4 Coward's First Fight!

Anyway, let's choose a skill then.

I quickly read the name of the skills as I already know their description.

[Skills:

Fireball: A basic skill that allows you to launch a ball of fire at your target. It is effective against monsters that are weak to fire damage.

Heal: A basic skill that allows you to heal your own or others' wounds. It is effective against monsters that can cause injuries or diseases.

Shield: A basic skill that allows you to create a barrier around yourself or others. It is effective against monsters that can cause physical or magical damage.

Speed: A basic skill that allows you to increase your own or others' movement speed. It is effective against monsters that can chase or flee from you.

Stealth: A basic skill that allows you to hide your own or others' presence and movements. It is effective against monsters that can detect or observe you.]

Ergh... I already learned the stealth so this is out.

I can learn the Speed and the Heal too. Although the shield sounds plausible... I need a skill that can help me run away easily.

And that only leaves the fireball. Why? I can shoot fireballs to distract the monsters. Besides, many monsters in this area are weak against fire.

I chose the Fireball in the end.

[You have chosen a Dagger as your weapon and Fireball as your skill]

[Congratulations!]

[You have received your free weapon and skill: Dagger and Fireball.]

Then a simple dagger appeared in my hands. I learned the Fireball automatically as it appeared on my status.

This is similar to the character creation in the game. You get to choose a weapon and a free skill. I think Seraphim doing this in order to balance the game and the real world. But we can't choose race in real life, but many ways will appear in the future.

Ok, I got the dagger ready. Well then, let's finish my work here first. There is an information center here on the third floor. I already have my smartphone too.

After deciding I continued and after stealthily walking for a while I reached the other side of the station.

Urgh! What is this smell? Disgusting!

As I stood there I looked at my left side.

I saw many trash piling up on the ground. The trash bins were on the ground too. The smell was obviously coming from the trash they spilled. Wait?! Maybe some monster did this?

I need to use st-wait, I am already using it.

Before I could dive into my fearful thoughts, another notification appeared.

[Ding!]

[You have learned a new skill: Odor Resistance Lv1. Congratulations!]

[You have received one skill point.]

[Skill name: Odor Resistance]

[Skill Description: A skill that allows you to resist or ignore bad smells. It is effective against monsters or enemies that can produce or emit bad smells, such as rats, zombies, skunks, etc.]

Nice, another skill. Also, this is a passive one.

As soon as I read the skill's description, another notification appeared.

[Ding!]

[You have earned a title: Self-Learner]

A title? Sweet!

[Title Description: You have learned more than one skill by yourself, without the help of anyone or anything. You will have it easier to learn new skills.]

[Title Effect: Increases your intelligence and wisdom by 5 points.]

Good! As expected. I immediately equipped the title. I sensed some changes in my body and mind. My mana increased and my mind became much clearer. It was really a refreshing feeling.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

Hick!

I jumped backward in fright as I suddenly heard a scurrying sound behind me. I spun around, my heart racing with fear, and saw a slightly big Rat staring back at me with beady red eyes. I hate rats! They are so disgusting... and scary!

So this was the one who spilled the trash.

Dup! Dup! (Heart beating...)

Huh? Am I... afraid of this?

That means... this is a monster. Oh, sh*t! What do I do?

But I should calm down first... Or else my Fear will awaken. And I don't want that to happen... Not right now, at least.

Ah, I need to check its status first.

"Identify!" I muttered.

[Ding!]

[Rat]

Name: Rat

Race: Animal

Class: None

Level: 1

HP: 10/10 MP: 0/0

Strength: 1 Agility: 3

Dexterity: 2 Intelligence: 1

Constitution: 2

Skills: Bite | Scurry | Flee

Passive: Disease Carrier ]

[Ding!]

[You have learned a new skill: Identify. Congratulations!]

10 HP? Then I can defeat it easily. But can it see me? I am using stealth though. Or did it deactivate after I jumped back?

Let's test it.

Then I stepped on my right side and waited for its reaction.

The Rat grinned wickedly, revealing its sharp teeth, and lunged at me with surprising speed.

Oh, no you don't!

I quickly used [Fireball] and a ball of fire the size of a volleyball shot toward the monster.

[You have activated Fireball!]

Thanks to my high agility and dexterity, the fireball easily hit the rat and it dropped into the ground.

"Squ-!"

Before the rat could scream I quickly ended its life with my dagger. I didn't want it to call its accomplices. Although they were weak, they could overwhelm me with numbers.

[You have killed a Rat]

[You have gained 1 XP]

Huh? Only 1 XP? I thought it could give at least 5 XP.

Maybe it is just a rat, that's why. Well, let's not get my hopes up. Heck, it could at least drop anything, even one GC(Gold Coin).

Anyway, I'm sure there are other rats around here, probably a nest too. I need to get away from here.

"Stealth!"

[You have activated Stealth!]

I slowly hid behind the wall. I need to kill them! Why? Because they will start to spread an incurable disease once they grow any longer. Thankfully, I used Identify on it. That's why I saw its Passive Disease Carrier skill. Although now people can level up and get stronger, they aren't immune to diseases.

And in my last life, many innocent lives died because of the disease they spread.

While I was thinking I heard another similar voice like the Rat.

"Squeak? Squeak!"

There were three of them. I immediately used Identify on them. Their stats were similar to the last one. I don't have to worry about anything now.

Huh? Are they looking for their friend? The question came to my mind as I saw them looking around.

Thankfully I exposed the body using a fireball. They can't find it.

Wait? Ah, yes. They can't see me but smell me! How could I forget that? Then that means...

Maybe I jinxed it, the leading Rat sniffled the ground where the Rat I killed was. Sh*t! How strong their smell sense. It spotted the location at once.

Then it stopped and looked in my direction revealing its sharp teeth like the last one. The other two followed after him and they started to walk in my direction.

Are they planning to ambush me? That's scary! They only have 2 intelligence.

Should I fight? I am sure I can kill them without getting any injury... But...

Ok, let's do it. I can always run away from them with my ten agility anyway.