------------------
|Name: Gerhard
|Class: The Gamer
|Level: LV1
------------------
|HP: 600/600
|MP: 100/100
------------------
STR: 30
VIT: 20
DEX: 17
INT: 10
WIS: 15
LUK: 2
------------------
|Points: 0
|Money: 0
------------------
Gerhard looked at his status window in thought. His total health had gone up, alright, thanks to his VIT stat, but his Mana was still pathetic. It wasn't that he was planning on becoming a mage, but Mana was just so important. And in truth, he didn't really have a choice in the matter right now; he needed power.
|Sword Mastery (Passive) Lv. 7
| A skill that allows the user to freely handle swords. Sword Mastery is obtained through continuous sword training.
Effect:
| +22% increase in attack damage with swords
-
|Mana Shield (Active) Lv. 15
| EXP: 2.93%
| MP: 30 initial cost
| One of the most basic defence skills using Mana. Handling the energy called Mana has existed for a long time, and Mana Shield is one among many.
Effects:
|Blocks a portion of the impact
| 22 MP per minute upkeep
-
These were the two skills he had trained the most in, apart from his physical stats. It wasn't really much, especially with his MP still at 100. His MP regeneration was at 2.5 per minute, which was pathetic still. Thankfully, his ability to remain cool and think about his situation logically has helped him gain some stat points in WIS. But it won't always go up on its own. He had to spend some points sooner or later. And honestly, Gerhard preferred spending points on INT and WIS, since he had a few ideas for training his physical stats without spending points.
Gerhard grabbed his sword, donned the half-assembled Flak Armour and then raised his hand.
'Instant Dungeon Escape'
The Instant Dungeon broke, and he appeared in the real world again. The location was the same where he stood in the dungeon just now, but it was simply the real world. He didn't wait for a Mutant to attack and raised his hand again.
'Instant Dungeon Create'
...
The air inside the Zombie Dungeon felt different from the air before. Not physically different, the rusted metal halls and silent corridors looked identical to the abandoned sector of the Underhive outside, but there was a strange tension in the atmosphere now, as if something had awakened. This was funny, since it felt the same as the very instance Gerhard was attacked by that Mutant.
He understood what that meant. His danger sense was active. Gerhard stood in the centre of the chamber, where he had been spending his time training. His crude Rust Sword was firmly in his hand, and his eyes were moving around.
He inhaled slowly.
"Alright… this is it."
For days, he had done nothing but grind.
Training.
Meditation.
Training again and sleeping.
His muscles had hardened, his movements had become smoother, and his skills had climbed slowly. His Mana Shield had reached level fifteen, his Mana Meditation had improved quite a bit, and his weapon skills were no longer as pathetic as they had been initially.
But none of that meant anything until he tested it. Until he fought with his own two hands and killed these... undead. Gerhard opened the blue window in front of him. He was ready... or as ready as he would ever be.
Everything around him looked abandoned for decades. And the smell...rot. It almost smelled better than the Underhive. What a surprise.
"Yeah… that tracks."
A blue notification appeared.
[Zombie Dungeon has been created.]
Gerhard tightened his grip on the sword.
"Good… time to make a monster."
A distant groan echoed through the ruined halls and corridors. Then another. Something moved behind a large pile of rubble and waste. Gerhard's Danger Sense prickled faintly, nowhere near what it was when the Mutant attacked, but it was still active.
A grey hand slowly appeared over the waste pile. Then the creature rose. A corpse, a Zombie.
Rotting flesh hung loosely from its bones. One eye hung outside the socket, the skin was greyish-brown, and its jaw hung crooked, as if broken long ago.
Gerhard used [Observe] on the Zombie.
[Zombie Lv. 8
| HP: 800/800
| MP: 50
| A walking corpse. No matter how it died, it hates the living and attacks them relentlessly. Slow, but stronger than it was in life.
Gerhard's eyes narrowed.
"800 HP… It's weaker than the Mutant that almost killed me. Alright, let's do this."
He had planned for this. Mana conservation.
His total MP was only 100. If he wasted it, he would be defenceless. The Mana Shield alone cost 30 MP to activate and drained additional 22 Mana to maintain per minute. So he couldn't just spam it or keep it active all the time.
He needed a balance, in a sense. Which was why he had grinded his physical stats these past two days.
Magic to weaken, the sword to finish them off. And the Mana Shield only if he was overwhelmed. But if that happened, it might already be too late.
The zombie staggered forward with an animalistic growl, like they were used to in the media. Gerhard raised his hand and used the skill.
[Mana Arrow]
A glowing arrow formed instantly above his palm. This cost him 5 MP. But the projectile shot forward through the air.
*THUNK*
The arrow pierced directly into the zombie's chest, blasting a hole through decayed flesh.
HP: 800 → 690
The zombie staggered, but didn't stop. Gerhard frowned. This was stupid. He just now realised that he was an idiot. He should have grinded Mana Arrow as well, but why didn't he do that? No, that wasn't correct. He should have grinded another type of Mana Arrow.
"Tougher than I thought."
The creature lunged forward, trying to get a hold of Gerhard, but he stepped back and raised his hand again.
[Energy Bolt]
His Mana decreased by another 10 MP. A concentrated blast of Mana struck the zombie square in the face.
*BOOM*
The head snapped backwards violently, and it fell to the ground.
HP: 690 → 520
Gerhard dashed forward, swinging his sword through the air. His sword flashed downward and carved through the Zombie's head in one swing.
HP: 520 -> 0
Gerhard expected black blood to splatter across the cracked pavement. But that didn't happen. The dead zombie dissolved into black smoke and was gone.
[Zombie Lv8 defeated]
[You have obtained 350 EXP.]
[LEVEL UP]
He didn't have time to celebrate, though. Another creature swung wildly, causing Gerhard's Danger Sense to flare. He activated the shield instantly.
[Mana Shield!]
MP -30
A blue, see-through barrier formed around him just as the zombie's teeth slammed into it. The shield shimmered but held, defending Gerhard from the damage and possible entanglement that could have come with this. Getting caught was the worst thing that could have happened to him.
But still, his fighting experience was nil, and it was showing. He had already wasted 45 MP and had one kill to show for. That was it.
Gerhard stepped inside the creature's reach and swung his sword horizontally. His sword buried itself deep into the zombie's skull, causing the undead to freeze.
Then it turned to dust.
[Zombie Lv8 defeated]
[You have obtained 350 EXP.]
[LEVEL UP]
Gerhard stepped back and exhaled slowly. A small object lay on the ground, where the Zombie had just died. Gerhard picked it up, and a blue window appeared.
[Rotting Bone – Crafting Material]
Gerhard grinned. There it was, the power to turn nothing into something. An illusion barrier had just produced something. Even though the zombies weren't real, the Gamer ability converted their existence into physical rewards.
That meant materials, resources, and progress. He had just levelled up twice from that, gaining 10 status points. Gerhard laughed.
"That was easier than fighting mutants."
Another set of notifications appeared.
[Mana Arrow has levelled up]
Lv1 → Lv2
[Sword Mastery has levelled up]
Lv7 → Lv8
Gerhard checked his MP. Right now, he stood at 100/100, which was not great but better than before levelling up. Every time he gained a level, his health and mana regenerated instantly.
Then he heard it, more groaning and turned around. The sounds he had just made were attracting more zombies. Three more zombies were emerging from a nearby alley, and another set was arriving from another alley.
Gerhard grinned savagely.
"Come here, you walking EXP and make me stronger."
He raised his hand again.
[Mana Arrow]
The glowing projectile formed instantly and shot through the air. The arrow pierced through the eye socket of the first zombie and did far more damage than the previous one.
HP: 800 → 160
The other creatures charged. Gerhard stepped forward instead of retreating. This time, he didn't activate Mana Shield, needing to conserve Mana, but went on the offensive.
The first zombie lunged, forcing Gerhard to sidestep. His sword flashed through the air and into the zombie's body.
[You have obtained 350 EXP.]
He spun around, slashing his sword at the next zombie.
HP: 800 -> 340
He created another Mana arrow in his left hand and fired it at the third zombie, while slashing at the one he was closest to. The zombie collapsed into dust.
[You have obtained 350 EXP.]
[LEVEL UP]
The last zombie grabbed his shoulder, but Gerhard reacted instantly.
[Energy Bolt]
*BOOM*
The creature's chest exploded, and Gerhard followed that up with a stab with his sword, killing it.
HP: 190 → 0
[Sword Mastery has levelled up]
The third group of zombies reached him. Gerhard raised his hand again and fired another Mana Arrow at them. It hit the closest zombie in the chest and caused him to stagger.
HP: 800 → 600
He dashed forward and finished it with a clean strike, through the throat.
[Zombie defeated]
Another notification appeared.
[LEVEL UP]
With this, he gained another 5 SP, which would prove very useful later. He didn't slow down, though, and had already created another Mana Arrow, firing it at the approaching group of zombies. He slashed his sword through the horde and then retreated, creating some distance again.
He created another Mana Arrow and fired it at them.
[Mana Arrow has levelled up]
Lv. 2 -> Lv. 3
This was perfect. With every third level, an additional Mana Arrow was created whenever Gerhard used the skill. So now, for the same price of 5 MP, two arrows appeared. And naturally, he used it right away.
The two Mana arrows hit one zombie and caused it to dissolve. Gerhard slashed his sword into the last one and watched as it turned to dust.
[You have obtained 350 EXP.]
Gerhard leaned on his sword slightly, breathing steadily. This was exciting and quite stressful. Thanks to his skill [Gamer's Mind], he could remain calm and think about each situation logically. This wouldn't have been possible otherwise.
He opened his status window.
------------------
|Name: Gerhard
|Class: The Gamer
|Level: LV4
------------------
|HP: 600/600
|MP: 100/100
------------------
STR: 30
VIT: 20
DEX: 17
INT: 10
WIS: 15
LUK: 2
------------------
|Points: 15
|Money: 0
------------------
His eyes shone with happiness. The first sign of actual progress was here in the form of 15 status points. He thought about it for a moment, then added all 15 to INT.
He knew this might not seem smart, but he could still gain WIS through making smart decisions, and he had a lot of those left. A big mana pool could be achieved through INT, since INT multiplied by 10 was his total MP. And right now, that was important, as long as his skills still required quite a lot of MP.
But for every 10 status points in WIS, Gerhard gained an additional 1% of Mana regeneration per minute. And that would be very valuable too.
He looked down the ruined street. Dozens of silhouettes moved through the fog and approached his position.
More zombies. Many more. Gerhard smiled slowly.
"Perfect."
He raised his sword and charged into the horde of undead.
"Let's farm."