Kenny woke up a few hours later feeling slightly better than when he had before falling asleep. His arms and legs ached a bit, but after some stretching the soreness had disappeared. He looked over at his equipment he had close by the fire and made his way over to check and see if they were dry.

Before making something to eat and getting some rest, Kenny took some time to wash the blood off his Basic Hand Wraps and did the best he could with his shirt and shorts. They were gross and full of sweat after all the battles he had. Sure, he didn’t spend an entire day in them, however, since he was by himself, he was pushing himself harder than a group of people would. At least that’s what he was telling himself.

He was thankful he still had the clothes he wore when he arrived here and used them as sleepwear. He understood that this probably wasn’t the best use of his time, but he remembered when a Tower Ascender took time to show up to his class and talked to them. He was a heavy plated wearing tank like fighter so he talked about some of the issues those who would end up down that path would come to realize or face.

One of those was the importance of airing and cleaning your equipment. He highly recommended that if you had some down time whether it was a few minutes or a couple of hours, it was best to clean your equipment as well as you could, depending on how much time you had so you didn’t create any illness, diseases, or germs that could essentially affect the way you fought or your party members.

He also highly recommended that you find a party member who had some sort of cleaning ability because the time it would take to clean your equipment would lessen. It wasn’t always the most recommended thing to have them do, but after fighting creatures with poisonous, blood centered, or things with abilities that created messes it was the fastest thing to have.

One thing Kenny learned that was never mentioned though was how or when they brushed their teeth. All these stories about grand battles, but they always failed to mention you needed to bring your own toothbrush and toothpaste. Something Kenny was regretting not asking Vessie about before they left. That and deodorant.

Kenny’s mind shifted away from that as he changed back into his somewhat cleaned and dry clothes. There was a slight stiffness, but after moving around with them on he was able to have them in workable condition. Kenny quickly pulled out a piece of bread from his pack and ate it while sipping on some water. After he finished that he quickly refilled the water flask and placed it back in his pack and stared at the door.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to face, but he was starting to think the monsters in this area were all focused on the Agility Stat Talent. His theory on that would be confirmed true or false after he left this safe area and entered the next.

Kenny breathed in a few times and slowly let it roll off his lips. He shook his hands around in front of him as he hopped left and right to help loosen his nerves. This was a trick his father had taught him to help relax his body when his mind felt like he was going up against something impossible. He knew he was overthinking things, but he also understood that anyone would feel this way with the odds stacked against him.

While taking a rest here wasn’t the best use of his time, he needed it since he was on his own and arrived here in the middle of the night. Now that he had eaten and had taken a nap, he was ready to go. He stopped fidgeting around and stared at the door. Without wanting to waste any more time, Kenny pushed the door open and walked right out.

Like the area he had walked into from the starting space of the Trial Grounds, he had walked into another hallway. The only difference was this hallway was slightly bigger than the last one he was in. Whether that was a good thing or not, he wasn’t sure. Standing around thinking about it wasn’t going to get him anywhere though.

He looked to his right then his left. Last time he went right. If he went right again then maybe it would end the same way as the first half of the area. The same could be said if he went left though. He didn’t have to think long on which way to go as he heard something quickly approaching him from his left.

From the sound of it whatever was approaching him wasn’t alone. Squeaks filled the hall as three forms started to take shape. Three Grey Haired Colony Rats were racing towards him. He placed his pack down over to the side and readied himself as three screens popped up in front of him.

[Grey Haired Colony Rat. Level – 2. Stat Talent – Agility.]

[Grey Haired Colony Rat. Level – 2. Stat Talent – Agility.]

[Grey Haired Colony Rat. Level – 3. Stat Talent – Agility.]

Kenny raised a brow as he noticed these Grey Rats were stronger than the ones he fought against in the first half of the area. That boded well for him and at the same time he felt it was going to be a pain. It was a good sign because he would be able to gain more experience, but at the same time it meant these creatures were going to be a lot faster.

He was right as one of the rats was racing towards him slowly breaking from the pack and was almost within leaping distance of him. Kenny readied himself as he slid his right foot back a bit, bent his knees slightly, and waited for the pattern of attack he was growing accustomed to with these creatures.

To his surprise, the level three Grey Rat didn’t leap at him. Instead, the two behind it did while this one bolted for his front leg, claws ready to strike. As fast as he could, Kenny slid his left leg around and behind him, just barely dodging the strike. He then brought his right arm back then rolled it up above his head before striking down hard at one of the level two rats that had leaped at him.

To Kenny’s surprise he saw the creature buckle under the attack and fall straight down. He didn’t have time to remain surprised by the results as the second rat landed, turned around, and raced back towards him with the other rat. Kenny swiftly kicked the monster he had struck down towards the rats to try and slow them down.

One of the two rats, probably the higher leveled one, jumped over to dodge it, but the other was too slow and collided right into its companion. Kenny focused on the rat that had jump and went to throw a straight right punch at it. His fist connected. But at the same time, he felt the claws of the monster latch on to his forearm before getting struck and retaliating with a bite onto his fist.

Kenny clenched his jaw as the pain of the monster’s teeth sent a wave of pain up his hand and arm. Kenny tried swinging his arm around to free it from the monster’s jaws, but when it didn’t let go, he turned to drastic measures.

With a swift and clean motion, Kenny swung his arm in a circle motion till his fist and the creature were high above his head before slamming the creature down into the ground as fast and hard as he could.

The impact caused the monster to finally release both its jaws and claws off his arm as it let out a painful cry. He then took this moment to land four consecutive strikes before the other two rats reached him. One leaped for his head while the other tried to bite his shin. Kenny pushed away as fast as he could barely dodging both before jumping back in to punt the rat he had slammed into the ground right into the wall.

He heard the loud squeak that came with the sound of the monster’s body hitting the wall hard before he felt a searing pain run up his leg. He turned his head to see one of the rats had locked its jaws on the back of his calf. Before he could react, the rat started scratching the back of his leg. The pain almost made his knee buckle, but he gritted his teeth and allowed the pained grunt slip through his teeth as he yanked his leg forward as hard as he could.

To his surprise and shock, his foot connected with the side of one of the other rat’s faces causing it to lift off the ground and spin a couple of feet away. The rat that had its teeth latched to his leg released and tried to move away. However, Kenny reached out and gripped the creature’s tail and yanked it back and over his head before slamming it down onto the ground. He then swung it against the wall before using it as limp baseball bat to hit the rat racing towards him.

Two screens flashed before his eyes before disappearing. Seething from the pain that he felt in his leg, Kenny stared at the last rat that was now standing there. He wasn’t sure if it was afraid of him or was unsure what to do, but Kenny used that moment of hesitation to jump straight at it and pinned it down with his weight before landing punch after punch. He didn’t stop until he got the screen notification he was waiting for.

[Congratulations! You have defeated Grey Haired Colony Rat. Exp earned.]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up! You have reached level 4! You have received 5 Free Stat Points. You have received 6 Free Skill Points! Free Stat points available: 5! Free Skill Points available: 24!]

Kenny breathed heavily as he looked himself over. While he could feel the pain the monsters caused when they bit down on his fist and leg as well as the scratches they made, the wounds were light. He did see teeth marks on his leg and some blood had trickled out of the thin scratch lines, but the damage wasn’t serious.

The amount of health the monsters were able to inflict after the accumulation had equal to half of his health, he contemplated on whether he should take a health potion now or wait. During his time in the first half of this area he didn’t use any health potions since his Endurance brought down the total damage he was taking.

Even after his fight with the Mid-Area Boss his health hadn’t dropped below half. It had felt like it had, but after he looked at his health points, he was surprised it wasn’t as low as he believed it to be. Because of that he was able to regenerate his health as he rested and ate.

However, now he was facing more monsters at once and they were all higher than level one. There was only one other factor he wanted to factor in before making his decision and that was how much of a gap there was between monster group run ins.

A low growl was all the answer he needed as he heard the feline monster start making its way down the hall.

Kenny opened his pack and went for the health potion. It was a small clear vial full of dark green liquid. He paused before opening it and stared at it for a long moment. He was seriously questioning whether he should drink it or not due to how the contents looked, but the low growl that was growing closer and closer changed his mind as he downed the potion.

He gagged after swallowing the last of the liquid. He couldn’t put a finger on the taste so he couldn’t find a good comparison, but the texture as it went down felt like a mixture between water and Jello, almost a liquid Jello. Fighting back the cold chill that ran down his spine, Kenny turned to face his opponent. With a grin he welcomed the monster that sought to kill him.

After a couple of hours fighting monsters and walking around, Kenny came to a stop. He scanned the area to make sure it was safe to take a quick rest. He was at a corner where the path turned right after a long straight shot. After confirming he was good, he pulled out some bread and thought about what had happened over the last couple of hours.

After he had killed the Feral Grey Feline that had made its way to him thanks to the scent of blood from the dead rats, he took some time placing his Free Stat points where he wanted them before any more creatures arrived. He put some thought into his choices this time. Even though he was only level four and the monsters he was fight were between two and three, he thought he should take some time to think about what he needed at the moment.

He would be lying if he thought this was a good idea, but where things stood right now this was his only option. What made him think about this was the fact that he didn’t have his Power and Support Skill Trees awakened yet. Without them he didn’t have a clue where he should be focusing his stats.

Sure, he did have some inkling as to what general direction his two Skill Trees were heading. The Focus of his Defense Skill Tree, Body, and the ability unlocked, Poison Constitution, both made him believe he was heading towards a physical build where he would have immunity abilities to protect himself while in the fray of the fight. However, a part of him nagged at the back of his head saying that might not be the case. The answer as to why this nagging feeling was even there was how the ability was worded.

The part that said the you absorb any poisons, toxins, or venoms used against you and store them in your body. It was that last part of the sentence that made him not a hundred percent sure. What happened to the storage full of poisons, toxins, and venoms? Why have a storage to absorb it, but not do anything with it? Would his body use it in a way to bolster himself? Was it a storage so he could use it later for something? If that was the case, then instead of a physical build he would have a magical build. But then why the Endurance Stat Talent then?

The sentence after that did state that he would be affected by poisons, toxins, and venom after the storage was full, but something like that should be added since there has never been an ability ever recorded saying the user would have complete immunity without any catches. At least, not that he was aware of.

Maybe he had the Endurance Stat Talent so when the poisons started to affect him it would help lessen it until he was able to eject the entire storage? But then that led back to the question, why have a storage and not be able to do anything with it?

These questions were known as the Starter Wall. Doubt, second guessing, and even being too confident in believing you knew what you were going to get were all things that could screw your build early on. Placing Free Points in the wrong place could set you back some time, and you would need to spend the next few levels trying to correct the mistakes you made.

Him being on his own didn’t help him at all. If he was with a group or even at least with one other person, then he could get their opinion and ideas. However, since he was alone, he needed to think about this by himself. Something he was having a hard time doing. He was full of second guesses and doubts, he understood this. However, he also felt his judgement so far on where he placed his Free Stat Points were sound.

He was by himself. He had no one else in his group which meant he had to fight, tank, and scout all on his own. Adding in the fact his current weapon was a pair of hand wraps making him have to be face to face with the monsters meant his choices of increasing his Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Vitality was a good choice. Was it the right one? He wouldn’t know until the end. For now, he felt it was best he focused on his physical stats until he needed to otherwise. Consequences be damn. Survival took precedence right now.

Coming to this decision he had placed one of the Free Stat points into Strength, two into Agility, one into Vitality, and the last into Willpower. After adding the base increase from the level up and the added bonus stats from his equipment his Strength now sat at twenty-three. His Agility was now at nineteen. His Vitality now at sixteen. And his Willpower now at twenty-three.

He had decided not to put any points into Endurance this time round due to how high it was now after the base stat increase, the Stat Talent bonus, and the equipment bonus. Thanks to all of those figures his Endurance stat was his highest at twenty-seven. After the many fights he had after finalizing the Free Stat Points, he was hardly taking any damage from the Grey Haired Colony Rats.

The most damage he received when fighting these smaller creatures was when they were able to latch their jaws and bite down as hard as they could. It wasn’t a lot of damage, but the amount was still notable. Other than the other time he saw some considerable damage from them was when a group of them had surprised attack him and all attacked his back. He learned then that if he wasn’t careful and was caught off guard then eventually these creatures would kill him…eventually.

The creatures he was more wary of were those damn sneaky Feral Felines. These cat creatures lurked and waited for the Grey Haired Colony Rats to either finish him off or he killed them before they made their appearance. They were like furry little stalkers that always strolled up after he faced off three to five of the rats. Almost like they were waiting for him to tire himself out.

He hated they were smart enough to plan that, but he also respected their cunning. That said, these different colored cat creatures were not only faster than the rats, but also stronger. They weren’t able to do large amounts of damage, but if he wasn’t careful then he would die by their hands…paws.

However, even though he hated the tactics each group of monsters used he felt like he was getting a better handle on his approach to fighting them. Through careful, and painful, consideration he was able to judge his Endurance was adequate enough for now.

What he needed was more strength and speed to be able to handle these creatures. Hence why he put more of his Free Stat Points into Agility. He thought about placing more into Vitality at first but decided that he would after reaching a certain number in his Agility and Strength.

He thought back on his current fighting style. While he did choose the Basic Hand Wraps due to familiarity and logic, he never realized how good he felt to fight these creatures using his fists. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat by his father when he was younger, but that was only to learn self-defense to protect his younger siblings. However, now that he was fighting against monsters, he was able to see how much of a foundation his father really gave him with those lessons.

The painful hours of going over the basics, positioning of his feet, legs, lower and upper body as well as the proper way to throw a punch and kick had all shone brightly during his fights against these creatures. It was definitely different than fighting people. Discounting the height differences between the two, the way these monsters reacted and planned was completely different than when he fought random people his siblings pissed off.

If he could place a word on the difference between the two, he would have to say it would be survival. When he fought against people there was no imminent threat of death. Those people fought only to regain dignity or honor when the two young kids disrespected them. These monsters though…they were fighting to survive. There were no time outs, I give up, or there’s the bell when fighting these monsters. It was either they killed you or you killed them.

The realization made Kenny surprised. When he came to this, he came to another thing he hadn’t realized. When he fought to defend his siblings, he was ready to take out a person’s arm or leg. To make sure they couldn’t get back up. Was he able to do that in any of his fights? No. He knew it was wrong to do that against another person. That and the stupid rule his father placed on him. The fight to lose rule. However, he definitely felt like he could if he tried.

That feeling and comparison all led back to one thing. His father’s training. His father trained him to be able to see how he could and where on the bodies he should do it to. Why would he train him to be able to do that? He had no reason to try and take anyone out only to defend and eventually lose. So why train him like that just to place that rule on him?

Kenny shook his head as he understood thinking more into something he couldn’t get answers to was pointless. He needed to move on before he wasted too much time. He took a long sip from his water flask as he stood up. After placing the object back in the pack and placed the pack on his back, Kenny scanned the hall he was about to go down. To his surprise there was a closed wooden door not too far from where he was.

From glancing at it he understood it wasn’t a door that led to the Boss or any other boss type monsters since it was a single door instead of a double. He had come across doors like this before albeit those ones were all open. This one was closed, which meant there was a possibility there was untaken loot inside.

As Kenny approached the door, he felt like there was more to it. He remembered back in class a teacher had a lecture on different types of ‘Special Areas’. He called them ‘Special Areas’ because they could be a small clearing, a pit, or, in this case, a small room. These places were ones you shouldn’t take lightly. While most were just an area with a single chest full of loot, there were times when traps, or swarms of monsters waited until people walked in.

These special areas also had other names once you’ve confirmed what you were dealing with. Depending on the size, length, structure, or attached rooms they could be things like a Trap Room, a Nest, Ruin, Dungeon, and more. You never knew what you were going to get until you entered or someone else went in and came out.

He now faced a choice. Take the chance and hope there were no traps or swarm of monsters waiting for him. Or continue on. Time was of the essence, but at the same time he did need new gear. He could hope to go into the other areas with the starting gear he had on now and not have any issues, but was that wise?

After giving it some thought, Kenny nodded and opened the door. He would take the chance and try his luck. He wasn’t going to say some death flag line like what’s the worst that could happen, but he did silently think to himself, Nothing ventured, Nothing gained.

He came to regret that thought as the door slammed swiftly after entering the medium sized room and echoes of squeaks and hisses filled his ears and the entire room.