I was never really good at naming things. Since the fundamentals of the sword style remained the same, I decided to call it Seiko. Back in my old world, the word meant "precise strike," which felt close enough to the meaning of the sword style.
**Derek Swordart Lv 3 > Seiko Swordart Lv ?**
I guess this will do. Once I was done absorbing it, I noticed a skeleton awkwardly sitting on a rock nearby. Was this ever mentioned in the novel? Curiosity got the better of me, so I moved closer. The skeleton was holding what appeared to be a pitch-black ball, almost the size of an eyeball. My curiosity won again, and I picked it up. As I examined it, a message suddenly popped up from the system:
**Equip Yes/No**
**When the item is equipped, it can't be unequipped.**
I hesitated for a moment. So it can't be unequipped? What even is this? I was torn about whether or not to equip it. Finally, I gave in. "Screw it. What's the worst that can happen?" I tapped **Yes**.
Bad decision. Very bad decision.
Almost immediately, an excruciating pain flared in my left eye. It felt like someone was ripping it out and shoving it back in repeatedly. "ARGH, FUCK ME!" I cursed, gritting my teeth. The signs were all there, but I still went ahead with it. Damn it, why did I do this to myself? The pain was unbearable, and I found myself wanting to gouge my left eye out.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally began to subside. I was panting heavily, trying to calm my breathing. "Huff… Huff…" My whole body felt drained. I touched my left eye, but nothing felt out of the ordinary.
"What the hell was that all about?" I muttered to myself. I called up the system to check my current status.
---
### STATUS ###
**Name**: Derek Snow
**Age**: 19
Class: Swordsman
EXP: 0/10
Level: 1/10
Stage: Novice
**Attributes**:
- STR: 8
- STA: 7
- AGI: 10
- LUCK: F+
- MP: 6
**Skills**
*Seiko Swordart (Lv 1/?)*
- Light Steps
*Eye of the Abyss (Lv 1/5)*
---
"Eye of the Abyss?" I whispered in confusion. "What the hell is that?" I also noticed that the Seiko Swordart had a question mark for its level cap. Wait, I thought Level 6 was the limit. What the hell is going on? I was thoroughly confused.
"Forget it," I muttered, shaking my head. "I need to get out of this cave first and think about all of this later."
I made my way out of the cave and returned to the academy. After checking in with the receptionist, I finally made it to my dorm room. Exhausted from the day's events, I collapsed onto the bed.
"What is the Eye of the Abyss all about?" I wondered aloud, staring at the ceiling. "And why is it Level 5? This isn't a low-level item." As I thought about it some more, I realized something strange. "I don't remember this being mentioned in the novel. Did the protagonist miss it by chance? A Level 5 item like this shouldn't be something you just overlook."
I sighed heavily. "Whatever. I'll just leave it be for now. Either way, it's a powerful item that can help me. A Level 5 item is rare—most people never even see one. I guess it's a blessing that I found it."
Curious about its capabilities, I decided to test it out. When I activated it, my left eye's vision became incredibly sharp. I could follow even the slightest movements happening around me. "Wow," I said in awe. "This is incredible. A skill like this perfectly complements my Seiko Swordart. Talk about hitting the jackpot."
Excited, I kept practicing with the Eye of the Abyss. However, I noticed that it drained my mana every time I used it. "No problem," I thought. "I'll just have to increase my mana pool somehow."
I glanced at my stats. My level was still stuck at one, and despite all my training, only my strength and stamina had increased by one point each. My mana, on the other hand, was still pitifully low.
"The average mana for a normal person is around 10, and I'm sitting here with just 6," I muttered, frustrated. "No worries. There are ways to increase it."
But then a new question struck me. "How do I even gain experience points?" I thought for a moment. "Normally, in games, you gain EXP by killing monsters… or sometimes humans."
I frowned at the thought. "If I want to move to the next stage, I'll have to level up somehow. There's no other way around it."