Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (books for 20 year olds txt) 📗

it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected the bite of a wild beast to be, no doubt thanks to my new armor and the Fortitude buff.

I also expected to feel some kind of remorse as my sword pierced one of the beasts from its belly all the way to its back, but the only feeling I had was that of survival. I was attacked and I had defended myself. Louie’s growls from behind Leo indicated that he shared my sentiment. The second yandir made one last attempt to attack me but between Leo’s healing and my sword strikes, it didn’t stand a chance. My last thrust made it fall to the ground with a thud.

“Shouldn’t I be skinning them for materials or something?” I asked as I wiped the blood off my swords on the green grass floor.

“You can if you want to,” Leo replied, “but I don’t think you’d appreciate the amount of effort involved.”

He was right. Even in games, I’d never enjoyed gathering materials. I was always the kind of player who found a way to make gold by moving things around and then buying whatever I needed. But at least the monsters should have provided me with enough XP to get the level I needed. I shifted my focus onto a minimized screen that was flashing on the edge of my view.

Congratulations. You have advanced to level 3.

You have unlocked 3 skills.

I mentally clicked on the number three and three new text boxes appeared.

Name : Mighty Shot

Level : 1

Type : Active

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 17

Power : 65

Range : 60 feet

Precondition : Only usable with a bow

Description : A powerful long-distance attack. The arrow is imbued with mana before it is fired, making it easier to pierce through flesh and armor.

Name : Mighty Slash

Level : 1

Type : Active

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 9

Power : 30

Range : Melee

Precondition : Only usable with swords, blunt weapons, or spears.

Description : A powerful melee attack. The weapon is enveloped in a thin layer of mana, making it easier to slice through flesh and armor.

Name : Mortal Stab

Level : 1

Type : Active

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 8

Power : 40

Range : Melee

Precondition : Only usable daggers and knives

Description : A rudimentary assassinating attack. The weapon is coated in a thin layer of mana. Once the weapon strikes, the mana is released into the victim’s vital organs. This skill’s power stacks on top of the user’s Physical Attack.

These skills looked great but what was really surprising was the fact that from one moment to the next, I simply knew how to execute each of them. I had never held a bow in my life—at least not a real one—yet now I knew how I would go about infusing mana into my arrows.

Since the only weapons available to me at the moment were the two swords I was holding, I executed the Mighty Slash skill. I brought both of my blades forward and their outline gave off a very faint purple glow which was gone the moment my attack was finished. Along with the glow, however, 9 MP were removed from my limited pool.

“Great job, man,” Leo said, once he saw me execute my first skill. “I think you’re ready to enter the forest now.”

“I hope so,” I replied. “Should I level my skills a bit first?”

“You can’t level up your skills. Their levels will increase when you level up.”

“I see,” I said. “In that case, do you have any mana potions?”

“There’s no such thing as mana potions. That would make spellcasters imba.”

“Did you honestly use a gaming term in real life? I thought you were in your thirties already.”

“Check again. Imba has been used as a short form of ‘imbalanced’ in the Apocosmos for centuries,” he retorted with a smirk. “It’s pretty old-fashioned actually. And I’m in my very early thirties, which is pretty much an infant in half-elf years.”

“Sure, sure,” I said, not wanting to drag this on any longer. “Shall we go then?”

“Let’s take a short rest,” he replied, “so we can go in with full HP and MP.”

I agreed and we both sat down overlooking the entrance into the forest. A couple of seconds later, the smell of delicious, greasy, crispy bacon filled the air.

“Is someone frying bacon?” I asked and gulped. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until now.

“There’s no way someone could—” Leo started but stopped mid-sentence and jumped up. “Louie!”

Louie was running as fast as his short legs could carry him, headfirst toward the source of the mouthwatering smell, which was, of course, the gloomy ominous entrance to the forest.

I launched myself up and sprinted behind him, though it was clear I wouldn’t be able to catch him. Leo and I reached the opening at the same time. I was able to continue running, but I heard what sounded like an electric discharge and saw Leo being flung back next to me.

“Damn it!” he shouted and immediately started casting a barrage of spells.

“It’s fine,” I said. As I turned to leave, I felt his healing spell wash over me and his two buffs being renewed.

“Take this,” he said. I barely managed to turn back around to catch a corked glass vial shaped in the fashion of a test tube. It was filled with a red liquid.

Name : Minor Healing Potion

Type : Consumable - Potion

Durability : 20/20

Rarity : E Grade

Weight : 4st.

Description : A magic potion, which upon consumption will slowly restore HP. The effect of the potion lasts for 15 seconds.

I thanked him with a nod and sprinted forward, keeping in mind the information I’d just absorbed. The potion wouldn’t heal me instantly but rather raise my HP Regeneration Rate for 15 seconds. If push came to shove, I would need to use it before my HP dropped to critical levels.

With every step I took into the forest, it seemed as if the sun was setting in fast-forward. Before long, I was standing in the middle of a forest in the dead