[Sub Quest Progress: 1/5 Wolfins Slain]

The Wolfin's exposed guts were a sore sight for the eyes. Its insides were caked in dirt, but even with such a disturbing view, Joe did not look away. Instead, he focused on a glowing orb that lay smothered in fur and gore. He crouched low, his left arm extending to reach for the bloody circle. He dug through the creature's grotesque insides and escaped with what he wanted.

He stood straight, observing the red circle. His palms brushed against its glassy exterior. Even though he was looking directly at it, the red llight it produced never threatened to blind him. Curious, Joe was just about to question Syr about it.

When…

[You Have Slain A (Lvl 5) Wolflin]

[You Have Leveled Up!]

[You Have Leveled Up!]

[+2 Additional Attribute Points]

[The Skill Rapid Leveling Is In Effect]

A flurry of of notifications flooded his view. They kept coming one after the other, but Joe concentrated a single one in particular.

“Rapid Leveling?” He rembered glancing at it vaguely, but he had no idea what the skill was capable of. Infact unless Syr explicitly explained the skill to him, he didn't have any idea what any of them did.

[Passive And Unique Skill: Rapid Leveling]

▪︎Description: Outsiders Have A Fleeting Life. They Must Achieve Their Objective As Quickly As Possible. To Make This A Reality, Outsiders Have A Skill Built Into Their Class By The Gods. The Skill Is Rapid Leveling.

▪︎Effect: The Rate At Which You Level Up Is Different. It Is Double The Rate Of Any Inhabitant Of Grisha.

The fact that level ups were also a thing already made it clear to Joe that most things In this world probably followed video game mechanics. But if that was the case why would there be a Class that has such an unfair and broken skill. Weren't games supposed to be balanced? Then again, Syr made it clear that this wasn't a game. It was a real world.

It just seemed odd, and if Outsider was this rare Class why was he given the class? He had questions, many questions. That entire description of the skill, gods and outsiders. It all just rubbed him the wrong way.

“So I Level up everytime I kill one of these animals?” Joe decided to ask a simpler question instead, he didn't feel like digging into the rabbit hole of these clases and gods at least not yet. It just seemed overwhelming….

[Yes, Everytime You Gain Experience In Battle You Level Up And Grow Stronger As A Result. If You Are To Survive In This World, You'll Need Every Level Up You Can Get.]

Survive, that word made Joe very uneasy. But it was accurate, considering he just fought for his life a few seconds ago.

“You say I grow stronger, but how much stronger are we talking here.”

[I'll Get To That, But First. Let's Take A Look At Your Achievements.]

[Achievement Unlocked: First Kill]

• Condition: Slay Your First Mana Beast In The New World.

• Reward: +2 Additional Attribute Points.

Achievement Unlocked: First Use]

• Condition: Activate Your First Skill As An Outsider

Reward: + 1 Additional Attribute Point.

Achievement Unlocked: Punching Above Your Weight]

• Condition: Slay A Man Beast Above Your Level

• Reward: +2 Additional Rank Points

[Your Skill Outsider's Enhancement Has Leveled Up!]

[Outsider’s Enhancement Has Reached (Lvl2]]

Joe's eyes scanned the text quickly. All these achievements just for killing a single Wolfin? His skill [Outsiders Enhancement] also seemed to gain a level. But Joe was more interested in those Additional Attribute Points? What did that even mean? Before he got to ask, another notification came rushing in.

[Attribute Window]

Personal Information:

• Name: Joe White

• Age: 19

• Class: Outsider (Unique)

• Level:6

Attributes:

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

• MP: 100/200

• Skill: 11>15 (+2 Class Boost Attribute Points)

• Strength: 10>14

• Speed: 10>14

• Defense: 8>10

• Mental Strength: 10>12

• Additional Rank Points: 7

Skills:

▪︎Rapid Leveling (Passive) (Unique)

•Outsider’s Enhancement

•Outsider’s Perspective (Passive) (Unique)

•Predator (Unique)

Inventory:

▪︎ The Black Blade

Gold Pieces:

• Amount: 0

Joe could see notable differences in his Attributes. All of them had grown, although not at the same rate. This is must've been what Syr meant by getting stronger. Joe saw his strength attribute had increased but he didn't notice any rise in strength. His physique also looked the same, but that could be a premature assessment considering he hadn't done anything to test his strenghth. He just went on his immediate feeling.

When Joe focused on the text, he saw them again. Additional Attribute Points. The total was 7? But how? His achievements only totalled to 5 points.

“Syr can you explain what these Additional Attributes Points are?” he finally got the question out of his mind.

[Yes, They Are Additional Points You Can Distribute To Any Attributes Of Your Choosing. It's +1 Attribute Point Every Time You Level Up.]

“I see.” Joe muttered. Now the extra two points made sense.

Joe took a moment to survey his options. He had 7 points at his disposal. He thought about spreading them across all his attributes, but that would only leave him at the same point he was right now with only a single point increase for each Attribute and an extra one to spare. To Joe, that felt like a waste. He wanted to focus on a specific Attribute first, and he had already made up his mind on which one he was going for.

“I want you to put 5 of my points to my Mental Strength Attribute.” Joe's reasoning for this was simple, he didn't want to freeze everytime he accidentally looked at a Woflin's eye. That paralysis he experienced earlier nearly cost him his life. It was an unpleasant experience he wasn't keen on experiencing again.

“The other 2 points you should put to my speed Attribute” If he was going to keep fighting monsters like the Wolfin Joe thought speed would probably be his strongest weapon. He could run away if things got too crazy, although that would be his absolute last resort. His main reason was the simple fact that cutting things was a lot more satisfying if he was moving at high speed.

Joe couldn't exactly put his finger on why, but suddenly the idea of cutting down monsters didn't seem scary. Considering he was able to defend himself with his skills, fighting savage beats was exhilarating. He still couldn't get over that surge of energy and adrenaline he felt back then. His hands were still ttrembling.

[Your Attributes Have Been Updated]

•Speed:14>16

•Mental Strength:12>17

[Your Mana Tool:The Black Blade Has Leveled Up!]

[Your Mana Tool: The Black Blade. Has Reached (Lvl5]

Joe titled the bloody black blade in his hand. After seeing Syr's notification, he expected changes from it. Things like weight and size growth were what he was anticipating but the blade didn't really change much. All it did was produce a small glinting light, and that was it.

The fact that his weapons could also Level up alongside him was still insanely cool. Maybe the Black Blade was going to get bigger after more level ups, it was kind of unfair to expect immediate change from his part. Considering it had just grown by only 1 level.

After noticing Syr wasn't displaying any more notifications. He finally asked. “This glowing glass thing in my hand, what is it?” He held it up like Syr couldn't see it.

[It's a Mana Beast Core. They Are Found In Every Mana Beast And It's Their Source Of Strength. That Core Contains All The Wolfin's Current Mana. Humans Usually Use The Cores To Craft Weapons Of Their Own Or Improving Pre Existing Ones. Do You Want It?]

Joe didn't hesitate. “Yes.”

[You Can Take It With Your Skill (Predator)]

[Unique Skill: Predator]

• Effect: This Skill Allows Your Mana To Devour Anything It Makes Contact With, Including Its Mana. Can Only Be Used On Objects Or The Deceased, The Skill Can Also Be Channeled Through A Weapon To Increase Its Range.

• Range: 10 meters

• Boosts: +10 Skill Attribute Points

• Mana Cost (MC): 0

The thing that stood out to Joe about this skill was how it didn't cost mana at all. His other Unique Skill [Rapid Leveling] also didn't seem to consume mana. Were all these unique skills like this?

Joe didn't even notice how much mana he'd lost. When he glanced at his attribute Window again he noticed just how much he'd lost. For just two skills, it was more than he expected.

“Let's do it Syr.”

[Skill Activation: Predator]

A cloud of smoke emmited from Joe's left palm. This dark smoke was still his own mana, it just looked different than usual. Joe chalked that down to [Predator] affecting how it looked and acted. His mana wrapped around the crimson glass and easily consumed it in its darkness. The orb vanished from his grasp seconds later, and the smoke followed suit.

[+250 Mana Points To Your Mana Pool]

[Current Mana Pool: 305/440]

Immediately after he devoured the core—his body felt less strained and he was now more energetic. The fatigue that was slowly sneaking up on him retreated. This must've been the effect of refilling his Mana Pool. It was great. Although, consuming the orb did have a slightly bitter after taste.

[+1 (Level 5) Mana Beast Core To Your Inventory]

[Normally Mana Beast Cores Need A Swordsmith To Be Used To Upgrade Or Create New Tools, But Since You Have Me. I Can Do That For You, No Problem. Do You Want To Upgrade The Black Blade?]

“Sure go for it,” Joe gave permission without an issue.

[You Have Used A (Level 5) Mana Beast Core To Upgrade The Black Blade]

[Your Mana Tool: (Black Blade) Has Leveled Up!]

[Mana Tool: (Black Blade). Has Reached (Lvl6]

The Black Blade looked a little taller this time around, but Joe couldn't know for sure. The difference was so miniscule, it could've just been his imagination.

With Syr not showing any more notifications, he decided to keep moving. He took casual steps deeper into the forest. He was a lot more assured this time around. But he did have one thing, one little thing that clawed at the back of his mind. Slowly, it was eating him from the inside. He had to let it out.

“This place really isn't earth is it Syr.”

[No, Earth Was Deleted. It's Gone.]

Jos knew the answer to this. That was the reason he was dreading this question. Tears streamed down both sides of his face. He halted and just crumbled to his knees. Without warning he just unleashed it. A horrid scream rippled throughout the forest. Joe just unloaded, he dropped his black blade. Instead he clutched his heart. He wanted to dig into his chest and rip it out. The images of Chloe's face came flooding into his mind. “I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… Chloe..” he cried for several minutes straight. But deep down he knew it, his crying wouldn't change the fact.

His only sibling, Chloe. She really did die that day.

It took over 10 minutes before Joe could finally stand. He gripped his blade tightly, his face still watery. The look on his eyes was one of pure rage. His mind was mixed with devastation and questions. So many questions. But before Joe could do anything else…

A loud shriek rang out, bouncing off the forest tress. Joe's eyes turned to the direction of the source. By the sound of it.

It belonged to a human…