"How do you feel?" Faye asked waving her staff.
"T-Tired…" Marielle said with a sigh.
"Hey, Faye, is it really okay? Doing this and all…"
"It's okay since being alone with a boy is rather boring."
"…"
The reason why they gave Marielle a sword was not actually to let her fight. It was mostly to allow her to defend herself at the least.
However, as the battles intensified, it was on the level that if she didn't participate actively, she'll die.
Beneath the shade of a large tree, the three of them were resting while eating fruits.
They have hunted Sand Spiders and Sandworms. Both are monsters of level 16.
Normally, the two of them will hunt those in the middle part right away. However, there is a new member with them so they are taking it easy for the moment.
Hunting over 200 monsters in an hour is considered slow hunting for the two. However, for Marielle, it was too fast that she was out of breath most of the time.
"My… My exp is enough for a level up already…"
Marielle was surprised when she looked at her information window.
"Just leave it. Since you are level 10 already, wait till your EXP exceeds 500,000 before upgrading your level." Faye suggested.
"… Is that really okay?"
"When you see, you'll believe."
"Aaaah… Now that two girls are here, it became much noisier…" Zeus commented grumpily.
Time passed quickly as the two of the girls chatted. Then after 30 minutes, with their stamina and satiety both full, they decided to continue hunting.
Their formation was Zeus as Tank, Marielle as Middle guard, and Faye as Rear Guard.
Faye was in charge of coordinating the battle and healing the two. Marielle was in charge of protecting Zeus's back.
This setup was repeated on and on.
Two hours passed quickly and they finally reached the center of the desert.
"From here on, the hunting speed will increase much higher," Faye shouted from the back.
"I know." Zeus snorted.
"I'm not talking to you."
"I-I'll try," Marielle said shyly.
"That's good. Then, let's go."
Zeus was feeling a bit dejected. It was as if his existence was being denied completely.
And so, they started their next hunt.
Level 18, Level 19, Level 20. They hunted endlessly as monsters came walking toward them endlessly.
"M-My arm..!"
"Healing Hand!"
"There's more?!"
Their fast-paced hunting can only become reality through the effort of Faye. That's how Marielle sees it.
Faye's healing spells rain on them at regular intervals. And most of the time, Zeus's health is at critical levels.
This was a misunderstanding, however. Since she was guarding Zeus's back, she couldn't clearly see how he fought.
She couldn't see how Zeus deliberately receives a hit or how he kills a monster through a rain of attacks.
Once Zeus was surrounded by monsters, Faye will use her attack magic and clear the path for him.
A bunch of coincidences and lucky situations. That is how Zeus's survival seems to her.
After clearing most of the monsters, Marielle finally earned her rest.
She walked towards Faye with her bleeding arm.
"Let me see it. Crescent Heal."
After using a higher stage healing magic, the wound closed. The two of them then stared at Zeus as he fought to clear the remaining monsters.
"How much experience do you have now?"
Faye asked Marielle.
She then took out her adventurer's card and stared.
"Over 780,000! That's fast!"
"Hmmm… Mine's just reached 1,000,000. Then, once Zeus finished off the remaining, let's level up."
"Okay. What about the items?"
"… Let's slowly pick them up while he fights."
After 5 more minutes, they finished picking up the drops. At the same time, Zeus finished off all the mobs.
"Zeus! Let's Level up already! Come over here!"
Faye shouted as Zeus was slightly far away. After running, he quickly arrived at their location.
"Looks like we stacked too much experience without looking. Then, let's do it."
""Level up to Level 4!""
"Level up to Level 11!"
- - -
- You have leveled up! You are now level 4.
- All stats have increased by 1.
- Due to training your body, Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Intelligence, Concentration, and Evasion increased by an additional 45 points.
- Due to training your body, Vitality and Endurance increased by an additional 60 points.
- Due to the previous events, Courage and Evasion increased by an additional 30 points.
- Due to the previous events, Luck increased by an additional 10 points.
- Persuasion increased by an additional 8 points.
- - -
"Woah! My stat's just increased by over 20 each! What's this?!"
"… This is one of the secrets of this game."
Zeus spoke with a slightly gloomy tone.
"Until you die, your stat bonus will continuously pile up. Also, fighting higher-level monsters will earn you bonus experience and stats. Every time you level up, this stat bonus will pile up."
"That is… hearing this, it sounds like a cheat…" Marielle couldn't help but gasp.
"It's this game's main feature, not a cheat. Not many have discovered this though. Some discovered this but failed to understand it completely. Some understood it but failed in applying it."
"Is that so… But… My stat bonus in this one level's almost equal to the overall bonus stats that I have previously received."
For reference's sake, that was due to her death at least once on each level. And her death mostly came from being unable to defend herself.
"That is what you gain if you have information. Information can give this much difference in overall strength."
Marielle was still amazed. Her stats increased significantly in just a short while. However, she was like a box full of curiosity.
"Umm… Zeus… Can I ask where you learned this? It's not on the net right?"
"… That's a secret." He said, diverting his gaze.
"I-Is that so… Then, do you know any more secrets?"
"Many, but not that I could tell to you––"
"Then, one is by moving your body all the time, the stat bonus will increase too," Faye interjected from the side.
"EH?!"
"Hey! Faye!"
Ignoring the surprise and reprimand of the two, she continued.
"Another easy one is… This I guess?"
Faye spoke as she was twirling her staff.
"Ah! I was curious about it since earlier. That's not a normal staff right?"
"That's correct. This staff is a Magic Weapon. A Living Weapon."
"Living? What's that?"
Marielle tilted her head. Her eyes were glittering with curiosity.
"It's a type of weapon that evolves together with its user. Here, try looking at it."
Faye passed the staff to Marielle. Nervously, she chanted.
"I-Item Information."
- - -
Fayble's Mithril Staff – Level 5 (15.21%)
Said to contain a fragment of the Fairy Queen Fayble's soul. Crafted by the fairies themselves and sent as a gift to the humans. It was once treated as the symbol of the human and fairies' good relationship.
Type: Magic Weapon
Element: Holy
Durability: 197/200
- Mana +420
- Magic Damage +60
- Cooldown of Healing Skills will be reduced by 10%.
- All magic skills will be amplified by a factor of 1.75.
- All holy skills will have their effect doubled.
- This staff contains a soul of a living being. Therefore it will grow together with its user.
- Contains the blessing of the Fairy Queen. On a moonlit night, when it bathes in the light of the moon, its durability will recover completely.
- - -
"W-Wow! It's already at the level of a Legendary Item!"
"That's the advantage of this sort of weapon. At first, the mana was just +200. It is now +420. Do you get it?"
"Where can I get something like this?"
"The 4th floor of the Magic Council's Tower. Just ask the attendants and they will guide you."
"T-The price is? I heard that items from the council are all expensive…"
"Hmmm… 100,000D at minimum… How much do you have now?"
"A little over 400K… Is that enough?"
"You can find one there with that amount. Don't worry. What weapon do you want?"
"I-I'm not so sure… Maybe a weapon that can be used without moving much?"
"Hmmm… Based on your stats… How about the Bow?"
"I have tried it once. But I can't help but leave it since my money was drained continuously due to the price of the arrows."
"Then it's perfect. Let's visit the Council together tomorrow."
"Is that okay? Don't you have anything to do?"
"I'm a student IRL but our graduation ceremony ended earlier this day. In other words, I'm way too free."
"Oh, congratulations."
Hearing this, Zeus couldn't help but speak.
"Hey, Faye, bringing stories of the real world is against proper manners you know?"
"It's okay, it's not like I'll lose anything. And don't listen in on our conversation."
Getting dismissed once again by Faye, Zeus couldn't help but feel a bit miffed. He then decided to divulge one more secret he knows to Marielle to get back at her.
"… By the way… The spam stat limit is 256. It won't increase over that. Once you reach it, you can continuously level up without worry."
"Hey! What's that? It's the first time I heard that too!" Faye shouted.
"I thought that you don't need to know yet. But then, you started blabbering so I don't want to give her incomplete information." Zeus claimed with a smug face.
"256… Mine's at 20 right now so that's a little too far…" Marielle said, a little intimidated.
"Level 20. That's the time when 256 stat will pile up for you. For us, it would be around 8 to 12." Zeus claimed.
"Level 20, so 9 Levels more."
"Within that period, you must stack experience as much as you can. If you manage to do that, you will surely be unbeatable."
"I get it. Okay."
"But if you die, the count will go back to 0 so be careful."
"Ok – ah? What? T-There's that risk?" Marielle was taken aback.
"That's the reason why almost nobody realized it. They thought that dying only causes your EXP to drop to 0 but that's not all. And this reason is the cause why almost nobody managed to spam the stats completely." Zeus explained.
"W-W-What should I do? I'm the type that easily dies when attacked!" She panicked.
"I don't know and don't care on what you should do. That's all the information I could disclose to you." Zeus dismissed her waving his hands as if shooing her away.
His heart was already dragged to the bottom of the pit. For a gamer like Zeus, sharing information is like sharing your food with others while you are seriously starving. It's not logical!
"There are about 9 hours spent here so outside is around 11 PM… Till what time can you play?"
Faye then asked a fatal question. Zeus immediately averted his eyes.
"I-I'm able to play till 11:30 PM."
"Hey. Zeus… Don't avert your gaze. Answer me."
"T-That's not important, right? It's my freedom on how I play."
"You're planning to play non-stop till morning don't you?"
Marielle asked, her eyes turning sharp.
"I-I didn't say that did I?"
"You haven't eaten dinner yet right?"
"… I ate a burger before logging in…"
"Don't lie. If you lie, it's gonna be Punishment Package A."
"O-Okay! I didn't eat dinner and was planning to play non-stop till noon tomorrow! There! Happy now?!"
Marielle sighed, as she expected, the game junkie was planning to play nonstop.
"Let's rest for the day. Sorry Marielle, but this idiot needs time to rest."
"I-It's okay. It's not that big of a deal."
Marielle waved her hand protectively, suppressing her curiosity about the contents of Punishment Package A that can make Zeus panic like that.
"Then, let's head to town as fast as we can."
And so, the three of them went straight back to town. Of course, no monster on their way was spared.
After an hour, they finally arrived at the gates.
"Let's split up around here. What time will you log in tomorrow?"
"A-Around 6 PM I guess…" Marielle replied.
"Then 6 PM here right? Let's register each other as friends."
"Okay."
After saving each other on their friend list, Marielle immediately logged out.
"Log out, now."
And so, being forced out of the game, Zeus couldn't do anything but follow her order.
After confirming that he logged out, Faye too logged out.
- - -
"Hey, Minami… Do I really need to finish all of this?"
It was now almost midnight. The two of them are in the kitchen.
On the table, a mountain of food was prepared. A literal mountain of it.
"Of course. If I let you eat only a little, I'm sure you'll immediately log in once again. If you're full, lying down with a full belly will give you stomachache so you will be unable to log in for quite a while." She said knowingly.
"… You're really thorough aren't you…? By the way, if I ate too much, then sleeping too would be impossible."
"I know, that's why I limited the quantity right?"
"You limited the quantity of each dish, not the number of dishes."
"Ara, that's the same right?"
"Stop that! It's not funny!"
Having lied to her in the game caused her to activate Punishment Package A. The Hell's Food Parade. Zeus was traumatized in the past when he was forced to eat all foods he hated for a whole week. Since then, he feared Punishment Package A. This time, the punishment was a bit lighter since his offense wasn't that devastating.
"And why is it that all the dishes look so spicy? What's this?!"
"You love spicy food, right? I made them extra spicy for you, you know?"
"This is tyranny! This is torture!"
"Yes, it is." She smiled. Faint intimidation could be felt hidden behind her smile.
"Uwaaaaah!!!"
His scream for help was drowned in the tranquil evening. That night, while feeling the spices' strength still inside his mouth, he fell asleep.
- - -
The next morning came, 4 AM. Joshua woke up and washed his face.
He then took a short bath and wore comfortable clothes.
"Now. Time to log in."
Then, after adjusting the air conditioning, he jumped inside the Dream Hard.
Not long after, he was already inside the game.
"Hmmm… Coast's clear…"
Checking the surrounding, and checking his friend list, Faye was clearly offline.
"Time to Overhunt!!!"
He checked his stats and equipment. Then, he bought some preserved food and water. Right after, he checked the bulletin inside the Guild and checked for available quests in the desert area. He immediately found several quests and took all of them.
In WEXO, there is a limit to the number of simultaneous quests that could be taken. That is a maximum of 6.
He immediately registered 4 quests. One was a collection quest, two extermination,s and 1 searching quest all ranging from difficulty level E to D. He checked the map for the areas where each quest was located to finish it in one go. Efficiency first!
After checking, he immediately ran straight towards the gate and out towards the desert.
He completely ignored the monsters inside the forest.
After 5 minutes of running straight, he arrived at the exit of the forest. The desert expands all around his view.
"The first quest should be around here…"
The nearest quest was a collection quest. He needs to collect 12 cactus flowers. The cactus was specified to be growing around where he currently is.
Since it was nighttime, the desert was quite dark. However, some glowing mushrooms are growing here and there so the surroundings aren't covered in complete darkness.
"Ah, there it is…"
After a few minutes of searching, he immediately found the group of cactuses.
There are many flowers visible even in the thick darkness.
As he approached, he felt that something was amiss.
The surrounding was way too quiet.
Then, as his instincts told him, he immediately jumped away from his current location.
"Woah! What's that?!"
The sound of sand exploding below his feet was heard.
Inside the darkness, all that Zeus could see was the large and long silhouette. It sprouted from the ground.
It must be some sort of worm by its shape, however, he can't confirm due to the darkness.
Not missing a beat, as soon as he landed, he drew his sword together with a miscellaneous item.
He threw the item above as high as he can. Then, it exploded and cast a bright light on the surroundings. It was a type of flare. The duration was said to be around 5 minutes before the light fades.
Thanks to the light, he could clearly see the monster in front of him. It was long and was covered with strong-looking scale-like skin. It has many legs. Yes, it wasn't a worm, it was a centipede.
"A Giant Centipede… No, based on the color, a boss monster… It was posted on message boards if I'm right… Lucky…"
And so, he immediately attacked the poor monster.
Before the light even vanished, he finished the battle.
- - -
- You defeated the master of the desert, the Centipede King!
- Due to fighting alone, experience will be doubled!
- Due to the high difference in level, you have gained 500,000 experience.
- You picked up the boss class item King Centipede's Crown x1.
- You picked up the boss class item King Centipede's Carapace x50.
- You picked up the item Strong Acid x16.
- You picked up the rare item King's Bracelet. Luck has increased by 1.
- You picked up the rare item Sand King's Hammer +10. Luck has increased by 1.
- You picked up the rare item Lightning Gauntlets +10. Luck has increased by 1.
- Through defeating a boss monster, all stats increase by 3.
- By fighting recklessly, Courage increased by an additional 2.
- Skill Beast's Roar's Level has increased by 1. The stun will now last for 5.2 seconds.
- You can now learn Hard Skin.
- - -
Seeing that he gained another skill from the boss monster, he immediately decided to learn it.
[You have learned Hard Skin.]
"Skill Information."
- - -
Hard Skin – Level 1 (0%)
Increases the user's defense. Can be upgraded by receiving heavy blows directly from enemies.
- - -
Another passive skill! Gaining another boss-level skill, Zeus was overjoyed.
"It always pays off when you're doing something you love…" He claimed, basking on the afterglow of his gains.
He quickly finished picking the flowers and went towards his next objective.
Eliminate 20 Sand Scorpions. Eliminate 30 Sand burrowers.
After 30 minutes, two more quests were done and only 1 remained.
"If I recall correctly, the ledge was over there…"
As he was speaking, he slowly headed towards a black area. He then stopped his steps.
"Oh, that was close."
He was already at the edge of the ledge. If he fell, his health would have reached 0 from fall damage for sure.
"Now, the way down is…"
He then searched for a way down. However, there seemed to be none.
Having no other choice, he lighted another flare. Then, the view of the ledge up to the bottom was seen.
"Hmmm… With this height… Maybe I can run down there?"
Thinking about something crazy, he decided to run on the steep slope to go down.
The ledge was not vertically straight. It was slightly angled at about 80 degrees.
Without wasting more time, he immediately ran diagonally downwards. His speed slowly increases as he approaches the bottom.
In less than 8 seconds, he reached the bottom. However, he couldn't stop properly in time causing him to crash and roll on the rocky bottom.
"Ow ow ow. Didn't think it would go that fast…"
His health went down a lot. After checking, he stood up quickly. Patting the dust off his body, he then started walking towards the wreckage that could be seen.
It was a destroyed carriage.
"The package should be around here…"
Searching through the debris, he quickly found what he was looking for, a wooden box that was sealed with a silver lock.
"Now how would I go back up?"
After putting the package inside his bag, he wondered how to return.
At first, he tried running up but the gravity was stronger so he ended up falling several times. Each time, he would rest a few minutes to recover his health.
After wasting over 15 minutes doing this repeatedly, he decided to walk down the river bank towards the direction of the town. He followed the flow of water.
After walking for 30 minutes, somewhere near the forest, stone steps were etched on the side of the ledge.
Climbing it, he was welcomed by a party of Tyrants.
3 Tyrants was resting when he noisily climbed up the stairs.
"Oh."
"""GUAAAAAAHHH!!!"""
As soon as the three monsters saw his equipment, they ran away.
The Tyrant's cape and the King's Bracelet, and lastly the Lightning Gauntlet. All were boss class items and were equipped by Zeus simultaneously.
Unluckily for them, once he saw a monster that he wanted to hunt, he wouldn't stop till it is dead.
After chasing after the three separately and slaying them one by one, about an hour had passed.
"My bag's turning heavier by the moment… Time to head back."
He then walked towards the town at long last.