combat rewards

Data's voice continued to ring out...

Ikky's consciousness floated on that fine line between life, death, and fainting.

For many, dying once in a game was just seeing a virtual character being given temporary penalties, which as annoying as they were, were only temporary and you didn't feel the suffering in your body.

But this was different, it had been intense, beyond any experience the boy had ever lived through. Like every human being, he had hurt himself, he had been injured, and he had even fainted at some point. But the extreme pain he experienced and the feeling of noticing how life was slipping through his hands without being able to do anything about it is something that only those who have experienced it know the kind of scars it leaves in your mind.

"Congratulations to player Lion for being the first player to reach level 2 in the tutorial."

"Congratulations to player Lion for being the only one to reach level 2 in the tutorial coliseum phase."

"Congratulations to player Lion for completing all 100 stages of the tutorial coliseum."

"Performance evaluation will now begin and rewards will be assigned."

"1%…2%…12%…"

The bleeding stopped. Ikky could even feel his body healing as the seconds ticked by, and it wasn't an easy sensation to take in, it wasn't pain it was burning and tingling as his body rebuilt itself, from the initial pain and weakness it was turning into a strange feeling of well-being.

The torn flesh was knitting together, the cuts and wounds were sealing, and the skin was growing where it had been torn off. Crushed bones and tendons grew or were repositioned. This part was painful, but after the fight Ikky found it a lesser evil to bear. It was a complicated process, and in the end he felt nauseous as all the lost blood flooded back into his bloodstream and he vomited into the arena. A second later the player lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was in another blue room like the first, his body whole and immaculate, his spear and shield intact again, were at his side. Ikky stood up as best he could, sighed, and began to laugh like a madman, thus releasing the stress accumulated by killing more than 1000 giant rats and their queen.

Ikky was not a warrior; he had not fought nobly, nor skillfully, nor honorably. He did what was necessary to survive according to what he had always done, making the most of what he had at hand. The test had been hard, and if it hadn't been for the existence of those ornamental statues, he had no doubt that he wouldn't have been able to get that far.

How had Elsine fared in the Coliseum?... An archer would have had it easy with the first rats, but when the arrows ran out, she would only have a dagger, just thinking about facing an army of rats armed only with a dagger gave him the shivers. Hand-to-hand combat with rats can be a bad situation, they were a fast enemy and difficult to attack while they were moving.

The boy only hoped that things hadn't gone too badly for his friend. The thought of the extreme pain and the fact that in all likelihood, if he hadn't given up earlier, she would have been eaten by rats was an uncomfortable thought. He only hoped that she had given up on the test before she suffered irreparable trauma.

It's not that Ikky cared much about this cheerful and fun Colombian girl he had just met, or so he told himself to convince himself, but she was really the only outside contact he had in the game and also the only Spanish speaker he had had contact with.

He opened the stats window...

CHARACTER: Ikky

Strength: 14 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Dexterity: 14 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Constitution: 14 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Intelligence: 14 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Wisdom: 14 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Charisma: 12 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Perception: 14 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Luck: 12 *unlockable substats after stat +16

Life: 36/36

Mana: Locked

Spirit: Locked

Ki: Locked

Skills: Precise Throw 507/1000*Combat

Level: 2; Exp: 1201/4000

Job: Locked until level 10

"Title: The Persistent *Effect: When the character is fighting for more than 1 hour, he ignores fatigue and enters a special state of lucidity, giving a critical chance of +25%"

"Title: Pest Exterminator *Effect: When the character kills more than 100 monsters of the same species, he will get 50% additional damage against beings of that same species; when he kills more than 1000 monsters, he will get 100% damage; and when he kills more than 10,000 monsters, he will get 200% damage against the species. Currently:

100% damage against giant rats

"Title: The Fast Grower *Effect: The character will receive double experience until level 10.

"Title: King of the Colosseum *Effect: You can equip the gladiator armor. The item is will be retained after

Tutorial Completion.

Inventory: Essence of the Rat King

Data's voice echoed in his head:

Combat Potential Assessment Completed; Player Assessment A+++. Three common skills will be assigned to the character's choice. Choice of one additional weapon will be allowed before the start of the next tutorial phase.

The first thing Ikky did was check out his gladiator gear: Hardened Leather Breastplate, +3 Defense with no penalties, Leather Greaves, +3 Defense with no penalties, +2 Leather Forearms with no penalties, and +2 Shin Guards with no penalties.

It was his first magical equipment and Ikky was jumping for joy.

These were his rewards for his pain, for his sacrifice, for his fear, for his blood, but above all they implied something much more important to him.

He had been the best, he had been the first to complete the whole test. In this world where a useless man like him should have been eaten by rats, he had managed to prevail.

For a skilled player these rewards would have great value, for a cheater they were a treasure that would protect his soul more than his skin.