Michael crouched low, hiding behind a bush, his eyes locking on to the squirrel he had been chasing for a few minutes. [Air Blast], he commanded, sending a projectile of concentrated air. The skill flew true, striking the squirrel with a satisfying wham. It fell from the tree branch, unmoving.
"Yes!"
This was his third successful hunt.
As he approached the squirrel to retrieve his meal, his right earring hummed. Finally!
***
[Level Up] * 1
Congratulations, You Have Levelled Up. You Are Now A Level 7 [Hunter].
A surge of excitement flooded Michael, he hadn't levelled for a while now. From his past experience, levelling up brought new skills. This time, there was none.
This is logical, Michael thought, nodding. Gaining a new skill every time someone levelled up would be absurd.
Not gaining a new skill wasn't what soured his mood anyway, it was something else.
"System," Michael spoke aloud, addressing the unseen force that spoke in this empty void. "Why am I not levelling up in my Practitioner class after reaching Level 10?"
The system worked in mysterious ways, answering some questions while ignoring others. Michael didn't know whether to be surprised or not when the system answered.
Advancement Beyond Level 10 In Your [Practitioner] Class Requires A Class Change. However, The Bane You Received To Balance Out Your Grace Prevents You From Advancing Further Without Levelling Up Both Your Primary Classes To Level 10.
Your Grace & Bane:
[You have been marked by the twin gods, Gemini, and they expect you to do great things. Their attention comes with both Grace and Bane.]
[Grace:
*You can obtain two primary classes.
*This skill—[Mark of Twain]—will be hidden from any form of appraisals.
*Once you have gained both your primary classes, you can/must hide one of your classes from any form of appraisal. Once you have chosen which class to hide, you cannot change your choice and it will forever stay hidden from appraisals.]
[Bane:
*Your soul is too weak to handle two primary classes without any consequences. As weak as your soul is, you will be limited to your primary classes alone and not receive any secondary classes.
*You must raise both your classes to its maximum level to advance your class to the next stage.]
Michael's brow furrowed at the system's answer. "Of course, it makes sense now."
He berated himself inwardly for not realising this himself. "Stupid idiot."
Why did his potential as a [Practitioner] have to be capped by his [Hunter] class? It had taken three successful hunts to advance by a single level, he was sure, levelling up further would be far more difficult. This would take him days, if not weeks. "Fucking restrictions."
In the pavilion, Michael sat by the crackling fire, absentmindedly prodding the fire with a poker, his mind racing with plans to level up his [Hunter] class as fast as possible. Knowing why he stopped levelling in his [Practitioner] class sparked determination within him once more, even if he was frustrated by the reasons behind his bottleneck.
"Maybe I should hunt those giant cockroaches."
That would certainly boost his level. Michael immediately shook his head at that stupid idea. He had nothing powerful enough to kill those things aside from the axe. The thought of getting close to those monstrosities sent a shiver down his spine.
There was courage, and then there was jumping in the path of bullets. Michael stabbed the burning log with fire poker as if it had killed his father.
"You can't have everything," Michael told himself every time his frustrations tried to explode into anger.
As he stared into the dancing flames, Michael made his decision. There was no use grumbling about his misfortunes, that would accomplish nothing but feed his mental distress.
Michael stood and moved to action. He grabbed his trusty axe that was leaning against the pavilion pillar and stared at it for a long while before speaking.
"Hunting larger game, that is the only way to level up faster, isn't it?"
Michael gripped the axe hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "Well, what's the point of magic If I don't make use of it. Besides, I have learned a few things these past weeks. I can do this."
The decision not only frightened him, but it was also strangely exhilarating.
What is happening to me? He had never been a thrill seeker.
Yet, now the prospect of Hunting larger animals exhilarated him, it not only promised greater challenges but also greater rewards namely, levelling up and perhaps a new skill.
This world, this isolation, it changes you.
Yet this realisation did not change his decisions, come morning, he would venture into the unexplored territories of the forest, beyond his usual hunting grounds.
***
The forest grew denser the further he hiked, the air thick with the scent of damp-moss. Even after several hours of trudging through dense undergrowth that dampened his makeshift clothes, he found no sign of a big game.
Then he found himself in the area of the forest that told the story of a battle.
The large part of the forest was desolation manifest. The canopy above, that should have been dense with leaves, was naked, allowing sunlight to spill into the usually dark forest. Broken branches littered the ground like scattered bones, while some remained attached to its parent, hanging limply. Burns and other marks of battle marred every trunk. Deep gouges scarred the earth, some filled with pools of water that smelled worse than rotting fish.
Michael could taste the residue of the fierce battle in the air. "What happened here? Battle between mages?"
What else could devastate such a large portion of the forest?
At the centre of the desolation lay a mound, a whiff of something wafted out of it, it was not a smell but a feeling that tingled his skin. Michael activated [Life detection], whatever that mount was, it wasn't alive.
His heart pounded as he approached the mound, scanning the area for any signs of danger, ready to activate his offensive skills at the moment's notice.
The mound was a pile of bones, remains of a human, unmistakably so. "What is it with me and Human remains?"
Gingerly, he began to search the area around the bones. Among the remnants, he found a golden amulet—pulses of invisible energy were permeating from it. The strange feeling from before was coming from the amulet, and it was Mana, Michael realised.
"Is this a magical artefact?"
Michael pocketed the amulet, it could be something valuable.
He searched the area that could help him dig a grave. It wouldn't do to leave the body as it was, after robbing it of its treasure.
The skin on the back of his neck prickled, sensing a hostile skill flying at him. Michael turned. Something whooshed past him. The skin in his triceps split open, spraying blood.
Michael Screamed.
Why wasn't the [Life Detection] working on that shadowy armoured figure pouncing at him, sword raised, its speed a blur.
"Fuck!"