The stalkers
In the three weeks Marcus spent at the facility, he didn't just waste time with Wilson but also practiced his skills.
In that time he managed to acquire [Acrobatics lv:1] and [Mace technique lv:2]. He also managed to get [Sword Technique] up to level 2, but after that Marcus was stuck.
In fantasy novels that included video game systems, it was normal for skills to level up with constant use and practice. But in Marcus' case, if he wanted his skills to reach a higher level, he also had to increase his stats.
A clear example of this was the case with [Energy Magic lv:1] which, even after learning and using multiple spells an infinite number of times, did not level up and probably wouldn't until Marcus got past the pinnacle of the first realm.
But this didn't mean that Marcus didn't make any progress in magic.
After much practice and effort, Marcus had learned that by concentrating the [Self-Reinforcement] only on specific areas instead of the entire body, he could maximize the effects of the spell.
Marcus quickly got to his feet and charged towards the large skeleton at full speed.
Just as the skeleton was about to hit him again, he concentrated the spell only on his legs and jumped over the skeleton's head, somersaulted in the air, strengthened his right arm, and hit the back of his opponent's nape.
*Crack!*
The skeleton's nape broke and he fell face-first to the ground, but he was still alive.
Marcus wasted no time and immediately strengthened his arm and unloaded a barrage of blunt blows on his opponent.
*Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!*
Each time the battle mace struck the large skeleton, a bone fractured until finally the undead's spine broke into pieces and he collapsed.
Marcus finally dropped the mace and fell as his legs broke.
....
{User has defeated a [Large Skeleton] for the first time, 275 experience points will be awarded}
....
{You gained 2756 xp}
....
'Huuu... OMG !, that was close... I only had 2 MP left!'
****
Four days after the fight with the large skeleton, Marcus found himself in front of the third door. But he was still a little unsure if he should go in.
Marcus had suffered too much damage in the previous battle. Almost all of his ribs had been shattered. In addition, both his legs and his right arm suffered an enormous amount of damage from the spell's recoil.
Although Marcus had learned to maximize the effects of [Self-Reinforcement] by concentrating mana on specific areas of his body, these were unable to withstand the pressure caused by the accumulation of energy and ended up breaking.
Therefore, Marcus decided that he would only use that move if he found himself in a desperate situation from which he could not escape.
'Wow... ! Really, what were they supposed to do in this place?!' thought Marcus, he was dumbfounded.
When he opened the door, he couldn't help but be surprised. Even though it had been almost two months since he had arrived in this world and he had seen all sorts of things, this subterranean installation was like a box full of surprises.
The room was quite large, but what caught the eye were the huge birdcages hanging from the ceiling. There were also a large number of square cages stacked on top of each other on the floor. Although from the size of them, it didn't look like their purpose was to contain only animals.
Some cages had deformed bars, others were rusted and there was even a melted cage as if someone had poured a bucket of acid on it.
Marcus was fully alert. Although a couple of minutes had passed since he entered the room he still hadn't found any traces of the undead he detected last time.
As time passed Marcus was getting more and more nervous and anxious. He had gained a bit of confidence after facing several enemies, and although the circumstances seemed unfavorable, he had always managed to survive.
Tired of searching and waiting for something to happen, Marcus decided to activate his [Energy Sense] to search the room. But when he activated it…
'Huh?... No one's here? But I did feel a presence the first time I walked by... Something's wrong!'
Marcus was on high alert. His detection ability had never failed him before and he was sure that there was something strange in the room.
Just as Marcus was about to retreat, something hit him from behind and knocked him to the floor.
*Bang!..Boom!*
Quickly Marcus turned around and fired an energy missile, but it missed and the projectile ended up hitting the ceiling. But then his ability detected a presence and he turned his attention to one of the cages hanging from the ceiling.
The attacker was holding onto the bars of the cage while it was upside down. But despite the darkness in the room, Marcus could see it very well thanks to his [Night Vision].
It was a skeleton, but this was the strangest one Marcus had encountered so far.
Its height was no more than 1.4 m (4.59 ft), its hands were a pair of sharp claws and it had a row of spikes protruding from its spine. Its forearms appeared to be covered with small semicircular blades of bone and the teeth in its mouth more resembled those of a ghoul than a human.
When Marcus used [Analysis] on the skeleton, he finally understood what was going on.
================================
Race: Undead
Species: Skeleton Stalker.
Rank: 2
Level: 14
================================
The Skeleton Stalker was a superior skeleton variant that seemed to be more specialized in speed and sneak attacks but lacked defense.
When Marcus was about to evolve he rejected this option because, while the Skeleton Stalker was fast and stealthy, it did not have sufficient defense or vitality. If by chance the sneak attack failed, the skeleton would lose its advantage and be at the mercy of enemy attacks.
'That thing probably evaded [Energy Sense] thanks to some concealment skill. But at least it lost its advantage' Marcus smiled inwardly.
Even if the skeleton possessed a stealth skill, it would probably be low level and would have to meet certain requirements to activate it. Besides, while the sneak attack cut through Marcus' armor, the damage wasn't that bad and he had only lost 3 HP.
*Bang!*
Marcus aimed and fired another missile, but the skeleton dodged it and jumped another cage.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
More magic projectiles flew around the room, but the undead was very fast and always managed to evade his attacks. However, Marcus wasn't wasting his MP haphazardly either.
* THUD! BAM! THUD!*
Every time the skeleton stalker evaded a projectile from Marcus, the attack would hit a cage, knocking it off the ceiling. If he couldn't get up to where the skeleton was, then he would just have to make the skeleton come down to him.
The skeleton was cornered, there was only one cage left on the ceiling. Then the skeleton stalker jumped up as the cage was knocked down by the magic projectile and aimed its sharp claws at Marcus' head.
*Bang!*
But Marcus didn't hesitate and simply fired another energy missile, as the skeleton was in the air it couldn't dodge the attack and ended up turning into a pile of splintered bone when the projectile hit it.
'Well... That was easier than the last one!.... Wait...why didn't I get XP when I killed it?'
At that moment, Marcus saw something moving out of the corner of his eye sockets and quickly cast [Energy Shield] blocking an attack that came from his left. The skeleton stalker's claws slammed into the energy shield causing it to crack.
But it wasn't fast enough and ended up getting decapitated by Marcus' sword.
'This one didn't give XP either?...Sh*t, there's more of these!'
A special feature the system had was that it would not award combat experience until all entities that had hostile intentions towards the user were eliminated or neutralized in such a way that they did not pose a danger to the user.
Therefore, if Marcus was not receiving XP it meant that there was still one or multiple stalkers left in the room.
He immediately put away his sword and pulled a shield and battle mace from his inventory.
Marcus did not possess the ability to detect the stalkers, and neither did he have enough agility to shoot them while they were on the move. He, therefore, determined that the best option was to stay on the defensive and wait for his enemies to make the first move.
*Slash!*
A few seconds later another stalker attacked him from behind, managing to cut through his armor. Marcus spun quickly to hit him but missed. His opponents were very agile.
*Slash! Slash!*
Two other skeletons came out of nowhere, slashed and stabbed at Marcus' legs managing to cut through the armor and sever the bones. If Marcus wasn't a skeleton he probably would have lost the ability to walk by now.
Another stalker tried to stab his head-on but was blocked by Marcus' shield and while the attack certainly managed to pierce the shield, it also left him still long enough for the battle mace to destroy his skull.
It seemed that slowly Marcus was dominating the battle, but the stalkers jumped from cage to cage, hiding and attacking steadily bit by bit destroying the armor.
And even though Marcus had cast [Self-Reinforcement] and imbued it with necrotic energy, he was taking more damage than the spell could repair.
*Slash...Shik...Slash...Shik*
The stalkers continued to attack, cutting and penetrating Marcus' armor and shield over and over again.
*Slash...Shik...Slash...Shik*
A few minutes into the battle, Marcus' armor was a mess and he had already changed shields at least four times. But the stalkers were not unscathed either, and only three of them remained.
Marcus dropped his battle mace to the ground, removed what was left of his armor, and concentrated all his mana on his four limbs only. A stalker jumped out of a cage and aimed for the ribs on the right side. But just as he is only inches away …
*Crack!*
Marcus defended himself by throwing a knee to the stalker's solar plexus destroying him on the spot. Although his defense was reduced, by removing his armor and strengthening his limbs, Marcus' agility exceeded his limits, being able to keep up with his attackers.
Skeleton stalkers might be fast, but they were much more fragile than other undead of the same level. With this technique, Marcus increased his agility and attack power to the maximum. But he had to hurry, as the skill had a time limit.
The stalker jumped and tried to bite Marcus' left arm, but managed to catch it, then grabbed it by the head and smashed it into the ground. The stalker's skull shattered as if it were made of glass and collapsed.
The last skeleton stalker realizing he was at a disadvantage, decided to retreat. Seeing this Marcus jumped towards the cage where the skeleton stalker was.
The skeleton tried to run away, but Marcus managed to catch it before, grabbed it by the leg, and threw it against the wall so hard that the skeleton ended up becoming a pile of inert bones.
A few moments later, messages came in from the system.
....
{The user has defeated a [Skeleton Stalker] for the first time, 150 experience points will be awarded}
....
{You gained 14,269 xp}
....
{You leveled up}
....
{You gained 17 stat points}
....
The spell deactivated and Marcus' limbs began to crack and fracture. He then dropped to the ground.
****
'Finally after all this time... I made it this far.' Marcus thought with a bit of fear and excitement.
He was standing in front of a huge double metal door nearly 4 meters (13ft) high.
It had been almost a week since his last fight, and while he had recovered fairly quickly since then, Marcus decided to delay this moment until he was fully prepared.
Because, even if he didn't use his [Energy Sense], he could sense that whatever was behind that door was terrifyingly strong, perhaps even stronger than the larger necrophagous worm.
Finally, Marcus plucked up his courage and opened the last of the four doors.