"41, 42, 43, 44, 45," I started my day by counting the arrows I had gotten last night. All in all, I had 45 arrows to work with and a total of 50 EXP from the Spider and Skeleton combined. I needed an additional 50 to level up, so I started considering my options. I ruled HellHounds out because I wasn't yet ready to face them. Spiders? No. That was a stroke of luck that probably won't happen again. What about Skeletons, then? Unfortunately, I wouldn't experience much luck there, even as I was. This was solely because I had run out of special arrows.There could only be one Rock-kun, I thought, with nothing but respect in my heart for the guy.

Skeleton-type monsters were vulnerable to a lot of things, among which blunt weapons were chief, dealing as much as five times the damage in some cases. I had just exploited that for my benefit, really, and if I were in the same position again, with the weapons I have right now, I wouldn't survive. What about Centaurs, then? I rejected the thought as soon as it entered my mind because their stats were dangerously well-balanced. Good attack, good defense, good speed, I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell! I felt like pulling my hair out in frustration at this thought when I remembered the walking corpse I saw last night.

"Why didn't I think of that?" I wondered aloud. Zombies were slow, weak, and perfect for grinding. They usually appeared at night with the Skeletons, but they could be seen during the day, especially around cemeteries and burial grounds. I just needed to find a few of them to start grinding for EXP.

On my way to find a new hunting ground, I found a deer munching on some grass a few yards away. It still had not noticed me, so I took the opportunity to hunt for its meat, as hunger was starting to kill me. I also wanted to test a theory of mine. If this is truly Everlast Dynasty...I drew one of my arrows from the quiver and positioned it carefully on the bow I stole from the Skeleton Archer. After carefully aiming, I released it, and it resulted in a clean hit. That confirms it, I thought. What happened yesterday must not have been a fluke.

As an archer, a passive skill must have been contributing to my accuracy. I was willing to bet it would be something like [Accuracy+]. Or it could be that I have a decent skill stat. Whatever the case may have been, I put off thinking about it till later, as I had some wild game to prepare!

"Ugh, that was not as good as I thought it would be." I used the arrow and any sharp object I could find to drain the blood and remove the internal organs, but as I had not gotten rid of all the fat, it did not taste particularly good. It also lacked seasoning, so I was left with a horrible meal I practically stuffed down my throat. Maybe I'll stick to fishing, was all I could think as I resisted the urge to throw up on the spot. And just then, I remembered something I sensed when I killed the deer. What was it again? I wondered. I also felt it back when I killed the Skeleton Archer last night. It was similar to normal EXP but different somehow.

And that’s when it finally clicked. Weapon EXP! How could I have forgotten? Basically, the more a player uses a weapon, the more weapon experience he or she would earn. Since I just came into this world, I’d probably been given the starting rank of E, which only allowed me to use Iron bows or lower. Starting from D and upwards, I could unlock the ability to use stronger, better bows. B and A ranks had some of the best, but S was reserved for the legendary.

I didn't know the region I was in, but I knew there were many tyrannical rulers in Everlast Dynasty. I could practically count on the fact that they would use sections of the forests as mass burial grounds or bases for covert operations, so I wandered around the vicinity until I was lost.

I had been careful all along, tracking my progress to ensure I could always make my way back, but not even my best efforts could win against the forest. I'd think a certain tree looked familiar, only to find myself in a completely new area once I went there, and on my way back, I would take a wrong turn that felt like the right one.

Before I knew it, I was at the mouth of a cave with two pressing options before me. I could either go in and rest for the night, as it was getting late, or continue my aimless wandering. Both options presented their risk factors. For one, you could never tell what you'd encounter inside a cave, but on the other hand, I wouldn't want to be lost in the forest at night, so I had to make a difficult choice and fast.

Eventually, I chose the cave, as there was a chance it would be safe, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw inside. Ten Gorgon eggs! I had truly won the lottery.

"The gods must love me!" I squealed in delight as I jumped around the cave, almost beside myself with joy. Gorgons were among the most dangerous creatures you could ever encounter in the game. They had the highest magic attack and magic defense stats out of any enemy unit, and they could afflict players with one of the worst statuses in the game, Petrify. But their eggs were luxury items that, when destroyed, gave out 50 EXP irrespective of level. This is wonderful! I just hope my luck doesn't run out after this...

I readied my bow and quickly shot one down for good measure. At once, I gained 50EXP, and I sensed a slight change within me. The next thing I knew, I could see what appeared to be a digital panel showing me what I had been dying to see from the beginning: my stats!

Daphne	LV 2
HP	34
Str	4 + 1
Dex	5 + 3
Spd	6 + 2
Luck	4
P-DEF	3
M-DEF	1 + 2
Status	-----
Compatibility	-----

So, Daphne is my name now? Interesting. It was shocking, to say the least, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I decided to focus on the other stuff. To put it bluntly, it was a bad upgrade. My dex or skill stat would ensure that I hit my foes more often, but that wouldn't count for much because of my low strength. +2 speed was a nice touch, so I decided not to comment on it, but my low physical defense confirmed that I would be finished if I took a hit. I have to be careful, I thought as I destroyed six other Gorgon eggs, leaving three to take with me tomorrow morning.

Why would I do something so dangerous? For profit. What? Were you expecting a more sophisticated answer, hmm? But in all seriousness, I subscribed to the notion that nothing was really all that dangerous if you knew what you were doing. One could usually tell when the eggs were about to hatch, so all I had to do was kill them then and gain the remaining EXP. If they didn't hatch and I reached a town where I could find a guild, adventurers would pay a fortune for them, and money was very important in this game.

That day, I had gained a total of four levels, and my stats were looking like this at the end of the day:

Daphne	LV 5
HP	45
Str	7
Dex	16
Spd	12
Luck	8
P-DEF	5
M-DEF	9
Status	-----
Compatibility	-----