"System, open status panel."
[Lynn]
[Level: 5]
[Race: Human]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 8]
[Intelligence: 11]
[Vitality: 10]
[Unassigned Points: 8]
[Origin-level Monster Affinity: 2]
[Monster Affinity: 10]
[Skull Coins: 2051]
[Fame: 34]
[Description: A crazy, deranged apprentice at Bloodsaw Potion Shop. Inflicted immense pain on a top-tier demon hunter and gained a minor reputation among Origin-level monsters—but this does little to change his abnormal and manic nature…]
Ignoring the slander in the description, Lynn let out a breath. After the trials of the day, his overall level had risen to 5, and his basic stats had received significant boosts. Without hesitation, he allocated all 8 unassigned points to Vitality. His Vitality soared to 18 instantly, and the exhaustion from the night faded away as if swept away by the stat increase.
Prioritizing Vitality was a necessary choice. After all, he wasn't a combat class—Strength and Agility were practically useless when facing high-level monsters every day. As for Intelligence, in his understanding, it affected comprehension and insight into tools and phenomena, which he didn't need right now. A strong body was the ultimate guarantee of survival.
In this bizarre world, you might lose your life in a blink if you came into contact with something terrifying. Even without that, living in the Dark World for a long time would inevitably weaken your constitution.
With the points allocated, Lynn immediately checked the reward he'd received earlier.
[Temporary Curse Removal]: Select one curse on a target to negate it for 24 hours. Only one target can be affected at a time. Cooldown: 12 hours.
Lynn's eyes lit up. Curse negation? Even if it wasn't permanent, he instantly thought of one use—the revolver he'd gotten from the demon hunter. If he could negate the curse on the gun, he'd finally have a legendary self-defense weapon!
Without wasting time, Lynn fetched the revolver from the box. "Curse Removal!" he shouted, extending his hand.
In an instant, wisp after wisp of pitch-black, sticky mist seeped out of the silver revolver, accompanied by sharp, ear-piercing howls. Moments later, under Lynn's gaze, the sticky mist was quickly drawn out and suppressed.
[Ding! Temporary Curse Removal completed. Cooldown: 12 hours.]
[Ding! Obtained Curse Entry: 100% Miss Rate! Remaining Time: 24 hours.]
At the system prompt, Lynn grinned, revealing a creepy set of teeth. Click—he gripped the revolver. Even with only 24 hours, this gun would definitely be invaluable in a pinch!
Lynn turned and aimed at a bottle on the table corner. He pulled the trigger.
Bang—A silver bullet shot out, hitting the wall squarely.
Bang—Bang—Lynn fired several more shots, but none hit the bottle.
"System, is this ability fake? I negated the curse—why's my accuracy still this bad?"
[Ding! Your Firearms Proficiency is 0.]
...
Lynn stared back with a deadpan expression, deliberately ignoring the system's explanation. But he soon fell into thought—apparently, he'd need a lot of practice to use this gun in real combat. After all, mastery came with practice; a skilled marksman wasn't made in a day!
With that realization, Lynn's enthusiasm surged. He placed the empty bottle on the windowsill, stood ten meters away, aimed, and fired.
Bang—Miss!
Bang—[Basic Firearms Proficiency +1]
Bang—Miss!
Bang—[Ding! You hit a Level 75 Monster: Night Scavenger. Gained XP +10.]
Lynn: "???"
A finger-thick bullet hole appeared in the windowsill plank. From the distant street, ear-piercing roars erupted instantly. "Who's there?! Which bastard attacked me?!"
Lynn sprinted to the window, removed the damaged plank, nailed a new one in place, then raced back to his attic, dived under the covers, and pretended to be asleep—all in one smooth, fluid motion.
...
[Ding! Quest Completed: Sleepless Night. Rewards: 500 Skull Coins, Level +1.]
[Ding! You have survived your first night since awakening the system. It was a fulfilling day—you served 5 customers, killed 1 monster, injured 1 monster, and inflicted severe psychological trauma on multiple patients. You feel a sense of prosperity and positivity.]
[Ding! Leveled up to 6. Daily Mall Unlocked. Refreshes daily—exchange Skull Coins for goods!]
[Ding! Friendly Reminder: At Level 10, you can choose your first class advancement. Stay tuned!]
Lynn jolted awake on his moldy bed. The huge spider web on the ceiling was a constant reminder—this wasn't a dream. He was still in the Dark World. Today marked two years and one day since he'd arrived here!
Slurp—Slurp—Sticky tentacles caressed his face and neck. Gurgling sounds of bubbling foam came from under the covers, and his body was covered in all kinds of viscous liquids.
[Lynn's Sanity: -1]
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, grabbed the silver revolver from the bedside, stuck it under the covers, and fired three shots downward.
Miss! Miss!
[Ding! Firearms Proficiency +1]
[Ding! Wraith Blood Infant's parasitism failed. Fear of You +20.]
Lynn threw off the covers. In an instant, countless black, octopus-like tentacles burst out, wriggling wildly in all directions. At that moment, the monster with a delicate baby face was lying on his stomach, staring blankly. The tentacles were twisted growths sprouting wildly from its body.
"Sure enough, it's gone haywire again," Lynn glared. No wonder he'd felt something trying to burrow into his body all night—slurping and squirming. He'd slept with an octopus-like monster the entire time!
Lynn opened its status panel.
[Wraith Blood Infant (Juvenile Stage)]
[Race: Wraith]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil]
[Level: 10]
[Description: A wraith condensed from resentment and ghostly qi, further empowered by devouring massive amounts of animal and spirit blood. Once fully formed, it will devour its host's soul and flesh to grow stronger, eventually becoming a calamity. P.S.: Due to immense psychological trauma from a certain someone, its hostility toward them has drastically decreased.]
Lynn: "???"
At the same time, a system prompt echoed in his ears.
[Ding! The Wraith Blood Infant's Fear of You has reached 1321, and its Tameness exceeds 200. Special Quest Triggered: Blood Infant's Growth.]