The First One To Level Up
I couldn't believe what was happening. If someone had asked me in my previous life what my biggest wish was, I would have said, 'Staying logged in.'
It seemed my wish had been granted for some reason.
I shouldn't get ahead of myself, though. Even if it's not a bug since this isn't exactly a game, maybe this ability to stay logged in is only limited for today.
It must be some kind of perk related to regressing; otherwise, I can't think of any other explanation.
Maybe EVR wanted to give me a head start by letting me stay logged in all day today.
But honestly, I'd rather be able to stay logged in forever than just get an early start.
I hoped this wasn't a one-time thing.
I shouldn't waste this extra time, though.
In EVR, leveling up was fairly easy in the early game since we were starting later than the Keldars.
First, I checked my status screen:
***
Status Window
Name: Arlon
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Level: 1
HP: 350
MP: 200
VIT: 23
STR: 22 (+2)
INT: 13
AGI: 8
Skills: {None}
Title: Unfair Regressor
***
My eyes widened when I saw my title. Titles were rare perks that boosted one's stats or skills in various ways.
In my previous timeline, I only had one title, but I had to complete a chain quest to earn it.
I had never seen anyone with more than one title, and since we only knew of one title quest, I'm not sure if it's even possible to get another.
But now, I already had a title, and I didn't know if I could get a second one by completing that quest. Hoping this title wasn't bad, I checked its details.
Unfair Regressor
"The one who regressed and doesn't need to follow the fair play rules of Zeno.
Endless Ascent: The longer you stay logged in, the stronger you become!
**** (Locked)
**** (Locked)
**** (Locked)"
"What! This is a total cheat. I can't believe I get to regress, play 24/7, and have these perks! I must have used up all my luck with my wish for balance," I screamed.
I didn't know exactly what the 'fair play rules' were, but I thought it had something to do with log-out times.
Maybe I will learn more about it later.
I also didn't know in what way I would get stronger, but I believed I would learn it soon since I wouldn't be logging out.
The more important thing was it seemed like the 'not logging out' perk wasn't a one-time thing.
There were also some locked perks.
I think they will be unlocked when I level up or certain conditions are met.
I also checked my stats, but they were the same as the last time. These were the stats of a warrior. +2 STR came from the starting sword given to everyone.
I'd hoped that maybe my stats would be boosted because of my regression, but honestly, I already have more than enough.
---
On Trion, there were no humans. It was a planet of Beastmen, Elves, Dwarves, and other fantasy creatures. And I knew that they weren't just game elements; they were real, living beings.
It is easier to call them NPCs, though.
Since they were real and knew we players were coming, they had been getting ready for the game's launch. I could see a lot of NPCs bustling around town.
They knew the times we couldn't log in and used those hours to prepare for events. So they shouldn't have been expecting any players today.
I think I should hide the fact that I don't need to log out.
Even though I didn't know much about what happened on Earth in the last timeline, I did know the game had a real-life impact.
People bought and sold coins, companies that had guilds in the game fought, and some even resorted to violence over in-game conflicts.
Of course, most of this was when people thought this was a game.
Still, If anyone found out I could stay logged in, they could try something drastic. Who wouldn't want someone who can level up faster on their side?
I'll need to hide my level and perks. And that also means keeping it from the NPCs since they might spread the word.
Not all NPCs were loyal—some could even betray their planet for the right price.
With this in mind, I walked into a store: Istarra's beginner alchemy shop. An old man with a long beard was sitting on his chair, pipe in his mouth.
This was Charon, the 'beginner' alchemist. Actually, this guy was no beginner. He could even be the best alchemist in all of Trion.
I should definitely get on his good side!
"Hi! Is the store open? I'd like to buy some potions." I said.
Everyone started with 100 coins—enough to get by for a week if you were careful. But that was not what I would be doing.
I can always get money if I need to since I know the future events and most of the hidden secrets.
"Who are you? I haven't seen you in this town before. There shouldn't be any saviors coming today either." Charon looked angry while saying this. I don't know what that is about.
Players were called saviors in Trion.
"My name is Arlon, and I'm not a savior. I'll be serving as a field guide to help saviors get stronger faster. I just wanted to stock up on some potions before I get started."
"You look human. There aren't any humans on Trion." When Charon said this, I realized I wasn't as prepared with my cover story as I thought.
Luckily, I came up with a quick explanation, though I didn't love lying to the NPCs.
"Yes, I'm using an appearance-changing device to better assist saviors who are human."
"I see. The name's Charon. Tell me what potions you need."
"Thank you! I need two minor health potions and one poison enchantment potion." I'd calculated the total; it would come to 93 coins.
"Isn't it a bit early for the poison enchantment potions? They're expensive, and the players shouldn't need them at this level.
Anyway, you're the guide, and it's none of my business. That'll be 73 gold," Charon said gruffly.
I was shocked. The total should be 93 gold; I was sure of it. Minor health potions are 5 gold each, and the poison enchantment is 83 gold.
Had Charon given me a discount, selling the poison enchantment potion for 63 gold? But why? We were hardly close.
I don't even think he likes me yet. I thought.
I wanted to ask, but I wasn't supposed to know the prices yet.
So I thanked him, bought the potions, and left the store. My next destination was outside the town: the forest where Wild Wolves roamed in packs.
They were level 10 monsters, which meant the area wasn't suited for a level 1 player to explore freely. But I had a plan!
When I arrived at the forest, I applied the poison enchantment potion to my only weapon, the Rusty Sword given to every warrior.
I didn't even need to check the stats of this sword. It was enough that I knew it could penetrate a Wild Wolve's skin. Now, anyone scratched by my sword would be poisoned.
Unlike a low-level poison potion, this enchantment was potent enough to affect monsters up to level 20, which was why it was so expensive. Against level 10 monsters, it was practically lethal.
Of course, a level 10 monster's claws were just as lethal to me.
That was one reason this game had such an impact on Earth—it was not like traditional turn-based games or MMORPGs where skills guarantee a hit.
Since it was real or thought of as fully immersive, if you were strong enough to hurt something and fast enough to dodge, you could theoretically kill a level 100 monster at level 1.
Hardly anyone knew this in the early days, and I planned to use it to my advantage.
The first thing I did was locate the caves where the Wild Wolves hid. I already knew the general area, so finding them was easy.
Wild Wolves tended to stay in their caves during the daytime, making this the perfect opportunity.
In EVR, experience points were awarded after the fight ended, and the more monsters one killed in a single fight, the more XP one received overall.
This meant that killing multiple monsters at once gave exponentially more XP, which was far more efficient than killing them one by one.
Since Wild Wolves lacked intelligence, they acted purely on instinct. I gathered some stones, threw one into a cave, and then moved on to the next, repeating the process.
Soon, one wolf after another emerged from the caves, scanning their surroundings until their eyes landed on me.
They started howling, calling their packmates. There were around 30 caves, but I only threw stones into 10 of them.
Each cave likely held 3 to 5 wolves, which was more than enough for now. Eventually, all the wolves from those 10 caves emerged and were focused on me.
I immediately ran to the nearest tree and climbed it.
The wolves, driven by instinct, followed me, but they merely waited under the tree, watching for me to come down.
Of course, I wasn't an idiot, so I didn't come down. Instead, I gripped my Rusty Sword and slashed at them one by one.
The feeling of cutting into living flesh might disturb many, but I was used to it since this wasn't my first time.
In fact, this was the second biggest reason many players left the game once they realized it was real.
The biggest reason was players who sacrificed NPCs to complete their quests, or those who killed them and then realized the consequences were real—not just part of a game—and decided to quit.
The tree wasn't large enough for my sword to reach more than three wolves at once. But since the wolves weren't intelligent, they didn't realize they were being poisoned.
As a result, the wounded wolves fell back, while fresh ones took their place under the tree. I continued slashing at them for about five minutes.
There were a total of 41 wolves, and soon, all of them were poisoned—just as the enchantment wore off.
The Wild Wolves had around 2000 HP, and the poison from the enchantment potion dealt 20 damage every 5 seconds for 10 minutes.
With their natural recovery speed, the first wolf should die in about a minute.
After waiting for a minute, the first Wild Wolf dropped dead. Realizing their packmate had fallen, the others recognized the danger and started to flee.
This was part of my plan. Wild Wolves instinctively run back to their caves when threatened, and that's exactly what they did.
I didn't jump down from the tree, though, in case they returned, and instead waited. Since they were poisoned, no matter how far they ran, they would die eventually.
After five more minutes, I cautiously approached the caves.
I remembered which caves I had thrown the rocks into and waited for three more minutes. Soon, I began receiving a lot of notifications while my body started to glow.
"You have leveled up X6. You earned 18 CP."
"You are the first to level up five times in a single fight. You earned the title The First One to Level Up."
What? Another title?