"GRAAAACACAAAKA!!"
The zombie lunged at Rina, its rotting fingers was outstretched.
But in that split second, a figure blurred into motion behind it.
It was Seraphine...
There were two reasons why Seraphine hadn't taken a direct approach earlier.
First: she wasn't sure how strong a Level 1 zombie truly was. Yes, she had killed one before, but she believed that had been a stroke of luck, since Rina's accidental strike had already weakened it.
Movies often portrayed zombies as weak, but reality didn't have to follow fiction. She couldn't gamble with her life on an assumption.
Second: she wasn't certain about the sword's strength. Could it even pierce a body? If the blade snapped or glanced off, Rina was dead for sure.
Seraphine clenched her jaw, putting all her strength into the thrust. 'Please… pierce it', she thought desperately.
The sword drove forward, sinking deep into the zombie's neck from behind just before its teeth could sink into Rina's flesh.
Unfortunately, the zombie wasn't dead.
Despite the blade buried in its throat, it slowly began to twist its torso around to face Seraphine. Her eyes widened in shock, but she didn't let go. She shoved her weight forward, putting even more strength into the thrust until the sword dug deeper into the meat of its neck.
The flesh began to tear apart, the head tilting at an impossible angle as the neck split open. Seraphine caught a glimpse of the interior of the skull.
The brain wasn't grey or firm; it looked melted and submerged in a thick, gluey substance.
"GRAckk... GRAKKK..."
The creature let out its final growl before collapsing to the ground.
THUD!
Seraphine fell to her knees beside it, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. 'If I had known the sword was this damn sharp, I would have just sliced its head off from the start', she thought.
She had chosen to thrust because it delivered more raw power. When you aren't confident in a blade's edge, a stab is always safer than a swing.
The moment the zombie hit the ground, a series of notifications popped up in both Seraphine's and Rina's minds...
-----------------------
{ [ You have successfully killed and absorbed the Dharma Power of level :1 - 'Zombie Student' ]
[ You have acquired 200 Dharma Power (DP) ] }
-------------------------
Inside Rina's mind :
--------------------------
{ [ You have Assisted in killing level :1 - 'Zombie Student' and absorbed the Dharma Power ]
[ You have acquired 100 Dharma Power (DP) ]
[ You have leveled up!! (LvL : 1-->2) ]
[ You have received (2) Attribute Points (AP) ] }[1]
-------------------------
Rina's eyes widened as the glowing text filled her vision.
"Wait… how did I get Dharma Power? I didn't even hit it!" she exclaimed, utterly surprised.
Rina blinked, still stunned, but then her mood shifted instantly. "Anyway… I leveled up!" she shouted with a bright smile, quickly pulling up her status window in her mind.
-----------------
NAME : Rina Velmont
RACE : Human
LEVEL : 2 DHARMA POWER : 0 / 300
[TITLES] : | The First Autonomer
-----------------
ATTRIBUTES :-
• STRENGTH : 9 (10) -- ( average human )
• AGILITY : 12(10)
• ENDURANCE : 11 (10)
• INTELLIGENCE : 13 (10)
• PERCEPTION : 11 (10)
• WILL POWER : 8 (10)
• MANA (awakened) : 32 (10)
[Attribute points : 2]
-----------------
SKILLS :-
•ACTIVE : [Healing Spell]---- ( MAX - 3 )
•PASSIVE : NONE
[MESSAGE] -- Can't undo once a ACTIVEskill is Equipped
------------------
The moment the notifications faded, a spark of white light ignited in the center of the zombie's chest.
"Another drop?" Seraphine was taken aback. "Do we seriously get a drop from every kill?"
"I don't think so. Maybe we're just too lucky," Rina said, her eyes fixed on the glow.
As the light dimmed, it revealed two objects: a small black box and a worn yellow book.
"It's only fair if I take the box this time, right?" Rina asked. Without waiting for an answer, she picked up the black cube and opened it.
"Yeah, sure," Seraphine muttered, still trying to catching her breath.
A flash of light burst in front of Rina, dissolving into a sleek bow and a quiver.
"Woah! My favorite!" Rina's mouth hung open. Her face gleamed with pure happiness as she gripped the riser. However, that joy died the second she glanced at the weapon's description.
Seeing Rina's expression sour, Seraphine stood up and reached out to touch the bow. It felt sturdy enough, but when she checked the quiver, she realized the problem.
There were only five arrows.
"Five?" Seraphine muttered, her brow furrowing. "That's it?"
But that wasn't the real reason for Rina's disappointment. When she touched the bow, a description appeared before her eyes:
-----------------------
{ [Basic Bow and Arrow] - A bow and arrow usually placed in show cases in house...Can't even kill a bird with it...but can inflict some damages depending on the wielder }
-------------------------
"Pfft... pffft!!"
Seraphine tried to maintain her cold composure, but a smirk broke through, and she started laughing, barely holding it back. "A showcase item? Seriously? What a piece of trash. It's literal garbage."
"Y-you...!" Rina wanted to snap back, but she bit her lip, remembering how she'd just teased about her weapon earlier.
"That's what you get for mocking my equipment," Seraphine said, her voice regaining its edge. She reached down and picked up the worn yellow book. Without wasting time, she pressed it between her palms.
The book dissolved into fine golden particles that swirled upward before sinking into her head.
"This…!!" Seraphine's eyes widened in shock as the knowledge surged through her mind, filling her with something entirely new.
----------------------
{ [Frost Spell--> LvL : 1 ] - Frost Spell is considered one of the epitome of sacred spells.. At (level : 1) The caster can influence Temperature to a certain degree..such as Minor heat Reduction and Surface Freezing.
A faint sense of calm may emerge under extreme conditions.
Effect varies with the opponent faced.
Frost is recognized as a foundational phenomenon from which lower-order cold manifestations are derived. }
{ [Message] : Frost Spell is recognized as one of the few Autonomous Spells.
[Congratulations!!]
[You have become a known holder of an Autonomous Spell in Prithivi Lokh.] }
----------------------
Rina held the bow tightly, her eyes still fixed on Seraphine. "What spell is it, Sera?" she asked, curiosity outweighing her disappointment.
Seraphine's gaze sharpened as she studied the glowing panel before her. "Frost spell…" she murmured, her voice carrying a mix of awe and disbelief. "Rina… I think I also got an autonomous ability."
She quickly opened her status window,
-----------------
NAME : Seraphine Ashbourne
RACE : Human
LEVEL : 2 DHARMA POWER : 200 / 300
-----------------
ATTRIBUTES :-
• STRENGTH : 20 (10) -- ( average human )
• AGILITY : 12 (10)
• ENDURANCE : 15 (10)
• INTELLIGENCE : 18 (10)
• PERCEPTION : 14 (10)
• WILL POWER : 22 (10)
• MANA (awakened) : 19 (10)
[Attribute points : 2]
-----------------
SKILLS :-
•ACTIVE : [Frost Spell]---- ( MAX - 3 )
•PASSIVE : NONE
[MESSAGE] -- Can't undo once a ACTIVEskill is Equipped
------------------
Seraphine stared at the shimmering screen, realizing she had unallocated potential just sitting there. "Ah, I forgot about the attribute points," she muttered, her eyes darting across her stats. "But which status should I assign them to?"
She weighed her options...
Strength was tempting, but she wasn't a brawler. Intelligence would boost her new Frost spell, but that wouldn't matter if she was too slow to dodge a lunging corpse. "I guess I'll go with Agility. I need more speed and flexibility if I'm going to keep dancing around these things."
She frowned, looking at the numbers. "But wait, how do I actually assign them?"
The moment the thought of increasing her Agility crossed her mind, the system responded. It was as if the interface was hardwired into her intent.
-------------------
ATTRIBUTES :-
• AGILITY : 14 (+2)
---------------------
'ohh so that's how it is!' she thought.
Seraphine took a small experimental step and nearly overshot her mark. She felt dangerously light, like a spring wound too tight.
"Sera? You okay?" Rina asked, noticing Seraphine's sudden, twitchy movements. "You look like you just drank ten shots of espresso."
"I'm fine, by the way," Seraphine said, brushing off her clothes before glancing at Rina. "You said you leveled up, right? Haven't you assigned your attribute points?"
Rina, who was busy plucking at the string of her decorative bow, which made a pathetic thrum~ sound, didn't even look up. "I'll do it later. I'm still confused about where to put them. I don't want to waste points on a build that sucks."
"Suit yourself, but don't blame me if you're too slow to run," Seraphine said, her voice dropping back into its usual cold tone. "Now, let's move forward."
Both of them moved cautiously, their footsteps light as they approached the looming main building.
[1] (Author note) : Assisting should not always needed to be physical. The system is so intelligent that it can understand the intend behind every actions. And in this scenario, the system considered 'Baiting' as a sort of Assisting too.