"Oh yeahhhh, level fiiiive! [Status]"

Name Roy Silver

Level 5 Human Swordsman

Experience to Next Level: 0/175

Stats

HP

293

MP

61

SP

73

Strength

48

Vitality

39

Dexterity

33

Magic

36

Magic Defense

30 Racial Traits Racial Blessing

Blessing of the Soul

Select one proficiency (related skills grow 25% faster) and one additional skill or magic. Add +5, +3 +2 to any stat.

Sub-Race

Transcendent Human

Reach Level 40 to Unlock

Proficiencies Sword Skills Power Slash Level 3, Fireball Level 2, Blink Level 1

"Alright alright alright. We're gettin' somewhere now. That took a lot more slimes than I thought."

A lot more indeed. He didn't keep count but he easily cleansed the forest of at least 40 of them, probably 50. He remembered to use his new skills and magic appropriately after the first slime, and it took five uses of each to level both Power Slash and Fireball to level 2. He noticed that when he expended his SP, it regenerated slightly faster than MP. So he reached Power Slash Level 3 before Fireball. It wasn't until closing the gap with level 5 that he actually needed to swing his sword at a slime. He was fortunate in that he was able to pick up an extra skill as a human, which used a different resource than the other one he started with.

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Roy grew tired of hunting for slimes. There were none around the spot he stood so he consulted his map and traveled what he thought might have been the direction of a town.

Might.

It could also have been a cave. Or a dungeon. Or a magical tower.

He didn't know. But continuing the stand there wouldn't help him out either.

He walked. And walked. And walked. And kept going.

He walked long enough that he had a strange suspicion that he was walking in circles. He could've sworn he saw the same group of trees over and over again. The latest time around he took his sword and chipped away at the bark to mark it. If he saw it again he knew for sure that something was preventing him from leaving the forest and he would have to figure out what.

"You've got to be kidding me. Are you serious?!"

Yes, the forest was serious. He saw the exact same marked tree once more.

That's kinda spooky. I don't think I'm veering off that much. I'm trying to walk the straightest line I can and still I come across this same dang tree.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

"Who's there?!" Roy turned around with his sword in his hand ready to swipe at whatever came his way.

Behind some trees, a tree stump scuttled in-between headed in Roy's direction. The knocking sound came from the stump and it reminded Roy of a bell. As the stump moved it opened a mouth that produced the sound Roy first heard. It was like a piece of wood fall down and smacking each step on a set of wooden stairs. The sound echoed throughout the forest and rang hollow.

KLACK-KLACK-KLACK-KLACK-KLACK-KLACK

The stump leaped into the air with stubby little arms that ended in thinner twigs reminiscent of fingers. As it tried to land with a swiping attack on Roy, he instead blasted it out of the air with a Fireball. The magic pushed the living stump with a crazed jack-o-lantern mouth, backward and forced it into a tumble until it crashed into a tree.

"You're a tough little guy aren't you?" Roy commented.

The fire didn't catch and the stump was still okay, charred at the front of its body, which was mostly its face, but not down. Roy's attack seemed to make it angier, expressing its frustration by hopping up and down in place. It scuttled once more and Roy made it its last attempt. He conjured two fireballs this time, both hitting the stump monster dead on and the second one set it on fire. The stump made a panicked wood knocking sound, rhythmically quicker than before and louder in volume. It flailed its arms on its top to put out the fire which also made his twig arms set fire. He became a walking campfire that scurried deeper into the forest.

Roy began chasing after him and only managed to take a handful of steps before he received a notification that he successfully defeated the monster.

You have defeated: Living Stump

You obtained 25 experience points.

"Nice. Definitely stronger than the slimes, but I dunno if 30 MP is worth 25 XP. I think the slimes are still a little more cost-efficient."

He did the mental math and confirmed that it really was a better use of his MP to keep killing slimes instead of the Living Stump.

But not that it was defeated he wondered if that changed the forest. Could he now leave instead of coming back to the same set of trees?

"How did that stump keep me here anyway? Did it have magic? I guess I'll never know,"

Roy walked, in the same direction he initially tried.

Thankfully he didn't see the marked tree.

Instead, he was met with a beautiful scene overlooking the edge of a small cliff. A little ways away was a town and a road that passed by the bottom of the cliff and ran along to the entrance of the town.

"Now just how am I supposed to get down there? Ahh."

He looked to the right and found himself a path leading down.