Chapter 4: Slow Progress
Seeing that he could have his head pierced by a Wooden Horn, Su Login turned his body as fast as he could, felt that stake scraping his neck, but ignored the tiny pain.
However, he had no way of dodging it again.
The furthest Wood Horned Squirrel had already fired another shot when Su Login dodged the nearest one. The Wood Horn smashed into the young man's right shoulder.
"Argh!"
But there was no time to complain about the pain, as the other monster attacked in the direction of his ribs. With dexterity, Su Login managed to avoid, but dealing with two monsters at once took a lot of his attention and agility.
If he continued to dodge, he would soon tire and be impaled by one of the two squirrels.
Su Login concentrated as hard as he could, dividing his attention between the two monsters. He couldn't remember a time when he had to be so focused on his battles.
He narrowly dodged the closest squirrel's attack and waited for the one furthest away to fire.
When the monster further away threw its wooden stake, the young man spun the Wooden Horn in his fingers and threw it towards his enemy. The two wooden stakes hit each other hard in the air and then scattered.
The Wooden Horned Squirrel furthest away didn't bother to move, but was surprised by a stake coming at him quickly.
Su Login used both his hands to throw the two Wooden Horns, something that monster, who could only throw one, couldn't do. He hadn't expected to be killed by an attack like his.
[You killed a 'Wooden Horned Squirrel'.]
[You received 'Wooden Horn'.]
[You received 10 XP.]
Su Login couldn't let his guard down even though he had killed one of the creatures, the second squirrel attacked without giving a damn about the death of his companion.
The young man dodged, rolling along the ground, but, unlike before, he was also aware of his surroundings, ready to change course if another monster suddenly appeared.
He felt excruciating pain in his shoulder, as he still had a Wood Horn on his shoulder.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled the object out of his flesh with force and rolled his dice in the direction of the squirrel.
The monster squealed before being impaled.
[You killed a 'Wooden Horned Squirrel'.]
[You received 'Wooden Horn'.]
[You received 10 XP.]
Su Login realized that the Wooden Horned Squirrels had a weakness: dodging. The three creatures he faced didn't have enough speed to dodge his attacks.
So I just need to be fast enough to dodge and attack, so I can kill these monsters without getting hurt.
Gradually, he began to think that those squirrels weren't that strong, someone with a shield would be able to defend themselves and use a long-range attack to kill them while their horn was still preparing for the next attack.
The biggest disadvantage a person could have was being caught by a gang of them, in which case even a shield wouldn't be enough to avoid injury.
Su Login sighed and put his hand on his shoulder, which was leaking blood. He felt an unbearable burning sensation; that Wooden Horn had pierced his dermis too much.
Perhaps the Herbal Essence Jar would come in handy now, but there's nothing to complain about, I won't regret the choices I've made.
Even if it was only a little, the damage done to the monsters was influenced by their attributes.
The young man checked that there was no danger around and then looked at his Status screen.
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[Su Login, 14 Years Old]
[Level: 3]
[XP: 35 / 80]
[Qi: 9 / 2,500]
[Race: Human | Cultivation: Celestial]
[Realm: Unavailable]
[Strength: 8 | Defense: 3]
[Agility: 2 | Qi Gain: 1]
[Intelligence: 1 | Technique: 1]
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Surprise appeared on his face, it was beyond his expectations that his Qi would increase.
Since he hadn't leveled up, he could only assume that he had increased his Qi bar by killing the Wooden Horned Squirrels, and if he divided that amount by the number of monsters he had defeated, the total would be 3 points of Qi for each creature.
In that case, the stronger the creature, the more Qi I get?
He was excited to see that he had finally found a way to increase that attribute, although it was not much, he had made some progress on that journey.
Su Login decided that that was enough for today.
He was wounded and a little tired, he could be defeated if he was cornered by more than two squirrels further on, so he decided to make a makeshift shelter high up in the biggest tree there.
While he was cleaning the branch of the tree he was going to use to sleep, he saw a bird eating a piece of fruit.
Before, he just ignored the small birds because he didn't have any throwing weapons. He didn't think twice before twirling the Wooden Horn in his fingers and impaling the bird.
[You killed a 'Wooden Beak Swallow'.]
[You received 'Wooden Beak'.]
[You received 5 XP.]
It was a weaker monster than the squirrel.
Su Login was a little disappointed when he exchanged his Wooden Horn for the Wooden Beak, but was satisfied when he saw that he had received XP.
If he was lucky in tomorrow's Daily Prize, he could advance in Level.
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[Su Login, 14 Years Old]
[Level: 3]
[XP: 40 / 80]
[Qi: 10 / 2,500]
[Race: Human | Cultivation: Celestial]
[Kingdom: Unavailable]
[Strength: 8 | Defense: 3]
[Agility: 2 | Qi Gain: 1]
[Intelligence: 1 | Technique: 1]
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So this bird only gave me one point of Qi, not very much in proportion to the amount of XP I received.
He didn't pay much attention to that and focused on getting some rest, he didn't even know exactly how the Qi could help him, he didn't want to put effort into something that wouldn't increase his power.
Before lying down on the branch to sleep, he tore a piece of material from his clothes and tied it around his shoulder to prevent bleeding.
If he was lucky enough to get something like a healing potion the next day, he would consider using it if the wound was still bleeding.
Oh, that's right, I have that book. I'm not in the mood to read it at the moment, I'd rather read it when I have a more opportune moment.
Tiredness overtook Su Login's body as soon as he lay down, and it didn't take more than a minute for him to fall into a deep sleep.
Although he was asleep, there was still a hint of awareness that kept him alert at all times, it was like a natural instinct. If there were any suspicious movements around him, he would certainly wake up as soon as possible.
But there was nothing unusual in the forest.
The young man woke up early, was in better spirits and felt that he could return to combat, although his shoulder was still tingling.
Collect.
[Congratulations, you have received 'Mental Clarity Tea'.]
[Mental Clarity Tea: A herbal tea blend that promotes mental clarity and concentration during study and cultivation].
[The 'Mental Clarity Tea' has been successfully consumed. Congratulations, the Player has received 30 XP].
It still wasn't enough to Level up, Su Login became a little impatient with the slowness of his System. There was a gulf of difference between that evolution and the evolution of someone with the title 'Hero'.
After a sigh, the young man opened his Status screen.
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[Su Login, 14 Years Old]
[Level: 3]
[XP: 70 / 80]
[Qi: 10 / 2,500]
[Race: Human | Cultivation: Celestial]
[Kingdom: Unavailable]
[Strength: 8 | Defense: 3]
[Agility: 2 | Qi Gain: 1]
[Intelligence: 1 | Technique: 1]
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Almost there.
Su Login couldn't remember the last time he had felt so anxious to Level up. That feeling wasn't bad, it only increased his desire to become even stronger in order to kill those monsters.
As soon as he had stretched, the young man looked in the direction of the fruit the bird had been eating the day before. There was another Wood Beak Swallow there, eating the fruit without a care in the world.
Without hesitation, the young man materialized the Wooden Beak between his fingers, it was smaller than the Wooden Horn, so he had to use a different movement to throw it.
Su Login joined the tip of his index finger to his thumb and, after applying pressure, he jabbed the Wooden Beak, throwing it with a force that the unsuspecting monster couldn't dodge.
However, what happened next took the young man by surprise.
The Wood Beak was repelled with a simple flap of the Swallow's wings. The creature glared angrily at its attacker, making an unpleasant sound.
The young man realized at that moment that this fight was not going to be as easy as the others.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone