Without any delay, Leo picked up a blue Treasure Chest from the ground and hurried to open it. Treasure Chest glowed with calming blue light, yet the thought of a treasure that he could obtain from the chest was enough to cause countless thoughts swirling inside his head.
[Do you want to open a Treasure Chest (Blue)?]
Impatiently giving confirmation to the question of whether he wanted to open a Treasure Chest, Leo looked intensely at the Blue Chest as his eyes were glued to it.
Perhaps, due to an increase in agility or being excited, it seemed that Treasure Chest was disappearing more slowly than before. He saw how it was turning into particles of blue light as it vanished into the thin air.
Finally, giving off the last batch of the blue light, it disappeared from his hands, as a small ring lay instead of a Treasure Chest. Checking the status window of an item, he drew in a mouthful of air mixed with a foul smell of blood and gore.
[Mana Bullet Ring]
[Increases spirit by 1 point]
[Allows firing Mana Bullet]
[Description: Common magic ring inscribed with one magic spell.]
'Nice! I got a magic ring with a skill on it. Blue Chest is worthy of its reputation as a Treasure Chest!'
Some items from the system were able to increase the stats of a user by a certain amount, like one point increase of a Mana Bullet Ring, yet some of them had skills inscribed on them. It was a mystery how items from the system could have such effects, let alone grant stat bonuses.
It was so game-like that sometimes Leo had wondered if they lived in a sort of virtual simulation, yet broken ribs and pain in his chest quickly brought him into reality.
Mana Bullet was a magic spell of the same tier as Willie's Small Fireball, yet it was faster and had more piercing capabilities than a fireball skill. The unique ability of a Small Fireball was more of an explosion than piercing, making it inappropriate to compare them based on that aspect.
Leo believed that such items were ideal for close combat fighters like himself since they provided a significant advantage over the skill itself: you didn't need to recite a spell, which was very useful in actual conflicts.
If he had a magic ring with him when he was fighting a mutated dog, then he would be able to kill it with ease because Mana Bullet had enough power to pierce its skull.
After obtaining the Mana Bullet Ring, he swiftly wore it on his finger and picked up a Needle Rapier from the ground. He was lucky to get it before he was attacked by the dog since it truly was a lifesaver for him. With no way to defeat it, his only option would have been to escape.
Leaving a snapped sword in the alley, he packed his belongings and dragged his body in direction of the dormitory building. All muscles of his body were hurting like hell, yet he needed to quickly leave the market before he was attacked again by some monster.
On the way back, he checked his status once again.
[Leonard Wright]]
[Level: 5]
[Class: None]
[Survival coins: 214]
[Mana: 2/8]
[Strength: 16]
[Agility: 12]
[Stamina: 11]
[Intelligence: 11]
[Spirit: 5 (+1)]
[Attribute points: 0]
[Innate ability: Regression]
[Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), Flash Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 3), Mana Threads (LVL 3), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4)]
'Finally 5 points in spirit! Unfortunately, it didn't increase my mana since it wasn't increased by a attribute point.'
Despite his numerous broken ribs and other severe injuries, Leo found satisfaction in the progress he had achieved. However, it seemed that he wouldn't go for another solo hunt until he felt better to be able to move.
Humming a melody, he slowly dragged his body to his base, avoiding big groups of ordinary zombies on his way.
***
"Hey, do you think he will be alright? It is already more than an hour after he went outside."
"...Willie, I don't know. He said that he will be safe out there, so better trust his word."
It was already more than an hour since Leo had gone solo hunting, so Willie and Adam were worrying about him. Even though they knew that he was the strongest among them, yet it didn't save them from worries.
Who knows what monsters are wandering outside?
Both of them were sitting in the kitchen and doing their own things. Willie was still mulling over the book of Small Fireball since it had shown itself much better than he had expected. He gripped a pencil in his hands and was writing something enthusiastically on the book, yet it seemed that he wasn't able to focus on reading as he frowned occasionally.
On the other hand, Adam was playing with a spoon, which he found lying on the table. He used Telekinesis to lift it up to the air and move it from one place to another. Apparently, a spoon flew much smoother than a spear on his first try since he was practicing it for more than 10 minutes.
Both of them sat in silence, as one was scribbling something on the book and the other was using Telekinesis to move a spoon through the air. It appeared that they sought solace in occupying themselves with tasks, attempting to find comfort in their actions.
Suddenly, one of the doors had opened with a creak as someone could be seen leaving it. Charlotte had woken up 15 minutes ago due to the rotten smell from her clothes and quickly took a shower to wash off all the blood from her skin.
Changed into black pants and a white T-shirt, she wanted to fill her empty stomach, so she moved to the kitchen, but seeing how Willie and Adam were sitting in silence, she couldn't help but move timidly towards the food supplies.
Taking three cans of food, she quickly opened them and started eating it yet unable to eat them peacefully, she looked at both Willie and Adam. She decided to lighten the atmosphere with a question.
"So, what is Mr. Leonard doing?"
Both of them turned to look at her strangely in response to her question. Due to their puzzled expressions, she had shrunk even further, wondering what she had said wrong.
"He had gone hunting solo, already for an hour. He should be already returning to the dormitory building. Well, should be."
Adam was the one who answered her question, even though he had said it slightly dejectedly. Albeit he said that he would return soon, he didn't sound optimistically enough to convince her that he was safe.
"Do you think he will be alright?"
She wasn't as close to Leo as Adam or Willie, but she was concerned about him, since she recognized him as their leader. She would not have eaten here if it hadn't been for him, as she clearly recognized.
"We should trust his words since he never goes back on them. After middle school, he had grown much more independent from others and was more strong-willed than his peers. Back in his school years, he..."
Perhaps, to calm his nerves, Adam unassumingly started talking about the stories he had with Leo. He talked about how Leo had stood up to his classmate on his first day in school, defending Adam from bullies.
He also shared how Leo had studied school material for 3 years to get admitted to the university. Since he didn't want to tell how he had lost his parents in a car accident, he especially dropped it, covering it as an incident.
Even though he had leaked the majority of Leo's embarrassing stories, such as how he lost a bet in high school and entered the women's dressing room full of girls and began undressing himself, or how Adam put a girl's panty inside his bag and was caught red-handed by the teacher, it helped to lighten the mood in the kitchen.
Unknowingly to him, Leo had gotten his secrets leaked by his best friend.
While they were laughing in the kitchen, they heard a creak from the main doors. Leo was fighting the ache in his muscles as he dragged his body across the corridor.
When he was spotted by the trio sitting in the kitchen, for some unknown reason, he felt a sense of unease as all three of them were gazing at him as if they were sharing a private joke. Even Charlotte, who usually was fearful of him, looked at him strangely.
'What's up with them?' Leo couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, especially when his best friend avoided making eye contact with him. He couldn't help but wonder if they were all in on some secret that he wasn't aware of.