Suddenly, he remembered something. When he killed the rat, something shiny had come out of its body.
He got up and walked over. Taking a closer look, he saw a glowing, round object.
Something deep inside him urged him to touch it—so he did.
The moment his fingers made contact, the shiny orb vanished—and then came the same sound in his head:
Ding.
Congratulations, you killed a Level 5 Rat King.
Experience increased by 1500.
Level increased by 1.
Level increased by 1.
Level increased by 1.
Level increased by 1.
Level increased by 1.
Attribute Points increased: +10.
1 Skill Book acquired.
A sudden wave of refreshment washed over him.
His body still ached and was injured, but the mental fatigue—it was gone. Completely.
He summoned the screen again. "Status."
[Name – Alex Liefield]
[Race – Human]
[Age – 21]
[Class – Not Awakened]
[Exp – 0/600]
[Attribute Points – 10]
[Skills – ]*
[Level – 5]
Strength – 14+
Constitution – 14+
Dexterity – 15+
Speed – 15+
Intelligence – 8+
There were "+" signs beside each attribute.
He tapped the plus sign next to Strength. It increased by 1. The attribute points decreased by 1.
He felt slightly stronger. He could tell—if he threw a punch now, it would be stronger than before.
In his entire life, there had only been desperation… compulsion… then boredom.
Even when he killed people—even when he killed a king before dying—he hadn't felt anything.
But now, just from becoming slightly stronger—his heart beat faster.
He felt excited. Not because of the strength—but because of what it represented.
The possibilities. The potential of what lay ahead.
He didn't know the limits of this power—and he didn't care. He didn't want to know.
And that meant something else too.
If he could see this status screen or system—whatever it was—then others in this world might have it too.
And if a level 5 rat was that strong… there had to be even stronger creatures out there.
I don't know what kind of sorcery brought this on… but no human should be able to do this.
He looked at the screen again. A small * symbol blinked beside "Skills." He tapped it.
Congratulations. You have received Skill Book – Dash.
Suddenly, a book appeared in his hand.
His instincts told him: say "Learn" and the skill would be his.
So he did. "Learn."
Immediately, the Skills section was no longer blank.
Dash appeared in front of it.
He understood what it could do, just by reading the name.
He remembered how fast the rat was—this must be that same technique.
He moved to the farthest corner of the cave.
He knew—if he said the skill aloud, it would activate.
"Dash."
His vision blurred for a split second—
BAM!
He crashed hard into the cave's opposite wall. His entire body ached.
He might have fractured a bone.
But for the first time in his entire life—
He had a small smile on his face.