He was wet.
Wiping the moisture from his hands on his pants, Noa stepped through the muddy water.
The vast ceiling and horizon stretched endlessly around him, and the dirty green swamps slowed his movements.
"Shit!" he repeated. "I hated this place in a game. It's so much worse in reality."
Dozens of trees observed him, their soulless stares leaving him on edge.
The swamp was immense, not far from the gate.
Players called it Death Swamp, showcasing how deadly and hard the place was at the beginning of the game.
It was completely flat, with rare hills and knee-deep water that impeded his every step.
Noa remembered the monsters he would encounter, but he wasn't looking forward to it.
'I might as well find the exit and slaughter everything in sight,' he decided.
So he moved.
With a sword in his hand, Noa cut down every moss-covered plant in sight, shaping the path he had to pursue.
"Just in time."
His eyes squinted suddenly, seeing how the water rippled beneath him.
As the vibrations in his legs increased, Noa jumped out of the way, dampening his clothes even further.
Not that he had an option.
In the place he had previously stood, a small crater was formed.
Then the attacker showed itself, baring its teeth at Noa and threatening him with a tail and a three-pronged spear.
It wasn't alone, bringing five friends along.
'I hate lizards.'
Noa used the inspection to gauge his new enemy.
[ Lizardman Lv. 8 ]
[ Grade: Evolved Frail ]
The gray-skinned, almost 7-foot-tall lizards were menacing opponents, especially when faced in the water.
They were in the same grade as spiders, but with higher levels and environmental advantages, the fight should have been a huge headache.
But not for Noa.
He could just kill one of them, and he would be good to go.
The first kill was the hardest part of this battle, yet he moved with confidence, believing in his new skill and increased attributes.
Noa knew he had to hurry, not allowing the lizards to circle him.
As water splashed him from every direction, he arrived before the monster, executing a quick, upward thrust from his lower height.
The lizard tried to block the attack by meeting its spear with his.
However, Noa's sword was heavier, and, pushing its weapon aside, the strike was successful, slicing the tough meat with the swiftness of scissors cutting through paper.
He triggered his new skill for the first time, blasting mana inside the wound he had caused.
Blood spilled as the explosion tore the meat out of the monster.
Yet he knew it wouldn't be enough to finish it off.
Not wasting any time, Noa sidestepped the tail and the two spears aimed at his neck and heart.
As soon as he gained footing and the momentum to move freely again, Noa pounced at the same lizard.
This time, he was more decisive, directing his bloodied sword to the same place.
The bleeding effect and burst occurred a second time, finally draining the life out of the beast.
[ You killed an Evolved Lizardman Lv. 8 ]
[ 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 ]
As much as he wanted to collect the corpse and see how it worked, Noa put his new attribute point in intelligence and shifted from his body to a new puppet.
Noa's mind arrived in new flesh, completely transforming his senses.
His vision was augmented, allowing him to see much more clearly but also detect temperature changes.
The skin felt foreign, as its scales seemed heavier but sturdier than his human form.
With his interest piqued, Noa scanned the status window.
[ Noa Osborn ]
[ Species: Lizardman ]
[ Grade: Evolved Frail ]
[ Class: Rogue ]
[ Level: 8 ]
[ EXP: 110 ]
[ Strength: 8.9 ]
[ Agility: 10.5 ]
[ Vitality: 7.5 ]
[ Intelligence: 6.3 ]
[ Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Talent: Death's Companion ]
[ Talent Rank: SSS ]
[ Skills: Echo of Doom, Mana Rage ]
[ Class Skill: Corpse Puppet (Proficiency: 2.5%) ]
[ Lizardman Skill: Tail Sweep (Proficiency: 17.1%) ]
Noa was only getting a single skill with no talent addition.
If there were no limitations, it would have been even more OP than he was now, but Noa had a hunch that it would change with his proficiency.
Imagining how unstoppable he could become, he used his new body.
Being a Rogue Lizardman brought him stealthiness and a familiarity with the water, increasing his deadliness even if his stats were considerably lower.
As always, the monsters couldn't tell what was going on when their dead comrade suddenly rose from the dead.
Knowing how to abuse these advantages, Noa dashed.
Although he couldn't swim in the water, the muddiness didn't hamper his movements.
With an aggressive step forward, Noa thrust the spear at the opponent's chest, catching it off guard.
Not minding the system messages, he kept going.
The next motion in his arsenal was rolling.
It was followed by a focused swing, shaking the lizard's defense and offense, leaving them vulnerable to his subsequent attacks.
He was having fun.
One after another, Noa decimated those swamp residents, using an unfamiliar weapon and slowly getting used to it.
Enjoying the talent skill he acquired from Klaus, he detonated every wound he inflicted, boosting his damage output.
His tail skill remained unused, as he could barely comprehend that it was attached to his back.
He shifted the puppets three times.
And with increased mana expenditure, he felt the importance of the intelligence stat.
Five kills later, Noa was back in his body, materializing it from nothingness.
'It's time. Let's see what you can do.'
Watching six corpses in front of him, he was eager to test Mana Rage with its additional benefit.