"Ren, why are we staying in this newbie village again?" Leonel said and [Parried] another Crazed Wolf heading their way while Ren cast [Fire] to finish them off.
Ren and Leonel have been grinding in Newbie Villages nonstop for four days, which meant four hours in real-time.
As Ren expected, having a tank in the team made things a lot easier. Ren mused to himself.
[ACQUIRED!
❶ Wolf's Fang x1
❷ 5 gil ]
Ren was surprised that Leonel was very good at following orders. His decision-making skills and awareness were lacking, but Ren covered him for that. All he got to do was follow his lead and everything went smoothly for them.
"Damn. We don't even earn EXP anymore from the beasts here." Leonel sat on the ground and grumbled, "It was exciting at first, but after four days of grinding and doing the same thing in this newbie forest, it got boring really fast."
Leonel looked over at Ren. "Others are already setting off to other towns and dungeons and doing quests and racking firstbloods while we're stuck here."
Ren raised a brow. "Since when did you care about firstblood and quests? I thought, as long as you can play as a Dwarf, you're all good?"
Leonel looked to the side, lips puckering. "Well . . . if we're going to play this game, then at least we might as well aim for firstbloods, right?"
Ren almost choked from his saliva. Since when did Leonel become competitive?
"Good things come to those who wait," Ren said instead and turned to his heels to get back to the village.
Leonel shot to his feet and went after Ren. "Remind me again why we're still in the newbie village?"
Leonel wasn't really interested in the answer as he placed both arms over his back. He just wanted something to talk about so he wouldn't get bored.
Ren slightly shook his head. He had already forgotten how many times Leonel asked him the same question, and he answered with the same answer.
Ren should have known that information only stayed in Leonel's mind for only a second. It was his mistake for explaining with great enthusiasm every time he asked.
"It's because I don't have a subclass yet, and within the span of five days after the game's opening, a traveling merchant would appear in Newbie villages offering rare classes. They will then appear at random after that. If you miss this chance, you only have one in a million to reencounter them again. This is the only sure way to have that rare class this early in the game without undergoing time-consuming, strenuous quests," summarized Ren with a serious expression and added.
"This is my only chance to have the Arcanist subclass now." The earlier Ren became an Arcanist, the better since he could immediately level his list of spells and skills.
"Heeeh . . ." Leonel flung a booger from his nose and flicked it to the side before he snickered.
Ren looked at his best friend and said seriously, "It's not too late, you know. You can still change your race and acquire rare class."
Leonel shook his head and waved his hand. "Not a chance. If I can't be small in this game, then there's no point in me playing it."
He then stared at Ren with a puppy smile on his face. Tail wagging if he had any. "As expected of our encyclopedia. You certainly know a lot about this game."
Ren's eyes looked dead to the side and lied in a bored tone. "This information is available on the net if you're patient enough to search."
It was a half-lie. Others who have money purchased guides from beta testers. But of course, the majority still didn't know about this information.
Leonel stifled a laugh, eyes turning crescent. "That's impossible. I hate spoilers, and I'll just forget it in a matter of minutes."
Why do you look so proud? Ren thought and sighed.
In a way, Ren was thankful that Leonel was simple-minded. Everything he said, Leonel took it without a shred of doubt.
Ren didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.
Back in the village, Ren wanted to go back to the Inn and past another day. He was too tired to have his hope crushed again and again with the traveling merchant's none appearance.
Tomorrow was the last day. They would surely come without a doubt. Ren thought.
Ren could go to other villages and towns or form a group to enter dungeons like the majority did and go back to the newbie village to check if the merchant had arrived.
However, Ren had a perfectionist side. He couldn't rest knowing that there was something in his mind. And currently, acquiring the Arcanist subclass took priority! Anything besides that could wait.
Another thing, the traveling merchant only stayed within four hours in the newbie village before they disappeared, and Ren didn't want to take that chance and miss them.
It was the reason why he went back to Newbie Villages every four hours together with Leonel. If it were only him, he would wait in the village for them to come within the span of five days.
But since Leonel couldn't wait on his feet for even a minute, Ren had no choice but to keep him entertained through grinding.
It was like taking care of a child. Ren mused to himself. There was a hint of a smile on his lips, though. He was thankful that Leonel was going along with him without complaints.
Leonel's tap on his shoulder halted Ren from going in the Inn's direction.
"What's that? That looks new," said Leonel as he pointed towards the direction of the small square.
Not many players were present in the Newbie Village anymore since four days had already passed in the game. And in real-time, it was so early in the morning that many were still sleeping, snoring in their dreams.
So a horse-drawn wagon with the words 'Classless Merchants' written along its wooden walls stood out like a sore thumb in a non-crowded square. A spirited Fairy flew around and around, attracting customers to buy their wares. While a grumpy gnome was wearing a peculiar necklace with a soft glowing crystal at the center was lying sideways on the driver seat with a hand supporting its head upright. He was looking bored and chewing on a wheat in his mouth.
Ren's eyes shone at the sight of them, and he immediately pulled Leonel along with him.
"It's finally here." Ren went over to inspect the wagon with Leonel in tow.
"Hello there, adventurers! Something catches your fancy?" the fairy said. Her little body twinkled here and there, and there was a cute smile on her face.
"Whoa! Ren, look! A real fairy!" Leonel pointed wide-eyed while the fairy giggled at Leonel's silly face.
He then skipped and pointed at the gnome. He looked over it from head to toe before his grin widened, beard shaking when he spoke, "Ren! Look! Look! A real gnome! They really have pointy ears and large pointy noise! And they're green and ugly as hell!"
Hairtoe's slit eyes pierced Leonel, and he snorted. "I don't want to hear the word ugly from someone like a dwarf with a fake beard."
[Your relationship level with Hairtoe dropped from Strangers to Ruffian!]