“Please, Master Sumuel. I would be extremely grateful for your help,” I said to Sumuel, the blacksmith of the village. “Could you please perhaps give me a shield instead of the armor. Adding in the discount you promised me, perhaps with this rings I have, I could be able to buy one.”

“My, my, youngling. I have a business to run, you know,” the blacksmith said. “I’m giving away some of my works, free, to deserving younglings as my part in the quest of our race. But asking for a shield is a bit…”

“Even the cheapest one,” I said. I was fine even if he gave me a frying pan as a shield. Any shield. “You did say I get a discount on my first purchase. I promise I’ll help you with anything you want to in exchange for a very generous discount.”

“Well. I’m not sure about this. But I did say you get a discount,” he said. He rubbed his tusk, a habit of his when he was going to give in. I noticed him doing that when I made friends earlier with him and asked for his help when Little Pony introduced me to him.

When I logged back into the game, early in the morning, a day after I first played, I met with Little Pony outside the Elder’s hut. Little Pony’s location was displayed on the minimap of the village so I had no trouble continuing with my quests. I was surprised that I woke up early in the morning even after spending my whole evening reading guides about Nornyr online.

I found three posts about Mardukryons. One was full of rants why you shouldn’t pick it. The other was full of beginner stuff, most of which I would learn about in the introductory tour of the village that Little Pony gives. The other one was a player who chose to be a Hunter-Warrior Mardukryon but gave up at level ten because he couldn’t complete a “Hunt”, whatever that quest was. No real information that could help me playing as a Mardukryonn tank.

Little Pony led me to the halls of the Hunter-Warriors, of the Pathfinders, the Miners, the Foragers. The halls were merely longhouses made of strong timber. I bet those were the main classes available in the village. Oh, plus the Healer class of GranGran. I didn’t commit in joining any of the lodges. There was no class that was akin to a knight or paladin, an obviously tanking class. We’re hunter-gatherers anyway, I couldn’t really expect a paladin strolling around here.

I’ve read that not all classes were as obvious as having a headquarters in every starting village where you could walk in and apply. Sometimes you had to go and ask certain NPCs to accept you as their apprentice or raise your Intimacy and Social skills, or even do special quests to trigger an event. Most games that I had played had a Blacksmith class, or crafting skills, something that has to do with armors and other gears.

Given that there’s a blacksmith in our village, he might probably be the one to talk to for blacksmithing skills. When I first encountered him, I followed the tip of Norman and tried to make friends with him, asking about his work, the weapons and armor in his shop, instead of simply listening to his part in the introduction.

Sure enough, he offered to give me some low-level armor he has to replace the worn leather armor that the Elder has given me. I tried to offer my help for more giveaways from him. Some of the items Nicole gave me were ores, so there was probably a collecting-some-ore quest. And who would want ores? The one making armor, of course.

He said that indeed he needed five low-level frost ores. Instead of trudging to the village’s mines, I immediately gave him what Nicole gave me. Impressed with my speed, he offered me a discount for my first purchase. Which then gave me an idea. I refused his offer of free armor, in hopes that it would increase the discount and help he would offer me later, and went out of his workshop.

I went back to the Forager’s Hut and did a couple of quests. The items Nicole gave me weren’t enough so I had to go around the outskirts of the village and picked weeds and all that shit those bastards wanted. Those things were right outside the village! They could simply walk out the village and pick them up.

They paid me some wood rings and now I’m back in Sumuel’s workshop trying to haggle for a shield.

In this village, rings were the currency. Wooden rings were the smallest denomination. Ten of them in one link was equal to one stone ring. And, I think, a dozen of the stone ones was equal to one polished stone. At least, that was what the merchant at the market told me when I asked him about the rings they were passing about.

“This are wooden rings. Just wooden rings, youngling. Don’t expect anything high-quality,” Sumuel said.

“Just any shield will do,” I said. “I’ll even do more quests for you.”

“I could give you some nice leather armor instead of what you’re wearing. You sure you want a shield instead?”

“Yes, Master Sumuel. I’ll even throw in these wooden rings. I know they’re not much. And I’ll work for you. I'm sure you would have some need of me, the promising youngling of the village.”

“Fine,” he finally said. He fetched a wooden shield with thin straps of metal on the front, reinforced with leather lining that kept the planks of wood tightly bound. “You do know that your wooden rings won’t be able to buy this one even with a generous discount. But, if you find me some materials that I need, you get this free.” He handed me the shield.

[Quest Updated]

Gather materials for Sumuel the Blacksmith in exchange for the shield that he gave you.

Snow Rat Pelt (5)

Frost Snow Ore (5)

Wood (5)

I thanked him and left his workshop happily. I had a shield, a worn leather vest, and a rusted spear. Best equipment ever, I thought dryly. The reason why I wanted the shield was because of the Masteries. Masteries had something to do with your mastery in something. Awesome use of the same word to describe itself, I know. Anyway, there were things like Spear Mastery, Alchemy, Archery, Dual Wield Mastery, just to name a few of the masteries I found online. These were different from skills but they do help a lot, adding bonuses to equipment and using higher level equipment. I think some of them were even prerequisites for unlocking certain skills.

The thing was, they don’t level by putting skill points on them but by using them against monsters, the combat ones anyway. Masteries like Herbalist and Potion Making level up by, of course, making concoctions.

Shield Mastery was a Combat Mastery, so was Spear Mastery. I have to fight against monster shits, spear the monster and block their attacks to level these two masteries. The higher level the monster was, the higher experience it gives to the mastery. When a mastery has gotten a high enough level, weak monsters hitting you won't even give experience. You have to move on to higher leveled monsters as well.

My first brilliant idea was to get a shield and get hit by a Lord Mirdabon, that was if I could find one; I could suicide over and over since I still don’t have a penalty for dying. However, after reading some more, I realized that you could only get experience for a mastery if you or your party actually killed it. Which was why I didn’t have an increase in Spear Mastery when I poked the Mirdabon.

Because the little fucker killed me.

I appreciated the fact that stronger monsters would give more experience points to masteries. I used to play a game before that had this same system of leveling masteries, but the difference was that people grinded it out fighting tons of weak monsters because monsters gave the same experience as long as they hit your shield or armor. "Hmm. Is it grinded or ground?" I said as I pranced to the gate of the village. "Probably grinded since grind had a different meaning in the context of gaming?"

Anyway, what was important was that the sooner I get a shield, the better. There were different types of Armor Masteries so I wasn’t too keen on spending my meager resources on getting an armor. I would end up leveling Light Leather Armor Mastery anyway so no need to worry about Armor Mastery until I could get my hands on some Heavy Armor.

I passed the Mirdabons outside the village and began to gallop. I swerved left and went deep into the forest. It was an amazing experience. Zipping through the trees, zigzagging, my hooves burying themselves in the snow as I kicked off to gain speed. A flutter of snow filtered through the ceiling of leaves above me, powdering my body. I stopped galloping and shook off the snow.

“Now, where the fuck are those snow rats?” I zoomed out of my minimap and noticed that the forest thinned to the south so I went there in the hopes of finding monsters to kill. I found monsters. Mirdabons. Monsters that I don’t want to kill. Or even to hit.

There were a dozen of them, huddled by the trunk of a tree. The tree had a slight golden tinge so I went near it, taking care not to hit the Mirdabons which were sleeping. The innocent pile of furballs heaved gently as they breathed. Resisting the urge to poke them just for fun, instead, I broke off a branch and ran away.

I correctly guessed that the glowing tree had the Wood Quest Item that I was looking for.

“Oh wait,” I said, slowing down my gait. “I should level my Ancestral Constitution.” As opposed to masteries, racial skills were the ones that could go up in rank by usage. I pointed the blade of my rusty spear on my hand in an awkward grip and then stabbed my hand. I kept on stabbing my hand while keeping up the stacks of my skills."I hope I won't get tetanus from this."

Holding the spear with its butt in the air made it hard to run fast through the trees so I slowed down, and so did my search for quest items. But leveling it would be worth it in the end so I continued stabbing myself as I walked.

Snow rats were hard to find. Very hard to find. Mirdabons were easier to find and I think I saw one that had a different color, although I didn’t go near it. After twenty minutes of stabbing myself, and after I found my second, third, and fourth wood, only then did I find a snow rat, coming out of a hole under a tree.

I immediately stabbed at it, taking away a fifth of its life bar. It hissed at me and attacked. Raising my shield, I fended it off, its claws scratching my shield. I speared it again and again. Slightly limping, the rat leaped at me. I was ready, swinging my shield to hit it, and actually doing damage with my shield. As it bounced on the ground, my spear followed it. Sensing that its end neared, the rat turned and ran for its hole. I was having none of that after spending so much time to find it. I charged for its hole as well, putting myself in between the rat and its escape.

I raised my spear. “This is Sparta!” I yelled as I ended its wretched life.

Loot:

Snow Rat Pelt (1)

[Reward]

For your first time killing a monster: Strength +1