Damien Lv. 1

Health: 140

Stamina: 95

'Is this...for real?'

A health and stamina bar with my name and level above it could be clearly seen at the corner of my eye.

I was finally understanding what had happened.

'The prompt...it wasn't a hallucination..it was real.'

My anxieties were suddenly replaced with a growing excitement and disbelief.

I tried many things to navigate the interface or lack there of. I finally began to touch the surface after several blind trials.

Basic interfaces such as Status, Inventory etc, could be pulled up through telepathic commands. Storing and retrieving items from Inventory worked in the same way, simply using cognitive commands and envisioning the items. It really was quite nifty.

Currently in my inventory, all I had was a short dagger and the blood stained clothes I was wearing before.

'A Leveling system with Class and Skills incorporated. Quite traditional.'

I was relieved for this fact, as it was something I was familiar with.

When I looked at my Skill List, the only skill I had was:

Inspect

Active Skill

Analyze an enemy target to identify their strength.

From what I was understanding, it was a skill that had to be activated. Since I didn't have a target, I couldn't test my hypothesis.

I had lost track of how many hours it had been until I finally decided it was time to start moving. I had so many questions that couldn't be answered just sitting around, I had to find a town, a village, anything with people that could provide more insight.

The warm sun that I had woken to had already set and dark skies and brightly lit moon filled it's void.

I looked for any signs of smoke, that could be a hint to the closest civilization but no luck, ultimately I had to pick a random direction.

As I left the green fields I entered a dense forest, it was dark and ominous as I heard several wild animals crawling about. It was quite unfortunate as I no longer had my goggles to identify enemies through Heat Sensory, it would've been useful for this situation. However, the moon was full and illuminated brightly, enabling me to see the path immediately in front, but further away, shapes and figures were hard to make out.

I had been walking for what seemed like an eternity, it was entirely possible that I was moving in circles.

I was becoming irritated, but that didn't last long as I was interrupted.

I felt a killing intent coming from behind.

I readied my dagger and took a battle stance.

A shadowy figure raced towards me, I leaped to the side and rolled onto the floor as I dodged the critter’s attack.

It was difficult to see what it actually was, but it wasn't human. It seemed to be the size of a dog and had a long horn that sparkled in the moonlight.

'Inspect'

I mentally called out.

Above the creature appeared a health bar and in a bold, red font, its name and level. I was correct.

Horn Rabbit Lv. 1

The Horn Rabbit lowered the front half of its body and perked up its hind legs before it sprung forward charging its horn into my direction.

This time, I didn't dodge. Instead, I dived forward, with a dagger in hand I swiped in an upwards motion to parry the attack.

The critter was forced into an awkward position after being deflected, as its entire body was now upside down in midair, falling head first.

I drew the dagger backwards as I focused all my strength and with one leg stretched forward, I lunged, throwing my entire body into the charge.

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Right before the attack connected, my weapon glowed and a string of text appeared before me.

Attack Skill: Piercing Strike Activated

Damage +10%

Critical Strike Chance +100%

'Skill activation? I didn't see this on the skill list, did I just learn it?'

My dagger went straight through its body as it evaporated replaced with glowing particles that floated to the floor and took the form of rabbit skin and meat.

Congratulations! You have defeated Horn Rabbit.

Rabbit Meat (x2) Received.

Rabbit Skin (x2) Received.

You’ve gained 60 EXP.

You have gained a Level.

ATK increased by 2.

DEF increased by 1.

SPED increased by 3.

INT increased by 1.

Passive Skill: Dagger Mastery (Beginner) Learned.

Passive Skill: Lightfoot (Beginner) Learned.

Active Skill: Piercing Strike (Beginner) Learned.

I called up the Status screen.

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The stats seemed to be based off my actual physique, as my fighting style favored speed over strength.

There were also the skills that I learned.

[Passive] Dagger Mastery (Beginner)

You are proficient in the use of daggers.

You gain a 5% increase to ATK in battle when equipped with a Dagger.

[Passive] Lightfoot (Beginner)

You are skilled in handling your body, allowing you easily dodge attacks.

You gain a 5% chance to evade attacks.

[Active] Piercing Strike (Beginner)

An attack that focuses on piercing your enemies

When used, you will gain a 10% increase to Damage output and 100% critical strike chance.

Has a chance to destroy lower grade armor.

'So there's Passive & Active skills... There all Beginner levels...does that mean I can level the skills separately by executing actions related to the skill..'

'The Skill Piercing Strike, I learned it..no more accurately..I developed it? It was born from my attack earlier...does that mean I can develop more skills through battle?'

More questions were raised in my head as I carefully dissected the information before me. My extensive gaming knowledge made it less overwhelming to process.

I wanted to dance simply from the things unraveling. The possibilities, I couldn't even imagine.

The joy I felt was indescribable. Not only did I win  my first battle, but I leveled and learned new skills.

I should be fatigued, no by all logic, I am tired, but the excitement I was feeling fueled me to keep going.

I continued making my way through the forest, but kept a lookout for more Horn Rabbits, as there were still many things I wanted to test.

There were monsters that were above level 1 that I avoided, I didn't know if dying here meant the end or would there be a possibility of resurrecting...I wasn't going to take the chance.

I also learned that aside from 'Inspect' active skills like 'Piercing Strike' cost stamina per use but was refilled upon Leveling which is why I didn't notice it before.

By the time I finally left the forest, it was already morning and I had reached Level 3.