Draco looked at the three choices and pondered. He would have to rule out the Normalis Disease because it was, well, too normal. While the Kyoki looked interesting, he eventually ruled it out.
This is because it could garner a lot of hate early on. When a monster suddenly attacks everyone, people will obviously know that it's not normal. This amount of hate this early in the game could cause his identity to be revealed, and that would be the end of his career. The Neurax Worm trait, on the other hand, could also cause him to be hated, but it would be less noticeable to the average person.
Only the infected players notice their disease. Even then, it would probably be rare to be found out before the third stage. The first 2 stages only give a small decrease in stats. When the infected person reaches the third stage and is forcefully logged out, they will inevitably know that something is wrong. Even if this happens, the most he or she could do was post it on social media such as Twither or Instapound. Unless this person was extremely affluent, people will just call it a cry for attention. After all, many people do this to garner fame.
Draco decided to seek long-term benefits over short-term benefits. While the Kyoki will give him a short boost of levels, the Neurax Worm would do better for him in the long run.
Something that shouldn't be forgotten was an upgrades count on the [Virus Status].
Who knows what could happen when the terrifying Neurax Worm was upgraded even more.
Draco could think of a few ways off the top of his head that he could benefit from the Neurax Worm. For example, if there were an army of infected NPCs under his command, he could practically take over a city! He could also use them as XP farms. The infected NPCs could farm mobs. While the NPC gains levels, Draco would also gain 10% of what the NPC gains! That means that he could have practically an unlimited supply of XP!
Finally, he selected the Neurax Worm.
This is what his Virus Status looked like now.
[Virus Status
Name: [Miasma]
Strain: Neurax Worm
Upgrades: 0
# of infected: None
]
Now, it's time to start.
Draco wanted to infect some people. He decided to start with NPCs because he wanted to stay covert. Nobody will find out about this disease for now.
Draco explored the starter village. After looking around, he had a brief layout of the village. In the middle of the village, there was a square where all players spawned in. Nearby, there were a few buildings that the players might use. There was a blacksmith's forge, and after asking around, he found out that it is used to repair weapons or to purchase weapons for a price. There was also a tavern that sold beer. Surprisingly, after inspecting the beer, he found out that they gave effects.
[Black Bear Beer]
[Description: Made of semi-premium materials, this beer is sure to satisfy your tastes.]
[Effects: STR+3, WIS-1, 10% chance of acquiring the [Drunk] effect]
[Duration: 10 minutes]
[Cost: 10 SP]
While the effects were good, it was simply a scam. Each player was given only 1 GP at the beginning of the game. That is equivalent to 100 SP, so if someone bought 10, then they would have no more money! Also, don't forget that each SP corresponds to a dollar. $10 for an in-game item! This beer was only good for rich people. Draco simply could not afford this purchase for merely a 10-minute effect.
Looking around, he saw a guild hall. For now, it was mostly empty. Guilds could only be made with Guild Creation tickets. Monsters rarely drop these tickets when killed.
There was also a Quest Board. The Quest Board was filled with requests from villagers. Looking at it, the rewards seemed minimal, but it was all there was. It ranged from a [Gather Herbs] quest to a [Hunt Monsters Quest].
No particular quest looked fit for him so he just continued looking around. With his starter clothes, everybody avoided him. At this point, most people already had a few [Trash] level weapons and armor. Some professional gamers had one or two [Common] weapons or armor. He, on the other hand, was still wearing the starter rags, which provided no stat bonuses.
After exploring the whole village, Draco decided to find targets to infect.
These targets must not be known too well or else people will find out that they are acting weirdly.
Draco determined that he would not make any suggestions until stage 3. This was the safest option.
If he tried to force someone to do what they didn't want to do with the worm, there was a chance that the NPC would rebel. After all, the Neurax Worm was not absolute until the third stage.
Looking around, he went into the tavern.
After a brief scan of everybody inside, he found his target.
It was a man in the tavern who looked depressed and was drinking away his troubles. This was the perfect target because nobody would care if he suddenly disappeared. After all, he is just a random young man. Also, underneath all that filth, he looked like he had some strength. This was perfect for his needs for an XP farm.
He inspected the man
[Name: Adriel Ralf
Class: Villager
Level: 3
Str: 3
Dex: 2
End: 4
Int: 1
Wis: 1
Cha: 0
Lck: 1
Skills: None]
He was the perfect target. While Adriel's level was above his own, it was by a measly 2.
That means that his chances were 48%.
If he didn't succeed the first time, he'll just try again.
He decided to pretend to knock into him.
Walking around in the tavern, he bumped his shoulders into Adriel.
[Target infected]
Immediately, he said, "Sorry, that was my bad," and ran off.
Inwardly, he was excited. This was his first victim. Now, all he had to do was wait...