Because all of Lumi's points were going into INT, his farming speed didn't actually increase with every level.
It went up the slightest bit the first two level ups because of leveling Nimble Foot. With that leveled and the rest of the skills worthless, the farming speed capped there.
Mages had it the worst for the first ten levels. They were forced to level INT for the future, yet had no way of benefitting from said stat. The list of beginner skills completely lacked even the most basic mana bolt. Whilst there were still other ways of finding and learning spells before level 10 out in the world, it would take far longer for Lumi to do that than slashing his way to level 10 instead.
This was unlike every other class archetype, who could benefit from their main stat even below level 10.
Warriors. Bowmen. Thieves. Freestyle, all could benefit from their main stats.
As for what freestyle was, it was a catch all term for all non magic fighters that didn't cleanly fit into one of the other categories. Navies were famous for utilizing this path.
If Lumi were a true inhabitant of Masteria, then he could use the spells he knew. Even if he was a true inhabitant that didn't have knowledge from the future, he could still study and learn basic spells at this level. Be it as it may, there really was nothing meaningful for an aspiring mage.
All he could do for now was…
Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.
Renan systematically hunted down all the Red Snails he could find and easily dispatched them. The Experience came in steadily.
[EXP +8]
[EXP +8]
[EXP +10]
[EXP +8]
[EXP +9]
[EXP +7]
[EXP +6]
[Level Up! 3 → 4]
[EXP +8]
[EXP +8]
"Oh hey…"
While in the middle of grinding out the population of Red Snails, he noticed something out in the distance, even further out of Elenora than he was.
Something walking around aimlessly, marveling at the scenery…
Lumi grinned.
Yep, that's a player. I should check if they're interested in grinding together.
In the beginning stages travel time was rather long, and many players couldn't even find the cities, which caused him to not bother looking for others. But in most cases, grinding together was the correct play.
…
Lena's boots crunched lightly against the moss. She slowly crouched down and pressed her hand against the ground. "It's so… springy?" She barely had words to describe it. She directly tore a piece off and brought it to her mouth.
"Nom nom… is this how moss tastes? I think I like it!" She got up with a giggle, and then took a good look around her.
"This is a game…?" She could scarcely believe it. It felt so real! She felt her body, the blood flowing through her veins, the rush on her cheeks. Both her cheeks.
She felt her feet as she walked.
She ran her hand up the hard wood.
She even let mist spray on her face.
She didn't detect a hint of falsity.
"This tech… truly impressive."
She giggled softly, then clapped a hand over her mouth. Even my laugh sounds real here…
The immersion was too much. Her knees felt weak in the best way. If this was how the outskirts looked, she couldn't imagine what the heart of Elenora would be like.
Then.
"Helloo?! Hey! Hey hey! Over here!!"
The sound echoed faintly at first. Someone was yelling? She turned, ears perked, eyes scanning through the trees until she spotted something! A figure! An NPC! She excitedly ran towards him.
He came into view and she was instantly reminded of a character from a shoujo anime. Messy dark hair, bright blue eyes, and slightly oversized clothes that somehow made him look even more adorable. His fair, unblemished skin…
Is this the son of a noble? DId I just stumble upon a quest?
"Oh my god," Lena whispered. "You're so cute."
"Uh, hi?" he said, blinking, his speech slowing in confusion.
"Oh. Hello~," Lena said, unable to help the playful lilt in her voice. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, offering a grin. "You're pretty cute, my name is Lena, what ya calling out to a girl like me for~?"
After a few seconds of clear shock on his face, he put a hand out. "I'm. I'm a player. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to grind together."
Her thoughts came to a sudden halt. Grind? Wait... wait.
"Oh my god," she said again, this time in horror. "You're real?!"
He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah? I mean, yeah. I'm real. Name's Lumi. You good?"
Lena's face flushed, heat flooding her cheeks. "I. I uh. Sorry. I thought you were an NPC."
"Uh huh." Lumi was starting to regret his decision to ask the first player he saw to party. He just wanted to upgrade from killing the red snails to the red mushrooms to speed things up. They were dangerous alone, but he could manage them with another person. "So do you want to grind…?"
Lena gazed down at the sword in her hands, then back at Lumi. "Wait…" The gears in her head slowly turned. "Lumi? Like the guy in the announcements? You named yourself after him?"
Lumi shook his head, "No, I'm that guy."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"So do you want to grind…?"
"Um!" Lena suddenly stood up, more self aware than ever. "I'm just level one, so…"
"That's fine," Lumi stopped her. "So do you want to grind?"
"Grind… monsters…?" Lena slowly responded, questioning herself, Lumi, life, the game, and everything else. "Like grinding monsters for XP, right? Not like, grinding, uh, grinding up against each other?"
"W-what…?" Lumi had to physically restrain himself from just exclaiming something bad on the spot.
This person…
"Right." Lumi nodded. "I'm going to go back to grinding, have a nice day, Lena." He directly turned back and began walking away.
"Wait!" Lena suddenly yelled out, putting her hand out and chasing after him. "Wait, wait! If I want to kill monsters for XP together with you, an act called grinding?! Yeah! Sure! Yeah! I can do that. That is a thing. That is an activity I would like to engage in. Yep! Lumi?"
"..." Lumi took a deep breath.
Out of everyone… everyone I could have possibly come across… Why'd I come across the one with water in her brain?
"Sure!" Lumi forced a smile, sending over a party invite. "Accept my party invitation."
"Okay!" Lena nodded, quickly opening up all her menus, instantly getting lost until she found the party section.
[Party Invitation from: Lumi - Level 4]
"Oh my god it's the real Lumi!" Lena exclaimed, accepting. "Hi hi!!!" She locked eyes with Lumi intently. "Whattya need me to do?"
Lumi did his best to explain. "So there's a good amount of red mushrooms around here. They average level ten, so be careful. I'll engage them from the front, keeping their attention focused on me. Your job is to do as much DPS as humanly possible. Just go crazy, strafe around so you are on their back at all times and go ham. Slash, stab, whatever, just kill it!"
"Um. Okay." Lena nodded. "I'm level one so…"
"Yeah, that doesn't matter." Lumi waved off her concerns.
Lena gulped. "What if it starts to focus on me and attack me?"
Lumi grinned. "If it does that, it means its back is to me. I'll output so much DPS that it'll either be dead, or know it has to focus on me and just deal with the backshots it's receiving."
"Backshots." Lena repeated. "Yep, I'm going to give them backshots." A grin crept up on her face.
Lumi's eye twitched.
He turned slowly to look at Lena, who had crouched slightly, mimicking a thrusting motion at the air behind an invisible target, the word "Backshots!" gleefully repeating under her breath like a chant. "Backshots! Backshots backshots!"
Lumi winced. "Yes. Backshots. You're giving the mushroom attacks in their back. Please. Please stop smiling like that. I'd like to kill enemies now."
Lena nodded vigorously, gripping her sword harshly. "Totally. Totally. Combat backshots. Not the other kind. Got it. Yep. Stabbing, slashing. Monster murder. Very serious business."
Lumi sighed, already regretting his entire life decisions, then turned sharply. "Let's be serious. Come on, there's an enemy this way. Don't scream."
"I never scream," Lena said confidently, following at a distance. "Unless it's cute. Or scary. Or makes me excited. Or involves something I won't say."
"Great." Lumi muttered.
Lumi quickly led her through a path, revealing a red mushroom in a bush.
Lena froze. The "Red Mushroom" monster that she had come here to hunt with Lumi. It wasn't at all what she had expected when hearing such a term. The Mushroom was a bloated monster, at least a foot taller than her, and many times her width. "Those are mushrooms?"
"I thought mushrooms were supposed to go in soup," Lena muttered, then stiffened. "Wait! Soup! Soup! Can I eat these?"
Lumi paused, then turned to look at her. "You want to eat the mushroom?"
She beamed. "Yes! I mean, it's immersion, right?"
He thought about it for a second. "…Fine. Yes, they are edible. You can eat them raw I guess, or cook them. Whatever. You can ask the NPCs in town about it. Do that on your own time afterwards, though. Let's grind, okay?"
Lena nodded. "Okay! Do I just go in or?"
Lumi nodded. "Yeah, just go in after me and do what I told you." With that, Lumi rushed at the Red Mushroom.
She cleared her throat, raised her sword, and shouted, "Slaughter!"