Chapter 6

~ An Unexpected Encounter ~

SW/SW/SW

He had gotten himself more than ten Riselicium Herb. Looking at the detailed description, it seemed that eating the herb would restore his health. Although the amount was 15 HP, it was great nonetheless. He could save up money to buy gear and books.

Alice said her goodbye as soon as he had killed bunnies and collected another five herbs. It was a bit sad, though. His selfish side wanted Alice to be around when he logged in and kept guiding him, but that was such a convenient wish. Alice was human, not a program.

A red arrow pointed at the city. Ace opened the map by using voice command. Making his way to the exit of the forest, he stumbled upon a strange-looking plant. The fruits looked like a strawberry, but bigger and multi-colored.

Sweet smell invaded his nostrils and his body moved itself to the strange plant. Looking at the label above it, Ace’s smile went wider.

Apuberry

A berry with pleasantly sweet smell. It can be eaten to restore HP and satisfy hunger, and be sold for quick cash. Plantable, but needs Gardening skill level 5 to cultivate this plant.

Smiling, he reached out to pluck the fruits one by one. They soon found themselves stacked inside his inventory. Ace looked up to see the berry at the top of the plant. It was way above his arm reach.

Thinking that it was such a waste to leave one unpicked, he used his staff to get it off. The stalk was tougher than it looked.

Suddenly, an exclamation point appeared in front of him, signaling of a danger nearby. He stopped moving, noticing that he wasn’t alone.

There was something behind him.

Something dangerous. So dangerous that it was better not mentioned.

Something scary...

He was scared...

Even though this was but a game, he was scared. The tension threatened to destroy the remaining courage he had. As a result, the hair on the back of his neck stood straight and he was trembling.

His heart stopped moving and there was no blood moving to his brain.

Ace gulped, gripping the staff tighter as he remembering Alice, the guide.

{{Let’s go to Dragonis Forest. It’s beginners’ spot for leveling up. After you’ve reached level three, you may want to change place. North from Dragonis, you’ll see a wide patch of forest, hiding a pond and a tower. That’s your next destination. Gain level in the pond, but steer clear from the tower.}}

This place was supposed to be for beginners, right?

...right?

But, there was really something... something scary behind him, one that was beyond his level...

Mustering up courage, Ace turned around ever so slightly to find something that would haunt him in his sleep.

Spoiler: Spoiler

It wasn’t a deer, yet it wasn’t a horse, either. The animal was more like both of them. Its body was green, with sacred patterns all over its body. Flaming mane of pale green produced ever present crackle sounds as it hovered.

What made Ace cringe was that there was nothing under the deer’s body. Instead of hooves, thick vines replaced them.

Ace gulped yet again and took a step back. Just by looking at the detail, Ace could guess that it was a boss...

[Daucaryon, the Forest Deity lv. 14]

Ace yelped in fear. The Forest Deity? What’s more, its level was way above him! This had to be a dream! He was just starting out, weak, and still hadn’t used his Beasts Stone! For a boss to appear in front of him like this...

Seeing that a battle was impossible, Ace slowly moved backwards, keeping his eyes on the monster. It was still staring at him.

Ace spun on his heels and ran.

The forest deity neighed just like a horse, and flew after him. Ace let out a scream and dodge aside, scraping his side against the path, when a big stalk came thrusting at his heart.

[You take 2 damage!]

HP [148/150]

Hurriedly he stood on his feet and ran away. He sprinted as fast as he could and was glad that he didn’t have any stamina bar. If this were real life, he wouldn’t last long running like this. His lungs would have been burning and his legs hurting.

Thank god this was a game.

Ace opened the map and headed to Dragonis, all the while dodging the venomous stalks and vines that came after him.

Ping! [Running skill acquired!]

“Why are you popping out at a time like this?!” Ace managed to shout a comeback to the system’s stupidity. Losing his concentration momentarily, he tripped over a stone, but managed to steady himself and kept running.

Coming into a clearing, Ace found two newbies—a warrior and a priestess— who were sharing their loot. They were shocked to see the newcomer, all panting and panicking from something.

“Hey, what’s up?” the warrior greeted with a smile. “Running from a boar?”

Looking behind, Ace quickly ducked when a stalk came after his head. One wrong move, he might end up dead.

Ping! [Evasion skill increased tremendously!] [Light Armor skill increased!]

The warrior and priestess screamed. The elf priestess trembled in fear and the warrior was already running away. Ace made no hesitation to follow the warrior’s lead.

Defeating the monster at his level was impossible. All he could do was to get out of this godforsaken forest and head to Dragonis. In a state of complete panic, he didn’t remember the use of the Scroll of Return.

In RPG games, monsters wouldn’t attack the cities and Ace was one hundred percent sure that the rule applied to GeaOnline.

“{Bestiary}! {Daucaryon}!” he shouted his voice command and a small window appeared in front of him.

Daucaryon, the Forest Deity

Level: 14 HP (890) MP (600)

A deer with glowing symbols on its body. Flaming mane adorns its back and stalks are its tail. Has no leg, thus it flies above the ground. Is normally neutral or even docile unless angered.

Its diet consists of Apuberry and will be hostile if someone is seen stealing its favorite berry.

“Ah, goddammit! Why didn’t you say sooner?!” Ace cried out in frustration. Using his right hand, he reached out for Apuberry stashed in his inventory, stopped to aim, and threw a berry to the abnormal deer.

Seeing the familiar berry in the air, the monster stopped moving and chased the berry instead.

Smiling, Ace quickly got away, running as fast as he could manage. Parting branches, stepping on the grass, jumping on shrubs—Ace frantically ran, following the map on his left side.

It was just several meters from Dragonis gate.

He would make it.

Ping! [Running skill increased!]

“Shut up!”

Ace shouted in surprise when something grabbed his right foot, causing him to fall face first. His face made an unpleasant sound when it kissed the ground.

[You fell down! You take 8 damage!]

HP [140/150]

Looking down, he found that a strong vine had snaked itself around his foot, firmly keeping it immobile. Mind in a state of panic, he attacked the vine with his staff, but did little damage. Then he realized that he was a magician.

“Firebolt!” he conjured his fire magic to the vine and it was burnt instantly.

Finally free from any obstacle, Ace stood up only to see Daucaryon hovering several meters from him. It was staring at him with its red, evil eyes. It wanted nothing to make mincemeat of him.

Ace bit his lower lip. It was so persistent it was annoying. If that was the case, then he had no choice but to use his Beasts Stone. He hoped that he would get a powerful Beast, not some mere Slime.

Daucaryon waited for him as if it understood that its opponent wanted to fight.

“Give me a good Beast!” Ace used his Beast Stone and in an instant the stone flashed brightly. He forcefully closed his eyes, shielding his face from the blinding light.

When everything returned to normal, Ace was flabbergasted to see his Summon Beast.

Long, flowing golden hair, fair skinned, and wearing a blue claw on her left hand. She was almost human. Almost, if only her lower body wasn’t composed of the body of a snake.

She turned around to face him, and Ace was dumbstruck by her mesmerizing light green eyes and warm smile.

“Did you call for me, Master?”

Spoiler: Status

AceKivras

EXP Chart*

Atk: 5

HP (140/150)

Level 1

287/586

Def: 3

MP(157/225)

Human

299 to lv. 2

M.Atk: 15

Eiredrahl the Impure*

Summoner

125 Coins

M. Def: 13

Independent

Minimum piety

ATTRIBUTES

POTENTIAL

Equipment

No perks or abilities*

STR

5

Worst

Head

Circlet

VIT

6

Bad

Neck

Amulet

DEX

7

Bad

Body

Robe

PER

8

Bad

Back

-

INT

16

Superb

Arm (main)

Staff

WIS

11

Best

Arm

-

WILL

11

Best

Waist

-

CHA

14

Superb

Legs

Pants

* (tap to see)

Feet

Shoes

(Help)

Skill

Description

Level

Healing

VIT

Lets you recover your HP over time

2.151

Staff

VIT

How proficient you are swinging your staff

2.098

Running

VIT

Affects your running speed

2.322

Light Armor

DEX

How effectively you act while wearing Light Armor

5.867

Evasion

DEX

Helps you to evade attacks easily

7.723

Casting

INT

This skill helps you power up your spells

5.401

Meditation

INT

Gradually recovers your MP

5.061

Herbology

INT

Lets you identify any herb to its fullest potential

4.445

Control Magic

WIS

Prevents your ally to get hit by your spells

2.332

Memorization

WIS

This skill slows down the decay of your unused skills

3.414

Literacy

WIS

Allows you to read more difficult spellbooks

6.175

Control Beast

CHA

Lets you control higher-level Summon Beasts

6.000