[Soul Blood Earring]

Souta checked the exp that he received from killing the skeleton soldier.

Level: 1(52/100)

He only needs to kill one skeleton soldier to level up. It is easy to increase his level at this time, but it will become increasingly difficult in the future.

He stood up and armed himself with the skeleton soldier's short rusty sword. Turning his head in front of him, he noticed two dark paths.

He pondered which path he should take. Both appear to be the same, and both are likely to have monsters waiting for him. He eventually decided to take the left fork. He couldn't explain it, but this dungeon reminded him of something. He had a feeling he had been here before, so he decided to go with his instincts.

"I'll choose it."

He took a cautious step forward and took the left path. The path was dark, the floor was covered in dried black soil, and the torches on the walls could only provide a dim glow.

The cold wind from the path ahead made him shiver as it caressed his thin body. He knew he was weak because of his in-game knowledge. That's why he had to be cautious of his every move, as it could lead to his demise.

He had already deduced that this was an undead monster's lair. This dungeon's boss must be a powerful skeleton knight or mage. If it's a lich, he won't be able to conquer this dungeon in five days. Lich was a powerful undead with a level between thirty and forty. It was a boss-type monster that could be found in either a mid-level or high-level dungeon.

He couldn't tell if this was a high-level dungeon based on one skeleton soldier. But... If this was truly a high-level dungeon, the system would not have given him such a low reward. If he received such a low reward, it must be a low-level dungeon. It is important to understand that the higher the reward, the more dangerous the quest.

Moving forward, Souta noticed a goblin corpse lying in a pool of blood. He suspected that a group of goblins attempted to invade the dungeon but were killed in the process. That must be why his body (goblin) was inside this dungeon when he awoke.

"This smell is making me puke," Souta sneezed. The goblin has the odor of rotten fish. It's not his first time smelling something like this, but it still makes him feel sick.

Virtual reality has the capability to make people feel like they are in another world. The game could mimic a person's five senses, and Souta would turn it up to the max so he could truly feel as if he were in another world. He could smell the blood, feel the wind, and see the bloody scenes as if they were real inside the game. Others would have turned off their sense of pain or red blood, but he hadn't. When someone cut him in the game, he felt excruciating pain, and when he cut someone in the game, he saw a bloody scene. He didn't know why he did it, but he felt compelled to do so.

His memories were hazy, so he had no idea who had told him to set that function to maximum.

He walked ahead of the corpse, ignoring it. Then he noticed a wooden door five meters away. He approached it slowly, carefully inspecting it for traps.

He gently pushed the door open with his palm. He peered inside and found three skeleton soldiers inside.

"Three at the same time? I could handle it now that I have a sword and can use the skill [Stab]," Souta grumbled as he examined the sword in his hand. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the handle.

He didn't use his skill [Stab] just because he stabbed his sword forward. He did not use the [Slash] skill when he slashed his sword. Skills, such as [Stab], will consume either of his mana when activated to add attributes to his action. When he activates [Stab], a piercing effect is added to his normal "stabbing" action. That's how skill works.

He entered the room without making any noise. He doesn't want to wake the skeleton soldiers up just yet.

He needed to quickly eliminate one of the skeleton soldiers in order to reduce the burden of fighting them alone. He only needed to fight two enemies if he could take out one of them before they could react. It was easier than fighting three of them at once.

This was the fundamentals of launching a surprise attack. To rapidly reduce the number of enemies before they could react.

He clenched his fingers around the sword's handle as he observed the three skeleton soldiers.

"One... Two... Three... Go!"

Souta swooped down on one of the skeleton soldiers. He drew his sword above his head and swung it down at the skeleton soldier.

Bang!!

The sword's blade landed on the skull of one of the skeleton soldiers. The sharpness of his sword was insufficient to sever the bones of the skeleton soldiers, but it did cause some cracks in the bones. He didn't mind if his sword lost its edge.

"Die!" Souta yelled as he drew his sword and used [Stab].

Swoosh!!

Bang!!

The tip of the sword struck the skeleton's forehead, causing various cracks to appear.

The skeleton soldier collapsed to the ground, but Souta knew it was still alive. He hasn't yet heard the system prompt inside his head.

He stomped the skeleton soldier on the ground with his feet. Then he slashed the skeleton soldier with the sword in his hand once more.

The bones in the skeleton's neck were not strong enough to withstand the impact of a metal object, such as a sword. As the body rolled on the ground, the bones cracked and the skull separated from the body. The cracks on the skeleton's forehead spread out before it crumbled into tiny fragments.

All of this happened in just a few seconds.

[You've received 51 exp from killing a Skeleton soldier!]

[You've leveled up!]

[All attributes increased by 1!]

[You've received 2 attribute points!]

[You've received 1 skill point!]

Souta was certain he had defeated the first skeleton soldier. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the other two skeleton soldiers charging at him. He turned his head and saw the two going in opposite directions.

One on his left while the other one was on his right.

Two on one, huh?

The skeleton on his left side slashed its sword horizontally.

Swooosh!!

"Ha!" Souta raised his sword and parried the skeleton soldier's sword. Then he punched the skeleton in the rib cage.

Bang!

He then quickly crouched down as a sword passed above him.

"That's close!" He tripped the skeleton soldier with his foot before slamming his elbow into its skull.

Bang!

He doesn't have time to finish the skeleton soldier as the other skeleton already made its way in front of him.

"Ha!" Souta shouted as he forcefully swung his sword.

Clang!

Both his and the skeleton soldier's sword collided causing a metallic sound to echo in the whole area.

The skeleton soldier's strength pushed Souta back. His level was lower than the skeleton soldier's, so it was natural that the skeleton's stats were higher. He knew his strength was limited, which is why he needed to rely on his sword. Even if it wasn't a blunt weapon, the additional damage from the sword was enough to crack the skeleton.

He gritted his teeth and bent his knees.

Swoosh!!

He used [Dash] to charge straight at the skeleton while pointing his sword at it. His level had risen, so he regained his stamina, and the additional attributes gained from leveling up increased his overall stamina. It means he could use his two abilities, albeit for a limited time.

Clang!

His sword crashed the few ribs of the skeleton soldier. He then grabbed its spine as he kicked the feet of the skeleton.

Bang!

The skeleton was smashed on the ground and when he was about to finish it, he sensed someone behind him.

"Hmm?"

He immediately rolled his body sideways.

Clang!

He raised his head and noticed the other skeleton soldier. He squinted, clearly irritated that he couldn't finish the skeleton on the floor.

Swooosh!

He dashed and slid across the ground, slashing his sword over the skeleton soldier's knee. He then kicked the ground thus flying in mid-air. He elbowed the skeleton soldier's skull, causing a crack to appear on its surface, along with the force of gravity.

[You've received 54 exp from killing a Skeleton soldier!]

He ignored the system prompt, moving his body quickly and dashing to the other skeleton soldier.

"This is it!" he yelled, slamming his elbow into the skull of the last skeleton soldier with all his might.

Bang!

[You've received 51 exp from killing a Skeleton soldier!]

The skeleton soldiers slowly turned into ashes fading in the air as it left its weapons.

When he heard the system, Souta exhaled a sigh of relief. His tense muscles relaxed as he slumped down on the ground.

He looked at the system interface and saw that he level up to 2. He still needed to kill two skeleton soldiers before he leveled up to 3.

Level: 2(105/200)

"I'm extremely tired!" Souta muttered as he stared at the rough ceiling.

"Let's rest for an hour."

Souta moved his body to the far corner of the room. He leaned against the walls, thinking about his next move.

He raised his head and looked around the room. The entire room was large and dark. There is only one lantern in the center of the ceiling, and it barely illuminates the entire space. He looked around and discovered four more lanterns in the corner of the room, but none of them were lit.

"This is...? A secret room!!" His gamer sense was tingling right now. He suspected this was a hidden room. There is no doubt about it. He only needed to solve this puzzle.

He immediately stood up and looked around the room. He was overcome with nostalgia. He had the impression that he was familiar with this room, but he couldn't recall going there before in the game.

After a dozen minutes, he found something.

He was standing in front of the walls while tracing his palm at the cold wall.

"This is the secret door, but I couldn't open it..." He rubbed his chin, his gaze fixed on the wall in front of him. He then returned his gaze to the four lanterns in the room's corner. He had an idea because this was familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he completed this dungeon.

He lit up the four lanterns of the room and it illuminated the whole room but nothing happened.

"Hmm...? There's still one thing that I need to do."

He looked up and extinguished the fire on the lantern on the ceiling, the first lantern that was lighting up the room.

Boom!!

Suddenly, the ground shook.

Souta looked back and saw that the secret door was opening.

"As I thought..."

As he moved forward, he noticed a dark, narrow path. He took a bold step forward without hesitation. The mana in this room was too dense for him, making his chest heavy.

When he tapped the walls, he discovered that this was no ordinary rock. The mana here made the walls stronger than the rest, making it a valuable stone known as Mana Stone. It appears to be a high-grade mana stone, but he believes that these walls should not be called stone.

After walking for five minutes, Souta arrived in front of a metal door. He opened it and looked inside the room.

There is nothing inside the room except a golden treasure chest in the center. The treasure chest radiated a golden light.

Souta's eyes lit up when he saw the golden treasure chest.

He approached it and opened the golden chest slowly. Inside the chest, there is a single silver earring with a black orb design.

"This...?" He finally remembered this artifact. This earring was one of his game accessories. The [Soul Blood Earring] is one of his most powerful sets in the game.

He's lucky that he found this in the early version.

He picked it up and directly wore it on his ear.

"Ah!" He felt an overwhelming power inside his body.

[Soul Blood Earring]: A powerful Universal Treasure. It could harvest the soul of every creature to increase the wearers' power.

Skill 1: [Harvester of the Soul]: It could collect the soul of every dead creature. Soul collected: 0/100.

Skill 2: (locked)

Effect: +10 strength, +10 vitality, +10 intelligence

Souta examined the [Soul Blood Earring's] detailed information. He couldn't use skill 2 because it requires the other pair of earrings. The [Harvester of the Soul] was a skill that allowed you to collect the souls of all dead creatures. He couldn't directly take a living creature's soul. He required the soul of a recently killed creature that had not yet left its body. If he collected 100 souls, he could use them to increase one of his attributes by ten, but the soul requirement increases with each use.

"This earring feels nostalgic..." Souta said with a smirk on his face.

It's time to harvest the soul inside this dungeon.