[Hidden Quest Complete!?]
Completion Objective: Defeat your master in a duel where you only needed to show adequate strength.
Recommended level: 8 [Lower Stage Awakened Realm]
Rewards: 500 xp, 3 Attribute points, 5 gold coins, Crown of Supremacy
Huh!? Hidden quest…?
Haha… So I really wasn't meant to beat him, that's why he felt too strong for a tutorial boss!
Ahh, I really like this! Providing an adequate challenge and reward at the early game for skilled/experienced players. I love it when games do this.
And look at all those rewards! This is making me feel giddy like a little child.
[Level Up!]
Lv. 3 [Initial Stage Awakened Realm] → 7 [Lower Stage Awakened Realm]
87/125 xp → 8 [Lower Stage Awakened Realm]
+4 Attribute Points
[Stage Rank Up!!]
[Initial Stage Awakened Realm] → [Lower Stage Awakened Realm]
+3 Attribute Points
Adjusted Stats:
===
Usable Attribute Points: 13
Mana Capacity: B → C
Mental Strength: B → C
Strength: A → B
Speed: B+ → C+
Vitality: SS+ → SS+ [Maxed]
===
Despite how it looks, my stats didn't drop after advancing a stage, they increased.
Stats are calculated relative to others within the same stage, so as a newly advanced Lower Stage Awakened, it's natural for my values to appear lower compared to veterans of this stage.
Quickly, I assigned my attribute points.
===
Usable Attribute Points: 5
Mana Capacity: C → B+ [3 Attribute points spent]
Mental Strength: C
Strength: B → A [2 Attribute points spent]
Speed: C+ → A [3 Attribute points spent]
Vitality: SS+ [Maxed]
===
While I—and many other gamers—love hoarding resources, attribute/stat points are the exception for me. I believe they should be used nearly immediately once you figure out your desired class.
However, I choose not to completely use mine this time. I didn't want to become too overpowered too quickly.
Because of my physique, I essentially never needed to increase vitality until... maybe reaching Adept. Then, I also received an extra three attribute points from completing the hidden quest which many players wouldn't receive.
And as I previously stated, the entire point of my gaming venture was so I can better disguise myself as a middle stage Awakened at the academy, not to have fun.
So, I didn't want to become too strong.
And also on an unrelated note, players who complete every sidequest to one-tap the final boss are losers. Experience it at the intended difficulty at least for your first playthrough.
[Material Grade: N/A]
[Core Grade: Awakened Realm]
[Description: A crown inlaid with gold, endowed with a shining ruby and four brilliant emerald gems, awarded to warriors who overcome the odds. Reduces all stats of enemies at a higher stage by one minor rank within 10 meters. Does not affect Adepts or above]
Damn… That's really good! I guess that's what you can expect from completing a hidden mission.
Obviously, it won't come into play in every battle, only working against stronger opponents. But I doubt I'd struggle against anyone my own rank, even if I am holding back by not spending all my usable attribute points.
Regardless, now that I completed the tutorial quest, I could finally freely roam the world.
Before that though, I planned to spend some of my new found money at the blacksmith. There were a few things that caught my eye which I couldn't afford before.
[Material Grade: Initial Stage Awakened Realm]
[Core Rank: Awakened Realm]
[Description: An ornate ring with a light green gemstone inlaid. Passively consumes a moderate amount of mana to increase Speed by one subrank]
[Material Grade: Initial Stage Awakened Realm]
[Core Rank: Awakened Realm]
[Description: A fucking yellow charm. Consumes a large amount of mana to increase strength by 2 subranks for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes]
In the end, I spent 1 gold and 40 silver on the Ring of Swiftness and 2 gold on the Charm of Strength. These purchases are pretty self-explanatory I feel so there's no need for discussion.
I also sold the Amulet of Stamina for a gold coin, leaving me with 2 gold and 98 silver now.
With that, I made my way to the village gates to finally begin my adventure.
***
"Huff, huff… Hahahaha!"
An incredibly handsome, dark violet haired man cackled while bolting towards the village gate.
Two more boys followed, not too far behind.
One looked like a generic anime protagonist with fiery red hair. He was currently running for his life.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! PLEASEEEE!!"
He screamed after turning his head, seeing the black haired boy with eyes dark like the abyss just as close as before.
A crown sat atop the boy's head, framing a face that hovered somewhere between handsome and beautiful. 'Pretty' was the best word to describe it normally, along with a hint of quiet danger.
But at this moment, there was nothing quiet about it. He looked like a true cold-blooded killer as he fervently pursued the two boys.
***
These fuckers…!!
I'm really not going to be able to catch the other one before he gets to the safe zone… Goddamn it!
Ugghhh… If only I didn't activate my Charm of Swiftness during the fight with the Windwolf, I would've been able to use it now and catch both these fuckers…
Honestly, they wouldn't have even been able to escape from me in the first place if I hadn't wasted it earlier.
At least their expressions were priceless when they realized they were no match for me, even after I'd already fought the Windwolf and exhausted most of my accessories.
Whatever. It's pointless thinking about the past, let me just kill this guy to make me feel better, even if he isn't the one that stole the kill.
It isn't about the reward, it's about sending a message… or whatever…
"PLEASE! PLEASE! HE FORCED ME!! I DIDN'T WAN—AAAAAAACKK" he shouted, then screamed. I think he bit his tongue, what an idiot.
"PLEASE! I'LL GIVE YOU ALL MY STUFF! YOU'LL ONLY GET 50% OF MY MONEY IF YOU KILL ME!"
"Kill yourself, you ******."
I bluntly rejected. Though, in truth, his proposal was the better option—I would get much more resources that way, but I wouldn't get the satisfaction of hunting him down and killing him.
If this was in the real world, sure, I'd take the better deal, forgive and forget. However, this was a game. And in a game, I want satisfaction.
Thus, I prepared to end the chase.
Sheathing both blades, I took out a handful of rocks I'd collected while exploring cause they were pretty. I had channeled each one with yin energy just now.
Still sprinting at full speed, I readied myself and hurled the stones at the red-haired boy.
Most of them missed, but a few hit, and that was all that mattered.
The yin infused rocks reacted with the yin mark I placed on his body during our fight earlier, triggering dissonance and causing small impacts. While not dealing any damage, it knocked him off balance, allowing me to close the distance.
My Crown of Supremacy now activated again, glowing an ominous red as it slightly suppressed his stats—most notably his speed.
The distance between us narrowed and narrowed, causing him to realize running was no longer possible.
Raising his blade, he faced me with a tense expression, taking a defensive stance with his greatsword.
I sneered as I raised my yang infused sword, drawing close.
A single strike devastated his yin marked weapon as the yin and yang resonated violently, causing his face to pale.
With a desperate hope, he looked towards the gate at his accomplice who didn't look like he gave a shit. The red haired boy looked reigned to his fate until…
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGFFTTTT!! PLEASEEEE!! AAAAAAAGHHHHH—!!"
He screamed and begged as I brought my blade down, slashing him across the shoulders, severing his arms. Then, I stabbed him multiple more times in the chest and stomach with a smile.
I wasn't going to let it end with a simple beheading. He needed to suffer for at least a few minutes.
Soon enough, I saw his body disappear along with two notices.
[Kaiender67 has logged out mid combat]
[You have slain Kaiender67, lv. 13 Middle Stage Awakened]
Rewards: 40 xp, 1 gold and 70 silver
Combat-logging was punishing, instantly killing you and granting the person who last struck you the credit.
They also lost 66% of their money instead of 50%, although I wasn't the one awarded the extra 16%, it was just an additional punishment to the combat-logger. This was to prevent encouraging people to turn into psychopaths, incentivizing players to torture each other for extra money.
Looking at my rewards, I was severely disappointed.
53/125 xp → lv. 10 [Lower Stage Awakened]
Ugh… That was so not worth the trouble. Why was he so broke? I thought he'd at least have some money as a middle stage Awakened… Cringe ass name as well.
Standing above Kaiender67's body, I murderously glared at the other boy, 'u mAd brO???' who pathetically posed as Aurelius. He stood—battered and bruised from our previous fight—just a few paces from the village gate, a safe zone.
I wanted him to be afraid as I ruthlessly tortured his friend, but he just smugly smiled, waving the core of the Windwolf—a material worth far more than what I had gotten from killing his friend.
Sigh… I kind of knew something like this would happen after Aurelius' performance today, especially with the memes he tweeted after the fight.
Many attention-seeking wannabes will pose as him, pretending like they're a trolling mastermind when they just executed a simple kill steal.
It's not like Aurelius' scheme was super grand or intricate either, it was just bait and some deception. But, it was very entertaining. There was a reason it racked up millions of views in hours, unlike this fraud.
He just stood provocatively and fatherlessly in front of the gate, seeming like he wanted me to get closer before they entered.
It was then, I saw a sight that made my eyes twitch and squint.
Another Aurelius poser suddenly bursted from the gate, bolting towards the poser with a shovel in hand!