The First Floor
Suddenly, I didn't feel the bed beneath me. The mysterious voice spoke again, and I realized I had been teleported to the next trial while I was sleeping. Great, just great. What a wonderful way to start the day. It was already morning, but I just wanted to sleep a bit longer. I groaned and got up from the floor, listening to the instructions from the mysterious voice.
"Welcome challengers. The first trial is about defeating monsters in the field, with a time limit of two hours. Try to do your best and kill as many as you can. You must kill at least one monster (or human) or else you will receive a penalty trial."
"Huh, what's that?" I muttered. "I guess it's a trial that's really hard to pass. Still better than getting killed right away."
The voice continued, explaining the ranking system. "You will be revived if you are killed. You can kill monsters or other players for points. If you kill a player who has 0 points, you get 10 points. If you kill a player who has 4973 points, you get all of them plus 10. But be aware, the player will be revived and may take the points back."
"Now for the monsters, there are different star levels:
- 1-star monster: 1 point
- 2-star monster: 5 points
- 3-star monster: 10 points
- 4-star monster: 100 points
- 5-star monster: 1000 points
These monsters are all weak, but they are leagues stronger than you. Only monsters up to 5-stars are here because you all are currently too weak and would die instantly even to the 4-star monster. Because all of you are still at level 1. There is a slight chance that you will receive a skill from a killed monster. Rewards will be distributed at the end based on your ranking."
"Okay now, let the trial commence!"
I went through the grassy field and checked the leaderboard, which was floating high in the air. Currently, no one had any points yet. Suddenly, a goblin jumped before me. It nearly gave me a heart attack. I took out my hunting knife and attacked the goblin. Luckily, it was a 1-star beast, so there was nothing to worry about. I stabbed it with my knife and it died just like that.
"That's kind of disappointing," I thought. "I expected the monsters here to be stronger."
I got a level-up notification right away. A warm feeling passed through my body as I received 5 free stat points, which I distributed:
- Agility +2
- Strength +2
- Intelligence +1
I updated my status window:
---
**System Window:**
- Name: Jason
- Bloodline: Human
- Level: 2
- Mana: 100/100
- Health: 130/130
**STATS:**
- Strength: 13
- Agility: 11
- Endurance: 10
- Intelligence: 11
- Senses: 8
**Special Abilities:**
- Game's Guide
**Skills:**
- Air Step
---
"WOW! I didn't know it would be that easy to level up. Now I'm excited to get that first place," I thought. "Maybe I should go farther away. I need to hurry since we have a timer ticking down."
I found some stronger monsters and killed several goblins on my way. Now, I was level 3 but noticed it was getting harder to level up. I left my stat points alone for now, so I had 10 saved up. The ranking was as follows:
1. Alex
2. Jason
3. Lily
4. Michael
5. Andrew
I didn't check anything else since I was only interested in the top places.I ventured deeper into the forest and found a 5-star monster, an alligator, being attacked by a bunch of 4-star magic deer. I waited in ambush and stole the kill when they were all nearly dead. My points jumped, and my level went up to level 7. I had 30 free stat points now, and my points reached 1511, around 1000 more than Alex. I was really lucky and even got a new skill:
**Beastly Instinct**
- Rank: D
- Description: Lets the user feel everything around him to some extent, like a sixth sense. It is upgradable.
"That's great!" I thought.
With only 5 minutes left, I sat on the ground and waited for the trial to end. We were all teleported to the square. I got first place, and it wasn't hard to guess who Alex was. He looked at me enviously because I had stolen his first place. My reward was 2 gold coins and an attack skill:
**Stealthy Slash**
- Rank: D
- Description: Slash an opponent, but if they defend, the slash is hidden and then goes through when they lower their guard. Only works on opponents with lower intelligence than the user.
I teleported back to my room, lay on my bed, and checked my status window. I applied my stats, distributing the 30 stat points:
---
**System Window:**
- Name: Jason
- Bloodline: Human
- Level: 7
- Mana: 100/100
- Health: 130/130
**STATS:**
- Strength: 19
- Agility: 17
- Endurance: 16
- Intelligence: 16
- Senses: 12
**Special Abilities:**
- Game's Guide
**Skills:**
- Air Step
- Beastly Instinct
- Stealthy Slash
---
Before I knew it, I was already fast asleep.