Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

001.2 | NOOB'S FIRST KILL

As an introduction, it is true that more or less the people in the future will gain special abilities that people in the past never imagined. This could have resulted from a series of changes over time that let humanity overcome its limitations. This kind of growth is universal, but only humans managed to gain a leap over fate. 

It is stated in Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution that the cause of the difference in the appearance of the species is due to natural selection. The variation of the genes is acquitted to the environment in which a particular species are living—the body changes to adapt to circumstances enabling the new variant a higher chance of survival. 

Humans followed the same process. It took a long time of variation and natural selection before a human brain is formed. It went on centuries and millennium until humanity established a formal civilization. The time when humans learned how to write and record history is also the time when humankind successfully crossed the margin.

Generations after generations, the human brain became more complex and stable. During the twenty-first century, researchers said that only ten percent of the brain is being used. With time, humanity experienced evolution and thus expanded the brain capacity. Reaching the start of the interstellar age, the estimated brain capacity had reached eighty, and the remaining values are still under research. 

As one of the latest generations of the Highly Qualified Human Beings, Leon is also gifted with such ability. With a family that has an excellent genetic structure ever since ancient times, no wonder that he would become someone amazing.

He is born a genius. 

No, it wasn't the simple genius of knowing how to solve complex math questions or pondering why an apple is of such an extraordinary existence. It is the kind of genius that surpassed the physical world. If not for the limitation that placed the humans lower than the gods, he would have become a dangerous existence. 

Leon has a peculiar sight - he could see numbers. 

That's right; he could see numbers literally.

He could not remember when it started, but the moment he understood the world, the numbers already become an everyday sight. Maybe, he had become more familiar with numbers than with people. When he's young, he would even recognize things through numbers.

Every object will have a number hovering above them that will designate a particular physical quantity. It could be an object's length or its wideness. It might seem impossible to guess an object's height by just looking at it, so what Leon does is to understand estimates. Other properties like mass and weight need to be touched for him to see their value.

He could also see the possible interaction an object will have with its surroundings. For example, in bowling, Leon could see many possible chances of hitting the pins in one go. In golf, he knows the angle the ball needs to have to reach the hole. The numbers show him strategies and suggestions, giving him a chance to take a glimpse into the future. 

He could gather such data by just looking at the objects.

Aside from this peculiarity, his computation skills are also top-notch. It might have resulted from his early introduction to numbers, added by his ability; there are almost no problems that he can't solve. At the age of ten, he could've admitted to a specialized school if not for his rejection of skipping grades. 

Anyways, calculations for him are like reciting ABCs. 

Though, his ability is not omnipotent. 

Leon could only appraise data on simple scenarios such as a ball or a pin falling. As for observing people, he could only get their height, speed, and direction. People doing routines such as swimming and boxing is easy for him since these people do movements in repetition. 

In a more chaotic scenario, such as the city, it would take time for him to comprehend the numbers. 

This is because the more variables a system has, the more entropy it will create. A reaction occurs if there is an interaction between variables. If a hundred interactions happen in a system, the more complex calculations are done to understand their behavior. 

Thus, in battle simulations, Leon could only do theories. 

But this is enough. For Leon, theories are just a step away from reality. 

Going back to the previous scenario, it is at least easy to tell just by a glance that nowhere two noobs can defeat a hidden boss that is a level thrice their number combined. If only they are equipped with the best enchantments and armors, they could at least beat half of the boss's life before submitting to death. With the light weapons they have now, death is a good suggestion. 

Well, that is if they are people who are just mindlessly attacking the monsters.

One can never tell that a bit of calculation of stats can change the flow of the game. One hit could change the whole system upside down, making those on the lower ranks be on the top. And with Leon handling all the decisions, it will only take a little time for them to break the ice. 

When a boss battle is activated, a platform will elevate from the ground to determine the boss's territory. It comes in different sizes and shapes. Some venues come with a barrier, sometimes none. In comparison, the more enormous bosses tend to have an enclosed platform that traps players inside. 

In the dungeons, every boss will have the default enclosed platform set up. Though it won't elevate, instead, a ring will appear to determine the scope of activity. Both Leon and Shin are standing on the borderline, which is already at the edge of the cave. It seems that the stage for this boss fight covered the whole area. 

The boss is already in aggro, so anyone that is within its scope will become its target. The remaining members that are scattered around tried their best to hide. A couple of human-looking members were caught in a trap when the colossal creature suddenly rushed towards them. 

One of them is not fast enough and got stepped on by the beast. Its body was smashed flat to the ground. Obvious cracks and bones breaking can be heard as wounds bleed out from the skin like flesh. However, there is no blood. Upon closer inspection, one could see that what comes out from the injuries are red glass crystals crumbling to pieces. 

The person is already wounded, so it only took a second before their health bar depleted. The body emitted shallow light rays like a glitch, then eventually formed a solid red crystal before breaking into pieces like a piece of computer information dissipating. The other people don't have enough time to stop since the beast is still chasing them. 

Though, all of their efforts still gone to waste. The beast used one of its six arms to reach for one person and used another one to slap a person to the ground. More people are getting stepped on while a few of them were knocked away by its twin, crocodile-like skin tail. 

Speaking about the beast's appearance, Leon's conjecture of it being a bi-pedaled animal is correct. The beast has the same body structure as a gorilla, with scales as skin and large black needles for fur. It has three pairs of yellow iris-less eyes that prominently outlined with throbbing red nerves. 

Its appearance is very intimidating. Its statistics are intimidating too. Leon saw the numbers appear from the beast made his head ache. This boss indeed owned one of the few first floors of the dungeon, but its stat already made it one of the most challenging monsters to defeat above the land. 

No wonder the guild is very strict in this rule.

"What do you think? Do you have any plans?" Shin asked from the voice chat. "This boss is quite energetic."

"Let me think for a while. Let's observe it more."

As of the moment, while their surviving members are being massacred, a person with extreme courage and bravery decided to escape through a diversion. It used a spell that increased speed and agility and dumped it entirely to their feet. It used the momentum of running unto an inclined platform to gain momentum and dashed their life. Leon lazily followed the figure, trying to cross the beast unnoticed. 

He has speed, Leon thought. 

He is much faster than a bullet train. And using the chance when the beast is still occupied with the other people, this one made a gamble against fate. One way to end this battle is to defeat the boss or escape out from the cave to restart the game. This person must be trying to do the latter.

But it is impossible, Leon shrugged. 

He had seen it. 

That person's statistics - their physics. Like others, death is their only escape. 

Leon heard Shin's words of amusement as they watched the beast morbidly ended the life of that person. Predators are the most sensitive to moving objects, and that running guy just met the requirement. The beast grabbed the player promptly, which was easily got killed by the grip.

The other people's faces paled, trembling and crying for help. Yet, the two people watching are just calm as if what they are seeing is just a typical everyday event. Shin even jumped up towards a taller boulder to see the events well. 

"What do they call this boss? Is this the new mutated beast they mentioned from the expansion?" Shin asked. 

"Probably," Leon guessed. 

"The developers are indeed sadists. They placed such dangerous beast on the low-level floors. No wonder many people are saying that the dungeons had become a blood-sucking zone. They dared to give such hurdle."

Leon contemplated, somehow disagreeing with Shin's comment. He thought that even though this boss is strong, they couldn't blame it. This incident is due to their leader's curiosity and negligence. If the ones here are the top players of the game, they will undoubtedly kill this boss after a few formations. 

Also, everyone knows how the dungeon works. 

The dungeon follows a simple system. Floors that are close to the upper lands will have few low-level monsters. Each floor is divided into ten levels, to which the closer you get to the other end of the floor, the stronger the monsters will spawn. The last of the ten levels is where the boss of the floor resides. 

Once the boss is defeated, the system will unlock the floor's map. It would become visible to the other players as the world's map will be updated. The floors are made up in a maze-type function to which there are more dead ends than finish lines. Having the map helps the low-level players to venture out without worrying about falling into a trap. 

Another feature of the dungeon is that the levels of the monsters are independent of their setting. The normal spawns will follow the floor rules, and that is, if they are on a level 3 floor, then normal monsters will have the level three strength. It is not necessary a level three monster but the range that players could defeat on such a level. 

However, there existed deviant spawns that surpassed everyone. An anomalous, apparent to its name, is a unique monster that could spawn everywhere on the map. It is often found on dead ends and considered as special bosses of the floor. Their strength is almost thrice the power of the boss. 

Fortunately, deviant monsters do not spawn casually. Certain conditions are needed to have them appear. That is why most of the deviant monsters are discovered only after the floor is cleared. One reason is that they are only located due to the clues given by the map, and the second because the players only wait until their levels are high enough to challenge these unique bosses. 

Leon and his party are clearing the upper floor earlier. Since the previous floor has just been cleared recently, the monsters residing inside received a buff that will lower their stats and doubles the experience intake. It will remain in this state until the boss's floor spawns again. 

However, this buff will only happen once. If the floor's boss is defeated in the future, the spawns will retain their strength, and the double exp will not occur. This is the reason why Leon wanted to enter the dungeon to take this one-time opportunity. He just never thought that they would actually go to the next floor that not even the high-leveled players dare to enter.

Even though no rule stops the low-level adventurers from entering the next floor, it is already logical to understand the difference of their strengths. 

Relying on this concept made Leon confirm that they were unlucky to land on a deviant's spawn's turf. He had no idea how they were able to fulfill the requirement of spawning one. What kind of ridiculous chance is this? 

Leon examined the stats of the beast and felt apprehensive once again. His and Shin's level is not even a third of the beast's level. Though he could see that there is a chance of tipping the jar over, it is still considered risky. 

"Do you see any openings up there?" Leon asked. 

"I see none," a voice replied. Shin pondered and thought of getting close to the beast to see its state more clearly. "Let me take a closer look."

"Wait..."

"Hmmm? What is it?"

"Well, I was thinking. How about we try this method-"

A figure from the corner flew down from a boulder that alerted the beast. Two players that are both crouching and trembling while waiting for the painful death to come noticed that the prominent figure hovering over them shifted its position. One of them took a peek in between their fingers, seeing an image of a person approaching the beast. He is suddenly confused. 

They are running away. Why is this guy going towards the beast?

He is familiar with the person. It was the guy who took the vanguard position on their group. What is his name again? Shun? Shane? He could not remember. But what is the use anyway? The colossal creature will also kill these guys. Nobody dared to attack the beast since they all know that it will only be left in vain-

His thoughts were interrupted when a considerable cry echoed throughout the cave. It is accompanied by a strange light that came out from nowhere. The darkness of the cave made the light blinding, causing the people to cover their eyes subconsciously. Only after feeling that everything is alright did they dare to look up. 

The boss that they thought would end their life lay motionless to its circle of influence. Its status bar blinked rapidly while its HP meter decreased. The blinking only stopped when it is already half the health. Everyone remained silent, trying to understand the situation. 

Did... Did this guy damage the boss?