Bab 5: Fanged Forest

Although the Fanged Forest was Kieran's destination, Kieran had other matters on his mind. Before leaving, he opened his attribute panel to consider his current focus.

'STR, AGI, and CTL are all important in my fighting style. But as a basic Warrior, suffering damage while battling high-level monsters isn't uncommon. AGI isn't the class's forte, regardless of how I allocate my points.'

Because of his class disadvantages, Kieran considered placing some focus on VIT and END. Raising these stats would make him a formidable opponent for any monster since they increased his Health and DEF.

However, Kieran didn't rule out an AGI-focused build. 'I have an abundance of Unassigned Attribute Point right now.'

While evaluating his options, the skill icon of Warrior's Aura caught his eye. 'Now that I think about it, Warrior's Aura will consume a lot of my Mana. My damage will suffer if I don't have the skill active...'

Eventually, Kieran arrived at a conclusion based on his advantages.

A moment later, a stream of notifications appeared before his eyes.

〈System: You have used 12 Unassigned Attribute Points. [Agility: 13→25]〉

〈System: You have used 16 Unassigned Attribute Points. [Intelligence: 9→25]〉

〈Mana Capacity: 75→155〉

┌───────────────────

Name: Aatrox

Lv.2 (Experience: 0/250)

Class: Warrior

Title(s): None

----------------------------

[«Stats»]-

Health: 190/190 (0.2 HP regen/sec)

Mana: 155/155 (0.16 MP regen/sec)

Stamina: 108 (0.1 Stamina regen/sec)

Attack Power: 65

Defense: 55

-----------------------------

[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: 26 (14 + 12 + 0)

»Intelligence: 25 (25 + 0 + 0)

»Agility: 25 (22 + 3 + 0)

»Endurance: 18 (8 + 10 + 0)

»Control: 25 (25 + 0 + 0)

»Vitality: 18 (8 + 10 + 0)

»Perception: 30 (30 + 0 + 0)

[Unassigned Stat Point: 0]

[Skill Points: 16]

└───────────────────

"These attributes should be much more effective," Kieran muttered to himself.

After situating his attribute panel, Kieran traveled to the village's entrance which doubled as its sole exit. However, while walking there, Kieran noticed a large influx of players scrambling toward the Class Halls.

'I guess word about the Class Hall being the focal point of Beginner Villages got out,' Kieran inwardly mused.

These players didn't only rush toward the Class Hall but also looked at Kieran in astonishment.

"No way! Did that dude get a set of armor already? That's unfair! He should have directed us if he knew we should have visited the Class Hall! That's so selfish!"

"Yeah! Care about your fellow players, jerk!"

Kieran ignored the comments because they sprouted from jealousy and were plagued with stupidity. It wasn't Kieran's fault that they didn't understand how necessary knowledge was inside Zenith Online.

"Next time, learn patience," Kieran indifferently muttered.

While these players were aggravated with Kieran, they didn't approach him. After all, they were in rags while he was donned in dull silver armor with a decent-sized greatsword. They'd be stepping toward death if they foolishly approached Kieran.

After leaving the village's walls, Kieran sprinted to the east toward his destination. 'I won't focus on the forest's outskirts because many players will visit there after receiving a class. I'll head deeper inside instead.'

The distance between Gena Village and the Fanged Forest wasn't extremely far, however, it took over two hours to reach due to how slow these starter characters were. Although Kieran's AGI was above average, he only crossed a kilometer every 3 minutes or so.

'At least 50 kilometers so far,' Kieran noted.

He kept a tab on how far he traveled to estimate how long until players arrived. Kieran also appreciated the fact a universal handicap influenced his Stamina Consumption outside of battle.

Otherwise, reaching the Fanged Forest would take longer.

After two and a half hours of his Stamina draining and refilling, Kieran finally arrived at the Fanged Forest's inner area.

This leveling area was famous for accommodating different breeds of wolves and other types of fanged beasts, which is how it gained its name.

The Fanged Forest was a Lv.1 to 15 leveling area as a whole, but different regions possessed distinct level ranges.

The area Kieran focused on housed Lv.3-5 beast-type monsters.

It didn't take long for the first monster to appear.

Kieran lifted his greatsword with swift movements while information on the monster appeared in his gaze.

「Lv.5 Dire Wolf (Normal)

Beast Type

Health: 300/300 (100%) 」

Grr!

Swoosh!

The Dire Wolf growled and darted at Kieran. Although a Dire Wolf was a speed-focused monster, Kieran found its movement to be unusually slow.

'Hm? Shouldn't it be faster?' Kieran wondered, simultaneously executing a horizontal slash.

"If the Beginner Zone's handicap is what I remember, there should be a heavy restriction placed on how greatly attributes affect our bodies. In that case, there's a disconnect and I believe I know why, or at least... partly," Kieran muttered.

Naturally, the discrepancy in his mind was his Perception.

Unlike STR, the effects of Perception weren't linear. Its properties were vague and required extensive analysis from many players to realize how the effects varied between individuals.

Eventually, players would conclude it gained a coefficient based on their natural senses.

As he considered the possibility of his assumption, his horizontal slash connected and forced back the Dire Wolf.

-50

"Though it's levels above me, my damage is still decent. Low DEF indeed," Kieran commented.

A Normal Monster was the most basic rating present inside Zenith Online, so all of its attributes were comparatively weak, especially when Kieran compared them to what he initially battled against.

Compared to something like a Raid Boss, this Dire Wolf simply wasn't worth mentioning.

The Dire Wolf grew aggressive after suffering from Kieran's attack and growled menacingly.

However, Kieran looked at the beast amusedly and stepped forth with a sudden burst of momentum. This abrupt change resulted from Kieran activating one of a Warrior's elementary skills, Charge.

Charge consumed 2 Mana Points to instantly travel 3 meters while generating ample force. As a skill with a heavy stagger effect, it also caused a one-second stun period.

Bang!

Kieran's armored body slammed into the Dire Wolf's body.

-65 «Stunned»

Charge dealt more damage than Kieran's basic attack, which was understandable given that it dealt more than 100% of the user's Attack Power.

A pained yelp sounded from the Dire Wolf as it froze from the impact.

"Charge... out of the other skills, perhaps it's one of the only utility skills that deserves focus," Kieran noted. "But given the level difference, it'd be best to elevate its level manually before I switch to the method."

Kieran suddenly changed how he moved and dashed toward the paralyzed Dire Wolf.

He displayed a great affinity with greatswords by unleashing three basic attacks linked together beautifully despite the size of his weapon.

As the weapon he was most familiar with, Kieran's understanding of how to manipulate a greatsword transcended most, if not all, current players.

-51 -50 -49

'The damage fluctuation isn't too great, so that's good. It's safe to say I can kill these beasts in 6 clean hits.'

Just as the Dire Wolf recovered from its stunned state, Kieran tensed his arm while a pale blue aura surged from his body. Following his activation of Warrior's Aura, Kieran unleashed a tremendous downward slash.

"Force Slash!"

This movement produced a surge of heavy winds that sent the Dire Wolf flying into a large tree two meters away.

-94

'Ah, so that's why Warrior's Aura is a prerequisite. This skill isn't too shabby but it is a glorified dilution of what Scar executed. I wonder at what level can a swing of my sword muster his pressure.'

〈System: You have gained 75 EXP.〉

After Force Slash, Kieran examined the pale blue Warrior's Aura billowing off his body and found it to be empowering and pleasant.

'Though he may seem irritable on the surface, Scar is an amicable fellow as long as you can garner his favorability,' Kieran thought with a light chuckle.

Aside from the EXP, killing the Dire Wolf dropped a few Copper Coins, a tattered wolf pelt, and sharp fangs. He lazily retrieved the six coins and inspected the information that popped up in his view.

「Copper Coin (Item)

Description: The lowest form of Xenith's global currency. It is accepted in most regions of Xenith, but most areas prefer larger denominations. 」

Collecting 100 Copper Coins amounted to 1 Silver Coin, while 100 Silver Coins amounted to a Gold Coin. Gold Coins are the preferred method of transaction involving official stores, but all forms of currency are accepted.

'Since the game seeks hyper-realism, setting one's foundations in the early stages is imperative. Until I come across unique ways to generate income, I'll have to rely on saving my coins for the time being.'

Unfortunately, others would not be so lucky.

Kieran could only save his precious coins because the Unique Warrior Package rewarded 50 Beginner Consumables.

Thus, he wasn't forced to purchase any from the shops inside the village.

After collecting his reward, Kieran continued in search of more monsters. Due to the level difference, these monsters were great sources of EXP despite their low rank.

Roughly five minutes later, the corners of Kieran's lip curved into an excited smirk. "Six of them? Others may dread this circumstance but for me, I feel otherwise. Finally, a bit of excitement."