Remembering my original purpose, I checked the bulletin board and saw an intriguing request. It had details about a cave about 4 kilometers away. The cave was apparently filled with rogue wolfkin that needed to be taken care of, or they would start spreading out and potentially attack the village. I pulled the request from the board and showed it to Jane, who approved.

"Their levels vary, but it should be around level 18. They should be no problem for someone with abnormal stats like you." Jane had a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"What level are you, Jane? I forgot to ask."

"I'm level 26." She responded with a confident expression. Seeing that face made me a little happier, and I was beginning to enjoy her company. We agreed to depart for the cave tomorrow. When we got to Jane's house, she led me to the back of her house and let me use the targets as practice. I happily agreed and as I practiced my throws, I gained the throwing skill.

New Skill! Throwing Weapon Mastery Increases the damage and accuracy of thrown weapons Mastery: Beginner 1 Effect: 2%

I kept practicing until night fell, but the strange thing was that Jane watched me do it the whole time. I was slightly unnerved by this fact but brushed it off. I'd managed to get the skill to Beginner 6 by only targeting certain body parts on the target, like limbs and the head. After that, I decided to call it for the day and told Jane I would be using the bath. She agreed and I cleaned myself up. I went straight to bed afterward and swiftly drifted off to sleep.

I got up at the crack of dawn, it seems Jane had awoken earlier than me. She had done the cooking this time and it actually wasn't that bad. Once Jane and I got geared up, we swiftly departed for the location of the cave. Upon arrival, we spotted two wolfkin standing at the entrance.

Luckily, they hadn't sent out any patrols, so we crept up behind these two guards and slit their throats. The cave was very dark. Jane had natural night-vision while I had to struggle with a lamp attached to my belt. Jane naturally gave me an arrogant smile at this discovery which I just shrugged off. She spotted a group of sleeping Wolfkin up ahead.

I swiftly lodged a throwing knife into one of Wolfkin's throats. This process was repeated for the other 4 Wolfkin. As we went deeper, there were a couple groups of sleeping Wolfkin here and there. Eventually, we made it into a spacious area of the cavern.

Some natural light flowed in through a few holes that presumably lead to the surface. We didn't pay attention to the light flowing in. What really caught our attention was the beast in the middle of the area. A large basilisk had taken up residence in the room. It was about 4 meters tall and 9 meters in length. My danger sense was flaring up tremendously and I was experiencing a certain survival instinct for the first time in this world.

Fear. I wanted to run. I wanted to take Jane and get the hell out of this cave. All these thoughts were dashed away, however. The slumbering beast had awoken and was glaring right at the both of us. There was a strange thing though, weren't we supposed to turn into stone?

I quickly checked for any signs of blue screens and one appeared right in front of me. I'd learned a new skill but pushed that notification away as the current situation was extremely dangerous at best.

Greater Basilisk Level: 38 HP: 3500 A basilisk that had its petrifying glare removed by an experienced researcher. Likely a discarded experiment.

Though I was slightly relieved at the petrification being removed, that doesn't excuse the fact that this thing was a very high level. I glanced back at the creature and saw that its face had a wicked smile plastered on it. It thought we were easy prey. It raced past us with a speed unbecoming of a creature that large. I immediately despaired as it had blocked the exit. I looked over at Jane and she fared slightly better than I did, but not by much.

Both of us were rooted in fear. I decided to take action and desperately charged at it. It didn't react as if watching an ant try to struggle to survive. I was no mere ant. I quickly located a gap between its scales at the Achilles heel. I stabbed my greatsword with as much force as I could into the gap and it pierced into the Achilles. I had enough strength for the greatsword to come out the other side. Quickly withdrawing my greatsword, I retreated to stand next to Jane. Grabbing her shoulder, I yelled out at her.

"JANE! COME ON! SNAP OUT OF IT!" She stared straight into my eyes and took action. While the basilisk was distracted by its now-defunct ankle, Jane fired an arrow directly into its eye. It screamed out in more pain as it furiously glared at us with its good eye. It dashed with an extreme amount of speed and appeared in front of Jane.

I mustered as much force as I could in my legs and appeared next to Jane. Her eyes locked with mine as I pushed her out of the way. The claws came down and I barely managed to deflect the attack using a combination of my sword and buckler. My left arm got severed and the buckler was shredded. My right forearm came dangerously close to breaking as well.

"FUCK!" It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. I slowly felt something crawling up the back of my mind. Rage. I was angry at this thing. Angry that it was here. Angry that it existed. Angry that it took my arm.

However, I restricted myself from getting angry at Jane. I knew it wasn't her fault, I would also be rooted in fear in that situation. Instead, I focused all my rage onto the basilisk. Glaring straight into its eyes, I held my greatsword with my only good arm as I dashed next to it with an unprecedented speed.

-Jane's POV-

Why. Why did he take the hit for me? He screamed out a curse as his arm was lopped off. I felt guilty. Until I saw what happened next. His eyes were filled with rage and he was letting off a red, flame-like aura of anger.

I could've sworn the basilisk flinched when he glared at it. His eyes left a red trail as he sped underneath the basilisk and pierced its heart through a gap in the thick scales on its chest. The blade snapped from the force and was stuck in its chest. Michael retreated next to my side when this happened. I was shocked, surprised, and awed.

It was hard to believe that Michael could pull this off, even with the levels he gained killing Wolfkin. The basilisk couldn't remove the blade Michael lodged in its heart and died in front of us. Michael was breathing heavily.

"My arm's been severed, Jane." He gazed into my eyes with the same gentle, albeit haggard, look. I looked over at his now-missing limb. Feelings of guilt overtook my mind as I teared up and apologized profusely.

"I'm sorry, Michael. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He then sheathed his broken blade.

"It's okay Jane. We're safe now." That was all he managed to say before he collapsed. I quickly caught this reckless man, the man that managed to make my heart flutter.

-Michael's POV-

It was dark, very dark. I couldn't see, it was as if I was rendered blind. I felt something warm on the back of my head. A comforting hand on my forehead. I was slowly brought back to reality and I opened my eyes. Jane's face and bountiful bust covered half my vision. It seemed she was giving me a lap pillow.

I tried to use my left arm to get up, only to fall. Right, I don't have a left arm anymore. Jane helped me up and held a guilty look in her eyes.

"Stop looking like that, Jane. There could be a way to reattach my arm or gain a prosthetic. Besides, I took the hit willingly." My gaze softened on her cute face, those crystal clear ruby-like eyes. She bit her lip and hugged me tightly.

"Don't ever do that again, you idiot. I don't know what I would do if you died..." She started crying and I silently comforted her. I used this chance to check my status and swiftly distributed my points. Many notifications popped up in front of me.

Due to your accomplishment in killing a monster against all odds, the experience from the monster has been increased by 2.5x!

You have achieved a level milestone! Due to this fact, your experience bonus will be reduced to compensate.

5x Experience Bonus is now:

2.5x Experience Bonus

Due to the method you've obtained your level milestone with, your class has evolved

Harbinger of the Greatsword Arts is now:

Controlled Berserker of the Greatsword Arts

Skills: Controlled Berserking, Blind Rage, Heavy Armor Mastery

Restrictions: You can no longer learn any other sword mastery; You can no longer learn any other armor mastery; You will experience heavy fatigue after leaving the berserker state

Greatsword Mastery has broken its limit, but your mastery will be reduced to compensate

Unlocked Grandmaster 11-20!

Greatsword Mastery Increases damage, efficiency of attacks, and ease of use of a greatsword Mastery: Advanced 5 Effect: 50% New Skill! Heavy Armor Mastery Increases defense, ease of use, and durability of heavy armor Mastery: Beginner 1 Effect: 2% You have gained two new stats: Rage, Control Name: Michael Adkins Class: Controlled Berserker of the Greatsword Arts Race: Human, Male Level: 26 Titles: Greatsword Enthusiast, Gifted by God, Controlled Berserker Stat Points: 0 Class Effects: +30 to Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Vitality, Control; Doubles at level milestones; Going into a controlled berserker state increases your stats by a factor of 2x; Blind rage increases stats by a factor of 4x Attack: 348 Defense: 52 Health: 550/700(750) Mana: 400/400 Health Regen: 0.375/sec Mana Regen: 0.2/sec Strength: 110(+140) Agility: 35(+65) Dexterity: 40(+70) Vitality: 45(+30) Intelligence: 50 Wisdom: 40 Luck: 13 Leadership: 10 Control: 10(+30) Rage: 0 Skills: Greatsword Mastery, Throwing Mastery, Heavy Armor Mastery, Pain Tolerance, Sneak Attack, Cooking, Danger Sense, Deflect, Controlled Berserking, Blind Rage Title Effects:

Greatsword Enthusiast: 1.2x Attack with Greatswords, 1.3x Durability with Greatswords, 1.1x Attack Speed with Greatswords

Gifted By God: 2x modifier to Strength, Dexterity, and Agility; Maximum Greatsword Mastery; 2.5x Experience Modifier

Controlled Berserker: Allows you to control your anger and direct it onto one enemy, creating an intimidating aura; Controlled Berserking bonus increased to 2.5x from 2x

My skills had leveled up, especially Deflect and Danger Sense. I faintly remembered that Danger Sense kept ringing out in my head the whole fight.

Closing my status and pushing away the notifications, I looked down at the foxgirl in my embrace. Her tear-filled eyes looked back up at me. At this moment, all I could see was Jane and I swiftly planted my lips upon hers.