"Kkkggh!"
"Sh*t!" It was the sound of a monster. Specifically, a mantis-like monster called Bvaf. It was a level three monster that hung around the outer side of the forest.
There was a little twist that it was a two-meter-long monster.
Nova was just startled, though. A monster appearing behind him reminded him that any injury he took would be real, and he could actually die here.
I need a sensory ability soon...
Bvaf was actually one of the monsters he aimed for. Normally, due to the hardness of its shell, the players wouldn't be able to defeat it at level one.
Of course, it was possible to use its weak points, like its joints or between its shells, to stab a sword. But that was dangerous since the players could take damage and even get one shot. Especially now.
Luckily, the rodent types were weak against fire. Actually, most of the monsters and zombies were weak against at least one kind of skill of a mage. That was why the mage was overpowered during the first two stages.
The problem started on stage three and continued on stage four. It wasn't possible to use AOE attacks to kill multiple demons or angels in the game. So, people chose swordsman, which prevailed where the mages fell.
Right now, though, he had no chance of changing his class. So, he had to make do with it by trying his best. Maybe the academy would help him become a better mage, enough to beat the third and fourth stages.
The mantis monster, Bvaf, seemed like it noticed Nova since it started approaching it. Nova didn't wait. Since his staff was already out, he immediately cast Fireball. And this fireball was the strongest.
The staff he took from the shack was called the Training Staff. It didn't have any features. Even its explanation was just that "It strengthens the magic cast by the user."
Still, it was much better than the hands-free casting. It became more obvious when the Bvaf was hit with the fireball.
The fireball exploded and even splashed to the ground. Luckily, no forest fire started. The armored mantis, though, started burning and screaming.
It seemed like a game in Nova's eyes. The creature was just taking dot damage. But he knew that he was burning a living being right now.
Not that he had a serious emotional issue with it. He had to live, and these monsters would kill him or others if they didn't die. So, he didn't mind it much.
But he also didn't have sadistic thoughts. Burning someone till they died didn't make him happy.
"I promise, I will get stronger and kill you all faster!" he said to the dying mantis just in time, since after he finished his sentence, the creature fell to the ground.
Unlike in the game, though, it didn't disappear or drop loot. It continued burning until everything but its shell was melted.
Nova also tried some new things with the death of this creature. First of all, he tried touching the shell. He could touch it, but they were hot, so he pulled his hand back.
Secondly, he tried to put them in his inventory. He could do that the second he touched the shells. But without touching, it was impossible.
And lastly, he looked at the notifications he received.
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[The skill Fireball (S) became Fireball (S+)]
Nova's eyes opened wide. He knew this first kill would give him a level, but the skills would level up maybe after using them hundreds of times while playing the game.
Did it level up because I learned how to use mana?
Maybe, since there wasn't a measure to see how much a player learned a spell, the skill level ups were slower while playing. But now, he felt like he had really learned the spell. He even felt the heat of the fireball inside his mana channels.
I need to learn new spells soon...
If he could develop them this way, it wasn't impossible for him to beat the game. No matter how many times he played the game, he could never level up the stronger spells to the max.
No one could.
That was one of the reasons the mage fell behind the other classes in the third stage. On the other hand, the swordsman's abilities were easier to level up. He was also so good at them that he could even use swordsmanship in real life.
In the meantime, he also checked his status window. It said level 2 and showed his stats. Since his stats would change a lot until he became level 50, he didn't care about them much.
Also, he wouldn't get anything else on his status panel until stage one was over. So, for now, he headed toward a bit more inside the forest. He could kill the level 3 monsters more easily now.
***
After going around for five minutes, he encountered another mantis monster, Bvaf. This time, it didn't take that much to kill it. After the fireball exploded, it took three seconds before it died.
This way, he went around the outer layer of the forest, looking for one of the three monsters: the mantis, the fly, or, if it is a must, the roach.
The fly was the hardest among them for close combatants. But, since he was a mage, he could aim at them.
Godfall was a hard game in many ways, and one of them was that there was no aim assist. The players would move like they did in real life, and they needed to aim like in real life.
Aiming wasn't easy. Even when using a sword, one could miss swinging it, let alone an archer or a mage. But Nova had been playing this game since the day it was out. So, his body was already accustomed to it.
Luckily, the character's body he had entered seemed to have similar stats to what he was used to. So, he could move with ease.
After killing a few more monsters, he leveled up once again. He was already level three now. He could one-shot the monsters in the outer layer of the forest.
But it still wasn't enough for him to approach the deeper parts of the forest. If he encountered one of the monsters there, he would run away with all his might.
"Run!"
Huh? Wasn't I just thinking it?
"It is coming! All of you, run away! We can't take it on!"