Chapter 7
Vivian was running around in circles around a group of tiny jumping mushrooms.
Ba-Squish!
She stomped one of them and it died before running away again.
Every time one or two of the mushrooms got separated by the group, she would immediately charge toward it and stomp it to death.
There were 11 left.
Sweat trickled down her forehead and her breathing was starting to get heavy.
Dammit...!
I'm wasting too much energy with this..!
At the corner of her eye, she noticed that 4 mushrooms got separated by the group.
I have to be more aggressive...!
She stopped, pivoted and rushed towards the 4 mushrooms.
When she got close, she immediately started delivering death stomps.
Ba-Squish!
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
One mushroom tackled her leg with its head. Fortunately, she was wearing pants so she didn't suffer from its itching effects. As for the physical blow that it dealt, the force was no different from getting hit with a ball the size of an adult's fist made of paper so it was nothing.
Poink!
Another mushroom struck her.
Vivian continued delivering death stomps.
Ba-Squish!
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
Poink!
The rest of the mushrooms arrived and began attacking her.
One managed to hit her back which was covered by her leather armor, while another struck her right elbow which wasn't covered with anything.
An itching sensation immediately ignited around her right elbow.
"Shit!" Vivian cursed and she ran away to create some distance.
She stopped and eyed the mushrooms rushing towards her.
7 more…
I also want to use my hands, but…!
When the mushrooms got closer, she immediately delivered a kick as if she were kicking a ball.
Pah!
Two mushrooms went flying in the air but didn't die. And the moment they landed on the ground, they immediately got up and came rushing towards her once again.
Poink!
Poink!
Poink!
Meanwhile, the rest immediately began tackling her with their heads.
One hit her leg, another one hit her stomach and one hit her on the chin.
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
Poink!
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
One was about to hit her face again so she covered her face with her forearm.
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
She got hit in the stomach.
Ba-Squish!
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
Ba-Squish!
Ba-Squish!
Ding!
A ringing bell rang inside her head and a short message appeared in front of her before disappearing.
'Unlocked [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) - Level 1!'
"Argh…!"
She mustered all of her strength to stop herself from scratching her bare skin that got hit by the tiny jumping mushrooms and focused her attention elsewhere.
"Status Panel…!"
***
Name: Vivian
Class: Thief
Race: Human
Age: 24
Affinity:
• Poison - x1.4
• Fire - x1.2
• Dagger - x1.2
Stats:
• Str - 11 (+6)
• Vit - 9 (+1)
• Agi - 12 (+6)
• Int - 8 (+1)
Mana: 16/18
Skills:
• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 1 (x6.2) (Max/16) - Dagger Stab (10 mana points)
• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 2 (x6.2) (Max/81) - +2 Str, +1 Vit, +2 Agi, +1 Int
• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 3 (x6.2) (??/161)
• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 1 (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi
• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) (x5) - Level 2 (??/50)
• [Poison Mastery] - Level 1 (x6.4) (Max/16) - Poison Strike (20 mana points)
• [Poison Mastery] - Level 2 (x6.4) (??/78)
• [Leg Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Power Leg (10 mana points)
• [Leg Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (??/100)
• [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) (x5) - Level 1 (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi
• [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) (x5) - Level 2 (??/50)
Lore:
• Village Girl
• Adventurer
• Zhey/Zhem
• Otherworldly - Grants [Growth] - all affinity x5
***
She closed the Status Panel and then just concentrated on breathing.
Inhale…
Exhale…
Inhale…
Exhale…
Inhale…
Exhale…
***
A few minutes later…
All of the itchy feelings finally subsided.
She threw a fist.
Hmm…
I can feel I'm a little faster...
She threw a kick.
"Yup, just a little bit faster."
She raised her head and looked at the sky.
It was still bright and sunny.
If I were to make a guess, it's probably around 2:00 p.m…
She returned her gaze forward.
But I'm still nowhere close to being confident with my strength…
"I need to rush..."
She resumed searching for enemies.
However, her footsteps were a little faster this time around, but still careful enough not to startle enemies.
***
Vivian was running towards something.
In front of her were 2 sunflower monsters that had their backs facing her.
She grabbed one of the sunflowers, one hand on the stem and the other hand between the stem and sunflower before ripping its body apart into 2 pieces.
Riiip!
The other sunflower heard the sound of something dropping on the ground so it turned around to see what it was.
When it saw Vivian standing beside a dismembered corpse of its brethren, it immediately charged to blow out its gas attack.
Vivian anticipated it and was already running away and disappeared into the bushes.
Despite that, the sunflower monster continued chasing where it last saw Vivian.
When it was about to enter the bush where Vivian disappeared, Vivian appeared from another side and did the same thing it did with the other sunflower from earlier.
Riiip!
Vivian didn't stop and continued searching for more enemies.
To be fair...
This body seems healthy...
It looks like it's used to physical activities...
Or perhaps it's because of my increased stats...?
***
Vivian was once again rushing towards a group of enemies and there was a smile on her face.
The monsters this time around it wasn't the sunflowers. It was a group of tiny jumping mushrooms.
But what made Vivian put a smile on her face was because they were only 4 of them.
Poink!
Ba-Squish!
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
Ba-Squish!
Poink!
Ba-Squish!
Although the mushrooms managed to hit her, none of their attacks landed on her bare skin.
She continued searching for enemies.
***
Vivian stopped.
Up ahead, she saw a fox. It was the same type of fox that she killed a while ago.
I'm going to use [Power Leg] on this one...
In her head, although she still had the broken dagger with her inside her satchel, the fox was still a wild animal with fangs. She didn't want to risk it.
And plus, it's not that I can't regenerate mana...
Vivian began sprinting towards the fox, her eyes shone with a murderous glint.
And if a third party were to look at this scene, they would wonder who is the actual wild animal here between Vivian and the fox.
As a matter of fact, if anyone could see Vivian's physical appearance now, she looked disheveled from all the running and fighting she had been doing that if she were to add a giggle or laugh, it wouldn't be surprising if people called her a crazy blood-thirsty witch wandering in the forest.
The fox noticed Vivian and immediately decided to run away.
"HEY, COME BACK HERE!"
Vivian chased the fox with all of her strength.
However, as time passed, the distance between them just kept growing until Vivian couldn't find the fox anymore.
Vivian stopped.
She leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees.
"Haaaaa… Haaaaa… Haaaaa…"
"I wasted..."
"Haaaa… Haaaa… Haaaa…"
"So much energy…!"
"Haaa… Haaa…"
"Stupid…!"
"Haaa… Haaa..."
"Definitely..."
"Haa..."
"Very stupid…!"
Spit!
Although Vivian's speed increased, she still couldn't defeat biology. Just with the size alone, the fox can easily pass through the bushes with little resistance. Not to mention the fox also had 4 legs and it was used to running in such a terrain.
Vivian took out her water pouch from her satchel and took a few sips.
Gulp.
Gulp.
She returned the water pouch to her satchel.
"I should just focus on slow or aggressive enemies."
She resumed searching for enemies.