[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2]
-All stats increased by +1
-You acquired 1 Stat Point
A great relief washed over his entire body. The realization hit him a second later. These wolves had given ten times more Exp than slimes.
Technically, he had killed something ten times more dangerous.
With the "Level Up" notification, a large portion of his exhaustion evaporated. His mind sharpened. His body felt lighter. A strange but pleasant vitality surged through him.
Faint vibrations rippled through his chest and legs. For a few seconds, his entire body hummed, a subtle, internal pressure that made his muscles feel awake.
An increase in all stats was the most crucial part of the leveling system. At least, that was what Orion was counting on.
He had felt this before. When he killed the slimes and reached Level 1, his body had changed in ways he couldn't ignore. The numbers might have been small, but the effect touched almost every physical trait.
As the sensation of growth faded, the tightness in his chest loosened. He breathed easier, watching his own body with a quiet certainty.
As long as he could keep leveling up, he believed, he could solve anything.
When the vibrations finally subsided, he spoke the command aloud, curiosity creeping in.
"System."
°•○●
*Name: Orion
Condition: Tired
*Level: 2 - Exp: 6 / 10
Essence Points: Locked
Stat Points: 1
*Physical Details;
-Strength: 7 (+)
-Perception: 7 (+)
-Endurance: 7 (+)
-Charisma: 8 (+)
-Intelligence: 8 (+)
-Agility: 7 (+)
-Luck: Locked
His eyes locked onto his current EXP.
[Exp: 6 / 10]
The requirement had jumped again. From 5 to 6 and now to 10. That wasn't a good sign.
He scrolled down, opening the logs and alerts. A new section appeared beside the Archive, listing his skills. He didn't waste time rereading the level-up notice. His attention went straight to the two new entries.
1- Thrust (Basic) Active Ability - Level 1
2- Strike (Basic) Active Ability - Level 1
When he opened them, the details appeared.
[Thrust (Basic) Level 1 - Active Ability]
-Accelerates and strengthens the thrusting motion with a pointed weapon.
Thrust strength and speed increase amount +10%
This was a short and simple skill. But for someone like Orion, who had zero combat experience, an Active Ability like this was a godsend. Besides that, percentage boost had some real potential.
[Strike (Basic) Level 1 - Active Ability]
-Strengthens all attacks.
Boost Amount +10%
While Thrust felt like a real technique, Strike seemed more like a raw buff.
Orion picked up the stick and focused. He pushed it forward, activating Thrust.
Whooooh!
The moment he moved, his balance vanished. His body shot forward harder than he intended. The attack came out fast, aggressive, almost automatic.
He grabbed the tree branch, heart beating faster. That had been more force than he was ready for.
If he tried combining both skills right now, he would definitely fall out of the tree.
He craned his neck to look down. It seemed like the number of wolves under the tree had decreased by one or two. But from this angle, he couldn't see the whole area. Maybe nothing had changed.
He shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning against the trunk and stretching his legs.
For a brief second, an old memory surfaced. Sitting outside with college friends and resting in a campside. Something that almost felt magical.
He shook it off.
This wasn't Earth and this wasn't the time of a break. This was hunting.
Once he settled into a position that hurt his ass the least, he snapped out of his daydream and focused on his second life.
He guessed there were specific conditions for unlocking skills. He had hit the dog with a pointed stick after jamming it into the animal's mouth. He must have triggered the system at some point.
"I'll have to experiment for other things." He muttered.
After the skill section, Orion tried the second page in vain.
[Profile Page]
[Essence Page -Locked]
He could open that page, but everything was still inaccessible.
..
After spending half an hour perched in the tree, his stomach started growling. But the good news was there were no dogs left below.
Orion didn't know how savage those dogs truly were, but aside from sniffing their dead companion, they hadn't engaged in cannibalism.
However, the corpse wouldn't stay untouched for long. Some other animal would eventually come for it.
The area finally felt safe enough to climb down. It was still morning, and the air had warmed noticeably.
Having finally made his decision, he opened the stat window.
Strength: 7 (+)
Perception: 7 (+)
Endurance: 7 (+)
Charisma: 8 (+)
Intelligence: 8 (+)
Agility: 7 (+)
Luck: Locked
He remembered mocking characters in books, games and manga for making obvious choices. And yet, his finger still drifted toward the screen.
Strength: 7 (+)
He tapped the + sign next to Strength, waited for the trembling in his body to settle. The trembles passed through his body felt heavier this time. Then closed the system entirely.
Back then he played games or watch some fantasy stuff on Earth. And he would always sworn that if he was ever in a situation like this, he would go all-in on Agility or Charisma builds that stupid main characters never do.
Now, he understood why clichés existed.
If the system's math was right, he was now as strong as an average adult man. Maybe even on par with a bodybuilder. That thought settled heavily in his chest.
He assumed that his old body was around Strength of 3 or 4 at best. But a fit, muscular guy who does lifting would be around 5 or 6.
Now he was certain that he was stronger than anyone he'd ever known in his old life.
He wanted to smile but only a faint smirk appeared.
"Should I jump down?"
With a stronger body than before, he almost fearlessly prepared to leap down, but stopped at the last second. Instead, he carefully lowered himself through the branches and dropped the final two meters (6 feet) to the ground.
Orion reminded himself that he hadn't turned into an X-Man with a single point. Telling himself to calm down, he picked up the bloodstained stick and checked the area. Once he was sure nothing was around, he performed a thrusting motion with the stick. Again, his body slid forward. After a couple of tries, he understood the mechanic.
The skill detected the thrusting motion of a spear, corrected his body posture, and pressured him to attack with full force. Whether it gave a 10% speed and power boost or not, these skills clearly had other functions.
When he tried using Strike, he felt a slight strangeness in his entire upper body, his arms and especially in the stick. It felt charged like skill was ready to support him the moment he attacked.
In this state, he assumed a proper stance and thrust forward.
Thwack!
He approached a tree three meters away and delivered a powerful thrust. For the most part, the skill attacked for him, not Orion himself, and the damage was definitely amplified by Strike.
After using both skills separately and then combining them, he discovered a change in the system window.
Thrust (Basic) - Level 2 (New)
After satisfying his curiosity about the skills he headed off to get some water. Although he had breakfast about an hour and a half ago he felt hungry.
Orion walked toward the small source he had discovered earlier while looking for a good hunting tree.
It was a small clearing filled with pollen, tiny insects, and wildflowers. Hidden among tall grass that scratched at his arms and legs was a thin stream of water, barely visible from the outside. It was about as wide as a hand and flowed slowly between the weeds.
Finding it was an accident. He had stepped right into it and soaked his foot.
Orion worked a bit to clear the weeds and pushed the flowers aside. The air buzzed with flies and insects. But with no better option, he cupped the water in his hands and brought it to his mouth, taking a few gulps.
Cold water was felt like the most delicious thing right now.
After quenching his thirst, he returned toward the tree. He was thinking of using this spot as a central hub and explore in four different directions.
Teacher Remy had told him not to push himself too hard. But since he didn't know when he would get another opportunity to level up, leaving now would be stupid.
He had to make the most of today.
Today wasn't over.
Not even close.