Chapter 9 Who Is This Player?

Hello readers!

Once again, welcome, and thank you for being here.

If you liked this work so far, it would do great to leave a power stone if you have one laying around, or even a review, though do wait a bit more before you do so, you may end up liking it even more, or hating it, hopefully, it's the first.

Regardless of what happens, you can check my other account 'Abadom' to see my other books if you don't already know them.

Why did I not publish it there? Simple! Because my Inkstone account is full... So I can't make a new book, only update one...

It's a shame, but we authors do not have the ability to delete books.

Goodbye, everyone, I wish you all, a pleasant night as I am going to sleep.

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/Back at the base of the Tutorial Tower…/

/Fium!/

/Fium!/

/Fium!/

/Fium!/

[Server capacity 1000/1000]

[The Tutorial will soon start, please get ready in the meantime]

Multiple lights flashed almost at the same time, and once they dimmed and disappeared a crowd of people took its place.

/CHATTER!/

And with them, an explosion of sounds...

"Wow… It's truly something else. The smell, the feelings, the sensation… As expected, Elden Throne outdid themselves once again with yet another hit." Said one of the players, clearly an older one, likely someone that had played the previous game before

"Yup, this is incredible."

"I feel like I can feel each individual hair on my head... Ouch! I can!" Someone spoke as they took out one of their hair strands

A few of the people around him agreed, others moved around and checked the place, a few checked the game's menus… Everyone was doing something.

They weren't the only ones doing these actions as millions of players all around the globe did the same.

No matter where they were from, they were just as equally impressed with the levels of detail they were witnessing.

With the players' arrival and the servers' initiation, the Official game forums also went online, and they were immediately flooded.

It didn't take long at all for dozens of threads to be created, with some exploding in popularity, such as…

"Are you a Standard Mode Fan, or are you a HardCore Mode Enjoyer?"

"I am a Tourism Mode God! Change my mind."

"HardCore is for masochists!"

"Standard is for Pussies!"

"HA! Pussies are the ones who didn't randomize!"

"Has anyone tried increasing their Ding Dong long chong's size? Is it possible?"... And so on.

Everyone had their own reactions and priorities, some more serious than others.

However, things were getting chaotic…

The internet would always be the internet, and it didn't take long for people to argue with each other over such meaningless things...

And it took no time at all for people to start getting banned as the hammer of justice fell down on the virtual web nonstop...

If you paid enough attention, you might hear the cries of despair of the many keyboard warriors that fell with each passing minute...

...

/Back at Server A-0001…/

The players continued to explore their System's interface, commenting with each other about what they found and what they could do as they waited for the 30 minutes to pass.

Until someone noticed something strange...

"What's this? Hall of Fame? Records…"

'The first player to reach Level 100?! What's his name… 'My Dad'?! Who would choose such a damned name?!"

Hearing this, another player said with a smile:

"Why are you so surprised? It's clearly a joke by the developers, it's quite common. So chill out, it probably won't remain there for too long…" Someone said on the side with a slight smirk, thinking it was obvious

The first player smiled awkwardly and said:

"I was just surprised since it's my first time in one of these MMOs."

"Really?! You've been living under a rock or something?"

"I… I just liked playing normal sandbox games… Wait, there's another record!!"

/Silence.../

This made the players around him surprised as they started to check the Hall of Fame as well...

"First to complete the Tutorial…"

"The fastest Tutorial clear…"

"First to finish a Raid alone… All of them are under this guy called My Dad!"

The players were surprised and then confused.

"Who is this guy? It's impossible to have achieved Level 100… Unless he used an exploit, and if that is the case, then it's going to be removed soon." Said one of the newbies as he pondered

"Even the other records are simply too much, everyone just logged in yet the time says… -30 minutes and 15 seconds?"

"Who can make a record with negative time?!"

One of the players tried to make sense of the situation by voicing his own idea:

"It might've been one of the developers trying the mechanics to make sure everything is running smoothly, if that is the case, then it should be removed soon unless they decide to keep it as a joke."

Almost everyone nodded in agreement, but some kept quiet about their own worries... Not wishing to be the stupid one that doubted this mysterious player.

They weren't the only ones thinking like this, many players across multiple lobbies were now all thinking about this.

Who was this player? Who was... 'My dad'?...

There wasn't much to do anyway, so apart from theory crafting, some tried to move around and see what they could find...

Some met with their friends, as there was a certain chance they were sent to the same server... Especially if they planned beforehand.

A few others checked the in-game configurations, and some tested the skills they got from randomizing their characters…

Of course, it was impossible to damage anyone before the tutorial actually started and if they did try or went over the line, like, let's say, trying to harass a player, then they would be immediately banned.

Everyone had to wait for the 30 minutes to pass before they could do anything, be it play in the tutorial or jump straight into the continent and play the game for real.

However… Things weren't going to remain silent forever…

…

/Outside of the Tutorial Tower…/

/FWOOSH!/

On the broken stone streets of this ancient city, Dale ran as fast as he could as he avoided any possible time wasters, his objective, the Begginer village.

/Crack... Fwosh... Slide.../

He was very fast, almost as fast as a car as he ran and jumped around the place like a cat.

A level of agility beyond Human, it seemed as if Dale was flying!

And as he ran, he mumbled:

"Part 1 of the plan was completed flawlessly, I got much stronger than I expected, so it's time to start part 2…"

'I have many materials, but they are mostly useless, although it's not time to sell them yet, I still need some things to remain with me for the future…'

"There are 4 things you can get in the tutorial that can change your early game completely."

"Gear, Special Items, information, and Money."

'I already got the gear, but there are still some I would like to get… But I won't go out of my way to get it if I am to lose time as my main objective is to finish everything before the 30-minute time limit.'

'While 90% or more of the players will spend their first few hours if not days in the tutorial, I will be enjoying the game and stacking items…'

'Especially big gamer guilds, they should be logging out together and monopolizing a few lobbies... They will certainly grow stronger very fast and this will only snowball towards the main game.'

"Although my plans do not include that portion of the game as I lack any information about it… Simply put, I did not plan that far."

'I do have some predictions for what I'll experience and what I should seek based on what I experienced in the Beta, but such things are better left off for later.'

"There are only two words in my mouth right now..."

'Special... Items. This is the most important part of this plan…'

'There are a few items in the Tutorial that could change everything… I'm talking about Stat potions, Skill manuals, Upgrade materials, and other things.'

'Even secrets like this sword over here...' He thought as he looked at the sword on his hilt

'I don't even need to explain what money means… The more the better.'

'Money makes the world spin at the end of the day...'

…

/Fwoosh!/

Within a minute, Dale arrived at the village, it looked the same as he remembered with everything in the same place as before.

The smith, the baker, the small road that led to the river where a kid should be currently playing...

Shaking his head, Dale focused on his task at hand.

His first target was a place hidden beneath a rock in the ruins of a house.

To get inside, you must first have at least 15 Strength, else the rock won't budge.

Either that or several people would need to work together since it weighs several hundred Kg.

"Hum..."

'Jelly implied that it should also be possible to move the stone through a basic application of physics, but then again, some preparation is needed for that.'

'And that means... A waste of time!'

/Touch.../

Touching the rock, Dale said in a low tone:

"It took a few days for people to find this in the Beta."

"I don't know how long it will take for people to find it now since the number of players is 10 times that of the Beta, but that doesn't matter…"

'Like the Tutorial Tower Boss, this place holds a unique reward, one per Server if I understood it all correctly.'

'The fragment of the Sigil of Strength is mine!...'

Dale jumped inside the hole and the rock rolled back into place, sealing the hole once more as if pushed by an invisible force.

The NPCs didn't even react, albeit a few did look at him with side glances...

An old man even laughed as he shook his head… He mumbled something in a low tone, but no one heard it.

…

"It's really dark in here…"

Dale was currently within a dark corridor made out of gray bricks which were similar to a dungeon structure.

/Shine.../

He quickly took out his new spear from his inventory, it shined in faint red light, but it was strong enough to illuminate this entire hallway like a torch.

"Good!" He said as he smiled, everything was going according to the plan

/Step step step!/

He then proceeded to run as he activated his temporary Skill Explorer Sense:

[Explore Sense 2-Star Passive

Effects: Gives you a sixth sense capable of detecting danger and treasures, and even I'll omens. The degree of information detected depends on the difference between the Levels of the threat and of the Skill.

]

He knew there weren't any traps, since the mechanisms of the tutorial were still disabled, but being cautious never killed anyone… Not many times at the very least.

Dale also took out a small wooden shield and put it in front of his chest, but it was then he noticed something odd.

"I got no penalty notification?"

'This is a game after all, so there is a limit of things you can equip at once… Equipping a sword in the menu will allow you to get its effects while holding something not equipped does nothing 90% of the time.'

'However, here I am, my Sword is on my back giving me its buffs, while I am holding a spear and a shield while receiving their boosts without any penalty…'

"Is this because of the realism of HardCore players?"

'If so, this is yet another bonus that was not told in the character creation screen… An incredibly strong one at that.'

'I could find a good set of armor, then proceed to equip light cloth armor underneath it, I could stack different types of headpieces, such as a hairpin and a helmet when it would've been otherwise impossible...'

'It's also normal for it to not appear in Creation Menu since, if the developers were to say everything about the game mechanics in one go, then we would stay there reading a multi-paged file for the next few tens of minutes…'

"Perhaps they want us to find out everything there is to each game mode through practical gameplay…"

'I do remember the message they gave me one year ago...'

"... Some mysteries are better found and solved by oneself..." He mumbled as he continued on his way

…

Dale ran through many corridors, taking a few turns before he arrived at a large hall with a single stone door at the end of it.

"Phew… That took a while, I thought I had taken the wrong path in there for a moment..."

/Silence.../

'But as expected, the trial is not activating, and that is the problem, I hoped for it to start…'

"Without it, I can't proceed..."

Dale looked at the stone door at the other side of the room and said:

"Plan B."

/BOOM!/

Dale grabbed his spear and activated its skill while he pierced the wall.

Once the smoke dissipated, a small cracked hole appeared in the door.

"It worked, violence yet again prevails." He said with a small smile as he took a stance, ready to strike again

But he didn't.

"Hum... I feel a bit... Worn out?"

'This must be it, the feeling of using Mana... It feels wrong somehow.'

"Sigh, it's truly an ass to not be able to work with a mana bar..."

'I can't see how much MP these skills cost, nor can I see how much I have available... Truly a fucking disaster for someone who micromanages things... Not for me since I can't bother.'

/BOOM!/

/BOOM!/

/BOOM!/

Dale used his skill 3 more times and finally, a large enough hole appeared.

Without waiting even a single moment, he stored his spear in his inventory, jumping through the small hole with a serious gaze.

[DING!]

[You discovered the Hall of Strength!]

[Your Mana and Health have been repleneshed]

[5K Experience points]

[XP converted to 5 Zulls of Wood]

As Dale raised his head, he saw a grandiose Hall filled with weapons and statues, most of it was completely broken and corroded, useless trash not worth taking.

However, a few were still intact, he would obviously be taking those with him.

/Shine.../

In the middle of it all, was a small red badge glowing in faint red light.

[Sigil of Strength (Broken)]

"This is it."

"Although, instead of broken, I would've said it's worn out..."

"It looks super old." He said as he carefully went to grab it

'The Sigil of strength, in the previous game, it held a lot of importance, and once again, it was thought to be an easter egg to commemorate the achievements of the players of the past.'

'There are 6 Sigils, one for each stat, and they increase each stat by 15, but since it's broken, the value is now 5. So by gathering all of them, I can effectively stay an additional 5 levels ahead of every player at all times.'

'Even if these can be acquired by other players, it doesn't matter since at the end of the day, it's almost impossible for a single player to get all of the 5…'

'Unless he is one of the Beta players and someone that followed what happened in it, or he is someone who is backed by a large force...'

'Or if he has played the previous games.'

'But who would remember these details… If it wasn't for Jelly researching it with me I would've forgotten it as well…'

"Talking about Jelly… Didn't he say something about this…"

Dale started to think and he eventually remembered his talk with Jelly.

He scratched his head, pondering over the feasibility of his idea, but eventually, he gave in.

"It's worth a shot…"

He grabbed the sigil and stored it in his inventory before he left the place; there weren't any treasures left to be collected in this place.

"Time to start, operation 'Vault Hunter'!... Hehehe…"

Dale's evil laughs echoed in the dark halls...

…

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Notes

Here is the set item he got in the Shrine for the Aspect of Might, it won't really have any importance in the story given it was just a passing thing, but it hopefully gives us some insight into how varied items can be.

I made it in a rush, but it should be okayish, I liked it...

So in case this somehow ends up as a balance breaker, then we can just forget it exists... Or at least its stats...

[Arm of the Giant Set (Rare)

Rating: 2-Stars

+10 Strength; +6 Constitution; +4 Reflexes; -8 Mental Power

Gives the temporary Skill, Bulk up 1.5 Star (Active); Elephant Punch 2-Star (Active); Territorial Roar 3-Star (Active)

Set Bonus -> Partial Giganfication, consume 10% of your current HP and Mana to increase your Strength Stat by 10 for a few seconds.

Increases your character size by around 20%.

Requirements: Strength: 20; Constitution: 35; Dexterity: 5; Mana: 5

Description: Armor of the Guardians of the First out of the Five temples of Might, standing watch over the Sigil of Strength.

]

The armor may look incredible to be found in the newbie area... But take a proper look at the requirements.

You would need to be Level 35 to use it at the very least unless you're a Hardcore player or a privileged player that has access to rare items that can increase your base stats.