Shaman halted in her steps from seeing the quest complete and the sudden feeling of something washing over her. Remembering that the quest reward had a level up, she assumed that the weird sensation she felt was her body powering up slightly.
'Wow, this feels amazing, if levels ups are always this good it makes me want to get to max level.' Shaman found the sensation rather enjoyable and did not want it to stop.
'I should find a place a little more discrete so I don't draw attention.' Shaman realised she was in the middle of the guild and so she found a single table to sit at.
'Let's see how the level up affected my stats.' Shaman's first thought was what had changed.
[Level: 2]
[HP: 100/100]
[MP: 150/150]
[Skills: Inspect lvl 1]
[Attributes]
Unspent points: 5
Vitality: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 15
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 7
Defense: 5
'Oh my, I did not expect 5 points a level up' Shaman knowing what to do then proceeded to allocate points like in a video game.
'I should probably up my strength and agility, I want to be fast but also pack a punch and I guess I'll put one in dexterity.'
Vitality: 10
Agility: 10 -> 12
Intelligence: 15
Strength: 8 ->10
Dexterity: 7 -> 8
Defense: 5
'Although it does not feel like I got stronger I can tell that I have certainly upgraded. I also got a inspect skill from the quest so let's give it a shot.' Shaman thought about the skill she had obtained while looking at the table and a system message appeared.
[Oak wood table]
[Just a table]
'So it works on objects but I will say that is a pretty lacklustre description, but I guess there is only so many ways you can describe a table.'
Shaman then opened up her inventory and brought out a small beginner box she had received from the quest.
'I guess I just open it and it will just give me stuff? It's a little small and from the name, it seemed like it was going to give me a few items to work with to start my journey.' Shaman opened the small box and to her surprise, a system menu opens up.
[Please select a reward]
[Basic sword]
[Basic dagger]
[Basic bow]
[Basic spear]
[....]
'OOOO, A weapon, that will definitely save me some money,' Shaman felt relieved as the reason she was going to the auction house was to get a weapon and having the different options of all kinds of weapons allowed her to be picky.
'Hmmm, I guess I'll be like any normal basic person and choose the sword since it's the only weapon I feel confident in wielding.' The system then opened another window with different kinds of swords.
'Oh hell yeah I can choose the type of sword.' Shaman then scrolled through the list of swords not knowing what even half of them were.
'Looking through the list of swords, the only one that sounds appealing to me is a katana.' Just as the thought occurred the menu closed and a katana was placed in her inventory.
'Wait what? I wasn't ready yet, I didn't even get a chance to think about the other options, what is this blasphemy!' Shaman mentally yelled as she knew the system could hear her.
[That was the reward you wanted and I gave it to you, no refunds or warranty included]
"Tch." 'This system is either really helpful or just annoying and I don't even know if the refund and warranty is the system trying to make a joke or items actually have such a thing. Curse this stupid monotone text.' Shaman screamed internally, annoyed at the system.
However, Shaman still opened her inventory and took a look at the katana she had received.
[Basic Katana (tier 1)]
[Rarity: Common]
[Bonuses]
AGI +1
[A basic katana good for killing low-level monsters and people]
'I don't like that last part good for killing low-level people, as I don't know if I'm mentally prepared for that sort of thing.' Shaman took out the Katana and it automatically put it to her hip in its sheath.
'Well that's handy it's like I just equipped it, I hope if I get any armour there is a hide option because I don't think a full set of armour on a small fox girl would look that cute at all.' Shaman now done with the reward got up from her table and went over to the auction section which had rows of stone tablets.
Approaching one of the tablets similar to the stone from before a light projection came out of them with different categories to explore.
'Well at least all the basic stuff is cheap but once we get anything uncommon and above they start getting expensive like 20 silver for just an uncommon sword while the common one is 50 copper, like come on.' Shaman browsed through the different weapons and was surprised by the price of some of the items and felt like they were trying to extort people.
'I am going to need some more money and from what the lady said before I will need to go out to collect cores.' Shaman did not want to waste time and get a stream of income as in most cases money equalled some degree of power.
*Ding*
[Quest received]
[Quest: Slay 5 monsters]
[Rewards]
1 level up
5 extra Attribute points
"YES!" Shaman yelled in her excitement but it attracted a few stares from the people around her. Shaman quickly shut up and quickly walked out of the guild to escape the embarrassment.
Shaman knowing her objective wanted to find a way out of the city, so she looked for a stone wall in hopes to find a gate.
'I got to be more conscious of where I am. It's not like I'm in a game and the NPC just ignores you'
Shaman spotting an outer wall made her way up to it and saw a gate up ahead.
Approaching the gate Shaman was stopped by a guard who presented a stone in front of her.
"Please put your hand on the stone to prove your identity." The guard looked rather intimidating.
Shaman put her hand on the stone and a slight project appeared in front of the man. The man looked through the details then puts the stone away.
"You shall pass, have a safe trip." The guard then stepped to the side indicating that Shaman was allowed to go through.
"Thanks." Shaman walked through the gate and noticed a few stalls with adventurers lining up.
'Well, now that is convenient, seems like there is a heavy focus on adventuring but still can't help feeling like this is too good to be true.' She approached one of the stalls that seemed to sell maps of the place.
"Hey there, what kind of map are you looking for?" The salesperson said in a cheery voice.
'He sounds like the perfect NPC, I swear when I kill someone I better not just see 1s and 0s because that will just make me feel even worse knowing my situation is fake.' lost in her own thoughts the salesman spoke up.
"Hey, you okay?" The salesperson was a bit concerned as Shaman went silent.
"Oh sorry, just a little distracted, can I get a map of where low-tier monsters can be found."
"Sure thing, that will be 10 copper"
Shaman reached into her pocket to pretend she was grabbing coins and took out 10 copper coins from her inventory, then handed it to the man.
"Thank you for your patronage and happy hunting." The salesman broke into a smile and waved her off
"Thanks, mister." Shaman waved back and walked off analyzing the map.
'Why can't I shake off that suspicious feeling that everything is just too easy like the world knows what I need and where to go. I better stay on guard and get this quest done quickly, hopefully, I can just kill some slimes or something.' Shaman picked up the pace and headed towards a forest that was in the distance.
***
Shaman reached the forest as indicated by the map to hunt low-tier beasts but the map did not specify what type and could only hope it is something that is harmless.
Shaman walked along a trail, but as she got deeper a rustle in the bushed was heard then followed by 3 beasts jumping in front of her.
'Oh of course my first beast is wolves but like SERIOUSLY 3 at the same time.' Shaman stepped back and unsheathed her katana. Shaman's hands shook slightly as it was rather never wracking being thrown into this situation.
'I should have done some training before going into the forest, I know I did some kendo, but being in the real situation was different.' Shaman took a few deep breaths trying to relax her body.
'Just think of them as some target.' Shaman was able to stop the shaking and once again a sense of familiarity flowed through her like she held a katana before.
One of the wolfs decided to make the first move and pounced at Shaman.
Shaman concentrated on the wolf and tightening her grip she dash forward. Stepping to the side to avoid the attack Shaman ran her blade across the side of the wolf causing blood to spout everywhere. The wolf landed on the ground and due to the massive cut that went across its body, it slowly bled to death.
[Wild wolf killed]
[Exp +5]
[Drops: wolf core tier 1]
[Items have been placed in inventory]
'That felt so cool! I thought I wouldn't have been able to kill an animal but that felt somehow felt amazing to do despite how horrible it sounded.' Shaman faced the other wolves with her newfound confidence and no longer felt worried she would be killed.
Shaman this time took the initiative and dashed at the 2 frightened wolves who witnessed their companion be killed in a second.
Shaman dashed forward and stabbed right into the first wolf's head killing it instantly. The other wolf taking advantage of the situation went to bite Shaman. Thanks to Shaman seemingly inheriting amazing reflexes she quickly pulled out the blade and slashed the remaining wolf. Both the wolves were killed swiftly and with no remorse.
[Monster kills 3/5]
'I must have gotten more out of this new body as I wouldn't have been able to use a katana like I just did, but it somehow feels so natural to use.' Shaman was perplexed by how well she was able to wield the weapon and was unsure if it was the system or if she had possessed a body inheriting everything from it.
'Hopefully, the system will tell me more soon.' Shaman wanted answers as it was becoming more clear she had taken over a body rather than turn into a half-animal.
Shaman deciding to take a small break to exhaust herself sat down by a tree.
*
After a few minutes of rest and letting the adrenaline calm down she got up from her spot, However, there was more rustling in the bush ahead of Shaman and then a collective growl was heard from behind the bush.
'Damn it seems like this place is run by wolves.' cold sweat went down Shaman's face as although she was confident in herself, fighting a big pack of wolves was not something she thought she could handle.