The Grey Wizard suddenly stopped.
"It's time for you to use your new sword, Gael."
"What—already? Isn't it a little too early? I literally just got here."
"We don't have time to dilly-dally," the wizard said, waving his hand dismissively. "And besides, I know what kind of monster you'll be facing. It's a very weak one. You should be more than capable."
Gael swallowed, tightening his grip on the stone sword.
"Ah… okay. I'll try my best."
"Can I at least know what I'm facing?" Gael asked nervously.
"Well, let's start with its name," the Grey Wizard replied.
A soft rustling came from beneath the soil.
"It's called a pebble worm… or what I like to call baby giggles," the wizard smirked. "It's a scrawny little runt right now. But once it reaches adulthood—"
He tapped his staff on the ground.
"—it becomes one hell of a monster."
Gael swallowed. "And you want me to fight that?"
"No, no. Just the runt," the Grey Wizard clarified, waving his hand dismissively. "The big ones would eat you for breakfast. They wouldn't even bother chasing you—you're not even enough for a proper appetizer."
Gael's face paled. "Oh. Great. Comforting."
"Relax," the wizard chuckled. "This one is a pebble worm—tiny, weak, basically a baby. A baby that happens to live underground and sleeps when daylight hits the ground with way too many teeth, but still a baby."
"Ugh, whatever… I just hope rabies doesn't exist in this world," Gael muttered nervously.
Before the Grey Wizard could answer, the ground ahead began to shift.
Small mounds of soil rose in a line—one after another—pushing upward as something tunneled beneath. The trail headed straight toward Gael with slow, deliberate certainty, like a predator that didn't need to rush.
The Grey Wizard pointed with his stick-companion.
"Well… that would be your opponent. The pebble worm—or baby giggles, if you prefer a cuter name for something that still wants to chew on your ankles."
Gael swallowed.
"It's coming right at me."
"Yes," the wizard said calmly. "Unrelentingly with purpose. So I suggest you hold that sword a little tighter."
The mounds of soil reached Gael and suddenly stopped. He looked around frantically.
"Where is this lil boogy? Face me, man to man or in this case man to worm!"
Without warning, the dirt split open and a small creature lunged out, its tiny jaws aiming for his right ankle. Thanks to a surge of adrenaline, Gael managed to jerk his right leg back just in time.
"F*cl! This lil' sh*t almost got my ankle!" Gael barked as he sidestepped, trying to gain some distance.
But the pebble worm dove back into the soil with a quick skrshhh, disappearing beneath the shifting dirt.
"Oh no you don't, you lil' sh*t!" Gael snarled.
He stabbed the ground right where it burrowed, driving the blade down with all the adrenaline still buzzing in his veins. A sharp resistance, then a faint crunch.
Gael yanked the sword back up. A dark streak of blood smeared along the stone sword, slowly trickling toward the tip.
"Is it dead?" he muttered, breathless.
"That might've got it," the Grey Wizard said calmly. "Congratulations on killing your first ever monster, Gael."
"Thanks, old man—"
1 EXP
"Am I seeing things… or is that EXP!?" Gael blurted out, eyes wide. A faint green still shimmered in the air before fading like dust in sunlight.
"How—how could this be? The crafting interface, the recipe book, the transmutation system… that was already pushing it. But this?." His mind raced, excitement and disbelief clashing inside him.
"Doesn't this mean I can level up? And if I can level up, then I might get stat points—strength, agility, endurance—like in an actual game."
He grabbed his head.
"But this world is supposed to be real, right? It's not a game. It's not a game?"
sudden glow pulsed at the edge of his vision.
He focused, and a new icon appeared on the interface—something that hadn't been there before.
"So I really did need EXP just to unlock the level icon?" he murmured. "Alright… let's see what I'm working with."
He concentrated, mentally tapping the new icon. A transparent blue panel opened in front of him:
— STATS —
Exp: 01/20
Level: 1
Health: 100
Mana: 100
Underwater Breath: 30
Sword Damage: 0 (10 + stone sword)
Bow Damage: 0
Bow Shoot Force: 0
Gun Power: 0
Magic Damage: 0
Walk Speed: 0
Fly Speed: 0
Dig Speed: 0
Stat points: 5
"Wait a second… why does this look familiar? No—there's no way."