Chapter 4: I need to level up!

The day dawned heavily monotonous, the weather felt... strange. Strax woke up after a poorly slept night, his dreams of what happened before his death echoing around him, but he didn't feel regretful; on the contrary, he felt proud of what he did.

But that wouldn't change the fact that he had succumbed to his worst side, and that couldn't happen again.

"What a damn headache, I just wanted to be free from this stupid burden of abandoning my family."

His thoughts still led him to that, but he had nothing more to worry about, as they say.

"Out of sight, out of mind."

*Knock* *Knock*

The door made a noise, knocks like the ones from the previous day; again, those same three workers that Strax didn't even think to remember the names of were there.

As he got up to open, he was already ready for work, and if everything went as he wanted, he could start leveling up, maybe even escape safely.

"Well, it looks like the lazy one is ready for work; I just hope you don't fall asleep in the mine again," said one of them, leading the way.

"Seriously, I don't understand the dynamics of this place. What am I exactly here? A slave? A prisoner? I have no idea. That idiot of my predecessor didn't help me at all other than being a pretty face."

Pretty face would be blasphemy compared to these animals he worked with. I am a god among mortals, damn it.

Strax's thoughts reflected on his face; if anyone saw the disgusted grimaces he made behind his coworkers' backs, he would probably be in trouble.

"Strax," the eldest called him by name, as his musings about his appearance began to fade.

"Y-Yes, S-Sir?" He stammered slightly, but was ignored.

"The Baroness wants to meet with you to give you the reward for discovering a cave," the man said, and Strax's body shivered slightly with the news.

"W-where?" He questioned, and the man turned, looking into his eyes. "At the main house, obviously. Tell the guards, and they will take you there."

"Why me? Or better yet, why only me? Eron was with me, why isn't he being called too?"

He couldn't help but think about the strangeness of this call, but despite that, he focused on what he needed to do today.

"We have work, but this time, the Baroness requested that Strax go back to the cave alone and make a report for her," the man said, pushing him forward. An unsatisfied expression appeared on Strax's face when he heard about working alone. They even chuckled lightly, but inside...

"HAHAHAHA, I AM THE GOD OF DESTINY!"

Of course, a manipulation game made by him. Dissatisfied? It was what he wanted most at the moment. He could level up!

So, he quickly went back into the abandoned mine, which was now reasonably lit. Apparently, during the process, some miners visited the site and hung lanterns along the paths already traveled, including the same ones from before, where Strax had destroyed the spiders.

[+35XP]

"It's been two hours since I got here. It seems like I've cleared these caves already. Maybe I should go down a bit further while looking for more spiders."

His thoughts were understandable; the ecstasy of leveling up and getting stronger was really noticeable. After all, who wouldn't want to be strong? Especially remembering his previous life, Strax was excited.

"Let's go down."

He descended a few meters into a round cave that slightly resembled a slide. He couldn't resist and slid down a bit. When he got up, he saw some old remnants.

He really had a good opportunity. The spot he hit was an important point. He hit her directly in the stomach, with the power of the first blow being completely overwhelming. She had no choice. From the beginning, the winner was already decided.

She tried to walk, but her body wouldn't allow it. Before she could even turn to try to shoot web at Strax again, the man was already behind her, with a maniacal smile preparing to mine her head.

*SKRIIIIII*

She screamed in fear, but before she could do anything.

[You Defeated the First 2* Poisonous Cave Spider]

[+188XP]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 1/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

"Well, now that I know it's easy to kill them, all I need to do is find these damn things," said Strax, and thus began his hunt.

[Defeated: 4/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 9/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 12/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 18/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

[You leveled up!]

[Defeated: 24/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

"Ah~" The heavy sigh of the man sitting on the ground was proof of how tired he was. Actually, tired was an understatement.

Unlike the first ones, the others weren't in blind spots he could use and abuse. Many of them fought him head-on. Of course, that didn't mean he would lose, but it was exhausting. The spiders were quite dumb in fair fights; they were assassin hunters, not heavy fighters, and that was proof that Strax had a total advantage. It was just a training for him.

*SKRIIII!*

*Thud*

[Defeated: 25/25 Poisonous Cave Spiders]

"Well, let's see what I'll get, shall we?" He questioned himself, and a different tab appeared.

[You completed your first side mission! Distributing rewards]

[You received 10 White Points!]

[You received the System Skill: Inventory.]

"I worked my ass off... for you to give me a basic skill that comes with any system without needing to complete missions? Are you kidding me, System? Am I a joke to you?"