V1C2
Wild Beast
Appears
The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered
user. Do you want to create a new account?
***
When Lee Hyun was
connected to Royal Road, the first sound that reached his ears was a feminine
voice.
He looked around to
see who had spoken to him, but there was no one else; a space within the universe.
Then he realized that he was in the middle of the activation process of a new
account.
“Yes!”
— Select the name of
your avat—
“Weed.” Weed, the
lowliest of the low in the plant kingdom. To Lee Hyun, it sounded most suitable
for him.
— Select your gender
from male, female or neutr—
“Male!”
— Royal Road has
forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine—
“Human!”
- You may alter your
appearan—
“The way I am.”
— Your account has
been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing
Royal Road—
“Pass!”
— Select a city and
kingdom you want to start.
“The Citadel of
Serabourg, Rosenheim Kingdom!”
— Welcome to Royal—
“Pass!”
Afraid to waste even
a second, Lee Hyun skipped the tutorial stage and made quick decisions
according to his prearranged plan. Three hundred thousand won monthly bill for
the game was a great expense to him.
***
In Royal Road, there
are over a hundred major cities and thousands of towns. A new player begins his
adventure in a capital or a major city of comparable size.
Similar to where Weed
is starting out.
*Flash*
With a flash of
light, he appeared in the Citadel of Serabourg, Rosenheim.
“This is…”
Weed was swayed by
the sight of countless avatars, users and NPCs—Non-Player Characters—alike,
that he thought he was lost in the middle of Seoul.
“Where am I?
Unbelievable!”
Astonished, Weed
couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked around. The racket of those haggling and
chattering rang in his ears. The view unfolding before his eyes was exactly the
same as the real world, with people busy coming and going.
He lowered his eyes
to his legs standing on the ground. His senses told him that it felt absolutely
solid. Strangers passed him by as he stood still in a daze.
“Look at him. I’m
sure he’s a newbie.”
“It looks like he’s
never played a virtual reality game before.”
While passing by,
some users threw fleeting remarks over their shoulders. They stung him enough
to pull himself together.
They’re right. It’s
Royal Road here. The world of virtual reality, and my new workplace.
No matter how
thoroughly Weed had prepared, his knowledge of virtual reality and his research
into the game system came second to the strange experience he was having now.
He had been
bewildered, but it was temporary, and he soon calmed down, differences also
began to catch his eye.
His senses were
consistent with reality, yet people around him were clad in armor or wearing
leather vests.
Close to the spot
where he had shown up was a bulletin board exhibiting maps and descriptions of
Rosenheim Kingdom, and directions for using the basic interface.
It’s time that I
start.
Weed clenched his
fist, and then he started to exercise. He sat down and stood up, and then
proceeded with standing high jumps, tumbling, kicking and punching.
He twisted his waist
around and carefully tested one joint after another. He wiggled fingers and
toes, and jerked his head back and forth.
Even though a tsunami
of humiliating comments gushed forth from other users nearby, Weed was
determined to overcome it.
“What the heck is he
doing now?”
“It looks like he’s
moving his body. I guess he’s still uncomfortable with the virtual reality game.”
“Oh, I see. But
what’s the point of making a show in the middle of a crowded street?”
The sense of
humiliation which Weed had been fighting so hard to keep back prevailed over
his determination. What a scene he’d been making in front of strangers.
“Dammit!” Weed left
in a hurry and headed elsewhere.
A newcomer in Royal
Road is confined to the city of origin for a week in real world and four weeks
in the game, thanks to the parallax between one place and the other.
A great majority of
newcomers were getting down to basics, simple quests, or learn craft skills,
such as tailoring, blacksmith and cooking, which are relatively easy to
acquire.
The game boast of its
unrestricted flexibility, almost to the extent of disorder, and while all the
highest ranking positions arc still occupied by NPCs instead of users, this
reinforces the need for personal contacts.
On the other hand, a
considerable number of users work in libraries or stores to make money.
The Central Square
brims with merchant wannabes who set up kiosks to buy and sell with fellow
users and many new parties in pursuit of adventure are formed on the spot every
minute.
After watching them
casually, Weed didn’t hesitate to head for the Training Hall.
The Training Hall is
open to any user as long as he pleases, and most users visit the hall to
experiment with newly acquired skills.
It is nearly
impossible to find someone who, like Weed, would go straight to the Training
Hall as soon as he created a new avatar.
It’s not only that
newcomers are more interested in finding out what the kingdom and city where
they were born look like, but it’s also largely because training in the
Training Hall is deemed rather ineffective.
The moment the
instructor saw Weed walk in the entrance, his eyes glared fiercely.
“Young adventurer, I
presume you have arrived at the Versailles continent very recently,” the
instructor said.
“Yes, Sir” Weed said
shortly. He was still upset that he had made a laughing stock of himself on the
first day.
“You shall find sword
training absolutely necessary when you come to confront monsters. Do you need
my guidance? I tell you, take any unattended scarecrow and strike him in any
way you want. A wooden sword is placed in front of a scarecrow, and it is all yours.”
“Thank you, sir.
That’s enough. I don’t need any more guidance.”
“Godspeed”
Weed clutched the
wooden sword and walked to a scarecrow standing alone in the most remote comer.
Then, he began beating it, once, twice, thrice. His hands were gradually getting
accustomed to the weight of the wooden sword and the sense of hitting the
scarecrow.
In Royal Road, a new
avatar’s level is locked for the first four weeks, for he is forbidden to
travel beyond the city’s gate and to hunt monsters in the field.
It is most common to
carry out as many quests as possible, thus building up favorable public service
points, earning money and forming your own web of personal contacts.
Nonetheless, Weed
silently carried on striking the scarecrow with the wooden sword.
There are about a
thousand scarecrows in the Training Hall of the Citadel of Serabourg, and an
unlimited supply of wooden swords on the walls, which could come in handy. The
Hall is usually frequented by users who crave to test their skills.
At this moment, however,
everyone’s eyes were fixed on somewhere in particular.
“This guy’s
definitely got iron guts.”
“He’s freaking
tough.”
“Can’t believe any
sane man’s going so far”
Weed was soaked in
sweat.
The white shirt and
pants issued to him in the beginning had absorbed sweat and stuck fast to his
body. He still dealt one blow after another to the scarecrow without a minute’s
break.
Strength increased by 1 point. (+1
STR)
|
After six hours of
striking the scarecrow, Weed heard good news. He felt as if the muscles in his
hand clutching the wooden sword were getting lighter.“Stats window,” Weed
mumbled while striking the scarecrow.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weed’s avatar was so
feeble that there was nothing remarkable.Five hours later—
Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1
VIT)
|
Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)
|
The two stats rose
almost at the same lime.
“Whew.”
Weed finally put down
the wooden sword and look a short break. Without eating or drinking, he had
been hitting the scarecrow for nearly eight straight hours.
He was physically
fatigued, and worse, his throat was burning with thirst, his stomach empty and
hollow.
“Inventory window”
Given the preset
keyword, the semitransparent images of all the belongings in Weed’s inventory
floated in front of his eyes. Inside his inventory were a canteen and ten
pieces of rye bread. That was all.
In Royal Road, you
have to get hold of what you need on your own. Other users make money by
carrying out easy quests for the four weeks, but Weed could not spare even a
minute.
He took out a piece
of rye bread and the canteen, and nibbled a mouthful of bread. As he ate food,
it appeased his hunger and the satisfaction factor rose.
“I’m supposed to have
a meal every five hours. I’d better eat more often if I exercise intensely, but
I don’t need to raise the satisfaction factor to the full. All I need to do is
just stay away from death.”
Once Weed finished
the meal swiftly, he took the wooden sword in his grip and stood in front of
the scarecrow.
“He’s at it again.”
“He’s nuts.”
“I think he holds a
grudge against it or something.”
“I don’t think he’ll
stop until he breaks that scarecrow into pieces.”
Was it an illusion
that the scarecrow looked like it shivered at that very moment? Weed’s wooden
sword struck every inch of the scarecrow. The same type of questions arose
among all the spectators.
“Why the heck is that
guy striking the scarecrow?”
“I don’t think it
will help at all—if he wants to raise the expertise rating for a skill, it’s
much better to go out to the field and use it on a rabbit than the scarecrow
here.”
“Look at what he’s
doing. He’s not using any skill. To me, it looks more like he’s beating up the
scarecrow on impulse.”
“Maybe he’s bringing
up his stats,” a knight in dazzling armor commented, immediately attracted the
attention of everyone else on the scene.
“Can you improve your
stats by just hitting the scarecrow?” a dark-skinned ranger asked.
“Huh? Ah, yes, that’s
right,” the knight said.
“Then, why don’t you
just keep hitting a scarecrow instead of sweating hard to raise your level?”
the ranger asked again.
The knight named
Pluto had a considerably high level, so he has learned a wealth of information
from reliable sources. He was also the only man who correctly guessed the
motive of Weed’s actions.
If an avatar uses up
his stamina, his vitality and stamina will develop as a consequence, and if a
wizard casts a great many spells, his wisdom and intelligence will rise.
But such an increase
is trivial compared to stat bonus points accompanied by a level up.
Half a day of hitting
a scarecrow without a rest might yield one or two stats. Considering that the
number of stat bonus points as reward for a level up is five, what Weed was
doing looked idiotic.
“It really is silly.”
A sorceress shook her
head when she heard Pluto’s explanation. But he thought otherwise.
“It works,” Pluto
said.
“Excuse me?”
“You can earn only
small amount of experience points if you kill a weaker monster than your
current level. You know that, right?”
“Of course”
“In other words, the
higher your level is, the harder it is to gain a level. But if you improve your
strength by undergoing such a drill in the initial phase, you can hunt monsters
easier later on. It will take effect throughout the game.”
“You know this
method, so I guess you went through the same training? No, wouldn’t everyone do
the same if they knew about it?”
“Not really. Even if
people knew, no one would do it. Back to the point, is there anyone who wants
to keep hitting that scarecrow for ten hours to improve their strength by one
point?”
“…”
“There are limits to
how far you can increase your stats by working on a scarecrow that’s known as
the weakest opponent. In the case of strength, I estimate it’s forty or so. Is
there anyone who wants to keep hitting the scarecrow for at least a month to
raise forty points in strength? I would get sick and tired of it, and give it
up in days.”
The crowd watching
Weed nodded in unison.
You’d rather look for
a cool weapon than to strike a scarecrow ceaselessly for a full month in order
to bring up your strength by forty points. An item that keeps up strength by
forty points is unique, yet far from rare.
“This works only for
newbies who can’t go beyond the walls. It was once popular to beat a scarecrow
like this, but it was quickly abandoned because, when you weigh against it what
you can get in the long run, it’s way too boring, and painstaking.”
Weed overheard the
heated discussion that those around him were having. He wished he could have
trained somewhere else, but so long as he wasn’t allowed to leave the Citadel,
he could not avoid attracting unfavorable attention in the Hall.
What makes you call
this boring and painstaking? Weed swung the wooden sword at full strength.
If you work hard,
your avatar gets stronger step by step. When your avatar evolves, it can defeat
stronger monsters and make more money. For Weed, this was the ultimate entertainment
in his lifetime.
Weed was inherently
inclined to routine physical labor. All this time, the instructor was watching
him with awfully gratified eyes.
***
Three weeks had
passed.Weed logged on to Royal Road on a daily basis, except for minimum
sleeping hours, to the point of addiction.His physical condition, which he had
resolved to build up before he started the game, enabled him to sleep no more
than four hours a day. Now that he looked back at the last three weeks, it made
him sick to even think of it.
Once he signed into
the game, he spent eighty hours on average striking the scarecrow monotonously,
which had mentally worn him out. Had it not been for pop-up messages
encouraging him, he would have given up.
Strength rises by 1 point. (+1
STR)
|
Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)
|
New stat: Fighting Spirit
|
New stat: Sustenance
|
In Royal Road, a new
stat is sometimes created besides the original ones.
Fighting Spirit
You can
call on superhuman strength temporarily, or bring weaker monsters to their
knees with a force in your eyes alone. You are prohibited from distributing
stat bonus points to this stat, and it rises spontaneously, depending on the
avatar’s action, especially if you fight monsters for a long time, or often
confront monsters stronger than your current level. |
Pop-up messages
related to the skill occasionally appeared, too.The only skill Weed had at that
point was Sword Mastery.
Level Up: Sword Mastery [3]
Increases
Attack Power with a sword (+30% ATK)Increases Attack Speed with a sword (+9% ATK SPD) |
Sustenance
You are
likely to use less stamina in action. You are prohibited from distributing
stat bonus points to this stat. |
Every time a pop-up
message appeared, Weed was secretly delighted by the progress he was making.
But what was deeply troubling him was a sense of frustration that he had been
falling behind in his goals.
For the last three
weeks, as he devoted himself to beating down the scarecrows, his strength had
increased only by twenty-eight points, agility twenty-five, and vitality
twenty-two.
“Unless I pick up my
pace, I’ll end up wasting more precious time on this scarecrow even after the
restriction is lifted. I must finish it before I can leave the Citadel.”
Weed’s eyes burned
with determination.
*Rumble*
At that moment,
Weed’s stomach decided it was time to eat. Aside from slow progress with his
stats, he was tormented by the fact that he was running out of bread.
He could run to a
nearby fountain and fill the canteen with water, but bread was different – he
had to pay money for it.
*Sniff* He smelled an
appetizing scent coming from somewhere.
Weed, swinging the
wooden sword, paused and caught a glimpse of the instructor, who was taking out
his lunchbox for the lunch break.
“Hehe, Honorable
Instructor.” As Weed wagged his invisible tail, he walked to the instructor.
“Hmm, who is this,
none other than Weed-nim? What has brought you here?” the instructor said
warmly.
“Wouldn’t it be
lonely to have lunch alone? I am here to keep you company,” Weed said
obsequiously.
*Growl* While his
stomach growled, Weed lied with a straight face, but he could not deceive the
instructor.
“I take it that you
are hungry. Sit beside me! I have brought plenty of food, sufficient to feed
two mouths.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Enough with your
humility! It is my honor to serve a meal to a would-be great adventurer like
you, Weed-nim. I assure you that your reputation will someday resound beyond
the bounds of the Citadel of Serabourg. When that day comes, please remember
me!”
“Yes, Sir. I
certainly will.”
After flattering the
instructor lightly, Weed enjoyed lunch together with him. It was kind of a sad
scene, yet he was grateful that with little effort, he could stuff his belly.
He wasn’t sucking up
to a real man, anyway. What was the big deal about smooth-talking an NPC with
artificial intelligence?
Beside the stats that
Weed had increased while beating the scarecrow for the last three weeks, he
established an affinity with the instructor. This supplementary effect was
somewhat admirable.
While Weed was busy
devouring lunch, the instructor suddenly asked, “By the way, Weed-nim, what do
you think of Sculpture Mastery?”
Sculpture mastery?
What the heck is sculpture mastery?
Weed chewed a
mouthful of boiled rice and swallowed it before he asked back, “What do you
mean by Sculpture Mastery?”
“I am merely curious
of your opinion. I wonder what sort of view you have about Sculpture Mastery in
general,” the instructor said.
AI that moment, the
speed of Weed’s brain racking, despite it being absurd to convert it to a
numerical value, multiplied roughly by five.
I’ve so far figured
out that the instructor is a simple-minded and nearsighted guy. He sincerely
believes that the sword is invincible, and to him, it’s the highest virtue to
exercise hard enough to break out in a sweat in the Training Hall. And now he’s
asking me what I think about Sculpture Mastery?
As soon as Weed
collected his thoughts, he frowned.
“Honorable
Instructor! I can’t believe you even mentioned it. I am a man of the sword. Did
you ask for my opinion upon, God forgive me, Sculpture Mastery? I am most
disappointed. This is my answer—never, ever, not even once has such a lowly
handicraft crossed my noble mind.”
Despite Weed’s
offensive tone, which would have enraged him in other situations, the instructor
unexpectedly clapped his hands in delight.
“I knew you would say
so!”
“It is out of
question. The likes of Sculpture Mastery are nothing but awful mistakes of God
which do not deserve a second of our attention. Why do I, a man of the sword,
need to ever think of it?”
“You are most
agreeable, Weed-nim” Weed sensed that, though it was invisible, his friendship
with the instructor moved to a higher degree at that moment.
This is the way to
make friends with somebody. You don’t need to shed blood with them. You don’t
need to squander time and money on them. You just join them in speaking ill of
something at the first opportunity, and it will invoke their sympathy.
Weed expected the
instructor to change the topic of the conversation, but he rubbed the back of
his head and stayed on the subject.
“It is rumored that
the unknown man who mastered sculptural and once carved the moonlight,” the
instructor said.
“I doubt it, sir. A
rumor is always prone to distortion. How can anyone learned in worthless
Sculpture Mastery carve the moonlight? Perhaps it was a pebble in the shape of
a moon,” Weed said cheerfully.
“You think so, too?
But I was told by my predecessor. His honorable name is Mellium, currently a
Royal Knight…”
Sculptural was
perceived as a fruitless skill, no more than trimming a small block of wood to
produce a fine ornament.
Rumor had it that if
you elevated the craft beyond a certain stage, you would be capable of making
projectile weapons of metal. But it was undoubtedly one of those obsolete
skills that nobody bothered learning.
“On that account
Weed-nim, this question of Sculpture Mastery intrigues me. It surely is beyond
doubt that the craft cannot possibly rival our sword under any circumstances,
but would you find out whether the rumor has a grain of truth? I am asking a
favor of you because you are a trustworthy man. If you accept my request, I’d
be happy to hear it,” the instructor said.
Then a pop-up message
appeared in front of Weed’s eyes.
*Ting*
A Mystery Sculptor Rumored to Have
Visited the Royal Palace
A rumor
that a man who had mastered sculptural art did carve the moonlight has been
prevalent in tile royal court of Rosenheim Kingdom for long. Look into the
rumor to determine whether it is true or not!Difficulty level: E Quest requirements Close friendship with instructor reserved only for those who have not acquired Sculpture Mastery. Acknowledged as reliable by the instructor for a constant passion for Sword Mastery |
Weed barely held a
whisper of triumph at bay. His instinct told him that this quest was the rarest
of the rare.
This was because the
quest had to meet very tricky conditions in order to get it started. Close
friendship with the instructor—who would have ever thought of that?
Most users in general
don’t even know the location of the Training Hall, let alone visit it when they
acquire a new skill, they don’t need to come all that way to practice it on a
scarecrow of all things. Moreover, it is a rare occasion that anyone is willing
to get stuck in the Hall and thrash the scarecrow over and over to bring up his
stats in the crudest way, as Weed had done.
If you dig out enough
dirt, you might find a few users like that, but in Weed’s case, he had spent
almost all of the last three weeks with the scarecrow. Who else could have
toughed it out to such an extent?
Speaking of close
friendship with the instructor, it is nearly impossible to achieve unless
someone like Weed approaches him, fawning to cam a share of his lunch.
Even with all the conditions
above met you still have to begin your new adventure at the Citadel of
Serabourg in Rosenheim Kingdom against all odds, not to mention that you have
to find the right moment to slander Sculpture Mastery along with the
instructor.
This is great. I’m
about to go broke and starve to death. At difficulty level E, this quest looks
like it’s easy to finish.
Weed nodded at the
instructor.
“I am honored to
accept it. Although I do not believe any of the nonsense, I will find out what
it was like carving the moonlight.”
You accepted the quest.
|
“I appreciate it. I
entrust you with this task. Take this money as a retainer,” the instructor
said, handing over two silvers. “I give you my advice: visit the sculpture shop
first and glean information from there”
A piece or rye bread,
literally tasteless yet enough to fill the stomach, costs three coppers. Since
a silver coin equals a hundred coppers coins, it is safe to say Weed had just
received the equivalent of sixty-six pieces or rye bread for the retainer, plus
change.
He was certain that
once the quest was completed, he could expect more rewards from the instructor.
“Great! I don’t need
to worry about running out of bread for the time being.”
Many
years of first-hand experience of habitual famine persuaded him to avoid being
malnourished at any cost.
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