First Transaction

It didn't take long to find a good spot to set up. He found a low cliff that had decent cover on two sides. The spot was also flat with plenty of rocks so he could make a fire pit. After collecting some dried wood and creating what looked to be a decent campfire, it dawned on him that he had no fire-starting device. After checking the forums for a few minutes, he discovered that, with the exception of a few survival experts, the Caster class was able to start fires with their beginner gear.

Some survival experts even put up a beginner's guide to making fires and Markus attempted to emulate it. However, no matter how hard he tried, the fire just wasn't taking. He thought about his talent and wondered if this had something to do with it. Whenever he got skills, he usually did it in a single action or got it without even trying. This time, he was intentionally performing a skill and the game didn't give him any notifications.

He sighed and leaned backward against the rock. He realized that this wasn't going to work and opted to seek help. Markus opened the regional channel and looked through the chat. Several people had been talking so there was a lot to read. He observed carefully and identified a few Casters. He privately messaged the ones that didn't participate in conversations very much and hoped for good results.

While waiting, he brought up his status. He knew that there was now enough experience accumulated to level and planned to observe his gains and level up. The idea of already becoming level 2 with so many skills hit him all at once. He was giddy with excitement for the promotion.

[Name: Markus (mortal) Level 1

Status: 1/10 hp | No conditions

Experience: 11

Talents: [Lazy Genius]

Skills: [Deception Level 1], [Block Level 1], [Stealth Level 3], [One-handed Weapons Level 2], [Naturalist Level 2], [Looting Level 2]

Abilities: [Vital Strike Level 2], [Danger Sense Level 1]

Message: You're pretty skilled for a mortal.]

[Spend 10 exp to Level? /Confirm]

[Player Level has increased to 2.]

The feeling of leveling was pleasing. It was akin to a surge in superiority. The boar and badger he encountered before seemed incredibly weak suddenly. He also felt that he could go another round with that leopard. This feeling was a bit dangerous, since his health was still low. Although the limit increased to 20, he was still at half health.

Onefingerdeathpunch: "Hello, how can I help?"

Seeing the private chat notification, Markus perked up and thought carefully about his response.

Markus: "I would like to hire you to start a fire."

Onefingerdeathpunch: "Hmm, I'd be willing, but I would need to stay with my team."

Markus: "That's reasonable. For fairness, I'll give a nearby rendezvous for a starter flame to bring to my camp."

Onefingerdeathpunch: "I discussed it with my team, and they agree."

Markus: "What about the price? I have meat and hides to offer."

Onefingerdeathpunch: "Meat will do. Two units for a fire."

Markus: "Fine."

Markus was happy that was sorted. He didn't think everyone would be a PKer, but he was already level 2 with superior skillset, so he was confident in scaring them away if it came to it. The benefit of trusted them was higher than the risk of a group kill. He sent the map coordinates of a spot about 5 minutes from his camp and made his way over.

Although picking a spot that close was a bit dangerous itself, he wanted to set up a hiding spot just to be safe. Wandering animals and monsters were a risk but wandering players and random ganks were always a concern. He could also verify the safety of his trading partners. With a superior stealth skill, he didn't expect any lower-level player to detect him. Even if they had a level 2 in their party, they would likely need a perception-based skill or talent.

Markus arrived and saw no one around. He did a quick survey of the area and found a nice thick underbrush to hide in. It didn't take long for the group to arrive in the area. Markus discovered them because they didn't even bother hiding their presence. There were four of them, and true to the deal, three stayed behind and one went forward. They didn't seem too concerned about PKers, either because they were naïve, or confident.

Seeing it was all clear, Markus stepped out from the underbrush, causing the lone caster to jump in fright. He was about to go into combat stance when he saw Markus's name after inspecting him.

"Phew, you gave me a fright." She complained.

"Sorry, lets do the trade quickly." He replied automatically, without any remorse in his voice.

"Sure, ill send you a trade request."

Markus confirmed and was about to question how one trades fire, but then an item popped up in the trade menu. It looked like a charred stick. After inspecting it, he was impressed and felt the two units of food was definitely worth it.

[Ember Stick

Rank: Hero

Effect: Can be used to start a fire. 3 uses left.

Message: We wanted to call it Boom Stick, but that name was already used.]

Markus placed the two units of [Tough Meat] that he got from the leopard because he determined the taste and healing would be lower overall. He was a bit of a foody and understood that predators meat was a bit less palpable. Seeing the tough meat, the Caster was just as impressed as he was with the stick. Her group had encountered many predators and all of them were minimum level 2. She looked at Markus again and decided to pay attention to his name in the future.

"Nice trading with you." Markus said as he confirmed the trade.

"You as well. Say, would you be interested in joining us?" She decided to take the chance.

"Ah, sorry. My organization forbids teaming up with potential rivals. Well, take care."

Markus ended the conversation right there and left the area, going the opposite direction from his camp. He decided to take a longer route and loop around just in-case he would be tracked and attacked later. However, his worries were unnecessary because the group lost track of him as soon as he left sight. His stealth skill was a lot more powerful than he realized.

"Hey tenthousandfists, did you see where he went?" The Caster asked one of the members in her party. However, he shook his head and had a self-depreciating smile.

"I immediately lost track of him. He's strong. Might be a top player or a dark horse."

"With how hard skills are to gain, he either has a related talent, or is naturally skilled in this kind of environment. Either way, he will be a big deal in the future. Seeing that he chose Fighter, I bet we'll be seeing him at the top ranks of a stealth class." Another party member analyzed.

"Mhm, its scary. Tenthousandfists scouted the area ahead of time and didn't find a trace of him. However, he seemed to be hiding in that underbrush the whole time…" Onefingerdeathpunch said again while rubbing the goosebumps on her arm.

"Well, how's the meat? Is it more rodent meat?" The other girl in the group said impatiently, her mouth drooling. She was an obvious foodie.

"No way, with his skill, he probably hasn't even bothered hunting a rodent. He directly went after high level animals! This is [Tough Meat] from at least a level 2 predator!" Onefingerdeathpunch said with passion in her voice.

…

Meanwhile, Markus had traveled an excessive 15 minutes to make it back to his base. He would have gotten back sooner, but he encountered another boar and directly killed it with a single [Vital Strike]. After looting it, he got two [Thick Hide], two [Short Tusks] and two [Boar Meat]. Unfortunately, since it was only level 1, he only got 1 exp. This was the downside of leveling quickly. It was also a way to prevent higher level players from grinding low level monsters.

When he checked his inventory earlier, he realized that he forgot to check on the [Mysterious Coin] that he got from the leopard. He decided to inspect it when he got back to base since eating was a matter of great concern at the moment. However, as soon as he arrived at his camp, he was hit with a game notification.

[Abnormal Condition: Overworked]

'Dammit! Sigh, well at least I'm about to rest anyway.'

Markus saw that his camp was untouched, and he took out the [Ember Stick]. The mechanism was simple, he just had to jab the blackened end into the pit and then activate the item. The tip turned bright red, and the kindling lit on fire. He was depressed that he missed out on a potential skill because of the [Overworked] condition, but he still had two uses of the [Ember Stick] for later.

After the fire started burning in earnest, he skewered two units of [Boar Meat] and started barbequing them. He was a bit sad that he didn't have any seasoning, but the flavor from the pork fat should be better than nothing. He sighed again thinking about the cooking skill he could have gotten.