He glanced at his stats to reassure himself that all his HP had been restored.
STATISTICS
ANGEL
Level : 2
Class : none
HP : 13
MP : 3
ATK : 2
DEF : 1
INT : 1
SPD : 2
DEX : 2
CRIT: 1
"Hmm, I see. Stats increase automatically, but the change isn't huge. Still, with 2 attack, it should be much easier to kill these slimes."
He moved toward a slime and struck quickly, killing it in just a few blows.
"That's much better!" Angel said to himself. "If I'm careful, I can beat more than ten of them. I should be able to level up after that—I just need to avoid taking too many hits so I can keep fighting without stopping. I pulled off a nice dodge earlier… It's a bit different from fighting in PC or console games. I have to integrate the fact that my whole body is here and can move freely in space. There are no buttons for actions—it's like I'm controlling my own body with puppet strings."
After reviewing his stats, Angel continued fighting without taking a break. He was getting more and more used to his new physical abilities, as well as the slime's attack timing. In just half an hour, he could fight these little monsters while avoiding half their attacks. He quickly reached level 3, then level 4. His stats were now nothing like they had been at level 1, and the slimes had become mere formalities.
For new players just arriving in the hunting area, watching him fight was impressive. He killed the slimes so easily, while for them it was no simple task. For many, simply being completely immersed in this world was already hard to grasp, and fighting wasn't so easy.
Seeing Angel fight so effortlessly, many players rushed into combat overconfidently. They ended up dying miserably and reappearing at the Milia cathedral's respawn point, their experience reset and forced to wait twenty minutes before they could leave the city again.
The first hours of farming went very well for Angel, who attacked slimes relentlessly. He was now level 5 and had earned a total of 100 bronze coins. He had killed one hundred slimes without stopping once. The experience from these slimes was now too small to level up, so he decided to change hunting grounds. The only valuable item he had found so far was a medicinal herb that restored 10 HP. The drop rate for items seemed quite low. But this didn't worry him—he was used to grinding for hours in the same spots to get the best possible loot. He had done it in many other games, and his patience and determination were unshakable.
"I'll switch zones," Angel thought. "But first, I should check what I can buy in town. A hundred bronze coins isn't much, but you never know."
He visited Milia's various shops, taking the time to examine all the items on sale. It was surreal—the prices were astronomical. A simple wooden sword cost 20 silver coins (that's 2,000 bronze), and the prices shot up quickly from there. The only solution was to find his own gear. As he walked on, he came across a tiny shop selling various ingredients. The prices were reasonable, and Angel carefully checked for anything useful. The only interesting thing was medicinal herbs. They cost 50 bronze coins each and would be very useful for this difficult start. Without hesitation, Angel bought two. He had just spent all his money in seconds, but he preferred security over pointless wealth for now. Given the weapon prices, it was definitely the best choice. He had nothing left, but he was satisfied and headed toward the second combat zone.
*Your Second Life* had a very simple teleportation system: there were teleportation crystals in every area, and you only had to touch one to choose your destination. However, before being able to travel somewhere, you had to activate that area's crystal first. Since he had never been to the next zone, he couldn't teleport there yet. So he teleported back to the slime area to avoid wasting travel time. The teleportation was fast and much appreciated by Angel, who was a true fan of optimizing his time and actions. He immediately set off toward the next zone.
The second hunting area was a vast forest. Angel was surprised at its sheer size. He had to accept it—he was completely immersed in a whole new world. There must also be seas, mountains, and maybe even deserts, judging by the game's extreme realism. It was simply incredible. Angel was thrilled to be here. Having experienced little adventure in real life lately, he felt like a pioneer discovering an entirely new world, and it gave him an incredible sense of freedom.
As soon as Angel entered the new zone, a message appeared above his head:
Wolf Forest
To his surprise, two other players were already here fighting. He hadn't been the first to arrive, even though he hadn't wasted much time—so they had to be very skilled players. They were fighting as a pair, working together decently. Angel watched them for a few seconds, gathering as much information as possible as they killed a wolf, then went off to fight his own battle. He couldn't waste time if he wanted to be among the top influential players in the game.
He targeted a wolf and attacked without delay. Despite the monster's level 4, he killed it fairly easily. The most impressive part had been facing a real wolf—the realism was so high that if he hadn't been brave, he might have bolted. Angel still wasn't used to all these little details and was learning as he progressed.
Although the wolf's defense was fairly low, its attack was high enough that Angel couldn't fight more than about ten of them in a row. He had to conserve his resources and didn't want to waste his only healing items out of impatience. The other group also had to manage their HP, taking regular breaks. Angel noticed their pace wasn't actually that great, and they were probably one or two levels below him.
After fighting a few wolves, Angel heard the other group celebrating. One of them was holding a sword—the first sword Angel had seen in the game. Having seen the town's weapon prices, he could imagine the value. But that wasn't what made his heart race—the wolf had dropped it. No matter how long it took, he would get one too. He was glad to be in the best possible place for farming and focused solely on hunting wolves for now.
Angel kept an eye on the two players, who had noticeably increased their farming speed. That sword must have had a very good attack bonus—perfect for him.
After an hour of intense combat, luck finally smiled on Angel. A wolf sword dropped. Checking his inventory, he went wild. This sword was slightly better than the bronze sword he'd seen in town—it gave +8 strength and +2 speed.
Filia appeared before Angel and asked if he wanted to equip the sword. Angel accepted without hesitation.
*Tring!* A metallic sound rang out, and the sword appeared in his hand.
"Angel, you've just acquired your first weapon—congratulations!" Filia said cheerfully.
"Thanks," the young man replied happily.
"My pleasure. Call me anytime if you want to know more about the game's features."
"Ah! Speaking of which—if I reach the 14-hour play limit, what happens?" Angel asked, concerned.
"You will be immediately disconnected from the game," Filia replied without hesitation.
"Wow, seriously? Is there any way to increase that limit?" he asked, eager to play more.
"This system was put in place by the creator to prevent people from playing too much. An 8-hour break will fully recharge your playtime quota."
"OK, thanks for the info, Filia."
"You're welcome. Enjoy the game!"
Filia vanished, and Angel once again admired his new sword. It was beautiful—its edge and design gave it a proud, fierce look. He brought up his stats to check his new strength.
STATISTICS
ANGEL
Level : 6
Class : none
HP : 30
MP : 5
ATK : 10 + 8
DEF : 5
INT : 3
SPD : 2 + 2
DEX : 2
CRIT: 2