Ding!
[You have levelled up to Level 7!]
[You have gained one point in every attribute, and two free attribute points.]
After a few hours in the forest, and fighting many monsters, Alicar had managed to level up twice, but so did William and Iris.
Iris had reached level 7, while only using her fire element as to not arouse more suspicion about her abilities, and William was now level 6, on the verge of levelling up.
"Incredible," William let out with a wide grin, his voice filled with genuine excitement. "We managed to level up so quickly... if we were still in the base I bet I would still be level 4..."
"Don’t celebrate too soon," Leon spoke with a grim expression, his eyes scanning the treeline warily. "Because from now on, it’ll take a lot of experience between each level, or you’ll need to fight the more aggressive monsters. I guess we can return for now."
The quartet, all satisfied with what they did today, felt like it would be a good time to return to the base and rest their tired bodies.
Iris and Alicar’s mana capacities were running low, and more than anything, they couldn’t stay out for too long without risking exhaustion.
They returned to the base carrying a few monster corpses, and placed them on a shelf that Darian had constructed for storage.
"We have a small reserve of cores as well," Leon whispered to the three with a wink, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "If we ever get out, we’ll be able to make some good money!"
’If,’ Alicar thought grimly, the word echoing in his mind with uncomfortable weight.
Just like that, the second day in this secret realm passed without anything of significance happening, a rare moment of peace in this nightmare.
Alicar went to sleep, his body aching from the day’s battles, and when he woke up, a familiar notification greeted him.
Ding!
[Evolution Points: 1]
"As I thought, it wasn’t just a one-time thing," he nodded to himself, his mind already analyzing the pattern. "Meaning that every night, it increases by one?"
He still felt like that was too low of a number though, perhaps there was a way to increase it through other means.
Another day passed like this, with Alicar managing to reach level 8, and more importantly, his evolution points had accumulated once more.
[Evolution Points: 2]
’Finally!’ Alicar thought, his heart racing with anticipation.
He opened his [Elemental Attack]’s skill panel, and clicked on the "+" without any hesitation.
[Evolve for 2 Evolution Points?]
"Yes!" Alicar whispered, his voice trembling with excitement.
Power swelled around Alicar, this time much more powerful than the first time he leveled up his skill, sensing his power increasing dramatically.
[Level 2 → 3]
And as he checked the description, his eyes widened with satisfaction at the results.
[Description: Make use of the power of your affinities to conjure different attacks. Your proficiency with this skill will determine your attacks’ power. +40% Damage.]
With that, and his increased attributes, even level 10 monsters may not be able to endure his attacks.
But still, Alicar knew this wasn’t nearly enough to face the sun beast or escape this place.
He tried to click on the "+" again to check how much the next one would cost and was met with a disappointing notification.
[Insufficient Evolution Points. Cost: 4]
’So it DOES double,’ Alicar thought, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. ’Goddamn.’
He was actually hoping it would only add one point every level, but unfortunately life couldn’t be this easy.
It would take 4 days for his skill to reach level 4 it seemed, which felt like an eternity in this place.
Of course, Iris immediately told him about the fact her skill levelled up once more, but at this point, she understood that it was something that Alicar did.
"Alright, everyone," Leon spoke loudly as the others finished breakfast, his voice commanding attention. "Today, we’ll try to aim for all the fighters to reach level 9!"
Alicar, Iris and William nodded, excited to be able to finally reach the max level and unlock their advancement task.
Meanwhile, the awakeners that were with Sera—Mark and Susie, had also levelled up quite nicely, both at level 7.
It would likely take them one or two more days of constant fighting, but overall they’d reach level 10 quickly as well if they kept up the pace.
Leon and his group left the cave and went deeper into the forest, this time entering the territory of level 9-10 monsters.
"Be extra careful," Leon spoke with caution, his voice low and serious. "Some of these things can actually kill us fast, including me."
After around an hour of careful navigation though, they faced one of the so-called monsters that roamed this dangerous territory.
[Forest Guardian Lv.10]
[Rank: Rare]
William took a step back, his face paling as this was the very first level 10 monster they were going to fight after all.
"Shit," Leon groaned, his jaw tightening with tension. "Even I might struggle against this thing, be careful."
A two-meter tall construct made out of wood and stone stood before the group, its form imposing and menacing.
Leon immediately dashed forward, his fist swinging with all his might at the guardian.
But the monster moved to the side with surprising speed, and kicked him away, sending him crashing into a tree.
’Damn, Leon is weaker than I thought,’ Alicar thought, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the situation. ’I guess his [Power Fighter] class is only really useful if he has the agility to back it up.’
Leon attempted to attack the guardian repeatedly, but the monster simply dodged or met his fists with its own.
Seeing this happen, Alicar decided to open his attributes panel to assess his current capabilities.
[Constitution: 12]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 14]
[Spirit: 22]
[Attribute Points: 6]
He hadn’t used any of the attribute points he gained from his level-ups since he hadn’t needed them, but now was the time.
He immediately placed all six attributes points into his spirit, feeling the power surge through his veins.
[Spirit: 22 → 28]
Alicar’s magical power increased tremendously at that moment, and he could feel it pulsing through his entire body.
He summoned the power of his mana in his palm, and a fireball grew on it, larger and larger.
Eventually, it reached roughly two times the size of a human head, its heat radiating outward in waves.
He unleashed it at the guardian with all his might, the fireball screaming through the air.
BOOM!
It hit the monster directly, a faint explosion erupting as it struck, cracking all of the monster’s body as it crumbled to pieces.
Ding!
[You have killed Lv.10 Forest Guardian.]
"One-shot?!" Leon’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping in disbelief. "But... how?"
How could Alicar grow so much stronger in these past few days, that didn’t even seem possible?
In fact, he even seemed just as strong as Leon was after a year of fighting and refining his techniques in this place.
Since Leon couldn’t complete his advancement task in this secret realm, that meant his attribute points were locked.
All he could do to get stronger was train daily to hopefully learn anything new, but alas, it hadn’t worked much.
And yet, this guy, who had just come, could already fight on the same level as he did after a year of brutal survival.
’Incredible,’ Leon thought, his mind racing with amazement. ’Having a powerful class really changes everything!’
Meanwhile, Alicar focused on the panels that appeared before him, his heart pounding with excitement.
[You have levelled up to Level 9!]
[You have gained one point in every attribute, and two free attribute points.]
"Only one more," he mumbled to himself with a faint grin, his eyes gleaming with determination, "And then..." Alicar’s eyes flashed with a faint aura, "I’ll be ready to get out of here."
...
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