6 A Late Bloomer Path
<Sharpening > wasn't a good skill to learn.
That was what Anarchy learned when he checked it during his break.
However, it wasn't a waste of XP either, as that was the prerequisite skill if Anarchy wanted to unlock other skills.
In Pandemonium, the first skill of each tree was a must-get if a player wanted to advance with their character progress regardless of the usefulness of its effect for them.
Although you can unlock the skill tree by doing certain actions correlated to it, you still have to pay to be able to use it.
For example, practicing swinging a sword can give you the Swordsman Skill Tree. But unless you unlock the first skill that costs either 20 or 30 XP, the progress of this Skill Tree is restricted.
Fortunately, players could see the skill list contained within the Skill Tree. Though they couldn't see its full information, it was enough to prevent the loss of XP from investing in a useless or unwanted Skill Tree.
But what the support had told him remained in his mind.
"You can get an advanced tier of Skill Tree if you unlock a combination of skills. Although we say to be careful with your XP management, don't be afraid to experiment with things. If you are lucky, you may find treasures."
That said, <Sharpening > wasn't that useful skill either—at least for him.
Anarchy discovered that it was a skill to improve efficiency and time quality when he sharpened a weapon.
It meant that despite the player's low technique—even if they were sharpening a weapon randomly, they could get their job done perfectly. Of course, that was if their <Sharpening > level was high. If not, they would fail, but the result would be better than not possessing it at all and ending up breaking their items.
But for Anarchy, that skill was useless. He already did a great job whetting the dull blade even without <Sharpening >.
'Well, it can be useful if I level it up. But that won't be a priority. I don't need to spend XP on its advancement.'
In any case, Anarchy had spent 9 hours in Pandemonium. Knowing that the game time accelerated 1.5 times faster than the real world, Anarchy guessed it must have been 2 AM for him. Meanwhile, in-game time, it was around 7 PM.
Before deciding to log out, he checked his character status for the last time. There was also the need to look for a safe place to sleep.
===
[Anarchy]
Race: Changeling (Shapeshifting: Dwarf)
Traits: [Abomination], [Impostor], [Shapeshifter]
<Beginner >
XP: 120
XP spent: 90
STR 3
CON 2
DEX 6
INT 5
WIS 4
CHA 4
===
That wasn't an optimal number, considering he had played for 9 hours. If it was other players or if he was selected Monster Territory over Dwarf Kingdom, Anarchy would have earned more.
'Who cares about XP? I can always farm it later.'
Anarchy wasn't a type of player who sought power in the early game. That and the leaderboard system (If Pandemonium had one) were the least interesting features for him.
Just like in many other titles he had played, what became his priority was looking for "hidden piece" like his Changeling race.
For now, his goal was to discover as many Skill Trees as the game already programmed.
'But I don't know how many Starting Tier Skill Trees this game has. Since the information is too little, I guess I'll search up to 10 first. Surely, they have that much, right?'
With that mindset, Anarchy headed to his spawning area, the abandoned mine.
As he stood before the entrance, his eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any signs of life. Confirming that he was alone and safe, Anarchy walked into the eerie depths of the abandoned mine.
His dwarf form swayed as he used [Shapeshifter], morphing into a tall, faceless humanoid, towering at a solid two meters. His slender frame resembled that of a mysterious slender man, his dark silhouette almost blending seamlessly with the shadowy background.
The decision to revisit this place was without reason, as did the choice to return to his Changeling form.
From the brief tutorial during the character creation, Anarchy was told about the character's condition if the player went offline; it would be sleeping in the very location where the player logged off.
That news left Anarchy impressed by Pandemonium. He felt like the more he played this game, the more he found something interesting and different from any other game.
In any case, if something like that was what would occur when the player went offline, they had to be very careful when they decided to take a break from the game.
Who knew what would happen to their characters when they were asleep in the middle of the road or in monster territories.
Especially for Anarchy, since he was a Changeling, he was afraid that when he logged out from the game, the [Shapeshifter] would be canceled.
If that were happening, the moment he logged in back, what greeted him wouldn't be the ceiling he had seen before logging out but a different place and a notification system telling him he had died in his sleep.
"That's a crazy feature but fascinating."
Anarchy lay down on the cold, moist ground, curling up like a snail shell.
'Good night, Anarchy. Let's meet again in four hours. Or six hours.'
He bid himself a good night and logged out.
Four hours later...
Spade (Anarchy) woke up from his short sleep.
Surprisingly, he didn't immediately go into his gaming capsule, unlike the typical no-lifer gamers.
'I have a life...'
Spade has a life, indeed. If not, he won't be here with us.
It was 6 AM when he checked the semi-holo digital clock.
"It must be midnight in Pandemonium," Spade muttered as he went into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Finished, he returned to the living room, placing his breakfast on the table and asking the AI to turn on the holo screen.
The breakfast waited on the table, watching as its would-be consumer changed the channels until he got the right entertainment to accompany his breakfast.
After five minutes, Anarchy asked the AI to change the screen from television to the internet.
He tried to search the Pandemonium official website. It was on the top search.
And when he clicked it, Anarchy was surprised by the website design.
Guiding the AI to open the 'World' section, once again, he had his eyes almost popped out.
"This is insane!"
