Foxian Reset
Chapter 1 - The New Foxian
"Hm, I'm a little bored…"
Ray Belmont
High Monk
Level ???
HP: 1237329/1237329
MP: 759457/759457
STR: 120452
INT: 34860
DEX: 76921
VIT: 958202
AGI: 230852
LUK: 605931
It was a lazy Tuesday afternoon and guild wars had started. Usually, it was 50/50 pvp battle. In a way, it was like the game, capture the flag. Raid the enemy base, destroy their crystal, and place your own where it used to be.
"Hm, I remember when there were so many people playing with me. Everyone is gone now."
I sat by my guild's crystal, a tad bored. Being the last one in the guild still playing, it wasn't as fun as it used to be. Over time, my fellow members all left the game.
"After this last match, I think I'll quit too…"
Celsius, the second strongest guild in the game broke in, running towards my base. I was lost in thought until I saw a few messages pop up from the bottom of my screen. So, I took to my feet as the army of 50 players rushed up to my crystal.
[Skill – Hurricane Kick]
My monk swept five high rank players away, demolishing them with countless 999999+ damage. The system couldn't keep up as they blasted away. The game started to lag out as the numbers were all over the screen.
"What the heck is he?!"
The guild leader, Aaron Stiffelman, screamed in messages. Paladins, knights, archers, arch mages, nothing was spared from my skills. Celsius was wasted and their respawn time will take too long for them to reach the crystal before the end of guild wars.
"Alright, I'm done with this game. It's not fun anymore."
I stretched with my character. It's been ten years of Keostar Online and I felt as if I've seen everything. Most of the old players have left yet I lingered around and grinded to the point that guild wars, one of the most sought out after PVP events was… boring.
Despite how much I wanted to keep playing, there was nothing to play.
"Hm? There's still one more player in here?"
On the top of the screen, it showed the one more player was still in the battle area. So, to not leave a job undone, I decided it would be best to give them a proper welcome and goodbye.
"Alright, one more kill and then I'll turn the game off and get a job."
I promised myself. I've been so addicted for the last ten years, avoiding getting a job became my job. But since my yearn for the game was satiated and I effectively won Keostar Online, it was time to set the game down for good.
"Use this, add this, this goes first, and that should maximize my damage with this…"
I used up all my ATK buff items. Since there wasn't technically a max in this game, these were the highest stats I've seen in a while. When the last player finally reached the top of my tower, I was surprised to see that it was just a lone regular female priest.
[Hurricane Crusher]
With a flash of my skill executing, I punched the priest. -2,451,486,060 damage destroyed the poor holy woman. Not the highest damage I've seen but it was still fun to deal regardless.
"Huh?"
The game shut off suddenly and my room went pitch black. I assumed it had to be a power outage.
"You killed my favorite acolyte so bad, she crashed out of the Keostar."
An annoyed voice groaned from the empty space of my room. I looked about as a whisper touched my ear.
"Alright, you've abused my world for far too long. How about you try to do the same thing with only one chance to live?"
I blank and opened my eyes. The wind danced across my face as strands of blond hairs washed over my eyes. I could feel the hair along my back. And I strange sensation of a fluffy tail bouncing up and down caused me to touch my backside.
"Fluffy tail?"
I looked up at the collection of trees above. Just looking at them told me where I was in this strange world…
"Onyx Forest?"
This was the intro stage of Keostar online. A place where all the novices would learn the rules of the game. The nostalgia captured my chest as a slight grin raised the corner of my mouth.
"Huh? T-There's no way this is real, right?"
I looked around at the 3D world and felt my face. It was smooth and soft, very feminine. On the top of my long blonde hair, slightly pointy ears with fluffy hair on them sat there.
"I'm a foxian, aren't I?!"
"Ahhhh!"
A message box appeared above her head and faded away in a few seconds.
"Why are you yelling?"
The goddess, Rexia appeared above her. She has beautiful long white hair and tantalizing red eyes. In a white gown and holding a golden harp, she elegantly hovered over me. A goddess that swore to protect this world and bless those who enter with the power to defend said world.
"W-What's going on?"
I demanded answers, while touching my body. I was wearing the novice foxian gear, a purple short dress that showed my thighs and brown shoes with no socks. My tail wouldn't stop moving, probably because I was a tad anxious.
"I've watched you for ten years exploit everything in the world of Keostar! You know how annoying it is seeing someone so proud win at this game?"
"Proud? I'm not proud. I'm just a good player. It's a fact."
The goddess floated around me with disdain in her glare.
"Then show me how good of a player you are! Here are the rules."
Rexia smiled devilishly, an expression I haven't seen in any promotional videos, let alone the game world itself.
"If you die, you will die permanently. There are no redoes like the game allows all other players. And in order to escape this game, you'll have to find where I reside and beat me for your freedom!"
Annoyed, I touched my ears again. They were super fluffy but that wasn't the problem here.
"Wait, I'm a foxian, though! This is the worst class race in the game!"
Every guidebook for Keostar Online warns against playing the foxian class. They have inherently low stats starting off. But they make up for it by gaining more skill points. But the problem is their skills aren't that good in the long run. Nothing is really great about them in the late game either.
"Figure it out! Don't die by the slimes at the tutorial! I want to watch you struggle for your life!"
The goddess kicked her feet about as she hollowed like a hyena. In a holy glow, she vanished in the mid-day sun.
"This can't be real… I must be in a strange dream."
I put out my hand and my character stats appeared. It was strange how I knew that would work. Maybe it was some implanted knowledge from playing the game so long?
Kae Loredom
Level 1
Foxian Trainee
HP: 36/36
MP: 5/5
STR: 5
INT: 3
DEX: 2
VIT: 1
AGI: 5
LUK: 0
I put my menu away and walked over to the tutorial gift box for novices. It was a super big treasure chest out in the middle of nowhere. Thinking about it too hard would take away from the immersion so, I opted to just reach inside and see what they gave the new players nowadays.
"How inconvenient! I shouldn't have to... shove my body this far down to grab a few items."
My body was halfway in as I pulled out a short sword and a helmet shaped like a half-broken egg shell. The stats were better than nothing, adding +3 STR for the short sword and +1 VIT for the giant egg shell hat. When I put the hat on, my fluffy ears still stuck out form the top. I gently stroked them for a moment before checking my updated stats again.
Foxian Trainee
HP: 37/37
MP: 5/5
STR: 8
INT: 3
DEX: 2
VIT: 2
AGI: 5
LUK: 0
"Slimes are easy, even a foxian's can deal with them."
This was different than looking on a screen though. My chest was heart pound at the thought of seeing the 2D creatures in full 3D. Slowly, I approached the next area. From the distance, I could hear the rough and gooey sound of slimes bouncing about.
"Slimes!"
The monster was bright green and translucent. The weakest color of the Keostar slime family. It bounced around with an easygoing cartoony look on it's face.
Slime
HP 12/12
MP 2/2
"Die for me!"
I ravaged the slime, stabbing away at it with my short sword. Dealing a solid -4HP per hit. The slime tried to counter but I was quick, dodging out of the way.
"Alright, time to finish my prey!"
With every lunge the slime would throw at me, I would avoid and attack back, dealing -4HP again. One more strike is all they needed. My ears perked up as the gooey sound came from another direction though.
"Huh?!"
Another slime attacked from behind, striking my sides unexpectedly. -12HP, a good chunk of my HP.
"Arrgg! I was careless."
Annoyed, I finished off one slime. It burst and angel wings resonated around me with a short jingle I learned to love. The leveling up sound effect was music to my ears. With that, all of my HP and MP maxed out as a reward for leveling up.
KAE LEVELED UP.
Level 2
Foxian Trainee
HP: 38/38
MP: 6/6
STR: 7
INT: 5
DEX: 2
VIT: 2
AGI: 6
LUK: 0
NEXT LEVEL 10/120
"Now to deal with you!"
I stabbed the second slime, dealing -12HP, popping the gooey cretin in one hit.
EXP gained 25.
"Okay, it's been years since I saw the novice grounds. But I have all the time in the world since I don't need a job now…"
I juggled the short sword in both hands, getting a feel for the weapon. It was light and I wouldn't become over encumbered any time soon.
"Time to grind. If I die, I really die. So, I need to consider things before I make my moves."
In the game of Kerostar, just by doing simple things, stats can raise. Walking around long enough can up your AGI eventually. But its slow and takes a long time, but it does happen. So, my plan was to keep moving, even when standing!
After killing a few more slimes, I reached level 4.
KAE LEVELED UP.
Level 4
Foxian Trainee
HP: 45/45
MP: 14/14
STR: 9
INT: 8
DEX: 3
VIT: 2
AGI: 8
LUK: 1
NEXT LEVEL 160/620
NEW SKILL TREE UNLOCKED
I finally unlocked access to the skill tree. My first skill I wanted to get was an area of effect skill (AOE) that's super weak and only deals roughly a fraction of max strength starting out.
[Tail Spin LV1]
I touched my tail, and it was super fluffy. Like abnormally fluffy. I had a dog growing up, but our tails wouldn't compare. I could probably sleep on this tail if I was tired.
"I really am a foxian."
But it wasn't time to dwell on how fluffy my tail was! I needed to do a dangerous thing to get EXP faster and level up! So, I approached the next area slowly. There was a group of three slimes, bouncing around and just living life. Little did they know they only had seconds to live.
"Ha!"
I stabbed one and slime spayed my way as it died a cruel cold death. The rest of the monster's lunged at me as I ran around the forest. Soon a mob of them were jumping at me, trying to strike me down at once.
"Yeah, just like that."
Keostar Online had a problem with monsters sometimes lagging and hitting you when they weren't close enough for that attack. So, I knew I had to be wary that a slime might nick me from a distance without being close to me.
After herding around 12 of the little slimy green guys, I used my new skill.
[Tail Spin!]
A bunch of them got hit with 6-8HP damage. A few got critical hit, popping instantly. But it will take a few more whacks of my tail for the majority of them to die.
"No, you don't!"
I dived, avoiding the lunge of multiple slimes. If all of them hit me at once, I'm dead for sure and this little game with Rexia would have a lackluster ending.
Once they got close enough, I used [Tail Spin!] again, whipping my tail and destroying all of them in one hit.
KAE LEVELED UP.
Level 6
Foxian Trainee
HP: 85/85
MP: 24/24
STR: 13
INT: 9
DEX: 4
VIT: 3
AGI: 10
LUK: 2
NEXT LEVEL 160/3620
+3 SKILL POINTS
"Ah, that EXP requirement jump."
I groaned.
After cracking my neck, I buckled down for it. If I was going to get strong enough to beat the goddess and escape Keostar, a little bit of grind was nothing. I was getting used to moving around in this 3D environment, meaning I was able to kite my foes better.
"Around 20 slimes are good enough for now."
I spun my tail, spewing the guts of the slimes all over the forest. After repeating this pattern for some time, a neat little item popped out from the gooey mess I left.
"Ah!"
A shiny core came out of one. A drop that every monster has that's a 0.001% drop. Every monster's core can be equipped to weapons and armors, depending on the amount of slots per equipment.
"Hmm… DEX+1 is what this [Slime Core] does. Anything counts at this point, I guess."
I took my short sword and inserted the core.
Short sword - [Slime Core], [].
I had two slots on this beginners weapon. Even if it's a weak low-level weapon, any additional stats are more chances to win the next fight. DEX also makes skills execute faster so, my tail skill cool down will be that much sooner.
"Back to the grind. Hm, this isn't too bad."
I had a slight smile on my face. It reminded me of the days when I first booted up Keostar Online. But it wasn't as laggy since this wasn't day 1, launch day.
As I was kitting my next set of slimes, they suddenly all turned away and ran off into the distance.
"Uh oh."
I knew what that means. The boss of the area was coming. The smaller monsters would run towards them to defend them, a sign for players to stay away if they were weaker or run to if they wanted to beat them.
"It's a Fallen Angel."
In the lore of the game, fallen angels are monsters bless with stronger powers by the demon lord. This one here, in the novice ground, was one the guide makers suggest fighting with a group instead of solo starting out.
A massive blue slime burst from the trees. It's blue fluids melted the land nearby as many red slimes followed him. With a king's crown on it's bubbly top. The fallen angel stretched longways in the air, the big slime slugged over to me quickly.
King Blue
HP 1050/1050
MP 200/200
"King Blue. It's been a while."
I waved at him as if he was an old friend. The weakest FA of the game was challenging me. King Blue struck me, and I roll over and hit a nearby tree. -50 HP bounced out of me as I rubbed the back of my head. Luckily my fluffy tail cushioned my fall.
"I'm not OP anymore! Focus! Focus!"
I looked in my backpack inventory. Over the course of my farming, I gathered a lot of [Slime junk]. 56 of them. I'm glad I checked because I didn't want to become encumbered suddenly. Thankfully, the game gave me 5 potions to start with that restore 20% of max HP.
After jamming them in my mouth, I ran to the corner of the map, out of King Blue's scope range.
"Hm, if I'm careful, I can farm the monsters around the FA."
FAs always have monsters around them, and they share the same EXP as the originals monsters too. After killing them, they spawn back nearly instantaneously. It's basically an eternal fountain of EXP if done right!
Before I went back into the fight, I opened my skill tree and upgraded my [Tail Spin] from LV1 to LV4. It upped the damage by 5% more and the cooldown time was a little lower. Enough for me to get away in time after executing my skill.`
"Alright, here I come, KB."
I readied my [Tail Spin!], jumped out and spun in front of King Blue. All the slimes burst around him, and I ran away before he could strike back. King Blue charged up his magic spell, [Ice Spear]. It was easy to dodge, but if it hit me at this level, I'd die instantly. My INT wasn't high enough to survive that.
"Ha!"
I successfully [Tail Spin!] and killed a bunch more slimes before running away. It was a mindless pattern, if I had to be honest. So, to make things more fun, I started to try and kill King Blue too!
I would [Tail Spin!] then stab the FA before running away.
KAE LEVELD UP.
Level 8
Foxian Trainee
HP: 105/105
MP: 32/32
STR: 17
INT: 12
DEX: 5
VIT: 4
AGI: 13
LUK: 4
NEXT LEVEL 760/4720
+2 SKILL POINTS
"Hm, this game is too easy for you."
The goddess appeared during my farming session. She paced around in the air, watching me slowly grind out the fallen angel.
"Still mad at me for demolishing your acolyte or something?"
I dodged KB's [Ice Spear] and looked back up to the pouty goddess. She twisted her nose at me.
"Yes, I'm pissed. How about I make this a little more fun?~"
She pointed her finger at King Blue and a new status effect appeared on him.
[Sentient]
"Sentient? I never saw that effect before."
King Blue's big cartoony eyes blank before he turned towards me.
"Foxian?! How dare you hurt my people?!"
My mouth opened as I awed at the brand-new voice lines.
"He can talk?! You gave him a mind, Rexia?!"
His movements were more direct this time as he lunged at me. KB wasn't just a mindless punching bag anymore.
"Wow, that was close."
In the midst of me recovering, [Ice Spear] was tossed my way. One of them nearly nicked me, ending my gaming session early.
"It won't be too easy to farm him now! Have fun, Kae, my victim!"
The goddess vanished and the sound of a spell charging up caught me off guard.
"Die fox!"
Multiple ice spears shot my way this time unlike how Blue King usually is. He jumped, attempting to slam on me. More of his slimes came around him, but they didn't share the [Sentient] trait though and acted normally.
"Huh?"
I noticed after a bit of dodging though and getting used to his new play style that… King Blue wasn't very bright. He didn't really change his ways, and I still farmed his slimes fairly easily when he became predictable after a few minutes.
"Hey, stop that! Stop killing my slimes."
He complained with a high pitched, squeaky voice.
"Why would I do that? They give me decent EXP for my level and I want to grind."
I explained while stabbing my blade into him and running away like an annoying mosquito.
"How dare you use my fellow slimes for your need to get stronger! Dang you fox! Dang you!"
He complained in that voice I was slowly growing to hate…
"But that's how the game works, KB. I don't understand why you're so upset."
After around twenty-minutes or so of grinding, it started to wear on me. It was just… annoying since he could speak now. How I wished the old KB was back. It's like when the developers do an update that the community hates. You can complain all you want… but it's likely staying.
"Just shut up already!"
I stabbed him for the last time, he exploded, and a calming jingle played, marking the death of the fallen angel.
KAE LEVELED UP
Level 10
Foxian Trainee
HP: 225/225
MP: 46/46
STR: 19
INT: 15
DEX: 8
VIT: 5
AGI: 14
LUK: 5
NEXT LEVEL 660/7523
+3 SKILL POINTS
Level 10.
I planned to grind here until at least level 20 though if things went right. That would give me enough skill points for me to fully start working with my skill tree.
"Wow, King Blue really is stupid…"
The goddess appeared, annoyed that I foiled her plan.
"Yeah, he's not too bright. But his core is actually really good."
I considered farming him at a wild attempt to get his core. If by some miracle it dropped, it would make my early game a lot easier.
"You no lifer! You're going to spend all that time trying to get a fallen angel's core? His spawn time is an hour long!"
She kicked her feet about in the air and I shrugged.
"I have nowhere to be but in Keostar because of you. It's not like you're the one grinding, Rexia. Calm down."
"Whatever, you're entertaining to watch at least!~"
The goddess complained before disappearing into the data of the game.
"Hm."
King Blue's core granted immunity to four element magic attacks but decreases the wearers physical defense by 300%. I probably wouldn't use it myself but set up a merchant and sell it. But the changes of getting one was like winning the lottery.
"I should start thinking about my build and best cores for the foxian race."
"You know, Kae, you're pretty relaxed for someone with their life on the line."
Rexia appeared again, arms crossed. I doubt that she'd ever left in the first place. Despite her attitude, I think she was enjoying herself as she complained about all my actions.
"I mean, I lived in this game for ten years. There's nothing for me to be afraid of. I'm just actually living in the game now."
I said as I looked through my menu. I had a lot of [Slime Junk]. I would have to put some in storage soon.
"But if you die, you really die! It's not a game anymore. You're part of this world, Kae Loredom. And I don't think you're grasping that severity… and it's worrying me."
I crossed my arms and looked back at the goddess.
"Let's make this challenge more fun then, Rexia."
"Eh? You want to make a deal with me? This is my game, I'm trying to torture you!"
I exited my menu and focused back on her.
"You're not doing a very good job at that. I'm breezing through this so far."
Her cheeks puffed up like a blow fish.
"You're having fun?!"
"Just listen to me, Rexia. When I get strong enough to kill you, I don't want my reward to leave, Keostar Online."
"Hm?"
Rexia titled her head, causing her long white hair to fall to the side.
"I don't want to get a job. I rather avoid that at all cost-"
I smirked with one finger in the air.
"If I kill you, I want to be the god of Keostar. I want to take your place as the goddess, Rexia."
Her eyes shined, as if she was looking at diamonds, I think I caught her interest.
"Oh, you think you can be the new god of this world?"
The goddess approached and our noses nearly touched as she grinned from ear to ear. She was slightly taller than me but I didn't feel intimidated. On the contrary, a passion I haven't felt in years resonated through my chest.
"Yes. I want to change this world and make it harder. I want Keostar Online to be fun again for me."
"A cocky little foxian, aren't you?"
"I'm not cocky, I just know what I want and have the confidence to get it done."
Rexia flew back and spun in the air. She clapped and giggled to herself.
"Oh, so fun! So fun! Fine, if you die then you will instantly become my undead slave for all eternity! A fun toy that I can use to do my bidding in this world."
Happily, I nodded.
"Deal. Your death be the first steppingstone for me to change the world of Keostar, Rexia."
I reached out my hand towards the floating goddess.
"And your defeat will be the fun I've been searching for all these years, Kae Loredom."
Our hands connected and the deal was set. Our goal was to kill each other for the sake of fun.
"I look forward to killing you."
In unison, we declared.