The Gains, The Syncs and The Free

A few minutes after the Players excited(?) reaction to the Player announcements that Gab (once again) generated…

"FUCK, WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?", a random Player yelled.

"I can't see them over here!", someone responded in the negative.

"Nada over here as well!".

"Damnit, I guess we're not the group that gets first crack at them, fucking hell!".

"Are you sure that we should even if they are here? If the announcements from before and now are correct, then Wanderer should be at Level 9 right now…no scratch that, they're practically equivalent to an over Level 40 Freestyler with all the additional AP they got! And that's just the boosts we know about!", one Player moaned in disagreement, voicing a reason as to why she shouldn't need to stay low-key like so many secretive protagonists in web serials and light novels.

However, the response that Player, in particular, got unknowingly gave explained one core reason for why she needs to keep her identity under wraps for now, at a small cost of looking like an overly paranoid dropkick:

"Yeah, we know that. Hell, I would face-slap if I found out someone went after Wanderer without knowing that!", a Player agreed before continuing, "That being said, although the Player in question has higher Attributes than us, they are still only one person.".

Another Player then added their two cents worth to the discussion, "And don't forget, Wanderer may have gotten that Quest as a result of literal Divine Intervention, they're likely to have not experienced actual IG combat, just like we haven't! If we all Zerg Rush them, we could at least delay their development long enough for us to catch up!".

And there you have it, the reason why Gab feels the need to keep herself secret; to keep herself safe from a guaranteed swarm of Players out for blood!

That being said, something they agreed upon a little earlier struck Gab as…well, odd.

"Hey, Đất Vàng,", Gab whispered in the ear of her new friend, "is there a reason why these guys are so certain that Wanderer isn't here in this Pocket Village?".

Đất Vàng whipped her head towards Gab in disbelief, but decided to stifle her groan in favour of getting a proper answer this time!

"Ok Otaku, I'll tell you why I and the rest of the Players here are certain that Wanderer wasn't placed here, but only if you tell me how you don't fucking know why!", Đất Vàng said with annoyance, causing Gab to flinch.

"Touché", Gab thought, thinking that she could at least tell her that much, considering that even she knew that some of the explanations she gave earlier to the Vietnamese Armed Combatant were shaking at best.

So with that, Gab told Đất Vàng about her agreement with her friend to not research the game at all until she finished her first session, due to having had at least a year to do substantial amounts of research.

Of course, she omitted the reason why she didn't consider playing the game until the day it actually launched.

After hearing that (mostly) full explanation, the Vietnamese Armed Combatant gave a small sigh, thinking that this strange Freestyler was going to be more of a metaphorical handful than she initially thought, especially when she took her more than generous physical handful of labrys-covered chest…

COUGH! COUGH!

Disregarding Gab's raised eyebrow as she witnessed her short yet violent coughing fit, Đất Vàng went into "Miss Exposition" mode as she began to enlighten the currently confused Freestyler.

"Well, the reason the other Players here are so sure that Wanderer hasn't started in this Pocket Village is…because no Freestyler here has Leveled Up. Much less six times in a row!", Đất Vàng said, causing Gab's heart to palpitate, unsure of where this is going.

"Wait, do Players glow or something like that when that happens?".

"Yeah,", Đất Vàng confirmed, causing Gab's mouth to open slightly, "and before you ask, "But how would you know that a Freestyler Leveled Up, and not a Combatstyler or Lifestyler?", there are two reasons for that.".

"One; who else could've possibly gained so many Levels in such a short period of time?! Two; each Style has a different coloured glow whenever they Level Up:

Combatstylers glow a bright gold, which also emits coloured sparks that correspond with their selected Sub Group

A Lifestyler's glow is silver in colour, and the symbol of their chosen Initial Class appears above their heads

Freestylers have a dark bronze glow that fluctuates with various symbols that relate to their current arsenal of Skills and Spells

"And yet,", Đất Vàng continued, "none of us has seen that phenomenon occur among any of the Freestylers here, and it's not a setting that any of us can turn off.".

Whilst the Vietnamese Armed Combatant finished her explanation, Gab was nodding her head in understanding, whilst she felt her shoulders slightly relax in relief!

"Ok Douaxí, you were right. I definitely would've regretted it if I hadn't allowed you to tweak my avatar!", Gab thought to herself, putting two and two together.

After all, she may be obsessed with Classes (to a sometimes fatal degree!), she wasn't a complete idiot.

That particular phenomenon Đất Vàng was explaining to her must have been the "reaction" the Goddess of Classes was referring to, since it apparently can't be switched off by the Players themselves and they were using it as an indicator to figure out her location.

So, that means that, for the time being at least, she is almost virtually undetectable to the other Players around the world!

However, little did she and the rest of the Players know, there was someone here who knew that "Wanderer" had started in this very Pocket Village, and was completely flabbergasted with Gab's sudden achievements and rapid rise in Level!

And that person, was Zalo, the head elder herself!

"Well fuck me sideways!", Zalo whispered under her breath, staring at the new number displayed on Gab's Level, "No wonder she was able to get so much in such a short period of time. She has the backing of a Deity who's taken an interest in her!".

Despite her shock, Zalo was shrewd enough to notice that…whatever happened occurred right before she was about to give out the Beginner Quests, and the Deity in question must have executed a phenomena manipulation that allow them to contact the Player before her without even her noticing!

As for the identity of the Deity who caused this event to occur, Zalo didn't know. She was, however, smart enough to know that prying into the affairs of a Deity was never a good idea.

That being said, Zalo could at least infer that this might be the handiwork of one of the more…eccentric Deities, someone who isn't so prideful as to only take factors such as a Player's overall Level and Attributes, accomplishments and position into consideration when choosing to contact someone, much less when a Player has only just arrived.

Having already noticed that the recipient of this unique honour was trying to keep a low profile, for the time being, began to think of a way to give her enough time to find a way to better protect her identity, if only so that she could avoid retribution from whoever was backing the Player for not providing even her the bare minimum of protection!

"Sorry, travellers from another world, this might get rough, but you should be better prepared for future challenges that will come your way after what I'm about to do next.", Zalo whispered to herself, before clearing her throat loudly enough to get the Players attention.

"Hmm hmm, I see, I see,", Zalo intoned with her eyes closed and her hand on her chin, whilst nodding her head in a sage-like manner, "I guess that is head elders were…mistaken.".

…

Mistaken?!

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

As the rest of the Players thought this, getting a bad feeling about the way the head elder was acting, Zalo opened her eyes, which now had a cold glint that set their teeth on edge.

"We were told that the travellers that would be coming to this would be ecstatic to come here," Zalo began, her tone both monotonous and cold, "that they couldn't wait to tackle the challenges that Arbitrium has to offer head-on.".

"And yet, with the of only one of you all, it turns out that all of you…are complete and utter SLACKERS!!", Zalo roared, causing a vast majority of the Players to blank out.

…slackers?

They were…slacking off?

…

…WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE MEAN, THEY WERE SLACKING OFF?!!!

It may only be slightly obvious, but the Players accused of this were, at bare minimum, astronomically pissed off!

And who could blame them? After all, not only did it take time to both climb out of the large crater they appeared in and walk to the back entrance of the Pocket Village, they also had to take some time out of their IG time to get information from the head elder.

Even though some of the Players wanted to skip the Q&A, they still stuck around, for reasons such as acquiring information that could prove to be vital to their development plans and also not willing to risk gaining the ire of both the head elder and the rest of the villager NPCs disregarding the sacrifice of their own time.

All in all, rather than simply "slacking off", all of the Players only shown diligence!

It was just that they were being unfairly compared to a certain anomaly of a Player!!

Even the "anomaly" in question felt an urge to run up to the old lady, grab her by the robes and shake her violently whilst telling her to stop making the other Players more pissed off at her than they already were!

Of course, Zalo knew that (most of them, anyway) they weren't slackers at all, but since the situation became what it was, she had to take some drastic measures.

"Now, slackers,", Zalo spat, causing the recipients moods to go even darker, "these were the Quests I was initially going to give you all.".

With that, Zalo displayed Quests screens that were large enough for everyone to see, with the contents displayed showing reasonable parameters for a Beginner Quest in this VRMMORPG:

<Quest Name: Step Onto The Field

Quest Difficulty: F

Quest Type: Extermination

Quest Details:

The outside of the Village is overrun with nutritious pests. Get rid of them.

Quest Objective(s):

-Eliminate 5 [Etmotable] monsters (0/5)

(Note: If you are taking on this Quest as part of a Party that's also engaged in the same Quest, each successful kill will count towards the tally of all Party Members.)

Quest Failure Condition(s): N/A

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Completion Reward(s):

-[Scan]

-50 Bronze

Quest Failure Punishment(s): N/A

Time Remaining: N/A>

<Quest Name: Start Your Life

Quest Difficulty: F

Quest Type: Collection

Quest Details:

The Village needs an assortment of supplies. Collect them.

Quest Objective(s):

-Collect 5 [Vegetables], [Plants] or [Minerals] (0/5)

(Note: If you are taking on this Quest as part of a Party that's also engaged in the same Quest, each successful collection will count towards the tally of all Party Members.)

Quest Failure Condition(s): N/A

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Completion Reward(s):

-[Scan]

-1 Level

-50 Bronze

Quest Failure Punishment(s): N/A

Time Remaining: N/A>

Whilst the Combatstylers and the Freestylers who were going to choose the Quest related to combat were not only miffed by the fact that they weren't facing staples beginner monsters like Rabbits and the like, and were confused as to what a [Etmotable] was, they found that the level of difficulty for both of these Quests was doable for them.

For everyone who searched the official site for the game, they knew that a Quest with a Quest Difficulty of "F" meant that it was the easiest type they could get.

From easiest to astronomically difficult, the designations of Quest Difficulty go from F, E, D, C, B, A, S, Z and I, with the most last rank being based on the symbol for "imaginary numbers".

Basically, unless you have one or more unimaginable trump cards up your sleeve, completing a Quest with that Difficulty rank will only be a dream.

However, all these Players felt a sense of foreboding when they heard that Zalo was "initially" going to give them these Quests…

"That being said, in light of your utter incompetence, I, as well as the other head elders in the various other Pocket Villages, will revise them in order to put you to work!".

As soon as she spat that last word out, the Quest screens started to glitching for a few moments, before revealing their revised form.

Upon seeing these new Quests, every Player in Pocket Village 2604, as well as every single other Pocket Village, turned pale in the face, all the while wondering how Wanderer could be so cruel as to screw them over like this!!

<Quest Name: Stampede Onto The Field

Quest Difficulty: E

Quest Type: Extermination

Quest Details:

You have shown a disturbing lack of dedication. Prove that you were worth being called to Arbitrium!

Quest Objective(s):

-Eliminate 20 [Etmotable] monsters (0/20)

(Note: If you are taking on this Quest as part of a Party that's also engaged in the same Quest, each successful kill will only count towards the tally of the Party Member that landed the final blow.)

Quest Failure Condition(s): N/A

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Completion Reward(s):

-[Scan]

-50 Bronze

Quest Failure Punishment(s): N/A

Time Remaining: N/A>

<Quest Name: Restart Your Life

Quest Difficulty: E

Quest Type: Collection

Quest Details:

You have shown a disturbing lack of dedication. Prove that you were worth being called to Arbitrium!

Quest Objective(s):

-Collect 20 different [Vegetables], [Plants] or [Minerals] (0/20)

(Note: If you are taking on this Quest as part of a Party that's also engaged in the same Quest, each successful collection will only count towards the tally of the Party Member that found the material.

You also cannot submit more than one of each material you collected.)

Quest Failure Condition(s): N/A

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Completion Reward(s):

-[Scan]

-1 Level

-50 Bronze

Quest Failure Punishment(s): N/A

Time Remaining: N/A>

When the Players saw these new, revised Quests, all the Players in the area felt an overwhelming urge to vomit every last drop of blood in their bodies! Even the unwitting instigator of this occurrence herself was no exception!

After all, this wasn't even a 100% increase in difficulty.

No, it was, at bare minimum, a goddamn 400% increase in difficulty level, where every single Player had to achieve their objectives on their own, irrespective of whether they're in a Party or not!

Not to mention, both of these new Quests now required the Players to take a LOT of new factors into consideration, far more than they were expecting for their first Quest!

For the combat-oriented Quest, it puts a lot of different pressures on the different Player roles.

At first glance, the Tanks and the Support Players have it the hardest, especially the Solo ones. Since they didn't generally apply their freely distributed AP towards damage output, meaning that not only would it take far longer for them to defeat the designated number of enemies than the DPS Players, they would actually be far more likely to die in battle themselves!

That's not to say that those who specialise in DPS have it easy, especially when they're part of a Party.

For one, they would be under immense pressure to finish this Quest as fast as possible to gain the [Scan] Skill.

For another, once they get the Skill, they would need to act in a similar capacity to "buses", limiting their damage output whilst keeping a close eye on the enemy's HP so that they can make it easier for the Tanks and Support to land their own finishing blows.

And if Web Novels that incorporated their own versions of VRMMORPGs are anything to go by, the number of enemies they'll be facing will be very limited, especially in the face of so many Players.

In other words, this is going to turn into a chaotic MESS of a first Quest.

On the other end, whilst the Lifestylers (as well as the Freestylers that chose to participate) don't necessarily have to face enemies, they have their own problems to deal with.

They could've easily dealt with the increased number of materials required to complete the Quest, as if it were only that, they only would've required more time to complete it.

The major problem, however, laid in the fact that they can't submit the same material twice!

So not only did they need to spend more time collecting a larger quantity of materials, but they also needed to expand their search range to find more types of materials! And there was no doubt that there would be a similar problem in regards to the materials they can collect between all of them.

Not only that, despite the difficulty spike…the rewards for completing them were the same as they were previously!

How could they possibly not be pissed off!!

"If all of you are, by chance, thinking that this revision is slightly unfair,", Zalo began, causing a vast majority of Players' eyes to twitch violently at her use of the word "slightly", "then I have to remind you that this Player called Wanderer will have been given a Quest that would be most definitely NOT easy to complete, and will likely take more than a fair amount of time to finish.".

"As for the rewards, I can't make them higher due to it being the first Quests I'm giving you all, so you'll have to think of the additional battle/foraging experience as a reward in and of itself.".

"So, if you have any complaints, take it up with the Deity that gave Wanderer their Quest in the first place.".

Whatever the Players were going to shout, it died in their throats.

Take it up with the Deity?

Wasn't that the same as asking them to commit IG suicide, at BEST?!

Gritting their teeth hard enough to worry their dentists, they unwillingly accepted their applicable Quests and started charging away, with the Combatstylers yelling at the top of their lungs as they rushed towards the battle area indicated by their Quest Markers:

"That. Absolute. FUCKER! I just can't wait to get my hands on them!"

"Get in line! I'd like to see if their Vitality is high enough to take having my shield shoved down their throat!"

"Shield down their throat? Hah, screw that! I'll go the old-fashioned way: shoving my steel-capped boot so far and hard up their arse that they'll need reconstruction surgery for the roof of their mouth! Among other things to fix!!".

"Once I and the rest of my friends meet up, Wanderer will be praying that their Deity will come swooping in to save them!".

"I hope they like the taste of lightning, because that's the first thing I'm going to serve them!".

…and these were just the lightest examples!

As all these…charming comments came from the crowd of Combatstylers, the slower yet just as determined Lifestylers also started letting off some surprisingly colourful statements as they ran towards their destination:

"Just wait until I get the all [Producer] equipment I need. I'm going to make a poison so vile that Wanderer will be even feeling the side effects IRL!"

"Why stop at poison, when you can also make emetics and diuretics?! That'd be an EXCELLENT way to give Wanderer a taste of how we feel right now!".

"If I find work in a restaurant or the like, and I find myself serving Wanderer, they'll have to forgive me for accidentally launching their hot food orders into their face and lap!".

"When I get into a political position, I'll make it my mission to use any legal means necessary to make their life a living hell!".

"Well, I think I have the title for my first IG book: "Wanderer: The Infamous CUNT of a Player"!!".

…

Standing beside Đất Vàng, who was watching the two stampedes with a sort of bemused shock, Gab did her utmost to keep her face from twitching up a storm after hearing what a lot of these Players planned to do once they found her.

"Well, I guess I'm now officially "Public Enemy Number 1.", Gab thought in exhaustion, swearing that she could already see the "Wanted" poster:

Wanderer "The #1 Asshole Player"

Wanted either VERY Dead or Unwillingly Alive

"Weeelll, this was an interesting start to the game."Đất Vàng remarked, glancing at Gab, "Are you also going to join the manhunt?".

…as amusing as it would be to pretend to hunt after herself, Gab just shook her head in the negative.

"Good.", the Vietnamese Armed Combatant said, much to Gab's surprise, "Judging by the rewards that we knowWanderer gained, I'd feel bad if you lost your IG life to such a monster.".

"Thanks, I appreciate your concern.", Gab laughed, meaning what she said.

Although… she had mixed feelings over the fact that Đất Vàng unintentionally called her a monster of all things, even if there is some truth in that…

"Hmmm,", Đất Vàng groaned as she started doing various stretches, which gave Gab a decent idea of how…flexibleshe was, "anyway, time to put my nose to the grindstone. You coming with?".

"Uhhh," Gab stammered, not quite ready to tell the Vietnamese Armed Combatant she already has a Quest lined up that takes higher priority, before coming up with a somewhat plausible excuse, "actually, I'm going to stay here for a bit to figure out my options.".

Đất Vàng blinked for a few seconds before facepalming.

"Oh yeah, of course. You're a Freestyler, you can actually choose which Quest you want to go on."

As soon as she stated that, she started walking towards the field where the combat-related Quest is located.

"Anyway, I'll go on ahead. Just don't take too long to make a decision, otherwise you'll be left behind!".

"Ok, I'll keep that in mind. See you when I see you.", Gab said whilst giving a small wave, as she thought that it was adorably ironic that Đất Vàng was concerned that she would be potentially left in the dust, when in actuality she was stupidly well ahead of the vast majority of Players around the world!

"I'll hold you to that.", Đất Vàng said with a wink before walking away.

…was it her, or was the Vietnamese Armed Combatant swaying her hips a bit more than she was before?

As soon as she confirmed that no other Players were left in the area, Gab heaved a massive sigh, which seemed to contain all the pent up anxiety and exhaustion that has accumulated throughout her first gaming session as she brought up her Menu.

"Ok, let's see what all the damage I wrought has gotten me this time.", she murmured as she opened her Status up first.

"…yeah, this is a LOT for just under an hour of playing.", Gab grumbled, as she recognised how massively different her numbers were from not long ago:

<[Status]

Player IGN: Wanderer

Level: 9 (50%)

Style: [Freestyler]

Affiliations: None

Guild: None

Funds: 7301 gold

Number of Titles: 7

Acclaim: 6300

STR: 28

VIT: 28

AGI: 33

DEX: 28

INT: 28

Points Remaining: 264

Causality: 26

Gravitas: 26

Comprehension: 26

Eros: 17

Commitment: 8

<Stats>

HP: 600 (1 point in VIT equates to 10 HP)

MP: 600 (1 point in INT equates to 10 MP)

Physical Attack: 96 (1 point in STR equates to 2 Physical Attack)

Physical Attack Speed: 96 (1 point in both DEX and AGI (When equal) equates to 2 Physical Attack Speed)

Physical Defence: 68 (1 point in VIT equates to 1 Physical Defence)

Magic Attack: 96 (1 point in INT equates to 2 Magic Attack)

Magic Attack Speed: 96 (1 point in both AGI and INT (When equal) equates to 2 Magic Attack Speed)

Magic Defence: 68 (1 point in INT equates to 1 Magic Defence)

Movement Speed: 370 (1 point in AGI equates to 10 Movement Speed)

Resistances:

-Wind: 50%

-Singularity: 15%

-Water: 10%

-Earth: 5%

Skills:

-Freestyler Skills

Active

[Surface/Enemy], [Attrigiser]

Passive

[PCM], [Struggle Glow-Up]>

To put it mildly, there was a lot to unpack.

For one, both her Funds and Acclaim have exponentially increased.

Whilst she's currently unsure as to how her current amounts of Acclaim would measure up to other, more prominent NPCs, she knew for a fact that she was, without a doubt, the richest Player in the world!

At least, IG and before the Gold can be bought with IRL currency.

Then, there was both her Attributes and Stats.

Due to gaining an additional four Titles and getting three more across the board announcements, both her Free and Fixed Attributes have seen an exponential increase, and all her Stats have gained an additional thirty points towards their values.

And thanks to the fact that her Agility Attribute far outstripped her other ones, they all gained an additional six points as a result of them still being equal.

Next, there were her newfound Resistances.

Whilst their percentages weren't nearly as shockingly high as her Wind Resistance, Earth and Water were good ones to have, since this means she can tank enemies on land and water a bit better.

However, it was her last, and second-highest, Resistance that confused her…

""Singularity" Resistance? Does that mean…?", Gab started asking herself, as her gaze gravitated towards the accretion disk behind the three suns…

"No. No, no, NO! There's no way, absolutely no way, that I already have a Resistance to an attack attribute that the main story enemies use!! There's no WAY it could be that easy…right?".

Unwilling to accept the potential possibility that she has acquired a Resistance that would give the other Player MORE reason to PK her (like they didn't have enough already), Gab just focused on reviewing her other gains, namely three of her newly acquired Titles.

And they were…interesting, to say the least:

Title: [Achiever in the Peripheral (Freestyler)]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Must be a [Freestyler]

-Become the first [Freestyler] to acquire a Title in a Pocket Village

Acquisition Rewards:

-+2 to your highest Free Attribute

Title Effects:

-When you Level Up, you gain 8 AP instead of 6

This Title was the reason for both her Agility Attribute being slightly higher than it should've been and gaining forty-eight AP instead of thirty-six after her six successive Level Ups.

Although, given the relatively lower rewards that were given to her after gaining this Title, Gab imagined that similar Titles and announcements were available to Players of the other Styles and the Classes that fall under their banner, which made her feel slightly more relieved.

Next was the one she gotten due to Douaxí contacting her, which had some unique rewards and benefits:

Title: [Deity Caller]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Become the first Player to communicate with a Deity of Arbitrium

Acquisition Rewards:

The reward depends on who initiated the communique:

The Player-The Deity that is contacted by the Player awarded this Title will develop an interest in the said party, with a high likelihood of giving Quests and other types of rewards based on your actions

The Deity-The Player that is contacted by the Deity has already piqued the Diety's interest, thus in addition to the Acquisition Rewards the Player would get if they were the ones to initiate contact, the Deity will take a personal role in helping the Player achieve their goals in developing their avatar's capability in a specific direction

(Note: Be advised, that if you act in a way that not only goes against the contacted Deity's moral compass, but also conflicts with their interests, you will receive punishments that would be cataclysmic for your avatar, i.e. your current Level could be treated as a Minus Level, and the EXP required to Level Up can be multiplied by as much as ten times!)

Title Effects:

-When a Skill of an Item granted by the contacted Deity is activated in a specified way, a random Attribute will be given +5 depending on various factors.

(Note: This Title's effects will be updated once you have received an Item granted by a Deity.)

Letting out an appreciative whistle, Gab realised that, due to the Goddess of Classes choosing to contact her, she essentially reaped all the Acquisition Rewards that this peculiar Title could give!

She was a little concerned over the Note attached to the rewards, but she was sure that she'll be able to circumvent those risks once she got to know the mischievous Goddess better

However, the Title Effects have her miffed, as she has no way of knowing how to truly activate them until she was given an Item by the one responsible for getting her this Title.

Then again, if she completes the Quest successfully, she should know soon enough.

Then…there was the last Title.

To put it simply, it's unusable for the time being:

Title: [Douáxi's Little Pet Project]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Have your path of development become a personal project for Douáxi, the Goddess of Classes

Acquisition Rewards:

-???

(Note: You must first complete the trial that this Title's namesake has set for you before the rewards are available for you.)

Title Effects:

-???

(Note: You must first complete the trial that this Title's namesake has set for you before the effects are activated.)

"Huh, a Title that has conditions that need to be fulfilled before the Acquisition Rewards and Title Effects are revealed to me? Interesting.", Gab remarked, before putting it aside, since she already knows the condition required to fully actualise this peculiar Title.

Now, she decided to take a look at her recently acquired material gains.

Looking through her Inventory, Gab found four ring-bonded books. Three of them looked similar to the Lifestyle Guides she gained recently, only the covers on these were coloured red, green and yellow respectively.

The last one, however, had a deep, navy-blue cover, with the illustration found on the [Caster] Class Card engraved into it, leading her to believe that this one represented an Advanced Profession.

Of course, she won't be able to discern their functions simply by looking at their illustrations, so Gab quickly clicked on them to get their information:

<[Armed Combatant] Combat Guide

Classification: Item

Item Type: Combat Guide

Effects:

Using this will allow you to learn how to gain the [Armed Combatant] Profession.>

<[Saboteur] Combat Guide

Classification: Item

Item Type: Combat Guide

Effects:

Using this will allow you to learn how to gain the [Saboteur] Profession.>

<[Killer] Combat Guide

Classification: Item

Item Type: Combat Guide

Effects:

Using this will allow you to learn how to gain the [Killer] Profession.>

<[Spellcaster] Combat Guide

Classification: Item

Item Type: Advanced Combat Guide

Effects:

Using this will allow you to learn how to gain the [Spellcaster] Advanced Profession, an Advanced [Caster] Combat Profession.>

"Nice,", Gab said, nodding as she read the information regarding these Combat Guides, "the first three would definitely enhance my survivability in battle, whilst the Advanced Combat Profession seems to have a fair bit of synergy with the Advanced Lifestyle one have, at least at first glance."

Happy with those gains, Gab turned her attention to what could arguably be considered her biggest gain: her first tailored Freestyler Skill.

Since she was the first one to reach this milestone, it'll apparently be able to display more power at its first stage than the ones acquired by other Freestylers when they reach Level 5, so Gab can't deny that she was more than a little excited!

As soon as found the Skill and glanced at its information, she realised that the system notification wasn't kidding:

<Skill Name: [Attrigiser]

Skill Family: [Freestyler]

Skill Type: Active

Skill Description:

When this Skill is activated, you will gain an effect based on a randomly chosen Free Attribute.

The possible effects are as follows:

-Strength: For every 2 points in this Attribute, you can inflict an additional 100 points of Internal Damage to an opponent when using physical attacks

(Internal Damage has a probability of causing physical status ailments that can exponentially impede an enemy with a physical/organic body)

-Vitality: For every 2 points in this Attribute, you gain a layer of Hard Skin that can each take 100 points of damage (Hard Skin can reduce damage inflicted by physical and magical attacks, as well as reduce the probability of being affected by status ailments from an external source)

-Agility: For every 2 points in this Attribute, attacks executed at speed gain a layer of Slipstream that can cause an additional 100 points of damage each (Slipstream layers reduce the resistance from external forces on inertia, allowing attacks and other abilities to reach the intended target at greater speed)

-Dexterity: For every 2 points in this Attribute, physical attacks gain a layer of Vibration that cause an additional 100 damage for each layer (Vibration can allow the user to potentially bypass an enemy's defences, with the possibility of permanently compromising them entirely)

-Intelligence: For every 2 points in this Attribute, magical attacks gain an additional Amplification layer that can cause an additional 100 points of magical damage (Amplification increases the level of damage a Magic based Skill or Spell can inflict on an enemy, whilst being able to potentially improve other effects that they can apply)

Cost: 50% of current HP and MP (Neither can be replenished during this Skill's duration)

Skill Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown Time: 30 minutes

Note: This Skill can be upgraded>

"…Holy. Fucking. Shit!!!", Gab gasped, as she looked upon what she could confidently call her first "Ultimate Skill"!

Whilst penalties attached to are kind of sucky, such as the randomised aspect, the activation cost requiring half of her current HP and MP (which can't be fixed whilst the Skill is active) and its short duration and long cooldown, the effects more than make up for it!

If any of the attack-oriented effects are selected after activating this Skill, she can (based on her current Attributes) inflict a minimum of 1400 additional damage with extra effects!

1400! That is a HUGE attack value for an early-stage Player!

Hell, even the effect related to her Vitality Attribute didn't fall behind, since it would give her an extra 1400 HP to work with, drastically improving her staying power on the battlefield!

The best part? Since this wasn't a Skill learned from a Skillbook, she can still upgrade it (although it doesn't give hints as to how she can do that)!

Whirl! Phsst! Clank! Clunk!

As she was finishing her analysis of her new Skill, Gab heard a set of familiar sounds resounding towards her location, causing her to sigh.

There was only one thing in the Pocket Village that Gab was aware of that could make that series of noises…

"As much as I wanted to give you time to prepare to countermeasures against the [Scan] Skill I'll inevitably award to the other travellers, I seem to have landed you in even hotter water than before as a result. I do hope you don't hate me too much for that, handsome lady…or would you prefer it if I call you Wanderer instead?".

…was the steampunk-ish floating platform that the head elder Zalo stood on, as she simultaneously apologised, revealed she was aware of Gab's true identity from the start and dropped one of the biggest understatements Gab has heard yet!

Could the result of her provocation of the other Players be appropriately described as "landing her in hotter water"?

Hell no! It was more akin to chucking her into an ocean of hot, bubbling oil, which the head elder then exacerbated by throwing a shit-covered blowtorch onto its surface!!

Despite having these thoughts, Gab managed to compose herself enough to make a neutral facial expression and turned around to face Zalo.

Whilst her actions did turn the Player base's feelings towards "Wanderer" from "very annoyed" to "violently angry", she did now understand where Zalo was coming from when she made that decision.

After all, if the head elder from a Pocket Village had a new arrival that was a POI for a Deity of their world and didn't take measures that would give them enough time to at least make preparations towards completing the task assigned to them, wouldn't they face punishment from a being far stronger than they were?

Letting out a small sigh before looking the head elder dead in the eye, Gab began to address the older lady on the strange, floating platform.

"Greetings, head elder Zalo," Gab said in a measured tone, bowing slightly in the process (cause fuck curtsying), "Wanderer is just fine. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you would be aware of my true identity, given that the first appraisal skill we would be getting comes from a Quest you gave us.".

"As for the…small matter of the other "travellers" that just left…as well as potentially every single other "traveller" in the other Pocket Villages," Gab continued whilst trying very hard to not let her lips twitch (sometimes Zalo didn't fail to notice), "I understand that you did it to both protect me and give me more breathing room to get prepared for the challenges ahead, so I don't blame you.".

Gab then gave an innocent-looking smile.

"After all, if I did do just that, wouldn't that make me shameless?".

Zalo couldn't help but give a light chortle at that last question.

"Hah! I'd be more concerned if you weren't at least slightly mad about the negative consequences of the action I choose to take!".

"And under the present circumstances, if you were to say or do something to with the purpose of punishing me, I'd say that it wouldn't be considered so much "shameless" as it would be "cheeky"".

Zalo then cleared her throat, seeming to finally be ready to cut to the chase.

"…I take it that since you received a Quest from the Deity whose attention you caught before I gave out my Quests instead of after, my ones would be more of a detriment to you instead of helping you. Am I correct?", Zalo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…whist the [Scan] Skill would be useful to for the Quest I accepted, I'm afraid to say that you are correct. Especially since taking the combat one would not only potentially reduce my potential rewards, but also my chances of leaving the village undetected by my fellow "travellers"", Gab confirmed with a sigh, knowing that despite lacking RL combat experience, she was certain that she could kill every monster just outside the Pocket Village far more easily than the others just by relying on her stupidly high stats alone!

Needless to say, the other Players will abso-fucking-lutely suspect her.

And if some have already received the [Scan] Skill…well, take a wild guess!

Zalo nodded, seeming to have guessed that she would receive such an answer.

"I thought as much, which is why I would like to offer a compromise. Would you be interested in hearing it?"

"Of course. I would have to be a complete fool to not want to hear such a thing from the head elder of all people.", Gab said politely, all the while trying to keep the full extent of her excitement out of her voice.

She may be stressed out over the situation she unwittingly found herself in, but Gab was still an RPG player at heart. Stuff like finding a potentially profitable quest in convoluted circumstances like the one she found herself in makes a game just that much more interesting.

Zalo chuckled as had a feeling she knew exactly how the Freestyler was feeling about what she said just now, which she found to be adorable.

If she were closer to the young woman's age, she would probably find herself tempted to gobble her up!

As she thought that, Gab received a series of notifications that left her gobsmacked:

…

…whilst the notifications regarding Zalo's now high Favourability for her and a potential for something special to happen shortly are good, she had mixed feelings about them.

After all, whilst she was flattered that the head elder felt that way about her, especially since she aged quite gracefully, Gab didn't (amongst other things) feel any inclination towards being a GILF Huntress in the slightest!!

"If you are still interested in gaining rewards from me personally," Zalo said, unaware of the notifications Gab just received, "I'm willing to make you some Sync Quests.".

"Sync Quests? What's the difference between that type of Quest and normal ones?", Gab asked in confusion.

"Well, Sync Quests are unique in the respect that they modified versions of normal Quests that are made to fit better with Quests given by higher beings, in this case a Deity, in order to not inconvenience the Quest acceptor whilst allowing the modifier to still get the results they wanted from the initial form of their own given Quest.".

"Keep in mind that, unless you have a Quest from a higher being that has objectives which somewhat coincides with ones related to a normal Quest, Sync Quests are very difficult for travellers such as yourself to obtain.".

"Now, all I need for creating Sync Quests for you is details of the Quest you just received, and I can start making the adjustments from there. So if you feel comfortable enough, can you share your Quest with me?", Zalo asked as a prompt came up in Gab's HUD:

<Y/N>

"Sure, do your worse." Gab said as agreed to the prompt, causing the details of her snarkily named Quest to appear before the head elder, the contents of which caused Zalo's eyebrows to arch slightly in confusion.

"A…"Class-Obsessed Moron"? Why on earth would a Freestyler be obsessed with Classes of all things?!", Zalo thought in disbelief, which only got worse the more read.

"What…an unusual Quest. Five battles, each requiring different equipment from the previous ones and a change of tactics. Not only that, the acceptor herself can decide the level of difficulty for this Quest?!"

"Although, I imagine that since the rewards themselves for completing this Quest aren't made clear, Wanderer would probably think that it would be a stupid idea to stick to just outside of the Pocket Village, aside from the more…obvious reasons."

After ruminating over the details in the Quest's contents for a few minutes, Zalo brought out screens depicting the revised Beginner Quests she just gave to the recently departed Players and started to modify their contents slightly.

As soon as she was done, Gab got this notification:

"Here they are, your new Sync Quests.", Zalo said as she turned the further revised Quests towards Gab, "Since you are a Freestyler, and these Quests are only made to potentially increase your gains, you can either just pick one or neither. The choice is yours to make."

As soon as the head elder finished, Gab started looking over these new Quests:

<Quest Name: Rush Into The Woods

Quest Difficulty: Depends on the acceptor of this Quest

Quest Type: Extermination, Collection, Sync (Desires of a Class-Obsessed Moron~)

Quest Details:

Monster more worthy of testing your newly acquired strength rests within the woods outside of the village. Challenge yourself, and collect the fruits of your labours.

Quest Objective(s):

-Eliminate the monsters you have chosen as your opponents as part of the Quest "Desires of a Class-Obsessed Moron~" and collect their corpses

(Note: If you choose to take on this Quest, its creator will provide you with an Item to assist in the store of the aforementioned corpses.)

Quest Failure Condition(s): N/A

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Completion Reward(s):

-An upgraded appraisal Skill

-Other rewards depend on both the rank and quantity of the monsters that have been defeated and had their corpses collected throughout this Quest

Quest Failure Punishment(s): N/A

Time Remaining: N/A>

<Y/N>

<Quest Name: Enhance Your Life

Quest Difficulty: Depends on the acceptor of this Quest

Quest Type: Collection, Synced (Desires of a Class-Obsessed Moron~)

Quest Details:

The forest contains an abundance of materials that aren't as easy to collect as those found around the village. Forage in the forest to gain a better understanding of the art of collection.

Quest Objective(s):

-Collect 100 [Vegetables], [Plants] or [Minerals] from the forest (0/100)

(Note: If you choose to take on this Quest, you cannot hand in more than 10 materials of the same name.)

Quest Failure Condition(s): N/A

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Completion Reward(s):

-An upgraded appraisal Skill

-Other rewards depend on both the quality and quantity of the materials collected throughout this Quest

Quest Failure Punishment(s): N/A

Time Remaining: N/A>

<Y/N>

Gab hummed in approval of these Quests, given that they were perfectly suitable as supplementary Quests that she could complete alongside the one given to her by the Goddess of Classes herself.

The only snag she found is that, unlike the first Sync Quest, the one that was Lifestyler-orientated didn't provide an Item to store the materials required for its completion.

Considering how many slots in her Inventory were occupied, this was a big problem.

"Uh, not to sound ungrateful or anything, but could you give me something to hold the materials required for the second Quest? My Inventory is chockablock enough as it is." Gab pleaded to Zalo, who gave up on even pretending to be surprised that the Freestyler seemed to have unintentionally implied that she had many other Items in her Inventory in addition to those awarded to her.

"I can't.", Zalo stated simply, "However, you can buy additional Inventory Slots from the Adventurer Essentials Store for a discounted price, as well as face ornaments that will stop travellers with the [Scan] Skill from viewing the name you choose for your spiritual body.".

Gab raised an eyebrow at that, thinking there were a few choice words she could use in response to that statement.

In the end, however, Gab just chuckled instead and raised her hands towards both of the offered Sync Quests.

"Well, I suppose I may as well as start spending my allowance as soon as possible.", Gab told herself under her breath (whilst saying "allowance" with a sarcastic bite), before addressing Zalo directly with a smirk on her face.

"Screw one or neither, I'll take both of them!", she proclaimed, before taping <Y> on both of them.

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [First Synchronised Acceptor]>

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

After seeing the latest notification, Gab just merely rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Seriously, weren't Titles and Player Announcements more difficult to acquire than this?!

Of course, her circumstances were more unique than most new Players, but come ON!!

"Haaaaah, I'm sorry, but would you be so kind as to show me where the Adventurer Essentials Store is located?".

"Sure, it's the store with the crossed swords and shield over the door, you won't miss it.", Zalo stated before positioning her index finger a few millimetres away from Gab's forehead, "But before you go, I'll lend you an appraisal type Skill to use for your Quests, considering you'll be needing it the most.",

As soon as she said that, she lightly tapped Gab's forehead, causing the Freestyler to feel a wave of foreign information flowing into her brain.

As soon as it subsided, a new prompt came up:

<Skill Name: [Appraisal]

Skill Family: General

Skill Type: Active

Skill Description:

Allows the user to view a decent amount of information regarding enemy units, Items and materials.

Cost: N/A

Skill Duration: N/A

Cooldown Time: N/A

Note: This Skill cannot be upgraded>

Gab felt happy to see this new (temporary) Skill, which she guessed was a more advanced version of [Scan].

"Thank you so much for your help, head elder." Gab said with a slight bow, "Now, I'm afraid that I need to start my preparations as swiftly as possible, so can I be excused?".

"Oh, you may. I will pray for your success!", Zalo chuckled, which stopped just as quickly as it came, when she noticed a brief shadow came across the Freestyler's eyes.

"…Thanks, but I could manage without prayers.", she said with a sad smile, making it obvious that she didn't mean she can beat these Quests without them, before turning towards the Pocket Village.

As Zalo stared at Gab's back in confusion over that last statement, she noticed the Freestyler stopping in her tracks, before looking over her shoulder at the head elder.

"…Do you not want to know which Deity gave me that Quest?", Gab asked, to which Zalo only answered by shaking her head violently.

"Hmm, I guess it would be inconvenient for you to know…", she continued with an understanding and profound tone, causing the head elder to let out a sigh of relief…

"…that I was given this Quest by Douaxí, the Goddess of Classes~."

…which was then followed by a mouthful of blood, as the cheeky Freestyler happily dropped a shocking truth bomb to relieve her anger over the head elder making her situation unnecessarily worse!

As Zalo looked at the now grinning Freestyler in disbelief, Gab just gave a short wave and scarpered off, whilst further surprising the head elder at how fast she was despite only walking.

"Haaah, I guess I did say that it would exactly be shameless for her to give me some sort of punishment, so I suppose it's okay.", Zalo chuckled to herself, before a contemplative expression appeared on her face.

"But still…what did a Freestyler do to catch the attention of the one of the most versatile and powerful of all the Deities born from intelligent society, and before she even arrived in a Pocket Village at that?!", Zalo asked herself, confident that there was no one close enough to her that question.

"That…is something I'd VERY much like to know myself…".

…!!!

However, as the witnesses to the events that have occurred recently can attest to, nothing is necessary guaranteed, as Zalo heard a rough, female voice from right behind her!

Although the "woman" behind her has yet to exert any external or internal pressure on her, Zalo's instincts SCREAMED at her, telling her that she shouldn't dare turn around to even catch a glimpse of this new arrival.

"Now, since it seems that I'm on a bit of deadline, I trust that you're well informed enough to make an accurate guess as to who I am?" the voice whispered into the head elder's ear, her voice not giving an impression of only one emotion or lack thereof. Rather, Zalo can sense more than one in her voice, but she's somehow uncertain as to which ones were present.

Of course, the owner of the voice was correct in assuming that Zalo can make an educated guess as to the woman's identity, as due to the circumstances, she can only be that higher being…

"…this lowly head elder greets Ólasyna, the Goddess of The Free, twin sister of the Goddess of Classes, Douaxí.", Zalo greeted, her voice quivering.

"There's no need for you to refer to yourself as "lowly" to me,", The Goddess of The Free lightly chided, "but that aside, well met.".

"Is there…something I can assist you with?" Zalo asked cautiously, "Because if you do, then I'll doing everything in my power to get you what you need!".

"Well, you are right in that I need something, more specifically from you." Ólasyna confirmed, before cutting to the chase, "I need for you to give me a marker showing this…Wanderer's exact location in real-time.".

"…would it be too presumptuous of me to ask why you would need such a thing.", Zalo asked, a touch of a large amount of apprehension she was feeling creeping into her voice.

"Not at all," the Goddess soothed, not minding one bit, "I only need it to find out where my classy and responsible older sister is located.".

"Locat…! Are you saying that…your elder sister, the Douaxí, is close by?!!", Zalo exclaimed in shock, unable to reconcile to herself that the Goddess behind her is not the only Goddess with the boundaries of this Pocket Village!

"Of course she is.", Ólasyna casually confirmed, " After all, in all her existence, my elder sister has never given out a Quest. Not. A. Single. One. Not even for a Hero or Villain of Antiquity!".

"And since she finally has…", Zalo muttered as she realised something.

"…then that means she'll come personally to the location where the Quest will be taking place." Ólasyna finished for the head elder, " And since she's likely using one of her more particularly powerful fetters that specialises in counter-surveillance, I can't track her by my usual means, and by the time I come up with a new method, I'll have likely missed her."

"And that, is where you and Wanderer come in.".

Zalo sighed, still unable to reconcile with the fact that she's in this situation in the first place!

"Haaah, very well, here's the marker.", Zalo acquiesced, producing a palm-sized, crystalline cube with a red arrowhead in its centre.

"Much obliged.", The Goddess of The Free said gratefully as she took said marker out of Zalo's palm.

Zalo sighed, thinking that this ordeal was finally over before she felt a sudden weight being placed on her now empty palm.

"Hmm? What is …!!!!", Zalo started, before gasping when she saw what was now in her hand.

"I may be the Goddess who holds dominion over Freestylers, but I'm hardly a thug that won't hesitate to take something with giving an appropriate form of compensation.", Ólasyna stated, with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"A-A-A-APPROPRIATE?!!!", Zalo shouted, almost forgetting whom she was talking to, given that she was so overwhelmed with happiness that tears started to leak out, "This-this is far beyond an "appropriate form of compensation"!!!".

"Heh, I figured that you, as a [Magiteknician] would appreciate the value of this Item.", Ólasyna remarked, continuing, "As for its value as compensation, I'm not sure it would be enough, depending on what my sister has in store for someone who should be under my domain.".

Before Zalo could even come up with a response to such a loaded statement, she felt the presence that had so suddenly appeared behind her just as quickly disappear.

Letting out the breath she has been unconsciously holding in, Zalo looked adoringly at the Item in her hand that she previously accepted she would never have the fortune to see, much less hold in her very palm, before smashing a pedal on [Nolybab] to get to her workshop as quickly as magiteknically possible!

"I owe Wanderer BIG TIME for this!!!", Zalo whooped happily, before suddenly feeling yet another sense of apprehension.

"I…hope that Wanderer doesn't know that she has yet another Deity's eyes on her…", she prayed.

…

It seemed that there was something in the air that making people tempt fate, as whilst Gab was walking at her higher than average Movement Speed, a series of notifications came up that was so shocking that Gab continued walking as if on autopilot:

<Notice: Due to Zalo receiving an Item from the Primordial Times that has been the dream of every other person with her [First Class] to acquire as a result of you purposely dragging her into a situation involving multiple Deities, Zalo's Favourability towards you has reached the maximum.>

<Warning: In exchange for this Item, Zalo has traded your Quest marker to an inquisitive Deity, allowing them to know where you are located in real-time.>

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Quarry of The Free]>

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

…!!!

"Are you fucking kiddiAAARRRGGGHHH!!", Gab started saying before she suddenly stubbed her toe on something hard on the dirt road, causing her to fall face-first onto the road, the NPCs wincing at the sight.

"Cough, cough, ptuh, ptuh! GAH, just my luck!!", Gab seethed with dry dirt on her face, after coughing and spitting out the dirt (and who knows what else!) that had entered her mouth.

Needless to say, this was not the first thing she wanted to taste in this game!

Whilst still lying on the road, Gab turned her head around to find that she had tripped on a small rock out of the road.

As she was about to curse her luck over tripping on that of all things, her system notifications gave her something different to curse about:

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Unlikely Disaster]>

<+10 to both of your Defence Stats>

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [First Decade Achiever]>

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

As if that wasn't enough…:

<Australia-wide Announcement: At 00:57am AEDT, Player "Wanderer" has become the first Player to acquire 10 Titles. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player "Wanderer" will be awarded as follows:

-+5 to all of "Wanderer"'s Free Attributes

-600 Gold

-+5% in all current Resistances

-12 AP

-600 Acclaim>

<Oceania-wide Announcement: At 00:57am AEDT, Player "Wanderer" has become the first Player to acquire 10 Titles. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player "Wanderer" will be awarded as follows:

-+10 to all of "Wanderer"'s Free Attributes

-900 Gold

-+10% in all current Resistances

-12 AP

-900 Acclaim>

<International-wide Announcement: At 00:57am AEDT, Player "Wanderer" has become the first Player to acquire 10 Titles. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player "Wanderer" will be awarded as follows:

-+15 to all of "Wanderer"'s Free Attributes

-1200 Gold

-+15% in all current Resistances

-18 AP

-1200 Acclaim>

<+1 to all Free Attributes, +1 to all Fixed Attributes and +10 to all Stats>

"…all in less than an hour's work.", Gab said weakly, before shutting her eyes tightly and began banging her forehead on the dirt road she was still lying prone on repeatedly, causing the onlooking NPCs to make a swift retreat!

…

On a side note, all of the NPCs from every Pocket Village that were observing the newest arrivals on their world had started shaking in fear.

Not at the latest Player Announcements, but rather at the effect it had on all the Players! Even the Lifestylers!!

One moment, they were bemoaning both the conditions of their Quests, all while cursing the one that caused this situation to occur in the first place.

The next moment, after hearing those frightening Player Announcements, the NPCs began to think that they might be hallucinating, as they could've sworn that almost every single one of the Players looked like they were manifesting some sort of demonic silhouette that was as red as the blood that was dribbling out of their mouths!

As if thinking the NPCs didn't think that they were scary enough, they pulled out a large variety of medieval torture instruments, with no two being the same!

Well, with just one shared detail on each of them.

A single, eight-letter name, written in blood!!!

บท 15: The Gains, The Syncs and The Free

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บท 15: The Gains, The Syncs and The Free

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