Chapter 17: Chapter 16 – Badger

The badger's large size gave it power, but its bulky frame also limited its maneuverability. Seeking to capitalize on this apparent weakness, Joe glanced left and right, looking for a place that would give him an advantage. His options were limited, yet his eyes lit up once he noticed a particularly dense area filled with giant oaks rising from the forest floor. Each oak towered into the sky like a lance while the trunks were wide enough to act as small barricades. With renewed hope, Joe dashed forward, narrowly avoiding the badger's claws that almost tore into him from behind. 

Having missed its target, the badger roared out in vexation and gave chase after the wily human. However, the pause was all Joe needed to reach the bastion of trees. Once he arrived, he spun around and took a stance in front of one of the broad oaks. The badger bounded in after him like a battering ram. Its black eyes burst with rage as it focused on the tiny human in front of it.

"You've got this." Joe mentally reassured himself. His nerves were tense, but his eyes glinted with determination. There was no turning back. It was do or die.

Just as the badger was about to strike, Joe jumped several feet to the side, allowing the badger to fly past and head-butt the tree with tremendous force. A loud thump reverberated across the area as the badger slammed into the thick wood, causing it to collapse in a daze.

Joe's eyes widened in shock. The plan had somehow worked better than expected! The beast had been wild with rage and had given little thought to its surroundings. 

Knowing that time was of the essence, Joe rushed in and, with his strongest lunge, plunged his sword into its side. The tough fur proved hard to penetrate, but Joe's recently improved stats gave him the strength he needed to puncture through. With a single stab, Joe embedded the whole blade into its flesh, and with a tug, he ripped it out, sending a spurt of blood gushing out from the wound. He had planned to launch another strike, but the injury had awoken the badger, sending it into a frenzy. 

With a pained roar, the badger turned and swiped at Joe with its massive claws. Luckily, the wound caused the beast to sway, missing its target by an inch. Having narrowly escaped death, Joe didn't dare take any more chances. A single swipe of the beast could easily rip him apart in one go. He retreated to another tree and watched as the badger lumbered forward to launch another assault. 

Again, the beast threw itself at Joe with abandon, and once more, Joe dodged to the side, barely avoiding another swipe of its claws. Though the badger was injured, its power couldn't be denied as it tore out a vast chunk of bark from the tree behind him. Joe cursed in exasperation. His hopes of the badger repeating its earlier folly by crashing into the tree were ruined. Instead, the badger pushed off against the trunk, giving it a burst of speed. 

With no way to launch another attack and the badger on his tail, Joe retreated further into the grove while the badger gave chase. The situation repeated several more times as Joe swerved in and around the thick oaks, avoiding its attacks while preventing the beast from gaining momentum. Though the beast was fast, its speed began to slow as the wound in its side bled profusely, leaving a trail of blood on the wet earth. 

Eventually, the badger staggered forward. Unable to stand, it collapsed to the ground in a pool of its own blood. The fight appeared over, but Joe hurriedly backed off and waited for the beast to become fully incapacitated. Only after ten minutes did he make his move to finish it for good. However, as soon as he came within reach, the badger awoke, launching one last swipe with surprising alacrity. Its claws ripped into his sword arm, yanking him to the floor like a fish on a hook.

Fearing death was moments away, Joe ignored his mangled arm and scrambled away. However, escape was unnecessary. The badger had already reached its limits. It growled one last time in defiance before finally closing its eyes for good.

The pain in his arm burned like fire. The badger's claws had torn through skin and muscle, reaching the bone. Joe did his best to ignore the pain and quickly did a scan of his notifications to confirm the badger was dead. He couldn't help but berate himself for being so careless, he should have just waited for the beast to die of blood loss, but he had been too greedy to head back to the clearing before any other beasts arrived. 

However, he couldn't deny the rewards were worth it. He had gained a massive 1300 EXP and 1500 DP—an astonishing windfall for one kill. The badger had been level 12, making it the highest-level opponent he had faced. If it had been just a little more intelligent, he would have been the one lying on the ground dead. Its strength and power alone were vastly superior to his own stats, likely at the expense of intelligence. He gave a mental nod to the God of luck before picking up his sword, only to find it had snapped in two by the badger's last assault. 

"Damn!" Joe clicked his tongue in annoyance. Sure, it was just a poor-quality goblin sword, but even Joe was shocked to find out how brittle the weapon was, not even lasting a day on the second floor. He would no longer be able to skimp out on buying decent-quality weapons from here on out. The stronger the beasts became, the higher quality armor and weapons needed to counter them. It was another expense he would have to add to his already stretched budget. At this rate, he worried if he'll ever save enough for a Silver-tier skill.

With no other weapon apart from a simple goblin dagger, his chance of surviving the floor looked slim. A litany of wounds covered his body from head to toe, making him look like a literal horror show. The last battle had also exacerbated his previous injuries, causing many old wounds to reopen. The only reason he was even alive was that every attack had failed to hit a vital point. 

He gave a last look at the badger. It seemed a waste to leave it, but Joe lacked any skills to harvest its meat or leather. In addition, with his injuries worsening, he needed to get back to the clearing before passing out. Joe hefted himself back to the clearing, excited to see if the beast had been protecting anything of worth. The possibility of loot drove him forward with vivacious zeal, helping him ignore his wounds. Joe was still a loot-addicted gamer and would be damned if he allowed another beast to start sniffing around the clearing before he got there. 

It took another ten minutes to arrive. The pain from his wounds forced him to stop multiple times. Luckily the area was still clear of other beasts while the fruit tree continued to sit there in all its splendor. Three visible fruits hung from the branches, each the size of a grapefruit. Joe quickly checked the hole and the burrow, confirming there was nothing of note. It seemed hidden treasure chests weren't a thing in this world, but at least he confirmed there were no other badgers. Joe walked up to the tree and used his remaining good arm to climb the branches. His sword arm continued to bleed profusely, but Joe couldn't afford to spend time bandaging it. He needed to be decisive lest his rewards get snatched from him.

A moment later, Joe sat on the branch with one of the fruits in his hand. It looked unlike anything from Earth. Its outer skin was shaped in elaborate patterns, as though someone had carved unique sigils on it, and the fruit had a bronze tinge that gave off a light hue. He could feel a primal hunger coming from his body, calling him to devour it. 

He gave in and took a bite. The succulent fruit was tender and sweet, practically melting in his mouth. It was undoubtedly one of the best things he had eaten. Still craving more, he quickly devoured the whole thing before swiftly moving to the other branches. Before long, he had consumed all three fruits. His body swelled with Strength as energy flared from his gut and spread across his body, reinvigorating his cells. 

"Status," Joe said with feverish excitement. He could barely hold himself back as he waited with bated breath to see if there was any impact.

Name: Joe Heraldson

Level: 10

Experience Points: 7655/11,009

Race: Human (F)

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Grade: Mortal

Blessings: Heaven's Chosen

Strength: 37

Vitality: 20

Agility: 34

Will: 30

Spirit: 15

Free Stats: 0

Joe looked at his status screen with mouth agape. His Strength had jumped by a total of 12 points. A transformational gain with each fruit giving an average of 4 points—a huge boost. A few fruits were equivalent to more than two extra levels in stats and had given his Strength a 50% boost. Joe wanted to jump in joy and scour the forest for more. Yet that would have to wait as the sound of howls brought him back to reality. 

A pack of twelve wolves entered the clearing, slowly surveying the area. Unlike the wolves he had faced before, these were well fed with glossy coats of gray fur. The smell of blood and fruit had likely attracted them, and a few sniffs were all it took for the wolves to discover Joe sitting in the tree covered in fruit juices. Seeing the treasures gone, the beasts went wild, roaring out in a frenzy before thundering towards the tree with explosive speed.

"Oh, crap" was all Joe could think before they arrived at the tree's base and began to claw their way up the trunk. The wolves' high Agility allowed them to defy conventional laws by climbing and jumping onto branches. Joe wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all, but there was no time. He swung his dagger to hold off the pack, but there was little he could do against so many. 

Soon, a few wolves made it to the same branch Joe was on. Claws and fists collided as Joe tried to fend them off using his remaining good arm, but it was no use. Even his enhanced Strength provided little help in his current state. Eventually, a wolf slammed into him from behind, causing him to tumble to the ground below. Joe crashed into the floor like a sack of rice, forcing the air out of his lungs. Immobile and unable to escape, one wolf after another jumped on top of him and began to rip into him with rage. Joe cried out in agony until relief finally came, and death embraced him.

While hanging in the darkness, Joe couldn't help but be grateful for the lack of senses for once. It was a welcome reprieve from the experience of being eaten alive. He had been stabbed and bludgeoned before but never devoured. Something about it felt wrong on a fundamental level. Humans had always been at the top of the food chain, but now, they had become prey. His one condolence was that he had obtained a solid increase in stats. Though, he wasn't sure it was worth the mental anguish. One thing was for sure. He needed to get stronger if he wanted to survive. He could already feel a slight tension on the respawn skill. The first level hadn't been an issue, but the second level had pushed the skill closer to its limit. He didn't know the consequences if he died outside the range and didn't want to find out. He would need to replace his respawn point before entering the third floor, which meant losing access to the shop. 

Joe refocused his mind to distract himself from the negative thoughts. It was time to focus on improving his sword mastery. He began to go through his prior battles. He imagined the fight with the goblins before moving on to the wolves and badger. His [Sword Mastery] skill continued to show him his flaws and mistakes, only stopping once it became too hard to hold the image in his mind anymore. There was still a lot for him to learn as the skill showed him better ways to execute his forms and strikes, and time flew by until his soul finally returned to his body. 

While lying on the hall's stone floor, Joe quickly checked his stats to see he had gained 1 point in Will Power. As expected, the gains were tapering off. It appears there was a limit to the amount of stats he could gain from constant respawning. It was unfortunate but not the end of the world. Joe stood up while clutching his head. Each death left him with a pounding headache that lasted for an hour or so. At first, the pain had quickly subsided. A mere blip. But recently, the pain and duration were getting worse. Suddenly, Joe felt something lodged in his throat. He gurgled and then coughed up a small amount of blood, causing his brows to furrow in concern. That couldn't be good.

Eventually, the pain subsided, and Joe went about recharging his skill. He didn't know why the symptoms were worsening and if it was just a side effect of the skill. Perhaps this was why the skill was unranked? A defective skill, dumped in the bargain bin for some unlucky soul to buy it on the cheap. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it here. He would try to find someone on the fourth floor to ask. Until then, the best course of action was to try and not die. The headaches were likely a side effect of the skill, and until he found out what was happening, he would only be stumbling in the dark. 

After recharging his skill, Joe went to the store, excited to see how much DP he had earned.

Divine Points: 34,600

Joe exhaled in satisfaction once he saw the amount. He had gained 27,000 DP from the quest rewards and the rest from grinding goblins. 

Joe went on a spending spree with the extra funds, buying 10,000 DP worth of equipment and items. He repurchased the longsword he had used the first time around. Its size and weight would prove more effective against the beasts on the second floor. For defense, he bought leather armor, metal greaves, and gauntlets to reduce the threat of being bitten. The most considerable expenditure was purchasing a few F-grade [healing potions] for 1000 DP each. He gritted his teeth at the thought of spending such an amount but eventually relented. Joe was getting tired of constantly suffering from injuries. He needed a way to heal quickly, and recovery potions sounded like the best alternative to having a healer on standby. 

Out of curiosity, he also searched for any treasures that could increase attributes. After some creative searching, he found a list of attribute fruits under the miscellaneous tab, priced at 10,000 DP each. There was one for every stat, though the ones for willpower and spirit cost 15,000 and 20,000 DP, respectively. The price was prohibitive, considering that amount could buy a bronze-grade skill.

Finally, Joe bought a simple bag with enough basic sundries and support items to help him survive the forest. His plan was to reach the second floor and set up a base camp. From there, he could take his time to explore the area. He hated giving up on the third quest to escape the forest in 24 hours but knew his limits. 

With his purchases complete, Joe left the store and returned to the portals. He briefly glanced at the Red and Black gates before shaking his head. It was too soon. The second floor of the Blue portal was already challenging enough. There was no need to risk certain death when there was still plenty for him to gain from the second floor. Besides, he had already confirmed he was able to respawn back to the hall from the second floor, so he could always revisit it later. Having reaffirmed his plan. Joe stared at the shimmering blue gate before finally stepping through. It was time to repeat the first floor.

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