The red mushrooms began to fall one after the other.
Lumi kept slashing and stabbing, always targeting their weak points, always predicting their patterns. Lena, for her part, was surprisingly quick on the uptake. She followed directions, kept behind the enemy, and actually learned from her first few stumbles. She even stopped slowing them down by speaking nonsense, showing that she was actually getting into the rhythm of grinding.
[EXP +19]
[EXP +16]
[EXP +20]
[EXP +15]
[EXP +19]
[EXP +16]
[Level Up! 4 → 5]
[Level Up! 2 → 3]
Lena paused between fights, panting hard. She flopped onto the mossy floor exhausted. "This is exhausting! How are you not dying?"
Lumi replied with nonsense. "Years of practice. I also have a deep need for efficiency."
"Okay but same." Lena groaned, her sword now resting across her lap. "Well, not the practice part. Practice what anyways? I'm confused. But a terrifying need for efficiency? Absolutely. Gotta make use of that limited playtime, y'know?"
Lumi blinked. Yes, the system restricted playtime to only eight hours a day. He assumed that it was due to the fact that the Dark One wasn't at full power yet. But the amount of people that would find that time insufficient were very, very few. Who would consistently want to spend over eight hours every day?
"Do you think you'll play that much?" It was an important question. If she truly planned on dedicating so much time, she should be cultivated into a top player that'll help humanity when the time comes.
"Of course! Look at this place, why wouldn't I? Makes sense to do as much as possible if the time is limited. Even if I'm here yapping. But I'm tired!"
Lumi understood, so he readied his sword. "If you need to rest, I'll grind the weaker monsters in the meantime. Wait, wait a minute." He suddenly realized an issue. "You shouldn't be too tired yet? The system heavily dulls all pain! That includes exhaustion."
"Yeah, I took that off." Lena casually responded. "It isn't as fun if it doesn't hurt, you know?"
"..." For the thousandth time, Lumi was speechless. He turned it off too, but it was for a proper reason…
This woman is something else…
She suddenly felt something poking her in the ass wrong, and shifted herself off it. She grabbed at whatever it was, grabbing a mushroom.
[You've acquired: Redcap Shroom x1]
"Hey Lumi!" She held up the Shroom in her hands. "I found this thing!"
Lumi looked over. "It's just a Redcap Shroom. You can use them for alchemy later on. Used for potions." Lumi explained. "Nice find, it can sell for a decent bit."
"Oooh, potions! Like HP? Or love?"
"...HP."
Lena sighed wistfully. "Right. Of course." She got up and passed the Shroom over to Lumi. "Here, it's yours now." She picked up her sword. "Okay, we can keep grinding."
"Weren't you tired…?"
Lena grinned. "Yeah. But you know, I don't want to slow your speed down. So I guess I can get used to it. You should try it out too! Max out the pain sensitivity panel."
"I already did that." Lumi replied plainly, "Pain is a much better way of communicating damage than numbers are."
Lena's eyes shined in admiration. "Woah, you're just like me! You've lost your mind too! Now I really can't take a break! Let's keep going!"
…
[EXP +20]
[EXP +17]
[EXP +21]
[EXP +18]
"Woo! Look at us go!" Lena spun again, her sword twirling in her hands in such an inexperienced way that she managed to cut herself three times by accident. "Grinding is fun! Murder is fun!"
"Killing Monsters." Lumi corrected quickly.
"Mmhmm." she hummed, then leaned slightly closer. "Say, how long are you planning on staying out here, cutie?"
Lumi blinked. She was a bit too close for comfort. Yet he still replied, "Until level ten. Didn't I say that? It's what we need to get a proper class."
"Oh. Amazing!" Lena said, a mix of impressed and something else. "Don't you need to sleep or eat or anything? I mean, in real life."
"It's still early." Lumi replied. "I can get to level ten in a few hours if we keep this up. Maybe even faster if you keep up the momentum. I like talking to you but I rather we focus harder on this."
Lena saluted. "Sir yes sir! Mushroom genocide in progress!"
[EXP +20]
[EXP +17]
[Level Up! 3 → 4]
After another half hour of fighting, their coordination improved. Lena had optimized her sword swings to do higher DPS, and Lumi had adjusted his positioning to accommodate Lena's increasingly aggressive flanking style.
She was already using the enemy's movement against them, impressing Lumi.
Lena really has some talent with the sword! Too bad it'll go to waste when she becomes a magician, but who knows, maybe that's her true calling.
They didn't speak much during this stretch, both settling into the comfortable silence of efficient grinding.
[Level Up! 4 → 5]
[Level Up! 5 → 6]
[Level Up! 5 → 6]
Due to the increased XP requirements with each level, their levels eventually equalized.
[Level Up! 6 → 7]
[Level Up! 6 → 7]
[Level Up! 7 → 8]
[Level Up! 7 → 8]
[Level Up! 8 → 9]
[Level Up! 8 → 9]
[Level Up! 9 → 10]
As soon as he hit that level ten…
[Congratulations! You are the first player to have reached level 10! A game-wide announcement will be made. Would you like to reveal your name?]
"Of course!" Fame! He needed fame!
[System Alert - Player "Lumi" is the first player to reach level 10. Extend our congratulations to "Lumi" for his feat!]
"Oh wow!" Lena grinned, high fiving Lumi. "Yet another feat! You'll go down as a legend, if you haven't already!"
"I'm surprised, honestly." Lumi admitted. "With INT providing no help at the moment, I fully expected someone else, specifically a warrior, to have stolen this feat."
"Warrior?" Lena thought for a bit, "Why a warrior specifically?"
Lumi explained, "Well, it's the easiest thing to do. Pick up a sword and put stats into Strength as you hack and slash? Compare that to those trying to be bowmen, thieves, or whatever else."
He grinned at Lena, "Anyways, lets get you to level 10, too!"
A few enemies later…
[Level Up! 9 → 10]
"EXP SECT HAHA YES!" Lena exclaimed upon seeing her level finally hit 10.
After a brief moment of comparing, they confirmed their stats were all the same:
[HP: 194]
[MP: 113]
[INT: 45]
"We can get a class now!" Lena exclaimed. "A class! A proper class! Yippee! Lumi, Mumi lets go!!!" She jumped up in excitement. "Haha, my body hurts so much!"
"Yeah! It's great… about getting a class, that is." Lumi responded. "You haven't been to town yet, right? Well, why am I asking. I already know you haven't. Okay, listen…"
He began explaining, "The NPCs in this game are very realistic. They act like real people. There's no scripted lines or anything. I wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between an NPC and a player if it wasn't for the game telling me. What I'm saying is, if you act like a crazy person, they will treat you like a crazy person. You can't even scratch an itch at the wrong moment. Treat it just like real life. You really have to be careful, they seriously might not let you learn from them. You could even be kicked out. It may be annoying, but keep this in mind."
Lena paused for a second, then suddenly put a hand on her crotch, lightly patting it. "I believe you."
"What." Lumi saw her action and had to look away to maintain basic decency. "Are you doing?"
"This game feels completely realistic," Lena noted. "I feel so tired. My body hurts. I'm sticky and sweaty. Given how authentic the senses are, I completely believe you."
Lumi didn't even want to ask why the crotch patting was necessary to prove realism.
"Thanks for that sight," he said dryly. "Just keep what I said in mind, okay?"
Lena laughed brightly. "You're welcome!"
"I was being sarcastic."
"I know!" she chirped, twirling her sword again and stretching her back. "Okay okay, serious time. No itchy scratching, no shouting weird things, got it. Just like real life. Real life is boring though. I hate going out in public. That's why I don't go outside. Hehehehe."
"That's a great summary." Lumi noted, responding to the part he could easily comment on, and avoiding the part he had no idea what to say to.
"Of course!" she smiled. "You explained it really clearly. That's also why I haven't been seeing damage numbers or health bars on the enemies, right? Because of the realism?
Lumi nodded. "You picked up on that too, right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure the devs said something about maintaining a realistic combat environment. Something like that."
Lumi kept the explanation simple, but internally..
Of course they don't have health bars, those are real creatures. Only us, as avatars created by the Dark One, have such game-like features.
Soon I'll have to convince the playerbase to not commit atrocities like they would in any other game. And I don't know how.
Lumi let out a small, imperceptible sigh, then asked, "Shall we go to town?"
"Yep."
The road was quiet and peaceful. The breeze was cool against their faces and all the enemies were easily avoidable. For a moment, it felt like a walk through a real forest, if you excluded the obviously giant trees they were walking on and between.
As they walked, Lena broke the silence, because of course she did.
"Hey, Lumi?"
"Mm?"
"Do you think… I'm weird?"
Lumi blinked. The question was unexpected, but not entirely so, given her previous comment about not going outside.
"Yes," he replied honestly. Then, catching her flicker of a frown, he continued, "But not in a bad way. You're... strange, yeah. But it's not harmful at all. It's quite fun, actually. I like it. For a moment, it's even made me forget about the immense stress I have."
Lena looked at him, and then smiled. "Heehee… I like you, you know."
"I figured."
"I mean I like like you."
"That's too sudden. Though I did notice you calling me cutie too much." Lumi repeated, tone even.
She let out a laugh. "Alright, alright. Just making sure."
After a bit of silence, Lumi asked, "Isn't that way too quick?"
"Yes." Lena replied, honestly. "I know it is. I don't expect anything crazy. It's. It's just how I am."
"..." She peeked over at his eyes. "Hey wanna sniff?"
Lumi looked over baffled, "What?" He looked her up and down, "Sniff what? You have nothing on you? And no, I'm not sniffing the mushrooms."
Lena leaned in slightly, looking up into his eyes. "Sniff me, duh."
Lumi jumped back. "Wha- No! Why would I- why would you ask that?"
"I told you, I'm sweaty." She spoke as if what she said was normal. "This is fully immersive, right? So uh, just wondering. We could test that. For science."
Lumi stared at her in complete disbelief. "…You are absolutely terrifying," he muttered. "Do not approach any NPCs like that."
Lena giggled. "You're no fun."
"No, I'm just sane." Lumi replied. Then, to offset some of his harshness, he added softly, "But I meant it earlier. You're weird, yeah, but it's the fun kind of weird."
Lena twirled again, arms raised. "Weeeeeee! Lumi thinks I'm fun!"
"True." Lumi nodded. "I'd love to appreciate it more, but progressing is my number one priority right now."
"Hey speaking of," she started, stretching her arms behind her head. "Why were you trying so hard to get to ten so fast? I mean, I know you want to become a magician, but you're playing like your life depends on it."
Lumi replied, "Because it kind of does."
Lena tilted her head. "Huh?"
He paused, then gave a smile. "Yeah. If I establish myself early, I'll have a reputation, connections, and be a top player. I could make tons of money, real money, from that."
"Woah. For real?"
"Yep. Selling gold and items is the simplest level. Then there's leveraging connections with merchants, guilds, and so forth. There's a lot. A lot of things."
Lena stared, then slowly said, "Wow. That's actually impressive. That's a lot of ambition. That's hot, isn't it?"
"...What? Why are you asking that as a question?"
"It's supposed to be, right? I dunno about those things, but isn't that how it is on TV?" She spoke with a deliberate questioning tone. "The heroines fall for the impressive male lead as he builds a harem? That's the sort of dramas my ma loves watching."
Lumi gave a dry laugh. "I have no such desire. I told you, I'm trying to progress." After a small pause, he continued, "Further still, I would only desire one partner who'd I be loyal to. But enough." He shook his head, "You derailed my train of thought."
He continued, "Anyways, what I was going to say earlier. Thank you."
"For?" Lena tilted her head.
"Just joining me farming. Being yourself. I really enjoyed my time with you."
Lena made an exaggerated, "Awww~" sound. "You falling for me? I like that."
"Not what I said." Lumi replied with a small sigh.