Keep running.

Just keep running.

Don’t look back.

Just… keep… running.

My bones finally gave out from under me, and I collapsed on the forest floor. The fear I felt was subsiding, and the pain in my arm grew slightly with time. My body was fatigued, and my mind even more so.

“That… that was terrifying.” I thought to myself. I fancied myself prepared for battles that I needed to face. But I have never been in a fight before. I won due to a lucky strike on the mutt’s eye. The only reason I won was a combination of that and the fact that the wolf looked like it had been starving for days.

I would live, and my health would regenerate. It’s not like I can bleed out or have any organ damage with this body of mine. I leaned against a nearby tree, weary. If someone passed by, they probably think they saw some oddly pristine remains of a long dead hiker.

I took this time to check on my status.

Name: None Species: Sapient Skeleton Level: 1 Stats -- HP: 8/12 MP: 7/7 Attack: 2 Magic Power: 1 Defense: 3 Resistance: 1 Speed: 2 Dexterity: 2 Skills --

[Hiking Lvl. 1] [Presence Detection Lvl. 1] [Blunt Weapon Mastery Lvl. 1]

Titles -- [None]

My battle didn’t net me any levels unfortunately, but I could feel that I was on the cusp of growth. I lost a lot of my health from the one bite and tackle from the dog. What a grim reminder of my weakness.

I had hoped to find somewhere to wash the blood off, but my mind was too tired, and I needed to shut it off for a while to recuperate. My vision went dark, and I entered my sleep like state, too exhausted to plan any further.

I slowly regained consciousness to the sound of constant chattering. My sockets beheld three large squirrel type monsters. Their bodies were only slightly larger than a typical squirrel, but their teeth were noticeably sharper; the front incisors especially were large and pointed. Their tails were much larger than their bodies however, and it looked like they could completely shield their backs with them.

I was completely frozen, my last battle still fresh in my mind. One of the squirrels was close to my right arm, sniffing it attentively. The other two were farther back, watching warily. The closest squirrel began nibbling on my arm bit by bit, each bite getting progressively harder. The pain was similarly getting harder and harder to bear, but I put up with it. I knew my body wouldn’t fall apart from it, and my instincts were screaming at me to stay still.

My rock was still in my right hand, but I had no stick with which to keep distance. I had a feeling that these creatures didn’t know what I was. They were checking if I was still alive. If they discovered I was, it was possible that they would all attack me together, and I was not confident I would be able to survive such a battle.

So, I decided to bide my time and launch a surprise attack. It all came down to whether or not I could endure getting bitten. Suddenly, I great pain racked my body. I quickly checked my arm to see that the rodent had taken out a small chunk of my tibia.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. I want to pull away. I want to run. But I can’t. I have to stay still. I can’t move a single bone.

The longest 30 seconds passes, as it seems that the large bite was the last check from the squirrel. The other two, now thoroughly convinced of the safety move towards my other arm. Once the rodent duo is within arm’s reach, I flash into action. I quickly grab the both of them, and using my other arm, I hit them with the stone before they had time to register what happened.

I hit a few times more to make sure my quarry is dead, and by the time I turned back to the one that had decided to eat my arm, it was already long gone. I wish I could have gotten some revenge, but it doesn’t matter much. Because...

You have leveled up! [Stats] have been increased.

Hooray! It finally came! I just needed to be put through lots of pain!

… Do I really want to do this again?

Congratulations on your first level up! Because this is your first time gaining a level, some specifics of level gain will be specified!

Ooh! This one even has a built-in explanation system. How convenient! This way I won’t have to make any hypotheses.

Every being levels up, and every being can level up through defeating other living beings. Those with [Classes] can also level up by doing work associated with those classes.

So basically, everyone can kill things and gain experience, but someone who is a farmer doesn’t have to kill things in order to level up, he can just farm in order to do so.

Every being also has a [Level Cap], but this varies among species. Once the [Level Cap] is reached, the creature can evolve. However, because beings who can possess [Classes] can level up easier, once they reach the [Level Cap] of their class, they can then switch classes to something of a higher tier.

Those with classes just have their classes evolve instead. Makes sense.

When a being levels up, all its [Stats] will increase by at least one, but they will oftentimes increase by more than one based on [Class], [Species], or [What one has done before achieving that level up].

This first two are self-explanatory, but I guess the last one pertains to your actions? So, if someone did strength training a lot while not leveling up, they would get far more additional points in strength than in magic power. Fair enough.

Work hard and good luck!

Ah, how nice of them, whoever that voice is. I do feel significantly stronger. Upon closer inspection, my wounds from my fights have completely healed up, even though it has not been that long. I decide to check my status again to see how I have changed.

Name: None Species: Sapient Skeleton Level: 2 Stats -- HP: 15/15 (+3) MP: 8/8 (+1) Attack: 5 (+3) Magic Power: 2 (+1) Defense: 6 (+3) Resistance: 2 (+1) Speed: 4 (+2) Dexterity: 4 (+2) Skills -- [Hiking Lvl. 1] [Presence Detection Lvl. 1] [Blunt Weapon Mastery Lvl. 1] Titles -- [None]

Wow, what a huge boost. I guess I did indeed do a lot physically, so it makes sense that my attack and defense have grown. My HP must have grown because I continually have been taking damage and working to endure it, I guess. I don’t particularly want to go down the route of a tank if it has to be this masochistic, I’m afraid. Speed and Dexterity must have increased due to my running and hiking in these woods. And for magic, I guess I haven’t used it or gotten hit by it, but it’s not like I have any spells to use, either.

Well, it’s pretty satisfying nonetheless. A lot of my stats doubled, too, so I’m just about twice as strong as before.

I felt renewed and slightly more confident. My battles may have had to do with a lot of surprise and even more luck, but I felt that I could put up an actual fight if I planned well enough.

So, for now, until I didn’t need to hide any longer, it was time to hunt. I picked up the squirrels’ carcasses and made my way deeper into the forest. My head may be empty, but I had a great idea.

A new branch, my same old stone, and some meaty bait. It was time for me to begin my hunt.