Survivor of the Unsurvivable

The next few days settled into a steady rhythm: relieving himself, drinking salvaged fluids, chewing through meagre rations of orc meat, training both mind and body, carving what he could from corpses, and systematically hunting his prey.

Despite the busy schedule he still often found himself lost on what to do next, just spending the time brainstorming before he felt up to doing any of the other tasks. It’s surprising how long days feel when there are so few options.

Level: 5 > 6

The cycle continued, almost meditative in its repetition. After five more days of the same routine, he finally decided to check his banked stat points.

Name: Joseph

Class: Classless

Title: Survivor of the Unsurvivable (+)

Level: 8 > 9

Vitality: 5
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Agility: 5
Magic: 5

Available Stat Points: 50 > 60

Active Skills: None

Passive Skills: Survivor (E)

Despite checking his status hourly, the glaring new addition caught his eye instantly: a title. Immediately thinking about the plus, the title expanded on his screen.

Survivor of the Unsurvivable: (Skill: Survivor (E))

‘Survivor of the unsurvivable… well that’s not ominous at all. What does it mean by “unsurvivable”? Sure, this has been tough, but nothing on that level. Unless it’s counting something else as unsurvivable?

Maybe hunting horned orcs is what the system considers impossible—more like roaming boss monsters that exist as obstacles rather than something you’re supposed to fight head-on? Though that’s also a little weird considering their quantity… then again for all I know beyond the gate could be a room the size of a city, if not more.

Well, what does this “Survivor” skill actually do?'

Thinking about the skill and his want to understand it, a small separate window appeared.

Survivor (E) - Slightly improves survival by enhancing bodily efficiency, reducing waste, resisting contaminants, accelerating wound closure, and diminishing presence.

'Huh. That’s… actually good. Not insane by any means, but very solid. The stealth and healing are the highlights for sure. The rest are quality-of-life perks—nice now, less important if I ever reach stable living conditions. Still, I’ll take it.

That “(E)” intrigues me. Probably a ranking system. I’d guess F is the baseline—something like “minimally”—and higher ranks ramp up to “massively” or even “godly” at S-rank. I don’t know how to upgrade it though.

In games and novels, skills improve through continuous use, so maybe this one will rank up naturally over time. Or milestones. Or… maybe I could force it by stressing the limits? Eating things harder to digest, exposing myself to worse conditions… hurting myself, even? Would that accelerate it?'

His thoughts spiraled until he shook his head, forcing his focus back to the screen.

'Alright, sixty points. This deserves careful planning. Vitality’s not important for a glass cannon fighting style/build. Strength’s fine where it is, though a boost would help with carving and trap work.

Dexterity is a must for stamina and maybe bow scaling if damage ties to that stat though a hidden mechanic. Agility should go up a little—mobility saves lives. And Magic… my beautifully useless Magic. I shouldn’t over-invest, but I can’t resist giving it a decent share in case it eventually becomes incredible. Magic is way too cool of a thought to not invest in.'

Name: Joseph

Class: Classless

Title: Survivor of the Unsurvivable

Level: 9

Vitality: 5
Strength: 10 > 20
Dexterity: 10 > 30
Agility: 5 > 15
Magic: 5 > 25

Available Stat Points: 60 > 0

Active Skills: None

Passive Skills: Survivor (E)

He exhaled sharply as various sensations sent his nerves into overdrive.

'Damn, this feels incredible. In games, adding stats gave a little thrill, but this… actually feeling the power flood through you? Euphoric. Strength tightening my muscles, my body becoming lighter, my mind clearer—it’s like there’s a breeze flowing through my skull. Weird, but so good.'

He let the strangeness slowly vanish before refocusing on the task at hand.

'Time to see if this thing can actually perform. I chose the bow as my main weapon, but I’ve barely tested it so far.'

Dragging a mostly bloodless corpse to the far end of the scaffolding, about fifteen meters away, he lined it up as a target. Drawing the bowstring felt effortless; the thirty-pound draw weight may as well have been nothing, yet tension thrummed in the limbs, begging to release.

He aimed at the chest and loosed. The arrow zipped across the gap in a blink, striking squarely into the shoulder.

'Sigh. Aim’s about what I expected.'

Approaching, he found the arrow buried many centimeters into the thick muscle. His spirits lifted.

'Not bad. Against hides this tough, that’s more than I hoped for. My boosted dexterity must be helping, the other day it was only a centimeter or so. It’s not enough to kill outright or do much damage, but a well-placed shot?

It wouldn’t shrug it off, that’s for sure. Still… damn. I wish I could’ve tested this bow more before spending my stat points, just to confirm how much difference stats make.'

Despite only being a theory loosely backed up with evidence, his mind locked on the idea that stats had caused the improvement. The thought consumed him.
'If this is what 60 points can do, how far would another 60 go, or even 100, 200? The only thing holding me back now is my accuracy.'

Gathering arrows, he practiced relentlessly—aiming for the throat, eyes, joints. A few arrows snapped from overuse, but progress was progress. Despite only being a mediocre shot, he felt a strange familiarity, as if he’d been shooting monsters his whole life, though as another arrow missed the mark he scoffed at the brief thought.

Later, following his usual routine, he baited in another orc. When it shuffled in, curious as it sniffed the lure, it subsequently fell into his trap. He drained and stored the corpse, marking a tally on the wall.

'Twenty-five orcs came through that door. I’ll keep track… though more might have slipped in while I slept or possibly even from other locations.'

After another round of practice and fruitless magic drills, he cooked more meat. With time to spare, he risked a ninth orc kill—and with it, his tenth level.

Level 9 > 10

Excited, Joseph checked his status, half-expecting a milestone reward.

Name: Joseph

Class: Classless [+]

Title: Survivor of the Unsurvivable

Level: 9 > 10

Vitality: 5
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 30
Agility: 15
Magic: 25

Available Stat Points: 0 > 10

Active Skills: None

Passive Skills: Survivor (E)

His eyes locked onto the “+” beside Classless with catlike focus and dilated pupils.

'Same symbol as before, when I was asked to choose a class. So… level 10 is an advancement point?'

Mentally pressing the symbol. Instantly, new text prompts unfolded before him as his eyes shone in a deep, vivid blue.