Chapter 8 - Level Up

{Command phrase has been set}

In response, a black mist poured from my hand and fell over the bloodied corpse of the Rush Rabbit. The mist swirled over it like a vortex before ultimately retracting back into my palm.

Not a trace of the slain rabbit was left, not even so much as its blood.

{You have successfully devoured the Rush Rabbit}

{Rush Rabbit Skill Tree unlocked}

A small icon appeared on the skill menu which displayed the Rush Rabbits' face. Its cute icon made me feel bad for how I obtained it. I tried not to think about it and focused on it to bring out the information.

Three other bubbles appeared around it, connected by a line travelling through them. Out of the three icons, two of them were grey and didn’t allow me to select them.

I focused on the remaining skill connected to the Rush Rabbit skill tree and a panel appeared over it.

{Rabbit’s Foot} - {Passive skill allowing the user 5% increased speed}

What does passive skill mean…seems there are a few complicated terms I still need to learn about.

I rubbed my head thinking about the troubles that would come along with all of this. It seemed like the more I learnt, the more I realised I knew nothing about it.

{Passive Skills do not require the usage of mana points or energy to be used, they are always in effect}

Mana was the only thing that rang any bells from that description, even though I knew little to nothing about it.

Mana was a force of power that some adventurers had, while others didn’t. It related to magic, sort of like the fueling force for it.

I sighed deeply at how much I seemed to be lacking in knowledge. While I was absorbed in the large screen in front of me, the faint sound of notifications triggered behind me like a warning.

{Rush Rabbit Lv2}

{Rush Rabbit Lv4}

{Rush Rabbit Lv1}

{Rush Rabbit Lv2}

I grabbed my Chakram off the ground and looked out at the beady red eyes that surfaced from the bushes. I was surrounded.

“Not even a moment to breathe, these critters are relentless!”

I’m curious to test out this speed boost, let’s see just how much of a difference 5% can make.

I darted ahead and turned my back from the closest Rush Rabbit on my right. It was level 2, so it couldn’t have been any weaker than the one I had just killed.

Without hesitation, the blur of white rushed past me and landed beside me in my blind spot. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as it jumped into the air and kicked out both feet with tremendous force.

I ducked under the foot and only narrowly avoided it. I swung out my arm to slice through the rabbit’s leg and a shallow cut appeared over its thigh.

The panel of light that hovered over its head displayed a small green bar. The moment I sliced into its leg, the bar dropped down slightly. It perfectly mimicked the rabbit's health in real-time.

Both the rabbit and I stepped back and created a large gap between us. We were both in a little shock about what just happened, maybe me a little more than it was.

I can’t let it get away, if only I had a ranged weapon to hit it…wait will that work?

As the Rabbit hopped off the ground, I threw the Chakram in my right hand like a Frisbee. The blade soared out with a swift speed and began to curve through the air towards its body. It travelled weightlessly towards the rabbit and passed through its chest with a clean cut.

“So I can use them as ranged weapons as well,” I smirked.

Luckily for me, it didn’t get too far, so even with my aim being a little off I still managed to hit it.

{25 Exp Gained}

{User has levelled up}

I held out my hand over the body and spoke out as if it were second nature,

“Devour.”

Oh right, Uriel mentioned something about a level. That has something to do with the Experience points I’ve been gaining right?

{Rei Alos Level 1}

Strength – 4

Speed – 8 (+5%)

Vitality – 9

Mana – 5

Defence – 3

The panel of light displayed a detailed diagram of all my strengths and abilities using numbers and icons. There seemed to be a great deal missing that was left blank or greyed out but I focused on what was there.

Everything about me is put into numbers, is this the knowledge Uriel is translating for me? Still… I don’t know how I feel about these low numbers!

“So increasing my level can make these go up? If so, I have a lot of levelling to do then.”

My fists clenched at my sides.

“I want to know more about this system and why it’s attached to me. To do so, I might have to grow a bit more. Sigh… fine then, I’ll play along.”

A furry white foot came flying at the right side of my head. I cocked my head to the side and swung both arms up into a cross to block the attack.

The amount of force behind it was so large that I could no longer feel my feet touch the ground, I was free flying through the air.

“Argh!”

I felt the solid impact of my back slamming against the decayed walls and lost all the wind in my chest. I fell forward onto my knees gasping for air, like it had been stolen straight out of my lungs.

“Kikikiki~”

“What…was…that?”

A larger rabbit hopped in place on the spot from where I had been knocked away. Its cute demeanour turned to a devilish grin as it smirked at me. It pulled a face I didn’t know monsters were capable of.

{Rush Rabbit Lv8}

So a big one finally showed up then, I guess I’ll have to devour him too.

I managed to catch one of my chakrams before I got blown away, without the other one I felt strangely naked. If it came down to a battle of speed, I knew I’d lose. Even so, that wasn’t my only problem.

Out of the corner of my eye was a fixed bar similar to the ones that hovered over the rabbit's heads.

“So I have one too, I thought as much.”

My health bar had shot directly down to red and left only a small fraction left. I hadn’t gotten hit by the other Rabbits, so I had no way of measuring the damage they could do. My hands shook uncontrollably to the point that I could barely hold my chakram straight.

The only reason that kick didn’t kill me was because I blocked it at the last minute if I hadn’t… I didn’t even want to give it another thought.

A subtle rustle in the bushes behind me caused a nervous panic in my legs. I jolted around and faced the figure that emerged.

{Rush Rabbit Lv1}

More and more popped up like some kind of alarm had rung for all of them. They appeared out of the bushes and hopped down the hills in freakishly large amounts until I was completely overwhelmed.

I jogged away from the path and tried to escape them, when a pair of eyes burned into the back of my neck. I frantically pulled my body around to face it but only scared myself more.

{Rush Rabbit Lv3}

{Rush Rabbit Lv3}

“There’s just no end to them.”

I ran as fast as I could and peeked over my shoulders, only to see a group of white blurs rush behind me. Even the lower levelled ones were fast, much faster than me. The ones above level three were monsters that I couldn’t even trace with my eyes.

One managed to catch up to me and dove in. I retaliated with an anxious slash and managed to cut through its chest.

“Kyaaaaa!” The rabbit cried out.

{25 Exp gained}

My eyes lit up as the notification opened up in front of me, I had only one idea left to save me.

I scanned the area, looking back and forth between the trees and the littered stone wreckage.

Where is it…somewhere there, I dropped it…there it is!

My eyes locked onto the faint glint that bounced off the chakram I dropped before. It lay in the grass, wedged upright and not too far away from where I stood.

“I’m not fast enough to face that level 8 bastard, at least not yet. If I need to get stronger, I’ll just make use of you guys!”

If they only attack when I look defenceless, then I’ll need to make brash moves…right now I should look pretty pathetic anyway. I’ll wait until the last minute and…

“Kya!” I extended my blade out and felt the resistance of something solid. There was more resistance than before but at the right angle, I managed to get a clean cut.

{50 Exp gained}

Woah~ So killing stronger ones will deal out more Experience than weaker ones.

I grabbed the Chakram out of the ground and felt a presence approach me from above. My eyes flicked up at the rabbit that dropped down above me.

I jumped back and threw the Chakram at the spot where I had escaped from. My timing was perfect! As the rabbit landed on the ground, my chakram arrived and pierced through its body with a clean slice.

{25 Exp gained}

{User has levelled up}

“The plan worked! As long as I run and retrieve it after throwing it, I can use them at a range.”

I ran to the approaching rabbits and baited them into attacking. At the very last second, I ducked down and jumped up again with a cross-slash. My plan of baiting them out worked like a charm, all I had to do was rinse and repeat.

{25 Exp gained}

{25 Exp gained}

“Can’t let these go to waste, now can I? Devour!”

I extended out my hand and absorbed the two rabbits. The mist fell over the grass and swept up their corpses with ease.

{High usage of skill has increased its proficiency}

{Proficiency for Rabbit's Foot has increased}

“Was it because of all the running around I did? What’s my stats say…?”

{Rei Alos Lv2}

Strength – 5

Speed – 12 (+10%)

Vitality – 15

Mana – 7

Defence – 4

“It doubled in proficiency?!” I praised while gawking at the screen.

My overall stats went up slightly but the biggest jump had to have been my speed. From that information, it looked like my attributes only increased depending on how I used them, just as my skills did.

By that logic, the only way I could increase my defensive stats would have been to get hit over and over. I turned to Uriel’s wisdom just in case.

“Uriel, how do I increase my proficiency in skills?”

{User can increase skill level from further usage of skills in fights}

{To gain more skills, arsenal must be used more on specific monsters}

So the more I devour monsters, the more I can upgrade their skill trees. If I want to make the skills stronger, then I have to use them more. It’s a pretty balanced idea now that I think about it.

“Physical stats increase from usage while the number of skills increases through absorption,” I repeated back to myself.

A high-pitched whimper sprouted across from me. It emerged from the bushes like a contained earthquake and roared out towards me.

“What’s with this one…?”

The Rabbit stomped its foot heavily on the ground and created a loud Thump. It was slightly larger but the aura that it emitted was completely different from the others.

{Rush Rabbit Lv8}

He’s definitely the strongest one here, he must be the Boss then.

“If I kill you I can clear this Dungeon, right?” A grin formed on my face. “Too bad for you.”