Although everything had worked out almost exactly how he had planned, it still had been a close call. That damn Purple Winged Pox's paralysis had worn off much faster than he postulated, lasting a mere 3 minutes.
If he had had even the slightest hesitation he might have been the one falling instead. Although he was using an unfamiliar drug he had still given himself a wide margin of error. It seemed these ELITE monsters had a much faster recovery rate then he had estimated.
As he thought about the ELITE Watermelon Wolves he suddenly laughed, recalling the look of fearful disbelief he had seen within the depths of both the ELITE Watermelon Wolves eyes when the Purple Winged Pox's paralysis had finally kicked in, reversing the roles of predator and prey.
Silently chuckling to himself, he opened his status screen, curious about the amount of XP he had earned from killing the seven Common Watermelon Wolves as well as the two ELITE Watermelon Wolves.
[Candidate Status]
Name: Salvatore
Titles: [Candidate] - [Iron Willed]
Level: 0
Experience: 103\100
Class: Universalist
Age: 21
Race: Human
Sex: Male
HP: 100\100 HP Regen Rate: 1% per sec
MP:100\100 MP Regen Rate: 1% per sec
Strength: 10 +(1)
Endurance: 10 +(2)
Constitution: 10
Perception: 10
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Dexterity: 10
Charm: 10
Luck: 10
Equipped: [Red Berry Rabbit Moccasins] - [Rusted Iron Dagger]
As the status screen appeared, the first thing he noticed was his XP had exceeded the required amount to level-up, but he was still level 0. Studying the screen, he suddenly noticed a faintly blinking tab at the top corner of the screen.
Reaching towards it, as his hand hovered just above the rounded tab it suddenly expanded into a star specked, golden colored, upward pointing, arrow shaped button, with the flashing prismatic words, "LEVEL-UP" on it.
Pressing the blinking button without the slightest bit of hesitation, he suddenly heard the rapid downward counting "clicking" sound of his accumulated XP being depleted as he was suddenly enclosed by a upward rising golden pillar of light.
This golden pillar of light filled him with endless vigor as he felt all of his senses begin to grow stronger. His cells suddenly experiencing a qualitative change, causing his muscles to become slightly more defined, whilst he suddenly felt a thin layer of hair appear on his smooth bare head.
After a few moments had passed, the downward "clicking" sound began to slow down until suddenly it stopped. Instantly the golden pillar of light disappeared as though it had been a mirage, however his senses were now greatly improved whilst his body now felt twice as strong.
He estimated as he flexed his muscles that he now possessed the physique of a Olympic gold medalist. But he felt the greatest improvement had been to his mind, which now moved from thought to thought much faster.
Quickly checking his status, Salvatore closely studied his stats improvements.
[Candidate Status]
Name: Salvatore
Titles: [Candidate] - [Iron Willed]
Level: 1
Experience: 3\400
Class: Universalist
Age: 21
Race: Human
Sex: Male
HP: 200\200 HP Regen Rate: 1.1% per sec
MP: 200\200 MP Regen Rate: 1.1% per sec
Strength: 20 +(1)
Endurance: 20 +(2)
Constitution: 20
Perception: 20
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 20
Dexterity: 20
Charm: 20
Luck: 20
Equipped: [Red Berry Rabbit Moccasins] - [Rusted Iron Dagger]
Finally,... finally he had managed to level up. This was a momentous moment for Salvatore, yet despite this milestone accomplishment he was still somewhat disappointed. Even though he had successfully hunted dozens of monsters as well as several high level Watermelon Wolf monsters, his strenuous efforts had only yielded enough XP to reach level 1.
But now, discovering that in order to level up to level 2 he would need to acquire nearly 4 times as much XP, he suddenly realized how greatly his future was relying on the successful usage of his Class Secret Skills. Hopefully they would work exactly as he postulated, otherwise it would take him a very long time to reach a high enough level to leave the valley.