Even though it had barely worked before, Matheus saw no reason in changing strategies.

  He had in his soul another hand sized rock, a head sized one, and a branch to serve as weapons. A long range attack, a short range, and a trap. It was better to rely on as many different options as he could, until he had better skills and tools and could focus on polishing a fighting style.

  Maybe he would get an “Using random objects to fight with monsters skills” or something, if he kept at it for long enough.

  He also kept the Stuffed Koala head there. It was the only part of the Koala the System allowed him to Analyze and Store, and he felt there needed to be a reason for that. Maybe it would be an ingredient to making some potion, a ritual or an enchantment.

  Or maybe the reason was simply it was the only thing remaining of the monster that wasn’t a complete mess. SInce he had exploded it and all.

  Anyway, in the games he played, monster parts were always used for something special. It was worth keeping them for now, until he managed to get more information. Either way, it had way more chances to be valuable in the long run than rocks and wood.

  It didn’t take him long to find his next prey.

  Stuffed Koala - Level: 1

  Don’t you wanna hug it? Just don’t squeeze too hard!

  Health: 8/8, Mana: 0/0

  Be careful of its bites and fast movement. Very curious in nature.

  What was this extra information about? Was it because this was his second fight with this type of monster or because he had improved his Connection? Something else to investigate later.

  His Death Hug skill was probably his most powerful weapon, but Matheus wasn’t looking forward to more bites. The creature wandered, seeming unworried. It couldn’t be very smart, either. Otherwise Matheus doubted he would have been able to watch it for so long, with such a low Hiding level.

  He decided on a different approach.

  Matheus took the pebble from his Inventory, and adjusting his aim, threw it a short distance to the left. Before it hit, Matheus got down and hid, peeking from some leaves.

  The Stuffed Koala turned, growling slowly, and seeing nothing, made a curious face and started coming to his direction. Matheus waited patiently.

  When it was just about to pass him, he kicked it with all the force he could muster.

  -2HP

  The monster went flying and crashed into a tree some yards away, helpless.

  -1HP

  Before he had a chance to get up, Matheus was already on it and pinned it down on the ground using his other, bigger rock.

  -3HP

  Then he got his last item, the branch. He’d made sure to get a tougher one this time.

  Like Matheus was playing golf, he hit the Koala’s head with a powerful swipe, and it was launched to the air, together with cotton and blood.

  Matheus put his hands on his month, wanting to throw up again. But in the end, he never did. Just felt dizzy and nauseous for some moments.

  His second kill, and this time he didn’t lose a single HP.

  Matheus couldn’t help grinning.

  No new levels or abilities, though. But that was ok.

  Once more the head was the only thing he could store on his inventory. He wondered if that would always be the case, or if it was only for this specific monster.

  His third kill wasn’t much of a challenge either, but he didn’t manage to leave the fight unscathed.

  The Stuffed Koala saw him first, and rushed to his direction before Matheus could plan.

  He tried kicking it, but it grabbed his leg and glued itself there with its teeth. Matheus felt a jolt of pain and without thinking started kicking the nearest tree, smashing the creature til it dropped to the floor with half of its HP.

  Since he was already this close he quickly seized it and squeezed. Matheus could feel his skill activating and his muscles getting stronger, until again it exploded, gore everywhere.

  Death Hug Skill got to Level 2!

  Again, no vomit, only a nauseous sensation.

  Matheus collected the head before starting the journey to his cave. He had lost only 2 HP, but he saw no point in risking a confrontation without his full health.

  It took Matheus less than half an hour to go back to his cave, eat something and replenish his supplies. He also decided to leave the heads safely stored on a far corner, and picked an extra branch.

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  Earlier in the day, he made a few trips to the forest and back, filling his inventory with stones and branches and storing them safely in his cave. Matheus figured it would save him time, allowing him to get ready for his next battle faster.

  The System had given him a new level in the Procrastination Skill for it. Which was total bullshit, since it was in fact saving him time, but who could guess the logic behind the System.

  Matheus had also found out the Procrastination Skill was practically useless. The bonus didn’t activate when he needed to recover HP, because that was what he needed to be doing! It would only work in situations where recovering health wasn’t a priority!

  It felt more like a joke than a real skill.

  At this point, Matheus wouldn’t be surprised if he got another curse after leveling it up a few times. He was wary of getting more levels in it and couldn’t afford to stay idle.

  He readily went back to hunting.

  Finally, Matheus got the notification he was waiting for after his fourth kill.

  You’ve reached level 3. You have 1 Skill point and 1 Soul point to assign.

  At this rate, he would probably have to kill half a dozen of those Koalas in order to level up again. It was too slow.

  The fight hadn’t been particularly easy, but now Matheus was developing a rhythm, and he was lucky to keep finding the same type of monster.

  Well aimed kicks, some rock throwing, and a new bite mark on his ankle. Worth it for the experience points.

  That was enough work for the day. He grabbed the head and pulled until it popped off, and started the walk to his base, going through his plans for the new points again.

  He pondered for a while on the many things he had to improve, but at the end, decided to assign them to strength and connection one more time. The easier for him to kill enemies the faster he would be able to level up, and he needed more skill points to be stronger. And he wasn’t comfortable spending points in other soul stats until he knew what they did.

  He was working hard to get those SP. He wouldn’t let them go to waste.

  “Assign 1 Skill Point to Strength and 1 Soul Point to Connection.” He said while walking back.

  Could be that a part of him was still insecure from all the times he’d got beaten up, and was compensating by increasing his strength?

  Perhaps.

  Matheus preferred to think he was just following a logical strategy.

  It didn’t take him long to get to his safe cave and put some herbs to cook. He still hadn't found another ingredient the pot would accept, and had begrudgingly only eaten herbs every day, three times a day.

  Still, they replenished his HP and made him feel full enough, so he couldn’t complain.

  After eating his dinner, Matheus got comfortable in his usual sleeping spot. It surprised him how quickly his body had adapted to endure resting on the ground every day, a bunch of leaves as his pillow. But after a day exploring and fighting, he wanted nothing more than lay down and close his eyes.

  Minutes passed, and Matheus was still completely awake.

  He opened his eyes and stared at the Heads. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep with them there, watching him. Matheus could see them growing arms and legs, crawling towards him. He shivered, imagining waking up being eaten alive.

  He quickly emptied his Soul and stored all four heads there.

  And as soon as he did it, a new notification appeared.

  You’ve met the prerequisites to a new skill: Skull Collector

  The Skull Collector - Conditional Skill

  Skill Level: 1

  Effects: Gives a 20% Strength boost and 1 Will point when facing an enemy you have a Skull of its species in your collection. This boost is accumulative.

  This skill is granted to all Champions that have completely filled their Inventory with the heads of its kills.

  You do know your Inventory is not a Trophy room, right? You little psychopath!

  Matheus wasn’t sure how to feel. On one hand, he was getting new skills at a steady pace, which opened new possibilities to him. On the other hand, what was wrong with all those skills?

  Where was punching, stabbing, casting a fireball or anything more normal?

  The System was obviously giving him abilities according to his actions, but it was hard to guess what would come from what.

  Still, an advantage was an advantage. He would use all he had.

  If he needed to collect decapitated heads, he would behead every monster he killed.