Chrummmm...
Sounds of huge footsteps could be heard from miles away.
As the humongous foot barely passes by over a rock, there could be seen a tiny reflection coming from it.
The mysterious monster was about 25 feet tall, each and every footstep's impact was huge that it felt like earthquake fell all over the place.
Beyond that tiny rock could be seen a small silver sword that was full of rust.
Few minutes later, as the monster had completely passed by... a skeleton's hand could be seen coming out from underneath the ground.
It was a small skeleton about the size of a 4 year old kid (53cm/1'8ft) It's bones were extremely fragile as if it could break at any time.
'What a scary monster.' The skeleton trembled in fear as he slowly spoke.
It was as if the skeleton was barely holding it's bones intact together from breaking apart.
'What in the place is this? I knew I was supposed to die back then but instead found myself inside the body of this skeleton. Could I have become a ghost?'
'No that's not it. If I was supposed to have become a ghost why is there a game like screen floating around my head.'
[Name : Skeleton Soldier ]
[Level : 1]
[Vitality : 5/5]
[Stats : -]
[Strength : 2]
[Stamina : 1]
[Agility : 2]
[Skills : - ]
[(None)]
--------
I have been trapped in this body since two days ago. When I first awakened I thought I had went to afterlife but it wasn't that nor had I become a ghost...
Currently -
The was no signs of any clue on the system that was floating on top of his head. Leo had tried to call out possible codes, clues or patterns, tried touching the screen, but to his avail nothing changed.
Leo had given up on it for the moment and instead just lied down under the rock as he relaxed the fragile bones.
'Where in the world am I? It's been two days yet I don't feel any hunger or thirst.'
'Ahhh perhaps I'm really just a skeleton chilling down a rock?'
As he slowly relaxes he falls asleep.
A few hours later -
A notification comes from the screen.
[Warning! A bird has sensed your presence]
[Bloodlust has been detected from the bird]
[A sub quest is being created!]
[Defeat the bird!]
[Rewards : +1 Vitality Stat]
[Penalty : Death]
Leo grabs the rusted sword near him and points it's direction towards the bird.
'I don't care about the rewards or whatever, but if I fail here then I'm really dead? No way that's happening.'
"Come even a step closer and you'll die." Leo shouts towards the bird with an angry glare. Leo hoped it would intimate the bird to an extent.
Leo's hands weren't trembling but rather more calm as he was faced with a life or death battle, Leo was totally focused on observing the movements of the bird.
'Before I was a skeleton, I was an extremely observant guy, nobody could match my instincts nor reaction time back in the days. Hell no way I'm dying on the hands of some mere birds.'
The bird starts flying around the rock in all directions as it tried to overwhelm it's prey.
However the skeleton didn't move a bit from it's place as it observed the movements of the bird while pointing it's sword at it.
After a few moments, the bird quickly heads over to the skeleton as it raises it's sharp claws. Leo quickly took his stances and swing the sword with full force.
The force itself wasn't strong nor was the sword sharp as it was totally rusty, however the damage was enough to scare the bird.
As the bird fails to overpower the fragile skeleton, it gave up it's chase.
[Congratulations you have successfully defended against the bird]
[You have gained +1 Vitality]
Leo felt extremely energetic as his vitality increased however on the other hand Leo had lost -1 vitality as he collided with the bird.
Current Status -
[Vitality : 5/6]
[You will recover 0.001 vitality per second]
'So basically about 1 thousand seconds to fully recover from now, which is about 17 minutes'
[You will fully recover after the next 15 minutes]
'15 and not 17? I guess the system has it's own ways.'
____
Few minutes later -
Leo could feel refreshed as he fully recovers. However his bones were still fragile and he knew that at this rate some other strong monsters would end up chasing him sooner or later.
Leo slowly walks from one rock to another as he moves on. He was being as careful as much he could as he knew that there would be monsters even beyond his known knowledge.
The entire place was like a huge cave where there were countless rocks scattered and huge mountains that divides the place into different sections.
It was like a place where only the the dead wandered. Leo gulps down his saliva as he imagines the mysterious monsters that could be lurking on the place just like that mysterious creature from earlier.
And just soon after, he hears a monster shouting loudly from miles of distance, but the sound itself came from a very far distance so he knew he wouldn't meet that monster any time soon.
After walking for 3 minutes Leo could see that his vitality had dropped by 1 so he decided to rest for another 15 minutes.
As he was resting, Leo starts cleaning the rust of the sword little by little.
[ Rusty Sword : Appraisal Progress 0.1% ]
'Are you trying to tell me that even after cleaning it for 10 minutes there's only 0.1% progress?'
The annoyed Leo stops cleaning immediately.
[Vitality : 6/6]
After fully recovering he starts moving again.
Just like that, resting for 15 minutes and walking 3 minutes while sharpening the rusted sword continuously, he kept going for about 5 hours.
Finally Leo finds another bird and this time it was slightly smaller than the previous one.
The bird was busy eating the corpse of a rat so Leo starts going sneakly closer towards the bird as he hides behind the rocks surrounding the area.
It seemed like the bird was already injured so Leo didn't hesitate and immediately strikes it's wings.
The bird opened it's mouth as a defense against the skeleton, but Leo was fast enough and quickly stabbed the knife onto the bird's neck.
The bird showed some resistance as it tried to flap it's wings desperately but fell straight to the ground.
And in a few second it loses it's consciousness.
[Congratulations you have successfully killed a level 1 black bird]
[Your vitality has increased by +1]
[Your strength has increased by +1]
[You have gained +2 exp]
'Exp?? experience? great!'
______
Name : Skeleton Soldier
Level : 1 (2/10)
Vitality : 4/7
Stats : -
Strength : 3
Stamina : 1
Agility : 2
Skills : -
(None)
____
'So my stamina is the weakest? And what will happen if I level up? Would all my stats level up as well? I really hope so it do.'
After leveling up, Leo feels a strong pain inside his head. A quick flashback appears to his mind, it was the screams of a little boy.
Few minutes later, all that pain had completely gone, it was as if it never happened.
Leo could feel his grips become slightly more controllable as his strength increased and could feel his bones more intact as his vitality increased.