"Wait, what?! A week?!" Redd almost choked on his own saliva. He didn't expect it to be this soon.
What are the chances that he would get this invitation right before the time to leave? Well, if he was intending to leave as quickly as possible that is.
"Ugh, I'm in trouble now! I need to get ready! But, I'm still too weak! I don't even know how to use my new powers." Running around the place in panic, Lodra sighed before he stopped Redd with his hand.
"Calm down, Redd. You don't have to leave on this batch. You're still young and 5 years isn't that big of a pe-" As Lodra spoke, his eyes landed on Redd's face and he ended up going silent.
"What are you talking about, Lodra? Of course, I'm leaving on this one." He said in an oddly calm tone. It was as if he was saying the most obvious thing ever.
Even Lodra found himself speechless. That look invoked him with a sense of fear that he never expected to feel from someone like Redd. He didn't even know why he felt fear but it had something to do with the look on the boy's face.
'This kid… Doesn't he fear for his life at all?' He wondered. No matter how much you love adventure, hearing about the Hunter's Dream for the first time will scare most people. It was a place filled with abominations that could kill a human in a split second.
The sheer danger of that place could easily drown any curiosity born into people to see it for themselves. But, even those who still want to go there, would be more than hesitant to go unprepared.
And then there is Redd. He didn't seem the least scared of it. Hell, he seemed so eager to go that he might've teleported there if he could.
"Didn't you hear what I said? You're unprepared. You can't-"
"If I can hit you once in a spar by the end of this week, would you consider that enough?" Redd asked.
"..." Lodra opened his mouth to speak before he closed it again and ran his hand through his head. He really can't understand how this boy's brain works and yet he also can't seem to find it within him to stop his recklessness.
Perhaps because this recklessness was all too familiar to him.
"Hmm, let's see. 1 week should be a good challenge for me! It's like a test to prove I'm worthy of leaving!" Redd said with an excited grin before he turned around and ran toward the door.
"I'm going to spend the rest of the day in the forest experimenting with this new power. Don't wait for me."
"Hey, wai-"
Then, he dashed out before Lodra could even say anything.
The latter simply looked at the open door for a while before he got up and closed it.
***
Since it was barely afternoon, the sun was still high in the sky. Redd was sitting on top of a tree branch with his legs crossed in front of him and his hand supporting his head. His eyes were squinting at the holographic image in front of him.
"Hmmm…"
First of all, he needed to know how to get stronger. He could easily discern that it had something to do with killing monsters.
"I should try it first." Jumping down, Redd looked around him for a second before he dashed toward a particular direction.
'Hmm? My speed increased.' Running through the forest, he noticed the bump in his agility. It wasn't big by any means but it was still noticeable for someone like him that ran every day.
As he ran, his eyes landed on a creature to the right that was eating grass.
'A rabbit? Perfect.' He thought to himself before he halted near a bush and watched the rabbit move around carefreely.
Then, he slowly started moving out of the bush with silent steps, approaching the little animal. Redd's eyes were completely focused on his target. His carefree attitude was gone and was replaced with serious sharpness that seemingly could penetrate anything and everything.
When he reached a certain distance from the animal, Redd's eyes suddenly widened as he jumped forward like a predator. The rabbit noticed the shadow that loomed over it out of nowhere and quickly reacted, trying to run away.
However, it was far too late to do that. Redd grabbed the animal with both hands before he pinned it down to the ground. The latter tried to fidget and move but Redd had a good grip on it. Then, he pulled out a knife from his back pocket and swiftly slit its throat.
Blood spilled out of the rabbit's neck as it tried to fight for its last breath. Eventually, it lost all strength and died. At the same time, a notification appeared.
[Ding!]
[You have killed a level 1 rabbit.]
[You have gained 1 exp.]
[You have gained +1 Agility.]
[Ding!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have gained +2 points to allocate freely.]
['Free Points' column has been added to your status window!]
"Oooh!" Looking at the notifications, Redd's eyes sparkled curiously. "My agility increased again? But, I don't feel anything."
To test it out, he stood up and made a dash toward a tree nearby and then came back.
"Hmm… I guess it did increase but barely noticeably. Well, the fact that I can improve this quickly is insane!"
'Maybe getting strong enough to punch Lodra is not as far-fetched as I thought after all!'
Then, his eyes landed on the last two notifications.
"Free points with each level up, huh?" He murmured as he checked the system window.
[Status Window.]
[Name: Redd.]
[Race: Human.]
[Level: 1 (0/2)]
[Bloodline: ???]
[Title: ???]
[Stats: Strength: 4 (5) / Agility: 5 (+1)(5) / Stamina: 6 (5) / Healing: 7 (5) / Aether: 15 (5)]
[Free Points: 2]
[Main Skill: Blood Manipulation (Partially locked).]
[Phase 1: Blood Augmenter (Unlocked).]
[Phase 2: ???]
(A//N: I won't be showing this that often from now on unless there is an important change :) but I will add it to the auxiliary chapter in the future if you need to check it out.)
As he was looking at his status with a curious expression, another one appeared right beneath it.
[You have killed a target.]
[Blood Augmenter activated.]
[First Aspect unlocked!]
[Blood Drinker: Using this Aspect, you can absorb the blood essence of dead targets for extra points added randomly.]
[Would you like to absorb the blood essence of the target?]
Redd looked at the notification with a smile. "This ability is getting cooler and cooler by the second!"
He never expected this Blood Manipulation skill to actually give him such a boost. Granted, he didn't know if it was strong or not compared to other people's skills but he was satisfied with it and that's what matters.
So, without hesitation, he agreed to the offer. Immediately, something mystical happened.
The dead rabbit's body fidgeted slightly as the blood within it suddenly started shifting and moving. Even the blood that spilled on the ground started moving as it magically floated in the air before it flew toward Redd's hand.
"Woah!"
The latter instinctively pulled himself away as he moved back. However, the blood simply ignored that movement of his and quickly closed the distance between them before it rested on his hand, forming a floating, red ball. The perfect sphere slowly floated on his hand as it spun like a clock arm.
That ball then started shrinking slowly until it completely dissapeared soon after, leaving Redd in complete awe.
[You have gained +1 in stamina.]
"What… was… that?!!" Redd exclaimed in pure excitement.