“[Observe],” Nicholas said, utilizing his skill. The target was no different than the one he fought before, but he used skill regardless. He didn’t expect anything interesting to happen. The skill was level two. There was no indicator of how high the skill’s level could go, so Nicholas could only assume how much had changed. It’s the main reason why he was insistent on using [Observe] immediately.

“OBSERVATION COMPLETE. TARGET IS A SLIME. TARGET IS BLUE.”

“Figures,” Nicholas groaned before lunging to the side. His expectations weren’t high, but this was getting tedious. No new information was given. It wasn’t clear how much more the skill needed to level up before it became useful.

“What did Genesis say?” Rex asked as he lept back. He wasn’t privy to the details, but Rex knew his companion leveled up his skill. It was something neither of the men had done before. New skills could be achieved, but increasing its level never crossed his mind. The games he played in the past replaced weaker abilities with better ones. Rex thought for a moment if he’d become a knight that utilized [Reckless Swing]. He snickered before rolling to the left.

“Nothing new. I guess we were expecting too much from a single level up.” Nicholas replied while ducking. A gust of wind blew over his head. The next moment, he jumped in front of Rex.

“NOTICE. NEW SKILL [EVASION I] HAS BEEN ACQUIRED.”

Genesis’s voice rang out in their minds. The two had been dodging a slime for some time. Each sentence was interrupted with different methods of evasion. The slime was trying its best to hit its targets, but it could never reach the quick-footed men.

“Awesome! I told you doing this would work. Getting skills will be easier than ever!” Rex exclaimed. He was thrilled that the experiment worked. The two originally assumed that skills only came via level up, but everything changed when Rex obtained the [Smithing] skill tree. It meant that Genesis would grant certain skills if specific conditions were met. To test that theory, Rex proposed that they avoided the slime for a period of time.

“Maybe so, but we’ll be out of stamina soon. Let’s take this thing out before that happens.” Nicholas said. He tried to keep all of the team’s skills in mind. Both the [Malnourished] and [Underdeveloped] skills reduced battle capabilities. As a result, the two could only practice for a limited amount of time.

“Done deal!” Rex shouted before assuming an attack stance. He reached behind his waist and grasped at the iron rod around his hip. With a weapon in hand, the battle was ready to commence.

“Heads up!” Nicholas yelled as he kicked the slime into the air. The two had learned much from their previous encounter. Most importantly, piercing attacks had little to no effect. Weapons with a wide surface area were better in combat, at least against this type of enemy.

“[Reckless Swing]!” Rex roared, activating his ability. The metal rod swung through the air. It smashed against the slime without sinking into its insides. Waves coursed through the creature’s body due to the impact. A quick step forward allowed Rex to push the monster with even more force, eventually launching it away.

“SKILL [EVASION I] ACTIVATED. SKILL FAILURE.”

Genesis spoke in Nicholas’s head. He didn’t have enough time to react to the words, but the failure was obvious. A new sensation flooded his head. Nicholas’s vision became blurry and tinted a shade of blue. Breathing was next to impossible. Panic seeped into his mind along with memories of the first encounter. Thankfully, Genesis was available to help.

“SKILL [PANIC RESISTANCE I] ACTIVATED. SKILL SUCCESSFUL.”

“Ah! Get it off! Why isn’t the skill working?!” Nicholas screamed, but the sound was muffled. He had no idea what was going on until it dawned on him. The available skill didn’t stop panic. It only reduced the mental stress he suffered from. The reduction wasn’t impressive, but Nicholas felt better than the first time.

“Hold on! I’m going to hit it again. [Reckless Swing]!” Rex shouted at his friend. He was panicking about as much as Nicholas, so he didn’t think about his ability use. The metal rod curved wildly like an amateur baseball player would swing.

The slime once again rippled from impact, but it had nowhere to fly off to. Its outer wall collapsed as the rod sunk into its inner sanctum. Nicholas’s head was next to collide with the weapon. After the impact, the slime spat out the foreign object with an excessive amount of force. Rex tried to stop his weapon, but it slipped out of his hands. The rod twirled in the air before slamming into his face.

“SKILL [SELF-HARM RESISTANCE I] ACTIVATED. SKILL SUCCESSFUL.”

Rex could feel that the damage was less impactful. It wasn’t completely reduced but noticeable. He stood in stark silence as Nicholas collapsed to the ground. The slime, once again, popped the instant it touched the ground. Neither man said a word. They wanted nothing more than to wash away both the excess slime and humiliation.

“LEVEL UP. NEW SKILLS ACQUIRED.”

“History seems to repeat itself,” Nicholas groaned from the ground. He was happy that progress was made but silently hoped it would become easier.

“Whatever. I’m just glad we got some skills.” Rex replied, trying to look at the positive side of things. He asked Genesis to reveal the new skills, and Nicholas quickly followed suit. To save time, Genesis decided to answer both at the same time.

“[SMART PEASANT] HAS RECEIVED THE SKILLS [PANIC RESISTANCE II] AND [BLUDGEONING DAMAGE RESISTANCE I]. [BRAVE PEASANT] HAS RECEIVED THE SKILLS [SELF-HARM RESISTANCE II] AND [STICK PROFICIENCY I].”