Chapter 4 - 『End Of The Road』

Tutorial Zone 11:00 RTC: 11:00 Ratio: 1:1 Playtime: 03:03

It was around 11 o'clock while I raced around.

I had the choice between two directions.

Up North I'd hit some marshlands, swamps and eventually forest and tundra.

According to the Map.

Down South I'd truly experience rocky chasms, canyons and mountains.

Since I figured to be unable to just jump about that, I opted to go North, even though swamplands weren't what I wanted to wander through.

I had at least a chance to leave them behind, the canyons could be impassable for all I knew.

The fidelity of the Map update from the Den was not enough to rule that out.

Without the help of my new bonded I would not try passing there.

I didn't even know the name of the 『Azure Empyrean Harpy』 I had attracted somehow.

I was quite aware of her being around, circling over me, up high in the sky.

It unnerved me, although she had plenty of chances by now to kill me.

No way I could've evaded her if she really wanted me dead while I had gathered some loose bits of the various ores around.

I found out my new Skill Rapid Looting was indeed not picking up collectibles like Herbs and so on.

A shame, really.

If it had I'd be less stressed about her circling like a bird of prey.

Focusing on procuring presumably enough of the valuable resources to pay for the various tutors I managed to suppress the anxiety building.

'I've been really lucky here… .'

Somewhat astonished I looked at the monsters roaming the oh so peaceful rocky landscape.

I had climbed a small mountain on my way up north and was now able to see what had clearly evaded my notice until now.

Where I thought only harmless little critters to live, with admittedly dangerous flying beast about, I had not really questioned my observations.

But I saw plenty monsters more dangerous than the 『Omicron Alpha』 around. Some fighting each other, some being preyed upon by airborne monstrosities.

This did not feel like a Newbland.

Not one of the MOGs or their resources mentioned this to be even possible.

'Damn them. Shouldn't have trusted these addicts.'

Clearly shaken I've resumed my stroll.

Maybe the ever watchful Harpy Queen was good for something after all.

But no, they had avoided me from the start. Why?

Answers I would not get.

Passing the time to the swamp with idle speculation and a renewed sense of unease I found solace in my gathering exploits.

Some of the Herbs I found were incredibly rare and useful.

+1 Wisdom and +1 Endurance permanently!

It was unbelievable, each one of those Herbs were worth more than the fees I had to gather for all the tutors combined.

Stats would determine if I lived or died, so I used those instantly.

A bit more Magic Defense and Stamina would go a long way, not to mention the many composite effects each stat had.

As I finally neared the swamps I was searching for a good spot to cross over.

Though as I looked into the foggy distance I thought better of it, opting to travel along the rocky lands towards my goal.

With a bit of luck I could bypass the bulls and the swamps.

Few minutes later I was scowling.

I had expected this and opted to not go near the bulls' territory initially.

But to think they would be spread that far.

Backtracking I finally entered the swamps.

Soon the fog made it impossible to see the sky and my companion there.

Even without seeing her I knew where she was.

Eerie.

Wonder how the devs pulled that off.

No FI game managed quite such a detailed experience.

But with the lack of visibility my progress slowed down dramatically.

And Goblins started to hassle me.

After dispatching 4 Level 3 Goblins and a Level 4 Shaman I had gained 2000 XP.

I could've halved that, but the Overkill Bonus also awarded double money and highly increased droprates.

Due to that I got yet another nice ring.

+3 Intelligence courtesy of the late Shaman.

May God rest his Soul. *Snicker*.

Plus some almost decent gear.

I loved my new skill, looting the buggers was instant and effortless.

Were it not for the low visibility and quicksands to be expected here I could've rushed and killed anything on my path without any need to slow down to loot.

I advanced forward, angling towards the area I'd expect the swamp to lead towards my destination.

On my way East I dispatched a few more Goblins which brought my XP total to 4200.

I was halfway to Level 7! I had to stop killing these smelly little buggers.

The loot was not that great either, nothing useful to me.

May sell decently enough.

Steeling my resolve I started to bypass the marauding groups.

But then I saw a 『Slime Lv4 | HP 2190』. I had to hunt it!

Even though I ambushed the gelatinous blob, it took three quick slashes before a crit nailed it.

4888 XP Total, nice coincidence.

Slimes in 『Final Immersion Origin』 are usually extremely resistant to physical damage, and with no immediate weak spots to aim for, hard to kill as a melee character.

But the loot was really neat.

Among some unidentified potion I also got something which qualified as a Medal.

It looked like jelly attached to my armor, but the effect was incredible.

+4 Vitality and 20 Omnidefense.

That was half of what my set of armor offered, protecting even difficult to guard spots like the eyes.

Any attack would need to be stronger to actually trigger an instacrit.

Well, I had learned to not trust the infodumps courtesy of the MOGs.

Best be on my way and hope I never needed to verify this myself.

I ignored the many Goblins and Slimes in the marshes.

It was hard.

Easy prey and good loot for the latter.

There was a village nearby, but the tutors available weren't worth the detour.

Mastreries at the early stages were easy to come by once unlocked.

At least if you fought against superior monsters alone.

Unlocking non-combat skills would've been amazing, but the normal villages lacked those.

I finally exited the marshes.

It had taken me almost 40 minutes to cross them.

'Damn, maybe I should've tried the canyons instead.'

Still on my way towards nicer pastures.

The dried up landscape was even and nary a shrub to be seen.

Time to put my endurance to the test.

I sprinted like a madman for as long as I could,

I tried collecting anything along the way still, pacing myself then and speeding up again once recovered.

If I overdid it I ate some stamina recovery Herbs.

Once I got the hang of it, surprisingly few though.

I saw plenty of wildlife, Panthers and other possibly dangerous beasts, all around Level 8-10+.

'I'd gain too much XP, better leave that until after my goal.'

I marveled at my speed.

I was far faster than humanly possible.

My Agility was at 29 after all, almost three times the average of a normal human.

I noticed the wind resistance, almost like I was driving a cabrio.

Well, it took me merely half an hour to clear the steppe.

And I believe that was more than 20 kilometers.

More like 30 with all the zigzagging for harvesting and evading wildlife.

I was quite pleased.

It was 12:34 and the prospects of actually clearing the Newblands somewhat early were truly invigorating me.

I really wanted to have time to explore and test myself.

That 1:1 ratio was the only reason to leave this area.

The mobs were marvelously powerful and I doubted I had even seen the best of them.

I chose to look at my status again.

『 Lv6』

Exp: 56.75% | 4,888 / 8,613

HP: 10,150 | +4,150 /m | +1,770 /m | +200 /m

Stamina: 2,510 | +1,700 /m

Strength: 26 | Vitality: 25 | Endurance: 27

Agility: 29 | Dexterity: 32

Intelligence: 26 | Wisdom: 20

Luck: 27 | (Growth: 12)

Attack: 665

Defense: Physical: 395 | Magic: 557

Hit: 65.1 | Evasion: 51.9

Critical %: 42.4 | Critical ×: 5.5

Skills:

Herbalism Lv 4 24%

Mineralogy Lv0 66%

Survival Lv2 37%

Lore Lv7 48% (locked)

Dashing Lv9 1%

Marathon Lv5 28%

Acrobatics Lv5 8%

Rapid Looting Lv1 58%

Ambush Expert Lv1 47%

Unarmed Lv6 2%

Sword Lv6 2%

Knife Lv4 87%

Axe Lv2 0%

Blunt Lv2 0%

Spear Lv3 0%

Quarterstaff Lv2 0%

Throwing Weapons Lv4 3%

Bow Lv4 60%

Dual-wielding Lv3 56%

In my rush I had missed gaining a point in Endurance, Agility and Dexterity each!

Cool! Appears strenuous exercise yields results here early.

Wasn't told it did.

Sure wish I had the time to train them more.

Ah well, time to move on.

The terrain quickly but not quite as abruptly as before transformed.

From nary a shrub steppe to hilly richly overgrown mountainsides.

A few minutes later and quite a few meters above sea level I finally laid eyes upon

『Dargoth's Observatory』.

Dargoth's Observatory 12:37 RTC: 12:37 Ratio: 1:1 Playtime: 04:40

I had resisted temptation and was still Level 6, with 77.000 XP still to go before I was forcefully exiled from this unnamed amazing Newbland.

I approached the Observatory boundaries.

It really did look like some modern building, somewhat.

Save for the obviously magic materials and such.

Like it being really HUGE, and partway snuggled into a mountain.

And the Telescope floating, shimmering and all that.

The main gate was large enough to allow Titans entry.

Definitely did not regret getting here.

There were some tiny, in comparison, people guarding, or just standing at the gate.

I had not seen any monsters nearby for a kilometer or so.

With my watchful bonded high above, I was somewhat certain most smart beasts would stay the hell away though.

But I couldn't discount the notion that it was these unassuming people which kept the lands relatively safe.

I wonder what'd have happened if I had started nearby.

"Say boy, you look mighty impressed. You like what you see?" A dwarf.

'Ugh, that small bearded guy is actually hitting on me, seriously?'

"No, but the Observatory is amazing!" I quipped.

The dwarf reddened.

"That is what I meant, dumbfucker!

We made this possible!

We the Dwarves of Liera's Rock.

Don't you forget that or I'll smack you!"

The other *guards* snickered, which seemed to infuriate the man further.

"Fuck you perverts, all of you, I be at me forge."

He quickly retreated, quite possibly visibly fuming.

"Say young friend, what leads you here to our Enclave of Knowledge and peace here in these barren lands?"

The portly man in a robe screamed wizard at me, he was not particularly tall, but well aged and probably not a guard either.

I introduced myself and replied:

"I am here to learn Magic and forging and anything else you can teach me Sir!"

"Marvelous! But you need aptitude and coin for that. Are you most certain you have?"

"I think so Sir. I do need to sell my wares to pay for tuition though. Can help with that?"

"Maybe young friend. Let's see what you have to offer. Follow me."

He then went on through a small door in the tall gate.

I looked at the others still standing "guard".

Or taking a break, who knew.

"Good day to you." I excused myself and hurried after the wizard.

I was lead into what could only be described as an office.

A very messy one but an office nonetheless.

"Now, let's see what aptitudes we can awaken in you.

Sit down and look at that picture."

He pointed at some portrait which seemed blurry for some reason.

Sure hope this does not end badly.

I did as told and soon was greeted by the old man.

It seemed a bit of time had passed.

Had I lost consciousness again?

Should not happen in an FI simulation.

Did not for all I knew.

Falling asleep was possible, that I knew.

Anyhow the man was beaming at me, excited but I also sensed some fear.

"You do indeed possess the gifts required for us to teach you.

Magnificent, you may be my most prodigious student yet."

"Uhm, Thanks! Does that mean you'll be teaching me? How do I pay you?"

"Think nothing of it. For someone as talented as you, asking for recompense would be indecent."

'Aw fuck, not that I mind, but what the hell did I do all the gathering for then?'

"Really? Wow thank you Sir! By the way, how may I call you?"

He beamed at me.

"You have the honor meeting Sir Theodorus Prentigon, Archmage of the Third Circle, Protector of Valera, Guardian of the Formless Lands, …" he went on with that for a while, "… and most importantly, Dean of Dargoth's Observatory attached magic faculties!"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Sir!"

'Can I haz some magics now?'

"Well young friend, it had to be quite some journey for you to come to our lands.

I am sure you would want to rest some before you start learning."

'Aw man, this is a game, can't you just wave your wand and make me a Mage?'

"Uh sir, I am quite rested, really. I am tougher than I look. I'd not mind to start immediately."

'Please don't say what I KNOW you will say next…'

"Ah but I insist. Don't worry young apprentice. We will begin with your education soon enough.

How about you take a look around the Observatory, I believe there is plenty to discover for you.

Here, take this card.

Careful with it, there are pickpockets even here in these hallowed Halls.

This marks you as an apprentice First Class!

If you want to sell some of your wares you can go to the markets outside the Observatory.

I'd advise to be careful there.

Again, it can be dangerous at times.

…

Peter!" He yelled at the end.

A short while later a lanky youth in far less impressive robing entered.

"Yes Dean Sir!"

"Please guide our new friend.

He needs an introduction to the premises and teachers as well as the outside.

He will be a First Class apprentice starting tomorrow."

'uhm, hello, GMs, please just skip this part, please.'

The lanky Peter looked at me astonished.

'First Class, huh, never thought I'd see the day.'

"What was that?"

"Nothing Sir, I'll be on my way guiding the young master."

"Thank you Peter." Sir Prentigon looked pleased.