Eternal Art Online

Now, standing before Kiriya were only two options—either be killed or fight the mutated Flame Bat head-on.

If he had enough healing potions, perhaps he could survive this battle and bring down the beast without much risk.

But the problem was: he only had five left. Each restored 100 HP, and with his current max HP sitting at just 780, whether he could take down this monster remained an open question.

Knowing there was no other choice, Kiriya clenched a potion bottle between his teeth and charged in.

"Clang! Clang!"

Two heavy slashes landed across the mutated bat's back, tearing away another couple hundred HP.

But the counterattack was swift and brutal—Kiriya was forced to drink another potion just to stay standing.

The fight escalated rapidly. He no longer held back. With both hands gripping his iron sword tightly, he attacked with everything he had.

Suddenly, as his blade swept across the bat's open maw, a sharp crack echoed—256 damage!

Kiriya froze for a brief second, then realization dawned.

Weak points.

Most monsters in EAO had them, and hitting those spots could drastically increase damage dealt. For this mutated Flame Bat, its vulnerable point seemed to be the eerie green mouth.

Without hesitation, Kiriya sidestepped and drove his blade straight into the bat's jaws. He felt it sink into soft tissue, and the next moment,248 damage! Weak point confirmed.

Encouraged, he pressed the assault. Every two or three strikes, one would land cleanly on the weak spot, causing massive damage. The boss's HP was rapidly falling.

But just as things were turning in his favor, he reached into his bag—and came up empty.

No potions.

His heart sank.

Damn it! Of all the times to run out of healing...

The bat, now on its last sliver of HP, shrieked and lunged with its gaping, flame-wreathed jaws. Kiriya had only 140 HP left. There was no room to dodge—only room to strike.

With a grim expression, he gritted his teeth and charged forward. His sword pierced straight into the beast's mouth just as its claws tore into his side.

Pain seared through his body.-120 HP.

But at the same moment—

"Ding~!"

System Notification: You have slain the Mutated Flame Bat. You gained 480 EXP!

System Notification: You have leveled up!

"Clink!"

The boss exploded into a burst of light. Amid the fall of several silver coins, one item stood out—a weapon glowing faintly with a pale light.

Kiriya's breath caught in his throat.

A glowing weapon. That meant a bonus attribute. Could it be... his first true rare drop?

He bent down, picked up the weapon, and quickly inspected it.

[Glowing Battle Axe] (Black Iron)

Attack: 12–18

Strength: +4

Required Level: 6

A grin crept across his face.

...

"Haha, it's a black iron–grade weapon with a bonus attribute! And it even adds a full +4 to Strength—exactly what I need most right now!"

Overjoyed, Kiriya immediately equipped the Glowing Battle Axe. His Attack stat instantly surged to 33–40, easily among the top-tier damage outputs in the entire beginner village.

With a cheerful grin, he bent down to pick up the silver coins scattered on the ground. As expected of a mutated monster, the loot was generous—no less than four silver coins dropped straight out.

He happily tucked the spoils into his inventory, then took a moment to count the copper coins he had accumulated during his leveling journey.

Adding in the newly acquired silver, Kiriya's total wealth now stood at 23 silver coins and 68 copper coins—a decent fortune for a starter player.

Of course, he was still a ways off from the "two gold coins a day" quota set by the studio.

But Kiriya wasn't worried. There was still plenty of time left, and at this pace, hitting the goal by the end of the day was well within reach.

Once everything was sorted, he turned and made his way back to the village.

By now, the beginner village was bustling with players. New faces crowded the streets, most still holding those clunky wooden clubs issued at spawn.

In stark contrast, Kiriya—carrying the radiant Glowing Battle Axe—stood out like a shining beacon, drawing glances of envy and astonishment wherever he passed.

Startled by the attention, Kiriya quickly disabled his name display. Just like a fat pig attracts the butcher's knife, fame too soon would only bring trouble. He didn't mind PvP, but that was a matter for later. Right now, his top priority was leveling up and completing tasks.

Navigating the village with practiced ease, he made his way to the village gate where the Militia Captain Masu stood. Kiriya handed over the twenty vials of Bat Blood he had collected.

Masu took them with a surprised expression, then gave a heartfelt nod.

"Brave warrior, you did it! I can't believe you managed to defeat those nasty fire bats all by yourself... Very well, here is your well-deserved reward!"

Ding~!

System Message:

Quest Complete: [Clearing the Fields]

EXP Gained: 2400

Silver Earned: 24

Reputation +10

Quest Reward: [Wilderness Boots]

Kiriya's heart skipped a beat. Another piece of gear!

[Wilderness Boots] (Black Iron)

Defense: +14

Strength: +2

Agility: +1

Required Level: 6…

Another black iron–grade attribute item—and this time with dual bonuses! The numbers might not seem high, but for a player in the early game, it was practically luxury gear.

The reward from the previous quest had just pushed Kiriya to level 7. After equipping the Wilderness Boots, his defense rose to 26, and his attack soared to an impressive 35–45.

He glanced down at the worn iron sword in his hand, then suddenly had an idea. Dashing to the village gate, he shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Selling an iron sword with 1–4 attack! Anyone interested, come quickly! Only selling for three minutes!"

To his surprise and delight, the shout worked better than expected.

In just seconds, he was swarmed by a flood of players, faces desperate for weapons, all yelling at once:

"Damn it! Sell it to me! I'll buy it!"

Faced with the frenzy, Kiriya calmly made his intentions clear:

"Highest bidder wins."

Immediately, a flurry of offers erupted.

"I'll pay 1 silver!" someone shouted.

Another scoffed, "1 silver? What, you think this is a chicken? I'll pay 2!"

Just then, a determined voice came from the back of the crowd. A player pushed his way forward, panting slightly.

"I've got 20 silver coins. Sell it to me."

The moment the price was announced, the whole crowd went silent. Everyone turned, eyes wide in disbelief. Someone had 20 silver coins this early in the game?

Kiriya, noticing the player's travel-worn look and the fact that no one else could match the offer, immediately accepted the trade. The 20 silver coins clinked into his inventory, and at the same time, he made a mental note of the player's name—Crimson Lotus - Lusk.

It was highly likely that the guy was a professional player. No casual gamer could've saved up that much money in such a short time.

Kiriya's heart swelled with excitement. If a junk sword could sell for that much, how much would his Glowing Battle Axe or Wilderness Boots be worth?

Of course, he had no intention of selling either. With them, he could level up faster and gather even better gear.

Breaking away from the crowd, Kiriya headed straight to the village apothecary. He scanned the list of potions:

Small Healing Potion: restores 100 HP, priced at 20 copper coins each.

Medium Healing Potion: restores 300 HP, priced at 2 silver coins each.

The price gap was huge, but so was the difference in effectiveness. In critical moments, high-grade potions could mean the difference between life and death.

Now that he had 320 HP at level 7, the medium potion was just right—fast, efficient, and life-saving. The small ones healed too slowly to rely on in a crisis.

Kiriya checked his pouch and muttered to himself,

"I've got 43 silver and 68 copper… If I buy 15 medium potions, that's 30 silver gone. With the rest, I can get 27 small ones. Use the medium ones for emergencies, and the small ones for regular grinding."

With that, he confirmed the purchase without hesitation.

Looking at his now-empty coin pouch, Kiriya let out a small, satisfied sigh.

Once again, flat broke.

Every investment would eventually pay off.

When Kiriya returned to the militia captain, Masu, to report in, he was surprised to see the man frowning slightly, looking troubled.

"The village chief... seems to be worried about something," Masu said with a hint of concern.

Hmm? Was that a hint?

Kiriya paused for a moment, then turned around and headed back into the village. With most players outleveling, the village itself was nearly deserted. Wandering alone like a drifter, he made his way to the large central house, where he soon found the white-haired village chief.

Seeing Kiriya approach, the old man let out a weary sigh.

"Those demons have started attacking the outskirts of Twilight City again. Our village has also been targeted. A large number of liquefied evil creatures have appeared to the west of the town. Young warrior, will you do me a favor?"

"Ding~!"

System prompt: Do you accept the quest?

Kiriya quickly clicked confirm.

The village chief continued, "A squad of brave militiamen is currently trapped at an outpost west of the village. I hope you can go help them."

"Ding~!"

System prompt: You have accepted the quest [Clear the Outpost]! (Beginner Quest. Current Difficulty: 80)

Quest Objective: Head west of the village, find the outpost, slay the Slimes there, and collect 100 Slime Medals!

Kiriya blinked. Slime Medals? What were those?

No time to dwell on it—he would figure it out on the way.

A difficulty rating of 80 wasn't a joke. At his current level of 7, those Slimes were likely no pushovers.

Worse, the quest demanded a full 100 Slime Medals. Assuming the usual 20% drop rate from normal monsters, that meant he might need to kill up to 500 Slimes to complete it. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

Still, without hesitation, Kiriya shouldered his [Glinting Battle axe] and headed west.

The gleaming black iron weapon was far too conspicuous. Along the way, more than a few players shot him glances—some surprised, others envious—but no one dared approach.

That is, until he was a short distance out of the village, when a voice suddenly called out from behind him:

"Hey there, friend. Mind if we have a word?"

Kiriya turned around to see three players, each around level 6, standing close behind.

Judging by their coordinated arrival, they had likely been tailing him for a while.

All three had similar names with a shared prefix: "Conquerors-Drevan," "Conquerors-Azaria," and "Conquerors-Zereth."

Notably, Conquerors-Azaria was a girl, and a stunning one at that. Even clad in basic beginner's gear, her graceful figure was impossible to miss. Her chest practically strained against the thin fabric, drawing more than just casual attention.

Kiriya glanced at them and asked calmly, "What do you want?"

Conquerors-Drevan grinned and pointed at the battleaxe on Kiriya's back.

"That weapon of yours. Is it for sale?"

Kiriya shook his head without hesitation. "Of course not."

Drevan's expression darkened slightly. His tone dropped. "And what if I insist on buying it?"

Kiriya's eyes narrowed. Then he gave a faint smile, eyes half-lidded with cold amusement.

"Oh? And how exactly do you plan on buying it?"