Eternal Art Online

Night had fallen. Dew dripped from the forest leaves, making a soft, satisfying squelch underfoot.

Kiriya had been running steadily for nearly ten minutes, and aside from a few other players and the occasional goblin, he hadn't encountered anything else in the woods.

But as he crested a small hill, a new threat finally revealed itself.

"Screeech!"

A large bat, wreathed entirely in flames, let out a shrill cry. Its body was blood-red, but its eyes glowed an eerie green.

[Flame Bat] (Normal Monster)

Level: 5

Attack: 4–10

Defense: 4

HP: 500

Attack Type: Poison

Kiriya blinked in surprise. A level 5 monster—this one was far stronger than the goblins he'd been fighting, with more than double the HP and a dangerous poison attack to boot.

He quickly pulled up his status window:

Kiriya Noir (Wanderer)

Level: 3

HP: 210

Attack: 11–17

Defense: 4

Reputation: 1

Luck: 0

His attack power was decent, but his defense left much to be desired. A Flame Bat would be able to break through his armor, and that poison effect could be tricky to deal with.

Still, fortune favored the bold—and he needed to move fast if he wanted to stay ahead of the other players.

Without hesitation, Kiriya charged forward, iron sword raised. He slashed down hard on the bat.

"Clang!"

A glowing number appeared above the creature's head: 85.

Kiriya's eyes lit up. His power-focused stat build was paying off—he'd carved off nearly a fifth of the monster's HP in one blow.

The Flame Bat shrieked in fury and prepared to counterattack. But before it could act, Kiriya's sword flashed again, cutting away another large chunk of its health.

Then the bat struck. Its burning wings slammed into his arm, sending a jolt of pain through his body.

Combat Notification: You were hit by Flame Bat. Lost 51 HP.

"Damn! That's a quarter of my health in one hit?!"

Kiriya gritted his teeth. This wasn't going to be easy. He had to finish the fight quickly—without superior gear, this was his only option.

Two more strikes landed in rapid succession.

"91"

"87"

The bat, though slow, wasn't done yet. Its second attack came with a flash of green light as it spat a stream of venom straight at Kiriya. A wave of numbness spread across his body.

Combat Notification: You've been poisoned by Flame Bat. HP will drop by 2 every 3 seconds for 60 seconds.

Kiriya flinched. Poisoned—just as expected. Thankfully, the effect wasn't too severe. Two HP every three seconds amounted to only 40 total damage.

What he hadn't considered, though, was how difficult it was for ordinary players to afford healing items.

Even the cheapest health potion costs 20 copper, and goblins only dropped 2 to 3 copper at best. Most players couldn't afford to level up like this.

But Kiriya could—and did.

With two final swings, his iron sword cleaved across the bat's back. The last of its health vanished. The creature let out a death wail before crashing to the forest floor, dropping a small pile of copper coins.

Ding!

Combat Notification: You have slain Flame Bat. Gained 120 EXP.

...

Kiriya couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, tilting his head back slightly. As expected, high risk came with high reward.

A single goblin only gave ten experience points, but this flame bat, a creature two levels above him, had granted a whopping 120 points.

He crouched down and scooped up the copper coins scattered in the soil. Fourteen in total—a far more generous drop than the goblins ever offered.

Still, he wasn't oblivious to the cost. His HP had fallen below half. Though the fight was efficient, it was also taxing. After a brief assessment, he uncorked a small healing potion and downed it without hesitation, ready to dive into the next battle.

The second flame bat fell quickly, cut down by the same ruthless, all-or-nothing style. Another 120 experience points and 19 copper coins. Still no sign of the quest item: bat blood.

It wasn't until he felled the fifth flame bat that he heard the satisfying splash of a drop hitting the ground. A faintly shimmering red bead lay nestled in the dirt.

[Bat Blood] (Quest Item)

He gave it no more than a glance before tossing it into his inventory. So far, five flame bats have been defeated. Six hundred experiences gained.

And finally, the quest had officially begun. But two healing potions had already been consumed—forty copper spent. Even he couldn't help but wince at the cost.

The forest was hushed, save for the heavy fluttering of flame bat wings. Then, a voice broke through the quiet behind him.

"No way! This guy's soloing level 5 monsters?"

Kiriya turned to see three players—only level 2—gawking at him from the edge of the woods. Before he could say anything, one of them darted forward to lure a flame bat.

The enraged creature swooped in with a shriek, tearing away half the player's HP in a single bite. The boy staggered back, shouting, "Guys, help me out!"

The other two rushed forward, their short wooden clubs swinging. The damage numbers that popped up made Kiriya nearly laugh aloud.

"22!"

"28!"

They had no proper weapons, yet they dared challenge a monster three levels above them. It was suicide.

Predictably, within two minutes, all three were defeated—swallowed in a burst of white light as they were returned to the spawn point. The flame bat, left barely clinging to life, flapped weakly in the air.

A free kill. Kiriya didn't hesitate.

He leapt forward, iron sword cutting through the air.

Crack!

A clean hit. The bat shrieked and crashed to the ground. Two distinct item chimes followed.

He crouched again, searching the soil. Seventeen copper coins. Another bat's blood. And—

A piece of dull-colored armor.

He blinked, then picked it up.

[Bat Leather Armor] (Common Equipment)

Defense: +8

Level Requirement: 4

A grin tugged at his lips. Talk about luck. Just when he needed gear, it practically fell from the sky. If those three players knew what they'd unintentionally handed him, they'd be crying in frustration.

He glanced at his experience bar. Just a sliver remained to reach level 4.

No time to waste.

He gulped down another potion and charged at the next flame bat. After a swift, relentless assault, golden light rained down.

Ding!

System Message: Congratulations! You've leveled up. +20 Health, +5 Free Attribute Points.

Kiriya's smile deepened, a spark of determination flashing in his eyes.

The real journey was only just beginning.

...

Kiriya quickly equipped the Bat Leather Armor, instantly raising his defense from 4 to 12. He then allocated all five newly earned stat points into Strength, boosting his attack to 16–21.

Though the Bat Leather Armor wasn't particularly handsome, it was the first piece of gear he had ever obtained—and perhaps even the very first armor to appear in this newbie village. Wearing it, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy and pride.

With 12 points of defense now, Kiriya charged at the Flame Bat again, his sword crashing down with full force. Suddenly, a dazzling number appeared above the bat's head—"248"!

"What?!"

He barely dared to believe his eyes. One strike had taken away half the health of a level 5 monster. Checking the combat log, he realized it was a critical hit.

Even without the crit, a single strike dealt 124 damage—already quite impressive.

At that moment, the Flame Bat lunged at him fiercely. Kiriya felt a sharp sting, and looking at his health, he saw the bat's toxic attack had only inflicted 24 damage.

Relief and excitement washed over him. Wearing the Bat Leather Armor had significantly increased his defense—he could now endure longer battles.

Brimming with renewed confidence, he gripped his iron sword and sought out more Flame Bats to challenge.

Minutes slipped by, and within half an hour since EAO had opened, Kiriya had collected 19 vials of bat blood and had smoothly reached level 5.

Now facing monsters of equal level without attribute suppression, he fought more fiercely than ever, dispatching nearly one Flame Bat every three sword strikes.

After toppling another Flame Bat with a flurry of blows, he picked up the loot from the ground—a vial of bat blood.

Counting carefully, he found he already had 20 vials in his inventory—his task items were full and ready to be turned in.

Just as he turned to head back to the village, a cold gust of wind swept over his right side, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

When he turned his head, a terrifying sight froze him in place: not far away hovered a gigantic bat, engulfed in flames, at least ten times the size of the regular Flame Bats—like a small fiery plane floating in the air.

[Mutated Flame Bat] (Mutated Creature)

Level: 8

Attack: 20–28

Defense: 18

HP: 2000

Attack Type: Mutated Toxic Attack...

Kiriya was stunned. This was a boss-level creature! Its attack power was terrifying—up to 28 damage—and its defense was a hefty 18. With his current level 5 attack of 21, he could barely penetrate its armor.

The mutated bat gave him no time to hesitate. It lunged fiercely, its sharp claws slashing across Kiriya's armor, leaving a painful scratch.

A sharp pain shot through him, and the damage number "88" flashed above his head.

Though the number was lucky, Kiriya felt no joy. He swung his sword back hard—thud—dealing 110 damage to the bat's forehead.

The damage was decent, but it would take at least twenty strikes to bring down this mutated bat.

Glancing at his inventory, Kiriya saw he had only five healing potions left. Doubt flickered in his mind—would that be enough to survive and kill this fierce enemy?