9 Learning fast

Since Bruce didn't know how things if things were worse or better on the other streets, he couldn't risk to take a roundabout way. Walking in a straight line toward his parent's home wasn't a good idea either since several monsters were agglomerating at the site of the explosion. So, Bruce decided to stay in that dark alley until the monsters dispersed or until he felt confident in dealing with them. There was only one way for him to feel confident in dealing with those monsters: it was by leveling up. Still, just waiting for the monsters to come would take too much time. So, Bruce decided to prepare some traps and then lure them toward him.

"I can't make a single decent trap with the things I have here, but I still can fool those freaks," Bruce said while grabbing the flashlight and the stun gun. "It would be good if I could keep this on and lure monsters from far away, but I can't risk luring more than one at a time."

Bruce didn't know if the eyesight of the monsters was better than his. Still, considering that he saw a goblin walking in the darkness as if it was nothing, he decided to assume that that was the case. Fortunately, a good opportunity was approaching to test if that was the case. Maybe the monsters began to appear at night, and it was time to see if that was the case.

Bruce heard some footsteps approaching coming from the south. The sound was coordinated and quite heavy, so he concluded it belonged to a single goblin. The creature didn't pass that close to the alley, but it was forced to slow down and then stop when an intense flash of light began to shine over it. The beast looked at the origin of the light, and that had been a mistake. The dazzling light blinded the creature, and Bruce didn't lose that chance to kill a defenseless monster. However, when he approached, the beast swung its sword toward him, but since it had been a sudden attack, it cut only the air; Bruce hadn't entered its range yet. The monster wouldn't be able to prepare for another attack, so Bruce used the stun gun on the monster's neck and then turned off the flashlight before the creature could even fall to the ground.

"Surprise motherfucker," Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. "Those goblins sure are quick to react…If I had charged at the same time, I turned on the flashlight… Oh, well. There is no point in thinking about it. My caution saved my skin, and that is all."

You obtained 12 experience points.

You obtained 01 spiritual coin.

Congratulations! You leveled up!

You obtained five status points!

Your HP, MP, and SP have increased by one point.

You completed a quest!

You received a new quest!

Reach level five!

Reward: ten health potions.

"Wow… five status points, that is a lot," Bruce said excitedly. "A lot more than I need to properly wield those swords."

The next moment, Bruce heard the sound of something falling on the ground. It sounded like glass, and he recalled that the reward for leveling up was two potions. He hoped that the bottles wouldn't have broken when he turned on the flashlight, and fortunately, they were there completely intact.

Health potion (Small) (Common)

Restores ten points of health in the next ten seconds. Once open, its contents can only be consumed in the next ten seconds.

"Sweet!" Bruce picked up the round bottles that were smaller than his fingers. "Although the restrictions are a bit problematic, now I don't have to worry too much about it if I get wounded. Now then, it is shown time…"

It was time to distribute his status points; just like in the games, status points would define his life from now on; it was only obvious. Considering that it would become harder to level up in the future. Bruce had to carefully consider his talents, his fighting style, his fears, and things like if he wanted to fight alongside others or not… Bruce didn't waste a single time thinking about that. He put all his points into strength.

"Ha!" Bruce smiled confidently. "Real men need strength; magic is for pussies… that being said, given that I will receive skill books as rewards from quests in the future, I guess it will be wiser to become a bit all-rounder."

Status

HP: 04/10

MP: 09/09

SP: 04/10

Level 02 (00/200)

STRENGTH: 07

P. Attack: 8 + 3

VITALITY: 02

P. Defense: 3

AGILITY: 02

Movement Speed: 6 meters per second

INTELLIGENCE: 4

M. Attack: 5

DEXTERITY: 3

M. Defense: 5

LUCK: 5

Range: 6 meters

Free Points: 00

Spiritual Coins: 09

Social Status

Level 01 (10/100)

Karma: - 02

Intimidation: 02

Charisma: 2

Persuasion: 02

Insight: 04

Perception: 04

Presence: 01

Allies: 00

Enemies: 01

Skill List

Magic:

Physical:

Passive:

Production:

The very moment Bruce put the status points into strength, he noticed some changes. Although he didn't feel himself getting weaker, he felt slightly tired but, at the same time, full of power. It was a really weird feeling, but when he checked his status, he noticed why that happened. It was because his HP and SP increased a lot. He felt more powerful, but only because the limits of his strength increased, and he felt weak because his health was at forty percent of its max level.

"Now that I think about it, I wonder how fast HP, MP, and SP can recover," Bruce rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I need to learn this as fast as possible and then proceed on my path with that info in mind."

Putting such matters aside, Bruce realized that his pride as a male wasn't the sole factor that made him put all his points into strength. He would need strength to use all his weapons; that was obvious. However, a physical path would be more secure for him because he didn't know the limitations of magic. It wasn't wise to compare reality with games, but the mage characters Bruce played, as in the past, couldn't do anything when they ran out of mana. There are some exceptions to that rule, but those exceptions were high-class mages that could do things like casting spells while walking and buffing their physical attacks with magic. At the moment, Bruce couldn't do either.

"In the end, putting all into strength is the correct choice," Bruce said. "Without doing so, I wouldn't be able to fully utilize the effect of the potions. Well, it isn't perfect yet, given that to use all the effects of the potions, I will have to wait to use them just when my HP drops to zero."