The Meaningful First

This time, Wang Yang wasn't startled by the Frenzied Boar charging straight at him. He fixed his gaze on the approaching beast, raising the round shield in his left hand as it drew closer.

"Roar!"

Two meters was a short distance. The Frenzied Boar's hooves pounded the ground, leaving a trail of shallow pits several centimeters deep. It covered a meter in barely a second, then leaped when it was one meter from Wang Yang, lowering its massive head and slamming into him in midair.

Wang Yang felt no fear. His keen dynamic vision let him see the boar's movements clearly. In an instant, he held his shield across his chest, then thrust it forward. The basin-sized round shield met the Frenzied Boar's charging head at just the right moment.

He Gu, watching from nearby, sprang to his feet. The words rising from his heart to his throat hadn't yet left his mouth when the shield in Wang Yang's hand made intimate contact with the Frenzied Boar's hard head.

In that instant, he'd wanted to shout, No! A shield can't stop the Frenzied Boar's Charge skill!

Bang!

A loud crash rang out, and the sight before him left him gaping.

After its head collided with the shield, the Frenzied Boar flew backward more than a meter. A ring of yellow circles appeared around the marker above its head, spinning continuously. Not only had the charge failed to send Wang Yang flying—the boar had been stunned instead. Wang Yang, meanwhile, remained where he was, shield still thrust forward, as immovable as a deeply rooted tree.

"How is that possible?" He Gu looked utterly disbelieving.

But Wang Yang didn't care whether He Gu believed it or not. He hadn't been sure he could stop the Frenzied Boar either, but he'd tried, and the result had been excellent. Seeing the marker above the boar's head, even he could tell what it meant. With no danger in sight, he assumed the starting stance for One-Handed Straight Sword.

A second later, a faint glimmer appeared along the bronze blade. It quickly brightened into a glow, and at the same time, Wang Yang felt as though an outside force had taken control of his body. Before he could examine the sensation, the scenery on both sides of his vision blurred and rushed backward.

When his vision cleared, he realized he'd crossed two meters.

An ordinary player couldn't see the scenery blurring backward while using Straight Stab. Only someone with Wang Yang's exceptional dynamic vision could experience it.

Though it lasted only an instant, he clearly felt the bronze sword in his hand pass through something with a flesh-like tactile sensation.

I did it!

Those three words popped into his mind. He turned around just as a faint explosion sounded behind him. The Frenzied Boar that had charged at him moments ago had turned into fragments flying through the air.

Gained 26 Experience Points.

Obtained Wild Boar Meat.

Obtained a Fang.

A purple victory window appeared before him, showing his Experience Points and two items. It remained for about five seconds before vanishing, while the Wild Boar Meat and short fang went into his inventory.

The satisfaction of successfully killing a Frenzied Boar and using a skill made Wang Yang cheer excitedly. This was his first success, and the start of something truly meaningful.

"Congratulations," He Gu said, approaching with a heart full of questions.

"Hehe, this feels so amazing!" Wang Yang beamed as he picked up his shield and examined it from every angle. He looked so excited he could barely contain himself.

It was no wonder. Everything virtual in Sword Art Online felt almost indistinguishable from reality. Even killing a pig the size of a calf in a game felt just like killing one in real life. There was no doubt that such an achievement was something to be proud of.

He Gu smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but his feelings were complicated. He realized he was actually envious of Wang Yang. Just by raising his shield, Wang Yang had not only blocked the Frenzied Boar's charge, but also stunned it. There was no doubt that the extra skill—Parry—was responsible!

But why didn't he have that skill in his Skill Bar?

"I got two materials. I wonder how many Kael I can sell them for." Wang Yang didn't give it much thought. Still excited, he opened his inventory to check the fang and pork he'd just obtained.

A trace of complicated emotion crossed He Gu's face. "The fang sells for 5 Kael. The Wild Boar Meat's worth a little more—10 Kael."

These materials were cheap and had a low Drop Rate. When they dropped, every party member got a share. If you were alone, you only got one share.

Wang Yang didn't notice the complicated look on He Gu's face. He happily stared at the Wild Boar Meat and fang in his inventory, thinking that he'd made enough for bread. But when he remembered that a single piece of Black Bread cost 1 Kael, a faint bitterness crept onto his tongue.

I'll gather more materials and sell them. Then I can eat better!

The idea suddenly popped into his head, and Wang Yang found himself full of motivation. What a pity he didn't know that the more often a Spawn Point was used, the lower the monsters' Drop Rate in that area became, until eventually they stopped dropping anything at all.

For now, though, the Frenzied Boar's Spawn Point was still within acceptable limits. The area had only been farmed for two days, and it would probably take around ten days to reach the limit set by the System Settings. But that would take a lot of players hunting constantly to bring the Drop Rate down to zero.

In a normal Sword Art Online game, once players reached level 2, most of them would go after level 2 Violent Wolves. But now the game had added an absolute rule against resurrection. To stay safe, most players wouldn't easily pick a fight with level 2 wolves, even if they were already level 2 themselves.

Even so, the many level 2 players who chose to keep hunting Frenzied Boars would move on to higher-level monsters after at most two days, when the Experience Points they gained became too low. And Frenzied Boars weren't the only level 1 monsters.

"Let's switch to a Spawn Point with two Frenzied Boars," Wang Yang suggested, growing a little smug after killing one without taking any damage.

He Gu didn't refuse outright. He was already more than halfway through level 2, and the Experience Points he gained from Frenzied Boars had dropped by a third. If they could get the Experience Points from two boars every five minutes, the rate wouldn't be bad. After a moment's thought, he agreed.

After half an hour, they found another open patch of grass. Two Frenzied Boars wandered leisurely back and forth there, less than three meters apart. For now, it was a perfect Spawn Point for them.

Then, with the morning light before them, they began the long road to leveling up, just like the thousands of other players on the grassland.

Meanwhile, the Beta Test players who'd set off under cover of night for the next strategic stronghold had already acquired better equipment than most players, and they were also far ahead in levels. The price was steep: even among the Beta Test players, many had died.

Although they had firsthand knowledge from the Beta Test, choosing to go solo still made things infinitely more dangerous. That was the real reason!

Whatever else was happening, on the first day of the game, countless people were fighting to get ahead!