The visor dropped. Aiden's breath misted once, then the world resolved into a login grid the size of forever.
Eldershard Online — North American ShardAccount:Vale.AidenSeason:New CycleSpawn:Novice Village (ID: 0527) — GreenhavenClass:UnassignedHidden:—
Hidden, the UI said, as if it didn't just wink at him.
"Enter," Aiden said.
Greenhaven slammed into focus: weathered palisades, a crooked bell, wheat bleeding gold under morning wind. NPCs ran their loops. Players spawned as sparks and arguments.
Welcome to Greenhaven.Main Tutorial:Speak to Village Elder.Optional:Hunter's Board • Fieldwork • Crafting Basics
He skimmed status on the jog, bypassing the Elder's exclamation mark and the queue of speeches.
Name: Aiden ValeLevel: 1 (0/100)Attributes: STR 3 • DEX 4 • INT 6 • WIL 6 • VIT 5 • LUK 3Free Points: 0HP: 100/100 • MP: 100/100 • Stamina: 100/100Loadout:Novice Blade (Common) • Novice Cloth • Rations ×3Class Path:Open (Summoner available at Lv. 5)
A faint tag ghosted his periphery—there, gone, there again.
[ECHO] First-Contact — Eligible.
Right. You again. He ignored it and hit the Hunter's Board—planks, nails, a history of blood stains and bad decisions.
Available Hunts> Gutter Boar (Lv. 1–3) — Cull 10 • Reward: 30 Copper, 120 EXP, Boar Hide ×3> Field Slime (Lv. 1–2) — Cull 10 • Reward: 20 Copper, 100 EXP, Slime Gel ×3> Stray Wolf (Lv. 3–4) — Cull 5 • Reward: 40 Copper, 160 EXP, Wolf Fang ×2> [Rare] Razorback Alpha (Lv. 5) — First Kill • Reward: 1 Silver, 300 EXP, Boar Tusk (Uncommon) ×1
He took Gutter Boar and Field Slime with a flick. The board stamped both into his log.
The south gate yawned. Wheat hissed. Gutter Boars rooted in the furrows—bristled backs, knife faces, IQ of charge red loudly.
Aiden drew the Novice Blade.
One pawed dirt, chose ego, charged.
He stepped aside. Blade kissed the neck seam.
Critical!Gutter Boar defeated.EXP: +20Loot:Boar Hide ×1 • Boar Meat ×1 • Copper ×3
The [ECHO] tag flared like a shy siren.
[ECHO] First Kill: Gutter Boar — ×100 applied.EXP: +2,000Loot:Boar Hide ×100 • Boar Meat ×100 • Copper ×300
Light detonated around his boots. The wheat applauded.
Level Up! L1 → L6Free Points: +25HP/MP increased.Class Path unlocked:Summoner (Conjuror) — Available
Nearby players made noises people make when the world forgets to be fair.
"Did that—"
"—he just—"
"—lag spike?"
Aiden slapped Private on his log.
Keep your head down. Spend fast.
He opened Summoner before the servers could change their mind.
Class Selected:Summoner (Conjuror)Class Bonus: +2 INT, +2 WIL per levelUnlocks:• Contract Slot (Minor) ×1• Skill:Bind Thread (Lv. 1) — Throw a spectral thread to restrain target (3s), short range.• Skill:Summon: Ash Wisp (Lv. 1) — Conjure minor wisp (light/distraction), 30s.Passive:Arcane Handling (Lv. 1) — Reduced MP cost for binds/summons.
He dumped points like a man bailing a boat.
Allocate Free Points?+20 INT (6 → 26)+5 WIL (6 → 11)
Updated:INT 26 • WIL 11 • DEX 4 • STR 3 • VIT 5 • LUK 3HP: 180/180 • MP: 240/240
The second boar came in hot, offended on behalf of math. Aiden flicked two fingers.
Bind Thread snagged its foreleg; momentum did the rest. Dirt ate snout. Blade finished what gravity started.
Gutter Boar defeated. EXP: +20[ECHO] — already consumed for this entity (no stack).
Good. Predictable.
He fell into rhythm: Bind → Step → Cut, ten times clean. Players bled around him. He tried not to lighthouse.
Quest Progress:Gutter Boar (10/10)Loot:Boar Hide ×? (overflow) • Boar Meat ×? (overflow)
His bag began to complain.
Bag: 29/30 (Overcap imminent)
He cracked Summon: Ash Wisp. A pale coal orbited his shoulder like a half-interested firefly, throwing honest light on stupid problems.
A Field Slime waddled close, made of appetite and disrespect. He knifed the core and learned split mechanics the old-fashioned way—three minis argued about being whole again.
He spiked each with Bind Thread and popped them like grapes. Gel everywhere.
Field Slime defeated ×10EXP: +100Loot:Slime Gel ×3
The tag blinked with accountant cheer.
[ECHO] First Kill: Field Slime — ×100 applied.EXP: +10,000Loot:Slime Gel ×300
Level Up! L6 → L12Free Points: +30Skill Ups:Bind Thread (Lv. 2) — Duration 3.5s; range +1mSummon: Ash Wisp (Lv. 2) — Duration 40s; slight slow aura
Notifications tried to unionize. Aiden toggled Overflow Auto-Stack. The UI compressed hides and gel into tidy stacks with numbers that would make a trader blush.
A [Rare] marker danced deeper in the wheat: bristled back larger than sense, tusks like carved anchors.
Razorback Alpha (Lv. 5) — First Kill Unclaimed
Three lowbies were already kiting it badly, bleeding enthusiasm.
"Don't tag," one panted. "We have it—"
The Alpha read their positioning and disagreed. It juked, went for the healer, and kicked physics in the teeth. The healer cartwheeled, hit dirt, didn't get up.
Aiden moved before he could weigh First vs People. You can chase money all day. You don't get to choose this twice.
Bind Thread. The line bit—front knee. The Alpha stumbled, found hate, roared a chord.
"Back off," Aiden snapped without looking. "Let it hit me."
They did—because sometimes leadership is just sound like you've done this before.
The Alpha charged. Aiden didn't sidestep; he threw Ash Wisp in its face. Light flared. Tusks shaved where his stomach had been, then bit earth. Blade cut throat line—shallow on a beast that size—but enough to paint the idea.
The boar heaved up.
"Again," he told himself.
Bind Thread—Ash Wisp—Step—Cut—he rode the loop until the Alpha finally learned the lesson all things learn: there's always something sharper.
Razorback Alpha defeated.EXP: +300Reward: 1 Silver • Boar Tusk (Uncommon) ×1
The tag arrived like a judge.
[ECHO] First Kill: Razorback Alpha — ×100 applied.EXP: +30,000Loot:Silver ×100 • Boar Tusk (Uncommon) ×100Announcement:Greenhaven — First Kill (Razorback Alpha): Aiden Vale
Level Up! L12 → L18Free Points: +60New Skill:Contract: Minor (1/1) — Open a binding slot for a lesser creature.New Passive:Control Lattice (Lv. 1) — +5% control duration on bound targets.
Heads turned. A couple of "WTF"s achieved flight. The two survivors stared like they hadn't ordered this meal but were willing to eat it.
The healer blinked awake at 10% HP thanks to a mercy tick. "Did we… win?"
"You did," Aiden said—because humility was cheaper than attention. He dropped a Silver into the healer's palm. "For aggroing fate. Turn in. Don't die on the way."
He toggled Private on the Announcement. Too late; the village bell banged once, nosy and pleased.
Turn in fast. Get out faster.
Back at the Hunter's Board, the NPC—Foreman Briggs—squinted like a man whose life hadn't prepared him for three hundred units of slime.
"By my mother's jar," he said. "You drown a gelatin farm?"
"Efficient routing," Aiden said.
Turn-In: Gutter Boar (10/10)Reward: 30 Copper, 120 EXP, Boar Hide ×3
[ECHO] First Turn-In: Gutter Boar — ×100 applied.Reward:Copper ×3,000 • EXP +12,000 • Boar Hide ×300
Turn-In: Field Slime (10/10)Reward: 20 Copper, 100 EXP, Slime Gel ×3
[ECHO] First Turn-In: Field Slime — ×100 applied.Reward:Copper ×2,000 • EXP +10,000 • Slime Gel ×300
Level Up! L18 → L22Free Points: +40Skill Ups:Bind Thread (Lv. 3) — Duration 4s; range +2mSummon: Ash Wisp (Lv. 3) — Duration 50s; minor blind (1s) on cast
Foreman Briggs' eyes tried to leave his head and remembered it was rude. "Right," he said, mouth full of arithmetic. "You, uh, want the Guild Letter?"
Aiden's log pinged.
Unlocked:Greenhaven Guild Letter (Novice) — Access: Guild Hall / Auctions / Party FinderFee: 10 SilverOptional:Challenge — "Solo Trial: Boar Warren (Lv. 10–15)" — First Clear Unclaimed
The [ECHO] didn't blink. It waited.
He bought the Guild Letter. The first tug of economy joined the wind: auctions, buy orders, numbers wanting to be bigger.
Also: eyes. Dozens. Some friendly, some calculating. A moderator drone hovered like a polite seagull with subpoena energy.
Disappear.
He bled Free Points into the build that would carry him to real content.
Allocate Free Points?+35 INT (26 → 61)+5 WIL (11 → 16)
Updated:INT 61 • WIL 16 • DEX 4 • STR 3 • VIT 5 • LUK 3HP: 240/240 • MP: 420/420
He opened Contract: Minor. The panel unfolded like a tidy threat.
Open Minor Contract Slot (1/1)?Eligible Targets:Gutter Boar (Lv. 3) • Field Slime (Lv. 2) • Ash Wisp (Lv. 3) • Razorback Alpha (Ineligible — exceeds tier)Cost: 50 MP • Target ≤20% HP
A boar grunt echoed from the palisade. The Warren tunnel licked shade into the grass.
Nearby Firsts:Boar Warren (Dungeon) • Novice Crafting (Basic Tannin) • Auction Listing (Greenhaven)
Aiden turned his collar up against the village wind, eyes on the Guild Hall where numbers grew legs and plans learned to walk.
Pick the right firsts. Don't die. Don't get famous before you're rich.
He stepped off the square.