*
She realised something strange. No, in fact it might not be strange at all, she was the one who is strange for finding it peculiar. One could say Arin never left her mind, the purpose of this journey is to rediscover her past with Arin, but not a single clue had shown up. Discovering her past was also to find a way to get stronger, so she could rescue Yggdrasil. She believed her past life was stronger than the current her, an enigmatic past closed off to the people that needed to know it the most, herself.
Even so, she continued to observe her surroundings. Even if her grand purpose was far away, she needed to survive to the next day and navigate through this foreign world. When she killed the violent thug in the alleyway, the person who had been farming the homeless people for exp... She leveled up. She hadn't suffered any injuries then, so it took a moment for her to notice, but levelling up completely removed her fatigue. To the point she had trouble sleeping.
Compared to others who received points to allocate to their stats, all of her own stats jump instantaneously by 10 for each level. She suspects that progression is tied to class, and her hero class was naturally responsible for this advantage. With respect to humans, she grew stronger the fastest. She can't assume that will be the same with the demons and monsters she's going to face, nor could she accept the values at face value. Since every level will increase her hp, she would heal for at least 100 hp every time, potentially healing for full health.
The fight with that goblin confirmed it. She's gonna fight more, without relenting. There. She senses them before they pick up her scent, at the very edge of her detection range... Did the level up increase the potency of her senses? It works to her advantage. She navigates around the plants, inching closer and closer, right to where she estimates is the boundary of where their olfactory sense can reach. From here... She lunges straight, her mp has also recovered so she materialises gauntlets and greaves to protect her skin from thorns.
The sound naturally alerted them, but that also meant she was closer than they realised. Panic crept up their nerves as they ran their minds through this unfamiliar situation, ultimately their lower intelligence led to them giving up on thinking. This was usually advantageous for wild creatures relying on instinct, to fight or to run, it was more important to decide faster than it is to actually determine the decision. They approach her, splitting into two directions. They recognised her as prey from her scent, a human female. Adventurers are not a foreign life form in their ecology.
Slipping into their guard, she spun her leg and struck one of the goblins. It had black skin and a hideous bulbous head, it's eyes fragmented into countless surfaces like compound eyes, individual hair strands arose from any section of its body to form patches, the appendages were more bony and stiff as if covered in keratin. With full force, her heel slammed into its dainty misproportioned body, causing it to fly into a nearby tree. The best part of this environment is the trees that served as natural physical barriers, cutting off the escape route of prey. She slammed her fist into its head in a split second, causing it to explode.
*Pinpon!*
She leveled up. From 50 to 60, the speed increase didn't feel marginal in the slightest. She turns around to face the other goblin, before she noticed it had crept up to her back. Using its short stature, it hopped towards her with a spear in hand. The tip of the spear sunk into her flesh, digging past her clothes and skin like a miniature scythe, searing hot pain permeates her flank.
Species: goblin
Level: 14
Hp: 100/100
Mp 100/100
Attack: 50
Defence: 25
Magic strength: 0
Magic defence: 5
Mana: 10
Constitution: 25
Agility: 25
Then it stops. The spear can't go any deeper, push with all its might it could, it still wouldn't budge. Her left gauntlet split into a couple of tendrils, leaving a flash of black as they pierced into the goblin's limbs before it could decide to pull the spear out. Her body felt numb before long, and it was only concerning the area near the wound. Even the poison was losing efficacy, it was meant to be applied over and over against larger prey. These goblins were either incapable of sensing the gap in power, or they weren't equipped to make logical enough decisions.
Right, it made sense. If they possessed the appraisal skill, it would have helped them learnt when to retreat, they would have survived for another day and gained more levels. It all tracks back, the creatures in these parts of the woods are still small fry. The stronger ones reside further in. The goblin began to struggle and writhe against the bindings, the black threads digging into its flesh drew blood as it cried in repeating clicks and buzzes.
In the next moment, two more tendrils sprout forth from her gauntlet, splitting into needle thin threads that penetrate straight through its body. Its struggle intensifies, confirming that it was now immobile she placed her right palm over its face. For an instant, it gazed at her in bewilderment before-
*crack!*
*Pinpon!*
"... Level 8. Looks like the two of them yielded 3 levels in total." (Lastia)
They were both more than level 10, and that seemed to impact the experience gained more than the difference in strength. Despite Lastia clearly having the upper hand, they were treated as higher level and yielded a large amount of exp as a result. As a result, even the minor poison was cured from her body... Looking at this result, if there was a cap in level, wouldn't it be better to stay at a lower level?
If experience was a cup of water and reaching the max level was to fill the cup to the brim, then she needed to save space for more water. To save levels to be used as potential emergency heals, it felt like they could cure any disease and restore any wound, naturally she could be completely wrong... Regardless, her stats are still too low for that sort of advanced strategy, if she fought the demon king now she'd be killed instantly.