章 6: 006 An Advantage
The Emerald Forest was a very short distance away from the village. It was a cozy spot with varying degrees of difficulty, starting out at the Den of Wolves and building up to the Guardian of the Forest Emerald.
It served as the initial hunting ground for every player who started SOS.
Located nearby, one could grind for basic drops, crafting materials, and even small amounts of gold to better equip themselves and prepare as best they can before leaving the tutorial village.
It was common to spend some time here after all because once you completed the final Village quest one would no longer be allowed back in.
Because of this rule, a lot of elderly players simply enjoyed village life. There was no need for many of them to go past this point of the tutorial village.
Within It was laid leisure for them and they followed its wave. The older uncles would log in every day and fish to their hearts content. Selling off their big catch of the day to the market while the aunties would show off their cooking prowess against each other with fresh temporary stat boosting food for sale made from the fish and other ingredients brought in to the market.
In their twilight years, they got to make a little bit of money on the side through these actions and enjoyed a second life of tranquility and relaxation.
Of course there wasn't always peace in the village as some global commotion did arise when the rank of the number 1 fisherman was revealed to be an elderly uncle called 'OldFart' who had never left the tutorial.
Many wandering fishermen came across sights and monsters unknown to fish, catch, and conquer all across Luna and yet player OldFart ruled supreme from the comfort of the tutorial village.
Truthfully they were just mad because they couldn't reach him to learn his secrets.
SOS truly had something for everybody.
On his brisk walk to the forest Illio marveled at every sensation and experience he was immersed in as he dug around and began getting used to the system.
The shock of the initial experience came to him just like it had with everyone else. There was no difference between this life and his real one. Everything felt and looked as it should.
What made it even more surreal was the fact that for years like many fans, he had studied and knew so much of the game content except now Illio was actually living it.
To an extent it felt like a vivid dream. The wind against his skin, the sound of grass rustling and the birds chirping was the same as he had experienced I. Reality. Even the warmth of the sun was felt cleanly as it kissed his face with its gentle rays while he swung his sword with full force against imaginary enemies.
It was real.
After experiencing all this, It made perfect sense as to why SOS became the big success it is today.
It took Illio a few minutes to come out of this "fanboy" stupor he had fallen into, but when he did he noticed that the entrance to the forest was right there.
"Have I been moving too fast? I thought it was suppose to take longer to reach this area? Closer to half a day right?"
Illio spoke his thoughts aloud as pulled up his stats window briefly and contemplated if his agility stat which read '25' as oppose the usual '1' value that everyone is assigned, had anything to do that.
With a carefree shrug Illio issued a thought to open his inventory space and pulled out the Beginner Sword as he walked inside the forest.
On his way here he had gotten acclimated to how the game and combat system works. It was all controlled via thought. One would just think of the skills and their body would go through the motions naturally upon activation.
Thus he quickly adapted to the movements that the ancient swordsmanship passive brought about. They were a series of quick and powerful strikes that used offensive footwork to create a defensive barrier around him.
He didn't know if the other legendary classes got the same swordsmanship but if he could master this style of fighting, he would be invincible.
The only thing he couldn't directly experience was his class skill-
Worldly Manipulation.
According to the description it allowed him to manipulate the probability of everything. It was a vague description which is why he had no idea how/where/when to use it, but that could be a good thing right? As long as it fit in the set constraints-
'manipulate the probability of everything'
Then his only limit was what he could imagine it to be right?
He needed a target. The faster Illio could get used to the full extent of his ability, the faster his journey could truly begin.
Suddenly and almost as if it was willed into existences a small pack of four wolves made an appearance before him.
In the thick of the foliage of the forest, the sage green fur coats of the predators allowed them for an almost perfect camouflage. Their only revealing feature being the sound of their howls as they hungered for prey.
Very quickly the four forest wolves surrounded Illio and began narrowing his escape by slowly approaching him.
Confident in his high initial stats and the light practice he just got on his way here Illio took on each wolf. There was no mercy to be seen in his eyes as he swung the Beginner Sword again and again using horizontal strikes. With each strike making mortal contact against the wolves.
As they jumped him from all sides he poorly used the newly learnt footwork to dodge the attacks and create space between him and his enemies. Despite having high game values it wasn't easy to overcome the psychological aspect of human nature in combat.
You will get hurt if you continue, run or duck! Close your eyes when you are about to get struck to protect yourself.
Illio was going to need some practice but having been in plenty fights growing up, the usual challenge for players wasn't a burden for him.
Before long each wolf turned into a misty ash fog and scattered into the wind, indicating their defeat.
Instantly a prompt appeared before Illio.
[Wolf Pelt Acquired 1/10]
[+12 experience]
"Only 1 pelt dropped! And what's with this experience! It's so low!"
Illio was in disbelief for a moment before he remembered that this was SOS. It was going to be a brutal experience in all parts including item drops.
Once again in the correct headspace, Illio ventured deeper into the forest looking for more wolves to hunt.
….
Over in game 10 hours hours had gone by and Illio's rotten luck was beginning to manifest. Not a single wolf appeared! This was the area they spawned into and yet in a 10 hour period there was nothing.
How was he suppose to progress if he couldn't even clear the first quest of the game!
"What is this crap?!"
I'm a fit of anger he grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it towards a tree. A normal starting player would have made a slight dent into the bark of the tree. With Illio's enhanced strength, the stone flew threw the trunk of the tree and cleanly came out of the other side.
Instantly a notification popped up.
[Wolf pelt acquired 2/10]
[+3 experience]
Illio was confused as to how he killed a wolf when there were none around.
He had not realized it at the time but after witnessing the death of this hidden wolf, the story clicked in his head.
Clearly the predators of the forest had been watching to see if he would be easy prey for them. The fact that he killed 4 wolves alone relatively fast showed them that he was a threat and this caused all other wolves to go into hiding away from Illio.
As he stood there in the middle of leaves and bushes, Illio began thinking to himself-
"If this is the case then I just need to force them to come out of hiding….or maybe…"
A brilliant idea came to him.
It was time to put his class skill to the test. Would it work? Who knew but it was important he figure out how to use it now while he had certain securities in place.
Illio issued a thought and the system took care of the rest.
"Worldly Manipulation: increase enemy appearance!"
[Command Issued]
[Due to low proficiency, the probability increase may be higher or lower than intended]
[Raise proficiency to gain control of skill]
[Probability Manipulation successful]
[Forcibly Raising Enemy Spawn Rate x100%]
[Daily Use 9/10]
Instantly Illio bit off more than he could chew as he was immediately surrounded by thousands of wolves all baring their fangs and anger towards him.
"Well…..I think this skill may work a bit too well…."
With a slight chuckle Illio once again drew his sword, ready to commit genocide against the summoned wolves.
"Come at me!"
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