บท 9: Level Hunting

Archer lay on the ground, watching in awe as his injured arm healed. The pain was excruciating, nearly causing him to faint several times, but he pushed through it.

Recalling that, he needed to gather the hearts of the wild dogs and visit the old man at the farm to collect his reward of eighty copper.

Archer finally decided to get up. He took out his knife and began looting. An hour later, he had finished collecting everything and stored it in his Item Box.

He remembered the tiny cub that the dogs had been circling. He started looking around but found no trace of it.

"It must have escaped when it had the chance," he thought, choosing not to dwell on it now.

During the fight, Archer experienced the exhilarating sensation of leveling up.

He retrieved a heart from his item box and consumed it. Followed by devouring the remaining twenty-two one after another.

"Burp!" he exclaimed, feeling completely stuffed. He decided to relax in the clearing, finding a log to sit on while checking his status.

'Status.'

[Experience: 100/1000]

[Level Up: 8 > 13]

[SP: 32]

[Mana: 920/1180]

Archer was surprised by how quickly he had leveled up, but he anticipated that as he progressed further, leveling up would become slower.

He had gained 4750 experience points from killing the goblins earlier, completing the wild dog quest, and consuming the hearts.

This comprised 1050 experience from goblins, 1500 from wild dogs, and 2200 from eating the hearts.

With the level up, he distributed his stat points accordingly. He allocated nine points each to HP and Mana, four points each to Strength and Constitution, and two to the other stats.

[HP: 300 > 390]

[Mana: 1180 > 1450]

[Strength: 105 > 145]

[Constitution: 80 > 120]

[Stamina: 110 > 130]

[Charisma: 300 > 320]

[Intelligence: 110 > 130]

As soon as his arm had fully healed, Archer rose from the log. He made his way towards the old man's farm, a journey that took him a few hours.

Stepping out of the forest, he noticed it was already afternoon and proceeded toward the distant farm.

When Archer arrived at the door, he knocked. Footsteps were heard from the other side, and a young woman with green hair and bright blue eyes opened the door, looking bewildered.

"Um, excuse me? How can we help you?" She asked with a puzzled expression.

Archer glanced at the girl and replied, "I'm here to see your father for the reward. The wild dogs have been dealt with."

Her eyes widened in astonishment as his words reached her ears, and then she observed the crimson stains that coated his body.

She hurriedly went back into the house. In under two minutes, the old man came out, looking at things with squinted eyes. "Oh, so you're not dead, boy. And where's the proof of their demise?"

"Ah, yes. I've come to haunt you from beyond the grave! Hahahaha," Archer sarcastically replied before presenting the old man with the body of a wild dog as evidence before putting it away again.

The old man seemed satisfied and nodded. Archer looked back at the old man and laughed before sarcastically saying, "I've shown you the proof. Where's my silver?"

The old man appeared shocked momentarily before shaking his head and tossing a pouch to Archer. "Here, boy. Well done."

Archer caught the bag and paper, stowing them away in his Item Box before bidding farewell to the old man. With purpose, he retraced his steps toward the forest entrance, following the straightforward road leading from Vassia City.

As he walked, his eyes scanned the surroundings in search of a towering tree that would afford him a vantage point overlooking the road. Spotting one, he climbed it like a monkey and settled on a sturdy branch, patiently awaiting the arrival of Talila and her group.

While he waited, he found himself lost in his thoughts, experiencing a flashback of the previous Archer's earlier life.

[Flashback]

It's no secret that he was loved and cared for the first few years of his life, but when he got older, he showed no interest in fighting or hunting but books.

His parents started to shun and bully him, and his mother, Larka, started to ignore him and turn a blind eye to the beatings he took from his older siblings.

Archer hid away in the library and read. The only person he ever opened up to anyone was Ella, who was always by his side. For him, he had to fight a Jungle Lynx, which wasn't strong but quick.

Once the fight started, he blocked a few hits, but the cat was too quick, and the beast slashed him across the face. It sent him flying backward and hitting his head hard, forcing his father to get involved, slaying the beast in Archer's stead.

From that fateful day forward, the torment escalated, with Archer's siblings inflicting even more pain than before and his mother remaining indifferent to his suffering.

Six months after the pivotal fight, Archer's health deteriorated. Persistent blackouts, nosebleeds, and bouts of dizziness became the harbingers of a worsening condition.

One day, he fell into a coma, which caused a mystery to those around him. Left to his own devices, weeks passed as Ella took on caring for him, tending to his needs whenever he needed help.

Ultimately, both Archer's passed away, but the one from Earth was somehow brought here after their deaths.

[Flashback over]

ROAR!~

A roar shattered the stillness, jolting Archer awake. He scanned the surroundings, but nothing was immediately visible. Stretching his arms, he attempted to shake off the remnants of sleep.

The roar reverberated once more, yet he dismissed it, deciding to leap off the branch with a thud upon landing. Suddenly, a warning surged through him, signaling an imminent attack.

Reacting swiftly, he turned just in time to face a colossal tail hurtling toward him. Instinctively, he raised his arms to shield himself, but the impact sent him hurtling in the opposite direction, crashing into a tree trunk and crashing to the ground.

As he lay there, his mind scrambled and body aching, Archer lifted his gaze to witness a beast resembling a dinosaur yet marked by distinct differences.

"A dinosaur," he exclaimed to himself.

It seemed more agile than its Earth counterpart, boasting elongated legs and lighter armor. It charged at him, but Archer skillfully evaded with Blink. Instantly, he vanished from his original position and reappeared behind the beast.

Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed two powerful Void Blasts at it. The blasts struck the creature, causing it to come to a stop. Archer cast Cosmic Sword before lunging at it. Swiftly dodging its charge, he sliced through the creature's flesh, causing blood to spurt out.

The beast collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Archer inspected the dinosaur-like creature that had attacked him out of nowhere.

Archer approached it, dismissing his sword, and retrieved his knife from his item box. He started cutting out the creature's heart before checking it out. It was the largest he had encountered thus far, prompting him to devour it.

After five minutes, the heart was utterly consumed, and Archer checked his status.

[Experience: 800/1000]

[SP: 0>1]

Archer gained six hundred experience from defeating the dinosaur creature and an additional one hundred experience from consuming its heart. He was nearly leveling up again when he heard a familiar voice from behind.

"What are you doing, boy?" Talila's voice rang out.

Archer turned around to see her smiling at him. He returned the smile and replied, "Some strange beast attacked me."

Talila nodded and introduced her companions, who had joined her. "The lion Demi-human over there is Darius, the two knights are Radyn and Feyra, the healer is Cecelia, and the mage is Novius."

As Archer observed them, he noticed that the twins looked fatigued, the healer was sweating, and the big guy seemed unaffected by the recent events.

The Demi-human appeared on the verge of falling asleep at any moment. Talila, however, seemed completely normal, without signs of having fought a camp full of goblins.

"Archer," Talila addressed him.

All of them turned their attention to the blood-soaked boy, prompting the mage to inquire, "Why are you covered in even more blood now?"

Archer glanced down at his body, realizing that he was indeed drenched in blood once again. He chuckled, "Well, things got a bit messy."

Everyone stared at him, disturbed by his eerie laugh and wondering what was happening in his mind. It was the mage who approached him.

"Little guy, would you like to learn the Cleanse spell?" he asked.

Archer stared at the man blankly, causing everyone to feel uneasy, before responding, "Yes."

Before Novius could teach him the spell, Talila interjected, "Let's do it on the road. We'll return to the city before it gets dark."

Everyone agreed and started walking back to the city for an hour without further obstacles.

Novius taught Archer the Cleanse spell on the way, leaving the bald mage astonished by the boy's quick grasp.

[Cleanse learned]

Archer cast the spell as they walked. 'Cleanse.'

A gentle breeze swept over Archer, cleansing his body and clothes of all the blood and dirt. Feeling refreshed, he smiled and thanked Novius, saying, "Thank you for teaching me, Novius."

The mage nodded and replied, "You're welcome, little guy. You learned faster than I expected."

After learning the spell, he caught up with Talila and began chatting with her.