Zectas Volume I: Enigmatic Village of Nanahuatl (3 page)

 

 

Smoke enthralled by his first level up continued forward at a faster pace than before. He could now deal with the cute cuddly horned rabbits in 2 to 3 hits on average all thanks to his high crit rate.

 

 

On the third day of playing Zectas, Nash's energetic smile could be seen once more. Everyone around him was happy for him. His grandma asked him what changed and he answered that being in ZECTAS felt like he was in a world that was made for him.

 

 

After killing so many cuddly horned rabbits Smoke had gotten a big head. He was now level 2. Smoke's HP was now 300. He also decided to proceed with the 5 STR and 5 DEX stats.

 

 

Smoke thought that he can take out a dire fox now. He took out his beginner knife and went behind a dire fox. Stealthily he got closer to the dire fox. He immediately drove the knife with all his might towards the neck of the dire fox.

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. BACK STABBED. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 35.

 

 

The dire fox immediately snapped right back at him and started biting him for all his HP.

 

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -26

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

 

The life bar of the dire fox indicated that it had a life of 400 HP. He need at least 14 more hits at his maximum critical damage in order to kill this dire fox!

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

 

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

 

 

 

With his experience from dodging the horned rabbits He somehow managed to dodge some of the attacks from the dire fox.

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

 

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. Damage 8.

 

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

 

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -26

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

 

Learning his lesson from turning his back from the horned rabbit. Smoke knew that if he started running it would mean certain death. He decided to face this dire fox head on. Even if it means death.

 

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. Damage 7.

 

+ Attack hit dire fox. CRITICAL HIT. Damage 25.

 

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -28

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -22

 

- Attacked by dire fox. You've taken damage. Health -25

 

- Attacked by dire fox. MISS.

 

 

After the dual exchanges with the dire fox it was clear what would happen next, Smoke knew what was coming. Even after knowing that the fact that he was gonna die he gave his last remaining strength into attacking the dire fox.

 

 

 

Nash got out of the ZECTAS POD. Dazed by the influx of the system messages. He had gained a level but lost a level as well. He also gained a new active ability SUICIDE ATTACK. He wanted to try spamming out the skill to increase its level but with the penalty of not being able to log in for the next 24 hours seemed to much of a drawback. This skill could really be considered as the last ace in the hole.

 

 

Since Nash couldn't log in anymore he decided to start uploading some of his game videos on their Arcade site. Since the site was mostly about Arcade games and had only a small window about ZECTAS he thought that people would most likely just think of it as another ZECTAS promotional banner. After uploading his fights with the horned rabbits and the dire fox Nash went to sleep.

 

 

Nash got up early as usual and did his daily routine of preparing breakfast and lunch for his brothers and Grandma. With that done he headed out to to the diner. He enthusiastically told the cook about his first time dying in ZECTAS. About how it kinda hurt but felt like more like falling in your sleep and actually falling out of bed.

 

 

Up on top the unfinished skyscraper Nash pondered about what to do next in ZECTAS. He wondered where he would respawn again. Would it be the site where he died? Would it be in Nanahuatl Village? Or maybe in the City of Tezca where he originally wanted to start in.

 

 

Smoke awoke besides a familiar fountain but this time there was no friendly old man that greeted him. This village truly feels like a ghost town now that only a few people are left. He checked his items and equipments once more. He decided to check on his Status Window as well. He found out that He really did go back one level and was now level 2 again with 10 attributes ready for distribution. He decided to stick with his 5 STR and 5 DEX allocation.

 

 

Smoke knew that the dire fox was really well beyond his level, at the moment his only targets are the horned rabbits and the armored armadillos. He decided to continue slaughtering the cute cuddly horned rabbits since it was faster killing them than the armored armadillos.

 

 

Smoke groaned at the idea that he needs to travel the same distance that he had travel in the last 3 days but he smiled when he also remembered that it would be faster now that he has gotten use to the attack patterns of the horned rabbits.

 

 

No longer needing to rest to recover his HP. Smoke now only rested when ever he felt hungry and thirsty and this doesn't really happen until after 6 hours of non stop slaughtering of the horned rabbits. He indeed got further today than he did on his first day and gained another level. Smoke was now level 3. Satisfied with his level up he went to sleep with a smile.

 

 

Nash awoke and did his daily routine. He wished that the hours he was away from ZECTAS would run faster. He wished that the time difference between ZECTAS and the real world was reversed. He wished that he would only need to spend 6 hours in the real world and spend the rest of the 18 hours inside ZECTAS.

 

 

Smoke once again started hunting his favorite cuddly horned rabbit. He suddenly noticed that he didn't get as much exp as he did before. He expected to get at least 30exp with each horned rabbit killed but now he only got 28exp. He thought that this must be the game's way of saying to move on to another creature since you've already hunted enough of this creature. An experienced gamer would have thought that it was because he had leveled up that's why the horned rabbit now gave a smaller amount of exp.

 

 

Smoke endured his field towards Coatl City it has been 10 days since he restarted his journey. He checked his map he was impressed with his progress. He had already travelled 40% of the way. He then realized that it would take less than 100 days to reach Coatl City. Maybe that old man was talking in ZECTA days. Of course that was it! That old man said 100 days, and since that old man is an NPC naturally he would count a day using ZECTA time.

 

 

Smoke laughed at himself for such a simple blunder. He was relieved that after a couple more days he would finally reach a main city and then would be able to properly start the game of ZECTAS. He would take on quests, find a job, he could learn magic, he could explore dungeons, he could finally get upgraded items. There are a lot of possibilities to look forward to once he would reach Coatl City.

 

 

After another 5 days Smoke had travelled 60% of the way. The experience that he would get after killing a horned rabbit was now 1 exp. He had killed over 9999 horned rabbits. His backpack was filled with rabbits feet, and plenty of small rabbit meat. He was glad that he invested on STR and DEX. He was now level 9.

 

 

Smoke saw his favorite horned rabbit. On a whimsical coincidence he needed just 1 exp more point to level up. He swiftly dispatched his 10000th horned rabbit.

 

 

+ You've dealt a fatal blow to the horned rabbit.

 

+ You've killed the horned rabbit.

 

+ You've gained 1 exp.

 

+ You've gained a level.

 

 

As the body of the 10,000th horned rabbit started to fade away Smoke found an unusual loot. Examining the weird looking bunny ears, he picked up it.

 

 

+ Acquired rare head accessory: Lucky Bunny Ears.

 

 

Smoke decided to inspect these lucky find.

 

 

 

Smoke was so pleased with himself. The God of good fortune really must be looking at for him. Not only did he receive a great passive ability. He also found  a rare Head Gear.

 

 

"Status Window."

 

 

 

 

"BWAHAHAHA tremble before your master horned rabbits. Wish I could find another dire fox. I haven't spotted a single one ever since I got to level 7."

 

 

Smoke was so happy with so many great things happening to him in the game. That he didn't notice that he was being watched by a group of other users. The party headed towards Smoke.

 

 

As the party reached smoke their leader called out to him.

 

 

"Good day to you my friend. I am called Tristan. A quest has guided us into these remote lands from Coatl City."

 

 

"Our ranger spotted you from a distance and mentioned that there was a novice here so far out of any main city. I thought that once you get a job you can no longer wear the novice's attire. Did you happen to take a hidden quest of a tailor perhaps and he rewarded you with these novice's attire?"

 

 

Smoke was jolted out of his maniacal laughter.

 

 

"Umm no. I didn't take any hidden quest. I'm still a novice myself. I haven't had the opportunity to get a job change."

 

 

The other players were shocked at this revelation. Normally once you start in any of the main cities you have to have a level of 15 and then get a job change in order for you to be allowed by the guards to step out of the city.

 

 

Once you start the game an NPC would be giving you novice quests on how to move about in the world of ZECTAS. This is from levels 0-5. From there you would be instructed to start training against scarecrows. This is from levels 6-10. Once you reach level 10 you can then apply for any of the basic jobs. You would need to take on the job quest which would get you to level 15. A dedicated player could get a basic job change within 24 hours if he played it straight without stopping.

 

 

After you get a job change then and only then will the guards allow you to walk out of the city's premises. Once outside you will then notice horned rabbits, armored armadillos and some dire foxes. These creatures are there to give the user a first hand experience of attacking moving targets. Of course all of these creatures are dealt with in a single hit. No matter what job you would choose.

 

 

Horned rabbits are so many that they are mostly used for area target skills. Armored armadillos are farther apart from each other so that they can be use for sequential target practice. The seldom seen dire fox cannot only be spotted from a distance and often runs away quickly when it senses any user, they are used as long distance target practice.