The players were all excited with the combat, posting videos about their fights in the game's forum, and the game got even more attention, with more and more people wanting to try it out.
It was a total mess in the surrounding area of Twin Oak village. Everyone was doing the same initial quest, and with that many players around the wolves had a tough time re spawning in time.
Alex, on the other hand, wasn't endorsed with the same quests as everyone else, but rather focusing in a new rank S quest, one that would grant him a new hidden class.
Shade led the way toward the back part of the village going inside a part of the forest no other player went. At least not in the initial stages of the game.
"Where are we going to?" Alex asked.
The NPCs looked so real, so maybe asking them would give Alex more information about the quest itself? It didn't hurt to try.
"To my home. It was once the place where my group of Shadow Hunters used as a secret base, but every single one of us fell, with only me remaining. The place isn't as great as it once was…" Shade said, his eyes almost tearing up.
Alex could see he liked his former crew members, and they were gone. It was hard to forget that. Maybe that's why Shade was so excited after laying his eyes on Alex. Maybe he was seeing some of his former friends.
They kept walking through the forest, and a few wolves appeared nearby.
[Wolf]
[LVL: 1]
That was the monster everyone was killing. Alex prepared himself for combat, yet the wolf only gazed at them from afar, but did not engage in combat. Strange. Alex was sure the wolf in specific was an aggressive monster who would attack any player in sight.
'Could it be Shade? His power is scaring the wolf?' Alex thought.
It was the first thing that came to his mind, and it made sense! Shade was a Shadow Hunter, which was a hidden class in the game. Alex linked that fact to Shade being a powerful NPC.
Also, when Alex tried to see Shade's information, it only displayed '???' marks, meaning that was a character way above his level.
"We arrived," Shade said.
They stopped before a massive tree so thick it needed at least 10 people to fully embrace it. Shade placed his hand on the tree, and a path opened before his eyes. It was a staircase leading to a stone corridor.
"Wow, incredible," Alex said.
"I know, I know. Let's go."
After they went down the staircase, the tree close itself again, blocking the passage. A normal person would never find that place. It was well-hidden.
The stone corridor wasn't that long, and soon a room with a circular table in the middle appeared. There were many doors around the table, but the doors looked more like portals than doors.
"This was our meeting room. You see these dark doors? They are portals I opened up myself! You'll learn how to do it if you become a Shadow Hunter, and that's a great way to link specific places to your base for easy travel," Shade explained.
"Where do they lead?" Alex asked.
Shade only chuckled, "Powerful areas you aren't ready to go. Maybe in the far future?"
Alex's curiosity arose after hearing that, and he moved toward one of the doors. A notification appeared before his eyes.
[Blocked Area]
[Required Level: 70]
'Level 70? That's high!'
That was not even the worse part. The first door Alex saw was the one with the lowest level requirement, and it kept increasing, even reaching a whooping level 300 requirement. What the heck was that?
Alex knew it would take a while for him to reach level 70, now imagine level 300? That was high!
He tried to ask more questions about the places those portal doors would lead to, but Shade did not share with him, saying, 'You'll see once you have the power to go there.'
After that, the two sat on the meeting table, and Shade said, "Why do you think you have what it takes to become a Shadow Hunter?"
The trial Shade talked about was an interview? Even Alex couldn't understand it. What if he said the wrong words? Would Shade refuse to give him the class? If that happened, Alex would be pissed.
A hidden class like that one was rare, and just the name Shadow Hunter sounded too cool! He wanted it. He wanted it badly.
Alex stood there, thinking about his next words, coming to a conclusion.
"I don't know if I have what it takes," Alex said, looking straight to Shade's eyes, "No one can. Not even you. If someone could know that, then all the Shadow Hunters would still be around. But I do know I will honor my lineage, and work hard to bring back our legacy, and shake this world!"
Shade said nothing in response, making Alex's anxiety go to the roofs. Did he say something wrong?
But then, Shade laughed, "I knew you would say the right thing. It's in your blood, after all. Even if you spilled some bullshit, I would still teach you because you're the only hope left. Still, nice words my friend."
Then, a notification appeared before his eyes.
[Quest Completed]
[Do you want to change your class from Rogue to Shadow Hunter? Please know that your status may change, and all of your skills and future progression.]
[Yes]
[No]
Alex tapped the Yes button and then shadows appeared all around his body, moving as if they had life!
[Nickname: Shadowborn]
[Level: 1 (0/100)]
[Health Points: 100/100]
[Shadow Essence: 70/70]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Shadow Hunter]
[Attributes:
[STR: 3]
[DEX: 10]
[VIG: 3]
[INT: 1]
[FTH: 0]
[LCK: 12]
[Active Skills]
[Shadow Strike (LVL 1) : A powerful strike using your Umbra Blade, infusing it with the power of shadows, delivering a clean hit to the opponent. It deals 80 Damage + 100% of your DEX and 230% of your LCK. If a Lucky Hit procs, the skill will CRIT, dealing 220% of the Damage.]
[Cost: 35 Shadow Essence.]
[Cooldown: 6 seconds.]
[Passive Skills]
[Shadow Link(LVL 1): Each strike you land recovers 20 points of Shadow Essence. The amount is doubled during night time or if you land a critical hit. If you land a critical hit during the night, it will restore 4x the value.]
[Languages]
[Platoran Language: Fluent in the language of the Platora Kingdom called Platoran.]
[Eldershadow Tongue: Fluent in the ancient and dead language called Eldershadow Tongue.]
Alex read everything carefully, and was astonished! The class followed a similar route as his Rogue class which focused on DEX for faster movement, attack speed and some damage. But differently from the Rogue who had DEX as its main attribute, followed by Luck, the Shadow Hunter was the contrary!
Luck increased the critical chance, and it also affected other parts of the gameplay like getting better loot or quests. The Shadow Hunter class not only had skills that scaled a lot with the LCK stat, but it also had increased critical hit damage in all the skills!
All classes could CRIT, but their damage was locked in a 200% bonus. The first skill Alex got already had a 220% bonus!
'My class can control shadows, and deals massive critical damage. It looks dope! Fast and deadly. But what's this Umbra Blade?
"Here, take this. This is a blade passed down from generation to generation. It will be the only weapon you'll need during your journey," Shade said, giving Alex an item.
[Umbra Blade (Legendary Item)
[Damage: 10-12]
[Durability: Infinite]
[Weapon Level: 1]
[Weapon Unique Ability: Devour]
[Devour: The Umbra Blade is an ancient weapon, and only a handful of them still exist in the world. It can evolve by eating rare items, or rare drops from monsters. But the best way to evolve it is by killing players!]
[Essence needed to increase the weapons rank: 0/4000]
Alex equipped the Umbra Blade, and it was a strange weapon! It was made of a black metal, but the most extraordinary part was that the weapon could change forms!
"You can change between a sword, a dagger, twin daggers, or a twin blade. You cannot change to a ranged weapon, though. At least not that I know," Shade explained.
Alex practiced with his new weapon, and just with a thought, it changed forms from a normal sword to a rapier, and then to a twin blade! All the weapons were cool, but Alex fell in love with the twin blade. It made him look bad ass.
"I'll be here to teach you new abilities after you reach a certain level of power. You can return here using this ring," Shade said, giving Alex a dark ring, "It will open a portal, so you can come here anytime you need."
[Shadow Ring (Key Item, cannot be equipped)]
[Creates a portal leading to Shade's base.]
[Cooldown: 1 day.]
The ring vanished when it entered Alex's inventory. That was the perk of being a player.
After getting his new class, Alex could not wait to go out and kill some monsters! But before he left the secret base, a global announcement appeared before his eyes.
[A player completed a Rank S quest.]
[First player achievement reward: 9 Levels.]
'No.'
Alex's level went all the way up to level 10! He did not share it though because that would shake the entire server.
'No freaking way. The major city opens at level 10, and the first person to reach that place will get tons of rewards, and I did it in my first day! Hahaha, the rest of the players will take at least one week to reach level 10!'
The reward was huge at any part of the game, but it was even greater at the start. Alex was hyped!