchange for other goods. When dealing with anyone, you can negotiate the terms of the trade. Map (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 07) Upon reaching level seven, you gain the power to view the areas that you have been in and the details of the current one. This skill automatically records your journey as you explore the world. It provides a simple map of the surrounding area and marks places you¡¯ve visited, such as towns, landmarks, and points of interest. The current area is displayed with basic details, such as terrain type, weather conditions, and notable geographical features, like rivers, forests, or mountains. Social (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 08) Upon reaching level eight, you gain the ability to interact with others and the world in many manners, improving relationships and gaining minor social bonuses. At the basic level, you can gain access to some quests and you can create them for others as well. Mana Control (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 09) You gain the ability to wield mana and recover it, which is necessary to obtain advanced classes. This skill helps you manage your magical energy more effectively, allowing you to cast spells and use skills. I blinked several times in confusion, and then decided to check that, and soon I blinked several times in even more confusion. Name: Ryan Winters Class: Apprentice Lv 01 (00/100) Job: (00/000) HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 SP: 50/50 Strength: 05 Magic: 05 Dexterity: 05 Vitality: 05 Wisdom: 05 Endurance: 05 Toughness: 05 Spirit: 05 Adaptability: 05 Free Points: 00 Skills: Job Skills: ¡®What the hell?¡¯ ¡®What the hell indeed.¡¯ ¡°It is time to move. You need to leave the room now for the next group to enter.¡± We didn¡¯t have time to deal with the confusion. The door opened by itself and then we were forced to move again. My boss looked at me with the look on that side: explain this fucking nonsense right now. I just ignored him because I had a feeling that he would no longer be my boss. Chapter 02 - Information and Quests We began to leave the room and soon we found ourselves outside the building¡­ It looked like we were underground until now. The sun was right above us in the sky, but the temperature was quite nice. The air was fresh and clean like I had never felt before¡­ Despite the appearance of the previous building we were inside a moment ago, the outside was quite weird. The buildings weren¡¯t that high, actually, most of them were only two stories high, the tallest one not bigger than three stories high. At the same time, they were all completely made of some gray material that looked like marble, but the texture at close range felt a lot more polished and unnatural¡­ There were other people around, but they didn¡¯t seem like us. Their clothes looked old, like the black-haired woman, like one hundred years out of season. At the same time, their presence felt a bit weird. I couldn¡¯t pinpoint what it was exactly, but it felt unnatural or perhaps artificial would be the correct word. ¡°What the hell is this place?¡± It looked like my boss recovered his spirit now that the door closed and the intimidating black-haired woman was no longer around. This town or perhaps city made me feel like the places that a person can make in one of those city builder games. Everything was too identical here. ¡°It looks like the first group is trying to talk with the locals. Let¡¯s check with them what they have learned so far.¡± My boss groaned in annoyance. He didn¡¯t like not having absolute control over any situation he was involved in, but he decided to follow my idea. When we got close enough, we were able to hear the response of the locals. ¡°You can buy information over there, with the information broker.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you tell us something so simple?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know you and you have accomplished nothing yet.¡± After saying that, the man turned around and then left like it was the most obvious thing to do, leaving the first group speechless for several moments. ¡°What the heck is wrong with these people?¡± A tall man with short hair shouted. He seemed to be acting like the leader of the first group and while they hadn¡¯t been here for long, it looked like they had been receiving some very annoying answers. ¡°Hey, you. What have you asked the people here?¡± My boss stepped forward and asked. It looked like he realized that it might be a good idea to take charge while he could. ¡°Yes¡­ we asked everyone who passed by where we were and who they were, but they only said the same thing. Where the information broker is?¡± Something was odd. They were behaving like that, but they didn¡¯t seem particularly averse to our presence. I checked the paper again, and I didn¡¯t find anything that I might have missed¡­ My only guess is that we had to figure things out by ourselves and do what we were told by that black-haired lady in order to be recognized by the people here. I looked in the direction the other guy pointed and then saw a simple building that looked in front of an old bookstore. I decided to head there while everyone was talking amongst themselves. Along the way, I saw some buildings with similar appearances. They had a board made of the same material as the buildings above them with some weird letters that I couldn¡¯t understand¡­ Still, I was able to see some people there working. They were skinning animals, stitching leather, and some of them were sharpening weapons. ¡®It looks like the setting of the first city of a random game¡­ but unlike in those stories, the people here aren¡¯t treating us like heroes or adventurers.¡¯ ¡®Hey look to your right side! Isn¡¯t that a red-light district?!¡¯ I sighed before turning to the side¡­ he was right. There were some buildings there with some weird designs and I could see women in and men wearing some revealing outfits. Here I was wondering what was happening, and this moron was already thinking about how to fool around when we didn¡¯t even know where we were. I decided to ignore him when I finally arrived at the information broker¡­ It was a man who had round glasses and a mustache. He was wearing something like the uniform of a waiter. ¡°Hello, how can I help you?¡± The man seemed welcoming enough, but I had the feeling that it wasn¡¯t because he was that he was that sociable. So, I kept my guard up. ¡°I heard that you are the information broker. I would like to ask what kind of currency you accept and what you can tell me for free.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°All the shops only accept origin coins. You can obtain them from monsters, from killing others, doing quests and by finding treasures. You can also obtain them by selling things around the town. To learn about other things, you will have to pay for them.¡± The man made a silver-looking coin appear between his fingers. It seemed like an ordinary coin. On one side of the coin, I could see the number one and on the backside, I could see a spiral¡­ it was quite the weird coin. Regardless, this truly looked like the thing you would find in a game, a different type of currency and the ways to get it by killing monsters. Did we all die and ended up in a game-like world for some reason? Even though none of us could recall dying? ¡°How much do you need to tell where we are?¡± ¡°Five origin coins.¡± ¡°... What about why we are here?¡± ¡°250 origin coins.¡± At least it was a question that could be answered¡­ it was hard to say if I would receive the truth, though. Perhaps I should check what I could ask, and the price of the answers, but the next group arrived and began to make a lot of noise. ¡®We are lucky that we arrived first, so we can take advantage of this not to get involved in the chaos¡­ I need to talk with the boss and then¡­¡¯ ¡®That fatass can¡¯t be of any help. The moment he finds himself in trouble, he will throw us under the bus.¡¯ He was right, so I immediately considered discarding the idea, but what could I do? If that guy couldn¡¯t watch my back, I should look for someone who could¡­ The other guy was too dumb to be of any use. ¡®Even if you don¡¯t put your thoughts clearly in your mind, I can still read them, you know.¡¯ ¡®... Why are you so chirpy all of a sudden? I usually can suppress you more than this.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know, I just feel full of energy today, since we arrived here. This is amazing.¡¯ This was more annoying than anything¡­ In any case, I looked around in order to have an idea of what I should do. If my guess was right, trouble will only get worse as time passes, so I had to move away from the chaos. I checked the knife in my hand and wondered how I could use this¡­ if my only way to get information now was by fighting monsters to obtain coins, then I didn¡¯t have a choice but to do it. The faster I accepted that, the better. I followed the road that I was on to see the end of it, and by the look of things, it looked like it was one of the main roads in the town since I could see a gate in the distance with some guys wearing armor and holding spears. Those guys looked buffed and the type who had a hard time making friends thanks to their serious expressions. ¡®Hey, one of the guards had some massive assets and asked for her number. No, wait. Let me ask her, you never succeed.¡¯ ¡®Dude, shut the fuck up. I am seriously worried here. She has a spear too. I don¡¯t want to be stabbed because of your nonsense.¡¯ ¡®Relax, it is all about confidence. When I am doing my magic, confidence starts taking notes.¡¯ ¡®Oh, I have confidence¡­ confidence that you cause my death one day. The last girl you pulled off slashed all of my tires, you retard.¡¯ ¡®So what? A hot girl like that is allowed to be a bit crazy. She was freaky in bed too, you know it.¡¯ ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter if she is freaky, that stops being a good thing when you see a girl with a knife in her hands pointing at you enough times. You definitely know it. Because morons like you keep ignoring that behavior that chicks like that are no longer an exception.¡¯ ¡®You are such a whiny bitch.¡¯ Being called a bitch by my own mind sure was annoying¡­ in any case, I arrived at the gate and the guards didn¡¯t stop me, but they kept looking at me, though. I looked behind the walls of the city and found some trees in a large green field filled with hills as well. It seemed a peaceful enough place, but I could see the tall grass moving in some places, and it wasn¡¯t thanks to the wind. I suddenly saw a shadow moving ahead and then found a large rat creature in the distance climbing a tree and then biting a branch and making a lot of fruit fall from it. ¡°... Are you heading out to hunt?¡± ¡°Yes, I am going to.¡± I looked a bit surprised when one of the guards suddenly asked that, but I answered without looking like a fool. He didn¡¯t look like an NPC by the way that he studied me, so I felt that acting confidently would be a good thing at the moment. ¡°Hm¡­ Are you willing to accept a job, then? The Dire Rats are eating a lot of the fruits in the area, and that is making the production fall. I like my apple juice more when it isn¡¯t very expensive. In any case, I can give a coin for every three dire rats you kill, and one coin more per extra after the fiftieth.¡±
You received a quest: Slay 50 Dire Rats. Rewards: 17 origin coins + extra, 10 EXP and Guard Chark¡¯s appreciation. Time Limit: None
I was speechless, but I didn¡¯t let that show in my face, I only blinked for a moment and avoided opening my eyes widely. This was truly confusing, but it was better to not think too much about it. ¡°All right, I will do it.¡± ¡®Heh, showing confidence, huh? You learned from a true master.¡¯ ¡®Shut the fuck up.¡¯ I crossed the entrance of the town without turning back and then left the paved roads to see the area ahead with a bit more clarity. I could see some places on the ground with some large holes and I imagined that the dire rats had come from those. I wondered if they carry some sort of disease that a single bite would make a wound become really nasty and then put me down a few hours later. My heart began to race, but for moments like this, I knew that just moving and acting were always better than feeling anxious. In the end, I took my white long-sleeved shirt and then ripped it apart on two sides and then covered my forearms with the cloth. I had a sleeveless shirt and now I could show my not very well developed physique. There was no one to show off, but it was fine¡­ right now, it was time to see if this was all a crazy dream that would end soon or I would truly fight monsters to level up. Chapter 03 - Hunting I approached the closest hole to the wall of the town and I stopped to look at the gate for a moment. Yep, the guards weren¡¯t paying attention to me anymore, so I couldn¡¯t count on them to give me a hand if a group of them came to take some pieces of me. ¡®Stop acting like a wuss and get moving. If you are too scared, let me do it instead.¡¯ I took a deep breath and ignored the other guy. I had no idea what would happen if I let him take over. Usually, he only speaks two or three times a day after I trained myself to control him over the years. In the worst-case scenario, he would control my body for a while and I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it. After taking a few steps closer to the hole, it looked like my presence was noticed since one of the dire rats emerged from it. The creature was almost one meter long, so it was quite big, but aside from that, I couldn¡¯t see many things different from this kind of monster from the overgrown rats a person would find in a dark alley in a big city. The creature studied me with its dark and black eyes, but soon charged forward when I took a step ahead. I opened my eyes wide when the beast suddenly jumped to bite my neck, but my left arm was ready and high enough to block the monster¡­ the creature still bit it, imagining that it would be pretty soft. My shirt protected my flesh, but I still could feel the pointy teeth of the beast against my skin, so I didn¡¯t hesitate to stab the creature¡¯s head with my knife. The weapon was surprisingly sharp. It pierced the head of the monster with ease¡­ the creature didn¡¯t have the chance to even screech in pain.
You received 01 EXP.
You received 01 Origin Coins.
The body of the monster grew limp and then I sighed in relief as it began to fall, but soon the smell of blood began to take over my nostrils¡­ My knife was dripping with blood as well and a bit of the monster¡¯s flesh. ¡®Welp, I guess the creatures here won¡¯t turn into particles of light once they are defeated. This still can be pretty satisfying, don¡¯t you think?¡¯ I let out a sigh and checked the shirt on my arm. It wasn¡¯t damaged, so I could keep using it. Still, only one point of experience, huh? I had to kill one hundred of those things if I wanted to level up? That was a lot of bloody work¡­ While I was thinking about that, I heard a sound coming from the body of the dire rat and soon the body of the monster turned into dust that was blown away by the wind¡­ two particles of light flew in the air until they dissolved. ¡®Maybe this world is lagged or something¡­ the blood in the knife still is there, though.¡¯ ¡®This isn¡¯t a game, dumbass.¡¯ ¡®How can you be so sure?¡¯ ¡®For one, human technology isn¡¯t that advanced and for another, a virtual world wouldn¡¯t be the first thing that someone with a lot of resources would create. It probably would be a weapon of war.¡¯ ¡®Oh, I see¡­ to kill all the men in the world and get all the women.¡¯ I wondered why I bothered trying to have a serious conversation with this moron. In any case, I decided to clean the knife on the grass and noticed that the body of the dire rat left a few things after it turned into dust¡­ its fangs. ¡®... is this an actual drop or something? Ah, come to think of it¡­¡¯
Common Knife (Common) The most basic type of weapon for combat. The reach and the attack power are on the low side, but it is very light. Attack: 03 Durability: 10/10
Dire Rat¡¯s Fangs An alchemy ingredient.
Simple, but at least it confirmed what I could do in this world. Perhaps I could find information about others as well¡­ or at least I could only find information about the things in my possession.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡®I need to reach level two as soon as possible¡­ I don¡¯t want to move around carrying this type of thing in my pockets.¡¯ It should have some value, so leaving behind would be a waste. It was a literal alchemy ingredient¡­ I just hoped that it wasn¡¯t used to make things like HP, MP, and SP potions. It would make me question if I really should use them. I approached the hole to find another prey, and it actually worked¡­ another dire rat came to attack me, but this time I welcomed the beast with my arm further from my head. The creature tried to jump above my arm, but I raised it and then smashed the head of the creature. It felt like I was a goalie blocking a penalty kick with a single arm¡­ it hurt like hell, but at least the impact stunned the monster too, which I used the chance to stab its head.
You received 01 EXP.
You received 01 Origin Coins.
¡®What is this? It isn¡¯t hard at all! Is this a tutorial zone or something?¡¯ Those guards wouldn¡¯t have difficulties dealing with the monsters, so leaving those things alone so close to the town would be foolish¡­ or maybe they multiplied that fast. Considering the amount of experience gained, perhaps it made sense that the monsters only had their size instead of any real danger. Still, my arm was still throbbing where it was hit. With another knife, I could block their advance and finish them quickly, but I would need money to buy it¡­ ¡®Or take it from someone.¡¯ ¡®I am never letting you take over¡­¡¯ ¡®Anyway, a dual-knife fighting style? That is pretty cool. Much better than focusing on having a big weapon to compensate for something and an armor and shield that turn you into a turtle.¡¯ ¡®A big sword is good to cleave the monsters in half with a single strike, once you can lift it.¡¯ ¡®If you can lift it.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t deny it, while it was cool, it was simply unfeasible unless you were a simple human. Using short swords or knives would be a lot more interesting since it would allow me to focus on avoiding attacks, I didn¡¯t have the confidence of becoming battle-hardened enough to endure pain and continue to fight back after being hit or bitten by a monster. In any case, while I was thinking about that, I noticed that the monster left a tail behind this time¡­ it was another alchemical ingredient. I could only assume that alchemists around here used all kinds of dubious ingredients for their potions, they weren¡¯t the type that transmute sand into gold. With much hesitation, I decided to store that shit in my pocket¡­ I needed to reach level two as soon as possible and confirm that I could use an inventory. Still, it seemed that things wouldn¡¯t be so easy since after the third fight, no more rats came from that hole. ¡®I guess the spawning limit of this hole ended for today. Perhaps I should return here later and see if they can come out every hour or something.¡¯ ¡®What a massive waste of time, look for better hunting spots, it is the time to gain the advantage over the others. The chicks will throw themselves at us once they see the strength that we obtained.¡¯ "Yeah, what could be better than being surrounded by a bunch of countless self-interested women that wouldn¡¯t have paid attention to us if we couldn¡¯t offer anything else to them.¡± ¡°I know, right?¡± A long time ago, I thought that this guy was just my dark side that I was trying to suppress¡­ but this couldn¡¯t be true, I refused to be this moronic in any part of the deepest spots in my mind. True, I was quite unruly when I was kid, and I was forced to take some meds and attend some talks with a shrink. That made me calm down and for a while, I lost a lot of energy, but then the voice of this guy began to bother me¡­ it was my own voice, actually. When I asked people around if they could hear this voice telling them to do things that felt questionable, the adults just told me that it was just the ¡°Bad Ryan¡±. I began to suppress this moron with that in mind¡­ At some times, I thought that I was just a bit crazy, but all the other parts of my life seemed fine. So, I decided to keep this guy hidden from everyone. Then I heard about alter egos and decided to assume that I had one for whatever reason. ¡®I never asked you this, but why do you exist? Do I have some sort of trauma?¡¯ ¡®Trauma? Who knows? I exist because you exist, that is all.¡¯ Yeah, a massive waste of time to ask my problem why it exists. I decided to move on to the next hole on the ground and I could see a bunch of them in the area. I wondered if some of them had more dire rats than the others or if they could increase in numbers if they aren¡¯t hunted down regularly, it was something that I had to consider. Still, before finding a new target, I decided to approach a tree and then chop one of the branches. My arm wouldn¡¯t last long if I kept blocking the monsters like that, so I wanted to carve a simple spear to make things easier. I also wanted to confirm if it would be recognized by the system. There were some apples on the tree as well, but I could see their information until I grabbed them.
Apple (Common) Restores 02 points of health and 05 of stamina.
¡®I need to stock these. Perhaps I can sell them as well, but stocking them up will be a better option for emergencies. There are many things that I need to learn about this system, so it is better to stock up what I can before deciding anything.¡¯ ¡®Well, look at you. Taking control over your life for once.¡¯ ¡®That isn¡¯t exactly true since I was put in this place without anyone asking me if I wanted¡­ Even if someone asked if I wanted to go to a place where I could level up, I probably would have ignored them and thought that they lost their marbles. In any case, this apple seems identical to the ones on Earth¡­ is this a coincidence?¡¯ I would be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t a bit excited about the situation¡­ I couldn¡¯t tell if the future would be more difficult than this. It probably, most likely, definitely would, but the feeling was still pretty good. I could do whatever I wanted now¡­ even those working for the system said that I could do whatever I wanted as long as I had power and money. It was a much more exciting life than just being a cog in a machine. A cog that was replaced and thrown away the moment it stops working just a bit. In any case, I was given one hell of a chance now, but it looked like I wasn¡¯t the only one¡­ who knows how many people had been sent here, and I had to make sure that I wouldn¡¯t be the one who would stay on the bottom of the food chain. Chapter 04 - Bond
Short Wooden Spear (Common) Attack: 01 Durability: 03/03
¡®It is trash, but at least confirms that we can make stuff here to help us.¡¯ ¡°You didn¡¯t get a skill, so I guess you can¡¯t throw it and learn the skill throw or some shit.¡¯ ¡®It would be too convenient if it were that easy. In any case, it is time to resume my hunt.¡¯ If I could find some decent pieces of wood, I could carve a shield as well. The knife was sharp enough to make some decent things, so I should use it while I can. Considering that everyone was given one of those for free, they shouldn¡¯t be expensive, but in times like this, it was better to be a bit cautious about spending, even more so when I could only buy information with money. I approached the next hole in the ground and then immediately got ready to fight when the next dire rat appeared¡­ they weren¡¯t quite good at accessing danger since the beast charged at me despite my two weapons in hand. Still, despite the fact that things should have been easier, I messed up¡­ I didn¡¯t aim the spear high enough, and the beast passed above it¡­ it only got a bit of a scratch thanks to that mess up. Fortunately, my other hand moved fast enough to block the face of the beast with my knife. It smashed it against the blade and then began to screech in pain after it fell on the ground¡­ I stabbed its head with the spear.
You received 01 EXP.
You received 01 Origin Coins.
¡®You are quite bad at this. Let me do it instead.¡¯ ¡®No one asked for your opinion¡­¡¯ While I said that, my heart was racing¡­ this should be the type of monster that anyone can fight. I shouldn¡¯t be messing up with them like this. I moved the spear up and down a bit and then tightened my grip. I had to keep closer to my body and let the stupidity of the dire rats be their downfall instead of my clumsy skill. Fortunately, the next target soon showed up and confirmed that those guys only targeted my head or neck¡­ the beast got a nasty wound on its face thanks to the wooden spear that increased in size when the monster fell on the ground and I pierced its face with it.
You received 01 EXP.
You received 01 Origin Coins.
¡®All right, this will do¡­¡¯ ¡®Hey, come on¡­ let me have some of the fun too.¡¯ I ignored the other guy and resumed the hunt¡­ I got tired pretty fast since I wasn¡¯t exactly in good shape, but I recovered as fast when I ate some apples. They tasted as sweet as honey¡­ while I was grabbing others, some dire rats showed up to take them from me, but I managed to climb the tree and then stab them with the wooden spear when they tried to follow me. I avoided the tall grass since they would be able to surprise me, but that much was fine since there were plenty of holes in the ground and some of them had more than five dire rats inside them¡­ when I passed nearby the others I had cleaned, more of them had returned as well. ¡®I guess it is similar to spawning points¡­ but it would make more sense if all the holes were connected or something.¡¯ Since I was being cautious, it took me three hours to hunt all the monsters enough to level up¡­ I was beaten thanks to all that work, but I guessed that the tension was the main cause of the exhaustion.
You received 01 EXP.
You received 01 Origin Coins
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
All parameters increased by 01. You received 01 free points.
Inventory is now available.
I felt a wave of energy spreading through my body and all my exhaustion vanished¡­ my stamina was completely recovered, so I felt alive like never before. ¡®Inventory.¡¯ My exhilaration increased when the status window showing my inventory showed up. Now this made me wonder if it was really a game. I could see twenty empty boxes in a game-like window in front of me. I hesitantly grabbed the stuff in my pockets and then touched the inventory window. When I did that, they vanished from my hands and then their icons appeared inside. Dire Rat¡¯s Fangs x33 Dire Rat¡¯s Tails x56 ¡®They take a single slot, huh? How much can it stack?¡¯ I couldn¡¯t help but grin¡­ this was truly exciting. I decided to take some deep breaths to calm down since this was just the first step. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡®I should return to the town and complete the quest and see what I can get with this much money¡­ Speaking of which, no one came from there. There should be other gates, but¡­¡¯ ¡®They are probably cowering in fear.¡¯ When people find themselves in danger, their natural instinct is to seek external help to solve the problem. This behavior comes from a deeply ingrained survival mechanism: the recognition that safety often comes from collective efforts and the guidance of those perceived as more capable of such scenarios. In situations of extreme stress, like being kidnapped, this tendency is more obvious. Even if just one person succumbs to panic, it can quickly trigger a chain reaction. Panic is contagious. When one individual starts displaying fear or irrational behavior, it heightens the anxiety of those around them. People instinctively mirror the emotions and actions of others, especially in unfamiliar or threatening environments. This can escalate the situation, leading to mass hysteria, poor decision-making, and the group becoming even more vulnerable to the circumstances. I could already imagine what I would find in the town, so I hesitated a bit¡­ Unlike the other guy, I would rather do things by myself instead of making others rely on me for my own suspicious goals as well. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t waste time¡­ I should keep hunting during the day since at night, things will be a lot more dangerous.¡¯ I returned to the town and soon the guards looked at me. I wondered how I could prove that I had completed the quest, but I didn¡¯t have to. ¡°It took you long enough, but it seems you succeeded. Here is your reward.¡±
You completed a quest: Slay 50 Dire Rats.
You received 67 Origin Coins.
You received 10 EXP.
Guard Chark recognizes your efforts, you can receive quests directly once a day and based on their difficulty level.
Guard Chark - Lv 39 Bond: Lv 01 (05/100)
I rubbed my eyes¡­ When the quest was completed, I could see that information about Chark, but not about the other guards. It made me think of a system of dating sims, where you do things with some characters and then your image improves in their eyes until they are your friend or lover. ¡®... Maybe this isn¡¯t real¡­ it could indeed be a game.¡¯ ¡®Hehehe, this is quite interesting. What if we could make it reach the max level of a bunch of girls? We could make a harem with ease! This is truly awesome. We gotta catch¡¯em all!¡¯ I truly refused to believe that those kinds of thoughts truly came from me¡­ I couldn¡¯t be such a degen. Maybe he was just my side that didn¡¯t care about being morally correct or was one percent self-centered and only lived to indulge himself in whatever he desired. Even now, I didn¡¯t know what he truly was or his purpose. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem. Come again if you are willing to work for us.¡± Regardless, I turned to the town to see a lot more people there¡­ not thousands, but close enough and they were looking in all corners of the place for a way to return home. It didn¡¯t look like they tried to leave the place, at least not yet. ¡®Let¡¯s see what I need¡­ another knife, some arm protectors, a water bottle and, as usual, some more information.¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s check the prices in the red-light district.¡¯ I ignored that moron and then looked for the information broker again. Looking for those places was a good idea, but I could save time by buying the information. There is nothing more valuable in the world than time, after all. ¡°Hello again. It looks like you are still alive, huh?¡± ¡°... Do many people come here before only to die so soon?¡± ¡°Yes, a lot of them. I am surprised that the guards didn¡¯t kill anyone yet. Putting that aside, I am sure you can buy some information now.¡± ¡°I want to know what this place is.¡± ¡°This is the Bivile town, the 513th zone of the Atlantis Continent.¡±
You used 05 Origin Coins.
¡°Atlantis¡­ Continent? Not city?¡± ¡°This is what the continent is called here.¡± ¡°Here?¡± ¡°The information of where the continent is located will cost 500 Origin coins.¡± This guy was truly selling all kinds of information, but it was still annoying to deal with such a greedy guy. I want to know why we are here and if everyone from Earth will come, but that information will be too expensive. ¡°I want to know where I can buy things, like weapons and bracers. A water bottle too.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have access to the Map yet, right? The information would be updated on the map if you had it¡­ Anyway, the weapon shop is three streets back and the armor shop five streets back. We don¡¯t have water bottles, but you can buy a canteen in the utilities shop close to the northern gate.¡±
You used 15 Origin Coins.
The information was a lot more chapter than I expected, so I wondered what I should do¡­ I stopped to think for a moment. ¡°Can you only sell the answer to direct questions?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Then¡­ Can you give me some tips on what I should do now?¡± ¡°Aside from hunting as much as possible, you should find and sell new materials as soon as you get them. The more people find them, the more their price will decrease. You also shouldn¡¯t leave the plains until you get your first class at level ten.
You used 40 Origin Coins.
That was some useful piece of information¡­ it made sense, but it looked like I would have to hunt thousands of dire rats to get my first class. It was better if I hurried up then. ¡°I see, thanks.¡±
Information Broker Lain - Lv 62 Bond: Lv 01 (25/100)
I blinked a few times when I was able to see that¡­ this was very weird, but I decided not to think too much about it. I headed to the location where the information broker told me to go and I ignored the people around¡­ those who noticed me looked confused as they saw me moving with purpose and not looking shocked or afraid of what was going on. I probably would if I kept thinking about every single thing, but it was better to focus on the positive of the situation. I found the weapon shop thanks to the sound of hammer and anvil and the smoke coming from a chimney, but instead of a burly, hairy man selling weapons, I saw a blonde woman in her twenties with her hair tied in a long braid. ¡°Good day! What are you looking for?¡± ¡®She is a solid 8.5 without make up¡­ did you notice that most of the people here don¡¯t have many flaws in their skin? Are you sure that they aren¡¯t NPCs or something? It is fine to mess around if they are just NPCs, right?¡¯ ¡®Shut the fuck up¡­¡¯ This guy was giving me a migraine. In any case, I couldn¡¯t help but frown since I only found basic stuff being sold in front of the shop. There was even information about the items. Chapter 05 - Powering Up
Short Sword (Common) Attack: 04 Durability: 10/10 Cost: 40 Origin Coins
Small Hunting Bow (Common) (For Archer¡¯s Only) Attack: 03 Durability: 05/05 Cost: 50 Origin Coins
Short Ax (Common) Attack : 04 Durability: 10/10 Cost: 40 Origin Coins
¡®It looks like I can¡¯t use everything if I don¡¯t have the right class for it, huh? I wonder why, it isn¡¯t like I can¡¯t learn how to use a bow¡­¡¯ The costs seemed pretty high, but they will get even higher once people begin to buy things. Repairing gear shouldn¡¯t be easy, only a few classes should have that kind of skill. A copy of my knife was only ten Origin coins, so this was pretty nice and the other didn¡¯t lose any durability, so I could use them both for a while. ¡°You don¡¯t have magic items here?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t be created now since the materials to make them haven¡¯t been found lately.¡± Was it that hard to find them or there was another reason for it? It made me wonder if I would get a discount if I bought the materials to make something magical. In any case, I could wonder about that later¡­ I bought another knife and then went to check the armor shop. They didn¡¯t have anything fancy either, but the bracers seemed good enough and cost thirty Origin coins. ¡®All right then¡­ shall I return to the hunting grounds or look around the town for people that could give me quests?¡¯ Quests could make things more efficient and that was the best thing for me now¡­ Selling the materials could help as well make people give me quests. Maybe I should just ask the information broker for those. ¡®I guess I will talk to him again.¡¯ ¡®You should ask him if there is some question about making a harem.¡¯ ¡®Dude, what the hell¡­ you can¡¯t be horny all the time.¡¯ ¡®I have two sides: horny and hornier.¡¯ ¡®Maybe I should take those meds again¡­¡¯ I returned to where the information broker was after buying a canteen to store water. That costs ten Origin coins as well, and I had no idea how much it costs to rent a room here, so it was better to start gaining money again. ¡°Hey, you are already back? It is rare to see a newbie who is also a hard worker.¡± ¡°Really? Anyway, I want to ask about the people in the town who can offer me quests.¡± ¡°Based on the things that you can obtain and do in the plain lands, you can receive quests from the guards near the gates. You can get them as well from the restaurant and from the alchemist.¡±
You used 30 Origin Coins.
¡°What about hidden quests?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t get them as an apprentice.¡± They existed, and that was all I needed to know. I could tell that the alchemist would want the rat parts and the restaurant would want apples. I could stock a bunch of them¡­ it would be interesting to do the same quest several times over, but since this wasn¡¯t a game, I couldn¡¯t gain the same amount of experience several times in a row. ¡°Hello, table for one?¡± A middle-aged woman wearing an apron asked when I approached the restaurant. I imagined finding a plump woman with a warm smile, but she looked a lot more serious than expected. She was quite thin as well. Just like all the people who lived in this town, she had an almost flawless skin. ¡°Sorry, but I am not here to eat. I just heard that you could be looking for people to give you a hand.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°We don¡¯t need workers and you don¡¯t look much like a chef.¡± ¡°... I meant to bring you apples or something.¡± ¡°Is that right? If you bring some apples before nightfall, then I can pay you one Origin coin for each of them. Two apples for an extra apple if you bring more than 150 apples.¡±
You received a quest: Collect 150 Apples. Rewards: 50 Origin coins + extra, 20 EXP and Chef Elaine¡¯s appreciation. Time Limit: 360 minutes
¡°All right, I will do it!¡± I left in a hurry since I didn¡¯t find that many apples before when I was moving¡­ I probably would have to check all the areas around the town. It seemed like a waste when they could restore my health and stamina, but I had to open as many paths as possible before making big decisions such as stocking a lot of materials. ¡®The alchemist can wait¡­ I can¡¯t risk failing this quest.¡¯ ¡®Just hunting the damn rats is better. Why waste time with this?¡¯ ¡®Maybe she will give me some information later. Increasing the bond with the people here shouldn¡¯t be a waste of time.¡¯ ¡°Hey, Ryan! Where are you going in such a hurry?¡± I slowed down when I heard the voice of my boss¡­ when I looked to the side, I saw him moving toward me. He looked even more red with anger than usual. ¡°Just hunting some monsters.¡± ¡°Are they that easy to kill? Where did you get that other knife?¡± ¡°I just bought it. It only costs ten origin coins. You can get that much after killing ten dire rats.¡± ¡°Really? Then give me a hand with it.¡± I wouldn¡¯t mind giving him a hand since he was the only acquaintance that I had come here with¡­ Still, I had a bad feeling about this. His tone wasn¡¯t like someone asking for a favor, but giving an order. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. I am going to move around the area to check some things. I am not sure if you can keep it up. If you reach level two, then you will change my mind about it.¡± ¡°What? Getting a bit arrogant here, kiddo? Are you finally showing your true colors?¡± ¡°Not really. I am just being honest. I am truly going to run around and you are quite out of shape, boss. Still, if you can show that much spirit by leveling up, then I will be able to tell that our partnership will be fruitful for both of us.¡± ¡°I am the one who gets to decide that, not you!¡± ¡®Just tell this fatass to fuck off. He is pissing me off.¡¯ ¡°Sorry, but you hired me before because you could profit from my skills and time, not out of the goodwill in your heart. Fighting isn¡¯t easy and until you can show that you can watch my back, I am not going to team up with you, boss. Or with anyone. Both sides have to benefit from this.¡± ¡°You little¡­ the moment we return home, consider yourself fired! Go and die in some dirty hole!¡± Well, that ended as well as I had expected¡­ with him, it is his way or the highway. In any case, I didn¡¯t let that bother me and just resumed my run. Before long, I was back in the plain lands and then moved to the closest trees. The number of apples was small because of the dire rats¡­ In any case, climbing the trees was a bit easier than I remembered, so the process had been pretty easy. In no time, I grabbed five apples from the first tree and then decided to head to the next¡­ but soon I heard the squeaks of a pair of dire rats. ¡®Should I do it or run?¡¯ ¡®Increase your strength and this should be easy.¡¯ All my points increased and I only have a single parameter free to use¡­ I would only get eight more free points, and the parameters would increase eight times as well, so perhaps I should take my chances here¡­ Still, while the other guy was a moron, he wouldn¡¯t say or do something that would get me killed, so I followed his idea. The beasts sensed my will to fight and soon they charged at me. I lowered my stance and focused on their movements when they leaped to attack my head. After seeing them doing that more than one hundred times, their attack pattern no longer surprised or scared me. I didn¡¯t hesitate to thrust the knives at their heads.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins.
The knives easily pierced the monsters¡¯ heads, and I barely felt any resistance during the attack or when I felt the weight of their charge¡­ It looked like the increase in parameters truly made me stronger. The monsters turned into dust and left some teeth behind, so I stored them in the inventory¡­ it would be useful if they went right there, but it wasn¡¯t that convenient. Putting that aside, this battle raised some questions. ¡®I can¡¯t see their parameters, but it looked like I caused a lot more damage than before. Was it because of critical damage or was it because the power combined of the knives increased my attack? I should ask the information broker later. It would be interesting if I could see the health bar of the monsters at least¡­ Maybe I need a skill for that.¡¯ There were so many things to learn, but all those questions only made me look more forward to the future¡­ Perhaps I could take some chances in the tall grass as well. My defense should have increased given the weight of the monsters during the impact was weaker, but this could have been a combination of my attack slowing them down and my defenses. This kind of question made me recall some old RPGs, the formula to calculate damage was quite broken, in some games, when the attack was much higher than the defense, a single point in some parameter or level could make the fight against monsters a lot easier¡­ skills and items that ignore defense could be insanely overpowered thanks to that as well. This made things quite realistic since it is pretty easy for someone who is just heavier to knock down another person who is lighter with a few hits. What didn¡¯t make sense were those games where, at the max level, you have to use a bunch of skills to defeat a giraffe monster. ¡®Hey, let me do some of the fighting as well.¡¯ ¡®No way, you will only cause trouble and I can¡¯t risk failing the quest.¡¯ ¡®You can get the damn apples. Just let me do the fighting instead.¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ ¡®Let me at least fight once or twice, come one!¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ After that, the other guy went silent¡­ I could feel that he was quite pissed, but I didn¡¯t care. I had to make things really efficient and not do things based on how much fun they gave me. Still, I never realized that I would come to regret this¡­ Chapter 06 - Freedom A couple of hours later, the sun began to set on the horizon and I was already back at the restaurant where I got the quest. My clothes were dirty with sweat and dust, so I wondered if that lady would still accept them. ¡°Oh, you are back¡­ I gave you enough time to make you fail, but I guess you aren¡¯t half bad.¡± Well, that was quite annoying¡­ it seemed that she didn¡¯t like the people that were arriving, maybe they caused some trouble for her already. In any case, at least she accepted the apples that I had brought.
You completed a quest: Collect 150 Apples. Rewards: 75 Origin coins + 20 EXP and Chef Elaine¡¯s appreciation.
¡°Thanks for the help. If you obtain more of those, you can bring them here earlier in the morning and I will buy them from you.¡± So, it was a repeatable quest that I could complete every morning and I didn¡¯t have to come and accept every single time¡­ maybe it was because Elaine was that impatient and not welcoming to people like me. ¡°... All right. Name: Ryan Winters Class: Apprentice Lv 03 (22/200) Job: (00/000) HP: 70/70 MP: 70/70 SP: 25/70 Strength: 08 Magic: 07 Dexterity: 07 Vitality: 07 Wisdom: 07 Endurance: 07 Toughness: 07 Spirit: 07 Adaptability: 07 Free Points: 01 Origin Coins: 312 Skills: Job Skills: I checked my parameters¡­ I decided to return after getting another level, so it took a while, even though the dire rats smelled the apples in the air and then decided to take them from me. That made it a bit easier to hunt them. Perhaps I could set some traps near their holes and kill them that way. Speaking of which, the skills I got from the Apprentice class didn¡¯t show up in my skill list¡­ it was more like they weren¡¯t skills, but functions of the system. I can finally create a party, but few people were leaving the town, and those who left returned after a couple of minutes after suffering some scratches. ¡®I guess modern life weakened us quite a bit¡­¡¯ Party (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 03) You gain the ability to create and manage a party of up to 3 members, allowing you to share experience and coin gains. With this skill, you can invite others to join your party, making it easier to work together on objectives. This skill also allows the group to share progress on quests, so everyone stays updated on their collective goals. ¡®The next skills will be Chat, Friend List, and Trade. They will be useless for a while since few people are going outside. I was expecting that some crazy people or some athletes would come to fight, but it looked like everyone was waiting for the situation to solve themselves somehow.¡¯ That was simply insane¡­ denial is one of the worst things that a person can do when it comes to these kinds of situations. Adaptability was the key and that could decide their survival. ¡®I should try to reach level seven tomorrow and get access to the map and then get my first real class on the day after tomorrow. This shouldn¡¯t be that hard.¡¯ The fights were easier and my body was adapting fast, so it was feasible¡­ the only problem was the other guy who had gone AWOL. He never did that before, so I could tell that he was plotting something problematic. ¡®I am too tired to care¡­ I need to rest. Where was the closest inn, anyway?¡¯Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Even now, more people were showing up in the town, so I wondered if there was enough room for people to rent or even sleep. The closest inn was only two blocks away, so I had the chance to see people on the ground, it looked like they collapsed for some reason¡­ We have been here for over eight hours and while the conditions were good, it was still possible for people to get heat stroke thanks to the help of anxiety. I could see some kids around and that made me feel bad for them¡­ I was enjoying the situation, but the situation itself was unfair for them. ¡®I didn¡¯t stop to think about this, but what caused this or what brought us here?¡¯ Sooner or later, people would have to be forced to come out of the town and fight¡­ the ones who would have the hardest time would be the kids. Perhaps I should help them¡­ there weren¡¯t many of them, after all. Still, could I be half-assed to them, like buying a shield or two for them to fight the monsters? If I decide to help them level up, they would need to at least reach level five to endure the attacks of the dire rats without suffering that much damage. This would be quite time-consuming¡­ ¡®This situation is quite messed up for them¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t know what I should do¡­ only that I needed to rest right now. I had some apples with me, so I didn¡¯t have to buy dinner. I just needed a room with a bed to rest. ¡°Hello, are you looking for a room to spend the night?¡± The innkeeper was a man in his twenties with short, dark hair and light brown eyes. He seemed a bit more welcoming than Elaine, but at this point in time, I didn¡¯t care. They weren¡¯t running a charity here, so they had to make a profit somehow. No one in the city was. ¡°Yes, how much is it?¡± ¡°Ten Origin coins.¡±
You used Ten Origin coins.
¡°Here are the keys. Your room is the first on the right side of the first floor.¡± I nodded and then moved to the first floor of the inn. Now that I paid some attention to the place, it wasn¡¯t as old or run down as I had imagined¡­ Everything was spotless and brand new. Which was weird given what the clerk of the weapon shop said. Some people should have been here before us. The room was also pretty nice and cozy. There wasn¡¯t much inside aside from a bed, a chair, table, a small closet and the window, but it felt pretty relaxing. When I sat on the bed, I felt my body relaxing quite fast¡­ sleeping here would be fine, but I put the chair to block the door just in case and closed the curtain of the window. ¡®I don¡¯t think that anyone will do something stupid so soon, but it¡¯s only a matter of time.¡¯ All my things were in my inventory, but I imagined that all of that would become drops once I am killed. I didn¡¯t think that anyone had confirmed that yet, but it was better if I slept with one eye open¡­ quite impossible, but I needed that much to keep my guard raised. After eating some apples, I began to feel really sleepy¡­ the day had been pretty long and tiring, but it felt really exciting. I couldn¡¯t recall the last time I had this much fun¡­ I barely could contain my eagerness to return to the hunt and then unlock my new class as soon as possible. Before long, I closed my eyes and then began to sleep. My body soon began to move, but I didn¡¯t notice it¡­ ¡®Finally, freedom!¡¯ ¡­ ¡­ I woke up the next day with someone knocking on my door¡­ I slowly got up, feeling really exhausted. The room was completely lit, so it shouldn¡¯t be early in the morning anymore. ¡®That was one hell of a dream¡­¡¯ Eventually, all the good dreams end and then the cold and uncaring reality comes to knock at your door¡­ just like someone was doing at mine right now. ¡°The time of the rest is over. Would you like to rent your room for another day?¡± I blinked a few times in confusion, since I saw the innkeeper of the dream I had in front of me. I rubbed my eyes, but it looked like I wasn¡¯t waking up properly. Then I saw the status screen in the corner of my vision¡­ it looked like that hadn¡¯t been a dream. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit too early for my time to run out?¡± ¡°It is already noon.¡± ¡°Noon?! What? Ouch, ouch¡­ my body is hurting all over¡­¡± ¡°Are you going to rent the room for another day and night?¡± ¡°... Yes.¡±
You used Ten Origin coins.
¡°Thank you very much. Have a nice stay.¡± I tried to stretch my body. It looked to be very sore since I worked so hard yesterday¡­ Still, that much was fine. I didn¡¯t think that I was that tired, but the excitement probably made me not realize my limits. The soreness began to leave my body, only leaving a throbbing pain in some parts¡­ when I checked those parts, I found teeth marks on my arms and legs. ¡°What the hell?¡± ¡®Last night was fun¡­ it was very fulfilling.¡¯ ¡®What did you do?¡¯ ¡®While you were sleeping, I took over your body and went to fight for a bit. You can see the results of my hunt. This also shows how much incompetent you are.¡¯ I checked my status screen more properly and confirmed that I reached level seven¡­ I opened my eyes widely. No wonder it was already noon, and I still felt a bit tired¡­ This guy didn¡¯t let my body rest properly. More important than that, he was never able to take over my body at night¡­ When he had the chance to move it, it was because I gave him permission and I could take it back whenever I wanted. ¡®Relax, I just went out to hunt. I didn¡¯t fool around. I wanted to, but I wasn¡¯t in condition. The dire rats are more violent at night, so they came at me, really looking forward to some pieces of me, but at least that made things easier to find them. Aside from a few bites that barely caused any damage, I made a lot of progress for the both of us.¡¯ ¡®You son of a bitch¡­ this body is mine, it isn¡¯t yours!¡¯ ¡®If that were true, I wouldn¡¯t be able to control it even better than you. I would assume that the presence of mana in our body made my existence more obvious and more influential. Now I no longer have lapses of memory and only appear now and then. This will be very fun.¡¯ This was the worst¡­ things were more fun now, but this asshole had more influence over my body now. It was impossible to tell what kinds of troublesome situations he would put me in. That was why he went quiet before¡­ he decided to save his energy to control my body when I was exhausted. ¡®Well, then¡­ are you going to accept my help, or are you going to make things difficult for both of us?¡¯ ¡®You think that can threaten me like this?¡¯ ¡®It isn¡¯t a threat, it is a business proposal. I swear that I won¡¯t do something like this again, but you will have to cooperate with me. I am not going to let my instincts run wild and bother you all the time. I can also think about the future, after all.¡¯ I began to massage my eyebrows¡­ I couldn¡¯t make this decision like this while my head was a mess. It was already a mess from the very beginning thanks to my alter ego, but now it got much worse. Still, he had a point¡­ while he was most likely my mad side, he could be useful, gaining this many levels in a few hours showed that. In order to thrive in this crazy situation, I had to use all the cards available to me. ¡®Very well¡­ but if we are going to work together, it will be under my terms.¡¯ Chapter 07 - Grinding My guess was that my alter ego had some sort of limit of how much he could control my body. He couldn¡¯t overpower me and do that all the time, but it should be easier when I was sleeping, since I would be completely relaxed. The annoying part was that I couldn¡¯t wake up when he did that. Still, cooperating with this moron had some value¡­ When it comes to certain activities that rely on skills and confidence, he was better than me, but he was also the type who gets carried away easily, so I had to handle him with caution. ¡°Hey, how can I help you today?¡± Lain, the information broker, greeted me with his usual business smile when I approached. While I had wasted half of the day already thanks to oversleeping and my alter ego, I had a chance and some extra money to spend, so it was better to get some valuable intel before moving. With some luck, perhaps I could even reach level ten today. ¡°I want to ask about the conditions of the people coming to the town if more are still coming.¡± ¡°Very well. Five thousand people is the limit of people coming here. Some groups decided to leave the town and fight together, but a lot of them are returning very injured. Others are leaving only to grab the apples and returning to the town.¡±
You used 30 Origin coins.
I could see that by myself, but that would take time¡­ still, five thousand. I wanted to ask why, but it felt like it would be a very expensive piece of information. I decided to ask something else. ¡°I guess the apples won¡¯t be found for a while¡­ Can you tell me some good hunting spots for the dire rats?¡± ¡°The number of rats and the apples are restored every day. If they are left alone, they actually multiply a lot faster. That is why the people of the town are worried about the others doing a poor job hunting for them. It seems that you already can use the Map, so I will mark the spots where the good hunting grounds are.¡± I wanted to know how that was possible, but it was another piece of information that would be too expensive and the information itself wouldn¡¯t be of much use to me, at least for a while.
You used 70 Origin coins.
The Map appeared in front of me showing the area of the town that I had visited and the areas outside as well. It was the view from above, so it wasn¡¯t that detailed. Still, soon enough, some red dots appeared in some areas around the town, some of them I haven¡¯t even been yet. ¡°... How did you do that?¡± ¡°You can do anything here with money and power, even share information like this. Thank you for your purchase. Those spots have the largest concentrations of dire rats, so you will have some work ahead of you if you approach them.¡±
You used 30 Origin coins.
I nodded and then decided to leave the area before I asked too much and ended up broke. I needed money to do anything inside the town, so I had to be cautious. ¡®Perhaps I should buy some defensive gear to make sure those spots won¡¯t be a problem.¡¯ ¡®You should save for when you get to the next class. You don¡¯t know when the items being sold will be updated. Saving the money will be more useful.¡¯ To think that this guy would actually use his real head for a change¡­ I was speechless. Perhaps he was telling the truth about what he said earlier regarding thinking about the future. It was better not to assume anything yet. ¡°Hey, going to hunt again? It seems that you aren¡¯t much of a morning person.¡± ¡°Hahaha, guess so.
You received a quest: Slay 50 Dire Rats. Rewards: 17 origin coins + extra, 10 EXP and improve Guard Chark¡¯s appreciation. Time Limit: None
¡°By the way, can other guards grant me quests as well?¡± ¡°Probably, if you talk with the others at the other gates.¡± ¡°I see, thanks.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I dashed to the hunting grounds¡­ Perhaps talking with the other guards wasn¡¯t much of a better idea. While heading toward them, I could just hunt the dire wolves normally. Then again, there was a chance that they might give me some useful information or different quests based on the type of person they were. I approached the closest spot that the information broker marked on my map and soon a pair of dire rats emerged from the hole. This would make things easier. ¡®All right¡­ you can take care of this. Just don¡¯t mess up and get hurt.¡¯ ¡®It only happened before, because ten of them attacked me.¡¯ I felt myself losing control over my body for a moment, and then the other guy smirked. I felt that I still could control my body, but it felt like I was submerged in the ocean and I just let him control my body. The sensation was a bit different from what I recalled. It was annoying, but he was truly good at fighting. Probably he was just a mass of instincts. When the monsters jumped toward him, he smoothly moved to the sides and just stabbed the monsters in the air.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins.
¡°Hmph, too easy.¡± While the moron was letting his ego inflate, a pair of dire rats left the same hole as the previous ones¡­ The information broker was right about the hunting spots. Perhaps getting the new class was actually possible today. It made me wonder if some sort of test was necessary. We got the apprentice class at the moment we left the staircase, so perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be anything too difficult. In the end, I let the moron clean that spot without doing anything to stop him. He had the chance to fight thirty dire rats before they stopped coming. There were more than ten of those spots and if they had the same number, we wouldn¡¯t be able to level up, so perhaps we would have to fight at night. ¡®How the monsters come at night?¡¯ ¡®They don¡¯t hide in the holes and they come at you the moment they see you, even if you make noise hundreds of meters away.¡¯ Leaving at night wasn¡¯t a good idea then¡­ at least unless you are bat shit crazy like the other guy. Still, doing that after reaching the eight or level nine was the best option. Unless you want to spend the day hunting dire rats and not leveling even once. ¡®All right, time out.¡¯ I took over my body and then looked around. There were some groups of people hunting, but they were doing so very clumsily and in large groups of ten. They wouldn¡¯t level up anytime soon in this scenario since only the person who causes the last hit on the monster would get experience. I found some people looking at me and soon they looked away¡­ I couldn¡¯t blame them since, thanks to the moron, I had my clothes covered in monster¡¯s blood. He didn¡¯t even clean my clothes after hunting during the night. ¡®I guess I should buy some leather armor when it becomes available. Buying proper armor would work as well, but I don¡¯t want to become slower. Still, I wonder if nullifying all the damage of the dire rats was possible, even if they hit the unprotected parts. It would be fun since it would make it possible to build the fist build that focuses on armor.¡¯ ¡®It wouldn¡¯t make any sense. What would be the point? It would be better to invest all the money into a shield with high defense and stay light.¡¯ ¡®I guess so¡­¡¯ I headed to the next hunting ground, and I had to cross the plain lands for a couple of hundred meters¡­ I was heading north and in that direction, there was this massive forest. It looked pretty ominous. People avoided the place and the holes of the dire rats¡­ thanks to it, their number was quite high. The beasts began to show up and then charge at me, and then I focused on my movements. ¡®Imagine what you are going to do before you put it into practice. If you can see the movement well enough, it is almost impossible to miss it.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t sure how much that would be applicable, but the moron wouldn¡¯t lie to me¡­ he would tell convenient truths, but he wouldn¡¯t lie. With that in mind, I copied the moves that he showed before¡­ moving to the side and targeting the beasts from the side. I didn¡¯t know if it was muscle memory or something, but my body moved as smoothly as it could be. I barely felt any resistance when I cut the necks of the monsters.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins.
The weight of the bodies of the monsters was lighter too than before, so that passed a lot of confidence. ¡®They are only a problem of people at level one or two. This place is basically a glorified training field.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t deny that, but it only raised more questions about the future of the five thousand people in this town. The forest ahead should have much more difficult challenges¡­ Perhaps I should ask Lain about the things that we should be mindful of here. He didn¡¯t say anything in detail, but letting the monsters multiply like this couldn¡¯t be a good idea. Regardless, when the next group of monsters showed up and charged, I stepped forward and then jumped to check the limits of my new strength¡­ Much to my surprise, they passed below me. It was hard to believe, but it looked like I was already two times stronger than I was before¡­ faster and more durable as well. ¡®Focus on dodging. I have the feeling that it is the best option for us.¡¯ ¡®Based on what?¡¯ ¡®Instinct. Dodge and attack them at the very last moment. It is clear that the monsters act to sharpen our reflexes and make us understand our newfound strength. When they come at night, the focus is to improve our spatial awareness and be mindful of large group fights.¡¯ I wanted to ask for something more logical, but that was plenty logical¡­ if this place was a tutorial zone, then we had to get used to the basics of fighting and the things related to it. The functions of the system are liberated slowly to help with that as well. In any case, I could ask about that later with the information broker¡­ for now, I decided to focus only on hunting the dire rats. To make sure that I would improve my fighting skills, I also alternated with the other guy and watched how he used my body. At some point when the number of monsters slowed down, he got bored and then decided to throw the knives at the monsters¡­ I complained since his aim was terrible, but that didn¡¯t seem like a bad way to attack. We just needed to do some training with that and perhaps increase our dexterity. ¡®Long-ranged attacks are important and since we can¡¯t use some bows without the archer class, it might be good to learn how to do this¡­¡¯ Chapter 08 - The Next Class In the end, we got a single level after clearing the hunting spots that the information broker gave us. We fought pretty hard to reach the highest level possible before nightfall, but we failed to even reach level nine. ¡®Let me handle the monsters at night. I have experience fighting them.¡¯ ¡®You mean experience getting bitten by that?¡¯ ¡®Experience is experience, no matter the results. We need to confirm the changes after getting the next skill, right?¡¯ He was right¡­ I was the one who forced him to be logical, but that was starting to come to bite me in the ass. In any case, I grabbed that piece of paper. Considering what it was written, we truly should obtain this skill as soon as possible and see what it can change, since it isn¡¯t a function of the system per se. Mana Control (Basic) (Apprentice Lv 09) You gain the ability to wield mana and recover it, which is necessary to obtain advanced classes. This skill helps you manage your magical energy more effectively, allowing you to cast spells and use skills. The idea of using magic was pretty interesting, but mages most of the time need some front line to support them. I didn¡¯t need that kind of problem. Some items have class restrictions, so some spells should have them as well, but maybe there are some turnarounds for that. ¡®All right then, mess up and then this will be over. The wounds that you received yesterday still bother me. I am not planning to get them to cause lasting damage.¡¯ I wanted to see the monsters coming at me at night from this perspective before fighting them myself. It was better to come up with some countermeasures, considering that as well. When the sun set, everyone that was outside the town returned to the place and the atmosphere changed drastically. It was almost like I could feel the hunger of the monsters. ¡®Retreat a bit. We don¡¯t know if the monsters in the forest might come toward us if we get too close or make a lot of blood spread around.¡¯ ¡®All right.¡¯ The other guy began to retreat a bit while eating an apple and soon threw the remains to one of the holes¡­ that made some of the dire rats in that hole come out to attack him. The beasts were screeching while glaring at me and soon they charged with the double of the speed that they showed before. ¡®Oh, I forgot to say that they are a bit stronger at night, right?¡¯ ¡®You dumbass¡­¡¯ The monsters weren¡¯t the only ones who changed a lot at night¡­ The other guy looked a lot more wild as well. When the monsters charged, he charged toward them as well and began to slash around the short knives. They had lost some durability during the day, so they might break at some point, but he didn¡¯t care about that. Despite his stupidity, it looked like he knew what he was doing. The other guy weaved around amidst the monsters and stabbed them in the sides with ease. When he failed killing them in a single strike, at least the monsters got too hurt to do anything afterward.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins.
¡®Another thing that this moron forgot to mention¡­¡¯ At least the system was being fair, the monsters got two times stronger, so they were granting two times more experience. At this rate, it wouldn¡¯t be an impossible dream to reach level ten tonight.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
All parameters increased by 01. You received 01 free points.
Mana Control is now available.
¡°Hell yeah!¡± ¡®Hey, don¡¯t speak while using my body.¡¯ ¡°It is fine, isn¡¯t it? No one is looking.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t fine. You will mess up eventually. Don¡¯t do this again.¡± His mood soured¡­ I could tell that he was in a good mood since he managed to kill a large group of dire rats without even getting a single scratch. He might do something problematic again if he gets to upset. Still, I couldn¡¯t pamper him. ¡°All right, what now? Should we continue?¡± ¡°Yeah, keep going. I hate to say this, but you are better at me when it comes to fighting.¡± I wanted to get used to fighting at night, but it was cloudy and the amount of light was minimal. Even if my parameters had improved, they still had some limitations. I also wanted to tire this moron out before he decides to do anything stupid. Since he doesn¡¯t plan ahead or think aside about the moment, the other guy was truly good at fighting. Even if he didn¡¯t have experience, his confidence and lack of fear made him a lot better than me when it comes to fighting. Considering that, I imagined that getting a different fighting style would be a good idea¡­ perhaps even a magical class that isn¡¯t focused on support. My other option was to find another way to fight at close range better. Learning from the other guy was also a good idea. The only thing I couldn¡¯t do was to let him do all the fighting all the time. There is a chance that he might obtain more control over my body than me if I let that happen. ¡°Oops¡­ I guess I am getting tired.¡± The other guy tripped on a stone when he tried to avoid the charge of a dire rat and he was forced to stab the monster with both knives in order to stop the creature. That gave room for the others to surround him. ¡°All right, I will handle this.¡± I took control over my body again¡­ I was planning to tire him out a bit more since he only reached the halfway point of the current level. This wasn¡¯t much of a real fighting style, but it was the best I could come up with for now¡­ When the monsters got close enough, I stopped their charge with the tip of my knives and then quickly turned to handle the next moments. The knives only pierced their faces enough for some blood gush, but it was enough for me. Before the other monsters could reach me, I spun around and stabbed them in the air with some light thrust attacks and stopped them in their tracks¡­ There was no strength involved or agility, just a bit of defense and a lot of speed. The monsters on the ground began to screech in pain, but soon I stabbed them in the head and finished the job. I tried to be fast, but some of them still managed to react¡­ stabbing monsters on the ground with knives was a bit hard, so I had to crush their heads with my feet. ¡®Crunch,¡¯ ¡®crunch.¡¯ The sound and the feeling of smashing the monsters was truly disgusting¡­ I truly should improve my fighting style. Learning how to throw knives should help as well, even though it was only useful at night. My usual fighting style was normal for day encounters. I did that a few times and realized that while I was taking my time, the other guy wasn¡¯t complaining. It made me wonder if he was resting to take over my body later. That was an aggravation that I truly didn¡¯t need in my life.
You received 02 EXP.
You received 02 Origin Coins
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
All parameters increased by 01. You received 01 free points.
Mana Control is now available.
You received a quest: The First Real Step Look for information on the town about where you can upgrade your class. The options might be limited according to your actions, but there are still many paths available for you. Your journey has just started.
I was expecting some options to appear in front of me, but it looked like things weren¡¯t that simple¡­ that raised some questions. The alert said that I could obtain more options based on what I had done¡­ but was that true even from the very beginning? I only talked with some people and killed monsters, after all. ¡®Well, let¡¯s see what the information broker can say about this? Is he still working even at this hour?¡¯ If he were like an NPC, he would be¡­ but wishing for that now truly wouldn¡¯t be of much use to this reality. In any case, when I passed through the gate, I looked around for Chark, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was a new group of guards here¡­ and they couldn¡¯t complete the quests for him. That confirmed that they weren¡¯t acting like NPCs. When I headed to where the information broker was, Lain was nowhere to be seen. The building was closed as well. So, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡®I guess I should sleep and drop here as soon as the sun rises¡­¡¯ I was a bit tired, so when I returned to the inn, I imagined that I would fall asleep soon, but that didn¡¯t happen¡­ I was too excited. This was another exciting moment in my life, after all. Two exciting days in a row¡­ of course I couldn¡¯t relax and fall asleep. I considered increasing my strength more and then knocking myself out, but then I wouldn¡¯t be able to wake up at the sunrise, so I just waited patiently until the time came. I didn¡¯t think that I slept more than two hours tonight, but when the sky was turning light blue again, I got up from the bed with a powerful leap. ¡°All right, let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡®I am still tired, so wake me up when something interesting happens or when you are done with the class chance.¡¯ ¡®This guy¡­ he truly wants to leave all the boring parts to me.¡¯ I had no idea why he was that tired¡­ I was still fine thanks to the excitement, but I probably should take a nap at some point. In any case, I headed outside, but then noticed that the bedrooms looked like they were occupied¡­ I didn¡¯t know when everyone would be able to rent a room or if the town had enough room for that, but I decided to rent my room for a week and save time. The innkeeper seemed to be in a good mood when he got the coins¡­ Speaking of which, I could take them from my inventory as well. That didn¡¯t change anything, but it was good to know. ¡°Hey, good morning, mister hard worker. Already at level ten, huh? I guess you came here for information about the class change.¡± ¡°That is right.¡± ¡°At the start, you have six options and they expand as you grow strong and do other things like completing quests.¡± Six options¡­ that seemed high enough and pretty varied since everyone probably would have access to them. ¡°The information about the classes and where you can get them will cost one hundred Origin coins each.¡± I could afford that much, but first, I decided to ask about something else. Something that has been bothering me for a while. ¡°How can I get a job?¡± Chapter 09 - Options ¡°To have access to them, you need your first combat class first. You need to do some tests to obtain a job. You can get them from people anywhere as rewards from quests and dungeons.¡± Dungeons¡­ so they were a thing here, too. These might be pretty good hunting grounds. The sooner I find them, the better results I will get. I didn¡¯t know how they worked, but I would guess that those who find them first get the best results. ¡°All right, I will pay for the information about all the classes and then I will ask about the jobs later.¡± ¡°Thank you for making business with me..¡±
You used 600 Origin coins.
It was a bit expensive, but it was the best way to make sure that I would choose the best option with all the information available. In the end, some dots appeared on my map and they had different emblems. A sword, a pointy hat, a bow, a knife, a magic staff, and an axe. It made me recall a certain game that I played when I was a kid. The options were similar as well. When I clicked on those options in the Map, I was able to obtain more information about the quests and the classes available.
Warrior A melee fighter specializing in weapon-based combat, combining strength and defense. They focus on close-range encounters, serving as frontline warriors that are hard to defeat. Strength + 02, Vitality + 02, Endurance + 02, Toughness + 02, Adaptability + 02, all other parameters + 01, + 02 free points per level. Specialized Gear: Weapons: Longswords, greatswords, and shields. Armor: Medium to heavy armor, focusing on durability. Accessories: Belts or charms that boost strength or stamina. Basic Skills: Block: Reduces or negates damage with a shield. Battle Cry: Boosts attack power or intimidates enemies in range. Power Strike: A heavy attack that penetrates armor.
¡®Hm, so it is like that, huh? This seems like a good option for people who want to fight solo like me, but it would need some investment when it comes to defensive gear. I wouldn¡¯t be able to move that well either, covered in armor from head to toe. Let¡¯s check the next option.¡¯
Mage A spellcaster who channels arcane energy for ranged, versatile attacks. While physically frail, they compensate with destructive or controlling magic. Magic + 02, Wisdom + 02, Spirit + 02, Dexterity + 02, Adaptability + 02, all other parameters + 01, + 02 free points per level. Gear: Weapons: Staffs, wands, or tomes. Armor: Robes or light armor to amplify magical abilities. Accessories: Amulets or rings increasing mana or spellcasting speed. Basic Skills: Firebolt: Launches a fiery projectile at a target. Arcane Shield: Creates a barrier that absorbs damage. Mana Surge: Restores mana over time.
¡®Just by obtaining this class, I would be able to use magic¡­ that would increase my attack power to a certain extent and I would be able to head to the forest without wasting any time. Putting that aside, it seems that these classes all grant the same amount of parameters, but they are split in different types of builds. Let¡¯s see the others¡­¡¯
Archer A ranged combatant proficient in physical attacks, combining precision and mobility to defeat enemies from afar. Strength + 02, Wisdom + 02, Toughness 02, Dexterity + 02, Adaptability + 02, all other parameters + 01, + 02 free points per level. Gear: Weapons: Bows, crossbows, or knives. Armor: Light leather armor for flexibility. Accessories: Quivers or gloves enhancing accuracy and reload speed. Basic Skills: Quick Shot: Fires an arrow quickly at the nearest target. Snipe: A precise, critical hit from a long distance. Eagle Eye: Temporarily increases range and accuracy.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
¡®This feels like a good class for me who isn¡¯t particularly skilled when it comes to fighting at close-range. Then again, it isn¡¯t like I used bows before¡­ I also didn¡¯t use knives before fighting, I would have been in jail if I had it. Crossbows seems like a good choice for someone like me¡­¡¯
Rogue A stealthy and resourceful class who relies on agility and cunning to strike quickly and avoid detection. Strength + 02, Wisdom + 02, Toughness 02, Dexterity + 02, Adaptability + 02, all other parameters + 01, + 02 free points per level. Gear: Weapons: Daggers, short swords, or throwing knives. Armor: Light leather armor for stealth and agility. Accessories: Lockpicks, smoke bombs, or cloaks for concealment. Basic Skills: Backstab: High-damage attack from behind. Stealth: Temporarily becomes undetectable. Pick Lock: Opens locked chests or doors.
¡®This one seems more like we were already doing so far¡­ but I bet that people would look at us with suspicion. Those skills are rather troublesome, but they can be useful in some situations. The other guy would probably make me pick this if he were awake¡­¡¯
Cleric A healing caster who supports allies with healing, blessings, and holy magic, balancing offense and defense. Magic + 02, Wisdom + 02, Spirit + 02, Dexterity + 02, Adaptability + 02, all other parameters + 01, + 02 free points per level. Gear: Weapons: Maces, staves, or holy symbols. Armor: Robes or light chainmail. Accessories: Relics or charms enhancing healing and mana. Basic Skills: Heal: Restores health to an ally. Blessing: Temporarily increases an ally''s attack. Smite: Deals holy damage, especially effective against undead.
¡®Yeah, these classes are just like that other game¡­ that game had special classes, but if the information broker didn¡¯t reveal them to me, I guess I can¡¯t get those special classes. They were fun to play, but rather expensive to manage.¡¯
Crafter A unique class centered on trade, crafting, and support through economic power or item use. It can be used for combat under the right circumstances. Strength + 02, Endurance + 02, Toughness 02, Dexterity + 02, Adaptability + 02, all other parameters + 01, + 02 free points per level. Gear: Weapons: Daggers, clubs, or defensive tools. Armor: Light clothing or reinforced vests for mobility. Accessories: Coin pouches, trade permits, or crafting tools. Basic Skills: Barter: Reduces item costs from shops or NPCs. Appraise: Identifies the value and properties of items. Craft Item: Creates basic potions, gear, or other goods.
I checked all the options and then began to consider them. Considering what has happened so far, it would be better if I became more self-sufficient, so classes like archer or rogue would be a good idea. Still, if there are more people coming, it might be a good idea to pick another class that would benefit a large group. ¡°... Are there more people coming to this town?¡± ¡°No, but you can find them in other settlements. Do you want to hear more about that for one hundred origin coins? ¡°... Yes.¡±
You used 100 Origin coins.
¡°All of the people of your land were moved to this place, but chaos would only spread if too many people were put in the same area. So, they are in other places like this that have similar conditions. You can reach them if you walk in any direction. Your planet wasn¡¯t that big, so there aren¡¯t many continents like this.¡± ¡°Not that big¡­ many continents? Is it possible to reach them? Does that mean that all the humans were brought to places like this?¡±
You used 200 Origin coins.
¡°Yes, you can. It is a bit dangerous, though.¡± That complicated things more than a little¡­ I thought that I didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone else since only some individuals were brought here, but some friends and family are in similar situations. I wanted to try to reach them, but I feared that this would be close to impossible¡­ I also wanted to ask how he knew all that and if he could tell where everyone was, but I feared the answers. ¡®What should I do? I have to change my approach a bit¡­¡¯ I had to think logically¡­ for now, I wasn¡¯t strong enough to even leave this area alone, so thinking about them would only make me lose my focus and cause my death if I was not cautious. I needed to get stronger first and then learn more about the situation before trying to reach out to them. ¡®All right, time to move and get stronger and more seriously now¡­ having fun isn¡¯t only my goal anymore.¡¯ I made my choice and then headed to the southern part of the town. It was also the part of the town where the red district was located, so I couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh soon enough. ¡®I smell a good opportunity in the air.¡¯ ¡®Shut up. I am not going to allow you to waste time with this.¡¯ ¡®Relax, even I am not insane enough to tell you to relax considering what you have just learned.¡¯ ¡®You heard that and still decided to stay quiet, huh? Selfish asshole.¡¯ ¡®I was just resting to be able to fight properly with all my might as soon as possible. Since you are you, you don¡¯t have many friends, so it is better to make sure that they won¡¯t die so soon. Let¡¯s work hard together to find everyone.¡¯ It was weird to hear the other guy saying that kind of thing. It made me think that he was plotting something. Still, he wasn¡¯t that smart in the first place to plot any elaborate plans. He was good at reacting to things thanks to his instincts, but terrible at planning anything. Before long, I reached the place where the quest to become a rogue was available¡­ weirdly enough, it was a tavern that looked pretty sketchy, even though it was during the day and the building also was brand new like the rest of the city. I got inside the building and found some people there¡­ They looked at me with suspicion in their eyes. There were some of them sleeping while sitting on chairs and their legs resting on the tables, some of them were drinking this early in the morning on the balcony of the tavern. ¡®They aren¡¯t even trying to pretend that they aren¡¯t cutthroats¡­ perhaps I should choose another class.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t be a little bitch and just go talk with the barkeeper. It seems that with this type of class, we can get more than just some skills to surprise targets and vanish.¡¯ That was true, but it only made me hesitate more¡­ Perhaps wearing heavy armor wasn¡¯t so bad. At least I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this type of crowd too often. The fact that the other guy was really itching to get this class was proof enough that this was bad news. Still, considering that my plans changed, I couldn¡¯t afford to hesitate¡­ also, as much as I wanted to deny that, I knew for a fact that I would fare much better being a rogue than a warrior or an archer. Chapter 10 - Test and Training I approached the tavern keeper. She was a gorgeous woman with quite the physique. Tanned skin, wavy black hair, and light brown eye¡­ just one eye since she was wearing an eyepatch. I was hoping that she was wearing that just to look more rough around the edges, though. ¡°Hello, I am here for the quest to obtain the rogue class.¡± The tavern keeper looked at me from head to toe with a serious expression. I could already imagine her saying that I didn¡¯t look like I could become one and that becoming an archer or a warrior would be easier for someone like me. I was the straight-faced type, after all. ¡°... How far are you willing to achieve your goals?¡± ¡°How far? It is hard to say¡­ unless I am forced to do something that would make me hate myself, I think that I can go pretty far.¡± ¡°Rogues live in the shadows and do things under the cover of the darkness. Others see us as the type who would do anything to achieve our goals and for money. If you reach the true potential of someone who works in the darkness, you should keep it in mind that a lot of people won¡¯t like you anywhere close to them because of that.¡± That certainly was edgy, but I was expecting that much, given the skills that a rogue starts with. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure that I would be fine if people found me suspicious, but as long as the people that I truly cared about were fine, I couldn¡¯t care about the others. ¡°It seems that you have some spirit¡­ let¡¯s test that spirit, then. Head to the forest in the north, and then steal a honeycomb from one of the groups of bears there. You can gain a bonus if you complete the quest for being found or without killing any monster until then.¡±
You received a quest: Rogue Class Quest - Go to the forest in the north and return with a honeycomb Rewards: Class Promotion, a set of rogue gear, join the Rogue¡¯s guild. Time Limit: 1440 minutes
I had a full day to complete the quest¡­ it didn¡¯t seem that hard, aside from the part of not having to fight even once. Considering that Backstab is one of the initial skills of the class, I imagined that doing that much without being found would be fine. ¡®I will have to use stealth, huh? I guess the knowledge of the other skills will come as a reward, then.¡¯ In any case, I nodded and then left the tavern. I forgot to ask Lain what would happen if I failed the quest¡­ would it be closed forever for me? That was a bit worrisome. Regardless, to complete the quest for being found and gain the extra rewards, it would be better to head to the forest at night, but then the monsters would be more violent. If I were to be found, then I would have to find stronger monsters there while they are more violent. ¡®I suppose the monsters won¡¯t be simply bears as we know from Earth¡­ so, what should I do about this?¡¯ ¡®You can leave it to me.¡¯ True, he had good senses, but it was too much of a risk¡­ he was also the type who gets overly excited, so it is better to focus on other solutions. For now, I decided to head to where the alchemist lived in order to sell all the dire rat parts that I had accumulated. I was expecting to find an old man who looked very suspicious, and also looked like a lich or something, but much to my surprise, the alchemist was a blond woman with thick glasses and messy hair. She was messing with a cauldron when I arrived at her shop. ¡®She is a bit messy, but she has G-cups, so I guess I can smash.¡¯ ¡®Shut the fuck up¡­¡¯ I didn¡¯t need this guy putting ideas in my mind. I hadn¡¯t noticed that since she was wearing a thick dark robe, but he was right. Damn it, now it would be hard not to look. Better to finish things here quickly. ¡°Hello, I want to sell some monster parts. Hello?¡± The alchemist kept messing with the cauldron while she was mumbling to herself something that I couldn¡¯t hear. That was never a good sign.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Hello! I want to sell monster parts here!¡± ¡°Oh? My apologies. I was a bit immersed in my work. Oh? You already reached level ten? How interesting. If you are this hardworking, you should pick the trader class and then come here at level 25 to become an alchemist. Instead of having to use weapons, you can fight monsters using potions instead.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe that she told me that piece of information for free¡­ maybe I could make some money sharing that kind of information¡­ or maybe I could just share it around to make it easier for everyone who didn¡¯t have the skills for fighting. ¡°I will think about it. How much can you pay for 1231 dire rat tails, and 1455 dire rat fangs?¡± ¡°You sure have a lot of it stocked¡­ considering the current rates, I can pay one origin coin for two dire rat tails and six origin coins for ten dire rat fangs. So, all of it will cost 1488 origin coins.¡± It took me a few more seconds to do the math and her calculation was indeed correct¡­ She was also good at math, despite looking like a mad scientist. Speaking of which¡­ ¡°By the way, there is a certain miasma coming from your cauldron.¡± ¡°Oh? It is almost time, then.¡± The alchemist made the cauldron levitate and then she also made a bunch of glass bottles appear out of nowhere and then she made the cauldron drop the contents of the cauldron inside the bottles¡­ the smell was so strong that I felt like almost passing out. Was that something that needed to be drunk? Talk about a slow and painful death¡­ ¡°... What is that for?¡± ¡°It is a potion that ignores defenses. It is perfect for those who want to face the four armed bears, the giant armadillos, stone treants or the goblins.¡± Were all those creatures in the forest? Or were they in the other directions? Come to think of it, it would be crazy to think that a single forest would surround us in all directions¡­ considering what Lain said, this place should have all kinds of biomes and the other settlements should be beyond them. ¡°By the way, how did you lift the cauldron? With magic?¡± ¡°Of course it was magic. Once it reaches a certain level, you can do this too, but I can¡¯t say much more than this, or Lain will get mad. He always does. Once you learn a skill or two that uses mana, you will be able to study and apply in all kinds of scenarios.¡± It was a pity that I couldn¡¯t learn more for free, but I had learned plenty already.¡± In any case, I got my money and also brought three of those potions, since they could last for an hour. It would be better if I get used to that kind of potion in case of emergencies. In any case, they cost one hundred origin coins, quite expensive. Still, given that the challenges after the dire rats will be creatures that have tougher defenses, it was necessary to use them for a while. ¡°Thank you for coming to my shop. Check regularly for more potions when more materials start to spread around.¡± ¡°All right.¡± I turned around and began to run back to the inn and soon the other guy realized what I was doing. ¡®Where are you going? You can¡¯t rest until night comes. The day just started!¡¯ ¡®We can¡¯t level up, even if we could, it would be a waste since the experience should go to the new class. It is better if we focus on doing something that will increase our chances of success and also improving our cards for the future.¡¯ ¡®What do you have in mind, then?¡¯ ¡®Mana training¡­ we have the skill, so it should be possible to use it. We just need to learn how.¡¯ The other guy didn¡¯t like the idea that much. He would rather use his body than do something as cryptic as this. He was that short sighted. ¡®Can you sense anything different when you used my body before?¡¯ ¡®It felt easier and more powerful, but it shouldn¡¯t be because of mana, but because of the parameters.¡¯ As for me, I could tell that the moron was there more clearly, so maybe he represented the mana in my body, but I didn¡¯t have access to any status screen before, so that shouldn¡¯t be the only difference¡­ I sat down on my bed, the mattress dipping slightly under my weight as I settled into a comfortable position. My hands rested on my knees, and I closed my eyes, letting the quiet of the room wrap around me like a blanket. Taking a deep breath, I cleared my mind, pushing away the noise of the day. Focusing inward, I searched for the unfamiliar sensation I had begun to notice earlier. At first, it was weak, like trying to catch a wisp of smoke. But as I concentrated, it grew more defined, a faint pulse of warmth deep within me. Slowly, I became aware of its nature, like a tiny flame flickering in the dark. It was weak, almost fragile, but unmistakably alive. I could feel it ebbing and flowing in rhythm with my thoughts, reacting to my focus. The more I directed my attention toward it, the more vivid it became, as though my will was feeding it. It didn¡¯t blaze or roar, but it burned steadily, a constant presence that couldn¡¯t be ignored. ¡®So, is that mana?¡¯ ¡®It should be¡­ we need to learn how to control it and improve the feeling. I am not going to pick a magic class, but anything that can help me now and in the future will be amazing to me.¡¯ I could tell that the new classes became available because of this skill to control mana. This would be the key source of energy from now on and those who learn to control it freely, will have the advantage. It made me wonder if not picking the mage class wouldn¡¯t be better¡­ it even had a defensive skill, after all. Still, I decided to trust my instincts.