Chương 8: Bleed Resistance

The blue holographic screen expands in front of my eyes, and I read. [You have slain Goblin lv. 1 x4] [Partial experience granted x8] [Tamer(lv. 1) > (lv. 2)] [Human(lv. 1) > (lv. 2)] [Control Tamed Being(lv. 3) > (lv. 4)] [You have earned a reward for clearing a room] [Accept(3) / Bank / Consolidate] The plan was to accept and hopefully get something to deal with the injury, but after that strange feeling during the fight, my greed shone through, and I consolidate again.

I really hope that the reward will be personalized and not according to my class. My gaze shifts to my makeshift spiked knuckles. When I got it, it was shiny and a representation of an animal that loyally protects its owner. But now, it's nothing more than a brutal, makeshift weapon covered in wet and dried blood alike. It might be in my mind, but it appears to be rusting in some places already.

"Status." [Status] [Name: Kevin Shoeman] [Class: Tamer lv. 2] [Titles: Survivor, Inductee of the 11893rd Galaxy] [Health: 175(102)] [Mana: Unawakened] [Stamina: 140(78)] [Vitality: 9 > 13] [Strength: 9] [Agility: 14] [Endurance: 7] [Fortitude: 9] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 11 > 12] [Perception: 15 > 16] [Unassigned: 0 > 1] [General skills: Intelligent Universal Translator, Identify, One-Shot Protection] [Class skills: Control Tamed Being(lv. 4)] [Taming Menu: 1 / 3 slots filled] My eyebrows rise.

Damn, all four points in vitality? I mean, I'm not complaining, but I didn't think the stat distribution was that situational. My eyes shift to current health. Without the increase in vitality, my health would be at sixty. My body trembles. Half of my health is gone from a bite and some bleeding. The second time in the past week I almost died. The panic tries to creep in, but is stopped by my earlier command, my exhaustion, and my relief at being alive.

Though the increase in vitality explains the rush I felt before. Nine to thirteen is like a… forty-five percent increase. That kind of increase for a stat that's virtually stayed the same my entire life? Yeah, that incredible feeling makes sense now. Chime"Huh?" What caused that?

"Show me, system." [Tamed Being Skill acquired: Bleed Resistance lv. 0]"Oh, sweet," I smile. I've finally received my second combat skill. My smile fades as I realize how the skill will level up. By bleeding. A lot. Lazily, I rub my eyes as I touch the skill for a description. [Bleed Resistance: Reduces internal and external blood loss. Scales with skill level.] How can the system be so complicated at times and so simple at others? I sigh and rub the palms of my hands on my eyes. That fight was a mess.

A pure mess. Without control tamed beast being the most massive crutch in the world, I would be dead. One hundred percent dead. I didn't confirm a single death or even make sure if any of the goblins were out of the fight before turning my back on three of them for dozens of seconds. Rubbing my eyes, I lie on the ground. ARGH! How could I be so stupid!? If I had watched myself fight, I'd be yelling like a middle-aged dad at football night. There's no point diving too deep into the fight since the fix is simple.

Don't be a fucking idiot. After finishing my meal, I stretch out on the stone. The day wasn't long, but two fights, almost dying, and losing so much blood probably have something to do with it. Scrunching up my jacket as a pillow, I find sleep coming far faster than last night. My restless sleep doesn't go well. The battle replays over and over in my mind as I sleep. It always finishes with a bite to the leg, making me jump with adrenaline pumping One benefit of this is not having an alarm to force me awake.

After an eternity of a night, I wake up with groggy eyes and a chime.

"Did you wait for me to wake up? How kind." I wave my hand lazily in a circle.

"Let's see it." [Bleed Resistance(lv. 0) > (lv. 1)] That was quick.

"Let's see the time now." [8. 91 cycles until next phase] I'm shocked, but not too much. The night was as long as it felt. Damn, I'm really behind the curve. Other people are probably tens of rooms deep with how easy they are. Carefully, I reach down and tap the wound on my leg. It aches, but not nearly as much as before. I unwrap my shirt, which is now half red and half white, and check my leg. Each of the teeth marks is half the size as when I received them, and are completely scabbed over.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Dang! that vitality increase really did some heavy lifting, huh?

"Show me my health." [Health: 175(126)] A sigh escapes me as I close my eyes. It's going to take forever to get back to full health. The moment I try to stand, pain shoots through my leg and makes me wince.

"Kevin, stop feeling pain," I mumble. As expected, the pain washes away in an instant and leaves me with a strange feeling and a moderate amount of weakness. A few cautious steps confirm that my leg isn't bleeding anymore. Part of me wants to take it slow and recover, but the efficiency-driven side of my mind is screaming that I'm falling behind. Almost three days into the solo phase. Around seventy-two hours, and the only thing I have to show for it is an injury and four rooms against pathetically weak enemies.

Without hesitation, I open my status and put another point into vitality. The ecstasy is far weaker this time, but I still bathe in it as my body becomes healthier and full of life. Some of the weakness in my leg disappears, and I feel eager to fight. Oh yeah, the system said something about thinking or speaking status, right? Show me health. [Health: 185(136)] I nod to myself. Good enough. Resolutely, I march down the rooms I've already cleared. As I walk, I admire my warpath filled with dead goblins.

Every single one represents a battle in which I came out on top. And I'll do it again. The final cell door is still closed as I peek inside. As expected, 5 goblins sit in a circle. Seeing all the rooms one after the other confirms that they're growing larger. The newest room seems to be made of fifteen-foot walls instead of the starting ten. So about a foot increase for every room. Along with that, I notice a large, raised stone bowl to the side of the room filled with some kind of liquid.

My face brightens as I spot the first source of water in the dungeon. I pull the collar tight around my fist and grip it hard.

"Kevin, focus, avoid getting surrounded, dodge attacks at all costs, and hit as hard as you can without injuring yourself."

"Also, don't feel pain until the fight ends," I add in. A deep breath calms me as I grab the latch on the door, undoing it and pushing the door open. Like before, three of the goblins look at me, while the ones facing away see them and do the same. All of them rise off the floor and snarl, moving towards me like a pack of wolves. No playing around this time. I have catching up to do. I move backward and hide behind the stone frame of the cell door. Predictably, the goblins try to follow.

With gentle breaths, I wait silently for my opportunity. The second I see green, my body pivots by itself, putting momentum and bodyweight into a devastating punch. I blink in astonishment at the feeling in my body, forgetting how effective telling myself to push past physical limits is. My fist connects, slamming into the goblin's face and sending it crashing to the ground with the crack of bone. The goblin behind it reacts in shock, and I rush forward to send a second fist flying.

The goblin tries to backpedal, but I lunge and follow it, sending it to the ground with another sharp crack. The last three goblins look on in fear as the free meal they were chasing suddenly turns into a vicious monster. They all back away with fearful steps. I make use of the opening and walk back to both of the downed goblins, bringing my foot down and crushing their ribcages one by one. No more unexpected threats. No more idiocy. I look back towards the group of goblins, fear replaced with terror.

The rest is nothing more than a slaughter. All the goblins try to run away, and only strike out predictably when I corner them. I bring my foot down again, crushing the last goblin's ribcage, hearing the fifth chime in the fight. Show me, system. [You have slain Goblin lv. 1 x5] [Partial experience granted x10] [You have earned a reward for clearing a room] [Accept(4) / Bank / Consolidate] Consolidate. Walking to the side of the room, I peer into the stone bowl.

At only 2 feet wide, the bowl is filled with a dirty liquid, with moss growing along the edge. My face scrunches. Maybe I'll stick to my pre-packaged food for now. The next cell door finally displays something different. A goblin like before, but different in every way. The child-like height is replaced by an adult's. Spindly arms are replaced with skinny, dense muscle. A potbelly replaced with bare, visible abs. Nakedness is replaced with a dirty loincloth. It faces away from me. A hobgoblin.

In its hand, a rusty short-sword. I hope I'm up to date with my tetanus shots. To my knowledge, hobgoblins are known for their cunning nature and their ability to survive in rough conditions. It's time to revisit an old strategy. Slowly, I undo the latch. Inch by inch, the door opens as I slink inside. I try to muffle my footsteps as I advance on the hobgoblin. Once I reach only a step behind it, I pull my fist back and prepare my punch. I gasp quietly right before I move.

The hobgoblin's ear twitches, its head snapping around at me with a cold, deeper intelligence. It starts to dodge, but it's too late. My fist clocks it in the face. All the spikes pierce; one of them entering its eye. It drops the sword and falls onto its back, bringing a hand to clutch its bleeding eye. Unlike normal goblins, this one doesn't scream or shriek. It only grunts while looking at me with fury. Without hesitation, I let go of the collar and lunge for the dropped sword.

The hobgoblin sees me and does the same. I get there first and pick up the sword. In one smooth motion from the command, I curve the sword in an arc and bring it down on the hobgoblin's head. It is once again too slow to dodge the sword slams against its skull. Snap Deep in the rusted sword, the metal gives way, snapping the blade off only a few inches above the guard. My building anticipation disappears in an instant. The hobgoblin's head bleeds from the nasty cut, but it's far from life-threatening.

We both move simultaneously. I try to dodge, and the goblin lunges. The hobgoblin catches my arm and pulls me to the ground. While I stumble for leverage, the hobgoblin pulls me close and opens its mouth, revealing pointier teeth than a normal goblin's. My body moves with mechanical efficiency, my mind somehow keeping up in a feeling I can't explain. The goblin brings its head forward and tries to bite. At the same time, my other arm comes down, broken sword in hand.

The sword descends towards the goblin's gored eye. The goblin reacts quickly, abandoning its plan of biting and moving both of its arms to defend. It catches my sword arm and barely stops the strike. It brings its other arm to push the blade, and I do the same. Straddling the hobgoblin, I push down the sword with all of my might, and the hobgoblin pushes my arms away with all its power. Several seconds go by, and I look in the goblin's eye. There's no fear. Only nervous determination. Determination to survive.

I realize I have the exact same expression, and smile. The goblin does the same as my strength starts to wane. We both understand. My endurance isn't nearly enough to keep up. My command-powered mind forces action. I change my posture as I pull my knee up and slam it down. Right on the hobgoblin's nether region. The hobgoblin's face scrunches in pain, and its arms falter. Rusty steel plunges; the few inches of steel digs deep into its gored eye. The hobgoblin panics and flails, but it doesn't last long.

It slides deeper and deeper. Eventually, the hobgoblin twitches and falls limp with both arms falling to the side. My breath comes out ragged as sweat pours down my face.

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" I shake my fists at the sky. The euphoric feeling of victory combines with the ecstasy of my stats increasing and levelling up. When I finish yelling, I stare at the corpse below me as breath fills my lungs and my body loses massive weight. In an instant, my body goes from having run a marathon to just finishing a short sprint.

"Haah, status." [Vitality: 13 > 14] [Strength: 9 > 10] [Agility: 14] [Endurance: 7 > 10] [Fortitude: 9] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 12 > 13] [Perception: 16 > 17] [Unassigned: 0 > 1] Three endurance and one strength. Along with the usual increase in my class. I move my finger and place my one unassigned point into Fortitude. Cool, now everything's above ten. The corners of my lips pull up. My eyes shift to the actual messages. [You have slain Hobgoblin lv. 5] [Partial experience granted x2] [Tamer(lv. 2) > (lv. 3)] [Human(lv. 2) > (lv. 3)] [You have earned a reward for clearing a room] [Accept(5) / Bank / Consolidate] Level five, huh? Is that how high I'm supposed to be with only a class? I really want to consolidate, but the enemies have weapons now. A strip of leather with spikes attached isn't cutting it anymore. A quick look through the closed cell door reveals a hobgoblin facing the door, and two normal goblins next to it. The hobgoblin holds a hatchet. Yeah, it looks like it's time to cash in.

I press accept and rub my hands together greedily.

"Let's see it!" [You have earned 1 (Iron Crate)] [Accept / Bank] Iron? That doesn't sound too good. Regardless, my finger taps accept.