Chapter 8 - As the days pass the grind will rise

While Leonard parents are planning his demise. a week has passed Leonard was While Leonard's parents are planning his demise, a week has passed, and Leonard is currently in the monster forest after school. His strength has made huge breakthroughs, and it's getting increasingly harder to level. Now, Leonard is doing a quest the system has issued.

[becoming a half pro]
condition: become level 20
Rewards: 30 stats points

Leonard panted as he cleaned the blood on his sword and called [status].

Name: Leonard
race: human
age: 15
level: 11
HP: 300
MP: 470
STR: 30
AGI: 30
END:30
INT: 47
WIS: 11
points: 0
skills:
[sword fighting] lvl 5
[eloquence] lvl 4
[silver tongue] lvl 4
[magical ability] lvl 2
[basic mana manipulation] lvl 3
[lying] lvl 4
[acting] lvl 4
[leadership] lvl 3
[math] lvl 3
[manipulation] lvl 4

"I have grown very strong," Leonard thought happily while reflecting on what happened in this week. He went to school, trained with Gerald, and became a very passionate student. He wanted to increase his skills as much as he could. He went to the monster forest, killed monsters as hard as he could, and finished the quest to become level 10. He gained 20 stat points, and 6 levels every level gives him 5 points, making him very strong.

[sword fighting] lvl 5
host is becoming a professional in the art of the sword.
+25% more damage inflicted with the sword
proficiency: 36%

[eloquence] lvl 4
host has good eloquence
+20% that the host's behaviors will get a liking from people
+20% more persuasion when the host talks
proficiency: 73%

[silver tongue] lvl 4
host is a good silver-tongued person
+20% that people will be convinced when the host speaks
proficiency: 32%

[magical ability] lvl 2
+10% to the damage dealt by using spells
-2% to the consumption of mana on all spells
proficiency: 69%

[mana manipulation] lvl 3
+15% to the control of mana
proficiency: 83%

[acting] level 4
host is near professional level in acting but not there.
+20% that people will believe the host when he acts
proficiency: 49%

[silver tongue] lvl 4
host is near professional level in speaking but not there.
+20% that people will believe the host when he speaks
proficiency: 77%

[manipulation] lvl 4
host is near professional level in manipulating people but not there
+20% on the host's ability to manipulate people
proficiency: 17%

[lying] lvl4
host is near professional level in lying to people but not there
+20% that people will believe the host lies
proficiency: 39%

[math] lvl 3
the host is experienced in math-related stuff
+15% to the host's ability to calculate in his mind
proficiency: 18%

[leadership] lvl 3
the host is an experienced leader
+15% that people will look at the host as a leader
proficiency: 33%

Leonard smiled in satisfaction, seeing his skills as the fire of wanting more power burned within his eyes. It was night, and he was ready to come back to the carriage. But as he walked, he heard something due to his increased perception and looked there. Suddenly, he saw many people coming towards him from afar. "Bandits," thought Leonard internally as he quickly jumped atop a tree and stayed silent.

After 2 minutes, they arrived and appeared to be searching for something. Suddenly, he was startled by a notification.

[Congratulations to the host for getting the skill Stealth]
[stealth] lvl1
-5% to the noise the host produces when walking or doing anything
-5% to the people being able to detect the host
proficiency: 1%

Leonard smiled in satisfaction, happy he got a new skill. But that didn't allow him to stop his caution as he looked at the bandits intensely. "25 bandits with good equipment, definitely not ordinary outlaws," thought Leonard.


As the bandit leader put his hand in his bag and took a little ball-shaped object inscribed with many characters, Leonard was shocked, thinking, "Impossible! How can a mere bandit have a mana object? It's very hard to get one, even for noble families with their limited supply." The thought quickly faded as the bandit activated the mana object, causing it to shine. calmly, he screamed for the bandits to gun Leonard down. Quick as lightning, Leonard leaped to another tree as arrows were launched towards his previous location, readying himself to counter-attack.

He didn't hesitate, swiftly appearing in front of a bandit, slashing him in half, breaking both the sword and the bandit. Blood and organs seeped out, leaving the other bandits in shock as they attempted to retaliate. Leonard, however, proved faster and stronger, swiftly eliminating them. He spared the bandit leader, holding his neck, and asked coldly, "Who sent you to attack me?"

"It's impossible! You shouldn't have this much strength. They didn't tell us anything about your strength. What are you?" the bandit leader stammered in fear as Leonard sliced the bandit leader's hand, making him scream in pain. Leonard declared, "I ask, you answer. Next time, I will cut more than just your hand." The bandit leader, in pain, cried out, "The Ziser family! The Ziser family hired us to kill you! Please don't kill me; I have a wife and a child!" The bandit leader started having a mental breakdown from pain as he cried.

Leonard looked coldly at the bandit leader, expecting this revelation but not this soon. He had hoped for more time to become stronger. Leonard swiftly killed the bandit leader by slicing his head, dropping him on the ground. Surveying the aftermath of the massacre, Leonard thought, "I should feel something; after all, this is my first time killing someone. But I can only be happy because I have upgraded to level 12." Leonard smiled happily, covered in blood, as he added the 5 stat points to intelligence. To his astonishment, a notification appeared.

[Congratulations to the host for getting the intelligence stat above 50. For this, the host will unlock the passive ability [Genius].]
[Genius]
All host skills will increase their proficiency by 20% faster.
Mana-related abilities will get 30% increased proficiency.

Leonard smiled demonically, thanking the bandits for making him stronger. He collected everything of value, especially the mana object resembling a detection device, and left, showing up in a lake near the forest entrance to clean the blood off his body. He then proceeded to the carriage where the young knight awaited him.

Instructing the knight to go to the manor instead of his house, Leonard outlined his plan to make his parents' and family's lives a literal hell. Upon arriving at Ashford Academy, he dismissed the young knight and entered the academy, taking advantage of the night when it was off-limits for students to walk around. He headed to his professor, Hanna Jones, AKA Elena, for a bit of acting proficiency.

Name: Leonard
Race: Human
Age: 15
Level: 12
HP: 300 [health will increase by 5 every 10 minutes]
MP: 520 [mana will increase by 20 every 5 minutes]
STR: 30
AGI: 30
END: 30
INT: 52
WIS: 11
Points: 0
Passives: [Non-upgradable skills]
[Genius]
Skills:
[Sword Fighting] lvl 5
[Eloquence] lvl 4
[Silver Tongue] lvl 4
[Magical Ability] lvl 2
[Basic Mana Manipulation] lvl 3
[Lying] lvl 4
[Acting] lvl 4
[Leadership] lvl 3
[Math] lvl 3
[Manipulation] lvl 4
[Stealth] lvl 1

While Leonard celebrated his victory, John was shocked, unaware of the 50 points' effect granting the host a passive skill. Angrily, he questioned, "System, you didn't tell me about this effect I have!"
[System: The host will only get my help for the first world. Due to that, the host needs to learn to adapt to everything a system needs to do, and there will be many hidden abilities of every system and host that need to be discovered. If I tell the host everything he needs to know, then you don't deserve to be chosen by the system maker.]

John sighed, acknowledging the system's perspective, realizing he needed to navigate this new role intelligently. As a system, he was a cheat for people to get stronger, and the stronger they got, the stronger he would become. John vowed to become the best system and make this system kneel before him. He sighed, awaiting the future, while keeping an eye on Leonard.

Name: John
Race: System
Age: 19
Level: 1 [12 exp from 100]
Energy: 100/100