Chapter 2 - First Beastial Skill

The players were eagerly exploring their surroundings, thrilled to be part of a new, fantastical world filled with magic.

"This looks even better than what I saw in the trailers," one player exclaimed. "I can't imagine stopping playing this, even for a day."

Kael shared their excitement. He was finally back in a place where he felt a strong connection—a world that resembled his own.

The first thing he did was check his character stats to see how things were progressing.

[Name: Kael]

[Class: Cult Leader (SSS)] 

[Level: 1] 

[EXP: 0/250] 

[HP: 120/120] 

[MP: 150/150] 

[Attributes:] 

[Strength: 7] 

[Agility: 5] 

[Vigor: 4] 

[Intelligence: 10] 

[Faith: 10] 

[Free Points: 0] 

[Special Attributes:]

[Charisma: 8] 

The Cult Leader class emphasized attributes related to intelligence and faith, along with a unique charisma attribute. It was evident that the class leaned more toward magic.

However, it wasn't exclusively magical. Kael understood that by worshipping Eryndor—himself—he would gain some of his abilities, which were both physical and magical.

However, Kael didn't have many skills yet. He checked again, and there wasn't a single skill he could use to fight against monsters.

He also didn't start with any weapons, just his common robes, which had no defensive stats.

"How am I supposed to fight against something like this? Or even complete a mission?" he thought.

There was just one skill in his possession: Worshipping.

[Worshipping: You can recite a prayer to the deity Eryndor, and it will grant you benefits like attributes and new skills. However, for it to take effect, you must have at least one follower of the deity Eryndor. You cannot start it alone.]

That was the description of the skill. Kael opened his friend list and added Lucas, writing the name "Bonk Bonk."

He then messaged his friend.

"What village did you choose?"

"Crystal Springs. You know, a warrior like me needs a refreshing bath to keep going. What about you?" Lucas replied.

"Moonwhisper Dell. Look, I need to talk to you about something really important."

Kael shared details about his special class with Lucas. He believed his friend would keep it a secret, and now he had the chance to get his first follower.

Just as he anticipated, Lucas got excited to hear about Kael's special class. He could already envision both of them reaching the top as the best players in the game because of it.

Kael sent the prayer to Lucas through a message. Although it was amusing, it worked. It was simply a set of specific words to worship Eryndor, so there was no need for them to be together for it to take effect.

Of course, as a Cult Leader, performing the prayer together in the same area—like in a specific church dedicated to Eryndor—would yield better effects, but that was something for Kael to think about in the future.

At that moment, what he wanted was to get his first follower and, hopefully, acquire a skill to attack monsters.

Kael and Lucas talked through messages to set up the prayer. It had to happen at the same time.

Because it was strange to say those words aloud, they both needed to find a secluded place in their respective starting villages to avoid drawing the attention of other players.

Most of the players were rushing outside to fight the monsters, so the villages were way emptier than normal. It wasn't that hard to find a secluded place.

Kael's hiding place was inside an abandoned building. A small wooden house surrounded by trees and bushes. It was evident that no one lived there, as there was nothing inside the tiny wooden shack.

Then, the prayer started.

"Eryndor, Lord of the Living Clay, Weaver of Sinew and Bone, 

Hear my plea, as flesh calls to flesh, and blood to blood. 

Grant me the strength of the beast, the resilience of the root. 

Let my wounds knit, my muscles swell, and my form endure. 

May my flesh be a testament to your power, a vessel of your will. 

Not for vanity, but for the struggle, for the survival, for the strength to 

endure. 

Eryndor, bless this mortal coil, and grant me the flesh to overcome."

It wasn't strange to say those things aloud for Kael, but for Lucas, it was. Yet, he did the prayer and followed along with Kael.

He wished to help his friend who had a special class, hoping to make him stronger, and maybe reap some benefits for himself too.

"Man, I could be fighting against monsters now, yet I am chanting a prayer... I hope this is good."

Kael noticed several notifications appear before him, accompanied by a surge of divine power coursing through his veins.

[Beast Claw (Level 1): Bestowed by Eryndor, the God of Flesh, this skill transforms your right arm into that of a beast.

[Damage: 150 + your Strength level.] 

[Cost: 20 MP.]

Not only that, but he also received +2 in his Strength attribute. That was a great outcome for his first prayer.

Lucas then messaged him again, feeling excited.

"Bro, this prayer gave me FIVE strength points! This is incredibly good for my Berserker class. It basically means a free level!"

He didn't get a special skill like Kael did. Maybe he would in the future, but that wasn't the case at the moment.

"I got a skill and two free points. Apparently, this prayer has a cooldown, so we can't use it again too soon. Additionally, the effects will likely diminish if it's just the two of us again. However, if we manage to get more followers in the future, it will improve significantly."

"Should we start inviting people?"

"Let's focus on getting stronger first. Other players will trust us more if we seem powerful."

"Well said."

The two had stopped communicating through messages. They had already wasted some time with the prayer activity, so both were eager to gain experience points and level up. They needed to look for quests or any similar opportunities.

Kael left the wooden shack and ventured out of the village. There, he encountered a hunter standing at the village's edge.

"Are you one of the strong adventurers? I need your help. Please, kill the menacing wolves that are attacking our sheep!" the hunter pleaded.

[New quest: D rank]

[Kill 30 wolves.]

[Current objective: 0/30]

The quest was straightforward and marked the first task the players received. Many were engaged in the same quest. 

Thirty wolves was a significant number to defeat. Kael glanced at the fields outside and noticed a player struggling to take down just one wolf. Those working together in a party seemed to be having a much easier time.

Of course, he didn't have a party. Kael's only friend was Lucas, and Lucas lived in another village.

Kael could look for a party there, but for now, he preferred to keep his identity and powers a secret. It was better to act alone.

"I think my first skill, Beast Claw, will be pretty overpowered... Let's see," he thought as he moved away from the village.

A few players glanced at him as he ventured alone into the depths of the forest and considered him crazy.

"Look, another newbie going into the forest to die. Doesn't he know that only parties have a chance there?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," another player added. "Let's just focus on completing our quest."

As Kael stepped into the forest, the number of wolves increased dramatically. He was unaware of this; he was going there simply because it was a place without other players.

Everything around him darkened as the treetops blocked most of the sunlight. The atmosphere felt tense, and he soon spotted a wolf approaching him.

Before taking any action, Kael glanced around and saw that he was alone, which gave him the confidence to try something.

"Let's test this skill," he murmured.

The wolf came jumping toward Kael, its mouth opened, showing its sharp teeth, ready to destroy his flesh.

He activated his skill, Beast Claw. The skin of his arm exploded, the pieces falling to the ground. Then, it changed forms, turning into a black claw with furs, resembling that of a beast.

With it, Kael dashed toward the wolf, and attacked, using the claws to rip the beast into pieces.

His Beast Claw was bigger than the range of attack of that poor wolf, so Kael hit it first, and one hit was all it took to kill the wolf.

[+5 EXP]

"It killed it in one hit!"

Kael was excited about it. It meant that he would quickly finish the quest he just got, and allow him for a faster level up, way better than the other players.

He moved forward, looking for more wolves to kill.

*

A party of players was exploring the forest, killing the wolves together. When passing by, they saw a wolf on the ground, its body ripped to pieces.

"Leader, come here," a man with a bow in his back said, kneeling next to the wolf, "it looks like another beast killed this one."

"Could it be a field boss? We could be the first party to kill a boss! Let's follow this track," the party leader said.