The next day, I spent 60 silver coins and bought 1 [Coal Ore]. I then used the Angelica’s recently recharged special option to imbue it with holy power and began to smelt the [Holy-steel Ingot].

Once I finished creating the ingot after a few hours, I began focusing on making myself a Holy-Steel Arm-Blade Katar for my other hand. I spent most of the day on it and the results were in line with expectations.

Holy-steel Condensing Arm-Blade Katar

An average quality arm-blade katar made out of holy-steel

+10 STR +10 DEX +10 AGI +10 VIT +5 INT +5 WIS +250 ATK

[Condensed Holy Blade] Surround the blade with holy power and condense it to do holy damage to those cut by it ( 200 Magic Power per minute )

Bonus: +1 STR +1 AGI +1 DEX

Holy Power: 150/200

Restrictions:

Minimum Level:

Level 20 - Bonus: +1 STR +1 AGI +1 DEX

Level 25 - Bonus: +1 STR +2 AGI +1 DEX

Owner Restriction: Creator (Shiro)

Benefit: +1 AGI

[Made by Shiro]

Durability: 5000/5000

Quality 5.8376/10.0000

Since Holy is not very good at doing damage in general, I had to condense the holy power at a large cost to make it more viable. Since my combat style involves aiming for weak points while maximizing damage, it should be a good fit.

The next thing I decided to make was an Iron Belt. I want to get as close to 3X my stats as possible to insure my safety to the max. While making one out of Holy-steel would be ideal, I am kind of low on money and time to make that possible. Though to insure that I don’t just waste this belt, I plan to make it adjustable so that I can sell it afterwards. This also means I can’t get the extra stat from binding it to myself, but I am fine with that.

Adjustable Iron Belt of Agile Strength

An above average belt made out of iron that can be adjusted to fit most waists

+7 STR +7 AGI +70 DEF

Restrictions:

Minimum Level:

Level 10 – Benefit: +1 STR | Penalty: 90% reduction in stats

Level 20 – Benefit: +1 STR +1 AGI | Penalty: 90% reduction in stats

[Made by Shiro]

Durability: 278/278

Quality 6.9999/10.00

I’ll probably leave it at that, since there are not too many pieces I can make that would fit all sizes. Not to mention, adding too much gear that is not Holy-steel is going to slow me down.

My only regret is not having any defensive item for my tail… But for one reason or another, I don’t feel very comfortable with weighing it down… So I will just have to rely on the magic defenses of my armor. Overall, at end of the day even bandits are not cruel enough to attack my beautiful tail right? Right? * sigh *

I activate status to review my stats.

Status

Name

Shiro

Race

Ɓęåśŧķĩŋ - Ċāť

Class

Level

Gender

Female

Status

[Ɲǫŕṃḁḽ]

Beastkin - Cat

13

Age

12 years

Free Points

0

Hunger

73/100

Creationist

7

HP

490 / 490 (1.52/m)

STR

71 +123

INT

42 +64

MP

31 / 45 (0.106/m)

AGI

86 +147

WIS

39 +57

Stamina

204 / 225 (8.65/m)

VIT

73 +79

MNT

54

Mental

180 / 180 (0.54/m)

DEX

56 +85

LUK

100

SPD

32

PER

322

POW

32

END

32

IPR

32

Not bad, if I do say so myself!

I spent the rest of the time making 4 [Iron Daggers] for throwing. Which I plan to try selling after this exam.

Once I was finished, I retired a bit early for the long day ahead.

…

The next day when I woke up, I ate some [Dire Wolf Meat Skewers] for breakfast and headed towards the Adventurers Guild. I arrived there at about 6 o’clock and was taken to a different room for briefing.

Though when I actually came to the room, no one was there… So I just went and sat in the back corner waiting for someone to come.

Only after about 10 minutes did people start walking through the door. The first being a party of 4 people. A male human level 29 [Swordsman][Trainer], female elf level 26 [Archer][Carpenter], male dwarf level 25 [Executioner][Butcher], and female level 24 [Street Rat].

The party took a look around the room, and without saying anything took seats in the front.

About 20 minutes later, the next party came which consisted of 5 people. A human female level 35 [Shield Warrior][Body Builder], human male level 32[Barbarian][Body Builder], human male level 27 [Swashbuckler][Leatherworker], human female level 27 [Hunter][Leatherworker], and human male level 25 [Marksman][Runner].

When they entered in, they also took a look around the room like the previous party, though unlike the previous one this one was more talkative.

“The instructor is still not here?” questioned the Shield Warrior.

“Guess we will have to wait” responded the Barbarian.

“Tch” spat the Marksman.

They then also went and took seats in the room. From then on they began to chat between themselves about things here and there.

We waited another good 20 minutes and still nobody sho… ha? Was that man always there?

Sitting by the side at a desk was a man in his older 30s. Looking at [Identify] shows class of [Shadow Rogue][Thief]. So… how long exactly was he here…

At first I thought about approaching him and asking if we are ready to go, but giving it some more thought I instead just stared at him. My goal here is after all [Stealth]. Catching him with the skill on unlike [Blend Stealth] is unlikely… So I need to pay careful attention on when he actually uses the skill. Hence I keep quiet and just glare at him from behind.

When the clock hits 7, the man abruptly got up from his seat.

“I see that everyone is here, took you all long enough. Now then, I am Daron Valse, and I will be your proctor for the Rank D exam. Your assignments are simple, follow my orders. If you disobey, you will fail, no questions asked. Am I clear?” queried Daron as he surveyed around the room.

At first everyone was taken by surprise due to his sudden actions. But shortly after, they came to and nodded their heads.

“Good! Now then, follow me. We will travel part way to our destination by carriage. During that time I will brief you all on the details” said Daron as he walked out the door of the briefing room.

We all quickly followed right behind him as we walked out of the Adventurers Guild, and eventually outside of town by the southern wall. Standing there was a large carriage pulled by 4 horses.

After conversing with the driver, Daren got in the carriage and prompted us to follow, which we did. Once everyone was seated, the carriage began to move. From the looks of things, the horses in this world are faster than the ones in my world, probably due to the use of the [Sprint] skill? Though I am not exactly a specialist on horses to be 100% sure.

As the carriage moved, Daren briefed us on the general details of the mission.

“Our target is the newly formed group of bandits that are hiding out in a cave to the south west. Their leader is a previous Rank C adventurer who has committed a crime and is wanted by the country. He ended up escaping and forming a bandit group that goes around hitting small villages. Normally the bandit group would change their location every few months, but this time around they holed themselves up in a cave formation in the Timu Plateau.

We are going to use this opportunity to attack the bandits and prevent them from escaping. More specifically, I will take care of the leader and the executives, and your job is to take out the flunkies and prevent them from running away.

I will divide you into pairs of 2 and give you each assignments.” Daren said, then pulled out a map of the cave system which seems to divide into 3 paths.

The plan is that first he will break through the entrance using his rogue skills and quickly take out the guards. From then on, we will enter the cave and split up to fulfill our assignments.

He pointed towards Shield Warrior, Archer, Barbarian and Executioner, then told them that they will go through the first path. The Barbarian and Executioner will break through the main room and begin the assault. The Shield Warrior will block the exit, while the Archer will provide cover and pick off anyone who tries to run.

Afterwards he told the Swordsman and Swashbuckler will head down the second path with him to the executive room. They will take care of the guards and prevent any executive from escaping in the small chance that happens.

He then turned to me and the Marksman.

“You hairball with the fancy armor, and you with the crossbow, your job will be to go down the last path which leads to the treasure room. It should be guarded by 2 guards. Your assignment is to eliminate the guards and secure the path. It is possible there is an escape path in the treasure room, so make sure you keep your eyes open both ways” Daren warned.

Seeing that he noticed my armor hidden behind my mantle, and the rude insult, I glared at him. But he was already looking away from me and focusing on the next assignments.

Lastly the Thief and the Hunter will guard the entrance of the cave and pick off anyone who happens to escape or any returning patrols.

In total, he said there was the boss, 2 executives and 15 flunkies. On top of securing our assignments, we are also required to personally kill at least 1 person to pass.

After explaining the plan and some other details, he then let us do whatever we wanted as we headed towards our destination.

At this point I was considering offering to sell some discount gear, but unfortunately everyone was talking to their party members making it hard to strike a conversation. In the end I decided to try again after we finish the assignment. You never know if I will need some of the gear during the assignment anyways.

In about 8 hours, the carriage stopped and we got off. After eating food that we each packed, we then proceeded into the forest. It took us another 5 hours of walking until we finally reached near the plateau where the cave was located.

“Alright guys, you know the plan. Slowly follow me and make sure you keep quiet” said Daren as we reached closer and closer to the cave.

When we got to the point where we could somewhat make out the cave with our sight, we hid behind the trees. Using my [Eagle Eyes] I could see the cave was guarded by two guards who were on the lookout chatting. The other ranged classes also seemed to have been keeping their eyes out as seen by the blue boxes.

Your skill [NA][Eagle Eyes] has become Level 2

You have acquired a new skill [RP][Sharp Eyes] Level 1

Your skill [NA][Eagle Eyes] has become Level 3

Daren walked off to the side, and as much as I would have loved to follow him and see what skill he used, I had no choice but to wait and hope to get lucky. We waited for a good 5 minutes as I monitored the guards. Then I noticed something strange…

I looked closer while activating [All-Observing-Eyes] and with my improved eyesight noticed the shadow behind one of the guards warped. Suddenly a stiletto of Daren appeared out of nowhere and he quickly sliced off both the guards’ voice boxes, killing the guards without them even making a squeak. He then motioned for us to come to the entrance.

You have acquired a new skill [NA][Shadow Step] Level 1

… Not stealth but still plenty awesome! Unfortunately, at level 1 I was limited to only 1 meter distance, not to mention a few other restrictions like a cast time… but never the less, it can prove useful in a fight. I can’t wait to try it!

We then hurried over to Daren and made it inside the cave while making minimum noise. Daren gave the signal again and we split up into our assigned groups, then headed down our paths. I was again reminded that my partner is a human and regretted I wasn’t paired with the elf or the dwarf… unfortunately it wasn’t up to me and I was in no position to object…

We headed down our path for a good 3 minutes or so, and came across 2 people guarding the room. Both the guards were measly level 12, so they posed little risk. The moment they noticed us they were about to shout but not before one of them found an arrow in their forehead.

Your skill [NP][Crossbow Mastery] has become Level 2

Seeing the one next to him die so quickly, the other one seemed to have temporarily lost their voice. Not that it mattered anyways as no one is going to rush here even if they knew. I activated [Charge] and went straight for him! He tried to counter attack with his short sword by reflex, and ended up slicing right through me! But contrary to what he expected, I melted out of existence like black ink.

Only to appear to the side of him and [Slice] his neck with my Holy-steel katar.

That was pure awesome! Now that is what I am talking about!

I then took a look at the blood on my Holy-steel katar, and assessed my feelings on the situation…

Looking at the blood splattered on the katar... my heart tightens a bit...

As I thought… it isn’t possible to feel nothing when something like this happens…

I then took out a piece of cloth and wiped the blood off my katar returning it back to its pretty white color! All good now!

Oh yeah, on the topic of killing humans… it seems that it wasn’t a fluke… for some odd reason, I feel absolutely nothing. I don’t know if I was always like this, or did some change happen during reincarnation, or maybe it is the correction from the [MNT] stat, I have no clue. But this is my current reality, for better or for worse...

After confirming both of them have died, we walked into the supposed treasure room. Overall though, there did not seem to be much stuff, but there was a rather thick door in the back of the room.

“Lets check if there is anything behind the door” said the Marksman.

I nod, and we both approach the door. I do not sense anything using [Presence Sense], but just in case, I fling the door open and quickly jump to the side to prevent any form of trap. After a few seconds of nothing happening, I approach the door to take a peek.

Behind the door seemed to be a long hallway... I tried to use my [Smell Sense] to see if there is anyone hiding somewhere, but that proved rather useless as I got a foul stench that clogged up my nose. Yuck!

So instead I used [Sense Presence] which picked up a reading of someone deeper in the hallway.

“There is someone there...” I muttered to the marksman.

The marksman seems to be trying to use [Eagle Eyes] to see if he could find the presence, but it isn’t going to work. The hallway is too dark, and with my [Night Vision] I could make out an angular turn, thus the presence is out of line of sight.

“How many?” the marksman asked seemingly giving up.

“For now, I sense only one. They aren’t moving so far” I replied.

Since there is a limit to my [Presence Sense] range, there is of course a possibility for there to be more further up the passage.

“Alright, lets go quickly take care of it” said the marksman.

We then slowly made our way through the tunnel, soon after it seems the presence has detected us as well and began moving closer little by little. So I made sure to put up my guard. When we came around the corner, I finally saw what was there...

[Zombie Hound] Level 14

Well… that explains the foul stench…

When the [Zombie Hound] saw us, it picked up its pace rushing straight for us. I activated [Charge] and intercepted it, then prepared to use [Slice] to quickly finish it off.

* peng *

But before I could reach it, a loud sound came from the back, forcing me by reflex to jump to the side. Looking ahead, a crossbow bolt penetrated the [Zombie Hound] killing it…

You know… somehow I feel a bit conflicted about a human holding a crossbow behind my back…

Keeping a wary eye on the human, I looked down the tunnel and saw a large room ahead. In the center of the room stood a treasure chest?… suspicious… my [Sense Presence] is not picking anything up… but still… suspicious…

I slowly walk towards the large room… my goal is not the suspicious treasure chest nor even to enter that room. I just want to take a look around to see if that large room is a dead end or if there are other passages, I don’t even plan on entering the room. Since this place was not on the map that was shown, it is either a new addition, or the escape route. Either way, I don’t plan to go any further then checking if its a dead end or not…

I also keep an eye behind me on the human marksman who seems to be checking the corpse for materials… again… the thought of a human carrying a crossbow behind my back is a bit disturbing…

I go to the edge of the hallway without leaving it, and took a peak around the corner into the room to see if there are any other passageways, which by the looks of things there was one to the right and one to the left. Visually there does not seem to be anyone there. So far so good… I don’t plan to take any extra risks. It is better off to return and just report what we saw.

I then activate [Presence Sense] to see if I could pick something up from here before heading back… ha?

My [Presence Sense] seems to have picked something up alright… FROM BEHIND!

I quickly turn around and grow ashen pale… what was standing… no correction floating there was the upper half of a skeleton covered in a black cloth, with large claw like hands…

[Wraith] Level 40

* gulp *

How?!?! Why? ...no this is no time for this! I need to think of how to get out of here ASAP! If the marksman gets it’s attention, I might be able to plow through and make a run for it…

I take a look at the marksman and… he is gone?!?!

SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! I need to somehow hold on… given enough time, he might get Daren who should have no problems with something of this level.

I activate the Holy Power in my equipment and prepare myself… the [Wraith] begins to move a little in my direction then stops.

You have acquired a new skill [RA][Screech] Level 1

You have taken 84 damage.

A blast of noise hits me and slightly disorients me… crap it has range attacks! Not only that… looking at my status, it put some sort of [Curse] on me forcing my [Mental] to constantly go down!

Crap! At this rate, I won’t make it… I have no choice but to fight… Luckily my Holy Power should be effective against it!

But first, I need to try something.. I take out an [Iron Dagger] and [Throw] it at the [Wraith] aiming for accuracy.

You have dealt 24 damage to the [Wraith]!

Good… I was worried that it would be one of those monsters that physical attacks go through… but it doesn’t seem to be the case… I can do this!

I activate [All-Observing-Eyes] and quickly [Charge] at the [Wraith] before it could do another attack!

But to my surprise, the [Wraith] quickly avoids it by flying upwards and slashes down at me with its claws! I try to [Parry] it with one of my hands but could not completely block it and, resulting in me being knocked down on the floor on all fours...

You have taken 182 damage.

“Ouch!”

Its faster than me! Not to mention it hurt so much despite being protected by holy power….

I have no choice! I [Overload] my [All-Observing-Eyes] causing my stats to rise by 20%. Power begins to fill my body and it feels like its going through some metamorphosis...

Your [AGI] skill has temporarily exceeded 100. The quality of the [AGI] stat has improved.

As I thought… despite me getting stats from equipment, even if I go over 100, as long as my base stats remain below the 100 threshold, I see no improvements in quality. Though my Unique Skill seems to be an exception to that as it increases my base.

With my improved speed, and other stats. I quickly [Jump] off the floor, then [Plunge] my Holy-steel Katar imbued with holy power with a [Thrust] into the chest of the [Wraith]. Pinning it onto the ceiling.

“GHOOOOOOO!!!” cried the Wraith as the Holy Power seeped in.

I originally wanted to use more skills imbued into my weapon but chose not to just in case I ended up missing. But now that I have it pinned, prior to gravity pulling me down I use my favorite triple skill combo along side with [Punch] and hit the [Wraith] straight in the face with my wind blade imbued mithril katar!

[Critical Hit] You have dealt 184 damage to the [Wraith]!

[Critical Hit] You have dealt 273 damage to the [Wraith]!

The wraith was not exactly too thrilled about my assaults as the [Wraith] let out a last second [Screech] aiming down at me.

You have taken 21 damage.

Luckily I kind of saw this coming and quickly used [Jump] to lunge myself forward, thus minimizing the damage as I landed and rolled on the floor. Technically speaking I could probably use this opportunity to run away as I managed to pass the [Wraith].

Looking at the situation, this [Wraith] seems to have pretty poor defensive abilities, as well as pretty low health for a creature of its level. My guess is that it specializes mostly in speed and damage. Not to mention that [Screech], which does [Mental] damage as well.

The biggest problem though is that it is faster than me, though I can make up for that difference and more with skills. In terms of damage, I got the advantage due to my holy power in both offensive and defensive.

Simply put, my chances of running away are around the same as defeating it…

Making up my mind, I prepare myself to continue combat. The wraith seems to have recovered from shock, and floated off from the sealing closer to the ground and turned towards me. Since I can’t let it get another range attack on me, I quickly threw a dagger straight at it. Though this time I used my Holy-steel dagger!

The dagger hit it right in the middle, and unlike the iron dagger embedded itself in! Even without Holy Power, Holy-steel seems to be the bane of the undead…

You have dealt 86 damage to the [Wraith]!

Not losing the opportunity, I [Charge] straight at it. Like before it attempts to dodge upwards and slash down at me. But this time around I am more than ready as I [Shadow Step] right behind it and hit it with the most powerful attack I could come up with! That being [Plunge]+[Thrust]+[Pierce]+[Impale]+[Punch]! My Stamina drops rapidly from combining all those techniques, but the result was well worth it in my opinion!

[Critical Hit] You have dealt 304 damage to the [Wraith]!

Unfortunately, I was just a few HP short of killing it! The [Wraith] quickly turns around and slashes at me! I try to use [Evasion] but due to the stress from the rapid stamina consumption, there was a slight delay in my movements, forcing me to try to [Parry]. But again, I could not manage to block the entire attack…

You have taken 156 damage.

That said, this fight is already over. I take out yet another dagger, and [Throw] it at the [Wraith]...

You have dealt 9 damage to the [Wraith]!

The [Wraith] then collapses on the floor and stops moving…

“That was close...” I muttered in relief.

But I can’t stay here, I need to get out of here. While my [Presence Sense] is not picking up anything, who knows when another monster will appear… I deactivate my [All-Observing-Eyes][Overload] and head towards the body of the [Wraith], which seems to be disintegrate little by little...

I only pick up my [Holy-steel Healing Dagger] and activate it’s healing ability as I make my way back. Unfortunately due to the [Curse] still being in effect and my use of [All-Observing-Eyes], my [Mental] is almost at 0 and still dropping!

I continue on and barely make it out the door. With my eyes blurry, I somehow make out the appearance of the Marksman. Unfortunately at that point my strength gave out as my [Mental] hit 0.

* collapse *