Free Web NovelChapter 7: The Most Valuable Reward
--Chapter 7--
>> The Most Valuable Reward
The moment the dagger pierced the flat, broad skull of the Bog Strider, its life ended instantly—the hit landing like a critical, or maybe it actually was.
A heavy splash echoed across the mud pit as Xavier’s body crashed onto the Bog Strider’s back, his dagger still buried deep in its skull.
Silence followed... Then black bubbles swelled from the depths of the pit. The large pockets of trapped air rose around the sinking creature as the mire threatened to drag it and Xavier beneath the surface.
But Xavier didn’t panic. For a brief moment, he remained static, not moving a muscle. Instead he watched, and waited.
And exactly as expected, the swamp rejected the already dead body, spitting it out with a slight convulsion. With the hold of the black mud pit released, the carcass floated upward. The dead weren’t the swamp’s prize. It only devoured the living.
"Still as disgusting and selective as ever," Xavier muttered, recalling the swamp’s antics.
His boots were now coated in green ichor from the dead Bog Strider. He pulled the dagger free, and without a moment to spare, used the carcass as a foothold to leap to solid ground on the other side.
Landing on firmer ground away from the carcass, he switched his focus to the multiple notifications on his HUD.
[You have slain a Bog Strider Lv 10]
[Experience points acquired]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 4]
[Attribute Points to share: 8]
Glancing at the rewards, the edge of his lips arched up, a small smile forming.
A three-level jump this early from a single kill was quite the leap. This placed him in a good position. A great one, actually.
Most players were probably still learning how to open their inventories. But he was already boosting forward.
This was one of the reasons veteran players hunted above their level and punched above their weight when the opportunity arose. Although it was riskier and far more time-consuming, the rewards were worth it—especially this early, while other players were still immersing themselves in the new version.
The next set of notifications appeared, hovering as holographic projections.
[Acquired Rewards]
[You have received Strider Greaves (Uncommon)]
[You have received 1000 Copper Coins]
[You have received 10 Bog Strider Tendons]
Xavier’s eyes moved across the notifications, then back to the most important item there.
He focused on the Strider Greaves, and the item’s description expanded.
[Item Acquired: Strider Greaves — Uncommon]
[Stats: +4 agility]
[Effect: +15% Movement Speed in swamp or marsh terrain]
[Effect: Mud and shallow water no longer slow movement]
Before he could dissect the opportunities these rewards provided, another notification appeared.
The one he’d been waiting for. It arrived bordered in gold.
[Absolute Drop Authority Activated.]
[Selecting Optimal Reward...]
There it was again. That wording that made it seem like this talent wasn’t random but tailored to him.
It didn’t say it was selecting the rarest item, or the most valuable, or simply dropping everything like a typical loot explosion talent. Instead it went for what was optimal. That in itself confused Xavier a bit.
A second later, the rewards materialised.
[Item Acquired: Dread Cloak (Rare)]
[Description: A simple green fur coat made from the swamp dwellers’ remains]
[Stats: +6 agility, +6 Constitution, +7 intelligence]
[Effect: The item allows the user to passively camouflage with simple surroundings.]
[Effect: The item allows the user to actively merge with their surroundings.]
[Active Duration: 10 seconds]
[Cooldown: 1 minute.]
Xavier looked at the item with a small frown. He wasn’t necessarily impressed, but he wasn’t unimpressed either.
He was fairly certain Bog Striders didn’t drop Dread Cloaks.
Then again, nothing about Absolute Drop Authority seemed interested in normal drops.
It wasn’t a bad item. It was actually quite good..something that would allow him to survive the swamp. But somewhere in his mind, he expected more.
After all he’d read about the talent, was this the most optimal item he could get?
He looked down. Another item was there, this one in a small hovering holographic box.
He tapped it. A low hum, then sharp clicking sounds. Inside sat a silver compass.
Above the hovering item, on a gray border, the identification read.
[Additional Item Acquired: Wanderer’s Compass (First Fragment) — Unique]
[Note: A hidden item carried by all wanderer-class creatures. Not part of the standard loot.]
[Description: A compass that follows the secret path of the species of monsters known as wanderers.]
Xavier’s eyes narrowed while his frown slowly deepened.
"What the actual fu—" Xavier slowly but surely blurted out before he quickly closed his own mouth with an open palm.
Immediately after, he began walking away from the immediate vicinity of the mud pit, putting distance between himself and the carcass of the Bog Strider.
The compass description mentioned wanderers. That jogged a memory...and a necessary task: get away from the carcass. Scavengers would come soon. And where scavengers gathered, larger predators followed. The kind that would hunt Xavier if he lingered.
Xavier climbed a tree and bit down on a healing pill retrieved from his inventory.
[+50 HP]
[HP: 100/100]
Watching his health points rise, Xavier felt his body return to normal. All the damage he had taken from the Bog Strider’s earlier tackle disappeared completely.
While his body healed, Xavier examined the rewards again.
The compass was a single fragment. If memory served, items like this revealed hidden quest lines and safe routes that the variant of creature that spawned it followed.
The creature in this case was the Bog Strider. A monster that was definitely not a native of the swamp.
It didn’t have a tail and lurked at the outskirts of the Scar Swamp, unlike the native creatures built to survive here. It wasn’t designed for this place. What all this simply meant was that the Bog Strider was a migrant. Or in the case of Arillion Online, a wanderer. And the path they usually followed to get here was a secret route he could follow—and be rewarded for discovering.
Holding the compass, Xavier opened the interface.
He tapped on
[Map]
And immediately the map opened. Another prompt followed behind quickly.
[Attach the Wanderer’s Compass to map?]
[Yes / No]
Xavier quickly affirmed by tapping [Yes]. The compass dissipated from his hand, leaving behind white motes of light.
Immediately, it was integrated into the map, and the brown parchment interface began to expand. More area around the swamp gained clarity, with a path set out like a GPS had been overlaid.
Once he was done with that, Xavier moved to the next reward. He started with the Strider Greaves.
The option appeared immediately. [Equip Greaves?]
[Yes / No]
The answer to that question was pretty obvious, and Xavier didn’t waste any time, for a decision that yielded immediate rewards.
Xavier dropped from the tree. For the first time, moving through the swamp, he felt actual control in his legs. The swamp wasn’t pulling him back, and he could feel his feet moving smoothly even in the muddy, soggy water. Escape from this swamp would be faster now.
***
A few seconds later, he equipped the Dread Cloak. His first rare item this playthrough, likely the first any player had obtained at this point in the game.
The green cloak balanced on his shoulders, stretching all the way down to his ankles. Xavier followed the path depicted by the compass, moving seamlessly through the fog and swamp without missing his way.
With safe passage now possible, Xavier finally opened the one aspect of the menu he had been ignoring.
He clicked on it, and the interface expanded.
║ CHARACTER PROFILE
[Name] Xavier Hunt
[Player Name] Unknown (You may adjust your nickname whenever you desire)
[Status] Irregular
[Level] 4
[Titles] None
[Sacred Name] None
[Class] None
[Aspect] None
[ BASE STATS ]
Strength: 5 (+4)
Agility : 6 (+14)
Constitution : 5 (+8)
Spirit: 4
Intelligence : 8(+7)
Luck : ???
HP: 100/100
Mana: 40/40
Currency: 1000 Copper Coins
[+8 points available to share]
[BLOODLINES]
Slot 1 : Empty
Slot 2 : Empty
Slot 3 : Empty
[TALENTS ]
Absolute Drop Authority — EX Rank
[EQUIPMENT / INVENTORY ]
Stainless Dagger (Uncommon), Flayer’s Vest (Common), Strider Greaves (Uncommon), Dread Cloak (Rare)
Minor Healing Pill x4, Bog Tendons ×10.
***
Xavier stared at the character profile, and even though it hadn’t been up to an hour yet, he was already proving why he was—
No.
Why he still is the global number one player of this game.
Even with eight points still to allocate, his missing Luck stat bothered him. This was the first time in all his years of playing that he’d seen a stat simply... absent.
He tried to think of the reasons behind such a situation, but none of it was concrete. The one idea that took the lead was his talent. Absolute Drop Authority.
After all, the whole point of the Luck stat was the probability of getting great drops, triggering unexpected quest lines, or even the success rate of crafting. Which wouldn’t matter if his Talent...A.D.A. always gave him the most optimal reward in every situation.
This suggested he might not need Luck at all. But that was only a deduction, the most logical one, but still nothing concrete.
With nothing concluded, Xavier decided to focus on the one thing he actually had control of.
And that was allocating those eight points in the best way possible.
"Let’s see..." he thought out loud.
--End of Chapter--
A/N: If you’re enjoying the story, add to Library and support with powerstones. T for Thanks.
