We entered the Ashwood forest as a class and and professor Alvera explained the task to us.
"Gather up brats! Listen close, you'll be fighting monsters, I'll keep track of your scores through the surveillance magic system. The stronger monsters you defeat, the higher score you get!"
Her fighting spirit was quite palpable.
She gave us a small pep talk to rile us up, and then we all spread out around the forest.
I was quite interested in the surveillance system.
This game had a concept of 'magitech' yet it was not explained in detail.
"Grrr...."
My thoughts were interrupted upon seeing a wolf growling a few meters away from me.
"Blind!"
Almost instantly, the wolf was hit with several beams of light.
They did minimal damage, but that was not their purpose anyway.
[4/42 Confusion Stacks]
The wolf's eyes were hit with a flashbang and I thrust my spear into its mouth during its dazed state.
Shlink!
The spear exited the back of the wolf's neck, and it had died.
I didn't feel much sense of accomplishment since it was one of the weakest monsters in the forest.
If I had lost it would be pretty embarrassing.
I repeated the same attack pattern against a few other wolves.
And eventually, I came across an troll.
Trolls were not as physically tough as ogres, but they boasted an extremely potent regeneration.
Even if one cut their limbs, it would regenerate after a few minutes.
The only way to kill one was to either cut off or destroy its head in an instant.
It was that or damage its heart.
Of course, someone sufficiently powerful could just reduce it to ashes, destroying it instantly.
But the two ways I mentioned were the common methods.
It had yet to see me, so I hid behind a tree and watched it.
I could go for a sneak attack and stab it from behind, but I was not fast enough for that, and chances are it would hear me.
I took a small twig and threw it next to the troll.
[3/42 Confusion Stacks]
Trolls were pretty stupid, something so simple was enough to place 3 confusion stacks on it.
I used my basic confusion spell and then threw another twig next to it.
Once it was in range, I used my light magic.
"Blind!"
[8/42 Confusion Stacks]
The troll was stunned by the sudden flash of light and I took the opportunity to pierce its heart.
Sadly, I wasn't as skilled as I imagined, and I missed its heart.
The troll roared in anger, smacking me away with the spear still poking through it.
It pulled out the spear and chucked it to the side.
All I had was a small dagger that most likely wouldn't be able to reach its heart.
I sent a blast of light at the orc and showered it with several small bullets.
This proved mostly ineffective against it.
Lucky for me, the orc was still in a state of moderate confusion.
Its moves were easy enough to telegraph, and I weaved under its punch.
I put my hand against its abdomen and released a powerful blast of light.
The troll roared at the pain of its insides being blasted away, kicking me to the side.
I coughed blood, but I had no choice other than getting up.
Even with its great regeneration, having a hole directly through it was a painful experience.
It rushed at me again.
"Blind!"
It seemed slightly more prepared this time, charging at me even when blinded.
I threw my dagger at its face.
[Lucky 7 has activated!]
Despite my poor throwing skill, the dagger directly hit the troll's eye.
It grabbed its face in pain, stopping its charge.
I used a significant amount of mana once more, this time conjuring a javelin of light.
I threw it at the troll, piercing its heart.
"Hah....."
It wasn't an easy fight.
I panted for a minute or so before regaining my composure.
A troll was one of the strongest monsters in the forest, netting me several times more points than the wolves I had killed earlier.
I continued battling through the forest, killing multiple goblins and orcs, confusing them with simple tricks.
After some time, I felt a change in the power of my light magic.
[Name: Light Magic
Rank: C-
Allows the user to generate light element mana. This may be used as per the user's discretion. Light magic deals higher damage to evil foes. Light magic is also capable of minor healing]
The description had expanded, and my magic now had the capability of minor healing.
It wasn't half as impressive as the healing of life magic, being able to bring someone back from the brink of death, but it was certainly a useful buff.
Vwam...Vwam....Vwam...
A few minutes later, I heard a strange pulsating sound.
Curious as to what it could be, I moved in the direction of the sound.
As I moved forward, it grew louder.
And then I saw it.
A hulking skeleton wearing black armor and wielding a pitch black greatsword as large as me stood in the distance.
[Analyze!]
[Monster: High Class Death Knight
Overall Rating: C+
Overall Physical Rating: S-
Strength: S+
Vitality: S
Agility: A-
Intelligence: F-
Wisdom: F-
Charisma: F-]
'Oh for fuck's sake'
The pulsating sound from earlier was the core of the death knight.
I silenced my breath and hugged the back of a tree.
'Why one earth is a fucking death knight here? It's a high class one as well!'
I went over several possibilities in my mind, unable to come to a conclusion.
At my current level, it was not something I could take on.
Even if it had shitty magic stats, it had insanely high physical ones.
It could bisect me in an instant if I was not careful.
And if that were not enough, It had A- rank agility!
It was several times faster than my C- speed.
Crunch!
A twig snapped between my feet.
Immediately, it had seen me.
The towering death knight made a mad dash towards me.
Duck!
Slash!
It had cut half of the tree I was hiding behind, and thankfully I had reacted fast enough to not go with it.
I looked up at the terrifying figure.
What a dogshit game.