06 Leveling Up in the Ruins of Earth 3025
System notice
congratulations, you died
the tutorial has been completed
Once the tutorial is completed, the next death will be permanent with no chance of revival
reward for completing the tutorial: level +5, one logout point, and one resurrection
Alex found himself standing in a sea that stretched endlessly in all directions, with translucent waters and a blue sky without clouds. There was no sun, yet the brightness was intense as if it were midday.
Alex looked at the system interface, the surrounding environment provided him with a state of total calmness, as if all negativity had been washed away from his soul.
Looking at the system rewards, his thoughts flowed like clear and gentle water, questioning whether the parallel reality he found himself in was a game or if he was the only player.
Since he had not been informed about the circumstances he was in, it was to be expected that this entire event was restricted to him or perhaps to a small number of individuals.
Almost clicking on revive, Alex stopped himself from doing so. What good would it do to revive now only to be killed again? He feared resurrecting in that same room only to be slain once more, and this time, according to the system, it would be a real death. The five levels he had just gained would not be of much help.
Then his gaze reached another pointa section-ending point. What did this mean? He cheerfully thought that by clicking this option he would return to his original reality.
Fixing his eyes and anticipating the result, Alex clicked on end session.
A headache throbbed as Alex opened his eyes; they burned as if being used for the first time.
CONGRATULATIONS, USER, WELCOME TO EARTH 3025
YOU MAY REMAIN IN THIS EARTH FOR ONLY 10 DAYS, PLEASE MAKE GOOD USE OF IT
Alex's scowl deepened when he saw the system notification before him. In the end, he had not returned to his original reality but had entered another dystopian reality, where he would remain for ten days. He wondered which reality he would return to afterward.
The sky was covered in gray; all around him were the ruins of a city that had apparently been destroyed long ago. Alex had to struggle to breathe, though at least his body was intact.
SYSTEM NOTICE: A horde of slimes is moving toward you.
No combat skills were detected in the user.
SYSTEM RECOMMENDATION: Equip a weapon to defeat the slimes.
No weapon was detected on the user's body.
You may use a weapon provided by the system.
Do you accept? Yes/No
Several blue, spherical creatures came hopping toward Alex. They looked cute at first, but as they drew closer, he could see terrifying faces and long, razor-sharp teeth. Without hesitation, his fingers clicked yes on the system interface.
A long, ordinary-looking sword materialized in his hand, followed by a notification in his ear along with the interface display:
Beginner Sword: +5 Durability, +5 Strength, +4 Defense
Sliding down, Alex opened the attribute window.
NAME: ALEX, LUCID BEING, AWAKENED
AUTHORITY: GRAVITY
SKILLS = NONE
LEVEL = 5
STRENGTH = 5 + 5
AGILITY = 5 + 5
HP = 30/30
MP = 30/30
Points to distribute upon leveling up: 10 points
Based on the confrontation he had witnessed, Alex was aware of which attributes he needed to allocate his points to. They had to be assigned both to attack, defense, and agility since he knew no combat techniques or arts.
NAME: ALEX, LUCID BEING, AWAKENED
AUTHORITY: GRAVITY
SKILLS = NONE
LEVEL = 5
STRENGTH = 8 + 5
AGILITY = 12 + 5
HP = 30/30
MP = 30/30
His body became lighter, his muscles filled with an energy that revitalized them and increased his strength. He allocated three points to Strength and seven to Agility.
Gripping the sword tightly with both hands, Alex moved toward the hopping blue spheres. With a whoosh of cutting wind, his clumsy sword missed its target.
Bam!
Alex saw his HP drop as he was attacked from all sides, his limbs bitten hard by razor-sharp teeth. Pain coursed through his entire body, his heart boiling with rage, and driven by instinct, he struck, splitting one of the spheres in half with a single blow.
With ferocity in his eyes, Alex envisioned that he was not merely fighting slimes but the wretched agent and the two women who had condemned him. He swung his sword fiercely, though awkwardly.
As his HP decreased, his experience bar filled with each blue sphere he cut in half. When his HP reached 10 and he prepared to retreat, a system notification appeared:
You have leveled up! Level +1. You have obtained 2 points to distribute.
Congratulations! You have swung your sword over 100 times. You are now eligible to learn Fencing. A fencing skill will be generated once you swing your sword 1,000 times.
Alex ignored the system upon leveling up. His fatigue vanished, and his HP was fully restored. Thus, he launched another attack, knowing that to level up, he only needed to kill thirty of these creatures. He was prepared to do this all day.
As he fought, each time he killed thirty slimes, a level-up notification sounded. Throughout the battle, he gradually began to predict the creatures' movements, allowing him to kill them with greater ease.
At the late afternoon, countless corpses of the creatures lay scattered everywhere. It was then that Alex stopped to rest and decided to open his system interface to check his gains and distribute his points.
NAME: ALEX, LUCID BEING, AWAKENED
GRAVITY AUTHORITY
(SKILLS = NONE)
(LEVEL = 10)
(STRENGTH = 8+5)
(AGILITY = 12+5)
(HP = 30/30)
(MP = 30/30)
(points to be allocated from level-up: 10)
(basic swordsmanship skill has been generated)
(congratulations, you have reached level 10; several system restrictions have been lifted. Would you like to update your system interface? yes/no)
Alex's fingers clicked yes, and before his eyes, new statistics unfolded, astonishing him. Seizing the opportunity, he allocated his stat points:
(NAME: ALEX, LUCID BEING, AWAKENED)
(GRAVITY AUTHORITY)
(ACTIVE SKILLS = Gravitational Manipulation, Basic Swordsmanship)
(LEVEL = 10)
(Gravitational Defense = 5)
(Gravitational Manipulation = 3)
(Basic Swordsmanship = 2)
(STRENGTH = 8+5)
(AGILITY = 12+5)
(HP = 50/45)
(MP = 50/50)
Alex's body was filled with a purple energy that gradually formed around his weapon; knowledge of his skills surged into his brain, causing a tingling sensation.
Swinging his sword, he could perform his new swordsmanship skills as if he had practiced these movement sequences his entire lifethe patterns were imprinted not only in his mind but also in his muscles.
After acclimating to his new body, Alex decided to explore the destroyed city to see if he could find any information.
Walking amidst the devastation, he saw abandoned buildings overgrown with wild plants; silence reigned, and there was no sign of life lurkingonly the thriving vegetation.
Flash.
An arrow flew toward him. Even noticing it at the last moment and unable to dodge in time, he suffered no damage; passively, unconsciously, a gravitational field formed as a faint light around him, stopping the arrow midair.
More arrows rained down in succession. Smiling coldly, he raised his sword, and one by one, they were destroyed, most shattered.
With the extra agility granted by the sword, he now had 17 points in total. Combined with his gravitational manipulation enveloping his body, his speed was astounding.
In just a few seconds, leaping across the rubble, he reached the top of a terrace where the arrows were coming from. Using his basic swordsmanship skill, two heads rolled simultaneously, transforming into experience.
Black humanoid monsters advanced like a pack, wielding weaponssome held pieces of wood, bows, and old swords.