Liam returned to Duskwind Village, his inventory filled with wolf fangs, fur, and tainted claws. The village was still bustling with new players, but Liam paid them no mind. He had a plan, and every second counted.
First, he needed to turn his quests in. Liam approached the village chief first, handing over the five wolf fangs.
Ding!
Quest Completed: Kill 5 Dire Wolves
Rewards: +20 reputation with Eldoria, 50 copper coins, 200 exp
The chief nodded approvingly. "You've done well, adventurer. The village is safer thanks to you."
Next, Liam found the old woman near the fountain. He handed her the wolf fur, and her face lit up with gratitude.
Ding!
Quest Completed: Collect 3 Wolf Fur
Rewards: +15 reputation with Eldoria, 100 exp
"Thank you, dear," she said, her voice trembling. "My grandson will be warm this winter because of you."
Finally, Liam approached the herbalist, who was busy grinding herbs into a fine powder. He handed over the tainted claws.
Ding!
Quest Completed: Gather 3 Tainted Claws
Rewards: +30 reputation with Eldoria, 100 exp, 1 Anti-Bleeding Potion
Veteran's Knowhow Triggers (20x)!
100exp ->2000exp
The herbalist examined the claws carefully. "Fascinating. This toxin could be the key to a new antidote. You've done a great service, adventurer."
As the rewards poured in, a familiar chime echoed in Liam's ears.
Ding!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
...
[Player: Liam Carter]
Level: 5 (Soldier)
HP: 2000 (7.5 HP regen/s)
MP: 350 (1.75 MP regen/s)
Armor - 90 + 30
Weapon: Beginners Sword: Physical Attack - 25
Armor: Wanderers Set: Set Bonuses +30 Armor
Skills:
Waveforce - Slams the weapon heavily, creating a wave of destruction - 10x total weapon attack
Cooldown - 10s ; Mana Cost 125 MP per cast
Overhead Strike (New) - Strike a weak point of an enemy, dealing massive single target damage. Also applies a 0.1 s mini stun
Cooldown - 20s ; Mana Cost 100 MO per cast
Perk: Veteran's Knowhow [Epic]
Attributes
Physique - 20 (1 point = 100 HP, +0.75 HP regen/s)
Dexterity - 8 (1 point = 5% Attack Speed increase, 0.5% Movement Speed)
Willpower - 7 (1 point = 50 MP, 0.25 MP regen/s)
Endurance - 9 (1 point = 0.1% resistance to elements, 10 Armor))
Charm - 6 (No direct benefits, certain amount of charm might be required to proceed certain quests/negotiations)
Luck - 15 (Impacts item drops of all rarities)
Points available - 10
Reputation:
Eldoria - +65 (Friendly)
Nice! Assign all points to Physique and Luck again!
With his increased reputation, Liam now had access to a lot of new NPCs appearing in the village.
However, Liam had a specific thing he had to do ASAP before anything else to further boost his early game advantage
Heading to the village marketplace, he approached a shifty-looking merchant with a gold tooth, sitting smugly behind a counter.
"Need some coins, traveler?" the merchant grinned, rubbing his hands together. "I offer loans to those in need. Just a small interest rate—10% only"
Liam sneered. He knew that the interest rate was not per year, not even per month.
It was per week.
Many new players who had taken loans were set back significantly by this debt, as the system would auto sell their inventory to at least meet the interest payments.
And if the loan amounts were too much, in some extreme cases, so human players would be forced to do tasks for the state till the loan amount was paid, and in many cases it would drag on for months
However, Liam did not hesitate. He borrowed 100 silver, a massive amount for a beginner
Ding!
Loan Accepted: 100 Silver Coin (1 silver = 100 Copper Coins)
Interest: 10% per week
Interest Due Date: 7 days
"Thank you for your patronage" The merchant smiled in a creepy manner
However, Liam did not pay him any heed and left immediately, and went to the alchemy guild's counter on another street
"1 Greater Anti Venom elixir please"
That would be 1 gold coin or 100 silver coins – a mechanical voice came from behind the counter.
"Sure, here are 100 silver coin"
Here is your charm, thank you for your patronage!
With a smooth transaction, Liam slowly stepped out of the Alchemist's shop
Many novice gamers would call Liam a fool for spending so much money early on an elixir. After all, an elixir once activated would last only 120 minutes.
2 hours of poison resistance meant nothing, especially in the early game where most of the damage was physical and could be reduced with armor.
However Liam, being already knowledgeable about the game, knew of a certain area of the map with a mini boss which was present in every village
Now mini bosses were fairly common across the game, and the drops were average. However, there was a difference this time.
It was the first kill achievement!
The first person to kill a mini boss of each type would have a 100% drop chance of an epic item, related to the type of mini boss
For example, the first person to kill 1 dragon mini boss could get a mythic dragon's eye, or some powerful draconic incantations
However, not many people cared about it, as as games progressed further, killing a single new mini boss would need tons of firepower and resources.
While that was true for the average player, it was completely different for guilds who were aiming to be on the top.
There was practically a war between many top guilds to get a chance for the first kill of a celestial.
In the end, Liam had led his guild to win the war, and got the qualifications to challenge the celestial
"Sigh.. after all I did for them, this is how they treat me.."
Liam shook his head with regret
Anyways, this time he would get most of the first kill/clear achievements!
And the Venomfang Serpent was not a difficult boss at all. It was a boss which would always be 1 level above the current player level.
The only issue was the high poison damage from the swamp around the layer.
It was a continuous -500 Poison damage per second debuff!
This was the main reason why Liam bought the Anti Venom charm. It could give him a 99% poison damage negation for 120 minutes.
More than enough time to kill his target.
Liam made his way to the Venomfang Serpent's lair, a dark cave on the outskirts of the forest. It was so well hidden in the wilderness, that no one would notice the cave unless they were specifically looking for it.
Ding!
Entered Lair of the Venomfang Serpant!
Status – Poisoned: -500 HP/s
Before the first tick of poison damage could affect Liam, he immediately popped the Greater Anti venom elixir.
Buff – Greater Anti Venom Shield – 99% Poison resistance from environment and < level 20 monsters
Status – Poisoned: -5 HP/s
As Liam made his way through, he came across many small poison slimes, which he dispatched with ease with normal attacks without needing to use any spells
The boss was a level 6 monster with deadly poison attacks, but Liam was prepared.
Eventually, he reached the boss room
[Venomfang Serpent - Level 6]
HP - 4000/4000
The serpent lunged at him, its fangs dripping with venom. However, the greater anti venom shield came in, completely neutralizing the poison.
[-0 HP]
Poison Effect Nullified
He retaliated with Waveforce, the shockwave slamming into the serpent.
-250 HP!
The battle was intense, but Liam's preparation paid off. He used Dodge to avoid the serpent's strikes and overhead strike to stun it at critical moments.
After a grueling fight, the serpent let out a final hiss and collapsed.
Ding!
Venomfang Serpent Defeated!
Exp: 5000
Drops: Venomfang Pearl x1 , Serpent Scale x3, 200 copper coins
Liam picked up the Venomfang Pearl, a shimmering orb that pulsed with a faint green light.
[Venomfang Pearl – Epic]
Effect: Increases poison resistance by 50% and enhances poison-based skills by 100%. Can be used as a medium to remove poison from another being
Description: A rare drop from the Venomfang Serpent, highly sought after by mages and poison users.
"Nice", Liam muttered as stored the pearl in his inventory
Veteran's Knowhow Triggers (40x)!
5000exp ->20000exp
Ding!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
...
[Player: Liam Carter]
Level: 11 (Soldier)
HP: 5000 (32 HP regen/s)
MP: 700 (3.5 MP regen/s)
New Skill - Shield Block - Passively blocks 100 physical damage every 10 s from any sources
Attribute points available - 12
Woa!!
A 40x Multiplier, sending Liam's level straight from level 5 to level 11!
This is too absurd!
Put it all in luck.
Liam was in no rush to increase his strength. He wanted to farm this dungeon a few times, till he had the effect of the greater anti venom elixir active
Again!
Again!
Ding!
Veteran's Knowhow Triggers (2x)!
Veteran's Knowhow Triggers (5x)!
...
Finally, 120 minutes were up, and Liam was able to clear the dungeon 7 more times. Unfortunately, the mini boss monster stopped levelling up after Liam had surpassed level 10, and continued staying at level 10, and so the exp returns got very low
[Player: Liam Carter]
Level: 13 (Soldier)
HP: 5500 (35 HP regen/s)
MP: 800 (4 MP regen/s)
Armor - 150+30
Weapon: Beginners Sword: Physical Attack - 25 (Durability - 10/100 Can break at any moment)
Armor: Wanderers Set: Set Bonuses +30 Armor (Durability - 20/100 Can break at any moment)
Skills:
Waveforce - Slams the weapon heavily, creating a wave of destruction - 10x total weapon attack
Cooldown - 10s ; Mana Cost 125 MP per cast
Overhead Strike - Strike a weak point of an enemy, dealing massive single target damage. Also applies a 0.1 s mini stun
Cooldown - 20s ; Mana Cost 100 MP per cast
Shield Block - Passively blocks 100 physical damage every 10 s from any sources
Perk: Veteran's Knowhow [Epic]
Attributes
Physique - 55 (1 point = 100 HP, +0.75 HP regen/s)
Dexterity - 15 (1 point = 5% Attack Speed increase, 0.5% Movement Speed)
Willpower - 16 (1 point = 50 MP, 0.25 MP regen/s)
Endurance - 15 (1 point = 0.1% resistance to elements, 10 Armor))
Charm - 6 (No direct benefits, certain amount of charm might be required to proceed certain quests/negotiations)
Luck - 30 (Impacts item drops of all rarities)
Reputation:
Eldoria - +65 (Friendly)
It was still very early stages of the game, so there was no need to do any inventory management just yet. Liam just stuffed all the loot from this runs, and returned back to the city
Eventually, Liam returned to the alchemist, who examined the pearl with wide eyes.
"This is a rare find," the alchemist said. "I can offer you 30 gold coins for it, along with a permanent 10% discount on all purchases at any alchemy shop in Eldoria, and you will be one of our more favoured customers. Or, if you prefer, I can auction it for you. You could get up to 70 gold coins, but it will take some timetime."
Liam thought for a moment. The discount would save him a fortune in the long run, especially when purchasing high-end materials from higher level areas. The reputation boost would also open up more opportunities.
"I'll take the 30 gold coins and the discount," Liam said.
Ding!
Venomfang Pearl Sold
Rewards: 30 gold coins, permanent 10% discount at alchemy shops, +100 Eldoria reputation
Reputation:
Eldoria - +165 (Friendly)
"I am fkin rich", Liam muttered as he left the alchemy shop
Liam could withdraw money from the game, even though his money would be reduced twenty times due to the bad conversion rate, he would get ~$15,000 for the 30 gold coins.
However, he had other plans
With the gold coins in hand, Liam returned to the loan merchant.
"Hello, my esteemed patron. Would you like to borrow some more money?" The merchant smirked
"Here's 1 gold coin," Liam said, handing it over.
The merchant's smirk faded. "Already? I was hoping to collect some interest."
Liam shrugged. "Better luck next time."