“System, open the panel.”
[Lynn]
[Level]: 5
[Race]: Human
[Strength]: 17
[Agility]: 18
[Intelligence]: 21
[Constitution]: 20
[Assignable Points]: 8
[Affinity with Root Monsters]: 2
[Affinity with Monsters]: 10
[Skull Coins]: 2051
[Notoriety]: 34
[Description]: The crazed and sickly apprentice at the Blood-Saw Apothecary, once subjected a top-tier demon hunter to immense suffering. The establishment has a slight reputation among Root-tier monsters, but this does little to alter the apprentice’s perverse and insane nature…
Forget the slander in the description.
After this day’s baptism, his overall level had already reached 5.
And his basic skills across the board had received significant boosts.
Lynn exhaled.
Without hesitation, he allocated all eight assignable points into Constitution.
Immediately, his Constitution skyrocketed to 28!
The exhaustion from the night’s toil quickly evaporated with the boost to his body.
Allocating points into Constitution was a forced decision, after all.
He wasn’t a combat class.
Facing high-level monsters every day, strength and agility were utterly useless.
As for intelligence...
From his understanding, it pertained to comprehension and insight into certain tools and phenomena.
But he didn’t need any of that right now.
Good health was key!
In this strange world, one could easily contract some horrific affliction, and in the blink of an eye, lose their life. Even without that, prolonged survival in this dark world would inevitably degrade one's physical condition.
After assigning his points, Lynn immediately opened the reward given by the system.
[Limited-Time Curse Removal Ability]: You can select a curse on a target and remove it for 24 hours. Only one target can be cleansed at a time. Cooldown: 12 hours.
Lynn’s eyes lit up.
Curse removal?!
Though it wasn’t permanent, Lynn immediately thought of one possible use.
That revolver he’d gotten from the demon hunter.
If he could remove the curse on the gun, it would become a truly legendary weapon for self-defense!
Without a word, Lynn immediately dug the revolver out of the box.
“Curse removal!”
Lynn stretched out his hand and shouted.
Instantly, a thick, black, sticky aura seeped out from the silver revolver, accompanied by sharp, high-pitched shrieks.
The next moment, as Lynn watched, the viscous aura quickly withdrew and suppressed itself.
[Ding! You have completed a limited-time curse removal. Cooldown: 12 hours.]
[Ding! You have received a curse entry: 100% Missed Shots! Remaining time: 24 hours.]
With the system’s prompt, Lynn grinned, revealing a row of eerie teeth.
Click—
He gripped the revolver.
Though it only lasted 24 hours, in a critical moment, this gun would definitely prove invaluable!
Lynn turned around and aimed at a bottle on the edge of the desk.
He pulled the trigger.
Bang—
A silver bullet shot out in an instant, hitting the wall.
Bang—
Bang—
Lynn fired several more shots, but none of them hit the bottle.
“System, are you sure this ability isn’t fake? I removed the curse, so why is my accuracy still so low?”
[Ding! Your firearm proficiency is “0.”]
“……”
“……”
Lynn stared with dead fish eyes, choosing to ignore the system’s explanation.
But soon, he began to think.
It seemed that if he wanted to use this revolver in combat, he’d need to practice his shooting skills for quite a while.
After all, mastery takes time—becoming a quick draw artist isn’t something that happens overnight!
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With this realization, Lynn’s enthusiasm soared!
He placed the empty bottle on the windowsill and stood ten meters away.
He aimed!
He fired!
Bang—
Miss!
Bang—
[Basic Firearm Proficiency +1]
Bang—
Miss!
Bang—
[You hit a level 75 monster: Night Devourer. You gain +10 experience.]
Lynn: “????”
There, on the windowsill, a bullet hole as thick as a finger appeared in the wooden board. And from the street below, an eerie series of long howls echoed.
“Who’s there?! Which son of a [beep] ambushed me?!”
Lynn quickly rushed to the windowsill, ripped off the wood panel, replaced it with a new one, nailed it in, and then sprinted back to his loft, diving into bed, pulling the covers over his head, and falling fast asleep.
Smooth as flowing water, all in one go.
...
[Ding! You completed the mission: Sleepless Night. You earn 500 Skull Coins, Level +1.]
[Ding! You survived your first night after awakening. You spent the day feeling incredibly fulfilled and satisfied. You served five customers, killed 1 monster, injured 1 monster, and caused significant psychological trauma to many patients. You felt the richness and cheerfulness of life.]
[Ding! You have leveled up to 6. You have unlocked the Daily Shop Exchange system. It refreshes daily, and you can exchange Skull Coins for various goods!]
[Ding! Friendly reminder: After reaching Level 10, you will be able to choose a profession for your first job change. Stay tuned!]
Lynn suddenly opened his eyes from the moldy bed.
The enormous spider webs on the beams kept reminding him.
This wasn’t a dream.
He was still in the Dark World.
It had already been 2 years and 1 day since then!
Sssslurp—Sssslurp—
One sticky tentacle after another rubbed against his face and neck, while more bubbles gurgled beneath the covers.
His body was covered in various forms of sticky liquids.
[Lynn’s Sanity -1.]
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes.
He reached for the silver revolver on the bedside, slipped it under the covers, and fired three shots at his lower body.
Miss!
Miss!
[Ding! Your firearm proficiency +1.]
[Ding! The Evil Spirit Blood Infant’s parasitic attempt fails, increasing your Fear by +20.]
Lynn threw off the covers.
Instantly, one after another, dark, octopus-like tentacles burst out from beneath the blankets, slithering and squirming in all directions.
At the same time, a monster with the face of a pretty infant lay on his stomach, its expression vacant.
The countless tentacles were twisting, growing wildly from its body.
“Figured it would break again.”
Lynn stared, wide-eyed.
No wonder he had felt something trying to crawl inside his body all night.
Sssslurp Sssslurp.
He’d spent the night hugging a freakin’ octopus monster!
Lynn opened its panel.
[Evil Spirit Blood Infant (Juvenile)]
[Race]: Evil Spirit
[Alignment]: Chaotic Evil
[Level]: 10
[Description]: A ghostly entity formed from resentment and ghostly energy, absorbing a large amount of sacrificial blood to become an Evil Spirit Blood Infant. Once fully formed, it will consume its host’s soul and flesh, eventually growing into a disaster.
Note: Due to a severe psychological trauma associated with a certain individual, its aggression toward that individual is greatly reduced.
Lynn: “???”
At that moment, the system’s prompt rang in his ears.
[Ding! Due to the Evil Spirit Blood Infant’s Fear level of 1321 toward you, and its Tamability exceeding 200, you have triggered a special mission: Blood Infant Growth.]