Chapter 4: Level Up!

"Treasures?"

Victor's eyes gleamed as he picked up those shiny objects with expectations of finding magical treasures.

But the moment he held them, their glimmer vanished, turning into ordinary bones.

At first glance, he thought some kind of rare treasures must have dropped.

But all he got were ordinary bones without any magical properties.

He sighed in disappointment but placed them in his inventory with a simple command.

However, he kept the Thigh Bone in his hand as it was the sturdiest and toughest of the bones.

With the Thigh Bone in his right hand, he headed deeper into the village.

To grow stronger, he needed to kill. And there couldn't be a better place than a beginner village full of skeletons.

But he knew better than to underestimate anything. How he died in his past life was a living lesson he would never forget.

As he crossed the main pathway, he kept his eyes and ears alert for any sign of danger.

Then, he noticed a hunched-back skeleton with a walking stick slowly making its way toward him, each step deliberate and measured.

Victor instantly sensed a trap.

His ears sharpened as he hear a faint sound.

"Above!"

His eyes looked upwards and saw two large skeletons leaped at him from above, their butcher knives gleaming in their bony hands.

Without hesitation, Victor sprang into action, exerting all his strength into his legs.

Like an agile monkey, he dodged at the last moment, narrowly avoiding being sliced apart.

Landing a few feet away, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Damn, I was wrong. This is definitely no ordinary village," he cursed under his breath.

"Every Skeleton have intelligence here."

[ Butcher Brothers - Level 2 ]

[ HP: 40 ]

[ Threat Level: Medium ]

The system notification flashed before Victor's eyes, but he had no time to celebrate.

The Butcher Brothers let out an eerie clatter, their empty eye sockets glowing with a sinister red light.

They raised their butcher knives and charged at him with surprising momentum.

Victor gritted his teeth. "Damn, they're strong!"

But he wasn't going to face them head-on. That would be suicide.

Instead, he sprinted toward the nearest ruined house, maneuvering between broken walls and debris.

As expected, the two skeletons pursued him, their movements slightly sluggish compared to his own.

'Good. They're strong, but they lack agility,' Victor noted as he ran.

He needed to isolate them.

Noticing a collapsed wooden fence, he leaped over it effortlessly.

The first Butcher Brother followed immediately, while the second had to take a detour around the debris.

'Hmm... Perfect!'

With only one opponent before him now, Victor tightened his grip on the thigh bone and turned to strike.

While the Butcher Skeleton before him raised its knife to strike, Victor leaned down and struck its legs with all his strength.

The large skeleton instantly lost its balance and fell to the ground.

"Bam, Bam, Bam!"

With a few more hits, the Butcher Skeleton was finally slain.

[ You have slain a Butcher Skeleton. Gained +20 EXP. ]

[ Butcher Skeleton has dropped: Rusty Butcher Knife. ]

[ Rusty Butcher Knife ]

[ Grade: F ]

[ Durability: 20 ]

Victor picked up the Rusty Butcher Knife, replacing the Thigh Bone in his hand.

The knife was way more sharper and durable than the thigh bone, which made it the better choice.

Victor didn't waste a second.

He turned just in time to see the second Butcher Skeleton charging at him, its rusted knife looking deadly.

But now, Victor had a weapon.

With his new Rusty Butcher Knife in hand, he braced himself.

The skeleton swung down with a monstrous growl, but Victor sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike.

Without hesitation, he countered by slashing at its exposed ribcage.

Clang!

The knife cut through the brittle bone, leaving a deep crack, but the skeleton wasn't finished yet.

It staggered but quickly regained its posture, raising its knife for another attack.

Victor clicked his tongue. "You're tougher than I thought, Butcher!"

This time, he didn't wait.

Using his agility, he dashed forward, ducking under its wild swing and stabbing the Rusty Butcher Knife straight into its skull.

CRACK!

The force of the attack shattered its head into pieces.

[ You have slain a Butcher Skeleton. Gained +20 EXP ]

[ EXP: 85/100 ]

[ Butcher Skeleton has dropped Rusty Butcher Knife x1 ]

Victor breathing was heavy, but a smirk player on his lips.

"Almost there... just one more kill to level up!"

[ Stamina: 3/6 ]

Keeping his stamina in check, Victor charged straight at the Hunchback Skeleton, which was trying to return to its nest.

With a single swing of the Butcher Knife, he destroyed it completely.

As the bones disappeared, it didn't drop anything, unfortunately.

[ EXP: 100/100 ]

However, it had given him the 15 EXP he needed to level up.

---

[ Your level has increased from Level 1 to Level 2. ]

[ HP +10 ]

[ Your Stamina fully restored. Stamina: 6/6 ]

[ You have gained 5 attribute points to distribute among Strength, Agility, Stamina and Intelligence freely. ]

---

"So comfortable..."

Victor exhaled sharply as a surge of energy coursed through his body. The fatigue he felt moments ago vanished, replaced by newfound vitality.

"So, leveling up restores stamina and health... That's good, otherwise level grinding would be difficult."

He pulled up his status panel, his eyes scanning the new attribute points he had earned.

[ Player Stats ]

Name: Raizel Ashblade

Level: 2 | EXP: 0/200

Class: None

Spells: None

Stats:-

HP (Health Points): 20/20

Strength: 7

Agility: 6

Stamina: 6

Intelligence: 15

Available Attribute Points: 5

--

From the knowledge of Raizel's memory Victor knew that every point mattered, especially in the early stages.

"I need more strength to deal with enemies faster... but stamina is also important. And Agility will help with dodging... Intelligence is equally important, but its not that important right now."

After a brief moment of consideration, he distributed his points:

+2 Strength → (9 Total)

+2 Agility → (8 Total)

+1 Stamina → (7 Total)

As soon as he confirmed his allocation, a faint warmth spread through his muscles.

He could feel it, he was almost 20% stronger than before.

His grip on the Rusty Butcher Knife felt steadier, and his body seemed lighter.