Thest Dreadw Howler pounced on As, who was taken by surprise, but he managed to raise his arms to defend himself. But the ws of the creature tore into his chest and stomach with wild abandonment, ripping his skin to pieces.
[Health: 12/84]
When seeing the amount of health he had left, panic surged through As, driving him to stab the monster in the head, causing it to go limp; he released a shaky breath, feeling the creature''s weight on top of him before pushing it away.
As dropped to the ground, struggling to catch his breath amidst the tension and adrenaline coursing through his veins. He curled up into a ball as the pain overwhelmed his body, forcing him to clutch his bag and pull out an Immediate potion.
Struggling to pop the cork, and when he did, he put it to his lips before drinking half and dumping the other half on the wounds that riddled his body. After doing that, As curled back up and slowly started to recover.
Thirty minutester, his health had fully recovered, relieving him of his headache. As As sat up, he observed the eerie sight of the monkey-like creatures'' lifeless bodies strewn around him.
Once As recovered, he checked his status.
[Level Up: 7→8]
[Experience: 300/1000]
[Experience Gained: 1000]
[Health: 84→88]
[Mana: 590→600]
[Strength: 84→86]
[Stamina: 85→87]
[Charisma: 225→230]
[Intelligence: 80→82]
[Core Points: 5350→6350]
[Core Points Gained: 1000]
After that, Asid back down for a little while as he wasn''t used to all the fighting, which showed how his body ached. Ten minutester, he readied his knife before cutting out the 20 ck monster cores.
He stored them in his space bag before looking around and only spotting ck Mirror Lake and snow-covered trees. As felt icky, so he approached the water carefully, scanning the area he wanted to wash.
As''s blood ran cold when doing that as three monstersy just in wait. Their ranks frightened him as they were the strongest monsters he''d seen.
[Frostscale Crocodile]
[Rank: D]
''Crocodiles! No thank you.'' As thought while turning away from the water just as an explosion erupted.
He yelped but darted away only to see the giant white crocodile marching up to the Dreadw Howler''s corpses and started eating them. When As saw this, he got an idea and cast several Void Arrows that appeared around him.
As held the projectiles in ce while aiming them all at the same spot, which caused him another terrible headache just before he released the spell that soared through the air and connected with Frostscale''s eyes.
The arrows hit it one after another, causing the monster to roar in pain before spinning in As''s direction. When seeing this, he checked his mana.
[Mana: 120/600]
He cast ten more Void Bullets, which used the rest of his mana, excluding twenty, before sending them flying toward the giant crocodile, which caused multiple explosions to erupt all over its leathery body.
As the dirt settled, As''s heart raced with fear. With a yelp, he swiftly leaped aside, narrowly evading the snapping jaws of the Frostscales, which closed just inches from where he stood moments before.
Realizing he was outmatched, As knew that fleeing was his best course of action. He sprinted through the Wailing Woods until the brush got too thick for the monster to follow him.
As continued to run until he stopped hearing the crashing and ended up on the shores of the Aurora Sea. It was surprisingly peaceful as the wavespped against the beautiful beach. He looked around and realized he was in a primal forest as the trees pierced the clouds.
While scanning his surroundings, As spotted buildings in the distance, causing him to approach them cautiously. When getting close, he guessed it was an abandoned fishing vige with a tall wooden wall circling it for defense.
But he noticed the wood was rotten and looked like it was about to fall if a breeze hit it. As stepped through the broken gates and started exploring the vige, where he witnessed crumbling wooden houses and weed-covered streets.
As approached one store he spotted and looked into it to see things on the dust-covered shelves. He continued walking through the vige, seeing three broken docks with rotten ships half-sunk in the water.
He continued wandering until he left the vige and was back in the forest. By the time the sun set, As was sitting on a branch that overlooked the calmke water, but he knew monsters hid below its dark veil.
While in the tree, he changed his clothes again before dumping the old ones in the dark water below. When his rubbish erupted into a frenzy as the monsters sensed the blood on the fabric.
As watched this with curiosity and scanned the water.
[Blood Piranha]
[Rank: F]
''Am I in a horror film? Oh goddess, what dangerous world have you dropped me in,'' As chuckled while lying back on the branch.
As ignored the monsters to read one of the books he had collected from Wildwood City. He chose ''The Valoria System: A Need To Know Guide'' to learn about his system and gain the experience needed to level up.
Pulling out the thick book, he started to read and learned that everyone in Valoria had a system. The way they leveled up was pretty much the same, involving hunting monsters, training, and learning.
As learned that with each Rank Up, bonuses were earned, progressively enhancing the person''s attributes.
''As strength grows, enhancing stats bes increasingly challenging due to ongoing bodily improvement during leveling,'' he mused, reflecting on the author''s insight that power derived not solely from stats but also from personal experiences umted over time.
But As also understood that the same thing applied to his Mana Core. Afterward, he read about the experience and how it ties into the monsters. The book told him each creature would give him a set amount of experience, but it also depended on the rank.
He decided to check on the different Monster Ranks and the experience they gave, which would be helpful in this new life.
[Rank F Monsters -100 Experience]
[Rank E Monsters – 200 Experience]
[Rank D Monsters – 300 Experience]
[Rank C Monsters – 500 Experience]
[Rank B Monsters – 800 Experience]
[Rank A Monsters – 1000 Experience]
[Rank S Monsters – 10000 Experience]
[Rank SS Monsters – 20000 Experience]
[Rank SSS Monsters – 30000 Experience]
The author also added a list of humanoid ranks and aparison chart, which provided valuable information about As''s new world, ''This is very informative. I''m d I took these from the city.''
[Level: 1 – 50 – 1000 Experience - Rank: Novice]
[Level: 51 – 100 – 2,500 Experience - Rank: Apprentice]
[Level: 101-200 – 5,000 Experience - Rank: Adept]
[Level: 201-300 – 10,000 Experience - Rank: Journeyman]
[Level: 301-400 – 25,000 Experience - Rank: Expert]
[Level: 401-500 – 50,000 Experience - Rank: Master]
[Level: 501-600 – 75,000 Experience - Rank: Grandmaster]
[Level: 601-700 – 125,000 Experience - Rank: Arch Master]
[Level: 701-800 – 250,000 Experience - Rank: Supreme Master]
[Level: 801-900 – 500,000 Experience - Rank: Legendary Master]
[RANK SSS Monster – Legendary Master]
[RANK SS Monster – Supreme Master]
[RANK S Monster – Arch Master]
[RANK A Monster – Grandmaster]
[RANK B Monster – Master]
[RANK C Monster – Expert]
[RANK D Monster – Journeyman]
[RANK E Monster – Adept]
[RANK F Monster – Apprentice]
[RANK G Monster – Novice]
After studying the charts, he read even more and discovered that humanoids could fight monsters that rank higher than themselves and two ranks if they were in a good team. That exined why he didn''t do much damage to the crocodile monster.
''I wasn''t strong enough to fight it at full health,'' he mused.
The next thing As wanted to know was all about the spell levels, so he flicked through the pages until he found a chapter exining them in extreme detail, which shocked him initially but brought a smile to his face.
As discovered that spells were categorized into six distinct levels. While most inhabitants across Valoria wielded spells ranging from level one to three, the mastery of level four and five spells was reserved for Masters.
However, the pinnacle of magicy with the Grandmasters, who could harness level six spells alone. This exclusive ess was attributed to the immense mana requirements and the potential repercussions if a castercked the strength to control powerful spells.
The author added a small story about a powerful Grandmaster from the Achaemenid Empire who specialized in water magic and tried using a level-six spell. But it backfired and destroyed him as the mana went wild inside his body.
The mage''s demise left no trace, stunning onlookers. Reflecting on this grim tale, As realized that as spells and skills leveled up, their damage or effects increased, prompting him to recall his Void Bullet spell with a thought.
[Void Bullet - Level 1: Increases the attack power by 10%]
He delved into Aura, an otherwordly energy wielded by mages to exert an unseen force over others. The strength of someone''s Aura depended on one''s rank, level, and mastery, shaping the strength of one''s abilities.
Each person had a unique colored aura that they could see if they were trained enough. Schrs and Grandmasters believe that it is connected with a person''s soul. Mages and Magic Knights alike were tasked with mastering this power, a feat achievable through practice.
Meditation allowed individuals to tap into their inner selves and control their Aura, ensuring it remained harmless to ordinary people who it may hurt. Once learning about that, As put the book away, pulled out the history one, and started reading about the Morozov Trade Federation again.
What intrigued him was that every kingdom or empire used the trains and paid the federation to maintain them, the tracks, and the stations that dot thend. A map was on one page; some stations were deep in the desert or a jungle, which confused him.
''Why would anyone get a train to a jungle? This world is so strange.''
As As was reading to learn about everything he needed to know, outside forces became aware of his presence and started nning to capture or aid him in his journey.