First Combat

*Sprite. Can you provide my values without me checking the status screen?*

[Of course.]

*Current HP?*

[You currently have 3 HP.]

*I've lost nine-tenths of my life.*

Having the low stats and decayed body of a ghoul, the humans moved faster than Gerard.

*Even Sprite said the average stats for humans are fifteen. These are definitely not average humans.*

Behind him, a stone wall blocked his retreat. The only way out of this situation was through it.

"Rose! You fucking ghoul! You killed her!" The leader with the sword and shield yelled, shaking with rage.

*Escaping seems impossible.*

Gerard pulled the arrow from his neck and waited for their next move.

"Is it sentient?" The girl with the bow asked.

"It can't be. Ghouls have no thoughts of their own." The woman in the priestly garb answered.

*I might be completely unnatural in this world.*

The leader of the group placed his hand on his chest and took a deep breath.

"Everyone, tactic B. This ghoul seems abnormal. It might be a variant." The leader looked at his companion and stood his ground, raising his shield in preparation.

The priestly woman raised her hands and chanted. The woman with the bow readied another arrow, and the bald man raised his hands while bending his legs.

"We don't need any tactics! It's just a ghoul. Variant or not, I can shatter its head with a single strike!"

The weaponless man sprung to action. He ran faster than even the athletes Gerard watched during the Olympic games.

"Don't be rash, Emille!" The man with the sword and shield shouted before sighing.

The priestly woman stopped chanting, and the archer lowered her bow.

*It seems like group cooperation isn't a common occurrence among them.*

Gerard waited to encounter a hidden weapon, but he never expected the man to launch a kick.

*Shit.*

Luckily, his opponent announced his target because, as Gerard shifted his position, the stone wall behind him crumbled. The man's overconfidence played a part in his downfall because, for all that strength, the weight of an old stone wall trapped him in place. He reached for his leg to pull it free.

*Opportunity!*

Gerard stepped closer and took a bite. The man's arm decayed before his eyes.

"Jerrick!" Emille called for the man on his team.

With a swift flick of a large sword, Jerrick severed the decaying arm and pulled the martial artist free of the rubble. The woman in priestly robes muttered something before a layer of fire covered her hands, and she stemmed the bleeding from the martial artist's stump.

*Magic! It's real magic!*

"I'll heal that soon; for now, there's no time," the priestly woman said.

Gerard beamed inside before the harrowing reality set in. He let go of the festering arm in his grip.

*Maybe they're more unified than I thought. Am I already going to die?*

[3,000 experience gained. You have reached level 4. Your base stats have increased. You have gained the skill 'Bile'. 4,300 experience until your next level.]

Gerard looked at the ninja. Her body lay still on the ground in a pool of blood.

*Three thousand experience for killing a human? That doesn't seem right. It must be because they're skilled combatants.*

They all rotated to different spots. The archer scurried up the wall of a building and, from the rooftops, aimed her bow. The priestess put a hand on the martial artist and Jerrick, and after muttering, they both glowed red. Jerrick charged left, and the martial artist charged right.

Gerard focused his thoughts. There had to be a way to survive.

*Avoiding both of them isn't possible. Sprite, what's Bile?*

[Bile - From the depths of your stomach, bring up an acidic substance that can melt most organic substances.]

An arrow from the archer struck his eye. With his Mind's Eye skill, even if someone scooped his eyes out, he'd be able to see.

*It's a good thing I can't feel pain, but the sensation of an arrow in my eye is unpleasant. Sprite, my HP?*

[You currently have 5 HP.]

*I appear to recover some HP when I level up.*

Gerard quickly tried several methods to use his new skill, but nothing worked until he performed three motions consecutively. In the end, he sucked his stomach in, flexed his abdominal muscles, and forced a burp. With his burp, a head-sized ball of acid shot out of his mouth.

The acid landed on Jerrick's face, melting it to the bone.

[5,200 experience gained. You have reached level 5. Your base stats have increased. 15,600 experience until your next level.]

*Level five already? Wait...*

The martial artist backed off. He lost his energy and confidence.

Gerard recalled the requirement to evolve. Drink fresh human blood.

Gerard dropped to the ground and slurped the blood mixed with the soil around the ninja's corpse.

"Now's our chance! It's lost all sense of reason! Don't let Jerrick's death be in vain!" The martial artist jumped into the air above Gerard.

The archer fired an arrow, and around the tip, electricity cackled.

The spellcaster launched a spear of fire.

*Three incoming dangers. Three ways to die.*

[You meet the requirements for evolution. Would you like to evolve?]

*Yes!*