High-Speed Leveling; The Use Of 【Alchemy】 And 【Synthesis】 (3)

Hey, Shun here!

The most thrill and adrenalin rush I experienced in a game was whenever I'm facing an even more powerful enemy than my current level.

The sounds of the continuous taps on my keyboard is like music to my ears as I start to sweat even though I'm only sitting on my chair.

I faced a few monsters in [Only Sense Online] but so far, there's no monster that gave me that sort of adrenalin rush or excitement. Should I purposefully search for one such enemy?

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(Shun's POV)

At the outskirts of the forest, the first forested area that is a few minutes of walk from the first monster area targeted for newbies, I unexpectedly found more items than when I searched through the forest.

I wanted to have more items for my next experiment so I took my time searching through the area without aggroing the monsters. I'll deal with those Slimes and Goblins later.

There were Tree Branches, Mushrooms, Herbs, Pebbles, Wildflowers and Crow Feathers. I've collected about 20 to 30 pieces of them each.

Adding the ones I collected in the plains, in total, I have: 25x Mushrooms, 21x Wildflowers, 12x Herbs, 58x Pebbles, 122x Crow Feathers, and 71x Tree Branches.

To gather it at a slightly faster pace, I even used [Enchant] to speed up myself ever so slightly.

Also, in a very specific location, I found something called a Mulch. I don't know whether it has a purpose or not right now so I'll just let it sit in my [Inventory].

By the way, for some inconceivable reason, I rarely found any Herbs. Is it because I don't have [Mixing] or something?

Speaking of Herbs, it could be subjected into into [Matter Conversion] as well. To be specific, the [Lower Matter Conversion] one. It gives me '2x Herb Seeds' when I tried it out of curiosity.

I haven't tried the [Higher Matter Conversion] yet since I don't have that much in my inventory.

"Hmm… Looking at the current available items for synthesis, I think that's a possibility…"

After gathering items, I went back to the non-combat area, the safety area where the tree log I was sitting in a few minutes back is located, and once again sat on top of it. I then took out my 300G Synthesis Kit and looked at my Skill Column.

Maybe it's because I don't have the [Crafting Knowledge] Sense, I didn't get any recipe. So, I had to ask my sisters if they know something about the recipes I could use.

I should really take [Crafting Knowledge] when I get a few Sense Points. There seems to be a correction added to it which is crafter specific so it would be of great help. I think.

"So, if synthesize two [Beginner's Potions], I'll should be able to get something? Oh, I could do it automatically or manually? Neat."

Since I still have 19x [Beginner's Potion] from the stock I brought this afternoon, I'll try this recipe out for a few times.

First, let's try the automatic option. I watched attentively as my Sense did its thing, mixing up two items to make a new one.

「Crafting failed…」

「You acquired 1x Poison 1」

"Alright… It's my first try and it already failed… What does the '1' in its name mean, anyway?"

I tried out synthesizing potions two more times automatically before trying it out manually once.

In conclusion, crafting failed once out of three attempts in automatic mode while, manually, it succeeded. I'll need to do a few more experiments to confirm this but I think doing it manually is better if I want better results.

A few minutes into my experiments, I noticed that Pebbles couldn't be used in either [Alchemy] or [Synthesis] so that's a shame. I think this item should be appraised or something first before I could proceed in using it any further.

Aside from that, if the Wildflowers, Herbs, and Mushrooms were to be taken through steps such as drying them and waiting for the name 'dry' to appear, their effects would be doubled. However, as mushrooms were food items, they couldn't be changed any further than drying.

By the end of my experiments, I tried synthesizing my Crow Feathers and Tree Branches. Unsurprisingly, what I got is something that I've long anticipated to come out in either of the two crafting skills I picked up.

Yes, what I got was something two levels below Iron Arrows—a Wooden Arrow.

Surprisingly, two of them could be made from a single Tree Branch. I got a total of 142x Wooden Arrows now.

Man, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief, seeing my gamble pay off big time. My worries about arrows disappeared.

To complete five sets of 60 arrows, I once again went outside the safe area and searched through the forest. A few minutes later, I finally have a total of 300x Wooden Arrows.

"But… Isn't this too many to carry in my inventory? What should I do about this?"

As I began to ponder about this problem that I didn't know I would face in this early stage of the game where the bow should, in the β players' words, have massive problems, my eyes once wandered to the other crafting Sense I picked up.

"Heh… It can't be, right?"

Well, to make a long story short, I could finally perform REAL archery. To be exact, through [Higher Matter Conversion], ten Wooden Arrows became only one arrow with the name of 'Wooden Arrow +10'.

At first, I thought I was duped by my guts so I tried firing the arrow on a nearby tree. Color me surprised when I noticed the arrow came back to my quiver with a new name, 'Wooden Arrow +9'.

I tried it out a few more times and came to the conclusion that the extra texts next to the arrow's name meant that you can still fire the arrow an 'X' amount of time. That 'X's' value being equal to the number in the arrow's name which is equivalent to how many times you can use that specific arrow.

"Feels good to have a set of 30 'Wooden Arrows +10' in my quiver."

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Since I'm done with the experiments, I entered the forest and massacred Goblins.

Why only Goblins? It's because Slimes are just a waste of time if you don't have a magic type attack.

For physical attackers like me, it's honestly a complete waste of time to try and kill them. Not only that but you'll also go in the red even if you do kill them. They can melt your equipment, after all.

While killing Goblins, I of course didn't forget to look for the items I needed to level up my crafting skills. After I'm done with killing some pesky Goblins who attacks someone every time you get inside their aggro range, I went inside the forest in search of a opponent that could help me raise my combat Sense's levels faster.

I defeated Grey Rats by firing at arrow at their heads at point blank range as if I'm playing some kind of zombie shooter game, as for the monsters called Mill Birds aiming from the sky, I also shot them down with my arrows. I couldn't lock on them and use my [Vital Points Knowledge] since they are too far up and is obviously out of my Sense's targeting range.

Every time they approached me, I would just avoid their attack trajectories lightly before delivering a counter by planting an arrow in their heads.

As I proceeded dealing with them mechanically, I eventually found a single animal in the back of the forest.

"Finally found the EXP I've been looking for…"

There, covered with brown fur, lying down, was a large boar mob with warped tusks—a monster with an obvious name of Big Boar.

Like, great naming Sense right? So simple and direct.

The opponent I have been looking for leveling's sake. After defeating every enemy I found on the way, I checked my Sense status.

Possessed Sense Points(SP): 0

[Bow Lv9](↑ 3)

[Physical Attack Increase Lv8](↑3)

[Speed Increase Lv6](↑2)

[Vital Points Knowledge Lv7](↑2)

[Synthesis Lv4](↑3)

[Alchemy Lv3](↑2)

[Enchant Lv8](↑4)

[Recovery Magic Lv5](↑2)

[Magic Talent Lv7](↑3)

[Magic Power Lv9](↑4)

Since I was avoiding attacks, my [Recovery Magic] Sense barely leveled up. I've only been using [Enchant] the whole time I was traveling so [Magic Talent's] level increased. [Magic Power] had a larger increase because of the earlier experiments I did that costs a lot of mana.

Anyway, the opponent for leveling, Big Boar will be a very easy opponent to face, at least for me. I just need to fire at him and maintain distance.

When I have resolved myself to fight and took a step forward, I aimed my bow at the still sleeping Big Boar and swiftly fired an arrow towards the sky with the aim being its closed eyelids.

"«Bow Skill — Long Range Shooting»…"

*swhooosh*

This is the new [Arts] that I learned when my [Bow]Sense reached level 5. It was named simply as «Long Range Shooting».

I've tested it a few times and the range of this [Arts] goes waay longer than normal. Even if I shoot it in a straightforward manner, my maximum range would still be around 20m. In exchange for a longer time of bow's charge-up, a more powerful sound than ever before has sounded and the arrow was gone far away in an instant.

With a longer range than normal, a 100% increase to my arrow's projectile range, my arrow made a parabola in the air and hit my intended target. Due to how I shot my arrow, the traveling speed of my arrow is longer than if I fired it straight at the Big Boar.

"BumOooo!"

Because of the arrow I fired, it immediately got up and started scrapping the ground with its hind legs.

In a guide I've read, this mob is said to be the first barrier for the beginners. It was quite strong even among the small fry category. For a full party of six, it was an opponent for level 15s. For solo players, they can only face it if they reach an average level of 20.

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※~To be continued~※

Author's Remarks:

※ Tell me your thoughts about the story so far. I'm gonna be jumping on the first quest after this three days of [Only Sense Online] come to pass. I'm enjoying this arc pretty much and I'll be making some changes on this game like creating a few Higher Senses and such for our MC and other players to use.

※ Item descriptions for those who are curious.

✽✽[Mulch]✽✽

Item Type: Miscellaneous

Description:

An item that could be gained from specific places near and around forested areas. It Is an item specifically used for agriculture.

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✽✽[Wildflowers]✽✽

Item Type: Miscellaneous

Description:

An item that could be gained from specific places near and around forested areas. It Is an item specifically used for agriculture. When it is dried through [Mixing], its efficacy doubles.

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✽✽[Herbs]✽✽

Item Type: Crafting Item

Description:

An item used for crafting potions. It can be found as a dropped item from Grey Rats, although with a low drop rate. Through the use of [Alchemy], it could be transformed into Herb Seeds.

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✽✽[Pebbles]✽✽

Item Type: Miscellaneous

Description:

An item that could turn into something useful through the use of [Smithing] or [Craftsmanship].

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✽✽[Tree Branches]✽✽

Item Type: Crafting Item

Description:

An item that could be crafted to make an arrow. It can be found near forested areas.

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