The alleyway smelled of rot and old leather. It was a narrow choke point between the back of a tavern and a tannery, a place where sunlight died before it hit the cobblestones.
Most new players avoided places like this. They stuck to the brightly lit square, terrified of getting mugged before they even killed their first slime.
Elian walked into the shadows with the casual stride of a man walking into his own kitchen.
He counted the steps. Twelve paces past the overflowing trash barrel. Thirteen. Fourteen.
Stop.
He stood before a grimy brick wall that looked identical to every other section of the alley.
"Fifty years ago," Elian murmured, his eyes scanning the mortar, "a thief player named 'Sly_Fox' stumbled into this alley while running from guards. He tripped, hit this wall, and found the hollow space."
Elian tapped a specific brick with the pommel of his rusted dagger.
Tink. Tink. Thunk.
Hollow.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. The System hadn't changed the map.
He jammed his fingers into the mortar cracks and pulled. The brick groaned, fighting him for a second before sliding free with a puff of dust. Behind it sat a small, velvet pouch covered in thick cobwebs.
Elian reached in.
Skreee!
Something fast, hairy, and many-legged dropped from the shadows above his wrist.
[Monster Encountered: Shadow-Weave Spider (Level 3)]
For a normal Level 1 player, this was a death sentence. The spider's venom caused paralysis. In this dark alley, nobody would find the body until the rats were finished with it.
Elian didn't flinch. He didn't even look up.
His brain, honed by fifty years of dodging dragon breath and void beams, registered the threat before the spider even let go of its web.
Drop trajectory: Left forearm. Speed: Moderate.
His mind commanded his arm to snap back, to execute a perfect counter-slash that would bisect the spider in mid-air.
But his body lagged.
His Level 1 muscles were slow. Sluggish. Weak. His arm moved through the air like it was underwater.
The spider landed on his wrist, its fangs glistening with green venom.
"Tch. Slow."
Elian couldn't dodge it. So he used physics instead.
He slammed his wrist—spider and all—against the rough brick wall. Hard.
CRUNCH.
Green ichor splattered across his skin. The spider twitched once, crushed into a paste, and then dissolved into grey pixels.
[You have slain a Shadow-Weave Spider (Level 3)!]
[Experience gained: 15]
Elian winced, shaking the spider guts off his bruised forearm. "Gotta remember. My brain is a Ferrari, but this body is a broken-down wagon."
He reached into the hole again. This time, he pulled out the dusty velvet pouch. He dumped the contents into his palm.
A simple silver band with a small, cloudy amethyst tumbled out.
[Ding!]
[Hidden Piece Discovered!]
[Item Acquired: Ring of Swiftness (Rare)]
[Requirements: None]
[Effect: Agility +20. Movement Speed +10%.]
Elian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
The average Level 1 player started with 5 Agility. This ring quintupled his reaction speed instantly. It was an item that players would kill for up to Level 20, sitting in a wall for five years because nobody bothered to look down a dark alley.
Elian slid the ring onto his finger. It resized perfectly.
A jolt of electricity seemed to run up his spine. The heaviness in his limbs evaporated. The world seemed to slow down just a fraction of a second. He bounced on the balls of his feet.
Better, he thought. Not good. But playable.
He looked back towards the sunlit square, then toward the town gates leading to the hunting grounds. The tutorial was over.
"Time to grind."