I Need Money to Level Up

Chapter 2: A New Skill!

Raiden checked the skill, and he found a description... he had never seen anything like that before. Probably... he couldn't say for sure without risking those annoying headaches. Regardless, it seemed that the day without eating made his body pay the toll. Or maybe the whip slashes did that... either way, Raiden was going to die quite soon at that rate.

"I can't play hero anymore... I can tell that those fucking guards are stressed and looking for reasons to lash out at us," Raiden thought. "Let's see what I can do here."

Raiden tried to level up, but that didn't work. Instead of that, he received the message: you need 100 points of fortune to level up. Fortune... Raiden had no idea how he could get that, but then he checked his parameters one by one.

Strength: This parameter measures physical power and the ability to exert force. It determines how much weight can be lifted, how hard a blow can be struck, and overall physical prowess.

Vitality: represents a character's overall health and resilience. It determines their ability to withstand injuries, endure physical hardships, and recover from illness or exhaustion.

Endurance: measures a character's ability to sustain physical damage. It influences their resistance to fatigue and their capacity to engage in activities that require prolonged physical effort.

Magic: represents a character's proficiency in manipulating and harnessing mystical energies. It determines their aptitude for casting spells, summoning mystical entities, and utilizing magical artifacts or abilities.

Spirit: reflects a your inner strength and connection to the spiritual realm. It influences your ability to resist and overcome magical, mental, and emotional challenges, as well as your aptitude for spiritual or mystical practices.

Wisdom: gauges your depth of knowledge, intuition, and ability to make sound judgments. It encompasses your accumulated experiences, insights, and understanding of the world, enabling you to make wise decisions and solve complex problems.

Dexterity: measures your agility, coordination, and fine motor skills. It affects you precision in tasks that require hand-eye coordination, such as wielding weapons, performing intricate maneuvers, or engaging in activities that demand nimbleness.

Quickness: reflects your speed and reflexes. It determines their ability to react swiftly to stimuli, dodge attacks, and move with exceptional speed, both in combat and in everyday situations.

Perception: represents your awareness and ability to observe details in your surroundings. It influences your sensory acuity, your capacity to detect hidden objects or beings, and your aptitude for noticing subtle cues or changes in your environment.

Fortune: The total value of resources that you have obtained so far.

After thinking for a while, Raiden assumed that the value of fortune would be equal to the same amount of money that he has... that was a problem, though. He was a slave, and he certainly couldn't make money in a place like that.

"At least I have a path ahead of me... the path is blocked with a bunch of boulders, though," Raiden thought and then sighed. "I need to think about this more clearly tomorrow when the hunger isn't bothering me so much."

The hunger came to bother every fiber of Raiden's being. A relentless emptiness gripped his stomach, aching and growling with increasing intensity. Each passing hour felt like an eternity as his body yearned for sustenance, its primal instincts urging him to seek nourishment.

The feeling of hunger intensified, sending waves of discomfort throughout his body. Dizziness and weakness became constant companions as energy reserves dwindled, and the body struggled to function without the fuel it desperately craved. Concentration wavered, and even simple tasks became arduous as mental clarity diminished.

While he was falling asleep, Raiden thought that eating some ants would help, but he didn't find even those in that damn cave.

Raiden woke up when he heard the sound of footsteps and quickly got up. The hunger was still bothering him, so he certainly didn't need a bucket of cold water. Still, the same guard that hit him still threw the bucket of cold water at him.

"... I will definitely kill you first," Raiden thought after a long sigh.

While he was heading for another day of work, Raiden wondered if his way of thinking was normal. Of the few things that he had the chance to recall, he didn't remember himself being that violent or revengeful... he probably didn't live more than twenty years on Earth either. So, he wondered if he had returned to his most primal instincts due to the conditions.

"It is also weird the fact that I can't recall anything that this body experienced..." Raiden thought.

In any case, that day took quite a while to end, and Raiden was really looking forward to eating the hard bread. Still, before that could happen, he noticed that they received a visitor... a chubby and bald man showed up at the entrance of the cave alongside some chained slaves... all of them were kids as well. At the same time, the guards gave the man a purse filled with coins... Raiden had to get the money that the guards had in one way or the other...

During that night, Raiden thought of many things he could do to steal the money of the guards. The question was, would he become strong enough to deal with all of them once he succeeded? That was very unlikely.

In the end, Raiden fell asleep before that could happen. Still, he woke up with a single idea in mind. Usually, he would have a shop or something similar to help him learn skills, but since he didn't have that, there must be other triggers to learn skills.

When the guard tried to drench him with water, Raiden moved to the side and avoided most of it. He let his hands get a bit wet to clean the dirt on his face, though.

The guard looked at Raiden as if he saw someone with a death wish... the cages were filled, and more slaves would come in a few days, so he had some reasons to kill the most troublesome slaves.

Still, when the slave of a nearby cage left him, he began to cough violently and fell on the ground and behind the guard. He turned around just to see the kid coughing blood on his boot.

Raiden didn't like to see that... nothing would come out of that. When the guard raised his leg back to kick the boy, Jason found a purse on the back of that asshole. Raiden approached and pulled it when the guard kicked the boy.

The boy began to groan in pain and began to cough even more. There wasn't much for Raiden to do there... aside from opening the purse and then getting the coins. He found the silver ones, and they disappeared as soon as he touched them.

(You learned the skill: Pickpocketing.)

(You obtained 1000 points of fortune.)

Raiden threw the purse to the corner of the room and then saw the guard about to kick the boy again. Acting now to play the hero would only make Raiden look suspicious, and losing another day without a meal would be harsh. Still, a boy in that situation certainly won't survive another kick of a grown and muscular man.

"Hey, if you want to kill someone, at least do so after they work for the day." Another guard suddenly said.

The piece of shit contained himself when he heard that... then he saw Raiden passing by him like nothing had happened.

"You... make sure that he will work properly; if he falls or slows down, you both will be punished for it," the guard said.

That was basically a death sentence; Raiden could barely stand by himself and do what he had to and think, and now he had to help someone else. Still, he went to help the kind once he realized something. While he was looking at the guard, he could see certain numbers on the things that he could steal from him.

Sword - 0%

Whip - 3%

That was probably one of the effects of the skill of Pickpocketing; it showed the valuable things that a target had and his chance of stealing, considering the moment. In any case, Raiden helped the boy get up and then moved while giving him a shoulder to lean on. Each movement was making him tremble and sweat all over, so Raiden assumed that the first kick broke some of his ribs.

"Coughing blood and with broken ribs... this isn't good for him," Raiden thought.

In any case, another hard day of work started just like that... Raiden kept an eye on the guards to see what he could steal from them, but it seemed that they only had their weapons and whips. Maybe it was because they used the money to buy some slaves that day.