Chapter 2

Move Forward Part I

    After Tanthai could get over what had happened, he stood up and walked to the village’s East Plain where he met the goblins, his dear friends. With his frustration boiling inside, he attacked one of the goblins.

    “Amateur Gambler’s skill has activated!”

    The system voice sounded. Unlike what he had experienced, there was a weird change in his status. Following the message from the system, his HP was multiplied 30 times—from 80 to 2,400!

    Of course…everything came with a price. The system voice made another announcement.

    “The player must defeat the enemy in five minutes, if not, the player will be in a game-over state.”

    “What?!”

    Hearing that, Tan was shocked. The system was not going to fool him around. Tan immediately summoned monsters and equipment then threw everything a level one player can do to the goblin.

    And the result…

    He could slay the goblin within three minutes…his level had risen from 1 to 2 after the battle.

    “Can this be of any use?” Shaking his head, he muttered. As he saw his status, an idea popped up in his mind. If he were in an anime, there would be a light bulb lighted up above his head…Ding!

    “That might do.” He smiled while saying. “Let’s gather some information at the town.”

    Tan entered the Information Center located on the west side of the town. There was a middle-aged woman in a black robe at the place.

    “How can I help you, sir?” Tan was greeted as soon as he stepped into the center.

    “I want to know the location of the highest-level monster with HP lower than 2,400.”

    “That will be 500 Gil.”

    He paid the lady and received two papers—one was a map of the area around Rindervel with a mark on a mountain ranged far north, and the other was a description of a small golden bird-type monster.

    “This…will do,” said Tan.

    After getting his hand on the information and location of the Shining Bird, Tan left the town. Avoiding monsters on the way, it took him a dozen minutes to get to the location.

    “Go! There’s nothing to lose!” Tan encouraged himself and rushed towards the Shining Bird.

    “3,745!” The damage dealt by the Shinning Bird to Tanthai popped up.

    It was a game-over for him…There was no way his hundreds of HP could survive the attack which dealt thousands of damage points. He was immediately sent back to the Church of Travelers.

    He regained his consciousness after a few minutes.

    “That might be it.” He spoke as he walked out the church’s front entrance and headed straight to where the Shining Bird resided twice.

    As it was expected that the sun rose from the East, it was also expected that a level one player like Tanthai lost a level 50 Shining Bird.

    In less than half an hour, Tan was sent back to the church three times, but this time, he walked out of the church and saw Blanche who was walking past by.

    “How’s everything going?” Blanche asked.

    Tan smiled then replied, “Still level one.”

    The person who was asking frowned. “Still one…?” He repeated the word. “At least you must have risen to level two or three by now.”

    Tan gave Blanche nothing, but a smile then excused himself and left the town. He went straight to the same location, and of course, he was immediately sent back to the church as usual.

    “Huh…” Tan sighed after regaining consciousness. He shook his head and walked out of the church once more.

    “Hey! Why did you die again?!” Blanche who was still hanging around there asked.

    “The opponent was on another level,” replied Tan.

    “Are you still at level one?”

    “Yeah.” Hearing the short answer, Blanche shook his head.

    “I’m now at level ten. If it goes like this, then how long will it take for you to catch up with me?”

    Tan gave no reply, just waving his hand, leaving the town, and heading straight to the Shining Bird. When he reached his destination, he started a fight with the Shining Bird again. The familiar voice sounded as soon as he came in contact with the bird.

    “Amateur Gambler’s skill has activated!”

    Hearing the voice, he immediately checked his status and found that his HP had increased by multiple times. Of course, it had to follow by this…

    “The player must defeat the enemy in five minutes, if not, the player will be in a game-over state.”

    It went the same pattern as before, but this time, he smiled widely. Looking at his remaining 1 SP, he shouted.

    “Lifeline!” He shouted out the only skill he had. This skill reduced the HP of the player to 1 and used the sacrificed HP as damage with one restriction—the player had to wait for 24 hours before it could be activated again.

    Normally, this skill was almost of no use because of his low HP—at most, it could only deal small damage. However, that was not the case now with how the Amateur Gambler’s skill boosted his HP by 30 times!

    “2,399!”

    The number indicating damage appeared above the Shining Bird before it disintegrated into spheres of light…

    Player Tanthai has received EXP 10,800 points, a 6-star Shining Bird card, a Shining Feather, and 4,500 Gil. The player level has risen from 1 to 25.

    “I did it!” Tan shouted merrily. He turned away from where the Shining Bird resided and headed for the town. With how fast he could run, he got back to the town safe and sound. He sat on his favorite bench and checked his status. There were lots of changes in his status and Class. Before, he was a Vagabond, but now he was a Wanderer.

    “Well…there’s a chance I can travel to Pieta fast,” said Tan. He opened a communication screen and contacted Blanche. He did not have to wait for long before a voice sounded.

    “What’s up?”

    “I want to group up with you,” replied Tan.

    Blanche laughed. “Time to give up, right?” He spoke as he giggled. “I’m in town. I’ll find you. Where are you at?” He asked then went straight to the location after hearing the answer.

    Blanche showed up before Tan in less than two minutes. He has a smile on his face as he was pleased to group up with the man sitting on a stone bench before him.

    “Would it be okay for you to form a party with someone who was on a different level?” Tan asked nervously.

    Blanche shook his head and tapped on Tan’s shoulder. “We’re friends…Don’t mention it. It’s not a big deal at all,” said Blanche.

    “Are you sure?”

    “Yes! What kind of person do you think I am?” Blanche confidently said.

    “Alright…Send me the invitation to join your party.” With a smile, Tan replied.

    Blanche shook his head again and opened a party setup screen. After adjusting everything, he sent an invitation to Tan.

    Tan immediately accepted the invitation…

    “Let’s see where you’re at right now,” Blanche said as he could check the level of a player in the same party.

    “Hahaha! Level two now?” Blanche took a glance at Tan’s level and laughed, but then felt like something was amiss, so he checked it again and it made him shout in surprise.

    “25! You’re crazy…An hour ago, you were at level one!” He screamed so loud that Tan had to tell him to tone it down before telling him about his battle with the Shining Bird.

    “I can’t believe that your weird skill would help you level up this fast. It would be awesome if you get the bird’s card too. I think you can sell it for no less than 50,000,” said Blanche.

    Tan smiled and picked out the card he mentioned. “You mean this?” Tanthai sneered at his friend who was shocked by what he saw as he took it away to take a closer look.