Luke didn’t like having to repeat himself, especially for simple matters. Yet here he was, for the third time, explaining to the crowd in front of him that some risk was necessary.
“I’m telling you, we can’t just move at a snail’s pace. Matt and I spent half the day trying to kill monsters and we only levelled up once. At this rate, we’ll be sitting ducks when the trial happens”
“It just seems stupid to be in the woods at night” said a petite blonde woman.
“Not as stupid as dying in the trial because we weren’t strong enough, Mary” said Matt.
“How do we even know that there’ll be more monsters at night?” asked Emma.
“It just makes sense” said Matt.
“In Minecraft, the monsters only come out at night” added Johnny, which everyone ignored.
“He has a point” said Luke, feeling the need to defend a fellow Minecraft fan.
“I agree” said Jim, piping up after a long period of silence.
“Me too” said Matt.
“You’re all out of your mind” cried Emma.
“Jim, Luke and I will go into the woods and hunt monsters whether you like it or not” declared Matt.
“Let’s go” said Luke, seizing the opportunity to escape the annoying arguments and level up instead.
The three of them walked into the woods, leaving the speechless crowd behind them. They faced no trouble navigating their surroundings under the brightness of the moon but before they’d taken even a dozen steps, someone came up behind them.
“I’m coming too” said Johnny.
“You don’t even have a weapon, you were the only one who didn’t get one” said Luke. He wasn’t opposed to giving Johnny a chance to turn over a new leaf and leave his lazy ways behind him but he didn’t want to be the one who had to protect him.
“What are you talking about? I did get a weapon” said Johnny, holding up his fists and revealing two pairs of brass knuckles on them.
“…I’m sorry I said knives were the dumbest weapon” said Luke, turning to Matt.
“It’s fine, now I understand how you felt when you saw the dagger” he replied.
“These are perfect! I’m a good boxer and these make me even deadlier” claimed Johnny.
Luke and Matt just fixed a disbelieving stare on his scrawny figure. Luke was about to tell him to go back when Jim spoke up.
“He’s telling the truth, he’s actually pretty good. Plus, we’re hunting the weaker monsters”
“Fine, just be careful” conceded Luke.
He could trust Jim to know how skilled Johnny was. Jim was the only one who got along well with Johnny, though that was because he got along well with everyone.
Jim’s probably going to do the best tonight he thought as they got deeper into the woods.
Just an hour ago, Luke had found out that Jim was a tournament winning archer. The man was an enigma. He used to be a highly paid model which wasn’t surprising given his good looks, the blonde hair and piercing blue eyes only added to his charm. He seemed to have it all yet he’d left it all behind and joined the army for reasons he never revealed.
Luke decided to just make another addition to his list of weird facts about Jim and keep walking. A few minutes later, their theory on monsters coming out at night was proven right. They heard it first, a faint digging sound emanating from dozens of feet away. When the four men approached the clearing it was coming from, they saw a large black boar digging at the base of a tree.
It continued digging frantically, not noticing them. The four of them watched silently, not sure if they should attack. They now knew that seemingly harmless creatures could have strange powers in this world.
Suddenly, Luke recalled that they’d been given an ability called “analyze”. He instinctively knew how to use it, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the creature in front of him.
[???-Lvl.8]
“I just used analyze on it, its level 8” he whispered.
“I don’t know if we can handle that” said Matt, he wouldn’t forget the acid attack anytime soon.
“I think we should do it, I can definitely hit its spine” said Jim.
“Let’s do it” agreed Luke after Matt and Johnny nodded hesitantly.
Luke and Matt readied their weapons before giving Jim the okay. He quietly drew an arrow from his quiver and took aim for a few seconds, before letting it fly straight towards the beast’s back.
It let out a loud snort and turned around, swaying slightly but still standing. The arrow didn’t appear to have caused fatal damage. Jim hurriedly reached for another arrow right before the boar charged towards them.
The second arrow hit the monster’s shoulder but again, it didn’t appear to do much and only caused it to slow down for a second. Jim drew another arrow from his quiver but Luke knew he wouldn’t have enough time to shoot.
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He ran forward, drawing the boar’s attention to him. It charged towards him with increased speed but Luke was able to sidestep in the nick of time. The boar ran past him, unable to change directions quickly, and that’s when he beheaded the troublesome beast.
*You have slain [Goldenboned Boar (Lvl.8)], 550 EXP earned*
*Bonus EXP earned for slaying an enemy of a higher level *
*You have reached level 4, stats allocated, free points earned*
*Gained title [Night hunter]*
*Gained ability [Dark vision]*
Luke grinned at the notifications from the system. Unlike the last time he levelled up, he could feel a significant change. Not only did he feel stronger, quicker and more durable, even his thoughts seemed to flow a bit faster.
Status he thought, excited to see the changes.
STATUS
Name: Luke Carpenter
Race: Human (Lesser)
Level: 4
Rank: 0
Class: N/A
Health: 100%
Stamina: 97%
Mana Reserves: 99%
Free points: 3
Skill points: 0
STATS
Strength: 23
Agility: 21
Toughness: 17
Stamina: 24
Vitality: 15
Perception: 22
Soul: 20
Spirit: 17
SKILLS
[Unarmed Combat (Lvl.16)]- One does not need a weapon if they can truly harvest the power within their body…You currently possess moderate skill in unarmed combat
[Swordsmanship (Lvl.14)]- The sword can split oceans when used by a Master but fail to cut wood when used by a novice…You currently possess moderate skill in swordsmanship
[Stealth (Lvl.10)]- A foe that is strong from ahead may be weak from behind… You currently possess moderate skill in stealth
[Tracking (Lvl.8)]-Great opportunities come to those who look for them…You currently possess basic skill in tracking
ABILITIES
Active:
[Analyze (Lvl.1)]- A crucial ability for those who intend to survive their battles, [Analyze] allows you to focus on any object or being and attempt to discern information about them, such as their stats or level.
[Dark vision]- An ability that all adventurers must possess, [Dark vision] allows you to see perfectly in the dark, even when there is no light whatsoever.
Passive:
[All speak]- A gift to adventurers who roam far and wide, [All speak] allows you to speak and understand all languages, except the tongues that have a power of their own.
TITLES
[Champion of the third village]- A title granted to the very best of the third village, the champion. The effects of this title will be revealed as the games progress.
[Outworlder]- A title granted to those who are not of this world, to those who were brought here by unknown forces for mysterious reasons… It grants its wielder the abilities [Analyse] and [Allspeak].
[Night Hunter]- A title granted to those who have slain a monster in the darkness, a sign of great courage and perhaps poor judgement…Grants the ability [Dark vision]
“You okay Sarge?” asked Jim.
“Yeah, I got to level 4” said Luke happily.
“I levelled up too, I’m level 2 now” said Jim.
“But you weren’t even the one who killed it” protested Johnny, annoyed that he was the only one who was still Level 0.
“I think you get some exp if you injure the target” said Matt.
“Did you get the title?” asked Luke, turning to Jim.
“What?”
“You get it for killing a monster in the dark, it gives you some kind of night vision” said Luke as he tried out the new ability.
It wasn’t as drastic of a change as he expected, he could still tell that it was dark but he could now see things just as clearly as he could in the day.
I guess it’ll have more of an effect in places that are completely dark he thought.
“I didn’t receive a title. I guess you have to be the one to finish it off” said Jim.
“Well I want night vision too, let’s keep hunting!” declared Matt, excited at the prospect of gaining a cool ability.
“Just a second” said Luke as he pulled up his status and assigned all of his free points to toughness. As soon as he did, he could feel a small change in his body. His bones were a little bit sturdier and his flesh felt less prone to tear.
I wanna be as hard to kill as possible he thought.
After that, they continued to search for monsters. Thanks to his [Dark vision] ability, Luke was able to spot some tracks on the ground. They were small and weirdly shaped, and seemed to belong to a short two-legged creature.
“Follow me” said Luke. The other three fell in line behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible. They followed the tracks for a few minutes until they were led to a large tree. They scanned the branches for a while until Jim spotted something.
“It’s over there” he said, pointing towards one of the higher branches where a furry creature was trying to hide.
When Luke saw it, he received a notification from the system.
*Your skill in [Tracking] has reached level 9*
This one could come in handy he thought, making a mental note to invest some time into the tracking skill.
“So how about I shoot it down and then Matt or Johnny can go finish it off?” offered Jim.
“I think if you do most of the work then you deserve the kill” said Johnny.
“Yeah, go for it” said Matt.
Jim nodded and drew an arrow from his quiver. A few seconds later, the creature crashed to the ground with the arrow embedded in its eye. It looked like a monkey of some sort but had very short arms and red fur.
“I’ve caught up to you Sarge” said Jim with a grin.
“Yeah yeah, can we get a move on? Johnny and I need to level up too” said Matt.
Luke was about to agree when he felt a slight headache coming on. Just as he was about to suggest that they head back, he recalled something he’d seen earlier.
Status he thought.
STATUS
Name: Luke Carpenter
Race: Human (Lesser)
Level: 4
Rank: 0
Class: N/A
Health: 100%
Stamina: 91%
Mana Reserves: 31%
Free points: 0
Skill points: 0
So using an active ability drains your mana he realized and turned off his [Dark vision].
“Alright let’s get you two levelled up and then head back as soon as possible. We shouldn’t spend too long out here” said Luke.
They were all in agreement about that and so, they went back to looking for monsters. Luckily or unluckily, they didn’t find any more large creatures. In fact, it took an hour of assaulting small critters before Matt and Johnny had both reached level 3.
“I really think we should go back now” said Jim after Johnny was done beating a rabbit to death.
“It’d be best if we all got to level 5. If we all get a decent power boost then we can work together to take down a stronger monster” said Matt.
They continued to argue about whether they should stay or leave for the next minute. Luke and Johnny just stayed silent, enjoying the show as it devolved from a rational debate into childish name calling.
Suddenly, Luke felt a chill down his spine. Johnny shivered slightly as Matt and Jim faltered in the midst of their argument. They stayed frozen in place for a few seconds and soon, they heard wingbeats.
Luke fought against every instinct telling him not to and craned his neck to look up. As soon as he saw it, he started to shake with fear. He’d never felt such fear, a fear that felt wrong in so many ways.
He wanted to look away, he wanted to tear his eyes away from the massive wings and horned head but he couldn’t. He stood there, staring unblinkingly at the black dragon until he could no longer see it.
For the next minute, it was dead silent until Matt finally spoke in a shaky voice.
“I think we should go back”
