Chapter One: Cheats Are Invincible
Name: Ryker Shawn
Rank: Under-Ranked
Talent: Infinite Mana [Ex]
Class: None
Title(s): None
Skill(s): None
Dungeon Point: 100
Ryker like many others was confused to find himself in an old worn down and decapitated fortress. All their backgrounds varied, coming from all walks of life regardless of age, gender, nationality, etc. One thing they did have in common however was the holographic window displaying their information. For Ryker the only thing that stood out was his talent, Infinite Mana. It was pretty much self-explanatory though powerful none the less.
{First Compulsory Quest has been initiated}
{First Quest [Adapt]: Defeat 5 Under-Ranked Monsters, no time limit nor penalties}
{Rewards: 1 Rank-UP Coin, +100 Dungeon Points (DP)}
{Warning: Newbie Protection ends on the 30th day, after which the first monster tide will begin. The key to survival is strength}
{74th Region Survivor Count: 99,999}
"Monsters, you fucking kidding me we got to fight monsters?!"
"This is unreal, I want to go home"
"Yep, definitely dreaming"
The crowd's reactions varied, most of which wasn't positive at all. Which wasn't without reason. Here they were a random crowd in the tens of thousands taken from their homes without any prior notice to a world that wasn't their own. As for how they knew this world wasn't their own the three moons in the sky were a blunt indicator.
Ryker extracted himself from the crowd and silently surveyed his surroundings. The fortress they were in had an old medieval style architecture made of wood and stone. Most structures were incomplete, worn down by either war or weathering and the scares of battle were quite obvious, some old and some still fresh. What made his eyes narrow was the presence of broken armor, weapons and the such but no bodies. There were not even any traces of blood despite the clear claw marks marrying a chest plate which caught his eye.
Ryker set these ominous thoughts aside for now and collected any usable materials he could get his hands on. In his search he picked up a spear with an intact blade but broken staff leaving it with half its length, a dented chest piece, one armguard and a relatively intact pair of shin guards. He picked up multiple arrows but unfortunately no intact bow to fire them with. Ryker only picked up what he needed and ignored what he didn't, occasionally switching what he had on him for something in better condition.
It wasn't long before other took notice of his actions and quickly followed his lead. It didn't take long for the crowds to turn into a scavenger hunting competition. As the competition grew intense Ryker withdrew himself to avoid the ensuing conflict, human selfishness should not be underestimated. This soon became apparent as people occasionally came to blows over the smallest things.
Avoiding all this Ryker followed what seemed to be the main road all the way to the main gates leading all the way from the central square. The gates were truly deplorable, one barely hung on its hinges while the other was practically splintered across the street as though a giant had barreled through it, which probably wasn't far from the truth.
"Hey, you're really going to go out there?" A short man with a buzz cut asked as he noticed Ryker approaching the gate.
"I don't see why not" Ryker shrugged as he carefully surveyed the world beyond the wall.
"You heard the system, right? There are monsters out there, you could die." the man warned.
"We all die, its just that the weak will die far earlier than the strong" Ryker smirked with a shrug before he went out the gate.
It was all primeval forests, uncultured land and occasional indescribable animal calls. There was a fair bit of grassland land around the fortress before the dense forest began. He didn't dare go anywhere near there as it was without a doubt chalk full of monsters. The grassland on the other hand was dotted with obvious signs of life and after following some weird trails soon found his first target.
"Of course, it had to be a slime" Ryker almost couldn't help roll his eyes at the viscous bouncing green ball before him.
With the constant 'boing' sound it made as it bounced towards him Ryker made sure to keep his distance as in any world slimes were notorious for their corrosive abilities. His speculations were only proven right by the trail of bare ground it left in its wake as it digested the grass it stamped on. On its next jump Ryker swiftly and stabbed it midair with his short spear. The rusty spearhead went through its body without resistance seemingly doing damage as the slime sagged, losing its buoyance and becoming liquid.
{Grass Slime [Under-Ranked] Defeated: +1 Dungeon Point (DP)}
{[Adapt] Quest Progress: (1/5)}
"Damn" Ryker mumbled as he noticed the slightly corroded spearhead.
He had to made sure he dealt with the slimes swiftly so his spear lasts for at least the duration of the quest. Following that he carefully searched the grass for the Grass Slimes intently. What gave him cold shivers was that if one were careless, they might step directly on a Grass Slime as they were practically camouflaged in the grass. Best case scenario they'd lose a couple layers of skin leaving only the muscle, worst case scenario however they lose their entire foot. Having figured this much Ryker paid special attention to his every step.
Very soon he spotted another Grass Slime and swiftly took care of it, stabbing it before it could even jump at him and withdrawing his short spear before it corroded. He continued this process a few more times. By now he noticed how there the others, a brave few who had come out to hunt like him. This didn't bother him as he killed the fifth Grass Slime with his now blunt tipped spear.
{[Adapt] Quest Complete: Under-Ranked (5/5)}
{Reward: Rank-Up Coin*1, +100 DP}
{Conditions Have Been Met}
{Class Change Is Now Available, Please Choose Wisely}
{Selection:
[Beginner Spearman (F-)]
[Beginner Archer (F-)]
[Beginner Mage (F)]
[Potion Maker (f+)]}
Ryker choose Beginner Mage without a moment's hesitation. Although Potion Maker seemed higher class it was not combat oriented and was incompatible with his Talent.
{Beginner Mage has been selected}
{You have been granted the following skills: [Mana Orb (Low)] [Detection (Low)]}
{Name: Ryker Shawn
Evaluation: F-
Talent: Infinite Mana [Ex]
Class: Beginner Mage (F)
Title(s): None
Skill(s): [Mana Orb (Low)] [Detection (Low)]
Dungeon Point: 205}
{Mana Orb (Low): Produces an explosive projectile of condensed mana with a 15-meter range and an explosive range of 1.5 meters}
{Detection (Low): Upon activation detects all threats within 5-meter range}
{Second Compulsory Quest has been initiated}
{Second Quest [Hunt]: Defeat
35 Under-Ranked Monsters (0/35)
10 F Rank Monsters (0/10)
{No time limit nor penalties}
{Rewards: 1 Rank-UP Coin, 500 DP}
{74th Region Survivor Count: 99,997}
Ryker activated the Detection skill immediately and suddenly became more aware of his surroundings despite the lack of any threats within his vicinity. Here is where his talent came into play. Detection had its own mana cost, although it wasn't high it couldn't be ignored and other mages at his rank will only activate it when necessary and only for brief intervals. Thanks to his Infinite Mana talent however Ryker can keep it active like a passive skill without worry of mana depletion. This will literally keep him at peak awareness at all moments.
Ryker proceeded to then test out his other skill. First finding a near hidden Grass Slime, he then activated the Mana Orb skill and above his palm a glowing light orb the size of a baseball formed. It gave off no heat but radiated dangerously in his palm so he didn't hesitate to launch it. The Mana Orb flew out covered a distance of 25-meters in blink of an eye and landed right beside the Grass Slime.
"Bang" the resounding explosion sounded like a gunshot, leaving a pothole in the ground and the Grass Slime completely obliterated.
"Damn" Ryker mumbled and formed another Mana Orb.
Unfortunately, although the cool down is very short, barely a second, he can only cast one at a time. This however won't stop him from going on a killing spree. Others soon came to notice the constant gunfire like explosions going on in the grasslands. The first to find the source were those brave enough to leave the fortress and his display of magic skills only encouraged them to persist their hunting. With Detection kept active Ryker explored with more confidence going closer to the forest which had a noticeably higher count of slimes.
{[Hun] Quest Progress: Under-Rank (17/35), F Rank (0/10)}
He proceeded with a constant stream of attacks at anything that moved and as he was near the forest one of those shots went right between the trees hitting something, before he could comprehend what it was. He soon hot his answer thou as short green skinned goblins came raging out of the forest.
"Oh shit!" Ryker exclaimed and quickly backed away but not forgetting to toss a Mana Orb as he did so.
"Bang" the shot hit the first goblins torso and sent it flying back in a mangled mess.
{Goblin Scavenger (F-) Defeated: +3 DP, Rusty Dagger (Inferior)}
{[Hunt] Quest Progress: Under-Ranked (17/35) F Rank (1/10)}
The Goblin Scavengers equipped with only rusty daggers and tools were pretty light on their feet so he made sure never to turn his back to them. Despite his confidence in his Detection skill, he needed to be able to react in time to avoid dangers. So, he kept moving and launching Mana Orbs. Even thou some missed they kept the goblins at bay thanks to the explosive effect. Finally, after some guerilla tactics he was able to kill the fifth and last Goblin.
{4 Goblin Scavengers (F-) Defeated: +12 DP, Rusty Dagger (Inferior), Broken Spade (Inferior)}
{[Hunt] Quest Progress: Under-Ranked (17/35) F Rank (6/10)}
Ryker breathed out a heavy sigh as he panted. He just got a reality check, while his mana was infinite his stamina wasn't. Mages are never meant to fight on the front line. They should always have tanks guarding them so they can be most effective. Unfortunately, Ryker never worked well with others. He can only get more skills to make up for his weaknesses. And to do that he needed to complete his second quest.
Luckily enough the constant explosions of the Mana Orbs kept attracting goblins from within the forest and they'd come out after his in small groups of two to three. Thanks to this Ryker quickly completed his second quest.
{[Hunt] Quest Complete: Under-Ranked (35/35), F Rank (10/10)}
{Reward: Rank-Up Coin*1, +500 DP}
{Conditions Have Been Met}
{Class Change Is Now Available, Please Choose Wisely}
{Selection:
[Beginner Ice Mage (E-)]
[Beginner Fire Mage (E-)]
[Elementary Mage (E)]
[Beginner Wizard (E+)]}
{Beginner Wizard (E+) has been selected}
{You have been granted the following skills: [Mana Channeling (Mid)] [Magic Shield (Low)] [Fire Arrow (Low)]}
{Name: Ryker Shawn
Evaluation: E++
Talent: Infinite Mana [Ex]
Class: Beginner Wizard (E+)
Title(s): None
Skill(s): [Mana Orb (Low)] [Detection (Low)] [Mana Channeling (Mid)] [Magic Shield (Low)] [Fire Arrow (Low)]
Dungeon Point: 770}
{Mana Channeling (Mid): Charges up magic skills to improve effectiveness and destructive capability. Limited to casters rank and increased mana cost}
{Magic Shield (Low): Forms an omni-directional shield of condensed mana to protect all entities within a 3-meter radius. The longer the skill is kept active the greater the mana cost}
{Fire Arrow (Low): Forms a fire arrow with high penetrative damage and burning effects with an effective range of 25-meters}
{Third Compulsory Quest has been initiated}
{Third Quest [Advance]:
Defeat
100 F Rank Monsters (0/100)
35 E Rank Monsters (0/35)
3 D Rank Monster (0/3)
{No time limit nor penalties}
{Rewards: 1 Rank-UP Coin, 500 DP}
{74th Region Survivor Count: 99,981}
There was a reason Ryker chose Beginner Wizard without hesitation. Other than its higher evaluation, unlike Mage Class which was purely attack oriented the Wizard Class was sort of an all-rounder. Not only did it give attack skills it also gave defensive skills and auxiliary skills. Thanks to this he made up for his weakness of needing a tank as now he can just toggle his Magic Shield which can be kept active much like his detection skill.
Thanks to that Ryker finally moved into the forest thirst for battle. The third quest was bound to be a complete watershed, not only was the kill count far to large the 'Adventurers' would have to defeat three D Rank monsters with only E Rank strength. This was a feat not many would be able to accomplish unless they use special and team up against said monsters.
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