Chapter 3 – First Quest

Current Stats

Level 12

Kae Loredom

Foxian Trainee

HP: 290/290

MP: 68/68

STR: 25

INT: 17

DEX: 9

VIT: 9

LUK: 6

NEXT LEVEL 2260/17553

Weapon - Short sword STR+3 [Slime Core], [].

Helmet – Wooden Helmet VIT +4 [][][][]

"Would you like to go through your skill tree, Layla? I need to do the same."

The two of us sat next to Sheen and opened our menu. There was a neat share option in Keostar Online that allowed me to look at her menu if she accepted it. So, I did just that and scanned through her hunter tree.

"Hm, I see."

[Falcon Raid] and [Rapid Arrow] were upgraded pretty high. Both of them at Lv.8. Because of that, she lacked a few key skills that hunters need to be faster and stronger.

"[Falcon Raid], the daze skill, can stay at a low level. Usually around Lv.1, because going any higher doesn't yield much. I suggest removing those skill points from there and getting [Scout Lv.1], [Eagle Dive Lv.4], and [Arrow Reload Lv.2]."

I explained to her the concept of this build for hunters. [Scout] was a major skill for all hunters. It's universally used, especially for finding hidden foes. [Eagle Dive] is a better [Rapid Arrow] and [Arrow Reload] removes cooldown with a chance of 10% per level, maxing at Lv.5. That's a 50% chance of skill cooldown going away instantly at max.

"I see, I see…"

She reorganized her skills, and I urged her to max out [Arrow Reload] as soon as possible. It cost a good chunk of gold to reset but worth it.

"Alright! I can't wait to try it out."

Layla jumped up, motivated to get going.

"Sure, sure. Let me add some skill points to my stuff too really fast."

I gave myself two important skills. [Fireball Lv.3] a single target hitting magic attack and [Mini Fox Lv.2], a provoked decoy in the shape of a little fox.

"Alright, are you ready to go, Layla?"

"Sure, I'll just follow your lead since I've never done that quest before."

I looked in my inventory and opened a trade with Layla. There I gave her 20 [Slime junk] and 20 [Branch].

"What's all this for?"

She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's to open the quest with. I picked it up and stored a bunch of it for that very reason."

One of those annoying fetch quests made it to pad out game time. Luckily I had most of these beginner quests remembered so I was able to make sure I had the right stuff to start.

"The swordsman guild is to the north of Restoria."

Together, we weaved through the busy streets. It was good to know the game was still full of players. They all looked as those they were enjoying themselves. Traders, priests, knights, assassins, and more. I had a lot of choices to pick from when I finally decided on my class.

"Oh, one second, Layla."

I bounced over to a merchant with a sign reading [Random Brush]. It was my lucky day since this player was selling it for 300G, dirt cheap. It made me wonder if they knew the true value of this.

"Jaden Bates. I'll write that name down and make sure I give them the proper amount this is worth when I see them again."

I bought the brush and grabbed my tail happily.

"What's that, Kae?"

"It's a brush for grooming. Just by having it in my inventory, my character will use it occasionally. Over time, my DEX will rise from it."

One of the grandfathered stat items the game has. It will take a while for it to take effect, but it's the little things that make us stronger in the future.

"Hm, you're going to have to explain that to me another time."

"Sure thing. It's a small but very important system in Keostar. But for the time being, watch me brush my tail."

I was overjoyed, and with every brush, it felt as though all my worries were being washed away. I'll make sure I repay Jaden properly for this.

We made our way through the busy streets and into the swordsman guild. At the desk, a busty armored woman with bright red hair and military gear yelled at us.

"So, you scrawny weaklings wanna be swordsmen huh?!"

Ashley, the swordsmen guild leader barked at us. I skipped through the dialogue but let Layla experience Ashley and all her glory for the first time. It was her just berating us for looking like fresh meat.

"Yes, we do!"

Layla shouted happily.

"Show me your worth! Bring me 20 [Slime junk] and 20 [Branch] from Onyx Forest!"

Reading her screams from behind a screen was one thing but experiencing it in real life was a whole other ordeal. Ashley put the fear of god in my bones with every angry huff.

I can see why she's so popular on the Keostar forums. There are lots of people who like the dominant "beat my butt" kind of woman like Ashley here.

"I like this NPC, she's fun, Kae!"

I gave Layla a cunning smirk.

"Ah, so you're that kind of player, Layla?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I chuckled and waved my hand dismissively. 

"No, it's nothing. Ashley is fun and has a great lore behind her."

"Really? I want to see that lore quest one day."

I was slowly understanding my new murder hobo partner. And I wouldn't mind doing that quest with her. It's been years and experiencing Keostar's characters would be great.

Layla and I gave Ashly the quest items.

"Alright, step into the first trial!"

Ashely moved aside and a large door opened behind her.

"Alright Layla, there are three trials. One of mobility, one of valor, and last one, bravery."

I enlightened as we approached the door. Luckily, we could both do the trails at the same time as long as we stayed at the same party. So, I officially invited her to a party.

[Party - Rexia Killers]

[Kae Level 12]

[Layla Level 36]

"Alright, I'm following your lead, Kae."

"That would probably be for the best. These trials can get tricky and if we die, we have to start over."

I stopped myself.

"Actually, if I die, I die. You'll just respawn."

The whole thing was bizarre. Not like I'd die anyway, knowing these trials very well by this point in my Keostar career.

My goal was to get all the specialized items for each class but there was one thing that I wanted most of all. The [Heroes Amulet] is a super weak item that's needed to make one of the ultimate weapons in the game. With both of us doing it, two could eventually be made.

When we stepped into the dark room we had to travel down a long pathway of steps. 

"Here's the entrance to the catacombs."

Once we reached the bottom, a faint light circled us. Our visibility was almost nothing and the wrong fall into the many pit traps would result in an instant death.

"Trail 1, start!"

Ashley's disembodied voice roared out to us like a lioness to their cubs. It brought shivers to my bones.

"Layla, could you use your falcon to scope out the holes, so we don't fall and die?"

I suggested.

"What skill do I use for that, again?"

"[Scout], the one you opened earlier."

Layla used [Scout] to reveal bright lights where the holes around us are. Her trusted falcon revealed the traps. A tip and trick for new players. 

It's harder to do this normally, but luckily it was a hunter who tried to rob me of the Blue King's core. I wasn't going to die from some cheap pitfalls on my quest to become the new god of Keostar.

As we walked side by side, there were small torches that lit up spots here and there but not enough to help us traverse through the catacombs.

[Scout]

Her falcon revealed pitfalls in front of us. Slowly, we walked around them. We used this method to get past most of the pitfalls. A light shined from the distance of the dark catacombs, showing us where our next trail would start.

"Watch out!"

I pulled Layla back, dodging a fire arrow shot out from the wall in front of us. It grazed me though, dealing -175HP. Nothing to scoff at. I was pushed back and caught myself before I fell into the pitfall trap.

Level 12

Kae Loredom

HP: 115/290

"Kae, you almost died there!"

We avoided the other fire arrows shooting from that cheap hole. The two of us finally made it to the other side of the room and entered the next trial room.

"That arrow spot is cheap. We've complained for years about it and the devs refused to fix it!"

I shoved potions in my mouth, maxing my hp.

"Sorry, I should have scouted for it, Kae."

I shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Layla. It's a cheap trick to kill beginners. It makes the game less fun when you feel like you've been punished for not knowing, rather than not reacting fast enough."

I remember when I fell victim to it and fell into the pitfall trap of death. I went to the forums to complain. A lot of people responded with "Get good!" Thought. It was probably who fell victim to the same garbage too but just wanted to mess with the complainers.

"Let's be careful from here on out. The next trail is valor, a lot of battles ahead."

Layla was doing all the heavy lifting, but I could die. So, it was okay to lean on her, I thought for the time being.

In the distance, the scudder of monsters shuffling on the floor reverberated around us. They were coming from the darkness.

"Stay behind me, Kae! I'll make sure you won't die!"

The hunter readied her bow at the approaching sound of monsters coming at us. I readied up my spells too as humanoid-sized beetles ran at us. They were called Dark Beetles, known to bury themselves in the ground and only come out to defend their turf.

Dark Beetle

HP: 368/368

MP: 78/78

"Don't let them near you. They'll shove you off the platform into the pitfall using [Push], Layla!"

Weak to fire, I tossed my [Fireball] at them, dealing roughly 300-400 damage per hit. Easily burning them down instantly and earning a good chunk of EXP.

+600 EXP

"Hold up..."

"What?"

"Can I grind here or would that be too dangerous?"

"Grind?"

It might be risky but I could get a few levels from this section. And they drop good material to sell to NPCs for beginner money. But that was for another time. This quest was the first thing to get done.

So, I wrote it down in my game's notepad.

"Grind spot… alright, we're good to go."

We ventured through the catacombs, blasting dark beetles down one by one.

"Keep them coming, like this."

[Mini Tail]

I small golden fox doll, the color of my hair, bounced up to the dark beetles. They all swarmed it, giving us the chance to kill them from afar.

"That's a useful skill, Kae."

"Yeah, it's one of the better skills for foxian's. Too bad there's not many of them that's useful…"

I was using my [Mini Tail] clone to taunt the dark beetles along with [Fireball] to burn them down fast. And Layla was using her [Rapid Arrow]. Both using long-ranged attacks, we kept pushing the dark beetles away as we pushed through the second trial.

"We make a great team, Kae."

The hunter giggled.

"We do, Layla."

After clearing the area, we reached the final arena, the last trial.

"Alright, the FA here can one-shot you if you don't dodge its mana heat ray."

We made our way into the circular arena. Fire torches lit up the underground coliseum. On the side of us was a pitfall, making this battle all the more dangerous. We had to make sure we stayed within the area else we'd fall.

"There he is! He's coming from above!"

Lord Beetle, the biggest dark beetle around, scampered its way into the arena. It crawled up from the darkness and towered over us. He was massive as he covered half of the battle area.

Lord Beetle

HP: 9265 /9265

MP: 1760/1760

"Alright, time to have fun again."

The goddess, Rexia, appeared as smug as always. She played that harp of hers. I thought it was for the show. With every stroke, it was majestic and easy on the ears.

"What are you up to, Rexia? Are you going to make the FA annoying again?"

I pouted.

"No! This time, it will give you a challenge!"

She pointed back at me before circling Lord Beetle.

"Is this part of the quest?"

Layla watched, confused at what was going on.

The FA turned the rich color of bronze. A bright light took over the giant bug. A flood of buffs came on the enormous bug along with the [Sentient] buff.

Lord Beetle

HP: 11265 /11265

MP: 2760/2760

[HP UP], [MP UP], [INT UP], [Sentient].

"Eh? Those are some stat boosts…"

I groaned.

"Die for me, Kae! Entertain me!"

The goddess vanished with a chuckle.

"Did she call you out by name, Kae?!"

"Yes. We are in a game of life and death against one another. But due to our rules, she can't kill me directly, I guess? I'm not sure why she does this roundabout way to torture me."

Layla's character stared at me like I was the FA. Maybe it was sinking into her that the battle between me and Keostar's goddess was true.

"Layla, we need to focus on this beetle. This fight will be a little harder than normal. Follow my lead and we'll win!"

"Okay, Kae. I trust you."

The catacombs shook with the new devastating powers of the fallen angel, given by the goddess of this world.