Minutes had passed until Russell was able to snap out of his daze. Staring at the notification he recieved, Russell begins to laugh. Tears welling up in his eyes. Ha... 423rd huh... Haha... ha.. hahahah! I've done something.. it might not be one of those first titles but... I started later than everyone else. Yet, 423rd? Out of billions? Huuu.... Taking a deep breath, Russell closes out of the notification. Looking down at his dagger, he smiles. Personal skills... I got one in only an hour... what would happen if I do this all day? Tightening his grip on the handle, he backs up to test out his new skill. Wait. How do I use a skill...? Just go through the motions? Trial and error I guess. I hope I don't have to say it out loud... "Huu... here goes nothing."

Gripping his dagger, Russell once again charges at the tree. With a slash that contains every ounce of power within his body, he slides the dagger straight into the bark of the tree. Continuing past the trunk, something forces him to an abrupt stop. A piercing pain in his right arm as he slams into the grass. Fuck! What the hell?

- 18

Shut it System. Holding his throbbing arm, he looks towards the tree. Sure enough, he finds his dagger lodged into the trunk of his target. Getting back to his feet, he walks and grabs hold of the handle of his dagger with his left hand. With a tug, the dagger barely moves. Narrowing his eyes, he pulls harder. Only after minutes of pulling and wiggling does the blade finally come free. I just got my ass kicked by a damn tree.

Taking a peek at Tina, her hand covering her mouth and tears coming down her eyes, his face sports a nasty scowl. Spitting a little blood out of his mouth onto the ground, Russell walks back into the clearing. "You... pff.. You lost to a tree. Bahahaha!"

"Shut it." after snapping at Tina, Russell sits down and begins meditating. Thirty minutes later, he checks his HP to make sure it's back to full. Standing up with a groan, he checks his arm and notes that the pain is gone, just slight throbbing now. Then he checks on his skills.

Meditation lvl 1: 38%

P. Charging Slash lvl 1: 11%

Well, at least if I hurt myself there is still a plus side to it. If repitition works this well, that title boost along with the dagger bonus will add up quite a lot. Taking a bite out of the cracker rations he bought from the shop followed by some light stretching, he picks up his dagger once more. Looking over at Tina, he taps his chin, noticing some slight stubble that has started making it's appearance. "Tina... if I want to get some levels... do I have to head out to kill something? I still have 0% even after all of that..."

With a slight groan, Tina flys over and takes a squat in the grass. Sighing, she starts her explanation. "Basically, yes. When you kill a monster, the System siphons the life force into you from the corpse. Which would be experience. Of course, there are also other ways. For example, if you were to create an item. The System would gather the surrounding Mana and turn that into experience as well, the amount depending on the quality of said item."

Crafting huh.. I did want to try out alchemy sometime. Sounds much easier than going out and killing something... I have hunted before, but that's different from a monster. And if there are things like goblins that resemble humans? Do I have it in me to kill something like that? Shit. "So, what abou-"

"Get to level 10." says Tina after cutting off Russell. "You get class options at level 10. That was your question right?"

"..."

After a few minutes of ugly silence, Russell walks back to the tree and takes a fighting stance. If I'm truly going to be fighting, I have to be prepared. With a light bang, another gash is left in the tree. Smiling, he begins his grind.

***

After about six hours, when night begins to descend, Russell plops face first into the ground. Rolling onto his back minutes later, he looks into the sky. Sparkling stars, a full moon accompanied by a smaller, slightly dimmer one. Further proving that where he is, is most definitely not on Earth. After a little longer of gazing at the stars, he checks on his notifications.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Congratulations!

Due to repetitive actions and exercise, you have earned the following gains:

+ 2 Strength

+ 1 Agility

+ 1 Endurance

Level 2 in Meditation!

Level 3 in Meditation!

Level 2 in P. Charging Slash!

Level 4 in Meditation!

Level 3 in P. Charging Slash!

Level 4 in P. Charging Slash!

80% towards acquiring the Personal Skill: ???

Clenching his fists, Russell feels the new found strength flowing through his body. From this, I can tell that my strength has nearly doubled from when I first got here. Not sure about speed. Which obviously, makes no sense. After all, I've only spent about half a day working out, gaining those skill levels. It must be what Tina said about the System awarding me with Mana from the atmosphere. That is the only way that I can think of anyway. Which is quite worrisome.. if this "System" can give it to me so easily... it can take it right back can't it? I mean... as bad as the thought is.. can I really do anything about it? I should just be happy. That's all I can do for now. That new personal skill has been stuck at 80% for the past two hours. I thought it was that Dagger/Knife Mastery... it still could, but it hasn't gone up no matter what I did. Maybe it needs something else if that's what it is. Anyway, I wonder what the level ups did for my skills.

Meditation lvl 4: When in a still state, and focusing on recovery, recovery of stamina and health is faster by 24.5%

P. Charging Slash lvl 4: A personal creation of the skill "Charging Slash". Due to being personally created, the skill is slightly better and easier to level compared to it's base version. Damage + 7 - 12. Stamina usage varies

So an extra 1.5% regen per level for Meditation and... up two maximum bonus and up one on the minimum for Charging Slash's damage? Oh well. Not too bad. Closing out of his skills, Russell focuses on himself to check up on his status.

Russell Hansen

Level: 1

Class: None

Subclass: None

Title(s): Survivor, Personal Perfectionist

HP: 38/40

MP: 30/30

SP: 18/60

Stats

Strength: 7

Agility: 9

Endurance: 6

Vitality: 8

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 7

Luck: 0

Free Points: 0

Skill(s): Survive, Meditation, P. Charging Slash

Spell(s): None

It really just looks like a bunch of numbers. Not sure what they mean yet... Stamina went up by fifteen... while agility went up by three... so maybe five total per agility? But strength went up as well so I don't know... Endurance went up one, while health also went up by five... So that could be it as well. Gah. Just a jumble of numbers. With a nice and long yawn, Russell looks over at Tina who is currently curled up in a clump of flowers. Smiling, he once more looks up towards the sky. Closing his eyes, he starts to focus on feeling the slight breeze flow over his skin, while listening to the slight sounds of crickets. Maybe this isn't so bad. I wonder what those two are doing right now. That stupid athlete of a brother of mine, Sam, probably got a personal skill too... just knowing how my life has gone he's probably 422nd... sigh. Sis probably got one too. Who knows I guess. They should be fine. I will focus on myself first. Hopefully I'm not too far away from them when I get out of here too... I did drive a few miles away from my house and with the planet combination... that could very well be thousands of miles away now. Screw it. I will find my way eventually. Finishing off the last of his thoughts, Russell's consciousness slowly drifts off into the night.

***

*Hooowwwwllll*

Eyes shooting open, Russell scrambles to his feet. Looking around in the darkness, he sees a small glint in the grass. Picking up his dagger, he peers into the black that surrounds him. Goosebumps covering his entire body, his breathing staggered, he focuses on the sound of his surroundings. The light breeze from when he fell asleep gone, the crickets silent, replaced by the stillness of night. The hell was that? A wolf? The fuck? This is a tutorial right..? They wouldn't come attack the clearing. Right? Speaking of which... what kind of tutorial starts in a clearing anyway? Shouldn't it be a starter town? Shit, why do I think this now? Where's Tina anyway? Peeking through narrowed eyes in the darkness, Russell checks the flower patch Tina was in previously. Not seeing anything through the dark, he creeps over. After the longest minute of his life, he reaches the flowers. He examines the area. No Tina. Just flowers. "...Tina?"

After waiting around in the silence with no answer for a few minutes, he once more looks towards the tree line surrounding him. Eyes finally adjusting to the lack of light, he looks toward the tree he practiced with earlier. Minutes of silence go by, with nothing happening. Peeking at his dagger and seeing the sharpness of the blade, he makes his way towards the treeline. After a minute of creeping to the tree, he looks back towards the clearing. With a deep breath, tightening his grip on his dagger, he turns back to the forest. With silent steps, he walks into the darkness.