Ronan had wasted two-thirds of his recovery time lying in the grass and languishing in his emotions. Now that he'd settled them and knew what he needed to do, he pulled up the system notifications he'd been ignoring.
Congratulations, you have cleared Stage 1 of the tutorial!
[Inventory] access has been granted at minimum functionality. Improve inventory metrics by spending system credits or through other approved means. Open inventory through mental, verbal, or spiritual command.
+10 Copper Credits
+Myriad Skills Tome (Common)
Stage 2 will begin in 1 minute!
Another familiar message. This time he couldn't waste a single moment. Ronan used the myriad skills tome right away, not startled as the dusty leather bound tome floated into the air and the pages fluttered in a magical wind.
He was a little disappointed to see that all the items he'd collected the first time he went through the tutorial had disappeared. Then again, he had died.
The fact he was still standing here was still shocking to him, so he couldn't complain too much. And he would be able to gather all that sweet loot once more.
Some of it had remained. The first skill he gained through this very item, for example. Relentless training. It was still in his status when he'd checked it and yet he was able to receive and use the myriad skills tome a second time.
That was ridiculous. He didn't understand any of it, but he didn't need to. Perhaps this time Ronan would get a skill that would actually help him in a fight.
A goblin hunting skill would do nicely.
The flickering pages slowed and the myriad skills tome ended its dance. Ronan read through the system message that appeared, a grin creeping up his face with every word he read.
[Myriad Skills Tome (Common)] has been consumed!
You have received the skill [Magic Strike (Common)]!
Magic Strike (Common): Infuse mana into your strikes to bolster their power and apply extra magical damage as a percentage of the original blow's physical damage. (Cost: 5 Mana + Variable Mana Cost based on power of strike)
It was a combat skill. Not quite what he might have chosen himself if he'd been able to, but more powerful strikes were perfect.
It also gave Ronan a way to use his mana, which until this point he'd had no reason or ability to. He hoped that having a skill that used mana might give him some insight into how magic worked.
The only problem was that he had no clue how to use magic strike. Did he have to act as if he were a cartoon character and yell 'magic strike' every time he punched a goblin?
11…
Unfortunately he didn't have much time left to figure it out. He hoped it would be self explanatory.
His first skill had been a passive one, meaning he didn't have to do any extra work. He wondered whether it was already helping him out—he'd killed plenty of goblins, but the system never told him the limit.
Actually, that's a good idea. Maybe I can get more information out of it if I try, he thought to himself. Hey system! How many goblins can I kill before you start giving me less rewards?
Rewards for defeating monsters begin to become less effective as you accumulate more from the same source. There is no exact number but for low level monsters (1-50) this process typically starts occurring after 50 repeat kills.
The reduction is minimal initially, but if one continues to slay the same type of monster, the reductions harshly increase at an increased pace.
Ronan hadn't expected such a concise and immediate answer from the system. When it came to his stats it had been far less forthcoming, so he was glad to learn more about his new reality.
50 Goblins. That was his limit until it stopped being efficient. Ronan didn't know how much further the tutorial stages went or whether it would continue throwing goblins at him beyond stage 3—if that was the case, he'd have to seriously criticise the system's lack of creativity.
It was pointless working out how many goblins he'd already killed. There wasn't really a limit. He wasn't going to suddenly become an emissary of peace between goblins and humanity once he'd laid the fiftieth one to rest…
However, Ronan simply didn't want to be caught off guard if he suddenly started to receive less for his kills. Level ups were a resource equally as important as health and stamina—having a rough idea of when the next one was close in the middle of a battle was essential knowledge.
5…
There was one last thing to do before he entered the second stage of the tutorial for the second time. He felt confident in taking out the more powerful goblin pair without adding to his stats, so he decided to wait before assigning his free point.
The reason he didn't throw it straight into agility was because of his new skill—magic strike. If it was a powerful tool, he would consider increasing his rather modest mana pool to allow him to use it more often.
As it stood, he should be able to use it eight or nine times, though that was a complete guess. He had no idea what the 'variable mana cost' it had described would entail. For all he knew, it might drain his entire mana pool in a single punch.
Ronan would rush the lesser goblin archer before it had a chance to make some distance. And this time, he wouldn't bother trying to rope Keith in.
He refused to let his former manager be as useless in this life, but he hadn't quite come to terms with witnessing the man's death. It would be hard to bring himself to turn his anger on the man, no matter how annoying he was.
3…
He was entirely confident in his strategy. Additionally, it was selfish but if he killed all the goblins himself then none of the experience would go to Keith.
Also, while Ronan had given himself to the adrenaline-induced battle lust, he didn't enjoy almost dying over and over. It was damn painful.
0…
Good luck, challenger!
The system ripped Ronan through the strange void space as it took him from the forest clearing that was the arena of the first tutorial stage and towards stage 2. He felt as if the surroundings held infinite mysteries, shifting and writhing every time he felt close to focusing on a single point.
Before he had a chance to understand the void even a little, his feet sunk into wet mud with a squelch. Instead of taking time to look around as he'd done the last time, he immediately broke into a sprint.
[Lesser Goblin Warrior Lv.4]
[Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]
He didn't need to check his back. These were the only two enemies in this stage. He rushed forwards, taking the goblins by surprise.
The warrior screeched and raised its sword to strike, but he ignored it. Ronan made a beeline for the archer. Its eyes widened in shock when he raced past its guardian, but it moved quickly.
It turned on its heels and raced away, but Ronan wasn't worried. It was slow. His physical abilities weren't any better than they had been the first time he'd fought these two goblins, but the way he used that strength had already changed.
His experience fighting for his life over and over had changed his muscle memory and his battle instincts. He was far from being a veteran warrior, but he knew enough to catch and kill a lesser goblin bastard.
As he ran, he heard a yell from behind and the garbled screeching of the goblin warrior. He couldn't spare any focus to turn, but soon he would.
The goblin archer glanced over its shoulder and suddenly stopped, pivoting on the balls of its feet. Ronan halted a second later, but he was already on a collision course with the monster.
He saw a flash of metal but arresting his momentum was an impossible task. He smashed into the goblin's body and felt a burning sting in his abdomen.
You have been hit by [Lesser Goblin Archer Lv.5]!
-11 Health [Piercing]
You are [Bleeding]!
-3 Health per second
They tumbled over each other, splashing into the muddy earth. Rich soil sprayed into his eyes, but Ronan didn't need to see the goblin. He could feel it struggling underneath him.
He could've ended it in a single combo. He wanted to try his new skill however, so he only smashed his bare fist into the goblin's head once to silence its struggles.
It screeched and tried to bite his hand, but he grabbed it by the throat and forced it to the ground. All that remained was to try and figure out how his new skill worked.
It was said that the best solution was often the simplest. So, Ronan didn't overthink it.
"Magic strike!" he cried as he punched at the goblin archer.