Once every few months, players were granted a brief respite from the game. "Logout!" Wesley shouted, and in an instant, the screen flashed and darkness enveloped him. Gradually, light seeped back into his vision. "Ahh, I’m starving," he muttered, removing his helmet and placing it on a nearby desk. After a quick shower, Wesley changed into a black and red tracksuit, laced up his shoes, and retrieved a key from his desk drawer before leaving his apartment.Descending the stairs, Wesley checked his watch; it was still over an hour until six in the evening. He jogged to a nearby children’s park adorned with various heights of monkey bars, from the shortest just a meter off the ground to taller ones progressively higher.Arriving at the now-empty park, Wesley stretched and jumped a few times. "Let’s see if my body can keep up," he muttered, fists poised like a boxer beneath his nose.Launching forward, Wesley arched under the first monkey bar, then the second, the third, and... misjudged
Wesley and Shaw were nearing Shaw's village. As they approached, Wesley saw the village was encircled by a wooden wall made from logs with sharpened tips. Two guards holding spears stood at the gate, and the sound of metal clashing grew louder as they got closer."We’re here!" Shaw announced as they approached the gate. The gate opened, and Shaw greeted the guards as they passed.Inside, Wesley saw rows of small houses and shops, the tallest being only two floors, all made from logs like cabins. NPCs bustled around the village, greeting Shaw and curiously sizing up Wesley. These NPCs ranged in level from 190 to 220. He also noticed players running around, some solo, others in teams of two or three, engaged in various quests."This is the mining village of Scone," Shaw began, "We are all believers of God Ignealer, the lord of flames. Our village houses most of the craftsmen and blacksmiths in the kingdom."Before long, they parted ways. Wesley learned that the Redevir Kingdom, though s
Wesley activated Stealth and drew his dagger, sneaking up on the nearest goblin. He appeared behind it like a shadow, his eyes cold and focused. With one hand, he covered the goblin's mouth, and with the other, he stabbed it repeatedly in the neck and shoulders.One thing Wesley liked about this game was being able to attack without using special skills. It felt more real. The downside was that his damage depended on his attributes, passive skills, and weapon, making his attacks weaker without skills. Still, it was enough. The goblin struggled wildly but couldn't break free.In its panic, the goblin kicked a small rock that hit one of its companions. Seeing its comrade flailing with a human's hand over its mouth, the second goblin growled in anger. The noise also alerted a third goblin, and both charged at Wesley with rusty swords.Ignoring the items scattered from the dead goblin, Wesley backed away until he hit a wall. The two goblins slashed at him clumsily, but he rolled to the si
Wesley started mining again after killing the group of goblins and hobgoblins occupying the space where he arrived at and the area he’s at have wheelbarrows and pickaxes lying around."Nice!" Wesley exclaimed as he picked up his seventeenth Chrondium ore, and immediately put it inside his storage space and continued mining, as he struck down hard at the rock walls, revealing other common ores that can be found inside which he immediately threw inside his storage space.As he plans to sell them later at either to the blacksmith NPCs or at the Server Auction, also known to the players as the Item Trading site."I wonder how much I can sell these ores for?" Wesley mumbled as he continued mining, and while doing that, he didn’t even notice that an Fighter is sneaking up from behind him.’This idiot, who uses a cloak while mining for ores?’ the unknown level 290 Fighter criticized Wesley inside his mind, and at the same time, and even with the questions marks above Wesley, this unknown Fig
"Finally..." Wesley sighed with relief as his sky blue eyes glimmer with excitement."After waiting in this stupid line for over 6 hours, it's finally my turn!"He stood at the entrance of a large skyscraper with a big "T-Shaped" sing. This building belonged to the world's number 1 gaming company which has revolutionized virtual reality multimedia online role playing games (MMORPG.)Today, Tetrax is going to launch their newest project: Valhallah and Wesley was one of the players who received an invitation to participate in the beta test.However, Wesley didn't expect to meet a huge line given it’s a beta test. After waiting for hours, it was finally his turn.Wesley entered the building only to be met with a horrific site. "What?!" He exclaimed with dropping jaws. Inside the building's courtyard was another line."This is crazy," Wesley said. "At this rate, I'll be testing the game by moonlight."Suddenly, there was a bright light and a loud noise. Wesley felt a sharp pain in his hea
During the Beta phase, Wesley learned that the staff's energy was like ammo. A Magician could still use the staff for ranged attacks even without spells. However, once the energy ran out, he could only resort to melee or spells.Before he dashed out, he saw several green circles through his monocle surrounding certain objects. Approaching, he found bread and picked them up."Why only four glowing?" He wondered aloud, picking up the non-glowing bread to inspect.After thinking it over, he figured the glowing ones were useful items, while the non-glowing were just regular. Grateful for the God-eye monocle, he stashed three glowing bread in his storage bag and ate the fourth. His HP had dropped from 185/230 after the fight in the Tetrax building. It stayed 45 points lower, showing no natural healing mechanics. He'd need consumables or items for healing.This game demanded more; he'd need to stock up on supplies. If he ran out, he'd be in trouble. Keeping this in mind, he made a mental no
"What's this? Apprentice grade?" Wesley pondered aloud, eyeing the unfamiliar classification. It was different from the usual items he'd come across. No matter, he thought, let's enjoy a good meal first. Having survived on bread since yesterday, a well-cooked meal was a welcome change. After expressing gratitude to his host, he savored the fried rice. It was delicious; the man truly lived up to his alias!"This is very good," Wesley complimented Iron between bites. "I'd love to cook something like this myself.""Well, young man, this is my simplest dish. If you're interested, I can share the recipe with you. Here, take this. I used to always write down my recipes, but I don't need it anymore. I can make this fried rice with my eyes closed."Accepting the offered piece of paper, Wesley saw scribbled words on it. After a quick review, he realized it was the recipe for the fried rice.Suddenly, he heard the mechanical notification again, "you have learned Cooking recipe: Simple Fried Ric
The Skeleton Captain let out a battle cry as it charged towards Wesley and Iron.Wesley feared the monster might leap through their window. Instead, it crashed through the front door, causing a commotion downstairs. Fortunately, the stairs were not near the entrance, giving them some time.Struggling to open the window, Wesley realized it was stuck. "Can't open your window!" he told Iron.Iron, still pale and bewildered, remained seated. "Hey! We need to go out the window or we're in trouble!" Wesley urged."It's stuck," Iron stammered. "Has been for years. Can't be opened."Summoning his sword, Wesley shattered the window. "Come on, let's jump," he said to Iron.As the crashing noises grew louder, Wesley grabbed Iron's shoulders. "Listen, this might be a game or real. You might die, or you might respawn. But do you want to risk it?" Wesley snapped.Awareness returned to Iron's eyes. Gasping, he nodded.A loud thump sounded outside. Wesley pulled Iron up, and they headed to the broken