If everything works like it said in the forum, then I only need to kill a few monsters of the same kind to register their shadow. I quickly made my way out of the basement since I was strapped for time and hurried over to the back of the house where a few everyday horned rabbits were located. I had no idea how many I needed to kill, but the pendant should register the shadows of the dead before officially giving me the skill.

“At least these are only level 2!” I did not need to work too hard to kill horned rabbits. They were one of the few low-level monsters that would attack you on sight, no matter the level. You would think a rabbit would run away as fast as they can but horned rabbit was not only a grass eater but a meat eater as well. They had two horns, one larger than the other, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. They were also quite fast for a low level but not fast enough for me to care.

It did not take long for me to be attacked. The horned rabbit died in a single attack. As it hit the ground, I saw its shadow get sucked from its body and enter the pendant. I continued to kill the horned rabbits until finally, I got the notification I was looking for.

[Unique Skill: Shadow Mimic Learned…]

[Hidden Quest: ‘Abandoned House Discovery’ Completed!]
[Completion Rate 100%]
[Rewards]
[Experience Points Gained!]

[Level up!]

[Hidden Quest: Updated]
[Hidden Quest: ‘Mimic Mastery’]
[Investigate the Mimic Pendant and undercover more of its mysteries.]

“That’s two down…. Now, I have plenty of time to continue these quests. I need to grab the other two before someone else does.” My next goal was to get the quest for nature’s embrace. To get this skill, I will need a certain item from a certain person who was, from what I understand, quite difficult. To even get her attention, I will need a branch from the sacred forest. The only thing that sucks about this quest is I need to venture into the forest, return to the village and get the person, from what I understand, is an elf to talk to me so I can show the branch to her. Then, she will give me an orb that I will need to use at an ancient elven shrine within the forest and chant the ancient words to revitalize the sacred forest back to its original state. Only by doing this and returning with another branch will she teach me nature’s embrace.

It was one of the longer ones, but it was well worth it. Since I could have an army of plants running around gathering things for me, I will need to hoard as many resources as I can. This means no selling anything. I will have to either craft all my armor and weapons and hope to find some decent drops in dungeons.

This would normally hinder a person’s progress, but not for me. I do not need as much armor as a newer player would since I can dodge attacks quite well. The fight with the ghoul earlier proved this. My skills from dreams were real, so I was able to move like I did in the game. But this has made me realize I need more exercise outside of the game. 

I currently only work at night a few days a week, so I should be good. I just wish I did not need to eat or sleep. It would give me more time to deal with things in the game before things started to change. 

I had two years to level up as much as possible. This meant I had to slowly accumulate assets in game to be brought out of game. I should also check for signs of things changing before then as well. Things might have changed in reality much earlier, and I had just not noticed in my dreams. I am quite the loner, after all.

If it was not for my job I would not leave the house. There would be no point. But I do wonder. Were my dreams dreams, or were they a past life? It makes me question the reality of the dreams as a dream or just memories of the past life where I died.

I could only question this fact in my mind. In today's day and age, if I were to talk about such things to a doctor, they would instantly lock me up. Not that I would go see a doctor. That would cut into my gaming time.

“Finally at the forest….” It was about a twenty-minute walk to the forest itself. Along the way I did kill any monsters that I came upon. However, they were all low-level and did not have much experience. However, I did gather quite a bit of low-level resources, from herbs to slime balls and horned rabbit parts. 

I even found a few rare herbs that, in my dreams, sold for a few thousand bucks in real life. Just the regular herbs would sell for a few hundred. In game items were highly coveted by those who did not enter the game. Potions and elixirs from the game could even cure cancer, so apothecaries were in high demand. I plan to take all the trade skills, and in the next few years, between leveling up and gathering, I will raise my skills as high as I can.

“I wonder if I can take out a large loan so I can quit my job…..”