CLA.S.S NEUTRAL: Stranger Is Coming

The dense forest is my home. Forest Goblin. Fly Agaric.

This place was very attractive and beautiful. The sun's rays went through the crowns of the trees, plunging into the ground like light spears and scattering the shadow around.

The ground is covered with green grass and moss; I'm likely to find berries and mushrooms here. I mean, I wish I could find them. I guess I should improve my Observation skill.

Since the road was long, I examined my trophies along the way—the fangs, the tails, and any other stuff that could be useful for creating potions and improving my Alchemy skill. However, I was interested in the seeds and the coin most of all

Stone Lime's Seeds

Description: Stone Lime fruit has very hard bark for better seed preservation

The seeds are a very valuable ingredient for a number of powerful elixirs.

The seeds shine with dim light; they are fragile and s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to sudden temperature fluctuations

Hellish Abyss's emanations, the Bright Heaven, or Arag wasteland are necessary for growth

Quantity: 2

Effect: +10% to the level of Alchemy skill

Effect duration: 4 hours

Ancient coin

Description: Item is not identified

I wish I knew more about this coin! I hope I can find out something about it later.

The information about the seeds is very interesting. I think they could be sprouted. But why would I do that? It doesn't matter, though. I wonder where I can get these emanations and whether the shape and properties of the trees would depend on the type of this emanation. I don't want to use the forum; I'd better explore this world myself. Anyway, I better head to the Help section first.

Emanation is the concentrated energy of someone or something

Excellent wording, though very short. I'd like to know how to obtain or collect this emanation. Thinking of it, I approached the place where I thought there were fire and smoke.

A little while later, I came to a small clearing. I saw a burning campfire and a cabin covered with ground and moss. A crooked tree grew on the top of this small dwelling. One wall of the hut was replaced by two huge stones overgrown with moss. There was too much smoke—as if a whole square mile of the forest was on fire.

I had no time to think about it. The shabby door of the cabin opened, and someone came out. It was a humanoid creature, completely covered with dark gray wool and leaves. Several branches were sticking out from his back, and an ordinary red fly agaric with a pair of toadstools grew on his head.

His face was almost human: narrowed eyes, a long nose, and a beard brushing the ground. This strange elderly figure leaned on a twisted long stick, wrapped in swamp slime and moss.

He came up to me, and it turned out that this... creature was two heads taller than me. How did he manage to get through that little door? I looked over him and saw something interesting.

Forest Goblin ??? eh ??? eh ??? level

What the hell? Why are there so many question marks in my quests and messages? Is there a problem with the game? I seem to be lucky for attracting such weird stuff.

"Hello, Stranger." The forest goblin spoke confidently and quietly, not grunting. "I've been waiting for you for so long."

Of course, I'm the one you've been waiting for. I'm probably the first player in Rainea's history who walked here. Now he'll talk about the ancient prophecy saying that the hero will come and save the world from evil. Blah-blah-blah.

"I'd like to show you where you'll live until you are a bit stronger."

"Oh." I could hardly utter some sounds.

"The transition from one world to another must have been difficult for you if you still aren't able to talk," he muttered, patting his beard and looking at me. "I hope you'll recover soon."

A dusty road suit covered with leaves and twigs, disheveled hair, and my dirty boots—I looked like a homeless tramp rather than a hero. According to the developers' legend, all the players appearing in Rainea were strangers coming from distant worlds. They came here for money because the game gold could be exchanged for real money at a favorable rate.

However, it was as difficult to earn the game gold as to earn rubles or dollars in real life. To avoid using the game as an intermediary for fraud, the value of the game gold in each country corresponded to the exchange rate of the real-world currencies.

I didn't understand how this was possible, but this information was posted on the official website of the 'Corporation Creator's Studio', which developed the game.

Some players liked to kill monsters, others prefer killing people, and some gamers just enjoyed the game and wanted to explore the world. Each player had his own goals in this game, so it would be almost impossible to list everything.

I knew that more than fifty million people played 'Rainea', though I didn't understand how they were distributed over the lands of the game universe.

"Good afternoon, sir," I was finally able to speak. "How did you know I would come?"

"I believed that you would be able to talk." The forest goblin nodded joyfully. "As for your question, Stranger. I had a vision that a very curious guy would appear in our world. I then needed to meet him and teach him."

I squinted and copied the old goblin's gesture, stroking my chin. "Who can send such a vision?"

"I don't know, Stranger." The goblin sighed. "Maybe one of the gods descended to the forest dweller, or maybe it was the universe itself. I see that you'll be a very capable disciple."

"Really?" I looked at the man incredulously and wanted to ask why he decided so, but he just removed something from my head quickly. There was a squeezed fly agaric in his hand, which was smaller than the mushroom on his head. The mushroom cap was dark purple, and I looked at it more closely.

Panther Fly Agaric

Description: This mushroom has an incredibly terrible poison that can kill an ordinary human in ten seconds, but it is ther.a.p.eutic for many species of animals, and it is able to cure a number of their serious injuries and diseases

Valuable alchemical ingredient

You must obtain an Alchemy skill of at least level 100 to make potions from this mushroom

Note: Especially dangerous for orcs

Able to scare off spirits and downworlders

Class: rare

You'd better not to cook it for dinner

I put the mushroom in my bag just in case; it might be useful to me later.

"The mushrooms love you; they're very sad that you haven't noticed them since you came here, and this Arn-Olch even managed to climb you, but you were still blind to its presence. I had to take it out before you received a fatal dose of poison." The forest goblin smiled and looked at me curiously. "I've never seen mushrooms pay attention to any of the other strangers before.

"Explore the forest carefully and gain some experience. I'll come to you when the day changes into the night only once. I know that all strangers are immortal, but you be better not to die, otherwise, it would greatly slow down the pace of your training." With that, the goblin turned into moss on a flat stone lying on the ground, and his staff turned into a low gnarled tree.

Having seen this, I fell and noticed that I was sitting in a dirty puddle. I was in the mud and twigs with the fly agaric in my hands.

You've learned the skill 'Disguise'

Description: Passing through the forest you don't notice, but you are covered with leaves, twigs, moss and even mushrooms, hiding you from animals and birds' eyes that don't even pay attention to a lone traveler

Skill Class: unusual

Skill level: 1

Note: Take a shower, Muddy!

Oh. Screw it! I got up, and the clods of dirt fell to the ground, just like snow falling from tree branches.

I'd better take that advice. Despite getting a new skill, I was upset.

I approached the cabin and saw a small pond or a swamp behind it. I washed off all the dirt quickly and immediately noticed the expansion of the interface, which now consisted of four parts.

Except for the standard mana and vitality, an additional function emerged, and it was responsible for my level of concealment from prying eyes.

Now, this indicator showed only twenty percent. I wonder whether I'll turn into the same old man covered with moss if I live here for a month. Then no one will see me for sure.

Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Dwelling in the forest. Quest. Melee with the Bear.

I liked the cabin. I was afraid it would look like a big fox hole, but I was wrong. The room was illuminated by the dim blue light of a few mushrooms that grew in a special container on the white chalk-like stone.

There was a lamp on the round oak table, and two massive oak chairs stood nearby. There was a wardrobe with a pile of some old junk and dust.

There were two doors in the cabin: one of them was locked, and behind the second door there was a large pile of dry moss, covered with a large piece of cloth. It must be a bedroom. Well, that's great.

If I understand correctly, I need to find some creatures, kill them, and then collect any loot. If a flock of the damned hares doesn't chase me, everything will okay.

Oh, I was so wrong…

Power of the Forest Keeper ran out. The effect of 'Hugging of the Forest Goblin Path' faded away

I was stunned by the forest noise as if I was awakened by the loud sounds of hard rock at night. The forest goblin seemed to have created the path for me, so I could get to the cabin and wouldn't be killed on the way.

Why didn't I hear any sounds when I came here, but I can hear them now? I'll figure it out later. Now, I need to hunt for some local animals.

I wandered through the forest for several hours. As I traveled, a wild apple fell on my head, and I scratched my back with wild raspberry thorns. My prey was five damned squirrels, hares, and even a lone badger. I killed them with ordinary stones, which smashed the mobs.

My loot wasn't very impressive: a pair of squirrel tails, three hare ears, and one badger tooth in addition to my alchemical reserves. I should study alchemy and make some potions out of all the stuff I've collected. I wonder why I haven't found any mushrooms or herbs, though.

It was getting dark.

It'll take me about an hour to get back to my cabin. So, I better hurry back because I don't know who I might meet out here at night.

I wonder why I've obtained only the fourth level after killing so many creatures. Why do I have so few experience points? I better figure it out quickly.

"Stranger." I heard a voice to my right and shuddered. "I remembered one important thing I forgot to tell you."

You've got the quest 'Training with the Goblin I'

Description: Forest Keeper lives in a dense forest, forgotten by all in the world

He takes care of his possessions and protects them

One day, he saw a Stranger who needed his help in his dream

The goblin helped you; help him now

Requirement: to obtain the fifth level, to explore the forest

Reward: +500 to the experience, + 100 to the reputation with the Forest Keeper

Penalty for non-completing the quest or failure: -100 to the reputation with the Forest Keeper

Will you accept the quest: Yes/No?

Yes, certainly. There's no need to quarrel with the only intelligent creature here. How forgetful is this forest goblin! What if a small number of experience points was related to the quest? I wish I could have asked the forest goblin about that! Where can I find him?

I obtained the fourth level and twenty undistributed stat points. What does the quest 'Explore the Forest' actually mean? It seems to me that the territory of this forest would occupy half of Europe. I'll probably walk around the cabin until it gets dark. Maybe I'll get more experience points for hunting creatures at night.

On the way home, it dawned on me. I took a lamp with glowing mushrooms, went back to the forest, climbed a tree, and waited. After ten minutes, I dozed off.

The pale light of the moon and a grinding sound woke me. I wish I had not taken mushrooms with me; everything is perfectly visible. I climbed down carefully and went towards the sound.

I felt like I was in a horror movie as the victim went into the monster's mouth. Anyway, I was very curious and immortal; I had seen a lot. What did I have to be scared of?

Screw it! What a kind of monster scr.a.p.ed rocks with five-foot-long claws! It's hard for me to describe him. But I will try. The monster was about six and a half feet tall at the withers, and its body was made of bones that were connected to each other in a very bizarre way.

Human skulls were placed on the sides of flexible cervical vertebrae, similar to snakes. They looked around as turquoise lights smoldered in the bottomless eye sockets. Each paw consisted of a large bone with the remains of human flesh around it.

A bear skull with solid fangs was biting and scratching the stone, and it turned abruptly and stared in my direction. I froze with horror. The sweat rolled from my temples when two eyes, glistening with emerald fire, stared back at me.

Bony Bear. Level 50

Screw it! This creature roared so loudly that a lion's roar would have seemed a small kitten's meowing. I rushed away, and the bear followed me. I remembered the place of our meeting because I wondered why this creature had scratched the stone.

I ran as fast as I could, dodging through trees like a hare. Finally, my tactic worked, and the bear hit a tree, which, in spite of the enormous force of the blow, still stood. A familiar tree.

The Stone Lime was much stronger than the downworlder, and it helped me again. As soon as I find any emanations, I will definitely bring them to such a useful tree. The monster's bones cracked, which made it cry with resentment.

Critical strike! Bony Bear's damage is 67 health points

Bony Bear's Health is 933/1000 HP

Bony Bear is injured—'Broken leg'

I'm afraid I'll never beat the beast; he's got a thousand HP! I felt exhausted, so I decided to take a break. I leaned against the nearest tree and closed my eyes.

Injury 'Broken leg' is healed.

Damned bear! I had to run back to my cabin spending my Stamina points. The indicator of my vitality faded, warning that I could fall from exhaustion at any moment, but I kept running.

"R-R-R-a-a!" I heard a deafening roar behind me.

"Bad day, bad day, bad da-a-y!" I yelled and ran as fast as if I had recently won a gold medal in the Olympics.

However, it was very difficult to escape from the bear, and it was useless to climb a tree. What shall I do? The bear's jaws snapped at a distance of two inches from my foot.

My speed slowed considerably, and the monster quickly caught up with me. Screw it! In the next moment, I uttered all the curses I knew about all the American filmmakers because I stumbled over a rock in the true tradition of American horror movies. However, I didn't fall under the monster's feet, rather I jumped up and landed on the bear's back. One of his sculls immediately bit into my arm and leg.

Elk -tahr deals you damage equal to 12 damage points; your health is 18/30

Elk -tahr deals out damage equal to 11 damage points; your health is 7/30

Oh, it hurts! Groaning in pain, I pulled out one of the skulls together with the spinal column and hit the other skull.

If the bear could swear, it would have cursed like a malicious gangster, but it didn't know how to do it, so it roared so loudly that I was almost deaf, and I flew off the creature's back.

You've dealt damage to the Bony Bear equal to 33 damage points, health 900/1000!

You've lost 5 health points, your health 2/30!

Critical State!

You seem to be dying... You need healing

What should I do now? Shall I find a bucket of holy water somewhere and splash it in the bear's muzzle? Let it wash! How have I even managed to deprive it of a hundred health points? The bear turned and looked at me angrily.

I began to prepare for my rebirth, looking for something in my bag to distract the beast. I threw the first object at the animal. The Panther Fly Agaric flew into the Bony Bear's open mouth, and then I heard a strong explosion.

Deep purple steam enveloped the monster's muzzle, and the animal roared furiously. I quickly ran towards the cabin. The indicator of HP was painted scarlet, and the contours of a skull were already visible above it. I won't die!

You've dealt damage to the Bony Bear equal to 1 damage point, health 899/1000!

Ah-ha-ha-ha! Why have you yelled so loudly, bastard?

I hoped that I had managed to overcome a monster of the fiftieth level, and I'd receive a lot of bonuses and loot. I seemed to be wrong!

I was about to get spanked, not the loot. I had to run thirty feet to my cabin. I ran that distance in thirteen seconds at school. I wonder how long it will take me now. The Bear roared but didn't follow me. I must not stumble or fall, otherwise, I will die. However, nothing bad has happened yet, or I just haven't noticed any troubles.