NOVEL WEB Chapter 9: Thread and Bone Part II
The threads fell again.
Noah ducked behind a cracked column, but not fast enough.
A metallic thread clipped his arm. Just a shallow line. Or so he thought—until the pain hit a second later like fire under his skin. Blood soaked through the sleeve of his robe in seconds.
SYSTEM ALERT
HP -12 (Injury: Deep Laceration)
CURRENT HP: 18 / 30
"What the actual—thirty HP?!" Noah shouted, nearly dropping to his knees. "I'm level twenty-seven! Why the hell do I still have the health bar of a malnourished housecat?!"
The system, predictably, didn't answer. Just left the glowing red numbers hovering in the corner of his vision like a cosmic middle finger.
He clutched his arm, breath ragged. The wound was bad. Not fatal, but bad enough that a second hit would probably cut him in half.
Abel deflected a thread with his sword and glanced back. "Are you alright?"
"No," Noah snapped, dragging himself behind another chunk of rubble. "I'm bleeding like a stuck pig and arguing with an invisible health bar!"
The prince didn't reply—probably too focused on not dying.
Noah's fingers scrambled at his belt pouch, yanking out the small, cracked healing vial he'd looted after killing Abel's sister. The potion shimmered dark red, like overripe wine.
He popped the cork and downed it in one go.
SYSTEM ALERT
Minor Healing Potion used.
+10 HP
CURRENT HP: 28 / 30
"Two points shy of not dying immediately. How comforting," Noah muttered and wiped the blood from his chin with a sleeve.
More threads fell. Abel darted through them, slashing with precision, his muscles straining with every movement.
The Puppet hissed and turned. Threads arched forward, aiming directly at Abel's head.
"Nope," Noah growled. "Not today, Stitch-Bitch."
He summoned a card mid-dodge, nearly stumbling from the blood loss, and flung it. The card struck one of the Puppet's arms—BOOM—and took the limb clean off.
Abel used the opening.
He surged forward, sword flashing in a wide arc.
The Puppet spun, weaving threads wildly—but it was wounded now. Slower. Its balance off.
Abel slammed the blade through its chest, and this time, it didn't get back up.
SYSTEM ALERT
MAJOR BOSS DEFEATED
+10,000 EXP
LEVEL UP: 27 → 30
Noah collapsed onto the broken tiles, breathing hard.
"Ten thousand EXP and I only get three levels?" he groaned. Then checked his stats—and swore even harder.
NEXT LEVEL: 30 → 31 requires 20,000 EXP
He stared blankly. "That's… more than double. What is this, a goddamn pyramid scheme?"
Abel, still catching his breath, gave him a puzzled look. "Are you talking to yourself again?"
"Yes," Noah snapped. "And it's the only thing keeping me sane."
SYSTEM ALERT
Level Up Bonus Reached: 5 Attribute Points Available
✦ Current Level: 30
✦ Stat Threshold Reached – Level 30
✦ Divinity Tier Progression Required for Smoother Advancement
WARNING: Experience requirements will double with each new level until Divinity Tier 2 is attained.
→ Next Level 31: 20,000 EXP
→ Level 32: 40,000 EXP
→ Level 33: 60,000 EXP
Tip: Reach Divinity Tier 2 to unlock smoother leveling and access higher-order divine abilities.
Noah sat hunched on the broken stone tiles, sweat still cooling on his brow, the pain in his arm a dull throb now. He groaned.
"Why does every system update feel like a tax audit? It's like spam mail; it doesn't want to stop!"
He pulled up his stat screen, sighing dramatically as the glowing interface flickered into view.
[New Stat Total]
Agility: 24 Endurance: 16 Luck: 20 Strength: 5 Intelligence: 15 (+5) Charisma: 10 Will: 5
"Fuck it. All into Intelligence. I've got a personal sword wall now. I'll stay in the back and go boom."
But before he could enjoy the moment, a sharp click echoed across the battlefield.
His head lolled to the side. "Oh, what now?"
Abel looked toward the sound, sword still slick with black, smoking blood. At the far edge of the training yard, half-covered in ivy and scorched stone, a stone panel had sunk into the ground—revealing a glowing chest.
Noah didn't move. Just squinted at it like it had personally offended him.
"Nope," he muttered, flopping back onto the floor. "I am done. I am cooked. Burned. Microwaved. I'm a single thread away from a complete breakdown."
Abel raised a brow.
"Be a dear," Noah mumbled, eyes fluttering shut. "Go fetch the shiny thing. I've earned my princess moment."
The prince exhaled through his nose. "You're absurd."
"You say that like it's new."
Abel rolled his eyes and turned toward the chest, heavy footsteps crunching across gravel and shattered tiles.
Noah lay there on the ground, arms spread, robes tattered, blood drying on his sleeve, and whispered to himself, "Divinity Tier 2. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
The system, of course, didn't answer.
Because that would be too easy.
Abel crouched in front of the newly opened chest, sword still in one hand just in case something leapt out. But nothing did. Just a faint blue glow and the smell of… herbs?
Noah tilted his head from where he lay. "What's in the mystery box, O valiant prince?"
Abel pulled out the first item: a thin, silver chain with a deep blue crystal pendant. The moment his fingers wrapped around it, a soft pulse of magic shimmered through the air.
ITEM ACQUIRED: Necklace of Mental Clarity
✦ Passive Effect: +5 Intelligence
✦ Bonus: Mana regeneration speed moderately increased.
✦ Binding: Soulbound to first wearer.
Abel raised a brow. "This is yours."
Noah blinked, then squinted. "Wait, wait—five extra intelligence points and mana regen?"
"Seems so."
"Oh hell yes. Gimme."
Abel handed it over without ceremony. Noah slapped it on like it was pure gold, then checked his stat screen.
Intelligence: 15 → 20
Stat Effect:
✦ Increased card magic power.
✦ Increased mana pool.
✦ Increased spell efficiency.
✦ You're slightly less dumb now.
He grinned. "Now we're cooking."
Then Abel pulled out something that actually made Noah sit up straight.
A bag. A big one. When the prince opened it, the scent hit them both immediately: dried meat. Herbs. Fresh bread sealed in preservation paper. Bottles clinked. A canteen of water. There were pots. Pans. Flints. A foldable fire stand. Even a little packet labeled "Spices."
"…Is that," Noah croaked, crawling toward him like a dying man crossing the desert, "real food?"
Abel looked mildly disturbed as he pulled out a thick cut of some kind of smoked meat. "It's food."
Noah was already on his feet.
"Oh my fucking god," he gasped. "You're telling me I just had to almost die, get stabbed, burned, nearly sliced by magical piano wire, and now I finally get to eat something that isn't rat jerky or weird mushrooms?"
"I didn't know you had rat jerky."
"I didn't. I imagined it. It's the emotional damage that counts."
He grabbed the bag and stared into it with reverence. "This is a feast. This is salvation. This is—wait. You can cook, right?"
Abel hesitated. "…I can start a fire. I know how to cook meat. I used to do it while camping with the knights."
"That's enough." Noah spun toward him dramatically. "I officially promote you to Royal Grillmaster. Go. Make fire. Burn meat. I'll… I don't know, set the mood."
Abel exhaled slowly. "You're not going to help?"
Noah already had a blanket from the pack in his hands, laying it out like some picnic from hell. "I saved your life. You cook. That's how the world works now."
And with that, the great future god of fate sat down with a greedy glint in his eye, stomach growling, and the first smile in hours stretching across his face.