CHAPTER FOUR: GUNSHOT
1400 Words
The pursuer's chest was entered by the entire dagger.
With an incredulous expression on his face, the pursuer collapsed as he was about to counterattack with the kitchen knife in his hand. He was looking at his chest and the dagger that was deep inside him.
The pursuer was unable to comprehend how a person who appeared to be harmless could suddenly turn into such a deadly killer, leading to his death.
The same was true for Mike. He was totally perplexed. The stench of the dying man's blood brought back memories of what he had done as he stared at him.
His senses were stimulated by the bright red blood as he looked at the very real-looking corpse. He was so sickened by the fact that he had killed the pursuer with his own hands that his stomach turned and he threw up.
Mike finished his work and collapsed to the ground, exhausted and weak.
His face was covered in snot and tears, making him appear silly and messy.
"Are you finished now?"
He instinctively raised his head in response to the harsh voice next to him.
He saw a face that was covered in dirt and ashes. The gray eyes of the woman were icy and alert.
"The loot is yours, I won't fight for it," "I..."
She interrupted Mike as he tried to say something.While staring at Mike, she clung to the wall and slowly made her way toward the door.
She had no faith in him.
She would keep her guard up at all times.
Mike came to a realization while observing her actions, which prevented him from speaking or moving further. He feared that she would misunderstand him and get in his way.
She was quietly let out of his sight by Mike.
He stood up and supported himself with his hand after she completely vanished.
"She was kind, despite her cold appearance!" Sighing, Mike exclaimed.
She did not take advantage of him, even though there was no law and order. Despite her cold demeanor and worry, she could still be regarded as kind.
Furthermore, she was at least ten times superior to the criminals.
Mike looked at the window for the system.
[Acquired Skill: Sharp Weapon (Dagger) (Basic)]
It was that skill that turned him from a total newbie into a highly skilled dagger user, one able to kill his opponent with one hit.
Curious about the skills window, Mike decided to check the battle log as well.
[Stabbing: Inflicts 15 Damage to opponent...]
[Wielding: Inflicts 3 Damage to opponent...]
[Wielding: Inflicts 2 Damage to opponent. Causes bleeding...]
……
[3 Effective Hits. Acquired Skill: Sharp Weapon (Dagger) (Basic)]
[Stabbing: Lethal Attack. Inflicts 80 Damage to opponent (40 Sharp Weapon (Dagger) (Basic) x2), Opponent dies...]
(Remark: Weak Point = True Damage X2)
“Three effective hits?” Mike mumbled to himself, before flipping to the skills window.
It used to be empty before, but now a skill had been entered in the first column, reading [Sharp Weapon (Dagger)(Basic)].
Mike focused on the skill description, which only he alone could see.
[Name: Sharp Weapon (Dagger) (Basic)]
[Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]
[Skill Type: Offensive ]
[Effect: Dagger Mastery, Increase Damage inflicted by 10%]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Learning Requirement: Strength F-, Agility F, Constitution F]
[Remark: This is only the beginning, don’t push yourself!]
“Increase Damage inflicted by 10%.”
Mike subconsciously compared the description to the battle log from the previous fight as he examined the description.
He then swiftly moved to the man's body and pulled out the fully submerged dagger from his chest.
He inserted the dagger once more as that familiar sensation returned to him as he held it in his hand.
He seemed to have practiced that move a thousand, if not ten thousand times.
The room was filled with the sound of sharp metal tearing through thin air.
Mike precisely stabbed the fictitious adversary in the chest without a tremble in his palm.
The fight that had resulted in the man's death was identical to the stabbing experience as a whole.
He was quick, precise, and unrelenting.
"Is this merely ten percent?And I was able to accomplish this by hitting him three times?
Mike spoke mumblingly.
This seemed impossible to him.
It was difficult to comprehend how a ten percent power increase could make such a significant difference.
Mike gained a combination of Strength, Agility, and Experience as a result of the 10% increase in power, which would not have been possible without a significant amount of practice.
Even though he had only hit three times, he was already beating people who had trained for years.
Mike did not believe that he was gifted or that he could be called a genius.
However, a truly gifted genius would not have been able to pull this off given the circumstances.
Mike gave it some consideration.
He then had an idea in his head.
"The Tip!"
He thought back to the clue that was given to him when he first started playing the game.
He looked for it quickly in the system record log.
[Main Mission: Survive 7 days, 0/7]
[Secondary Mission (Optional): Aid civilians until the war ends. Each civilian helped can provide you with a higher rating.]
(Hint: The Beginner’s Dungeon is a golden opportunity for every player.)
The game hint could be seen clearly below the Main Mission and Secondary Mission.
The words "golden opportunity" caused him to pause.He exhaled after taking a long breath in.
Even though the game is 100% realistic, there are still some rules.The system won't let a novice start in a very dangerous situation; rather, it will get harder and harder.“All dangers and obstacles can be overcome as long as the opportunity presented is fully utilized,” Mike thought to himself.
However, after giving it some thought, he grinned at his conclusion.
If he hadn't purchased a weapon and carried out a thorough search of the body he'd found, he wondered what would have become of him.
He was scared by the possibilities.
“So this is the underground game that only 10% of beta players survived... I guess a few of them must have died so early on because they were careless and could not adjust to the situation.”
While making a final inspection of the body in front of him, Mike let the thoughts creep into his head.
His expression was utterly serious.
Even after he killed the pursuer, there was no mention of Experience Points (XP) or even of an experience gauge in the battle log.However, he had developed a skill that was designated as "Basic."
This was a dungeon-based level, according to his previous online game experience, and he would not get any XP while he was still going through it; he would only get it after he had successfully "cleared" it.He would receive a rating for his performance at that point.
His growth and loot would determine that rating.
But how could he get a better score?
Everything else, with the exception of the requirements for the main quest's mission, would be determined by how well he did in the game.
He knew that in most games, players had to kill monsters, get money and equipment, and so on.
Even though he didn't know much about the Secondary Mission at the moment, he was very familiar with typical gaming activities like killing monsters, getting equipment, treasure, and so on.
After all, he had just searched a body, and now he was looking at another one—the one he had killed himself—before him.
His nose was still stinging from the stimulating scent of blood.
Despite the fact that he had just killed someone, Mike was still disgusted by the stench, but he had become somewhat accustomed to it.
His heart felt less fear and panic because he was no longer throwing up.
The dead man's knife was the first thing Mike picked up.
[Name: Butcher Knife]
[Type: Sharp Weapon]
[Rarity: Damaged]
[Attack: Weak]
[Attributes: None]
[Effect: None]
[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]
[Remark : A normal household butcher knife used for slicing vegetables... or someone else's hand.]
The moment Mike picked up the knife, the information appeared in front of his eyes.
After inspecting it, he putted the knife away in his backpack and continued his search.
Soon enough, he made another discovery.
- Writer
