After making up his mind to practice harder with the sword and refine his controls, connor started hunting again.
he believed by putting himself in danger he would learn fast, that was how he learned or was made to learn swimming after struggling for a lot longer,
His uncle had thrown him into the dam to fend for himself, just thinking of that bastard made him pissed.
Shaking his head, he opened the door leading forward and encountered a new enemy. Inside, the creature had been resting until he disturbed it by opening the door. It resembled a squirrel but was the size of a large dog, with canine teeth and claws rather than typical rodent features.
it was a disgusting sight to look at giving Connor the creeps of facing a carnal beast that wanted to eat him.
It growled at him and rushed to bite him.
As the beast neared him, it jumped at him.
he immediately activated night blend and turned into his black mist form as the canine beast missed him.
Unfortunately for Connor, as soon as he tried to counterattack and cut the beast's back, it dodged his strike and hit him back with its squirrel-like tail. Connor was sent sliding on the floor.
He was still trying to get up as the beast rushed at him. Luckily, he cast his skill in time and dodged its attack again, or so he thought.
crupppp
"Aaaahh!"
As soon as he deactivated his skill, the beast bit into his upper back. Blood oozed from his trapezius region as he screamed.
The beast had learned from the previous clash and improvised it's attack.
The beast's jaws clamped down, tearing through the tender muscle meat with brutal force. The sound of ripping flesh echoed in the darkness, a grotesque symphony of agony.
Connor couldn't fathom how the beast was able to deduce his movements.
he tried to use night blend again only to realize he couldn't as the beast's fangs were inside his body with physical contact.
Connor understood that a first-order skill could only do that much and overestimated his skill.
The beast not wanting to let him go grabbed his shoulders with his claws.
As the canine beast's weight pressed on him, he fell face-first on the floor. He had been way too careless, only now understanding how foolishly he fought.
His recklessness was glaringly obvious in hindsight, but it was too late. He couldn't move, and its fangs dug deeper into his back, chewing through muscle and sinew.
Blood flowed freely, staining the ground with a crimson reminder of the beast's savagery.
Connor was beginning to regret every decision he made as he desperately searched for a way out.
He swung his dull blade at the beast, but it rebounded harmlessly, like striking an iron fortress with a toy gun.
His strength waning rapidly, he acted on pure adrenaline, unleashing his weapon skill with all his remaining mana.
Focusing the attack at the blade's sharpest point, he thrust it at the beast's neck.
Creeesk
The sound of tearing flesh filled the air as hot blood splattered onto Connor's clothes, scalding his skin.
The beast's grip finally weakened, allowing Connor to break free. However, the blade became lodged in its nape, and he struggled to dislodge it.
With great effort, he managed to retrieve the blade, which fell to the ground as the beast turned to locate its prey, only to find Connor missing.
Out of nowhere, a loud noise startled it, and it felt a sharp impact on its left torso. Looking down, it saw a bent bullet.
The beast did not understand what it was, but Connor did. His face paled as he realized that not even a gun was sufficient to kill it.
Thinking the beast was near death with its pierced neck, Connor was out of plans and in a frenzied state, trying to make sense of the chaos unfolding.
In less than a minute, he was already dying. He now realized he knew nothing about fighting or hunting and that luck had been his only ally against less intelligent monsters in previous encounters.
Something clicked in Connor's mind: the beast was wary of him and was not approaching. Surveying the vast hall for anything to fend off the beast, he found it empty.
Exhausted, blood still seeping, mana depleted, and with his last hope—the handgun—failing him, Connor vowed, "Even if I die, I will take you with me."
He charged blindly, screaming like a wild man, resolved to end the beast this time.
"Roooaaar!"
The beast roared back and leaped at him.
"System, give me 100 mana points for 1 SP," Connor commanded mentally. As mana surged through him, he activated Night Blend. The beast passed through him, but its claws altered its trajectory mid-charge. This time, Connor was prepared, having anticipated its move.
As the beast struck with its claws instead of fangs, Connor maintained his skill, sidestepping near its nape. He materialized back in his physical form and thrust his gun into the puncture wound.
Ensuring it was fully inserted, he fired repeatedly. Each shot weakened the beast further until it finally collapsed after the sixth shot.
[ You have slain a Lv. 13 Tigra-Squirl ]
[ You have obtained 183 SP ]
[ You have gained +5 strength, +6 endurance, +9 stamina as excess SP ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ The Tigra-Squirl has an absorbable skill: Rejuvenating Physique (3rd order passive). Would you like to absorb and overwrite the skill rune? ]
"Yes," Connor gasped, focusing on the term "rejuvenating" without even checking its rank. His consciousness slipped, he knelt, blood dripping from his left abdomen, the damage from the Tigra-Squirl's tail still evident.
[ Please select which skill to overwrite:
1. Night blend ( 1st order )
2. Dual Vision ( 2nd order ) ]
"Dual Vision," Connor replied immediately. "That skill might have been useful, but it was worthless for someone like me. I need skills that maximize safety and survivability."
"Yaaaahhhhh!"
Immediately as he said that he felt an undescribable pain all over his body, as he screamed out loud.
'what is happening to me?' he asked,
[ you have absorbed a third-order skill, with how weak your core, body and soul are, the mutation of this new skill is hurting your body physically, while your soul is also taking damage as the rune is being engraved in you fragile core, your soul is experiencing a pain like being skinned alive ]
he really wished he was dead now as he he clunged at his chest and tried to get up he wanted to get to the bag, which he had thrown away earlier to get first aid to stop the bleeding.
Summoning every ounce of willpower in him, he barely managed to stand.
However, his timing was unfortunate; the Tigra-Squirl's tail flicked and struck his other abdomen, sending him flying.
"How?" Connor gasped in disbelief, watching the supposedly dead beast move. The system provided an answer.
[ Normally, an animal or beast may continue moving after death due to residual will. If you kill them immediately, no will is formed. However, that was not the case here as it struggled to live while you were slowly killing it. ]
"So it's about willpower," Connor muttered, realizing he had overlooked critical factors. His consciousness fading, he fell unconscious, while the system continued:
[ Willpower is a natural force existing before Uriel came to Earth. Similar phenomena can be observed in slaughterhouses, where all living things possess a will, from trees to insects. ]
[ oh... he fell unconscious, my bad.. hehe ]
**********************
Connor's eyes opened as he groaned, still feeling pain all over his body.
He saw the message from the system:
[ Your level has dropped by 1 because of the core disintegration ]
"What happened, System?" he asked.
[ You fell unconscious due to the pain and slumbered for 12 hours, during which you had lost a level. Your new passive skill is restoring your body to peak condition at the moment. It's like an ultimate healing skill for your level, capable of healing all your wounds and restoring your body back to its peak in a single day. ]
Connor couldn't believe what he was hearing. The beast had torn about 100 grams of flesh from his body, yet the system claimed all those wounds would heal in just a day—faster than even a baby grows.
"Can this skill even regenerate an arm?" he asked.
[ It can, though in such cases, total restoration might take up to a week. But it will work. The skill is named Rejuvenating Physique for a reason—as long as your heart beats, anything can be restored, whether a portion of your heart or a portion of your brain. ]
"Isn't this too incredible? Are all third-order skills so powerful?"
[ The skill is a third-order healing skill meant to be used by individuals around level 300.
The reason you obtained such a skill is that you killed the strongest monster on the fourth floor of a fourth-order dungeon.
Connor felt incredibly rewarded for all his pain. All he had to do now was rest for a day, and all his injuries would heal.
But he wasn't going to waste a day resting.
Instead, he began to deepen his knowledge by questioning the system.
"So, are first-order skills typically used by people around level 100, and second-order around 200?" he inquired.
[ No, the order does not signify the level of the person or the usefulness of a skill.
You had a second-order skill that could be used by a scout to detect traps or hidden enemies using espionage or similar tasks, but it was not useful in combat.
Similarly, this third-order skill is a self-recovery and stamina-boosting physique, and even in that, you have only explored its outer capabilities.
Remember, a scissor is not used for just one purpose," the system continued, "it can cut hair, paper, and can be used with tape to join papers efficiently.
How you use a skill is entirely up to the wielder. You are like a rich kid who has never needed to improvise or find alternative uses for objects. ]
Connor felt the system was unusually detailed in its explanation and unconsciously blurted out, "Thank you."
[ It's your perk for your disadvantage, ] the system responded.
For the first time, Connor felt thankful for being at a disadvantage.
'Strange, that was more like a pep talk than an explanation, even the voice felt soft rather than the usual emotionless voice' he thought, but the system remained silent.
Perhaps it didn't interpret his comment as a question.
"By the way, this monster had a high intellect. Do monsters with higher levels generally have more intellect?" Connor asked.
This time, the system responded to his query:
[ Dungeon monsters are birthed in the dungeon. Since you entered this dungeon when it was only 25 hours old, the monsters that were recently birthed, like the Giant Bats, are like babies learning to walk and fly.
That's why you were able to easily kill them. Otherwise, within the next 100 hours, they would have grown to around level 230 and used all the skills and intellect they gained as they observed and grew.
The floor boss was created even earlier than them and had more time to adapt. The one you killed, Tigra-Squirl, was supposed to grow up to level 380 while maintaining the same form. ]
Connor's jaw dropped after hearing the answer. Now he understood why those three pixies had shown so much concern for a stranger like him.
To everyone else who did not know the full story, his actions seemed nothing short of suicidal.
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A/N:
Hi guys, I am back, so, a quick question.
Are you excited to look at his status and the new skill , what will connor do now moving forwa.. Oh you already left for the next chap.. yeah yeah.. go ahead, who has time to talk with this poor soul? bye bye...
I do not love or care about you guys, so go ahead.....
Sniff.. Sniff..
At least read with breaks and stay healthy guys... the goal is to enjoy, not to stress, If you will like I am giving stress with the plot twist then... Well, I am sorry ;)
.. Oh, you were actually reading huh.. get out already Hmph...