Chapter 39: Encounter
The Analyse skill was exactly as Ethan had thought.
It was basically a skill that allowed one to check the information they wanted.
The test result to obtain this answer was the first forest wolf corpse Ethan had brought out of his inventory.
Ethan could still remember the information that appeared in front of his eyes when he first cast the skill.
*****
[{Normal Grade}Level 1 Forest Wolf Wolf]
The corpse of a weak ordinary forest wolf.
*****
This was essentially the exact message that appeared in Ethan's eyes, containing the forest wolf information when he first cast the skill.
The information was small, but it was enough for Ethan to grasp the skill's concept.
The Analyse skill was used to check information, and after Ethan used it to examine various objects in the surroundings at that time, its function was confirmed.
When Ethan used the skill on items like stones, it displayed precisely what he had anticipated from the skill in the first place.
However, when Ethan used the skill on his teammates, he felt a slight disappointment, as it didn't provide any additional information about them beyond their level and class.
Such details were something Ethan could already see without the skill.
This discovery, though, left Ethan pondering whether he had been subconsciously using the Analyse skill all along.
Using the Analyse skill did not consume mana, at least not in a way that Ethan felt, unlike when he cast the mana ball skill.
Ethan understood that the mana was the resource drained when casting a skill, acting as the power source for mages.
Ethan had cast the mana ball skill multiple times, so he was familiar with the sensation of mana coursing through his body.
Ethan could recognize mana as long as it flowed through him.
This led Ethan to believe that casting the Analyse skill required no mana, as he didn't feel any being taken from him.
However, Ethan didn't rush to conclusions, as there was still a possibility that he wasn't as sensitive to mana as he thought, or the amount taken from him was too subtle to notice.
Either way, similar to the mana ball skill, Ethan found satisfaction in the Analyse skill.
It had practical utility, and Ethan could already envision how it might benefit him.
The fact that it didn't noticeably deplete his mana left Ethan quite content.
After confirming the function of the Analyse skill, Ethan proceeded to test another skill he was very interested in.
The Loot skill.
While Ethan already had an idea of what the skill's function might be, it turned out to be different from what he had expected.
As Ethan stared at the few items that materialised after casting the Loot skill on the forest wolf, the wolf corpse itself dematerialized.
Recalling the events that led to the appearance of the sword in his hand, Ethan exhaled heavily and scanned his surroundings.
The setting of their location remained unchanged – a ruin.
However, the area they were in was starting to contain fewer small stone houses, with a few larger ones beginning to appear.
The undead knights that Ethan and RageHeart had been encountering in this region were also growing stronger.
Just as Ethan and RageHeart suspected, these undead knights were becoming unpredictable, suggesting that their intelligence had indeed increased.
Fortunately, Ethan and RageHeart hadn't encountered anything significantly stronger than them, even by a level, which was level 3.
Speaking of levels, Ethan and RageHeart were also close to levelling up, as they had been grinding for hours since they woke up.
They weren't just a dozen experience points away from levelling up though; both of them had already filled more than half of their experience bars.
Thanks to their extensive combat experience with undead creatures, even though these monsters had become unpredictable due to their increased intelligence, it was getting easier for Ethan and RageHeart to defeat them.
Ethan and RageHeart combat skills were rapidly improving due to their real-life experiences.
The martial arts training they had initially undertaken for various purposes, including gaining an edge in games, was proving its true worth.
The fact that both of them were martial arts geniuses only accelerated their progress.
Despite being in a perilous environment, everything was going smoothly for Ethan and his teammates until they encountered something that brought them to a halt.
What made Ethan and his teammates stop in their tracks was their first encounter with other players in this location.
However, as these players immediately launched an attack towards them, Ethan knew without a doubt that these individuals were not good news.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone