With a crack, the Soul Fire burst out from its body. This was the monster's final counterattack before death. However, thanks to Sophie's warning, only Essen, who dodged slightly slower, got a slight burn on his right hand.
On the other side, the others also managed to bring down the remaining two skeletons at the cost of one person getting injured. When the forest fell quiet again, only the sound of the wind brushing the treetops could be heard, whispering softly.
Everyone couldn't help but stop and look at each other.
Even Frey included, everyone had a face full of disbelief. They had actually won against four skeleton soldiers and a terrifying Corpse Witch.
Markmi's sword was the first to clatter onto the ground, followed by the others in a chain reaction. Everyone couldn't help but hug each other, shouting and yelling, with some even breaking into tears to vent their emotions.
Having survived the disaster, it was hard to keep one's will together.
Sophie, however, remained quiet. He raised his head and saw three points of golden light fly up from the darkness and merge into his chest. It seemed no one else noticed this detail, not even Romantic, who was standing next to him.
Miss Merchant seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief.
Huh, could he be the only one who could see this? Sophie couldn't help but feel a bit strange.
He glanced around and instinctively opened his character attributes, just as he used to in 'Amber Sword'. After every battle, Sophie was always the first to review the gains and losses.
Lines of eerie green numbers immediately floated up on his retinas—
Strength 1.1, Dexterity 2.0, Constitution 1.0, Intelligence 1.1, Will 1.3, Perception 1.0.
Absolute Strength 3.5, Element (Unawakened)——
Brand, Human Male, Level 1 (Power System: Physical, Melee; Talent: Unyielding)
XP: 4 (Civilian Level 1:—, Militia Level 2, 6/10)
Life (Weak, Near Death): 10% (Bandaged state, recovering 1 point of life per day)
Occupation (Idle Skill Experience 1)——
Civilian [Basic Knowledge (Level 1), Geographical Knowledge (Level 0), Local Knowledge (Level 1)]
Militia [Military Swordsmanship (Level 1), Fighting Skills (Level 1), Tactical Theory (Level 0), Military Organization (Level 0)]
It could be seen that the attributes that had changed were Strength and Constitution, indicating that his physical fitness had been improved from militia training (leveling up).
Then Absolute Strength increased by 2.5 energy levels, primarily due to the Wind Queen's Ring adding 1 point of Dexterity, with the secondary effect being the improvement in physical fitness.
Lastly, in this battle, he gained only four experience points from four skeleton soldiers and one Corpse Witch. This was only half the deserved experience, and Sophie had to conclude—party penalty.
This is simply ridiculous, how could such a thing exist in the real world? However, as a game fanatic, he didn't have any professional knowledge to explain all of this. After all, compared to this, traversing into another world itself was even more absurd.
Isn't it?
At first, he wanted to figure out how the party penalty was calculated, but he soon realized it was futile because it seemed to have nothing to do with that game at all.
"Lord Marsha, thank goodness my nerves are quite strong..." He couldn't help but rub his forehead in frustration.
But then Sophie hesitated as he looked at his militia level. Frankly speaking, he was not very keen on investing more experience in this profession. The militia was such a waste they didn't even need to be described—it had always been considered an NPC-exclusive profession.
In his previous life, he never thought he would waste experience on this profession one day.
And he even chose the Unyielding talent!
Marsha above, there are countless talents suitable for warriors, and the Unyielding happened to be the worst of them. This skill allows him to survive a fatal physical blow but gives him only five minutes to settle his affairs unless he receives powerful healing in time.
But until now, he hadn't seen any item more effective than bandages for restoring life. In the game, these items were everywhere.
However, Sophie didn't regret it much, after all, this skill did save his life.
But the current situation is the same; in reality, he can't find a way to change to another profession for now. Moreover, he urgently needs power. So, the only solution left is to stick to the militia profession to the end——
Sophie couldn't help but feel a bit depressed.
Should he go from being a senior warrior to a senior militia? Hey, isn't a warrior already cannon fodder enough!
...
(PS. Thanks to Peering Through the Stars, 285260808, and Saint Dragon Marshal for the in-depth reviews. Also, thanks to 285260808 for providing the Book Friend Group.
Here's a little advertisement, Amber Sword·Golan (127759266).
Made a situation map, not sure how clear it shows. For a clearer view, join the group.)