I need to level up!

The day dawned heavily monotonous, the weather felt... strange. Strax woke up after a poorly slept night, his dreams of what happened before his death echoing around him, but he didn't feel regretful; on the contrary, he felt proud of what he did.

But that wouldn't change the fact that he had succumbed to his worst side, and that couldn't happen again.

"What a damn headache, I just wanted to be free from this stupid burden of abandoning my family."

His thoughts still led him to that, but he had nothing more to worry about, as they say.

"Out of sight, out of mind."

*Knock* *Knock*

The door made a noise, knocks like the ones from the previous day; again, those same three workers that Strax didn't even think to remember the names of were there.

As he got up to open, he was already ready for work, and if everything went as he wanted, he could start leveling up, maybe even escape safely.

"Well, it looks like the lazy one is ready for work; I just hope you don't fall asleep in the mine again," said one of them, leading the way.

"Seriously, I don't understand the dynamics of this place. What am I exactly here? A slave? A prisoner? I have no idea. That idiot of my predecessor didn't help me at all other than being a pretty face."

Pretty face would be blasphemy compared to these animals he worked with. I am a god among mortals, damn it.

Strax's thoughts reflected on his face; if anyone saw the disgusted grimaces he made behind his coworkers' backs, he would probably be in trouble.

"Strax," the eldest called him by name, as his musings about his appearance began to fade.

"Y-Yes, S-Sir?" He stammered slightly, but was ignored.

"The Baroness wants to meet with you to give you the reward for discovering a cave," the man said, and Strax's body shivered slightly with the news.

"W-where?" He questioned, and the man turned, looking into his eyes. "At the main house, obviously. Tell the guards, and they will take you there."

"Why me? Or better yet, why only me? Eron was with me, why isn't he being called too?"

He couldn't help but think about the strangeness of this call, but despite that, he focused on what he needed to do today.

"We have work, but this time, the Baroness requested that Strax go back to the cave alone and make a report for her," the man said, pushing him forward. An unsatisfied expression appeared on Strax's face when he heard about working alone. They even chuckled lightly, but inside...

"HAHAHAHA, I AM THE GOD OF DESTINY!"

Of course, a manipulation game made by him. Dissatisfied? It was what he wanted most at the moment. He could level up!

So, he quickly went back into the abandoned mine, which was now reasonably lit. Apparently, during the process, some miners visited the site and hung lanterns along the paths already traveled, including the same ones from before, where Strax had destroyed the spiders.

[+35XP]

"It's been two hours since I got here. It seems like I've cleared these caves already. Maybe I should go down a bit further while looking for more spiders."

His thoughts were understandable; the ecstasy of leveling up and getting stronger was really noticeable. After all, who wouldn't want to be strong? Especially remembering his previous life, Strax was excited.

"Let's go down."

He descended a few meters into a round cave that slightly resembled a slide. He couldn't resist and slid down a bit. When he got up, he saw some old remnants.

"An abandoned mine..."

[Ding!] [Parallel Mission found!]

[Mission: The Growth of the Weak]

[Defeat: 0/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[Reward: 10 White Points, System Skill.]

"Well, well, it seems you finally started working...", he thought as he looked at the Missions window. Now it was divided into two categories: [Main Mission] and [Side Missions].

"What could this system skill be, huh? Alright, let's start doing this. I have nothing to lose anyway, right?"

His thoughts could be seen in his excited expression. Maybe taking this world as a game made him feel less alone. After all, he always enjoyed playing.

Strax ventured lightly through the narrow corridors of the mine. They were supported by pieces of wooden logs and, in some places, had rails and spider webs hanging from the ceiling. Truly, it was a creepy place.

Walking along the path, he actually found some small spiders, slightly smaller than the ones he had killed before, something that now was simple and with just one blow, they died easily.

[+10XP]

"Darn it, the size influences the XP I gain. If it continues like this, it'll take a long time to level up."

He was a bit too anxious, and every little thing was making him angry, especially when dealing with palm-sized spiders. It was already difficult to hit them, and the XP was very low.

He walked a bit further and felt something strange coming from a certain area. He felt the same sensation as when he first entered the cave, which made him question.

"What's this?" He headed towards the entrance and finally found something interesting: a new, different spider.

It was large, almost a meter tall. Compared to the fifty-centimeter spiders he faced the first time, this one was quite frightening.

"Better end this before more spiders show up. Dealing with one might be easier."

He approached slowly from behind the spider. Fortunately, it seemed tired, so when he got close, he decided to go for its back first.

"Come on, spider lady, let's see if you crawl up walls."

The first attack came from Strax, who plunged the pickaxe directly into the spider's abdomen from above, as if mining a metal. It immediately reacted, quickly turning around.

At the moment of the turn, it already turned with a deafening roar, its large jaws opening and closing with a sinister snap.

*SKRRRIIIIIII*

Strax leaped back with agility. By increasing his agility, his reaction time was also enhanced; now, he could react very quickly, unlike before. He didn't wait for the spider to settle; he just lunged forward at full speed and tried to strike, but missed.

Next, the spider shot a web at him, hitting his eyes.

"Ouch, damn it! You son of a bitch!" He roared while removing it.

"Now I know why Spider-Man shoots web at criminals' eyes. Damn, this is hard to get off!"

Although he hit it, it couldn't continue fighting him. In a few seconds, the ground was already dirty with a green liquid coming directly from the spider.

"A vital point, huh? Good thing I was patient."

He really had a good opportunity. The spot he hit was an important point. He hit her directly in the stomach, with the power of the first blow being completely overwhelming. She had no choice. From the beginning, the winner was already decided.

She tried to walk, but her body wouldn't allow it. Before she could even turn to try to shoot web at Strax again, the man was already behind her, with a maniacal smile preparing to mine her head.

*SKRIIIIII*

She screamed in fear, but before she could do anything.

[You Defeated the First 2* Poisonous Cave Spider]

[+188XP]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 1/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

"Well, now that I know it's easy to kill them, all I need to do is find these damn things," said Strax, and thus began his hunt.

[Defeated: 4/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 9/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 12/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 18/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 24/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

"Ah~" The heavy sigh of the man sitting on the ground was proof of how tired he was. Actually, tired was an understatement.

Unlike the first ones, the others weren't in blind spots he could use and abuse. Many of them fought him head-on. Of course, that didn't mean he would lose, but it was exhausting. The spiders were quite dumb in fair fights; they were assassin hunters, not heavy fighters, and that was proof that Strax had a total advantage. It was just a training for him.

*SKRIIII!*

*Thud*

[Defeated: 25/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

"Well, let's see what I'll get, shall we?" He questioned himself, and a different tab appeared.

[You completed your first side mission! Distributing rewards]

[You received 10 White Points!]

[You received the System Skill: Inventory.]

"I worked my ass off... for you to give me a basic skill that comes with any system without needing to complete missions? Are you kidding me, System? Am I a joke to you?"