Following the Map
Sil picked up the map and opened it, studying carefully. This was a treasure map, one that led to hidden location, and was very valuable. With the game just being launched, the rarity of an item like this would sell for quite some money, but the benefits of obtaining the treasures from the map could far outweigh the amount he'd get for the map. With a slight smirk he continued looking over the map, taking in every detail.
Within minutes he had planned a route to the treasure. Studying the map hadn't taken him long, he always had been bright when it came to cartography. He had loved reading and studying maps with his grandfather as a child. If he was right, and he was sure he was, he had found a hidden path that would lead him right to the entrance of the location on the map. Now all he had to do was a little preparation.
He checked his status and noticed that his first kill had given a full level. He allocated the stat points given to him putting two in agility, two in attack, and one in luck. Most of the stats were normal choices for games: vitality, strength, agility, health and luck. For this game vitality meant your defense, survivability, and had a small affect on the amount of health you had. Strength is exactly as it sounded, the amount of base combat damage you death with each strike, as well as the amount of items you could carry before becoming overburdened. Agility was your ability to dodge more accurately and more often and affected the height and length one could jump. Adding a point to health would greatly increase ones health with every point. And then there is luck. Luck in this game had a small affect on everything you attempt to do, but really showed it's power where RNG was involved. Having a high luck greatly increase your ability to find higher rarity items and monster. It could also turn the tide of battle by increasing your critical chance. It was a game changer if used correctly.
Sil would definitely need vitality later on, and possibly a few points in health, but early on his focus would be agility, strength, and luck as it would help his class immensely. In three more levels he would gain a new ability called Deadly Strike, which was effectively another backstab maneuver, but caused 150% damage when used with Shadow Meld, though it had a three minute cool down timer. It would prove useful in a pinch, but otherwise was not a good move to use casually. After double checking his health and stamina bar Sil activated Shadow Meld and slipped into the forest following the path he had picked out on the map.
The forest was thick with the shadows of trees and vegetation, making Sil almost impossible to make out. A few rays of light pierced the canopy of trees every so often, but he avoided them easily. There wasn't much for killing in these early parts of the game, just a few standard docile wild animals and the occasional wolf, which had rewarded him with a handful of meat and some broken animal bones. The meat could be cooked and eaten, which would provide cooking experience, a healing boost, and buffs. As his cooking level increased so would the abilities of the food he made. The bones were junk to be sold to an NPC. That's when he heard it, a thunderous growl.
He crept slowly, staying deep within the shadows until he saw it. A wolf much like the previous ones he had encountered: medium sized with large, sharp fangs, and drool hanging hungrily from their open maws. Except this one was much, much bigger and crimson and black where the ones he'd seen were silver and white. Above it's head hung a name.
Predatory Blood Wolf King Lvl 5.
This thing was a mini boss monster, and it's name was highlighted in blue with a silver border announcing it to be an elite rare monster. Sil couldn't have been more overjoyed, though at the same time he knew it would take effort for him to kill the boss at only level two. It was time to test his skills. Creeping as quietly as he could within the shadows he maneuvered behind the boss. It was now or never. Flash Strike, Sil activated his ability and leapt with a flash of blinding light to attack his target, only to land in an empty space with a thud. The Blood Wolf King sat on his haunches before him looking at him indifferently, though studying him with it's eyes. Had he caught Sil's scent at the last moment, or was it's reflexes that good? Never had Sil ever imagined that low level enemies in this game, even bosses, could have that much ability or AI. And it only proved to excite him even more.
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The Predatory Blood Wolf King stared at Sil disdainfully. It was if he knew of the adventurer's ambition to kill it, and didn't quite approve of it. Not long ago another adventure had ended up here and had met his fate rather quickly. This would prove no more challenging than before, the Wolf King mused. But this adventurer was not shaking like the last one, no it seemed excited about it's current situation, and was staring in his eyes. This actually unnerved the Wolf King and made him slightly less confident about this whole endeavor. That is when the Blood Wolf King noticed his pray was no longer within his sights. It was this game again was it? He sniffed the air searching for his prey's scent finding.....nothing? Now how did that even make sense? Everything had a scent. But the adventurer's was no where to be found.
The Predatory Blood Wolf King suddenly howled in pain. Blood tricked down it's back from a wound on the back of it's neck. But when had he been attacked? He should've been able to smell it coming and react like he did before. He'd have to be extra careful this time.
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Sil had scored a solid hit, taking a quarter of the Wolf King's health bar with it. It had taken careful planning and timing. The moment it's attention had moved from him he had activated Shadow Meld and had slipped into the shadows before making his way to the trees tops. The wind was stronger up there and would carry his scent up and away from the creature, giving him time to prepare for the assault. It had paid off well, though now he'd have to be extra careful not to be caught, as the Wolf King would be on guard.