As he prepared for the fight, he summoned his mana, and started to run, looking for an open space. Whatever monsters were in this area would know the landscape far better than he would, meaning that it was in his interest to remove any natural advantages that they might have. Although he had no idea what was coming, the adrenaline was already pumping through his veins.

Richard had gotten into his fair share of fights in the past, but none that had been for his life. He had been beaten and bloodied, but had never really been in danger. As he found a large clearing, filled with ashy sticks, he got ready. The creaking noise grew louder, and he gulped. It was time to see how his skills measured up.

The trees began to rustle, and a surprisingly small creature made its way into the clearing. It had the general appearance of a somewhat large dog, however instead of fur it had gray, slimy skin.The main feature that set it apart from a normal dog from his world was the mass of tentacles growing from its back, and in place of of its face was a jagged hole, filled with razor sharp teeth. Gurgling noises came out of its mouth, and it snarled.

Richard backed up, unsure what to do from here. He wasn't very well equipped and lacked any sort of weapon. He realized he would have to try and utilize his new found abilities. And he would need to learn quickly, as the creature had started pacing back and forth and the opposite side of the clearing.

As he stood there, wondering what his next move should be, the creature began to move nearer and nearer, and Richard could hear its rasping breaths as it drew closer. The fiend snarled at him and he could feel droplets of saliva splatter on his face, this snapped him out of his thinking and he leaped into action.

Recalling the feeling of using mana earlier to summon his power, he attempted to recreate the feeling, only this time it was on a completely different level. With his previous experiment he had manipulated his own blood, and only in a small area, what he attempted now was his Blood Puppet skill.

Reaching out with his mana, he could sense the presence of the creature's blood flow, with concentration he extended his mind further and seized hold of this presence. He couldn't have timed it better, just as he had secured his mental grasp, the foul creature pounced at him. However, the effects of the spell were immediate. With Richard’s tight grasp on its blood stream that creature was completely unable to move, and fell over on its side, completely motionless.

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With a grunt, he tightened his control, and forced the monster to its feet, experimenting with his ability. However, he could feel the beast actively resisting his attempt. His mana was draining precipitously, and he needed to do something before the beast broke free. Racing forwards, he lifted one hand, and brought it crashing down on the monster. It snarled, the noise muffled by its paralysis.

“Right. I’m no stronger than I was before coming here,” Richard thought. Instead, he decided to use his other skill, Engorge. Sending the remainder of his mana into the skill, he seized control over the general momentum of blood within the body of his enemy. It was very different from the exacting control of Blood Puppet. It felt more like he was simply grabbing the blood in a massive hand.

With a snarl, he sent the blood up into the monster’s head. Snapping his fingers, the blood pushed against the constraints of its bodily bounds, before exploding out of the creature’s orifice. With a gurgling howl, the monster died. A strange, fiery feeling surged through Richard’s body, and he could tell that the power was coming from the monster. His body seemed to expand, even though he had not actually grown in size.

You have killed a Flesh-Grafted Monstrosity!

You have leveled up!

Now that he had gained a level, he could feel his body changing somewhat. His mind seemed to grow clearer, and the way in which he used it did so as well. No doubt the effects of his stat bonuses kicking in. if everything was the same as he had been told, he also had three free points waiting to be allocated.

He almost slotted them into Intelligence, wanting to increase his mana pool, but then remembered that this was not a game, as far as he knew. If he died, that was it. Instead, he focused on his most neglected stat. Resilience. It was his only stat under ten points. As he added the point, he felt his body shift and change, and his skin seemed to bubble as it grew tougher. He felt an itching sensation race across his body, and he scratched at it absently. Then it was gone, and he felt like a new man.