I Don't Need To Log Out

Zeno isn't something that can be created with advanced technology alone. Aside from EVR, no other civilization is believed capable of creating anything remotely close to Zeno's technology. But the Keldars have a few hundred of these, which is why only a few hundred Keldars attack using Zeno while the rest assault Trion physically. They are what we call monsters in the game.

EVR provided Zeno to Earth so that Earth's people could help the Trionians. Well, that's not entirely true—EVR doesn't actually care about the well-being of the Trionians. It is not because EVR doesn't like Tionians, but because it is not a person that likes or dislikes something. Its sole purpose is to maintain balance, and it only offered Zeno to us because the Keldars used Zeno to attack Trion.

But how do the Keldars have Zeno?

Could it mean they've helped other planets in the past? Then why don't they have several hundred million Zenos like we do on Earth?

---

I didn't even finish reading the rest of the notifications; instead, I checked the title:

The First One To Level Up

"Among players, you are the first person to level up at least five times after a single fight—a true pioneer.

Bonus: Earn +1 CP every time you level up.

All stats +5"

I'm starting to wonder if I've actually died and ended up in heaven because everything I do today leads to yet another shocking surprise. Having a second title is rare enough, but I've never even heard of someone with this title. Of course, it's possible that someone had it but chose to hide it for the same reason I might.

In 'EVR,' leveling up grants +2 Character Points, or CP, to increase your stats. Since I leveled up six times and reached level 7, I should have gained 12 CP—but instead, I received 18. This may seem minor, but it's actually huge. For one, leveling up is only easy early on; plus, the extra CP per level essentially means an additional level's worth of points every two levels. Right now, I'm as strong as a level 10 player, and that is without the "All Stats +5" bonus.

I'd also like to be the sole magic swordsman, but it's a tough class to manage. The reason I want to be a magic swordsman, aside from it being the strongest class, is that it actually combines two classes. You become both a warrior and a mage—a class I really like in addition to the warrior—which also means you have to split your CP between warrior and mage stats.

That's why I mentioned the player from my past timeline was bad at it; he spent most of his CP on warrior stats instead of balancing them. To play a magic swordsman well, you need to level up almost twice as much as other players. Still, even without my title, leveling up faster as a magic swordsman should be easy. I'm sure this class was practically made for me—especially since I don't have to log out!

I added 14 points to strength and the rest to agility. Vitality is important for a warrior, but I don't expect to take many hits in the early levels. Agility will help with dodging and make the transition to magic swordsman easier. And vitality was more important for tanks. 'HP and MP increases with each level, anyway.'

***

Status Window

Name: Arlon

Race: Human

Class: Warrior

Level: 7

HP: 1100

MP: 600

VIT: 28

STR: 41 (+2)

INT: 18

AGI: 17

Skills: {None}

Title: Unfair Regressor, The First One To Level Up

***

"Having 41 base strength even before the game's official launch is something to behold." With that thought, I continued hunting Wild Wolves—this time without the poison enchantment potion—until I reached level 10. I then collected all the loot in the now-empty caves and returned to Istarra without spending the rest of my CP since the day was almost over.

---

Back in Istarra, NPCs were bustling around, preparing for the game's launch, though they saw it as the arrival of their saviors. Looking around, I noticed a few things were different from the launch in the previous timeline since they weren't completed yet. "Looks like they'll have everything ready by tomorrow evening," I thought.

Istarra was in ruins the last time I'd been here before today. Trion had only one nation, and the starting towns were actually on the frontlines in the war against the Keldars. The inner regions of the nation were relatively safer. Naturally, players wouldn't visit those areas often, as they'd move on to enemy territories once they leveled up. That's why, when the starting towns were attacked, most players were away, allowing the Keldars to easily lay the city in ruins. "I want to prevent it this time!"

While I was lost in thought, a Beastman girl approached me.

"Excuse me! Are you Mr. Arlon?" she asked.

"Yes, that's me. How can I help you?" She was a Dog Human. Although I say "human," there were no actual humans or half-humans in Trion; she looked more like a dog in human form. By human standards, she could be called cute because she was a furry animal, but by Beastman standards, she wasn't considered attractive. Beastmen didn't care about outward appearance—only strength mattered to them, and this girl was clearly not strong.

"I heard your name from Old Man Charon. I know your role is to guide the players, but if it's not too much trouble, could you help me with arranging the flowers?"

Ah, so that's what it was about. For a second, I thought she might have realized I wasn't an NPC. I hope Charon told everyone about me. Then, no one would question my human appearance since his authority was really high.

Now that I think about it, in the past timeline, there were flowers along the sides of the road. I think she's responsible for arranging them since she can't handle heavy work.

"Of course, I can help you. What's your name?" I said.

"It's Yuma."

"That's a nice name, Yuma. How about putting some flowers on both sides of the road?" Of course, I used my past knowledge to make a good first impression on Yuma.

I saw Yuma's eyes widen in shock. "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"I'm sure you would have, eventually. I just happened to think of it first." There's no need for her self-esteem to take a hit.

While helping Yuma with other things, like which flowers to display and how many, I noticed there were others around us, waiting to join the conversation.

The first to speak was an Elf woman:

"I think these flowers would be a nice addition." She handed Yuma some beautiful blue-purple flowers that I didn't recognize.

Elves were often depicted as divinely beautiful on Earth. Well, they weren't ugly—some might even argue they could be the most beautiful men and women on Earth. But it wasn't anything divine. They had well-toned bodies, as they nourished themselves mainly with plants, and their skin was flawless because they were creatures of nature. However, I'm sure there are people on Earth who could give them a run for their money in the beauty department.

After Yuma took the flowers, she thanked the Elf. After the Elf, everyone around started to either join with their ideas or help with the arrangement. I decided my help wasn't needed anymore and stood up to leave, bidding everyone goodbye. Just as I was about to leave, a male Fhrem shyly approached me.

"Uhm... Hi!" he said.

"Hi! Can I help you?" I replied. Fhrem were green, half-giant beings, standing about 2.5 meters tall with muscular builds. They could be intimidating at first glance, but in reality, they were among the most naïve creatures in Trion, second only to the fairies.

This Fhrem was the town's blacksmith.

"Ummm... My name is Siturakaliterina, but you can just call me Situ. Everyone calls me that. Of course, my family calls me Siturakaliterina, not Situ. If they were to call me Situ, then why would they name me Siturakaliterina..." He rambled on about his name for a bit more. He was the type to open up as he talked.

After patiently waiting for him to finish his monologue—something I had already endured in my past timeline, making this feel like a form of torture I couldn't escape from—I finally asked, "Nice to meet you, Situ. Do you need help with something?" I deliberately refrained from commenting on his name.

"Ah, yes! I've made the signs for every shop in this town, and tomorrow, I'm planning to update some of the older ones. Now, I need somewhere to toss the old ones so the saviors don't see them," he explained.

When I heard this, I remembered that in the past timeline, we thought there might be an Easter egg in the trash bins because we found a lot of old shop signs scattered in them. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find the Easter egg, though. Of course, this was when we thought it was still just a game. Eventually, some people took the signs as souvenirs, and others were even auctioned off later. So, he couldn't find any place better.

"Why don't you smelt them into blocks?" I suggested.

After I made my suggestion, he seemed to get a bit shy and mumbled something I couldn't quite understand.

"Can you speak a bit louder? I couldn't catch that," I said. Even though I expected something silly, I knew I wouldn't be able to find a solution if I didn't understand the problem.

"I'm out of charcoal for the fire, and I can't use the new supply I will be using from tomorrow onward for the saviors. At least, that's what my father told me," he explained.

How does a blacksmith run out of fuel? I wondered, but I didn't dare ask. I'd either get a long story or make him feel worse than he already did.

"Aren't there any fire mages around here who can help with the smelting?" I suggested.

"No way! The old signs were made by me and my father, and a low-level mage's fire can't even get the iron hot. High-level mages wouldn't bother with something like this," he said seriously. I knew Situ was a skilled blacksmith. Everyone, especially tanks, would love an item that could withstand even a low-level mage's fire. While many players chose blacksmithing as a second profession, only a handful of blacksmiths could craft items like these even after 10 years in my past timeline.

'This is a dilemma I need to solve.' As I was thinking this, it struck me that I was trying to solve these problems as if they were my own. Since this was the first time I was seeing the NPCs' issues up close, I felt like I was in a new world, and I genuinely wanted to help them. Of course, there would be benefits as well. Having someone indebted to you is never a bad thing. I figured old Charon would also appreciate my efforts.

'I shouldn't slack off with my responses; I need to think this through.' That's when a brilliant idea came to me:

"Let's have a festival!"