Chapter 3: (Revised) (1/2)

When Randidly awoke from his fitful nap, unexpected blue notifications greeted him. He also didn’t miss the way the lights above flickered on when he opened his eyes, as if they immediately shut off when he fell asleep. Shaking his head at the strange environment, he inspected the notifications.

His smile was one of pure elation.

Overnight, Randidly reached Level 3 in Farming. He was stunned to find several sprouts coming up out of the spot where he discarded the hard seeds from the berries. Excited, he got up and went over to inspect the growths. Although they didn’t seem like much, if they started producing berries inside the Safe Zone…

Randidly shook his head. Though it might be safe, he didn’t plan on remaining here forever. Not when he wanted to understand the limits of the System in which he found himself. In fact, the twenty-year-old Randidly knew that staying in the room and grinding would become a chore after a while. Still, Farming was a useful way to decrease the danger in the short term, allowing him to gather sufficient strength before venturing out.

“I wonder how Ace and Sydney are doing,” Randidly muttered, his eyes going unfocused as he uneasily considered his two closest friends encountering the dangers with which he now wrestled.

He snapped back to the moment at hand, opening his Path screen and putting the final two points into the Newbie Path.

Congratulations! For spending one PP on the “Newbie Path,” you have earned 1 Stat point(s).

Congratulations! For spending one PP on the “Newbie Path,” you have earned 2 Stat point(s).

Congratulations! You have completed the “Newbie Path”! +1 to all Stats, +1 Stat point per Level, +4 Health per Level, +2 Mana and +2 Stamina per Level. You have learned the active Skills Mana Bolt Level 1 and Heavy Blow Level 1!

Continue using Paths to explore this world! Remember, there will always be a path open to you. Rise and spread your Legend throughout the Nexus!

Randidly laughed. It seems like completing a Path certainly earns a lot of rewards. The single Stats to get there were just breadcrumbs to lead me along.

His eyes immediately went to the two new Skills. The +1 to all Stats was a holistic improvement, but the two Skills were the biggest gains. After all, how did he finish this Path? By accumulating PP by earning Skill Levels!

Randidly frowned when he read the middle of the notification. The real problem is that a lot of these relate to Level-up gains, and my Level is still N/A.

Did he miss something, or some option to earn a Class?

Randidly did a once-through on his menus, finding nothing that would allow him to select some milquetoast archetype like “Ranger” or “Priest.” Considering how he was just rewarded with two Skills for completing a Path, such Classes would likely come along with relevant Skills of their own, making growth that much easier.

Grimacing, Randidly increased the volume of the small voice at the back of his head, born from his past experience playing games. If this strange new change that came to the world functioned like a typical game, there was likely a Newbie Area. Ignoring the jungle surroundings, the mid-20 Levels of the monsters Randidly encountered practically proved this was not a Newbie Area.

At this point, Randidly was primarily speculating. Perhaps this was a result of him being underground. He’d proceeded to the Dungeon Safe Zone, meaning he was in a Dungeon. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and missed the opportunity to earn a valuable Class.

Randidly focused on the spot where there was a series of lines instead of Class. He bit his lip. Typically, a Class was the most powerful weapon in a character’s arsenal. Without that, his capability to grow and escape this Dungeon…

Compared to the +1 to all Stats he received for finishing the Path, how many Stats would he get from Leveling up a Class?

The contorted snarl of the monkeys flashed within his mind. Subconsciously, Randidly lowered his head and clenched his fist. The memories of waking up with only a single Health remaining were still strong. He admitted to himself his body had clearly informed him that losing that last Health would have been disastrous.

Randidly shook his head. He knew himself well enough to stop this downward spiral before it gathered too much momentum. No need to worry about those things for now. I’m not improving as quickly as I can with a Class, but I’m improving, and that’s enough. I have three more Stat points to put wherever I like and then two new Skills to learn how to use.

Aside from the PP I’ll earn, I suspect increasing the Skill Level boosts its effect somewhat. That’s how Levels work. So if I get the Level of my Skills up to around Level 20 or 30, won’t I be able to rival the monkeys?

Don’t obsess over things you can’t control. You’ve got this, Randidly Ghosthound.

Following his little pep talk, Randidly decided he was quite famished. After eating the other half of yesterday’s harvest of berries, he closely examined his Status screen. He settled on putting 1 point into End, 1 point into Agi, and deciding to take a gamble, another point into Per.

Increased Perception would hopefully allow him to spot approaching enemies like the frog earlier. If it hadn’t been willing to let him peacefully pass from its perch on that branch…

Randidly shivered.

After distributing his points, Randidly studied his Status.

Randidly Ghosthound

Class: ---

Level: N/A

Health(/R per hour): 47/47 (23.25)

Mana(/R per hour): 19/19 (8)

Stam(/R per min): 25/25 (11)

Vit: 6

End: 5

Str: 3

Agi: 8

Perception: 4

Reaction: 5

Resistance: 5