"Never mind hard feelings," Noa said to the spider. "Now I want to kill you."
He had to execute the boss monster but also realized that it would take him quite some time to do so.
His tactic was fairly straightforward, relying on his talent, and he was about to abuse his abundant lives.
For his plan to work, Noa had to level up.
And to level up, he had to kill something.
Luckily for him, after the giant spider shrieked, its small combatants stopped retreating and initiated attacks against him.
So, he had to slaughter them one by one while avoiding the bulky spider's deadly legs.
With an excited glare, Noa shook the blade he took from the ground.
[ Durability: 4/15 ]
The Frail dagger was lacking, barely holding on, but it had to survive for Noa to live.
His determination boomed.
Noa executed rapid slashes, cutting down his little opponents and steadily gaining EXP.
[ You killed an Evolved Itsy Spider Lv. 3 ]
[ You've gained 50 Experience Points ]
Massacring them was a quick process, netting him yet another level.
[ You killed an Evolved Itsy Spider Lv. 3 ]
[ You've gained 50 Experience Points ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You've gained 0.3 stat points in Strength and Agility. You've gained 0.6 stat points in Vitality and Intelligence. ]
[ You've gained 1 Attribute Point ]
Noa preferred being an all-rounder combatant, and he adjusted his stat points in various ways.
Sometimes he allocated them to vitality and intelligence, but he also liked the boost agility gave his body.
Not wasting too much time on mindless dwelling, Noa used free attribute points, increasing his speed once more to hasten his hunting capabilities.
To reach level 3, he had to kill five spiders.
Self-terminating was one option, but wasting his finite lives and risking Aeris's well-being would be a stupid move when he could just eradicate more foes.
Noa got stronger than he was a minute ago.
He would continue to raise his stats until the gigantic spider reaped his life.
Carefully dodging sharp attacks and small bites from small monsters, Noa annihilated them mercilessly, pooling more blood on the floor and EXP in his status window.
His opponents were in high numbers.
Noa was forced to use his quick wit and dexterity to not only avoid them but also retaliate with even more bloodlust.
He spent the next minute slashing his dagger.
[ You killed an Evolved Itsy Spider Lv. 3 (x5) ]
[ You've gained 250 Experience Points ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You've gained 0.3 stat points in Strength and Agility. You've gained 0.6 stat points in Vitality and Intelligence. ]
[ You've gained 1 Attribute Point ]
It was his second level-up after the last resurrection.
Noa immediately spent the new point, expanding his vitality as his breathing quickened because of the prolonged battle and the wounds his body sustained.
Most of them were just scratches he got from the boss monster.
Some of them were bite marks he couldn't fend off in time.
But those accumulated damages slowed his pace, and even though his regeneration was greater than before, it was still too slow to keep up with fresh injuries on his body.
Another twenty seconds were enough for his enemies to take him down.
And he halted Aeris's constant ovations as her voice was replaced with yet another anxious scream.
Noa dropped to the ground, surrounded by death and blood, as his mind was pulled into the darkness.
[ You died ]
"I like this place," he said, seeking the sensation to activate his skill.
As always, it worked, and his vision lit up.
Just before Noa left this place in a hurry to shift into the real world, he caught a single glimpse of his status window.
He was pumped up.
Noa relished seeing his progress defined with numbers.
It scratched some unreachable itch and teased his brain with a wave of dopamine rush.
[ Noa Osborn ]
[ Species: Human ]
[ Grade: Evolved ]
[ Class: Wizard ]
[ Level: 1 → 3 ]
[ EXP: 6/100 → 6/250 ]
[ Strength: 2.1 → 2.7 ]
[ Agility: 3 → 4.6 ]
[ Vitality: 3.7 → 6.9 ]
[ Intelligence: 3.9 → 5.1 ]
[ Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Talent: Death's Companion ]
[ Talent Rank: SSS ]
[ Skills: Echo of Doom ]
[ Class Skill: Corpse Puppet (Proficiency: 0.9%) ]
Noa saw his triggered skill notification, announcing his rebirth.
[ Echo: 994/1,000 ]
Soon he was back in Velrox, fighting against the pain before facing the abominations again.
His every stat was improved.
Noa was more agile and strong, and even if his strength attribute was the lowest, the improvement was noticeable.
His stamina saw the biggest growth, and because he wasn't using Corpse Puppet for the moment, Noa's increased intelligence didn't matter that much.
The second he gained his clarity and checked Aeris, Noa went back to his killing spree.
Every move he made was backed by his sister's encouragement, dictating his success as he executed monsters with a devilish grin.
"Die! Die!"
His yells echoed in the hall, and after repeating the same feat, Noa fell again.
[ You died ]
Then he came back to life.
[ Echo: 993/1,000 ]
And died over and over…
[ You died ]
[ Echo: 992/1,000 ]
[ You died ]
Each time, he died with a smile on his face.
[ Echo: 991/1,000 ]
And each time, he rose with a glimmer in his eyes, ready for action.
Noa wiped out every little spider in his vicinity, leaving the boss monster as his last meal.
After nonstop farming, he put three points in strength and was confident in taking down the monster with relative ease.
Aeris quickly got used to his immortal state, no longer crying after seeing his dead body.
As for Noa, he flung himself amidst dead spiders, moved his Frail dagger that cut the air with a piercing sound, and plunged it into the monster in a familiar wound.
It was a tear he had caused a couple of deaths ago.
His strength and agility bypassed the defense and offense of the opponent and penetrated its weak points.
Blood flowed out of the gash, and the monster dropped dead with a silent wail.
[ You killed an Evolved Bulky Spider Lv. 10 ]
[ You've gained 1,000 Experience Points ]
And just before level-up notifications arrived, Noa noticed a flickering luster in the monster, suggesting that it had some kind of rare drop.
"It's looting time," he said cheerfully, approaching the corpse.