Alan started to look for the red devil mushrooms. It was the mushroom which the orc were picking. They were found in the damp areas in the periphery of the orc territory.
It seemed it had strong hallucinogenic properties. And some orcs used it to get high.
He spent half an hour picking up the shrooms. After he collected enough he checked the time. He still had around 2 hours left.
The plan is basically like this. He would smoke out the encampment with this mushroom and drug the orcs. And then he would simply walk in and claim the rewards.
Alan then set out towards the orc encampment. He was cautious and avoided the patrolling orcs. Soon the orc encampment was within his sights.
The defence around the camp was tight. So he didn't dare get close. He observed the surroundings. There was no way to sneak in with his current ability.
He took out the arrows and he tied the mushrooms on the arrow head. He then took his hand kerchief and damped it with water to block out the smoke.
It won't block out all the smoke but it was enough for him to stay sober till he slayed the boss. He tied it around his nose and mouth.
He then used his fire elemental mana to light the mushrooms in fire. It burned with thick smoke. He then one by one shot the arrows into the camp.
He stayed cautious all this while luckily no one noticed him. The arrows were shot carefully to avoid detection by orcs. And by the time orcs found the smoking arrows they were too late.
Within minutes the whole encampment was filled with smoke. Since the smoke was heavy it was difficult to disperse.
The smoke took effect almost immediately. The orcs started to act like crazy. Some fell down asleep while some started to dance, some started to fight and some sat in a daze.
Alan took this chance to sneak in. He had to be fast. Although the orcs were high he could not predict what they could do. They still posed a threat after losing 80% - 90% of their combat strength if they rushed at him in groups.
Luckily the orcs were too high to notice him. Alan had already noted where the boss resided while he was scouting the camp before. It was easy to spot since it stood out. He rushed in there and the boss was sitting in a big throne-like chair.
The boss noticed him as soon as he entered the room. The boss stood up, but was too wobbly due to the drug. Alan wasted no time and shot the two armour piercing arrows to its head.
The two arrows dealt a critical strike and took out 70% of it's HP. Soon Alan blasted his flame ball skill to reduce the boss's hp to zero. He collected the loot which was an iron rank chest, 5 attribute stones, and origin coins.
The bosses of this beginner dungeon usually don't drop a chest. They only do in rare cases since it was a beginner dungeon. Alan didn't stay any longer and ran out.
He did not look back and only stopped after he left the orc territory. His eyes were already tearing up due to his exposure to smoke. He found a safe area and decided to rest for a while.
He used all his accumulated attribute stones but he did not allocate them. He had set the automatic allocation to the attributes he gained through leveling up only. This was one of the many useful options in the panel.
Then he opened the chest he got from the boss. The things obtained from the chest varied and as for what was obtained depended on luck.
He opened it with some expectations. He was not so lucky this time as he only got some origin coins.
He sighed and kept it in his storage. He rested for 15 minutes and departed to the dungeon entrance. He ignored the monsters on the way as they did not give him any exp anymore.
The dungeon entrance was already packed with students after the long day of hunting. They were preparing to leave. Alan found Arun resting on a boulder waiting for him.
"What level are you at?" Alan asked
" I was lucky and got to level 8. I only need about 50 more exp to reach level 9." Arun replied with his head high.
Level 8, this can put him in the top 5% of the awakeners in this city. As for those who reached level 10 they are only a few handful of those geniuses.
"what about you how much levels did you grind"
"I'm at level 10"
Arun was shocked hearing this. Level 10! it was the limit of tier 0. After reaching level 10 one can undergo a class selection trial and progress to tier 1.
But most geniuses like Alan wouldn't want to accept a class right away. He, like most other geniuses and great figures, wanted to farm for the attribute stones and hit the mortal attribute limit before breaking through.
The attribute limit for tier 0 was 50 attribute points per attribute. Which would mean a total of 200 attributes.
"So are you breaking through or…" Arun asked.
"Of course I'll try to reach the mortal limit. I'll try out the tier 1 level 1 area Tommorow. I heard that all the monsters there drops the attribute stones."
" Yeah but they are tier 1. Each one of them is as strong as the tier 0 peak boss." Arun replied as he recalled about the level 10 crimson backed gorilla boss which he saw from afar. It had sent chills down his spine.
Arun shared his experiences he had while adventuring solo. It was good compared to the other classmates, except for the part where he was chased by 3 level 9 gorillas of course.
When Arun heard Alan's experience he was dumbfounded. Sneaking and killing the boss lion, his life and death struggle in the orc territory, and drugging the whole orc camp whose defences are well known and killing the boss in it's own layer, were all insane.
The orc camp is usually cleared out by two or three teams. Even then they have a hard time facing the battle hardened orcs. Arun had never heard of anyone using the similar tactic like the one Alan had just used.
It was like a bug. Maybe it was to balance out the overly powerful orc tribe so it was not found out.
Maybe because the orcs were too powerful so most of them evaded them. Or maybe someone had indeed found it before but just had kept it a secret. No one knows.
" if you publish the strategy maybe you can earn a quick buck"
Alan thought about it and he decided to consult his brother about it. Maybe he knows a thing or two.
Both of them walked towards the exit as the crowd thinned out.
"What are your plans about taking out tier 1 monster territories?" Arun asked as they exited the portal to the outside world.
"I was thinking of teaming up. What do you think? I can help you rush to level 10 and go explore tier 1 area together"
"Well now that you are level 10 I can rely on you now. Alright, but if we are going to that tier 1 area we are gonna need more people. We are not enough." Arun was excited as he replied.
Joining Alan was better than going solo. He had better experience than him after all considering he reached the tier 0 limit on the first day itself.
"Okay let's think about that Tomorrow"
They both walked to their school area to report. The teacher in-charge was very happy hearing their response and praised them alot. They departed home after finishing some of the formalities.
(End of chapter)
[
Name: Alan Cross
Age: 16 [78]
Talent: gold
Class: none
Tier: 0
Level: 10 (-/-)
(Stats)
Strength: 25
Agility: 39
Physique: 25
Spirit: 39
Free attribute points: 8
HP: 250
MP: 390
(Elemental mastery)
Fire element: 6%
(Skills)
Active: [F]: fireball
Passive: bow mastery-basic (27%).
]