Nathan stood amid the goblin corpses, his breathing ragged and his heart pounding in his chest. The adrenaline rush had given way to a sense of exhilaration.

"I always knew I was strong for my level, but this power..." He took a deep breath and looked around, scanning the forest for any sign of movement. The trees were still, and the only sounds were the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the breeze. But Nathan knew it was only a matter of time before more goblins appeared.

"I need to level up as fast as possible," he muttered to himself. "I can't afford to waste any time."

He had made up his mind to climb the tower alone. The memory of his dead friends still haunted him, and he could not bear the thought of getting close to anyone again only to watch them die. But to climb the tower solo, he would need to push himself beyond his limits and level up incredibly fast,

“There's only a few hunters that solo climb, and they were all lucky enough to get powerful unique skills early on. I’ll just have to wait until I reach level 10 and hopefully get a powerful skill…but I have the Eyes of Erebus, which is already extremely powerful… The shadow clearly believed that I could do it, so I don’t think there's a reason to doubt myself.”

Nathan's fingers curled tightly around the hilt of his shadow sword and began to run, his feet pounding against the forest floor. He moved through the trees, his senses on high alert for any sign of danger.

It was not long before he heard the sound of goblins in the distance. He veered toward the noise, his sword at the ready, and his heart racing with anticipation. The forest blurred around him as he moved, his feet pounding against the ground with superhuman force.

As he approached the source of the noise, he saw the goblins rushing towards him with their swords drawn. They were ugly creatures, their skin a sickly green hue and their eyes glowing with malice. Nathan could feel his muscles tensing as he prepared to fight.

The first goblin rushed towards him, its sword slashing through the air. Nathan moved with lightning-fast reflexes, his shadow sword flashing as he parried the attack. The impact of the blow jolted through his arm, but he pushed through the pain and counterattacked.

The goblin fell back, its body torn open by Nathan's blade. Blood spattered across Nathan's face, and he felt a thrill of exhilaration.

But there was no time to savor his victory. More goblins were rushing towards him. Nathan leaped into action, his sword whistled as he hacked and slashed at his foes.

The forest rang with the clash of weapons as Nathan fought. He could feel his body growing tired, his muscles burning with exertion. But he pushed through the pain, determined to keep fighting.

The goblins were fierce opponents, their attacks coming in fast and furious. Nathan could feel his breath coming in short gasps as he dodged and weaved, his sword moving in a blur.

But he was starting to gain the upper hand. He could see the fear in the goblins' eyes as they began to back away from him. Slowly, as he continued to kill the goblins, he could feel his body become lighter, and the shadow sword became easier to swing. He was familiar with this feeling. It was a high that was incredibly addicting, a rush of power that was almost intoxicating.

Nathan's senses became sharper, and his awareness of his surroundings heightened. And then, suddenly, a blue screen flickered before him.

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Congratulations! You have reached Level 5.

Nathan redoubled his efforts, fueled by the knowledge that he had leveled up. His strikes became even more precise, and his movements more fluid. He deflected the goblins' attacks slightly easier, turning their momentum against them.

As the last of the goblins fell, Nathan took a moment to catch his breath. The rush of battle began to subside, and Nathan grinned, feeling a sense of accomplishment wash over him. He had been so focused on killing the goblins that he had completely forgotten about his level. But now that he had achieved another level, this sudden reminder sparked a curiosity in Nathan's mind.

“A level four or five should not be this strong. Even a party of level-three hunters shouldn’t be able to kill goblins this easily. This skill...” Nathan paused, looking down at the shadow sword in his hand, feeling a slight warmth emitting from the handle, one Nathan had not noticed before, “What was that shadow?” Nathan shook his head, his desire for answers was something he struggled to hold back, “I’ll think about this after I leave the tower.” He pushed the curiosity to the back of his mind and focused on hunting once more.

He continued to run through the forest, his sword slashing through the goblins. But as he fought, a new idea began to form in his mind. He had been relying on his shadow sword to kill the goblins, but what if he could create other weapons from the darkness? Weapons that would perfectly suit anything that arises during battle. What if he could throw knives made of shadows at his enemies?

The thought excited him, and he decided to try it out. He closed his eyes and concentrated, imagining a throwing knife made of shadows appearing in his hand. He felt a tingling sensation in his eyes and fingers, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the knife, made of complete darkness, sitting lightly in his palm.

With a precise throw, he sent the knife hurtling towards a group of goblins. It embedded itself in the chest of one of the creatures, and the others looked at it in confusion. Nathan took advantage of their distraction and charged forward, his sword slashing through their ranks.

The fight was over almost before it began. The goblins lay dead at his feet, their blood staining the forest floor.

Nathan examined the forest, his eyes scanning the foliage for any sign of movement. He knew full well that many more goblins still lurked amidst the lush greenery, biding their time and awaiting their opportunity to strike the helpless hunters that invaded the forest. Nevertheless, Nathan had accomplished enough for one grueling day, and he yearned for a break. With a deep sigh, Nathan sprang upon a nearby branch that was elevated enough to remain beyond the goblins' discernment. He found a position that was comfortable enough to provide much-needed rest and leaned his fatigued frame against the rugged, pitted bark of the tree. There he rested his head in his calloused hand, and muttered to himself,

“Stats,” A bright blue screen appeared before Nathan, about four feet tall and about half as wide.

Hunter: Nathan Pierce

Class: Swordsman

Age: 22

Level: 5

Stats:

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 16

Constitution: 13

Mana: 8

Stat Points: 4

Skills:

(Lv 3) Slash

(Lv 2) Stab

(Lv 4) Dash

(Lv 1) The Eyes of Erebus

Nathan paused for a moment, his mind still reeling from the sudden rush of adrenaline that had accompanied his recent victory.

“4 stat points…” Nathan contemplated how he should spend them, “My shadow sword is incredibly sharp, so I don’t think I need to put them into strength…I should at least put one into constitution…that's always a good idea,” Nathan simply envisioned his constitution stat increasing to 14, and the point was spent, “I think I should just put the rest in dexterity. Although I do need enough mana to form my shadow weapons, I haven’t had any issues so far, so I'll just wait until I level up again.”

Stats:

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 19

Constitution: 14

Mana: 8

Stat Points: 0