Steel fell to his knees, exhausted. His stamina was gone, and he hurt all over. A notification told him he was fatigued

Fatigued-50% to all regens until food is ingested or sufficient time has passed.

"Well no $h!t." He said. He sighed to himself as he laid on the ground, "That's what I get for caring for other people, get my ass kicked and then saved by the bunny brigade."

He rolled his head over to look at the bunnies. The regular rabbits had reappeared, they were hopping around the corpse eating grass. The Hungry Bunnies were nibbling on the corpse itself, staining their fur red. He shivered in the warm sun.

Gazing at the dead monster, Steel wondered what it was. He hadn't had a chance to identify it before he had jumped in, and there had not been an opportunity to check it. It was impossible now, the system only registered it as a dead body, he'd have to ask someone else later about it.

Pulling himself up, he crawled over to it to inspect it. Steel wasn't quite sure the type of loot system the game had: whether loot dropped upon death or if he would have to harvest it himself. Judging by the way the body was oozing, he guessed the latter.

"Frackin great." He muttered, "I have to skin the damn thing and I don't have anything on me. He punched the body in frustration, causing a couple of bunnies to hiss at him. He regarded the bunnies.

They were definitly eating the meat, but they seemed to be avoiding the skin, They cut a hole in the skin, and chewed their way into the body. It was pretty disgusting.

"But hey," He thought, "At least the hide will be fixable."

He still didn't have a knife for skinning though, and sure as heck didn't want to pry apart a corpse with his bare hands. His prayers were answered when he noticed a throwing knife stuck in the body of the monster. One of the players from before must have gotten a lucky shot in. Or maybe that's what drew the beast's aggro to him. He mentally shrugged to himself, it didn't matter to him.

While not ideal for the job, the knife at least allowed him to skin the thing. He had watched some videos before on the cybernet about skinning, a job reserved for hunters and butchers. One of the early classes he had taken during his second age group had made him dissect animals, so he was pretty confident he wouldn't fail the task.

First thing,started at just above the feet and cut........

(I don't believe in unnecessary graphic bloodiness, so I'll just leave out the instructions for now. If I get this published, this will be added for trivia :p)

Steel wiped the sweat off his forehead, the task had taken him a lot longer due to his inexperience and poor tool selection. Still, he was reasonably happy with the result. He now had a full fur of the beast from head to tail, and some meat to cook later. Not a lot of meat, because after he lifted the skin off the Hungry Bunnies seemed to go into a feeding frenzy and he had to high tail it out.

Once he reached a safe place, he decided to open up his notifications,since he hadn't checked after the monster was killed. A series of blue boxes popped in front of him.

Quest CompleteYou have driven off the players that were killing the bunnies in the field. Report back to the desk to inform them. +250 exp.

Job Quest CompleteYou managed to kill one of the monsters that had invaded the grassland. Your captain will want to hear about it's presence. +350 exp for the unexpected killing of a much stronger opponent.

Level UpYou have leveled up to level 2. Congratulations, you are the first person to level up without a class profession. You have gained the title: Strong Neet. You have gained 5 attribute points to place in your stats.

Skills AcquiredYou have gained the following skills:Shield Bash

Shield Cover

Charge

Skinning

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Shield BashFE19%You use your shield to bash into an opponent. Causes blunt damage to opponents smaller or the same size as you. Has a 16% chance of inflicting daze on an opponent.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Shield CoverEF75%You cover an ally with your shield and body. Defense increases and you take all damage meant for the thing you are protecting.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:ChargeFF5%Using your strength and agility, you use your body as a force to slam into an opponent or move fast. Increases daze chance if used with Shield bash. Knocks down smaller opponents

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:SkinningEF51%You understand the art of skinning. 5% chance your attempts will be perfect, as long as you know what your doing. 50% chance of low quality fur due to inexperience.

Steel closed his eyes a moment for them to recover. That was too much blue all at once!

Deep breaths now, in, out.

Steel was pleased at the results. The players that had fled had been the poachers, hunting the poor bunnies off the grassland. From seeing their experience, he guessed they would stay far from the grassland monster for a while. Seeing the monster finish another quest was a surprise, but a welcome one. Especially since it had helped him level up.

Speaking of, he had leveled up! Steel was ecstatic, leveling up was a big deal. He had 5 attribute points now, to put into what ever he wanted. Attribute points could be added to stats or be used to upgrade skills. Players would receive 5 attribute points up to level 10, then 1 or 2 depending on luck for the rest of the levels. Players were expected to raise their stats through training and playing, so no more easy stat boosts after level 10.

Steel was actually surprised he had leveled up so quickly, and that others had beaten him to it. Still, he had only managed it by being the first to complete some quests and kill a monster in an improbable situation. Steel suspected he could have cleared the quest just by seeing the monster and reporting it to his captain.

Eh, it worked out. Still though, what was up with the title he had gained. "Strong Neet"? That was pretty insulting to a guy who was actually working.

"It's not my fault I can't find a job." He muttered, "They don't appeal to me and their stupid and oh my gosh I sound like a neet." He resolved himself to never equip or inspect that particular title.

"First thing though," Steel said looking at his stats, "Need to decide what to do with these attribute points."

Steel pondered for a moment. Upgrade stats or improve skill? It wasn't like he had too many skills to upgrade, he only had 4 skills that could be upgraded. Upgrading Shield bash, for instance, would increase daze chance, or charge could give a little trampling damage. Instinct could not be upgraded, A rank skills and up were stuck as they were.

In the end, Steel decided to put his points into stats for now. Out of the 5, he put 2 into endurance and vitality, and 1 into strength. He brought up his stat screen to inspect it:

Status WindowName:SteelAlignment:NeutralLevel:2Class:N/ARace:HumanGender:Male

TitlesThe Listener, Milna's Follower, Strong NeetFame:200Infamy:0Experience:1000/3000

Health:170 / 170Health Regen:3/ SecMana:150 / 50Mana Regen:1/ SecStamina:80 / 80Stamina Regen:1.7/ Sec

Vitality:17 (12)Agility:15 (10)Intelligence:10Wisdom:10Strength:16 (11)Endurance:17 (12)Leadership:0 (10)Luck:6 (11)Charm:5Faith:0

Elemental ResistancesFire:0Water:0Wind:0Earth:10Light:0Darkness:0

"Looks good." He thought to himself, "Real good."

Storing his fur in his item bag, Steel slowly made his way back to the gate. Slow because the fur was heavy and his stamina was still out from the fight. Steel cursed the realism as he trudged back, muttering how this was taking it too far.

A pair of eyes followed him as he made his way through the field, eyes filled with a respect and intelligence comparable to other sentients. It regarded the boy, weighing his potential and the possibilities. He had made a good start, now all he had to do was keep it up without messing up. The eyes disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, their owner vanishing into the slowly setting sun.

-------------------------------------

"Heh, heh, hu, hu, finally made it." Steel groaned as he reached the wall. He made a mental note to dump all his points into strength next time. He dragged himself into the guard house, which stood out against the sunset, casting long shadow with boisterous laughter. The inside was filled with happy guards, drinking and eating and generally having a great time. A few of them nodded in his direction, but most ignored or didn't notice him. The receptionist lady was the same as this morning, he noticed, or a really close sister.

She smiled as Steel reported his success. She congratulated him and informed him that his city contribution points had been increased. Confused, Steel asked what that meant.

She explained that travelers who worked an organization gained points with the organization as they performed tasks for it. Contribution points could be used at a later date as an exchange for favors, items, or information from said organization. She also informed him that they could be transferred to others as a source of currency for....favors and the like. She winked at Steel as she said this, making sure he noticed her eyes moving up and down his form. He blushed from the attention, unused to it as it was.

He asked her where he could find the guard captain. She pointed out the room on the second floor and wished him luck.

Thanking her, Steel walked up the stairs and up to the door she had pointed out. He knocked politely.

"GET YOUR ASS IN HERE SO I CAN TEACH YOU HOW TO KNOCK!" A boom resounded from the room, knocking Steel on his ass in shock. The guards downstairs laughed and clapped, a few yelling to Steel that he was an official guard now. Embarrassed, Steel opened the door and closed it behind him.

The guard captain was sitting behind a desk on the far side of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls, filed with papers, books, forms, and maps. The captain was chuckling to himself as he recognized Steel's figure.

"Good tidings Scout Steel, welcome to my office." He threw his hand out, gesturing toward the seat in front of him, "Here, sit and tell me how your first day went."

"Yes Sir Captain!" Steel barked and sat. The captain awkwardly frowned at Steel's words.

"Don't do that again. It's Captain Harkin to you Scout." He leveled and even gaze at Steel.

"Yes sir Captain Harkin." Steel responded. Harkin nodded, pleased with his response.

"Now, did you complete your assignment for the day?"

Steel nodded.

"Good, any problems?"

"Er, just one sir, one moment," Steel struggled a moment as he fumbled with his pack. He grabbed the skin and pulled it out for the captain to inspect.

When he saw the fur, Captain Harkin got up suddenly, a scowl on his face. He put his hand on the fur and grabbed it, bringing it up to his face for a sniff. He put it back down and glared at Steel.

"Where did you get this?" He asked slowly, through gritted teeth.

Realistic sweat began to build on Steel's back, "I skinned it from a monster I killed today." He said honestly.

Harkin marched up to Steel, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him into the air.

"I said, Where. Did. You. Get. This." He punctuated each word.

"I told you sire, I killed it today and skinned it."

The captain snorted, "Listen boy, I like you. I see a fire in you, capable of burning a path for your life. Now, I'm going to inform you of some things." He pointed toward the monster fur, one hand holding Steel up.

"This is a devil wolf, an advanced form of a demon wolf. It kills defenseless travelers like you as an after thought. Judging by the size, it was a youngster on the tail end, about to fully grow up. Most likely in the 10-12 level range, this thing could not have been killed by you. So DO NOT LIE TO ME!" He yelled at Steel.

"I'm telling you sir, I killed it." Steel cried, panic filling his bones, "It was attacking the poachers and I defended them. They fled, and it almost had me, but the rabbits jumped it and helped me take it down. I swear to you, look at the holes in the fur!"

Harkin narrowed his eyes, but put Steel down on the floor with a clunk. He turned in inspected the fur more closely, running his finger through the holes and inspecting each one.

After a few minutes, he sighed, releasing the blood lust that had been permeating the room He trudged over to his seat and sat down, head in his hands. Sighing, he looked over at Steel and apologized.

"I'm sorry youngster, it seems that you were correct. It was not my place to treat you like that." He sighed.

Steel got up slowly, keeping his eye on the captain. He had seen Captain Harkin happy, annoyed, inspiring, and quirky, but this new fury had shocked him.

"Captain, why did you react like that?" Steel asked cautiously.

The Captain sighed, looking more like an old guard than he had ever looked before. "Lad, it was one of these beasts that snuck into the city when the wall was still being built years ago and killed my son. I was a patrol leader that night, and returned home to find him strewed across the bed, the beast chewing on his arm. These things are never a good sign, and some evil fellows like to sell parts of them to be used in black magic and the like."

He paused, considering, "Those rabbits will make sure nothing is left to be used for evil, but this fur represents a problem. We can't burn it, the ashes hurt when inhaled and last awhile in the air. Magic could destroy it easily, but given your...relation to the mage guild I doubt they'd want to help."

Steel gulped, suddenly worried that his little trick may have made his life harder expectantly.

Harkin continued, "The best solution I see is to turn this into armor for you to wear."

"You want me to wear this fur as armor? Didn't you just explain that this thing was evil?" Steel said, very worried.

The captain snorted, "It's evil to me lad, but the beast is not inherently evil. It just holds a little more darkness than other creatures, so it could be used for evil a little more easily than good. If you use it, I have no doubt it would benefit you, and only you. You'll find that using items that you've taken from much stronger monster than you tend to...stick to their slayer more easily than others." He wrote on a form and handed it to Steel, "Here, take this to the armorer in town, he'll make the armor for you, but don't expect any salary from the guard for a while."

He turned and opened one of the maps on the side of his desk. "I'll investigate the matter now, thank you for bringing it to my attention Scout Steel, you may go."

As Steel walked over to the door, the captain noted, "Oh, and next time you knock, do it with manly gusto."

Smiling, Steel left the room, and exited the guardhouse.

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Welp, looks like the first set up is complete. Lets hurry up with these chapters so we can get to the harem part. good thing we have lots of applications, Hail HydraHarem!