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┃ New Skill Unlocked: Ironbreaker Smash
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┃Ironbreaker Smash: Deals massive blunt damage and has a chance to stun enemies or crack armor, reducing their defense temporarily.
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Jun Wu looked at the notification without blinking for a moment, a light smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
'I knew it! Staying in the forge won't increase my strength anymore. I need to go out and fight.'
He lowered his head and studied the two dead beasts around him, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
'You just wait, I'm coming for you sooner than you expect.' he muttered before his eyes focused on his stats:
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┃ 🛠️ Innate Weapon: Hammer.
┃ Level: 2 ( 220 / 1000 EXP )
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┏━━━━━━━ Stats ━━━━━━━┓
┃ 🧱 Endurance : 13
┃ ⚡ Stamina : 13
┃ 💪 Strength : 17
┃ ⚔️ Attack : 4
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┏━━━━━━ Skills ━━━━━━━━┓
┃ 🔨 Heavy Swing : Lv 6
┃ ✋ One-Handed Wield : Lv 9
┃ 🔨 Ironbreaker Smash : Lv 0
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"With my current strength, I do not need to fear an ordinary beast. I can use that opportunity to train." he muttered.
Hmm?
A groan escaped from his lips as he tried to move. A surge of pain wracked his body, making him whimper.
He lowered his gaze and inspected the serious wounds on his body. "I need to leave this forest and attend to my injury."
"But if I go back to the village like this, won't everyone be wondering where I'm coming from?" he mused and shook his head.
He couldn't return to the village with these wounds.
He tore his shirt and wrapped it tightly against his injuries and waited for evening before he sneaked into the village.
In the evening, the village buzzed with life. Children were playing, their excited voices echoed in the air, and the smell of roasted meat permeated the atmosphere.
While the village teemed with excitement from the hunter's team harvest, a pale lone boy crept into the village.
He held his chest and dragged his aching body toward Uncle Kai's house. He regretted staying in the forest till evening.
With such harsh wounds, remaining in the forest without treatment was idiotic. But he couldn't be blamed.
This was his first time in such a precarious situation.
As he stumbled into the house, Uncle Kai had just come out of his room. He stared at Jun Wu with wide eyes.
"What happened to you?!" he asked.
Before Jun Wu could respond, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Quickly, Uncle Kai rushed forward to carry him.
"Huh! Such a high temperature." he muttered and quickly took him to his room.
…
…
Two days later, Jun Wu's eyes fluttered, and he opened them slowly. Every part of his body ached, but compared to the pain he endured in the forest, this was nothing.
He glanced at his waist and thigh—they were bandaged cleanly. 'I'll never try that again. Why should I care if anyone sees me or not.' His thoughts churned as he considered his mistakes.
"You're awake?" Uncle Kai entered, his gaze locking on him.
"You should be grateful to be alive. Not everyone could survive such harsh injury and live to tell the tale."
"I know, and it won't repeat itself again." Jun Wu replied in a low voice.
"Good. Whatever you do, carry some healing medicine for cases like this." he advised before leaving the room.
Jun Wu raised his head, a flicker of surprise on his face. He had expected Uncle Kai to ask where he went and how he got hurt.
He knew Uncle Kai didn't want to meddle in his business. A grateful smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he closed his eyes to rest.
A week later, Jun Wu had gotten a lot better and he could walk around. However, instead of staying idle, he went to the only store in the village.
The store was small and located at the center of the village. Though modest, the villagers treasured it like a diamond.
From this store, the villagers could buy many things that couldn't be found nearby.
Jun Wu entered and saw an old woman seated behind an old wooden counter.
"Kid, what do you need?" she asked, her eyes boring into Jun Wu.
Feeling her piercing gaze, he felt uncomfortable but did not avert his eyes.
"Ma, can you tell me some of the available healing powder?"
"Copper Powder and Yellow Silk Powder. They both cost 5 copper coins and 10 copper coins. Which one do you want?"
'So expensive!' he exclaimed inwardly.
An average family could maintain their living with 10 copper for a week. And here, just for ordinary remedy powder, it costs that much.
"Ma, I only came to find out about the price. I'll come back to buy it."
With that, Jun Wu rushed to leave the store. He never expected things would be that expensive.
'I guess I need to borrow some money from Uncle Kai.' he mused as he made his way home.
Before setting out for another training in the forest, he planned to buy all the essential items needed that come in handy in the forest.
Swiftly, another week passed by, and his injuries had fully recovered. The following morning, he took his heavy hammer and departed from the village.
This time around, a small dagger hung on his waist with a small leather bag.
Inside the leather bag were two sachets of copper powder and other things he might need in the forest.
In less than two hours, he arrived at the periphery of the Hearthgroove Forest. Without hesitation, he walked into the forest.
His goal was to level up his current level while also increasing his strength.
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