Level Up

He stared at everything in front of him as the creatures froze with their teeth just inches from his face.

"What do you think you are doing?" A boy that looked a little older than him with black shining hair and really pale skin walked out of the trees to him.

"Uh. I was … training?" he asked, looking at the boy. "Who are you anyway?"

He tried to remain nonchalant but he could not see out of his other eye, where the eyelid had torn and blood was oozing down to his face.

His shirt was also completely stained with blood from the gashes on his body as well as his legs. The adrenaline is still strong on his body but … he still felt the dull aches all over.

"I don't think it is important that you know." He said, smiling cockily at him. "But I know who you are."

"You do?" He asked, frowning slightly. "Well, that isn't a surprise that everyone knows me in this world."

"This world?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him. There was this hint of suspicions on his face but he did not say anything else.

"Were you the one that froze them?" he asked, summoning a stick to help him stand up but his body was too battered to even move anymore.

"Yes. Just so you know-" he walked to the creature, grabbing the head of one creature and cutting it off its body- "this is where I train as well."

"Really? Care to give me some pointers?" He asked, looking at him with a lazy gaze.

"You already seem to know their weak spots." He said, looking at the few he managed to kill. "But … those are weak spots easy to spot. If you really want to kill them …"

He pointed to the centre of the creature's head, "You target this spot. It is hard to break, but they will be dead instantly. Also-"

He took out a small dagger from his pocket and inserted the blade into the centre of the head. Drawing it out, the blood was filled with some purplish liquid.

"This blade is now completely laced with poison. It is fatal enough to kill someone in three seconds if it ever came in contact with their body." He licked the dagger clean before grinning at Ace.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"You told me to tell you, didn't you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he cleaned his dagger with a handkerchief before pocketing it again.

There is this hint of purple glow on his blade now, instead of the usual purple one.

"I know you did." He said, rolling his eyes at him. "But I didn't think you would actually tell me anything."

He did not wish to get advice from the weird boy who just licked poison that could kill a person, or so he claims, in three seconds, from a blade.

"Well, I wouldn't have gotten this if it wasn't for you." He said, licking the remainder of the poison that dropped onto his hands. "So, take it as thanks."

With those words, he began to walk out of the forest with Ace staring blankly back at him.

"Oh, by the way." The boy turned back, grinning. "I will hold those creatures for you if you want. You can attack them however you wish."

"No thanks." He said, standing up as some of his strength came back to him. "I would rather die or live on my own."

"Suit yourself." He said, snapping his fingers and the creature about to bite Ace's head off crashed into a tree as he was not there anymore. "But remember. After being frozen like that. They are going to be twice as hungry."

It took a while before they turned to him and began charging at a faster speed.

Ace couldn't dodge it as its teeth sank into his shoulder blades and he could hear the tearing of the skin as he cried out in pain.

Summoning a sword, he ran the blade through its head and, in no time, it fell dead.

Not wishing to move, he gasped for breath as the smell of the dead animal covered him and the creatures did not seem to be able to find him because of that.

"I need a cheat. I really need a cheat." He said, gasping for breath as he could not feel his right arm anymore.

"Well, you're in luck." The fox suddenly appeared again, smiling at him. "This is your twentieth kill. So, for that, you are getting a reward."

"And what is that?"

The fox turned into a screen and he saw 'inventory'. Clicking on it, it opened and showed some items, blinking 'new'.

Tapping on each item, he stared at information written there.

'Mirrored Ones Fang.

Can be used as a weapon or be traded for money.

Amount: 20'

"I have twenty of their fangs." He said, scrolling again. "Poison is there too. Oh, that is a nice little bottle."

"Right?" Cleo asked, "So you have nineteen of those. Do you know what their poison is more deadly on them than on us? Just be careful though."

"I can't even move. Even if I did manage to kill even fifty. I don't think I am going to survive anymore." He gasped, trying to move his arm but he couldn't still.

"Well, you are in luck." Cleo said as the screen went back to the 'home screen' and showed his face as well as the name 'Ace Reguiled' next to it.

There was a silhouette of his body and it was completely red.

"You are suffering from severe blood loss and may die in ten minutes," Cleo said, showing the silhouette.

There were some green spots but they were very faint green. Unlike the red.

"Thanks. I didn't think I knew that already." He rolled his eyes at Cleo.

"Don't forget, I am on your side. You have just upgraded and are now level two." Cleo said happily. "So that means …"

His screen lit up and he felt his body heal completely as well as gaining some more strength as he stretched his arms and felt along his sides.

There is no more pain on his body and he was about ready to jump up and leave the forest.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" Cleo asked as Ace was thinking of just that. "You just got this though."

In the inventory part of the screen, a new potion appeared and Ace clicked on it to see a potion written, 'Agility.'

"A new skill will be unlocked if you use this," Cleo said as Ace tapped on the potion and it appeared in his hands. "Don't you want to see the things this 'perfect' body can do?"

"I don't think so."

"Come on. Do you wish to waste your second life like you did your previous one?" It asked and Ace felt himself falling into its taunting.

"Fine." He said, at last, drinking the potion as the creatures began to notice him again and charged at him.

Ace felt strength in his legs like he had not felt before and jumped, almost crashing into a tree branch because he jumped too high.

His hands managed to wrap around this branch before he could fall down as a smile came on his face.

"Like it?" Cleo said, wriggling its 'eyebrows' at him.

"Of course. This is a skill I always wanted to have." He grinned broadly. "This is so cool."

"I am glad you like it. Now, you have another eighty to go against. Come on." With that, the fox disappeared and Ace began to feel irritation seep into his body once again.

He looked down at the creatures running at him and sighed deeply.

"Here goes nothing." He let go of the branch, landing on his feet as he summoned another sword in his hands.

He tried to swing the sword once again but his body would just not cooperate with him.

"What is going on here?" He mumbled to himself as the creatures charged at him once again.

What am I doing wrong?

He tried to swing his sword again but to no avail. He looked ahead to see the creatures charging at him. There were too many to count and he braced to get hit.

Just then, his hands came in front of him and the sword moved gracefully in his arms, cutting the first creature that charged at him.

What?

He watched the sword in his hands and remembered something crucial that he forgot. He was reading their character sheets and there was something about Ace that stood out to him.

'Ace is a person very accustomed to doing things his way. As the love interest, you need to first go with his ideals then try to introduce something new. Otherwise, he is very resistant to change and will build a wall between you and him.'

"That is his only problem? This is going to be easy." He scoffed that time and Ace was easy. Not very but kind of.

"Ohhhh~." He said suddenly, coming back to the present. "You like to swing your sword the other way, right? Force of habit I see."

He held the sword at another angle and began swinging it the way Ace was shown doing in the game.

It is much easier for his body to follow him now and also, he feels more confident as he attacked those creatures with no mercy.

This should be easy now.