Earlier that day…
The memory still stung worse than the wasps had. VICE had been having a perfect grinding session. His arrows were finding their mark consistently, a proof to his skill. Each wasp dropping with a single well placed shot to their thorax. The experience was flowing steadily.
Things were great. Everything was going okay, and he would soon enough reach level 10. Nothing could stop him… and then his luck decided to reduce itself to the negatives.
Out of nowhere, completely unprovoked, the Crimson Wasp Queen emerged, chasing after him.
VICE always liked to blame himself if he could, he usually thought that blaming RNG was a skill issue. A way to blame their own problems on so called bad luck. But this time, he really had no other answer.
Because he wasn't hunting crimson wasps. He was hunting Yellow-Striped Wasps. Crimson wasps weren't allies of the Yellow-Striped Wasps. They were enemies.
So where the heck did this nonsense Crimson Wasp Queen come from!?
"Crap!" VICE had immediately turned to run. He could still escape. The Queen was fast but not faster than him, especially after he activated Nimble Feet.
Except he wasn't paying as much attention as he thought.
His foot caught on a vine hidden in the tall grass. He went down hard, rolling to minimize the impact. He still had distance on the Wasp. His situation was still okay, until he hit THAT while rolling.
A ground trap for animals.
[-72 HP]
The rusty metal jaws snapped shut on his calf with the sound of broken bones. VICE screamed, more from surprise than pain.
After all, the game settings for pain were merciful. He wasn't some crazy person who would change the settings to give himself more pain. That would be ridiculous. Who would do that? Why was that even a setting?
Only a lunatic would do that to themselves.
And yet, the damage was real. His HP dropped by a third, and his movement speed was crippled.
"Come on, come ON!" He'd frantically tried to pry the trap open while the buzzing grew louder. Finally, it released, but not before tearing a chunk from his leg. He limped forward, desperate to find cover.
The rock formation ahead looked perfect. It held a small cave he could duck into and maybe lose the wasps in the darkness. He'd stumbled toward it, leaning heavily on the stone for support.
That is when the weathered rock gave way.
The entire formation collapsed inward with him at the center. Stones the size of his head tumbled down, pinning his already injured leg. The 'cave' turned out to be nothing more than a death trap of loose rocks.
"K…K…" He didn't know exactly what, but he severely felt the need to exclaim something. "Keys!" It just felt right. He heard it once before from someone…
The wasps had found him there trapped like an animal, unable to even draw his bow properly in the confined space. The Queen's stinger had punched through his chest like a lance.
[-342 HP]
[You have died.]
…
As for his second death…
VICE had learned his lesson about ground level hunting. Farming mobs from the trees was safer. The additional elevation gave him better sightlines, escape routes, and even hid him better as he would be among the branches and leaves.
Not to mention, he'd have no chance of being screwed over by a stray vine or a trap some careless NPC left behind.
Screw that.
He'd found the perfect perch in an old oak. Its branches formed a natural blind. The wasps below were oblivious to his presence as he picked them off one by one.
This was more like it. This was how an archer should hunt.
"Almost 70% to level 10." he'd muttered, nocking another arrow.
Then the tree exploded.
[-1320 HP]
One moment he was lining up a shot, the next he was airborne, the entire upper portion of the oak simply gone. As he fell, he caught a glimpse of his killer. A massive humanoid wolf, easily eight feet tall with muscles rippling beneath silver fur. It hadn't even looked at him, just passed through where his tree had been like it was made of paper.
The ground rushed up to meet him.
[You have died.]
…
"Time for slimes." VICE muttered, trudging through the marshland on the opposite side of Macres from where the werewolf had been. "Slimes are safe, slow, and stupid. Nothing can go wrong with slimes."
He'd been right, for the most part. The gelatinous creatures were predictable, their attacks telegraphed by the way they compressed before launching. His arrows weren't as effective against their semi-liquid bodies, but consistent headshots, if you could call the denser part of a slime a head, still did decent damage.
[EXP +11] [EXP +12] [EXP +11]
"Finally," VICE breathed, checking his experience bar. "95% to level 10. Just a few more..."
That's when he noticed the spores.
They were tiny, almost invisible in the marsh mist. Purple spores drifted past his vision. VICE froze, slowly turning to track their source.
Behind him, having somehow approached completely silently, stood a Ghost Mushroom. It had a ghastly color with a deep purple cap. This was not just any Ghost Mushroom, however. This one was massive, easily three times the size of the ones he'd seen in the distance.
[Giant Ghost Mushroom - Level 18]
"You have GOT to be kidding me." VICE hissed, already backing away. "How?! WHY?!"
The mushroom's response was to release a cloud of spores that made the air saturate with purple mist. VICE immediately held his breath and dove to the side and nocked an arrow as he did so, quickly firing it.
The arrow passed harmlessly through the creature's semi corporeal form.
"Of course. Of COURSE it's a ghost type." VICE scrambled behind a dead tree, mind racing. Physical attacks were useless against enemies like this without some kind of enhancement. At level 10 when he finally became a proper archer, this wouldn't be a problem, but at level 9…
The tree he was hiding behind began to wither as spores settled on it.
"Think, think, THINK!" VICE's eyes darted around the swamp.
There!
An old campsite, probably left by some NPC hunter. It held a doused fire pit, some supplies, and a small container of lamp oil.
The Ghost Mushroom phased through the now dead tree like it wasn't there, its cap opening to release another spore cloud. VICE was already moving, diving for the campsite. His fingers found the oil, and an insane idea formed.
"This is so stupid." he muttered, dousing several arrows with the oil. With a piece of flint from his kit, a strike against his boot knife, now he suddenly had flaming arrows. "This is SO stupid."
The first flaming arrow struck the Ghost Mushroom's cap and actually stuck, the fire somehow interacting with its spectral form. The creature let out a sound like wind and began moving faster, becoming erratic.
"It worked?!" VICE couldn't believe it. He had tried for the sake of trying, though he didn't have high hopes. He fired again, this time aiming for the stem. Another hit, more fire spreading across the creature's form. "I'm fighting a ghost mushroom with FLAMING ARROWS. This game is insane!"
The Ghost Mushroom retaliated by releasing spores in a full circle, forcing VICE to abandon his position. He ran, firing backward, each flaming arrow finding its mark. The mushroom pursued, leaving a trail of withered plants in its wake.
"Come on, just DIE already!" VICE had three flaming arrows left. The oil was running low. The mushroom was burning but still coming.
He made a desperate choice. Instead of running, he charged straight at the creature, sliding beneath its cap at the last second. The spores passed over him as he came up on the other side, spun, and fired all three remaining arrows point blank into what passed for its core.
The Ghost Mushroom shuddered, flames consuming it from within. With a final mournful wail, it dispersed into motes of purple light.
[EXP +47]
[Level Up! 9 -> 10]
VICE collapsed onto his back in the marsh mud, breathing heavily. His hands shook as he opened his message screen and it to his future team.
[VICE: "Level 10. FINALLY. You would not believe what I just had to do. I got ambushed yet another time by something I shouldn't have encountered. I had to make flaming arrows on the spot. But I'm level 10!"]
[Lumi: "Congratulations! Head to the bowman instructor whenever you're ready, then meet us at the Golem Temple."]
[Lena: "YAY! Did you set it on fire?! Fire is pretty!]
[TrueKnightRyan: "Welcome to level 10, brother. The real game starts now."]
VICE slowly got to his feet. His luck had been abysmal, but he'd made it. He could finally go and join Lumi's party.
He didn't know when, but at some point his heart began yearning to join them more and more. At first he had only seen it as a temporary collaboration with equals. But the longer he was unable to even meet the requirements to join them, the more respect he had for Lumi who had reached level ten a few hours into the first day.
Now VICE was level 10 too. It was time to get his class and join the real grind.
As he trudged back toward Macres, he couldn't help but mutter, "I swear, if I roll yet another bout of bad RNG…"
A shuffle from a nearby bush made him instinctively jump back in panic, only to see it was a regular level 4 slime.
He sighed in relief, and decided not to tempt his luck further.