Practically everyone at school is talking about Legacy. Most of it's just about meeting up in the game, though you'd think they'd have already met up when they started.

I texted my brother after mom and dad got back but he didn't say much. He just told me that if I need help, ask NPCs or go on forums. But the official forums for the game doesn't work very well since it keeps crashing. The GMs released an announcement that they're currently trying to make the site available for more visitors, but it'll take some time since people have also been posting pictures on other sites of error messages and bugs.

There also seems to be a lot of hate on mages for some reason. According to a lot of people, they've got low stats, low health, they basically can't attack at all, making them meat shields, and are just dead weight in general.

I mean, I kinda get what they're saying. Other classes like warrior and rogue start off with higher numbers in ATK and DEF. But for mages, the only difference in stats lies in their INT and WIS, which no one has found a use for yet.

But just because their stats are low doesn't mean they're dead weight. If that was the case, characters like Buffers and Crafters would be in the same boat. After all, neither of them are meant for straight combat, so wouldn't they have worse stats?

Anyway, I managed to find some useful information. All monsters will drop an item called a mana stone, which can be used to make mana potions, which are more or less useless at the moment since no one can use mana. Monsters will usually travel in groups though, which is why there aren't really any solo players. As for general info, if you boil the water first before putting stuff in, the potion becomes higher quality. Kinda like how people boil water before drinking it, ya know. It's also possible to make them without going through all that work, but it costs a lot of mana and you need a certain skill level.

I logged into the game. Just like yesterday, it's pretty crowded. A few players stand in the town square, looking for teammates. Most of them have little to no armor, dressed in the beginner equipment.

"Need another warrior please!"

"Buffers over here!"

"We need one more! Anyone except a mage!"

Okay, looks like that crap online was true, meaning that I'll need find some other kind of weapon to train with along with my staff since I guess hitting things with a stick isn't going to cut it. Archery is an automatic out since you need 2 hands, and I don't think trying to fight with a sword and a staff with my current stats is a good idea. So the only option is punching and kicking or throwing crap at my enemies.

I can't throw consumables since I don't have that much stuff to throw, so it looks like I'll have to try doing some close combat.

On the outskirts of town, there's a little training ground meant for the guards. It's open to the public, so after I buy a pair of knuckles, (better than fighting bare-handed) I head there. It's...pretty deserted, to be honest. I mean, I guess going out and fighting a monster makes it easier to train your skills then beating the shit out of a mannequin.

The practice equipment is stowed off in a little corner, so I grab a very worn-down scarecrow from the corner. It feels about as heavy as a sack of flour. I stick it on a pole and slide my new weapons on. There's really no reason to put them on both hands since I can just use my staff, but if I drop it I'll have another weapon to use.

After one punch my hand stung and the scarecrow barely moved. Two punches and I friggen felt the metal pole through it, the target being more like a piece of cloth wrapped around the pole. I tried kicking it next but it was like kicking a sack of bricks.

What the hell is in this thing? I swear, it feels like there's a bowling ball inside or som-

Learned Punch Lvl 1 Punch(C) Lvl 1: Damage dealt with fists or other appendages increases with skill level.

Why does it say "other appendages?"

Whatever, progress! I don't think that just having this skill will cut it though, so I'll try for a kicking skill and then maybe some variations on those skills.

A few minutes later...

Learned Kick Lvl 1 Kick(C) Lvl 1: Damage dealt with legs or other appendages increases with skill level. Learned Knee Strike Lvl 1 Knee Strike(C) Lvl 1: Damage dealt with knees increases with skill level.

Lesson learned: Don't kick a metal pole. Or a sack of bricks. Or whatever the fuck is in this thing. It hurts a lot.

Actually, in general, just don't hit a scarecrow. It did nothing to you anyway.

I head over to the guild and look at the quest board. The current quests are to go herb picking, go hunting, or do various odd jobs like delivery and cleaning. I take one of the hunting ones at random and look at it.

Wabbit Hunting(F) Hunt down 10 Horned Wabbits. Reward: 10 CZ

This... might be a little hard to solo. Don't these guys travel in packs? Plus if you consider their stats, they're probably 3 or 4 times heavier than a soccer ball, meaning that it'll feel like the goddamn scarecrow all over again.

Do I seriously have to look for a party? I feel like there should be an easier way...

"Hey, excuse me."

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around. Two players stand behind me, both with the starting equipment. One's a girl that looks like an archer, while the other's a guy that looks closer to a warrior.

"So we're planning on taking that same quest, and if you don't have a party, could you join us?" the girl says.

Well, I don't have any better alternatives, so I say sure and we introduce ourselves.

"I'm Skye, and I'm an archer," the girl says. The boy's name turns out to be Jarvis, after that one superhero, and he chose a rogue. His voice is pretty low, and after saying his name he covers his face with his hands.

---I'm Daru, a mage...I'm only level one, is that fine?

Skye exhales."It might be hard, but first, can you tell me what skills you have?"

---I have Examine, Staff Mastery, Punch, Kick, um, Potion-Making, and Knee Strike.

"Okay, we'll be fine. We're going to grab some supplies before we go, want to come?" She holds up her bag proudly. "Me and J went hunting earlier, so we gotta go sell these mats off." The bag doesn't look all that different from his own, though it does seem a bit fuller and less bulky.

I don't really have anything to prepare, so we agree to meet up in the square in a few minutes. While I wait, I check my supplies, eat a loaf of bread, and try to ignore any stares coming from nearby. It's not like we shouted to everyone what we were saying, but we weren't exactly whispering either.

The three of us head off to the plains area where only a few players can be seen. The sky is clear where we are but farther in there are signs of a thunderstorm. A few groups of rabbits can be seen calmly grazing the grass nearby, each with a pointed horn on their heads. I use Examine on one of them but it fails.

"I'll draw aggro," Skye whispers to the both of us. She nocks an arrow to her bow and fires it towards one of the closer groups. The arrow misses and hits the ground a few meters away. Luckily, the rabbits continue to munch away.

She fires another arrow after a few seconds, staying silent. This time it hits, right in the middle of the group. After a short scream and delay, the entire group turns away from the grass and rushes toward us.

Earlier, we discussed the positioning. Since I have close-combat skills, Jake and I are in the front, while Skye provides cover fire from the back. Jake pulls out his wooden dagger while I have my staff and knuckles.

A few rabbits are hit by Skye's arrows but they shrug them off and keep going. Only one of them stays completely still after getting hit in the side, blood gushing out of the small wound. They look like the rabbits you see eating away at your garden in the spring, but with a more wild, feral sense.

Jake takes his dagger and goes for the eyes, crippling them. Blood spurts everywhere, staining their fur red. As for me, when they get close I kick outwards. It doesn't actually feel like a brick, but more like a sandbag if the bag was filled with meat and not sand. After they get kicked, they stumble backward and I hold them down, bashing them with my staff.

The fight ends rather quickly as the rabbits bleed out from the arrows. As Skye retrieves her arrows, Jarvis and I check our statuses. I got Kick to Lvl 2 and that's about it. My HP and MP bars are still full, and the same is for Jarvis. When she comes back, we've gathered the corpses in a pile.

Honestly, they look like they're just sleeping. Luckily they didn't make it too realistic or else it would have looked like a scene out of hell.

---Does the loot not drop after we kill them? Or do we have to dismantle it ourselves?

"Nah, we just stick in the knife from the tutorial, and the loot drops." Jarvis takes out the knife from his bag and sticks it into a wabbit. The corpse vanishes, leaving behind its fur, horn, and meat. They also dropped these rocks, that when I examined them came up as F-Rank Mana Stones.

We agree to split the animals fairly and each of us dismantles our corpses. Then we repeat.

Skye draws aggro once again and another herd is defeated. We suffer a few injuries this time around, but nothing too big. After dismantling, Jarvis pulls a rare drop: a Lucky Wabbit's Foot.

Lucky Wabbit's Foot(C): +3 LUCK. Can be used in making equipment.

After checking my status this time, my EXP bar went up by more than half, and Staff Mastery and Kick both got to Lvl 3. Punch and Knee Strike were basically useless considering that none of the monsters were taller than my knee.

---Well, that was easy.

"Yeah, it really was, since I didn't have to use up as many arrows as last time," Skye replies.

"You want to come party with us tomorrow? We're meeting up with some of our friends in the afternoon, so do you want to join?" Jarvis asks.

More people to play with? Mmm...Skye and Jarvis don't seem like bad people, so it should be fine, right?

---Sure. When do we meet up?

"Around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Let me add you as a friend first." Skye says.

"I'll send one too," Jarvis adds.

Skye has sent a friend request. Accept? YES NO Jarvis has sent a friend request. Accept? YES NO

I hit yes for both and a new screen loads in front of me.

Friends Status Skye Online Jarvis Online

We head over to the guild to turn in the quest before departing. I go back to the plains to stock up on herbs while also training my Examine skill.

Nettles(C): Material used for making potions. Has sharp thorns and may paralyze those that touch it carelessly. Shockshroom(C): Material used for making potions. May poison or paralyze those that eat it. Do not breathe in any spores that come from this mushroom.

What is this shit? Why is this here?

Fuck, I pricked myself.

Poison Resistance(C) Lvl 1: Reduces poison damage with level. Gathering(C) Lvl 1: Increases chances of harvesting as well as quality of materials with level.

Quality, huh.

When I examined the materials again, it showed them having qualities between 3 and 5. I wonder what's the maximum quality?

Anyway, after I check my bank, I decide to buy a few things. Mainly cooking equipment, since the Hard Bread they gave us tastes like shit. An iron pan costs 8 CZ, salt and pepper each cost 5 CZ for a small bag, and a kitchen knife along with a cutting board bring my wallet down to 7 CZ. It all fits in my bag without much trouble, though I do have to reorganize a bit.

I then take 2 herb gathering quests and turn in 20 stalks of Heartgrass I got earlier, bringing me up to 27 CZ. With the new money, I buy a few more vials to make potions with. Afterward, I head back to the field area and take out the stove, cutting board, wabbit meat, iron pan, and knife.

I cut off a thick slice of meat and gently rub it with some salt and pepper. I then place it in my now sizzling hot pan, making sure to sear it on all sides. My stomach rumbles as a nice scent permeates the air. When it just finishes cooking, a glass plate along with utensils appear out of thin air.

It doesn't look too bad for a first try. The meat has a nice crust on it and smells nice. However, it's a bit too hard to eat for my taste and is also pretty chewy. Plus there's kind of a bad aftertaste in my mouth after I swallow a piece down. I try a second piece but now it just tastes like shit.

I dump the rest of it and get started on a second try.

This time, before rubbing it with salt and pepper, I cut shallow lines into the meat to try and make it more tender as well as combat that bad aftertaste.

When it finishes cooking, the meat is definitely more tender and easier to swallow. The aftertaste is a bit fainter this time, but still unpleasant. A blue prompt pops up in front of me as well.

Learned Cooking(C) Lvl 1: Increases grade of dishes made as well as cooking skill with level.

I examine the plate in front of me, which apparently has a grade of 4. If I get rid of the aftertaste, will it increase to 5? I wonder what a maximum grade dish would taste like...

My mouth subconsciously drools and I wipe it off my face before getting back to enjoying the food in front of me. I no longer feel hungry and my HP has recovered fully. I then clean off the cooking tools before putting them back and then take out the vials and materials I gathered earlier.

I decided to try a different method this time for making potions. I cut up each of the materials separately on the cutting board before grinding them down to paste and adding them to the pot.

Low Quality Health Potion(C): Restores 12% HP. Poison(C): Deals 12 damage. Paralyzing Poison(C): Deals 10 damage and applies the Paralyze debuff for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Okay, improvements! Tiny ones, but still improvements!

I only have a few vials, so I make 3 health potions and 1 of each kind of poison.

When I'm done, I head back to the inn and log out. I stretch, getting off my bed, just as the garage door opens.