Chapter 5

We arrived at the starting town of the "Sloth" area, "Freihait." A bit to the north of there is a forest, which apparently serves as a suitable hunting ground for beginners. On the way there, I asked the two about something that had been bothering me.

"‘Wings of Seire’...? I’ve never heard of that skill."

"What does the help function say?"

"Nothing. It just says ‘???’. There are three stars next to the skill name."

"Three stars... I think it’s clearly a rare skill, but I’ve never heard of it..."

When the game starts, new players receive a ‘Skill Orb’ as a gift, which grants a random skill upon their first login. So, it’s not unusual to have this. Checking the welcome email from the developers, it did mention this.

Incidentally, when I tried to set the ‘Wings of Seire’ in a slot, it was grayed out and couldn’t be selected. Maybe my level isn’t high enough?

Wendy started fiddling with some windows. I can only see the frames, but it seems she’s gathering information from strategy sites.

"There’s nothing about the ‘Wings of Seire.’ However, similar skills like ‘Cup of Zagan’ and ‘Torch of Aim’ have been discovered. Their effects aren’t confirmed yet, but it’s unclear whether they’re truly unknown or if the owners are keeping them secret..."

‘Cup of Zagan’ and ‘Torch of Aim,’ huh. They do feel similar.

"Seire, Zagan, and Aim are the names of the 72 demons sealed by King Solomon. Perhaps this is a unique skill that only exists once in ‘Demons World’... No, that’s unlikely. If such a thing existed, other players would be furious."

With 72 of them, they might not be that rare, but if each has a different effect, they are indeed rare. Well, it’s not certain if there are really 72, and it’s useless if I can’t use it. Still, Wendy knows a lot about King Solomon and the 72 demons.

"Shiro, should we ask the developers?"

"No, it’s fine. If it’s not a bug, we’ll figure it out eventually."

"That’s true. Besides, Miss, even if you ask, they’ll probably say, ‘We cannot provide an answer.’ Verifying these things is part of the fun of the game."

You’re right. It wouldn’t be fun if they told us everything. Maybe I shouldn’t look at strategy sites either?

Hmm, I’ll play it by ear. I’m getting a lot of information now, but I want to find things out on my own. I’ll try not to look unless I really can’t beat an enemy.

For now, let’s put the ‘Wings of Seire’ aside.

The developers might tell us if Renge used her influence as the CEO’s daughter, but I don’t want to make her do that for me.

While we were talking, we arrived at the "Northern Forest." We stepped into the forest, keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings.

The forest feels just like the real thing, with the rustling of the trees and the smell of greenery. It reminds me of when I lived on the island.

"Um, something’s there...?"

Probably the ‘Presence Detection’ skill. I feel something to the left front. I drew two short swords from my waist and held them in both hands.

"Let’s not interfere at first. Shiro, go ahead."

"I have ‘Healing Magic,’ so it’s okay if I take damage!"

Encouraged by the two, I stepped forward. Renge has ‘Healing Magic.’ Vampires are intelligent, so it’s not surprising. But it’s a bit odd for a vampire to have healing magic.

A rustling sound approached, and a rabbit with a horn on its head leaped out from between the trees.

It’s not just a rabbit. I tried to ‘Identify’ it, but:

──────────────

【unknown】 ???

■unknown

Drops:

??? ??? ???

??? ???

──────────────

I can’t even identify the name. Can’t monsters be identified? There was a ‘Demonology’ skill in the initial skills.

If I had that, I could have known the details of this monster. Or maybe I should have looked it up online.

Renge spoke to me.

"It’s a ‘Horned Rabbit.’ A low-level monster."

The name ‘Horned Rabbit’ appeared in red above the rabbit’s head and disappeared after a few seconds. So, the name can be seen this way. The red name plate indicates an ‘Enemy.’

My HP gauge floated in a non-obtrusive spot in my field of view. A long green bar. At the same time, a similar bar appeared above the rabbit’s head, but it was short.

I need to defeat that rabbit. Despite sharing the same name, I won’t hold back.

I quickly lunged at the horned rabbit and slashed with my right-hand sword. It hit, but the rabbit didn’t fall. Instead, it charged at me with its horn.

Thanks to the ‘Counter’ skill, I easily dodged it. Hmm, short swords do have low attack power. As expected. It only reduced the HP by about a third.

I slashed again, but it didn’t fall. After another strike, the rabbit disappeared in a burst of light, leaving a blood splatter effect.

The blood splatter is surprisingly realistic. Apparently, for players under 13 like Renge, a filter is automatically applied to hide it. For those 13 and older who are sensitive to blood, it can be set in the options.

"Ah!"

The defeated rabbit dropped an item. It was a crystal ball about the size of a baseball, with a foot-like icon inside.

"It’s a ‘Skill Orb.’ Getting one on your first kill is lucky, Shiro."

I couldn’t tell what kind of orb it was, but when I put it in my inventory, it showed up as a ‘Skill Orb of Kick Attack.’ It’s a combat skill. I could sell it, but I’ll keep it and unlock it. I’ll set it in a reserve skill slot for now.

Dropped items from defeated enemies usually appear on the spot. However, if there are many items or if you’re in a party, you can set it to automatically go to your inventory. Picking them up one by one can be a hassle.

After that, the three of us hunted in the forest. The two mainly supported me while I leveled up. Thanks to them, I reached level 3, and the bar indicating the proficiency of ‘Short Sword Mastery’ grew a little. My attack power increased slightly, and I could now one-shot a horned rabbit.

Well, horned rabbits are the lowest-level enemies.

In DWO, level generally refers to the racial level. When your level increases, the maximum values of HP (Health), MP (Mana), and ST (Stamina) go up, but that’s it. Attack power and agility don’t increase.

Those are improved through various skill proficiencies. The growth rate varies by race, but I’m a ‘Demon Race’ with the racial skill ‘Adaptability,’ so I might grow a bit faster than others.

Incidentally, skill proficiencies only increase if you use the appropriate skill.

For example, I have the ‘Counter’ skill, which increases proficiency when I dodge a fast attack. If the attack is slow, like a slime’s, dodging it won’t increase proficiency at all.

So, trying to increase proficiency against weak enemies is futile. The same goes for other skills; trying to increase proficiency easily usually fails.

Practice is the only way, right?

So, in this game, strength isn’t simply indicated by the level number, but it does serve as a guideline. A higher level means more combat and skill experience.

Of course, if you level up without equipping any skills, you’ll end up with a character who has high HP, MP, and ST but low parameters. Such a character won’t be strong.

It’s like someone who’s just gotten older without learning any skills or gaining any experience.

Incidentally, racial skills don’t have proficiencies. In my case, it’s ‘Adaptability.’ This depends on your level. The higher your level, the more benefits you get.

For example, a ‘Dragon Race’ has the ‘Breath’ skill, which they learn various types of as they level up. A bit envious...

From the rabbits, we got items like ‘Horned Rabbit Meat,’ ‘Horned Rabbit Fur,’ and ‘Horned Rabbit Horn.’

In DWO, monsters don’t drop money. You sell the items they drop to get money. Of course, if you have production skills, you can use them as materials. But that’s not relevant to me right now.

After a while of hunting, we took a break.

"By the way, Renge, are you okay? You said you had a tea party in the afternoon."

"Ah, I’m still fine. In DWO, it’s only until evening."

Ah, right. Demo-chan said the in-game time flows differently from real time.

Checking the status window, it was 11:00 AM in real time and 3:00 PM in-game.

In-game time flows three times faster than real time. So, one real day is three in-game days. If real and in-game time were the same, working adults could only play at night.

Of course, there are limits on how long you can log in continuously and how long you can log in in a day. Long logins can affect your real-world health, so you’re forced to log out if you exceed the limit.

You can eat in the game, but you should also eat in the real world.

It was getting late, so we decided to head back to town.

Guided by the two, we sold the items at a ‘Material Shop.’ Meat can be sold at a butcher’s, and fur at a clothing store, but it’s easier to sell everything here.

With the money, we decided to have a meal together. It was getting dark, and it was dangerous to go out in the field with unreliable equipment.

We entered a restaurant in a corner of the starting town, Freihait, and ordered food, which was quickly served at our table.

I took a bite and was surprised by the texture and taste.

"It’s really delicious. It feels like a real meal."

"But, but, player-made dishes are apparently even better. I haven’t tried them, but, ah, right, Wendy has the ‘Cooking’ skill, doesn’t she?"

"Yes. It was a login gift. But it’s in a reserve slot, and I haven’t increased its proficiency at all, so I think it would taste bad if I made it."

Wendy was eating a meat dish and sipping wine lightly. So, Wendy is over 20 in the real world. It makes sense. Otherwise, she couldn’t be Renge’s guardian.

Incidentally, drinking alcohol in DWO doesn’t get you drunk. I wonder why minors can’t drink. Maybe it’s to prevent forming habits. There’s a rumor that players over 20 can get a ‘Tipsy’ skill that allows them to get drunk...

"Wendy, since you can cook delicious meals in real life, I think you’ll get good at it quickly."

"Yes... I’ll try to improve my ‘Cooking’ skill when the opportunity arises. Taking care of the young lady’s meals is part of a maid’s duty."

Watching the two, who have a master-servant relationship in both real and game, I thought I might need the ‘Cooking’ skill, but decided it was fine for now since I could eat at restaurants.

After that, I asked them various things about the game. Renge was also a beginner like me, but Wendy had experience with other VRMMOs. They were ahead of me, so I got a lot of useful information about the town and convenient items.

"Since we have some money, should we buy new weapons and armor?"

I don’t want to keep using cheap stuff. I’d like to get at least a ‘Normal Short Sword’ and ‘Normal Clothes.’ I don’t know if they exist, though.

"That’s a good idea, but first, you should buy a ‘Safe’ from the ‘Safe Shop.’"

"Safe? Why?"

"Because of the death penalty. If you die and respawn, all your parameters will be reduced for an hour, and your money will be halved. However, if you buy a safe, the money in it won’t be counted as part of your money."

The safe is an item, not a real safe.

Apparently, if you buy a 1000G safe, 1000G of your money won’t be halved.

For example, if two players each earn 3000G, and one buys a 1000G safe while the other doesn’t, and they both die and respawn, the one without the safe will have 1500G left.

The one with the safe will have 2000G, but the 1000G in the safe won’t be halved. The remaining 1000G will be halved, leaving 500G. So, the total will be 1500G.

It seems the same either way, but if you die again, it makes a big difference.

The one without the safe will have 750G left, while the one with the safe will have 1250G left.

If you die again, the one without the safe will have 375G, and the one with the safe will have 1125G.

Hmm, it might depend on the amount in the safe and how many times you die, but it’s probably better to buy one. You never know what might cause you to die suddenly. Of course, I’ll try not to die.

"Young lady, it’s time."

"Ah, already?"

Checking the real time, it was past noon. That’s it for now. Outside the shop, it was completely dark.

"Shiro, we’ll take our leave now."

"Shiro, let’s play together again!"

"Sure. Ah, thank your father for the game."

As we left the shop, the two were enveloped in light and disappeared. The party was disbanded because Renge, the party leader, logged out.

When you log in, you start from where you logged out.

If you log out in a field, especially in an unsafe area, you might spawn surrounded by monsters. So, it’s usually better to log out in town.

What should I do? It’s dangerous to hunt alone at night, especially at a low level.

"Besides, I need to eat lunch. I just ate in the game, but..."

I don’t feel hungry, but I can’t keep playing like this. I can play at night, but I need to go grocery shopping for dinner.

I opened the menu to log out.

──No logout option!

...But I logged out normally.

I got up from the reclining VR drive. Wow, I’m really hungry. I didn’t feel it a moment ago.

That’s probably why there’s a limit on continuous login time.

"For now, let’s have lunch. I wonder if there’s anything in the fridge..."

I left my second-floor room and headed to the kitchen on the first floor, enduring my hunger.

【DWO Brief Explanation】

■Hunger

If you don’t eat in the game for a few hours, you’ll become hungry, and your attack power and agility will decrease.

If you don’t have money, you can find places with fruits and nuts. However, they don’t fill you up as much as proper meals, so you’ll get hungry again soon.

If you stay hungry for too long, you’ll starve to death and respawn. In this case, your hunger will be reduced by half, but you’ll still receive the death penalty.