The moment the notification appeared before him, Riley collapsed to the ground, panting hard.
He stared up at the sky, chest rising and falling in sharp bursts.
His limbs were shaking slightly, and his daggers—still slick with blood—were loosely clenched in his trembling hands.
"I came… way too close," He muttered under his breath, voice hoarse.
But contrary to his words, his lips were curled into an excited smile.
He had known it would be dangerous—boss-level monsters always were—but still… somehow, he'd underestimated it.
The speed, the aggression, the last-ditch spike storm that could have easily shredded him, but fortunately, he had been fully prepared.
A chill ran down his spine at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't been.
Though dying in the game at this stage didn't mean dying in real life, it still came with its own kind of hellish consequences.
First he would be forcefully logged out. Worse, his level would drop by three. Not just experience lost—actual level regression.
And on top of that, ten percent of his total stats would be permanently deducted.
"Ten percent," He whispered, gritting his teeth. "That'd be terrible."
It wasn't just the numbers, either. Losing stats this early meant falling behind, especially when everyone else was racing ahead.
In a game like Apocalypse, where power meant survival, even a small stat drop could spell the difference between predator and prey.
His brows drew together.
That was what ruined him in his past life. He'd died too many times—more than he could count.
Each time, a little weaker, a little more fragile, until even the rats he used to farm started to become dangerous again.
He had clawed his way back every time, sure—but it was like trying to swim upstream during a flood.
It had taken him months to recover each time, and by then, the top players had already left him in the dust.
Suddenly, another notification appeared, flickering gently in front of him.
[Stealth skill level up!]
[Stealth now level 2!]
[Description: Temporarily boosts Agility by 50% for 15 seconds and masks the user's presence. Deals 20 points of damage to target + 100% of user's mana to target. Cost: 15 Magic Points. Cool-down: 3 seconds.]
Riley blinked, then a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Well, that's a surprise," He muttered.
He hadn't expected Stealth to level up this early, but when he thought about it more, it wasn't all that shocking.
He had been spamming it nearly every cooldown since he first got it. Each fight, each ambush, each close dodge—it all added up.
The mana cost had gone up—fifteen MP now instead of ten—but the benefits outweighed it. Five more seconds of active time was huge. And the base damage had gone up by five points, too. That kind of increase could easily turn the tide in another boss fight.
He tapped his fingers against his knee absently, still seated on the ground.
Of course, there was another way to upgrade skills—using skill points. But he was holding onto those.
He had two now, and they were far too valuable to throw away on low-tier early game abilities.
Instead, he planned on saving them for later… for something greater.
Riley exhaled slowly, then shifted his gaze toward the motionless body of the Great Spiked Rat.
Its massive corpse lay sprawled on the grass, dark blood slowly pooling beneath it.
The long spikes along its back still jutted into the air like a row of spears, glistening faintly in the moonlight.
Its white-furred patch had been stained red, and its eyes—once full of fury—were now dim and lifeless.
Riley's eyes twinkled.
"…Time to eat."
He slowly got to his feet and walked toward the monster's corpse, each step crunching softly against the ground.
His stomach gave a low rumble—whether from hunger or anticipation, he couldn't tell.
He stopped just short of the body, gaze lingering on the long, jagged spikes that still protruded from its back and limbs.
They were metallic brown, sharp enough to skewer a boar, and definitely not something you'd want inside your stomach.
He hesitated briefly.
Then shrugged.
"Not like it matters."
He slowly opened his mouth, and the effect of his talent took place instantly.
His mouth widened greatly, and bit by bit, the body of the boss rat rapidly got sucked into his mouth.
Flesh. Bone. Muscle. Even the spikes which previously unnerved him.
All of it vanished into the abyss within him.
The body disappeared entirely in under ten seconds, leaving no trace except for a few drops of blood.
Only Riley stood there, lips smeared with red, his expression neutral and unbeknownst to him, his eyes glowed faintly.
'That felt nice.' He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, feeling the hunger within him calm a bit.
Then the system chimed again, this time with a flurry of notifications that made his pulse jump.
[Strength +3.4]
[Agility +4.4]
[Endurance +2.6]
[Vitality +2.6]
[Mana +2.2]
[New Skill Absorbed: Spike Shot (Rare)!]
Riley's brows shot up. His gaze dropped to the last tab, eyes shining.
"A skill… finally."
His breath hitched slightly. The stat gains were already absurd—but a skill? From the very first boss? That was something else.
He hadn't expected it, not this early in the game. Sure, he'd hoped for it, but monsters only had a small chance of granting skills when consumed.
And it wasn't just any skill, either—it was rare.
In Apocalypse, skills were tiered like equipment: Common, Rare, Epic, Mythic, and Legendary.
The difference between each tier was massive. Common skills were everywhere, and one might even find them in random shops.
But rare skills? They were harder to find, stronger by default, and often had unique effects or combos.
This one in particular…
"Spike Shot," He whispered, and a new window opened before him.
[Spike Shot (Level 1)]
[Conjure a thin metallic brown spike and shoot it. Deals 50 points of damage to opponents. Cost: 5 Magic Points. Cool-down: 2 seconds]
His eyes gleamed.
'This was the same skill it used against me.' He thought.
Fifty base damage from level one. That wasn't just good—it was amazing.
Most early offensive skills barely broke thirty at level one, and this was practically double that.
The best part? He now had a ranged option.
As an assassin, he only had his stealth skill and his daggers, which were only useful at close range.
Having something like this gave him flexibility, so he didn't have to limit himself.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
With Stealth upgraded and now Spike Shot in his arsenal, his combat flow had just taken a leap.
He could open with a stealth strike, retreat with agility, then pepper his enemies from afar. That was a proper assassin loop—not just brute force, but real tactical edge.
"And I'm just level three…"
He glanced at his stat screen again, and his smile widened.
[Player ID: A Random]
[Level: 3(70/200)]
[Profession: Assassin]
[Class: Apprentice Assassin]
[Talent: Gluttony (SSS)]
[H/P: 102
[M/P: 126
[Magic Damage: 12.6
[Physical Damage: 13.1
[Magic Resistance: 12.6
[Physical Resistance: 7.2
[Attributes: Strength: 13.1; Agility: 23.9; Vitality: 10.2; Mana: 12.6; Endurance: 7.2]
[Skill: Stealth(level 2)]
[Description: Temporarily Boosts Agility By 50% for 10 seconds, and masks the user's presence. Deals 15 points of damage to target + 100% of user's mana to target. Cost: 10 Magic Points. Cool-down: 3 seconds]
[Spike Shot (Level 1)]
[Conjure a thin metallic brown spike and shoot it. Deals 50 points of damage to opponents. Cost: 5 Magic Points. Cool-down: 2 seconds]
[Attribute Points Available: 4]
[Skill Points Available: 2]
[Equipment: Basic Cloth Shirt, Basic Leather Pants, Basic Daggers(common)]
His stats had taken a massive leap, nearly across the board. Agility was now almost 24, and strength had crossed 13.
At this rate, he'd be able to take on mid-tier zones before most players even got their profession quest.
His stomach rumbled again.