[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints]
[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints]
[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints] x 23
...
With the number of notifications buzzing crazily, it'slike a group of mosquitoes in his ear, Alexander stood amidst the chaos. It's supposed to cause frustration if it's a mosquito, but it's not.
Alexander can be seen standing without any injuries from head to toe; he was very much fine after this carnage
He was so dumbfounded since he did not know the limit of his strength. He had not even used his powerful skills, yet with just a normal punch, he was able to kill the beast so easily.
Now, he was more curious to find out what level he was truly at, but in order to gain a better understanding of the scope of his strength, he needed to assess himself further.
He needed to find at least a decent opponent. "This place has become so smelly," Alexander said aloud, as the stench was particularly bad after the Ground Hound's death.
"Razon, please show me my status," he instructed.
A holographic panel began to manifest in the air itself, displaying his current stats.
[Status:
Level: 1 (81/100)
Name: Alexaner Aurelious
Coins: 0
Omnipoints: 154
Class: None
Race: Human
Bloodline: Behemoth Bloodline
Innate Skills: Titan's Might, Behemoth's Wrath, Legacy of the Behemoth
Passive Skills: Unyielding Will, Behemoth's Presence, Unyielding Stamina
Active Skills: Earthen Fortress, Primal Roar, Crescent Blade Arc
Free Attributes: 0
Health: 450
Vitality: 50
Strength: 115
Defense: 110
Speed: 32
Stamina: 65
Mana: 200
Magic Power: 10 ]
"81 experience points and 154 Omnipoints. I've earned a lot this time," he mused, looking at his loot.
However, when he remembered that mastering one of his current skills, 'Crescent Blade Arc', required more Omnipoints, the victorious smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a broken smile.
He was really poor, so poor that if he spent all of his Omnipoints right now, he would only add 15 points of mastery to the skill. It wouldn’t even reach 50%, which made him feel disheartened.
"I should just save it for future use. Actually, since I’m already here, I should grind for more. But I haven’t even arrived at my destination yet," Alexander said, glancing ahead.
He was still in the middle of the forest, where only these lowly beasts were present. To encounter stronger beasts, he needed to step foot in the Grimhowl Forest.
He then decided to move forward, but after walking about ten steps toward his destination, he stopped abruptly.
Slapping his forehead in frustration, he muttered, "I almost forgot! Dang, I nearly left some loot behind," Alexander cursed himself inwardly.
But the curse words were directed at the other Alexander. Still, he felt stupid for blaming his former self for his lack of awareness rather than taking responsibility himself.
In truth, the curse was only backfiring, as he was now the same Alexander he was scolding.
Walking toward the Direwolf, Alexander squatted down. He gently caressed the beast’s chest and, with a straight hand mimicking a knife, he pierced it into the beast.
Blood sprayed onto the ground, with some splashing onto his face. As he stared at the blood covering his hands, he couldn’t help but vomit.
This was his first time killing an animal, let alone opening its insides. However, he gritted his teeth and continued as his hands searched through the wolf’s innards.
Suddenly, he felt something sturdy, like a rock, lodged between the beast’s heart. It wasn’t the heart itself, as he couldn’t fully grasp it if it were.
Pulling it out, a bluish, rock-like core rested in his hands, radiating vitality so intense that even Alexander could feel it.
The bluish energy within the Beast Core was saturated with Arcane Energy, but he knew that attempting to absorb it would result in being consumed by the beast’s madness.
It wasn’t a matter of strength—it was a battle of the soul. Only those with powerful souls possessed the ability to absorb such energy.
But if someone truly possessed a powerful soul, why would they waste their time absorbing a low-grade Beast Core?
If a person cultivated their soul and defeated a beast at the same level, attempting to absorb its Beast Core would still be suicidal.
This is because the core’s power would triple if the beast’s soul became aware that the person who killed it intended to absorb its essence.
However, if the beast’s soul saw, that it was an unknown person it would only retain the beast’s prime strength from when it was alive.
Even so, if both the person and the beast were at the same level, the chances of success would be nearly zero. Even if the person were one level higher, the chances of success would still be only 10%.
He had learned this information from Alexander's memories, where his father had been speaking to a man whose identity he couldn’t recall, as he had been very young at that time.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Their discussion had been about this very topic, so he understood it to some extent.
"I can just sell this Beast Core for money. Since I have the system to level up, finding someone to purify this core to increase my strength isn’t worth it," Alexander though.
After all, he would still need to spend money to have the Beast Core purified. If it were a high-grade core, he might have been tempted, but since it wasn’t, he decided to focus on more important matters instead.
(Just to be clear here, Arcane Cores and Beast Cores are the same. So don't even try to think on what this is and that OK!!!)
"Now that the kingdom is already in ruins, and I’m running very short on funds, I should be more mindful," he muttered to himself.
With that, he walked toward the nearest Ground Hound and repeated the same process. However, he was stunned. After wandering his hands around its chest, he found nothing.
When he pulled his hand out, it was coated in black, oil-like blood. He frowned and glanced down at the already dead Ground Hound.
"Has this beast not developed a Beast Core yet?" he muttered, furrowing his brows.
But then an idea emerged in his mind. Lowering his hand from the beast’s chest all the way to its abdomen, he pierced it again, causing the already dead Ground Hound to yelp instinctively.
As he moved his hand around that area, Alexander finally found it.
This time, the Ground Hound’s Beast Core was smaller than that of the Direwolf. While the Direwolf's core was the size of a walnut, the Ground Hound’s core was only the size of a small pebble.
He didn’t mind it too much so long as it could be sold, he would be satisfied. Placing the core into his inventory, he continued the process until he had gathered a total of 27 low-grade Ground Hound cores and 1 low-grade Direwolf core.
With that, he resumed his journey through the forest. Every time he ran, he would encounter the same creatures over and over again.
Mostly, he came across Direwolves and Ground Hounds. Other than these beasts, he hadn’t encountered anything new.
However, the most frequent encounters were are Ground Hounds. Now, in front of him, a Ground Hound stood with its hair bristling like a cat, blocking his path.
Alexander pounced at it, propelling himself forward like a cheetah in a short burst of speed. In mere seconds, he closed the distance, his fist brimming with power.
His punch came crashing down, striking the beast’s snout. The bones in its snout snapped instantly, the Ground Hound’s nose broke like a kite crushed beneath the weight of a car.
The Ground Hound let out a yelp of pain as its body was sent flying, slamming into a tree with its back. Moments later, it fell to the ground lifelessly.
[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints]
[Congratulations You have leveled up]
[Status Gained: +5 Health | +2 Vitality | +2 Strength | +2 Defense | +2 Speed | +2 Stamina | +5 Mana | +2 Magic Power | +2 Free Attributes]
[Bonus Reward: 500 Omnipoints]
[Status Updated]
[Level: 2 (01/200)
Name: Alexander Aurelious
Coins: 0
Omnipoints: 660
Class: None
Race: Human
Bloodline: Behemoth Bloodline
Innate Skills: Titan's Might, Behemoth's Wrath, Legacy of the Behemoth
Passive Skills: Unyielding Will, Behemoth's Presence, Unyielding Stamina
Active Skills: Earthen Fortress, Primal Roar, Crescent Blade Arc
Free Attributes: 2
Health: 455
Vitality: 52
Strength: 117
Defense: 112
Speed: 34
Stamina: 67
Mana: 205 ]
...
"500 Omnipoints?" he said in shock, pausing his progress on extracting the Ground Hound’s Beast Core.
"Razen, is there a bonus reward every time I level up?" Alexander asked, feeling elated.
[Yes, Host. However, the bonus reward is limited to Omnipoints and nothing else. The higher your level, the greater the reward will be.]
[Additionally, the first-time reward is higher. The bonus will be slightly lower the next time you level up.]
Hearing this confirmation from the system only fueled Alexander’s motivation further.
Navigating through the system panel, he opened the skills section. As his eyes focused on the progress bar, he decided to upgrade the skill.
[Active Skills: Cresent Blade Arc
Description: A powerful, sweeping sword strike designed to attack multiple enemies or deliver a single devastating blow. This technique focuses on using momentum and precision to create a wide, arcing slash that maximizes the reach and power of the blade.
Effect: Generates a crescent-shaped arc of energy.
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: No Cooldown
(Mastery: 23/100)]
Looking at the mastery, he then directed the panel to the upgrade button.
[Do you want to continue?] the system asked for confirmation.
Without a second thought, Alexander upgraded the skill by pressing the "Yes" button. (If you don’t know what the "Yes" button is, just Google it.)
As Alexander confirmed the upgrade, the system’s mechanical voice echoed in his mind:
[-270 Omnipoints]
[Skills Updated!]
[Mastery: 50/100]
The moment when the notifications faded, a surge of energy shot through his body, his vision darkened for a moment as flood of information about the movements and the proper execution.
In the place, he saw himself wielding a normal sword with perfect balance. The weapon was carving glowing arcs of energy into the air, his movement precise and elegant.
As if the sword had become the extension of his very own, his muscle twitched involuntarily, mimicking the technique as though it had been etched into his very being.
His face was in awe on how powerful this skill in his mind from the demonstration, Alexander decided to give it a try.
His muscles twitched involuntarily, mimicking the technique as though it had been etched into his very being.
Taking out a normal metal sword, he felt a deep sense of familiarity as it rested in his hands.
It was as if he had held a sword from the very moment he was born. Alexander could feel the weight of the blade and the energy coursing through it.
The moment he closed his eyes, he took a stance. With a diagonal slash, he unleashed a bluish arc-shaped slash through the air.
The wind whistled as it flew with incredible speed. When it struck a small tree, it sliced through it cleanly from top to bottom. The power was immense, and as the tree fell to the ground, the glowing arc finally dissipated into the air.
[Crescent Blade Arc Activated]
[-30 Mana]
[Mana: 175/205]
"This... this is the Crescent Blade Arc?" Alexander muttered, deeply shocked by how powerful it was to cut down a tree.
Even though the tree was small—but not really small. It was average in size, that even an experience lumberjack would have to exert considerable effort to chop it down. Yet, with just a single use of this skill, it had been sliced cleanly.
"Now I’m very curious about upgrading this skill to perfection," he said, his gaze fixed on the upgrade mechanism. However, he was stunned by what he saw.
The cost of the upgrade was supposed to be 10, but now it had risen to 15. To upgrade the skill to perfection, he would need to spend at least 750 Omnipoints.
He couldn’t help but hold his chin in thought, contemplating this sudden problem. The price seemed to increase each time he reached an achievement.
"Razen, can you explain the levels of comprehension in a skill?" Alexander asked.
[Sure, Host. There are three levels of comprehension:
10% - Basic Understanding
50% - Advanced Proficiency
100% - Perfection.]
...
Alexander nodded his head thoughtfully before deciding to continue his journey, holding the sword firmly in his hands.
With the weapon in hand, he could simply swing it and kill any beast that dared to block his path. As he moved forward, a Ground Hound appeared in his sight.
Without hesitation, he swung the sword, delivering a sweeping slash toward the Ground Hound’s side.
The strike was swift and precise, leaving a long and deep wound visible on the Ground Hound’s side. Without stopping, Alexander continued on his journey as the wounded beast collapsed to the ground.
The Ground Hound convulsed and groaned for a moment before finally succumbing to its injuries. Alexander, too preoccupied, forgot to extract its Beast Core.