1 Archer (1)

Chapter 1: Archer (1)

[Welcome to Legend Enigma Online!]

[You have skipped the character creation process.]

[Your nickname, Archer, is available.]

[You're about to be sent to The Tutorial Island #369]

[5…4…3…2…1…]

[You have entered The Tutorial Island.]

Rainbow colors swirled in Jake's eyes before parting like a curtain to reveal the new world ahead of him.

Just like the first players three months ago, Jake astonishingly gawked at the dense forest unrolling below him like a carpet, the vast mountain and its spire piercing the clouds and the lawless ocean glancing off the coast.

A small wooden cabin was perched behind him, too.

Before he realized it, he had been swirling around his starting point like a ballerina, missing the man standing in his earshot, waiting for him to notice him.

"It feels amazing despite being told so many times how awesome it is…" Jake muttered, recalling his big sister and friend's view of the Legend Enigma Online. It had been such a novel experience for them that they had been pestering him for a month to start playing the game in spite of final exams being around the corner. 

Jake, however, was such a diligent man that once he began something, he'd put his entire effort into it. 

It could be anything. 

Once in the past, he had nearly failed one of his classes because he had gotten a bead on reaching the highest rank in a famous MOBA game.

It was therefore like a warning to him not to start Legend Enigma Online before the final exams. Now that he was done with them, Jake could enjoy the vacation and play the game on everyone's tongues.

"Oh, I haven't noticed you," Jake had finally spotted the man beside him. "I'm Archer. I take it you are my helper on this tutorial island, right? Nice to meet you."

The man nodded, "Indeed. Glad to finally have your attention! My name's Richard." Inwardly, Richard thought, 'He's earned much of my respect for not being like most newbies nowadays! I've been getting too many complaints about me being a man, not a woman! Those virgins… are women that reserved in their world?'

Hiding the past experiences with other young adults like Jake entering the tutorial island only to voice their disappointment about their helper being a man, Richard pointed at the wooden cabin.

He explained, "I stored various weapons for you to try them out. Of course, if you aren't interested in fighting but in a crafting class instead, I've crafting utensils prepared for you. You're free to take anything from it, but once you lose it, it's gone unless you make it yourself."

"Does that mean you know how to make weapons, too?" Jake asked, his eyes momentarily going above Richard's head to look at the information window floating there.

[Richard Lv. ??? HP:??? MP:???]

It had appeared after their introduction. 

If Jake were to ask Richard about it, the man would have explained that the system windows could be hidden if NPCs or even players wished for it. In his case, he had the option to expose his status window to anyone he found friendly turned on.

Jake, however, was aware of it because of his big sister. His friends and she had often told him small but useful pieces of information about the game despite Jake not wanting to hear any of it.

He wanted to enter the game raw.

Richard smiled, "You have a keen eye. All weapons stored in the cabin are wooden, so I can carve them out of the woods. It's a subclass of the armorer class. By any chance, is Archer your real name?"

"Nope," Jake replied with a smile.

"Does it mean you're interested in wielding a bow?" Richard continued with his questioning.

Once Jake nodded, the man whistled. An archer was such an unpopular class that there was even a nickname available for it. 

Players often told Richard that anyone could shoot arrows in their world and that magic seemed far superior to it. Even without that explanation, the prospect of conjuring fire or any other element seemed so unique and cool that it dwarfed all thoughts of trying out a bow, let alone picking up an archer class.

"I heard the same from others," Jake added. "You could say it's a flaw, but I really like going against the mainstream."

"Haha! That's not really bad of a flaw!" Richard grinned.

Jake reciprocated, "Right? It ensures I will have a different kind of adventure than others. Though I heard there's one famous archer player and that she's in the top ranking. I refused to learn about her style, just to not take any inspiration from her, cause my goal is to become the one that represents archers. These two points excite me so much about being an archer that I'm itching to pick up a bow and learn it."

"If that's the case, let's get down to it!" His impression of Jake better, Richard took him to the wooden cabin and opened its doors, revealing the crude inside.

The wooden weapons had been laid on either side of the rectangular room on the shelves. The windows seemed to have been carved in a unique style so as to the sunshine only fell onto the weapons, highlighting them. Their system windows floated above them in the darkness, too, underlined by the dark element.

Everything else had also been made from wood. 

Jake stepped on the floor, which didn't crack, and strolled toward a set of bows on which he noticed two types of bows—long and recurve.

"Which one do you recommend for me?" he asked the newbie helper.

Richard sincerely explained, "I'd pick the long bow as it's more forgiving for newbies and their weak physiques. Do not get offended, but all newbie players lack in the strength stat, including those with bulging muscles and wide frames. It's a difference between our worlds."

Jake nodded and extended his hand for the long bow without questioning Richard.

He was the newbie helper for a reason, and Jake had never wielded weapons or studied much about them. His knowledge about them stemmed from history lessons, but most of it had been centered around the gun revolution anyway, so it wasn't much help.

Once the long bow had been clenched in his hand, Jake felt the reality of the game and chuckled.

"We'll catch up with the rest and harness the strength of the swordsmen, magic of mages, healing of healers, durability of tanks, stealth of the assassins, and anything else that is in this vast world… and then we will excel them all, forming the best and strongest style in the world—my archery," Jake whispered.

For some particular reason, Richard didn't find anything naive in this declaration.