[You've slain a Level 7 Crawler]
[You've obtained 10 Contribution Points]
"20 contribution points. This is the highest I've obtained so far," Malik said, as he wiped the greenish liquid from his face with the back of his hand. Around him were dead bodies of Crawlers, their green blood staining everything. He had killed a lot of these monsters, and the more he killed, the more he got familiar with his weapon.
"Why aren't they bursting into particles? What's wrong with this goddamn system? I've not even seen one loot after killing about seven monsters," Malik cried out as he sheathed his sword back into its scabbard. Just then, he noticed a light amidst the monsters he had just slaughtered.
"Finally, a drop." A smile formed on his face as he quickly picked it up. Without even using the appraisal skill, Malik already knew what the item was.
"Crawler Bracers." The smile on Malik's face died, instantly replaced with a frown. No coins, no items—just common-rank bracers that only increased his strength by 5.
"At least a 5-point increase is still a good thing at this stage," Malik said as he equipped the bracers and continued advancing through the forest.
"Lont is a starting town for noobs, so the highest monster here should be at Level 10. If I could kill a Level 7 monster with ease, I don't need to be afraid."
"After all… I'm not a noob. I've got years of experience playing games and centuries of experience designing myself as the protagonist of my own world."
"Though this is not my world… it's still the same…"
Malik stopped talking when he noticed a scene before him. Three spiders, about three feet tall with four wide eyes and six limbs, were dragging a body into a cave. The body looked like that of a dead monster that had been killed by a player.
"Those monsters... I've seen them before. They look like the…" Malik didn't finish his sentence as he activated his appraisal skill, but they were too far away for it to work, so he resorted to another skill.
"Eyes of Insight."
[Infant Spider - Level 3
HP: 30]
[Infant Spider - Level 4
HP: 40]
[Nuturer - Common
Level 6
HP: 70]
"I knew it. They're the Nuturers. And it seems they're just infants, which means their Queen must be somewhere around here."
"Probably inside the cave. A mini boss. She'll be a mini boss. If I could slay her, I could get coins and also fill up my CP, which is just 30 points away from ascending to the first stage."
"But I'm on a quest…" Black lines appeared on Malik's forehead as he tried to think of a way through.
"It doesn't really matter. I just have to be extremely careful so I won't die. Once I'm done, I'll just continue my quest." Malik finalized his thoughts as he moved forward and chose to activate a skill.
"Stealth!"
He cried out loudly, but nothing happened, and a frown appeared on his face.
"I totally forgot that my data has been erased… There's no cause for alarm, though. My target is just the Queen. I'll try to bypass the vigilance of the other spiders."
"But can it be possible with these pitiful stats? I won't know unless I give it a try."
Malik chuckled as he entered the cave, having already formulated his plan. He walked gently, trying hard not to make noise, as he activated his enhanced senses, tracing the most powerful aura in the room, which led him to the boss chamber.
A smile formed on his face as he saw the Queen he'd been looking for. She was currently in labor, her whimpers echoing throughout the cave while the other spiders scurried around.
"It seems she needs energy to lay that egg, and they're out looking for food for her. Should I just kill her here or follow them?" Malik questioned himself.
"No. Now's my best shot to kill her—now, when I won't have to fight those bastard infant spiders."
[Nuturer Spider Queen - Lv 10 Common Mini Boss
HP: 70/100]
'Her HP has reduced due to her being in labor. This is perfect. I just need three to four strikes to her weak points.'
'This stupid Eyes of Insight… how come the skill got so downgraded? It can't even see through her stats… How am I supposed to know her weak point? I'll just have to depend on luck.'
Malik unsheathed his sharp bronze sword and infused it with half of his spiritual energy, causing it to glow and sharpen. The Queen noticed the fluctuation of energy, rolling one of her eyes toward Malik—who moved at that instant.
He executed his agility stat to its utmost limit, leaping into the air as the Queen tried to block him with her legs. But Malik's sword, coalesced with spiritual energy, stabbed through her leg and plunged into her eye, causing her to scream as black blood sprayed everywhere.
Her HP depleted to 15% as Malik pulled his blood-covered sword out. The Queen, using all her might, managed to lay her egg—and Malik couldn't help but grin as her HP dropped to the 10% mark. He swung his sword again toward her large eye, depleting all her HP while watching her scream.
[You've slain a Level 10 Mini Boss]
[You've earned 30 Cultivation Points]
[First time slaying a Mini Boss +20 stats]
[You've stepped into the First Stage of the Realm of Apprentice]
[+5 stats to all attributes]
CP: 5/200
"Wow… I've stepped into the first stage of Apprentice. That's great," Malik said to himself as he picked up the loot dropped by the mini boss. Her body disintegrated, leaving behind only her egg.
[Due to your killing of the Queen Nuturer, all the spiders are now enraged and heading in your direction.]
"Jeez… I never thought of that," Malik muttered, activating his Eyes of Insight to scan the area. That's when he discovered the cave was filled with holes—and he could hear movements from almost all of them.
"There's no movement in that hole… I'll pass through it. Just to be sure, I'll throw this egg in there first."
Malik picked up the egg, intending to throw it, but then information popped up above it:
[Egg of the Nuturer - Consumable
Effects: ??
Description: Cursed by the Queen of Nuturers.]
"Cursed??? I guess I'll just keep it for now since the effects aren't stated." Malik quickly placed the egg in his inventory before rushing toward the hole.
"I barely fit into this hole… Am I that fat or huge? I weigh less than 60kg in real life."
Malik squeezed himself through the hole when he heard movement behind him.
"Aargh!" he cried out loudly as a spider stung his left leg. He quickly pushed himself deeper into the hole.
[You've been stung by a Level 7 Nuturer]
[Your body has been inflicted with poison]
[You'll lose 1 HP every 2 seconds]
"Every 2 seconds? What the heck?! I don't even have one hour left to live…"
Malik almost cried as he dragged himself through the tight tunnel. As he crawled, his enhanced ears picked up movement—both behind and in front of him.
"Damn. I'm stuck in a hole, surrounded by Nuturers, with my HP giving me a countdown."
"I should've just focused on my quest. I shouldn't have gotten greedy. Will my greed be the cause of my downfall?"
[Notice: If you die, all your stats will be reduced to 1 and you'll be in a weakened state for 5 days.]
'Reduced to 1? This system really wants to end me.'