On my knees I partially stood up with knife extended out to my right, it was time for the wolf to initiate. As if on cue the wolf lunged as I rolled and swiped with my knife.
Slicing at the side of the wolf's body, it ignored the pain, it continued on. Again it lunged, this time landing a bite on the same left arm it had bitten hours before.
This time, I was not afraid.
Pulling my arm closer to me and dragging the wolf with it, I plunged my knife deep into the upper neck of the wolf as it immediately let off and tried to run.
Hanging onto the knife as the wolf attempted to drag me through the snow I was able to grab it with both hands. The wolf, realizing I was still attached turned around to bite me once more.
Anticipating the bite I threw out a closed fist, hitting it squarely in the nose and causing it to flinch. That momentary reaction had provided an opening. With lightning-quick reflexes I pulled myself closer to the wolf with the knife handle serving as a peg lodged deep into the wolf's nape.
Getting within breathing distance I soon wrapped myself around the wolf. As I wrapped my arm around the wolf's neck it started violently swinging and twisting its head in an attempt to break free.
Unfortunately for the wolf, the tables had been turned.
I now had position on the back of the neck and it was the wolf that was frantically trying to free itself from what was to come.
It was no use.
Pulling the knife out, I switched my grip and soon cut into the wolf once more.
With one long pull it was over.
Grasping for breath as my adrenaline had let off I sat on my knees and stared off into the distance. Letting my shoulders droop as I attempted to relax I saw something disturbing. At the edge of my sight I could barely make out the body of a large beast. A humanoid beast that was as white as the snow around it and at least a head or two taller than me. It was a [Frost Troll].
Grabbing my items and the body of the wolf, I quickly ran in the opposite direction. I knew not which way I was going but I knew I would not head anywhere near the troll. The [Frost Troll] was a small one but even a small one was at the very least level 80 or so.
No one knew for sure but you could kill small bears that were around level 50 and they were considerably inferior in comparison. I would either succumb to the cold or die to the [Frost Troll] if I stayed still.
I took my chance with the cold.
Preferring the odds of survival at around 25%, I continued to run in the direction that I thought would lead me to safety. Minutes passed as sunlight started to peer through the canopy above and I was relieved to see a marker. The sun was setting behind me to the west and with the village to the east… I was headed in the right direction.
Exiting the forest line I turned around to look at the forest behind me once more, the ominous feeling still pervaded as the weather was considerably worse here than anywhere else in visible range.
Running the rest of the way back to the village, I stopped at the elder to alert him of what I had seen, "Elder, I have seen a frost troll in the western forest just now, is the village in danger?"
The elder stopped for a second and closed his eyes, "Young one, the foul weather that follows the frost troll is often sign enough to warrant caution. But fear not, unless provoked the troll will not come near."
Having excused myself and now feeling relieved that I wasn't going to be followed by an exceptionally high level monster, I sat down next to the fire and began my work. With a smile creeping across my face I was excited at the prospect of the wolf pelt in front of me, no longer would I be a naked man in underwear with a fur hat and soon-to-be fur boots.
Well, for a day or two I would be a naked man with a fur hat and fur boots, but not for long! I would have a wolf fur jacket soon.
As soon as I finished with the pelt and handed it over to the leatherworker, I decided to dance by the fire in celebration. My hips had started to gyrate to the mental track of Disco! Disco! Good! Good! before it clicked that maybe I was meant to live the life of a male stripper with a white fuzzy fur cap and furry boots.
The thought stopped me mid-dance as I dropped my mouth in horror while the villagers stared on, wondering what manner of devil had possessed me.
Chapter 6: It's a Grind
(Tuesday, January 5th Game Day / Saturday, January 2nd Real Day)
Rolling over to my side I fumbled with my hand over the edge of the bed searching for my water glass. My eyes were closed as I was too lazy to open them, plus it was bright outside my window and I hadn't acclimated yet. Finding my water I took a sip to soothe my dry throat and set the glass down. With a glance at the clock I saw that it was 7:54 AM and I had six minutes to log in.
I couldn't waste the game's daylight hours.
That was a verifiable crime.
Making my way into The Cube and strapping in, I initiated the log-in sequence that had the entire square room dim into complete darkness. My sleep schedule had been appropriately screwed up these past two days as I continued to play the game during every four-hour daylight period and then would log off during the dark hours.
That meant I was playing from 12:00-4:00 AM, 8:00-12:00 PM, and 4:00-8:00 PM. It was an unhealthy schedule but I at least ate three meals and received enough sleep.
Today was officially the fifth game day yet only the second day since the game had released, but I was making strides. Having recently finished that annoying rabbit quest and finally acquiring suitable clothing, I could now properly hunt for the full duration of the day without fear of death due to the cold.
Looking down at my clothing was certainly an upgrade as well, as my eyes were no longer offended by the sight. The white fox-fur boots were the biggest items as my feet were no longer numbed by the snow, while the white wolf-fur coat was able to cover my shoulders and midsection quite comfortably. The white fox-fur cap was a nice little addition too.
Everything was white and fluffy though.
Oh well.
Before I could head out to hunt the village elder approached me once again, "Young one, thanks to you we have enough food to last us the week but there is one problem. There are too many foxes in the forests hunting the rabbits that we need to survive. Will you help us with our problem?"
And just like that another system message popped up:
[Will you accept this Quest?].
I selected [Yes].
Without bothering to look at the details of the quest I started jogging out towards the forest to the east, having forsaken the western forest that appeared to be normal again. Even if it looked normal, that western forest had proven to be a bit dangerous… my best guess was that was the higher level forest for beginners in the level 10-20 range. Having just recently hit level 5 I was still working my way through the easier forest, mostly due to lack of items though rather than lack of stats.
I had plenty of attribute points after all.
Mid-jog I decided to pull-up the [Quest Log] and look at what the requirements were. A quick glance told me all I needed to know, kill ten foxes in the Eastern Forest.
Done and done.
From what I could gather it was just a simple chain quest for beginners that started you off with rabbits, then led to foxes, and would eventually lead to wolves.
In the Middle Kingdoms where there were actual towns and cities the quest systems were much more robust. Even the Southern Kingdoms or the North-Eastern Elven lands had towns and cities… but here in the far North there were just a few sparsely populated villages.
While other players in different regions were getting rewarded handsomely for collecting furs, I was busy doing charity work to feed the homeless. No, that's not right, they have homes… they're just foodless. They also didn't have to worry about the winter months nearly as much either, with the weather much more tolerant down south.