Magnus woke up in cold sweat, on top of the dead spider, and feeling like shit. After looking around and finding nothing that he could detect, he limped to retrieve his knife and hid in the shadow of a rock.

Once he was hidden, he examined himself. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Most of the venom seems to have been cleansed from his system already and nearly all the wounds had scabbed over. All except one. The one on his right arm from the ambusher spider looked red and swollen. It was no wonder with how long it stayed pumping its venom. He would have to take it easy for a while.

When he was done with taking stock of the situation, he became aware of a beeping in the back of his mind. Just as he noticed it, few a notifications unveiled themselves.

[You are now Level 4. 2 Stat Points gained.]

[Common Skill – Vicious Blow gained]

[Vicious Blow – Common] – Level 1

Break the ones who stand in your Way. Use a small amount of Stamina to empower your next blow. Power is increased with Strength.

He put the 2 Stat Points into Endurance yet again. His other Stats were falling behind his Endurance, but that wouldn’t matter if he died. He hoped that his new Skill could offset his low Strength. As he finalized the selection, a new and unfamiliar sensation spread throughout his body. Cold blue energy pulsed from his chest seeping into his whole being, strengthening his flesh and bones. After settling down he felt a dull ache in his bones, which disappeared after a little while. He looked at the ball of the energy in his chest. It felt more solid, more real but there also was something else there, a thread, a connection to someplace or someone far away.

[Mana Perception is now Level 2]

Shrugging his shoulders, knowing he couldn’t do anything about the connection right now, he brought up his Stats.

Body

Strength – 2

Agility – 4

Stolen story; please report.

Endurance – 10 + (+10%) - 11

Vitality – 6 + (+5%) - 6.3

Mind

Intelligence – 3

Focus – 2

Perception - 4

Feeling satisfied with his Stats he turned his eyes to the dead spiders. Judging by the scabbed-over wounds he guessed it had already been a few hours since the fight. It was a miracle that no more spiders attacked him while he was out cold.

Magnus stood up, limped over to the dead spiders, and extracted their venom sacs.

Considering he had no way to store them in the long term he decided to consume them. Cutting the first one open he took a small sip. Probably due to the combination of higher Endurance and [Poison Resistance], it felt like an afternoon tea compared to last time. He took a deep swig and continued drinking. After his second sac, he got yet another notification.

[Poison Resistance is now Level 7]

When he finished drinking from the last sac, he stood up, looked around the cave he spent the first day of his new life in, and started slowly limping into the darkness of the exit, with his knife in his left hand.

After what seemed like half an hour, he realized something. He could see in the darkness. There was a slight blue glow in the cave air. Getting an idea Magnus turned his attention to [Mana Perception] and focused on trying to turn it on. To his surprise, it was as if a switch was flipped and he saw what was hidden. A blue line snaked along the wall from where he came from and continued farther than he could see.

Magnus felt mesmerized by what he figured was Mana and followed the line until it came to a stop. It ended abruptly, while the tunnel continued into the distance. He carefully touched the glowing line, afraid that it might do something dangerous. His fears were for naught as nothing happened and he continued walking along the wall. Suddenly feeling tired after all the walking, he leaned against the wall where the line ended. He fell through the wall right on his back and heard a crack.

[Mana Perception is now Level 3]

Grunting he sat up and felt puzzled as he didn’t feel even an ounce of pain despite the crack. He looked at the ground under him and saw the source of the crack. Small by normal standards it was a skeleton. Magnus stood up and saw a fragmented skull right under his ass.

Magnus mumbled an apology to the long-dead skeleton that cushioned his fall. Looking more closely at it he saw a rusted breastplate resting on the skeleton’s chest. He used [Identify] on it.

[Rusted Breastplate – Tier 0]

This breastplate while of good quality is decayed by age. It is however better than nothing.

Better to take it than leave it with the dead. He put it on, whispered a prayer for the poor soul and turned on [Mana Perception]. Just as he thought, the blue line continued further into the tunnel. Taking one last look at the skeleton he started walking next to the line.

Just when he was starting to lose hope, he saw it. Light was coming from further down the tunnel. Magnus started running. By the time he reached the light he was out of breath. The light wasn’t the surface world as he thought, but it was breathtaking.