Hello your author here, its been a while since Ive updated and Iam sorry about that. I had this chapter mostly written out but couldnt get my self to get the last bit finished. Ive also been pretty occupied with a couple things happening in my life, nothing serious, just time consuming. I also began to question my writing, and doing a bit more research Ive come to realize that my writing (especially the dialogue) is very subpar, so Ive been contemplating on going back to my previous chapters and editing them, and I probabaly will after I upload this chapter. I have also started to play more League since the season is about to end and Ive made it my goal to get to diamond this season, Ive also managed to fix my internet which also allows me to play League more frequently. However, I felt like I was holding this chapter for too long and decided to finish it despite having plans with my friends (Ill just be like 2 hours late). Anyways this chapter is slightly more interesting as the MC actually does things, gets stronger. Also the MC is kinda ordinary now but youll see more of his character flaws later on in the story as certain situations come and he has to make more decisions. I guess you kind of see a bit of his personality this chapter, but I wouldnt say you see it that much. I also saw all the comments on my poll, and the issue with having any pet that has humanoid features is that beastmen will be a race that comes up in the story, and I wouldnt want the MC having a pet that is very similar to a race available to players. And no this is not a monster pet harem story, so dont expect Esla to suddenly become human like and fall in love with Shar, imagine the relationship that Aura has with Wargon in Insania. Aura still shows signs of jealousy despite staying as a pet. Its more a parental jealousy, kind of how like children dont like it if their parents dont give them enough attention. Anyways, I hope the second pet will get introduced soon, I havent made up my mind whether I should put a certain pet in or not, but Ill probably make up my mind soon enough. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Also how do some authors get so many readers? My number of followers and viewers go up a bit every time I update but its still quite a slow progress, and very far from getting into fiction of the week or anything like that. Do I have to update more often? Get more ratings? I dont know, so if you do know, comment below, I would really like to know.

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Shar sprinted through the forest. Looking back and seeing that his pursuer was still in hot pursuit, he picked up speed, determined to make it to his destination.

(Esla) “Screech!”

Making a sharp right turn, he saw a green blur whizz past him, right at the spot that he had been standing in just a moment before. Briefly thanking Esla for the warning, he on kept on running. Dodging a few more close attacks, mostly due to Esla’s warnings, Shar saw his goal a couple meters away, two small maple trees standing approximately 1 meter apart from each other. Although the path between the two trees appeared to be clear, it was not. Being almost invisible to the naked eye, unless one looked carefully, they would not be able see the glitter of fine silk that made up the web.

Running even faster, he dived towards the ground, rolling underneath the web. Getting back up and turning to face his pursuer, he could see the vague outline of a small green blob shooting towards him. Not even bothering to dodge, he watched as the Green Slime traveled through the air towards him, only to come to a halt as soon as it came into contact with the web.

Suspended above the ground by the web, the Green Slime struggled to free itself from whatever was holding it back. Not allowing this opportunity to pass, Shar rushed forward, weapons in hand. He swung wildly and vigorously, focused on getting in as much damage as possible. With each slice of his sword and dagger, the slime’s health dropped, although the damage was miniscule, the sheer number of attacks made up for it, quickly depleting it of its health. However, the Green Slime did not give up, and as it continued to struggle, determined to break free of its entrapment, slowly but surely the strings holding up the slime began to tear and rip due to the raw force put against them. Realizing that the web would not hold for much longer, Shar jumped backed, putting some distance between him and the slime.

Shortly after, with a quiet “thump”, the slime fell back onto the forest floor. The two, Shar and the Green Slime, stood still, trying to figure out each other’s next movement. Although the slime, under normal circumstances, would have no trouble beating Shar, it had to be wary; the web had accomplished it purpose, allowing Shar to get in numerous free hits onto the Green Slime, reducing its health to critical levels.

Jumping forward, the slime shot itself towards him, trying to catch him off guard; however, instead of dodging the attack, he stood there using both of his arms to take the brunt force of the impact. Although he took significant damage from the attack, the block had disoriented the slime briefly. Putting all of his weight behind it, Shar kicked the slime, much like how a person would kick a soccer ball. Despite the kick doing close to no damage due to the slimes natural resistance against blunt attacks, it had managed to launch the slime right into a tree, stunning it. Running forward, he slashed down on the confused creature with his Short Iron Sword, ending its life. Walking to where the Green Slime had perished, he noticed that it had left something behind, a small green orb.

Assigning all of his newly gained stat points into strength for maximum damage output, he picked up the odd item, examining it:

Tier: Common

[Description]

A Cracked Green Slime Core, it once used hold together the body a Green Slime, allowing it maintain its physical shape; however, due to excessive damage, it is now broken. Although cracked, the core can still be used to produce various potions.

Putting the broken core into his inventory, Shar sat down, tending to his wounds. Thankfully for him the slime that he had found was only level 7, making the fight relatively effortless, thanks to Elsa’s web. Considering that he had only been level 4, if the slime had been slightly higher level, the outcome of the battle may not have been in his favor. Nevertheless, the only thing that mattered was that he had won, his plan proving to be effective. In fact, he had come up with the idea of using Esla’s web just yesterday when she dragged in the three rabbits. At first, he had doubted the strength of her silk, but when he had attempted to tear it apart, he found that he couldn’t. Although Esla could not hunt Green Slimes singlehandedly, it was a different story if Shar was there to help.

Earlier today, he and Esla had entered the forest. Getting her to setup webs in key locations, he went out in search of slimes. Locating a relatively weak one, he allowed it to chase him, baiting it into the webs. This allowed him to fight the slime while its movements were severely restricted, making the fight rather easy. Although the plan was simple, it had proved to be effective, enabling Shar to defeat a much stronger opponent.

Getting Esla to re-setup the web, he headed out, looking for more Green Slimes. Avoiding the higher leveled ones, he sneaked through the forest, looking for one that was relatively weak. Finding another level 7 Green Slime, he casually walked out, grabbing its attention. Immediately running away, the Green Slime followed in hot pursuit. Once again ducking underneath a web, he watched again as the Green Slime flew into the web, only to be stuck there. Swinging ferociously at the Green Slime, he watched its health decline at a moderate pace. With one last swing, he finished off the Green Slime, not even giving the poor creature the opportunity to fight back. Making sure to pick up and store the broken core, he once again left in search of Green Slimes.

After repeating this procedure numerous times, Shar sat down and downed one of the Lesser Healing Potions that he had acquired. Although the damage that he received was minimal, it had slowly piled up, leaving him with only 1/4 of his health left. Even though he was relatively safe in the small area that Esla had setup, it never hurt to be cautious. Taking this time to feed Esla, he pulled out a couple pieces of rabbit meat, feeding them to her. Watching her devour the rabbit meat, he noticed that she had grown in size considerably, almost now the size of a small dog. He had also noticed that her webs had gotten tougher, making it nearly impossible for weaker slimes to break free. However, this was to be expected, just like him, Esla also gained experience for every kill, leveling up numerous times. In fact, it appeared that she had a faster growth rate, already out leveling him. With their last kill, he had managed to reach level 8, while Esla was already nearing level 10.

Now easily capable of defeating lower level slimes, they focused their efforts onto hunting the higher leveled ones which proved to be quite easy due to their setup. Because Shar had put all of his stats into agility and strength, he was capable of dealing tremendous amount, often allowing him to kill their foe before they could break free of Esla’s web. Although this meant that he was quite fragile, it allowed them to hunt very efficiently due to their plan.

Coming to the conclusion that they could hunt stronger prey, they traveled north, venturing deeper into the forest. Seeing that the sun was going down, Shar signaled for a stop. Looking around in their vicinity, they found a small dugout in the side of a rugged mountain. Setting up webs near the entrance of the small cave, he walked in warily, ready to retreat back if necessary. Thankfully, the cave seemed to have been abandoned, devoid of any signs that a creature was living here. Making a small fire by the entrance of the cave, Shar took out the remaining pieces of rabbit meat from his inventory. Piercing them with makeshift skewers, he seasoned them with various spices before placing them over the fire onto a grill that he propped up using a couple large stones. Rotating the skewers around so that the meat would cook evenly, he checked up on Esla’s progress. He had given her the task of creating a large web in front of the dugout, in order to help defend against any predators that may attack them during the night. Seeing that she was done, he called her over since the meat was just about to be ready.

Eating their meals, Shar thought about what he wanted to accomplish in All World Online. He had always been competitive ever since he was a child, wanting to be the best whenever possible. It had also been the reason why he excelled in multiple sports and in his studies. Although he could be considered talented by those around him, it was mostly due to the tremendous amount of effort and dedication he put in. However, even this came with consequences.

Many of his peers would often complain and try to undermine his hard work by saying that it was due to his talent, not effort. This was simply because they did not want to appear lazy, what excuse could they have, if they did not blame the lack of talent that they possessed; however, what they failed to realize was that it was because of this mentality that they did not do well. If Shar was going to do something, he would put always put in 100% and if he was going to spend a good portion of his time playing this game, he should at least be good at it.

In fact, for him, All World Online was no longer a simple game, it had become his life. He could not imagine living the rest of his life confined to a bed; he would prefer to not live at all if that was the case. Thinking back, he wondered why he had even questioned himself, there was no doubt in his mind that he would put his all into the being the greatest player in All World Online. Although most people assumed that being the highest level made you the strongest player, Shar knew better. In the end, he was only one person, and no matter his strength, there were things that he could not accomplish alone. He would eventually have become strong enough to gain powerful followers and allies.

Now that he was more aware of his goals, he realized how far away they were. No matter how realistic All World Online was, in the end it was a game. This meant that levels still had a huge impact on determining the player’s level of strength. No matter how skilled an individual was, it would be impossible for a level 10 player to beat a level 50 opponent in a fair duel. This was huge problem for Shar; in terms of level he was still quite weak. Many of the other players who started in main cities, where weaker monsters were abundant, would have had an easier time leveling up compared to him; however, he did have an advantage that many did not. Due to the condition of his body, he was unable to do a lot of activities, meaning that he could devote a lot more time into playing All World Online compared to the average player.

In the end, he decided not to worry too much about it right now, in time he would figure things out. Finishing his meal, he looked at Esla, who had already long finished eating her’s and was now lying comfortably on the ground near the fire. Sighing, he picked her up lightly and took her inside the safety of their den. Checking to see that she was still asleep, Shar found a comfortable spot alongside one of the walls. Lying down, he made himself comfortable, closing his eyes before falling asleep.

(Esla) “Screech!”

Waking up in a sudden jolt due to the loud screech, Shar saw that Esla was standing before him, her hairs standing up to show aggression. Looking past her he could see the vague outline of an animal standing in front of her.

(???) “Grrrrr.”

Seeing that the creature was hostile, he pulled out his weapons from their sheaths, ready to attack whenever possible. Over time his eyes had slowly began adjusting to the darkness of the den, allowing him to get a better look at their intruder. Around 80 centimeters long, the wolf looked quite intimidating with its long canines that glistened slightly in the dark due to the moonlight, but what caught his attention were the long claws that were attached to the wolf’s 2 front feet. Easily at least 3 inches long, the claws looked like it could easily disembowel a human being, easily capable of ripping and tearing vital organs. However, looking at it closer, the wolf looked quite skinny and had various wounds all over it body, although none of them seemed to be life threatening, one could see from the sheer number of cuts that the damage was significant. Looking into the wolves eyes, he could see that they were bloodshot red almost as if the creature had succumbed to madness. Taking this moment to examine the creature, he swore silently, slight agitated at the information presented before him:

A species of wolves found in the northern part of the continent. Although normally found habiting forests, these wolves can survive in almost any environment. Their claws are multipurpose tools and are mainly used to rip and tear into their foe; however, the wolves also use their claws to scale mountains and climb trees to look for prey. In addition, although they are quite strong individually, their real strength lies in their teamwork and communication, often hunting in packs of 5-8 in order to take down larger prey.

Although he had Esla’s assistance, her combat ability was still quite low despite her level and although her webs could be of great help when used strategically, it looked like the wolf was capable of detecting them, most likely due to it having keener senses. Cautioning Esla to stand back, Shar maintained his offensive stance, waiting for an opportunity to charge in. Although the level difference was quite large, he was confident that he would be able to deal a significant amount of damage to the wolf if an attack were to connect; in addition, his foe was not in the best of conditions, meaning that a single well aimed strike could prove to be fatal. However, although Shar boasted immense damage capabilities, it also meant that his base health was quite low, meaning that he was also unable to take a lot of hits himself.

Realizing that Shar was looking for an opportunity to strike, Esla jumped to the left, shooting a shot of web at the wolf. Realizing that it was in danger, the wolf immediately jumped back, dodging the web. However, Shar did not let this opportunity pass, rushing forward with his weapons out, he slashed at where the wolf had landed. Due to the small size of the den, there was no space for the wolf to move left or right, its only option being to dodge backwards, where it would be cornered against the web. Realizing this, he readied the dagger in his left hand, prepared to follow up just in case the wolf managed to avoid his first strike; however, instead of jumping back, the wolf dashed forward before jumping onto the wall. Using its long claws, it clung onto the rocky surface, before launching itself at him. Suddenly hit from behind, Shar fell forward. Seeing that his opponent was vulnerable, the wolf dug his claws into Shar’s back, holding him down. Realizing that he had made a grave mistake, Shar readied himself, prepared to accept the consequences of his mistake; however, all he heard was the loud howling of agony.

Feeling the claws dislodge from his back, he stood back up, ready to resume fighting. He could see Esla mounted on top of the wolf’s head, jabbing at the wolf’s eyes with her 2 front legs, causing it great pain. Although, Esla had weak offensive power, she had managed to deal significant damage by targeting the enemy’s weak point. However, this did not last long; by thrashing around, the wolf had managed to remove Esla off of its head. Slightly disoriented from being thrown off, Esla did not have a chance to dodge the wolf’s following attack. Taking a clean hit on the right side of her cephalothorax, Esla was flung to the left, hitting the wall before passing out. Angered by the fact that Esla had gotten hurt, Shar jumped onto the back of the wolf. Putting his right arm around the wolf’s neck, he managed prevent being thrown off. Gripping the dagger tightly in his left land, he stabbed into the wolf’s neck, cutting vital arteries. Although the wolf continued to struggle, Shar simply tightened his right arm around the wolf’s neck, causing the dagger to dig in further. Unable to even yelp, the wolf simply collapsed to the floor, its body no longer able to hold up its weight.

Eventually turning into a couple particles of light and fading away, Shar rushed over to check up on Esla, letting out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Esla’s carapace was quite tough, leaving her with only a couple shallow cuts, in fact, looking at her status, he saw that she had finally reached level 10, while he himself had become level 9. Double checking to make sure he didn’t miss any injuries, he placed a small blanket on top of Esla to keep her warm while she was unconscious, and proceeded to distribute his stats. Seeing that he had lost 2/5s of his health from a single attack, he decided to invest all of his 5 points into vitality. Walking back to pick up the loot that the wolf had dropped, all he saw was a tattered wolf pelt and couple long claws; putting the items into his inventory, Shar nearly passed out from exhaustion, quickly falling back asleep.