[You have been clawed for 8 damage. Remaining HP 17/50]
[You have slashed a wolf for 242 damage. Wolf has been slain.]
[You have gained 60 experience! EXP until next level 20/710]
[You have gained a level! You have 5 free stat points to distribute!]
The final wolf halted its assault so abruptly that it slid foward in the dirt. The beast whimpered, turned its tail, and ran.
Shaken from the sensation of being set upon by a small pack of wolves, Dakkon took a moment to collect himself. “Those bastards almost had me,” Dakkon considered. “But they went down so easily…” The encounter felt strange to him. Trying to figure out what had happened, Dakkon tried invoking a command he hadn’t known for sure was in the game, but was a classic mechanic of online role-playing games, “Combat Log!” He thought. A scrollable window popped up.
Dakkon’s eyes were glued to his two damage entries:
[You have stabbed a wolf for 258 damage. Wolf has been slain.]
[You have slashed a wolf for 242 damage. Wolf has been slain.]
“What the hell?” Dakkon felt chills run up and down his spine. He looked at the dagger, somewhat bloodied in his hands. “Just how strong is this thing?”
Without a proper reference to gauge damage by—except for how hard a rat bites compared to a wolf—Dakkon was unsure about the overwhelming display of power his weapon seemed capable of. With a quick calculation, he tried to put it into terms he could understand, “16 wolf bites. I do as much damage as 16 separate, angry wolf bites,” Dakkon thought, “But then, maybe that’s just how things work in this game. Maybe a low-level creature does poor damage compared to an armed man.”
With no way to be sure, Dakkon shook away his thoughts on the matter and set to harvesting the wolves. The problem arose that he had no idea how to manage it and, being unsure that he even had the right tools for the job, settled for wrenching out the four enlarged canine teeth from each wolf, then pocketed them and marched back to the road. Noting his health and mana pools were both full from leveling up, Dakkon sallied forth on his way towards Greenburne.
The remainder of Dakkon’s trek towards the village went flawlessly. He practiced his thermomancy, paused to hunt any nearby animals, and rested, each in turn. Twice, he stopped to rest for jerky and warm, metallic tasting water. By the time Dakkon could see Greenburne, he had leveled up two more times. All creatures fell before his dagger with only a single swipe or thrust, and he packed away whatever he could fit into his bag. Dakkon had acquired 13 full hares, eight wolf canines, and three brown snake carcasses. Everything else was simply too large to bring along, and was left for the scavengers. He noticed that the weight of 13 hares in his bag didn’t feel heavy—clearly a concession against realism for the players’ benefit.
Aside from his bounty of loot, Dakkon had advanced in several ways:
|————
|Statistics ( ][][ ) ( ][][][ )
|————
|Strength: 10 ( ? )
|Stamina: 10
|Agility: 10
|Dexterity: 10
|Intellect: 10
|Luck: 0 ( X )
|Free Stat Points: 15
|
|Hit Points: 80/80
|Endurance: 65/65
|Mana Points: 80/80
|Leveclass="underline" 4
|EXP Until Next Leveclass="underline" [
|————
|Traits ( ][ ) ( ][][][ )
|————
|Appearance – 8 (Equipped)
|Heroic – 1— 10% [
|Hunter – 2— 15% [
|Steadfast – 1— 0% [
|Thick – 1— 20% [
|————
|Classes
|————
|Primary Class: Thermomancer
|Class Leveclass="underline" 3
|EXP Until Next Leveclass="underline" [
|Skills:
|+Thermoregulate – 6— 70% [
Dakkon had made considerable progress compared to his first day, but knew that progress tends to be quick in the beginning. By the time Thermoregulate had reached level 5, Dakkon found it much easier to maintain his concentration and the skill required far less mana to use. The further along he had progressed towards Greenburne, the less frequent his breaks became. Dakkon soon found it much easier to pay attention to his surroundings while altering his body heat, but using the skill was still far from practical.
Dakkon strolled into Greenburne with the casual attitude of someone who belonged there. The village was bigger than he had anticipated. A large well lay near the center of the town, next to a respectably clean, brick, two-story inn. Dakkon entered the inn’s common room, filled with players and NPCs alike, and a message appeared on his screen:
[You are resting in a bar.]
[Restoration speed is increased.]
Dakkon passed by three tables of people watching him with interest, strode up to the bald, broad-shouldered man behind the bar and lobbed questions at him without having the courtesy to offer buying anything.
“I’ve travelled here from Correndin because I heard this village was having some trouble,” Dakkon declared. He had grown confident from his trivial journey. “What exactly is happening here?”
“Another adventurer here to try and help?” The barkeeper seemed delighted to see another new face. His business had surely surged from the influx of quest seekers. “We’re grateful for your assistance. Whether you came by horseback or foot, you must have a parched throat. Can I get you anything to drink?”
Dakkon was not entirely unfamiliar with the concept of quid pro quo. “I’ll have some ale and a leg of something,” he tried.