Ryan stepped out of the cabin, a strange mix of joy and resignation stirring inside him. His mind was already shifting gears, ready to focus on the next step ahead.
He opened his character attributes. A small icon flashed beside the experience bar—he had enough to level up. His current XP stood at 25,240 out of 8,000—more than triple what was needed to advance from Level 1 to 2.
A small plus sign blinked invitingly. Ryan tapped it. Right at that moment, a golden light burst over his body.
---
You leveled up!
You reached Level 2!
Health +26 | Mana +20
Strength +1 | Stamina +1 | Intellect +1
You have become stronger!
---
The surge of power was immediate, almost electric. But more than that, the sudden golden flash hadn't gone unnoticed.
Around him, curious eyes turned. Players near the starter zone who were still completing early quests paused. Gasps broke out. Whispers followed, soft and scattered.
Ryan frowned.
This kind of attention, even from random players, was the last thing he needed. No telling who might be lurking in the crowd, and getting entangled with them was more trouble than it was worth.
Without another word, he ducked his head and strode quickly out of the village.
Glancing at his stats again, he saw his experience now sat at 18,240 out of 12,000. Enough for Level 3, but far from Level 4. He opened his quest log to check what tasks remained.
The starter zone had roughly seventy quests, including some rare ones. Between quests and monster grinding, a player could rake in around 80,000 XP—plenty to reach Level 5.
Level 5 was the magic threshold. At that point, players could accept the main quest tied to the village: clearing a basic dungeon and earning the right to leave the zone.
But Ryan wasn't aiming to finish every side quest. He only needed enough to unlock the main questline.
Then a thought hit him.
"Damn it... I forgot. The dungeon isn't even open yet. Even if I hit Level 5, I still can't leave this zone."
He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead in frustration. No sense in wasting time. He grabbed a few essential quests and sprinted toward the plains.
As he crossed the gates, his thoughts drifted elsewhere, chasing half-formed ideas through his head.
'I wonder if anyone's found the Guardian of Windrest Plains yet... Not that they could defeat it anyway.'
In Kingdom Forge, every major zone had a Guardian—a fearsome monster guarding the key to the region's dungeon. Defeating one for the first time guaranteed a rare drop: a Dungeon Scroll.
Whoever secured that scroll would not only unlock the dungeon, but also receive a Glorious Achievement—a bonus that granted permanent stat boosts or even talent points.
Ryan's heart pounded just thinking about it. That kind of boost was invaluable. But realistically, there was no way he could beat the Guardian solo—not yet.
Still, teaming up wasn't off the table. If he could form a group and keep the scroll's secret to himself, he'd walk away with everything.
The Windrest Plains stretched before him—open grasslands dotted with sparse trees. Many players had already gathered in groups, hunting monsters like Frenzied Wolf Cubs. They relied on kiting tactics, drawing aggro and using the monsters' sluggish movement to their advantage.
Most were still unarmed, whittling away health with nothing but fists.
Ryan wasn't surprised. Players who had found weapons early on kept quiet, afraid to lose their edge. The information would leak eventually—some generous player would share, or guilds would use it as bait to recruit newbies fast.
Ryan couldn't blame them. If not for Sky Dragon Iris's $500, he probably wouldn't have shared his own find either.
He pushed forward.
Guardians vanished from the map once their dungeon unlocked, usually replaced by similar-looking elites or rares. If memory served, the rare monster 'Lone Wanderer' Orson showed up in the upper right corner of Windrest Plains later on.
He consulted his mini-map and started running.
---
Ten minutes later, he reached a dense, overgrown patch of wilderness. Quiet. No players in sight—for now.
Ryan crouched low. First, he had to locate the Guardian. Then he'd figure out a strategy.
'Lone Wanderer' Orson came to mind. A silver wolf, striking and majestic. Some hunter players would spend days tracking it just to tame it.
Ryan had done the same. Back when his main Paladin needed a break, he'd play a hunter alt, capturing rare beasts and selling them off. He knew Orson's routes by heart.
After several more minutes of scouting, he found his target.
In a secluded hollow, a massive silver wolf stood at the center of a wolf pack. Dozens of Graywolves surrounded it, standing so still and perfectly arranged they looked like soldiers at inspection.
Ryan's excitement drained at the sight.
"Seriously? This is going to be a nightmare…"
The reward was obvious. So was the risk. His fingers twitched with temptation, but he didn't make a move.
---
Graywolf
Level: 4
HP: 172
Type: Beast
'Guardian' Senya
Level: 4
HP: 820
Type: Beast
---
"Guardian, oh Guardian," Ryan muttered, eyes gleaming. "You're practically drooling gold at me…"
He observed from the shadows, careful not to step closer.
The Graywolves had blood-red name tags—aggressive enemies. Worse, they seemed to be linked by aggro. Trigger one, and the whole pack would come running.
Ryan exhaled sharply and opened his character panel.
---
Featherlight
Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Level: 2
HP: 116 (10 HP per 1 Stamina)
Mana: 95 (15 Mana per 1 Intellect)
Experience: 18,240/12,000
---
The rest was just filler stats. He wasn't interested. Everything important was right there.
After a second of hesitation, he clicked the plus sign again.
---
You leveled up!
You reached Level 3!
Health +32 | Mana +22
Strength +1 | Stamina +1 | Intellect +2 | Spirit +1
You have become stronger!
---
His HP now stood at 158.
It still wasn't enough to face the Guardian, but it was a step in the right direction.