"Where are the attributes?" Kaede really wanted to ask the shopkeeper, but finally, looking at the obviously impatient shopkeeper, he didn't say anything and walked in one direction.
If it were before, Kaede would have chosen to move silently along the wall, but although life in sword art online hadn't made Kaede completely get rid of this habit, it was no longer the way it used to be.
However, obviously, Kaede still wouldn't take the initiative to talk to strangers, so Kaede walked slowly to the outside of the village alone.
Playing games, hmm, especially this kind of game, leveling up should be very important, right? And to level up, you have to find small monsters to grind, right?
But, someone tell me, what is going on outside the village!
It's all things like crops. Where are the monsters for players to level up? Where are the small monsters gathered together?
However, Kaede was getting used to it. This place seemed completely different from sword art online, so not having swarms of small monsters should be understandable. Hmm, should be...
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed through Kaede's mind. It couldn't be, right? Then he looked at his attributes with a strange expression, and then looked again...
Kaede's mouth twitched. Hmm, confirmed, there was no experience bar, no level attribute column.
What kind of game is this? Kaede was also confused at this moment. Unfortunately, the village chief, who could have explained it to him, had actually forgotten everything.
What to do now? This question lingered in Kaede's mind for a long time.
Forget it, let's figure out the rules of this game first...
In the end, Kaede could only decide this.
If you asked others what Kaede's strongest point was, they might say that inhuman speed. But at this moment, Kaede had lost that speed; his current level was even a bit weaker than a normal person.
But, in fact, Kaede's strongest point was not speed, but that he was a born assassin.
An assassin who, even without having learned the skill to erase presence, could deceive most people's eyes just by relying on the method of lowering his presence, a born assassin who hadn't undergone formal training.
And at this moment, Kaede was standing under the shadow of a large tree. Most of the weight of the rusted Tachi in his hand was supported by the ground; after all, if Kaede held this sword now, he would feel exhausted before long—this speechless durability.
Kaede's eyes were fixed on the target. In Kaede's eyes, some subtle light was flickering on it. Kaede knew what it meant; the benefit that Weakness Analysis brought him, these represented its weaknesses.
Thus, a born assassin was waiting there slowly and patiently for the prey to arrive.
Just looking at Kaede's eyes, you would know that once the prey walked into his attack range, what would greet it would be a lethal strike!
A sneak attack, knowing the weaknesses, and Kaede had also tested the Tachi in his hand; although it was a bit heavy for him now, it didn't have much of an impact if he used all his strength.
Even if there was an impact, there was no possibility of the prey escaping this strike.
Thus, when the prey finally walked into Kaede's hunting range, Kaede's eyes instantly lit up, and the sword in his hand stabbed down at once.
Blade flash, hmm, completely non-existent, but its speed was already enough.
At this moment, the prey also noticed Kaede, but what greeted it was that rusty Tachi blade; this strike was unavoidable.
This strike pierced directly into the prey's body, hitting its weak point dead on, without the slightest deviation.
This was Kaede's "Soul-Piercing Strike."
Kaede wore a smile as he looked at what lay beneath his blade... a little white rabbit, yes, just a little white rabbit.
This guy had been on high alert, using all his skills, only to end up ambushing a little white rabbit that looked quite cute.
Hmm, Kaede insisted he was absolutely doing this just to research the benefits of killing monsters, definitely not because he was hungry, absolutely not.
Then, the smiling Kaede's expression suddenly changed in surprise as he felt a current of heat flow through his body, seemingly spreading through his entire being; that warm, cozy feeling was extremely comfortable.
Moreover, Kaede's eyes flashed; his body seemed to have gotten a bit stronger. Taking a look, Kaede was surprised to discover that his Durability, Speed, and Magic had actually all increased by a little.
So that's how it is; it seems even simpler than SAO!
This discovery made Kaede excited. If this was the case, then... Kaede's eyes lit up.
But what Kaede didn't know was that the reason the effect was so obvious was, first, Kaede's own stats were too weak, far weaker than a normal person's. As for his Magic, although it exceeded that of an ordinary person, that was due to his class, the 2D Soul Painter's stat growth.
However, it seemed that the fact that Kaede's speed could jump up directly was likely partly due to Asuna's stat growth.
However, the excited Kaede really wanted to start a massacre here and properly enjoy the feeling of getting stronger. But, before Kaede could take more than a few steps, his stomach let out a grumbling sound.
As expected, he should eat first. Let's be clear, he was only eating here to kill monsters better later on. Hmm.
Thus, over the next few days, if this game had titles, Kaede might have earned the title of "Little White Rabbit Slayer."
It was uncertain if there were even any little white rabbits left here; in any case, it took Kaede a long time to encounter one.
After taking down another little white rabbit, Kaede sighed. He felt absolutely nothing now; it seemed the little white rabbits were completely useless to him anymore.
It wasn't that he only wanted to kill little white rabbits, but he couldn't kill the others; like the monkeys in the trees, the birds, and sometimes there would even be wild oxen. Hmm, Kaede was very worried that his weapon wouldn't even be able to break that ox's defense, so naturally, he wouldn't go looking for trouble.
As expected, this game wouldn't have such a big loophole.
Grinding little white rabbits to max out stats, hmm, that seemed impossible.
Kaede's stats were now as follows.
Name: Kaede
Class: 2D Soul Painter
Stats: Strength: 5, Durability: 8, Agility: 10, Magic: 50
Overall Strength: LV1
Skills: Painting LV1, Soul Painting
Equipment: Soul Brush, Soul Drawing Board. (Class-specific equipment.) Rusty Tachi.
What surprised Kaede a little was that his Overall Strength had actually become LV1, but since Kaede didn't know the principle behind how strength was judged, he didn't pay it much mind.
What Kaede did care about was that after he broke through to LV1, another drawing board appeared in front of him. Similar to before, there was a template next to it. However, what left Kaede speechless was that this template was actually a little girl, who looked even younger than Yui.
She had long black hair, crimson eyes, and her face seemed a little dirty, and her eyes were filled with determination.
Upon seeing the little girl, Kaede felt that she was definitely similar to him. Thus, in his spare time, he would draw the little girl. It must be said that Kaede's observational skills helped him a lot; he could even spot the subtle differences in his own drawings. So, Kaede revised and revised, eventually getting the system to recognize his painting level as having reached LV1, and he gained one opportunity for a Two-Dimensional Soul Trial.
However, Kaede chose not to use it. She looked at the other painting next to it, which was of Asuna, but it was incomplete.
Yet, one could clearly see the smile on Asuna's face and that gentle charm. This was the result of Kaede's hardest efforts over the past few days; he no longer relied on any template at all, relying only on the sister in his mind, his only sister. But every time, before he could finish, his Magic would run out, seemingly because the stats of the character in the painting were too high.
This was no wonder; the Asuna Kaede was painting at this moment was the Asuna at her peak in SAO, not the Asuna from the beginning of the game, so her stats had naturally multiplied again and again.
However, determination flashed in Kaede's eyes. He would definitely complete this painting, and in the most perfect way, and then once more, once more, see his sister.
Even if that little girl gave him the same feeling as himself, that could not become a stumbling block to Kaede's desire to see Asuna.
It should be said that nothing could become his stumbling block, at least regarding this matter.
But often, things in the world always exceed people's expectations.
In a game, Asuna was smiling, looking at the drawing board in front of her. It was only one stroke away; just one last stroke and she could finish the painting.
"Little Kaede ."
That's right, Asuna was also painting the person she missed the most on the drawing board that had suddenly appeared before her. On the canvas, although the person was identical to her, anyone who knew them could tell at a glance that this was Kaede , not Asuna.
"Little Kaede..." Asuna squinted her eyes, looking gently at the image before her, and made the final stroke.
"Little Kaede?"
"Sister?" At this moment, Kaede , who was resting, seemed to hear something. Her eyes widened, she jumped up instantly, and looked around.
"Sister!!"
A curtain of light finally appeared before Kaede's eyes.
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