Chapter 3 Reality Check

[Level 1 Ghost Millipede killed. You have leveled up.]

[New Skill acquired: Beginner Weapon Mastery]

The transparent screen hovered in front of Leon's eyes, freezing him in place. He was surprised. He did not expect that this world would have a system like in the books he had read in his past life.

"If there is a system that alerts me whenever I kill something and level up, then that means I should surely have a status page." He said to himself.

"Status." He tentatively called out and another screen popped out while the kill confirmation screen disappeared from view.

[Status]

Name: Leon Cromwell

Race: Obsidian Skeleton Soldier

Level: 2

Health Points: 210

Mana: 105

<Strength: 10>

<Agility: 10>

<Durability: 10>

<Intelligence: 10>

<Dexterity: 10>

Skills:

<Beginner Weapon Mastery>

Titles: None.

---

Upon inspecting his status closely, Leon was easily able to tell that there was nothing special to be seen about him. Maybe the only slightly strange thing was that he was an Obsidian Skeleton Soldier, instead of a normal one, but that did not give him any advantages that he could see. His stats were as basic as basic could be, and he did not have any flashy skills or titles that were bestowed onto him by some goddess or god.

"Why the heck was I brought to this place?" Leon wondered again. "Well, I guess I can go looking around for these Ghost Millipedes to get some levels." He concluded and continued making his way through the desolate town.

Scree?!

Leon made sure to make some sounds close to the rubble, intending to draw out whatever millipedes might be hiding underneath it. Not even a minute into his plan, he already managed to draw out another angry millipede from underneath the rubble close to where he ran into his first one.

He dealt with it the same way he did with the first, and plunged his sword through its head.

[You have leveled up.]

[Beginner Weapon Master has gained a level.]

Leon continued killing the millipedes one by one and his level also steadily increased.

"Hmm, I've killed two of them, but didn't gain a level." At one point, he noticed that his level didn't rise after killing two of them. "Status."

[Status]

Name: Leon Cromwell

Race: Obsidian Skeleton Soldier

Level: 13

Health Points: 330

Mana: 165

<Strength: 15>

<Agility: 10>

<Durability: 20>

<Intelligence: 15>

<Dexterity: 10>

Skills:

p <Beginner Weapon Mastery level 2>

Titles: None.

---

"Wow, I gained quite a few levels from that stint."

He had gone from level two to level thirteen quite quickly from killing the Ghost millipedes, and his stats had jumped quite a bit from what they originally were. He had gained over a hundred health points, and his mana had gone up to a hundred and sixty five. As for his stats, his Strength and Intelligence had gone up by five points, while his Durability had gone up by ten points.

"Neat." He wanted to whistle, but realized that he couldn't. "Ah, damn. How can I even talk but I can't whistle? Does logic not apply in this words?" He cursed bitterly.

After spending a few minutes contemplating what he had gained, Leon took a look around him. He had barely moved from the cathedral, and had been able to slay over ten millipedes, getting himself to level thirteen, yet he had not moved away from where he had awakened. So, there was sure to be a lot more creatures to kill, and his level was sure to rise some more.

Screeee!

A sharp and shrill screech alerted Leon, drawing him away from his thoughts. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large Ghost Millipede on top of the rubble of one of the collapsed buildings close to where he was. This millipede was easily twice as large as the ones that Leon had already killed, and its shiny, dark, purple carapace glinted in the daylight.

'Shit!'

Before Leon could even properly form a reaction, the creature burst into action, its abundantly numerous feet scrambling and moving together as it ran over the rubble with the intention of munching on Leon's bones.

'I need to run!' He came to a conclusion that he stood no chance against the centipede as he was, and would most likely die if he stayed and tried to fight it.

Warily picking up himself from the rubble, Leon turned around and began making his escape under the cover of the dust cloud that was raised when he slammed into the rubble.

Screee!

The millipede dove into the dust cloud and chased after Leon without stopping.

'Ah, crap! It can still follow me!' Leon cursed as the millipede twisted along his track in the dust cloud. When he ran out of the other end of the dust cloud, the millipede was directly behind him, and was gaining with every passing second.

Luckily for him, he had already made it to the cathedral. He jumped into the cathedral hall through the hall and scrambled for purchase, immediately regaining his stance and running to the other end of the hall.

Turning around, Leon noticed that the millipede had stopped outside the hole, and crawled around angrily. It acted almost as if it was too scared to enter the hole even though it would easily be able to crawl through it.

Collapsing on the floor, a shudder ran through Leon's entire body. If he was still a normal person with skin and flesh, he was sure that he would be soaked in sweat right now. Not to mention that, if he was still normal, then he was sure that he would not have been able to get back to his feet back when he had slammed into the pile of rubble.

Leon remained where he was for many hours, thinking of how close he came to his second death again today. While he had died before and easily accepted his death, it was because he never had anything too precious attaching him to his life on earth. Perhaps the most precious things he had on earth were his friendships with Megan and James, but aside from that, he had nothing else. He was an orphan, and he lived in a cheap apartment on the cheaper end of town.

"I... I don't want to die..."