Zyrus sat on the shattered stone golem and opened his status window.
Status:
[Na: Zyrus Wymar]
[Race: Human]
[Class: None]
[Level: 3]
Exp: 2380/3375
[Title: None]
[Achievent: First Blood in tutorial, Goblin Slayer, First step of the Spearman…]
[Talent: None]
[Strength: 9]
[Agility: 9]
[Vitality: 8]
[Intelligence: 9]
[SP: 12]
HP: 80
Crit rate: 10%
Crit damage: 100%
[Spear Sweep] [Spear Slash] [Spear Thrust]
[Basic Spear] ATK: 30
[Basic Armor] DEF: 50
Currency: 38C
[Goblin’s Blood essence x1]
He didn’t get enough Exp to level up, but his SP had increased by a lot. Just with that he could be as strong as a lv 5 human.
‘Well, it only works for now.’
When one started getting class and race-related quests on level thresholds, stats were no longer the main reward for leveling up.
It was quite a complicated process. The higher your level was, the more difficult it would be to level up. If that wasn’t frustrating enough, the value of stats got lower and lower as you leveled up.
While they were still important, after crossing a certain threshold they could barely improve one’s overall power by a decimal level.
Reaching the pinnacle of skills and bloodline abilities was the next target people sought after.
‘It's too early to think about that.’
Zyrus knew that it would take a long ti for him to recover. Instead of racking his brain about the uncertain future, he might as well enjoy this feeling of rapid improvent.
*Dazzle*
Two dim glows flashed at the sa ti while he was taking a breather. Kyle and Lauren had also t the minimum requirent to trigger the quest.
“Woohooo! I Freaking did ittt!”
“C-Calm down will you!” Kyle muttered with ragged breaths while being dragged alongside Lauren. It was quite a wonder as to how she gained the energy to jump around despite being so tired monts ago.
“Did you guys get an achievent?”
“Nope. All it shows is the location of soone called Grokthar.”
“As I thought. Let’s get moving then,” Zyrus dusted off his pants and urged the duo to move along.
It was hard for him to rember what occurred a thousand years ago. Things were even more troubleso at the early stages because at that ti he too was no different from the average player. It was natural for him to not have too many good encounters.
Whatever he recalled about the tutorial phase was mostly from widespread tales of the famous players.
One of the important things he learned later on was the importance of the ‘Skilled Survivor’ achievent. The reward of 3 SP was just one aspect of it. Its core function lay with the trigger of the first quest.
Sanctuary wasn’t a place where one could get stronger on their own. This was the truth that everyone realized after the tutorial was over. The current scenario was also one such example of that. Zyrus’s skilled survivor achievent was the main trigger for the quest, and yet, he didn’t get any notification from the system. Why? Because this was a group quest. Only after Kyle and Lauren t the minimum requirent did he receive the corresponding mission.
❰❰ You have t the conditions to trigger the Quest: Grokthar’s test ❱❱
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Mission 1: et Grokthar
Reward: -
In essence what Zyrus saw in the quest tab was no different from Kyle and Lauren. He had to reach the end of the chain missions to get the reward that was unique to the one who had triggered the quest.
The trio walked for a while and reached a trail surrounded by glowing mushrooms. It was a mystical scene under the reddish pink evening sky.
“You can relax now. We don’t have to worry about monsters for the ti being.”
Kyle and Lauren nodded at his words and lessened the alertness in their gazes. The law of jungle stated that the more beautiful sothing was, the more dangerous it’d be. It was fortunate that the sa wasn’t true in this case.
*Chirp*Chirp*
Zyrus raised his hand once he saw a group of chicks playing around a garden. They had arrived at the doorstep of Grokthar.
He had read this in a player’s records that these chicks were raised by the elder soul to relieve its loneliness. If a player killed them then they could forget about receiving the quest. There was also a more important thing that was ntioned alongside this.
“Don’t place your foot outside of the cobblestone. There’s an illusion spell casted on this area.”
“Got it.”
Zyrus took the lead and hopped from one stone to another. By the ti it took for an incense stick to run out, they had arrived at a thatched cottage.
▌Grokthar’s Ho▐
▌Welco▐
Two crude signboards were hanging on the stone door. Judging from the ssy handwriting, either the owner didn’t know how to write or their hands weren’t suited for writing small characters.
“Ho..ho..Please co in, dear guests.”
Looking at the creature that greeted them, the answer was obviously the latter. The trio walked behind the stone golem while observing its unique features. Each of its finger was as thick as an adult man’s forearm. Coupled with its ten feet tall appearance the stone golem looked ferocious despite its calm manner of speech.
“Can you help us in honing our skills?”
“Ho..ho..an impatient fella, aren’t ya?”
Zyrus nodded without a shred of doubt. He was indeed impatient. During the tutorial there were far more efficient things to do rather than having a chat with the golem.
“Hmm…how ‘bout this then, practice over ‘re while I brew so tea. If ya impress then I might even let you have a sip.”
“Sure.” Zyrus agreed and gestured the shocked duo to follow along. There was a crude training ground where the golem had pointed its fingers. It was sunny outside, but that wasn’t much of a surprise since they were in an illusory array.
❰❰ You have completed the 'Mission 1' of Grokthar’s test ❱❱
Mission 2: Fight against the training dummy
Reward: -
“So…we hit that thing to get an achievent?” Lauren asked as she tried to wrap her head around the situation. eting a talking monster wasn’t that surprising, but one that was brewing tea was certainly a sight to behold.
Grokthar was like a countryside grandpa in the old earth’s fairytales. Both the way he spoke and behaved seed similar to a human. This didn’t cause her and Kyle to feel at ease though.
It was eerie.
“Yes. He’s far stronger than you’d think. He can feel every stone and pebble on this house. Think of this as a test to prove that you’re worthy of his guidance.”
“I see. We’ll start then,” Kyle nodded at Lauren and took out his basic sword. With a swift whooshing sound the blade was right on top of a stone practice dummy.
*Clruck*
Kyle winced as the sword was deflected with ease. Not even a scratch was left on the training dummy.
Zyrus didn’t have to explain further as the duo figured out instantaneously what they had to do. Since they couldn’t damage the stone with their current strength, it was better to show off whatever they could in terms of technique.
He also took out his spear and aid at the third training dummy. This quest was given to the first three players in every tutorial area and awarded two tiers of reward. One was common for all who participated while the other was given to the one who showed greatest potential among the three players.
‘What I really want though, is that tea.’
Grokthar was serious when he said that- ‘If ya impress then I might even let you a sip.’ Zyrus didn’t fancy drinking tea brewed by a stone golem, but it was a different story if that tea had the potential to nourish and awaken mana.
Before his regression he realized too late that there were many lucky bastards who awakened mana early on just by drinking the grandpa golem’s tea.
[Spear Sweep]
[Spear Thrust]
Zyrus thought of the two skills and his body seed to know what to do. It was an amazing sensation. For his mana related skills he wouldn’t need system’s assistance. Soone who stood at the peak of arcana was even more efficient at using mana than the system.
It was a different case for spearmanship. Zyrus was intrigued and excited as he moved his spear all around the training dummy. Sweeping in a fan shaped arc, dashing forward with a thrust, slashing while twisting his torso, all sorts of maneuvers were executed by him one after another.
“Ho..ho..ho..would ya look at that. Ya don’t get moves like ‘em without slashing so monster necks.”
Zyrus almost replied that he’d killed more monsters than what Grokthar had seen in all his lives. Though to be accurate, the ones he killed with a physical weapon were indeed just a couple hundred.
Sounds of clashing and clanging resounded in the training field/backyard. Zyrus and the other two were panting for breath by the ti the stone golem was done brewing his tea.
“I Freaking did ittt! Like for real this ti!”
Zyrus smiled at the celebrating Kyle and Lauren, and he also looked at the latest notification. Indeed, the quest was complete just like that.
The stone dummy possessed the ability to accelerate skill learning progress. This quest checked not only one’s skills in combat but also their deduction ability and presence of mind. If soone missed this opportunity and wasted their ti dallying around then they wouldn’t get any skill. By then the whole quest would be about listening to Grokthar while he slowly drank his tea and wait for a minor reward which was a healing potion.
In Zyrus’s case, he got not one but three rewards.
[Congratulations! You have completed the Quest: Grokthar’s test]
[You have showcased greatest potential! Additional rewards will be given]
[You have acquired A crude Healing concoction x 1]
A brownish grey bottle appeared in the trio’s inventory. As the na implied, it was a crude item.
[A crude Healing concoction]
A failed attempt at making a healing potion. It has terrible taste.
Effect: Recover 10 HP
Despite being at the lowest quality the concoction was still a great item. This was the one and only ans by which one could heal themselves during the tutorial.
Zyrus closed the item description and looked at the tab that was glowing with a golden criss-crossed border.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a skill booster]
[Your skill’s potential will be increased]
From a certain perspective this was even better than getting a rank up on skill. It was obvious that the skills gained during the tutorial would be of low rank, so increasing their potential was beneficial on the long run.
[You have acquired three skills related to the weapon “Spear”]
[Would you like to use the skill booster on them]
֍ Yes/No ֎
Zyrus didn’t hesitate and pressed on Yes. It wasn’t the best thing to use the skill booster right now, but he needed to get stronger as fast as possible. It was stupid to risk your life while hoarding on good stuff.
[Increasing the skill’s potential…]
[Your skills are related to a specific weapon]
[Your skills will be changed to Spear skill]
Zyrus was pleasantly surprised as he read the texts. Having a single good skill was better when it ca to ranking up and combat usage. In addition, a weapon specific skill was better than a general one when it ca to cooldowns and freedom of movent.
[The skill booster has been consud]
[The potential of your skill has been increased]
[You have acquired the skill: “Basics of Sojutsu”]
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