The Hunter’s Guild was abuzz with activity - the long entrance hallway was filled with people looking for parties, and doubtless the rooms and halls beyond wee just the same. I strolled over to the front desk, now far less conspicuous than before thanks to the presence of a crowd to meld into. Willis glanced over to me from the player he was currently talking to, grinning.

“Just a moment, please.”

He waved, beckoning over to the other side of the table.

~...Do I get priority or something for being first?~

I was confused, but happy to oblige, as I walked up to the table.

“What can I do for ya, Pack Leader?”

~Ah - so that’s it. The title.~

With a sweep of my hand, the antlers of 50 Lightfoots tumbled out of thin air into neat stacks on the table, and Willis’ eyes widened. The other player, who had been more than a little confused, was now shocked, mouth gaping at the sheer number of antlers.

“Gods damned, Pack Leader, that was fast! Here’s your bounty.”

[Bounty Complete. 100 XP Granted. Current Level: 2 (XP: 100/600). Relationship with Hunter’s Guild Increased.]

The antlers disappeared in a flash of light, and as the light faded 5 stacks of 10 silver pieces each sat glinting in the light. I touched my hand to each of them, smiling slightly as they disappeared into my inventory. Meanwhile, the player to my side had evidently looked at my stats already, letting out a half-shout as I turned away from the desk, striding out the door once more.

“L-Level 2! Already!?”

[Romula - Classless, Level 2]

Titles:

: Unique title granted by item “Badge of the Pack Leader”. Effects: Relations (Hunter’s Guild) +100

: Rank granted by Hunter’s Guild, Effects: Grants ability to complete Basic-rank Hunter’s Guild assignments

Equipment:

Cloth Wraps, Basic - Level 1 Damage Resistance, Chest

Leather Chestpiece, Basic - Level 2 Damage Resistance, Torso

Leather Skirt, Basic - Level 2 Damage Resistance, Thighs + Hips

Leather Bracers, Basic - Level 2 Damage Resistance, Forearms

Leather Shoes, Basic - Level 2 Damage Resistance, Feet

Longbow, Basic - Basic Ranged Weapon

Dagger, Basic - Basic Melee Weapon

**********************************************************

“I’ll need new weapons and armor ASAP, but I suspect what I have right now is far from enough even if I were to make them myself.”

Though it was tempting to start working on armor right away, with how useless my current gear seemed to be, I resolutely shook my head and set off for my next target: The Prey King. I first stopped off at the map shop, sweeping up the copy of the Eastern Forest map, before dashing off through the streets towards my target. I briefly checked the real-world time with a thought:

~Less than an hour since launch, huh. I guess I am going pretty quick, for the first wave of players.~

I’d likely keep playing well into the night, as it was Saturday night, and school wouldn’t begin until the following Monday.

“That’ll be a fun time, won’t it…”

My face creased with disgust as I muttered to myself, before silently slipping into the forest once more.

Now armed with an accurate map and a level higher than the nearby creatures (though the effects of leveling weren’t currently clear to players), I confidently began to head for the main road through the forest.

~It’s known to attack merchants, so I’d best set up a counter-ambush on the main road.~

The wide trunks of the surrounding trees appeared to lend themselves well to climbing, so I happily obliged, hopping up onto a thick branch in a nearby tree as the road came into view. My bow swiftly departed from my back and entered my hand, an arrow at the ready, but I knew I was in for a long wait.

~I couldn’t track it down even if I wanted to, I don’t know what it looks like…~

Eyes and ears at attention, I remained deathly still, patiently waiting for my target.

**********************************************************

My eyes snapped to the source of a sound, having previously been staring out into space thanks to the dull monotony of my wait so far. Wooden wheels of a merchant’s cart ground against a patch of gravel in the main road, creaking with every rotation of the cheap axles. A tired, old horse pulled it along, visibly ragged due to both the passage of time and lack of care. A similarly old man sat atop it, starting to doze off as the horse began to follow a path that it had memorized long ago. A rustling in the nearby bushes followed the sound of the gravel, and my eyes quickly shifted to them, looking down the shaft of my nocked arrow and slowing my breathing to steady it.

~This is a prime target for a predator, there’s no way it’s passing this up.~

Just as the merchant drew even with the bushes, a blur of grey fur shot out from within them, colliding with the horse and sending both it and the old man tumbling to the ground. My arrow went flying straight at the beast’s flank, now clear in my view: a large wolf-like creature, with massive teeth that protruded from its mouth and heavily muscled limbs. The arrow collided with its side, piercing through partially as the wolf let out a yelp of pain, head snapping to the origin of the arrow - which proved its demise. My second arrow piercing into its eye socket and straight through its skull.

[Level 2 Elite Beast “Prey King” Killed. XP Gained: 200.]

With a nimble hop down from the tree branch, I dashed over to the fallen horse and merchant. The horse was a lost cause, with a huge gash from the impact with the wolf’s claws and teeth. The old man on the other hand, was thankfully unharmed. I grabbed his hand and helped him up, steadying him with my other hand as he found his footing.

“Thank you kindly, young lady, that was some mighty fine shooting.”

He smiled, and walked over to the cart, sighing as he detached it from the horse’s corpse.

“I don’t suppose you might help me pull this back to town, miss? I won’t be getting far with no horse, my old bones are even weaker than old Rosebud there, rest her soul.”

[Quest Offered! “Travel Troubles”, Reward: Unknown. Accept?]

I nodded, walking over to the Prey King corpse and hefting it into the cart, before gripping one of the cart handles. The old man’s smile widened, and he grabbed the other cart handle.

“I can’t thank you enough, miss. That wolf’s spoils are yours, of course, but I can help ya skin it if you like when we return.”

Then, with the cart’s squeals of protest once more, we turned the cart around and headed right back to town.

**********************************************************

My muscles were aching by the time we reached our destination, a small combined shop and home at the edge of the merchants’ district. With a final grunt of effort, we brought the cart up next to the front of the shop, grinding to a halt on the stone bricks below. Sighing heavily, the old man nodded to me, and leaned against the cart.

“Many thanks once again, miss, just give me a moment to recover after that journey and I’ll dig out a suitable reward for you.”

I mimicked his lean back onto the cart, closing my eyes as I let the accelerated recovery of the game lessen my soreness. The pain was entirely realistic, though significantly dampened to keep the game from being a living hell with all the violence that went on. Soon enough I was back to normal, and I opened my eyes as I heard the old man rummaging through his cart. I turned around to see him setting a large chest in front of me, with a puff of dirt and dust emanating from the road where it landed.

“Take this, I owe you my life and my goods, it’s the very least I can do to pay you back. It should do a Hunter well, especially if you find someone who knows how to work with the materials.”

Taking a knee, I clicked the latches of the chest open, revealing a sight that made my jaw drop. A text window popped up in my view to summarize the contents for me.

[Merchant’s Chest]

Iron Bar x10

Heartwood Branches x10

Eastern Spider Silk x10

Blue Gem x1

As soon as I saw this treasure trove of materials, I quickly began formulating plans for each of the materials, running the gamut from new armor to new weapons and accessories.

“Oh, and let me give you this, you’ll doubtless need more materials in the future - this is just a start.”

He leaned down and set a small iron plate in my palm, engraved letters visible on its surface.

[Kalden Materials VIP - 20% Discount on all products.]

Not wasting any time, I quickly sent all of the items into my inventory, and bowed my head to him gratefully.

“Your reward has been more than generous, Mr. Kalden. My name is Romula, feel free to contact me through the Hunter’s Guild if you ever need further assistance.”

Kalden’s thankful expression turned into a wry smile.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll see you again, Miss Romula, you’ll be needing far more than this at some point I expect. You’d best get going now, don’t let an old fogey like me keep you.”

He stuck out his hand and I firmly shook it, nodding once more before turning to the wolf corpse that still lied in the cart. With one smooth motion, I slung it over my shoulder, as it was too large for my inventory but I didn’t want to skin it until the bounty had been claimed.

“Be seeing you!” I called out behind me.

~Time to get back to the Hunter’s Guild.~