Luxen Forest

At the forest surrounding Luxen City.

Whaaack!

Vivian swung a stick on her left hand, causing pollen and leaves to burst out in the air and killing the sunflower monster in an instant.

Without missing a beat, she turned to the left and dashed forward to the other sunflower monster.

Whooosh!

She swung the sword on her right hand and decapitated the monster.

Ding!

'Unlocked [Dual Swords Mastery] - Level 2!'

Beak!

Beak!

Vivian turned to the direction of where the sound was coming from.

Seeing the Bukaroo, she clipped the stick on her right armpit and raised her left hand, aiming it at the bird.

[Fire Arrow].

Woooh!

A 15-inch arrow made out of flames burst out of her hand and shot right through the bird's body until it dissipated in the air.

Vivian didn't bother extracting the tail of the bird and burst out running to find other enemies.

***

Some time later.

Rawr!

Braaak!

Arrrwww!

Thud.

The stick on Vivian's hand shattered when she swung it against a fox jumping in mid-air to bite her.

Tch!

She clicked her tongue and threw the broken stick away before rushing to where the fox landed.

Suuurp!

She stabbed her sword on the animal's head.

Ding!

'Unlocked [Body Art Mastery] (Dual Swords Mastery) - Level 3!'

She pulled back her sword and then whipped it to remove the blood before running once again to search for more enemies.

***

Some time later…

Vivian leaped over a Treebark and landed behind it.

Whoosh!

She spun around and cut the monster in half with her sword.

Thud.

The monster tried to continue turning around to face Vivian but stopped halfway and its upper body slid down.

Ding!

'Unlocked [Dual Sword Mastery] - Level 3!'

Vivian swept her gaze around if there were other monsters left.

After confirming that there was none, she threw her stick away and then took out her water pouch from her waist and opened it.

Gulp.

Gulp.

"Haa…"

'I want to drink more but I can't or else my stomach will feel heavy…'

She closed the lid and returned the water pouch to her waist.

'Okay, now I have to level up my [Fist] and [Throw Mastery] to Level 3…'

'I'll do the fist first…'

She returned her sword to its scabbard and began running.

***

Beak!

Beak!

She stopped and turned to where the sound was coming from.

When she saw the Bukaroo, she immediately raised her hand and aimed at it.

[Fire Arrow].

Woooh!

Tch!

The skill missed and Vivian clicked her tongue.

"This fucking bird!"

She pulled out her sword and rushed towards it.

Whoosh!

Thud

Thud.

Vivian swung her sword and the bird was cut in half before crashing to the ground.

She whipped her sword to remove the blood before returning it to its scabbard and then bursting out into a run once again.

A couple of steps later…

She saw a Treebark up ahead and increased her speed.

Once she got about 10ft away from the monster, it turned to her direction and charged.

She leaped at an impossible height and landed a couple of feet away behind the monster that she even had to resort to clawing the ground with her own hand to stop the momentum when she landed.

Tch!

'Looks like I just can't leap without properly measuring it, huh…'

'Damn physics…!'

The Treebark turned to her and charged.

Vivian burst out into a run once again.

But this time around, when she got about 6ft away from the monster, she slowed down and jumped over it, landing behind it.

Braaak!

She quickly turned around and shoved her fist inside it.

She lifted it above the air with one arm and threw it away.

BRAAAK!

The monster's body shattered into pieces once it landed on the ground.

She glanced at her hand which was covered with green fluid.

"Sigh…" 

"Well, can't do anything about it…"

She resumed running to search for more enemies.

***

Some time later…

Vivian stopped and raised her hand.

There was a group of tiny jumping mushrooms up ahead about 15 meters away from her and they hadn't noticed her yet.

She activated a spell.

[Fire Arrow].

An arrow made out of flames burst out of her hand and managed to shoot through 2 mushrooms before hitting the ground.

The rest of the mushrooms immediately turned to her direction and charged.

Vivian's eyes narrowed.

'So the range is indeed only around 15 meters…'

'But isn't this useless…?'

'What is the point of shooting an arrow that only has a range of 15 meters…?'

'If this was something like a fireball and it had an explosion effect, it would've been acceptable…'

The fire arrow finally dissipated.

'And it only lasts between 2-3 seconds before disappearing…'

'It's not even enough to burn its surroundings…'

'Very useless…'

'But then again, it's only a Level 1 skill so I guess it's understandable…'

'I wonder when will I have my second skill…'

'Oh, I guess I should ask Marie or Criselle…'

The mushroom finally reached her.

'Oh, they're here already…'

Pah!

She slapped away the first mushroom that jumped on her.

It wasn't enough to kill it. It immediately got up and resumed charging at her.

And given that she was wearing fingerless gloves so part of the skin of her hand was exposed, it also became itchy.

'This is annoying…'

Pah!

*** 

Some time later…

A fox was charging towards Vivian.

Given that she wasn't using her sword, she decided to concentrate.

And all of a sudden, the world appeared to move slower through her eyes, including the fox.

'What's this...?!'

She looked around in a panic.

Everything appeared to move slower.

When she tried to calm herself down, the world returned to moving at a normal pace through her eyes.

"Huh...?"

She concentrated once again and the world began to move at a slower pace through her eyes.

She looked at her hands and moved them.

Although she could move her hands at a normal speed, she could feel the heavy amount of force she exerted in order to move it.

She also felt a growing strain on her eyes and head whenever she tried to move at a normal speed while the world appeared to move slower.

She then noticed that the fox got close and exposed its fangs as it leaped at her.

With everything in the world still moving at a slow pace through her eyes, she moved forward and stretched out her left hand.

Chud.

Vivian caught a fox by the throat in mid-air with one hand.

The animal struggled, scratching its paws and wiggling its body.

Everything was still moving at a slower pace.

Vivian tilted her head to the side as she stared at the animal.

She stopped concentrating.

The moment she did that, the world returned to moving at a normal pace, including the animal.

She concentrated once again.

And once again, the world moved at a slower pace through her eyes.

She stopped concentrating.

The world returned to moving at normal pace.

"HAHAHAHAHA~!" Vivian burst out into a loud maniacal laughter which echoed throughout the forest.

Back when Vivian had a huge boost in her Intelligence points, given that she spent 4 days inside the training room butchering and healing herself with no food except for the water inside her water pouch, she didn't notice that her brain's processing power had improved because of the weakened state that her body was currently in.

But once she recovered enough, she finally noticed it.

As long as she concentrated or focused, the world in her eyes would seem to slow down.

However, it was extremely taxing if she concentrated too much that her eyes and head would start to ache.

And as for how this "slow-mo" actually works, it's basically the owner's total number of Intelligence points versus the target's total number of Agility points.

In this case, Vivian's current Int is x8 (+62). Meanwhile, the fox's Agi is 15 points and was using its full speed to charge and attack Vivian.

Given that Vivian's Int was far greater than the fox's Agi, once she started concentrating, her eyes could follow the animal's movement despite using its full speed.

So in a sense, this "slow-mo" effect wasn't exactly the world moving slowly to bend under Vivian's will, it was Vivian's eyes and brain working on overdrive and processing things at x8 (+62) faster than the normal rate, causing the world to appear to move slowly through her eyes.

But of course, this had some flaws and limitations.

One of its major flaws is that the owner's Int and Agi must at least be proportionate to one another.

If Vivian's Int was 8 (+62) but her Agi was only 10 (+10), once she uses this slow-mo effect, just because her eyes and brain were processing things at x8 (+62) faster, it doesn't mean her body could also match the speed.

So earlier, when Vivian was using the slow-mo effect and was moving her hands at a "normal" speed, she was actually moving her hands at x12 (+51) speed with her Agi to catch up with her eyes and brain that were processing things at x8 (+62) with her Int.

On the other hand, supposing Vivian's Agi was 12 (+51), while her Int was only 10 (+10). If she decides to run using her full speed, it would be no different from running with her eyes closed because the world would appear blurry through her eyes due to the fact that her eyes and brain's processing power couldn't catch up with her body's speed.

There are still many other flaws but that's a topic for another time.

This is also why Marie offered Vivian a handicap, was in a "turtle mode" position, and was able to block and grab to headbutt her.

When Vivian had her follow her around to pick up the Bukaroo tails, she already had a rough estimate of Vivian's Physical Force. However, she still wasn't sure because it was her first time adventuring with Vivian and figured that maybe Vivian was hiding her strength. It was only during their fight that Marie became confident that she knew Vivian's exact Physical Force so she finished her off that way.

And even if Vivian was indeed hiding her strength and chopped off her arm, she could easily heal herself with [Greater Heal] to regrow her lost limb.

"Now how should I kill you?" Vivian said with a huge grin on her face.

She thought about it for a second before finally deciding.

Bam!

Crack!

Still holding the fox by the neck, she punched its head with her other hand. The force was too much that the impact caused its neck to snap.

Ding!

'Unlocked [Fist Mastery] - Level 3!'

Thud.

She dropped the corpse to the ground.

'Both the main and body of my [Fist Mastery] are now level 3…'

'Time to level up [Throw Mastery]….'

Vivian raised her head and noticed that the sky was already slowly getting dark.

Tch!

"I'll continue this tomorrow…"

'Status Panel…'

***

Name: Vivian

Class: Priest

Race: Human

Age: 24

Affinity: 

• Poison - x1.4

• Fire - x1.2

• Dagger - x1.2

Stats:

• Str - 11 (+55)

• Vit - 9 (+57)

• Agi - 12 (+51)

• Int - 8 (+62)

Mana: 140/140

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) (Max/161) - +2 Str, +1 Vit, +2 Agi

• [Dagger Mastery] - Level 4 (x6.2) (??/806) 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dagger Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500)

• [Poison Mastery] - Level 1 (x6.4) (Max/16) - Poison Strike (20 mana points)

• [Poison Mastery] - Level 2 (x6.4) (Max/78) - +2 Agi, +2 Int

• [Poison Mastery] - Level 3 (x6.4) (Max/156) - +1 Str, +1 Vit 

• [Poison Mastery] - Level 4 (x6.4) (??/781)

• [Leg Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Power Leg (10 mana points)

• [Leg Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +2 Agi

• [Leg Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +2 Agi, +1 Int 

• [Leg Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000) 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Leg Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500)

• [Savage Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi, +1 Int

• [Savage Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi, +1 Int

• [Savage Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +2 Agi, +2 Int

• [Savage Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000) 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Savage Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Savage Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Savage Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Savage Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500) 

• [Throw Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Power Throw (10 mana points)

• [Throw Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100)  - +2 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi, +1 Int

• [Throw Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (??/200) 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Throw Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Throw Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (??/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Throw Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (??/100) 

• [Sword Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Power Slash (10 mana points)

• [Sword Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +1 Agi, +1 Int

• [Sword Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +1 Agi

• [Sword Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000)

• [Body Art Mastery] (Sword Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Sword Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Sword Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int

• [Body Art Mastery] (Sword Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500) 

• [Dual Swords Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Dual Power Slash (10 mana points)

• [Dual Swords Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +1 Agi, +1 Int

• [Dual Swords Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +1 Agi

• [Dual Swords Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000)

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dual Swords Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dual Swords Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dual Swords Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (??/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int

• [Body Art Mastery] (Dual Swords Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500) 

• [Fist Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Power Fist (10 mana points)

• [Fist Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +2 Agi

• [Fist Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +2 Agi, +1 Int

• [Fist Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000)

• [Body Art Mastery] (Fist Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Fist Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Fist Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int

• [Body Art Mastery] (Fist Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500)

• [Whip Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Power Whip (10 mana points)

• [Whip Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +2 Str, +1 Vit, +2 Agi, +1 Int

• [Whip Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +2 Str, +1 Vit, +2 Agi

• [Whip Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000)

• [Body Art Mastery] (Whip Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +2 Str, +2 Agi

• [Body Art Mastery] (Whip Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +2 Vit

• [Body Art Mastery] (Whip Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +1 Vit, +1 Int 

• [Body Art Mastery] (Whip Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500) 

• [Light Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Heal (20 mana points)

• [Light Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +3 Int

• [Light Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi

• [Light Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (Max/1,000) - +6 Int

• [Light Mastery] - Level 5 (x5) (??/2,000) 

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Light Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +3 Int

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Light Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Light Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +6 Int

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Light Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (Max/500) - +2 Str, +2 Vit, +2 Agi

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Light Mastery) - Level 5 (x5) (??/1,000) 

• [Fire Mastery] - Level 1 (x6.2) (Max/16) - Fire Arrow (20 mana points)

• [Fire Mastery] - Level 2 (x6.2) (??/81) - +3 Int

• [Fire Mastery] - Level 3 (x6.2) (??/161) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agility

• [Fire Mastery] - Level 4 (x6.2) (??/806) 

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Fire Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +3 Int

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Fire Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Fire Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +6 Int

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Fire Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500) 

• [Wind Mastery] - Level 1 (x5) (Max/20) - Wind Arrow (20 mana points)

• [Wind Mastery] - Level 2 (x5) (Max/100) - +3 Int

• [Wind Mastery] - Level 3 (x5) (Max/200) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agility

• [Wind Mastery] - Level 4 (x5) (??/1,000) 

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Wind Mastery) - Level 1 (x5) (Max/10) - +3 Int

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Wind Mastery) - Level 2 (x5) (Max/50) - +1 Str, +1 Vit, +1 Agi

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Wind Mastery) - Level 3 (x5) (Max/100) - +6 Int

• [Magic Art Mastery] (Wind Mastery) - Level 4 (x5) (??/500) 

Lore:

• Village Girl

• Adventurer

• Zhey/Zhem

• Otherworldly - Grants [Growth] - all affinity x5 

• Nemesis of Beasts - Animals and beasts have a natural aversion to the bearer 

***

'Damn this [Fist Mastery]…'

'Wasted too much time trying to finish off enemies with punches…'

If there were enemies that she struggled to kill with her punches, it was the Bukaroo and the tiny jumping mushrooms.

With the Bukaroo, although her thought process has improved, it was still a gamble to catch its tail without letting it sting her. She couldn't afford to risk letting it sting her head or face and make her lose consciousness again like last time.

As for the tiny jumping mushrooms, they were too squishy for her normal chops, punches and kicks to destroy their body. She could only squeeze or stomp them to death.

She closed the Status Panel.

She looked around to search for a tall tree that she could climb on to know the direction of Luxen City.