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On the way back, Dale thought about everything that happened.
From the very start when he left the village to now.
"..."
'This place is truly crazy.'
'Flying spiders that prowl the fields to many types of dangerous creatures and plants in the shallow parts of the forest…'
'Is this the Australia of this world?'
'This isn't a place that can be just conquered by Humans unless they turn everything upside down, so how did they do it in the past?'
'It makes me think about how capable those that came first truly were… Or just how many sacrifices they had to commit to establishing themselves here.'
"..."
The images of his last fight suddenly passed through his head, making him close his eyes in frustration.
He started to think about his actions and his environment.
And how he should've acted to prevent all of that from happening to begin with...
'In the first place, don't think I had that big of a risk of dying now that I went over everything.'
'I'm not being arrogant, but this is the conclusion I came to after I thought it all over.'
'When the creature used its AOE skill, I wasn't the only one affected as these 2 also got somewhat confused, although not as much as me despite being so close to it.'
'This ended up giving the creature enough space and time, so it rushed towards me, causing all of that mess.'
'However, even after rushing towards me, in a flurry of attacks, it simply caused that much damage to me…'
'Of course, if it had hit something like my head or my chest, I could've definitely have died at once, even though I have some right to believe that my bones would've been strong enough to resist a blow or 2 from it.'
'And that is more than enough time for those two to have recovered and rescue me, like what happened. Although in that case, I ended up pushing the creature away.'
'Nevertheless, I would've been a real problem if it had hit my eyes…'
'Since I need to treat this body as my real body, I need to take every single ounce of precaution as I can, or else I may end up crippled.'
'That's why I've been taking a lot of care to protect them and my head during every fight.'
'If I were to go blind, how terrible would it be…'
'But almost any other injury would've been fixable with an Elixir or better potion, or at least, something like a crippling injury may be healed to a point where it isn't anymore…'
'Although I only have 3 more such potions in my inventory.'
'I can always buy more, however, the effects of an Elixir diminish as your Stats increase, so I'm afraid it won't work very well with me since I've been holding it for something else…'
'It's just the start of the game, in the future, stronger items and consumables will be discovered, so my fear of being crippled may disappear by then.'
'The only other solution for my injuries that I know as of now is obviously the Church and its priests.'
'A powerful enough priest can bring someone back from the dead as long as some requirements are met, the better or stronger the priest is, the fewer conditions are necessary to be fulfilled.'
'But I don't have a priest near me, nor anyone that could fill that role at least at a Level where he could save me.'
'David could definitely fill that role, but he is more focused on recovering his power, and most importantly, he is a holy Icon that needs to remain on his Altar else the village may think I'm up to something.'
'I need to understand that the more David uses his power, the harder the future becomes.'
'If I'm in a situation where I need his powers to survive, then, when the time comes, what if he doesn't have what it takes...?'
/Tap/
Dale suddenly felt a tug on his right shoulder, making him stop in his track.
"Be careful Dale, there's one of those nasty wasp nests over there." Misgurd said, interrupting Dale's self-reflection
He raised his head and looked at a tree to see a beautiful pink pyramid hanging on a few tree branches.
Those were one of the 'critters' of this forest, not monsters per se but just as dangerous.
Terrific bees that will hunt you down to the ends of the earth… If you were to just as much as to fart too close to it.
Its honey and wax may be usable for something, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with a thousand angry bees...
Without making a single noise, the trio continued on their journey as they went around it…
And so did Dale with his thoughts:
'In any case, this small venture to the forest was much better than I had initially expected.'
'In just 6 hours I went from Level 20 to 27. I leveled up once from hunting many creatures in the forest, and 6 times in a single encounter with the Yirg.'
'This is to show how fast I can get Experience by hunting these high-Level creatures, I am literally power-boosting my own Level.'
'And it's important to note that the Experience was being divided between the three of us, or at least I believe so.'
'Even in some of the fights where I was the only person to fight, they definitely got part of the experience points due to how close they were.'
'And even though there were no party formation messages, simply by the quantity of XP I got at the end after that monster was killed, I'm almost certain they got part of it since, not only did they participate in it, but they also delivered the last blow, making me lose a portion of the rewards I was supposed to get.'
'I don't know how Experience points would affect them, but it's something to keep in mind for when I log out. Someone out there is bound to have an answer for this problem.'
'This experience also showed me that I am indeed strong enough to hunt most of the creatures in the outer section of the forest.'
'I was already aware of this, and even Testros said something similar, but having a real example is better than just words... I mean, I can even take this strange creature on my own…'
'Of course, I can deal enough damage to kill it, but the same can be said for the Yirg.'
'But it has also shown one thing that I lack, Skills. As in a technical way like knowing how to act, prepare, and think, and in the gaming sense.'
'What Skills do I have?'
'I have 6 Skills without counting the ones I could get from equipment.'
'Of those 6, 3 are passive and the only active one I have is Fighting Spirit.'
'The other 2 are Neutral, meaning, they have both the characteristics of Passive and Active Skills, but that doesn't mean can be activated.'
'And those are, Spear Technique and Close quarters Combat.'
'However, the way they work is not what I expected them to be, as they provide me with almost nothing at all.'
'They are more like placeholders, being there to show to me how capable I am with the spear and in Close quarters combat.'
'In simpler words, they are the numerical representations of how good I am in those aspects…'
'Still, they can grow into something else.'
'Like when I received my Class, the development Skill tree for Spear Technique was open, so in the future, I'll be able to learn Skills and tie them to it.'
'This was something tested in the Beta, albeit the results varied.'
'Saying something and actually accomplishing it are two completely different things.'
"... Sigh."
'I used to think I was pretty good, since I only had a year to train them, and I came this far…
'But upon coming to this world I realized I had been limiting myself, my body was just far too superior to what I could do, and that was shown by Testros.'
'My synchronization is of the place, and I plan to have that fixed ASAP. Once my body and mind align, I will be able to continue on my path of training.'
'And hopefully, I'll learn how to make good use of my body with these knowledgeable Elders.'
'As for what I should do next… That is too far for me to think about it.'
'I'll keep getting stronger, all for my final objective of finding out the truth about this game and its connection to the real world.'
'The mystery of the green box and what lies beyond Level 100 and why it's so significant.'
'Everything is somehow tied in ways I can't understand right now, but the evidence is there, it started in the Beta, and it manifested in the real world, and now its back in the game, making a full cycle.'
'Although to be honest, this goal is a bit too distant… I need something closer and more palpable to motivate me…'
Dale raised his head and looked forward, gazing at the backs of the two old seniors in front of him.
He felt an odd sensation, one he hadn't felt in a long long while.
The last time he felt such a thing was when he was very early, when he played an RPG for the first time…
'This feeling of adventure is not bad at all.'
He smiled slightly and decided.
'Since my first target is to find out the secrets of this world, I will need strength.'
'I already knew that, so I planned a lot and got very strong… But is this enough?'
'Despite everything I did and accomplished, I always had this calm and passive thinking process, that I am just a normal person and not comparable to these BIG players...'
'Going with the flow you could say… I was happy with my start, but I failed to consider the medium to close future.'
'I need to maintain my advantage, to be the first... To try my very best in surpassing everyone else!'
'If I can't do it despite everything I have right now, then what right do I have to search for this mystery that might as well change the world?'
'This mystery… Without a doubt, it runs very very deep and it may very well change how I see reality itself, and in that case, I should go at it with everything I have.'
'There is no room for hesitation anymore.'
Without realizing it, Dale spilled his thoughts out loud:
"I'll grow stronger… Stronger than anyone thought possible..."
Hearing this, Misgurd and Testros smiled slightly.
The first had a wide smile on his face, remembering his own youth when he was but a recruit while Testros remembered his time in the corps when he was but a squire.
Their origins were completely different, but their youthful desires were all the same.
They may have failed, but perhaps Dale…
/Chirp chirp!/
With the chirping of the exotic birds in the leaves, Dale, Testros, and Misgurd left the forest.
…
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Notes
What do you think? I'm always ready to hear your opinions about it and if necessary I can easily make some alterations to it.
Sometimes, a single phrase can make a trash character completely change, or a situation can make a villain sound more like the Hero.
I can miss many times, and it's up to you all to point it out.
Feedback is good... Most of the time.