Knox decided to leave the small town and return to his hometown. His party members said they couldn’t follow him, so they said their goodbyes. Walking along the path, he felt a presence watching him. It felt menacing and evil. He looked around to find this creature but couldn’t see anything; he stopped looking around him but didn’t drop his guard.
It was already dark when he was attacked. A creature that looked like a moving dog corpse; it was so skinny you could see its ribs through the skin, and the beast was at least 150 centimeters tall. Knox swiftly reacted. He knew he needed to defend himself against the dog-like creature using his martial arts skills. He took a fighting stance and waited for the beast to charge at him. As the creature darted towards him, Knox dodged to the side and delivered a swift kick to its stomach, causing it to stumble back.
The creature growled and lunged at him again. Knox quickly stepped aside and delivered a powerful punch using his skill ‘Double Tap’ to its side, followed by a roundhouse kick to its head. The beast howled in pain and backed away, but it was not defeated yet. It charged again, and Knox was ready this time.
He caught the creature's arm as it tried to bite him and twisted it, causing the beast to yelp in pain. Knox then delivered a series of quick jabs to its chest, followed by a spinning back kick that knocked the creature to the ground.
The beast got up and charged at Knox once again, but he was ready to finish it off. He took a deep breath, focused his energy, and delivered a powerful palm strike to its chest, sending the creature flying backward. The beast hit the ground hard and didn't move. Knox had defeated the creature using his martial arts skills. He took a moment to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from his forehead.
You have slain Zombie Dog level 1. Experience gained.
Knox didn’t get any further messages, which he expected since the beast was only level 1. Nevertheless, he still felt disappointed that he had received nothing. After the successful dungeon looting, his expectations for monsters were higher than they should be. He couldn’t complain, though. Knox was taught in class that the further you are away from the city, the higher the level of monsters will be. Most cities are in level 1 zones, and the highest zone ever entered by humans was level 25 zones; they found monsters that went up to as high as level 180 in those zones. The thought that he might have to go there one day gave him chills.
The rest of his journey home was straightforward, with no interruptions. Additionally, he got home faster than expected, which inspired him to visit his family. He knocked on the door, and his brother answered.
“Hi, Knox, how was the quest? You were gone longer than the quest said you would be, so Mom got worried.”
“Sorry for taking so long, but I went on another quest in the town. So now I'm already level
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
3!” Knox replied triumphantly, giving his little brother a smug look.
“That’s great,” he said while rolling his eyes, “but Father is level 100, or so the rumors say, which means you’re far from becoming the strongest in the family.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dejectedly accepted his fate. “Anyway, do you have something to eat? I haven't eaten anything properly for a week or something.”
“We do; Mother was just making food when you arrived.”
“Thank goodness I'm starving.” Knox hurriedly went into the kitchen after greeting his mother and began eating. Excited, he told his family about his journey. He recounted the tale of his encounter with a zombie dog and how he defeated it. He also shared his experience of exploring the dungeon, which earned him a level up to level 3. Knox's family listened intently.
He shared his aspirations to become the strongest in the family, just like their father, who was rumored to be level 100. Overall, Knox was happy with his journey. After being away for a while, he enjoyed spending time with his family. He savored the delicious food his mother had prepared, and he felt content knowing that they supported him in his adventures.
After eating, he went to his room to rest properly in familiar surroundings. He felt exhausted but proud of himself for completing two quests in such a short time. Moreover, kids his age usually don't take on quests as early as he did. He plopped into his bed and almost instantly fell asleep.
*** *** ***
Waking up to voices talking, he walked down to get breakfast, and his father was waiting for him when he got there.
“Hi, Knox. We have to talk about your future.” His Father said in a severe tone.
“Uhm, okay…” Knox replied nervously, “Is this about the clan? If so, I don't want to be its leader. Give the leadership position to Elijah, he’s more qualified since he’s an expert fighter with excellent leadership skills.”
“Your mother and I have already decided that would be the best decision for the clan and yourself. In other words, that's not what I want to talk about.”
“Then what is this about?”
“I heard you went off and did a quest without my permission.”
“Yes, but now that I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions,” Knox said defiantly. “I don't need you and Mom to tell me what to do.”
“I wasn’t planning on scolding you, and I wanted to congratulate you on your first quest.
“You weren’t?” Knox said, surprised.
“Yes, now let me get back to what I was saying. I might not be able to force you to do it, but I would like you to join The System Academy. I think the academy would teach you a lot about The System and train you. You can still go on quests when you have breaks, so no need to worry about lagging behind in levels.”
“Oh… I see. Well, let me think about it over breakfast.” His father nodded, and they started eating breakfast.
Knox thought hard about the academy. It would benefit him in more than one way. He could get more information about The System and train with other newly acquired members. Furthermore, he could make friends with the same goals as him. Finally, having friends with a mindset to improve might push him to his limits and strengthen his skills faster than he would otherwise.
It should be noted that his skill is far from where he wants it to be. Weighting the positives and the negatives, he made his decision. Knox was going to the academy.