Lady Luck, whoever she was, seemed to have turned her graceful gaze toward Nathan. He intended to cling to her favor with everything he had.
Though his skill was extraordinary, though it promised him safety beyond what most people could ever hope for, he knew better than to waste it so early. Setting up his Safe Haven now, with his abysmal soul power and laughably low willpower, would be nothing short of foolish. Without the energy to sustain it or the resilience to keep its defenses intact, the haven would be little more than an empty shell, a fragile bubble waiting to be shattered.
No, he needed strength first. He needed to level up.
That meant hunting.
If he could kill more creatures and gather their soul stones, his experience would rise. And with each level gained, attribute points would follow, points he could sink directly into his soul power stats until his skill became practical. Then, and only then, would Safe Haven truly live up to its promise.
So he set out deeper into the woods, kitchen knife clutched tightly, eyes darting for any movement among the shadows of trees. His breathing was steady, though nerves gnawed at him from the inside.
The forest was quiet, too quiet.
Nearly thirty minutes passed. Leaves crunched beneath his shoes, birds scattered overhead, but not a single goblin crossed his path. His patience thinned, yet he forced himself forward. Giving up now meant stagnation. Stagnation meant death.
And then fortune finally answered.
Nathan crouched low behind a fallen trunk, spotting five figures moving together. Green skin, ragged cloth, sharp teeth, goblins. They prowled through the underbrush as a pack, crude weapons glinting in their hands.
He stiffened, heart hammering at the sight. Five.
"Yeah… not happening."
His whisper was bitter with frustration. A lone goblin was one thing, but five? That was suicide. Weak as they were, their strength multiplied when they moved as a group. He had neither the skill nor the equipment to take on such numbers.
So he withdrew, carefully slinking back into the trees. He would settle for solo prey. Once he grew stronger, maybe then he could think about facing larger groups. For now, he wasn't about to throw away the one chance he had at survival.
He pressed on, scanning his surroundings with sharpened focus. It paid off.
There, another goblin. This time, alone.
The creature prowled clumsily through the clearing, oblivious to Nathan's presence. He slipped into the nearest bush, crouching low. His heartbeat quickened, anticipation stirring in his veins. Carefully, silently, he circled. Step by step, his feet barely disturbed the forest floor as he closed the distance.
When he reached striking range, he wasted no time. His hand tightened around the knife, and he lunged.
The blade drove into the back of the goblin's skull before it could even react. Its body convulsed, then collapsed with a dull thud.
[You have exterminated a Lv2 Goblin!]
Nathan exhaled shakily, relief flooding his chest. Without hesitation, he crouched over the corpse and dug through its remains, grimacing as his fingers met the grotesque texture he had already grown to hate. Soon enough, his hand emerged clutching another black stone.
Without wasting a moment, he absorbed it, the familiar mist rushing into his body.
[You have absorbed a lowest grade soul stone]
[Experience value has risen by 6%]
His eyes widened slightly. "So the stronger the goblin, the more experience I get."
The deduction came naturally, his grin sharp with renewed motivation. If a level two gave him six percent, then higher-ranked creatures would surely grant even more. His path forward was clear: hunt, kill, absorb, grow.
He pressed onward with vigor, his determination no longer held back by hesitation. Hours blurred as he prowled the forest, his knife flashing again and again. Goblins fell one by one to his sneaky strikes, their stones claimed, their essence consumed. By the time exhaustion began to creep into his limbs, the tally had risen to sixteen.
And then came the seventeenth.
This one fought back.
The goblin spotted him first, letting out a guttural snarl as it charged, wooden club raised high. Nathan gritted his teeth, surging forward to meet it head-on. His knife, dulled from repeated use, still gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
The two clashed in a brutal collision. Nathan thrust his blade forward in a straight line, aiming for its chest. The goblin swung its club in retaliation, the crude weapon cutting across the air.
At the last second, Nathan twisted his wrist, angling the knife to intercept. Steel met wood with a jarring crack, halting the strike mid-swing. Using the momentum, Nathan lashed out with his leg, boot connecting with the goblin's chest.
The force sent the creature stumbling backward, sprawling onto the dirt, breath knocked from its lungs.
Opportunity.
Nathan pounced before it could recover. His knife plunged again and again until the goblin's thrashing stilled.
[You have exterminated a Lv3 Goblin]
[You have absorbed a lowest grade soul stone]
[Experience value has risen by 9%]
He staggered back, chest heaving, bloodied knife hanging at his side. Then the system chimed again, its message sweeter than any victory.
[Notice… Experience value bar has reached 100%…]
[You have leveled up]
[Three attribute points acquired]
His hands trembled as he pulled up his profile, anticipation bubbling like a storm.
---
● Nathaniel Freeman
[Race]: Human
[Level]: 2 (0%)
[Class]: None
[Skill]: Safe Haven (Unique Rank)
[Attributes]:
HP: <[Constitution: 4 | Endurance: 3 | Stamina: 5]>
MP: <[Perception: 0 | Willpower: 7 | Soul Power: 5]>
---
"Nice!"
The word burst from his lips in a victorious shout, and he pumped his fist into the air, unable to contain the thrill rushing through him.
This was it, the first real step to true growth.