William punched and kicked the air, mimicking the kung fu moves he had seen in movies as best he could but despite his increased stats he was still far from flexible enough to throw a high kick and ended up pulling a muscle.
"AHHH!" William crashed to the ground and held onto his calf muscle which was spasming in result to his exhaustion and the fact that he has yet to eat since he came here.
Rubbing the slightly swollen muscle as it had begun to calm down, his eyes moved to the small screen that had suddenly appeared.
[Ding - Passive Skill: Muscle Memory unlocked
[Grade - Common ->??? (Evolvable)
[Type - Passive (Persistent)
[Description: Pushing your body beyond its limits has left its mark. Where others would break, your muscles adapt. The memory of every strain, cramp and tear lingers, not as pain but as progress. Your body doesn't just remember it learns.
[Effects (Common Grade)
- Your muscles adapt subtly with each use. Cramping and fatigue now slightly increase long term muscle efficiency.
- +2% Strength and Dexterity gains from physical activity and repetitive action
- You recover 5% faster from muscle related fatigue and exhaustion.
- Slight passive resistance to cramping and pain-related debuffs.
- Body begins passively storing data on optimal movements, slightly improving reaction speed over time.]
William suddenly felt relieved as the pain was reduced noticeably and it wasn't more than a few seconds before the cramps stopped entirely.
He waited for a moment as he collected himself, "This is a strange dream..." He thought before standing up and brushing the dirt from his grey tunic and pants.
"HAAA!" Sucking in a big breath of air he let it out in a roar as he threw a balanced but powerful punch toward the soft side of the tree which he had been using as a training board, "Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow!"
He noticed that he was able to throw many more punches before he began to feel any kind of strain causing him to throw.
[Ding - Skill unlocked - Active skill: Sevenfold strike (Lvl 1)
Grade - Common -> Rare (Upgradeable)
Type - Active (Martial)
Description - With speed and precision honed to perfection, you unleash a blinding sequence of seven consecutive blows. Each strike follows the last in a rhythm so fast, it becomes almost impossible to track. Offence becomes art, pain becomes music.
Effects
- Delivers 7 rapid strikes in under 2 seconds to a single target or within a small frontal arc.
- Each blow deals 80% of base attack damage, but the final hit deals 150% and has a chance to stagger or knock back the target.
- Can be chained into combos or used to break enemy guard.
- Has bonus synergy with the skill "MUSCLE MEMORY" if the user's body is fatigued or in an adaptive state.
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Stamina Cost: 10]
William's eyes went wide, and he subconsciously thought the words of the skill Sevenfold Strike and his fists began to burn with internal energy.
"Woah... woah... woah..." William shook his glowing fists wildly but the glow didn't dissipate, "Oh, fuck it!" He runs up to the tree and begins throwing a series of punches and he unleashes what can only be described as a clean and concise combo leaving a series of fist marks on the tree.
HP: 120 / 120
MP: 95 / 95
Stamina: 110 / 120
William could only stand there for a moment and stare at the fist marks, "Is this some kind of lucid power fantasy dream or something haaaa not bad brain!" However, as he said this he heard the noticeable rustle of something passing through a thicket and soon he saw what appeared to be a small green man, the strange green man had two long fangs shooting up from his lower jaw and a wild and evil look in its yellow eyes.
The man brandished what appeared to be a spear of jagged metal and twigs, as if it was hastily thrown together.
Still thinking this was a dream he took a fighting stance and lunged at the lone goblin who took to pointing his spear directly at William hoping to impale him on the spot but William pivots on his heel and spins around the blade before activating the skill Sevenfold Strike his fists glowed a warm yellow for a moment as the skill activated and he felt a heat buildup telling him the skill was ready.
William threw the first in the series of attacks landing firmly on the slightly smaller goblin body with a resounding SNAP.
"KRAAAA!" The goblin spat out a mouthful of spit as the blow landed and soon the barrage continued unabated.
"Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow!"
If one was watching from the side, it would look like William was bullying a smaller green person as the goblin was too weak to fight back against the combo.
The last strike had knocked the goblin on its back and the spear clattered against the ground causing it to panic.
"SKREE... SKREE!"
The goblin screamed out as if to alert someone nearby and as if on cue the surrounding foliage began to shake and three two more goblins stumble out of the brush, one of the goblins used a makeshift club made of a tree branch and the other a pair of sharpened pieces of metal used as daggers.
As the one with the spear was still staggering to his feet the one with the club lunged forward with its club raised over its head and its mouth agape in a roar.
William barely dodges the clubs head causing it to be buried into the dirt as it passed him, but the front of his shirt is ripped off revealing his rather average chest slightly startling William as he could feel the wind from the attack and the tearing of fabric.
"Was this really a dream?" He thought as he lunged toward the Goblin who was struggling to remove the mace from the dirt but when he was about to land a solid blow William suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side and looked down to see a dagger sticking out of his side.
"Grahahaha!" The roguelike goblin chuckled as he removed the dagger causing a spray of William's blood to spray his green pockmarked face.
Emotions of glee and pleasure lit up in the goblins eyes as he tasted the sweet nectar of life.
William however was in shock, the pain he was experiencing felt real, "But it's just a dream, right?"
As he thought this a screen suddenly popped up in his periphery.
[Ding - Passive skill unlocked - Pain resistance - Common (Lvl 1) -> "Upgradeable"
Effect - 10% Reduction to the sensory and mental impact of physical and psychological pain, allowing the user to function more effectively under duress.]
The pain lessened noticeably allowing William to think clearly as he back handed the roguish Goblin in the face and disengaged from the encirclement as he clutched the wound with one of his hands in order to staunch the bleeding.
"CRCK!" The ground broke as the bulky Goblin managed to release his mace from the ground, it turned out it was buried under some stones, so he was forced to put in a large amount of effort to free the weapon.
William didn't waste any more time, he charged close just as the weapon came free and the Goblin was off balance due to the amount of force he was using, he managed to reach his back before the creature finally regained balance, but it was too late.
"Sevenfold Strike"
He activated the skill, and his fist glowed a soft yellow and with a great yell he plunged his seven strikes all in one spot.
"Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow, Crunch!"
Focusing every strike on a single point on the Goblins back he broke something inside the creature causing it to sprawl forward with a large red fist print on its back.
The other two goblins charged at William from two different directions, but the spear wielder reached him first as the gleaming point neared his face but rolling his head to the side, he narrowly avoided it.
He grasped the shaft of the spear and pulled with all of his might and forced the Goblin into the one with daggers just before the daggers reached his back.
He was lucky, if he was any slower and these creatures any faster it would not have worked.
"TWACK!"
Suddenly from the shadow of the woods an arrow comes flying from the underbrush and strikes William in the back.
[Ding - Critical strike received damage increased by 1.5x]
[Health 80/120]
[Ding - Bleeding Debuff received health drops by 1 every 5 seconds]
The attack caught William off guard, and he wasn't able to prepare himself for the pain, it was a good thing he had the skill Pain resistance otherwise he would have gone into utter shock.
[Ding - Pain resistance has leveled up to level 2 and increased pain resistance from 10% to 11.67%]
He ignored the blue screen appearing in his peripheral vision as he leapt forward toward the goblin with the bow as the other two were still getting up.
"KRAAAA!" The bow wielding Goblin leapt backward as it attempted to reload its bow but before it could shakily knock and arrow.
"CRACK!"
William performed a jumping kick that landed on the side of the scrawny Goblins skull.
The Goblin crashed into a tree and an audible snap was heard, William thought that it was a twig but unknown to him the force of the kick and the collision with the tree had effectively snapped the Goblins rather weak neck.
A blue screen appeared in his peripheral.
[Ding - 120 Exp gained]
[Ding - William has leveled up to level 2]
[Ding - Name: William Conwell
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Unassigned
Title: Chosen by Phosphorus
Level: 2
EXP: 20 / 200
HP: 75 / 163
MP: 146 / 146
Stamina: 100 / 169
[Stats]
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 11
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 8
Luck: 7
Stat Points: 5 Available
Skill Points: 5 Available]
He needed to be quick and strike hard, so he put two points each in both strength and dexterity while he used his final point on luck.
HP: 74 / 170
MP: 146 / 146
Stamina: 100 / 175
[Stats]
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 13
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 8
Luck: 8
Stat Points: 0 Available
Skill Points: 5 Available]
"I wonder what skill points are for?" He thought as the Goblins who had regrouped began charging at William with madness in their eyes, clearly enraged because William killed their comrade.
"I'll worry about it later!" William said as he launched at the trio of goblins.
"Whoosh!"
The spear wielding goblin threw its weapon towards William, and it blew past him so fast he could hear the blade slice the wind.
"Thud!"
The spear landed behind William and grasping it he threw it right back.
The spear struck the larger club wielding Goblin in his rather thick legs causing the creature to swing its mace wildly and striking the one who wielded the spear as he struggled to remove the spear.
"Where did the dagger Goblin..." He couldn't finish his sentence when a sharp pain in his side struck him and he looked over to see the roguelike goblin at his side and licking the blood on the dagger, he had been rather rough pulling it out hoping to catch some tasty man flesh.
HP: 54 / 170
His movements wavered and he pushed the goblin away with what strength he could manage from that position and in that weakened state.
William's eyes started swimming and the bloodless was starting to affect his motor skills, the young man would soon be on a spit being roasted by goblins for food.
In a higher realm that appeared as dark as it was infernal a man sat in a throne as he watched his champion struggle, to his sides were two shadowy wolves with lava-like eyes who wagged their tails as they received pats from their master.
The man frowned as he saw William taking that arrow to the back and clearly deep wound from the dagger was going to be a problem.
"He won't last long like this, do you two mind if I send one of your pups to assist the boy?" The red eyes scanned the shadowy dogs with affection.
"AWOOOOOOOOOO!" Both wolves howled simultaneously as if signaling both their affirmation and the pup to depart as their howls echoed across the realm.
The summoned something from the darkness and held it in front of the wolves teasingly for a moment.
"I think you have both earned some demi-god steak" before lowering the simmering masses of flesh.
The man watched with glee as the wolves devoured their tasty morsel before he turned back to the screen where William was clearly struggling to fight on.
"Crack!"
William was struck with the mace in his stomach knocking the air from his lungs and causing him to nearly lose consciousness.
He closed his eyes when he saw the mace being raised for the final attack and accepted his fate in this dream, despite the game like power fantasy he got to experience ending so quickly it was still fun.
"I wonder if I'll dream like this again..." his thoughts stopped there as in his ears he heard the sudden howling of a wolf and opened his eyes to see a dark shadowy wolf tearing through the remaining goblins like thanksgiving dinner their screams echoed through the clearing and the woods causing nearby critters to run and hide.
When the screaming stopped the shadowy wolves piercing blue eyes stared at him causing his hair to stand up on end all over his body at the same time.
"This feeling..." He began shaking uncontrollably out of fear when the wolf took its first step and it approached William who had closed his eyes hoping the thing would go away, eventually due to lack of oxygen he began to lose consciousness and suddenly woke up in the real world to the sound of his alarm going off.
"What the fuck?" he said brushing the cold sweat from his brow, he was unaware of his shadow subtly wavering even as he sat still.
He got up from his seated position on the bed and walked casually to the shower to clean himself of the nights mess and when he was done, he stepped out and approached the mirror with a somewhat awkward expression on his face.
"Did I always have muscles?"
He was normally quite scrawny and lanky but he at some point during the night developed some small amount of mass and definition, "Maybe I'm just a late bloomer is all, it has to be right?"