Chapter 11 Baptism by Claw
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[Status Window]
Name: Kael
Tier: Colorless
Level: 1
Class: —
Title: —
---
[Stats]
Health: 120 / 120
Mana: 25 / 25
Strength: 48
Stamina: 47
Agility: 44
Dexterity: 41
Endurance: 45
Intelligence: 42
Perception: 40
---
[Skills]
System Adaptation I
Basic Swordsmanship
Flowing Blade
Measured Strike I
Inner Awareness
Venom Knowledge
Poison Resistance I
Improvised Trapping I
[Traits]
Resilient Body I
Applied Anatomy
Iron Focus
Steady Breath
Survivor Instinct
Instinctive Combatant
Buried Flame
---
The trees thinned behind me like old friends watching me leave.
I didn't look back.
The air felt cleaner on this side of the ridge. Less haunted. The wilds were behind me. And the river was ahead.
Aeren had warned me: don't go to the river pass.
"Too many beasts."
Which is exactly why I went.
Because I wasn't strong enough.
Not yet.
But I would be.
---
The river gleamed like a sword wound under the afternoon sun, cutting through the land with slow, dangerous grace. I stayed high on the slope and watched from a nest of brush and brambles. The game Tales of Arcania had called this spot a leveling zone.
It was a meat grinder, in truth.
River Gnarls, Mudback Lizards, Scalehounds.
Low-tier trash mobs in the game.
But here? They could kill you.
No retry button.
No potion chugging.
Just teeth, blood, and luck.
---
I waited two days before taking the first step.
I didn't waste time.
I studied their movement patterns from the rocks. Watched when they came out to drink. Noted how far from the water they strayed, and how long before they wandered off.
I built a trap. A simple one. Pitfall, twigs, leaves.
It didn't work.
First night, one of them avoided it completely. Sniffed the air and vanished.
Second night, I changed the bait—smeared some of my blood on the trail.
That worked.
Too well.
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The beast was the size of a wolf, but stockier, with scaled shoulders and flat fangs too wide for its jaw. It lumbered into the trap and got stuck halfway, hissing.
I leapt from the bush, blade in hand.
The first swing missed.
The second hit its side, drawing blood.
It roared and writhed, one claw hooking my calf as I dodged back.
We fought in the dark mud, sweat, pain and when it collapsed at last, gurgling, I stood over it panting, bleeding from a shallow gash and shaking like a leaf.
But I didn't fall.
I didn't freeze.
I lived.
---
Ding.
[Achievement Unlocked – First Blood]
You have slain your first wild creature.
System Adaptation I synchronized.
[Level Up – Kael is now Level 1]
Base HP +10
Base MP +5
---
I collapsed back, laughing like an idiot, even as my leg throbbed.
The system was working.
That wasn't just a fluke.
That was real growth.
The kind you could feel.
---
I camped uphill, made a weak fire from dry moss, and boiled river water over it. My knife was still sticky with blood. I watched the stars as I stitched the gash on my leg with a strip of clean thread and a fishing hook I'd twisted into shape.
Not bad for a rookie.
By morning, I'd already drawn up plans.
I was going to grind here.
Level.
Train.
Bleed if I had to.
Whatever it took.
---
Day 3.
Two more River Gnarls.
Took a tail swipe to the ribs and learned how it felt to get the wind knocked out of your lungs mid-fight.
One of them tried to run. I didn't let it.
[Level Up – Kael is now Level 2]
HP and MP ticked upward.
My sword arm stopped shaking during fights. Flowing Blade moved like second nature now. Not perfect—but smoother.
I could feel it. Every breath was steadier. Every swing sharper.
---
Day 4.
I killed three.
Almost lost a finger.
Clawed hand blocked just in time by instinct.
Got a shallow wound on my jaw. Didn't scream.
Didn't cry.
Just pressed ash into it, hissed through my teeth, and kept moving.
I was learning how to kill with less hesitation.
And more purpose.
---
Day 5.
A variant showed up.
Bigger. Bone spikes longer.
It barreled through my trap like it didn't exist. I barely rolled in time.
Took three good hits before I landed a blow on its exposed underbelly.
But I did it.
I won.
Collapsed on my knees afterward, but I didn't black out.
Instead, I felt something… shift inside.
A fire.
Slow.
Buried.
But burning.
---
[New Trait – Stubborn Survivor]
Increased mental resistance when alone or outnumbered.
[New Trait – Adaptation Under Fire]
Gain minor EXP boost while wounded or fighting multiple enemies.
[New Trait – Pain Tolerance I]
Reduces mental penalties from pain and injury.
[Poison-Tempered (Dormant)]
Low-level toxin exposure detected. Resistance forming.
---
I grinned through the blood in my mouth.
Progress.
It tasted like copper and grit.
But it was real.
---
I kept pushing.
Trained every night with phantom enemies in the dark practicing Measured Strike I, working Flowing Blade into muscle memory.
I didn't just get stronger.
I got smarter.
Learned where to aim, how to fake openings.
I baited a beast into lunging and countered with a shoulder roll into a throat stab.
It died before it hit the ground.
I buried it.
And smiled.
---
But it wasn't all victory.
Day 6.
Got careless. Tried to engage a pair near dusk. Took a bite to the arm and nearly drowned trying to escape into the water.
The wound festered.
I was feverish all night.
Sick, shaking.
I hallucinated Aeren standing over me saying, "Don't die stupid."
I didn't.
Barely.
But I woke up the next day stronger.
---
[Level Up – Kael is now Level 4]
Base HP: 50
Base MP: 20
Stats increased...
---
I stood at the river's edge that morning and stared at my reflection.
Same face.
New weight behind the eyes.
---
[Status Window]
Name: Kael
Tier: Colorless
Level: 4
Class: —
Title: —
---
[Stats]
Health: 165 / 165
Mana: 35 / 35
Strength: 82
Stamina: 84
Agility: 79
Dexterity: 76
Endurance: 81
Intelligence: 58
Perception: 80
---
[Skills]
System Adaptation I
Basic Swordsmanship
Flowing Blade
Measured Strike I
Inner Awareness
Venom Knowledge
Poison Resistance I
Improvised Trapping I
[Traits]
Resilient Body I
Applied Anatomy I
Iron Focus
Steady Breath
Survivor Instinct
Instinctive Combatant
Buried Flame
Stubborn Survivor
Adaptation Under Fire
Pain Tolerance I
Poison-Tempered (Dormant)
---
[Quest Log]
Main Quest – Journey to the Academy
Days Passed: 8 / 14
Objective: Reach the Academy
Bonus Objective: Gain a Combat Skill
Reward: Enrollment + ???
Penalty: Denied Entry
Side Quest – System Synchronization (Hidden)
Progress: 9%
Next Threshold: 25%
---
My hands had new calluses.
My stance had weight behind it.
Even the sword felt lighter.
Not because it had changed.
But because I had.
Still…
A thought scratched the back of my mind.
I'd noticed something strange the night before when I focused on pushing strength past 80, my balance started to slip. My breathing faltered when resting. A sudden headache throbbed behind my eyes.
Nothing serious.
Yet.
---
The forest behind me was still.
The river was quiet now.
The graveyard of beasts left no signs.
Only memories.
And blood.
I slung my pack over my shoulder, wiped my blade clean, and looked up at the hills.
Time to face men instead of monsters.
And if they bled like beasts?
All the better.