Along the way to the beehive column, she encountered a handful of steptraps, though thankfully she didn’t step in any of them. They offered experience, but no levelups. As she considered experience and combat in the System, she had a thought.

  The difference in strength between the levels 2 and 9 springclaw raptors wasn’t negligible, but neither was it all that much. The difference between the level 9 hatchling and the level 13 adult, however? That had been orders of magnitude greater. There were fewer levels between the two of them, but something had changed during its growth. Not only had it physically changed, but it had to have passed some sort of threshold in power. Experience with gaming told her that it had to happen at level 10, which was especially exciting for her as she was at level 9 in her class. Something had to happen at that point, and she was just itching to find out what.

  As she approached the foot of the beehive, she noticed some movement down in the canyon. It wasn’t very far away, so she decided to skirt around the rim to get a better look. When Aster laid her eyes on it, a flash of cold sweat ran over her skin.

  [Springclaw Raptor - Level 12]

  She was torn. On one hand, she really, really wanted to see what would happen to her class at level 10, but on the other… she was apprehensive about facing one of those monsters again, even if it was weaker than the one she’d already killed.

  Aster refused to consider that. She shook her head, throwing away the fear. This is not cancer. This is not the world from before. These are among the weakest foes I am likely to face for the rest of my life. She grit her teeth and looked for a spot that would allow her to drop down onto it. Let’s fucking go.

  ----

  The springclaw raptor came from a world within the 97th universe much like the one it now found itself in, though with far less gravity. Deep canyons riddled the surface of its home, where it hunted with its mate and used their strength and coordination to take down prey larger than themselves. Since finding itself in this new world, much of that had changed.

  Its mate had disappeared, with no trace of her scent. The water they lived next to had been replaced with something that tasted… more. Like water, but flavored with extra water. He liked it.

  The worst part was the lack of food. The short, long animals that traveled amongst the canyons of their world were nowhere to be found. They weren’t easy to take down, with their armored backs and clubbed tails, but at least they were there. The most he’d found was a strange, two-legged creature wandering in a group outside the canyon. It had been… fine… but the raptor missed its usual food.

  If there was one thing it liked about this new place, it was the lack of traps in the canyon’s floors and walls. They came from a world with much, much higher gravity than this one, and most of the trouble it ran into was from hidden crab-like creatures and the like.

  This was why it had no immediate recourse when a very angry woman with a very sharp spear fell on it like an extinction event from the heavens.

  ----

  The raptor loosed a screech of pain as Aster’s spear pierced the tough hide on its back, granting her a convenient handhold to grip onto. She needed it, as the dinosaur bucked, nearly throwing her off in its fury.

  Her high toughness stat had made it so the five-meter fall hadn’t so much as bruised her, while her agility had allowed her the accuracy she’d needed to land the first blow. What she’d learned so far from this particular hunt was that she was going to need to put some stat points into her mental stats, as it was getting too difficult for her to keep up with her movements mentally.

  But that didn’t mean she couldn’t run on base instinct, which she did in this case as she was forced to jump off the raptor’s back as it tried to scrape her along the rough wall of the box canyon. She kept her hold on the spear, however, and a moment later she planted her feet on its hide and yanked, pulling the spear free and sending her flipping backward in the air.

  When she told this story later, she’d say that she landed in a cool-ass superhero pose. The truth was that her proprioceptive capabilities were lacking behind her strength and she actually fell into the ground— hard.

  Not giving her time to think, the springclaw lived up to its name, lunging at her. However, this was the first time she’d seen one of this species do this without attacking with a wide-open maw. Instead, she learned what happened to the bony protrusion on the male hatchling’s snout when it grew up.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Barely leaping away in time, Aster’s eyes went wide as the beast smashed into the wall behind where she’d been only breaths before, send a cascade of debris tumbling down onto it. This created an opening, as she saw the dinosaur attempt to clear its eyes as it turned, looking for her.

  Her spear flashed as she ran, stabbing from a distance at its left hamstring, and the moment seemed to slow.

  It would turn, hobbling on its left leg. She’d already dove into a roll, knowing where its right leg would be before she even swung her spear around. A disconcertingly wet snap sounded out as her spearhead found the raptor’s Achilles and stuck into it. Before its tail could slam onto her, she’d twisted her spear free and dove again, this time coming to a crouch that let her plant her heel and push with everything she had, propelling her into the side of the staggered, wounded raptor with enough force to knock the unsteady beast onto its side. It didn’t help the dinosaur’s case that she’d landed spear-first, and her aim had been true.

  Aster Rose forced herself to keep her eyes on its own as the notifications came.

  *You have slain [Springclaw Raptor - Level 12] - Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. TP Earned.*

  *’DING!’ Class [Warrior (Medium)] has reached Level 10 - Stat points allocated, +1 free point*

  *’DING!’ Race Human - G has reached Level 5 - Stat points allocated, +1 free point*

  *Warrior (Medium) class skill available*

  ----

  Aster caught her breath and made sure she was safe before resting beside the corpse. It was frustrating that the big qualitative leap she’d been hoping for hadn’t happened, but there was still plenty she didn’t yet know about this System. Upon letting the puzzle mull over for a while, she realized a few things.

  First, her leveling was not the same as the dinosaurs’. She had her class and her race to level, bringing her to a cumulative level of 15 compared to the raptor’s apparent 12. It was unlikely the raptor had a class, probably only having its race, and if the 2:1 ratio of class to race levels was at least consistent, it would put the raptor at an equivalent strength of something like 36 total levels.

  Of course, levels and abilities didn’t seem to scale linearly. Though she hadn’t experienced it when she’d hit level 10 in her class, Aster was certain there was something that would happen at a certain point. Most likely, it’d happen when she got her race level to 10. If it didn’t, then she’d have to majorly reconsider what she knew about this place.

  One thing was certain, however, and that was that at every 5 levels she’d get to pick a new class skill. This was a good consolation for her not meeting that threshold she’d been anticipating.

  *Warrior (Medium) class skills available*

  All of the previous skills that had been offered before were still there, with a few additions. These new skills only reinforced her hypothesis that the System would offer skills based around what you’d done.

  [Lunging Strike (Common)] - You’ve begun the journey of mastering your fighting style, utilizing your Agility to surprise your opponents not with stealth— but with speed. Lunge at your opponent even faster now as your Stamina flows through you and strengthens your attack. Adds a minor boost to the effect of Agility and Endurance while using Lunging Strike.

  This one looked like a logical addition to her repertoire, adding a System-assisted boost to her style. She could imagine dashing through the air, propelled even faster by the skill. It was pretty badass, but she wanted to see what else was on offer. She was not disappointed.

  [Surging Momentum (Uncommon)] - The relentless fighter leaves no room for error, and less room for defeat. While activated, receive a additive bonus to your damage output for each consecutive strike you land upon your opponent, though receive added damage in return when hit. Surging Momentum cannot be deactivated while still in combat. Adds a small boost to the effects of Agility and Endurance to Surging Momentum.

  Wow. An uncommon-rarity skill, this one offering an even more effective method of taking advantage of her agile fighting style. However, she wasn’t sure how badly the extra damage she’d take would effect her. If it only helped her to take care of opponents of an equal or lower level, then it would probably leave her at a disadvantage against foes with a higher combat prowess.

  Which all led her to the final skill offered: Flicker Spear.

  [Flicker Spear (Uncommon)] - As a fighter who strikes too fast for your foe to follow, you rely not necessarily upon technique, but the sheer violence and unpredictability of the fight. Summon an illusory copy of your spear that strikes as you might, radiating your mana signature and appearing indiscernible from your actual weapon. Flicker Spear moves not as you do, but as a possible attack you didn’t make, creating illusory spears that hide your true attack beneath. Costs a small amount of Stamina and Mana each time the skill is activated. Adds a small boost to the effects of Agility and Willpower on Flicker Spear.

  This was the first skill she’d been offered that wasn’t just an enhanced version of something she could already do. Sure, there had been plenty of times in the past day and a half when she’d witnessed the impossible, but this was the first real piece of magic. On top of that, it seemed to be a perfect fit for her.

  She selected the skill, Flicker Spear, and as the System interface disappeared she instantly knew how to perform it.

  Aster stood up, gripping her spear and closing her eyes briefly. In her mind’s eye, she imagined another raptor, and then her eyes snapped open wide. It lunged at her and she sidestepped, swinging her spear in an upward arc to cut at its legs— except she didn’t. Instead, she’d dived below its lunge and caught its softer underside with her weapon.

  To her eyes, her spear had split in two, an afterimage of herself fading quickly from existence as the mimicked spear stepped off to the side and was swept upward in the arc she’d imagined. An excited grin stretched over her features.

  “This is going to be fucking great.”

  Then, without further ado, she made her way to the bottom of the honeycomb structure and began to climb.