Chapter 20 Clearing The Space (2)

As thoughts raced through Michael's mind, he raised his gun and aimed at the distant acid slime.

Quitely, he activated his skill.

"{Basic Shot}"

Immediately, a flood of instinctive awareness followed. He realized that his grip was off, his aim was unsteady, and his posture was misaligned. Each flaw became glaringly obvious to him.

Step by step, guided by the skill's influence, Michael made corrections, refining his stance, tightening his grip and recalibrating his aim. All while his focus remained locked on the unaware slime moving in the distance.

Despite the skill's assistance, it took him nearly 15 seconds to make all these slight adjustments. He could still 'sense' that there was more room for improvement—a stark reminder of his low {Mastery} of {Basic Shot}. With higher {Mastery}, aiming and shooting would become second nature; he'd become faster, more precise and won't need to think as much.

The skill's miraculous effect left Michael speechless. For the first time, handling a gun felt natural.

'Though the skill hints that I could improve even further, this is already leagues beyond my earlier fumbling. All I need to do is raise my skill's proficiency and {Mastery}!'

'No wonder the Federation prioritizes Awakeners. We really are like cheats—instant power-ups, mastering skills in moments that should usually take years to perfect. If I were an Archer instead of a Necromancer, wouldn't I already be a sharpshooter? How can ordinary people compete with this?'

'Sure, both are powerful, but the teachers were really wrong to say Awakeners and Cultivators were equal. It's not surprising though, since the world barely understands these two professions in the first place.'

'Is the Federation deliberately hiding something, or is there something bigger at play?'

Despite the whirlwind of thoughts, Michael's focus never wavered from the slime.

As soon as his aim was steadily locked onto the monster, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

A soft crack of the shot echoed faintly through the long hall, muffled by the presence of a silencer.

Pui!

Unlike his first encounter with an acid slime, where he had missed almost every shot, this time the very first bullet Michael shot struck the monster. Although it didn't kill the slime, the bullet had left a hole dangerously close to its core.

'{Basic Shot} is so powerful!' Michael was awed as he praised in his mind and began to retreat.

Though close, the slime was far from defeated—and now it was aware of him.

'No eyes, no ears, yet it can sense me… truly a freak of nature,' Michael mused, revealing his dislike for slimes.

'But it's slow.'

Even though monsters didn't have attribute points, Michael had expected the level 7 acid slime to be stronger. However, aside from increased intensity and range of its acid attacks — which was likely what had improved with its level — its speed was barely faster than the last one.

'If it's this slow, there's nothing to fear.'

But that didn't mean Michael would be reckless. He had learned to respect the unknown.

Despite his increasing confidence, Michael knew little about the full extent of their abilities.

However, seeing the slime's slow pace, Michael thought that he could potentially finish it off with the refined spear he had bought from the Supers Association store.

But after pondering over it for a moment, he decided against it. 

For now, he chose to keep his distance and take advantage of the situation. As long as the slime couldn't reach him, he could still land a few shots from a safe distance with his gun.

Using this strategy, he could continue levelling up until his bullets ran out or his gun became ineffective against high-level monsters. Only after the situation turned to such that his gun won't be effective would he consider close combat.

After circling around and following his path back to the room he'd first arrived in—while avoiding unexplored areas to prevent running into more monsters—Michael finally managed to bring down the acid slime with a series of precise shots.

*****

[ You killed a Common★★ LV 7 Acid Slime ]

[ You've gained 103 Experience Points ]

[ You killed a monster five levels higher than your own, earning a 6x experience multiplier ]

[ You've gained 618 Experience Points ]

[ Level Up! ]

[ You have Levelled up to Level 3! ]

[ Level Up!]

[ You have Levelled up to Level 4! ]

*****

[ You've Levelled up to Level 4 Human!]

[ You've gained 0.4 stat points in Strength, Agility, and Constitution. You've gained 1.0 stat points in Intelligence. ]

[ You have gained 4 Attribute points! ]

[ You've Levelled up to Level 4 Necromancer Apprentice! ]

[ You've gained 0.2 stat points in Strength and Constitution, 0.6 stat points in Agility, and 1.0 stat points in Intelligence. ]

[ You have gained 8 Attribute points! ]