Chapter 3

Vivian was sneaking in the bushes to get behind a sunflower monster.

As she was getting closer to the monster, she noticed from the corner of her eye another sunflower monster.

She stopped.

The other one is about 12ft away…

Even if I killed this one, the other one would notice me and then attack…

Vivian recalled the gas attack that she suffered from the first sunflower monster she encountered.

Should I or should I not…?

An idea then popped inside her head.

What if I lure the other one somewhere else…?

She cast her gaze down and searched for a stone.

She saw a stone buried half deep in the ground and uprooted it with her dagger.

She stared at the two sunflower monsters.

I hope this works…

Tak!

She threw a stone at a tree that was near the one which was about 12ft away.

Both sunflower monsters turned their sunflower heads to the tree where the stone hit.

However, none of them moved to the location. Instead, their heads simply wandered around while still standing in the same place.

Tch...!

Vivian clicked her tongue mentally. 

It was then another idea popped inside her head.

She searched for another stone and threw it away at the same spot.

Tak!

The moment both sunflower monsters turned their head to where the stone hit, Vivian immediately burst out of the bushes and charged.

Whoosh!

When she closed the distance with the nearest sunflower monster, she immediately swung her blade, cutting it between its head and stem. And without waiting for even a second to rest, she immediately rushed for the second sunflower monster.

Whoosh!

The second sunflower monster heard some footsteps coming from behind it. But as soon as it turned around, a blade already swiped it.

Ding!

A ringing bell suddenly rang inside Vivian's head and a message appeared in front of her before quickly disappearing.

'Unlocked [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) - Level 1!'

Vivian stopped and opened her Status Panel.

***

Name: Vivian

Class: Thief

Race: Human

Age: 24

Affinity:

• Poison - x1.4

• Fire - x1.2

• Dagger - x1.2

Stats:

• Str - 11 (+2)

• Vit - 9

• Agi - 12 (+2)

• Int - 8

Mana: 16/16

Skills:

• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 1 (x6.2) (Max/16) - Dagger Stab (10 mana points)

• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 2 (x6.2) (??/81)

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 1 (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 2 (??/50)

Lore:

• Village Girl

• Adventurer

• Zhey/Zhem

• Otherworldly - Grants [Growth] - all affinity x5

***

"So this is [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) - Level 1..." The Level 1 gave me +2 to Str and Agi! Nice!"

"It gives me +2 to Str and Agi..."

"Nice, I guess..." 

"Hmm..."

"[Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) Level 2 has (??/50), while the [Dagger Mastery] Level 2 which was (??/81)…"

"So does this mean I have to make the '??' sign to 'Max' before I can move to Level 3…?"

"Also, I don't remember seeing a [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 1 (??/10) last time I checked my Status Panel…"

"Or perhaps there was…?"

Vivian thought about it for a moment.

"I can't remember..." she said and shook her head.

She closed the Status Panel.

"Just to be sure, I'll make sure to check my Status Panel every time I kill an enemy."

"But first…"

She made some thrusting and slashing motions with her dagger.

"Heh~ I feel a little bit stronger and faster."

She then resumed her journey exiting the forest.

***

A few minutes later…

Vivian stopped and immediately hid to the side.

There was some sort of monster but it wasn't a sunflower monster.

This time around, it was a group of about brown-colored 1ft-tall mushrooms, some of which were bouncing around that from time to time others would bump against each other.

And if she were to be honest, they looked quite adorable that one would want to hug them like a plush pillow.

However, after remembering her experience from the gas attack of the sunflower monster, she no longer found it adorable.

What the fuck are those things...?

She tried to look around if there were other monsters before counting the jumping tiny mushrooms.

Twelve mushrooms…

She was about to get up and move forward but stopped.

Wait…!

How do I kill them…?

And how do they attack…?

Given that they're many, if they bombard with a gas attack and assuming that they can hit hard, I'll be overwhelmed...

Although Vivian has killed a few sunflower monsters so far, she hasn't experienced any physical damage so far aside from the gas attack. Because of that, she wasn't yet confident with her defense.

However, the EXP…!

She shook her head.

This is a forest…

And based on the number of enemies I've encountered so far with every couple of steps, I can encounter other enemies…

It's not like this is just the kind of enemies I can encounter…

Also, my strength and energy are limited…

On top of that, I'm still not sure where I am and I haven't secured a safe location in case--...

She raised her head and looked up at the sky.

Based on the location of the sun, it was around noon time already. On top of that, she was sweating and felt her throat starting to get a little bit dry.

Yup...

 

Better conserve my energy for now…

With that, she got up and made a C-line to avoid the group of jumping tiny mushrooms.

****

A couple of steps later…

Vivian encountered a sunflower monster and took care of it the same as she did with the previous ones.

Whoosh!

She stared down at the corpse of the monster for a moment before making a slashing motion in the air.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

"Yup, I definitely feel stronger and faster a little bit."

"Oh, I almost forgot!"

She checked her Status Panel.

***

Name: Vivian

Class: Thief

Race: Human

Age: 24

Affinity:

• Poison - x1.4

• Fire - x1.2

• Dagger - x1.2

Stats:

• Str - 11 (+2)

• Vit - 9

• Agi - 12 (+2)

• Int - 8

Mana: 16/16

Skills:

• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 1 (x6.2) (Max/16) - Dagger Stab (10 mana points)

• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 2 (x6.2) (??/81)

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 1 (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 2 (??/50)

Lore:

• Village Girl

• Adventurer

• Zhey/Zhem

• Otherworldly - Grants [Growth] - all affinity x5

***

"Hmm… No changes, still the same…"

She closed the Status Panel.

Brrr…

Her stomach made a sound and she pressed her palm against it.

"Dammit, I'm already hungry…"

She looked around if there were any fruits.

She saw a tree that had fruits but it was a fruit she had never seen before.

"I don't know if that can be eaten. For all I know it can be poison."

She grabbed her satchel and opened it.

There was an item she was looking for and found it.

It was a small squishy leather bag that had liquid inside of it.

"I've never seen this kind of item in person but it looks a lot similar to the things I've seen in movies and pictures."

She searched for the lid, opened it and then pressed the lid near her nose.

Sniff.

Sniff.

It smelled like leather.

"Is this safe to drink?"

She poured a few drops on the cap.

"The water seems clear."

She pressed the cap near her nose.

Sniff.

Sniff.

This time, it smelled like metal and leather.

"I really have no idea if this is safe to drink but I'm really thirsty…"

She thought about it for a moment and took a sip from the cap.

"It is water, not cold, but it has a little aftertaste of leather…"

An idea popped inside her head.

"Should've I have boiled it?!"

However, she quickly dismissed the idea.

Even if she wanted to boil it, she didn't have a lighter or match. And she also has no idea how to start a fire without a lighter or match. Furthermore, she doesn't have an extra container to boil the water. And lastly, although she might be a complete dummy when it comes to camping, she at least knew she couldn't use this leather bag to boil water.

"Fuck it."

She pressed the lid against her lips.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Feeling a little better from drinking water, she closed the lid of the water pouch, returned it back inside her satchel and then resumed her journey exiting the forest.

Chapter end