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Emilia could tell at a glance that the 'beam of light' that shot through the 'pig' was actually the focus shot skill of the ranger class, just enhanced with the light element.
'Fuck! Am I really unlucky enough to start near the hero and his party?!'
It was natural for this to be her first thought. After all, aside from her, only Darryl, the 'developer', and those close to him would have enough knowledge about the game to dare to rush through the character creation process and still be able to so skillfully execute a move like that.
For everyone else, simply knowing that they couldn't restart the character creation process once it had been finalized would be enough to make them cautious in each step.
As soon as her sight reached the spot from which the arrow had to have been shot, though, Emilia couldn't help but gasp. 'Crystal?!'
The blonde girl grinned as she watched Emilia slice through the neck of the crippled 'pig' before rushing over. The crimson-haired girl didn't even bother collecting the drops that had burst out after the monster's corpse 'exploded' into particles of light.
Both of them received a notification of the experience they'd received from their first kill, but neither of them cared much about it at the moment.
'I thought she would prefer the healer class more, but… well, it's fine.' Emilia nodded to herself as she resisted the urge to pull Crystal into a loving embrace, and frowned instead. "D-Did you start even earlier than me?"
Although it was unlikely that their conversations could be overheard by anyone, within the game world, both of them knew that it was better to be cautious.
The blonde girl giggled. "How is that possible? I also got here just now. I tried to get through as fast as possible, though, and... looks like it was really worth it."
The beautiful crimson-haired elf in front of her tilted her head in confusion, and Crystal couldn't help but grin. "If I had been late, I might have missed the chance to meet such a gorgeous little fairy, after all."
"Ahhh…!" Despite herself, Emilia couldn't help but blush.
They were supposed to be strangers, but Crystal was still flirting with her so openly!
"S-Since meeting here like this can be considered fate. L-Let's make a party and farm together while heading to the town?"
Naturally, Crystal readily agreed. "You can even keep all the loot. I feel like I need a vanguard, anyway."
After sending the party invite, Emilia couldn't help but smile.
[ Princess (Level 1) invited you to form a party, accept? ]
The blonde girl smirked. "Is your name 'princess', really?"
Emilia huffed. "Of course not. But unlike our face, we can at least customize our name, so I did."
Crystal giggled.
[ Party formed! ]
[ Leader - Princess - Elf Warrior (Level 1) ]
[ Member 1 - Crystal - Human Ranger (Level 1) ]
Emilia wasn't sure whether it was because of their shared 'source' or pure luck, but she was glad that her blonde girlfriend ended up spawning so close to herself.
Since she hadn't been sure if her idea of bringing Crystal into the game would work, the crimson-haired girl had been quite prudent in her usage of the summoning skill, and had only dared to chat with her blonde girlfriend for a few minutes in her apartment before unsummoning her.
After all, it would be a pity if she wasted all her time explaining the features of a game that Crystal may not even be able to take part in herself. And there was no telling when the blonde girl's help might come in handy.
Fortunately, things turned out quite well.
The two of them quickly collected the 'common' items [Wild Boar's Meat] and [Wild Boar's Tusk] from their first kill and headed in the direction of the beginner town nearby, as marked on both their map and main quest menu.
Of course, a few monsters tried to get in their way from time to time, but they were all just level one or two. The poor beasts couldn't really do much, aside from contributing more experience and loot to the duo.
Emilia noticed that she was receiving more experience per kill after forming a party with Crystal, but after she thought about it a little, it made sense.
'That first shot of hers used both her skill and elemental infusion. Obviously, her damage must have been much higher than mine.' The crimson-haired girl nodded to herself.
This was no surprise, a ranger's aimed shot dealt the greatest amount of damage among the starter skills in Arcadia, with only the mage skills dealing more. But considering the difference in the mana cost of the two, it wasn't necessarily 'inferior' at all.
With Crystal's level one mana reserve of ten points, she could use the skill six times before needing to wait. And even without any mana potions, every player got one mana point refilled every minute.
Even if they hadn't formed a party, the crimson-haired girl was sure that Crystal wouldn't do too poorly on her own.
Emilia grinned. "Hey, these pigs and rabbits seem actually decent… wanna hunt them for a while more?"
The blonde girl also saw that she was making good progress, and she nodded in surprise. 'Didn't Emilia say it's not easy to gain levels in this game? What's going on?'
Of course, they continued hunting the 'pests' relentlessly regardless of her confusion.
[ Killed Wild Boar - Level 2 ]
[ Killed Red-Eyed Rabbit - Level 1 ]
[ Killed Wild Boar - Level 2 ]
.
.
.
Each of the wild boars netted them twenty experience, ten when divided into two, while the rabbits usually only gave them half of that. But finding them was actually quite easy, and it only took the two of them a few seconds to take a beast down.
Thankfully, similar items could stack seemingly infinitely in the inventory, so the numerous [Wild Boar Meat], [Red-Eyed Rabbit Meat], [Red-Eyed Rabbit Fur], [Wild Boar Hide], and [Wild Boar Tusk] drops only took up five slots in each of their inventories.
Since there was no auto-loot or auto-collect system, they both agreed to let the closest person to the drop pick it up first, and transfer any if needed later.
Arcadia had a pretty convenient trading system, after all. As long as they were in physical contact, transferring items to another person's inventory only needed them to agree.
Unsurprisingly, Emilia ended up picking most of the drops, usually being right next to the monsters. But she didn't feel particularly excited until a gray glow shone amidst the usually dull item drops.
'An item drop?!' She couldn't help but be excited.
Although monsters could only drop items of the same grade or lower, most of them were only material drops. The chance of an actual equipable item dropping in the wild was only one in ten thousand, and most of these drops were usually weapons.
It wasn't rare for some parties to grind for days without a single decent drop.
Looking at the pair of leather boots in front of her, Emilia couldn't help but smile. "I hope they're good!"
If the hero party hadn't started the game before it was even released, maybe this could even have been the game's first item drop.
Unfortunately, they couldn't really check the item's stats until it was 'appraised' or 'identified' by someone with the appropriate skill, which neither of them had, but it was still possible to use it.
"They look like ranger boots, so why don't you put them on?"
Crystal didn't know just how rare such a drop was, and readily accepted her girlfriend's gift.
With the exception of the one time during character creation, removing and wearing equipment actually required the players to physically do it themselves. And for the sake of saving time, Emilia had to assist her girlfriend with the laces of her boots.
Crystal smiled as she watched her girlfriend finish tying up her laces, then tossed the 'old' pair into her inventory.
Emilia grinned. "How is it, feels good?"
Crystal hummed thoughtfully. "They fit almost perfectly the moment I put them on."
She felt somewhat lighter, as if she could run a little bit faster, but the blonde girl wasn't sure if it was her illusion.
"Let's continue hunting, then. Maybe we'll get something else." Emilia giggled.
Her words were mostly just a joke, but she didn't expect another piece of equipment to drop less than ten minutes later, leaving her speechless.
'T-Two equipment drops in less than a thousand kills?! Crystal sure is my lucky star, ahh…!' Emilia couldn't help jump in excitement.
Looking at the metallic skirt that dropped, though, she paused.
The warrior skirt she was currently wearing was already quite short, barely covering her mid-thigh, but this one wasn't even half that length.
Even Crystal couldn't help but blush. 'W-Why is it so short?! Is the hero a pervert…?'
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