[ You've levelled up to Level 2 Human! ]
[ You've gained 0.2 stat points in Strength, Agility, and Constitution. You've gained 0.5 stat points in Intelligence.]
[ You have gained 2 Attribute points! ]
[ You've levelled up to Level 2 Necromancer Apprentice! ]
[ You've gained 0.1 stat points in Strength and Constitution, 0.3 stat points in Agility, and 0.5 stat points in Intelligence. ]
[ You have gained 4 Attribute points! ]
*****
Michael could barely register the flood of notifications. It felt like he was about to die, his whole body burned as if it were engulfed in flames. A section of his left arm looked mutilated, the sight horrifying enough to make his stomach churn.
Suppressing the urge to scream, Michael retrieved one of the health potions he'd bought from the Supers Association store. He hadn't expected that he would need it so soon—less than two hours after stepping into the Land of Origin for the first time.
Despite the constant warnings about not treating the Land of Origin like a game, part of him still had. The thought had fueled his excitement, filling him with the dreams of levelling up like the protagonist of a cheap novel—rising to the peak of this world and beyond. Perhaps it was his lingering 'teenage' optimism that kept him hopeful, or maybe he was subconsciously slipping into the role of an 18-year-old, despite being an adult back on Earth.
With trembling hands, Michael poured half the potion over his injured arm and gulped down the rest. Gradually, the pain began to fade.
Michael watched in awe as the potion worked like magic, regenerating new flesh over his wounds. A scar remained, likely due to the potion's low grade, but he didn't care. As long as the terrible pain was gone, he could deal with the rest later.
'I almost died,' Michael thought grimly. Death in the Land of Origin wasn't permanent, but he'd undeniably come close—especially since it was against one of the weakest monsters in the realm.
'I'm pathetic. Too naive. Too inexperienced. Too reckless. If I'd just kept my distance from that acid slime, I wouldn't be in this mess.'
What Michael didn't realize was that while his performance was far from perfect, it would have impressed most veteran Awakeners. Not only had he succeeded in killing a monster on his first encounter, but he had also taken down an opponent that was several levels higher than himself. Though it was "just" a slime, it was still superior to him.
Michael also misunderstood the slime's reputation. While slimes were among the weakest monsters in the Land of Origin, that label applied only from a certain perspective. The writer of the post calling slimes weak or easy prey was someone who was already a powerful being qualified to look down on slimes. For many, especially new Awakeners like him, slimes were no joke, and underestimating one had been Michael's first mistake.
Both the Michael from Earth and the one from Aurora shared a common flaw: a tendency to be unrelenting with themselves. Growing up as an orphan forced Michael to mature quickly and shoulder responsibilities, leaving him with little room for patience for his own mistakes. This same trait made it difficult for him to feel little sense of accomplishment despite defeating the slime he subconsciously disdained as "weak," which many first-timers would fail to do.
After sitting in silence for a brief moment, Michael's messy emotions finally calmed, and he began to focus on other things he had to do now.
While he began thinking of his next action, Michae's gaze drifted to the ugly scar on his left arm and thought with uncertainty.
'This scar won't follow me to the real world, right?'
There was something remarkable about the bodies of Awakeners in the Land of Origin and their real bodies in the real world: the former was a perfect replica of the real-world body. Both bodies could be considered perfect "clones" that were in sync with their counterparts. This replication was so precise that even pain felt as vivid and intense as it did in reality.
Recalling his recent encounter with the acid slime and the thought of its acid attack sent a shiver down Michael's spine.
'God, I hope I don't develop PTSD over slimes. That would be too pathetic.'
After examining the scar a bit longer, Michael concluded that it likely wouldn't follow him back to reality. This body's primary function was to synchronise any strength gained here with his real one. However, it seemed he'd have to bear the scar here until he "died" in the Land of Origin.
According to one of the posts on the Supers Association forum, an Awakener's body in the Land of Origin functioned much like a real one—it was independent from the original and therefore required food and other activities for sustenance. It wasn't just a digital avatar like in a game. This was also why "death" here was only counted if the entire body or major organs were destroyed.
Losing a limb wouldn't kill him, but it would leave him crippled in this world. And if he wanted to regain a fully functional body, his current body would need to be destroyed so that a new one could "reconstruct" the next time his consciousness reentered the Land of Origin.
To put it simply, one could reconstruct a body they disliked by "killing" themselves. However, aside from the fact that many were not sick enough to consider this, even the seasoned Awakeners would rather remain crippled than end their own lives. This was because death in this world, while not permanent, still resulted in a severe consequence: a 10 percent permanent reduction in all stats. It was a penalty not many could afford to lose. Thus, despite death not being truly final here, most Awakeners took their "lives" seriously and avoided risking themselves unnecessarily.
By now, Michael had recovered from his "life-and-death" battle with the acid slime and could finally focus on something he'd been putting off.
'I levelled up!'
Though his performance against the acid slime left much to be desired, Michael wasn't someone to turn down the experience points. He had a problem with the slime, not with its generous experience reward.
'Status'
*****
[ Name: Michael Norman ]
[ Class: Necromancer Apprentice ]
[ Level: 2(1^) ]
[ EXP: 80/250 ]
[ Strength: 1.6(0.3^) ]
[ Agility: 1.9(0.5^) ]
[ Constitution: 1.4(0.3^) ]
[ Intelligence: 5.5(1.0^) ]
[ Attribute Points: 6 ]
[ Skills: Undead Summoning, Undead Revival, Detect, Basic Shot (NEW!) ]
[ Talent: Infinite Evolution ]
[ Class Skill: Contract Slot {0/4} ]
[ Gift: Mark Of Origin]
*****
Compared to how it looked after he first awakened, Michael's status screen now appeared vastly different.
The first thing that caught his eye wasn't the change in his level or stats but the skills section. In addition to the two class skills he has started with since awakening, entering the Land of Origin had granted him two more, one of which stood out.
Michael was already aware of the function of his first three skills.
{Undead Summoning}, a primary skill that allowed him to summon and dismiss undead at will.
{Undead Revival}, his true core skill that enabled him to create undead summons in the first place.
{Detect}, a basic scouting skill, useful for gathering information.
Now, however, there was a new addition:
[ {Basic Shot} (Basic Mastery) Proficiency: 0.6% ]
[ Fires a single, accurate shot at the target with standard damage. ]
'Hmm, seems like something that belongs to the Archer class,' Michael thought.
Michael was, in fact, not wrong. {Basic Shot} was more than just any ordinary skill for the Archer class—it was one of their core skills, much like how {Undead Revival} was for him.
But how—and why—could Michael learn that was meant for the Archer class skill?
Class skills were called "class skills" not because they were exclusive to one class, but because certain classes could maximise their potential.
For example, while {Undead Revival} was a skill other classes could technically learn, non-necromancers couldn't make full use of it. Even if another Awakener learned both {Undead Revival} and {Undead Summoning}, the number of undead summons they could control would be severely limited, unlike necromancers, like Michael, who unlocked additional summon slots with each level up, making these skills uniquely powerful in their hands.
Interestingly, contract slots also served as a means to gauge talent for classes like necromancers and beast tamers. Just because two individuals awakened the same class didn't mean they were on equal footing—especially when it came to contract slots. For instance, Michael had two contract slots at the start and would continue to gain two more with each level-up. However, there were rare individuals who would start with five starting slots, meaning that while Michael would have 20 slots at level 10, they would have 50. This was a key factor in grading the classes that relied on contracts.
Returning to class skills: while class skills weren't exclusive, they were optimized for specific classes. When non-necromancers learned {Undead Revival}, their mastery began at {Basic Mastery}, and raising their proficiency would be challenging. Necromancers like Michael, on the other hand, started at {Intermediate Mastery} for skills like {Undead Revival} or any necromancer-centric ability, giving them a significant edge. This principle applied to other class systems as well.
Though Michael had successfully learned {Basic Shot}, his mastery began at {Basic Mastery}, whereas Archers would automatically start at {Intermediate Mastery} for this skill, regardless of whether they received it at awakening or learned it later.
'This skill should make up for my terrible shooting a bit,' Michael thought, pleased. Just because his recent experience with the acid smile had been painful, he didn't have any intention of avoiding more monsters. Though he didn't enjoy pain—who would?—he wasn't someone who would run away.
Shifting his focus away from his new skill, Michael began to examine the changes brought about by his recent level-up.