Then Two months passed. Two months of brutal, relentless, bone-grinding training. Two months of fighting with nothing but his fists—because he refused to rely on weapons or shortcuts until his body reached everything this level allowed.
Rabbits stopped being a challenge after the first week.
Then came wolves.
Fast, coordinated, vicious.
Birds—crazy, oversized, like feathered demons that dove out of the sky. Snakes, with an dangerous green skin. And boars the size of small cows that charged with enough force to break a boulder.
Sam fought them all.
He killed many.
And he nearly died more than once. But every fight made him faster. Harder. Sharper.
By the end of the second month, all his basic stats had been pushed to their maximum limit. He waited, grinding out the last needed experience without pushing beyond the level.
And now…
────────────────────────────────
STATUS – SAMUEL
────────────────────────────────
Race: Human – Slave (ownerless)
Age: 7
Condition: Exhausted from training
LEVEL: 5/5
EXP: 44/50
HP: 132 / 132
Mana: 0 / 0
Strength: 25
Agility: 25
Endurance: 25
Dexterity: 25
Magic: 0
Willpower: 30
──────── Skills ────────
• Pain Tolerance (E) [Level 9/20]
• Herb Gathering (F) [Level 5/10]
• Healing Water (E) [Level 1/20]
• Martial Artist (D) [Level 14/30]
• Stone Body (E) [Level 11/20]
————————————————————
He had done it.
All four physical stats—capped at 25.
His willpower rising naturally through pain and stubborn persistence.
And only 6 EXP left until he reached the next breakthrough.
Sam closed the window, exhaling slowly.
"Level six…I think" he whispered.
He looked down on his wolf pelt shorts - the potato sack didnt survived this harsh life style - and walked back to his small cave where he lived the past months.
There he cooked himself some snake meat that he happily ate. While nibbling on the rips he looked through the dark earth hole, in the one corner laid dried pelts on top of each other. Besides this were horns or fangs of the wolves, if he was bored at the evening he sometimes did some necklaces.
„Tomorrow I'm going to leave this hole!" Sam mumbled with full mouth, „on the way I'm going to kill a beast or so and finally level up to the next stage!"
…
Sam woke early the next morning, muscles humming with tension. Today was the day he left this hole, this forest.
He tightened the wolf-pelt shorts and slung his small bundle over his shoulder.
The forest felt different. Quieter. But the smell of moos and earth was the same.
Sam didn't slow.
After half an hour of walking, a rustle came from the underbrush. Low growling. Heavy breath.
A creature stepped out — a Mossback Badger, barely the size of a boar. A weak beast, but aggressive, with a greenish hide and claws long from digging.
Sam grinned. "Perfect."
The badger charged. Sam moved first.
He dashed low, his feet silent on the leaves, letting the beast's swipe barely graze his hair. His fist shot out and struck between its eyes — a solid, meaty thud. The badger stumbled, shaking its head.
It lunged again.
This time Sam jumped onto its back, wrapped his arm around its thick neck, and squeezed. The creature thrashed, crashing into a tree, rolling, clawing at the ground. Sam's ribs screamed at the impact, but he held on, teeth gritted.
"Just— stay— down!"
The beast buckled, legs twitching, breath rattling.
Finally, it collapsed with a dull exhale.
Sam stood, panting, hands shaking from the exertion. A new cut stung across his forearm, but his grin was wide and feral.
[Killed 1× Mossback Badger: 6 EXP]
[Level Up! 5 → 5]
[Requirements reached!]
[Awakening…]
Sam blinked.
The world lurched.
A violent pressure slammed into his chest, knocking him to his knees. His lungs seized. His vision blurred white. It felt as if something inside him had been ripped open.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The ground beneath him vibrated. Roots around him twisted back as if recoiling. The air thickened, vibrating with heat and cold at once.
Sam gasped and reached for the earth, but his fingers only sank into trembling soil.
[Level cap reached.]
[Awakening initiated.]
His veins burned — literally burned — glowing faintly beneath his skin like thin threads of molten metal. His breath came out as steam. Every bone felt too small for the force pushing through him.
He screamed. But there was no voice in the scream.It was something else. Something breaking and something being born.
Mana — raw, violent, untamed — flooded him like water into a cracked cup.
The forest bent back under him, leaves fluttering as if caught in a storm.
Then a final notification flashed across his mind, booming like a hammer against iron.
[Level 5/5 → Level 1/100]
[Strong Constitution detected.]
[Souls are merging]
[Magic awakening strengthened.]
[Requirements reached: Pain tolerance (E) skill levels up! 9 → 11/20]
[Requirments reached for the skill; {Body strengthening (F) [Level 1/10]} ]
[Requirements reached: Stone Body (E) skill levels up! 11 → 20/20]
[Stone Body (E) 20/20 → Body of steal (D) 1/30]
Sam collapsed forward, gasping, sweat and steam rising from his small frame.
He lay still for a long moment, chest heaving, the forest eerily silent around him.
Then he opened his eyes.
They glowed faintly — not with light, but with presence.
"…I… I did it," he whispered, voice trembling. Power surged through his fingers and his heart beat faster. He know what this meant now.
What awaited him now, was the revenge.
Just the thought of it, let his heart beat in anticipation and a crude smile formed on this young face.