After logging out, Alexander did his usual routine. Wash, eat, and look at forums.

He first opened up the leaderboard, to see how much he had to grind to make it into at least the top ten.

Level Leaderboard:

#1: ??? / Level 25

#2: Phoenix / Level 23

#3: Azamus / Level 23

#4: Grinding_Beast / Level 22

#5: Real_Number_One_Gamer / Level 21

#6: Stormbringer / Level 21

#7: I_Am_Rich / Level 21

#8: Athena / Level 20

#9: Lucian_Valentine / Level 20

#10: Monster_Slayer / Level 20

Two more players from the ‘Heavenly thousand’ were in the top ten, and much more had joined the top fifty. What surprised him the most was the mysterious player in first position.

He had been first for a while, even with all the fluctuations. Astaroth wondered who that player was, and what his trick was to level fast enough to keep his spot.

None of it mattered for now though. He still needed to level a decent amount just to make it into the leaderboard.

For now, he would focus on that. With his contracted spirit, he should be able to do more damage and finally get better Exp from the kills.

At least he hoped so. He scrolled down a little more in the forums but found nothing interesting.

So he closed them and went to bed. Since he had logged out earlier than he normally did, he slept a little longer.

It gave him a proper night’s worth of sleep. He woke up feeling refreshed and ready to kill monsters.

He drank a coffee, watched some television, and munched on some cereal. He then dumped the cup and bowl in his sink and logged back in, directly.

*Launching ‘New Eden’*

*Logging in*

*Welcome back player Astaroth*

His eyes opened up to the familiar ceiling of his alcove and he stood up. He walked right out, heading for the forge.

‘My weapons should be ready.’ He thought.

He entered the forge, and its blistering heat assaulted him as per usual. On the counter were weapons of all kinds.

His weapons, he surmised. He picked up the hammer and rang the bell, calling the blacksmith to the front.

The burly man walked out soon after, sweaty and dirty as always.

“Yer weapons ‘re ready, youngin’. Why don’ ye try ’em out? Ay’ll adjust ’em if needed.” The blacksmith said, pointing at the weapons on the counter.

Astaroth grabbed each weapon one at a time and tested out their balance, their grip, and their overall feel in his hands. He then did a few moves with each weapon, to see if the new weapons affected his fighting.

They were perfectly fine. Well-forged weapons, even if only of lower strength than what he expected.

But you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, they say. So he picked them up and inspected them before putting them in his inventory and assigning each of them to weapon slots.

Basic Short Sword (1h):

Grade: Common

Attack Power: 10

Durability: 20/20

Description: A good short sword for beginners.

Basic Longsword(1h/2h):

Grade: Common

Attack Power: 10 (1h)/20 (2h)

Durability: 20/20

Description: A good longsword for beginners.

Basic War Axe (2h):

Grade: Common

Attack Power: 30

Durability 20/20

Description: A good war axe for beginners.

Basic Polearm (2h):

Grade: Common

Attack Power: 10

Durability: 20/20

Description: A good polearm for beginners.

Basic Daggers (2):

Grade: Common

Attack Power: 10

Durability: 20/20, 20/20

Description: A good set of daggers for beginners.

Basic Wooden Shield:

Grade: Common

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Durability: 75/75

Description: A good wooden shield for beginners.

Basic Bow and Quiver (50):

Grade: Common

Attack Power: 10

Durability: 20/20

Description: A good bow and quiver for beginners.

Satisfied with all his new weapons, he nodded to the blacksmith and turned to leave. He walked towards the barracks to drop off the training weapons and to see if any patrols were leaving so that he could integrate them to go level up.

As he walked into the barracks courtyard, he noticed a training dummy close to the center that was kitted with a full set of gear. He walked closer to inspect the kit, out of curiosity.

Ursid Leather Chestguard:

Grade: Special

Defense Power: 5%

Stats: +5 Str, +5 Con

Durability: 50/50

Description: Ursid leather chestguard, made from the leather of a mighty bear. Part of a set of four.

Ursid Leather Vambraces:

Grade: Special

Defense Power: 2%

Stats: +5 Str, +5 Con

Durability: 50/50

Description: Ursid leather vambraces, made from the leather of a mighty bear. Part of a set of four.

Ursid Leather Leggings:

Grade: Special

Defense Power: 5%

Stats: +5 Str, +5 Con

Durability: 50/50

Description: Ursid leather leggings, made from the leather of a mighty bear. Part of a set of four.

Ursid Leather Boots:

Grade: Special

Defense Power: 2%

Stats: +5 Str, +5 Con

Durability: 50/50

Description: Ursid leather boots, made from the leather of a mighty bear. Part of a set of four.

Ursid Leather Armor: Full Set bonus

When all four pieces of this kit are worn together, gain the skill ‘Strength of the Bear’

Strength of the Bear: Gain the strength of a mighty bear. Strength +20 for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.

His jaw dropped. Such an excellent set of armor!

This set of armor was probably better than what players could currently get, aside from maybe dungeon gear, but he had heard nothing about dungeons being found yet.

He was almost salivating. He wanted to grab the set and make a run for it.

Sadly, he wouldn’t make it far so he restrained himself. He saw from the corner of his eye, Kloud leaving the barracks building.

The man was walking towards him with a slow gait. Astaroth could guess that he was still wounded, so his plans of using Kloud to level up flew out the metaphorical window.

Astaroth felt a bit of guilt, thinking this would not have happened if he wasn’t there. He quickly blew those thoughts away.

No point in them anymore, anyway.