Chapter 19
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Dmitri spent another five minutes reminiscing, and then suddenly admitted that the only things that Baldy did at the base were sleeping and eating. He spent all of his spare time outside.
"Everyone was surprised at first, given that he didn't level-up. Then we tried to get the truth out of him. We even threatened to banish him, and then, after the rebellion against Max during which he remained neutral, we got used to it." Dmitri fell silent, realizing that he said something he was not supposed to. As I understood, Andrei and Suren did not want this story to become public. "However, that was a long time ago. Okay, I have to get back to work, stop distracting me! Spikes for pit traps won't make themselves."
Leaving the forge, I thought about what he had said. Had I not been able to see the time everyone had spent in this world, I could take that "a long time ago" at face value. But considering the "age" of the old-timers, the riot Redhead happened to mention was two or three weeks ago. Some conspirators they were. However, all of this could be dealt with later.
More importantly, I seemed to have figured out how to improve my skills.
Or rather, one thing was clear—upgrading my skills was possible only beyond the perimeter of the base, in an unsafe area. I was willing to bet that you could it only in combat. So, how could I do this without killing myself or the monsters? My death would bring me nothing but frustration, and theirs would get me experience I didn't need. I tried to go back to sleep, replaying this thought over and over in my head. The Major snored next to me, the cop breathed heavily and shifted in his sleep. My head was a kaleidoscope of spinning images of spells, skills, and monsters. The last thing I remembered was the skeleton that came out of the darkness, picked up a stone and cracked my head open with it.
I opened my eyes and looked around. I had rolled to the side in my sleep and hit my forehead on the stone wall. What a weird dream… Stretching, I carefully walked around my sleeping neighbors, and got out to the surface. The morning air was still damp, although the sun had shown its edge on the horizon.
"Breakfast?" turning around, I noticed Olga standing near the big pot. She was mixing something in it.
As it turned out, in addition to night duties, there was also a cooking schedule. Soon enough I would have to get up at five in the morning, so that everyone else had something to eat. I ate my breakfast quickly. It was surprisingly tasty and it even smelled good. I asked our business lady to tell the others that I had gone into the forest. She only shrugged. Good. Less questions, more time for useful things.
I thought of a place no one could find me in and went to the swamp. Given the local insects, none of my neighbors could reach me, and I could continue my research. Reeds, moss, and the constant smell of something rotten… The place hadn't changed at all since last night. I didn't pay attention to the gnats trying to reach me through my magic defense and moved to the center of the swamp. Within five minutes, I was facing an opponent.
Ordinary Drowned Ghoul
Level 7
Great! Just what I needed! A slow, low-level monster. I could test my theories on it. First things first, I tried to cut off its right hand and slightly reduce its attacking potential. It took me three tries but it became clear where Baldy worked out this blow.
But my opponent was still too quick. Fortunately, I had an idea how to deal with that, too.
Stone Spikes
I waited for the right moment and used my new spell. Two small spikes pierced the Ghoul's foot, literally pinning it to the ground. Two inches wasn't much, but its effect was great, one of the mud covered limbs stopped moving. My opponent was stuck in place.
With bated breath I took a step forward, putting myself under the blows of the hand that started hitting me right away. Step back. Don't forget to exhale. It's not that scary. Cure and Regeneration should be enough to survive.
I moved forward.
After four hours, I couldn't stand it anymore and, breaking a promise to myself to "not look until you get the first level-up," I opened my stats. Everything was just as before: 10 strength and endurance, 15 agility and 25 intelligence. The only thing that had changed was that now I had a progress bar next to the figures—2% in front of strength and almost 70% in front of endurance. Did it really work? The only thing was, it really took a lot of time. Will I be able to stay at this level for a few years as Baldy did and reach my maximum?
Maybe there is an easier way? Should I try to find stronger monsters? Inspired by the sudden idea, I cast another Cure on myself and added a Curse to it. After dropping to level 1 it became single target spell again, but it had a higher chance to hit, so it wasn't surprising that it worked right away.
Regeneration has been replaced by Fatigue.
Duration: 60 seconds
My body immediately began to move slower and the Ghoul's blows started to take more health. I had to keep healing myself. To be honest, it was a miracle that I didn't die. When the effect of Fatigue finally ended, I could barely resist temptation not to smash the head of the Ghoul that was still trying to rip my head off. What's stopping me? Am I that reluctant to violate my new rule? Or maybe it was a short line that popped up in front of my eyes.
Endurance: +1
In a minute, the skill development bar was up by more than a third. Sure, it had almost cost me my life, but it had taken me two hours to achieve the same result before. With the help of magic I was be able to perfect Baldy's tactic and develop faster than he did.
The ghoul was still quivering next to me and whatever had been holding me in its death grip before finally let go.
Can I really handle all of this?
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Dmitri spent another five minutes reminiscing, and then suddenly admitted that the only things that Baldy did at the base were sleeping and eating. He spent all of his spare time outside.
"Everyone was surprised at first, given that he didn't level-up. Then we tried to get the truth out of him. We even threatened to banish him, and then, after the rebellion against Max during which he remained neutral, we got used to it." Dmitri fell silent, realizing that he said something he was not supposed to. As I understood, Andrei and Suren did not want this story to become public. "However, that was a long time ago. Okay, I have to get back to work, stop distracting me! Spikes for pit traps won't make themselves."
Leaving the forge, I thought about what he had said. Had I not been able to see the time everyone had spent in this world, I could take that "a long time ago" at face value. But considering the "age" of the old-timers, the riot Redhead happened to mention was two or three weeks ago. Some conspirators they were. However, all of this could be dealt with later.
More importantly, I seemed to have figured out how to improve my skills.
Or rather, one thing was clear—upgrading my skills was possible only beyond the perimeter of the base, in an unsafe area. I was willing to bet that you could it only in combat. So, how could I do this without killing myself or the monsters? My death would bring me nothing but frustration, and theirs would get me experience I didn't need. I tried to go back to sleep, replaying this thought over and over in my head. The Major snored next to me, the cop breathed heavily and shifted in his sleep. My head was a kaleidoscope of spinning images of spells, skills, and monsters. The last thing I remembered was the skeleton that came out of the darkness, picked up a stone and cracked my head open with it.
I opened my eyes and looked around. I had rolled to the side in my sleep and hit my forehead on the stone wall. What a weird dream… Stretching, I carefully walked around my sleeping neighbors, and got out to the surface. The morning air was still damp, although the sun had shown its edge on the horizon.
"Breakfast?" turning around, I noticed Olga standing near the big pot. She was mixing something in it.
As it turned out, in addition to night duties, there was also a cooking schedule. Soon enough I would have to get up at five in the morning, so that everyone else had something to eat. I ate my breakfast quickly. It was surprisingly tasty and it even smelled good. I asked our business lady to tell the others that I had gone into the forest. She only shrugged. Good. Less questions, more time for useful things.
I thought of a place no one could find me in and went to the swamp. Given the local insects, none of my neighbors could reach me, and I could continue my research. Reeds, moss, and the constant smell of something rotten… The place hadn't changed at all since last night. I didn't pay attention to the gnats trying to reach me through my magic defense and moved to the center of the swamp. Within five minutes, I was facing an opponent.
Ordinary Drowned Ghoul
Level 7
Great! Just what I needed! A slow, low-level monster. I could test my theories on it. First things first, I tried to cut off its right hand and slightly reduce its attacking potential. It took me three tries but it became clear where Baldy worked out this blow.
But my opponent was still too quick. Fortunately, I had an idea how to deal with that, too.
Stone Spikes
I waited for the right moment and used my new spell. Two small spikes pierced the Ghoul's foot, literally pinning it to the ground. Two inches wasn't much, but its effect was great, one of the mud covered limbs stopped moving. My opponent was stuck in place.
With bated breath I took a step forward, putting myself under the blows of the hand that started hitting me right away. Step back. Don't forget to exhale. It's not that scary. Cure and Regeneration should be enough to survive.
I moved forward.
After four hours, I couldn't stand it anymore and, breaking a promise to myself to "not look until you get the first level-up," I opened my stats. Everything was just as before: 10 strength and endurance, 15 agility and 25 intelligence. The only thing that had changed was that now I had a progress bar next to the figures—2% in front of strength and almost 70% in front of endurance. Did it really work? The only thing was, it really took a lot of time. Will I be able to stay at this level for a few years as Baldy did and reach my maximum?
Maybe there is an easier way? Should I try to find stronger monsters? Inspired by the sudden idea, I cast another Cure on myself and added a Curse to it. After dropping to level 1 it became single target spell again, but it had a higher chance to hit, so it wasn't surprising that it worked right away.
Regeneration has been replaced by Fatigue.
Duration: 60 seconds
My body immediately began to move slower and the Ghoul's blows started to take more health. I had to keep healing myself. To be honest, it was a miracle that I didn't die. When the effect of Fatigue finally ended, I could barely resist temptation not to smash the head of the Ghoul that was still trying to rip my head off. What's stopping me? Am I that reluctant to violate my new rule? Or maybe it was a short line that popped up in front of my eyes.
Endurance: +1
In a minute, the skill development bar was up by more than a third. Sure, it had almost cost me my life, but it had taken me two hours to achieve the same result before. With the help of magic I was be able to perfect Baldy's tactic and develop faster than he did.
The ghoul was still quivering next to me and whatever had been holding me in its death grip before finally let go.
Can I really handle all of this?
Dmitri spent another five minutes reminiscing, and then suddenly admitted that the only things that Baldy did at the base were sleeping and eating. He spent all of his spare time outside."Everyone was surprised at first, given that he didn't level-up. Then we tried to get the truth out of him. We even threatened to banish him, and then, after the rebellion against Max during which he remained neutral, we got used to it." Dmitri fell silent, realizing that he said something he was not supposed to. As I understood, Andrei and Suren did not want this story to become public. "However, that was a long time ago. Okay, I have to get back to work, stop distracting me! Spikes for pit traps won't make themselves."Leaving the forge, I thought about what he had said. Had I not been able to see the time everyone had spent in this world, I could take that "a long time ago" at face value. But considering the "age" of the old-timers, the riot Redhead happened to mention was two or three weeks ago. Some conspirators they were. However, all of this could be dealt with later.More importantly, I seemed to have figured out how to improve my skills.Or rather, one thing was clearupgrading my skills was possible only beyond the perimeter of the base, in an unsafe area. I was willing to bet that you could it only in combat. So, how could I do this without killing myself or the monsters? My death would bring me nothing but frustration, and theirs would get me experience I didn't need. I tried to go back to sleep, replaying this thought over and over in my head. The Major snored next to me, the cop breathed heavily and shifted in his sleep. My head was a kaleidoscope of spinning images of spells, skills, and monsters. The last thing I remembered was the skeleton that came out of the darkness, picked up a stone and cracked my head open with it.I opened my eyes and looked around. I had rolled to the side in my sleep and hit my forehead on the stone wall. What a weird dream Stretching, I carefully walked around my sleeping neighbors, and got out to the surface. The morning air was still damp, although the sun had shown its edge on the horizon."Breakfast?" turning around, I noticed Olga standing near the big pot. She was mixing something in it.As it turned out, in addition to night duties, there was also a cooking schedule. Soon enough I would have to get up at five in the morning, so that everyone else had something to eat. I ate my breakfast quickly. It was surprisingly tasty and it even smelled good. I asked our business lady to tell the others that I had gone into the forest. She only shrugged. Good. Less questions, more time for useful things.I thought of a place no one could find me in and went to the swamp. Given the local insects, none of my neighbors could reach me, and I could continue my research. Reeds, moss, and the constant smell of something rotten The place hadn't changed at all since last night. I didn't pay attention to the gnats trying to reach me through my magic defense and moved to the center of the swamp. Within five minutes, I was facing an opponent.Ordinary Drowned GhoulLevel 7Great! Just what I needed! A slow, low-level monster. I could test my theories on it. First things first, I tried to cut off its right hand and slightly reduce its attacking potential. It took me three tries but it became clear where Baldy worked out this blow.But my opponent was still too quick. Fortunately, I had an idea how to deal with that, too.Stone SpikesI waited for the right moment and used my new spell. Two small spikes pierced the Ghoul's foot, literally pinning it to the ground. Two inches wasn't much, but its effect was great, one of the mud covered limbs stopped moving. My opponent was stuck in place.With bated breath I took a step forward, putting myself under the blows of the hand that started hitting me right away. Step back. Don't forget to exhale. It's not that scary. Cure and Regeneration should be enough to survive.I moved forward.After four hours, I couldn't stand it anymore and, breaking a promise to myself to "not look until you get the first level-up," I opened my stats. Everything was just as before: 10 strength and endurance, 15 agility and 25 intelligence. The only thing that had changed was that now I had a progress bar next to the figures2% in front of strength and almost 70% in front of endurance. Did it really work? The only thing was, it really took a lot of time. Will I be able to stay at this level for a few years as Baldy did and reach my maximum?Maybe there is an easier way? Should I try to find stronger monsters? Inspired by the sudden idea, I cast another Cure on myself and added a Curse to it. After dropping to level 1 it became single target spell again, but it had a higher chance to hit, so it wasn't surprising that it worked right away.Regeneration has been replaced by Fatigue.Duration: 60 secondsMy body immediately began to move slower and the Ghoul's blows started to take more health. I had to keep healing myself. To be honest, it was a miracle that I didn't die. When the effect of Fatigue finally ended, I could barely resist temptation not to smash the head of the Ghoul that was still trying to rip my head off. What's stopping me? Am I that reluctant to violate my new rule? Or maybe it was a short line that popped up in front of my eyes.Endurance: +1In a minute, the skill development bar was up by more than a third. Sure, it had almost cost me my life, but it had taken me two hours to achieve the same result before. With the help of magic I was be able to perfect Baldy's tactic and develop faster than he did.The ghoul was still quivering next to me and whatever had been holding me in its death grip before finally let go.Can I really handle all of this?
