Chapter 4 - Stinger

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Skill: Crashing Hawk

Rank: F

Proficiency: Beginner

Effect: Allows the user to vertically crash the kusarigama and cause 10% extra damage.

Energy Required: 10

Cooldown: 5 seconds

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[[Infusion] has been applied to the skill [Crashing Hawk].]

[The [crashing hawk] skill has evolved into [Stinger].]

[[Stinger] has evolved from F to F+ rank.]

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Skill: Stinger

Rank: F+

Proficiency: Beginner

Effect: Allows the user to vertically crash the kusarigama and cause 30% extra damage by the sudden burst of concentrated lava. Killing an enemy with this skill grants the user 50% more experience points.

Energy Required: 10

Cooldown: 5 seconds

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[As you are the first player to obtain a higher level skill than an F rank skill,]

[You are now awarded 1 skill point.]

[A skill point is used to increase the proficiency of any skill.]

[There are four levels of proficiency: beginner -> intermediate -> advanced -> expert.]

"Well, we're told these things when we level up, so the system is telling me this earlier and even giving me 1 skill point for being the first to have a higher rank skill than anyone else."

"I didn't expect that. Hehehe"

Ignis thought to himself as he began to daydream again and then returned to his senses.

"As I remember things correctly and put them in order, the transfusion of Mercury and Venus will begin 3 months later in our solar system, and the transfusion of Mercury, Venus, and Earth will begin 1 year later."

"And at the same time, a year later, anyone can enter the tower, and those who have entered can leave at their will."

"Transfusion-fusion will bring many alien life forms, and upon contact with the planet of life, Earth, they will start to gain life, and that at a frightening rate. "

The presence of these alien life forms will undoubtedly pose a great threat to all living beings on Earth. As such, Ignis understood the importance of thinking ahead and preparing for what is sure to be an interplanetary crisis of epic proportions.

Ignis discovered that he was greatly overwhelmed by the immense scale of the transformation that was about to happen in the solar system, and he felt a mixture of both fear and awe at the thought of how his own life, as well as the lives of every other individual on Earth, would be permanently altered.

"Danger does come with opportunities."

He pondered the vast array of possibilities, both those that could potentially be harmful and those that could be beneficial, that this new era of contact with extraterrestrial life forms could bring.

Ignis considered at length the potential dangers that could arise in the future and what actions he could take to prevent history from repeating itself. However, despite these potential threats, Ignis remained hopeful for what the future might hold.

Hope, a feeling he hadn't had for a long time. (Let's not get sentimental here and save his sorry-ass backstory for another time.)

As he pondered over these thoughts, he recollected that his sole surviving family consisted of his younger siblings, a brother and sister, who had managed to make it through the entire year while he was held captive in the tower.

Upon his return, he provided them with a better standard of living but refrained from allowing them to put themselves in harm's way and didn't allow them to build their own strength.

Ignis believed that he was capable of protecting his siblings himself and prevented them from facing any danger. However, he now regretted that decision and wished he had done more to protect them.

Ignis now understood that it was important for his family to be capable of defending themselves in any situation, and he aimed to help his brother and sister be as capable as he was.

"You learn things the hard way in life."

After some introspection, Ignis arrived at the conclusion that in order to keep his family safe, he needed to let them learn and grow strong independently. He considered the events that would occur in a year; he must now decide how best to proceed and optimize his experience in Rosso Carso.

From the first floor to the ninth floor, these were all parts of the tenth floor, and all these floors from the first to the ninth were collectively big enough to make a continent larger than Africa.

The tenth floor was the continent named Alter. (Cough, cough, don't get too far ahead of yourself.)

{Ahem... ahem. Yes, yes, I won't disclose any more information, sir.}

While thinking about someone's warning, Ignis began forming a plan for the next course of his action.

Finding food, drinkable water, and, most importantly, shelter was challenging in this forest. You'd need shelter for nighttime protection because this forest had monsters that would go berserk after dusk, in addition to many other dangerous nocturnal creatures.

All of their attributes would increase, and their blood thirst was greater than usual when they were in berserk mode. Ignis understood that finding a safe location, food, and water, as well as levelling up before dusk, would be of the utmost importance.

"I don't have a map, so I don't know my current location, but from the looks of it, I'm in Misavu Hyena Family territory."

"And finding shelter in this type of region is not difficult because there are many small caves and underground patches, but the problem is that the majority of them will be occupied."

"Either I have to fight my way through and occupy one, or I have to find an empty one."

After some careful consideration, Ignis came to the realization that it was most probable that he would need to take the first option, and that the second option was simply not feasible due to the fact that the majority of the small caves would most likely be inhabited by hyenas, and the remaining ones would be occupied by other monsters who, like him, had limited options.

"They are occupying so many areas in the outer forest as if they are the overlords of this area."

"Let's aid them on their way to the afterlife."

As soon as he started moving, he embarked on his journey towards the rocky area of the forest. At that very moment, he stumbled upon another aardwolf who was not part of the group.

As he saw this and thought about his new F+ rank skill, his hands started to get itchy, and without further delay, he attacked.

Beginning with a surprise attack from behind, he quickly used three consecutive moves, followed by a vertical deadly arc, causing significant damage.

-23

-25

-24

-68

Howling in pain and not able to understand the situation, the aardwolf was struck by a vertical arc.

Ignis repeated this cycle again as the aardwolf was immobilized by attacks, and when its HP reached 30%, for the first time in this life, Ignis used a skill.

He charred his kusarigama on the injured part, it's back, by raising it through chains and lowering it as if it were the crashing meteor.

Gama penetrated, and an eruption of concentrated lava came out and blasted the body of the aardwolf. The aardwolf's agony had reached its climax.

[You have killed the aardwolf.]

[You have gained 50% more experience points after killing the aardwolf with the skill "Stinger."]

[You gained a total of 7.5 experience points.]