"Haaa…" David yawned and stretched as he woke up from his bed. In this game, one in-game hour equaled only ten minutes in reality, letting him play for long stretches. Though a night had passed in the game, only an hour and twenty minutes ticked by in the real world.
[New Tutorial Quest: Hunt Armored MonsterDescription: The local craftsman at the academy needs crafting materials.Reward: +35 silver aethers or +1 gold aether for rare materials]
"All right, time to earn some bucks!"
In the past week, David had done well, grinding local tutorial quests and pocketing over 250 dollars. For a college student, that kind of cash was no joke.
His weapon loadout was a spear, an axe, and a mace—each mastered to basic proficiency even without a [Warrior] class. The quest had come from an NPC named Mike, a gruff craftsman who made training gear for students and paid handsomely for materials.
Stepping outside, David took a deep breath of fresh forest air. The academy grounds faded behind him as the scent of greenery filled his senses.
"No book dust, no aristocratic perfume, and no stench of guys suffering from spermotoxicity. This is more like it."
And, of course, the faint, sharp odor of monsters lingering everywhere.
Clapping his hands together to psych himself up, David headed into the forest. It was a dangerous place, filled with man-eating beasts, magical plants, natural traps, and—
"Hey there, my first prey~!"
A huge, poisonous mosquito hovered nearby, its bulging red eyes glaring hungrily. David froze, momentarily surprised by its boldness. The creature flapped its wings, ready to escape.
"Not on my watch!"
[Toxin Mosquito][LVL 3]
David lunged forward, ignoring his weapons. He seized the mosquito's wings and ripped them clean off with a vicious twist.
[+100 EXP][+2 Weak Scales]
"Tch, only two weak scales? That's barely anything."
He stowed the loot in his inventory and prowled deeper into the forest. The underbrush crunched underfoot as he tracked his next target.
'There you are! I won't let you slip away this time!'
A three-meter-tall monster was smashing its steel-hard head against a large tree, knocking down ripe coconut apples. The thing looked like a boss from a retro video game, munching greedily as juice dribbled down its chin.
[Morning Star][LVL 7]
David crept closer, stalking it like a tiger. The beast closed its eyes as it bashed the tree again—an opening.
"Gotcha!"
"WHOOOOOSSSH—!"
David hurled his spear. It plunged into the monster's nape with a wet thunk.
"GUGAGA—!"
The Morning Star stumbled, but David was already moving, swapping weapons mid-dash. He gripped his mace tight and crashed it into the monster's leg with a bone-rattling blow.
"BADAMMM!"
The beast crumpled to the ground with a roar, its leg bent at an unnatural angle. David vaulted onto its back, gripping his axe.
"SWISHHH!"
A clean strike. The monster's head rolled free, lifeless.
"Shit! It's not disappearing or dropping items?"
David scowled. One of the game's annoying features—corpses didn't despawn, and players had to manually carve out their loot.
"Ugh, what a pain," he muttered, shoving the heavy body aside. He pried off the hard shells, plucked out teeth, and finally, his eyes gleamed as he spotted the heart.
'I have to test it out—if it really boosts mana temporarily.'
David dug his fingers into the carcass, ripping through tissue and gristle until he yanked the heart free. According to a forum post, consuming the [Morning Star]'s heart would give a temporary mana boost.
"Gah…tastes bitter!"
[+25 Mana Buff Effect]
"At least I got the buff."
Storing the spoils, David prowled onward. But something felt off. Hours passed, and he encountered only small creatures scurrying away, eyes wide with fear.
"BOOOOMMM!"
The forest shook. David bolted toward the sound, leaping over roots and ducking branches. He emerged in a clearing where dozens of trees lay felled.
Two mighty monsters were locked in a fierce battle: a snow-furred fox crackling with electricity and a massive spider dripping acid.
"What were the devs smoking when they made monsters fight each other?"
[White Fox LVL 17][HP: 4,000 / 29,000]
David's eyes widened. The fox was a high-level beast, but it wasn't what caught his attention.
[Archanus LVL 22][HP: 6,000 / 32,000]
An Archanus—a boss-level monster in the tutorial area. But its HP was down to 6,000. That was a free XP bag waiting to be claimed!
The fox lunged, lightning crackling around its fangs. The spider reared back, launching a spray of sizzling acid. David's eyes narrowed.
"Whoosh!"
His spear sailed between the two monsters.
"You two can't kill each other. That's my job. The job of a monster hunter!"
"...""..."
'Ugh, maybe that was too corny…'
[You have employed Basic Proficiency of Pace! -12 MP!]
The spider snapped its mandibles, spewing acid. David rolled right, dodging. The fox surged forward, electricity lancing toward him—he twisted away and smashed the spider with a mace blow.
The monsters slumped, twitching weakly. David loomed over them, grinning.
"Dev's did an impressive job making these fights realistic."
He eyed his prey. "Well, who should I kill first?"
But then both monsters stirred, and David instinctively slammed his fists into their heads. They slumped again.
"Stay down!"
"P-pity…" The fox rasped."Don't kill me…" the spider croaked.
David frowned. "Yeah, right! From the monster lore, your kin ate an entire village!"
His grip tightened, but the fox spoke again.
"I was defending my territory… The Archanus attacked me first."
The spider wheezed. "I...was hungry...we fight to live."
David hesitated. Monsters weren't supposed to talk unless scripted. Was this a rare event? A hidden quest?
His eyes flicked to the system notifications. No quest prompt appeared, only the two beasts staring at him—pleading.
"Well, crap…" David sighed. "Fine, let's hear your story before I decide what to do with you."
He crossed his arms and waited. The forest was silent except for the crackle of electricity and the faint drip of acid.