Sorry for the late chapter, I'll make it up to you by watching you sleep for an extra hour tonight compared to how much I usually do. In any case, hope you enjoy.
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If there was one thing Alaric truly appreciated yet also felt somewhat disappointed about, it was the variety of food items in this world, or at least the ones he knew of. A majority of the cuisine, at least here in this restaurant, was stuff he was familiar with.
He liked this because he knew what it was he was going to be getting without a doubt, even if made with potentially different ingredients due to being in a different world. At the very least, he knew the general kind of dish he was ordering.
On the side that disappointed him, he was disappointed because you'd typically think an entirely different world would contain foods and/or cuisine that would break the norms of what he'd consider normal.
It made sense, though. Real-world aspects inspired the original game.
'Though, considering the nature of this world, there's bound to be some crazy cuisine out there, it may be worth trying.' Alaric mused to himself as he took another bite of the food in front of him. 'As for this, not bad at all.'
What he had ordered was the Honey Char Siu, along with a bowl of rice.
Although a bit heavy for breakfast, at least for someone like Alaric, that didn't stop him from enjoying its rich flavor. Was it the best he'd ever eaten? Probably not, but he'd definitely consider it high quality.
"How annoying..." Alaric clicked his tongue as he looked like he was trying to navigate around on his phone. No matter what he did, he couldn't connect to any services. 'I expected this, but having no internet really is a pain in the ass.'
Perhaps this was the inevitable mindset for a modern person like him, someone who has adapted to a life in which something like access to a convenient worldwide network like the internet was the norm.
Where was he supposed to get that here?
On the brighter note, although he had no idea how, his house still seemed to possess access to flowing water and electricity even after being transported to this world. Most likely due to the intervention of whatever brought him here, he wasn't complaining.
'It's times like these that my preparation shines.' Alaric casually said to himself in his head as he pulled up a movie he had downloaded on his phone. Turning the volume down to where it was audible but not too loud. 'Watching movies in a different world with my smartphone sounds like an anime title.'
He had plenty of different movies, TV series, anime, offline games, and more downloaded on both his phone and also on his computer back at the house. As long as he watched and played them periodically, he'd be fine for a good while.
Will he eventually reach a dead end? No doubt.
Will it be anytime soon? Probably not.
In any case, after this was all done, Alaric already had his plans figured out and was planning on heading outside of the city and into the wild. He wanted to see if simply defeating or killing monsters would allow him to level up his class.
Even at this base level, he could feel that his power was many times that of an ordinary human being, so he had some assurance at least. If it proved too dangerous, he did have that mobility skill in the form of Moonlit Walker to escape.
He'd eventually have to adapt anyway, so he might as well head out now to test the waters.
For now, it was breakfast time.
As Alaric made himself comfortable and had his focus entirely on the movie and the food in front of him, he hadn't paid attention when the individual he had seen eating in the corner before was now walking past him.
Although she didn't stop to talk to him, she couldn't help but give a curious look as she walked past. Alaric's clothing was unusual here in Liyue, and not to mention the strange device that produced sound and seemed to show something.
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Superpowers truly were a miracle.
Alaric couldn't help but admire just how convenient having these superhuman capabilities was, being able to run through the wild with incredible speed, being able to jump a few meters into the air, and more.
This improvement in physical capability, at least at the starting level, was most likely due to the rarity of the Class he had. He doubted the same increase would be given to the Common graded Classes.
As he continued to 'rampage' through the wilderness, he came across a few monsters, mainly being slimes that seemed to be in relative abundance. He was honestly surprised he'd yet to find a hilichurl, they were relatively common, at least in the game.
"Hmm, this is really slow..." Alaric frowned as he completely obliterated a hydro slime with a single punch. 'All of these slimes are relatively weak, the amount of experience I'm gaining definitely won't cut it in the long run.'
At first, killing these weak slimes proved to yield a decent but not incredible amount of experience, but as soon as he leveled up, the amount of experience points he needed to level up again naturally increased.
Although the required experience increase wasn't too bad right now, according to the guidebook, it will increase exponentially in the future. Killing slimes, especially this weak, simply won't cut it.
For now, it was somewhat acceptable.
Aside from that, he had been looking at the guidebook while farming experience. A majority of the stuff inside was already things he could assume on his own, but there were a few details of particular interest.
One was that unless a being had access to a Class, then they were considered 'levelless' beings, basically just meaning that they had no level.
With that, that meant that the amount of experience gained wasn't based on level difference, cause if the monster didn't have a level, then there wasn't a difference to be calculated between it and himself.
That was obvious, especially since the experience so far seemed to be a relatively fixed amount with only a few exceptions so far, probably due to particular slimes being weaker or stronger than others.
"There really isn't any calculation mentioned regarding experience yield in the guidebook," Alaric muttered to himself. 'That probably implies that the means of calculation are unnecessary for me to know...'
Whatever the case, it didn't matter.
As long as he fought stronger monsters, then naturally the amount of experience gained should be more, right?
"Hm?" Alaric heard a strange cry as he turned his head to see a familiar-looking humanoid creature charging towards him. Seeing it, Alaric raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Finally ran into one of these guys, surely it isn't alone."
The creature that appeared looked to be a humanoid with a tribal aesthetic, wearing a mask and ragged clothing, and even wielding a wooden club. No doubt, the enemy was a hilichurl.
Alaric soon watched as more than six others emerged from the bottom of the elevated hill they were on. Seeing this, Alaric was as calm as can be, these hilichurls didn't seem to be that much better than average humans, at least in terms of speed.
'Surely they provide more experience than the slimes I've been taking down.' Alaric mused to himself as he watched them approach. Glancing at his status screen, he could see all his details. 'At the very least, hopefully enough to get me an extra level.'
As of right now, he was only at level 3 and a decent chunk away from level 4.
Closing down the status screen, Alaric now gave full attention to the group of hilichurls that were quickly approaching his location. Smirking slightly, Alaric activated one of his skills, causing his body to release a flash of light.
〈SKILL: Moonlit Walker〉
This was the movement skill among the three that were given to him after getting the Class. As the description had stated before, it allowed him to temporarily become literal moonlight and flash in any direction, even through solid matter.
After using it, Alaric disappeared, leaving behind faint but visible glass-like remnants of light that soon faded away into nothingness.
As for Alaric himself, he instantly appeared behind the group of charging hilichurls. More specifically, directly behind the hilichurl furthest back. His appearance was like that of a ghost, without a sound, and the only indication was the split-second flash of light that followed.
〈SKILL: Crescent Slash〉
Crescent Slash, the offensive skill that he was given.
After activation, a condensed orb of light seemed to encompass Alaric's entire right hand. Without hesitation, he swung his right arm horizontally outwards, causing a crescent-shaped blade of light to form and shoot towards the hilichurl.
The distance the blade traveled wasn't far, at most only a meter, but more than far enough given that Alaric had appeared more than close enough for the attack to make contact.
These two actions happened so quickly that the hilichurls had no time to react, and the unfortunate victim at the back was the first to realise this as the blade of moonlight struck it from behind, sending it flying forward.
"Oh? So, it didn't instantly kill you?" Alaric blinked after seeing the hilichurl on the ground, struggling as a significant slash mark now covered its back, no doubt causing it great pain. "Perfect, you guys definitely will give me more experience, won't you?"
Perhaps he had a few scews loose, or it was simply living in a modern world, but Alaric had come to learn that he seemed to have a kind of hidden thirst for battle. It wasn't a crazy addiction, but he could feel his blood boiling at the thought of strong opponents.
Of course, being a gamer, maybe it was just his gamer-tuned mindset that made him crave stronger enemies to reap the greater rewards. Whatever the case, Alaric was more than pleased to see that he hadn't killed that hilichurl instantly.
Snapping out of their confusion at not having fully registered the quick succession of these recent events, the other hilichurls all turned and charged at him, completely ignoring their fallen comrade, who couldn't even stand back up.
Despite not having many skills, his superior overall physique from the Class made dealing with this group easy. On top of that, Alaric had come to learn of another rather overpowered trait when it came to Classes.
For someone like him who lived in a time where cold-weapon combat had all but disappeared outside of sports and hobbies, he naturally had no experience in using them, nor had he any battle experience to begin with.
After obtaining the Class, he could feel an instinct for battle, or more specifically, an instinct for how to fight in accordance with his own Class. It felt as if his body just knew what to do and how to do it.
After realising this, he naturally checked the topic in the guidebook.
What he learned was that, depending on the Class, the user would gain instantaneous knowledge on certain related aspects. For example, a swordsman Class would give the user a certain level of expertise and experience with a sword, which would deepen as their level increased.
What that meant was that at the very start, depending on the quality of the Class, a simple swordsman Class at the beginning would gain a basic level of swordsmanship. At the same time, a higher grade would receive a higher level, and both would have this knowledge automatically improve as they level up.
To summarise, Classes didn't just give skills and power, but also knowledge and experience.
〈LEVEL UP: 3 ➔ 4〉
〈NEW SKILL: Celestial Bastion〉
"A new skill?"
After finishing off the last two hilichurls, Alaric immediately turned his attention to the notifications that had appeared. He had ignored them when they first appeared, only because he was in the middle of a battle.
Though he could make do with his current skills, he was all for expanding his arsenal.
He did have another skill, but it was passive and only functioned at night. Even then, it was a simple power-boosting skill, and that was not a bad thing. He just wanted to add some more versatility to his combat style.
As for the Class Trait...
Well, using it wouldn't exactly be the brightest idea if it did exactly as its description said. Doing so would attract an abhorred amount of attention that he didn't need or want right now, especially since among those would be the powerhouses of this nation and beyond.
The moon wasn't just something that could be seen here in Liyue...
"Alright, let's see here..."
Opening up the menu, Alaric navigated to the status screen.
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[Class Details]
➣ Class Name: Moon Sovereign (Legendary)
➣ Class Level: 4/20 - [EXP: 12/59]
➣ Ascension: ★☆☆☆☆
➣ Class Trait: [Lunar Dominion]
➣ Equipment: [Deep Space Bodysuit] [Moonthread Cloak]
Skills:
➣ Active Skills: [Crescent Slash] [Moonlit Walker] [Celestial Bastion]
➣ Passive Skills: [Under Moonlit Gaze]
➣ Ultimate Skills: [None]
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As can be seen, during his time out here, Alaric has risen from level 1 to 4.
Although he had only levelled up three times in total, the required experience points from the beginning had only increased by nine points. If this keeps up, as long as he farms enough monsters, it wouldn't be hard to level up further.
Of course, that was under the assumption that the rate of required experience increase remained stagnant, and if this were the case, levelling would become way more difficult. In any case, the primary focus for now is the new skill he has unlocked.
.
➣ Celestial Bastion - [Type: Active] [Cooldown: 30s] [Effect: Project a semi-transparent lunar barrier with a diameter of 10m that lasts for 5 seconds]
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'So, it's a defense skill. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but I'll certainly take it.' Alaric nodded with satisfaction after reading the skill. He figured it'd be a defense skill based on the name, and the description confirmed it. 'Is the barrier invincible? I doubt it. That'd be a bit busted.'
If Alaric were to hazard a guess, the strength of the barrier was probably reflected based on himself. This was typically how these things worked. As long as a powerful enough attack is used, the barrier will be destroyed.
"The description itself is pretty vague, does it trap me or some shit too?"
Details like that are typically pretty essential to know.
"Well, one way to find out..."
With the basic knowledge of operation given to him after learning the skill, Alaric raised his open hand, which was now veiled in a dense yet thin layer of white light. He then slammed it down onto the ground below him.
〈SKILL: Celestial Bastion〉
Immediately after his palm made contact with the ground, a dome-shaped barrier appeared around him, as the description stated, with a diameter of 10m. Although the barrier was made of the same lunar light used in his other skills, it appeared semi-transparent, granting visibility both in and out.
Curiously, Alaric walked up to the edge, his eyes scanning curiously over the barrier of light.
Raising his hand towards it, Alaric pushed as his hand went through without resistance. Seeing this, Alaric nodded in understanding. It seemed that despite being a shield, he was more than capable of passing through without issue.
"Is it only me who can pass through?" He couldn't help but wonder, and if so, that meant that if any allies were inside, they'd be trapped until the barrier went down. "That certainly has its pros and cons if that's the case..."
Although dissatisfied with the lack of in-depth detail he had on the skill, he couldn't exactly test it right now. Therefore, he'd push the topic to the side for now and focus back on grinding up his levels as much as he could.
Well, at least for maybe another hour before heading back to Liyue Harbour.
He couldn't exactly leave his house, now a shop, unattended for too long.
If it were just his house, that wouldn't be an issue, it only became an issue now that the front of his house had been automatically changed to a modern, store-like aesthetic. It basically screamed for people to come in.
Fortunately, like a normal person, he remembered to lock the door.