Taking out the level 7 Shades was easy now that he knew their tricks.
When entering their range, all he had to do was increase his speed and thrust the sword. Thanks to the level up and the 50% increase in Agility, the Shades had a harder time dodging. And with one hit from his sword, they were instantly defeated.
Looking at his HP, which was falling below 100, he checked the EXP remaining to level up.
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EXP: 99%
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"Tch." Clicking his tongue, he ran towards the level 8 Shade.
Aiyana, who was watching all this, was shocked."How did he get stronger? Is it because of that sword?"
Alex entered the 1m range and slashed his sword at the Shade. But this time, the hit didn't land. The Shade had moved before the sword reached it.
'This one's range is bigger, and it also moves a bit faster than the level 7s.'
Alex backed away until he was 1.5m away and noticed the Shade stopped focusing on him.
The situation wasn't looking great. His HP was dropping rapidly, and the level 9 Shade would surely be even harder.He wondered how others managed to clear this stage so easily. Maybe they used bigger weapons or just simple raw power?
But first, he had to deal with the level 8 one. If he could defeat it, he'd level up and recover his HP. His skill cooldown would also start.
Taking a stance, he ran at full speed and slashed horizontally. The Shade moved back. From that direction, Alex forcefully ignored his footwork and swung again from a different angle.
Not expecting the sudden strike, the Shade took the hit and wailed—but unlike the others, it didn't disappear.
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Wailing Shade: 25 / 250
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A notification popped up as Alex stood up from the ground—he had stumbled due to the awkward footwork.
Leaving the Shade's range, he prepared to strike again like before.
He charged at full speed, swung horizontally, and then followed up. But this time, the Shade seemed to have learned—it dodged, staying just outside the sword's range.
Alex looked at the Shade thoughtfully. The AI is smart. It actually learns attack patterns.
"I need to try something different. From the damage, it looks like this sword does 225 per hit."
'Did the Sword of Life also deal the same? But I didn't get any buffs from it. Maybe it's about the elements in the sword…'
He thought about his attack options: horizontal slash, vertical slash, and thrust. Clearly, he needed to improve his swordsmanship soon.
His HP had dropped below 60. Taking a deep breath, he ran in full speed again—horizontal slash, vertical, thrust. All dodged.
His stamina dropped to 25. Still, he pushed on, repeating the same combo again.
On the third time—
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Skill Acquired: Basic Swordsmanship
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"Phew Finally!"
Knowing how realistic this game was, he had a hunch that repeating the same actions might lead to mastering them—and it worked.
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Basic Swordsmanship: You now have a foundation in swordplay. Increases movement and attack speed by 5% while using a sword.
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Testing it out, he felt it—smoother swings, better flow. Now, he could chain at least two strikes together.
Leaving the range, he took a stance again and charged.
This time, he was faster. Holding the sword above his head, he swung downward. The Shade dodged to the right, but Alex—no longer a newbie—rotated the sword and slashed to the right smoothly.
The Shade, however, had gotten smarter too. It slid under the strike, avoiding it.
But Alex was ready.
Pointing the sword tip downward, he thrust it straight at the Shade's head, piercing it cleanly.
The ghost's expression froze in shock, then it let out a cry as it vanished.
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LEVEL UP
Level 1 → Level 2
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Alex exhaled. He managed it thanks to gaining Basic Swordsmanship. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to handle that kind of movement at that speed.
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-New Skill: Dash Acquired
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Opening his status window:
───────[ STATUS WINDOW ]───────
Name: Alex Grey
Level: 2
Title: Player, Otaku
Class: None
Affiliation: None
HP: 140 / 140
CP: 0 / 0
Stamina: 40 / 40
EXP: 2%
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⚔️ STATS
Strength: 4
Agility: 4
Endurance: 6
Intelligence: 7
Perception: 5
Stat Points: 2
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Skills
Analyze (Lv. 1)
Dash(Lv. 1)
Basic Swordsmanship
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Quests
[Main Quest] End the Era of False Peace
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Just like before—1 stat point added to each, and 1 extra to distribute. HP and Stamina also increased.
Turning toward the level 9 Wailing Shade, Alex smirked.
Pointing his sword at it, the death aura surged.
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Skill: Rage Cry entered cooldown
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The Shade seemed to understand the provocation, letting out a furious scream.
Alex noticed his HP was decreasing—0.4 per second now.Still manageable.
He walked closer until he entered its range. Around 2m—it could finally see him clearly.
"Perception's like a zoom function—focusing on a specific area the details become clear. It also improves map awareness that I have now that radar is larger."
He lightly swung his massive 38-inch sword—much larger than Aiyana's.
Then, taking a striking stance, he vanished from his spot——only to reappear behind the Shade.
The Shade screamed——and vanished.
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-Dash: This skill increases the user's speed by 30%, and the speed gain increases as the skill levels up
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To be Continued...