Alex spent the next month in the oasis, fighting ever increasingly powerful enemies to grow in his strength. After the grueling month of nearly nonstop fighting, he looked to his growth with pride.

Alex Sullivan

Race- Human

Rank- Private

Grade- F

Class- Shift

Level- 47

Strength-285 (339)

Agility- 205 (247)

Intelligence- 104 (131)

Durability- 437 (542)

Endurance- 260 (310)

Health- 5,420/5,420

Stamina- 3,100/3,100

P.E.- 0/5,420

He had gained thirteen levels during his time in the oasis. The amount of growth that Alex was experiencing was phenomenal. He even had more than five hundred effective durability. It had really begun to skyrocket past his other stats, his closest being nearly two hundred less stat points behind.

The recent growth had made his already low intelligence, for lack of a better word…embarrassing. Alex wasn’t sure why he still felt ashamed by the stat. He could do things every human on Earth would be jealous of. He could probably stop a speeding train by now, or at least get hit by one and still be alright. To combat this, Alex invested all of his stat points into intelligence bringing it above one hundred finally. He hoped there was some benefit to investing into the stat and that he wasn’t wasting valuable points.

I’m pretty impressive if I do say so myself. Even if my intelligence is kind of low still. I am most definitely outpacing everyone back on Earth. I don’t know how I’m going to feel going back though. This growth is addictive. I’m going to have major withdrawals when I’m not leveling up as much.

While Alex was making rapid progress, he was starting to feel like he had largely outgrown the oasis. There were only a few goes that still remained in the oasis that could give him a proper challenge. He still had the primate king, but didn’t feel nearly prepared enough to tackle that particular enemy. When he gained another ten levels though, he was rushing straight back here. He still didn’t feel like he had gotten enough payback on the monkeys from his first encounter with them, despite killing multiple of their kind so far. Something about being hypnotized and kicked in the junk left a deep resentment in a guy.

Alex made his way out of the oasis in search of yet another area that could help him grow.

Alex had already grown accustomed to the humid air of the oasis, and the change back to the arid desert was uncomfortable. He would manage, but he would complain the entire time. He was all by himself, after all. Who was he going to bother?

“I do wish you would stop commenting on the heat of the desert. It is becoming rather cumbersome. Deserts are hot and I feel that the sooner you accept it, the better for all of us,” Nagaar said to Alex.

“Nobody was talking to you. Why are you eavesdropping?” Alex asked.

“Is it considered eavesdropping when I am a part of you? Your conversations are mine as well, whether I find them engaging or not,” Nagaar said.

“I’ll have you know, a lot of people enjoyed talking to me. I am a very popular person,” Alex said defensively.

“Popularity does not equate to a stimulating conversationalist. We had plenty of entertaining people we would invite to the kingdom. They were however, just for entertainment. They ultimately didn’t have very distinguished roles in society,” Nagaar said.

That made Alex go red in the face. “Did you just compare me to your jesters or something? I’m not a clown!”

“Clown. Yes, that’s a good word for them. Some of the nobles enjoyed their performances, but I always found them to be lackluster. I preferred different forms of amusement,” the snake said. Alex could almost see the snarky smile the snake would have.

“Trust me, I’d much rather have different company as well. You aren’t exactly my cup of tea,” Alex said.

“We could get along much better. Yes, we are extremely different, but our interests are not so dissimilar. We both relish in our growing power and strive to achieve as much of it as we can. Our goals align rather poetically at the moment as well. While they are for different reasons, your current objective was my final aspiration,” the king mused.

“Yeah. Don’t think that makes us best friends or anything. I still don’t appreciate you tagging along. It is nice to have the occasional conversation, but I don’t feel like that singular benefit outweighs the many potential drawbacks you pose,” said Alex.

“I believe I could be much more useful to you than just the occasional conversational partner,” Nagaar said.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Oh yeah, how so?”

“For starters, I could warn you when you are very obviously being followed.”

Alex looked wide in alarm, muscles tensing all over his body. He looked left. Then right. Nothing. After a second, he relaxed a little.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing there. Are you just trying to rile me up?” Alex asked.

“Look up.”

Alex eyes shot above him to see outstretched talons aimed straight for his face, only inches away. He ducked to the side, grateful for his increased agility. He would have been skewered had he been a regular human.

He looked at his assailant as it swung around for another attack. It looked like a hawk, but its wings were nearly as long as Alex was tall. As in, each of them were. In all, the wingspan of the bird was almost twelve feet. It was the biggest bird Alex had seen in his life. The body of the hawk was about the size of a German shepherd. It was massive to say the least. Alex identified it.

Iron Wing Hawk

Level 53

The hawk circled back to attack Alex again. Its flight brought it directly into the suns glare. Alex tried to shield the powerful light and track the hawk to no avail. A sudden shadow blocked out the sun and before Alex could react, the hawk had dug its claws into his shoulders and hoisted him up into the air. With a few powerful flaps of its wings, the hawk was now dozens of feet in the air. Alex was flailing around trying to swat at the bird. He was unable to land a hit, and each swing only left his arms more injured.

Alex charged up some energy into his hands, and with a sudden explosion was launched upward. The hawk, caught unaware, was sent flailing. Alex was released sometime during the hawk’s confusion, and was now above the spinning bird. The hawk was rapidly correcting itself and Alex knew his time was limited. Charging up another detonation, Alex aimed himself downward. The detonation sent him directly into the hawk just as it had gained its bearings again.

Alex grabbed hold of the hawk’s neck and began to squeeze. The bird began to flail around once more, attempting to throw Alex off balance. He would not budge however. Alex squeezed harder, until he learned why the hawk had gotten its name.

A wing came screeching into the back of Alex’s head, nearly knocking him unconscious. His vision began to distort, looking like a funhouse mirror. His grip loosened just enough, and the hawk threw him off of its back. Alex began his free fall back to the desert below him, barely even moving as he tried to regain his wits.

Alex began to register a few seconds later. The ground was rapidly closing in and Alex started to charge up an explosion yet again. Just as he was going to set it off, another blow landed into the side of his head, this one much more ferocious. Alex began flipping in the air, a pain searing through his head once more. The blast he had been charging up, was released sending him hurtling even faster into the sand.

A plume of dust shot fifty feet into the air. If Alex wasn’t hurting before, he definitely was now. His head was pounding. He was sure he had a concussion. He didn’t know it was possible with his increased durability, but he had a concussion before and it felt similar to what he was feeling now. Similar, but the pain he had now was a magnitude higher than what he had ever experienced before.

I guess that’s one downside to increased stats. I can take more of a beating, but the backlash seems to be a lot worse too.

He could hear a muffled screech coming from somewhere above him. Alex wondered if he just stayed in the sand long enough, if the hawk would go away.

Probably not. If my track record has anything to say, it’s that I’m not very lucky.

He did take a moment to recover. After a few moments, he felt ready to face the hawk again. He began to dig himself free. The second he breached the sand, another wing struck his head.

This stupid bird is going to die. That freaking hurts. Why does it keep hitting me in the head?

Alex was having a hard time focusing. The bird continued to sweep around in his vicinity, but Alex was finding it hard to track it. The bright light of the sun was sending sharp pains into his head. Alex had to close his eyes from the pain. Just as he closed his eyes, another strike came barreling in. This time the hit landed into his midsection. Alex doubled over, clutching his ribs.

Alex dropped his backpack and began blindly fumbling around. A few moments later he found what he was looking for. He tossed a health bomb into his mouth. He was instantly alert, the spicy concoction bringing him out of his stupor. Alex’s head still throbbed, but the pain was dulled and distant compared to the burning on his tongue.

He pretended to still be in pain. He saw the hawk circling around for another attack, and tracked it while clutching his head. The hawk entered the sun once more, and Alex tried to time his attack. He waited a moment and then flung his arms out to grab the hawk. It must not have bought his act, because in the last moment, it flapped its wings staying just out of Alex’s reach. Instead, it clawed at his outstretched palms. Alex recoiled with bloody hands. He stared the bird down and channeled his energy behind his eyes.

Alex hadn’t attempted this yet because frankly, he was kind of scared to. This hawk had pushed his patience. Alex wasn’t nearly fast enough to land a blow on the bird and he was getting frustrated. So, while the hawk thought it had the advantage, Alex struck. The energy left his eyes, searing his retinas along the way. His durability had grown a lot, and Alex believed that the pain would only be for a moment. That was proven accurate as his vision quickly returned to normal.

Alex followed the path of the lasers. They surged through the dry air right at the hawk. Its agility must have been extremely high as it dodged to the side. The lasers only glancing the wings of the bird. It had hurt the hawk, but only slightly.

Alex realized something though. The energy he had stored up from the hot environment should have been expended already. He hadn’t been walking for long and had used up most of it while he was in the oasis. The two blasts he had used to propel himself should have emptied his stores, but they hadn’t. A notification had appeared while Alex was distracted. He opened it with bated breath.

Energy Conversion (Uncommon)- Stored energy can be converted into different forms. Conversion can be directed within your own body and can change forms at the cost of your own potential energy stores. Therefore, energy efficiency is lost in the conversion process. Current conversion efficacy-50%