VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn

Picking up the letter, Arthur knew he had found something good.

***

You all are to keep an eye out for anything strange happening in the northern forest. But no matter what you do, do not go near the Kestrel ruins and do not attract the attention of the guards.

Take note of any strange animals that might be appearing or behaving crazy. Do not mess this up or you will be the ones I\'ll offer to the cultists first!

And for fuck\'s sake, do not get drunk!

-Chief Dozla

***

As soon as Arthur finished reading the letter, a notification popped up.

>Quest Updated<

——

Quest: Eliminate the bandits in the northern forest or gather more information about them.

Information: You\'ve eliminated the bandits and have found a letter from the Bandit Chief. Report back to the Village Head and give him the letter. 

Grade: Uncommon

Difficulty: Intermediate

Reward:???

——

"There we go, that should net me some extra rewards." Arthur muttered to himself. "Though the information in the letter is a bit strange."

This quest to hunt bandits wasn\'t there originally thus Arthur didn\'t know how it would be progressing. Neither did he know just what rewards were waiting for him. Though it certainly did make him wonder what had originally happened.

\'The Bandit chief asked them to watch out for strange animals… So they knew about the ones affected by Insanity. And then there are the cultists… This is truly suspicious.\' Arthur had no idea about how this quest was linked to the ruins.

Arthur also didn\'t know anything about a Bandit Chief named Dozla. 

\'As for cultists… there are too many. It is hard to tell what cult they belong to… there are dime a dozen in the game.\' Arthur knew just how many gods and other deities were present in the game.

Some of these deities had their cults and therefore cultists would be common too. Players had various interactions with them, having the option to join or eliminate them. 

Arthur stored away the letter for now, before heading out to look for more mobs to kill. His approach now was rather careful since he had already lost a part of his HP fighting the bandits.

\'I have over 70% HP left, but I should still be careful. I might still get injured by the enemies.\' Arthur didn\'t have a method of healing right now and had mostly relied on level ups to heal himself.

At the start, there weren\'t many methods of healing outside of a village other than to level up, respawn or to log out and log back in when the playtime ended. In the village, players would passively heal but the speed wasn\'t that fast.

Still, it was mostly enough for players to make use of it.

The lack of healers and healing items greatly affected the players at the start. 

\'They should start realizing this soon enough.\' It was still day two, thus Arthur knew the players hadn\'t figured out there were simply no healing items this early one.

One needed to leave the Newbie village to be able to obtain them. 

About three hours passed after this, during which Arthur killed eleven mobs. He simply hunted whatever he found and could kill without risking himself too much. And when he killed the twelfth mob, it finally happened.

>Player Arzhur has killed a Striped Jackal<

>Player Arzhur has obtained 2% Experience!<

>Player Arzhur has leveled up!<

>Five Free Stat Points have been granted!<

>Player Arzhur is the first to reach Level 10!<

>An achievement has been obtained: One who exceeds others!<

"Finally… That took a while." Arthur said with an exhausted smile.

>Player Status<

——

Name: Arzhur

Level: 10

Class: None

Title: 1. Dedicated Kestrel Village Adventurer

2. One who uncovered a secret

***

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

Stamina: 100%

Hunger: 100%

Experience: 1%

***

<Physical Stats>

Strength: 9  -> 10

Toughness: 10 

Agility: 8  -> 10

Dexterity: 7 

Vitality: 6  -> 8

<Non-Physical Stats>

Wisdom: 9 (+3) 

Intelligence: 5 

Will: 13 (+4)

——

Arthur quickly distributed his stats and was pleased, but what he was even more pleased with was the achievement.

<Achievement: One who exceeds others!>

<Info: The player will gain a 1% experience boost>

The achievement was something that seemed to give little, but in the long term, it was still good. 

\'Even a 1% experience boost is good. After all, it can stack with other passives and achievements. Plus the longer I have it, the more I\'ll gain. It won\'t be difficult for me to exceed others, just by hunting normally.\' Arthur already had a plan of Achievements that he intended to get.

Plus this was an achievement that could actually be improved. If Arthur was first in hitting certain level caps, he would get it again. Plus the next time he got it, the achievement would grant better rewards than before.

The next cap for one to hit was at level 100.

\'The first person to get this achievement was unknown, but the one who hit level 100 was rather famous.\' Arthur recalled a certain player. "He hasn\'t even started playing yet… But he should soon enough. Gavain will soon end his contract and start playing Morpheus Online." He muttered.

Gavain was the in game name of a famous E-sports player and was something that would become top in Morpheus Online too. He was someone who had started the game a bit later than other e sports stars due to contractual obligations.

But even with this disadvantage, he had sped ahead and reached level 100 earlier than all the others. 

It had caused a great uproar back then and Arthur hoped to be the one to do that this time.

"I wonder how many sponsors I can score by doing that, haha." Arthur chuckled as he made his way back to the village.

The final part of his plan would commence soon enough. By the time he reached the village though, it was almost time for sunset. Arthur had about eight more hours of playtime left, which was more than enough for him to finish his work.

"Whoa! Arzhur is that you?" The guards were once more surprised by him.

"Yeah…" Arthur replied.

"You look worse this time… how many animals did you hunt this time?" The second guard asked.

"Quite a few, but most of this blood isn\'t from them." Arthur replied.

"Huh, what do you mean?" The first guard questioned.

"I found the bandits." Arthur simply answered.

Hearing this the expression of the guards changed to serious.

"I\'ve killed them all… at least the ones that were present there." He added, making the guards relax a bit. 

"If you\'ve done this then you need to tell this to the Village head right away." The guards recommended.

"Yeah, that\'s where I\'m heading," Arthur replied.

"I\'ll come with you. It\'s getting late, and I don\'t want the others to stop you." The second guard said.

"Thank you, that\'ll make it a bit easier." Arthur replied.

The two entered the village and walked toward the Village Head\'s office. Arthur got a few stares from the NPC\'s due to his appearance, and also the fact that he was being accompanied by a guard but they didn\'t ask him anything.

A few players also saw him but ignored the bloody look.

To them, this was rather normal and several players were getting bloodied like this every day. After all, their skills were stills lacking, and getting injured was normal. 

A few minutes later, Arthur was at the Village Head\'s office where the guards quickly let him in after seeing the guard accompanying him.

"Go in, the Village head is still working. You\'re just in time." The outside guards said.

Giving a quick nod, Arthur hurried in.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!" The Village head\'s voice could be heard from the inside.

"It\'s me Village Head Eneba." Arthur greeted the man who looked at him with wide eyes.

\'First, he came smelling like sewers, and now he looks like he bathed in blood.\' Eneba was certainly surprised. "I\'m guessing you have something important for me if you came looking like this?" he asked.

"Quite important." Arthur quickly took out the letter. "I went hunting in the northern forest and encountered some bandits. I got rid of them, but found this letter at their camp." He gave a brief rundown.

Eneba furrowed his brows and took the letter, reading it immediately.

"Bandit Chief Dozla… So he\'s extending his reach here too, huh." Eneba seems to have recognized the name.

"You know him?" Arthur inquired.

"Indeed… He a Bandit Chief that occupies the Trunel Woods near Roran Town." Eneba answered.

"Roran town… the main town south of the village?" Arthur recognized the name.

"Indeed. You will be able to go there too once you are strong enough." Eneba replied.

"Ah! Speaking of that." Arthur smiled. "I think I am qualified enough now." He stated.

"Huh?" The Village head seemed surprised.

He got closer and took a look, his eyes shimmering lightly. 

Arthur knew that the man was using a skill on him too.

"Seems like we have a brave adventurer on our hands… Congratulations!"