Braving the attacks of the three remaining Wolf King's Royal Guards, Kiriya chugged potions nonstop while quickly scooping up all 28 gold coins dropped by the Blade Wolf King. He tossed the blood-soaked Wolf King's head into his inventory without a second thought.
He had no time to check the stats of the three pieces of equipment. Instead, he spent the next ten minutes wiping out the remaining Royal Guards completely.
Moments later, the depths of Wolfspine Ridge fell into deathly silence. Every monster lay dead on the ground, all melted down into experience and gold for him. In one night, he had not only collected the full five-piece Blade set, but also looted three more pieces of equipment from the Blade Wolf King. Eight pieces total, all sure to be of high quality.
The massive experience from slaying the Blade Wolf King shot him straight to Level 23, his experience bar already creeping close to Level 24. He figured turning in the quest would push him straight to around Level 25.
Kiriya did not linger. He sprinted all the way through the empty ridge and returned to the hunters' camp without a single obstacle in his path.
He pulled 100 Silky Wolf Pelts from his inventory, then set the heavy Wolf King's head down hard on the wooden table in front of Wieg.
Wieg's pupils constricted, and he froze in place. He stared at the Wolf King's head for a long moment before snapping out of his daze, his voice still thick with shock and admiration. "Young man, you actually did it. We didn't even dare step foot into the depths of the ridge anymore, and you've slain that Wolf King."
He grabbed Kiriya's arm in a fit of excitement. "The villagers can finally sleep soundly at night! My two fallen brothers can finally rest in peace! Come, this is the reward we promised you. You've more than earned it."
Ding!
System Notification: Congratulations! You have completed the quest [The Wolf King's Head]
Gained EXP: 185000
Gained Gold: 10
Gained Reputation: 450
The experience, gold, and reputation were all incredibly generous, more than worthy of the quest's nearly 400 difficulty rating. The only letdown was the lack of an equipment reward.
But Kiriya knew full well that in Eternal Art Online, quests only had around a 25% chance to drop equipment. It was perfectly normal to walk away without a gear reward.
Just as he'd expected, the generous experience reward shot him straight up to Level 25.
He opened the level leaderboard again and refreshed it, only to find he'd rocketed all the way to 6th place in the Azure Imperial Region!
Of the top five players on the leaderboard, the number one spot was still held by the female mage MoonYuki, who had already reached Level 26. The other four all shared the same ID prefix: WarSoul.
Kiriya frowned slightly. He knew the name WarSoul all too well. It was a gaming guild that had exploded onto the scene in recent years, recruiting a huge roster of elite pro gamers and dominating nearly every major hit game on the market. He'd never expected their entire roster to move into Eternal Art Online as well.
It looked like Eternal Art Online was destined to be soaked in blood and chaos in the days to come. Factions like CrimsonLotus and CorrodedCrown would inevitably clash openly and in the shadows with WarSoul.
After all, everyone in the gaming scene had a stubborn, unyielding pride in their bones. At the end of the day, only skill would determine who came out on top.
He checked the time. It was four in the morning, an hour before he'd planned to log off. He pulled out a Town Return Scroll he'd bought for 1 gold coin and crushed it immediately. Players could only bind their return point to a secondary main city once they hit Level 30, so for now, he could only return to the Starter Village.
A flash of white light, and Kiriya's form materialized in the Starter Village square. All he could see was the shabby gear of low-level players, most of them still wearing the system-issued coarse linen robes with a mere 0-1 Defense. Looking out over the crowd, it felt like he'd stumbled into a refugee camp.
He walked straight to the Identification House and set the five pieces of his Blade set down on the identification table. The white-haired appraiser glanced up, his previously casual expression hardening in an instant. He spoke in a deep voice. "A five-piece Bronze-grade set. Total identification fee: 15 gold coins."
Kiriya nodded to himself. 3 gold coins per piece meant they were all indeed Bronze-grade. Silver-tier equipment was never easy to come by, after all.
He handed over the 15 gold coins without hesitation. The appraiser waved a hand, and a soft, glowing light enveloped the five pieces of equipment at once, revealing their full stats in their entirety.
[Blade Chest guard] (Bronze-Tier · Leather Armor)
Defense: 58
Agility: +13
Stamina: +7
Required Level: 25
[Blade Leggings] (Bronze-Tier · Leather Armor)
Defense: 47
Agility: +10
Stamina: +7
Required Level: 25
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
[Blade Boots] (Bronze-Tier · Leather Armor)
Defense: 43
Agility: +10
Stamina: +6
Required Level: 25
[Blade Coat] (Bronze-Tier · Leather Armor)
Defense: 46
Agility: +9
Stamina: +5
Required Level: 25
[Blade Bracers] (Bronze-Tier · Leather Armor)
Defense: 43
Agility: +10
Stamina: +6
Required Level: 25
Set Bonus: Increases ranged skill damage by 16%, increases Defense by 6%, and grants a 13% chance to dodge incoming physical attacks.
The five Bronze-grade pieces might not have been top-tier in quality, but they were perfectly matched to his level, and their bonus stats were incredibly powerful.
Kiriya swapped out his Glimmering Leather Armor and Windrunner Leather Boots, equipping the full five-piece Blade set in its place. A warm rush spread through his body, followed by a light, agile power flowing through his limbs. The set glowed with a faint scarlet sheen, and anyone could see at a glance that this was no ordinary gear.
Ding!
System Notification: Blade set bonus activated. Your ranged skill damage is increased by 16%, your Defense is increased by 6%, and you gain a 13% chance to dodge incoming physical attacks.
Kiriya stared in stunned disbelief. The set bonus was far more powerful than he'd ever imagined. With his skill damage boosted even further, his damage output had hit the absolute ceiling of what was possible at this stage of the game.
He checked his personal stat panel once more.
ID: Kiriya
Class: Novice Archer
Level: 25
HP: 900
Attack: 180-235
Defense: 210
Strength: 90
Agility: 87
Stamina: 48
Intelligence: 16
Reputation: 1091
Luck: 0
He'd dumped the majority of the 45 stat points he'd gained from leveling into Strength, boosting his base attack by a full 27 points.
His Defense had reached a staggering 210 points. It was almost unthinkable for an Archer to have such impenetrable defense.
His base HP after leveling had been 670 points. The 26 Stamina from the set bonus had converted to an additional 230 HP based on an Archer's Stamina growth rate, bringing his total HP to 900 points.
Kiriya couldn't help but laugh out loud. Right now, he was without a doubt the definition of a high-defense Archer.
He suddenly remembered the three pieces of equipment dropped by the Blade Wolf King, still unidentified. He pulled them out one by one, starting with a pair of plate boots. The moment he set them on the identification table, the old appraiser glanced at them and spoke casually. "Identification fee: 80 silver coins."
Kiriya knew at once that this piece was most likely nothing special.
Sure enough, light flashed, and the boots' stats popped up.
[Wolf-Tail War Boots] (Black Iron-Tier · Plate Armor)
Defense: 75
Strength: +5
Required Level: 27
Even though it was only Black Iron-tier, the defense growth for Warrior classes was truly terrifying. The defense on this single pair of Black Iron boots was far higher than any single piece of his Blade set.
Kiriya sighed quietly to himself. If a Level 27 Berserker put on a full set of Bronze-grade plate armor, he'd probably only be able to barely break through their defenses with his Armor-Piercing Arrow.
The second item was a skill book, which required no identification.
[Sea of Flames] (Skill Book): Summons a field of raging flames, dealing continuous fire damage to all targets within the area.
Class Requirement: Level 25 Mage.
Kiriya's heart leaped with joy. This was a core AOE skill for Mages. Even though most players were too low-level to use it right now, in a week at most, hordes of Mages would hit Level 25, and this book would sell for an absolute fortune. He didn't overthink it, tucking it straight into his inventory.
The third piece of equipment was a dagger shimmering with brilliant light. Just from its appearance, Kiriya had a hunch that this was definitely Silver-tier.
When he set the dagger on the identification table, the old appraiser's eyes lit up at once. He leaned forward and studied it closely for a long moment, then sucked in a sharp breath. "To think I'd lay eyes on such a treasure here in this Starter Village! Identification fee: 10 gold coins."
Wild joy surged through Kiriya's chest, and he handed over the gold coins at once. The old appraiser waved a hand, and brilliant silver light exploded forth, illuminating the entire Identification House in a blinding glow.
[Shimmering Dagger] (Silver-Tier)
Attack: 62-98
Agility: +16
Stamina: +7
Required Level: 25
It was an incredibly powerful dagger. Even though its attack power still couldn't compare to the Bow of Glory, it proved just how extraordinary the Bow of Glory was. Its stats had long since surpassed those of ordinary Silver-tier equipment, even brushing the threshold of Gold-tier.
An Archer's off-hand slot could equip a dagger, so Kiriya equipped the Shimmering Dagger immediately. His HP rose by another 40 points, bringing his total to 940.
After leaving the Identification House, he first stored the Sea of Flames skill book in his warehouse. He then shouted a few times in the square, selling the Glimmering Leather Armor and Windrunner Leather Boots he'd swapped out for a total of 10 gold coins.
With that, the total gold in his inventory hit 78, making him incredibly wealthy in the early days of the game's launch.
He headed to the potion shop to restock on supplies, only to realize he had nothing left to do. Even if he went back to Wolfspine Ridge now, never mind whether the Blade Wolves had respawned, just the trip there would take half an hour. By the time he went and came back, he'd barely have any time left to grind.
Kiriya smiled and shook his head. "Forget it. I'll just log off and get some sleep. Health comes first."
He was just about to log off when a ding sounded, a notification for a new friend message.
He opened it and found it was a message from Violet.
The image of the gentle, soft-spoken female Priest popped into Kiriya's head at once, and he felt a spark of curiosity. What could she want with him at this hour?
He opened the message, which read: Hi, are you busy? Can you do me a favor?
He had nothing else to do anyway, so Kiriya replied immediately: Hi, not busy. What's up?
A few seconds later, another message from Violet came through: Meet me at the village entrance then!
Kiriya glanced toward the village entrance and started walking. He'd only taken a few steps when he spotted that familiar, beautiful figure. It was Violet.
Violet was wearing a robe that glowed with a faint sheen, clearly Bronze-grade from its appearance. The CrimsonLotus crew really was impressive. They'd managed to get a Bronze-grade robe for their Priest this early after launch.
Violet was standing on her tiptoes, looking around for him, her beautiful eyes filled with a mix of anxiety and softness.
Kiriya was wearing the full Blade set, so Violet didn't recognize him at all. It wasn't until he walked right up to her and greeted her with a smile, "Hi," that she noticed him.
Violet looked up at him sharply, her eyes widening in shock. It took her a long moment to recover, then she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners, her voice soft and warm. "You managed to collect a full set this fast? That's incredible."
Kiriya smiled modestly. "Just got lucky. So, did you need help with a quest, or something else?"
"Yeah, a quest. I need to kill a Level 20 boss. Lusk, Ragnar, and the others all logged off, and I couldn't find anyone else to help, so I thought of you. It won't take up much of your time, I promise. I can pay you 5 gold coins as a commission," Violet spoke earnestly, her cheeks flushing faintly with embarrassment.
Kiriya couldn't help but laugh. "What are you talking about? Don't you think we're friends? It's just a boss kill. Think of it as me exploring the map with a beautiful woman. You should be charging me for the company, not the other way around. Don't even mention a commission."
The line made Violet giggle, her eyes crinkling into a warm, beautiful smile.
...
Meanwhile, in another corner of the Starter Village.
A slender figure swung a longsword, cutting down a minotaur with clean, precise strikes.
Golden light cascaded down over her, and the girl brushed a thin sheen of sweat from her forehead, smiling sweetly. Her voice held a soft, playful note of worry as she spoke. "Finally, Level 20. I wonder if Kiriya's hit Level 20 yet, too."
Moonlight filtered through the treetops, falling across the girl's fair, flawless cheeks.
