The stingiest villain

"I am going to train, in the forest. I will be back tonight or in two to three days mother." He was not feeling anymore exhaustion and he had no time to waste. To become what he wanted to be, he had to be very focused. 

His mother was unwilling to let him go and she grabbed his hand. "What do you mean? You just got here and you are not fine. You were unconscious when you were brought home what you need to do is rest and eat something."

"Let the boy go Zena, the path to greatness is not forged through sleeping. Dex is not like us, you must let him carve his own path. The world of magicians is cruel, the strong eat the weak. I would rather my son eat others than he be eaten." His father pulled his mother away and nodded at Dex, telling to go as he pleased.

Grateful, Dex made a quick escape, running away as fast as his feet could carry him all the way to the edge of the Black forest. It was the fourth largest forest on their continent, extending from Ethea all the way to the coastal city of Renia. It was used by many magicians, guilds, students and commoners who sought to grow their magic or make a living by finding prey and herbs inside.

The Black forest was filled with many good things, but it was also deadly and dangerous. Most trips into the forest ended with a few casualties because magic beasts preyed on humans just as the humans did on them. And in future, Dex knew that it would become even more deadly after the veil was lifted and other races appeared on their continent.

As he was about to go in, a hand stopped him. "You must pay a small fee young lad; the Black forest is a dangerous place for those who go in without protection."

Dex looked at the owner of the hand, a dirty and smelly brawny man in the uniform of the Adama guild. They were like parasites that preyed on all solo travelers into the forest. If you did not pay them some coins, they would search for you in the forest, kill and steal all your belongings.

He looked around to see if anybody else was paying the so called protection fee and nobody else was doing it. He was the only one that had been targeted, it seemed.

Ding! Minor hunting Choice triggered the system said in his mind.

1 Pay the fee and become a little bitch.

2 Don't pay the fee and become a daring man with one astral clone.

3 Punch him in the face, escape into the forest and get two hundred gold coins.

Dex sneered as he thought, number one was impossible for he was neither a little bitch nor could he pay as he did not have a single coin to his name.

Number two made him curious.

"What is an astral clone?" he asked the system.

"It's the ability to divide yourself into two to accomplish more tasks at the same time. It is limited to a distance of five feet for now." The system explained.

It could give him the ability to be in two places at the same time, Dex realized. It would come in handy for when he needed an alibi. But, he was also broke and what he needed more was money to buy herbs and portions. As for the astral clone, he had astral magic and sooner or later, he would get the ability to clone himself. If this was a minor hunt, then it was possible that this bastard would come looking for him later whether he paid the fee or not.

"I choose three." He said.

He reared back, raised his arm and his fist and punched the man right in the eye. He was able to do it successfully because he took him by surprise after all; nobody expected a weak thing like Dex to fight back. Not waiting around, he jumped and run into the forest while the man was still howling in pain yelling and calling Dex a puny son a bitch. 

Most people continued minding their own business, going by as if they witnessed nothing while two other members of the Adama guild hurried to their injured colleague. They shared a mutual look and blood lust, then the three men rushed into the forest.

Only one old man among the witnesses commented, "Hmm, another soul will fall victim to those thieves." But such was their world; he sighed, and went back to selling his portions.

In the forest, Dex run until he found a tall tree, he needed to get a view of his surroundings before he could think about what to do next. He climbed the tree, carefully watching his steps and scanning the area with his eyes. Snake demons were not uncommon in trees; they hid, slithered and attacked when one least expected them.

He made himself comfortable on a branch that was hidden among many leaves. From where he was, he could see almost everything in the closest surroundings. There were two rich individuals here; one was a merchant because he had a caravan, panthers and a dozen magicians protecting him. The other was a woman, he only saw her a few times because he poked her head through the window of her expensive carriage a few times. Two dozen magicians were guarding her.

He saw a few people pass by in groups, and three members of the Adama guild as well. He sneered when he saw them; they were probably hunting for him.

"System, how many points do I have?"

The virtual screen appeared and he saw his points, twenty five points, fifteen from terminator troll and ten for punching the Adama guild guy.

"What kind of weapon can I get for one point?"

"This system has never seen a stingy villain like you and it has no weapons for one point."

Embarrassed, Dex laughed and changed his price. "Two points." He said hopefully.

"Keep going." The system said.

"Three...err, four, five okay; five is as high as I can go." He had too few points and he needed them for other things.

"You can purchase a bow and arrow made from wood of the elder tree." The system said.

It sounded to Dex like the system was judging him but he could care less about that. The points could be attributed to his strength and skills. Besides, he was a hunter; the bow and arrow were perfect for hunting.

He bought that weapon and then decided to cultivate his magic as he waited patiently for it to get darker and then he would hunt.

He started by distributing his points, wincing when he saw all the zeros again.

"What an eyesore." He said, irritated.

Strength: [2/100]

Agility: [3/100]

"Hey why is my endurance zero? It was 0.1 when I last checked? Did you steal my points?"

"You failed to endure the pain as the space element was fusing with your magic core, this system had to all the work. Please work harder and be less of an embarrassment to all the villains out there."

Swallowing the insult, Dex sighed and said, "Fine, give me a spell. I can't be a magician if I don't have any kind of spell."

"Since you are at the lowest level, all you can get is a teleportation spell that can enable you to move within a limited distance. It will cost you five points."

"Deal," Dex said quickly.

"Spells go hand in hand with skills host; you must pick a skill as well to match the spell."

On the virtual screen under the skill section was teleportation magic skill.

"Five points too." The system mentioned.

"Deal." Dex said.