As the water drained out of my armor and clothes, I walked to the spider Jack killed during the fight and used my Soul Absorption on it. That was the last of them, so I checked my prompts from the battle as we walked back up to Sana.
Experience
Two Level 8 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 1,008 experience points.
Four Level 9 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 2,880 experience points.
Eight Level 10 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 8,070 experience points.
Thirteen Level 11 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 17,160 experience points.
Twenty-eight Level 12 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 48,906 experience points.
Twenty-five Level 13 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 52,416 experience points.
Ten Level 14 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 27,300 experience points.
Two Level 15 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 6,720 experience points.
Congratulations, you have leveled up! As a Grey Elf, you received 1 ability point in Agility, 1 in Intelligence, 2 in Constitution, and an additional 2 points to distribute each level in any category. You have reached level 20 and received a total of 12 freely distributable ability points.
You have gained levels 7 through Level 9 in Swordsmanship.
Name: Alf
Level: 20
Race: Grey Elf
Languages: English, Common, Elvish, Pukka, Elos
Reputation
Black Rock Islands ‘Immortal Grey Elf’ – Infamy “Kill me if you can?”
General Unknown “Who are you again?”
Stats
Max Health: 480
Max Mana: 290
Attributes
Strength: 22
Perception: 10
Constitution: 48
Charisma: 20
Intelligence: 29
Wisdom: 10
Agility: 33
Resistances: Mental 20%
Cytotoxic Venom 24%
Carbinium Cytotoxic Spider Venom 33%
Affliction: Vitality Bleed
Skills: Time Magic, Spatial Magic, Herblore, Swordsmanship, Archery
Abilities
Soul Absorption: This ability allows the user to eat the souls of others to gain a small part of their power.
Mana Strengthening: You have found the feel of mana and are able to move it through your body. With effort, you may find all the benefits from freely moving mana.
Secondary Abilities
Enhanced Regeneration: Grey Elves already possess a high rate of regeneration. This ability further amplifies their regenerative capabilities, allowing for exceptionally rapid healing.
Well done! You have done something that has rarely been accomplished. You have reached level 20 within one month of existence in this world. For this outstanding accomplishment, your skills will be augmented. You will be rewarded with double the skill points for the rest of your first month, and your most used skill will double its experience.
Holy crap! I’m now at level 20. Those last prompts raised many questions for me. I noticed I was with our group, so I told them what the prompt said.
“I just got a notification that I’m being rewarded for reaching level 20 within a month of arriving here. I’ll get double skill points for the rest of my first month, and the experience for my most-used skill will also double. Does anyone know why this is happening?” I asked, still baffled at the message.
Sana, as usual, was quick to offer her insight. "The universe is always watching, rewarding greatness and punishing treachery alike."
“Punishments? Like what?” I asked, knowing that it was more important than rewards that are unlikely to come around that often.
"Ever met someone and immediately knew they were a douche? That’s the universe marking them," Sana explained. "You’ve achieved something extraordinary, and the universe has taken notice. I’ve never heard of anyone hitting twenty levels in a month. Then again, everyone I know in this world started as a baby, not racing through levels. Still, it’s quite impressive." She nodded in a rare show of respect.
"Hey Rabbit, did she really say 'douche'?" I asked internally.
"Nah, she was talking about untrustworthy people. I don't fully agree with that view, though. It's hard to pinpoint who's trustworthy, but douchey people? They're obvious. Take Colin Farrell, for example. I know some find him irresistibly charming, but come on, if I had a sister, I’d steer her clear of him," Rabbit replied. Oddly, this wasn’t the first time Rabbit had vented about Colin Farrell to me. I’d debated with him before, but it was a dead-end discussion, so this time, I just let his ramblings wash over me without engaging.
Sana paused, her expression shifting to suspicion. "Wait, how did you level up to 20 so quickly? I don't think you've killed enough to level that fast."
I preferred to keep some details under wraps, so I offered a vague response. "You know, it's just my ability doing its thing. Anyway, what exactly are skill points? I don’t think I’ve encountered them before."
This time, Kaylie chimed in, eager to explain. “Skill points are for professions. Once you reach level 20 in a skill, you become a professional and can purchase certain talents of that skill tree. For every level of the skill, you get that many points. For example, say you reach levels 19 and 20 together, you would get 39 skill points. Those could buy something on the Talent Tree or be saved for a later purchase.”
"So you’re saying if I level any of my skills to 20, I receive the cumulative points for levels 1 through 20, and they're doubled?" I asked greedily.
The group exchanged uncertain glances before Kaylie responded. "No, you only receive the skill points for the levels you earned on the day you reach level 20. Most crafters push themselves hardest after hitting level 19, aiming to level up to 20 the same day. There are tales of people holding back on completing projects, hoping to level multiple times at once, but it doesn't really work like that. Occasionally, someone achieves something extraordinary or defeats a high-level creature and manages to level from 19 to 20 in one go, but it's quite rare."
"Gotcha. Well, doubling level 20 is still something to strive for," I replied, trying to maintain optimism.
The room fell into an awkward silence. After a brief pause, Kaylie spoke up again, her tone a mix of sympathy and realism. “I’m sorry, Alf. I just don’t think you’ll hit level 20 in any skill soon enough to matter. I understand the excitement from the prompt, but it’s challenging. Which skill received the double experience? That might give us a better idea of what’s possible."
As I scrolled through my stats, nothing stood out at first. After another look, I finally tuned in to Rabbit’s voice, who was still ranting about Colin Farrell. By this point, I was certain he had a crush on him, but since I wanted something, I didn’t think bringing it up would help.
"Hey Rabbit, sorry to interrupt, but which skill got the double experience? I can't seem to find it," I asked internally.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"By the beard of Colin Farrell, that's an easy one! It’s Time Magic," he said in a strange and unfamiliar tone. That actor really made a lasting impression on him.
I checked again, but my Time Magic skill was stubbornly displaying as level 1.
“What? I don’t get it. My swordsmanship is at a much higher level, and that is my top level. Also, Time Magic didn’t even reach level 2, and swordsmanship didn’t change much, so I doubt it doubled,” I replied.
“You flesh bags have a big flaw in your programming,” Rabbit began his next rant. “You always translate words into the most comfortable terms. The prompt mentioned your 'most used' skill, and you interpreted it as your 'highest' skill. Those aren’t the same thing. You've used Time Magic almost constantly since arriving here. It would probably be your highest skill if leveling were solely based on frequency of use, but it's not, so it remains a low level despite being your most used skill. Additionally, the prompt said it would double your experience in that skill. You assumed it meant doubling your skill level, but in reality, it simply meant doubling the experience you gain from using it. As you know, in both life and games, early levels of a skill are easier to gain, but advancing becomes progressively harder."
"Wait, let me get this straight," I said, struggling to keep my composure. "I received a bonus so extreme it’s almost never seen, and it got nerfed again because of my race? This Grey Elf sucks. No wonder they went extinct."
“People don’t usually commit genocide on a race just because they suck, but I get your point. Still, I doubt anyone was taking advantage of that second bonus. You’re already level 9 in Swordsmanship. What are the odds that anyone else would hit level 20 in a skill within their first month? But maybe we need to find the right skill for you, like knitting. Have you tried knitting? Maybe you can become a professional knitter. For Christmas, you could knit such horrible sweaters for your enemies, they would be forced to kill themselves. How about singing, you could be a bard that…” When Rabbit started to ramble, I tuned him out once again. He would continue to insult me for some time to come.
He was right. The second bonus was unlikely for anyone but the most advanced, and even then, it would only matter if they managed to hit level 20 before the month ended. Still, I figured I could probably push Swordsmanship to level 20 if I spent the rest of the month practicing.
Yeah, that didn’t seem like a bad plan. Once I got out of here, I could grind the skill until it capped.
As everyone looked expectantly at me for an update on which skill had increased, I spoke up. “Sorry, no increase. The prompt mentioned my most used skill, which is already maxed out at level 1.”
“Ouch. That’s tough,” Kaylie responded, ever the optimist. “But hey, at least you gained a lot of experience from those kills.”
"That's been bothering me,” I said. “We killed nearly a hundred spiders, but they didn’t give that much experience. They were nearly impossible to kill, but they were giving considerably less than the guards we killed on the Black Rock Islands.”
Jack chimed in, “That is because of the level and size difference. These things may have been harder to beat, but they didn’t have as high a level. And with them being only half our size, they only give half the experience.”
“But that doesn’t add up,” I countered, puzzled. “If something is twice as hard to kill, shouldn’t you get twice the experience?”
“No,” Sana intervened as usual with the answers. “Think about the spiders. If they didn’t have such hard shells, they would have been easy to kill.”
“But they do have them,” I pointed out.
“Exactly.” Sana gestured toward a lifeless spider near her. “The spiders themselves aren’t inherently powerful and don’t give that much experience since they aren’t that experienced themselves. Sometimes this is balanced out by resources. Imagine you killed a level 1 warrior with a whole bunch of resources. They might have weapons and armor that surpass anything you have ever seen. If you kill that foe, it is still a level 1 person. You often get all the resources they have on themselves. The same case is true here. These shells would be quite useful, or, from what Jack tells me about you, quite valuable. Unfortunately, even with your bag, there is no way we could collect all of them. As I know you don’t want to listen to me, I suggest you only grab one or two to test their usefulness. If we get out of here without extra resources that aren’t slowing you down, then we can always come back for more, or even make second trips to this location.”
I never thought about the fact that the loot should balance out the experience I would get. In the games I played, loot was random, not necessarily reflecting what enemies actually had on them. I mean, why would monsters all have a handful of coins inside of them and random potions? That was absurd. I supposed that because it’s the way reality worked, and that made more sense.
Sana’s advice was logical. There was no real reason to bog me down when we could always go back for the bodies. Even if some insects wanted to eat what was inside the spiders, I doubt anything would take away the metal husks. Once again, my gaming habit was hindering my ability to think realistically. In games, bodies always disappeared, but that didn’t happen in real life.
With this in mind, I heeded Sana's counsel and packed two of the smaller spiders into my bag. They changed the weight noticeably, and Sana was right about us not being able to take all the spiders with us. I wasn’t sure if I could even fit some of the larger ones in my bag. The two I had chosen were the smallest I found, and I could barely stuff them in. I only got them to fit after ripping off the legs and shoving them hard.
While we moved back up to the larger area, I dealt with placing my points. I had 12 points to distribute freely, and my attributes had seriously increased since I arrived here.
“Rabbit, what do you suggest?”
“I suggest we figure out how to make jalapeno poppers. I am really curious how heartburn feels,” Rabbit mused aloud with total disregard for anything logical.
“I was referring to my attribute points.”
“Right, right. But think bigger. Like crafting or inventing something monumental.”
“And jalapeno poppers are monumental?” I asked, bewildered.
“If it makes you try one, absolutely. As far as points go, I would suggest Agility and Strength from our last battle.”
“Really?” I thought while walking up the cave. “We already have high points in Agility. It automatically increases one point in Agility with every level. It is already level 33 while my Strength is only 22.”
"True, and besides, you're quicker than those spiders. But Agility isn't just about speed, but also about precision. If you want to slice a spider’s leg with accuracy, you’ll need to boost that attribute. More training wouldn't hurt either. Plus, speed is always an advantage. It usually means victory unless your opponent has superior defense," Rabbit elaborated. "Right now, your Constitution coupled with your healing abilities already makes you quite resilient."
I nodded in agreement. My race automatically awards two points in Constitution at every level. I currently have 480 in health points, making it very difficult for me to take damage.
I pulled up my attributes and deposited six points into Strength and six into Agility, making my totals:
Attributes
Strength: 28
Perception: 10
Constitution: 48
Charisma: 20
Intelligence: 29
Wisdom: 10
Agility: 39
I was turning into a powerhouse compared to just a few days ago. Even though I had started far behind, the speed at which I was catching up was impressive.
We had finished clearing the lower section and were now pushing deeper into the upper cave. The air grew thicker and more stifling the farther we went. Jack wiped at his face and muttered, “It’s so hot up here. I’m sweaty.”
“You’re slutty?” I shot back, grinning as his words blurred just enough to sound wrong.
“Sweaty,” Jack snapped.
“Hey, I heard ‘slutty’ too,” Kaylie chimed in, laughter in her voice.
As we all shared a brief laugh, Sana brought us back to the matter at hand. I just now noticed she had been spending time examining the doors. It seemed like that was the only thing of use here. Up until then, we had expected to find remains from either animals or unfortunate adventurers, assuming that the spiders used incapacitating venom to subdue their prey rather than lethal poison. Surprisingly, the only evidence of past life we stumbled upon was a single body, which Sana was now examining.
“It’s a Unionist soldier, but they shouldn’t be out here,” Sana pointed out, gesturing to the decomposed figure clad in a tattered uniform.
Examining the body, I grimaced at the decay. The body was still wearing armor, and the sword was missing.
The sight of the corpse, still armored but missing a sword, was odd. “Why would a Unionist be here?” Kaylie questioned.
“That I don’t know,” Sana answered. “They aren’t usually this far south, and it doesn’t look like a scout.”
“Could he be a deserter?” Jack proposed, looking over the remains more closely.
“Maybe,” Sana conceded slowly, weighing the possibilities. “Desertion is rare due to the severe consequences. Did anyone come across his sword? It might help us figure out where he encountered the spiders.”
We searched around, but didn’t find it. The disappointment hit harder knowing I was down to my last blade. One had already broken, and Sophia had only allowed me to keep two.
Eventually, we gave up and turned our attention to the shining doorway. Towering before us, the massive stone door was adorned with elaborate, arcane markings that seemed almost alive under the shifting light. While the rest of the cave bore a giant scar, a jagged cut that ran deep into the stone, it abruptly halted at the threshold of the door. This stark line marked where the gash ended, leaving the door's polished, marble-like surface untouched except for a dark line across its fa?ade.
“What do you think made that cut?” Jack asked, eyeing the jagged scar with awe.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t want to fight whatever did,” Sana replied, her voice tinged with unease.
“It's impressive, sure, but this door is more so. It completely stopped the slash. Maybe I could make armor out of it?” I mused aloud, half-joking.
“It wouldn’t work. The only reason that door held up so well was that it is connected to the Labyrinth. As it’s a portal to another world, it is drawing on the power of the universe. The real question is, why is the door so large?” Sana replied, but I only heard part of it.
A portal to another world was in front of me. I took a step forward, almost as if drawn in.
A voice, firm and steady, broke through my trance. “I suggest you step away from that. It could send you anywhere.”
