Apocalypse Baby-Chapter 71: Undecided

The ground trembled as a raging buffalo barreled toward Alex, its massive horns aimed straight at him, ready to gore him to pieces.

The beast’s bellow echoed in the air, its red eyes locked on its target.

Alex didn’t flinch.

As the buffalo closed the gap, he braced himself and caught its horn with a powerful grip. Muscles straining, he twisted its head with an incredible surge of strength, lifting the enormous creature off the ground.

With a loud grunt, he hurled it through the air.

The buffalo landed with a heavy crash, skidding across the rocky terrain before disappearing into the distance.

Before Alex could take a breath, another buffalo charged in from his right.

Its speed was ferocious, but Alex was faster.

In one smooth motion, he unsheathed his sword, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. With a precise slash, the beast’s massive body split cleanly in two, blood spraying in an arc.

Another buffalo lunged at him from behind, its massive hooves thundering as it closed in.

Alex spun around in a flash, his blade cutting through the air. One clean swing was all it took to decapitate the beast.

Its severed head rolled to the side as its body crumpled to the ground.

The last buffalo, seeing the carnage and realizing it was the only one left, froze for a moment before grunting in panic.

It turned and began to flee, hooves pounding the dirt as it bolted away.

"Not so fast," Alex muttered, his eyes narrowing.

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He activated [Petrify], his hand glowing with a faint, eerie light.

The buffalo froze mid-stride, its body stiffening as if turned to stone.

Alex dashed forward, his speed a blur.

With a leap, he closed the distance and brought his sword down with deadly precision, burying it deep into the beast’s skull.

The buffalo staggered under the blow, its legs buckling before it collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

A faint chime echoed in Alex’s ears as a series of notifications appeared before him.

Ding!

[You have killed [Buffalo - Rank D (Y)] You have earned 200 TP]

[You have killed [Buffalo - Rank D (G)] You have earned 250 TP]

[You have killed [Buffalo - Rank D (R)] You have earned 300 TP]

[You have leveled up]

[You have received 5 Stat Points]

[You have received a Power Stone]

Ding!

[Apocalypse Baby Kicking In]

[You have earned an additional 200 TP]

[You have earned an additional 250 TP]

[You have earned an additional 300 TP]

[You have received an additional 5 Stat Points]

[You have received an additional Power Stone]

Alex exhaled heavily, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath.

He swatted Murzok’s blade clean of blood, the dark steel gleaming in the dim light

. Around him lay the mangled remains of over a dozen buffalo. Their bodies were shredded and hacked into pieces, the ground soaked with blood.

The blade’s performance was every bit as impressive as its description claimed.

Each cut he made on the beasts had a lasting effect, causing their wounds to fester and slow them down. Injured buffalo stumbled, their movements becoming sluggish as the fight dragged on.

He glanced around the battlefield.

He had taken down nearly fifty buffalo in this grueling session.

Yet, despite all his effort, he had only managed to level up twice.

Frustration bubbled beneath the surface, but Alex quickly suppressed it.

"It’s all for the Tutorial Points," he muttered to himself, clenching his fists.

The points felt meaningless now, with no immediate use, but he knew they would matter later.

For now, his priority had to be leveling up, growing stronger, and surviving.

His gaze shifted toward the distant horizon. The beasts here were not a challenge.

If he wanted to progress faster, he had to venture into a C-rank zone, where tougher and more rewarding prey awaited.

Alex took a deep breath, his focus shifting from the battlefield to the glowing blue screen in front of him.

"Stats," he commanded, and the familiar interface appeared before his eyes.

Name: Alex Knight

Rank: D

Title: Apocalypse Baby

Class: None

Level: 29

HP: 1360

MP: 1040

[Stats]

Strength: 85

Agility: 95

Intelligence: 65

Vitality: 60

[Stat Points Available]: 60

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[Skills]:

[Exploding Touch] [Sonic Howl] [Aegis Arcane] [Slipstream] [Stealth Walk] [Titan Fury] [Vigor Strike] [Fast and Furious] [Minor Regen] [Flame Immunity] [Foresight] [Stone Face] [Earth Swim] [Petrify] [Minor Telekinesis]

[Tutorial Points]: 26,150

Alex’s eyes scanned through the stats window, his expression unreadable.

"As expected."

Hunting monsters for Tutorial Points was way more profitable than targeting other players. His point count had skyrocketed after taking out the horde of D-rank buffalo.

Still, something gnawed at him.

Despite the impressive haul of points, leveling up was painfully slow.

He was now just one level away from unlocking a new skill, and the thought alone sent a jolt of excitement through him.

His gaze shifted to his skill list. Fifteen skills.

Each one powerful in its own right. His fingers hovered in mid-air as he considered his options.

"Which one do I upgrade?"

[Exploding Touch] is already a monster of a skill. Upgrading it could make it devastating enough to obliterate enemies in one strike.

[Foresight] could be a game-changer too. Extending the time he could glimpse into the future would give him an overwhelming tactical advantage.

[Minor Telekinesis]? That’s tempting. I could manipulate objects way heavier than before, maybe even lift enemies off the ground and slam them like ragdolls.

He smirked. [Fast and Furious]? If I upgrade that, I could probably outrun bullets... Maybe even be a speed god.

The thought of [Minor Regen] gave him pause. "Deadpool-level regeneration?" He chuckled softly, imagining himself shrugging off fatal wounds like they were scratches.

Then there was [Petrify]. A skill so versatile it could instantly immobilize enemies. What if he could enhance it to turn entire groups of foes into stone?

Alex groaned, ruffling his hair in frustration.

"Goddammit," he muttered under his breath.

The options were endless, and the more he thought about it, the harder the decision became. Every skill he had was powerful, and upgrading any one of them would make him deadlier.

"Aargh," Alex groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead.

The constant back-and-forth decision-making was giving him a headache.

He let out a heavy sigh, trying to shake off the tension.

The cost of upgrading a skill was steep, sure, but Alex was determined to look past it. He leaned back slightly, thinking it through.

His physical strength was already leagues above what it should be for his rank—thanks in no small part to his title, "Apocalypse Baby. And it gave him a ridiculous edge in combat.

"Even if I sacrifice some points," he thought, "it won’t set me back too much. I’ll make up for it with an even more overpowered skill."

He glanced at his inventory. His collection of stat-enhancing accessories—rings, pendants, and trinkets—offered him a buffer.

If needed, he could stack as many as possible to compensate for any temporary loss.

No doubt I’ll use the [Attribute Converter], but not now he was still too undecided to commit to one skill.

Before he could ponder further, a sound interrupted his thoughts.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The ground vibrated beneath his feet, each tremor stronger than the last.

The air grew heavier with every thud, and Alex’s sharp ears picked up the rhythmic pounding—something massive was headed his way.

"Another buffalo?" he murmured. But this time, it felt different.

The weight of the footsteps was heavier, the aura more menacing.

Alex’s grip on Murzok’s blade tightened as he turned toward the source of the sound.

From the shadows of the forest, a hulking figure emerged, stepping into the open.

The beast was massive, dwarfing the other buffalo he had faced earlier. Its horns were jagged, glowing faintly with an ominous crimson hue. Its eyes burned like molten fire, and its muscular body radiated raw power.

It let out a deafening roar, the sheer force of it shaking the trees around them. Alex squinted, his heart pounding in anticipation.

A notification flashed before his eyes:

[Buffalo Boss - Rank C (R)]

Alex’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Finally," he muttered. "Something worth my time."