First Skill
Adam spent the last two weeks hunting monsters in The Bronx. He only visited Manhattan every 3 days for supplies and slept in abandoned buildings at night.
'I made a lot of progress this week. I'm used to this body now and gained five levels. ' Adam celebrated his achievement as he chewed on some bread.
'I think it's about time I move closer to the center now... ' The young man thought as he stared at the center of The Bronx with wary eyes.
Whatever existed there terrified him. After living in this perilous area full of monsters for the past two weeks, he developed an accurate sense of danger.
Adam could tell that whatever lived in the center was too much for him to handle at the moment, but he still planned on slaying it when the right time arrives.
The young man finished his meal and got up from the ground to start his daily hunt. Unlike the past days, however, he ignored all the wolves and goblins on his way and moved towards the center.
After hunting them repeatedly, wolves and goblins no longer contributed to Adam's growth, leading him to search for stronger prey.
His new body and increase in stats made Adam incomparably faster than before, allowing him to run several meters per second. The surrounding monsters could only glimpse at his afterimages.
After 2 minutes of running, Adam finally reached the middle area of the borough and instantly saw his next foe.
Standing in the middle of the street at a height close to 3 meters, with the muscular body of a man and an ugly pig face. Covered in thick, green skin that was decorated with various scars and holding a giant wooden club in its hand.
It was an Orc. Orcs possessed high battle capabilities and extremely tough bodies. The giant tusks protruding from the sides of their mouths could easily pierce human flesh, while their gigantic hands could crush the skulls of their prey.
'Thank god, it's alone. I can deal with a single Orc with my current strength. ' Adam scrutinized his opponent while hiding behind a nearby building for further inspection.
During the past couple of weeks, the young man learned that the most important aspect in winning a fight is to survey his opponents before making a move.
After 5 minutes of careful surveillance, Adam was certain that the Orc was alone and stepped out of his hiding place to start the hunt.
"Hey! pig face! Time to put you out of your misery. " He grabbed the Orc's attention while gripping his sword.
"Schoink?! " The Orc turned its head to the puny human spouting nonsense before lifting its wooden club over its head to crush him.
'I guess we will get right to it then... ' Adam thought as he jumped to the side to avoid the Orcs 'greeting'.
"Gwooink!! " The Orc, who saw the human avoid its initial attack, immediately followed up with a swipe attack to flatten him on the building to the side.
But unfortunately for the Orc, Adam was not the slow bloke he used to be. He immediately dashed forward, getting closer to the Orc while avoiding the fatal attack at the same time.
*Slash! *
*Stab! *
Although shallow, Adam slashed the Orc's arm and followed up with a swift stab to its stomach.
'Sh*t! Its skin is too tough! ' The young man reaffirmed the Orc's toughness before quickly jumping back to avoid the incoming giant palm.
*BOOM! *
"GROOOINK!!! " Adam's attacks and fast movements infuriated the Orc. Its white eyes turned bright red as it roared and charged towards him.
"Damn man! Why are you so mad? I didn't even get to cut you properly!! " Adam exclaimed while running away from the giant approaching Orc threatening to stomp on him and end his life.
*STOMP! *
*STOMP! *
Giant tremors shook the empty streets. Adam knew he couldn't keep running forever and started devising a plan in his head while avoiding his imminent death before a series of texts flashed in front of him.
[New quest generated]
[Quest #2:
Success condition:
Kill the enraged Orc.
Rewards: New skill [Basic Sword Mastery] Lv.1
Penalty: Death]
[Do you accept? Y/N]
*Pant*
*Pant*
Just in time! I needed more motivation anyway. Accept! " Adam instantly accepted the quest as he ran for his life.
[Quest accepted!]
After accepting the quest, Adam quickly ran into a narrow alley to execute his plan.
*BOOM! *
"GRWOOOOINK!! " The angry Orc destroyed the building walls as it tried to follow Adam into the small alleyway. But, unfortunately, Adam was no longer in there.
"This is the end, pig face. " The voice came from above. It was Adam, who climbed the building in mere minutes thanks to his enhanced new body.
Before the Orc could look at the source of the voice. Adam jumped down while holding his sword in a reverse grip and pointing it downwards.
*STAB!! *
The young man's sword embedded itself deep into the back of the Orc's neck.
"GWOOOOOOINK!! " The Orc struggled and used the walls to get the puny pest off its back by pushing against them or scratching its back on them, causing major destruction.
*STAB! *
*STAB! *
*STAB! *
But Adam refused to give up and continuously stabbed the Orc with every bit of strength he had. He did his best to ignore the pain and stopped looking at his decreasing HP.
"GWROOO-!"
*THUD! *
After 5 minutes of struggling, the Orc finally collapsed face-first onto the ground, green blood gushing out of its giant, frozen corpse.
[Quest complete!]
[Acquired new skill [Basic Sword Mastery] Lv.1!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
*Pant! *
*Pant! *
"F*ck! It's finally over... " Adam plopped on the Orc's back while breathing heavily as his injuries recovered from the damage because of the recent level up.
He learned about this feature through the various close battles he had during the past couple of weeks.
"I want to check the rewards first, unveil. " After fully healing, he prioritized his curiosity and opened his record to check his rewards.
[Name: Adam King]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Height: 190 cm]
[Class: None]
[Akashic connection: Low (low)]
[Level: 10]
Stats:
[HP: 250/250] [MP: 180/180]
[STR: 33] [AGI: 31]
[INT: 18] [VIT: 25]
[END: 20] [DEX: 28]
[ASP:6]
Skills:
[Basic Sword Mastery] Lv.1 NEW!
"My first skill! " Adam's face lit up like a small child opening his first Christmas gift as he tapped on the skill to check its effects.
[Basic Sword Mastery
Level: 1
Effects:
-Increase attack effectiveness by 20% when using a sword.]
"I would be lying if I said I'm not disappointed. But I will take everything I can get... " The young man expected the ability to use sword aura or some other amazing ability as his first skill.
'I wonder if I will get an amazing ability like James's one day. That bastard's ability is too OP! ' He complained before dismantling the Orc's corpse.
'Orc skin and tusks will fetch a high price. I also need to go back to Brooklyn for some business.... ' Adam thought about his plans while peeling off the Orc's thick skin, not knowing the enormous danger awaiting him back in Brooklyn...