Chapter 724 Shameless
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Emilia hesitated only for a moment before resolutely taking off her long skirt to change into the short one. "Anyway, no matter how it looks, it should definitely be an upgrade over the beginner skirt."
Despite it not being the first time Crystal was looking at Emilia's beautiful bare legs and thighs, the blonde girl still blushed at Emilia's boldness. 'S-She's really going to walk around dressed like that...?'
The crimson-haired beauty was already provocative enough even in relatively conservative clothes, so if she dressed like that, Crystal could only imagine what kind of trouble she would end up attracting.
This kind of thing might not have been a problem before, when Emilia was an empress who could only be looked at and not touched. But now that she had about the same starting point as normal people in this game, the blonde girl was justifiably worried that things might go wrong.
After all, it didn't seem like there were any 'limits' in this game.
It was at times like this that she really missed the dependable and overprotective Dixie.
"Crystal...?"
Emilia's confused voice awakened the blonde girl from her stray thoughts, and she soon shook her head furiously. "I-I'm fine!"
'Since Dixie and the others are not here, I just have to do their job for them!' Crystal firmed up her resolve, nodded to herself, and...
"W-What are you doing...?" Emilia blushed, both confused and a little excited by her girlfriend's sudden hug. 'N-No, focus! I-I can't lose sight of the big picture—!'
Her expression froze as she felt Crystal's hand slide up from the back of her thigh and into her skirt, fondling around like an unbridled hooligan.
'S-She's really testing my patience, isn't she?!'
Fortunately, Crystal came back to her senses somehow, and abruptly stepped back with an embarrassed cough. "I-I was only checking if this kind of thing will be allowed in the game, y-you know."
Emilia just stared at her without blinking for a while, then smiled. "Well, I get it."
Crystal was very familiar with that tone, and knew that her girlfriend most definitely didn't 'get it', as she claimed.
The next time they were in bed, maybe her poor waist would be broken in revenge.
Crystal would never admit that the thought was more exciting than terrifying, and only grinned in embarrassment. "L-Let's continue farming, then?"
Emilia hummed.
Although the little blonde minx indeed deserved to be punished for provoking her, the time it took for 'regular' players to create their characters was really a golden opportunity that they couldn't squander if they wanted to get ahead.
The advantage of a single level on the first day might be what separated the elite from the rest, after all.
The [Wild Boar] and [Red-Eyed Rabbit] monsters in the area around were abundant, and the two of them soon fell into a rhythm of flying arrows and weaving swords, going from one monster to another without a pause.
Going from level one to level two, they both needed only a thousand points. And with the number of monsters they'd slaughtered, it was no surprise to either of them when the 'Level Up' notification rang.
Emilia grinned. "Finally!"
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[Level up!]
— Princess —
— Titles —
-None
——————
Bloodline → Elf
Class → Warrior
[Level 1 → 2]!
— Primary Stats —
[Strength] → 10 +1 = 11
[Intelligence] → 10 +1 = 11
[Agility] → 100 +1 = 101
Unallocated Points: 0 +1 = 1
— Secondary Stats —
Hitpoints → 100 +10 = 110
Mana → 10 +1 = 11
Speed → 1 +0.01 = 1.01
Inventory → 10 Slots
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Although it hadn't been declared explicitly in the information available to the public yet, Emilia obviously knew that each additional point in strength increased one's hitpoints by ten, each point in intelligence increased one's mana by one, and each additional point in agility increased one's speed by one percent.
Based on these uneven bonuses to the secondary stats, it was no surprise that most new players ended up dumping all their points into strength.
After all, not only did it give them the 'greatest' boost in stats, but also directly increased their physical damage!
And for a while, this was indeed true. But such a strategy would show its drawbacks pretty quickly once the 'game' advanced a little more.
If someone was able to move significantly faster than their opponent, it simply didn't matter how strong the other person's punches were, even if one were to disregard the fact that weapons and magic significantly reduced the importance of one's innate strength.
Emilia grinned. 'It's a pity that my bloodline is at the lowest level just like everyone else, so the inherent boost of agility I should have as an elf isn't yet in effect.'
Of course, this low level of bloodline was by design, so that everyone could start at an even playing field with all basic stats at ten.
'Except for the hero's party, obviously.' The crimson-haired girl sneered. 'I'll have to make him regret starting only an hour before everyone else.'
Of course, catching up with the hero just by grinding mindlessly was impossible, but Emilia never planned on doing such a thing.
There were already other players spawning around their 'farming zone', and the efficiency of their 'farming' would only keep getting worse the longer they stayed.
"Let's continue on our way to the town, alright?"
Getting to level two within thirty minutes, and feeling the satisfaction radiating from her girlfriend, Crystal was also happy. 'I'm glad I got to help her get a head start.'
The two of them had just resumed their 'journey' when someone jumped onto their path, however. "Hey! Did the two of you also just start? Can I join your party?"
The dark-haired boy who had cut them off with a grin clearly didn't have any malicious intentions, but Crystal still couldn't help but snort.
Emilia also only took a glance at him before shaking her head. "The two of us were just about to head to the town, so we won't be farming anymore."
The two of them then ignored the dejected look on the boy's face, and continued on their way, causing his puffed out chest to instantly deflate.
His friend nudged him with grin. "See, I told you, you'll send them running by being too eager. We should have hunted down a few rabbits first to show our skill."
He didn't dare to mention the boars, given how he'd seen the 'high-level' beasts skewer a few newbies already. Instead of risking humiliation, it was better to be a little less impressive.
The dark-haired boy sneered. "What do you know? If I had been able to customize my avatar a little, those two would have been swooning by now. Tsk. Did you look at the skirt on that slut?"
His friend chuckled. "True, but you can't deny that her face was to die for. Damn... if I hadn't known this game didn't allow avatar modifications, I would have praised her for being so artistic."
The other boy's expression turned even more sour when he recalled the 'missed opportunity', and he couldn't help but grit his teeth. "Fuck! There's no way she looks that good in real life. She must have used some dirty trick or hack to change her looks, right! No, maybe she's even a boy disguised as a girl?!"
His friend coughed. "Okay, don't be so crazy. Look, I spot another cute one over there!"
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Unaware of the fact that her 'vain' personality was being harshly criticized behind her back, Emilia happily led Crystal away from the bountiful clearing where the newbies energetically hunted red-eyed rabbits. "How did you feel about that idiot?"
Crystal frowned. "I think he was a little greedy and conceited. Not the type I would ever want to be associated with, honestly."
Obviously, she knew that her girlfriend wasn't really interested in the boy, and was only subtly asking her if her ability still worked within the game.
Emilia grinned. 'So it does!'
She hadn't really expected it to be like that, given that she couldn't access her own chaos energy or even talk to Cynthia, but the crimson-haired girl was still happy.
After all, one more tool in Crystal's pocket would only make her life more comfortable. However, she did make a mental note to ask Cynthia later why it was that only Crystal's abilities could work within the world of Arcadia.
The two of them continued to trot forward hand in hand, killing the few monsters they came across on the way. And it didn't take long for them to reach the 'Beginner's Town', which gave off a lazy and desolate feeling at a glance.
The sleeping guards didn't even stir as the two of them slipped through the gates.
Crystal hummed thoughtfully as they passed by what appeared to be a general goods store. "Should we... sell all the common items we gathered on the way first?"
The shopkeeper who seemed to have heard it instantly perked up, as if eager to receive her first customers in a while, but their next words soon caused her to deflate in disappointment.
"We can always do that later, since there's plenty of space left in our inventory." Emilia smiled. "Let's go to the chief's house first."
Of course, Crystal understood her real meaning. Although the items they had might look easy to acquire now, when the area was inevitably flooded with newbies, getting them so easily would naturally be impossible.
Once the players needed a large amount of them for certain quests, these common items might sell for a sky-high price. That is, until the initial flood of new players was taken care of, and the market economy stabilized.
"Ah, there it is! Let's go in!"
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Obviously, just like the dark-haired boy who intercepted Emilia, many were dissatisfied with Arcadia's policy of not only reflecting their real appearance into their 'avatars', but also not giving people any means to disguise themselves.
After all, not everyone wanted to play with their own face, and this wasn't even mentioning the dangers they might be exposing themselves to if someone decided to target them.
Discovering someone's identity and location based on their appearance was a trivial matter in the modern era, after all.
It was no surprise that many people quit directly after the character creation process, and loudly voiced their frustrations online. If not for Arcadia being free from the start, maybe it would already be facing a massive wave of refund requests.
But these little things couldn't stop the momentum of the game at all, and when Emilia and Crystal exited the village chief's hut after having received their first 'main quest', they couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded at the bustling scene.
Even the 'desperate' shopkeeper from before now had an impatient look on her face as she shooed away several newbies angrily. "Those who don't have at least ten copper coins in their pockets, don't waste my time!"
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