Archie sat up, huddled beside the small campfire within his cave, and rubbed his eyes. Through the gaps in his door, he saw the sun's rays shining through the forest that covered the cave's entrance.
Strapping his potion pouch around his back, he placed his new hatchet in between the straps of the pouch. Remembering the rarity of the hatchet, Archie Identified his sword and shield.
Iron Heater Shield (Common):
An iron-rimmed Light-Shield issued to those who select the Warrior starting class. Effect: Soul-Bound. Status: Slightly beaten. Requirements: Humanoid Race.
Iron Broadsword (Common):
An iron broadsword issued to those who select the Warrior starting class. Effect: Soul-Bound. Status: Slightly dull. Requirements: Humanoid Race.
“Huh, no self-repair, I mean it being slightly dull makes sense with how much wood I had to hack at with it initially. At the very least if it does break, I can just use the hatchet. Archie said while dismissing the notifications and pushing past his door.
Suddenly he asked himself, “Soul-Bound again? What does that mean?” but to his dismay, the system did not respond.
Sighing, he opened his status page, he saw his new skill added to his skill list.
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 7
Class: Warrior Lv 10
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 472/472
Mana: 140/140
Stamina: 210/210
Stats:
Vitality: 45(47)
Strength: 35(36)
Endurance: 21
Agility: 25
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 14
Willpower: 15
Perception: 14
Free Points: 9
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Warrior's Charge (Common)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
86
“I guess, I got to find some creatures to test my new skill out,” Archie said, venturing into the forest once more.
----------------------------------------
I’ve been walking around for a couple of hours now, but I haven’t seen anything. Archie grumbled in annoyance while kicking the snow at his feet.
As though the universe responded to his thoughts, Archie was greeted with something slamming into his face. An ice-filled snowball had slammed into Archie’s face leaving some snow remains across his face and a bloody nose.
Stumbling backward, he raised his shield, covering his face, wary of another ice-filled snowball.
All Archie could see was snow, trees, and more snow—but no sign of any creature. Confused, he scanned the area, unable to spot whatever had thrown the ice-filled snowball.
Seeing something move within his peripheral vision, Archie spun on his heel, blocking the incoming ice snowball. Looking up from his shield, Archie saw what flung the ice snowball at him and used Identify on it.
[Flinger Monkey Lv 11]
The Flinger Monkey had bright pink skin, snow-white fur, and a normal monkey tail—except at the tip, which was shaped like an ice cream scooper.
Archie took into account his limited ranged capabilities and sheathed his sword and swapped to his dagger instead.
As Archie analyzed the monkey, he realized that it needed to reach the ground to throw another ice-packed snowball at his face, it couldn't just make one magically.
The monkey was only ten meters away from Archie. Confident in his aim, Archie threw his dagger at the head of the monkey and sprinted toward it at full speed.
Seeing a projectile being thrown at its face, the monkey looped its tail around the branch and fell backward. Making joyful monkey noises and clapping, seemingly proud of its dodging skills with its back turned against Archie, but this was a fatal mistake.
Archie charged towards the monkey and used Warrior’s Charge once he was five meters away from the monkey. Swinging his shield at the monkey’s head caused it to fall on its back, writhing and squealing in pain.
Archie unsheathed his sword and stabbed the monkey.
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 11] has been slain – XP has been given. 22 Tutorial Points given*
*Your Race has reached Lv 8 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
“Huh, I guess I was just on the cusp of a level up,” Archie said, flinging the blood off his sword onto the snow.
Feeling as though he was being watched, Archie looked around. His gaze shifted to the tree branches, and he immediately regretted it. Dozens of monkeys leaped across the surrounding branches, heading straight toward him.
“Fuck,” Archie uttered as he raised his shield to protect as much as he could of his body from the inevitable barrage of ice-filled snowballs.
Moments later, Archie’s shield and lower half were bombarded by a barrage of ice-filled snowballs. Shuffling backward, he searched for the nearest tree to take cover behind.
Upon reaching the nearest tree, Archie ducked behind another ice-filled snowball and maneuvered around it, finally able to catch his breath.
But the monkeys weren’t going to let Archie hide and catch his breath; Archie saw one of the monkeys jump onto the branch of a tree in front of where he currently faced.
Activating Warrior’s Charge, Archie closed the distance between him and the monkey, somehow charging vertically up the tree. At his apex, he ran his sword through the monkey and landed on the branch where the monkey previously stood as he flung it off his blade.
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 10] has been slain – XP has been given. 20 Tutorial Points given*
Archie slightly swayed on the branch, getting accustomed to his new footing. Looking at the monkeys jumping on the branches he counted eight of them, his Adrenaline that was previously at a lull, now started to quicken in its pace.
A slight smile started to spread across Archie’s face as he stared at the eight remaining monkeys that stood against him, uncaring of the odds against him.
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Looking at his stamina, he saw that he had more than enough to charge into them closing the distance, but still he needed to get a bit closer to be able to charge at them.
Thus, beginning the dawn of Archie’s tree-hopping ninja days. Archie, with a bit of hesitance, jumped onto the next branch effectively close enough to use Warrior’s Charge on the nearest monkey.
Just as effectively as before, the monkey was shocked at the sudden speed of Archie, failing to dodge, and ending up decapitated.
***
Archie pulled his sword from the last monkey that attempted to jump him after hearing the cries of pain from its pack mate. Adrenaline, now back at its previous lull, the small smile he wore transformed into a full one; the rush of accomplishment filling him with a euphoric sense of victory.
Looking at his notifications, he saw:
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 11] has been slain – XP has been given. 22 Tutorial Points given*
…
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 11] has been slain – XP has been given. 22 Tutorial Points given*
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 13] has been slain – XP has been given. 26 Tutorial Points given*
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 12] has been slain – XP has been given. 24 Tutorial Points given*
*[Flinger Monkey Lv 10] has been slain – XP has been given. 20 Tutorial Points given*
*Your Class has reached Lv 11 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 9 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Class has reached Lv 12 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 10 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
Opening his status page he saw:
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human F-Grade Lv 10
Class: Warrior Lv 12
Profession: *Empty*
Health: 528/546
Mana: 170/170
Stamina: 140/240
Stats:
Vitality: 52(54)
Strength: 42(44)
Endurance: 24
Agility: 30
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 17
Willpower: 18
Perception: 17
Free Points: 14
Skills:
Basic One-Handed Weapon Mastery (Common)
Basic Light-Shield Mastery (Common)
Identify (Initiate)
Warrior's Charge (Common)
Bloodline:
Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+5% to Strength and +5% to Willpower]
Titles Collected:
Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality]
Tutorial Points:
308
Smiling at both his levels and tutorial points, Archie jumped down the tree branch he currently stood on and onto the snowy grass below.
“Wait, I’m level 10 in my race and 12 in my class yet nothing happened to me, like those other creatures,” Archie analyzed. “I guess humans have different racial evolution caps compared to other creatures, or we just don’t gain extra body parts.”
Landing on the ground he looked around for the path he took from his cave. Retracing his steps, Archie eventually found the first monkey he killed lightly coated with snow, the same snow that seemed to never stop falling from the sky.
Upon seeing the monkey, he remembered the dagger he threw, eyes went wide trying to find where it landed.
After a couple of minutes of searching, Archie found it embedded in a tree a couple of meters away from where it missed the monkey. Before sheathing the dagger, he used the direction where the dagger landed to confirm the path to his cave.
Walking down the path to his cave, Archie managed to see a cave hidden between the trees. Curious, Archie headed toward the cave in hopes of finding another treasure chest.
Entering the cave Archie was greeted with the intense smell of feces. Wincing back in disgust, Archie surveyed the cave, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Dark brown stains marked the stone floor and walls, while patches of white fur were scattered throughout the area, hinting at past inhabitants, most likely the monkeys.
However, what drew his attention the most was a large, circular opening at the far end of the cave. Beyond the scattered fur and stains, this mysterious hole in the back seemed to lead into a tunnel, but from where Archie stood, he could only make out the gaping entrance, leaving the depth of the passage shrouded in darkness.
Archie decided to go deeper into the cave, in an attempt to see where the tunnel led to. But once he got halfway towards the tunnel a large roar from behind him caused him to turn around, both shield and sword drawn.
A large white-furred, pink-skinned monkey stood on two feet at the entrance of the cave but calling it a monkey felt like an understatement; it was the size of two fully grown gorillas with bulging muscles.
Identifying the creature Archie was taken aback at what he saw:
[Juvenile Gorilla Lv 24]
Two thoughts went through Archie’s brain, It's level 24, that’s the highest I’ve ever seen’ and That thing is a fucking child?
The gorilla tensed, its muscles rippling as a faint red hue spread across its white fur before it unleashed another deafening roar. The sound hit Archie like a wave, his body locking in place, paralyzed by the sheer force of the beast’s cry.
What? I can’t move! Archie’s thoughts raced in panic.
The gorilla now started to charge at the now-immobile Archie.
Move! Move! MOVE! Archie shouted, Adrenaline, once a slow burn, now surged violently through his veins. With a final mental shout, drawing on every ounce of willpower, Archie forced his body to break free from the gorilla’s paralyzing roar, snapping into a defensive stance.
But due to the speed and weight behind the gorilla’s charge, Archie was body slammed against the cave’s wall.
Archie slammed hard against the cave’s wall, his head taking the full brunt of the impact without any protection, both shield and sword falling from his hands. It felt as if a train had run over him, and his vision blurred, leaving him unable to discern what was happening in front of him. All he could see was a massive, indistinct blob of white and pink fuzz moving toward him.
The Juvenile Gorilla, now on all fours, knuckle-walked steadily toward its fallen prey. As it reached Archie, it noticed with confusion that he hadn’t spilled any red liquid. Determined to correct this oversight, the gorilla grasped Archie’s shield arm and pulled him to its chest, with the intent of squeezing the life out of him.
Feeling himself being picked up, Archie’s vision was overtaken by white fur. Suddenly, he felt his upper torso being squeezed from all angles as though it were a giant hydraulic press.
“AUGRRH!” Archie screamed in pain, fully awake now and struggling to push himself out of the gorilla’s hydraulic hug.
“AHHHH!” he shouted as adrenaline rushed through his body at an unprecedented pace. Ignoring a dinging sound, Archie felt steam releasing from his body as he focused on breaking free from the grasp of the gorilla.
With strenuous effort, Archie managed to push himself far enough within the gorilla’s hold to wedge his legs atop its chest. Groaning with effort, the steam gaining a red hue and producing yet another ding, he utilized both his arms and legs to break the gorilla’s hydraulic hug, tumbling onto the cave floor.
Similarly, the gorilla fell backward, landing on its back two meters away from where it had previously stood when it had attempted to squeeze Archie to death.
Rolling into a crouch, Archie looked around for his sword and shield. To his left, he spotted both. He stumbled over to where they had fallen and donned them both, he then glanced at the back of the now-dazed gorilla.
Still releasing red-hued steam from his body, Archie rushed toward the vulnerable gorilla, activating Warrior’s Charge mid-run. His sword sliced deeply across the back of the creature, causing blood to burst from the wound. A smile grew on Archie’s face, unbeknownst to him.
Screaming in pain, the gorilla swung its arm wildly, using its body weight as the source of its power, slamming into Archie’s shield. Archie managed to stand his ground against the swing, but after blocking it, his shield fell from his hand, and his left arm went limp.
The wild swing of the gorilla abruptly halted by Archie’s shield caused it to fall face down onto the cave floor, due to its sudden imbalance.
Charging once more, Archie landed atop its back and began hacking away with his remaining good arm, producing yet another ding.
After what Archie considered to be an innumerable amount of hacking at its back, he stabbed his sword into the gorilla’s left side, piercing both its heart and lung.
Upon hearing the ding, all the energy remaining within Archie vanished, causing him to fall to his knees and then off the gorilla, landing on the floor whilst lightly chuckling.
Looking at his notifications he saw:
*[Juvenile Gorilla Lv 24] has been slain – XP has been given. 72 Tutorial Points given*
*Your Class has reached Lv 13 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
***
*Your Class has reached Lv 15 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
*Your Race has reached Lv 11 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
***
*Your Race has reached Lv 13 – Points allocated, +1 Free Point*
Skill Gained: [Power Boost (Common)]
Skill Evolution: [Power Boost (Common) → Adrenaline Rush (Rare)]
Skill Evolution: [Warrior’s Charge (Common) → Savage Charge (Rare)]
Deliriously staring at the notifications, Archie’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed on the floor beside the corpse of the Juvenile Gorilla.