I sneaked out of the room and went to the garage, where the extra two sickles were. Using those, which I really thought wouldn't have any use anymore, I made another replica of the weighted scythes that I used yesterday.
Since I already had the design and the balance in mind, it didn't take as long as before. In just an hour, two weapons were already done and ready for battle. I even added a rubberized grip and chains to add more variability to it. The chains I connected were pretty small but should be able to support about twice my weight before they give out.
After completing the weapons, I sneaked back into my room and changed clothes. Back to my usual jersey and jogging pants combo! I still had one more set available, but I guess I wouldn't be needing it anytime soon.
I left a note on my bed for Mother, just in case she looked for me. I don't know what she'll say if I try to ask for permission to hunt again after all that happened yesterday.
I sneaked out once again, careful not to alert Mother, who was still cooking in the kitchen. I turned to the garage and picked up the two new weapons, wore my old bicycle helmet, elbow pads, etc. for additional protection (more placebo than actual defense), and took my old skateboard that was collecting dust at the corner.
After I left the gate and ran up to the second alley, that's when I started riding on my skateboard. With additional strength from the stat allocation, I could feel that my riding speed increased as I kicked the ground to propel myself forward. It was a fun ride, speeding across almost dilapidated alleys before reaching the entrance to the forest.
I dropped the weapons, picked up and showed my ID, got approved easily, and entered inside. After all, nearly dying here once wouldn't get me banned or something. There were no such rules in play here.
Looking at the scenery, it didn't seem to have changed much, even after a boss monster appeared here. I left the skateboard near the gates, on the inner side, of course, and headed into the forest.
Two weighted scythes in hand, I bravely forged ahead... and found my first victim.
"Let's try the new attachment first..."
The mantis that I saw seemed unaware of my presence yet. Taking advantage of that, I held the scythe on my right at the chains extending below the handle and rotated it in the air, gathering kinetic energy. The moment the mantis turned its head away, I threw the scythe forward.
*Swooosh!* *Splat!*
And the mantis' head got smashed by the hammer part instead of slashed by the scythe part.
"... Well, as long as it works." It wasn't as I imagined, but hey, a kill is still a kill.
I turned towards the monster's corpse and was a little bit conflicted. After yesterday's event, I realized that before anything else, I needed strength to survive anywhere else. Between that and grinding my life skills, I was conflicted about which one to pursue.
With a heavy heart, I turned my back to the pile of harvestable materials and ran. In the end, leveling up should be the top priority.
Although I said "run", it's dangerous to do that inside a forest with a lot of blind spots. At most, it was a light jog across while I waved my scythes here and there, creating fountains of green and red blood everywhere.
Surprise attacks were pretty common, but with my increased agility, it was easy to dodge them. As I was focused on only killing monsters, it didn't take an hour for another system message to pop up in congratulations.
[
You have slain Lv. 2 Giant Grasshopper!
You earned 10 experience points!
You have leveled up to level 3!
All stats increase by +1 (+2...+4.5)!
You have gained 10 free stat points.
]
As soon as the prompt appeared, I quickly opened my status window and dropped five of the free stat points to strength and agility. After all, the higher it is, the faster my hunting speed will be.
[
Name: Giza Mahiro
Level: 3
Class: Student
Badges: 50 (expand>>)
Titles: 4 (expand>>)
Skills: 5 (expand>>)
Strength: 21 (15 + 6)
Agility: 21 (15 + 6)
Intelligence: 8.5 (5 + 3.5)
Wisdom: 11.5 (5 + 6.5)
Endurance: 8.5 (5 + 3.5)
Luck: 10
Free Stat Points: 0
]
My stats, including the bonuses, were now looking closer to level 5! And I'm still at level 3! My hard work is now starting to pay off. From here, my level and stats would definitely snowball faster than the others!
After that, I went around even faster and killed even more monsters. When noon came, which was time for lunch, I had already leveled up to level 4, which made me equivalent to a level 8 in total stat values.
However, since I wasn't able to bring lunch, I had to skip it for now. I'm not that hungry yet, anyway, but I was getting a little tired. I took a short rest, opened the small canteen I brought, and took a sip. Tasting the honey water that I bought on the way home sent a refreshing wave over my body, giving me an extra boost in energy.
"Alright, time for round 2!"
As soon as my little break ended, I went around hunting until almost all the little monsters in the forest were cleared. It was getting harder and harder to find a victim, making me reach just before sundown for my level to increase once more.
As usual, I added everything to strength and agility equally, making me look like a balanced frontline fighter just from stats alone. Looking at the time, it was just before the guards were about to leave, so I hurried out of the forest.
It was pretty close—about two minutes before they closed up when I reached the entrance. I quickly grabbed my little skateboard and greeted the two guards as I rushed back home. With how the sun had already set, Mother should be starting to get worried for me. After all, I was injured yesterday, and today I was late in coming home.
It was a quick dash from the gates to the forest and back to our residence. As I approached the gate, I kicked the skateboard up in my arms and felt awe at the speed I could reach with my newly found strength. 51 points in strength! That's more than three times what it was during the morning!
As I opened the gates, sending a loud squeaky sound, a voice echoed from inside the house, calling for my name.
"Hiiiiiirrrrrrrrrroooooooooo!!!"
A figure blasted out of the door and jumped high into the air, launching herself towards me, who was right at the gate.
"F..."
Before I could even curse, my vision turned black as I felt a soft sensation on my face and a tight grip behind my head. Right after, as the force of impact was pretty wild, we both went rolling on the road up to the middle of it. If it had been before, we would've been hit by a car or something already.
However, traveling by vehicle is pretty rare nowadays. Unless you're a filthy rich person or have a private source of oil and gasoline, it's almost impossible to maintain a vehicle for use anymore.
"Hiro! I heard you got injured?! Are you alright? Do you feel hurt anywhere?"
My back and head hurt. However, before that, I couldn't breathe, much less speak! Get off me, woman!
Despite having strength over 50, I can't even make her budge an inch. I hate this touchy-feely side of hers, but I definitely respect her strength. After all, she's one of the highest-leveled people in the city, almost reaching her second-class change.
Ah, sh*t... My air supply...
"Ahhn~! Watch where you're touching, young man. We're outside! At least wait until we're inside the house!"
Oh, shut up! I can't even see my nose; how can I know where I'm touching?! In the end, just before I fainted from asphyxiation, she finally released me. I took my distance almost immediately and stared at the woman before me, panting heavily with a flushed face.
Similar to Mother, she had brown hair and eyes. I guess our family's genes were pretty strong, as she was definitely the spitting image of Mother when she was younger. Nine times out of ten, people would definitely say that she's an attractive woman. Well, as long as she stays quiet, at least.
Me? I only inherited our father's hair and eye color, black and blue, respectively, but I wasn't anywhere near his looks. I heard my father was the cool and handsome type when he was young, earning confessions from girls left and right. Which was far from me, who had never been confessed to even once.
"Doing it here is too exposed. Let's continue it in my room upstairs~!"
"..."
Sometimes I just can't tell if she's joking or serious. If she's serious, then she should get her brain checked soon. Just as I was looking at her in disgust, Mother called us from inside the house.
"You two, stop playing around and come in! Also, Mahiro! We'll talk after dinner, okay?"
"Yes ma'am!"
Mother's tone was no longer angry, meaning she was past the stage of rage and had now entered a new level. Ahh, I guess I will be getting no sleep tonight, not until her sermon finishes...