A/N:"The storyline will be coming into play in the next few chapters! Hope you guys haven't found this story boring yet. :) Also, my classes just started this week, so I might be updating once or twice a week from now on."

***

You have revived in 'Viajecamino'.

Elm waved the notification window away from his face. Looking around his surroundings, he was in another part of Viajecamino. Since he didn't set a resurrection point, Elm revived at Viajecamino's Origin crystal by default. Elm stared at the Origin crystal. The crystal hovered in midair just about a meter above the ground, and it looked very much like a jewel, only much bigger in size and it had a deep blue colour. In Horizon, Origin crystals were like your save point. If you died, you would resurrect there, and every major town or city had one. There might even be an Origin crystal in a dungeon, or an open field. If a player owned a village, or a town, it was possible to purchase also purchase an Origin crystal to be placed in your town. However, it was extremely costly to own one, and so far no players had owned a village as of yet.

Now even though Elm had decided to forget about his grudge with Blaze, it didn't mean that he forgave him. Right now, he would focus on trying to get stronger so something like that wouldn't happen to him again. His first dying experience was unpleasant, sure, but nothing he couldn't live without. He didn't incur any penalties for dying, and all it did to him was send him back to the city.

Elm could now go back to Lacus and complete the quest anyway, so the PK on him actually worked out to his advantage. Earlier he did give the Quills fur to Leica, but Elm didn't need it to complete Lacus's request. All he had to do was fulfill the kill count and that was it. However, Quills fur could also be used to complete the quest without having to kill any Quills. There were quite a few players who could be seen selling Quills fur near Lacus, as there were a lot of players who didn't really want to spend time to fight the annoying hedgehogs.

One unmistaken fact was that strength was power in this world, and Elm knew it. Levels showed how much of that power you had. It was the concept in the real world as well, if you had money, you had power. If he died in Horizon, he wasn't going to blame anybody really, it just showed what he was lacking. It could be counted as one of Elm's good points, he didn't dwell on what he lost, he would dwell on what he needed. Once he acquired what he needed, he could do what he want.

"So my first step is to get to level twenty, and get my class change." he thought to himself.

"It's a shame that I already invested five points into the Strength attribute.. Now I probably can't be a Mage."

From Elm's experience in most games, Mages were a class who had very specific requirements. Since their spells consumed mostly Mana, a player would have to increase their magical prowess by increasing the relevant stats. Though they were weak, Elm revelled in the idea of firing powerful spells from a far and demolishing monsters. It seemed perfect. It had finesse. They are able to deal out terrifying, awe-inspiring levels of damage at range, while taking little in return. Mages had command over the elements, summoning raging fireballs and chains of the coldest ice to wreak havoc over the ranks of their enemies. He could only control a Mage using a mouse and keyboard before, and now in Horizon, he could actually chant and cast spells by himself!

"Well, it isn't only Mages who have spells.. there are probably other classes that utilize spells as well."

In another game Elm played, there were classes that also utilized both physical and magical powers. One such example were Paladins. Paladins could wield swords and shields, and also use Holy magic, which was effective against spirit-type monsters and demons. In Horizon, Elm read about a hidden class called Spellslinger. The class utilized a handgun type bow and the player was able to attack with elemental powers. The class was publicized a week after it was found, and there were many other players who became Spellslingers because of its ability to adapt to different situations.

No doubt, that in Horizon, there were definitely plenty of hidden classes just waiting to be found. The game wasn't very old after all, and the highest player level known was currently around the seventies.

"Okay, enough contemplating. I'm gonna go turn in the quest." he thought to himself.

It was currently night time in Viajecamino as Elm walked through the town, and a lot of NPCs had gone indoors. They were just like regular people. General stores run by NPC wouldn't be open until the next day, and even quest NPCs wouldn't be around. Every NPC still had a specific algorithm that they followed, as well as where they would go, what their daily activities were, and so on and so forth. Their 'self awareness' only reached a certain point. This was to ensure that the game would progress in its daily activities as it was supposed to.

***

Elm found Lacus in the square where the blue round altar was, and quickly informed him that he was done with the quest. With a relieved and grateful expression, Lacus presented Elm with his reward, holding up three bottles that held murky red liquid within them.

Health potions! Elm's eyes lit up with greed. In any game, health potions were indispensable if you did not have a healer in your party. They weren't cheap however. A 'Minor Health Potion' cost 50 coppers each at an NPC store! Better potions were even more so expensive, a 'Great Health Potion' was sold at the NPC store for 10 gold each! You could buy them from users who usually sold them for cheaper, but if you drank potions like it was water, pretty soon you'd be broke.

"Thank you, Elm."

Ttttring!

Notice!

You have completed 'A New Dawn Pt2'!

+ 50 exp

+ 10 copper

+ 3 Minor Health Potions

"I still have something for you to do, will you listen?" Lacus asked after Elm stashed the health potions into his inventory gleefully.

"Yes Mr. Lacus, I can definitely help!" Elm replied enthusiastically.

"H-hmm." A little caught off by his enthusiasm, Lacus coughed while nodded approvingly.

"Now Elm, you've managed to successfully defeat those pesky Quills," Lacus said before pausing for a moment. "However! You are not a full fledged adventurer yet. I recommend that you learn basic survival skills so that you can survive outside of town." he continued, with a stern tone in his voice.

"Even if you possess the strength to move boulders and break rocks, it means nothing if you cannot extract the precious minerals from them."

"If you cannot find those minerals, how then will you be able to possess a weapon that is worthy of felling demons with your strength?"

"And also! Possessing a powerful weapon and being able to slay any monster means nothing if you fight on an empty stomach!"

Elm's eyes shone as he listened to Lacus. This was precisely what he wanted to learn as he was eating in the tavern with his friends earlier. Cooking was definitely an indispensable skill when you were out in the wilderness, learning how to forage for herbs and ingredients for cooking was also the same. If you wanted to create your own powerful weapon, you'd have to get special materials for them from deep in the wilderness as well.

Notice!

Lacus

'A New Dawn Pt3'.

Successfully learn all the skills listed from their respective instructors.

Cooking [ ]

Mining [ ]

Foraging [ ]

Accept? Y / N

"Yes, I'll accept the quest." Elm replied and closed the quest window. He could check up on the progress of the quest whenever he wanted by opening up the quest window again as he fulfilled the requirements.

"Good, good. Now, you will have to go look for the instructors yourself." Lacus nodded, satisfied after finishing his explanation. "It won't be easy, but I know you can persevere." He further encouraged Elm.

"Thank you Mr. Lacus!" Elm replied and he turned around to leave the square. Actually, Elm already knew where the instructors would be. The Cooking instructor should be in the kitchen of one of the restaurants in Viajecamino, the Mining instructor would be at the town's smithy. And the Foraging instructor would be in one of the fields located just outside Viajecamino. Thinking that it would take a little time for himself to finish the quests, Elm glanced at the clock, it was still only around 10:00pm.

"I'll just play a little more before I logout." he grinned with the sides of his mouth turning up. He was already hooked on Reach Your Horizon. Whenever Elm played a game, if he was hooked, he would always tell himself.

"Just a little more!"

But before he realized it, a few hours would have already passed. Naturally, he was enjoying himself so much he didn't even notice the passage of time. It was also one of the reasons why his grades weren't as good as it could be, but he still did keep his responsibilities in check. He would finish his homework, and at least study for his exams. But Elm was one of the many people in the world who loved gaming from the bottom of their hearts! Once you put him in a game like Reach Your Horizon, it would be hard to pull him out of it. Like a drug, he was already addicted.

Elm suddenly felt an urge to run through the streets of Viajecamino. It was exhilarating to be in a fantasy world such as this, where he could forget all about real life, and fight for his standing in the world! Other players stared at him, some laughing and snickering. Though most of them could understand what he was feeling right now. They too, had that same face Elm was making when they first logged into this game!

"I'm going to fight!" he declared with his fist shaking in the air while smiling broadly as he ran through Viajecamino, heading towards his first instructor.

"I'M GOING TO BE AMAZING!" he screamed, attracting the attention and condescending looks of more other players who were also in Viajecamino like Elm was. However, Elm didn't even care. He didn't even notice them. Elm's running figure slowly disappeared from the field of vision of the players, and they gradually went back to what they were doing.

***

Main PageChapter 9