Amber stood there with a smile.
Now within range, I threw a punch.
Miss.
Amber moved her body to the side.
I lost my balance.
Amber took the opportunity to sweep to the ground with a foot sweep.
I fell to the floor hard which knocked the wind out of me.
I lay on the floor in intense pain.
Amber came over and laid her hand out.
I took her hand and tried getting up but due to my weight I had to let go or else I'll bring her down with me.
"Jesus, L, you gotta lose this weight. Why don't we make a routine for you?"
Hearing the idea made me nervous.
"Um, I-I don't know. Is it really necessary? Like, you and Dom are strong, isn't that good enough? Hehe..."
Amber said nothing but glared at me.
"This isn't a game, L. Sure, me and Dom are strong but that doesn't mean we'll help you when you're in trouble. You shouldn't put your life in someone else hands. I will wait for you at the dining hall in the evening, if you don't show up to discuss your needed change then you're dead to me."
Amber walks away.
I sit up and stare at the ground.
"Dam, these NPC are so harsh. No way she's serious. Yea, it's a bluff she's only kidding."
I pick myself up and head to the armory.
Inside I looked around.
"Hmmm, a sword? No. A gauntlet? No. How about a knife? Nah."
I left the Armory displeased that no other weapon seemed to connect with me.
"I'll, for now, stick with the slingshot and staff."
Looking up at the sky, it was still afternoon.
I turn to the training field and watch Dom and Amber conversing.
Amber looked annoyed while Dom appeared worried.
"Oh yeah, I need to check my skills. Hey, Admin!"
Suddenly, the Orb appeared in front of me from nowhere.
"What is it."
"How do I check my stats and skills?"
"What are you talking about? Only the Master can see that information. Anyway, if that's all then I'm leaving."
The orb vanishes.
'So only the Master can see our stats? No way, surely there's a way for me to see it.'
Pondering an idea came to my mind.
"Status."
A status window appeared.
"I can't believe that work, all those novels, and man has actually helped."
[Name: Lin Lu]
[HP: 10 / 10]
[St: 5 / 5]
[MP: 0 / 0]
[Str: 2]
[Dex: 3]
[Int: 2]
[Lck: 0]
[Skills: Coward(P), Master Access(P)]
'Wow, these stats are shit. Is there a way to check what each skill does?'
I tap on the skill.
[Skill: Coward(P) is a passive skill that allows the user to run away from danger with a 5% increase in running speed.
- If the user is scared: Running speed is increased by 5%
-If the user is hurt: Running speed is increased by 1%]
[Skill: Master Access(P) is a passive skill that allows the user to have access to:
- User's stats and other stats
- Ability to message and read messages from other players and Masters
- Notify of characters changes]
"I guess these skills aren't too bad."
I look around.
"There's nothing to do here, I guess I could practice shooting."
I made my way to the training area and stood before a practice dummy long-range.
Miss. Miss. Miss. Miss. Miss
'What the fuck?!'
I got closer to the medium range.
Miss. Miss. Miss. Miss. Miss
"... God dam it."
I walk closer to now close range.
Miss. Miss. Miss. Hit. Miss
I sigh.
"This is a good place to start I guess."
I stood and fired repeatedly while resting for every 5 shots.
After an hour my hit chance was about 5%.
'Did I get really lucky during the tutorial? I thought I was actually decent after hitting those Gnomes.'
Shot after shot, I aimed and fired until I started grasping how I should hold the slingshot, how I should aim with the slingshot, and how I should adjust according to the projectile's size and weight.
Miss. Hit. Miss. Miss. Hit.
Hit. Miss. Miss. Hit. Hit.
Miss. Hit. Hit. Hit. Miss.
After some time I felt hungry and thirsty but I ignored those urges.
Dom and Amber came by but before Amber could interrupt me to talk Dom would stop her before they both left.
I continue to shoot, reload, and shoot.
During this time time felt like nothing, life was nothing, and the world was nothing, the only thing that was my focus was hitting that dummy as much as I could.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
[★ Liu Level 1] -> [New Skill: Aiming Precision]
I noticed I was able to hit the dummy with a sure hit but a thought crossed my mind.
'This is for a target that's not moving, the things I'll be fighting won't ever, if rarely, hold still to let me hit them.'
I started moving while shooting.
Miss. Miss. Miss. Miss. Hit.
'Back to square one.'
I readjusted my movement speed and started off walking steadily while firing.
Miss. Miss. Hit. Miss. Hit.
Miss. Miss. Miss. Hit. Miss.
Hit. Miss. Miss. Hit. Hit.
I lost track of time but that didn't matter to me.
All I cared about was hitting that dummy.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Miss. Hit.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Miss. Miss.
Miss. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
My body suddenly felt light and time was now slow.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
I adjusted my movement to be a bit faster.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
Again I readjusted.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
Again I readjusted, this time I'm speed-walking.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
I sped up to a slow run.
Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit.
I don't know why but I was starting to feel numb and my hunger and thirst ceased and for some reason, my focus was a bit sharp.
I readjust to a Jog around the dummy.
Hit. Miss. Hit. Hit. Hit.
'Dam, I miss. Gotta keep shooting until I hit all five shots.'
Miss. Miss. Hit. Hit. Hit.
Hit. Hit. Miss. Hit. Hit.
Before I could fire again I was suddenly broken out of my flow due to the VHG notifying me of the battery life that is now less than 5%.
'What?! How is it so low so soon? I've only been playing for like 4 hours, aren't these supposed to be built to last like 24 hours.'
I log out of the game.
Looking around, I was now back in reality.
Sitting up I felt my body being numb.
Standing up I felt a bit dizzy before stretching.
Checking my phone I notice a whole day has passed by.
Opening my door, I retrieved my usual dinner.
As I ate and drank, I couldn't help but remember that feeling of being focused.
"I feel like I've done something worth remembering today, it's productive but it did feel like I was working towards something."
As I finished eating, I walked downstairs into the kitchen.
I saw my mother, sleeping on the dining table with her face down.
Sneaking by I dropped my dishes and was about to return back to my room but something caught my attention.
My mother's face, looked more tired and older than I last remember.
'When was the last time I properly looked at Mom face to face?'
I couldn't remember.
At that moment I felt terrible not at how she looked but at how she managed herself all this time while I was coupled up in my room.
Returning back to my room I suddenly had an urge to do something.
"I need to know how I can earn money for my family."
I searched for my phone and scrolled through the messages to find @min.
[From: Liu]
M: What do you guys base your pay on?
After sending the message I waited for a response but it was taking a while.
I turned my attention toward the time and noticed it was 3 AM.
I head to bed after charging my VHG.
Next Morning.
Waking up, I checked my phone.
[From: @min]
M: We based our pay on hours spent.
[From: Liu]
M: Do you guys pay weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly?
Setting the phone down I got up to retrieve breakfast that was waiting for me outside my room.
Once done, I looked around my room.
"It's hot in here."
I open up my window and let the outside air purify my room.
Stretching, I noticed my clothes were about raggy.
I headed for the shower and came back.
I put on the VHG and lay on the bed.
Opening my eyes, I was confused about finding myself in bed.
'How did I get here?'
Amber walked by and noticed me.
Amber quickly shouted out for Dom before they both entered the room to check up on me.
"You alright, L?"
"How ya feeling friend?"
I look at them confused.
"What happened? Why am I in bed? Shouldn't I have been in the training field?"
They both look at me with a worried face.
"L, I found ya on the floor unconscious. I had to call Dom over to carry you here. It's only less than half a day since you collapsed."
Hearing this, I assumed it was when I logged out.
'The game continues whether I'm playing it or not, and even if I logged out I'm still accessible to harm. Noted.'
I got up, grabbed my slingshot, and continued where I left off.
"I noticed you've been practicing with that. Is there any reason why?"
I turn my head.
"I gotta do something or else you two will leave me behind."
Once I left the building a sudden message appeared.
[ Master has pull 10x normal summon ]
[ Received ★ Ellene ]
[ Received ★ Drue ]
[ Received ★ Marlein ]
[ Received ★ Wun ]
[ Received ★★ Shia ]
[ Received ★ Sylphy ]
[ Received ★★ Luke ]
[ Received ★ Mark ]
[ Received ★ Andrew ]
[ Received ★★★ Wu ]
Seeing two 2-stars and one 3-star I wonder what the chances were getting these guys.
I walked near the center where most of the newcomers looked around confused and scared.
I noticed that the only person who was not stressed was a man wielding a stone staff.
'Let's just ignore them, they'll learn eventually.'
[Party 1 ]
[★ Ellene, ★ Drue, ★ Marlein, ★ Wun, ★ Sylphy ]
[Party 2 ]
[★★Shia, ★★ Luke, ★Mark, ★Andrew, ★★★Wu ]
'Hmm, the Master is grouping them? Wait, he's grouping up all the low rarity and high rarity separately. Just like I would. Smart."
[ Start Tutorial: YES ]
The newcomers were then prompted to equip themselves from the armory before they entered the portal.
The majority voiced their refusal but the Admin quickly reminded them that they are now living in Master's domain.
I return my attention back to the dummy in front of me and continue training.
After two hours I managed to land consecutive guaranteed hits while moving at running speed.
I then started practicing from mid-range while adding rules.
1) I must land 10 continuous shots without missing.
2) If I miss I have to restart from 1
3) I can only move and shoot
4 hours later.
I had to stop training due to an unexpected notification.
[★ Ellene permanently died ]
[★ Drue permanently died ]
[★ Wun permanently died ]
[★ Sylphy permanently died ]
'These names are from Party 1, only one person is remaining. I wonder what skills they'll acquire.'
Suddenly, a portal appeared at the center.
[ Party 1 has returned ]
[★ Marlein returns alive ] -> [★ Marlein level 1 ] -> [ New Skill: Silent Steps ]
' An assassin? '
[ Party 2 has returned ]
[★★ Shia return alive ] -> [★★ Shia level 1 ] -> [New Skill: Forager ]
[★★ Luke returns alive ] -> [★★ Luke level 1 ] -> [New Skill: Runner ]
[★ Mark returns alive ] -> [★ Mark level 1 ] -> [New Skill: Leader ]
[★ Andrew returns alive ] -> [★ Andrew level 1] -> [New Skill: Hunter ]
[★★★ Wu return alive ] -> [★★★ Wu level 1] -> [New Skill: Staff Wielder ]
'Everyone in Party 2 came back alive huh, no surprise there.'
I was about to return back to training when suddenly I felt something heavy colliding with me from the back.
In pain, I got myself up to see what hit me.
Turning around, I met with someone standing behind me with a look of disappointment.