Map Upgrades
Local Map
(Selecting this shows a close proximity map of your surroundings. Can zoom in and out. 5x the range of your current Creature Indicator proximity.)
World Map
(Selecting this allows the areas you have personally visited or seen from another map to be visible on your map. Terrain is very basic. Only the largest landmarks will be recorded.)
Ability Points
You earn Ability Points as you level up. From level 1-20 you will earn a new ability point every 2 levels and from level 21-99 a new point every 5 levels.
Advancement Points
You earn Advancement Points as you level up. You will receive one every ten levels. Through Advancement Points you will be able to advance beyond Basic level Abilities.
“Now to figure out what we are going to need to unlock first,” I said.
“The danger indicator looks good.”
“That will come in handy, but one thing will be much more important in the long run. Grouping. We can create a group and in a few more levels see each other on a mini-map and speak over long distances.”
“Oh. Okay, I’ll leave it to you. Just let me know as we level up what will be the most useful. By the way, man, that’s a good looking leg!”
“What?! Oh...”
213/221 HP
My puncture wounds were starting to scab. What had it been, maybe five minutes? Was that 1 HP per minute for recovery?
“I think I can stand.”
Offering a hand Kline heaved me up. There was no doubt about it, he was massively strong. I probably stood an entire head over the guy, but at this point in time, it didn’t seem like an advantage in comparison to his strength.
My only advantage over him seemed to be that I was faster in a full out sprint. Being tall and lengthy helped. I needed to take advantage of my gaming knowledge. Though some athletes certainly played games, there were some like Kline who were extremely talented but lacked basic knowledge.
We both spent our first ability point on Grouping and created our first group. Experience sharing would work more in my favor than his, but that didn’t mean this wasn’t the best option for spending our first ability point. Grouping was something we were bound to use every day for the rest of the time we were in Freedom. It was literally priceless, especially after a few upgrades.
It was bearable to walk, and in another few minutes, we were at the hunt again. My wound didn’t completely disappear for at least an hour though. This time I was determined not to get bitten.
“It’s your turn to get hurt next time,” I said.
He smirked, looking at me uncomfortably long.
I raised a brow in response.
He shook in laughter.
We stalked goblins. Their groups always came in twos, threes, and fours. A subtle, white beacon now beamed from their heads to the sky when we got close enough.
It became more and more obvious that I was drastically lacking the strength and endurance to keep up. Mentally my gaming experience seemed to prepare me for knowing what to do, but my body struggled. Not only did I not possess the real life skill to pull off what I knew theoretically, but it was hard to even hold up my spear one handed at the pace we were going.
After three more groups, we reached level 3.
Level 3
You have reached Level 3!
Your Creature Indicator range has increased by 2 to 12 meters!
We would have to wait until level 4 for our next skill point.
We ran into our fifth group of goblins. I went to skewer my first one and it was so difficult to hold my spear steady that the spear point missed its mark entirely. With the fear of pain freshly on my mind, I panicked. Using my shield to bash the goblin in the face, its claw nearly reached my outstretched arm.
A surge of delight filled me as I acknowledged how well the shield bash worked. If I couldn’t fully compete for kills, I could at least make things entertaining.
I started experimenting with weapon combinations. Kline recommended using the spear two-handed, but I didn’t want to abandon the shield. I ended up switching out my spear for the sword, which was only about two pounds compared to the seven of the spear. I still had issues wielding it, but being lighter just made it more useful for my current fitness level.
By the tenth group of mini-greenies, I had found my rhythm. This further unshackled Kline who never seemed to tire. His ax was devastating. We would rush them regardless of whether they noticed us or not. With Kline’s control and strength, it was hard for him to miss. My gut had been right about him.
“By the way, we have just under 600,000 people watching us.”
“Is that good?”
“Well, let’s put it this way. I haven’t had to pay for any of my Virtual Reality equipment, games, or clothing for the last three years and I first got sponsored with 30,000 followers. 600k is a number only the highest rated pros get daily outside of big events. You’ll want to capitalize on the viewers we are getting while we’ve got them. This is the first day of Freedom so you could consider this the biggest event we are going to see. Do well and take pictures to show your fans how things are progressing. Here. I’ve got an idea.”
Opening my inventory, I also selected the manual camera. A hologram of a camera appeared, its lens facing me. Moving it, I positioned it over my shoulder. At my command, it counted down from two. My fans would now be able to see a picture with my full inventory of goblin drops, some gems and coins, and a side view of me looking at the camera.
“Looks like I got lucky finding the right guy to group with,” he replied.
“Nah. I got the better end of the deal. As a gamer, it’s going to take me longer to get used to this world. You’re helping me get through this as I adapt. It’s the least I can do.”
He held out his spear, expecting me to respond.
Not sure what he was looking for, I nudged the spear with my shield.
Replying with a grin, it seemed he meant this as a celebratory fist bump or handshake. It wasn’t the customary fist over heart greeting common to combat gamers, but it worked just the same.
We played around with the cameras for a few minutes, taking a break. He laid out all his gems and coins on the ground in a small pile. I copied him. He had a good eye.
I didn’t let up after that. Exhaustion was a very small thing in light of the success we were having.
Since the goblins were so quick, I also had issues with my sword. Instead of swinging, I had more luck lunging in like a fencer. Even then it was, at best, a clean hit maybe 50% of the time.
My shield became Flimsy the Goblin Smoocher. Quick or not, I could level them in the mouth every time. It was many thanks to their big heads and small legs! The shield was about ten pounds of solid wood.
I ended up knocking most of the goblins down, then Kline and I would race to finish them off. He was sneaky like that. Was he personally trying to take my kills just to push me harder? As an experienced fighter of a lot of years, I suspected he was helping me train. Either he guessed at my personality or had assumed I was competitive because it was pushing me to fight harder. Sly old man.
I got a few more scratches, but nothing compared to the first bite I received. It took about ten minutes for the pain to go away and thirty minutes for the wound to fully heal if it was a small one.
Level 4
You have reached Level 4!
Ability Point +1!
Your Creature Indicator range has increased by 2 to 14 meters!
With the additional ability point, I unlocked the Local Map. Kline followed my lead.
Local Map unlocked!
Grabbing the Local Map and stretching it will give you a close-up view of the mini-map.
Seeing the people in your group will depend on their distance from your Local Map, not the range of your Creature Indicator. It is approximately a 5x larger proximity than your Creature Indicator.