Eternal Art Online

After leaving the newbie village, Kiriya looked out into the distance.

A vast forest stretched before him, teeming with lush greenery and low-level monsters roaming about. Strangely, there wasn't a single player in sight.

But when he glanced back, he saw a flood of new players pouring out of the village gate.

Without wasting a second, he sprinted forward, eager to get a head start. Just as he was about to begin grinding, something caught his eye—a girl in rough linen clothes was standing nearby, glancing around nervously as if searching for help.

"Hm? Looks like a quest," Kiriya thought.

Being the first to leave the village, he didn't hesitate and quickly approached her.

As he reached her, the girl looked up and spoke in a worried tone.

"My grandfather went out to chop wood the other day and lost his axe. I heard some nasty little goblins took it from him… Could you help get it back?"

Ding~!

System Notification: Do you want to accept the quest [Retrieve the Goblin Battle Axes]?

There was no reason to refuse a free quest like this.

Kiriya immediately hit "Accept." Another chime followed right after:

Ding~!

System Notification: You have accepted the quest [Retrieve the Goblin Battle Axes]! (Beginner Quest – Difficulty: 10)

Quest Objective: Help the girl Lyne recover her grandfather's lost axe. The axe is believed to be in the hands of goblins outside the village. Defeat goblins and collect 10 battle axes from them.

Kiriya paused for a moment. She just said her grandfather lost one axe… and now I have to collect ten?

He chuckled inwardly. This NPC is playing the system, just like me, running a zero-investment, high-return business.

After the conversation, Lyne quietly sat down beneath a large tree, no longer offering any interaction. The quest window was set—there was nothing more to trigger.

Kiriya adjusted his gear and prepared to face the goblins.

At that very moment, one of the goblins nearby spotted him. The creature let out a screech and charged at full speed, swinging a crude axe wildly.

It was short and stubby, almost like a little green melon with arms—and it wore a ridiculous green helmet on its oversized head.

Kiriya glanced at it and instantly brought up its stats. As expected of a basic monster, the information was easy to access:

[Goblin] (Normal Monster)

Level: 1

Attack: 1–3

Defense: 1

HP: 100

"Perfect. You'll be the first," Kiriya muttered with a smirk as he gripped his wooden stick and moved in to engage.

...

The goblin's attack was listed as 1–3. With Kiriya's defense stat sitting at 2, the fight shouldn't pose much of a threat.

Without hesitation, he darted forward and swung his wooden stick with full force, smashing it straight onto the goblin's forehead.

Bang!

A crisp sound echoed as a bright "12" floated above the goblin's head.

In retaliation, the goblin's crude axe came down and landed squarely on Kiriya's shoulder. A dull ache followed, and his health dropped by 5 points.

Not too bad—his HP was about the same as the goblin's, so he could tank a few hits. The key advantage lay in his faster attack speed. Goblins, as low-level monsters, weren't designed to overwhelm players with brute force.

He continued his assault, the wooden stick thudding against the goblin's head repeatedly. With a final cry, the creature let out a pitiful shriek and collapsed to the ground. A few copper coins rolled out onto the dirt, glinting faintly in the light.

Ding!

Combat Notification: You have slain a Goblin. Gained 10 EXP.

Kiriya crouched down and scooped up the coins—three in total—then promptly stored them in his inventory.

However, the fight had left him with less than half his HP remaining. Taking on another goblin in that state would be pushing it.

Opening his character menu, he suddenly realized something embarrassing—he still hadn't distributed the five free attribute points awarded upon character creation.

Feeling both sheepish and annoyed, he quickly allocated all five points into Strength. In the early game, damage was everything, especially for someone planning to pursue a combat-oriented class.

With the new points added, his attack stat jumped from 0–3 to 0–8. That should make a noticeable difference.

Sure enough, he targeted another wandering goblin nearby and swung with all his boosted might. The moment the stick connected, a bright "34" appeared above the creature's head.

Kiriya blinked, genuinely surprised. That strong already?

Two more heavy blows followed. With a miserable wail, the goblin collapsed to the ground. Clang! A rusted axe dropped beside a handful of copper coins.

[Goblin Battle Axe] (Quest Item)

He picked it up and checked its details—no stats attached. A bit disappointing, but it was still a required quest item. He tossed the axe into his inventory and moved on.

Unfortunately, the drop rate wasn't ideal. On average, it took five goblins just to get one axe. And to make matters worse, the area was getting crowded fast.

By the time Kiriya had collected nine of the required axes, the once-quiet plains were already flooded with players of all kinds.

Every goblin that respawned was instantly mobbed by several eager beginners, their short sticks raining down like a storm on its unlucky head.

This area was no longer viable for efficient grinding. If Kiriya wanted to stay ahead of the average player, he'd have to move elsewhere—and soon.

Just then, a goblin respawned right next to Kiriya. It looked around sneakily, clearly trying to make sense of the unfamiliar world it had just been born into.

Without hesitation, Kiriya struck first, swinging his wooden stick down hard. At the same time, four other players rushed in from nearby, all slamming their short sticks at the goblin.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Three crisp sounds echoed out. The goblin had barely spawned before its fate was sealed. After dropping a battle axe, it collapsed at the edge of the forest.

Kiriya was confident—his reaction had been lightning-fast. There was no way anyone else landed the first hit before him. He quickly picked up the Goblin Battle Axe and tossed it into his inventory. With that, he had collected all 10 axes needed for the quest.

The nearby players looked at him blankly, clearly wondering what had just happened. But Kiriya didn't spare them a second glance. He simply turned around and jogged back to Lyne.

When he handed over the 10 axes, Lyne's face lit up with gratitude.

"Thank you! You found Grandpa's axes. This is your reward!"

Ding~!

System Notification: Congratulations! You've completed the quest [Goblin Battle Axe]. You gained 500 EXP, 2 Silver Coins, +1 Reputation, and received a quest reward item: [Crude Iron Sword].

Ding~!

System Notification: You've leveled up!

"Oh? A weapon drop!" Kiriya's eyes lit up with joy. He immediately opened his inventory and saw a simple iron sword lying quietly inside.

[Crude Iron Sword] (Common-Tier)

Attack: 1–4

Required Level: 2

"A level 2 weapon, huh?" Kiriya grinned. Even though it was still a low-tier item, its attack power far outclassed the stick he'd started with.

(In EAO, equipment is ranked as follows: Common, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, and Legendary. It's said that even rarer items like "Mythic Relics" exist beyond that, but who knows if anyone will ever see one in their lifetime?)

Kiriya quickly equipped the iron sword, instantly becoming the only player in the starting village wielding such a weapon.

He could feel the envious stares of nearby players landing on him from every direction. To them, Kiriya was now undoubtedly the strongest player in the entire starting area.

Now that he'd reached Level 3, goblins were no longer worth his time. And with his new weapon in hand, he allocated all five new stat points into Strength, boosting his attack to a whopping 1–17.

"With power like this, it'd be a waste to keep fighting weak monsters."

He hurried back to the village and visited the potion shop, buying 10 Small Healing Potions, each restoring 100 HP.

The price, however, was outrageous—20 copper coins each!

Fortunately, the silver coins from his earlier quest reward had him covered.

High investment leads to high return—this was a principle Kiriya understood well.

Just as he was about to leave the village again, he noticed a new NPC standing by the gate—a soldier clad in armor and holding a steel sword, scanning the surroundings.

Kiriya approached. As expected, the man was the Militia Captain.

The captain gave him a once-over and said, "Brave young man, you've become strong enough. Would you be willing to help me with something?"

Kiriya nodded.

The captain raised his voice:

"Recently, a swarm of Flame Bats has appeared to the south. Their bites carry poison, and several of my men have already fallen ill. I need you to hunt them down and bring back 20 vials of bat blood as an antidote."

Kiriya's eyes widened slightly, and he immediately pressed confirm.

Ding~!

System Notification: You've accepted the quest [Clearing the Fields]! (Beginner Quest. Current Difficulty: 50)

Objective: Travel to the southern plains and slay Flame Bats. Collect 20 vials of bat blood and deliver them to Captain Masu.

Kiriya's heart skipped a beat. The goblin quest had a difficulty of 10—this one was 50?! The captain's grim expression gave off a "marching toward death" kind of vibe.

He shivered involuntarily, then quickly packed his gear and set off toward the southern fields without looking back.