Delving into the forest made the duo feel a joy that they haven't felt in a while, something like a kid entering a toy shop for the first time. The trees looked more beautiful than they remembered, the animals looked more lively and the flowers gave out a pleasant aroma which they've never felt.
“This place is lovely!” Makoto said. “Don't you think, Hachi?”
Excited about exploring a brand-new beautiful place, Hachi couldn't stop sniffing around the area.
“Looks like you agree!” Makoto laughed.
Suddenly, Hachi stopped dead on its tracks.
“What's wrong?” Makoto asked.
A round, jelly-like entity jumped out of a bush in the distance.
“A slime?!” Makoto exclaimed, pulling his dagger, and preparing to fight the monster. “Stay behind me Hachi!”
However, to his surprise, Hachi ignored his words and dashed into the slime's direction.
“Hey! Come back!” Makoto shouted, reaching his arm out. “It's dangerous!”
As Hachi rapidly approached the slime, he jumped and swung his paw diagonally, simultaneously releasing three glowing projectiles.
The magical projectiles quickly travelled toward the slime, striking it, creating a dust cloud and emitting a loud explosion-like noise.
“What the-?!” Makoto said, as he stored his dagger and chased Hachi. “Was that a spell?”
As the smoke cleared out, it was made clear that the slime had disappeared.
“That was incredible!” Makoto said, as he petted Hachi.
Out of nowhere, a blue box appeared in their visions.
ENEMY SLIME KILLED!
Hachi: +10 XP (Kill)
Hideaki Makoto: +2 XP (Party Bonus)
"Woah... Looks like I received some experience because of... A Party Bonus?" Makoto said, closing the pop up. "I guess I am in a party with Hachi, and being in one gives you experience?" he said, trying to guess how the system worked.
Upon closing the previous blue box, another one quickly appeared.
PARTY MEMBER LEVEL UP!
Hachi: Level 1 -> Level 2
"You already leveled up?!" Makoto said, surprised. "That's awesome! Good boy!" he said to Hachi, as he petted him.
Not more than three hours had passed since they had entered the forest and Hachi already managed to level up. Unknown to them, that was incredibly fast for novice adventurers like them.
"Now that I think about I never checked my stats or my skills," Makoto thought. "Maybe we are overpowered like these Isekai protagonists," he daydreamed, opening his stats screen.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Hideaki Makoto - Lvl. 1 Hero
STATS
HEALTH (HP) 12/12 DEFENSE 5 MAGIC POINTS (MP) 9/9 AGILITY 10 PHYSICAL POWER 8 MAGIC POWER 10
COMBAT SKILLS
None
MISCELLANEOUS SKILLS
Appraisal
"Well... This feels extremely underwhelming," Makoto thought. "Guess this isn't as easy like the animes."
Observing Makoto's stats, Hachi jumped and barked, as if he wanted Makoto to see his.
"Alright, alright!" Makoto laughed, as he opened his dog's stats screen. "Now let's see yours!"
Hachi - Lvl. 2 Hero
STATS
HEALTH (HP) 35/35 DEFENSE 11.5 MAGIC POINTS (MP) 20/22 AGILITY 31.5 PHYSICAL POWER 25 MAGIC POWER 22.5
COMBAT SKILLS
Magic Claw
MISCELLANEOUS SKILLS
Appraisal, Blessing of Anubis
"WHAAAAT?!" Makoto screamed, shocked. "What?!" he repeated, now in a lower voice.
Makoto was visibly mindblown by the pure discrepancy in the numbers.
"L- Looks like you can hold your own in a battle," he said, patting Hachi. "That's insane!"
Hachi wagged his tail, letting a proud and confident bark.
"Blessing of Anubis?" he questioned, noticing a strangely named skill. "Wasn't Anubis the name of one of the gods I met?"
Makoto clicked the name on the screen, promptly opening another display.
Blessing of Anubis
A passive skill bestowed by one of the great gods.
Greatly enhances the user's health, mana, speed and power.
Aditionally, visually enhances various attacks with flashier lights and designs.
"That's a weird additional effect, but this skill is probably the reason why Hachi is so powerful!" he said, linking the dots. "Wonder how he got that skill..."
Suddenly, Hachi barked, signalizing that it was time to continue exploring.
Makoto closed the screens. "You're right! We can't stay here for long," he said, as he started to walk. "Let's continue!"
The two heroes then proceed to delve deeper into the forest, while savoring the beauty of the nature.