Michael continued his hunt, his newfound strength propelling his progress. Within a few hours, he reached level 4. After finishing off another mutated rabbit with a well-timed [Power Blow], he collected his loot and moved deeper into the forest.
By this point, he had amassed 20 bronze virtual coins and a few pieces of mediocre equipment: an assassin’s robe, basic armor, a magician’s staff, and a sword. The most noteworthy item was the staff:
[Boros Staff (Excellent)]
* Spell Power: +10
* Spell Penetration: +3
* Intelligence: +3
Items in Stellarion were ranked by quality: common (white), excellent (green), rare (blue), epic (purple), and legendary (orange). Though the staff wasn’t useful to him, Michael felt pleased with the find.
With his first goal—leveling up and gathering loot—halfway complete, he turned his focus to finding a new hunting ground with stronger enemies. Leaving the mutated rabbits’ territory, he ventured deeper into the forest and soon encountered scattered zombies.
These zombies resembled grotesque, decayed humans clad in tattered NPC clothing. Their purple-green skin was riddled with atrophied muscles, exposed organs, and broken bones. The stench of rot filled the air. Some wore remnants of merchant or civilian attire, now dirty and torn.
The monsters in Stellarion at the early stages of the game fell into three primary categories: mutated animals or alien beasts, undead, and goblins. It was said that each of these creatures had once been a galaxy-wide plague, long defeated but preserved in the game as adversaries.
The level 5 zombies had three abilities:
* [Resilience] (a passive skill akin to rigor mortis, making them harder to kill)
* [Claw Attack]
* [Bite] (a cooldown-free skill).
Individually, these creatures weren’t difficult to handle due to their slow movements, but in groups, they could become overwhelming. Zombies also had one critical weakness: they could only be truly killed by decapitating or destroying their heads. No matter their remaining HP, they would continue to fight if this was not done.
Michael spotted the first zombie and immediately activated [Dash].
[Dash (Level 3)]
* Dash in a direction at 1.2× movement speed.
* Next attack: +10% physical damage.
* Cost: 5 stamina.
* Cooldown: 7 seconds.
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He closed the distance swiftly and struck a powerful blow to the zombie's head, following up with a clean slash to its neck.
-25 HP
-22 HP
His sudden movements alerted three nearby zombies, who began shambling toward him. Michael kept calm, using his footwork to avoid being surrounded.
The Imperial Standard Martial Art (E.S.M.A) training proved invaluable, enabling him to manipulate the brainless, slow zombies. He moved gracefully, dodging claw swipes and striking whenever an opening appeared.
With his first target weakened, the cooldown for [Dash] expired. He used it again, delivering a decisive [Power Blow] to the zombie's head.
[Power Blow (Level 2)]
* Deliver a powerful strike with +15% physical damage.
* Cost: 5 stamina.
* Cooldown: 8 seconds.
-32 HP
The zombie collapsed, its head severed from its body.
+10 EXP
Unfortunately, the remaining two zombies capitalized on the brief moment of vulnerability, their claws raking across Michael.
-14 HP
-16 HP
HP: 90/120
His health bar dropped by a quarter. Michael stepped back, delivering a horizontal slash to both zombies’ midsections to create space. It wasn’t an optimal attack, but it bought him time to regroup.
Taking a deep breath, he focused on the zombie with the lowest HP, prioritizing it as his next target. His strategy was simple: eliminate one opponent at a time to reduce the number of threats.
Using precise footwork and targeting weak points, he dispatched the remaining zombies one by one. Though they were level 5, his superior stats, talents, and strategy gave him the edge.
By the time the fight ended, Michael was nearly out of stamina. His Nova Physique’s bonus to constitution (+10% under the sun) had been crucial, allowing him to endure the prolonged battle.
[Level 4 | EXP: 70/140] [Stamina: 20/120]
If not for his increased constitution, he would have collapsed from exhaustion. He took a moment to catch his breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.
After recovering slightly, Michael approached the zombie corpses and collected his rewards. Zombies dropped more coins than mutated animals due to their humanoid nature, and the level difference further increased the loot value.
For this fight, he gained 15 bronze coins, bringing his total to 35. With each zombie yielding 10 EXP, Michael realized that just seven more kills would level him up.
Determined, he pressed on, fighting two more groups of zombies. By the time he returned to town, he had reached level 5.
He allocated his five new attribute points, investing three into Speed and two into Reaction, bringing their values to 14.46 and 12.67, respectively. His Beginner Swordsmanship skill leveled up to 4, increasing his physical damage to 24 (+1%), and he earned an additional 30 bronze coins, raising his total to 65.
Satisfied with his progress, Michael returned to Affron to rest. Once back in town, he disconnected and stepped out of his capsule.
Heading to his mirror, he studied his reflection. Despite the changes to his physique and bloodline, nothing seemed visibly different. Relieved, he smiled.
For now, he had no time to dwell on the mysteries of his transformation. Tomorrow, he would purchase new skills and continue hunting.