Chapter 2. Choosing a New Skill

Chapter 2. Choosing a New Skill

I wanted to use the Training Room skill as soon as possible to get to a safe place. But first—I needed to rinse the wound. The rabbit was still standing on the opposite bank, motionless, while I hurriedly dipped my bitten hand into the water to at least reduce the risk of infection.

A sharp splash split the silence. I looked up—the rabbit was gone. Damn! It had leapt into the river and was already almost halfway across, thrashing and forcing its way toward me, though the current slowly pushed it sideways.

Without thinking, I activated the skill. Everything shifted before my eyes again.

I was standing in the stone room. I could relax a little now.

No… I couldn’t. I had to stop the bleeding first.

I quickly pulled off my T-shirt and tried to tear it, but it wouldn’t rip.

Fine, it’ll do as is. I wrapped the wound one-handed as best I could—good enough would have to be good enough.

Though it looked like the blood was still seeping through. The shirt was slowly drinking it up.

All right, stop dwelling on it. Panicking won’t help. The bleeding will stop. It has to…

What about that rabbit? It looked rabid. Fearless.

It wasn’t afraid of a human and attacked without hesitation.

Way too much like the description of a rabid animal.

Damn it, I need a hospital. If I’m late—I die.

There’s no cure for that. Not as far as I know.

Damn… I ended up in another world. With levels. With a system. With magic.

And I’m going to die of rabies? No. I refuse to go out like that.

Think. There has to be a way out of this.

Maybe I should leave and try to find someone, ask for help?

No, that’s stupid. I don’t know how many more of those rabbits are out there, or what other dangerous monsters might be nearby.

And would I even find anyone? Maybe there isn’t a single human being for thousands of miles.

No, I need a different option.

This world has levels… a leveling system.

Yes, levels. That has to be my way out.

In games—and even in stories with levels—leveling up usually heals wounds.

Or at least improves your condition.

Yeah, I need to try.

Though I looked at my injured hand—this would be inconvenient.

Whatever. Comfort doesn’t matter. My life is on the line.

First, check my status.

Yup, just as I thought—my HP had dropped by 32 points.

HP: 1088 / 1120.

Thirty-two points… ha-ha.

But if I really did catch an infection, my HP would start dropping steadily.

Thirty-two points feels like nothing… but damn, it still hurts.

All right, enough thinking.

I’m ready to take on a quest.

--

[Quest No. 14 completed.

Gained +400 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 15 completed.

Gained +500 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 16 completed.

Gained +600 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 17 completed.

Gained +700 EXP.]

That strange warmth coursed through me again. It flashed through my body like an electric spark, and I immediately felt better.

Damn, push-ups with a wounded hand are incredibly awkward. Every time I braced my palm on the stone floor, pain throbbed in the wound, and near the end it was almost unbearable. But as soon as I leveled up—the pain started to fade.

Carefully, I took off the bandage.

“Ah—!” I grimaced as the cloth tore away from skin glued by dried blood with a gritty peel. It hurt like hell. But… I think the wound really did look better.

The teeth marks were still visible, deep and ragged, but they seemed a little narrower. Or was I imagining it? Hard to judge with my whole hand still bloody.

I should rinse it and check… but no. Out there, that rabbit might still be waiting. Or something worse. I won’t risk it.

I took a deep breath and wiped sweat from my brow.

Yeah, looks like I’m on the right track. The higher my level, the faster my body will recover. If I keep this up, the wound will definitely heal. I hope…

--

[Quest No. 18 completed. Gained 800 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 19 completed. Gained 900 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 20 completed. Gained 1,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 21 completed. Gained 1,500 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 22 completed. Gained 2,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 23 completed. Gained 3,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 24 completed. Gained 4,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 25 completed. Gained 5,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 26 completed. Gained 6,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 27 completed. Gained 7,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 28 completed. Gained 8,000 EXP.]

--

[Quest No. 29 completed. Gained 9,000 EXP.]

I lifted my eyes to the status window. Level 9.

Yeah, I really had climbed that high.

I looked at my hand. The wound had almost completely closed. Only dried blood remained. I made a fist, squeezed the injured hand hard. No pain.

Yes, the pain was gone. Just a bit of stiffness and crusted blood on the skin.

“I should wash the blood off,” I muttered. “But stop now? No.”

I drew a deep breath.

“Further. The higher my level, the better.”

I’m ready.

The system window lit up before my eyes.

[Quest No. 30

Squats: 0/30

Push-ups: 0/20

Jumps in Place: 0/10]

“Easy,” I exhaled, standing up. “I can do this now.”

--

[Quest No. 30 completed. Gained 10,000 EXP.]

Oh, that feeling again… Warmth rolled through my whole body like a wave. Finally—I’d reached Level 10.

[User has reached Level 10.

You may choose a new skill.

Available skill choice:

– Special Skill: Alchemy.]

“Excellent…” I even smiled. Then frowned.

Hey, wait. Are they trying to scam me? It says I have a choice. But there’s only one option on the screen. What kind of “choice” is that?

Well, whatever—there’s no one to complain to anyway. Maybe I should wait? If I don’t choose now, will more options appear later?

What if the opportunity disappears when I reach Level 11?

“Screw it!” I breathed. “I choose.”

[User has acquired a skill.

Special Skill: Alchemy]

I immediately pulled up the status window to see what exactly this skill was…

[Status]

[Name: Alessar]

[Level: 10

EXP: 6600 / 19000

Rank: 0]

HP: 1390 (+270)

MP: 1300 (+270)

Strength: 51 (+9)

Defense: 47 (+9)

Speed: 41 (+9)

Intelligence: 50 (+9)

Magic Power: 45 (+9)

Magic Defense: 35 (+9)

Free Attribute Points: 10 (+9)

Skills: —

Special Skills:

• Training Room (Rank 1)

• Alchemy (Rank 1)]

“Whoa! Nineteen thousand EXP already?” I stared at the screen. Up to now it had been steady—each level only needed one thousand more than the last.

First—one thousand, second—two, third—three… Level 10 cost me 10,000 EXP.

And now—a sudden spike. Level 11 needs nineteen thousand.

“Well, if it kept growing linearly, it would be way too easy,” I muttered.

I exhaled and opened the new skill window.

Special Skill: Alchemy.

“Okay, let’s see what it gives me…”

[Alchemy Skill [Rank I]

Available Potions:]

[Health Potion [Rank I]

Requirements: 1000 MP

Effect: Restores 1000 HP]

[Mana Potion [Rank I]

Requirements: 1000 MP

Effect: Restores 500 MP]

[Experience Potion [Rank I]

Requirements: 1,000,000 MP

Effect: Grants +1000 EXP]

Well, damn! I expected to see a long list of recipes—various plants, rare herbs, monster ingredients… But it turned out to be much simpler. Surprise. To make a potion, you only need mana.

Okay, Health Potion Rank I. That would’ve been really handy a little earlier… Whatever—better late than never. It’ll definitely be useful going forward.

Mana Potion. I spend a thousand and get only five hundred back. That’s just insulting. Not worth it at all. Maybe when the skill ranks up it’ll improve, but right now it’s not much use.

And the Experience Potion… I actually smirked. A true cheat—if not for its price. A million mana for a thousand EXP. Are you kidding me? I glanced at my status again. I don’t even have one percent of that million!

So that leaves only one option. The most reasonable and efficient for me right now.

“All right, let’s try it,” I said, focusing.

A small spark of light flared right in front of me. When it vanished, a vial of red liquid appeared in the air. Yeah, that had to be the potion.

The vial was tiny—just a bit bigger than my thumb. I wanted to take a closer look, but suddenly it started to fall. As if it had been hanging from an invisible thread that snapped at that exact moment.

I lunged forward and barely managed to catch it, slamming onto the floor in the process. Carefully, I opened my fingers—the potion was intact.

“Phew…” I exhaled. “Almost smashed my very first potion the moment I created it.”

I stood up and examined the vial. Sure, I get it—the potion is made of mana. But what about the glass vial itself? Is that made of mana too? Though… maybe I shouldn’t overthink this. This is a world of systems and levels. Things probably don’t work like they do on Earth.

So, what do I do with it now? Obvious answer—drink it. The bite on my hand was almost healed, but what if that rabbit really was rabid? Maybe the potion would help with that too.

I uncorked the vial and knocked it back. There wasn’t much—two swallows and it was empty.

The sensation… was strange. Instead of sinking like a heavy lump into my stomach, the liquid seemed to spread through my body right after my throat. Through my veins, my muscles—even up into my head. I could literally feel it soaking into every cell.

And then a gentle warmth and incredible vigor washed over me. Like I’d just chugged the world’s best energy drink—but a thousand times stronger. Fatigue vanished without a trace.

“Holy…,” I whispered. “That’s the perfect stimulant.”

With this potion I could train around the clock without stopping for a minute. Just keep completing quests and piling up EXP.

I clenched my fists and smiled.

“Great. Let’s try to clear more quests. No… not a few. A lot of them.”

“Okay, I’m ready to take a quest,” I said aloud.

Usually, the moment I think that, the system window pops up immediately. But… why wasn’t anything happening now?

“Don’t tell me that was some bonus that only worked up to Level 10. And now, to go higher, I have to fight monsters? No… not like this.”

A flicker of panic stirred inside. So many of my plans depended on this Training Room skill.

[Special Skill [Training Room], Rank 1, completed.

Skill advancing to: [Training Room], Rank 2.

User, please exit the current

space.]

“Fuuuh…” I let out a breath of relief. “I was already scared there would be no more quests. That I wouldn’t get any more EXP. Okay… I need to leave so the system can finish the upgrade. Might be a bit risky.”

“How long have I been in here?” I estimated. “About five or six hours… If I only count five, with the time dilation that’s just two and a half minutes.”

Damn. I thought accelerated time in the Training Room was an advantage. Turns out, in the real world almost no time has passed. In two and a half minutes, that rabbit probably hasn’t left the bank.

Or maybe it did? If I vanished, it should’ve gone looking for another target… Probably.

I sighed. No, I still need to go out. I don’t know what happens if I don’t exit the room in time.

Okay, prep. I don’t have a weapon, obviously. But I do have unspent attributes—it’s time to assign them.

“Strength, Defense, Speed…” I frowned.

Speed? Sure, that’d help me run from the rabbit. But I don’t know the terrain. I could blunder into other monsters. For all I know, they’re all rabid around here.

Defense? Ha. Plus ten won’t turn my skin into armor against rabbit teeth.

Intelligence, Magic Power, Magic Defense… No, that’s useless. I don’t even have a single magic skill.

That leaves Strength.

Yes, Strength. If that rabbit weighs only three or four kilos, I should be able to handle it bare-handed.

“All right, decided,” I muttered. “I’m putting everything into Strength.”

[Strength +10]

I checked the status window.

Whoa! I dumped all the points into Strength—and my HP jumped by a hundred. So each point of Strength gives +10 HP. Logical to assume Intelligence, Magic Power, or Magic Defense would increase MP.

Good, I’ll test that later.

But now… enough thinking. Time to get out of here.

The instant I pictured the exit, the stone room vanished, and I was back on the riverbank.

Whew… I had to squint. Too bright. Judging by the sun, it was still midday.

I scanned around quickly. No rabbit in sight.

“Phew… looks like it left,” I exhaled in relief.

Okay. I’ll wait ten or fifteen minutes and try to return to the Training Room.

I crouched by the water, leaned in, and took several big gulps.

God, this water tasted amazing! For the second time I caught myself thinking the river water here was sweeter than any bottled mineral water.

I sat down in the grass and stared at the river—the current was so calming. A rustle sounded to my left. I jumped up and, without thinking, drew back my fist—pure reflex.

When I turned, a rabbit burst into view. Its mouth—a wall of teeth—flashed right before my eyes. I struck instinctively, punching straight into the open maw.

“Aaah! Damn, that hurts!”

I recoiled and looked at my hand. Deep tooth marks dotted my knuckles. Several punctures, torn skin, and blood running quickly down my wrist.

“Well, what did I expect?” I swore inwardly. “Punching into a mouth full of sharp teeth… great idea!”

Yeah, the hit landed straight into its open jaws, and there was a price. It hurt, but still less than when it bit me the first time.

If I’d had that potion I created on me right now—things would be different. I’d heal instantly and wouldn’t be suffering through this. But I didn’t have one. And even if I tried to make another, I clearly didn’t have enough mana—it would take time.

[Dungeon Monster defeated: Dire Rabbit (Lv. 1)]

[Reward: 5 EXP]

“Oh… looks like I killed it,” I breathed.

I hadn’t wanted to finish off a wounded rabbit, even if it seemed rabid. But… “dungeon monster”? What? Am I in a dungeon?

I tilted my head up to the sky. The sun shone bright, a few clouds drifted by. No, it didn’t look like a dungeon. Unless… a gigantic one with an illusory sky.

“I hope not,” I thought.

I went toward where the rabbit fell. If I remembered right, it should be here. I pushed the grass aside.

Something glinted. A small flash of light pricked my eye. Something was shining in the grass.

I bent down, brushed the stalks away, and picked up a small crystal. It glowed gently, like it had its own light.

“Or just sunlight…” I murmured. “Or a magic stone?”

Dungeon monsters usually leave some kind of crystal behind. Well, fine. Might come in handy later.

I slipped the stone into my pocket.

“Ow!” I flinched. The pain in my hand throbbed again.

Blood was still running, my right hand all blotched red.

“Damn…” I exhaled. “I need to bandage it again…”

I reached for my T-shirt to wrap the wound, but then, farther out in the grass, about thirty meters away, something started to ripple unnaturally.

A white rabbit poked out. Yeah, it was far, but I knew instantly—it was a rabbit. Another lifted its head behind it. A third. A fourth. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty…

How many were there?!

A flicker of hope—maybe they were normal? But it died the moment one of them opened its mouth—packed with sharp teeth. Even from that distance I clearly saw that horrifying maw.

I took a step back. Another. A third. I hoped they’d just stand there. But as if on command, all of them sprang toward me at once.

I spun around and bolted with everything I had.