His body thrummed with power, and he stretched, feeling the new durability of it. It wasn’t like he was suddenly invulnerable or something, as he had barely gone past the human baseline, but it was better than before. He assumed that ten was the base, and twenty was probably the upper limit of human power. Twenty points in Strength would be akin to being a professional weightlifter, in Dexterity it would be like being an Olympic sprinter, and so on. He was not at that level yet, but he would be there soon enough if he kept leveling.

Richard stepped away from the corpse of the monster, not sure why he did not feel more horror at the act that he had just committed. The death of the monster was on his hand, but it almost felt like his mental state had been flattened by his body’s advancements under the System.

However, there was likely more to it than that. If anything, he probably had been changed by his death and rebirth. If such things were common, then most people likely had their memories erased upon their resurrection, in order to prevent problems. In fact, it was likely that everyone on Earth had been reincarnated at some point in the past, or at least had an ancestor who had been from another universe. However, it was impossible to know.

Richard left the corpse behind him, walking back into the trees. If he was lucky, there would be more monsters around him. A fire had been lit under him, a fire fueled by the power of progression. Gains that would have taken years on earth could be accomplished with a single level up in this world. It was like using a cheat code, but for life.

However, he could still remember the immense power of Metricoth. If not for the fact that he had been dead at the time, he knew that the sheer pressure from that aura alone would have killed him in the blink of an eye. That man had been a god, and had possessed far more power than he could even dream of. For a man to hold dominion over an entire planet through his sheer strength alone was the stuff of legends. However, Richard had a long time to go before he would be near that level.

As he walked, he analyzed his mana regeneration, watching as it ticked back up over time. The rate of regeneration was relatively quick, and seemed to be tied to his Wisdom stat. That made sense. The twisted forest around him seemed to be filled with a legion of entirely dead trees, which was strange. How would they have even grown here in the first place if they had not been granted the means with which to survive? Perhaps something had killed them, rather than environmental reasons.

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The name of the monster that he had killed implied that there was some sort of dark master somewhere that had turned the dog into that foul creature. It reminded him of a boss from his favorite video game. He could not remember the name, but did remember that he had wielded a massive golden ax, as well as having far more hands than seemed entirely necessary.

Thinking about having to fight that creature in real life sent a chill down his spine, and he shuddered. It had been cool in a video game setting, but it would be terrifying in real life. Banishing all thoughts of his past life, he focused on walking, keeping his mana at the ready. The creaking noises that he had heard earlier, which he now knew heralded the arrival of monsters, told him that there were more of the beasts nearby. He was eager to test out Bloodflame Burst.

It would take some of his health, but the benefits seemed significant. It was his most magical ability by far, and probably his most powerful. He could sense that there were clear distinctions between the different rarities of skills, and legendary was a clear cut above all the rest. Perhaps there were rarities beyond Legendary, but he was unsure of what exactly those were. He had a journey ahead of him, one that would either take him to the depths of despair, or the heights of power.

The creaking noises grew louder, and he readied himself to strike. As the first of the Flesh-Grafted Monstrosities exited the woods, snarling low in its throat, he began to summon his mana to act as the catalyst for his skill. While he actually used his health to power the Bloodflame Burst skill, he still needed to start it. As he did not know how to use his health in small parts, he needed to use his mana instead. Energy began to swirl around him, and the air seemed to heat up. More of the Monstrosities filed out of the woods, surrounding him. None of them were intelligent enough to realize that he was charging up an attack to kill them. By the time he was ready, they charged, snapping at the air with their disgusting maws.

As the power started to swirl around him faster and faster, he expelled it. His health was torn out of him like water going through a sieve, pouring into the skill. A moment later, a nova of brilliant crimson fire exploded outwards, blasting the monster apart with its power. His connection to his blood magic seemed to momentarily increase, and he used it to seize control over the monsters that had escaped the skill.

Pulling them towards him with an effort of will, he finished them off with Engorge. With detonations of crimson blood, the monsters died. Power rushed into him from his kills, and he felt his body shifting and changing under the effect of the levels.

You have killed a Flesh-Grafted Monstrosity(x9)!

You have leveled up(x2)!

Six more points slammed into his Intelligence and Wisdom, increasing his mana pool and regeneration. With the free points, he sent three more into Resilience, and three into Constitution. With his magical abilities, he did not have much need for physical might at this point in his journey.