5 Embracing Life

Ozul resolved himself to ignore his hideous appearance and drink from the pool. The water was cold and tasted sweet causing a tingly sensation to run through him. He felt refreshed and energized, but it did not increase his HP or satisfy him. "The mana in the water invigorates me, but sadly does not replace actual food. Well, it was a long shot from the start," he thought.

Ozul explored the rest of the cavern but found nothing new to appraise. He floated to a section of the cave where many Umbras congregated and thought of what his life had become. "It has been a day or so since I reincarnated. My human life wasn't perfect, but at least it was comfortable. I had food to eat, money to get by, and a new job. However, in this life I have been damned to live, it will be completely different. I have to kill to not only survive, but to level up and become stronger." Ozul sighed, willing his emotions to not overwhelm him. A life of violence is what awaited him, and he knew to survive he must embrace it. Ozul, filled with reluctance, started practicing his bite skill. He wanted to test a theory that occurred to him soon after the fight with the rats. Would it be possible to level up a skill by continually using it? Neither of his level 1 skills raised in level after the fight, which suggested that they needed either an additional requirement or something else altogether. After an hour of training, Ozul's bite felt different. His mouth opened wider, and he bit down harder. Ozul employed appraise and checked his skills.

Strong Bite level 2

"So, I can level up skills by using them. I wonder if I can level up my night vision in a similar way, or if it's a passive skill that'll eventually level up on its own?" Putting the question to the side, Ozul felt confident in his new level up and searched for a hunting party to join.

"I should prioritize leveling and eating to get the rest of my HP back. There aren't as many Umbras in this cave, but there should be hunting parties going out." Most packs leaving the area had three to six Umbras in them, but Ozul did not want to risk joining the smaller groups. "The larger in numbers the better, especially if I need to escape and leave behind the rest as meat shields." He felt no remorse at the concept of abandoning his brethren to a losing fight. After all, most of them won't live past a few days old. The Umbras who survived the previous fight against the rats had already duplicated twice. Turning from nine Umbras into twenty-seven, each with their own unique thoughts and drive to survive. Ozul spied a larger group of twelve Umbras leaving the cavern and joined their ranks.

Ozul appraised everything he passed while flying with his hunting pack. Most of the descriptions were the same and he did not find any worthwhile information. The tunnel gradually sloped downward deeper into the dungeon. Ozul grew concerned, but the other Umbras did not seem worried. However, Ozul refused to trust their judgment. They were not intelligent creatures, as in the case with the green slime, and are defeated easily. Ozul was considering the dangers ahead when an arrow flew out of the darkness and pierced an Umbra. The arrow flew straight through the first victim, shattering its bones, and into another at the rear of the pack; killing both and causing panic throughout the Umbra ranks. Reacting to the sudden attack Ozul took cover behind a stalactite. The other Umbras pressed forward at top speed closing the distance between themselves and the unseen aggressor.

Ozul calmed his nerves and thought of his options. "We've traveled for some time, if I go back now, I may be targeted and killed because I'm alone. I came looking for a fight, so I might as well embrace it." Ozul shot forward from his place of cover, quickly catching up to his hunting party. When the conflict came into view, Ozul saw the Umbras already fighting a monster that held a long bow with one hand and a rusty short sword in the other. Ozul recognized the monster from horror movies as a skeleton and appraised it.

Species: Human Undead Skeleton

Level: 2

Experience to next level: 78/100

Health: 81/100

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 32

Wisdom: 14

Intelligence: 40

Species Advantages: Strong Resistance to Slashing Physical Attacks

Skills: Archery level 4, Short Sword Mastery level 2, Night Vision level 3, Cooking level 2, Wood Working level 7, Bartering level 3, Farming level 6

Titles: Dead Adventurer, Soulless Husk

Most of the skeleton's bones were white with discolored yellow blotches. Its skull was cracked and chipped with the jawbone missing. The skeleton swung its long bow from right to left using it like a staff to knock away any attackers. If an Umbra did manage to get through, the skeleton would use its short sword to cut it down. There were already six Umbras dead including the two previously killed by its arrow.

"This monster must have been a human before death and somehow turned into a skeleton. It has a lot of skills, likely from when it was alive, but only two of them are combat related. I'll use the same strategy I used against the rats." Ozul crept along the ceiling trying to find a moment to strike but as he got closer the skeleton jumped forward into the Umbras swinging its bow. The bow struck Ozul sending him flying to the floor. Pain erupted from Ozul's chest as he felt one of his ribs crack. He retreated from the conflict and appraised himself. His HP went down thirty points and was now at 57. Noticing another Umbra being killed Ozul thought, "there are only seven of us left including me. If this continues, I will die!"