The giant armadillos were obviously big. They stood tall, around three feet when they were rolling. Their barrel-shaped bodies were encased in an armored shell made of interlocking plates. These plates provided them with a high defense to even endure the heat in the area... Their elongated heads had sharp, curved snouts ideal for digging, while their amber eyes glowed softly, hinting at cautious intelligence. Powerful forelimbs ended in massive, bone-white claws, sharp enough to carve through rock or fend off predators with high power.
Despite their bulky frames, the armadillos moved with surprising speed, and given their size, I could tell that their body slam would be pretty painful.
‘I can tell now why giant armadillos aren’t the best targets of most people…’
I couldn’t hit them and kill them fast enough with my throwing knives… their durability was low, and with the defenses of the monsters, they would break in no time. Perhaps I should have leveled up in the previous zone before coming here. It was too late to worry about that now.
The two monsters approached me and then soon split up to attack me from the sides. Now they were using tactics too, huh? Still, I didn’t let that bother me and just waited until the last moment. When they were about to turn me into a pancake, I jumped and then they collided with each other.
The impact made them stop completely and then they fell to the ground dizzy. Without hesitation, I fell, already swinging my knives at the head of one of them… I clicked my tongue in annoyance when I felt the defenses of the beast.
-45!, 45!
The monster trembled in pain, but despite the critical damage, I failed to reach its brain. Still, I soon stabbed the monster again and again in a hurry, since the other beast was getting up. Perhaps I should really use my free points to strength… After five hits, the beast finally gave in.
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You received 12 EXP.
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You received 08 Origin Coins.
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The other monster ran away to gain more speed before attacking me again. It began to spin around the area in order to gain time and annoy me. It was working… Eventually, the monster used a small hill to propel itself upward and then eventually fall over me. Still, I was able to see the movements of the beast and then jump to the side and throw a knife at its legs.
-21, -11, -11, -11, -11,
Whenever the beast completed a roll, it would lose health thanks to my knife. That was good to know and I couldn’t help but grin.
While the beast was slowing down, I hit the unprotected parts of the sides of the monster with my throwing knives and then finally charged at the monster. In its anger, the beast slashed its sharp claws at me, but I avoided them with a single step to the side and then stabbed its arms. While the beast was in pain, I went for its head.
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You received 12 EXP.
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You received 08 Origin Coins.
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I sighed in relief after the monster fell on the ground and turned into ashes. Fortunately, it left a piece of meat behind that was around three hundred kilograms. It could be turned into a proper meal with the right condiments.
‘Let me handle the fighting now. These guys can be a decent challenge.’
‘Sure.’
‘Ah! Don’t coat the weapons with poison!’
‘Shut up. I don’t want to risk breaking the knives before I can get others in the next town.’
As I watched that moron fighting, my thoughts kept working on my next steps. Would I find better gear in the next town? My current equipment was working, but it was slowly losing its effectiveness. The durability of my weapons and armor was decreasing, and I needed an upgrade sooner rather than later.
The money I’d earned was piling up again, but it wouldn’t do me much good if I didn’t invest it wisely. I knew I had to act before my luck ran out or my gear gave out at the worst possible moment. The problems of the next town were ahead of me. What dangers or opportunities might await me there? I had no idea, and that made it all the more important to prepare for every possibility.
I couldn’t let myself be caught off guard. If the next town had something better, I was ready to spend whatever it took to secure it. Better to part with the coins now than regret it later.
The other guy began to fight the giant armadillos, and he had an easier time killing them… the poison cancelled half of the defenses of the giant armadillos, so the fights got essentially fifty percent easier and faster. He complained thanks to it, but wanted to get the new skill before the poison runs out on the weapons.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
It seemed that we were the first ones to hunt the monsters here, so we had a lot of beasts to slay. Perhaps we could even reach level ten before heading to the next town… I was being na?ve, but at least daydream wasn’t forbidden.
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Congratulations! You reached level five in your class and now you can learn a new skill based on your accomplishments!
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When the first poison was about to run out, we finally reached the next level and then I opened my eyes widely when I read that alert. This was some interesting news. This basically said that even if two people were of the same class, their set of skills could be very different from each other.
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Throw Knife (Basic) - After killing several enemies while throwing knives, you became skilled at the art of keeping enemies at bay. Your repeated success in striking targets with precision from a distance unlocked the ability to refine your throwing technique, allowing you to deal greater damage with increased accuracy.
A quick and precise throwing technique that allows you to hurl a knife with deadly accuracy. The damage scales with Dexterity Strength and weapon quality. Causes bleeding when hitting vital points.
Cost: 10 SP
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Poison Coat (Basic) - While crafting and experimenting with simple poisons, you discovered how to enhance your weapons with toxic effects. After successfully poisoning an enemy during combat and witnessing the gradual toll it took, you unlocked the ability to coat your weapon with poison quickly, adding a deadly edge to your attacks.
Coats your weapon with a simple toxic substance, adding poison damage to attacks for five seconds. Poison causes gradual health reduction equal to your magic.
Cost: 30 MP
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Backstab (Intermediate) - Through repeated ambushes and stealthy strikes, you mastered the art of attacking from the shadows. After eliminating an enemy with a precise blow to their blind spot during a critical encounter, you unlocked a more advanced backstab technique, capable of inflicting devastating damage and causing debilitating effects.
Delivers a devastating strike when attacking from stealth or an enemy''s blind spot. Damage is significantly multiplied, with a chance to cause bleeding or paralysis depending on the weapon used. Can be executed from partial side angles at this level.
Cost: 20 SP
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Duality (Magical) - Faced with dire challenges that demanded both physical and mental expertise, you realized the need for adaptability. After surviving several trials and listening to your instincts, you unlocked the ability to create and manage two distinct skill trees, ensuring you could adapt to any situation at a moment’s notice.
Grants you the power to have two different sets of skill levels and attributes. You can change them at a moment’s notice, but you can’t reset them once they are set and both trees needs to be updated at the same time.
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The skills weren’t anything groundbreaking, but at least they revealed a lot of information. They revealed that skills could be improved and my actions could become skills as well… How awesome was that? Perhaps I could have obtained better options if I had trained my mana control more.
‘Interesting… you can use duality because of me, right? Isn’t that useful? Where is my thanks?’
‘Shut the fuck up! Who said that I am going to pick it?’
‘Only a retard wouldn’t pick such a useful skill.’
I groaned in annoyance. He had a point. The skill was simply too useful… it also came at a high rank, and it was a passive one. We would be able to adjust to all kinds of scenarios with it.
‘Pick it. I will be sure to behave. You can choose a more balanced build while I can make one that will be useful for direct confrontations or to finish off the enemies fast.’
That was the best option, but I also felt that I would come to regret giving this guy so much freedom. In the end, I made that choice…
Name: Ryan Winters
Class: Rogue Lv 05 (02/1200)
Job: Gastronomist Lv 01 (177/200)
HP: 210/210
MP: 270/270
SP: 180/180
Strength: 23
Magic: 11
Dexterity: 27 + 05
Vitality: 21
Wisdom: 27
Endurance: 18
Toughness: 25
Spirit: 18
Adaptability: 26
Free Points: 16
Origin Coins: 1256
Skills: Backstab (Basic), Stealth (Basic), Pick Lock (Basic), Duality (Magical)
Job Skills: Gastronomist Eye (Magical), Gastronomist Technique (Magical)
I tried to use the skill and set the parameters of the second building, but I failed… I didn’t like that.
‘It looks like I am the one that can control the second build, but I can only improve it when you use the first set. It is quite impressive that the system realized my existence. Or perhaps not considering that I took over the body the other time.’
I felt like sighing, but there was no point dwelling on that… I had to move on. It was a good idea to use those free points, but I forgot to ask Lain what each one of them could do. Based on my experience, it would be more like this:
Strength - Determines physical power, melee damage, and heavy weapon proficiency. Magic - decides to spell potency and magical skill progression. Dexterity - Enhances agility and finesse in combat.
Vitality - Increases health. Wisdom - Increases mana costs. Endurance: Increases stamina.
Toughness - Enhances defense, or decreases physical damage. Spirit - Enhances magical defense, or decreases magical damage and mental fortitude. Adaptability - Improves versatility, reaction time, and adaptation to some environments.
‘It seems accurate enough based on what I have seen so far… Considering all that, my best options would be to focus on strength, dexterity and adaptability. I don’t have skills that use MP yet, and those parameters will be useful in any kind of situation. If I decide to change my build a bit, there will be hope with the free points of the job.’