[Resuming...]
Alex reappeared at the entrance of the haunted house.
'Hmm, does the game save progress on its own?'He opened his status window.
───────[ STATUS WINDOW ]───────
Name: Alex Grey
Level: 4
Title: Player, Otaku
Class: None
Affiliation: None
HP: 180 / 180
CP: 0 / 0
Stamina: 50 / 50
EXP: 27%
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⚔️ STATS
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 9
Perception: 7
Stat Points: 4
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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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Alex looked at the EXP bar, rage bubbling inside him.'10% EXP gone?! Damn it, do they have any idea how hard it is to level up here?!'
He took a few long breaths to calm himself.
"What are you spacing out for, Mr. Idiot?" Aiyana asked, noticing him staring blankly at the air.
"I'm not spacing out. And stop calling me idio—"
"Huh? Something wrong?" Aiyana tilted her head with a hint of concern as he stopped midway and fell deep into thought.
Alex was thinking about what he saw before dying. Aiyana had actually attacked the Mirrorlings… and she called his name.
To attack and panic like that...
"Hehe, you actually care about me, Aiyana~"
Aiyana was caught off guard, her cheeks turning a faint red."What? I care about an idiot like you? Stop dreaming."
"C'mon, why call me that? Why don't you just call me by my name? Say it with me—A-L-E-X."
[Two Minutes Later]
Alex was on the ground, Aiyana sitting on top of him with her sword pressed against his neck.
"Cough—Aiyana-sama, are you comfortable enough? Please, your humble servant will do anything you ask." Alex's words were cautious. He had a strong feeling this woman would actually cut his head off.
He truly understood his father's words at this moment:It's good this is just a game.
Poor Alex didn't know that a month from now, he would remember this day... and regret not letting himself die just to restart again.
But that's a story for another time.
After finishing their forepl—cough, "negotiation", they decided to head inside. But just before that, Alex handed his sword to Aiyana.
He wanted to curse this game for not having an inventory system, but thankfully, Aiyana had a space bracelet, and she stored it inside.
It took some convincing, but in the end, she agreed—on one condition: she'd get to use the Sword of Death. She seemed to have taken quite a liking to it.
It did look a bit funny in her hands, though. Not because of any deep reason—but because of the sheer height difference. The sword was nearly a meter long, and she was just about 1.4 meters tall.
Alex himself was 5'2", so he didn't make fun of her. At least not out loud.
The reason he gave her the sword was simple. Since he didn't receive any stat bonuses from the Sword of Life (it was Aiyana's), he figured this was a good workaround.
If the Mirrorlings copied his stats while he wasn't holding the Sword of Death, they'd mimic a weaker version of him.
It might not sound like much—but he had a plan. And if it worked, this haunted house was going to become his farming zone.
Just like before, after five minutes, they found a Mirrorling—the same one from earlier. This time, Alex easily defeated it.
But he noticed something odd.
'No EXP? Yeah, figures…'It made sense. He already got EXP from that Mirrorling the first time. Then he died and lost 10% as a penalty. If he got the same EXP again, it would make the penalty pointless.
Shaking away the distraction, he focused. Like last time, he was surrounded by Mirrorlings.
Using Dash, he dodged their attacks, surviving wave after wave. After about three minutes, they stopped coming.
His HP was below 60. Despite his best efforts, some of their attacks had landed. His stamina was also running low—already under 30.
From the side, Aiyana watched with wide eyes. She was still too scared to step in, but she had to admit it: to survive for three minutes against eleven enemies of equal strength? That was impressive.
Alex was also a genius, and for the first time in her life, Aiyana felt a sense of urgency to grow stronger.
"Aiyana, now!" Alex shouted.
Aiyana, already prepared, retrieved the Sword of Death from her bracelet and threw it to him. At the same time, he tossed her sword back.
"This will decide if it's game over… or not."
Alex caught the Sword of Death. A menacing death aura instantly surged from it.
With his creepy smiling mask and the darkness around him, he looked like an incarnation of pure evil.
Swinging the sword lightly, he left a deep mark on the wooden floor. He felt its power pulsing through his veins.
He grinned when he saw the Mirrorlings hadn't mimicked his new stats.
With Dash activated, he swung the sword like the God of Death wielding a scythe.
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Mirrorling – 0 / 654 HP
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He slew the last one, and a new notification popped up.
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Level Up! Lv. 4 → Lv. 5
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Analyze (Lv. 1) → Analyze (Lv. 2)
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He smiled. Finally, Analyze had leveled up. His Dash skill couldn't be far behind.
"You did a nice job... for an idiot," Aiyana said, praying again for the lost souls.
Alex's mouth twitched in annoyance.
"But I have to say, your exorcist method is impressive. Normally it takes time to exorcise, even at beginner levels. But you do it instantly—something only experts can manage."
She had seen how long it usually takes at the early stages of Awakening. That's why not many people become Exorcists. It required talent—and more importantly, a powerful will.
That's also why the people in her clan saw her as a disgrace. She had the skills… but her will was weak.
"Really? I don't know," Alex replied casually."I just kill stuff to level up."
To be Continued...