On the way to the armoury, I checked my status.

  I got some upgrades to Health and Stamina. Also in Strength, Agility and Intelligence. I thought it had something to do with the fights, since even Piercing resistance went up. So level ups increased my stats based on my actions. Since I fought a lot and exhausted my stamina, my stamina regen and stamina went up. From my first level up, my character build was already becoming unique.

  Like in Mapar’s shop, a bell jingled as I walked in.

  “Welcome, welcome! What might you be needing today?”

  The swordmaster greeted me cheerfully. His bald head shone brightly from the sun’s rays, but his most striking feature was the scar that ran down his face. From above his brow, curling around his eye and ending at his chin. Looked like someone drew on him.

  “I need a sword” my voice was a bit muffled as it came through the mask “Of about 3 silvers”

  “Sure thing!”

  He then went in to a back room, leaving me alone in the shop. Bored, I looked around the shop.

  It was filled with swords of all shapes and sizes. Greatswords, bastard swords, katanas. All of them adorned the shelves behind the counter, or in glass cases in front of it. I marvelled at the steel as I waited for the old man to come back.

  “Woah... Dual swords...”

  I couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at the pair of swords in the top of the case. It was sleek like a katana, but tempered like a scimitar. A curious curve. It’s hilt was wrapped with some green wire.

  “Cool... Me want...”

  “Do you like them, lad?”

  The blademaster’s voice startled me and I turned back, a bit surprised. In his hands were three swords and the smile was still plastered on his face.

  “No... Not particularly”

  “No need to lie lad! I know someone who likes a sword when I see one. Even if that someone wears a mask”

  He laid the swords on the table and pushed them towards me. I stepped closer, and then he began explaining them.

  “This is the more commonly bought Iron sword. This one’s the needle. And this one’s a bit more expensive than your budget... by about a silver. A Orihal sword. It’s a bit troublesome to use.”

  “Show me the Iron sword.” After all, troublesome to use is troublesome. Maybe I’ll get it when I’m richer. I took the sword from him, ignoring the thin needle and the pencil like Orihal sword. Definitely not buying that.

  Oh great. A trash skill. A boring lecture and all I got was a skill that won’t be of any use to me. Combining it with some Repair skills might help me out, but I had no idea how to get that. Well, at least these types of skills don’t have a maximum limit. I could learn all the skills I wanted now. But once I obtained a class, restrictions would be imposed and some skills would be removed.

  I sighed and placed 3 silvers on the table. The sword master smiled cheerfully as he handed them over to me. “Take good care of it!”

  I left the shop, feeling a bit disgruntled. My brand new Iron sword hung at my waist.

  I slapped my cheeks in an attempt to clear my mind. Yes! Only part one of my mission was completed.

  “It looks quite good on you lad!” the armourer said, looking me over.

  “Thanks.”

  I left the armourer’s place, my money bag now considerably lighter-metaphorically. I only had about 50 coppers left. I had to buy an iron sword, a leather breastplate and just one beginner’s potion. The beginner’s potion cost 50 coppers.

  Counting the 1 silver the breastplate alone cost, I only had 50 coppers remaining. And soon I’d be losing even that too, what with the maintenance costs and stuff. Sigh, maybe this game was made to make people understand the need for money management? Perhaps.

  I headed out to the fields, ready to bring down some of the balls. Today, I’ll go for a rapid level up. A thorough grinding. I had a lot of catching up to do after all.

  I headed out onto the lush green fields, slowly drawing my sword out as I did so. I really can’t wait to get to a higher level and start exploring. Tharos is a huge place. And I want to see as much of it as I can.

  I rushed at the first ball I found, brandishing my sword as I did so. The ball wasn’t so surprised as it had already seen me. It rolled and the shot towards me. The AI assist had already kicked in, so I was in the best state I could be in. I ducked, feeling its spikes graze my back as I narrowly missed it. It shaved off a bit of my HP, but that was no matter.

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  Right now, I was itching to try out the sword. I swung at the ball as soon as it landed, the back of its body exposed. The sword cut through the air smoothly, and it made a satisfying squelch as it cut through the jelly like body of the ball.

  The reach of the sword was quite huge, so it dealt some major damage to the ball. The blood- green goo- flew out, and it yelled in frustration. I didn’t stop there, as I twisted the blade in my hands and raised it above my head. Like an executioner, I brought it down on it.

  Definitely a critical hit.

  The ball exploded as the sword cleaved through it, giving me some pretty sweet HP.

  “Alright! On to the next one!”

  I brushed my blood off from the leather breastplate. It was my precious after all. I had killed quite a number of them balls, and successfully got my level to 5. I didn’t encounter any berserk balls too, so that’s a good thing.

  Also, Dynamix told me that I could salvage items from the dead bodies of monsters. So, I tried prying off the spikes from the balls. Thankfully, it worked. I collected quite a few of them, so I decided to sell them all to the herbalist. Profit~!

  Right now I got about a 100 spikes, by diligently picking up what was left behind. Apparently, minor beasts like the ones here would just explode and leave behind some spikes. After leaving the beginner’s area, the monster carcasses would stay there.

  With the spikes I would get about 4 coppers each, netting me a price of about 400 coppers. That’s 4 silvers! I could buy even more armor with that!

  But soon enough, silvers wouldn’t suffice. Gold would be what matters. God, I can’t wait to get to a high level. Maybe join Unity? I always wanted to become a high levelled player in a guild. Respected and feared.

  With level 5, my stats improved considerably.

  [table]Status WindowName:NexusAlignment:NoneLevel:5Class:NoneRace:NephilimGender:Male Titles NoneFame:0Infamy:0-Health:170 /170Health Regen:1.0 / SecMana:70 / 70Mana Regen:0.3 / Sec[tr]Stamina:110 / 110Stamina Regen:2.0 / Sec-Strength:16Agility:17Intelligence:9Wisdom:7Leadership:0Luck:0-Physical ResistancesSlashing:0.5%Piercing:3.5%Crushing:0.5%Elemental Resistances[tr]None

  My mana increased this time around, probably because I frequently used [Sharp Eyes], getting it to 17% after a lot of hard work. My [Sword Mastery] went up to 8%, and [Knife Mastery] stayed at 0%.

  “Maybe I should check out that skill I got?”

  I stared at the sword and spoke the magic words.

  “Weapon Inspection!”

  A wave of sorts boomed out from me, and the sword’s appearance changed drastically.

  Some lines appeared on it, making it look like a cyber object. The lines crisscrossed throughout the surface of the blade, and the dark grey colour of the sword changed to a dark blue, with the lines glowing white. Then, some red marks began appearing on the sword, highlighting the nicks on the blade.

  “That’s a lot...”

  The surface was coated with numerous scratches, presumably due to the spikes of the balls. For once, I noticed a major flaw. Most of the scratches were on the flat of the blade. Even the nicks and gouges were pretty clear. I realised that most of my attacks hit monsters partly with the flat side, annulling some of the damage. I thought that there were some special conditions for me to achieve full damage, but to think it was this.

  In the end, the game did give a bit of an edge to people with actual experience.

  “Ah forget it. I got to level 5!”

  I need to get back to the town now, and sell the thorns and stuff to the herbalist. After that, I would be done for the day. Mom did say that we’re going to eat outside tonight.

  To my surprise, I suddenly yawned. It was a weird feeling. My body felt completely vigorous and active, but slowly, my head felt quite drowsy. Well, seems like the nocturnal lifestyle hasn’t been completely mastered by me.

  Stifling another yawn, I sheathed my Iron sword again and headed back to town. I kept watching the other newbies fight as I did so.

  It was quite hard to push open the thick door of the herbalist’s shop. What with all the plants near the entrance, the vines had coiled around the door, hindering it from opening smoothly.

  The moment I stepped in, a familiar voice greeted me.

  “Oh? Is it Nexus? The mask does look good on you! Just like I told em”

  The lady wearing the pointed green hat greeted me as I walked in. Her gray hair covered her cheeks with their curls, her messy hairstyle making her look like a cave woman. She wore a dark green outfit of sorts, matching the colours of her store.

  The walls of the herbalist’s shop was covered completely with thick vines and leaves, making it seem like a small jungle. An extremely compact jungle, to be exact. Complete with a cave woman.

  “Hello Mrs Kiosa! I came by to sell some of the stuff you wanted!”

  I took out the bundles of thorns from my inventory and placed them on the counter, among the various other leaves that covered it. She’s really a plant enthusiast.

  She hobbled closer and looked at the thorns with great scrutiny. Then, her expression brightened as she looked at me.

  “Good work Nexus! This is a good batch. So you wanna sell it?” she questioned me, her hands turning the thorn around in them.

  “Yep. Gimme what you can Mrs Kiosa” I said. After all, she would give me a price higher than that of the normal market price.

  “Hm? 112 thorns huh. I’ll buy them all for about 440 coppers. Fine with you?” she asked me.

  “Sure!” I completed the transaction and pocketed the money. The other NPCs might buy it for 400 coppers or so. Only in that regard, I chose to sell it here. After all, money is money!

  I bid farewell to her as I walked out, happy with the extra money.

  I opened the menu and pressed the ‘Log Out’ option, yawning as I did so. Today was quite tiring. But still, I managed to get to Level 5!

  Right now, I’d just go to sleep...

  Without a care in the world, I immediately jumped onto the bed and fell deep asleep.

  Was quite sleepy when I typed this, so I might have glossed over a few things. Thx for reading! Hopefully there are no table troubles.