Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 18: I’m only flesh and bones, I can’t resist her temptation!

"I just secured my path of retreat."

This group of thieves guarded this alley since, by following this same path, I could escape without encountering any interference. In other words, I can leave immediately if I wish.

'The question is, will I?'

I say this because, on my map… Once again, a red dot separated from its group.

'Let's think. This will not be the last time I go to that store to sell, since it is the only one that buys runes for a gold coin. This is the same price that the adventurer's guild buys runes from registered people, and since I am not registered, they would buy them from me for only 8 silver coins. Tsk, they are stingy. So, should I exterminate some thieves so they won't bother me again?'

At the question, I began to run.

Of course, in the direction of that lonely red dot.

After passing through many alleys, I saw a thief counting coins. The moment he turned around, I went up to him and cut off his head.

With his sword in my hand, I went towards the other thieves and threw the sword in the same way as before. This time I was very lucky, and the sword plunged into the heart of a thief, killing him instantly.

3 vs. 1 wasn't difficult, especially given the thieves' lone wolf pride. They always tried to kill me by themselves, without thinking about others, and without thinking about working as a team. That's why I was able to damage them badly, and then I dealt them the final blow.

So I patiently waited there, constantly looking at my map. But no one else was separated from their group… 

'What a shame.'

Before I left, I marked all the red dots on my map and named them [Thief].

Minutes later, I arrived at the store that buys [Snow Fur], and I was able to sell them without problems for 7 gold coins.

At the end of the day, my profit from selling runes and fur is 42 gold. I was too tempted to get the bounties for the thieves' remnants, but since his death is recent, there's a chance they're keeping an eye on those who collect them.

'The best thing I can do right now is save them for future cash.'

At this rate, tomorrow I'll have the money to buy Alessia. It makes me feel like giving him that sword with three abilities was a bad move. But according to the calculations of the gallant clone, Alessia should have been sent yesterday morning to the Drial Cenit kingdom.

It was thanks to Leo that this didn't happen. And for that very reason, the gallant clone offered his apologies to Leo before leaving.

Once at the hotel, I was finally able to rest and sleep peacefully.

***

The fight with the thieves yesterday exposed my limitations in combat. With my current level, I can only fight four of them at once, and that will sooner or later lead to my death.

'If I were a normal adventurer, then my chances of encountering criminal classes would be very low, but I'm not.'

'[Experience]'

[Living beings can only acquire a small portion of the experience due to their physiological limitations. By changing this, it is possible to break those chains, decreasing the experience needed to level up and decreasing the actions required to acquire a class.]

That is why I need to raise my level and earn points to use in my status. [Experience] is in the [Settings] menu, but I have never made any changes to it as it was not necessary, but that's over now.

By pressing mentally on experience, a window was opened. In this, the percentage to be decreased is requested. When changing the value, it advances 20% per stage. The only difference is at the end, which only advances 10% to reach a maximum of 90%.'

'Hmm… there are only 5 options to choose from: 20, 40, 60, 80, and 90%. If I use a 90% discount, I will only need 10% experience compared to others to level up.'

Now, nothing is free in this life. For every 20% discount, I need 5 status points. In other words, I must release points from my status to activate this function.

'Mm… Which ones can I release?'

'[Reset Status Points]'

I will use 15 free points in [Experience], thus, decreasing the necessary experience by 60%. 

[Emir] [Adventurer Lvl1] [Survivor Lvl2]

HP=10 || MP=1

Agility=10 || Strength=7

Intelligence=10 || Luck=1

[Resistances]

Physical=1 || Magic=0

Poison=0 || Curse=0

[You have 15 free points]

In the end, I removed 12 points from [Luck] and 3 points from [Strength].

I feel slightly weak, and a little worried. Those 13 points on luck always gave me confidence, and now that they are gone, I feel that anything can happen to me around the corner. Of course, this is an unnecessary concern. If this were true, I would have died a long time ago.

[Snow Wolf Lvl1]

When the monster detected me, it started running towards me. It jumped at a distance of 2 meters, attempting to bite my neck.

I dodged to the side and struck with my sword in a horizontal line. The cut felt so smooth, and without realizing it, the wolf was cut in half.

[Canine]

[x1]

'I knew it! With the skill [Edge] it is not necessary to have so many points in strength. Then let's see the strength limit. How many points is the minimum to defeat them?'

[Strength= 6]

A few minutes later, the next monster appeared. It is true that I feel weaker now, but not enough to not move and swing my sword properly.

[Canine]

[x2]

[Strength= 5]

Mentally, I feel good, but weakness comes from physical strength. This time, the sword feels different. I have a slight difficulty moving it.

'Well, this is the limit. Beyond this, it will make my fights difficult.'

[Canine]

[x3]

[HP=9]

Now I removed one point of HP, and there is no noticeable change in any part of my body. 

'Uff… I finally gathered three free points. Now it's time to use them wisely.'

'[Emir] [Adventurer Lvl1] [Warrior Lvl1] [Survivor Lvl2]'

To activate the third class, I need 3 points. So, without hesitation, I activated it by adding [Warrior Lvl1] to my active classes. 

'This means that, when I level up, each one of them will give me a point, and with them, I will be able to recover the points used to activate the third class. Not only that, but after recovering the initial investment, the profits will begin!'

[x10]

[x20]

[x30]

[x40]

And I finally defeated Snow Wolf number 45. It took me a while to get used to it. I thought I'd get used to it in a short time, but only at chain x25 did I manage to adapt to my current body.

'Every sacrifice has a reward, and this case is no exception…'

[Emir] [Adventurer Lvl2] [Warrior Lvl2] [Survivor Lvl2]

[You have 2 free points]

In just a few hours, I managed to level up the adventurer and warrior classes. Both receive more experience by defeating monsters in labyrinths. On the other hand, [Survivor], which leveled up when I fought the floor boss without preparing, has not moved up a level.

I added those points to Strength without much thought.

[Strength=7]

'Wow, after getting used to a smaller strength, now I feel that with 7 points I have become invincible. You don't know what you have until you lose it, huh? With this, I already have the money to buy Alessia. What will Leo think when I arrive with the money only two days after giving away that sword?'

But I will not buy her today. I'm sure I'll see those thieves again once I do the rune sale.

And for that, I plan to level up a bit more.

***

[x45]

'I am tired, very tired. I only had an hour of rest, and then, I did an x45 chain again. I'll need to rest again before leaving the labyrinth.'

[Emir] [Adventurer Lvl4] [Warrior Lvl4] [Survivor Lvl3]

[You have 5 free points]

While Adventurer and Warrior quickly leveled up, Survivor fell a step behind. I didn't talk about it before because it was too early to draw any conclusions, but now I'm sure.

'I've been doing a monster hunt so calmly that there is no danger. Now I am sure [Survivor] just reacts to life-and-death situations. Maybe… Should I fight naked to increase the experience gained? It is better not to follow that route of thought… Really, the 60% discount made it a lot easier to level up. For anyone else, it would have been impossible to level up that fast. Although I wanted to be like the other Adventurers at first and level up normally, I have to give up. The temptation of the user interface is too strong. Haa, it's already been over an hour. It's time to get out of the labyrinth.'

Before leaving, I deactivated the 60% discount, and the 15 points used in it are free again. After thinking for a bit, I already know where to use all the points earned today…

[Emir] [Adventurer Lvl4] [Warrior Lvl4] [Survivor Lvl3]

HP=9 || MP=1

Agility=16 || Strength=10

Intelligence=10 || Luck=12

[Resistances]

Physical=1 || Magic=0

Poison=0 || Curse=0

Those extra 6 points in Agility will increase my combat chances to 5 vs. 1, and the 3 points in Strength were to return it to its original state. While the other points went into Luck, so I can overcome the luck of the thieves and avoid any problems that arise in my path.

Coming out of the labyrinth, the sky is already partially dark. Once I sell the runes and fur, it will be night. For another person, fighting at night may be the worst decision to make, but that is not the case for me.

'As long as the map shows the location of my enemies, I have nothing to fear.'