Chapter 9 Out In The Field

As he made his way to the entrance, Valyr went ahead and brought up the description of the skill he had just obtained.

Ding!

————

[Basic Spear Mastery] (Lv. 1/10)

Rarity: Common

A skill given to those who have gained a basic understanding of the spear, allowing them to stand out among the crowd. Increases damage dealt with a spear by 1%.

pAn,Da-n0v e1,c ————

Reading through the description of the skill, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle as he finally left the barracks, slowly making his way to the village gates. 'Why was I expecting the skill to be good from the get-go? The skill I just got is only Common rarity. The only way for it to get better is if I level up with a bit of experience.'

'…which is exactly what I'm about to do.' Thinking about this, a determined expression appeared on his face as he touched the spear affixed to his back.

Unlike other games of the same genre, the system Greater Beyond had in place for leveling was somewhat different. Normally, in a game, one would gain experience that would go towards one's level if they killed a monster or did a task that would give them experience. As for one's skills, it would gain experience as long as one continued to use it.

On the other hand, the experience in Greater Beyond was considered a type of universal currency. The methods of gaining experience were still the same, which was either through killing monsters, doing quests, or doing miscellaneous tasks that gave experience. However, rather than having the experience be automatically allocated towards one's level or one's skills, the person would instead have the choice of allocating it towards their level or towards their skills.

Due to this, there were a lot of people in the game that had incredibly strong skills, yet had low levels. Of course, the opposite could also be said, their minds thinking that having a high level would attract more attention towards them, only for their skills to be sorely lacking in comparison.

'Speaking of which, should I have asked permission from Damian first that I was heading out of the village?' At some point in his trek, this question could not help but surface in Valyr's mind as he rubbed his chin. Because of it, his pace gradually slowed down as he turned around to gauge how far he was from the barracks. Then, he returned his gaze to his front, gauging his distance from the village gates out in the distance.

After comparing his proximity between the two, he eventually decided that he would continue heading for the village gates, considering that he was closer to the latter compared to the former. 'In any case, I'll have to ask Damian about it by the time I get back.'

With that question answered, he continued to walk along the streets, taking in the sights surrounding him as he eventually left the village through the gates around half an hour later.

…

As he walked along the only road that extended past the village gates, Valyr could not help but flex his arms for a bit, noticing that the pain he had felt before was now more or less gone. With that in mind, he unfurled the fabric around his chest as he grabbed the spear behind his back. Tightly gripping on it, he continued to walk for a while in search for a monster to fight against.

'I should really get the [Analysis] skill as soon as possible,' he thought to himself, continuing to keep an eye out for monsters that were alone. 'Although I have the ability to identify monsters before I fight them, I'll only be able to obtain information on their levels.'

'Plus, having [Analysis] would allow me to identify far more than just the enemies I'll face.' As he thought this, his eyes noticed a lone wolf not far away from where he was. Checking around the area to see if the wolf had just parted from a wolf pack nearby, Valyr slowly made his way to the wolf once he found out that the wolf was truly alone.

Making sure to have the initiative once he started fighting against the wolf, he put less weight on his steps, reducing the amount of sound he made. Thankfully, by the time he had gotten close enough to identify the wolf's level, the wolf still hadn't noticed his presence, prompting him to let out an inward sigh of relief as he identified his enemy through the system.

Ding!

[Level 1 | Wolf]

'I really need to get the [Analysis] skill,' muttered Valyr inwardly as the information he had received from the system further reinforced the need. 'In any case, this wolf in front of me is definitely a good first target to get used to fighting again.'

'Taking into consideration that our stats are probably on par, it's all up to how much combat experience I have if I want to be victorious.' Taking in a long and deep breath, Valyr tightly gripped on his spear, bending his knees as he waited for the right moment to charge. Fortunately, that moment did not take long to appear, with the wolf's behind facing him a few seconds later.

Whoosh!

Exerting all of his strength towards his legs, he dashed towards the wolf at the greatest speed he could muster. In response to the sound Valyr made with the dash, the wolf's ears perked up, hurriedly turning towards the sound's origin to find out the identity of the being that intruded on its space.

Unfortunately for the wolf, before it could even find out who the intruder was, Valyr came to an abrupt halt before the wolf, redirecting the momentum as he swept out with his spear, aiming for the wolf's front legs.

Pah!

'-5'

With a dull thud, the blunt side of the spear tip collided with one of the wolf's legs head on, causing the wolf's stance to somewhat falter. Letting out a pained howl, the wolf tried to stabilize itself with its other front leg as it bared its teeth towards its aggressor. However, rather than make another move to take advantage of the wolf's current situation, Valyr instead stood in place, gazing at the wolf for a bit as he took a few steps back.

Through the crippling move he sent out to the wolf, a small portion of the combat experience he used to have in his previous life gradually resurfaced, prompting Valyr to grip on his spear once more as he charged forth yet again.

Seeing as its aggressor was going to make another move, the wolf was on full alert, keeping track of the being's movement in front of him with its eyes. With light steps, its aggressor dashed forward, prompting the wolf to open its jaw in a bid to inflict a severe injury on the being's limbs. However, at the very last moment, its aggressor swiftly moved to the side as the wolf's jaw closed, biting on nothing more than thin air.

'It'll take a while for me to recover all of my past combat experience, but what I've already recovered is enough for me to do something like… this!' With a light grin on his face, giving off the feeling that he now controlled the tempo of the battle, he circled around the wolf, taking advantage of the wolf's limp leg to attack once more with a sweep.

Pah!

'-8!'

"Awwwwoooooo…!!!"