LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 27: Tutorial.27
I could have already passed through several of these security boxes. Or maybe not. None of theother humans I've encountered so far had any equipment that wasn't provided in the introduction, so these security boxes were probably not just scattered around.
I grabbed the wristbands from the vault, and as soon as I had them in my hands, the box slowly sank into the wooden platform. I could see that the box wasn't actually merging with the tree through its sphere; it was just... disappearing. When the last part of the box sank into the wood, all traces of the container vanished with it. Very similar to what happened with the giant pillar at the beginning of the tutorial.
I put on the wristbands, finding it relatively easy. The leather was strong, much sturdier than any other material I had seen with this kind of flexibility. I could probably even block swords and daggers with them, as their resistance to cutting seemed extraordinary.
After equipping them fully, I didn't feel any difference. I tried moving them a bit, making sure they were fastened properly. While I began wondering if they were broken or if I didn't meet the requirements to equip them, I had the idea to inject mana into them, just like I did with my quiver.
The response came instantly. I felt my mana flow into the wristbands completely unhindered and immediately felt a warm wave through my body, something similar to when I level up. I felt strength and, especially, agility, as 5 extra stats were no small matter at this stage. They were more stats in total than a level in my class.
I drew my dagger and tried to cut the wristbands, finding little room for maneuver. What I did find, however, was that the small mark I made on the wristbands quickly disappeared in just a few seconds. This repair function seemed useful, since I had absolutely no experience in maintaining my equipment.
This could also be seen in my daggers, which were a bit dull compared to the beginning but still sharp enough to kill beasts. I had the feeling they would soon start to dull, though.
Finding nothing else interesting in the tree, I climbed down after exploring a bit around, taking advantage of my high vantage point. Besides the view being quite nice, I spotted a group of animals that I didn't immediately recognize when I was halfway up the tree and decided to make them my next target.
I could have spent more time experimenting with how exactly the equipment worked with the system, but I was much more interested in testing its effects in combat. That could be done later. Right now, I was looking for a fight.
After a brief walk, which was quicker than my pre-tutorial maximum running speed, I arrived at the hill where I had seen the beasts. They were... different. They looked like hairless rodents, or rats, or something like that. Mole-rats, maybe? Either way, they were as ugly as sin.
Their terrifying appearance only worsened with size. The beasts were large. Not dog-sized, but pony-sized. Despite having four legs, they were almost at eye level with me. Upon inspecting them, I wasn't very surprised.
["??? – level 10"]
["??? – level 10"]
There were only two of them, but both were level 10. The same level as the big boar. But it was different from what I remembered from back then. It had evolved quite a lot, and it even had the new wristbands that significantly increased my offensive power.
These rats had weak defenses according to the initial assessment, which made me confident in facing them. Even if I couldn't kill both, killing one and then escaping would also be worth it.
But more than any logical justification, I just wanted to fight them. A hunt didn't have to be completely one-sided to be interesting, after all.
I decided to be a little more tactical as I climbed a nearby tree. Both rats were positioned on a hill, just standing still. I could attack them on the hill, but if I decided to run, they would chase me down the slope, which seemed like a bad idea for several reasons.
Instead, I decided to bombard them from a tree and force them to come to me.
After finding a suitable tree, I climbed it and positioned myself. The chances were that they could climb trees, so I chose a spot where I could conveniently shoot at the trunk if they followed me.
I prepared an arrow and drew my bow. I aligned my shot and waited for the one closest to me to stop moving. Finding my chance, I released the arrow and watched it fly true, hitting the rat in the side of its head, piercing all the way to the brain, as I had hit its auditory canal. I was very proud of that.
The beast screamed in a noise much louder than anything I had ever heard before. It was loud enough to make my ears ring, and I missed my second shot due to the dizzying sensation. The thing, the mole-rat I had hit in the brain, started running toward me with its friend, but it couldn't run properly, constantly tripping and spasming. It ended up falling on itself as it began scratching the ground.
However, I had little time to think, as the uninjured mole-rat was still approaching, leaving its friend writhing behind. I managed to steady myself as I shot another arrow, hitting the now uninjured beast in the back.
The mole-rat only hissed a bit as it reached the tree, dug its claws into the wood, and began climbing in small hops. I turned my bow towards it and took a clean shot at its trunk. While the beast was climbing headfirst, I managed to hit it in the side of the head.
What followed was another loud scream; this one, however, much closer to me. The pain was unbelievable, as I lost all hearing and felt blood pouring from my ears. All my senses were completely disoriented, and I almost tripped and fell from the tree.
I managed to hold on, though, as my danger sense kicked in. The beast was about to bite my leg when I managed to grab a branch above me, lifting my legs. The beast was about to bite me again when I turned around and kicked it right in its ugly face.
The rat gave another squeal as it lost its grip on the tree and fell. I was somehow grateful that my eardrums had already ruptured, as I couldn't hear the squeal. I could still feel the vibrations in the air, however, showing just how ridiculous it was.
The beast fell hard to the ground, and the big rats' problems only worsened when an arrow hit it again. It tried to get up and climb the tree again, but I kept shooting arrows at it every time it tried, making it fall back down, again and again.
After a while, the beast lost its strength and passed out. It still made small movements, but it seemed incapable of getting back up.
Then, I turned my attention to the rat I had shot first. I still hadn't received any death notification, so I knew it was still alive.
What I saw was the beast scratching the ground around it, still trying to reach me. It walked as if it were drunk from a blackout. I figured I had hit the beast's brain in a very important place, but not somewhere important enough to kill it. I felt a twinge of pity as I shot more arrows into it.
After shooting a few, I received a notification from the other one that finally bled to death beneath me. Less than half a minute later, the other one died too.
["You killed [Molerat Screecher – lvl 10] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. 500 CP gained"]
["You killed [Molerat Screecher – lvl 10] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. 500 CP gained"]
["'DING!' class: [fatal shot] reached level 9 – Status points allocated, +1 free point"]
I sighed in relief when I finally leveled up. The rats' names weren't surprising, and they also had more style than the lower-level ones. 500 CP wasn't the 512 I expected if the double CP per level hypothesis was true, which meant there wouldn't unfortunately be level 30 beasts giving millions of CP per death.
Now, I was convinced that something happened at level 10 to make the beasts significantly stronger. The huge boar and these rats were much stronger than the level 9 beasts. Their stats, at least, were higher by a considerable margin.
I sat on the ground to relax for a while, while giving my ears time to heal. I at least hoped they would recover. My health points had barely been scratched, so drinking a healing potion would be useless. After just a few minutes of relaxation, I heard something pop, and sound, once again, returned to my world.
I smiled at the wonders of vitality as I climbed down the tree. There was no time to waste sitting around doing nothing. Time is essential and all that. After all, there were more beasts to hunt, and from my recent discovery, loot to be found.
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