Chapter 8: The First Battle
Seven pairs of bloody eyes were staring at them in the darkness of the forest, and the air around suddenly felt heavier and harder to breathe.
The sound of those creatures breathing echoed among the trees, and their eyes showed their desire to slaughter both of them and eat them.
But unlike what might be expected, Lian did not feel fear. Not because he was stronger than them.
But because after facing that Fallen Wolf, these monsters no longer had that unimaginable terror they would have had before.
His gaze fixed on one of the bears.
[Corrupted Mammoth Bear]
[Level 7]
[Rank: Normal]
Lian slowly let out his breath. So his guess was right. That Fallen Wolf really was the top monster of this area.
Otherwise, having seven level seven monsters near its territory would not make sense. If that wolf were alive, these bears would not even dare to come close to its territory.
These monsters had probably realized something had happened to that wolf and came to check, and ran into the two of them on the way.
Compared to that Fallen Wolf, these seven monsters were like insects. They would need at least twenty or thirty more to match that wolf.
At that moment, a movement next to him caught his attention. Lian turned his head, and for the first time since he had met Seris, he felt that something in her face had changed.
The girl’s eyes were shining. But surprisingly, not from anger and not from fear. From excitement. Pure excitement, like a child who had found a new toy.
Or a hunter who had finally found valuable prey.
Seris did not even look at Lian. She raised her sword, and then like an arrow released from a bow, she charged toward the bears.
BOOM!
The ground under her foot cracked. One of the bears did not even have time to react.
The silver sword shone like lightning in the air, and a line of blood sprayed through the forest.
Lian blinked.
"This girl is really crazy..." But he immediately smiled.
Actually, this was better for him. As long as Seris kept the monsters busy, he could also handle one or two of them and increase his power even more than before.
After all, he needed experience, and more importantly, Stat Points.
But this also made him think again about how powerful this girl really was. Maybe he could figure it out in this fight.
Two giant bears roared and turned toward him. The ground shook under their massive claws.
Lian quickly opened his status panel. With his current power, he had no chance against these monsters. So it was time to increase his stats a little.
[Strength: 13]
[Spirit: 5]
[Speed: 20]
[Mana: 3]
[Resistance: 25]
[Stat Points: 61]
He did not hesitate even for a moment. He put thirty points directly into Strength. Right now he was facing monsters whose advantage was raw power.
And since he had no offensive skills and no weapon, the best option was physical strength.
[Strength: 13 --> 43]
At that moment, a wave of heat exploded inside his body. The muscles in his arms tightened. The veins in his neck swelled. His bones made sounds.
Raw power flowed through his whole body. For the first time since entering this realm, he felt strong.
The first bear suddenly let out a loud roar, and then slammed its massive claw down at him.
BOOM!
The ground exploded. A cloud of dirt and rock was thrown into the air. Lian barely pulled himself aside.
But the shockwave still pushed him back several meters. His eyes widened a little.
"Damn it..." His power had increased, but these monsters were no joke either.
The second bear attacked from the right. Its huge horns charged straight toward Lian’s chest. Lian raised his fist.
BOOM!
The impact made his arm go numb. He stepped back, and the bear only stepped back one step as well.
Lian frowned. Even with forty-three Strength, his power was only barely equal to one of these monsters.
If two attacked at the same time, things would get bad. So it was time.
[Wolf Speed Activated]
[Duration: 10 Minutes]
The world suddenly changed. He could hear the heartbeat of the bears. Their movements seemed slower. He could feel the wind on his skin.
And more importantly, his body felt lighter. Much lighter. So light that it felt like he could not feel his weight at all.
A smile appeared on his face. He put five points into Strength.
[Strength: 43 --> 48]
The first bear attacked again. But this time, Lian could see its movement. Before the claw came down, he moved past the monster and slammed his fist into the bear’s side.
BOOM!
The sound of breaking bones echoed in the forest. The bear let out a painful roar, but it was not dead yet.
The second bear attacked from behind. Lian jumped onto a tree trunk and pulled himself aside at the last moment.
The monster’s huge horns got stuck inside the tree. That created an opportunity for him. Lian immediately used it.
He landed on the monster’s head and slammed both his fists with all his strength onto its skull.
CRAAACK!
The skull cracked. Purple blood sprayed around. The monster staggered a few steps and then fell.
[You Have Killed A Corrupted Mammoth Bear]
Lian did not have a chance to breathe. The first bear attacked again. But now it was alone. And more importantly, it was wounded.
Lian’s smile deepened. Killing this one would not be that hard. A few minutes later, the last roar echoed in the forest.
And the bear’s huge body fell to the ground. Blood dripped from Lian’s fists. His breaths were heavy, but he was still standing.
[You Have Killed A Corrupted Mammoth Bear]
[Level Increased]
[Congratulations! You have reached level 5!]
[Butcher Activated]
[3 stat points gained]
[3 stat points gained]
[Glutton Activated]
[Skill Successfully Devoured]
[Skill Acquired: Iron Hide]
Lian’s eyes shone. He had leveled up, and he had gained 6 more stat points. And more importantly, a new skill from his first real fight.
He looked at his stat points.
[Stat Points: 42]
"I used 35 points, so my points should have gone down to 26. Then I gained 6 points from killing two monsters, so I should have 32 stat points. But I have 42?"
"Right... and I also leveled up once. So each level up gives me 10 stat points?" He now understood how many points he got per level up.
A slight smile appeared on his face. He got twice as many stat points per level as five-star classes!
He could not imagine how people would react if this news spread in the world... It would probably be crazy, right?
But he knew this could also be dangerous for his life.
Then he pushed his thoughts aside. He wanted to take a look at his new skill. But before he could read its description...
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed from deeper in the forest. Lian raised his head.
And then he was completely quiet for a few moments. Not too far away... the body of one of the giant bears was cut in half.
Blood was raining down on the trees. And standing in that blood was a girl with a silver sword.
Calm, emotionless, and completely unharmed. Around her, four monster corpses lay on the ground.
"What level is this girl exactly?"
