Episode 3
Chapter 3
Ding!
[You are the first user to speak with the Village Chief.]
[As a reward, you will acquire the ‘Butchery’ skill and a butchery tool kit.]
‘Kuh! This is it!’
Is it really that great?
If you have to ask, you’ve obviously never played Pantheon.
Well, has anyone even played Pantheon yet?
There is one. Jinwoo.
And he’s a veteran who played it for nine years.
Anyway, butchery is incredibly important in Pantheon.
Why?
It’s not like monsters don’t drop anything when you kill them.
Like other games, monsters drop items.
But to obtain items like leather, meat, and bones, you absolutely need the Butchery skill.
And it’s notoriously hard to get early on.
Hey! Back in my day, I had to apprentice at a butcher shop for days just to barely learn Butchery!
Having to study for days inside the game—does that sound easy to you?
And yet he already got it as a skill book?
It’s like reaching for the stars.
It’s not given to the first user to talk to the Village Chief for nothing.
It’s no exaggeration to say that obtaining the Butchery skill and tools alone puts him miles ahead of everyone else!
Of course, he wasn’t aiming for just this.
‘This isn’t the end!’
Strike while the iron is hot.
He couldn’t just sit on this!
The moment Jinwoo used the skill book, a message appeared.
Ding!
[You have acquired the Butchery skill.]
『Butchery』
*Rank: Normal
*Level: 1
→Can obtain leather, meat, and bones from monster or animal carcasses.
This was where the message should have ended.
But as if that would happen.
Me! Kim Jinwoo, the greatest under heaven!
I have ten years of game knowledge crammed in my head!
With exactly that expression on his face, Jinwoo smiled, and sure enough, a notification rang out.
Ding!
[For the first time, you have learned a skill using a skill book.]
[You acquire the First Title ‘Master of Skills’.]
『Master of Skills』
→First Title
→A title bestowed upon the first user to acquire a skill via a skill book
→Effects of skills learned via skill books +10%
‘This is it.’
Kuh.
Is this what they mean by feeling full just from looking?
He could knock back five bottles of straight soju without any side dishes and play the empty bottles like flutes.
Other titles had been somewhat ambiguous, but Master of Skills was the real deal.
It was slightly disappointing that it only applied to skills learned from books, but so what.
It gave a +10% effect!
Actually, that made it even better.
Butchery skill, butchery tools, and a First Title on top of that.
Too sweet.
At this rate, he might get enteritis from all this freeloading.
And in such hot weather, too.
But he couldn’t be satisfied yet!
Yeah, obviously not.
Even if he bit off more than he could chew, he wanted it all!
Jinwoo moved busily.
Now that he had the Butchery skill and tools, was he rushing off to the hunting grounds?
What nonsense.
‘Hunting isn’t important right now.’
He had to milk this for everything it was worth!
Talk to the chief of a backwater village, get a skill book and tool kit.
But only talk to the chief and then head straight to the hunting grounds?
That’s knowing one and missing two.
Levels could be raised anytime, but a village without users?
When else would he see this again?
He had to squeeze out every last drop he could get.
It would be a while before other users arrived.
After all, the early tutorial was quite difficult.
‘The speed-run record for the tutorial was in the thirty-minute range, right?’
And that was an absurdly outdated record.
Set by players who had cleared the tutorial hundreds of times.
In other words, the fresh-faced newbies right now would take at least two hours!
Well, there might be the occasional crazy bastard who skipped the tutorial, but even so.
Who could outperform Jinwoo with ten years of information?
He already knew exactly what to do with that golden window of time.
And so he did.
“Hehe, you like it so much? It seems the gift is to your liking.”
“I like it very much. Thank you.”
“I’m just grateful you like it so much.”
Annoyed that he was still talking?
You really don’t know what you’re talking about.
This old geezer… no, how worthy of respect the Village Chief is!
If you don’t know, keep your mouth shut.
His true value will be revealed soon enough!
With exactly that thought in mind, Jinwoo waved his hands at the chief’s words.
With an expression that seemed to spring from genuine sincerity rather than acting.
“Oh, come now! No, I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
“Hehehe, seeing such a polite adventurer, I cannot sit still. Do you have any other plans?”
It popped!
This was it.
He’d been waiting for this.
Jinwoo’s eyes sparkled with the gaze of a beast about to hunt, but it lasted only a fleeting instant.
Naturally, the Village Chief had no chance of noticing.
Because it was truly a fleeting instant.
But look now.
Bright, clear eyes, like a newborn calf’s.
If there existed eyes that embodied purity itself, would they look like this?
And the hypocritical words that followed.
“Ah, I was thinking of going to the training grounds.”
“Oho!”
Training grounds!
He never imagined he’d seek out training grounds again after the army.
And yet here he was, seeking them out in a game.
Anyway, the Village Chief’s eyes lit up with delight.
‘Hehehe. Very good.’
Wasn’t this practically an unwritten rule?
When arriving at a village for the first time in a game, talking to the Village Chief.
But the outcome usually split into two.
Either you received information or a quest about the village.
Or you received a useful item or something worth money.
The Butchery skill and tools Jinwoo first received were the latter.
So was that the end?
You really don’t know anything.
Pantheon is a god game.
So instead of splitting into two like a normal game, it gives you both!
“Then this shall help you.”
With those words, the Village Chief handed over a letter envelope.
A rather luxurious-looking envelope.
Of course, Jinwoo knew exactly what it was.
Ding!
[The quest ‘Captain of Nen Village’s Guard’ has been generated.]
[Will you accept?]
This was the message he wanted!
He had waited for this; there was no way he’d refuse.
“Ah! Thank you!”
[You have accepted the quest.]
[You acquire the quest item ‘Village Chief’s Letter of Recommendation’.]
Huh?
He received the quest, but where was the First Title?
You get that after clearing it!
It wasn’t time yet.
“Hehe, that lad will take a liking to you too. Ahem, well then, I shall be on my way.”
“Oh my! Thank you so much for your help! I will definitely repay this kindness!”
As Jinwoo bowed his head, the Village Chief coolly raised his hand without looking back.
Kuh!
Was this what experience looked like?
Incredibly cool.
Anyway.
He had obtained everything he wanted from the Village Chief.
‘This is it. Hehe.’
The reason for going to the training grounds?
Obviously, because there was something to get.
And what could he get?
He could get a lot.
With just a recommendation letter, he could learn Beginner Swordsmanship instead of Basic Swordsmanship.
They might sound similar at first glance, but they were completely different.
All martial arts skills in Pantheon had tiers.
Starting from Basic, then Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and so on.
It wasn’t some profound concept of martial arts deepening like in reality.
Simply put, the higher the tier, the more the power of the skill changed.
Wasn’t that alone worth it?
‘But raising tiers is just as difficult.’
Unless you found some special hidden piece, everyone started at Basic.
Naturally.
Because you couldn’t skip the basics.
That was precisely why building proficiency was so difficult.
So most users struggled with Basic until level 30.
But exceptions exist everywhere.
Like Jinwoo right now.
‘Beginner Swordsmanship would be quite useful before changing class.’
There usually weren’t any proper skills available until level 5.
But to obtain it now?
His starting point would leap ahead of others beyond imagination.
If nothing else, this was a must-have.
If he prioritized, it was within his top three.
Now then, since he had the quest too.
Time to clear it?
There was something to do first.
‘I don’t know if it’ll work, but I might as well try.’
He had planned to obtain it at the training grounds, but getting it beforehand would be even better.
With that thought, Jinwoo dashed off quickly.
Toward the training grounds.
He ran at full speed.
Was he trying to get there before any other users arrived?
No, as if.
As he’d said, they were still far off.
There were hardly any gutsy bastards who skipped the tutorial from the start.
Ever since VR games came out, there had never been a tutorial without hidden pieces.
So most people didn’t skip them.
Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered.
There was something to obtain before reaching the training grounds.
But why run like this?
Ah, you’ll just have to trust him.
‘Damn, it’s far.’
The distance from the central fountain to the training grounds was considerable.
With his early-game stats and low stamina, it was damn exhausting.
Even if it was virtual reality, fatigue felt the same.
Still, Jinwoo ran and kept running.
Without rest.
Did he really have to run this hard?
For a First Title?
He had to. What else could he do?
Thinking about the future, he absolutely needed it.
“Kuh.”
He squeezed out every last bit of strength, as they say, to keep running.
Even so, the distance remaining was still considerable.
Couldn’t he walk slowly now?
That temptation constantly beckoned, but he ran without giving in.
When he had run until a sweet, metallic taste rose in his mouth!
Finally, the notification he wanted rang out.
Ding!
[For the first time on the continent of Pantheon, you have sprinted with all your might.]
[The skill ‘Full Sprint’ is generated.]
[You acquire the First Title ‘Million-Dollar Legs’.]
『Full Sprint』
*Rank: Normal
*Level: 1
→Skill level increases the more you run.
→As skill level rises, stamina consumption while running decreases.
『Million-Dollar Legs』
→First Title
→A title bestowed upon the first user to sprint at full power to their limit
→20% reduced stamina consumption while running, 10% increased speed
“Huff, huff… F-finally got it.”
He simply ran, and got a skill plus a First Title.
Honestly, if you looked at it objectively, you might wonder why he was running?
Tsk tsk, you’d have to have played Pantheon to understand.
Do you know how vast the continent of Pantheon is?
On a map like that, what’s your mode of transportation?
Of course, your own two sturdy legs!
What? Can’t you just ride a horse?
Ah, you must be rich.
‘Horses are damn expensive, too.’
Besides, it’s hard to ride them in hunting grounds.
Even an expensive horse is done for if a monster kills it.
There are combat-capable mounts, of course.
The problem is you can’t buy them even if you have the money.
So naturally, the only thing you can rely on is your own two sturdy legs.
Does it make sense now?
How good the Full Sprint skill and Million-Dollar Legs title are?
‘Hehehe, how many First Titles have I acquired already?’
Jinwoo had already obtained four First Titles.
And most of them were useful ones.
Useful from early game all the way to late game!
He truly felt full just from looking at them.
Plus, he had two skills now.
Far better than guys who at best were rolling around in the tutorial.
‘Taking first place really isn’t out of the question.’
Starting with achievements like these already, who could possibly stop him?
Of course, he had zero intention of stopping here.
He had arrived at the training grounds, so now he had to obtain that.
But despite his overflowing motivation, he felt like he was dying.
Trembling shoulders and ragged breathing.
“Heh, heh, heh. I’m gonna die.”
Well, he had run until he felt the absolute limit of his stamina.
Of course he was exhausted.
But even so, he couldn’t stay still.
“Kuh.”
Better to die than stay idle.
He knew exactly what he could obtain, so where was the time to rest?
His entire body felt heavy, but it was just a game.
As long as you had the mental strength, you could move.
Ding!
“Huh?”
Huh?
Why are you ringing here?
There shouldn’t be anything to obtain here?
He hadn’t done anything?
Even with ten years of knowledge, he didn’t know everything.
His eyes went wide at the unexpected notification.
And the message that appeared.
[By using your stamina to its limit, your Stamina stat increases by 2.]
The reward for running was overflowing.