Chapter 5

Caleb adds Arphina to his friend list while also offering the skill book he obtained from the dropped of [Lily Wolf]. He set the price for the book at 50 copper. Of course, he is aware that players at the time did not have enough copper coins to purchase his skill book, but the woman in front of him was the guild leader of a large guild.

With a single command, all of the members of her guild would move, and surely, even amassing copper coins would be simple. As expected, Arphina had already collected the exact amount of copper coins and paid Caleb after only a few seconds of contacting her guild.

This sum was already significant, and it will allow him to purchase a variety of items from the NPC shops and armory.

He said his goodbyes to the party after they finished their business and decided to turn in his quest.

"Guild Leader, did he not know our guild? The powerful 'Rising Phoenix'! Why does he still refuse the invitation?" a man with a lance resting in a tree inquired, puzzled.

"I'm not sure, but he said he had plans for the future."

"Anyway, That Azrael guy was quite something. I can compare his sword skill to the other top swordsman in our guild," Arphina responds with a sigh and a shake of her head.

She, too, was surprised by the man's immediate refusal. The [Rising Phoenix] was such a large and powerful guild that if one was invited, they would gladly accept.

It would have been a huge opportunity for the player if a large guild invited them, but the man turned her down as if her guild wasn't that special.

'Perhaps he was planning on joining another guild. What a waste.' Arphina pouted as one of the experts slipped from her grasp.

◇◆◇

Caleb went directly to the mansion of the noble witch, Trayne. The guards at the gate accepted him without hesitation and admitted him inside.

Arriving in the room where books and other documents were lining up on the shelves around the corner, Caleb only take a glance at these things and presented the [Lily Grass] at the top of the table where Madame Trayne was sitting. As the noble Witch busily inspected it, Caleb only wait on one of the sofas of the room. After a few seconds a message that he was waiting for arrived.

Ting!

[System: You completed the Unique Quest "The Witch's Item Completion"

Completion Content:

'Upon touching the herb, she can feel it was the right item. Smooth and special, as if a flower waving in the water. Checking its properties, she gasps to find it was the one. With this beautiful herb, she can now complete her item. Anticipation welled up in her heart.' ]

[System: Quest completed in Level 2. EXP obtained increased by 250%. Obtained 460 EXP]

[System: You leveled up!]

A series of notifications popped up in Caleb's head. The unique quest he takes was finally completed.

His level bar instantly moved to level 3 and continued to rise until it came to a stop a little further from the center. He now only needs 190 EXP to level up to level 4 instead of 500 EXP.

He grinned because of this. Other players were still in level 1 or 2 at this point in the game. He, on the other hand, was almost at level 4!

'A pretty good start,' he thought to himself, pleased with the result.

"How wonderful! You did bring the right herb to me, now my problem is solved, and I'm quite excited to finish my masterpiece. Truly, Mr. Azrael, as a reward for this, as you're a swordsman, I will be giving you this item."

[System: Trayne gifted you a sword]

'Oh?' As Caleb picked up the sword that was handed to him, he perked up his brows after checking the properties.

——

[Bleed] (Uncommon)

Requirement(s): User Level 5, Strength 5.

Effect(s): Attack power +18, Critical Chance +5%

Class Limitation: Swordsman, Berserker, Knight]

——

Single quests like this often give a reward based on the class of the player who completed it. Since that's the case, Caleb already anticipated a piece of equipment that suited dor the Swordsman class but he couldn't imagine it was an [Uncommon] item with decent properties!

Though he can't still use it because he was still level 4, at least he already have a better sword when he became level 5.

He immediately accepted the sword and stored it in his inventory. He shifted his glance to the Witch in his front and opened his mouth.

"I am very glad to have received your gift, Madame Trayne. And I still have a lot of herbs, do you want to buy them all? " After saying that, Caleb put down all the [Lily Grass] that was in his inventory.

"Oh my! Such quantity. Are you sure you want to sell these to me?" Trayne exclaimed in amazement and delight.

[System: Trayne wanted to buy the [Lily Grass] for 20 coppers each. Do you want to continue the trade?]

A panel suddenly popped up in his front. It was the panel of NPC Trade.

NPC trade was a common trade for players between NPC but selling to a noble like Madame Trayne would surely give him a considerable profit. Because of this, he didn't hesitate and confirm the trade then a big amount of 200 coppers flowed into his purse!

100 coppers were equivalent to one silver coin. He now has 2 silver coins and 50 coppers. So it's no exaggeration to say that he was the most wealthy player in the game.

He didn't decide to sell the herbs to an Alchemist because the game was still new. So he expected that they do not yet know the true value of these herbs. It's better to sell these things to the one who eagerly needs them.

After turning in his quests. He left the mansion and proceeded to the marketplace. It took him a few minutes of walking as he arrived at the place and entered a shop to buy some proper equipment and potions he needed.

Caleb bought a common sword with an attack power of +4. At this time of the game, the NPC shops in the market were still normal and were only selling common weapons and garments. That's why getting better equipment from the monster was the main priority of the players.

He also happened to buy a skill book from a Thief player for only 40 coppers.

[Skill Book: Moon Slice (Active)

Description: Allow the user to send out a wave of energy within three meters. Deals 20 (+150% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies.

Requirement(s): None

Skill cooldown: 20s

Class limitation: Berserker/Swordsman]

He immediately learn the skill and allotted the 10 SP points he gained until now, causing it to level up to 2. The skill damage increased to 25 but the added percentage remained the same.

After learning the skill, he also checked his stats and saw his Vitality raised by one point probably due to the Bonus Attribute (BA). He then allotted the 5 new AP points he gained from leveling up to Dexterity 2 and Perception 3.

Because of his next plan, he decided to increase the perception attribute by three points. His speed and damage were sufficient to complete it, however, adding perception was a wise choice given that he will be going to a place where ambushes are possible.

After he'd sorted through his belongings. He then walks to the transportation station, which is located near the town gate. These transportation points (TP) were linked to the city's other towns, and there was a fee based on the distance a player wanted to travel.

Caleb stepped into one of the TP as he fed 5 copper coins to the box beside it. Then spring of light gradually enveloped him and after five seconds, he arrived at his destination.

He opened his eyes and saw countless players loitering in the town. He can see that these players were new and the others were going out hunting. He proceeded to walk and passed through the crowd of players as he occasionally heard some praise for the game.

This bustling town was called Presto. It was a town the same as Latifa, the only difference was the kind of monster that a player can encounter outside of the town.

He went to the town gate and immediately walk towards the forest. He continue to go deeper until he arrived at the place where he could see level 5-6 monsters occasionally roaming in the area.

He took his time walking forward until he came to a cliff. A small, clear lake lay beneath it. He couldn't see any activity in the water or movement and splash from atop. It was as if the lake didn't exist.

Caleb, on the other hand, is unconcerned as he jumps into the lake without hesitation.

Others will decide to check the lake first to see if there is a monster lurking beneath it, but he knows there isn't. In this lake, there is only one thing to be found.

A big splash and Caleb dive deeper into the lake. He does not have a potion for diving underwater so he needs to speed up to reach the bottom in time.

The surrounding was solemn as if the lake was cursed. There are no other living things aside from him and only rocks can be seen. Upon reaching the bottom, he saw a sword that was stuck in a stone. It was a pretty old sword and seems like it can crumble at any second.

Clearly, there was no use for this damaged good but Caleb still reached out to it, and suddenly, a ripple of waters with bubbles around was created from the sword and it gradually became bigger.

[System: The Rift of the Cursed Swordsman has been discovered!]

[System: Rift of the Cursed Swordsman. Floors of 5. Difficulty C. Level limitation of 6.]

[System: Player would soon enter a Rift. Contact from friends was prohibited.]

After the last notification from the system, Caleb's sight become black as his whole body was swallowed by the ripples.