The Second Trial: Rising Strength

[Tier 2 Boss Light Guardian defeated, You have gained 500 experience points.]

[Boss vanquished while being at a much lower level, xp+100%]

[Boss defeated in solo, xp+50%]

[You have gained 1250 experience points.]

Adam looked at the floating notification, excitement burning in his eyes. 'So many experience points!' He claimed inwardly, exhilarated by the reward. With so much, he was sure to level up a few times in succession.

He also noticed the guardian was a tier-two creature without surprise. After all, it was much stronger than the lightning wolf.

"Hahaha. I almost died, but the Xp is worth it!" He laughed, finding humour in his situation, madness glinting in his eyes as he lay on the ground.

"Let's check how my stats changed!" he said in excitement, diverting his attention from the exhausting battle to something that would hopefully restore his mood.

"Status."

Name: Adam

Talent: Unlocked at thirteen

Job: Tier one alchemist

Class: N/A

LVL: 7

Exp: 15/1280

HP: 63/65

Vitality: 6.5 (+0.6)

Strength: 6.8 (+0.6)

Agility: 9.5 (+0.6+2.5)

Intelligence: 16 

Free attribute points: 25

Items: Grimoire Lingua, Beastbane Dagger

Skills:

Active: T1 spells: Illuminate LV1, Mana shield LV2, Magical Perception LV1, Mana bullet LVMAX.

Other: Mage's hands.

Passive: Mana Control T2, Enhanced Intuition T1, Dagger mastery T1.

Trial's progress: 

Remaining time: Forty-three hours.

Progress: 2/5 kills.

Note: Soul is damaged. Five levels in one fight? How did you not die? Are you a cheater?

As he read his status page, his eyes enlarged in shock.

"I went straight from level two to level seven! Amazing!"

He then checked the passive increase he had received for each stat.

"I levelled up once because of the wolf, then five more times after killing the light guardian. I received a boost of 0.6 for all my stats!" He exclaimed happily, his smile broadening across his face. It might not sound like much, but it was free, and with how dangerous those creatures were, he needed any help he could get. He also remembered the requirement for each level, realising it was a linear growth, requiring double the experience each time.

Then, he fell into deep thoughts, pondering about his distribution. During his fight against the light guardian, he spent the five free attribute points for reaching level two to boost his agility by 2.5 points.

'I need to balance my stats with my free attribute points. Look at the giant; his spells were particularly deadly. Probably even strong enough to kill me in one hit. He could also crush me under his palms. Sadly for him, he was too slow.' He thought, a frown of concern plastered on his brows. 

'I don't care about Lucius' opinion concerning body refining. If I were slightly slower or had less stamina, I would have died against this pig giant.' Thinking about this recent adversary made him grit his teeth in anger.

He couldn't sustain damage during the trial's duration to preserve his soul. Yet, that hateful light guardian had thrown a spear at his face as soon as it appeared. Worse, the projectile had shattered his mana shield instantaneously, bypassing his defenses to injure him in a flash. Fortunately, the spear only grazed his arm, burning it a little and making him lose two health points thanks to his swift reaction.

'Anyway, I'm more sure than ever that going for an all-rounded approach in my distribution is the way to go... I think... Probably?' In truth, he wasn't sure about his choice. He just wanted to balance his stats because he didn't like the idea of having exploitable weaknesses.

Sure, he could go all in on the mage path and invest everything in intelligence, but then what? Anyone closing in on him would wipe the floor with his weak body. Even in magic fights, if he could dodge just a portion of the spells thrown at him while his adversary stood stationary, wouldn't he have a better chance of winning?

'Well, let's just distribute them. It won't be too late to change my approach later. I can also learn to brew new potions as well.' With this thought, he pressed the plus buttons floating by the holographic screen.

Vitality: 6.5-> 11.5

Strength: 6.8-> 11.8

Agility: 9.5-> 12

Intelligence: 16

Free attribute points: 0

A soothing feeling engulfed his sprawled body, making his veins squirm like snakes under his skin and his nervous system twitch as he became twice as endurant, powerful, reactive and deadly.

Next, he pondered about intelligence. To have more and richer mana without enough control was a mistake, in his opinion, especially considering he wanted to delve into alchemy after inheriting Theodore's passion and dreams.

With everything done, he checked his status panel one last time before noticing a new entry in his passive skills.

Surprised, he exclaimed with a smug smile. "Hahaha, I knew I could be the best dagger master!"

Then, doubts danced in his eyes as he glanced at his enhanced Intuition T1 passive. If he had to be honest, he forgot about it since he never found a use or felt its effects. Yet, a sudden idea shattered his misconception.

'What if this skill is the cause of my restlessness? If I'm right, I should take things more seriously.' He theorised, sensing something terrible might befall him, considering the feeling's intensity. 

His sudden decision to enter the tower and check the cave, despite his initial reluctance, made a bit more sense. But he didn't resolve the mystery yet. What looming threat could force him into making such dangerous decisions? It had to be something worse than fighting a tier-two boss, right?

His frown deepened upon reaching this thought.

"Take that skill back. It's causing me to suffer in this damned place again!" He screamed to no one, venting the frustration of not finding the answer with curses.

After a moment, he closed his interface, ignoring his snarky system's note. What was wrong with it anyway? Somehow, he felt it was making fun of him, laughing at his sufferings after each harrowing battle he survived.

Next, he focused on his state, assessing if he should continue the trial before concluding. 'I'm mentally exhausted. The stress of dodging these scalding light spears took a toll on my mind. I should rest for a few hours.'

Time wasn't a problem yet, and he didn't believe he would meet a creature as strong as the light guardian. After all, it was the boss.

'Just need to avoid insects,' he thought, his lips stretching into a wry smile.

He raised his head, his eyes scanning the area for his rightful spoils after the guardian had exploded in a rain of light. Soon, he smiled.

Its luminous beast core rested on the ground.