[ Welcome to Yellowstone Village ]
A notification floated above him peacefully, unbothered by his trauma.
"..." Tempest was speechless. He shook his head, snapping himself out of his reverie as he pushed himself up.
"Okay, what a wild experience..." he muttered to himself. Looking up from the patch of grass, he spotted a village directly ahead.
"Huh, a village."
He stepped onto the dirt path that led from where he’d landed to the village and began walking. As he went, he marveled at the realistic sensation of the VR world. Aside from the game notifications, there was no difference from the real world.
"I overheard from my game addict classmates that there's always an inventory system..." Tempest pondered and continued, "But I wonder how to use it here?" Then a random thought came to be. He waved his hand:
[Tempest River]
Class: None
Background: Martial Artist
Level 0
Weapon: Twin Swords (Common) [Inspect]
Skills: Martial Flow (1) [Inspect]
Statistics:
Damage: 3
Endurance: 1
Agility: 4
A panel appeared in front of him. It was so direct and simple, it didn't even suprised Tempest. "As expected" he said as he shook his head in a resigned manner. "But where are the perks i've chosen?" Tempest said as he squinted his eyes to look closely to the panel; A second panel popped out of nowhere.
[Notice]
Perks cannot be viewed
The game answered him as if hearing his remarks was normal. "... Oh" Tempest said in a low voice, "And I've arrived" He was walking in the path while doing all those actions.
[Entered Yellowstone Village]
"So, this is how it feels to enter a Village, huh" Tempest said as he looked around. He saw a bunch of people doing all kinds of work one can see in a Village. He even saw a farmer waving at him with a hoe and Tempest waved back, the farmer then continued plowing.
Tempest saw all kinds of houses and buildings one can find in a village, he even sometimes spots someone with a question mark atop their head but it wasn't clearly seen unless one will focus, it was transparent. "These people must be the so called Non-Playable Characters or NPCs and those with a question mark gives out a quest that rewards things apparently." And yes, Tempest also overheard this from his game-addict classmates.
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"But, how come I haven't encountered a single player yet." He muttered in a low voice as he kept on looking around. He already saw everything this Village has to offer and it was a refreshing experience for him. "Oh well" Tempest said in a shrug. "Time to accept a quest I guess." But before he could walk any further he felt a hand pat over his shoulder twice. Tempest looked back and found a middle-aged man looking at him in a leather cloak.
"Uh, sir, what can I do for you?" Tempest said in a surprised tone but deep down, he sighed in relief. How rare is it for a martial artist to supress their impulse to counterattack when someone suddenly touches them from behind?
But that slight reaction didn't go unnoticed to the man and a barely perceptible approving smile flickered on his face but how could Tempest have seen it? "Kid, it seems you have talent." The cloaked man said. Then he turned around, his cloak fluttering slightly and walked away but after a few steps, he glanced back. Seeing this, Tempest followed. And slowly, they came out of the village and approached the surrounding forest.
He didn't realize that a barely perceptible question mark began to materialize and slowly solidified with each step he took in the woods while following the cloaked man. "I wonder where he's taking me?" Tempest muttered under his breath. The deeper they went in the woods, the more danger Tempest felt, he didn't feel any danger from the cloaked man but rather, he felt danger all around in the forest. "Kid, we've arrive, wait here" The cloaked man sounded and entered the small cabin.
It was only then Tempest was snapped out of his reverie. He looked around and took in the surroundings. The cabin stood quietly beneath the trees, its wooden walls blending into nature. To one side, a medium-sized pond glistened under the shining light; on the other, a soothing river flowed. Tempest was in awe with the atmosphere here, a stark contrast to the unease he felt while walking through the woods.
[Unique Quest Complete] (1/5)
Quest Content:
"Follow the cloaked man"
Rewards:
30 exp, 1 reputation
"...I lucked out..." Tempest was baffled by the sudden notification but the next notification will stun him like no tomorrow:
[Notice]
"You have leveled up" 10x
"..."
His mouth hung open. Tempest pushed his jaw shut and muttered, "Is this normal? Leveling up to 10 in one go?" He was skeptical of the sudden turn of events. After all, how could a one day old gamer possibly grasp the value of something labeled Unique Quest? Tempest simply ignored the word Unique, brushing it off like any other quest title. "I'm pretty sure there's this so called stat points" he said while waving his hand:
[Tempest River]
Reputation: 1
Class: None
Background: Martial Artist
Level: 10
Weapon: Twin-Swords (Common) [Inspect]
Skills: Martial Flow (1) [Inspect]
Statistics:
Strength: 3
Endurance: 1
Agility: 4
"There isn't any?" Tempest squinted at the panel, frowning as he leaned closer. He backed away, shaking his head as the panel faded from view.
Then his hair stood on end.
His instincts screamed, Block!
In one smooth motion, Tempest twisted his body at full speed, unsheathing his twin swords mid-spin and crossing them in the direction where the danger felt strongest.
CLANG!
Steel met steel. Tempest’s twin swords caught the blade of a massive war axe, far too large for any normal person to wield. The sheer force rattled through his arms, and the strain of holding it back left his muscles screaming.
“Not bad, kid.”
Only then did Tempest catch a clear look at his attacker. It was the cloaked man. He stepped back a few paces, enough for Tempest to see him fully, and more importantly, the enormous war axe now resting on his shoulder.
“You’ve got some skills after all.” the cloaked man grinned.
Tempest frowned as he slipped into a defensive stance. 'To think this game fully simulated my body... but It can't simulate the training my real one went through' he thought, glancing at his trembling arms. They shook uncontrollably, and he noticed some veins ruptured beneath his skin. His whole body was numb, but his arms had taken the full brunt of that enormous war axe.
[Notice]
Your Endurance and Agility have improved.
Tempest glanced at the panel floating in front of him before quickly dismissing it. He didn't have time to be distracted but deep down, he was suprised. Still, his face remained solemn as he locked eyes with the cloaked man.
"Take more of my blows, kid!" The cloaked man bellowed as he dashed toward Tempest, his war axe arcing wide for a sweeping strike.
Do you guys want longer future chapters? Because I had to write for the whole day from morning on the previous chapter but I can promise, my tolerance in writing longer chapters will improve.
