My Skills Can Evolve Infinitely in a Game-Like World

Chapter 5: Mission Completed

Slash!

The black dagger thrust forward again, harvesting the life of another Red Hare Rabbit in a single strike.

Compared to the first time, Aurelius’ movements were far more precise and decisive.

With a single slash, the vitality in the rabbit’s eyes faded away.

Its body became the spoils of their team, joining its nine earlier companions.

Half an hour had passed since Aurelius and his guards had entered Dryad Forest.

Yet during this otherwise short period of time, he had managed to complete the system’s assigned Mission.

Looking at the EXP prompt and the several rewards given by the system, Aurelius had the urge to collect them on the spot.

But he restrained himself. He glanced at his guards from the corner of his eye.

He didn’t know if the rewards would cause any strange phenomenon and was thus hesitant to do so.

With that in mind, he paused briefly and watched the guard put the Red Hare Rabbit away before speaking up.

"Let’s rest for a while. We’ll decide whether we are going to continue our exploration later."

The guards nodded. They immediately got to the task of clearing the surrounding area, intending to create a suitable environment for their stay.

--

It only took a few minutes.

Shortly afterward, Aurelius sat silently on the ground, a few tens of feet away from his guards.

The distance was close enough for them to react if anything went amiss, but at the same time, it was enough to give Aurelius a sense of privacy.

At the very least, as much as he could of it get under the present conditions.

Aurelius closed his eyes and pretended to relax. Secretly, however, he had summoned the Player Panel and was looking at the notifications.

"Ding!"

"Mission—Rabbit Killer has been completed!"

"Rewards are being administered..."

"...1 Skill Point. 300 EXP. Title: Rabbit Killer."

The effects of these rewards were not immediately noticeable. Yet as Aurelius summoned his panel, the changes soon showed up.

...

[Name: Aurelius Sol]

[Template: NPC (Common), Player]

[Title: Rabbit Killer]

[Class: Arcanist]

[Rank: 1 / Level: 0/20 (0/100)]

[Base Stats:] Strength: 14, Agility: 15, Intelligence: 19, Vitality: 13, Luck: 10, Spirit: 190/190

[Skills: Spirit Bullet, Synthesis, Awakener’s Physique Lv. 3]

[Talents: Arcanist’s Heart]

[Reputation: 0]

[Skill Points: 1]

[EXP: 311]

...

The columns representing the Experience and Skill Points had been adjusted accordingly.

If Aurelius wished, he could upgrade one of his skills further and Level Up his Rank.

However, he didn’t rush to do so. His gaze first settled on the "Rabbit Killer" Title.

As he concentrated, its description emerged.

...

[Rabbit Killer (Common): You are the sworn enemy of all rabbits. You naturally attract the hatred of rabbit monsters. Your attacks deal 60% more damage to rabbit creatures. Your Agility increases by 3 in grassy environments.]

...

Aurelius nodded.

The effects of the Rabbit Killer sounded powerful but were, in fact, hardly useful.

But this was only a Common Title after all.

In his view, its biggest purpose was to showcase the function of Titles rather than anything else.

’Moreover, it’s not as though these effects are truly useless. Hunting rabbits will become easier in the future.’

’Although the Agility increase will become negligible sooner or later, it is somewhat helpful for the time being,’ he judged.

Glancing at the grass beneath him, he flexed his fingers and judged that they felt lighter and far more responsive.

This was enough for now.

Aurelius’ attention soon shifted elsewhere.

He peeked at the guards and confirmed that they were chatting among themselves and not paying much attention to him.

Then, he focused on the (+) button beside the Level column.

As he clicked on it, his EXP decreased.

Aurelius sensed no difference in his body. He continued pressing the button until it reached 99.

When he pressed it again for one final time, the entire column lit up.

The words twisted as though scattering before settling into something new.

[Rank: 1 / Level: 1/20 (0/200)]

At the same time, a notification flickered.

[You’ve Leveled Up. You’ve reached Level 1.]

[You’ve gained: INT +3, STR +1, AGI +1, VIT +1]

A similar situation to when he had upgraded the Awakener’s Physique occurred, and a warm current surged through him.

The only difference was that Aurelius felt his head cool down at the same time.

Although the process only lasted for a split second, it was unmistakable.

’The Arcanist Class is a typical spellcaster Class. Most of the Base Stats are poured into Intelligence,’ he nodded.

Seeing that reaching Level 2 only required 200 EXP, Aurelius did not hold back.

Growing stronger was his highest priority at the moment.

Although he was lucky to have survived the previous life-and-death situation, the culprit behind it was still alive and well.

Aurelius didn’t know what Amanda would do if she were to learn that he was alive.

Would she regard him as lucky and let him go, or chase after him in fear of him seeking revenge?

While he was thinking, Aurelius didn’t stop pressing on the (+) button.

Moments later, the column flickered again.

[Rank: 1 / Level: 2/20 (0/300)]

[You’ve Leveled Up. You’ve reached Level 2.]

[You’ve gained: INT +3, STR +1, AGI +1, VIT +1]

Aurelius felt better than ever. The previous sense of weakness in his body had vanished completely, as though it had always been a mere illusion.

If anything, he was now far stronger than ever before.

Both in this and in his previous life.

’The Base Stats of an ordinary person should be around ten.’

’My physical stats are now 16, 17, and 15. Just based on this, I should be able to defeat a dozen untrained people on my own.’

This took into account his lack of combat experience.

Otherwise, the word "untrained" would not have been necessary.

Realizing this, Aurelius smiled faintly, clearly satisfied.

The feeling of growing stronger gave him a sense of safety.

After all, Arcanists were not a close-quarters Class. His strongest aspect was not his physical strength, but his skills!

Thinking of this, Aurelius prepared himself to use his lone Skill Point.

But just as he was about to do so, a blur flashed at the corner of his vision. A red color popped out of nowhere before lunging at him.

Aurelius had little time to react. Instinctively, he stretched his hand towards its direction.

With a flick of his fingers, a power emerged from his body.

Pang! A faint sound echoed as an illusory bullet-like projectile was fired out.