An extra week had passed since I first killed the Desert Riders, and I had gained a lot since then.
Not only had I learned most ways to navigate through the dunes, but I had also killed enough demons to reach Level 1.
╔═════════════════════════════╗
║ ⚙ STATUS WINDOW ⚙ ║
╚═════════════════════════════╝
┌─── "Character Info" ───┐
│ ◈ Name: Allen Park
│ ◈ Age: 17
│ ◈ Gender: Male
│ ◈ Affiliation: Night_Hawks
│ ◈ Geass: Surprise
└───────────────────────────┘
┌─── "Titles" ──────────────┐
│ • 『 The Most Loved Man In Two Worlds 』
│ • 『 The Legendary Programmer 』
│ • 『 Level 100! Runic Master 』
└────────────────────────────┘
┌─── "Core" ──────┐
│ ◈ Core Grade: 『 White 』
└────────────────────────────┘
┌─── "Level" ───┐
│ ◈ 『 Level 1 』
│ ◈ 『 Progress: 17% 』
└──────────────────────┘
┌─── "Unique Skill" ──────────┐
│ • 『 Assimilation 』
└────────────────────────────┘
┌─── "Base Stats" ──────────┐
│ • Constitution — 32
│ • Strength — 25
│ • Dexterity — 30
│ • Speed — 28
│ • Faith — ??
│ • Perception — 25
│ • Mana Points — ??
└────────────────────────────┘
After I reached Level 1, I noticed that both my "Mana Points" stat and "Faith" had changed from viewable digits to immeasurable.
I didn't have much to complain about in that regard, and honestly, it was kind of understandable since I already had overflowing mana before I fully awakened, and my antivirus made my healing capability next to none in my rank.
Fzzzzz….
The sound of fire sizzling rang through the skull as the lavender moon cast its shadow on the sand.
Another thing I had found out during this week was that higher-level demons could indeed attack during nighttime, but they were far weaker than they were in the daytime.
This was exactly the reason why I had the mind to cook something in this desert since, even if the monsters did attack, they wouldn't be able to kill me.
The moment the meat that came from the Desert Riders began to turn crispy and golden, the ground beneath my feet began rumbling, and a massive monster shot out toward the sky.
I glanced from where I stood at the center of the skull and watched the creature rise to the sky.
The demon's silhouette looked like a twisted form of an ostrich and, at the same time, that of a whale.
As soon as it flew above the skull, it cried, a deep, distorted sound that made the air vibrate.
For the past week, I had studied this creature's patterns.
An Ostring. It was a Level 3 monster with white feathers around a bloated whale-like body, and above it, a head drifted separately, connected only by a long, swaying strand of flesh.
Truly a grotesque form.
I stood to my feet, wiping dirt from my clothes.
From my previous analysis, this monster took about two minutes to land after taking off into the sky.
I walked toward the edge of the skull, mana crackling in my palms. I let out a long breath and formed the blue mana into a spear.
Out of everything I had achieved this week, this was by far the best.
"Mana Control."
Now I couldn't just form mana into tangible objects, I could use it to form strings capable of writing.
And why would I go through all that stress, you ask?
A smirk formed on my face as a mark of a trident appeared on the blue spear. Its form began to change instantly, turning like water, while three prongs formed at its tip.
With the strings, I could write codes without needing to sit down and do it. Not just that, I could write codes from afar.
Through experiments, I also figured out a fresh approach to applying this, and that was by adding codes to these strings, which made them write a predetermined set of codes.
I couldn't write something complex, but I could write the codes used for each and every element, allowing me to turn my massive pool of mana into any element of my choice.
With a grin plastered on my face, I stood at the edge of the skull and stared above at the Ostring, who was about to descend.
I let out a breath and lunged into the air. Once I was airborne, I directed mana into my feet and shot it out to give myself an extra boost, like I was double jumping.
The sky looked beautiful from there. The air was cool, and my hair fluttered wildly.
The monster above seemed a bit confused by my sudden appearance. It knew I was inside the skull and was probably thinking of crushing me since direct attacks on the skull were always hindered by the moving sand, though I couldn't care less about its confusion.
I spread my arms out and let my body fall. The wind was harsh yet cool against my back. Once I was halfway down, I twisted my form, pulling the arm holding the spear forward and channeling mana through it.
The monster opened its maw to let out a cry, but I was a step faster.
"Not on my watch, you fucker."
I tossed the water spear forward, piercing into the monster with precision.
The spear didn't exit the other side, and I never really expected it to. I raised my hands and clasped them together.
"Boom!"
I could feel the spear expanding inside the monster and my control over it slowly slipping. Then, with a loud boom, the water exploded, causing the demon to explode from the inside out.
Blood and chunks of meat flew in all directions. Right before I landed on the rough sand, I formed a web of mana, imprinting a rune of stickiness at its tip and swinging back into the cave.
Haaaah….
I let out a breath.
Haa….
Then another.
Haaa… ha… hahahahahahahaha…!
Once a third breath left my lips, it turned into loud laughter.
It was a truly insane laugh, even though I knew it might probably get me caught because of it.
My hands were shaking, not from fear, but pure thrill. The rush of adrenaline, the boost in energy. It was all intoxicating.
I did some insane things in my past life, but this… this was another whole level of crazy.
I collapsed on my back and stared at the sky through the small hole in the skull.
"I think I'm strong enough to escape here."
It was about time I left this damned desert.
Ding!
[You have defeated Level 3 "weakened" Ostring]
[You are the first Level 1 to kill a Level 3]
[Appraising rewards]