MMORPG: Rebirth as an Alchemist Chapter 5

With his race and class selected, Ren examined his character details once more, verifying that all was flawless and nothing amiss.

Within this realm, he possessed black hair, silver eyes, pale skin, and pointed ears. His features remained largely unchanged from reality, aside from the radiant glow of his skin and those distinctive pointed ears.

He held no fears of recognition, given the game's early stage. Moreover, COVENANT implemented safeguards to shield players' real-life identities.

In COVENANT, each avatar mirrored its player uniquely as a precise replica. Players could still conceal their looks using specific armors and accessories, however.

Avatar customization locked permanently after initial setup, barring changes to face and body—though hair, eyes, skin adjustments, plus props like wings and horns, unlocked later upon town access.

Early gameplay unfolded entirely in the newbie village and beginner’s forest, where grinding boosted ATP (attributes) to the threshold for town entry.

Dungeons, bosses, certain quests, and nearly all towns demanded precise ATP levels alongside fitted armors and weapons.

Delighted, Ren then accessed his player status.

‖ S T A TU S ‖

Name: Ren

Age: 19

Race: Sprite

Class: Mage (?)

Eye Color: Silver

Hair Color: Black

Attributes:

HP (Health Points): 40

MP (Mana Points): 70

STR (Strength): 2

DEF (Defence): 2

MDF (Magical Defence): 2

INT (Intelligent): 10

AGL (Agility): 2

LCK (Luck): 4

Skills:

(None)

Spells:

❶ Heal Lv.1

Life Skills

Cooking: Beginner

Fishing: Beginner

Foraging: Beginner Lv.5

EXP (Experience points): 0 + 1000 BONUS

Money: 0 + 100 gil BONUS

Items:

❶ Newbie Garbs

❷ COVENANT’s map

‖ E N D ‖

Lacking a subclass choice, he missed out on extra ATP bonus points plus the linked skills and spells.

The standard HEAL spell came default to all mages and various other classes too—a universal starter spell for early-game support.

Class evolution triggered upon hitting key attribute thresholds. Hidden classes and races existed beyond that as well.

EXP raised all ATP: HP and MP gained +5 per 100 EXP, while others rose +1 for every 100 EXP.

Skills, spells, and life skills leveled solely through repeated use.

Skills capped at Lv. 10 prior to evolving into superior forms. Life skills progressed via Beginner, Intermediate, Master, Grandmaster tiers, influencing success rates—like turning food edible or trash, rarity of caught fish, or foraging yields.

Advanced hidden life skills appeared later, but these formed the fundamentals.

Beyond commonplace shop-bought skills and spells lay rare and secret ones from quests and loot drops.

Yet rare item drops held just a four percent chance, boosted higher by elevated Luck.

ATP faced no caps, allowing thousands even for pro players and god-tier characters in late game. Progression slowed EXP gains dramatically, save for boss encounters.

Wasting no moment, Ren funneled his +1000 EXP into ATP.

‖ A T T R I B U T E S ‖

HP 45

MP 75

STR 2

DEF 5

MDF 4

INT 11

AGL 3

LCK 5

‖ E N D ‖

STR offered no value for his race and class, so Ren ignored it, funneling EXP toward DEF, MDF, INT, and LCK instead.

Most players erred by chasing balanced ATP across the board, ignoring class synergies, dooming their builds to lag behind.

Mages couldn't wield class-restricted weapons for physical damage. Their arsenal leaned on mana-fueled spells and skills sans STR reliance, rendering it pointless to invest.

Conversely, physical-focused classes wasted EXP on INT.

Early game showered generous EXP with low ATP. Mid-to-late game starved it, relying on Dungeon raids, PVP clashes, Rare Quests, and Boss battles for meaningful gains.

Armed with this foresight, Ren targeted EXP solely to synergistic ATP from the outset. He cared little if STR lingered at 2, prioritizing towering INT and DEF.

Content, he reviewed his skills and spells.

‖ S K I L L S ‖

(None)

‖ E N D ‖

‖ S P E L L S ‖

❶ Heal LV.1

–– cost 5 MP

–– single target

–– 10% replenish HP

–– 1 Min. cool down

‖ E N D ‖

Ren had nearly overlooked the underwhelming stats present at the game's outset. In intense, fast-paced combats, a one-minute cooldown spelled utter disaster. Death inflicted an EXP penalty, respawning you at the closest village, town, or save crystal typically located near dungeons. Boss battles provided no save option whatsoever.

Worsening the situation, should your EXP hit zero while deaths persisted, your valuable ATP would diminish to offset that EXP loss.

Certain players watched their character's entire ATP plummet to zero. Unsurprisingly, they abandoned the game entirely.

That exemplified the developers' cunning design.

As a result, countless players purchased potions to ensure HP and MP stayed at peak during surprise skirmishes.

Stumbling into a rare beast with depleted HP would prove catastrophic. The very idea of those exquisite loot drops crumbling away simply from lacking a potion sent chills racing down Ren's spine.

This misfortune struck him repeatedly during his newbie days. No matter how often he attempted to trigger that encounter anew, it never resurfaced. The exceptional items dropped by that rare beast vanished forever.

Thus thrived existence within COVENANT's realm.

Ren glanced at his vacant skill bar and shrugged indifferently. No attack skills or spells were available to him right now.

Yet Ren stayed unperturbed. PVP hadn't launched in the early game phase. It would emerge later alongside guild features, relieving any pressure to hastily farm skills and spells. He could simply pick up a basic spellbook from the newbie village soon, gearing up for quests ahead.

First blood awaited completion, rare items needed collection, and attribute points demanded boosting. Furthermore, a clever plan already existed to bridge his current combat shortcomings.

—-

A/N

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