NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 3: Looks
Out of everything that Aric saw in his stats, nothing stood out as much as the mission that was boldly written below: Create the Greatest Empire.
He stared at it, not sure what to do with it or how to react to it. It had to be a metaphor, right? For something else.
Because in what way would an exiled boy in the middle of nowhere be able to create an empire?
"Is there a different hidden meaning to this mission?" he asked, and to his surprise, that caused the screen to change.
[Mission Assigned: Build the Greatest Empire in This World]
[You have been brought to this world to create the greatest empire to exist. You have been given a second chance.]
[Penalty: If you fail to create the greatest empire in your lifetime, your soul will be lost through eternal torment with no redemption.]
Aric looked at the screen, fear evident in his eyes as he read the warning. That was not a metaphor; the system was being real with him—he would be destroyed if he failed this mission.
"Take a deep breath, it hasn't gotten to the level for panicking yet," Aric said to himself. He still had time after all; he didn't need to rush.
"For now, I need a place to stay," Aric said. He looked around; there were trees, a lot of them. Some were quite small. He could chop them down and use their wood, but he needed a tool for that—an axe.
"Shop," he called, and the system shop opened.
"Cheap axe."
The system made a few recommendations for the cheapest axes, and Aric looked among them and found the best he could afford.
[Hickory Felling Axe.]
[Properties: Blade Material: Carbon steel; Handle Material: Hickory wood; Weight: Around 1.5 kg; Length: 28 inches]
[Price: 150 gold]
"Purchase."
The axe appeared midair. Aric caught it. It felt light in his hand—it was a great weight, he could use it for longer.
He looked for a tree to test it on, a smaller one not too far from him. He walked over to it, took a wide stance, and swung, but he had never done this sort of thing before. He had no idea what he was doing.
The axe hit the tree and bounced back. He felt a shock in his arm and let go of the axe immediately. "Shit, this will be harder than I thought," he said, picking up the axe again.
This time, he made sure to set it correctly. He took the swing, and the blade dug into the tree. A smile of victory formed on his face, his motivation to go on rose. He pulled the axe out and started hacking it down.
It took him well over ten minutes to get to the halfway point of that small tree, but it was not for nothing.
[2 strength points added]
[3 endurance points added]
[New skill unlocked: Wood Chopping Level 1]
[Wood Chopping Level 1: 10% efficiency when carrying out wood-chopping related activities.]
Aric suddenly felt like cutting down the tree got a lot easier after he received those notifications. His endurance was boosted, and so was his strength.
He didn't strike the wood like he did a few seconds ago; his cuts were better and cleaner. In five minutes, he managed to completely fell the tree.
[You have gained 50 EXP, 25 gold.]
[Level up: 1000 gold, 2 free stat points.]
Suddenly, all the exhaustion that Aric felt from cutting the tree vanished. He felt full of life; everything was normal.
Eagerly, he checked his stats again.
[Status Screen]
[Host: Aric]
[Race: Half-Elf (Human-Elf Hybrid)]
[Age: 17]
[Title: Exile]
[Class: None]
[Level: 2]
[Exp: 0/200]
[Health: 100/100]
[Stamina: 50/50]
[Mana: 50/50]
[Gold: 1215]
[Attributes]
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 12
Charisma: 7
Luck: 2
Free stat points: 2
"Everything filled up?" he asked. After he leveled up, all his stats that had dropped filled up. Just a few moments ago, he was near death, and now he was okay.
He also got a huge amount of coins—there was so much he could do with that amount. He might be able to put together an actually decent place to stay.
"Alright, enough wasting time. Let's get to work," he said and picked up the axe, heading for another tree. He started chopping it down.
This time, it took him five minutes, and he was done.
[You have gained 50 EXP, 25 gold.]
He continued on to another tree, cutting it down as well. He cut a total of four more after the first one.
[You have gained 50 EXP, 25 gold.]
[You have gained 50 EXP, 25 gold.]
[You have gained 50 EXP, 25 gold.]
[You have gained 50 EXP, 25 gold.]
[2 strength points added]
[2 endurance points added]
[Wood Chopping Level 1 has upgraded to Wood Chopping Level 2.]
[Level up: 1000 gold, 2 free stat points.]
Aric was filled with joy after leveling up again. His eyes flashed because of the massive increase in his gold.
Now he could buy some things needed to make a place to stay.
"System, do you have house blueprints?" Aric asked.
The shop opened and showed lots of different blueprints of different houses.
"Cheapest," he said. The system brought out the cheapest house blueprints, and his eyes settled on one with a single room and a kitchen.
It was built entirely out of wood, and the blueprints gave full details on how to build it. The blueprints cost 200 gold, but it was worth it.
"Purchase," Aric said, and the blueprints appeared on paper in front of him. Aric picked them up. He wanted to keep them inside his pocket or something, but that was when he realized he was wearing fully tattered clothes.
He walked over to the stream and used it as a mirror, looking at what he looked like. There were mirrors in their world, but he was never privileged to get one, based on the memories of Aric.
He was a sickly-looking boy, with jet-black disheveled hair, sunken deep green eyes. He had pointed ears, but they were not as long as other elves.
He could tell that he was handsome, but his situation had made him look like he was something else.