"Damn it, I just can't get used to the taste of this meat," Han Suo muttered quietly as he spat out the mouthful he was chewing.
A short, pale-skinned, skinny young man with messy hair was sitting in front of the screen, forcing himself to eat the monstrous piece of meat in his hand while trying to read the text displayed before him.
[PROFILE]
Name: Han Suo
Level: 1
XP: 1998/2000
Skills: Sword Mastery Lv.8
Current Quest: Kill a Void Wolf (Lv.1) and level up.
Reward: Right to enter the Tower.
Han Suo let out a deep sigh. He had already killed 999 of them, and each one only gave him 2 XP. For others, that would have been more than enough to level up, but for some reason his system demanded a thousand times more XP than everyone else's.
He was so close to escaping this ruined world. Tomorrow, his 1.5 years of torment would finally come to an end.
Every single day he had fought desperately, pushing his Sword Mastery to a fairly high level. Yet because his stats were so terrible, even killing a single Level 1 Void Wolf took him hours. The meat of these creatures provided almost no proper nutrition, so he could only eat enough to barely stay alive. The wounds that kept accumulating also made him slower and weaker than he used to be.
His life was pure hell, but the thought that he was only one level away from advancing kept him going.
After finishing his meal, he climbed to a high spot, lay down, and stared at the stars, lost in thought. One of the only good things about this place was that there was no light pollution anymore — the night sky was filled with brilliant stars. Not long after, he fell asleep.
He woke up again to sunlight hitting his face. A big grin spread across his lips. Today was his last day here. He had been fighting in this place for 462 days.
He yawned and looked around. Since the sun had risen, the wolves were once again scattering and retreating into their dens. This was the best moment for him.
He scanned his surroundings and searched for a lone wolf. The moment he spotted his target, he hurled the dagger hanging from his belt at it, drawing its attention. The other wolves saw that one of their own was injured, but since no one else was visible, they ignored it and continued fleeing.
The wounded Void Wolf bared its teeth and looked around. Not seeing anyone, it prepared to run. But the moment it noticed the other wolves had left, Han Suo immediately leaped onto it. He swung his sword and managed to open a deep gash on the wolf's right foreleg.
The wolf snarled and lunged at him. Suo dodged by leaning to the side and shoved it away with his right shoulder, but a sharp pain shot through his legs and he could barely push it back. Still, he didn't stop. Gripping the sword's hilt with one hand and pushing the dull end with the palm of his other hand, he tried to drive the blade deeper. After pressing the sword firmly into the wolf's flesh, he pulled the hilt back and opened a second, even deeper wound.
Looking at the wolf, he smiled and asked, "Is this really the best you can do?"
The wolf let out a high-pitched whine, calling for help, but no one came. For some reason, Void Wolves grew weak in sunlight and feared it.
Suo furrowed his brows. "I'm not exactly happy to be with you either. Don't make this harder than it needs to be," he said, raising his right leg to kick the wolf.
Before he could complete the motion, the wolf's left paw slashed across his chest, tearing from his right pectoral all the way down to the lower left side of his ribcage. Before the claws could sink any deeper, Suo quickly took a step back. Seizing the opening, the wolf tried to flee toward a shaded area.
Normally Suo fought more carefully, but today he had decided to throw everything he had into the battle. He threw the second dagger from his belt at the wolf's hind leg and successfully embedded it. The wolf limped, but still came at him with a furious growl, though much slower than before.
Suo had never felt happier. He chased after the wolf and slowly closed the distance between them. Both were bleeding, but the wolf was in far worse condition.
When the gap finally narrowed to less than five meters, Suo gripped his sword by the blade and hurled it like a spear. The sword pierced straight through the wolf's other hind leg, sinking all the way to the hilt. The wolf crashed to the ground, whimpering and glaring at him with rage.
"What can you do about it? I need this," Suo said, spreading his hands. Then he pulled out the sword and ended the wolf's suffering.
He heard the system's voice — the same one he had heard 999 times before.
"You have killed a Void Wolf. You have gained 2 XP."
Immediately afterward, another screen appeared.
XP: 2000/2000
Suo stared at the screen with a grin so wide his cheeks nearly touched his eyes. He sheathed his sword and used it like a walking stick for support. Then a new screen appeared.
Level up!
1 → 2
Quest completed. Reward being granted.
Suo looked around expectantly. Then he noticed faint lights, the same color as the system messages, slowly emerging from his body. The light particles spread everywhere, enveloping him completely. The next moment, he found himself in a dark space.
The system's bright blue screen once again broke the darkness.
[Hello, human.]
[It appears an error has occurred in your system.]
[You are very lucky, because I, the great #####, will give you three gifts! HAHAHAHA!]
Suo continued staring at the screens in silence.
[You don't seem to realize how lucky you are. Your jaw should have dropped to the floor by now.]
[Anyway, you'll understand later. To compensate for this, I'll give you +2 Strength and +5 Luck stats! HAHAHAHA!]
[Oh, I'm so generous. Anyone else wouldn't do this for you, but you don't even realize what's happening. Whatever, off you go.]
Before Suo could even react, he was once again surrounded by blue light. This time, genuine happiness filled him — he was standing in a vast, open green field, and in the distance he could see a castle.
His loneliness had finally ended.
He opened his status window and checked the new abilities he had received.
[ Pain Conversion Lv.1 ]
Skill Description: You can convert pain into energy or stats (excluding existing stats). Cannot be upgraded.
While thinking about the skill, Suo noticed that his wounds were healing. For the first time in a very long time, his body felt this good. All his wounds and scars had disappeared.
Without wasting any time, he looked at the second skill.
[ Enhanced Senses ]
Skill Description: You can sense hostile attacks directed at you within a 2-meter radius.
He also realized that his [Sword Mastery] skill had risen to Level 9. For the first time in a long while, he felt like his life was finally getting better.
With light steps, he headed toward the castle — until he saw new lvls xp requirements.