Paul stood at the edge of the village, looking out into the forest. The sun had just risen not long ago, casting a golden glow over the landscape. He knew that to protect his friends and family and to end this apocalypse someday, somehow, he needed to get stronger. The best way to do that was by gaining experience points (EXP).
"System, open Inventory," Paul said, preparing himself for the task ahead.
He checked his supplies, ensuring he had enough resources. With his cultivation technique and newfound strength, he felt ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Paul decided to start by hunting the mutated creatures that had begun to appear since the apocalypse started. These creatures were dangerous, but they also provided valuable EXP, which Paul needed to level up to increase his strength and the abilities of the system.
But Paul was confident that with his current cultivation level, none of the existing mutants could pose a threat to him.
"Let's prepare. System, search, Katana."
Why did Paul want a katana? Simply because it looked cool. After some searching, one type of katana caught Paul's eye: Wakizashi katanas, short katanas with a length of about 30 to 60 cm. If Paul chose these katanas, he could even use two at the same time.
[Kotetsu]
[A legendary katana forged by the famous swordsmith Masamune in the Edo period]
[Effect: +40 STR / +25 AGI]
[Ability: If a target is hit, inflict bleeding for 60 sec.]
[Quality: Uncommon]
[Quantity: ∞]
[Cost: 100 SP]
[Buy] [Back]
"Interesting," Paul muttered to himself.
"I didn't know something like status effects existed."
"System, tell me more about status effects," Paul said, curious about the system's explanation, because in his past life, things like status effects weren't known to mankind.
Status effects are divided into two categories: [Buffs] and [Debuffs].
[Debuffs] are temporary negative effects that can worsen attributes or cause effects, for example:
[Bleeding]: This status effect continuously reduces health over a certain period.
[Frost]: This status effect reduces health, lowers damage absorption, and slows stamina recovery.
[Poison]: This status effect slowly drains health over a certain period.
[Burn]: This status effect reduces health and causes continuous damage over a certain period.
[Buffs] are temporary positive effects that improve attributes and can cause certain effects, for example:
[Haste]: Increases movement speed and action speed.
[Empower]: Increases the damage effect of attacks.
[Luck]: Increases the chance of attacks hitting or the chance of critical hits.
[Regeneration]: Increases health regeneration.
[Shield]: Increases damage resistance.
[Mana]: Increases the amount of available mana.
A multitude of information about debuffs and buffs appeared before Paul, extending much further, but which were not immediately relevant to him.
Paul decided on the two Kotetsus and then searched for suitable skills before setting off.
[Dragon's Might]
[If activated, gain the strength of a dragon]
[Effect: STR +100%]
[Active Skill]
[Duration: 60 seconds]
[Cooldown: 240 seconds]
[Mana Cost: 500 MP]
[Quality: C (Rare)]
[Sonic Speed]
[If activated, gain the ability to break the sound barrier]
[Active Skill]
[Effect: AGI +100%]
[Duration: 60 seconds]
[Cooldown: 240 seconds]
[Mana Cost: 500 MP]
[Quality: C]
[Stunning Aura]
[Unleash a terrifying aura that stuns every enemy in your sight for at least 5 seconds]
[Info: The closer the enemy, the stronger and longer the effect.]
[Active Skill]
[Radius: 100 meters]
[Cooldown: 180 seconds]
[Mana Cost: 500 MP]
[Quality: C]
[Mana Regeneration I]
[Gathers and absorbs the mana around you at a much quicker rate]
[Passive Skill]
[Effect: Mana absorption rate +100%]
[Quality: C]
Paul was satisfied. Altogether, he only spent 3200 SP for these four incredibly useful and strong skills. He was surprised; these skills were powerful, and if someone possessed such skills, it would immensely increase their overall strength, yet the system still rated them as Rare.
Paul was now ready to farm EXP.
--------
Some time later...
"This isn't working. The mutated monsters are just too rare. There has to be another way!" Paul said to himself.
He had spent two hours searching the forest and had only encountered one mutated wasp and two mutated wild boars.
The mutated monsters were child's play for Paul with his current stats, even without the skills. However, they were too rare to farm levels efficiently. He had only gained 240 EXP from the three monsters, 40 from the wasp and 100 each from the wild boars, which had just brought him to Level 2, as he still needed 40 EXP to reach Level 3.
From Level 1 to Level 2, Paul needed 100 EXP, and from Level 2 to 3, he needed 200. The limit had only increased by 100. If this remained the same for each level, Paul would need to defeat 117 wild boars and one wasp to reach Level 15.
For Paul, this meant only one thing: it needed to go faster. A solution was necessary.
"Dungeons," Paul murmured. It didn't take him long to conclude that the monsters in dungeons would be his solution.
"System, search, Dungeon Scrolls."
Then, after a short search...
[Primitive Goblin Dungeon Scroll]
[A scroll that opens a portal to the cave of primitive goblins]
[Info: Once opened, if the adventurer leaves the dungeon without killing the boss, the portal will corrupt, and the monsters of the dungeon will start pouring out of the portal!]
[Enemies: LVL 1-10 Primitive Goblins, LVL 10 Goblin Chief (Boss)]
[Quality: Uncommon]
[Quantity: ∞]
[Cost: 100 SP]
[Buy] [Back]
Paul decided on a goblin dungeon, as it would likely be easy for him, but the goblins would hopefully provide more EXP than mutated wasps and wild boars.
Paul bought one and then used it after some consideration.
Immediately, a terrifying atmosphere surrounded Paul. He felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment, shocked by the sudden change in the air.
Suddenly, a huge rift appeared in the sky, splitting the world in two, and in the middle of this rift, a giant blue eye looked down directly at the forest where Paul stood.
[Warning, Eye of the Guardian appeared]
[System is hiding Host and the System's existence]
[Wait...]
[Warning, Attempt Failed]
[Warning, Attempt Failed]
[Canceling the Dungeon Opening]
[Successfully hidden Host and System]
"Hmm, I was sure I felt like abnormal energy was gathering here. Why did it disappear?"
As the being spoke, the atmosphere around the crack started trembling as if the world was collapsing.
"My senses must be playing tricks on me, this world is way to low for such energy." With that, the crack closed, and the being disappeared to where it came from.
[Eye of the Guardian disappeared]
"System? What was that?" Paul asked with a slightly shaky voice, seemingly weakened by the being's aura.
[The Guardian God]
"What? A God? Gods exist? And why was he here?" Paul asked excitedly. What if this happened more often? How could he get stronger without drawing too much attention?
[Yes, gods exist. Many of them do, and the Guardian God was here because of the energy fluctuation caused by the dungeon.]
"Doesn't that mean I can't open dungeons?"
[Action in process, please wait!]
[Ding, Process finished. Energy leakage closed. No otherworldly being will sense energy from the Host anymore.]
"Ugh, that's good to hear. So, I can open the dungeon now without being killed by gods?"
[Yes]
With that, Paul opened his inventory and used the scroll. This time, there was no terrifying aura or huge eye in the world—just a simple 2 × 2 blue portal appearing before Paul's eyes.
Then, Paul stepped in...