Author’s Corner: Last chapter for today. Feel free to comment down below your thoughts on the story so far!

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Suddenly, as if her words had triggered some kind of rage mode, the small rat lunged at me, its eyes glowing red. Unable to react in time, I barely got half a step back before it was on my leg, and had managed to tear off a chunk of flesh.

You have successfully become dinner-20 HP

With that one bite, I watched as roughly a quarter of my health bar vanished, causing me to panic. Grabbing my dagger, I attempted to slash wildly at the rat, only to have it jump off before I could connect.

That was not the rat.-10 HP

Fuck that hurts! I actually managed to stab myself by accident?! At this point, a third of my life was already gone, so I just began swinging wildly. Best case scenario, I’ll hit the rat. Worst case… well, at this rate I’m going to die anyways. Seriously, why the hell is a rat so strong?!

You missed-- wait, what? How did you do that?!30 Damage Dealt

I blinked at the notification, looking over where I had blindly swung my dagger, only to see it covered in blood, the throat of the creature having been cut. Naturally, that didn’t mean I won just yet, but I definitely pissed it off! With its throat cut, it was taking constant bleed damage, as well as moving much slower than before. Seeing this as my chance, I charged at the rodent and resumed my wild swinging!

Now you’re just showing off.20 Damage Dealt. Common Rat Mob died.

Almost refusing to believe that I had actually managed to do that, I took a look and did indeed see that formerly vicious rat lying dead on the ground, before its body shattered into blue light, fading away from view.

New Skill Acquired!Dagger Mastery - Beginner Level 1

Exp: 0%

This skill marks your ability to wield a dagger, and actually hit what you aim at. Good luck with that.

New Skill Acquired!Wild Luck - Beginner Level 1

Exp: 0%

For those that can’t depend on skill to hit the target, they can always count on their luck!

You have completed the Trial of Combat, against all odds.Level +1, Strength +2, Agility +1, Luck +4

Looking over, I caught a glimpse of Aria, who seemed to be pouting over the loss of the rat. Or over my victory. I’m not really sure. Either way, it didn’t take long before she stood up with a wicked grin, looking towards the false crowd. “Well, there you have it folks, a new champion! Now, shall we move on to his next challenger?!” There were cheers from all around the stands while I inwardly pleaded for this to stop.

“Next up, from the home team, the biggest bad that ever graced our halls, the bull of Cernea!” As she spoke, the gate opened yet again, and this time the loud footsteps could not be mistaken for anything else. The giant frame of the gate barely even allowed the figure to get through, and when it did I wished to anything that I could surrender.

What stood before me could only be described as a minotaur. Half man, half bull, standing over four meters tall with an overly muscular build, wearing naught but a loincloth, and carrying a massive axe that no smaller creature would dare to wield.

Welcome to the Trial of Combat, Second Stage.

I’ll admit, I cried there for a moment, before that massive axe brought itself down onto me, slicing me in half before I even got the chance to feel anything.

You have died.Exp -25% to level, dropped below requirements for Level 2. Level reduced to 1.

How was that fair?! Going from a bloodthirsty rat to a minotaur?! I began cursing my own luck before the next window appeared.

You have failed the Trial of Strength, Second Stage. No rewards will be given.

I wanted to rage at Aria for so obviously rigging the match against me, but my whole virtual body suddenly froze.

Time until servers open: 1 hr, 20 min, 23 sec.

Don’t tell me I have to wait here for over an hour like this… I started to complain again, even if only in my own thoughts, before the clock suddenly fast forwarded.

Time until servers open: 0 hr, 40 min, 52 sec.

Time until servers open: 0 hr, 15 min, 0 sec.

Time until servers open: 0 hr, 0 min, 3 sec.

Servers are now open!

With that last window appearing, I suddenly found myself standing in a forest, and around me were various wooden buildings, which seemed to be naturally shaped from the trees themselves. Even the fountain behind me was seemingly carved out of a single solid stone. Naturally, the first thing I did when I landed in the game was what I do in every game.

Character Information.

NameN/ARaceHalf-Elf(Woodland)TitlesN/AFame0Level 175.00%ClassNoviceHealth90/90Health Regen0.15Mana130/130Mana Regen0.03Strength12Wisdom11Agility13Intelligence13Dexterity14Charisma9Vitality9Luck14

No name? Do I have to choose that later? Or is it assigned to me… I shook my head in confusion, but my question was soon answered as an elderly man approached me. And when I say elderly, that’s by elven standards. He was pretty much the only person in the entire area that showed signs of aging past twenty!

“Greetings, traveler. I am elder Bamu Silverleaf, and I welcome you to our tribe.” He offers a polite bow after speaking. His robes appear as a natural shade of green, while he carries a gnarled wood staff at his side. “May I ask the name of this traveler?”

There we go… I nodded in response to him. “My name is… Falenel Swiftfoot.”

“Then, welcome again, Falenel, to the village of Greenbrooke. May you find what your heart yearns for.” After giving the simple introduction, he turns and walks off, apparently being here merely to greet new players and ask their name. Why they couldn’t do that in the character creation, I’ve not a clue.

Name has been registered as Falenel. Note, house names are not available until Level 15.

And that explains why he only responded to my first name. Now… quests, quests, quests. Aha! Quests! Nearby, I saw what appeared to be a large wooden wall, with various overgrown leaves stuck to its side. On each leaf is a quest, from slaying mobs, to carting items, or even advertising for the local guilds. Thinking it over, and remembering my horrendous experience with the rat during the tutorial, I decided to first visit the Hunter’s Guild, in hopes of learning how to better use my weapons and not get eaten.

Studying the directions given on the leaflet, I suddenly had a sense of knowing where I was going. Yay mentally suggestive mini-maps! Now it’d still be better if I had a visual map to go by, but beggars can’t be choosers. So, making my way through the city, it takes me only a few moments to come across my destination. Like everywhere else in this city, the building is made entirely from twisted trees. Though in this case there is also a large archery field next to it.

Walking up to the instructor, I took note of her appearance, because damn she was a looker. Please don’t be a sadistic teacher, please don’t be a sadistic teacher…. With long silver hair, wearing a light green shirt and pants that hugged her exquisite curves, it was hard to tell if she was trying to hunt down beasts or men.

When she looked at me, I kept my vain hopes that she would be a nice teacher… and train me without unnecessary pain… And then she opened her mouth. “What are you looking at, balls for brains?”

Seeing her rather obvious sneer, I cleared my throat. “My apologies. My name is Falenel, and I was hoping that you could teach me how to make use of my bow?” I asked, holding up the bow I had kept from the tutorial to demonstrate.

She seemed entirely unimpressed by the weapon, giving a low ‘hmph’ and turning her nose up. “Very well, I can show you how to make sure that you can at least hit a stationary target. Though, from the looks of you, doubt you’ll ever manage to hit one that doesn’t throw itself at your arrows.”

Giving a helpless sigh, I nodded my head. “That’s probably the best I could ask for right now.”

“Alright then, come on up here, let’s at least see what you can do.” She instructed, still refusing to even give me a second look. Standing up next to her, I looked at the target and cringed inwardly. The target I had trained against in the tutorial was twenty meters away, and I could barely hit that repeatedly. This one was double that distance!

Nocking an arrow, I tried my best to hit the target, I really did. And I at least made the arrow travel far enough, but it overshot the target and landed somewhere behind it. Seeing that, there was a derisive snort from beside me. “Pathetic. Couldn’t even hit a standing target? Try again!” She ordered, giving me small corrections to my stance with each failed attempt, until I finally managed to hit the outer edge of the target, only for the arrow to bounce off because it didn’t have enough force.

Not willing to let that stop me, I continued shooting again and again, ignoring the skill prompts that had appeared until I was out of arrows in my quiver. Then, I went forward and collected the ones that I had previously shot, only to repeat the process again. By the time I finished my quiver the second time, I had finally managed to land two arrows in the center of the target, and through either luck or skill they both stuck.

“Barely passable.” That was probably the nicest thing she’s ever said to me… or anyone.