Beginnings (Adventures on Terra #1)

by R.A. Mejia

The week after that we began building the training ground.

Ok he got 2 separate quests to chop down a tree, then we're told he's getting quests for nearly every thing he does. Are we gonna be told he's gained a few levels already at the end of this training montage? How disappointing.

After a few days, I receive the skill [Herbalism] and find it much easier to locate the plant after that. Herbalism You are more likely to find the plants you are looking for. You are also more likely to understand and enhance their attributes. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: 1% chance to find plants. 1% increase in the effect of eaten or prepared plant. You are more likely to inherently understand the attributes of any new plant.

Much easier? 1% would make no noticeable difference. Come on.

From what everyone tells me it’s a game played by kids to practice stealth and search skills.

So kids would have a higher skill level in everything compared to the MC if this is the general trend.

What Keans didn’t know was that I’d been planning this wager for a week. Unbeknownst to anyone I’d gotten tired of only being able to practice [Herbalism] with only one plant. Mary and I came up with a plan to use Keans’ pride in his stealth abilities against him. Slowly over the course of the last week, I’d used my [Carpentry] skill to cut away part of the floor to my room and dig a secret tunnel under the cabin to the outside. Once Rex started counting and everyone fled in different directions, I used an invisible Mary to let me know when Rex left the base.

So he damaged property that isn't his to cheat, used his invisible fairy to cheat more, and ignored the whole point of the game being increasing your sneak and search skills.

but I got enough experience points from it to finally get to level 2!

Im thinking the author can't count or all this XP stuff is just pointless

I’ve been training every day for over a month now.

So yeah. Im guessing all the XP rewards are pointless and the MC levels when the author decides its convenient for him totally ignoring the mechanics he's put in the story. Otherwise the MC would be halfway to level 3 with all the quests he's been doing.

“Mary, what’s the village like? Will there be a castle? A blacksmith? A magic artifact dealer?”

Getting less interested in this book.

“According to my guide data, the village is called Restrian and is pretty prosperous considering how new it is. It was established ten years ago when a new low-level dungeon was discovered in the area by adventurers. At first, there were only tents where adventurers would rest. However, soon traders starting showing up to sell their goods and buy any treasure adventurers got from the dungeon. Before you knew it people started building shops, farmers came to grow food, and a village sprang up. I don’t know exactly what shops or trades are there currently but expect a decent variety.”

Fairy exists purely for info dumps and exposition apparently.

Still, it’s every gamer's dream to fight monsters, get treasure and save the princess.” “Sorry Armon, the princess is in another castle.” She quips back.

Dear god, I'm about to drop this travesty of a book. Save the princess? Its every gamers dream to get epic loot. Also "the princess is in a different castle" these references are so painful. You're trying too hard to be cute author.

There are no extra lives here. Once you die, that’s it. You need to be better prepared if you want to prosper here.”

Having the exposition fairy tell the MC this is less interesting than having the MC figure it out as he goes. Honestly he should know this from the lvl 3 rabbit almost killing him. But the author loves pointless exposition to show the MC doesn't learn on his own

*Flashback*-Viewpoint Keans

... What? You can't be serious. This is so pathetic its funny. I legitimately laughed when i read this. If you want to do a flashback you start off on a different chapter after establishing the character. You havn't established Keans as anything but a training dummy that's purely to make the MC not suck.

Uruthia

By this point I've lost nearly all respect for this book. So im reading this word as Urethra from now on.

you guessed it, Lilliandra.

This indicates keans is telling the story to the MC, but its a flashback? But with no indication that someone is talking? Author can't decide which way he wants to give background info

he was the strongest and was going to be protecting everyone.

Lilliandra started to chant and wave her fingers through the air thinking she could end all this with some spell. However, the armored figure didn’t let her finish the spell and slammed his shield into her face breaking her concentration and likely her nose. She was knocked back a couple of feet and crumbled to the ground unconscious.

Shocking. 10+ seconds to cast a spell and this character decided she could do it in combat. Then gets knocked unconscious with a shield to the face. Magic is seeming pretty useless in combat so far.

*end Flashback*

I laughed again. Why am i reading this still?

“So after that you all became best friends and Lilliandra and Rex fell in love?” I ask Keans. “No. Those two still disliked each other. However, we all wanted to join the guild so we worked it out, eventually.

They only grouped up for the test, they didn't know Lilliandra before it. No reason to stay with the chick after they failed it. Find someone less dumb then take the test again. If they didn't get along with her this badly they would have ditched her. We've been told nothing about the guild forcing them to group up. This is just forced.

I don’t think Rex realized he loved Lilliandra until she got kidnapped by the dark elves a few years later and we went to rescue her. After that the two were inseparable and the rest is history.”

Lvl 5 at the start of the flashback, years later the half elf chick is still lvl 7, despite obviously having many adventures. Oh and she's much older than she looks. Seems leveling is actually hard here. First indication we've got of it. We still don't know if lvl 7 is common for adventurers, though we can assume lvl 5 takes a lot of work to reach. I quit the book around here. This is trash.