Matthew was expelled from the portal, panting. He was sitting on the ground, his eyes wide open, staring at the ground.

‘Why did I have to think about that time…’

He was overwhelmed, his mind in disarray and his breathing erratic.

‘Calm down. I need to calm down. I’m okay, I’m out…’

With great efforts, he took deep breaths one after the other and looked around himself. He was in the empty street, next to the portal gate. After a few minutes passed, his breathing returned back to normal and he could think straight again.

“Alright, it’s gonna be much harder than I thought. The jump in level is much higher than I expected! Just the bats alone would have been a big issue without the level ups and the resets they gave me… I have to change my approach. I can’t deal with either the entrance or the end of the cave right now.” he said to himself, considering his options.

‘The bats right at the start seem to give a lot of experience, I could start by farming them and increasing my level further before trying to go to either side of the cave. Let’s go with that for now.’ he thought, determined not to give up.

His mind made up, he got back to the gate and crossed it. Back inside the cave, he immediately lit up the lantern and put it on the ground, and pulled his tennis racket and got ready.

Moments later, the awaited bats came flying from deeper in the cave. Just like the first time, he hit them with large movements and killed them instantly.

Ring 

[You have gained a level] 

He was now a bit more used to how they moved and even the last few did not pose much problem. 

Ring 

[You have gained a level]

“Nice! All down, let’s just get the lantern back and leave to farm them quickly!” he said, bending to pick up the lantern on the ground.

Before he reached the lantern, however, he heard a low squeak from a bit further. He picked up the lantern and lit the area where the sound was coming from. As he did, he noticed one of the bats crawling on the ground. He got closer and observed it with a curious gaze.

“Oh, right! Should I try using Mana pulse on it? The description says it doesn’t have an effect, but maybe it’ll level up if I use it against a monster?” he wondered.

As he thought that, he started using Mana pulse and felt his energy decrease as he did. This time, he was careful not to use it too many times and collapse in the middle of the cave. 

He was so focused on feeling the level of his energy that he did not notice that the bat had crawled to him and only felt as it bit in his ankle.

“Ouch! The hell! When did it get here?!”

He threw his leg in the air quickly and the bat flew away from the movement. However, instead of falling back down since it was badly injured, it unexpectedly flew and attacked him back as if completely unharmed.

“What is this? It was definitely barely holding when I found it on the ground!” he said, surprised.

He missed it with the racket and it bit into his arm.

‘Huh?’

Still conscious of his energy level, he noticed that when he was bit, some mana was extracted.

‘They don’t bite just to suck blood?’

He quickly swatted the bat with his other hand, projecting it back down on the ground, and squatted to observe it again.

“Let’s see if I understand how it works…” he said, extending an arm to the bat.

The bat saw the arm and crawled to it for another bite. Matthew observed it and focused on his arm, his energy, and the bat in front of him. As he felt the teeth penetrate his skin, he also felt energy flowing from within him through his punctured skin and into the bat’s body.

Ring ring ring.

Flustered by the sudden ringing sound, Matthew swatted the bat with great force.

Ring.

A last ringing sound was heard before complete silence.

‘What was all that?’ he wondered, confused.

He opened the notification pop ups with apprehension.

[You have earned a new achievement: Biomimetics amateur.]

[Achievement: Biomimetics amateur]
You have observed other beings with the intention of understanding them.

- Additional effect -
You may develop skills after observing and understanding how they function.

[You have unlocked a new skill: Vampirism.]

[Skill: Vampirism (Lv.1)]
Attacks provide a slight recovery, proportional to the damage inflicted.

[You have earned a new achievement: Overachiever.]

[Achievement: Overachiever]
You have earned 5 achievements in a short period of time. Hard work should pay off.

Bonus stat points: 5

- Additional effect -
You now gain 5 additional stat points in each of your unlocked stats every 5 achievements you unlock.

[You have gained a level]

“What is all this?”

Matthew could not close his mouth, completely dismayed by the System windows before him.

“St-St- Status window?” he stuttered, trying to process what he just read.

[Status window]
Name: Matthew Carter
Level: 10
Achievements: 6

- Stats -
STR: 31
AGI: 32
END: 31
INT: 33
ATK: 125 [+2]
DEF: 93 [+28]
MGK: 99
RES: 97
(Available stat points: 19)

- Skills -
Mana pulse (Lv.1)
Set traps (Lv.2)
Vampirism (Lv.1)

“My… My stats increased so much! And I have so many stat points to distribute! This is just awesome!” he said, overflowing with joy.

‘First, let’s put the first 3 stats to 35. That leaves me with 8 points still and it’ll look better.’ he thought.

Reading the windows of his new achievements and skill again, Matthew could not erase the grin on his face.

“Just how OP are these? I mean, I got some bullshit achievements earlier and now they are considered hard work? I’m not sure how I can abuse this, but I definitely have to try! And that skill… I can’t get potions or recovery skills from the shop but now I got this for sustained battles… Really, my system is the best!”