Alisia Forest
"We have finally arrived at the entrance of Alisia Forest, boy," informed the middle-aged leader with a happy voice.
"Thank you very much." Alex got off the carriage and slightly bowed his head to the leader.
"It's alright. You probably have heard many people say this to you, but please be careful, alright? Although this forest danger level is not that high, it's still dangerous." He looked at him with a sad look as if he didn't want to see Alex die like his son.
"I understand. Thank you for your concern." Alex nodded with a smile before starting to walk inside the forest while waving his hand to him.
After walking for about five minutes, Alex went inside the room.
"So, what's my plan for now?" Alex thought as he looked at the trees around him. This was the first time he walked around the forest, so he was a bit mesmerized by its beauty. "I will try to kill some monsters first, I guess."
After thinking things thoroughly about the next plan and made his decision, he walked aimlessly to search around some weak monsters and found two goblins by the river.
"Can I kill the two goblins? If I assume I can sneak around them, I can kill one of them out of guard with my spear. After that, I should be able to kill the other one with my sword." Alex contemplated for a moment and took a deep breath. "Can I succeed? No, I will succeed."
He silently walked closer to the goblins, hiding behind the tree near them. Taking another deep breath, he spun his body and leaped toward them.
"Ki?!" The goblins noticed him and turned around, but they didn't manage to dodge this attack.
He impaled the goblin's head with his spear.
"That's one!" Without thinking anything, he turned around and slashed his sword right on the other goblin's neck, and sent the head flying. "That's two."
"Pant… Pant…" Alex didn't know why, but his heart was beating like crazy. He felt his hands and legs were getting weak.
Suddenly, a foul scent filled his nose, and his body abruptly turned around, filling his vision with the dead bodies. His body started feeling weak as he fell on four before gastric acid somehow raised and filled his mouth. Finally, he barfed. "Pu-puah!"
The blood, the bodies, the inside organ that could be seen from their parts and scattered around were too explicit for him.
Alex never thought about this before… No, he had thought about it before, like in the book or whatsoever, but the reality was beyond his imagination. Cold sweat covered his whole body as he kept panting.
'This… Everything is real.' Alex stood up, walked a few steps behind, and leaned his back on the tree. 'I didn't have any injury this time, but at some point, I will sustain the injury. It hurts even when I accidentally cut myself while cooking. And if all of that in the books happen, the pain will multiply, and…'
He fell on his butt, shivering on the ground. He once again doubted himself if he could continue on this path. 'No! I have chosen this path… I don't know what I will find at the end of this journey, but I will just tag along with whatever I can and get used to this sight and pain.'
"For now, I will open the system first." Alex took a deep breath before he saw a blue screen appear.
[Gacha Ticket x1]
"Oh… I got a ticket! Isn't it easy to get a ticket?"
[No. You are just lucky enough.]
"I want to see my status."
[Do you want me to replicate your Status Card? This way, you can see your status without taking out that card. You can use it as long as the card is effective.]
"As long as the card is effective?"
[I can't replicate something broken, right?]
"Ah. That's what you mean." Alex nodded. "Replicate it then."
[Alright.]
Name: Alexander Sirius
Job: Adventurer
Rank : 0
Level: 2
STR: 23
AGI: 16
VIT: 17
DEX: 13
INT: 5
"Oh… I really got five points. Three on STR, one on AGI, and one on VIT." Alex nodded. "Still, it will be hard to increase my strength with those five points since I will need a few levels. Compared to training for a single night…"
[I know you are happy, but I have scanned the energy from the monsters. The energy is not pure enough, so I don't recommend you to take that energy.]
"But how? Isn't my body taking it automatically?"
[System can expel the energy for you, but you won't get any status points for leveling up. Asking for your confirmation?]
Alex thought for a moment and sighed. "Please expel it."
[Processing.]
Name: Alexander Sirius
Job: Adventurer
Rank : 0
Level: 2
STR: 20
AGI: 15
VIT: 16
DEX: 13
INT: 5
He looked at his status and realized that the five points had gone. "That means I only need to train myself while killing some monsters to get Gacha Tickets, right?"
[Basically. You can get levels to mask your current status, so the others won't suspect you.]
"I understand." Alex took a deep breath. "I may not be a worthy Host, but I will work hard."
Upon deciding in his heart, he stood up and walked again to continue his journey in the Alisia Forest.
…
Two months later,
"Haha, another level." Alex laughed happily.
[Why are you laughing? You won't gain any status points.]
"System, you don't want me to be happy, are you? Just say it." Alex chuckled.
[There's no such intention. System only reminds you.]
Alex sighed and opened his status after his two months of training.
Name: Alexander Sirius
Job: Adventurer
Rank : 0
Level: 34
STR: 100
AGI: 60
VIT: 75
DEX: 40
INT: 24
"People who saw my status will think it's weird, right?"
[Yes. According to your manual, Each phase equals one rank. In other words, Low Phase Body Tempering Stage is equivalent to rank 1, Mid Phase Body Tempering Stage is equivalent to rank 2, and so on. If other people see your status, they might think you are a hero or something. But I think it will be bad for you…]
"Probably. Still, I don't know what to do after these two months. The only thing I know is to go to the Acacia Kingdom and start a new life. That's why I need to increase my level first until it reaches the normal state. I have gotten used to a certain extent to pain and I've grown accustomed to killing as well, I will go to the Inner Forest then to raise my level faster." Alex sighed while walking.
After another hour, he finally reached the Inner Forest before hearing a loud howl.
"Auuu!"
Alex furrowed his eyebrows and raised his guard. He quickly ran toward the sound while grinning happily. "Another EXP."
He found eight wolves, including their leader. The wolf had an average level of 35 while the leader was level 45. He took a deep breath and calculated the battle plan in his mind.
"If the leader doesn't join the battle first, I can wipe them out easily. That's why I will kill them first. I just hope there won't be any monsters nearby."
Alex took a deep breath and threw his javelin to one of the wolves, impaling the wolf's head.
"Auu!" The leader howled, ordering the wolves to attack him while watching the group from behind.
Alex entered his battle stance immediately, looking at the two wolves leaping toward him. He took two swords from his system and sliced the two wolves.
The remaining wolves were raging and howled together. Alex took this chance to kill another two wolves before they could react.
The last three showed their fangs and charged at him, but before they could do that, Alex had taken out his spear and thrust it to another wolf while killing the two wolves with his swords. He used this strategy after getting accustomed to how the wolves would move.
When the leader saw his subordinates die in an instant, he angrily looked at Alex and charged toward him.
"Fast—!" Alex widened his eyes, noticing that this charge was far faster than his subordinates. Luckily, he was able to block those sharp fangs, albeit got knocked back.
It didn't want to miss the opportunity and slammed Alex down to the ground. Alex raised his sword and stopped the wolf's fangs before he raised his other hand.
'I still have another trump card! It's my system!' Alex smirked and pulled another sword with his Inventory. 'Extract.'
"Goodbye!" Alex stabbed the wolf's neck until the wolf lost its power and fell to the ground.
He then pushed the body away and took a deep breath. "Huft… It's a close fight."