บท 9: A First Quest! (1)
Chapter 9: A First Quest! (1)
Thud!
A huge tree in the tutorial forest had fallen again. It was Jake's third tree that he had cut down with the new proficiency he'd acquired—the lumberer.
Though proficiency it may have been, Jake found it much easier to cut down the trees whose barks were studier than the torsos of high-level monsters.
He heaved his chest up and down while sucking in air, exhaustion taking a toll on him as his current occupation was too demanding. That said, Jake's grin hadn't thawed as he could see his strength and dexterity stats significantly going up with each swing of his wooden ax.
[Archer Lv. 4 HP: 160/160 MP: 160/160]
[STR: 30]
[DEX: 24]
Many knowledgeable people would have pitied Jake's arms, wrists, and even the trees, as the young adult had been cutting trees down with wooden equipment. It put such a heavy burden on him that most NPCs would have told him to give up on it and instead ask Richard for logs for wooden armorer proficiency.
Jake, however, didn't seem to mind his slow pace or pain in his hands. Stats aside, it was satisfying to feel that pain as it made his hard work more rewarding. Also, Jake had come up with a plan for his tutorial island conquest, which required him to be the lumberer here.
He shared it with Richard once their armorer lessons began.
Richard peculiarly looked at him before asking whether he hadn't misheard him. "You said you want to cut down a path toward the Unconquerable Mountain?"
"Yep," Jake nodded with a chuckle.
Since that mountain's spire had been Jake's goal ever since he had laid his eyes on it, he drew a proper plan to face his aspirations. It couldn't have been named like that for no reason, so Jake assumed he wouldn't really conquer it on his first try.
Which meant that he would have to return back to the mountain's foot after his first death.
With the forest being so dense and dark, returning wouldn't be so simple even if he had a map or already knew the directions, to say nothing of monsters respawning during his death cooldown.
But if he were to cut down a path where sunlight freely can land on, he would be able to deter a lot of monsters who rarely see it and get to his goal much faster.
Richard smiled, "You never cease to impress me… this is a long-term plan, though. I should have given you a quest much earlier, but you faced hardships and improved so significantly without them that I held myself back."
Even now, Jake was making a wooden utensil with nothing but a sharp-edged stone. It was such a primitive method that any other player would have already sent a complaint to the game company.
Jake, however, took joy in this different method and the difficulties that came with it.
"That's fine," Jake nodded. "Doesn't it mean you have seen much more potential in me than in other players? I think this primitive experience gonna help me a lot in the future, so don't sweat over it."
Richard smiled with relief, "Thanks. Alright then! I'll pass you this quest, then!"
A system message soon popped up before Jake.
[Richard wants to give you a quest, 'Steel Ax Quest(Unique)']
[Steel Ax Quest(Unique) — The Wolf Boss of The Tutorial Forest had once found a steel ax and taken fancy to it. It's his treasure and pride that he protects with his whole body. Find the steel ax and bring it to Richard for research.]
[Reward: The Steel Ax after Richard's research.]
[Do you accept?]
Richard could have given much more rewards to Jake, but he had decided that it would be against the young man's wish, as Jake had a long-term plan and wanted to spend much more time on the tutorial island. He had even shared it with him and asked for any tips.
It was selfish of Richard, but he wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
He had grown this close with Jake.
[You have accepted the quest!]
Jake smiled, "The quest means that I can lure out the wolf and find the steel ax without fighting him."
"Exactly! You have to thoroughly read every quest's description. Hidden clues is what you must look for in each quest you receive." Richard nodded and teasingly smiled, hinting there was more to the quest's content.
Jake narrowed his eyes.
The content was short, simple, and precise to fault.
What more could have been hidden here?
A few minutes later, Jake muttered, "He protects it with his whole body? Does the wolf boss also sleep on the makeshift bed made of leaves? It'd mean the steel ax is under him and that bed?"
Richard grinned, "You got it right."
"I see! Thanks, Richard!" Jake nodded. Now, he truly understood what Richard's advice entailed. "I'll go for the battle, though! I learned much more about archery back in my world. I got a really nice master."
"Good to hear that! Good luck!"
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บท 10: A First Quest (2)
Chapter 10: A First Quest (2)
Finding the wolf boss wasn't so difficult.
His camp was surrounded by intricate roots and thick trees, with one wide entrance guarded by ordinary forest wolves. Such a setting was adequate for the boss' prestige and turned the environment into the perfect area for newbie players to face their first boss monster.
Jake had spent a few hours meticulously going around the forest to find this area.
Though he hadn't leveled up and was still level four, his stats were higher than players of his level as he had spent his time sharpening his other proficiencies, increasing his essential for archer stats: strength and dexterity.
'That's the boss… he's huge and has silver fur,' Jake thought upon landing his eyes on the enormous existence. Without a doubt, it was the boss.
The game system helped him to confirm his identity.
[The Forest Wolf Boss Lv. 5 HP: 500/500 MP: 100/100]
The boss was at least two meters tall, but Jake couldn't confirm that because his enemy was currently in a nap, curled up on his vast bed of leaves. Even as he slept, he appeared intimidating enough to have people like Jake question whether they really wanted to mess with him.
The wolves orderly guarded the entrance so that no one disturbed their leader's nap while keeping their paws as quiet as possible.
'He has mana… it means he must have at least one skill up his sleeve,' Jake thought. It made sense for the boss to have some kind of skill to give newbie players a taste of the consequence of getting hit by one.
Just like in other games, Jake could have searched for the boss's skills and patterns and prepared adequately against them to walk through him seamlessly. That would have been so boring that Jake didn't even consider going for that route.
Yes, in other games, he had relied on the guidance of other players to close the gap. But this time, he had been shaping his own path and took on the weakest class to go against the mainstream.
Moreover, Jake had quite a different mindset in the virtual reality game as it felt like he was in a different world, not a game.
He was already so much different than newbie players that he didn't want to rely on others and learn everything inside the game, either on his own or through NPCs or players.
'I don't think those wolves are scrupulous in their watch duty… let's try luring them out,' Jake thought. His reasoning could have been explained in one sentence—the wolves were so fearful of the boss that they would rather deal with any intruder themselves than have him wake up to see his wrath.
Jake nocked his arrow on the bowstring and entered his first rigid form. He draped himself in his deep focus through the breathing technique familiar to him, like the palm of his hand, and focused on the first foe.
Once he imagined his trajectory, he let the arrow go.
It lodged itself deep in the wolf's side. The monster fell onto its side and gritted its teeth not to let out any growl.
Before it stood up, however, Jake switched his target and shot another arrow at the second monster. He was so fast and proficient that the second monster hadn't turned in his direction and received the same blow to its side.
The last guard had turned around in Jake's direction. It wasn't so odd since there was one entrance and path to the boss' camp, so Jake didn't even bother trying to play for time with these monsters.
The monster spotted him, yet it didn't help it deal with the arrow. In fact, because it glared at him, Jake left the critical strike on the last wolf as his arrow went through its skull.
It survived it, though.
Which was because the guard was of level three, and the best of the best had been chosen to guard the entrance.
'Alright, I can tell they don't want to wake up the boss!' Jake smiled, 'I might even deal with them before they reach my side!'
It would have been an ultimate win in Jake's book if he were not to receive any blow. With those thoughts dwelling in his head, he rested his arrow on his hand as he nocked it.
His muscle memory was by no means disturbed by his excitement and thoughts as he shot arrows one by one.
Like sitting ducks, the wolves fell one at a time to their sides. One of them had gotten quite close to him, but Jake was much stronger than them and finished it with a casual release that didn't require his usual anchor point.
Level difference aside, Jake's stats were just higher. The wolves were also slow in their rush to him because of their fear of their boss, which all translated to Jake having a total advantage over them.
He wasn't a close combat player, so the guard was a piece of cake to him!
That could have been said to be the archer's edge here.
'Leaves, leaves, leaves… that should be enough!' Jake took out clumps of leaves from his inventory and covered the wolves in them to not let the boss wake up to the smell of blood.
Though he may have secured his first small victory on this adventure, his advantages of being an archer could easily backfire on him now that all that's left is the boss.
Jake, however, had been learning more about archery in the real world and practicing his ideas in the game world.
'Time to put them into real practice,' Jake entered his rigid form, which, for convenience's sake, he'd named the soldier form. 'Let's do it.'
He drew his bowstring and reached his strongest anchor point as he loaded all his strength into the bow.
The arrow flew forward!
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