Chapter 17: Level 4 Yes! Second floor conquered

I was facing a threat of about 15 sheep running (or whatever constitutes running for sheep) towards my direction screaming baaaa baaa at the top of their lungs. At this point they had not noticed me yet, so I had time to plan better and come out on top. I was right in the center, so I started running towards the left, before giving them a chance to group up. By the time I reached left, I was close enough for the corner most sheep to get ready to head butt me. If I managed to kill it the rest of the flock would continue straight without noticing my presence but if I gave it a chance to scream, then I would probably be dead soon enough.

Desperation coloring my actions I raised my katana and activated my skill (by calling out). Two things happened simultaneously – the sheep I slashed at died but the one next to it managed to hit me with enough force that I was thrown into the air before landing 10 meters away. Good thing was I was still alive, heavily bruised but not bleeding. At the same time, notification chimed in that my combat slash skill had leveled up – Yes! About time, I had been using it continuously today, which gave me a fighting chance to come out alive.

Combat Skill Slash – basic+ (increase in damage by 8%, increase in accuracy by 8%)

I got up on my feet gritting my teeth, raised my katana and slashed at the next sheep that was running towards me for the second attack. Extra accuracy and damage went a long way in felling off the second attack. I collected the loot and looked at the flock which was still moving straight ahead but started to slow down as they couldn’t hear the call anymore. I could afford to take a few minutes to drink some water, catch my breath and tie up my aching back to reduce the pain. I would have killed for some ibuprofen just then. I might not be bleeding but I couldn’t tell if I had a broken rib or not. I used the worn-out pants from my inventory to create a tight cushion around my torso, giving it some compression and extra layer of protection.

While I was busy, one of more curious sheep decided that I was a threat enough to start running towards me with the intention of ramming into me. Instead of waiting for the sheep to catch up, like a lunatic, I ran towards the sheep and slashed with my maximum strength. Of course, the sheep died. And guess what, I levelled up yay!

Notification

“Killed Blood eye sheep (level 3) exp 750”

Level up

I kneeled on the ground, in gratitude, with exhaustion and in pain looking around assessing further dangers that might be lurking. I used to think I had superior observational skills, but I found myself really lacking in this world. I missed multiple dangers until they were right in my face, and overlooked smaller details which could have helped. I realized that at some point it would be crucial for me to raise my mental stats as well.

For now, the 2 attribute points from this new level went into strength and endurance raising my stats a bit and washing away all my fatigue that had built up from this long and never-ending day. I was as fresh as if I had just woken up. Leveling up is really the best feeling. The bruise felt as if they were fading with the extra AP allocated to endurance making my body sturdier.

Name: Caishen

Age: 16 years

Location: Dungeon

Level: 4 (Exp 350/62500)

Attributes:

Physical

Strength – 12--13(Physical power and carrying capacity)

Endurance – 10--11 (stamina and health)

Agility – 8 (coordination and reflexes)

Mental

Intelligence – 12 (deductive reasoning, memory, logic, and rationality)

Wisdom – 10 (self-awareness, perception, and insight)

Charisma – 8 (persuasiveness, leadership, and planning)

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With extra boost to my strength and endurance and feeling as good as new, I started tracking the herd that had ran to this area and were now surely grazing around. It was all Exp and loot for me and I was badly in need of it. I had an advantage in both strength and agility, it was only their defense that I needed to be careful of.

I started at late evening and by brightly lit midnight, I had tracked and killed 13 level 3 sheep that had been lured to the area. I felt a sense of security with the experience accumulated in these fights and over 200 kg of mutton in my inventory, it would last me for a long time and all additional cabbages would ensure the much-required vegetable on the side.

I had explored about two thirds of the area by now and I was sure that I was getting closer to the boss of this floor. I rested for an hour, contemplating if I should take a chance and drink the water as I had run out of the fresh water by now or wait for my novice bag to replenish at 6 am. The thought made me despondent as after 2 more bags, I would be left to my devices to fend for myself, with probably no one looking out for me anymore.

My pace slowed down and it took me 5 hours to cover the rest of the area where I found 7 level 2 sheep and 15 level 3 sheep, which were all sacrificed to the pleasure of my blade. That was when I saw the boss of the floor, which was, yes, another sheep.

Boss was twice the height and weight of the level 3 sheep. There was no shack this time. It was grazing in a clover field as if announcing the best food is for its personal consumption. The horns on its head were twice the height with sharp glint making them many times more dangerous. A head butt from this sheep would be a one hit kill story for a low strength person like me.

Blood eye sheep Boss

Level 4

Strength 10

Endurance 9 (+5 during night)

Agility 8

Skill: Ram/head butt level 1 – Damage when hit with the horns or head additional 10%

Skill: Pain spell level 1 – Increased mental damage 10% when stared into crimson eyes for more than a minute

The stats were higher than the ones I had been fighting with so far and the night bonus made it an impossible fight giving me no chance for a win. I decided to wait it out. Rest of the prairie was quiet anyways, thanks to my pain staking efforts. By now I already knew that if I didn’t step within a certain distance, the boss sheep will not notice my presence and display aggressive behavior. I needed rest and water before getting into a serious fight and if I could bring the endurance of the boss down to 9 abolishing the night advantage, I would have a better chance. I had only one potion and I wanted to try and save it for now, it’s a different kind of reassurance to know I had it.

I couldn’t sleep so I could only eat my berries and meditate with my eyes open thinking about things I was trying hard to not let come forth and bother me. Using my notebook and pen in the dungeon would have been too recalcitrant of me.

I thought about my days until now and all I had gone through. I was sure what I knew was only the tip of the iceberg. My thoughts led me to Ken and Yurin, who I had thought were to be my protector and their condescending smirks. I wondered how strong they truly were to be able to project their thoughts in physical forms on an entirely different planet. I wondered if my parents on earth would grieve my death and would my boss and team members think about me. I was a single child and unmarried yet, so my parents were the only close family I had in the previous life. They were both employed and living their own lives since I moved out to live closer to my job. Sigh!

My thoughts started becoming increasingly melancholic dragging me down deeper into an abyss I couldn’t see the end of when I felt a jerk as if I forcibly woke myself up. I sighed and looked at the time it was 5 minutes to 6 pm. I spent the next 5 minutes staring at the clock waiting for water after which I got ready to get this show on the road and conquer the second level of this dungeon.

The boss noticed my presence once I was within the 10-meter radius, taking away the surprise element. As soon as it saw me, it started running towards me intending to head butt me – no surprise there. I got ready with my Katana and my knife intending to throw myself to the side to avoid the hit and slash at the same time. When the boss got closer and I knew it would not be able to control the momentum of its direction, I started moving on the side, as if circling towards its back and slashed with my katana. The injured boss roared (if baaaaaa can be roared) and changed direction towards me with head down horns up but I moved again and slashed again. Boss roared again and almost hitting me when I jumped again to the side trying to slash. This time we both escaped and were back to square one.

Boss was getting impatient at this impertinent fly who dared to disturb its peace and tried to stamp towards me while head butting at the same time. This time I got closer avoiding the horns but taking a side hit and stabbed my knife in its neck. The knife caused a deep serration which started bleeding causing the roar of anger to change into pain. Before the sheep could react, I again activated my slash skill and hit the same wound on the neck that my knife had opened, causing the sheep to fall down mewling, bleeding, and dying.

I sat on the side ready to act in case there was some last strength left in the boss, waiting for it to die. The loot from this boss was spectacular and made me want to cry, almost.

Notification

“Killed Blood eye sheep boss (level 4) exp 1500”

Loot – 1 leather armor, 1 fleece blanket, 5kg mutton chop, 1 small crystal (skill loot – 2 cabbages)

Leather armor – level 5

Defense - +5

Durability - 50

The armor that I so needed was finally here. I was tired of being hit and needed something to protect me. It wasn’t grand but it was enough and hard earned.