Grinding And Level Up
Level: 2 Job: Survivor
STR: G+
AGI: G+
INT: G
Familiar: None
I stared at my new status page in a dumbfounded expression. After leveling up, I expected to see significant changes to my stats, becoming Overpowered like the main character in the novel I read, but only greeted with my STR and AGI status which had slightly increased.
I was disappointed, to say the least. After all, my expectations were high.
The "G+" rank next to my stats only added to my disappointment. Come to think of it, this rank system is a bit confusing to me, as I hardly see the improvement I made because of it.
"Umm…. Can you convert it to a numerical value please?"
Hesitated, I asked the system to change it to a numerical value, and it responded to me.
[Setting Configuration in progress]
[Done]
Level: 2 Job: Survivor
STR: 15 (G+)
AGI: 15 (G+)
INT: 5 (G)
Familiar: None
I face-palmed when I saw my INT score. But I assured myself that it wasn't a reflection of my IQ, but rather my magical abilities - or lack of knowledge in that area that made me have no progress on raising it, even with the level up . After all, with how the earth focuses on industry and technology, magic was just some parlor trick here.
"Yes, it must be that.. I know I just want to escape reality… but please leave me alone, okay?!"
"Still. The possibility that I have no proper job also affected the amount of stats I get after level up"
Shaking off my thoughts, I continued my slaughter, moving around the edge of the battlefield to target the lazy giant rats. To my surprise, I found my new powers quite appealing.
My agile movements enhanced into a pro parkour athlete, making it easier for me to navigate through these concrete jungles.
It was as if my muscles had awakened a new memory, allowing me to move with less strain on my body unconsciously. As a result, I spent less stamina, and my movements felt almost effortless.
My strength had also increased quite considerably.
Seems like I can't underestimate the 5 point increase in my stats.
The speed of my javelin had become faster, generating a loud booming sound from the air resistance. It startled me, and had me cursed under my breath.
Why? That was because the sound of it caught the attention of some mutants who were still waging war, deep within the battlefield. They turned their heads towards my location, and I knew I had to act fast. Luckily, my new agility allowed me to hide in the shadows swiftly, escaping their attention once again.
My face contorted in frustration as I struggled to control my newfound strength. The increased power is a welcome, but it came with a price - that is my control. I couldn't seem to wield it properly, as the sudden increase of strength caught me off guard.
Thus, I began to make a careful approach, trying to compensate for my lack of finesse. After killing the giant rats, I would swiftly hide my appearance, intent on retrieving the javelin later. I tried to adapt slowly, throwing javelin after javelin, each one a little more controlled than the last.
And when I had used four of the javelins I had, I would carefully and swiftly retrieve them, along with the red crystal on the giant rats' foreheads.
Repeating this process, my Exp slowly began to pile up once again as I continued my assassinate slaughter. And so, I shifted my gaze to my status bar in the corner of my vision, to check my current status:
HP: 150/150
Stamina: 130/150
EXP : 50/200
Attack: 8
Defense: 8
Stats:
-none-
"Seems like my speculation is correct, I am using less stamina then before, it was not just my illusion"
But the new strength still bothered me. Even tho I slowly improved my control, I was still failing to control it, and it was starting to get on my nerves.
I looked up at the sky, watching as the golden hour passed, and darkness slowly engulfed the city. The orange hues of the sunset gave way to the deep blues and purples of night, casting a mysterious glow over the concrete jungle.
" it Looks like grinding for Exp will take me lots of time… then let's see if I can increase my efficiency hunt at night"
I knew that fighting at night was a gamble. I could use the darkness to my advantage, hiding myself from the mutants, but I also didn't know if their abilities would increase when the nights come.
"It was just my hunch, but their appearance really screaming that they are night creature"
To be safe, I began to speed up my killing, determined to gain at least one more level before nightfall. With renewed determination, I increased my speed to position myself into a good shooting location, my javelin flying through the air with deadly precision, reaping away one Giant rat after the others.
SCREEECCH!!
CHIITT!!
With their dying scream echoing, blending with the unending warcry throughout the battlefield, my EXP continued to slowly climb up.
+5 EXP
+5 EXP
+5 EXP
....
..
Slowly, I was getting stronger, but I knew I still had a long way to go. The night Slowly approached, and I began to hasten myself to continue assassinating the Giant rats.
—
–
-
The night had fallen, casting a dark and ominous veil over the city. I dashed around between buildings, like a nimble jaguar within a dark jungle, my footsteps echoing through off the walls. My steel javelin glinted from time to time, reaping life with deadly precision. With every screech, the giant rats died, frozen with a javelin in their chest, their beady eyes fixed on me in a permanent stare.
I had been doing this for hours, and I was starting to feel impatient, as my adrenaline was pumping through my veins like a steady drumbeat.
Checking my stats, I saw that I had finally reached level 5:
Level: 5 Job: Survivor
STR: 30 (G+)
AGI: 30 (G+)
INT: 5 (G)
Familiar: None
As for my current stats bar, it is as a follow :
HP: 300/300
Stamina: 295/300
EXP : 40/500
Attack: 20
Defense: 20
Stats:
-none-
I sighed, finding that the increased stats were so little, I was still stuck at the G+ rank. But despite my disappointment, I couldn't deny that my strength had become stronger than before. I could feel it coursing through my veins, urging me to move faster, to strike harder, just like an impatient beast.
But comparing it to the Tiger-cat, it was still lacking by miles.
My speed had also increased, albeit not ridiculously, but it was enough to create an illusion like I was flying across the rooftops.
However, with each level up, I struggled to control my strength once again, creating blunders sometimes. I had already had a few close calls of the mutants finding my location, they began to realize there is a presence here, hiding in the shadow reaping the lives of Giant rats who are left behind.
Everytime I killed the giant rats, some group of giant rats hiding nearby suddenly showed up cunningly, intending to trap me with their numbers.
Fortunately, my speed increased after leveling up, so I barely escaped with my life. But I knew I couldn't afford to hold back my strength now, not when the mutants were getting stronger by the minute.
"Damn it, as expected their strength increased in the night…"
I checked the battlefield situation, finding it still heated up with no sign of ending.
Rather it became more raged on as the nightfall.
ROOOAARRR!!
SCREECH!
CHIITT CHIIT
WOOF!!
BANG!!
CRASHHE!!
The sound of screeching and screaming beasts filled the air, punctuated by the occasional crashed flying vehicles who were thrown out like flies, toward some building.
I felt a chill run down my spine as I wondered how many mutants were hiding within this city, their number kept increasing rather than decreasing, worrying me to no end. I felt lucky that they hadn't taken my apartment as a nest, but I knew it was only a matter of time before my apartment was also getting overrun by these mutants.
I realized that the number of rat corpses was beginning to pile up, their bodies strewn across the rooftops like discarded trash. It was the corpse left behind by my struggle to escape from them.
The smell was horrible, a mix of blood and decay that made my stomach turn.
I moved my gaze to the mutants who were already feasting on them. But instead of disgust, I could only see the mutants' excited expressions, their eyes gleaming with an unnatural hunger.
While lamenting at how bad their taste buds were, I keep moving from the streets after streets, trying to get a safe positioning to launch my strike.
But suddenly, when I straining my nerve from my worries, I saw something fast coming from an inconspicuous alley 100 meters away from me, caught me off guard
BAM!
-30!
It hit me hard, like a boxing champion Gazelle's punch slamming into my abdomen. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, my body crumpling under the impact. But to my surprise, the pain wasn't unbearable.
CRASH!
My body rolled like a ragdoll, before hitting a trash bin in a small alleyway with a loud clang. I groaned, holding my burning chest, coughing out some hard air as I struggled to catch my breath.
'Seems like I had been hit in the abdomen when I was in midair, dang.. But still, my body seems quite less receptive to the pain, or maybe the damage is less than I expected? but it took me 30HP... It was 10% of my HP....'
HP: 270/300
Stamina: 240/300
lay there, dazed and disoriented, I was wondering who was the one who hit me before, feeling that this new creature is too cunning.
I grimaced, my eyes began fluttering open, and that's when I realized. The red crystals I had gathered with my life on the line, were scattered all over the alleyway, glinting in the dim light like a thousand tiny rubies.
It spilled off my bag which was now laying on the corner of the alley.
I felt a pang of regret, mixed with a hint of rage.
Slowly moved my gaze, my eyes scouring the ground, taking in the extent of the damage. The crystals were everywhere, some of my javelins also scattered into the distances.
As I began to sit there, lying my back into the trash bin, my chest heaving with a slight burning sensation.
While groaning slightly, my gaze slowly rose to meet the gaze of the one who had done this to me. And that's when my face froze in shock.
The culprit, the one who had slammed into me with such force, turned out to be... a cat. But not just any cat...
I slowly stood up, my body aching a little bit from the impact. My grip on the only last javelin tightened, giving a familiar comfort in my hand. All this time, I always have one of the javelin in my hand just in case I have to fight in close combat.
With a grim small smile, I welcomed the challenge ahead, with my chest drummed in excitement and fear, mixed together.
As I rose to my feet, my eyes never left the cat's appearance.