Aside from the Level-up notification I also noticed new notifications I hadn't noticed because of the level-up screen.
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New Achievement
Kill An Enemy 5 levels above you
Bonus: 500 XP, +1 all stats, 1 trait point
By resisting the bite of a wolf: Piercing Resistance Lv.1=>2
By regenerating a cracked bone: +1 End, Hard Bones Lv.1( End-based)
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Closing the window, I abstained from using the trait point, hoping that after another few weeks of training, I would unlock other traits that would be more useful than my current available ones.
Checking my body and status to see if I was missing anything else, I continued my dungeon crawling, meeting 4 more of those wolves, each time I had to wait 5 minutes between fights to let my HP receiver use food, there were some close calls due to my inexperience, but all in all I am quite happy with the rewards I gained, I even got a weapon that will be useful against these type of enemies, since a knife won't cut them.
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+450 XP
+4500 Yen
+ 3 Graphite Fangs
+ Compressed Graphite gauntlets
Compressed Graphite gauntlets
Quality: Good
Damage: 20+ Base Damage( which is decided by strength)
Durability: 200/200
Summary: Crafted by an obsessed madman, these gauntlets were the prototype of what would evolve to be his minions.
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Equipping them immediately, I walked forward, expecting a new type of enemy to appear considering the pattern of this dungeon.
And lo and behold, I was right.
It looked completely different from the previous two variants, much bigger, and taller, and he was holding a weapon, a graphite sword.
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Graphite Minion Lv.10
HP:1000
A minion created for the only purpose of defeating you, the near-perfect version of a minion, shaped to resemble humans, much more intelligent than the previous variants, with very few flows.
Highest: End, Str
Lowest: Agi
Upon Kill: 300 XP, 3000 Yen, Random item
Observe Lv.30=>31
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We stared at each other for a good minute, before it rushed with his sword standing on his side.
When I was on his range he swung the sword upwards, which I avoided by taking a step back, only making it cut a strand of my hair, stopping the sword in the middle of the attack it followed with a stab aimed my chest.
Using my palm I pushed the sword away and followed with an elbow strike to the stomach and a palm strike aimed at his chin.
Being made of stone, he didn't have the limits of a normal human body, so even after being struck in the stomach he didn't move forward and with an inhuman angle he evaded the palm strike and countered with a pommel strike on my shoulder to push me away.
Wanting to take some time to think about my next step I used his push to jump away, making a distance between me and him.
'His movements and skills are better than mine, his body can't be compared to the one of a human, and his stats are most likely higher than mine, I am kind of fucked am I not?'
Not losing myself to desperation I tightened my fist and took a deep breath, calming my nerves and relaxing my nervous body.
'I can't attack, his sword has better range than I do, I can only counter, but I must not expect a reaction out of him, so I have to stay moving whenever I deliver a strike, if I am close enough his sword becomes harder to use, better to get struck by a pommel than by a blade.
And so I waited for his strike, and he didn't make me wait for long.
He delivered a slash coming from the right, calculating the timing I used my palm to redirect the sword upward and aimed a hammer strike on his hand to make the sword go even further away, it unluckily didn't fly away, seemingly fused with his hand, but at least he was now holding it with one hand and was far enough for me to deliver some serious strikes.
Palm strike to the neck, a low kick to his knee, a right hook on his chin.
Due to his unnatural position, he tried to make a swing for my head from the side, which I wouldn't be able to evade because of my closeness to him, so I hoped they were resistant enough and used my gauntlets to block the sword.
It went a few inches in, leaving a slash on my skin, but it didn't go any further, so now his sword was stuck.
A smile spread on my face, and I finally killed the fucker by striking him without stopping even once, even when my lungs felt like exploding due to lack of oxygen, even he started punching me with his free hand, even when he stopped moving I delivered one last strike that hit the ground because the body of minion had already disappeared.
Falling on my back I wolfed down a whole pre-made dinner and let it do its job, inspecting the gauntlets, I saw that the slash that had been made by the sword was nowhere to be seen.
'Ok, so the only important thing is durability, not the damage it receives.'
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+300 XP
+3000 Yen
+Ring of health regen
Ring of Health Regen
Made by a very stylish magician, this ring has been infused with Life energy to increase the health regen of those wearing it by a small margin.
Bonus: +1 Health regen
Boxing Lv.10=>12, Karate Lv.5=>8, Mental calculation Lv.13=>14, Focus Lv.20=>22, Pain Resistance Lv.5=>6, Hard Bones Lv.1=>2
For redirecting a strike using your hands that would have seriously hurt you: Redirecting Lv.1=>6(Dex-based)
For surviving a slash of a sword: Slash Resistance Lv.1=>3
For using your inner energy to fuel your strikes: Flurry of blows Lv.1
Flurry of blows Lv.1
Use your inner energy to boost your attack speed and deliver more blows than someone with your stats could.
Cost:50 EP x Blow
The lag between blows: 1 second( reduced by 0.1 every 10 levels)
New Achievement
Create your first Active skill
Bonus: Bring that skill Lv. to 10
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'... Well, that's new.' I said while staring at my now empty EP bar and new active skill.