Chapter 30: Milestone

[You have felled Level 9. Profane Cockatrice.]

The system spoke in its monotonous voice as I heard the body of the cockatrice drop to the ground.

In that instant, I fell to my knees.

"Ah...I did it..."

My eyes were wide from shock, my brain failing to register the amazing feat I had just pulled off.

My lips trembled and my hands shook; the blade of Silver Lining falling from its loose grip as I took a deep breath and proclaimed in a loud voice, throwing my hands in the air.

"I DID IT!!!"

I shouted with profound joy, even jumping into the air.

"I DI-"

Before I could finish my sentence, my body finally gave in.

COUGH!!!

From a violent cough, a large volume of blood pooled out and from both of my nostrils, blood shot out.

[You are in critical condition.]

[HP: 3/100]

"A... ah...", I let out a low groan as I fell to the ground, my chest rapidly rising and falling.

No... not yet...

I could feel my life slowly slipping through my fingers. My body and brain slowly beginning to cease function.

It was in that moment that I saw.

[EXP: 273/100]

[Would you like to level up?]

Leveling up...huh...

With the last of my strength, I opened my mouth and said,

"Y...e...s..."

[Leveling Up...]

In that moment, I felt an ethereal feeling well up in me.

The lethargy that I was feeling dissipated, my wounds healed and my mind seemed to return to pristine condition. After a few minutes, I heard a whoosh. A strange energy entered my body and fully healed it but the process didn't stop there...

The intake of the energy grew and suddenly, I felt my muscles bulge and grow tenser, my senses became sharper, my mind felt more flux and even...somehow, I could feel it...but something deeper within me...grew fuller.

No one needed to tell me what it was.

It was my soul.

The improvement process repeated itself a second time before finally coming to an end, forcing me to exhale a foul air.

[Leveling Up complete.]

The system spoke after the process completed, leaving me in awe.

"Wow...so that's how leveling up is like...what a blissful feeling..."

The mention of the word 'bliss' suddenly brought a thought of my classmates to mind.

I wonder what they're doing now...

Am sure they're all fucking themselves in that lake.

My inner voice spoke out of the blue.

I chuckled slightly.

Won't be surprised if it was an orgy though.

My inner voice froze.

Nigga, what?!

"Pfft!", I laughed at my inner voice's flustered response before breaking into full-blown laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!"

A laugh devoid of pain, a laugh filled with joy; one born from triumphing over a powerful enemy.

A laughter that defied death.

The last laugh.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

...

After laughing my guts out for several minutes, I finally sat up against a wall to inspect my stats.

Rubbing my hands together, a grin came to my face as I muttered, "All right let's see what we got..."

Stats.

[Name:] Alex

[Title:]???

[Level:] 5

[EXP:] 73/200

[Skills:] Oversaturation, Mind Palace, Reverb Mapping, Art of Learning, Body Constitution, Battle Arts, Anti-Lip Sync, Invisibility, Manipulation, Vast Knowledge Base, Pickpocket, Panoramic Vision, Resistance, Fear Inducement, Thousand Tongues, Death Darting Eyes

[Aliases:] The Mastermind, The Fool, Skeleton Horror

[Debuffs:] Partial Hearing, Myopic Vision, Anti-Lip Sync, Rizzless

[HP:] 100/100

[Achievements:] Flash of Power, Combat Novice, Beat the Odds

The instant the interface appeared; my eyes shot to a certain part of it.

Level...5...

"Holy Hell!", my eyes widened as I exclaimed.

I had once again jumped two whole levels, reaching new heights and that new height was Level 5.

I had completely left behind the Skeleton Thralls and was now four levels away from the Profane Cockatrice.

"Wow...wow..."

And that wasn't all.

My eyes wandered over to the [Skills] section of my stats interface.

[Skills:] Oversaturation, Mind Palace, Reverb Mapping, Art of Learning, Body Constitution, Battle Arts, Anti-Lip Sync, Invisibility, Manipulation, Vast Knowledge Base, Pickpocket, Panoramic Vision, Resistance, Fear Inducement, Death Darting Eyes

I immediately caught sight of all the new wordings in the interface.

My skills...did...did they upgrade...?

Just as I thought that, my eyes suddenly caught sight of another skill.

Death Darting Eyes?!

I instantly wanted to call out the description but held myself back.

"Calm down...let's read the others first."

I took a deep breath and began to call out the description of my skills.

[Skill:] Mind Palace: Mind Palace transforms the user's mind into a malleable 3D space. This skill allows one to create avid visualizations and boosts mental acumen.

[Skill:] Reverb Mapping: Reverb Mapping harnesses echoes and vibrations to construct a detailed map of the surrounding environment. This skill immensely boosts the user's perception to sound.

[Skill:] Body Constitution: Body Constitution governs endurance, vitality, and the ability to withstand harsh conditions or recover from injury. This skill immensely boosts the user's physical attributes.

[Skill:] Vast Knowledge Base: Vast Knowledge Base grants access to an expansive repository of information across countless disciplines. This skill immensely boosts mental acumen and fluid intellect.

I read all the descriptions and let out a quiet gasp, covering my face with a hand to hide a wry smile.

I said with a chuckle, "Well...I'll be damned..."

I truly can't believe it...all this skill upgrades...just from one fight?

I suddenly felt like I was being over lauded even though that was by no means true. I had shed blood, sweat and tears to survive and the system was measuredly awarding my efforts.

Don't go acting all humble now, you bumbling fool.

My inner voice harshly remarked.

My face twitched as I thought.

Considering how much you ditch me...I'd pretty much call you 'bumbling'.

You know if I could materialize myself into existence, I'd truly ditch you this instant and go on a fucking spree.

Why would you have to go on a fucking spree, if you had hoes?

I spoke as a sharp smile made its way to my face.

I felt my inner voice twitch before he said,

With all your wits, you're still bitchless.

You-!

Before I could react, the bastard vanished to his secluded corner of my mind.

I slammed my hand into the ground as I screamed, "Coward!"

With a sigh, I leaned back on the wall and looked forward with a bland expression.

"Whatever, let's check it out!"

Yes...the Death Darting Eyes...!

That thought suddenly chased away the grim thoughts that circled my mind.

Death Darting Eyes!

[Skill:] Death Darting Eyes: When the ancient cockatrices reached the Verdant Mount, they encountered Medusa, the Queen of Snakes. They gazed upon her alluring figure and forever had her image plastered in the depths of their eyes, now who ever gazed within them would witness Medusa's figure and become stone. This skill gives the user infrared vision and the power of Paralysis at a cost.

"Woah!", I exclaimed as I read the description.

The early cockatrices witnessed the alluring figure of Medusa? Alluring? But I thought Athena cursed her into a hideous monster...?

I thought for awhile and then grimaced at my conclusion.

Maybe it was actually the cockatrices that found her alluring, damn perverts...

I shook my head and turned back to the interface.

But this Verdant Mount...? Is it another mountain like the Wyvern Mountain?

That thought crossed my mind before I chased it away. It was pretty useless at the moment.

"So... how do I use it actually?", I asked myself, seemingly at a loss.

Just because I gained new skills didn't mean that I naturally can use them.

A perverse statement but a true one nonetheless.

I sighed and then pondered.

Now that I think about it...I didn't need to learn how to use Resistance to be able to use it...so I think it's a passive skill? But Fear Inducement on the other hand, required me to be able to harness murderous intent to be able to activate it...so it's an active skill.

I brought a hand to my chin and mumbled, "Do I have to do something to my eyes to use this skill?"

For some reason, I was disturbed at that line of thought.

Hold up...I ain't pulling some eye sacrifice bullshit.

Even though in my current situation, my eyes were practically useless I still held them dear to my heart. I mean what sane person would not want all their body parts intact.

Uh...don't know if am sane though...

I shook my head.

Even though I considered myself a borderline psychopath, I wouldn't part with any part of my body without a strong reason.

Especially not what I had down there.

Like you'd ever get to use it.

My inner voice chimed in with a sneer.

Shut up.

I retorted.

"Tsk...this is going nowhere...", I rustled my hair with both of my hands trying to think up a solution.

When suddenly, I had an idea.

"Wait...if these skills are added to my real-world skillset, then wouldn't that mean that they exist within my brain?"

And if the skills existed within my brain, then I just had to figure out the nerve pathway to unlocking it.

But of course, that was easier said than done.

I unlocked Fear Inducement simply because my brain was at its max...it was struggling to survive...so when I released killing intent it automatically formed a neural pathway to the nerve cells that governed my Fear Inducement skill...this was all purely intuitive...all done without my active input...

To try to reproduce that scenario on my own would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

"God, just after I reached a milestone...", I reeled my head back.

What I was thinking about was something that not even the greatest minds in history could achieve. Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla who made amazing discoveries in the sciences still wouldn't be able do something as mind boggling as actively creating neural pathways through their own brain.

Such a feat was seemingly impossible.

And these were great minds, so how could someone as measly as me pull off something like that?

Is what... you were thinking, right?

"Hahaha! Just because my IQ is lower than theirs doesn't mean I can't beat them in a battle of wits!"

Nikola Tesla's IQ was far greater than that of Thomas Alva Edison but in the end, Thomas was proven to be smarter! His name is heard more than Nikola's name ever will be.

What defeated people wasn't their opponent but themselves. It was their mindset.

Many would have simply given up on even trying to perform what I wanted to do now, consoling themselves with a saying like, 'Geniuses can't even pull off this shit, so where do I have my say?'

But I, Alex wouldn't take up such a pedestrian mindset.

"Aight about time we made history."

I took a lotus position and closed my eyes, stepping into the confines of my mind.