Three days.
That's all the time Aric had left before the end of the test. His total score depended on it, the more kills he can get, better his credit points will be.
The first two days were a blur of small skirmishes — horned rabbits, moss rats, and a couple of bark hounds. Nothing worth bragging about, nothing that gave him new skills, but each kill still added a sliver of strength to his stats. And he had to hide store his kills, so that he can take that with him for final scoring, he sighed...lot of work to do.
By the end of day two, he'd gained enough XP to ding Level 3.
+ 2 Free Stat Points
+1 Free Skill Point
<1 stat point added to all base stats>
Level: 3
Race : Human
XP required for lv4: 200/ 1600
HP: 530 / 530
Stamina: 329
Luck: 5
Protocol Awakening Process: 3%
Core Stats:
STR: 13.2
AGI: 12.5
VIT: 13.8
FOC: 10.5
INT: 10.6
Unspent Stat Points: 5
Unspent Skill Points: 3
He hadn't spent the points yet. Better to keep them in my pocket for when I really need them, he thought. Day passed by with few more kills adding to his stats a negligible increase
Required XP to lv4 : 800/1600
Day three
The forest was wrong.
Quiet.
Even the smaller predators were gone.
Aric followed the silence, because curiosity had always been his worst survival trait.
That's when he saw it — the Fangmaw Serpent.
Coiled in a shallow clearing, its scales were dark and jagged, glinting like wet obsidian. Its fangs dripped venom that hissed and bubbled on contact with the grass. The thing was thick as a tree trunk, long enough to wrap around a hut twice.
"Okay," Aric whispered, "that's… new."
The serpent's head tilted — then it lunged.
He Burst Stepped sideways, dirt exploding where he'd been standing. The speed boost barely got him out of range — the serpent's head twisted mid-strike, its fangs grazing his sleeve.
Pain flared. The poison burned instantly.
"Okay, nope, not dying to something with a bad dental plan."
The serpent lunged again, faster this time. Aric dodged, but it clipped his shoulder. The strength behind it rattled his bones.
I'm not fast enough. Not strong enough. Not like this.
His vision flickered with the [System Menu].
Five unspent Stat Points blinked at him.
"Fine, fine! You win!" he hissed through clenched teeth.
+2 Points → Agility
+2 Point → Strength
Bringing his strength to 15.2 & Agility to 14.5
It was like taking a shot of pure lightning. His body felt lighter, muscles snapping with fresh power. Lighter but strong
The serpent struck again — and this time, he wasn't just dodging; he was gone before its head even passed him, reappearing at its side with Burst Step. His slash connected harder, the blade biting deeper into the joint behind its jaw.
The Fangmaw reeled, tail whipping through the air like a battering ram. Aric ducked, feeling it pass inches above him. The world seemed to move slower now, every twitch of its muscles more readable.
One more lunge, one more Burst Step — this time up a low rock formation. The serpent's head smashed into stone, stunned for just a breath.
He didn't waste it.
Blade flashing, he drove the steel deep into the wound at its jaw hinge. The serpent convulsed once, then stilled.
[System Notification]
☑ Difficult Kill: Fangmaw Serpent (Rank E)
STR : +0.7 AGL: +1 VIT : +0.8
+1 Luck
850 XP
💠 Level Up: Lv 4
+2 Stat Points
+1 Skill Point
<1 stat point added to all base stats>
Aric staggered back, chest heaving.
"…Note to self. Spend the points before getting bitten next time."
No new skill from the assimilation, but the stat growth made the risk worth it.
Mission timer: 7 hours remaining.
Time to drag himself back to School — hopefully without collapsing along the way with all the loot & this giant serpent...!.