What caught his attention was the second notification
[ + 2 stat points ]
In a rush of excitement, Jack immediately checked his status and was thrilled to discover that he now had 4 stat points instead of the expected 2. After confirming how many stat points he had, he proceeded to clean the fish, removing the scales and organs, before setting out to make a fire. As the fish cooked, he gathered some stones and began hurling them repeatedly at a particular target. Though he didn't hit his intended target, he persisted, and eventually, his efforts paid off, as he earned two more skill points by leveling up his skill.
Despite feeling tempted to allocate all six of his newly acquired stat points at once, Jack exercised restraint and opted to use only one. After some consideration, he decided to invest the point into his strength stat.
[ Status ]
[ Name: Jack Roman ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Level 1 ]
[ Exp 0/100 ]
[ Health 100/100 ]
[ Strength: 11 ]
[ Speed: 10 ]
[ Stamina:10 ]
[ mana: 17/17 ]
[ unassigned points: 5 ]
[ skill: Appraisal lvl 10, Crafting lvl 5, accuracy lvl 10, spear mastery lvl 1 ]
Jack began to experiment with the process of allocating his stat points. He discovered that he could simply will the points to be distributed to the desired attribute via his mind. After careful consideration, he decided to invest one point into his strength stat, and as he focused his mind on this task, he felt a tingly sensation all over his body. Although it initially made him feel itchy and uncomfortable, the sensation soon dissipated.
Although Jack had allocated a stat point to his strength attribute, he failed to perceive any noticeable changes. In an attempt to test the effectiveness of the allocation, he considered adding more points to his strength all at once, hoping to feel a significant difference. However, he quickly realized that he didn't have a lot of points to do so and stopped himself before making a hasty decision.
Although Jack had acquired magic before, he had refrained from using it due to his belief that he didn't have enough mana to do so. However, now he had a sufficient amount of mana at his disposal considering from what he had started. He felt a slight surge of excitement and curiosity, mana was shown to be a powerful thing. With a desire to explore his newfound ability, Jack decided that it was worth trying out magic now, especially since he had relatively few tasks to do at the time.
Jack found himself at a loss as to where, to begin with magic, as he was unfamiliar with the workings of this world's magical system. Despite this, he decided to take a shot at manipulating the dirt around him, hoping to get a feel for how magic worked. Initially, he willed the dirt to move, but nothing happened. Frustrated, Jack tried a different approach, attempting to infuse the dirt with his own mana. However, to his dismay, he found that he was only able to absorb the mana in his surroundings, unable to manipulate his own.
Jack settled down to focus on feeling the mana within his body. With a sense of determination, he concentrated on moving the mana toward his fingers, visualizing the energy flowing through his limbs. After several minutes, he noticed a minuscule amount of mana moving from its position to the circle that passed through his body. Once it was closest to the tip of his fingers it went to it, and then the mana left his hand
However, he soon realized that the mana dissipated into the air before he could do anything with it, and he felt a twinge of disappointment as he checked his stats and saw that he had lost one mana point in the process.
Undeterred, Jack tried again, this time attempting to move the mana outside of his body through his belly. To his surprise, he succeeded a bit harder to do but he still succeeded. The mana flowed out of his body, leaving him with a strange sensation. He was amazed that the mana could leave his body through any part. This opened up many possibilities for attacking.
At the moment it took a certain amount of time and concentration he probably wouldn't have while fighting.
As Jack was figuring out what other thing he could do, he suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream pierce the air. Instantly on edge, he sprang to his feet, grabbing his ax and spear. On edge, he scanned his surroundings, trying to locate the source of the scream. After a moment, he pinpointed the general area of the sound, realizing it was coming from the direction of the nearby stream.
Despite feeling wary and apprehensive, Jack stayed put, keeping his guard up as he waited for a few tense minutes. Just as he was starting to calm down and let his guard down, he noticed some leaves rustling nearby, causing him to tense up again. As he readied himself for action, a green monster appeared before him, its chest covered in scratch marks and bleeding green blood. Jack tensed, ready to defend himself against the unexpected threat.
Jack looked at the monster's hand, searching for any sign of a weapon, but he only saw its sharp, claw-like nails. He tightened his grip on the spear with both hands, readying himself for an attack as he locked eyes with the creature. For a few heart-pounding seconds, they stood in a tense standoff, each sizing up the other's strength and fighting abilities. Without warning, the goblin suddenly lunged toward Jack, catching him off guard and forcing him to react quickly to defend himself.
Jack took several steps back, brandishing his spear as he prepared to defend himself against the attacking monster. He thrust the spear towards the creature, but the monster deftly dodged the attack and moved in closer to strike. Jack swung the spear, successfully deflecting the goblin's attack and leaving it open to a counter-attack. But to Jack's surprise, the goblin repeated its attack twice more, making him wonder why it was only doing the same movements.
Frustrated, Jack tried to kick the goblin in the legs, but the creature nimbly jumped into the air to avoid the blow. As it came down, it tried to slash at Jack once again, and this time it caught him off guard. The monster's attack sent Jack tumbling to the ground, with the creature poised to strike. Green blood fell on his shirt, but Jack quickly recovered and put his spear in between them, using all his strength to hold back the goblin's attack. The creature pushed forward, its claws inching closer to Jack's chest, but he managed to push it to the side, throwing it off him and ending up on top of it.
With his spear pressed against the monster's neck, Jack choked the creature, determined to end the fight once and for all. The monster struggled and screamed, fighting for its life, but Jack cursed at it, urging it to just die. After some time, the goblin's struggles grew weaker as it ran out of oxygen, and it fell unconscious.
Seizing the opportunity, Jack grabbed his ax and struck the goblin in the throat, causing it to wake up from its stupor and try to stop the blood from flowing into its throat. In its last moments, the goblin tried to strike at Jack one more time, but the ax was already coming down toward its cranium, ending its life once and for all.
[ + 16.8 exp ]
As Jack killed what he believed to be a goblin, he initially expected to feel a wave of guilt or remorse wash over him. But to his surprise, he didn't feel much at all. At first, he was puzzled by his lack of emotion, but then he thought that the rush of adrenaline from the fight had left him feeling numb. It was possible that the emotions would hit him later, but for now, he needed to focus on surviving.
Though he felt a twinge of guilt at taking another life, he knew that it was necessary for his own survival. As he examined the goblin's body, he realized that he needed a better weapon if he was going to continue to survive in this dangerous world. He inspected the creature's nails and saw that they might be useful as a weapon in the future.
For the remainder of the day, Jack remained on guard, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. No other monsters appeared in the area, and he spent his time butchering the goblin's body to use its meat as bait. Though he couldn't shake the feeling that something within him had changed from killing the goblin, he pushed the thought aside.
For the rest of the day, Jack was on high alert, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. He remained vigilant, expecting another attack at any moment, but no more monsters appeared in the area. During this time, he butchered the goblin's body, using its meat as bait to catch other animals in the area for food. Despite the gruesome task, Jack knew that he needed to do whatever he could to survive.