Time to Get Grinding [Part 2]

Beginner Hub.

That was the other name given to the Caliginia woods because it was the place where every young, inexperienced warrior took their very first step into the cultivation world. It was basically a flocking ground for noobs and other low stage cultivators.

The resources were plenty, so long as one had the ability to claim them. After all, even if it was a beginner ground, monsters were still monsters. If one walked into the forest unprepared, they would be in for a rude awakening.

On the western edges of the woods, Ethan had his hands tucked into his pockets as he walked calmly down one of the many dirt paths that led deeper into the forest. If another person were to stumble upon Ethan and see this, they would surely sneer in contempt at Ethan's naivety and lack of proper preparation.

However, Ethan had already fallen prey to naivety once. Something he had vowed he would never let happen again.

Although his demeanor appeared relaxed, Ethan's senses were on high alert as he trudged forward. His eyes constantly sweeping across his surroundings, searching for any signs of wild beasts.

"Chkk chk chk!"

Suddenly a low, grating chuckle fell upon Ethan's ears as four creatures scurried towards him with maddened frenzy from behind the trees. They had green colored skin, long hairy ears and big bulging yellow eyes. The beasts wore nothing except rags around their waists and were each armed with daggers made from some kind of bone.

Ethan's lips curved into a small smirk as the three creatures surrounded him. "Bout time. I was starting to think that the forest had been cleared out or something."

Looking at one of creatures, Ethan activated his appraisal skill.

_____

Name: Gripk

Race: Goblin

Level: 2

HP: 20/20

MP: 5/5

Strength: 10

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 1

Defense: 6

Equipment: Crude bone dagger, Leather tunic

Status: Healthy, Hungry

_____

"Not too bad.", Ethan commented after seeing the goblin's stats. He checked the stats of the other three and saw that two others were also at level two and the last of them just a level one. "For goblins, that is."

The goblin's simply snarled in response, eager to pounce at the defenseless prey in front of them. A regular person only had the ability to defeat one level 1 goblin with minor difficulties. However, in front of Ethan were four goblins at once, with three of them at level 2!

Any other person in his shoes would have pissed themselves by now. However, Ethan was anything but scared as he faced the goblins before him.

One of the goblins seemed to lose it's patience and leaped towards him, aiming to stab Ethan's head. Unfortunately for the goblin, Ethan had already anticipated such a move.

"Say cheese!" Ethan quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket and brought it to his mouth, blowing a cloud of grayish-green dust right in the goblins face.

"Hrakk!" The goblin yelped in pain and alarm, completely blinded by Ethan's cunning attack.

Ethan was many things but stupid was not one of them. He was well aware that his chances of surviving in the forest without a good weapon would be pretty low despite his excellent stats and decent fighting prowess. Therefore, he had decided to make preparations before hand and searched around the edges of the woods for a particular plant he had once read about.

Sagebrush.

This was a little shrub that could be found under almost any of the tall trees in the Caliginia woods. It had long fuzzy green leaves that most beasts in the area abhorred because they produced an irritating pollen that dulled their senses notably. This plant was the reason for Ethan's confidence despite entering the forest without a weapon.

Without wasting another breath, Ethan quickly disarmed the disoriented goblin. The blind beast tried it's luck and tried to grab onto Ethan but the black haired boy easily side stepped the goblin's desperate lunge.

With the goblin's bone dagger now in hand, Ethan easily pierced the beast's head, killing it instantly.

[Pandora: You have slain a Goblin.

+30 EXP!]

"Graagh!"

"Grakk!"

"Krrgh!"

Enraged at the death of one of their comrades, the other goblins attacked Ethan all at once. Ethan simply scoffed at this and unleashed another handful of sagebrush pollen. The goblins wailed in agony as the pollen blew straight their eyes, making them water uncontrollably. They had been too blinded by rage to consider the thought of Ethan having more sagebrush in his pockets.

However, Ethan didn't spare them a single shred of sympathy. In this world, it was eat or be eaten and at the moment, Ethan was hungry for his first kills!

Deciding to put the pathetic beasts out of their misery, Ethan's body expertly weaved between the goblins and decapitated all of the swiftly.

[Pandora: You have slain a Goblin.]

[Pandora: You have slain a Goblin.]

[Pandora: You have slain a Goblin.]

[Pandora: You have earned experience points.

+72 EXP!]

[Pandora: LEVEL UP! Congratulations to host for breaking through to the first level of the Vitalis Stage.

+1 in all stats]

[Pandora: Attention! Host has unlocked the following system feature:

- Professions]

Ethan inhaled deeply, relishing the feeling of his increased strength. "Nothing beats the feeling of a successful breakthrough."

(A/N: *Cough! Except that one glass of water at 3 AM.)

After enjoying the refreshing feeling of his first level up, Ethan's attention turned to the interesting piece of information Pandora had just given him. Of course, Ethan had noticed the profession tab on his status menu the first time he received the system and had already tried to access it multiple times. But no matter what he did, he simply had no way to access it.

However, now with him stepping into the Vitalis Stage, Ethan could finally see what it was all about.

_____

{PROFESSIONS}

- A profession is the deciding factor of the path that every warrior wishes to take. Once picked, one must walk their path with their head held high and without hesitation, no matter the obstacle that may come their way.

Choose your main profession from the following options:

• Brawler

• Swordsman

• Spearmen

• Archer

• Mage

• Assassin

_____

Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So it's like picking my class, huh?"

Ethan took a brief moment to consider all the options before finally giving his answer:

"I pick the mage profession."

[Pandora: Congratulations to the host for attaining the mage profession! You have learned new skills!]

[Pandora: You have learned Gu-]

Just as Ethan was about to check his new abilities, the sounds of wild cackling caught his attention and he turned around. A new group of goblins, numbering six in total, had stumbled upon Ethan. The beasts snarled at him angrily, immediately enraged when they noticed the corpses of their brethren laying at Ethan's feet.

The goblins expected Ethan to start cowering in fear due to their numerical advantage. But to their surprise, Ethan eagerly charged towards them of his own accord.

In Ethan's eyes, the repulsive green skinned creatures who were the terror of every noobie cultivator were simply numbers.

Numbers ready for him to reap in the form of experience points!

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A/N: Comment what skills you think Ethan received from the system. Also, don't forget to add the novel to your libraries so that you get notified for all the new chapters.

Also, a big thank you to No_Mic_ for the powerstones, really appreciate it.

Have a good day!