We Hunt Monsters, page 2
Keith stretched backward, taking stock of his situation. He was on the side of a mountain. It was cold, but not cold enough to be winter. By his estimate, it was perhaps a week or two away. It was currently just past noon, which meant he would have about five hours before it was too dark to travel.
The first thing to do would be to find a way off the mountain and make some sort of shelter for the night, he thought. Once he did that, he could search for a source of running water. His mind whirled, thinking of all the next steps that would benefit him.
Keith almost jumped when text flowed across his left eye, and the same female voice spoke directly into his mind. He’d almost forgotten that this was a game world.
You have successfully spawned into your new body. To see your status and hear explanations, simply think the word ‘status.’
Keith wasn’t going to ignore a message from the system – it had very clearly told him not to – so he did as he was told and thought ‘status.’ However, almost as soon as he did, a message flashed across his vision, followed by another, and another, and another.
You have learned the skill: Swords…
You have learned the skill: Daggers…
You have learned the skill: Polearms…
You have learned the skill…
Keith stared as the text formed and vanished almost faster than he could read. Finally, after about the fiftieth message, everything disappeared, leaving him with a view of the barren mountainside once more. For several moments, he wondered if the system in this world might be faulty before a new message scrolled across his left eye.
The skills one has gathered in their previous lives are automatically transferred over with you when entering this world. Seeing as how you’ve managed to gather a lot of them, they have been condensed into single skills.
Please see your status…
There was a point in the message that appeared in bold lettering, making Keith wonder if he’d somehow aggravated the system. However, his status finally appeared as the message vanished, and he was eager to see what this world would give him at his starting point.
Status
Name: Keith
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 1
XP: 0/100
HP: 80/80
MP: 0/0
STA: 110/110
Stats
Strength - 10
Vitality - 8
Endurance - 11
Agility - 9
Intelligence - 0
Wisdom - 12
Luck - 5
Skills
Passive
Bladed Mastery: Advanced - IX
Ranged Mastery: Intermediate - IV
Martial Arts: Master - V
Peak Health: Advanced - VIII
Tactician: Advanced - IV
Quick Learner: Advanced - V
Ranger: Advanced - II
Punisher: Master - I
Discerning Eye: Advanced - VIII
Active
None
Equipped Items
Armor
Wool Shirt
Wool Pants
Cloth Shoes
Weapons
None
He carefully read the status over, noting each part of his status. The first section of his status was pretty self-explanatory, though there were a few interesting points to see. The fact that the status listed his race likely meant that there were other sentient races on this world, something he had yet to come across in his many lifetimes.
He was at level one, which was to be expected. He assumed there were ways to gain experience, or XP as the status called it, by doing quests and completing other such tasks. The only thing he wanted was an explanation on was the ‘class’ tab. He concentrated on it, and new text replaced his status to answer his question.
Class: A class can only be bestowed in one of two ways, either by a class trainer or from a class book. Choosing a class is extremely important, as it will determine the path you take in Raiah. More on classes will be explained when a class trainer or book is found.
The message vanished when he finished reading, leaving Keith to examine the next part of his status. Here, he wanted a better understanding of what his stats did, so he pulled up the explanation.
HP: Your total health points are very important. If your HP goes to zero, you die. Health regeneration depends on level.
Pretty simple but to the point, Keith thought, moving on to the next.
MP: Your total mana points determine how much magic you can use. It’s completely useless unless you get a class that uses magic.
Keith minded having zero MP a lot less now. He wasn’t really the magic type anyway. His experience always lay in physical combat, and although he hadn’t been in a world that relied on this form of magic before, he had been in worlds that used other types. In one world, the citizens had grown their power through the martial arts, while another channeled power through runes.
He had stuck with the physical route through it all and was planning on staying that way.
STA: Your total stamina determines how long you can keep going. Run out of this, and you’ll fall flat on your face. Stamina regeneration depends on level.
Okay, Keith thought. Much more important to make sure this stays high.
If he ran out of stamina in the middle of a fight, it would mean his end.
Stats: There are seven total stats that determine your overall strength. Each number gives you a quantified value, showing how proficient you are in each. Each level will give you five stat points to allocate. Make these choices carefully, as they will determine your future growth.
Strength: Determines physical strength. If you’re not strong, you can’t lift heavy things.
Vitality: This determines your total HP. Every point gives you ten health.
Endurance: This determines your total STA. Every point gives you ten to your stamina.
Agility: Determines quickness and dexterity. If you’re not fast, things can hit you more easily.
Intelligence: This doesn’t determine actual intelligence. It just determines total MP. Every point gives you ten MP. This stat will only be unlocked upon receiving an appropriate Class.
Wisdom: This doesn’t determine actual wisdom. It just determines how fast and how capably you learn.
Luck: Pretty self-explanatory…
Keith wasn’t sure what a good stat was, but from what he could see, there were a few things that would be important for him to raise. Strength was at the top, followed closely by agility. He was assuming his health could be bolstered if he wore armor, but that would need to come later.
He was about to read a bit further down the list when another message superimposed itself above his status.
Quest: A World to Conquer has been accepted.
Quest Available: Civilization
It’s quite cold on the side of this mountain, isn’t it? You’ll probably want to reach somewhere warm before dark.
Difficulty: C
Rewards: 50 XP, 5 bronze coins
Time Remaining: 5 hours
This quest had been automatically accepted
Okay… Keith thought as the message vanished, along with his status.
It seemed that he didn’t have a choice but to take this quest. He decided he could check out the rest of his status later, as the quest had a timer, and he didn’t want to fail the first one. So, he began to walk, heading east down the mountain path.
2
As he walked, Keith noticed two small bars appear in the corner of his vision – a green and a yellow one. The yellow seemed to be twitching, emptying a tiny drop before immediately refilling. He took this to mean that he was in good enough shape that his stamina would basically remain at the maximum so long as he stayed at a walk.
He decided to speed up a bit to test how fast he could run before his stamina really began to run out. At a light jog, it began slowly ticking down, the process speeding up as he did. When at a flat run, Keith estimated he could maintain for about half a minute before he completely ran out.
That’s odd, he thought as he slowed to a walk. He knew he should be able to run faster than this – he had in the previous world, even as an old man. It took him a couple of minutes to figure it out, and when he did, he felt like smacking himself.
His agility wasn’t high enough to support his full speed. He would need to do more tests to see what his limits were in his new body, as well as note the changes as he grew in level. He paid attention to how quickly his stamina regenerated as he slowed to a normal walk.
About one per second.
If he completely emptied his stamina, it would currently take 110 seconds to fully restore, thanks to his endurance of eleven.
As he went on, the trail began to thin, being overtaken by bigger stones that soon turned to boulders. However, he found that he had no trouble picking out the correct path, his mind somehow always pointing it out as he went. He was a bit puzzled by this, until he remembered the list of skills he’d been given upon entering this world.
He wondered if there was a way to view skills while walking, and as though answering his unspoken question, his skills appeared once more. Only this time, they were translucent so he could read and view the path ahead at the same time.
Skills: Skills are divided into two categories, passive and active.
Passive skills: Skills that are always in effect and do not require any additional cost.
Active skills: Skills that require a cost of stamina or mana to activate.
Passive skills can be learned by performing certain actions, from Skill Books, or through a trainer. Active skills can only be learned through Skill Books or through a trainer. They cannot be learned by oneself.
Skills are automatically relearned upon entering the world, matching your previous level of skill. This is why skills were awarded upon entry to the world.
Skills level up as you use them, and more advanced versions of the skill become available as you move through the ranks. In order, these ranks are Novice, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, and Sage. Only those at the level of Master and above can teach their skills to others.
Each rank contains ten levels, after which you advance to the next rank in the skill. The higher-ranked a skill is, the better it will be.
This explanation was a bit more thorough than the last, but Keith was happy, as he thought he understood. What he was really curious about was how his learned skills stacked up to others who were already living in this world. He’d scanned through the skills earlier, and now understood that he had several high-level skills already, likely due to the hundreds of years of experience he’d racked up over his dozen lifetimes.
Since he could travel and read at the same time, Keith decided to pull up his skills and see their descriptions.
Bladed Mastery
Level: Advanced - IX
All bladed weapons up to legendary rarity can be wielded regardless of restriction or condition.
+175% Damage, +150% Accuracy, +100% Armor piecing, +350% Critical
Keith felt a pang in his chest as he read over the first skill’s description. He might not have known a lot about games, but he knew enough about basic math to know that this skill would give him an overwhelming advantage with bladed weapons. It was a shame that he would absolutely refuse to use one in this world.
Eight of his last twelve deaths were caused by a bladed weapon. He wasn’t about to tempt fate for a ninth time. He pulled up the next skill, knowing that it would be good and already regretting his decision to forgo weapons.
Ranged Mastery
Level: Intermediate - IV
All ranged weapons up to epic rarity can be wielded, regardless of restriction or condition.
+145% Damage, +125% Accuracy, +80% Armor piercing, +290% Critical
Keith went straight to the next skill, excited about this one.
Martial Arts
Level: Master - V
You are a master of unarmed combat. You don’t need weapons to fight. As a Master in this skill, active skills may become available to you.
+200% Damage, +170% Accuracy, +110% Armor piercing, +415% Critical
*You may teach this skill to others
Keith grinned.
Now that’s more like it!
Finally, a skill that would come in handy, and thankfully, it was the one he actually cared about. Fighting unarmed would assure he could never be killed by getting a blade stuck or missing a shot with a bow or sling. Sure, it carried greater risk, but so long as he was careful, he should be able to thrive.
He went through his other skills, feeling excited that he seemed to have such a large advantage right at the start.
Peak Health
Level: Advanced - VIII
You are at peak physical health. Mana, stamina and health will regenerate at a faster pace. You will recover from wounds faster and will take less damage while in battle.
+50% Increased HP, MP & STA regen, +100% Recovery speed, -35% Damage
Tactician
Level: Advanced - IV
You have a discerning mind toward combat, as well as in everyday life. You can spot deception, plan a battle, and cannot be tricked by anyone below your own skill level.
Quick Learner
Level: Advanced - V
You have a keen mind for learning and understanding the way of the world.
+75% Chance to learn new skills, +50% Growth to all skills
Ranger
Level: Advanced - II
You have ranged far and wide. You can track, hunt, forest, climb, and swing. Any rough terrain is no match for you.
+200% Chance to find hidden trails, +50% Movement speed in rough terrain
Punisher
Level: Master - I
You were never one to allow your enemies to escape. You punish all with brutal efficiency. All of your blows strike twice as hard. As a Master in this skill, active skills may become available to you.
+100% Critical, +100% Damage if struck first
*You may teach this skill to others
Discerning Eye
Level: Advanced - VIII
You can analyze your surroundings, identifying anything below level 75 at a glance. You can spot hidden treasures that others might miss, and you can identify the value of items.
Keith let out a breath, thinking over everything he had just read. He didn’t know this for certain, but it seemed that his centuries of experience had put him far ahead of the curve. Of course, he was still at level one, so something more powerful could probably squash him, but so long as he was careful and gained enough levels, he should be strong enough to beat this world’s objective.
Speaking of…
Keith pulled up his open quests. He did this in the same way he’d pull up his status. Before he looked at his quests though, he read through the explanation.
Quests: Quests are generated in many ways, but in simple terms, a quest is a contract. Complete the objectives set out, and you will be rewarded.
Quests range in difficulty, and the more difficult the quest, the higher the reward. In order, the difficulty levels are C, B, A, S, SS, SSS and World.
That was simple enough. Keith navigated down to his open quests and read the first one that had been automatically accepted.
A World to Conquer
Being a conqueror isn’t easy. Too bad you have no choice. There are five continents on Raiah. You must challenge and defeat the World Monster on each continent.
Difficulty: World
Current Objective: Defeat Orne Skull-stomper, Elder Troll of Humania
Current Reward: 100,000 XP, 1 world item, 5 legendary monster pieces, 3 large gold bars
Progress: 0/5 Defeated
Keith gaped, not only at the sheer difficulty of the quest but at the reward for completing a fifth of it. And to think that he had to complete the entire quest in order to fulfill his contract.
The Trickster wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be turning up the difficulty, Keith thought sourly.
Still, he would make the best of what he had, and seeing as two more unknowns popped up as he’d been reading, he decided to pull them up.
Currency: The currency in Raiah is simple. Bronze coins, silver coins, small gold bars and large gold bars. 100 bronze coins go into a silver, 100 silver into a small gold, 10 small gold into a large.
Items: Items can fall into several categories, including weapons, armor, crafting materials, and ores.
In order of rarity, these are: Common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and world.
Once more, no further information was available, and this time, Keith wished there was. He wanted to know more about items, seeing as he definitely needed some armor. Well, sturdier than what he was currently wearing.
He was about to pull up his ‘items’ tab when his eyes locked onto a set of peculiar prints in the ground. They shone a bright purple, despite the sunlight beaming down from above, and judging by the imprints near the toes, this would be some sort of predator.
Lifting his eyes, Keith could see the tracks heading deeper into the mountain, and seeing as that was where he was currently headed, he had a bad feeling that he would be running into trouble soon.
