New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Astaroth's body shone brightly inside the cave, alone with Genie.

He heard loud notifications in his ears.

*Ding!*

*You have consumed a legendary potion. Congratulations on being the first player to use a legendary consumable!*

*Ding!*

*You have consumed an Exp Potion. Exp given is calculated in function of the Grade of the potion. Calculating Exp given!*

*Ding!*

*Calculations are done! Three million Exp points gained!*

*Level up! Level up! Level up!... You are now level 30. From leveling; you gained 9 skill points, 27 free Attribute points, and all Attributes increased by 9.*

*Ding!*

*Congratulations, you have achieved the required level to join the 'Tournament of Heroes'*

*Ding!*

*World Announcement!*

*All thousand spots for the 'Tournament of Heroes' are now filled! Congratulations to all future participants! May the strongest win!*

With all these notifications, Astaroth just sat there, mouth agape in astonishment.

'3 Million points! So much Exp!' He thought to himself, his brain still reeling from shock.

He had expected it to give a decent amount since it was legendary, but that was way beyond what he had imagined.

He had shot straight to level thirty, and when he looked at Genie's and White Death's status windows, he could see it didn't stop there.

Genie had also shot to level thirty, and White was now level twenty-seven! The stat gain from these levels alone would render him capable of moving alone in the zone much faster now.

Plus, he could easily calculate that he would be monstrously stronger when spirit melded with White now.

This was great!

Then he looked at the tournament attendance window again. He could see his entry number on it.

He was the nine hundred ninety-eighth participant. Some players were close to taking all the spots.

His taking the potion barely secured him the spot. He was thankful for the way Kloud treated him.

Now, he could go to the national stage and try to make his mark. Of course, it wouldn't be easy by any means, but he was ready for the challenge.

Still celebrating in his mind, he looked at his status screen to distribute all the points he had earned.

Status:

Name: Astaroth

Race: Ash Elf

Level: 30 (157'735/559'950)

Stats:

HP: 3'825/3'825 MP: 1300/1300 Stamina: 100

Mana Regen: 1/second in combat, 5/second out of combat

Strength: 39 (+20) Agility: 39 Constitution: 39 (+20)

Intelligence: 39 Wisdom: 31

Attack Power Str: 295 Attack Power Agi: 195 Magic Attack Power: 195 Healing Power: 155

Natural Defense: 5.9% Armor Defense: 14%

Luck: 0 (Stat unaffected by Level up and free points)

Available stat points: 27

Available skill points: 9

Physical Condition: Normal

Mental Condition: Normal

He put all his free points into his damage stats, so he dropped nine points into strength, agility, and intelligence, respectively.

That brought those three stats to forty-eight and boosted the damage numbers by an extra forty-five points in all three.

He also brought the skill 'Mana Skin' to max level, before leaving the remaining 5 skill points to sit for now.

Mana Skin: Lvl 1 -> Lvl 5 (Max) (Mastery Lvl 0/5)

Damage Reduction: 10% -> 20%

Repelling Chances: 20% -> 25%

Mana Cost: 50 -> 150

Duration: 2 minutes -> 5 minutes

The overall change was more of a time upgrade, but it still satisfied him. That meant he wouldn't need to cast it as often.

While he was doing all this, Astaroth was also walking in the path towards the old man's abode.

It took him a little longer than usual since he was focusing on his status screen, but he made it shortly after.

Once there, the old man was sitting in his chair next to the opening, waiting for him to return. He eyed him critically.

"I see you gained the strength you desired so badly. Hmph! All that just to flaunt it to your peers. What a shame. I thought you were less vain." Aberon told Astaroth, with a slight look of disappointment.

"It is not about vanity, sir. Doing this gives me the chance to live a better life in the real world." Astaroth tried to justify himself.

"What do you mean, real world? This is the real world, boy!" Aberon replied.

*Sigh*

"It is too hard to explain. There are many players like me in the game, and we have a tournament to determine who is the strongest coming up. I really needed to take part." Astaroth said, trying to sum it up for the old man.

"Boy, I know about you Players. However, we call you Abnormals, not Players. We know you come from another world, and that you have weird customs. But it doesn't make our world less real!" The old man said with conviction.

'They really gave it their all in the emotion AI' Astaroth thought, raising his thumb to the creators mentally.

"I still consider it to be a vanity contest." Aberon harrumphed.

"That doesn't change what I just said, sir." Astaroth said, shrugging his shoulders.

"How much time until your pissing contest?" The old man asked, not even looking at him.

"I have a week before the tournament." Astaroth replied with a chuckle.

"Hmm. That should be enough time." Aberon said, brushing his hand through his beard.

"Enough time? For what, sir?" Astaroth asked, becoming curious.

"Enough time to get you to the capital and pass your coming-of-age ceremony." The old man said, looking at him.

"Umm… My what now?" Astaroth questioned, confused.

*Sigh*

"Your coming of age ceremony, boy. The ceremony where you unlock your racial trait. All Ash Elves go through it once they get to level thirty. That is our custom." Aberon said, looking at Astaroth like he was stupid.

At that moment, Astaroth got a notification prompt in his vision.

*Ding*

*Your gaming pod has used up its IV reserves. Please log out soon to refresh them and make sure you rest properly.*

'Huh. How convenient.' Astaroth thought.

"Excuse me, sir. But I might need to leave for the rest of the day. Can we continue this conversation tomorrow?" Astaroth asked, trying to leave as soon as he could.

He could tell the old man was not happy with his recent choices and actions. He needed to do all those and wouldn't hesitate to make the same choices again.

"Tch. Fine! I'll prepare your trip while you are gone, who knows where. But be here early tomorrow!" He shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

Astaroth bowed and left in a hurry. He ran to his alcove and lay down before logging out.