Chapter 6 - Cold and Boss

When Metehan woke up, it was around 03:20 AM. He excitedly got up and got into the game unit to connect the Royal Blood Online.

+Fatigue is recovered fully.

+Satiety dropped under 50%. All stats decreased by 50%.

+Warning: Since you slept in a cold and uncomfortable environment, you caught a cold. All stats decreased by 10%. Resting in a warm and comfortable environment is advised. If you ignore your condition, it can get worse.

‘What the hell? I caught a cold? Wasn’t my body supposed to disappear when I logged off?’

The first thing Metehan saw when he connected was those system notifications. Since Metehan was in front of Sithred’s shop on the main street, including Sithred there were many people staring at him with a weird expression on their faces.

“Are you alright, Metehan? Why did you sleep in front of my shop? There are many inns in the City.” Sithred asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

‘What? I have to stay at an inn every time I logged off? What is with this ridiculous setting?’ Metehan was quite disturbed. He wasn’t expecting such a troublesome setting. Normally when you log off, your character disappear as well. And when you log in, your character reappears at the same spot you logged off. However it was different for Royal Blood Online. When he logged off, his character stays in sleeping mode at the spot he logged off. Which makes it quite troublesome. You have a real life as well. If something urgent comes up during grinding, you can’t just log off. You have to go somewhere safe. If you just log off during a hunt, your character probably will die and God knows what kind of penalties will be applied.

“Ah, I didn’t know that when I logged off, my avatar would stay in game in sleeping mode.” Metehan answered after a little while.

“Avatar? Log off? What are you talking about? You aren’t making any sense. Did the cold got into your head or something?” Sithred was confused. He couldn’t understand what Metehan was talking about.

‘Ah, right. It is a game for me but it is the real life for them. Of course they wouldn’t understand.’

“Ah, nothing. I guess I fainted when I got out of your shop due to extreme fatigue.” Metehan made up something to cover it up.

“Ah, I see. However you shouldn’t push yourself too much. You should take care of your health.” Sithred answered with a worried face.

“I will keep that in my mind. Thank you.” Metehan stood up and left there.

“Damn it! I can recover my Satiety by eating some wheat breads however I have to rest at an inn in order to recover my cold. I don’t want to rest anymore. I want to grind and gotten stronger as soon as possible. I can handle with 10% stat penalty. It is not a big deal. I will hunt the Wild Rabbits for a while and see what happens.’

Metehan left the City after he ate 2 wheat breads and went to his previous spot. There was nobody there as usual. He drew his swords and started to hunt them. He wasn’t able to hunt them in a single hit however he could still hunt them without any trouble. There were other spots with 1 minute walking distances. He had waited in the same spot for the Wild Rabbits to spawn during rabbit meat quest however this time he didn’t want to wait and he moved the next spot as soon as he slaughtered the flock in the spot. He was losing only 10% HP so he could hunt the other flocks without waiting for his HP to recover fully. He also started to use his Terror Skill. Since his HP was recovering fully while he was waiting for them to spawn, he hadn’t seen the need to use it. However this time he wasn't waiting. Since he was moving constantly his HP wasn't recovering so he needed to decrease the damage as much as possible. He could kill the flock in 5 seconds so every 5 minutes he was killing a flock without getting hurt.

‘This is more effective. Why didn’t I think of this before?’

Metehan continued hunting going back and forward between the spots. He was taking breaks when his HP dropped to 10% or lower. The drop rate was the same as usual. He was getting Copper Coins and rabbit meats as loot. He was collecting the meats as well. He could sell them to the merchants. Even though he won't get much money for them. Money was still money. He knew money is very important in these kind of games. On the top of that the rabbit meats were surprisingly light. 1000 of them weigh only 2 kg. And he had 19 kg carrying capacity. So he could carry quite much without worry. That was one of the best feature of the Warrior class. They could carry 0.5 kg for each Strength stat they had. And Metehan had 38 Strenght points right now. Although he was getting a 20% movement speed penalty when the weight he carries exceeded 50% of his total capacity, it wasn't a problem for now. After all he had only two swords which weight 4 kg right now. He could carry 2500 rabbit meats without taking any penalty.

About 4 hours later when he killed the last member of the flock in the spot, some system notifications had popped up.

+Due to your dedicated training, your Agility increased by 1.

+Your level has risen.

+Sword Mastery reached Beginner Level 3. You gained 1 Sword Mastery Skill Point.

'Nice. Now how should I distribute my points? Hmmm.' Metehan sat down and started to recover his HP and MP since they had decreased quite while. After he thought for a while he had made his decision.

'I will continue with Dual Sword Mastery. It has some drawbacks however it is quite efficient if you met the requirements. And since I get some Agility bonuses once a while during my grindings I will distribute 6 points to Strength and 3 points to Agility. Strength is more important for me.' Metehan distributed his points accordingly.

+Dual Sword Mastery has been increased to Beginner Level 2.

Metehan checked his skill. And he was quite satisfied with its new attack boost.

Dual Sword Mastery (Passive, Beginner Level 2) : While using two swords at the same time, your attack power will be increased by 12%. However swords should be identical in order to use this skill with maximum efficiency. If swords aren’t identical but have the same attack power, you will use it with 80% efficiency and if swords aren’t identical and they don’t have the same attack power, you will use it with 50% efficiency.

Next Level : Beginner Level 3

Requirements : Sword Mastery Beginner Level 4, 1 Sword Mastery Skill Point

'Nice. Its attack bonus increased by 2%. If it goes on at this rate, I will have a 30% attack bonus, when it reached Intermediate Level 1. It is just awesome! However it is quite hard to increase Sword Mastery Level. Harder than increasing your character level. I wish there was a way to increase it faster.'

Metehan ate 2 wheat breads since his Satiety had dropped quite much and continued to hunt. He could kill them with one hit again. He collected Copper Coins and rabbit meats. His level was higher than them now so the experience he got from Wild Rabbits had dropped considerably. However he could hunt them easily and he had gotten used to hunting them. He was able to hunt them without almost getting any damage. So he decided to hunt here for a little more. His hunt continued without any problem for 4 more hours. However when he was about to kill the last Wild Rabbit in the flock, it did something unusual and cried in a painful voice. Then a system notification started to pop up.

+Cry For Help has been activated. Due to your ruthless slaughter of Wild Rabbits, they fell in desperation and called for their mother.

Metehan had killed the Wild Rabbit immediately after he read the notification. However it was too late. He suddenly heard a terrifying roar and a giant Wild Rabbit appeared from behind of the bushes in front of him with 2 meters height and 3 meters length. Its size was twice a normal Wild Rabbit. Then another system notification pop up.

+Warning : The Boss Monster [Mother Wild Rabbit] appeared.

‘What? A Boss Monster?! I read about them. They are strong monsters that drops special items. Their power is much more higher than its level. Nice. Finally I will get a nice item. I hope its drop rate isn’t as low as the Wild Rabbits and I get something useful. However I need to be careful.’

While Metehan was in these thoughts excitedly, monster roared again but this time its roar was different and it gave an eerie feeling. And another system notifications popped up.

+Battle Phase is active.

+Warning: The Fear Domination has been activated. All stats decreased by 10% until the end of the Battle Phase.

‘What the hell?! Damn it! That’s bad. I must be more careful.’ Metehan already had a 10% stat penalty because of the cold and now he had another. He stats had decreased by 20%. However when it rains, it pours. Another system notification popped up.

+Warning : Your cold has gotten worse. All stats decreased by 25%. Resting is strongly advised. If you ignore your condition, it might get worse.

‘That’s just great. Anything else? Damn it! I will have to fight with 65% of my overall strength. On the top of that my HP isn’t full either. It is at 70%. If I had in my full power, I wouldn’t be worried about the Boss Monster, but now I am in pinch. I should run.’

However Mother Wild Rabbit attacked him without giving a chance to run. Fortunately its attack pattern was similar to Wild Rabbits. Dash, 2 paws and retreat. However speed and attack power were much more higher. Metehan could dodge its first paw but its second paw hit him. It inflicted 30 damage. Wild Rabbits' paw wasn't so painful however Mother Wild Rabbit's paw was quite painful. Still he could somehow endure the pain.

Metehan swung his swords right after he received damage however Mother Wild Rabbit faster than his swings and could dodge them by retreating. Metehan checked his HP to see how much damage he received. His HP was at 85% which confused him. He had 70% HP before the combat. However it was at 85% now. Was his HP recovered somehow? That was not possible. After a little confusion he figured it out.

'Right. My stats decreased by 25% so my maximum HP decreased as well which make my HP 100% again.'

Because of the confusion Metehan forgot to attack and Mother Wild Rabbit used this chance to attack. He received the first paw because of his confusion which dropped his HP to 70% again however he could dodge the second paw while landing a counter attack to its neck.

+Critical hit.

+You inflicted 200% damage.

Metehan quickly checked its HP and basic informations. He didn't have the chance because he was confused before.

'Damn! Even with a critical hit I could drop his HP by 5%. Is it really a Level 5 monster? I guess Boss Monster is really much more stronger than their level states'

Metehan was frustrated. He had lost his 30% HP however he could only decrease its HP by 5%.

'My Terror Skill is in the cool down period however it will be available in 20 seconds. I need to hang in until then.'

After he settled his thoughts, he attacked to the monster. However his speed was slower and his swords were heavier. He was suffering greatly because of the stat penalties. Yet he could still land his attack . Mother Wild Rabbit wasn't as good as Wild Rabbits on dodging wise. That was fortunate for Metehan.

Mother Wild Rabbit tried to counter attack to his attack however Metehan already retreated after his attack. He had under heavy stat penalty however he could still use his experience in martial arts. Mother Wild Rabbit started to attack however Metehan already dodge it by stepping to his right with a perfect footwork even before it started to attack. The Wild Rabbits had a habit before attacking. They were squeezing their bodies just before attacking and once they did that they were unable to change their directions. He had confirmed that many times. That was the main reason why Metehan could dodge their attacks. If he wasn't fighting against 5 of them at the same time, there was no way they could inflict him any damage. Mother Wild Rabbit also had the habit. He couldn't dodge its first two attacks completely because he was panicked. His stats had decreased by 35% and this was his first time dealing with a boss monster. However now he could settle down his panic and calmed down.

'Even though my attack damage is low, I can kill him slowly as long as I dodge its attacks. There was nothing to be worried about. Calm down.'

Metehan had calmed down. He was dodging its attacks and attacking when he can while he was luring it outside of the spot. If the fight were to drag on, a new flock could be spawned and they might join the fight since their mother is in a combat.

The cool down period of his Terror Skill had finally ended. Metehan immediately activated it. Mother Wild Rabbit was paralyzed for 6 seconds and its attack power had decreased by 11%. Metehan used this chance and started to attack it relentlessly. His aim was mostly his vital points such as neck. Since it was standing on four feet, its chest and other vital points were covered. He could pass to his back and try to attack his X Point however that would waste too much time. So he mainly attacked his neck with quick slashes. He could deal some critical hits. Metehan was counting the seconds while attacking so he retreated immediately when 6 seconds was up. Mother Wild Rabbit tried to attack him as soon as the paralyzing effect was broken up however it wasn't successful. Its HP was at 45% when the paralyzing effect was broken up.

'Good. I can kill it.'

The fight continued for another 4 minutes. He could lure it out of the spot. So there was no other danger. Mother Wild Rabbit's HP was at 20% now. In a minute the cool down period of his Terror Skill was gonna end. When he activated it, he could kill it. However Mother Rabbit had done something unexpected when its HP dropped under 20%. It had run away. Metehan wasn't expecting this so he stared at the running boss monster for a while with a surprised expression.

'You coward. You call yourself a Boss Monster? Shame on you.' Metehan chased after it. It was running to the spot. A flock was already spawned. It was planning to use the flock as its shield. However during the chase, the cool down period of the Terror Skill had ended. Metehan immediately activated it. The flock and Mother Wild Rabbit was paralyzed. Metehan slaughtered the flock in 2 seconds and killed Mother Wild Rabbit in the remaining 4 seconds. When he killed it, some system notifications started to popped up.

+Your level has risen.

+You are the first person who slayed a Boss Monster. The best possible item will drop from the Boss Monster. Your Fame increased by 500.

+Due to your dedicated training, your Agility increased by 1.

'Ting, ting, ting!' An item and two Gold Coins had dropped from it. Metehan quickly approached the dead body of Mother Wild Rabbit excitedly. His heart was about to stop. This was his first time killing a Boss Monster and system notification had stated that the best possible item would drop from it. There were two Gold Coins which could be considered a jackpot already. Probably none in the server had two Gold Coins yet. Unless they bought it for real money. The official site was selling Gold Coins and items. So somebody could have bought some Gold Coins. Anyway, he ignored the coins and took the item. It was a couple of boots. He immediately checked it with Inspect.

[Leather Rabbit Boots](Rare)

Defense : 10

Durability : [50/50]

Requirements :

Strength : 30

Agility : 25

Level : 5

Class : None.

Increasing Agility +5.

Increasing movement speed +20%.

Special boots made of high quality leather and other fabrics. It is a rare item with many bonuses.

'Woah! It is a rare item!! It provides 5 Agility points and +20% movement speed. That's awesome. My day was quite unfortunate until now. I got cold and it's gotten worse. However I got an awesome item. I am glad I came here to grind.' Metehan was so joyful that he had started to dance. If someone saw him, he would think that he was crazy. However it was interrupted by a system notification.

+Warning : Fatigue level exceeded %75. All stats decreased by 75%.

'Damn! Already? It hasn't even been 9 hours since last time I slept. Is it because of my cold? I guess I should really rest at an inn until my cold is recovered. I have money now. It won't be a problem.' Metehan collected the Gold Coins and Copper Coins along with the rabbit meats, distributed all of his unallocated stats to Strength and returned to the City. It was quite hard with all the stat penalties. His stats were basically zero. He could reach the City in an hour. And another system notification popped up when he arrived at Semerkant City.

+Warning : Fatigue level exceed 90%. All stats decreased by 90%. The resting is urgently advised. You might die out of fatigue.

'Damn. I get it. I will.' Metehan sold his 2500 rabbit meats for 8 Silver Coins and went to an inn. It was 1 Silver Coin for a day. It was quite expensive. However it wasn't a big deal for Metehan now. He was probably the richest person in the game. He immediately go to the bed as soon as he hired a room. He didn't want to die out of Fatigue. It would be too lame. He had also some buffs since he was resting at an inn.

+HP, MP and Fatigue recovery rate +50% during your stay at the inn.

+Movement speed +25% for the amount of resting time after you left the inn.

Metehan laid down on the bed and checked his stat window.

Status WindowNameMetehanRaceHumanGenderMaleClassWarriorSubClassNoneProfessionNoneSubProfessionNoneTitles[/td4]The Therapist[td2]Level5Experience10%Fame1100AlignmentWhite---Satiety60%Fatigue90%Attack38-42Attack Speed13Critical Hit Rate0.42%Maximum Weight26Defence24Evasion Rate2.1%CP2800GP0HP280/280MP95/95Stamina20/334---Strength53Agility37(5)Vitality23Luck13Wisdom15Intelligence14Leadership13Charisma8Therapy17

He was very satisfied with his stats. He logged off after he checked his stats. It was 06:05 AM when he got out of the game unit. He wasn't too tired but he had nothing to do so he went to bed.

'It was a good day at the end. I reached level 5 and I got an rare item. I also earned a quite of money. It would better if I hadn't caught a cold however. Anyway it was a good day at the end.'

Metehan closed his eyes and fell asleep after a while with a smile on his face.

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Author's Note: I am not a native speaker so I misunderstood the Fatigue term. So I was using it wrong. I corrected it now. Previous posts were updated as well. If you like the story, please follow, add favories and comment.

Royal Blood Online