Capítulo 11: Grave digger ghoul
(A.N: Still 1st person POV. Will change to 3rd person later on)
Finally
A dungeon.
And I got a quest too. [Kill 100 undead], it's doable and the rewards are nice so I get to work.
I see some people fighting near the entrance so I go further into the cavern.
Not long after that, I encounter my first undead.
It was covered in blood and filth, chunks of flesh were missing from it's body and it was not wearing anything. But there wasn't need to as it was rotten and there was nothing to see.
It was a zombie.
The reason why I chose this dungeon is because it's full of low level zombies. The zombies have extremely low defense as they are rotten, slow because it's body is already wounded, they are dumber than a rock but most importantly, they are not alive so I won't feel guilt.
The only redeeming quality it has is it's [Contagious strike] skill. So if you get hit and your vitality and endurance is lower than 5, the debuff this skill inflicts can kill you.
As for me,
-[Host Name: [Benefactor of Gaia], Aster Gaelcius]
-[Level: 1] [Exp:60/100]
-[Race: Human(Earthling)]
-[Titles]:[Benefactor of Gaia]
-[Personal traits]:[Earthling], [Gaia], [Sloth], [Soul striker], [Malleable soul membrane]
[Hp:80/80] [Energy:110/110] [Mana:60/60]
-[Attributes]
[Strength:6](Phy attack:12) [Agility:6]
[Endurance:11] [ Vitality:8](def 8 (+10)]
[Mana:6] [Intelligence:6](mag attack:60)
[Dexterity:6]
-[Pseudo attributes]
[Comprehension: 0.16]
[Spirit: 0.31]
[Elemental affinity: None]
[Available attribute points:0]
[Techniques]:[Mana recovery meditation(Intermediate)93/100%], [Basic body strengthening(Advanced)41/100%]
[Unique skills]:[Overwrite], [Erase], [Inscribe], [Rewrite], [True sight Lv 1]
[Passive skills]:[Mana sense [EX] Lv 5], [Mana control [EX] Lv 4]
[Resistance skills]:[Paralysis resistance Lv 1]
[Status: Normal, excited]
I quickly grab my metal bat and smash it's jaw as a surprise attack to disable one of it's weapons. Then while it's busy swinging it's arms wildly, I hit the kneecaps of it's legs and break them easily. I switch my weapons to my sword then slash it's arms. Now it's defenseless and it can't hurt me any way. I use my spear to put a few holes in it's abdomen and then use my daggers to finish the job by stabbing it's head.
It's a cruel way to kill but I need the weapon proficiencies so
[The skill [One handed weapon mastery(Beginner)] has been acquired]
[The skill [Two handed weapon mastery(Beginner)] has been acquired]
[The skill [Blunt weapon mastery(Beginner)]has been acquired]
[The skill [Dual wielding(Beginner)] has been acquired]
[The skill [Sword mastery(Beginner)] has been acquired]
[The skill [Spear mastery(Beginner)] has been acquired]
[The skill [Dagger mastery(Beginner)] has been acquired]
[You have killed an Unranked Lv 1 Undead Zombie]
[12 exp gained.]
[EXP: 72/100]
[Lesser soul of night ×1 acquired]
[Essence of death ×1 acquired]
Finally, my exp goes up! But what is this? Soul of night and essence of death? That sounds cool and all but what are those? Wait a sec
I quickly summon my 'System window' and find the [[Essence]] tab. I focus on it and the window shifts and something else appears on it.
<<<<Essences>>>>
[[Soul essence]]
-[Lesser soul of night ×1]
[[Elemental essences]]
-[Essence of death ×1]
Whoa, it unlocked... Inspect soul of night.
[Lesser soul of night ×1]
[Description: The essence of creatures that roam the darkest night.]
[Can not absorb]
Huh, I never heard of any essences before, oh well, my goal doesn't change. Let's inspect the essence of death next.
[Essence of death ×1]
[Description: The very essence of death itself. Typically found in those who are rotten.]
[It is advised that the host does not absorb this essence yet]
'Absorb? Are they like monster cores then?'
I summon the soul of night.
It materializes on my hands. It was purple-colored faint fog, the size of a tennis ball. The fog was able to be seen through and there was a small white sphere in the middle, presumably its core. It almost felt like it was pulsating.
Although it was small and looked like a breath could make it disappear, it emitted a kind of evil aura, I quickly unsummoned it. Then I summoned the essence of death, it looked the same except its fog was pitch black and its core was even darker but there was one big difference about it.
[Status effect: Decay of death has been inflicted]
[The host will take damage equivalent of 1hp/second]
"What the hell" I whisper, instantly feeling weak. I dismiss the essence but the status effect still persists. Feeling lethargic, I move away from the spot where I summoned it and the debuff disappears.
"Hah, let's not summon it again. Anyways let's loot the zombie."
I gut the zombie open with my dagger despite how weird it felt and take 2 objects from it. 1 rank F mana crystal and 1 unranked monster core.
The mana crystal is the manifestation of the residue mana the monster had when it died. It can be absorbed to replenish mana or infused with items to improve its stats or give special effects.
The core can be absorbed to gain attribute points, usually.
I hold the purple, egg-sized monster core in my right hand and a system message appears:
[Absorb the unranked monster core?]
Of course, yes.
[9 exp gained]
[+50 credits]
[EXP: 81/100]
So this is how I get credits other than completing quests and what's up with that exp? Am I really that stronger than a zombie that I can't get at an attribute point from it?
I quickly go to find more zombies and I find one. I kill it with the same style as before.
[You have killed an Unranked Lv 1 Undead zombie]
[11 exp gained]
[Exp: 92/100]
"Absorb the monster core"
[8 exp gained]
[+50 credits]
[You have leveled up]
[Health, energy, and mana have been restored]
[All of your attributes rose by 1 point]
[You have obtained 3 attribute points, and 3 skill points]
My attributes automatically increase by one point each and I get 3 attribute points too, that's huge. Anyways, time to grow some brain cells. Add 3 attribute points to comprehension.
[Comprehension: 0.17 >>> 0.26]
So one attribute point gives 0.03 comprehension. That's good to know.
Excitement was rushing through my veins and I was feeling ecstatic
This was it. This was the thing that I wanted to experience the most on Gaia. Going to a dungeon, killing monsters, leveling up, it's the best. I would probably grow out of it when I'm older but that's then and I want to focus on the present.
Who cares about Blake and his shenanigans? Who cares about killing Blake? I just want to enjoy my life on this planet. I don't want someone ruining that, I don't want revenge to be my life's goal.
...Enough with this, I need to kill some zombies.
And with the same excitement, I slaughtered 12 more zombies, absorbed their cores, and leveled up once more. All of them dropped the soul of night and sometimes 2 essences of death. I also encounter some humongous corpse-eater maggots but decide to leave them alone. They were at least 1m tall and 3 m long and slimy. Dirtying my weapons with their guts is not worth the exp.
Everything was going smoothly and I was studying the basic magic guide that I bought earlier today. I came to realize that trying to study with low comprehension was unreasonably hard so I postponed it for a while. While scouring the place for more zombies, I encountered something feasting on the zombie that I hunted.
It was basically skin and bones with the skin being pale, its back was hunched up making it appear shorter than what it actually was. Its upper arm was as long as its torso and the lower arm was just as long, its fingers were about 30 cm and it was as sharp as my daggers.
'A ghoul' I recognized it.
[A quest has arrived]
[Optional quest: Kill the grave digger ghoul]
[Quest difficulty: C]
[Quest danger: B]
[Rewards: 100 exp, 100 credits, small skill proficiency increase]
It seemed it smelled me as it turned its head around, its eyes white and its mouth stained with blood.
"GRYAAAGH"
It seems it identified me as its prey and it leaps 7 meters, instantly crossing the distance between us. It thrusts its right hand forward and I barely evade it to the side but not perfectly.
[-9 hp]
[Hp: 91/100]
[Bleed status effect has been inflicted. The host will take 1 hp worth of damage every 10 seconds]
"Gryaghhh" I cry out in pain.
What the fuck dude? I'm sorry for disturbing your meal but since I hunted that thing, how about letting me go?
The ghoul responded to my inner dialogue by swinging its left hand horizontally and I ducked.
I command the system by saying: Shop, consumables, buy agility scroll!
[-300 credits]
[800 credits remain]
A papyrus scroll materializes in my hands with purple sparks and I tear it apart.
[A lesser agility enhancer scroll has been used]
[Agility increases by 5 for the next 30 minutes]
My speed suddenly gets a boost and I can somewhat match the ghoul now.
I drop my backpack that contains the mana crystals, my sword and my spear to relieve some burden and save my energy a bit.
The ghoul leaps at me again and follows it with a deadly 2 vertical slash and I respond by sidestepping and then hitting its left elbow.
My current base strength is 8, an average adult human has 5 so I'm about 60% stronger than a normal human and on top of that, my metal bat boosts my strength by 2, making me stronger. Combine that with the fragile constitution of the ghoul and a nasty cracking sound was heard.
"GUAAAAGH" it shrieks.
It cancels its attack and observes me in wrath.
The dungeon has level 1 monsters so it's a place where newcomers go a lot. The highest level you can find here is probably level 5 humans but they are not strong enough to tank it's hits even if they allocate all of the points they get into vitality.
It's clearly inexperienced when fighting an opponent who can survive it's first few hits and it goes the same for me. But I'm smarter although just barely.
I'm trying to lower its agility by wounding its arms, the main limbs they use for movement.
I go on the offensive by running to it while grabbing the sword that was on the ground and dropping the metal bat.
It leaps at me again and I crouch then thrust my sword to its abdomen while it's still in the air. Immediately, black blood splatters on my face.
[-1hp]
[Hp: 88/100]
[While the acid persists, the host will take damage equivalent to 1hp per second.]
[-1hp]
What the hell, this thing's blood is acidic.
While I was disoriented due to the acid burning my face, it grabbed me by my suit, jumped up about 3m in the air, and slammed me into the ground.
[-4hp]
[-1hp]
[Status effect: Broken has been inflicted]
Ah shit, broken bones.
[-1]
The ghoul sits on top of me and then uses its healthy arm to stab me in the stomach. It hurts like hell.
[-23hp]
[Hp: 68/100]
[Status effect: Bleed has been inflicted. The host will take 1 damage per 2 seconds]
I think I should be lucky that it was weakened too, otherwise, my head should have been the one that was pierced.
Damnit, I'm being cornered.
[The host is advised to use essence of death as a weapon]
[-17hp]
[HP: 49/100]
Gah, I summon 15 essences of death in my right hand. Instead of separate 15 wisps appearing, only condensed one appears.
[Status effect: Decay of death has been inflicted, the host will take 10 damage per second]
Both me and the ghoul instantly feel like dying the second the black wisp materializes in my hand. Using my remaining strength, I thrust my right hand and placed it on top of the ghoul's chest.
15 essence of death has been absorbed by the ghoul and the effects appear instantly.
It's pale color blackens and it drops on the floor, then twitches uncontrollably. I groggily get up, Thankfully, the decay of death disappeared when the ghoul absorbed it so I'm alive.
Withing seconds, it becomes immobile but I could tell it's not dead yet.
I hastily get my daggers and stab it's head.
[You have killed an Unranked Lv 7 Grave digger Ghoul]
[You have obtained Unranked soul fragment×1]
[You have obtained essence of death×3]
[87 exp gained]
[EXP: 129/300]
[You have completed a Quest]
"Aghhh" I fall on the ground.
Shop, consumables, buy lesser healing potion.
My hp is reaching dangerous level and I barely have any energy.
[Hp: 23/100]
[Energy: 11/130]
I sprinkle some potion on my wounds, enough to reduce the bleeding considerably but not enough to actually get my full hp.
[Hp: 27/100]
I stay on the ground tired.
I slowly watch my hp tick down as I didn't heal it completely.
[Hp: 26/100]
[Hp: 25/100]
I lose about one hp per ten seconds but that number gets longer the more I wait.
If my hp reaches 0, I die. It's terrifying but it's what I wanted.
Ahh, it hurts.
[Hp: 21/100]
When is it gonna happen?
[Hp: 16/100]
Is my 5 times the proficiency thing working?
[Hp: 13/100]
[The skill [Minor regeneration Lv 1] has been acquired]
[The skill [Bleed resistance Lv 1] has been acquired]
[The skill [Fracture resistance Lv 1] has been acquired]
[The skill [Acid resistance Lv 1] has been acquired]
[The skill [Pain resistance Lv 1] has been acquired]
[The skill [Fortitude Lv 1] has been acquired]
Ahh finally. That's a lot of skills though, I was hoping for something like regeneration but this is better.
Let's see if these can level up before my hp reaches 3.
[Hp:14/100]
[Hp: 13/100]
***
[Hp: 2/100]
[Hp: 1/100]
I can die when it reaches 0. Isn't that funny? I should drink the remaining potion though.
[Hp fully recovered]
I get up and loot the grave digger ghoul. Thankfully, it's a lesser variant of the normal ghoul otherwise, I would have died. Ghouls are at least at the basic rank.
I absorb the core while putting the mana crystal in the backpack.
[+3 agility]
[+1 mana]
Nice. Also, claim quest reward
[100 exp gained]
[EXP: 229/300]
[100 credits gained]
[Small proficiency bonus has been added]
[Number of skills have leveled up]
Now, what is this soul fragment thing? It's in essence tab.
[Unranked soul fragment]
[Description: The fragment of an Unranked monster's soul.]
[Can be absorbed]
Huh!?
Absorb!
[Unranked soul fragment ×1 has been absorbed]
[1 attribute point gained]
[1 skill point gained]
***
-[Host Name: [Benefactor of Gaia], Aster Gaelcius]
-[Level: 3 ] [Exp: 229/300]
-[Race: Human(Earthling)]
-[Titles]:[Benefactor of Gaia]
-[Personal traits]:[Earthling], [Gaia], [Sloth], [Soul striker], [Malleable soul membrane]
[Hp:100/100] [Energy:130/130] [Mana:90/90]
-[Attributes]
[Strength:8](Phy attack:16) [Agility:11]
[Endurance:13] [ Vitality:10](def 10 (+10 on some parts)]
[Mana:9] [Intelligence:8](mag attack:80)
[Dexterity:8]
-[Pseudo attributes]
[Comprehension: 0.36(action needed)]
[Spirit: 0.31]
[Elemental affinity: None]
[Available attribute points: 1]
[Available skill points: 7]
[Techniques]:[Mana recovery meditation(Intermediate)93/100%], [Basic body strengthening(Advanced)41/100%]
[Unique skills]:[Overwrite], [Erase], [Inscribe], [Rewrite], [True sight Lv 1]
[Passive skills]:[Mana sense [EX] Lv 5], [Mana control [EX] Lv 5], [Fortitude Lv 2], [Minor regeneration Lv 3], [Two handed weapon mastery(Beginner)33/100%], [One handed weapon mastery(Beginner)49/100%], [Blunt weapon mastery(Beginner)34/100%], [Dual wielding mastery(Beginner) 26/100%], [Sword mastery(Beginner) 40/100%], [Spear mastery(Beginner) 35/100%], [Dagger mastery(Beginner) 82/100%]
[Resistance skills]:[Pain resistance Lv 3], [Bleed resistance Lv 3], [Fracture resistance Lv 2], [Acid resistance Lv 2], [Paralysis resistance Lv 1]
[Status: Normal]
Equipment:
-Protective suit: a skin tight black leather suit. +10 defense
-Metal bat: 4 damage, blunt type, +2 strength while in use.
-Steel sword: 10 damage, pierce/slash dmg type, +2 endurance while in use.
-Spear: 8 damage, pierce, +2 dexterity while in use.
-Steel daggers: 6 dmg each, pierce/slash, +2 agility while in use.
***
I'm getting the hang of writing 1st person POV but I don't think I'm doing it right. Feedback would help a lot during times like these.
Remember to add this novel to your library and vote if you have any spare power stones!
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Billurigan
Billurigan Extra long chapter but there might not be a 2nd chapter today. Aster got bunch of skills now, there's overpowered tag after all.
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