《Vermin Lore》 1. Pest Control "And I¡­will carry out great vengeance on thee with wrathful rebukes; and thou shall know that I am the LORD when I lay my retribution on thee." Ezekiel 25:17, The Book of ancient, pre-historic people
1 Screams of numerous strangers both man and beast reverberates intensely in Bast¡¯s head as he regained a portion of his consciousness. He remembered being blown away as metal, stone and debris exploded near his location, machinated unknowingly by a gigantic snake the circumference of a plane. It came from nowhere, creating havoc in its wake. Chaos ensued as he was buried alive and passed out. Today was supposed to be just an ordinary day. Yet fate has other plans. Little did he know that today, more than half the population of Earth ceased to exist. Today, the topography of the world shifted in random, dividing humanity. Today, all electronics either malfunctioned or stopped working altogether due to massive energy interference. An ambient environmental power we would come to know as mana. Today, the humans known as the dominant species were replaced by beings of legend, myths and stories. Today, is not a very good day. Sebastian, known as Bast by his peers struggled to get up, hindered by the rubbles and supporting a burning headache. He didn¡¯t exactly know how much time has passed since he was flung by the force of impact and left him out of commission. His left thigh¡¯s punctured by a thin metal stick that came from a miniscule portion of a building. The one that got destroyed by a giant snake fighting a monstrous and equally large chicken. Humorous as it sounds, the sight of the destruction, the blood and gore streaked generously on walls and on the street, says otherwise. There are no living souls as far as his human eyes can see. Only Death. And the ever lingering sound of silence...and ofcourse, a fuckload of dead bodies both familiar and foreign in his eyes. Of innocent people, humans that once were the hunters were now perceived as prey. Of monsters he encountered only in literature, games and lore now leisurely roam the lands. Bast stood up weakly. As the pain and nausea subsides he felt another feeling. A feeling felt after being a witness, nay, a surviving testament to the apocalyptic thema of his imminent surroundings. A feeling long overdue. Fear. An emotion so primal he wondered why only now does this dread appear. All the carnage in the surroundings left him faintly feeble. He belched his lunch, vomiting all of it on the cracked floor. The scene of disfigured, charred, mauled, scratched, bloodied and mangled human carcass was not a sight you can stomach in a small amount of time. Aside from humans, dead bodies of monsters were present as well. It was quite obvious to identify what they were. Mostly orcs, goblins and larger versioned animals and insects were scattered. The cruel realization that the end of the world just happened struck him hard. This is it. He won¡¯t survive this. He will definitely die. In order to survive, he would need to do something, anything. Anything at all. And standing still won¡¯t solve his problems. So he moved his cowering ass. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Bast felt the pain once more when he tried to scuttle. Mustering all his strength, he pulled the damned metal out of his legs, ripped a long gash from his polo shirt and applied first aid to most of his wounds. When all the bottled pain, frustration, anger, fear, and depression becomes unbearable to wear, he screamed. The roar travelled far, echoing to the horizon. It might have been an idiotic idea at that time but Bast did not care. It helped him focus. It maintained his sanity, or what¡¯s left of it. It lessened his fear of the unknown. But most of all, it gave him the ability to deal. Acceptance. A term that isn¡¯t acquired immediately by common and ordinary men. It builds up over time. But Bast is far from being common nor ordinary. He understood that he might be late to save his loved ones and that they may already be dead. That the world is not the same as it was. That beings aside from us exists. That he might do drastic measures in order to survive. That his harsh upbringing may even help him in the long run.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. His mind raced for possible outcomes and causes of this apocalypse. He arranged in his mind what he can and can¡¯t do. He thought a dozen of ways to proceed from here, only in a matter of minutes. To put it bluntly, his brain¡¯s so dope right now. His thought process was working many times faster than ever before. Sebastian Bonifacio was a sane and rational man, he wasn¡¯t queer nor eccentric. Okay, so maybe a little. He thanked his adrenaline rush for clearing his mind and helped him think with foresight. He prayed to his immune system to toughen up and slay whatever disease he may get from his wounds. He gave praise and worship to his brain for outlining what to do from now on. Like I said, he was sane. His earlier outburst helped him calm down. From this point on he will find out whoever did this shit and beat the hell out of him, or her. He limped across the butchery farm to scout. He knew when no one responded from his shout earlier that the city, or what¡¯s left of it, was either entirely deserted or dead. Traversing the block, he searched for the tallest, undestroyed building in the entire town and made way to the top. Bast hoped for a silver lining and he found it. Medical supplies on a first-aid kit box and the elevator was still working due to the backup generator. While waiting to reach the top floor he applied the first aid on him and shove the rest in a large bag he found lying around. He might need the stuff later on. Money now probably ain¡¯t worth a dog¡¯s testicle. Resources would be scarce and can only be bartered with useful stuff of equivalent value, numbered 3rd on his to-fucking-do-list. And the list follows 1st. ORGANIZE Get a clear understanding of what in Jesus¡¯ dong is happening. Compile all information and variables and from there, and make a short-term plan. Done? Good. 2nd. RECON Move. Observe the surroundings carefully. Scout. Take the highest vantage point and have the higher ground. (Thank master Obi-wan for the teachings) Map the surroundings and look for a relatively safe spot. Note the positions of still living monsters. Lay low. 3rd. GATHER Loot. Firearms, ammunitions, food, supplies. Hit the Grocer¡¯s store. Or the Mall. Restock till you have atleast a year¡¯s worth.Hide all the stuff into a safe house and stay clear of danger. If you have time, look for your relatives. 4th.ADAPT Accept that everything is not the way it once was. you must go along with the changes. Evolve. Flow with the river towards your fortune. 5th. SURVIVE Exercise. Learn to hunt. Leant how to kill. Train and master your survival skills. 6th. MASSACRE Kill the monsters if you can. Kill whoever was responsible for this bloody shit. Destroy them all. *Ding* Organize Recon Gather Adapt Survive Massacre. Not a bad plan if Bast says so himself. Lost in his own thoughts, He was startled when the elevator door stood ajar but only halfway. It seems that the generator lost power just in time as he reached the top floor. The ceiling was ripped open revealing the vast pinkish skies. Far in the horizon, flock of birds are screeching. Scratch that, they weren¡¯t birds¡­ Wyverns! They were wyverns snacking on screaming humans. He had no time to make a scared expression as Bast noticed hot air that was blowing behind him in a very familiar rhythm. Terror filled his entire being as he quickly turned and was stunned by a very peculiar scene. It wasn¡¯t just warm air. It was laboured breathing. The large head of a serpent turned upside down near the endpoint of the building. Its mouth was opened slightly revealing long spear length fangs, smaller in the molars getting larger till the canines. The canine fangs were immensely massive. The left great fang was not there. Some of the fangs were missing and it was not a mystery where they¡¯re embedded. A large bird-like monstrosity with rainbow pallet feathers with long boat like beak was piercing the throat of the titanic serpent. The mangled neck of the serpent has silver liquid acid dripping through them, making holes in the building floors. Great, one was acidic and the other venomous. Mr. Chicken¡¯s face was riddled with the serpent''s detached fangs. It¡¯s half closed eyes were twitching. It was obvious that it was nearly dead, waiting for the venom to snap its tether in the realm of the living. Bast also noticed the same with the large snake. Just a little push. Just a little more. Then he noticed the serpent¡¯s glare. Its luminescent golden eye was daring him to come hither. Bast was no fool. The snake may have a last fight left in it. 2 boss class monsters were right in front of his eyes, only an idiot will not practice caution. Suddenly he felt a piercing presence swept all over his body. The aura of the serpent just marked him a threat and bore down like heaven''s judgement on him making him tumble in his feet. It exerted such a strong pressure that rooted Bast on the spot. He felt his muscles tremble and his bones creak. His blood started boiling and his lungs collapsing. Immeasurable pain assaulted him, body and soul. He can feel it in his entire being. It was not only physical. His mind was reeling in a quagmire of agony. Something inside of him was slowly dying. If he knew that this was less than 1% of the serpent''s original skill in its peak, he would''ve run away faster than a thief fleeing from a cop. ¡°This¡­fucking¡­WORM!¡± He was splayed on the floor again for the second time today. This wasn¡¯t fair. All the things happening right now were not at all fair. All these pain Bast was experiencing pushed down his fears. His tears stream down his face as he struggled to crawl. The intensity even if fluctuating, becomes stronger as he draws near. His guess was if this monster was at full strength, he''ll probably die by just standing in its presence. Those eyes contain so much malice that even though it was nearly dead, its malevolent will remains. All the instincts in Bast¡¯s body screamed danger and death. ¡°Okay so you want to play?! Fine, let¡¯s have a game. Let¡¯s see who dies first!¡± Muttering, Bast started standing up. If this beast wants to go down with him, then why not. He doesn¡¯t even know if he still has something to live for. If he dies¡­Then so be it. Bast sprinted forward, ignoring the pain. The pressure. The malice. He left everything, all his worries and fears. It wasn¡¯t willpower, no. It was just blind idiocy the inexperienced possesses. Be as it may, Only the young idiots pave the way forward the unsurpassable goals the old could not. Either succeed or perish, as simple as that. As soon as he was near the snake, he made a beeline for the chicken, surprising even himself. Bastpushed himself to go faster. He willed all of the powers he can draw from his pathetic self. the Image of a version of his unyielding person. all his emotions, all his remaining doubts and regrets. he collected them all and pulled them and let them course through his steps. he will not go down without a fight. "You misunderstand you pathetic worm, Youare not one who''ll take me to see the God of death, I am the one who will take you to him!" He took a leap of faith. [tbc]
2. Resilient as Roaches Bast took a leap of faith. Literally Bast clearly doesn¡¯t know what hewas trying to do. But he trusted his guts. He¡¯ll know when he gets there. Using the base of the fangs protruding from the jumbo-sized chicken as foot hold, he dashed till he reached the top. Towards the largest fang piercing the brain of the chicken. Bast jumped and drilled his feet on said fang, pushing it further in. With a pitiful squeak, the gigantic avian died. The force of the drop kick aided by gravity made the chicken skull slide down, its beak shoved further in the serpent¡¯s throat and splintered a hole in the serpent¡¯s other eye, scattering brain matter on the floor. Then everything stilled. The pressure was gone and Bast was panting hard, trying to maintain consciousness. He was knocked out earlier already. He was not in the mood to be knocked out again. Suddenly, translucent tables appeared in his vision. A premonition of something of a much larger scheme.
Initializing system¡­
Configuring database¡­
Abstaining levels acquired prior the System¡­
Calculating accomplishments¡­
Welcome welcome! To a new world of magic and monsters! Now that you¡¯ve started your first step towards power by killing your first creature(s) of the otherworld, you are now a true blooded contestant! Congratulations! Congratulations!
Your world and the otherworld (which was dying by the way) just fused! In order to save most of everyone, the System was initiated in your world to help keep the balance of things. Classes will be available at level 20, 60, and 90. If you want to know more¡­you have to seek the answers by yourself! AHAHAHAHA~ Stay alive human, and bring honor to your species. Know that everything you wish to know will depend on the path you choose to take. Seek the path of strength, for the destination always will be the thing you are seeking the most.
You have slain Ormr [lv 249], a World Titanic Serpent, the grandson of N¨ªDH?GGR, the World Tree Calamity. +10 affinity to nature, you have been cursed by the divine serpentine blood (resisted).
You have slain Yybon¡¯Adarna [lv 227], the evasive Colossal Raptor, daughter of APO¡¯LANGIT-HANGIN, a deity of the skies. You have been cursed by the skies. (all skills and affinities relating to wind, atmospheric and flight are now unavailable to you)
Congratulations! You are the first human to kill a monster(s) more than 200 levels above yours! You will be rewarded with a legendary item, a legendary skill and 3 rare passive skills!
Announce to the World? y/n
You have received:
Loop of J?rmungandr [L] (interspatial artifact)
Phantasm[L] (Movement skill, passive-grace and lithe, % evasion increase, ???, ???)
Physique of Attor [R] (poison, disease, acid resistance, minor stamina regeneration, ???)
Nagendra¡¯s Aura [R] (Aura-Presence of the hunter, minor Heat and Vibration detection, ???)
Scales of Apep [R] (curses, hexes, status effects resistance, minor health regeneration, ???)
Congratulations!
You have slain another monster more than 200 levels above yours! You will be rewarded with 1 Legendary Item, 3 unique items, 2 legendary skills, and 1 rare passive skill! You have received:
Hephaestus [L] (non-combat hammer)
Skill Grimoire (binds 4 skills, skillbook)
2 Archangel¡¯s Life Feathers (+1 life)
Symphony of Adarna [L]This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. (7 Aural Sonata, ???,???)
Unbound, Uncaged, Unchained[L] (Unbreakable Blink skill, passive-Major sense and reaction increase)
Yybon''Adarna¡¯s plight [R] (minor agility and % evasion increase)
Congratulations!
You are the first human to kill a strong Unique tier monster(s)! You will be rewarded with 1 unique skill- Synthesis and fragmentation [U]
Announce to the World? y/n
Congratulations!
You are the first human to kill a Boss class monster! You will be rewarded with a designated Safe Zone! Please choose the location of the safezone..
Announce to the World? y/n
You have received the titles:
Reckless Pioneer [UE] +3 all stats -5 int wis -1 vit lck [E] +0.001 to all regen
Slayer [UE] +10 all stats [E] +20% all stats and dmg +.05 all regen +resistance against divine influence
Idiot Opportunist [UE] +5 int wis +2 lck -1 vit [E] +50% drops +10% lck
[UE] - unequiped [E] - equiped
As a new contestant, the system also grants you the basic utility skills:
Basic Identification
Basic Language Comprehension (otherworld common tongue)
System Mini Map
Equip
Name: Sebastian Bonifacio Age: 15
Level: 1 Status: Injured, Exhausted, Near death, cursed(resisted)
Health: ([2.6/48]+%20,.0021rps){6h}
Stamina: ([22/84]+%20,.0041rps){6h}
Mana: ([39/55],.0018rps){9h}
Str. 4 (+3+10) End. 4 (+3+5+10)
Vit. 3 (+3+1-1+10) Def: 1 (+3+10)
Agi. 7 (+3+1+10) Ctrl. 12 (+3+0.5+10)
Int. 15 (+3+0.5+10) Wis. 5 (+3+0.5+10)
Luck 0 (+3-1+2-3+10)
You have learned a new skill- Mana Manipulation
You have learned a new skill- Sprint
Bast struggled to hold onto the great fang. He nearly exhausted his strength to perform the double coup de grace. Little did he know when he reached deep within him for something, anything to help him rally, he unintentionally pulled it through his feet. Mana. Relief was the last thing on his mind as seething rage encased his expression. He wasn¡¯t happy about the rewards. He wasn¡¯t happy about the system. His ire is still looking for something to destroy. He sat down in between the two corpses. He read the notifications but yet to respond, still in the moment, still relishing the view from the top. He looked down upon the world with glassy eyes. The tears that stopped resumed flowing down. Bast didn''t really cared for most the humans. They were primal, greedy, evil and ambitious. But seeing familiar faces of the innocents that lay dead on the ground. The babies with remains only consisting of the head, bones with all the insides eaten. The old people, raped by the orks. Naked dead women with signs of being raped by the nearby corpses of goblins. Whoever was responsible will feel his wrath. His revenge will ultimately be carried. He swore on this day that humanity, without a single doubt, will be avenged. A dozen-fold, no, a hundred! He swallowed his bitter tears, he resolved himself not wail. He internalized the scene that would forever haunt him. He engraved it all in his mind. In the depths of his heart. No human ever wanted this to happen. But it still did. All their pain, their suffering and all their forsaken souls¡­ He will carry it. ¡°No¡± ¡°Equip, Loop Of J?rmungandr¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°¡­Later¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Equip title, Slayer¡±
Loop of J?rmungandr
Tier: Legendary
Durability: nigh-indestructible
Appearance: An obsidian metallic snake that swallows its own tail
Properties: malleable through will. Can be worn as a ring or earring, whatever the owner desires. Soul-Bound (Blood drop required) No added stats, cloaked to look as an ordinary item It is an interspatial storage device, space limit unknown.
Description: It was said that one of the Serpent Gods,J?rmungandr was known to swallow stars and heavenly bodies far larger than its size.It was insatiable, like another dimension exists in its stomach. Now you hold a portion of its might. Use it well
¡°Use it well huh¡­¡± Bast stared at the two dead, gargantuan beings. He touched his forehead, allowing his ring to run through the wound on his temple. A nauseating pain that left as quickly as it arrived assaulted him. His instinct knew what to do. Guiding his hands, he willed the corpses be swallowed whole. As he stood alone, the sun that was previously covered by the clouds appeared in the skies. The clouds, smokes and fires long cleared. Bangs of war drums were heard along the forest far to the west. An army of Goblins are assembling near the clearing, forming ranks. Although too far for the eyes to see, their sheer numbers are enough to be spotted. The lush forest wasn¡¯t there before the system. Bast guessed that every known city in the human world were randomly assigned and relocated to the otherworld. Which as he now realized caused too much chaos and destruction in its wake. Following the distance and the speed of the formations, Bast calculated that the vast army of the goblins will be upon him in just two and a half hours¡¯ march. The earliest in two hours. Not to mention that there would also be scouts sent in advance. He was pressed for time. Bast knew it. No need looking for other survivors. He needs to save himself first. Bast Jumped. Again. He soared to the skies and pummeled below. He knew that the elevator is now busted. And the stairs will take too long. Probably all machineries are malfunctioning to an extent. Even Nuclear Power plants that should emit toxic radiations are being transformed into environmental mana where they remain harmless as well as useless. He had a hunch. Lest the powerplant near their city already wiped them all hours ago. ¡°Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh~¡± He doesn¡¯t know where all his unknown confidence came from. All he knew was many were not only counting on him, but on all surviving humans. Jumping through 20 or more story building takes guts. Bast has only so few. For Bast really was a sane guy. But nearing the ground floor and flailing uncontrollably hoping to survive the impact made him realize that he also deserved the title he was given.A reckless fucking idiot. Bracing himself, Bast readied his resolve and trust that the skill he acquired will make a miracle. ¡°..Unbound, uncaged¡­UNCHAINED!¡± [tbd] 3. Peon Killjoy 2 ¡°Not bad¡­¡± Bast appeared a few inches from the ground, all momentum controlled. The teleportation skill took too much mana just to move his body inches from demise. Yet he somehow shows affinity for the skill. He didn¡¯t think about it too much as he seems to be close to death¡¯s door many times just this day. He quickly put it out of his mind and concentrated, remembering the location where the Mall¡¯s at. He still got a couple of hours before the horde comes but Bast hasten his pace, jogging towards the 4th street to the right. The entrance was located farther down the pedestrian but the broken wall of glasses of the large establishment would suffice as an entry for the rushing youth. Side stepping the dead bodies, he made a shortcut and directly entered through a restaurant. He sneaked into the kitchen and gobbled up some unserved french-fries, still warm and edible. Raiding the freezer was an easy task. With one gesture, all the contents of the freezer vanished, not a speck of ice remaining. With quick thinking, Bast cancelled his appointment with the wet market as soon as he saw his looted frozen supplies. It was obvious, really. The once overly crowded market was a high priority target of the monsters. It was practically human buffet. He guessed that most of the meat, fish and vegetables were either gone, plundered or soiled with human blood and filth. It wasn¡¯t worth the risk going there. First priority, FOOD. Like a petty pirate, Bast pillaged all the freezers of a dozen restaurants. He even found a large portable freezer and an ice delivery truck near the supplier route in the employees only zone! Next was the Grocery area, a large expanse containing isles of food and merchandise. Bast¡¯s hand was getting sore as his stamina is running low on fumes. After looting mountains of boxed stock provisions in the back, he also looted the jewelry store, the apparel clothing stores, the pharmacy, the bookstore, the Gun enthusiasts store and the Handyman supplies. Jewelry, no matter what world you live in, will always be a commodity. Clothes and medicine as well. The Bookstore contains survival books, books on fishing, carpentry, administration quirks, trap making, hunting, etc. what peaked bast the most was the handyman supply store. It contained numerous substantial tools for surviving the wild. Camp tents, flashlights, knives, hammers, spades, and even vegetable seeds and gardening tools! Truly a utopia for dads all around the world. He also emptied the gun store leaving not a bullet behind. Time was running out as the larger portion of the remaining hour ticks away. The war drums of the goblins are becoming more and more irritating to the ears. Noticing that some of his mana regenerated, Bast used teleport to quickly get to the rooftop. The goblin horde was nearing the outskirts of the city. Some Scouts can be seen patrolling the perimeter. ¡°Uh-oh..¡± Bast mumbled. Being busy not to realize that the goblin army encircled the whole city was such a predicament Bast cannot afford. But it was already too late. He was being surrounded in all fronts and has exactly half an hour to prepare. His mana is nowhere near enough to fuel a long-distance teleport outside the horde. With no means of escaping Bast must toughen up and face the army head on. His interspatial ring produced a gigantic rift that displayed half the head of the Adarna¡¯s corpse. Bast plucked the smallest protruding fang he could find and pulled. It was easily dislodged from the wound. The fang was 7 inches wide and 40 inches long, exluding the base. It has a meter long base and a small hollow hole in the center most part. The hole reaches the tip of the fang. It was obviously sharp and poisonous. Bast chose this particular fang because it resembles a half-spear. A weapon known as a Glaive. Bast didn¡¯t trust the weapons he borrowed in the tool shop. Nor the guns and rifles. The former ain¡¯t that sharp and may deteriorate the durability with continuous use, the latter were too noisy and will attract attention to himself. His advantage is that he was still undetected. And it sure as hell will stay that way a little bit longer. He noticed that even though high leveled monsters are tough to pierce, the fangs were still able to puncture and kill them. Yet Bast has another problem, The base of the glaive was still thick for grasping. And even though the pointed end of the fang is hella sharp, it can only pierce and not cleave.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Oh, I know! Why didn¡¯t I think of this sooner!¡± Mused Bast. Dipping the base of the fang carefully in the elongated Jacuzzi-like beak of the dead Adarna bird, Bast enveloped the base evenly with the silver acidic saliva, corroding the coated portion of the fang. Before the corrosion spoils the fang, he hurriedly wiped all of it with the facial feather which surprisingly didn¡¯t get corroded. When Bast was sure that all the acid saliva were removed, using another small fang, he began scraping the base of the soon to be glaive. It took him a little more than 7 minutes to shape the base into a proper handle and another 7 to tie a black rubber cord all throughout. Now that the glaive is done, he only need to add some slight configuration. Again, Bast coated the inner belly of the fang glaive with acidic saliva and waited for it to soften. Then he withdrew a small feather from the avian. If his guess is correct, the quill would also be corrosion resistant. And right, he was. ¡°Ahahaha, I guess my recklessness pays off¡± Bast chuckled while dipping the quill with the saliva. He then started etching designs on his weapon, carefully applying the acid lest he may destroy his hard work. He then took out Hephaestus and started carving the inner belly of the fang.
Hephaestus
Tier: Legendary
Weapon type: Smithing Hammer, non-combat
Durability: nigh-destructible
Appearance: An ornamented golden hammer with a cubic head and an opposite cleaved plow.
Properties: + % success on creating a masterpiece item + imbuing special characteristics and powers to the finished product + increase in durability and sharpness of weapons and armors + can repair items till optimal performance + % chance of imbuing stats and blessings + increase mastery tier to smithing ??? ??? ??? ???
Using Hephaestus¡¯ other pointed end, he hacked away the soft underbelly to give it a outlying edge. Bast then used the rough scales of Ormr as a whetting stone, Bast sharpened the fang to look like an authentic, bonafide Glaive. Using a fang, he scratched the engraved designs. As the product is nearly finished, he was promped by a glaring notification.
Name your Masterpiece¡­
¡°Hooh~ Very well. You shall be named¡­APOPHIS¡±
Apophis
Tier: Rare
Weapon type: Fang-Glaive
Durability: 820/1099
Properties: + minor corrosion dmg (stackable) + Greater poison dmg(stackable) + Minor Curse applied(stackable) Creator can bypass Level requirements ??? (stats deferred) ???
Description: A crudely made Short spear by an incompetent human who was lucky enough to find a Basilisk¡¯s spit. A very rare ingredient used for bone shaping. Ormr''s smaller fangs are used as core of the weapon and the Basilisk Spit that contaminated it surprisingly made the weapon stronger as well. Although the engravings make the glaive look so badass, it¡¯s only due to beginner¡¯s luck this masterpiece became a named weapon.
Bast¡¯s time run out. 2 goblin scouts discovered him and was charging with wild intemperance. He was left with no time to inspect his handiwork and was pissed because of it. Bast dismissed a few notifications and decided to look at them later.
Goblin Scout [lv 3]
HP: 45/45
This is it, his new weapon¡¯s first battle. He could not hold on his excitement. Gone are his fears and doubts. Compared to two boss monsters worth 400 levels, what is fighting fodder worth? Holding the weapon in his hands he swung diagonally to the upcoming goblin. ¡°ahihihi~ fresh meat! Uaaak-¡± screeched Goblin 1. ¡°Must be the language comprehension skill, or I must be hearing things¡± Quickly bisecting the enemy, Bast noticed how powerful his glaive is. Just comparable to slicing a cake. The balance is faultless. It was quite heavy even though he was using both of his hands. But he knew it won¡¯t take long to get accustomed to it as the system will provide him the necessary strength to wield it efficiently. He was scared to touch the bladed part of the weapon as he distinctly knew just one gash from it might instantly kill him. Another goblin sneak attacked him from behind. If it was 3 hours ago, Bast would definitely have died. ¡°woah!¡± Activating his movement skill, he evaded the strike by a slight margin. Bast then spins and made a horizontal arc slash which cleaved Goblin 2¡¯s head, killing it instantly. (tbd)
Nagendra¡¯s Aura
Tier: Rare skill
Mastery: Novice 1
Toggle passive: Sense presence of other beings by utilizing slight vibrations in the air. Can also detect thermal signatures. Snakes use this biological advantage to hunt prey day and night.
Toggle Active Skill: (insufficient mastery) Aura-Presence of the hunter [Bloodlust, does stack] cost: 50 stamina per second Thermal vision-At night, this can be toggled on to see heat signatures of beings cost: 20 mana per second
Range: 10 meters Description: legend tells of a serpentine princess who guards the treasures of dragons. No concealment, disguise, invisibility or camouflage can escape its notice¡­
Phantasm
Tier: Legendary
Mastery: Novice 1
Toggle passive: grace and lithe
Toggle Active Skill: Increase in movement speed, reaction speed, ( ???, ???)
Sub-skills Slither ?? Sidewinder ?? Viper lunge ?? ?? ?? ??
4. Choosing the wrong brand of pesticide "Because witnessing a thousand dead insects wasn¡¯t reason enough for some single vermin to rise." -Book of Vengeance: 2nd chapter,The System
4 Green goblin blood against Bast¡¯s already filthy attire didn¡¯t bother him as much as it should. He quickly searched for more enemies in the perimeter. Finding none, he quickly hurried towards the underground subway after looting what appeared to be vials with scarlet liquid. Potions, no doubt! As he run, he checked his previous notifications. It was a short reprieve from the constant near death experiences this new world offers. It might be a shock to some people specially psychologists to take note on how people like Bast quickly adjust to such a circumstance. This was not a proper behavior of a person who just experienced a traumatizing day of reckoning. But people would still fail to notice that aside from the dead bodies, the blood and the other bad things, this was practically an adolescent¡¯s dream. Monsters? Abilities? Items of Power? Bast chortled as the great SYSTEM would undeniably be surprised that more like him would gladly raise their banners. Sure, the humans are now considered as endangered species. But the SYSTEM chose a wrong generation of humans to punish, humans who were influenced as a child by stories, folklores and video games. A generation of gamers! And Bast is one of them. Give gamers powers in the real life? You¡¯ve got to be kidding. They would absolutely abuse such benefit! That is the worst deal ever in written history, Trump would agree. They will grind it. Grind and grind and grind till the Game consider the skills as game Bugs!
You have discovered Blacksmithing!
Skill tree for blacksmithing is now available!
Declare it as a skill? y/n
¡°Yes¡±
Congratulations! You are the first human to create a named weapon! And on the first try!
Choose your reward! -Map of the fused world -A random skill -A random item -Archangel¡¯s life feather (1)
Announce to the World? y/n
¡°The Map¡± ¡°No¡±
Level up! x1
You now have access to Yygdrassil, the tree of wisdom. Skills are now paths of strength, you are now able to access their higher tier subskills. Choose the right trail and race to the top! Skill trees are now available.
You have Picked up Minor health tonic (3)
Name: Sebastian Bonifacio Titles: [E] Slayer [UE] Reckless Pioneer, Idiot Opportunist
Level: 2 Age: 15
Status: Slightly Injured, Exhausted, Curse of the skies, Curse of the serpentine blood
Health: 153 /204 (+%20, 0.0071rps) {8h, 2h till full regen}
Stamina: 98 /277 (+%20,.0091rps) {8h, 2h till full regen}
Mana: 39/228 (0.0068rps){9h}
Str. 17?? (+3.4) End. 22?? (+4.4)
Vit. 16 ??(+3.2) Def: 14?? (+2.8)
Agi. 21?? (+4.2,20%) Ctrl. 25.5?? (+5.1)
Int. 32.5??(+6.5) Wis. 18.5?? (+3.7)
Lck. 11?? (+2.2) Unallocated: 5 ;?? 38 STP
Skills:
{Active} {Passive}
[/] Phantasm- Movement skill [L] Novice 1 [/] Physique of Attor [R] Novice 1
[/] UUU-Blink Spell [L] Novice 1 [/] Scales of Apep [R] Novice 1
[X] Nagendra¡¯s Aura [R] Novice 0 [/] Nagendra¡¯s Aura [R] Novice 1
[X] Symphony of Adarna [L] Novice 0 [/]Yybon¡¯Adarna¡¯s plight [R] Novice 1
[/] Sprint [C] Novice 1 [/] Language Comprehension [C] Novice 9
[/] Synthesis, Fragmentation [U] Novice 0 [/] Mana Manipulation [U] Intermediate 0
[/] Identification [C] Beginner 4 [/]Blacksmithing [C] Beginner1
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Allocate all to Agility¡± Bast wondered what SPT meant but he was in no hurry to understand. Eventually along the way to finding strength he will eventually know. But now¡¯s not the time or the place to experiment. He glanced at Apophis and chuckled at the irony. His earlier experimentation was well worth it anyway. Bast knew he was cursed earlier. He didn¡¯t fight the 2 named boss monsters, he killed them without honor. But maybe it was considered mercy killing for he can¡¯t feel any effect nor discomfort from the curses. Bast knew he can¡¯t be blamed for what he did. He didn¡¯t cheat the System, he took the opportunity that was given. Only a few can look the powerful in the eye and spit on it. And those few are big idiots. The world¡¯s firsts, the titles, the skills with legendary potentials. He didn¡¯t lucked them. Bast earned them. But not all will see it this way. Bast can feel the changes in his body clearly. as if he was being filled with foreign power. He felt different. He felt lighter, stronger, smarter. And much faster. The extra addition to Agility and his equivalently stronger control (Dex) are displaying their effects. He was also impressed with his incredible regeneration. He can close his wounds and regenerate himself in half a day. Bast promised to grind his passive skills to the very limit. Imagine how monstrous his regeneration would be in the future! The average human survivor would have 0.0001 regeneration per second. Let¡¯s say they have an average of 5 points in vitality, which will be averaged along with half of strength and endurance. Say they have 50+ Health points (HP). Calculating all of this, it would take, more or less 6 days to fully regenerate 51.84 HP compared to him which would only atmost take 2 hours. As he glare at his status, he can¡¯t understand why two of his skills cannot be used. He must¡¯ve not unlocked the requirements to use them. He also understood why his mastery towards identification and Language comprehension skills to be high but cannot comprehend how his Mana Manipulation to have his highest mastery. Bast usedUnbound, Uncaged, Unchainedwhich uses a fuckload of mana but not enough to earn himself Intermediate mastery in Mana Manipulation. Even though lost in thought, his increased evasion and detection skills prevented Bast to slip, fall down or collide with objects on his front. Another thing to think about as evasion, grace and lithe wasn¡¯t included in his status plate. He was now located outside the tunnel going downwards. His new strength helped in covering the tunnel with debris to look inconspicuous. He then entered after placing a large wall fragment of a caf¨¦ nearby to block the entrance. It was dim, humid and smelled of metallic blood. His eyes adjusted to the dark. Even though he cannot see, his innate skills are enough to make up for it and move around. He checked the train¡¯s interior and control room only to find dead bodies and smoking non-functioning machinery. On foot then. Bast started sprinting. The tremble of the war drums now heard above his head. The horde was occupying the city. It was a no brainer to think that after today, the city would become a goblin stronghold. He need to get out of the city. And get out fast. The underground rail now splits into two similar passageways. The left path has emergency lights that lessened the darkness of the halls. He can see a ball of light in the far-off distance. Must be the end of the tunnel. The right path reeks of death. The smell was concentrated and there are no lights to guide the way. Pitch black darkness like miasma that shivers the very corners of your soul can be felt there. The flowing air along with stench discouraged Bast to go along with his gut. ¡°Well then. All that¡¯s left is to go left.¡± Bast treck the left passage. The moment he entered the tunnel he was greeted with a notification and a cave-in. his back was covered with grime as he sidestepped the avalanche of soil and stone.
WARNING!A dungeon has Spawned in the area!
Pettigrew, the Rat King¡¯s Lair
Dungeon difficulty: Very Difficult
Description: I have foreseen the urban above to be a place of the dead with none the living. For dead mortals tell no tales. And you, are neither unlucky or dead¡­yet
Bast considered himself lucky, killing 2 bosses, acquiring awesome powers and items. But he guessed his luck has to end somehow to fix the balance of the universe. And it ended in an ill-timed manner. 5. Mousetrap 5 ¡°Damn it!¡± Bast can¡¯t help but to curse. The odds of him surviving were greatly reduced now that he was trapped. Reviewing his options while treading the path carefully, he knew that in order the get out, he need only to defeat the dungeon¡¯s boss. He was quite knowledgeable in game plots and scenarios and assumed that this would be no different. But he was only level two. The efficiency of his Glaive would be halved in this tight and close spaced tunnel. Yes, he can still use Apophis to pierce, but huge horizontal swings are a no go. He won¡¯t be able to use it well. Guns are also a big no-no. With nowhere to run to, the explosion like noise the firearms would create would definitely bring all the boys in the yard, and damn right it would. He double checked the Gun store a moment ago yet no silencers were found. His mind vied to produce counter measures for this grave predicament but only a few came to mind. He splashed Basilisk Spit in the wall to his right. He then dripped a few in the ground which provided him holes to put his makeshift spears he nicked from the handyman store. He staked a defensive perimeter in order to hold off monster hordes even for just a moment. He then continued forward. Bast was caught unprepared, true. He was greatly out-leveled and the System was clearly not on his side. He also considered his skill sets. It wouldn¡¯t do him good either. He only has utility skills. Very powerful but the costs are too much to risk. Bast has one movement skill Phantasm and an escape skill, Unbound Uncaged Unchained, both may only be fueled by large amount of energy reserves. In short, both are useless in the dungeon in the long run as he has limited amount of stamina and mana at the moment. He can¡¯t use them very often. The instant he uses them and found himself without mana and stamina, and surrounded with monsters to boot, would be the end of his journey in this life. He doesn¡¯t know if he can teleport outside as he only practiced teleport to places he can clearly see. He was not about to make an experimental jump to find himself splinched in half. Even though his passive skills are impressive, with his resistances, detection, and regeneration being monstrous, Bast has no real offensive skills. Well, no system offensive skills¡­ Bast remembered those summers he spent with his granddad. The Bonifacio family has a certain tradition passed down since the old times which was still being carried out by the latest generation on the male line. All those hellish trainings and building a solid foundation on ¡°self defense¡± were more than a nightmare. He didn¡¯t hate it, he despised it to the very core.
Giant Rat Guard,Lvl 68
Elite tier
Giant Rat Guard,Lvl 65
Elite tier
¡°Woah that was close!¡± Bast whispered as he was put out from reminiscing his childhood traumas. As the tunnel curved, it revealed car-sized rats. He quickly hid, hoping that the dimed tunnel lights won¡¯t reveal his position. There was no other way to describe the monsters. They were just sewer rats. Only bigger. And has levels on the double digits. And extremely ugly looking. And smells bad funny. They just spawned out of nowhere. It was lucky that they were facing the other way and didn¡¯t seem to realize he was near. Bast thought of a plan of action. The rats have long bodies and would be hassled to make a turn. He could also feel other rodents in the far-off distance spawning. This is bad. No, this is beyond worse. He could tell that these suckers are fast. They move with suppleness unbelievable to the eyes. And they have teeth which are sharper than metal. Bast shivered when one of the closer rat gnawed the metal railings and chewed on them like chocolate flavored brownie. And that¡¯s not even the icing of the cake! They are able to spawn anywhere in the dungeon. He took Apophis out of his storage and readied himself to strike. Bast might not one shot kill these giant fuckers the way he did the goblins but he can try to slash their heads to disorient them and legs to decrease their mobility. He was about to strike when he heard a voice, scratch that, a scream. The voice was enchantingly beautiful and pleasant to the ears. The rats quickly turned to the source of the noise and scuttled rather rapidly towards it. Bast was left with little choice but to dispatch the rats and assess the cause of the screaming. It didn¡¯t bode well for him if all the patrolling rats are alerted of foreign presences. He''s fucked, and whoever the hell it is making a distress signal which in rodent language literally translates as ¡®Come one! Come all! Hear yea~ hear yea! I¡¯m one of those attention seeking whores that wants to die really badly! I have supple meat, deliciously fresh! Aaaand~ I might not be the only one here so be alert for more meat in this dungeon!¡¯ His expression dimmed and as he grit his teeth, Baststrengthened his resolve. He activated his movement skill and sliced the right leg of the nearer rodent, accidental bisecting the tail as well. The rat screeched and became off balanced. It stumbled as it turned to look at its attacker. Bast in a blink of an eye stored his glaive away and pulled out a .45 and a baguette (?).If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. -140 (critical!) - 30% movement speed cursed (disabled regeneration for 10 mins) -10 corrosive dmg/sec/3 min - 15 poison dmg/sec/20 min -20% mvmt and rxn speed *Pish! Pish! Pish!* -90 (critical!) -99 (critical!) Blinded! It took 2 seconds for Bast to teleport in front of the target, bury the muzzle of the gun to the bread, blind the rat by shooting it in the eyes and tucking the improvised weapon away while equipping again his glaive to do the same thing to the other rat. it was efficient and didn''t make a lot of noise. Bast was pressed for time. His quiet execution was flawless but he didn¡¯t confirm the kill. The incapacitated monsters are already incapable of becoming a threat even if they have larger health pools. As long as they¡¯re blinded and with Apophis¡¯ anti-regen curse and are slowed by removing a limb and being poisoned, by his concerns, they have been dealt with. Bast wasn¡¯t looking at them anymore. He sprinted forward, checking his stamina reserves which is still half full. His mana is in dangerously low levels. He needs to be careful not to empty all of them at once. He then entered a spacious passage of the tunnel, more of a rail crossings with lots of tunnels that leads to other areas. The scene in front of him was indescribable. There are a few human bodies littered on the ground and two dozen crowd of rats encircling a petite girl. The person in sight was controlling three glowing balls of white light and holding what appears to be an improvised torch, keeping the nopes at bay. More and more are still coming out of the tunnels by the second. ¡°So you were the one I saw before entering this dump¡± Bast muttered quietly. This girl has the right idea. The rats are surprisingly apprehensive towards bright stuff. The girl was backed against a wall waving the torch nonstop. The other rats in the perimeter are now having the time of their lives masticating the dead bodies on the floor. Bast was left speechless after he had a clearer view of the woman¡¯s face. She was a foreigner of western descent. She has big round silver blue eyes filled with tears, perfectly shaped nose and kissable pale lips which were bleeding from being bitten too much. Her hair was silver white, which was very unnatural. Her figure was unexpectedly curvy and well endowed. She was the most attractive woman Bast has ever met.
Evelyne Krevoslanov
lvl 1 Human
Bast considered the option of killing her if he has even the slight suspicion that she was hostile and nonhuman. But the identification status checks out. She was a fellow survivor. If he was asked whether to sacrifice himself to save the heroine from certain death He obviously won¡¯t. ¡°Iyaaaaa~¡± But he can risk it. There¡¯s a high probability that he can survive along with the girl. He calculated the variables. The distance, and the numbers of monsters and their positions. He also took note of his energy pools and items he can use from his storage. It was already past 5 minutes and he has less than a few minutes more till the incapacitated monsters he left regenerate. ¡°Girl, Shut your eyes!¡± Bast made a shout before throwing a flash bomb in the clutter. Activating his movement skill he further added lots of stamina to the skill to activate its variation Phantasm-Sidewinder! Like a snake he moved with much elegance and speed that left after images along the trail of his movement. It was like watching a slow-motion movie but in reality Bast was moving in high speeds while maintaining the zig-zag flow. The specialty of this technique was the ability to curve his movements without altering the velocity of his steps. More like the S-shaped movement snakes make to crawl, only many times faster. Bast knew from the moment he tried using his first acquired skill, he knew that what¡¯s important is the image and the belief that the skill will work. So he went with his guts and pre-planned where to step swerve and sway. The word sidewinder was a dead giveaway. He knows how these types of snakes move. He watched a lot of discovery channel. He instinctively knew where to land and what direction to go. He didn¡¯t need his eyes as he shut them earlier. He memorized where everything''s at. And the spot where they¡¯ll have the probability to go. His mind was going faster than his own body and everything else. That¡¯s probably one of the reasons why the skills are so natural to him. He sidestepped a rat¡¯s tail and just made it to the end of the mob. The girl shut her eyes in time. She wasn¡¯t blinded. She opened them and stared at him unbelievingly. Bast was lost for words. He forgot his line the moment their eyes met. He even forgot that they were in the dungeon. A highly dangerous fuck you all kind of dungeon. Shrieks of rats snap him back to reality. It¡¯s not only him running out of time anymore. Both of them were. Another weakness added to his already riddled body full of weaknesses. He was still too weak to save humanity. He can barely save himself lest save another. He needs to get strong fast. She was a liability. A very beautiful liability. He had something to say. But now was obviously not the right time. Instead, Bast held up his palm, beckoning her to take it. She understood it quickly. It was either take it and live, or not take it and¡­ Even if she doesn¡¯t trust him, there was no other way. The rodents are starting to get their sights back. She gripped his hand weakly, waiting for a miracle. ¡°Guueh?! Iyaaaaa~¡± ¡°Hold on tight¡± Bast pulled her closer, preventing her from being bitten by a rat 9:00 her side. A moments delay and she would''ve died. He then swept her off her feet and carried her princess style. Despite her petite figure, she was quite heavy. Bast struggled to concentrate to include her on his teleport skill. It took twice the mana and a strong image of the skill to activate. From the time they land he was left with barely any mana at all. Bast was panting hard and let the momentum of the jump move his body forward, away from the mob of monsters. His head was spinning. The rats were confused only for a moment and as if hit by a hammer, rushed to kill the humans. ¡°Argh!¡± -165 (critical!) -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min His peripheral vision dimmed but Bast did not stop. He was lightly scratched by a rat¡¯s claw which easily ripped his back. If it was a solid hit he couldn¡¯t be more dead. Thankfully, it was not. He continued to sprint faster, further decreasing his stamina pool. He was running low on fumes. Just one more scratch and it¡¯s all over for him. -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min Bast run as if he¡¯d never run before. -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min The rats were highly agile and he can barely gain any distance from them. The two monsters that bast left behind came into view. Bast was clearly going to the place of the dungeon he started from. The two should-be-weakened-rats were in an enraged status. A state couldn¡¯t even be more obvious from the red aura, body and eyes of the monsters. He underestimated the resistances of these rats They were also starting to regenerate as well. -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min The mob on his back doubled again in size and was gaining on them. Bast can¡¯t teleport anymore. His mana pool is almost empty. And his stamina and health should also be empty soon. A mob on his back and two angry fuckers on his front. The gods of the world clearly want to see him fail miserably. Bast knew it. So he prepared a failsafe beforehand. If the common mob can kill a pathetic human like him easily as breathing, then what¡¯s to say about the beings lurking on the lower levels of this dungeon. Yes, he had a hunch that there would be as most Rpg games do. The boss monster(s) of this dungeon would definitely be stronger than the two he killed, and it would be in full health. And the chance of clearing the dungeon as he is now is even less than none. -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min The enraged rats are getting closer and closer. If he was alone he has a high chance. But carrying a burden like her would be difficult. He can¡¯t even let her do all the running herself. If he were to drop her off here and make her run, the rats would gobble her up in seconds. Before he can even think of how enchanting the burden he¡¯s carrying, the little princess made a few gestures in the air while chanting. Three balls of light quickly formed and flew in two directions. One in the back, two in front. The giant buggers hesitated and in that moment, Bast took advantage. He activated Phantasm for the last time, bypassing the elite rat guards easily, making them collide with the others in the back. The balls of light quickly disappeared. Looks like he was not the only one who¡¯s out of mana. Bast was panting hard but quickly rushed towards his makeshift stake fence and avoided the pointed edges with fear. -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min He coated them with Ormr¡¯s venom. A rather potent poison if he says so himself. The frontliners of the pursuing crowd were impaled, bellowing a loud screech. The others on the back were pushing tho ones in the frond further in, impaling them further. It was an impasse. But only for a moment. They were literally being sieged with nowhere else to run. Trapped like ants in a syrup. The woman was now glaring at him. He just postponed their deaths but they would eventually die in the end. -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min Bast has no more time to argue. He put her down and shoved a health tonic down his throat twice. He pulled Hephaestus out of his interspatial storage and started banging the discolored wall to the right. The fence of spikes was barely holding on and some of the rats are starting to break through. it was his failsafe. From the start, he knew that he had no chance. "It''s not my fault, you forced me to cheat" +36 health -5 bleeding dmg/sec/1 min +32 health Bast mumbled to no one in particular. The might of Hephaestus bore a head-sized hole in the wall. He could clearly see the right passage, devoid of monster rats. It was the tunnel he did not pick earlier from before the left-side passage became a fucking dungeon. He was about to make the hole a little larger when he saw the girl about to drink a blue liquid in a glass similar to the red potion he got- A mana potion! ¡°H-hey!¡± Yes! Bast grabbed the blue concoction without saying anything and swiftly gulped the contents. The fence got broken down and the rats darted towards them in high speeds. Most of them are in an enraged status. While the ones further in the back were technically unharmed. Bast grabbed the girl''s hand, smiles at the monsters, then muttered +44 mana ¡°It¡¯s my win¡± (tbd) 6. Bacterial Mutation 6
You have left the dungeon unauthorized.
+1 Wisdom and Luck, +1 resistance against divine influence
A deity was watching, she was amused!
+1 resistance against divine influence
The System was watching, and felt cheated!
+4 resistance against divine influence
Bast shoved his last flashbang and a teargas in the basketball-sized glory hole and shoved a motorcycle helmet to cork it. As if having a fit, he dropped to the ground exhausted and panting like a dog. He was dead tired and would need a couple of hours rest. He wasn¡¯t alone. The girl was drained as well. She was still in a state of shock and was processing slowly the events that transpired. His teleport skill worked once more but devoured all his mana again as well. Bast decided that is was not a good habit to rely on this skill too much. It would make a weakness to his basic survival instincts. It was not a skill that will always save him the moment he needs it the most. The dungeon was one of those moments. If the girl didn¡¯t have a minor mana tonic they would¡¯ve died then and there. Speaking of the girl¡­ ¡°My name is-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother. Identification skill.¡± ¡°My name is Evelyne.¡± ¡°¡­¡° ¡°You are Sebastian?¡± ¡°¡­¡± They stayed silent like that for a few minutes. Bast wasn¡¯t really being rude. He just doesn¡¯t know what to say to the woman. He would totally agree that the girl¡¯s hot but would never ever admit it to anyone, ever. This was a first time for a closet-shy person like him to talk to a female with a face of a movie star. He was too nervous to even compose a complete sentence and afraid he might stutter and be embarrassed about it. Bast was not in the talkative mood at the moment, considering they were almost killed, but Evelyne is. ¡°We could¡¯ve died.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°M-my friends are all dead d-down there. W-when t-the monsters attacked outside we went to the subway a-and and and we hid i-in the cramped train maintenance room. W-we thought we w-would be s-safe and and we run to the tunnels-train¡¯s damage-and and a-and then a b-blue b-box and and and and a d-d-dungeon. M-m-my f-friends-¡± The girl was now fully crying. Bast looked away, afraid if he stared too long he would start weeping too, howling even. God that would reeeeeally look so cool and manly in front of the girl so he hardened his expression, took two bottles of water and a pink laced handkerchief from his interspatial ring and gave a bottle and the cloth to the girl to wipe her tears. He resolutely destroyed any other green minded thoughts towards her. Bast wasn¡¯t looking as he quenched his thirst, trying to ignore the pretty little sobs he¡¯s hearing. He was recently on the move nonstop and hardly had a breather room. He decided that after resting they would escape the city. Then after confirming they are safe and the girl¡¯s out of harm¡¯s way, he would part ways with her and train his skills somewhere, preferably in the mountains. Now¡¯s not the time to fool around with a woman. He will not survive the longer he stays weak. He will try to come back here and finish this dungeon after he¡¯s become a lot more stronger and well prepared. He just wishes that the boss monster would not be a dragon. That would totally freak him out. The weeping girl was now trying to ask him a question. ¡°i-i..what..¡± Bast took a glimpse at her was shocked to see what she was holding. Her face was scarlet and she was holding the water bottle he gave her along with a laced lingerie. He swiped away the panty and took out a load of clothes on her lap to wipe her little pretty face, his own was a glaring magenta. ¡°My bad.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He didn¡¯t know what he was giving her as he spaced out. The Loop of Jormungandr was very sensitive to his thoughts. He was thinking of giving her a handkerchief but at the same time wondering what she would look like as a model. His mind wandered but was quickly dismissed as it was inappropriate. To his surprise, instead of being disgusted, the girl was giggling. It was really annoying as Bast didn¡¯t mean to make the mistake. Atleast he stopped the girl from crying which was good. They stayed quiet for another couple more minutes. Bast¡¯s mind was reeling, he kept her out of his thoughts. He was already planning his steps for every situation they can encounter outside. His earlier mistake, the one where he chose the wrong tunnel that eventually became a dungeon should never repeat itself. He knew that the other tunnel was the right way, the signs are already there. There¡¯s wind blowing towards their position, sewer lines from the city and some metal stairs that guides them towards the outside. He was in his own world and was barely listening to a word Evelyne was saying. ¡°Where did you get those weapons?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Was that a fantasy storage device? Like in the games and stuff? You just pulled out items from thin air. That¡¯s neat.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Why are you so strong?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°When you gave me the panty, was that intentional?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t, you don¡¯t have to be embarrassed, it was kinda sweet. I stopped crying and it made me laugh.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her voice was cute. Bast was starting to get really uncomfortable with the topics but managed to stop his mouth from opening and his facial expressions from being read. The girl was asking too much mundane questions. ¡°You are only level 2, only a level higher than me but your stats, your reactions, your skills¡­¡± ¡°I¡­I got lucky¡± ¡°I see¡­ ¡­You¡¯re not a man with a lot of words huh. The silent type.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Another couple of minutes passed and she finally stopped talking after Bast replied to her at last. It wasn¡¯t that the talkative girl was annoying, in fact he liked her voice, there was nothing about her to dislike. She was the first person he saw alive after the system descended on earth. Maybe even the last. When he thought that the interrogation was over, she once again opened her mouth. It was the most hauntingly beautiful moment that Bast would forever remember in this life. ¡°Sebastian¡­Thank you¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Can I please come with you? I have nowhere else to go¡­¡± Bast already decided to leave her somewhere and train. But hearing those words made him hesitate a little bit. He would love to accompany her, any normal young boy would. He was now presented with another choice to make. He still doesn¡¯t trust her, true. After experiencing the world ending, Bast now trust nobody. Not even the innocent humans he swore to protect. He weighted the pros and cons but he has a lot of other things running in his mind. He really doesn¡¯t know what to do with her. She was staring at him intently with watery eyes once more, like the way Puss in boots looks at Shrek in the movies. He felt a chill in his spine and he cannot delay this any longer. He was starting to get mesmerized in the moment. *sigh* Fuck it.
¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°¡­Bast.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. Bast. Just Bast will do. And I still don¡¯t trust you.¡± ¡°Oh¡­O-okay.¡± It was the longest words Evelyne ever heard from the stranger. His voice was low, manly, and contained a hint of power. Sebastian stood up and stretched. He was already preparing to leave. She knew from his words that he wouldn¡¯t let her accompany him. She was a baggage that would only slow him down. She was well aware of her own charms, which apparently wasn¡¯t working on the guy. He was unresponsive and hard to read. There was a moment when he was slightly embarrassed but quickly recovered and became poker faced. He was unlike any guy she has ever seen. The intensity of his gaze, the soft, gentle touch of his hands. The firmness of his body. The way he dealt with the monsters without changing his expression even once. Sebastian was half Asian, with a feel of foreign blood in him. He has a lean muscular body but not bulky and with a 5¡¯9 height. He has a slim but chiseled build. She has a theory that when the apocalypse descended, it changed a lot of the surviving people, including herself and her friends. They became the better version of themselves the moment they had their first kill. Her golden blonde hair was an example. It was now silvery white. Now that Evelyne took a closer look at him, she noticed the tiny details she missed. Sebastian has salmon to pink colored eyes, black unruly hair, short but structured nose and lips that are all often forming a serious and grim expression. He would be temptingly handsome, but the grime, soot, blood and dirt that covered him all over conceals that. When she remembered how he handled the enormous rats with his spear made of a large fang she unconsciously looked at his hands. They were calloused, by then she immediately knew that he wasn¡¯t unaccustomed to handling sticks as weapon. Overall impression Sebastian exudes is that he¡¯s a survivor. A true warrior. And a highly disciplined one at that. Evelyne was startled when Sebastian drew a dagger coated with viscous violet liquid, grimace was again plastered on his face. For a moment, she was scared he would just kill her here instead of leaving her behind. He threw the knife towards the darker corner of the tunnel without even the slightest hesitation. A short shriek was heard and a thud. A dead goblin scout emerged, pierced in the chest. ¡°They¡¯ve caught up too quickly¡± To her surprise, the guy once again gave her his hand after muttering to himself. He beckoned her to take it, like the way he did when he saved her from the gigantic rats. Once again, she was compelled to take it. Not because he¡¯s too intense, or his aim was as accurately lethal, or his method of killing with a face that never flinch. She wasn¡¯t afraid of him anymore. He was her savior. The guy¡¯s got a certain charm. A feeling that was comfortable and reassuring. It¡¯s like her fate was in his hands but she trusts him to deliver. To make her safe. To protect her from being harmed. The guy was crude with words but Evelyne is now beginning to understand his temperament. Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. He was truly a man. ¡°Slow me down and I will leave you¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Bast and his new companion jogged towards the end of the tunnel. Now a genuine light was seen, giving them a view of the outside. He was now level three from all the fodder monsters they met on the way. Even after seeing the end of the subway, he never lowered his guard. Bast promised himself until he became strong enough to fight a god, he never will. The girl was struggling to keep up. Bast knew they should stop somewhere and recuperate. They were blinded by the sun after being in the dark for too long. Fresh breeze of the wind as very welcoming. The coast was clear.
You have learned the passive skill Danger Perception
You have learned the passive skill Extreme Concentration
You have learned the passive skill Dagger Mastery
You have learned the passive skill Sixth Sense.
Use a fusion skill with Extreme Concentration? y/n
You have learned the passive skill True Aim
A feral grin escaped Bast¡¯s face. Understanding many things at once, he took a mental note of his Synthesis skill and imagined the good things he can do with it once he abused grinding it to the limits. ¡°Yes, fuse it also with True Aim¡±
You have learned the passive skill Primordial Meditation
Now we''re talking¡­ (tbd) 7. Filipino Martial Arts, KALI -Oi! What, in the name of the Celestials do you think you¡¯re doing?! We aren¡¯t supposed to meddle in the affairs of mortals! It is forbidden! -But sister, this pathetic insignificant bug annoys me! He interfered in the duel of two of my toys, took advantage of them while being weakened, and took away all the loot! Now he¡¯s getting above most of his kind. It¡¯s unfair! A cheat! -Remove that spawned dungeon at once! He wasn¡¯t cheating, you idiot. Mortals are known for their cunning, nerve and cheek! That¡¯s why it¡¯s amusing when we bear witness their fall. That one¡¯s a bit special brother, do not test him any further! -But dear sister, it¡¯s been done and can be undone by no one, not even beings like us. I only kind of trapped him in there to test him¡­Oops, My bad. Ahahahaha~ I even forgot to tweak the difficulty based on his level. *sigh* -Just promise me you¡¯d never do this again, okay? As you have said, he¡¯s insignificant. Hey! You didn¡¯t even bequeath upon him any offensive skills?! You also messed up his skill set! -Yes, fine. Err about that, I forgot as well¡­ -Honestly, you are too brutal young brother. I don¡¯t even know anymore who among you two were cheating. Fix this! -¡­I-¡­You are right¡­I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll try to fix this¡­ -Too bad, I was expecting much from him, the mortal barely has any levels. That dungeon will doom him¡­Tsk, only bereavement awaits him now. -So, is it okay if I don¡¯t- OKAY! Okay! Jeez I¡¯m just messing around¡­please stop glaring at me, my domain is breaking apart. (T-T) Celestial''s Ire, Realm of light., 5th Chapter.
7 ¡°¡­Holy shit.¡± The party of two were now resting near a stream, deeper in the northern unnamed forest. Bast was preoccupied by the notifications he ignored a moment ago while at the same time, bathing himself with the cold sparkling river water. The blood and grime were gone. He was still wet but was now starting to look half decent. He took note of a certain notification box that made his blood boil. It seems he had taken the ire of a powerful being, and the amusement of another. It won¡¯t take any idiot a minute to figure out who or what played him inside a dungeon. It might have been planned that the weak humans be tested and judged based on their first monster kill. Bast guessed he stood out too much when he ended two high leveled and named monsters. The higher beings clearly underestimated his race. Mistaken and forced to give him powers that he was due, one of them got upset and took matters in his own salty hands. But due to the constant exposure to this life and death situations, he was slowly starting to grow in power. Whether be it stats, levels, new world info or skills, being tested makes his repertoire rise in mastery. They were trying too much just to feed him power and that¡¯s fine. Bast wouldn¡¯t want it any other way. He took a glance at the girl who was bathing in the shallows, with most of her skin exposed. His serpentine sense (author note* copied from spiderman¡¯s spider-sense, and no, I¡¯m not gonna shove penis puns out of it..wait) took notice of an abnormally large fish lurking, getting near and nearer. He took out a short-scythe with chains from his interspatial ring and threw it, hitting the fish in its abdomen and nearly undressing the fabric away from the wailing Aphrodite as the weapon passed through her side. ¡°Kyaaaah~¡± Bast reeled his makeshift hook and sinker, letting the fish land on the riverbank near him. He found and threw a large riverine rock that splattered the skull of their soon to be dinner. His True Aim skill was working him wonders and that¡¯s good. He felt his danger detection flaring. But as he searched for the culprit, it took the murderous form of a petite long haired girl, glaring at him with fury. ¡°Bast! Tell me the next time you- Ugh!..You big idiot! Hmph!¡± Bast quickly looked away with great and struggling effort, with his face becoming hotter by the second. Evelyne¡¯s naked physique was making him lose what¡¯s left of his rationality, and that is dangerous for the both of them. Even when mad, her voice maintains its cuteness. No wonder his decisions as of late felt unnatural. The two of them decided to consent an extended respite (totally her idea), as they have a greater distance to travel to look for a safer dwelling. Because of this, Bast also had the time to fill a dozen large drums with water, just in case they move to a place without much of it. Evelyne looked a lot happier. After floundering in the waters, both of them dried themselves up, with smiles plastered in their faces. It was refreshing not to look at the dead bodies of people and be filled with dread. Bast threw her a long and thick dark pants, socks and combat shoes, green shirt and camouflage jacket. He hesitantly shoves her a bra and the laced panty he took earlier as well. Bastthen equipped himself with dark pants, combat boots and a dark green shirt. ¡°I hate this! I look like a guy. Can¡¯t you give me something a lot more cuter?¡± ¡°¡­You are too beautiful. If you want to get raped by goblins, be my guest.¡± ¡°I don''t wanna- I did''nt mean- Did you just?!...Oh, O-okay.¡± Blushing furiously, both of them got embarrassed and quickly got dressed for the occasion. The girl might not like it but Bast was only thinking of increasing their chances of survival. The clothes are easy to move around with and covers most of their skin. He gave her the jacket camo with the hoodie to make it hard for people and monsters to spot her. He chose the green color because they were in a forest. Bast also tossed her a mask. You can never be too careful. ¡°Here, use it when there¡¯s people. And lower your voice. Monsters can hear you from a mile away.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± Checking once more his notifications individually, he cannot suppress a smirk
Primordial Meditation (Incomplete)
Tier: Unique (Evolving) Mastery: Novice 0
Activation: Passive skill, User must be Stationary, clear-minded, focused
Description: A higher and more complexed form of meditation, a unique skill only less than a few cultivation masters possess. Its inferior version is the Primal Meditation [highest known: 84% compatibility ratio], a combination of Deep Concentration, Clear Mind skill, Arcane/Mana Manipulation or Qi/Spirit/Aura Manipulation, Mind¡¯s Eye or True Sight skill, Race-dependent Anatomy Mastery and a mixing skill or an artifact catalyst. Must have at least 60% compatibility ratio. Your Synthesis: A combination of Sixth Sense, Extreme Concentration, and True Aim [61% compatibility ratio]
Properties: Increase health regeneration by 3% per mastery level Increase stamina regeneration by 5% per mastery level Increase mana regeneration by 1% per mastery level Increase Qi regeneration by 2% per mastery level Practitioner will no longer need sleep. Conversion- 8h sleep:4h meditation. % Increase in energy capacity per mastery level ??
The skill was only of unique rarity but with just one look at the blue notification made Bast¡¯s head burst with various important information. Some of his theories and questions that were still unanswered were now clear. Connecting some of the dots, he decided to increase the compatibility ratio of his new but incomplete skill. ¡°fuse Mana Manipulation as well¡±
Compatibility ratio:?? 61% --> 72% ????Tier: ??Unique -->Rare Properties:????Increase mana regeneration by 1% --> 7% per mastery level
¡°Just as I thought¡± Bast cannot wait to try his new skill but the place he¡¯s currently at was as safe as a prison yard. He cannot risk being caught unaware. A large horde of goblins was still in the vicinity. He also took note of Qi. Whatever it was, he¡¯s going to learn the hell out of it. All that¡¯s left is the basic understanding of his anatomy which can be remedied by his vast supply of medical books that the mall thankfully sponsored. Bast needs to practice patience. He knew he will eventually complete the higher tier of the skill. ¡°Miss Krevoslanov, how many skill sets did you start with?¡± ¡°H-hey, just Evelyne would do. Or Eve, yes, call me Eve!¡± ¡°Miss-¡± ¡°-No Miss Eve! Remove the miss! Just Eve!¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Evelyne. skill set. Please¡± *Sigh* ¡°Mouu~ fine. I have one. By the way, it is skill tree, not skill set. I think all who already killed a monster has one aside from the system¡¯s free basic skill acquisition, my first kill was a forest wisp so I was given the uncommon tier skill tree, Guiding Light. Wait, let me show it to you.¡± ¡°Status. Show Sebastian skill tree¡±
Guiding Light, Uncommon Skill Tree (4)
Orb of hope (Minor healing and purification, calming effect, % dmg to demonic and undead) --> White Magic Enchant -->[X] Sword of light (offensive light magic) Nature¡¯s Blessing (remove minor curse, fertility blessing, % increase in regeneration) --> [X] Gaia¡¯s Grace (?) Basic Mana shield-----------------------------------------> [X] Barrier Magic De-spell (undo minor magics) -->[X] Spell Breaker -->[X] Global Silence
¡°Status. How many skill set do I currently have?¡±
4
¡°I see. Show in list form¡±
Symphony of Adarna, Legendary Skill Set (7) [X] ¨C female only, curse of the skies, enchanting voice required
[X] 1st Arial Ensemble (?) [X] 2nd Siren¡¯s Lullaby (?) [X] 3rd Cry of the Adarna (?) -----------> [X] 4th Sonata of Lamentation (?) [X] 5th ???-->??[X] 6th??? ------->??[X] 7th Death¡¯s Encore Resonance (?)
Phantasm, Legendary Skill Set (7)
Slither (Spectral footwork ¨C fast, light and silent) Sidewinder (Mirage step ¨C fast misdirection, optical illusion) [X] Viper lunge (Ghastly step ¨C Concertina, % inc. crit. dmg.) [X] Skywalker (aerial maneuver) [X]-Curse of the skies [X] Yamikumo no bunshin (Clone step shadow hiding) [X] Kyomu no Shukuchi (God walks on an empty shadow) [X] ???
Unbound, Uncaged, Unchained, Legendary Skill Set (7)
Blink (short distance teleportation) -------------> [X] Rift Walk (Long distance teleportation) [X]Echoing Silence (active: aoe silence, increase resistance to status effects, passive: uninterruptible, can¡¯t be silenced) --> [X] Chains of Fate (?) [X] Binds of Time (basic: sealing magic corrosion, ?, ?) [X] Void Prison (basic: Barrier magic corrosion, ?, ?) [X] ???
Blacksmithing Skill Tree (4)
Repair (Increase Durability) Ore familiarization (+ ingot purity) ---->Weak Link pinpoint (weakness detection) ------->[X] Weapon breaker (decrease durability) Tempering (+Durability, skill imbuement and mastery, stat inc., Path of Cultivation) ---------->[X] Refine (+ increase % stats, sharpness, rate and level) [X] Metal Bending (Metallic affinity, earth affinity and manipulation) --------------------------->[X] Hephaestus¡¯ Blessing or Moradrin¡¯s Blessing
Synthesis and Fragmentation Unique Skill Tree (3)
Chemical Synthesis------------->Skill Amalgamation-------> [X] Class Amalgamation Component Fragmentation---> [X] Skill Fragmentation --->[X] Class Fragmentation ???
¡°Unfair! I showed you mine, now show me yours!¡± ¡°¡­¡° Bast cannot help but imagine the innuendos but dismissed them very quickly. Even though the girl can slightly make his guard down, he was still a cautious person in nature. A trait engrained to him by his dysfunctional family. He noticed that her skill trees weren¡¯t offensive in nature, a support type skill set. Without a doubt, it would still take a very long time for her to unlock the offensive type skills. She would provide him with only little backing and will only slow him down. He might not have any offensive skillset or a skill tree as well but Bast has a repertoire of escape skills, the girl has none. Any monsters more powerful than him, if he can¡¯t fight them, Bast can just escape. He can just train and get stronger and fight the same foe again until he emerges victorious. But carrying another while he¡¯s still weak himself is a different cup of tea. It would quickly consume his energy pools and divide his attention. But he cannot just leave her behind. Bast decided on a goal. He promised to save those who cannot save themselves, the innocent and the weak. But he cannot do this yet while carrying the lives of others behind his back every time there is a powerful foe in the midst. The only solution is to make them stronger. To help themselves. To help them stand on their own two feet. ¡°Hey! What can a girl do to be noticed around here?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­One. Blacksmith skill tree. Status. Show her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? What about-¡± ¡°-Individual skills. Told you to keep your voice down, didn¡¯t I? Come. We¡¯re burning daylight.¡± ¡°I, yes. But where are we going? ¡° ¡°You see that big tree?¡± ¡°No kidding, almost all that I can lay my eyes upon are either big, or larger.¡± Bast stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He also stopped imagining double meanings in her words. It was not worth the effort. He also lied about his skillset. There are just some things you don¡¯t reveal to people you¡¯ve just met. Bast heard some movement above the surrounding trees. He acted naturally as if he was oblivious but was now on full alert. He was still low on mana but his stamina was quickly regenerating. ¡°Evelyne, I want you to be very quiet and stay close to me. Keep the dagger I gave you close at hand. Let¡¯s go. Now.¡± ¡°Hmm¡± He took her hand without giving permission. He knew they were being watched. Bast slither deeper in the woods while dragging the girl behind. He was waiting for whoever was watching them to show itself. Apophis was quietly waiting to be wield inside his storage. He doesn¡¯t want their pursuers to know he is armed with a sure kill weapon. As they approach a thick grove of trees a few kilometers from the river, Bast heave the girl towards the massive, long and winding roots of a tree, effectively hiding her body. She was dead tired from the continuous jog but she kept her mouth shut. By now she knew something was wrong. Bast stood still, eyes shut and arms ready. Their tracker was too persistent. It lays still, hidden. But by now it won¡¯t take very long for the being to make its move. He was now concentrating harder than ever before. Every fiber of his being is now focus on locating the hidden enemy. All of his senses are sharpening beyond normal. Bast activated his Primordial Meditation (72%) while standing up. The longer this pursuer delays, the more prepared Bast gets. ¡°!¡± A shout was heard from the distance. The sun was now starting to set, making the visibility of the surroundings indistinct. The moment Bast found the location of the hidden pursuer, he quickly released a throwing knife at its direction. He opened his eyes and was shocked to find that it was deflected by an arrow and another one was now flying towards his heart. He was surprise to detect another enemy behind him, who was raising both daggers aimed at his neck and kidney. A pincer attack! Bast drew Apophis. Using a diagonal upward swing he deflected the arrow, breaking it in half. Without stopping his momentum, he followed the swing with a downward slash behind his back which was surprisingly dodged by the dual wielding attacker by spinning to the side. The Glaive was too heavy to carry, that when Bast tried to correct his stance and pull his weapon back, the dagger wielder kicked it near the base and it flew from his hand, spinning away. 1- Finding himself outstripped of his glaive, Bast kicked the right wrist of the dagger wielder, forcing him to recoil and let go of his right dagger. Bast followed up with a spinning kick to the youth¡¯s chest, giving him a valuable distance which he can take advantage of but another arrow soon came flying his way again. The arrows were too accurate and all aimed at his vulnerable spots. If he had known any better, it feels like he¡¯s being fletched by an Olympic medalist athlete. -2 -5 ¡° !¡± *swoooosh* ¡°Woah!¡± Bast dodged the incredibly fast arrow by swaying out of its way. It was unblockable. Should Bast decided to block the attack, he''d probably be dead by now. The archer was now standing atop a nearby tree to his right and was nocking again another arrow. He took his chances and equipped a dagger of his own and a throwing knife with his offhand. His attention not wavering the slightest, he took note of the position and the distance of his attackers and the terrain of the surroundings without forgetting to watch over Evelyne. He turned, again deflectinganother arrow away with one swipe of the dagger. Without stopping he spun again and let his throwing knife soar and embed itself in the thighs of the female archer, who lost her balance and fell from the tree. ¡°Arrgh!¡± -13 Now that the ranged was taken care of, Bast focused on his immediate melee enemy. They began slashing each other with the daggers. Now that he had a closer look, the youth has long black hair and droopy golden eyes. His figure¡¯s skinny but his footwork and mastery of the dagger was very impressive and well-practiced. (author note* there are some of you who will not understand these next paragraphs. To those unfamiliar with knife fighting. Check this link, just to have a comparison of what is happening in the fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3I_dlku2PA ) Bast¡¯s left stab was counter-flowed with a left stab of the boy¡¯s own. While the boy¡¯s right fist was swerved by Bast¡¯s right hand, enabling him to palm his right hand to the boy¡¯s face, robbing the boy with microsecond of a vision of bast¡¯s dagger, hiding it in view which was now cutting upwards the boy¡¯s body 7:00 to 1:00. The boy countered again with a 5:00 to 11:00 of his own, barely keeping up with his thrusts. -1 1- -2 -2 1- -1 -3 The boy stepped twice, first with a sweep followed with a forward, all at the same time delivering a six-combo technique: right hand heart stab left hand-right shoulder control followed with a 6:00-12:00 right hand upward slash left hand defensive control followed by a swipe hand left change vice grip 2:00-7:00 rip technique right hand punch left knee kick followed by a spin kidney right handed stab and a control right hand block while doing a 4:00-10:00 exit. 1- 3- -1 -1 -2 1- 1- 1- It was done all in 3 seconds. It was enthralling. But Bast wasn¡¯t one to sit by and let this happen. He counter-flowed and controlled the attacks with a counter combo of his own. The intervals of the boy were poorly executed and painfully slow which he took advantage of. However, Bast cannot make a killing move as the archer was sniping him from the back. This continued for almost a quarter of an hour. -5 -1 1- 2- 2- It looks like both of them were dancing, with blade sparks erupting here and there. The boy¡¯s mastery of the clock system was extensive, with the slashes coming from insane angles coupled with lunges and stabs intermixed within his knife play. The flow of his dagger techniques was perfect but the patterns were readable. The boy¡¯s slashing transitions was being read and interrupted by Bast who quickly counters with slashes of his own. Bast was gaining the upper hand but an arrow enbedded itself in his lower back. Bast immediately used Phantasm and positioned himself towards the Boy and the archer and not in between. 16- 2- bleeding damage/ sec/4 sec ¡°You¡­you¡¯re a master of using Kali. Which Filipino clan trained you?! Lightning Arnis Clan? Black Eagles? Sagasa Escrima? Dagang Kidlat? Inosanto? Marcaida Kali?!¡± Gritting his teeth, Bast didn¡¯t answer. The reason he did not kill the attackers was partially because they were human. And Bast never killed one of his kind before, but now, his morality is being conflicted. He also partially wanted to test their skills. He wasn¡¯t disappointed with what he saw. They were good. And most probably will survive this post-apocalyptic world. But playtime¡¯s now over. They were going to kill him so it was only right to defend himself. He was now in the zone. It was either kill or be killed. He now had a grasp of the archer¡¯s timing, aim, and shot intervals and complete read of the dagger wielding youth. He pulled both mana and stamina towards his feet and activated his movement skill,Phantasm! The two, sensing the change in the atmosphere, readied themselves. The archer shot her arrows consecutively without pause. The boy threw knives towards him as well but they cannot make a solid hit in. Bast was moving too fast, leaving afterimages while doing a weird S-shaped movement towards them. He reached the boy who made a sensible footwork who, at the same time, swung his dagger horizontally. Bast counter-flowed, swung his dagger to match the youth¡¯s and with a flick of his wrist, controlled the boy¡¯s dominant hand with the dagger by locking the blunt end of his own dagger against the boy¡¯s wrist and pulling the boy¡¯s hand towards him. ¡°Bast stop!¡± Bast quickly followed again with another control by utilizing an over the elbow shoulder lock with left hand control, pointing the boy¡¯s dagger in boy¡¯s own back. Bast teleported with the boy, behind the archer and was about to slit her throat when Bast heard Evelyne¡¯s voice. It was now sundown, a red gleam was now on the horizons. Three moons now hung on the eternal azure nightskies, lighting the dark forest with pale light. It was the perfect setting for Bast''s first human kill. ¡°SEBASTIAN STOOOOOP!¡± (tbc) Clarifications and Justifications Title : My mum was being bossy one night and made me clean the bathroom. It was a very dirty but fortunate event. I had some insights to what I can write when I saw five cockroaches floating in the sink. (ewwww) lol Synopsis: I wanted my stuff to be original despite many elements I''ve gathered by reading most of the best rated here in RoyalRoadl So I didn''t use the point of view of humans. I want to explore different concepts and came up with "The System" It is basically the collective powers of the majority of Celestials, an artificialGod. It was made so that the endless and pointless wars of the universe be stopped, or better yet, just be balanced. Eden (Earth''s real name) is dying. Because of Deity politics (yes bitches, they have those as well, haha), the humans are blamed though we were just pawns for their games. Well, who can blame them as the humans with more power and influence don''t help to make the world a better place. (I will include this in the stories but that would be in chapters 100-200, I''m just giving ya a taste. wink) I will not specify other information as not to spoil you guys of the plot twists and all that shit. this story is also about clashes of multiplepoints of view. About morality. About ambition. About what it means to be human. And most of all, about fuckloads of fighting scenes. hehe, hell yeah. Narration: It often will coincide with the MC''s thoughts. And I have no intention of changing that because that is my style of writing. Crude, assertive, with inappropriate language. I''mtrying to convey my thoughts the only way I know how. If that''s not your cup of tea, them my bad. It will not be my fault if the readers are a bloody good shoes and bitch about it. It was written in the tags that my work will contain profanity. Expect all of my incoming chapters to be in that same style. Deal with it (Damn it how do you put the emoticon with the sunglasses is it B) ? hahahaha) AGAIN. this is just my opinion and should you criticize, please do so! to make my fiction more awesome, you readers and your criticisms are much needed hahaha please don''t be offended in this highly triggered internet generation. MC characteristics: IT DEPENDSon who''s point of view is active. I will not explain here his past, background, his personality, his family. Cuz it will spoil the story. I''ll add it later on so please exercise patience, they will be mentioned. Don''t Judge him yet after reading the Prologue. Guuuuuuuuys, the prologueis till chapter 10 hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha 1-10 (the escape, planning and building anew) longest fucking prologue ever. the flow here is quite slow but will pick the pace up after chapter 10. 10-20 (the training, the deaths, the whatever comes to the author''s mind) 20+ travelling 50+ the wars 100+ God WarsA case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Grammar and all other shit: I''m not done editing! hahaha pls give me a leeway here T-T STATS: The stats are not intangible! they go up and down based on the person and his experiences. children all have 1 to all stats which increases the more they mature. when they got sick, the vitality and endurance stats will decrease. This is also true when a dude gets amputated (-dex/ctrl -Atk speed or movement speed etc). When they got old, the stats decrease till 1 and then they die. Bast''s initial stats:
Str. 4 (+3+10) End. 4 (+3+5+10)
Vit. 3 (+3+1-1+10) Def: 1 (+3+10)
Agi. 7 (+3+1+10) Ctrl. 12 (+3+0.5+10)
Int. 19 (+3+0.5+10) Wis. 5 (+3+0.5+10)
As you can see, his stats are so-so. To be blunt, he has high int cuz he''s smart. it can''t be more obvious than that. His stats are the normal stats of an athletic 15 y/o male. You can see the additionals, right? That''s due to his THREEtitles. He killed a level 200 boss for hell''s sake. He deserved those titles. You can see the [E] and [UE] equip and unequipped options. It means that even if unequipped, he will still receive the [UE] effects. if [E], he''ll receive both.
Reckless Pioneer [UE] +3 all stats -5 int wis -1 vit lck [E] +0.001 to all regen
Slayer [UE] +10 all stats [E] +20% all stats and dmg +.05 all regen +resistance against divine influence
Idiot Opportunist [UE] +5 int wis +2 lck -1 vit [E] +50% drops +10% lck
Get it? He''s not that OP at the start. He was just fucking lucky (that idiot, lol) the other stats will have some increase or decrease based on the situation. For example, if Bast survives a death experience, his LUCKstat will be at its maximum points. but it can decrease if he finds himself in shitty situations and the points may stay that way for a while. This is also true for other stat. If He''s Poisoned, his Ctrl, Agi, End and Str may decrease too. Titles are rare and must be earned, even Gods have at most 15 titles. Vitality (1:10 hp) + (Ave. of Str.+End.+Def) divided by 3 ex. Vit= 4 (40 hp) Str= 6 End= 4 Def= 2 6+4+2= 12 [1st ave.]12/3= 4 [ave. of vit and 1st ave.] (4+4)/2 = 4 Total : 40 HP Int.= 19 (190 IQ) but can be capped putting points in Intelligence gets difficult per cap first Int. cap: 10 (1:1 point) 10 (100 IQ, 1:1 point) 15 (150 IQ, 1:5 points) 20 (200 IQ approaching Max Cap 1:10 points) so here, you can see that the Mc is quite intelligent but acts stupid because his worldly views are shattered, unexplainable things are happening and only due to the narrator (yours truly) that he is still sane and functioning. lmao MP: average of Wis. + Int Stamina: (Ave. of Str+Vit) added to Endurance, then get the ave of that as well so divided by 2 (((str+vit)/2) + End) Regeneration: HP: initial: (holds true for all humans) 0.0001 per second in short, a normal human can regenerate 8.64 Health points (per 24 hours) in a day. regen can increase per 2 Vit. by 0.0001 regen can also increase per .5 End hp by 0.0001 MP: initial: (holds true for all humans) 0.0001 per second STM: initial: (holds true for all humans) 0.0001 per second same with mp and stm., Bast has many additional regenerations from skills and titles. Note* when computing for Bast''s regen of stats, please also include his title and passives from his skills. don''t just compute it based on what is there. I haven''t put enough information to all his skills did i? The MC is not OP. He doesn''t have any offensive one hit kill skills. His Weapon is the one that''s OP. The weapon is from a level 200 monster. the only way he''s able to wield it is because he created it. All his skills are escape skills that need a fuckload of mana or stamina. His skill sets are not meant for him. he can''t use one of his legendary skill set that is meant for a female with a good voice. And from some of his legendary skill sets, he can only use 1 of each. What makes Bast Monstrous is that he can teleport and swing his glaive so fast, you''ll be riddled with poison, corrosion, and curses in a blink of an eye. His teleport skill consumes mana based on the distance. so he can only use them a couple of times, maybe only 3x a day. yep. the blink spell has no cooldown. that''s why it''s a legendary tier. there maybe more that I haven''t mentioned or just forgotten. feel free to comment them on the comment section so that i can justify it Good day! 8. Party of Four 8. ¡°SEBASTIAN STOP!!¡± The dagger was feeling the thin skin of the archer¡¯s neck, a thin line of dripping blood tainting her shirt¡¯s lapel and was reflected by the three moons¡¯ light. Her face, drained of color was indicative of her and the boy¡¯s dire situation. Should Bast choose to end it here and now, just a small vibration is enough to sever her external jugular vein. The blood loss would be enough for her to die. It was the same for the boy. Should they move a finger, or breath a bit more loudly, or show just a hint of killing intent, Bast would no longer hesitate. She will die. Both of them will. ¡°Evelyne sis, what are you waiting for?! Use this chance to escape!¡± ¡°Eve! Get out of here now!¡± ¡®Eh?¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± As if he¡¯s connected the dots after a long time, Bast finally solved the riddle of the situation. As to why they were being followed by these two humans. As to why they attacked first, misunderstanding the circumstances. As to why Evelyne showed a face of surprised familiarity. It was obvious. Bast felt rather stupid, and a wee bit annoyed. The Boy was wincing. With a broken wrist, multiple cuts, and a dislocated shoulder, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the pain he was feeling and the helplessness of having his own weapon being held, pointed deeply against his back. The Girl with the sick bow skills was in the same state. But both can¡¯t complain. Anyone who was sneak attacked like that would, without a reasonable doubt, retaliate with everything they got. Bast was left with little option for negotiations as time wasn¡¯t on his side. No explaining can be done in a moment when fatal assaults aiming to kill just suddenly go your way. Both were highly skilled and lounging not to incapacitate, but to execute him. And he isn¡¯t the type to explain, lest give an excuse for anything. In fact, He is not one to talk at all. They were somewhat both lucky and unlucky that it was Bast they chose to target. Unlucky that they chose him as prey. Luckily, he showed mercy. Somewhere deep within him, Bast was secretly grateful that he did not kill the two. The two proprietors knew of Evelyne, perhaps even more than just an acquaintance. Probably a friend or a relative. It was the same for Evelyne, showing signs of being accustomed with the two. As to why they were following them, he made a few theories. One of which is that when Bast was running, dragging Evelyne along, the two thought she was being held against her will. It was further strengthened with the fact that he dragged her away and shoved her forcefully towards the engorged roots that looked like a prison. It was their cue to attack. Had Evelyne intervened a bit later, they would¡¯ve met a tragic fate. ¡°Bast, let them go! They¡¯re my closest of friends. LEX. REI! Thank God you¡¯re both okay.¡± ¡°...thought so.¡± Tears slowly formed in Evelyne¡¯s eyes and Bast¡¯s resolve weakened. Most men since ages past were feeble to weeping maidens. Bast was no exception. She was a damn fine one. He relaxed his grip and sent them both on the ground roughly. Even though they were her friends doesn¡¯t mean that they can get away from almost killing him. He was still pissed but decided it was not worth spilling their blood. Evelyne used this opportunity to run and hug them both. After a short while Evelyne explained her situation and both of them understood. She was now healing them both and was trying to heal Bast but, he just shrugs her off. His regeneration is far too immoral to the point where it won¡¯t take a day to make a full recovery. Instead He just sat down with eyes closed and tried to meditate. Meanwhile she continued her story to her friends. ¡°EH?! You two know each other? I thought he was gonna rape yah or something!¡±
Amanogawa Rei
Lvl 9 human
¡°Idiot Rei! Bast saved me from that shithole of a dungeon. It was already written in the stars that we would die that day. The giant rats had question marked levels and was surrounding us from all sides and even though Sebastian could always escape on his own...he¡­he still saved me.¡± As if pondering why Bast saved her, Evelyne wore a blank but confused expression. ¡°I see. And the others? Eve, where are all our classmates?¡±
Alexia Brenn
Lvl11 human
*sniff* ¡°They d-didn¡¯t m-make it.¡± *sniff* ¡°I see.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Yah. Lex and I, we kinda misunderstood the situation yah know. I¡¯m really, err, sorry Mr. Bast.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­He doesn¡¯t talk much Rei. I know, don¡¯t ask.¡± ¡°Seriously though, we almost died yah know! He was too fast and can also teleport. What the fuck did he kill to obtain a teleport skill?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t say.¡± *sigh* ¡°Obviously.¡± ¡°Obviously.¡± ¡°Anyway, where were the both of you when the apocalypse struck? When we tried to get to the stadium range, we can¡¯t find the both of you. We were worried but we decided it was best to hide underground and wait it out. The monsters everywhere were also panicking. There was something in the air, like some energy that was creating chaos and shockwaves all around and-¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ah. Yes, we know of that Eve. That¡¯s why we escaped early on in the first place. We didn¡¯t know all you guys are going to surprise visit us at the competition so we immediately evacuated. But with all those commotion, we were separated from the others. There were two giant monsters. Bigger than the rest and as large as buildings. They were releasing this kind of energy or something that was so frightening. I even saw some humans and monsters that were closer were disintegrated by that transparent energy!¡± ¡°Yah dude! It was only ¡®cause we were so far away from the fightin¡¯ that we saw clearly what happened. The two monsters were fuckin¡¯ pummelin¡¯ each other. It was so epic like a game boss fight yah know. Anyway, me an¡¯ her were shocked when we started killin¡¯ dem monsters. I thought I was in a game yah know!¡± ¡°Yes. We were shocked too. Mine¡¯s a forest wisp. What did you guys get?¡± ¡°I killed a cow sized sparrow. Amanogawa-kun here kill-steal a dying black hellhound the size of a car from a mob of acidic slimes.¡± ¡°Hey! It tried to bit me yeah? Even though it was already dyin¡¯! ¡®Nyway after that all hell breaks loose and people and monsters both were fleein¡¯ from them city. The fighting of that big ass snake and flying vulture was becoming more and more dangerous yah know. Me an¡¯ her thought we were in a fantasy dream yah know so we killed and killed the fleein¡¯ monsters till we met Mr. Bast¡­Ugh. ¡®Onestly it was only then I realized tha¡¯ death was really scary.¡± ¡°True. We thought if we died we would just wake up from the dream. It was only chance that I saw both of you near the river. My improved eyesight and a tracking skill allowed me to follow you two and we thought you were in trouble Eve so¡­¡± ¡°I see, I¡¯m sorry Lex. We were still high on nerves as we¡¯ve freshly escaped a dungeon. You suddenly attacking us¡­Anyway we should catch up more later. We were planning to go somewhere safe and elevated so that we can have much visibility of the surroundings but still hidden on plain sight. You guys should go with us. Bast! Is it okay if they come? Please?¡± Evelyn was doing the puss in boots eyes again. Bast was now understanding how dangerous girls were. Those cute and innocent and fragile ones are the worst of them all. Still, both of her friends sincerely apologized and seemingly means well. They can survive on their own, true. But it was still more advantageous to have them than not having them at all. Bast knew when he unknowingly decided to take Evelyne in, that he can¡¯t protect her all the time. With her friends here, he can be sure she¡¯ll be safe and Bast can continue with his training. And if by chance they were discovered by other people with bad intentions, a few more numbers can mean life or death. Sighing, Bast stood up without directly looking at her. He was also not interested in their stories or their past. What matters is that if they can protect Evelyne and not get in his way. It was now half past seven and darkness permeates the entire forest. He can now sense many dangerous presences lurking nearby. He has regenerated some of his health and stamina. It was now the time for the run and hide game. ¡°Follow me.¡± Bast sprinted without looking back. Evelyne was learning fast. She knew that if she doesn¡¯t catch up soon she¡¯ll be left behind. The two others followed suit. They were still confused if Bast had already granted them the permission to follow or not. But seeing the confident and determined look on Eve, they guessed it was okay. They ran for half an hour before arriving on a skyscraper-like giant tree. It was wide and lofty with lots of visible roots spanning a few kilometers at least. Only the upper half part has branches and the large leaves covered the upper portion, shrouding it in darkness and mystery. There are thousands of moving giant mushroom-like thingies surrounding said tree. When Bast tried to gauge if they were dangerous or not, the herd reacted inactively and were seemingly harmless. They passed through peacefully. The group found a deep spot under the tree and almost dropped dead from exhaustion and weariness after arriving. Bast tossed them food, drinks and clothes and then deeply examined the tree trunk covered in moss.
Fairy''s Oak Tree
Plant Its fluids contain a natural insect repellent. Monsters don''t like the smell of the tree as it makes them lose their appetite.
¡°Eat those and rest for a bit. Don¡¯t make too much noise and do not, under any circumstance, create a fucking fire.¡± ¡°Sir yes sir!¡± chimed the three. Bast was unable to hold back rolling his eyes. With a grin, he once again studied the bark, deepest and nearest the center of the tree he could find. He then began working. If the God¡¯s ever saw how Bast was wastefully using the basilisk spit, they would cry blood. Bast was unable to carve the tree using earthen means. The System strengthened tree was too hard to break or cut. It was only by using Ormr¡¯s fangs and basilisk spit did the cutting became as easy as cake. First, Bast fashioned a human-sized secret door. By carefully removing the bark that was shaped like a door, the flesh of the tree was revealed. Bast brushed it with the feathers covered in chicken spit and let it corrode the wood. Using Apophis to carve the softened wood was ill-advised so he once again used the other small fangs to do the job. Durability dudes. He gave one to Rei as the skinny-looking boy wanted to help as well while the two ladies bicker. They were working like miners. As Bast chips the walls, Rei wheelbarrowed the debris outside. When Bast saw the two ladies finished eating, he assigned them to dig a trough for the wooden debris. He doesn¡¯t want others to know that they have a secret place here and it would be so ever obvious if wooden rubbles are seen outside. The debris should be buried and covered with dirt. All four of them were now cautious as fuck after experiencing what happened earlier that day. They made the passageway reedy. The narrower, the harder for large ass monsters to enter their safehouse. It was Alexia¡¯s idea to make the passageway curvy and not straight. It was a good idea, so that peeking eyes won¡¯t be able to know immediately what¡¯s inside. The wood was also sound absorbing, which was good. Bast was nearly shouting while giving his orders as the people outside cannot hear a word he¡¯s saying. After building a large and deep pit on the side, Evelyne also helped by floating her orb of light inside to increase the visibility. It was really unnecessary as Bast literally has a hardware shop in his possession. He used glow dyes on the walls to brighten up the place. It was not surprising that the battery lamps were not working but at least the traditional oil lamps do. Evelyne¡¯s orbs can¡¯t even last a few seconds. She was already drained from earlier and her mana regeneration was not as good as his. The passageway now was s-shaped and many meters deep within and towards the center of the tree. Bast made six rooms. The largest was the lounge for all of them to use. It was circular in shape and as large as a forty-seater classroom. He also made two bathrooms and positioned it well in opposite ends of the lounge. The bathrooms were filled to the side with drums of river water that he collected in the afternoon. Bast also installed a tub, a toilet and a drainage for each of the bathrooms. They were dug and positioned in cascade to a downward root of the tree which has a hollow crevasse deep in the earth. A lucky find that can be made into a functioning sewer system which can also benefit the tree in the long run. Fertilizers dudes. Truly an ecological innovation. The other four were bedrooms, one for each. Each of them created their room to their own preferences. Like building in Minecraft or in Sims. After cleaning each room of dust and wood rubbles, Bast emptied his items from the mall¡¯s ¡°Home Depot¡±. IKEA can¡¯t be more be fucking proud. It was a quarter till three when the gang had finished decorating their new home. All the wooden rubbles were cleanly buried. They weren¡¯t concern much from the oil lamp¡¯s oxygen consumption or the lack of windows. Cause, let¡¯s face it. They¡¯re living in a big-ass fantasy tree, supplier of a fuckload of free and clean oxygen. It¡¯s the dream. It was late and all of them were tired and sleepy. The kitchen room can wait tomorrow. They still must decide where the ventilation system of the smoke coming from grilling the food should go. But future Bast can think about it tomorrow. He was just done hammering the nails of the connecting metal of the bark-door and the tree. Proud of his creation, he positioned the covering moss to camouflage the outside and locked the door from the inside. He was done for tonight. He noticed his new companions were now sound asleep, not even bothering to lock the doors of their rooms. He closed them and got on his own soft bed. Surprisingly, they weren¡¯t shocked by his storage device nor the monster corpses peeking from it. They even worked harder, filled with inspiration and respect for him. Bast dismissed it as non-important. Even before the System, Bast never did care what other people think of him. It was now time for meditation, no more idle thoughts. Fatigue swiftly made Bast enter a sleep like trance, but his mind was still as clear as a newly polished glass. It was easier now to feel the flow of mana as minuscule amounts circulates his body and subsides once more in his mana pool. His chakra points are more pronounced now that his mana pool¡¯s in the low levels. His only goal for the evening is to memorize the number of points, their positions, the flow of energy, and sense the amount of unused mana that was being emitted away from his body. Time flew by so fast that Bast was awoken by a noise, sounding more like a synchronized mooing of ruminants. It was now seven in the morning and Bast was feeling perfectly well. He was well rested, All his health, stamina and mana points are in full. Even though he did not finish observing his internals last night, he was still happy with the skill. Not only it can make his mana larger and his regeneration faster, he was no longer required by his biological body the need to sleep. "View activity log"
Activity Log
You have learned the passive skill Dodging![C] (N1) You have learned the passive skillAmbidextrous![U] (N1) Your Dagger Masteryskill increased in proficiency! (I7) ????????+11 Ctrl +5 Agi YourTrue Aimskill increased in proficiency! (N3) ????????????+1 Ctrl YourPhantasm[L] skill increased in proficiency! (N2) You have learned the passive skillPain Resistance![C] (N5) You have learned the passive skillHand to Hand Combat![C] (N9) ???+2 Str +1 Vit Your Sprintskill increased in proficiency! (N4) YourPrimordial Meditation[R] skill increased in proficiency! (N8)????+50 mana pool YourMana Manipulation[U] skill increased in proficiency! (I2)??????+20 mana pool +2 Wis
(tbc) Im back! I m b a a a aIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k k Early musing Bast was not surprised when he received the passive skill in dual handling. His grandfather deeply ingrained in him the knowledge of how to use both hands at the same time without favoring one or the other. The slight advantage it gives obscures his moves from enemies excelling in movement predictions and counters. A split-second indecision to guess his dominant hand would give him enough time to tilt the fight in his favor. For Bast, gaining the said skill makes little to no difference at all as he already perfected the skill even before the system. Except for the little bonuses it gives to his control stat, the System registered his already existing skill only as an acknowledgment to his talents. Talents. This was also a testament to the potential of humans to survive. There are a vast number of expertise humans excels at. Soldiers who constantly fought war in the frontlines would find themselves with greater efficiencies in their base willpower, battle instinct, survival instincts, and danger perception. Martial Artists and athletes would be even better at hand-eye coordination, dodging and counters, improved body performance, metabolism and endurance. Genius level people would love the notion of mana and its application in spell invocations, easily memorizing the new concepts and theories governing the laws of magic. Convicts would be susceptible to the powers of Qi (Aura) as they are more attuned to killing, transforming their dormant aura to something sinister, the baleful killing intent. Politicians would find themselves with heightened cunning, their shrewdness would give even the devil a run for his money. Bast proved his theory after observing his companions yesterday. Evelyne was a girl of renown attractiveness even before the great change. Now she was a showstopper, a woman with ethereal beauty. Alexia, the archer, was an Olympic level bow-woman. Her eyesight now was akin to a telescope which can pierce you from miles away. Had Alexia stayed far from Bast¡¯s detection range, he won¡¯t be her match. He would¡¯ve drop dead from her arrows. Alexia¡¯s boyfriend, Amanogawa, is the opposite of eye-catching. He might be good-looking if his long hair doesn¡¯t hide his face, but he¡¯s the type that you¡¯d easily lose sight of in a busy mall. After the System¡¯s descent, his presence became thinner that Bast struggled to find him even with all his presence detection passives. In short, talents would ever be more pronounced. And weaknesses would give a refined Achilles¡¯ heel. The good would be more saint-like and selfless. And the bad would be an embodiment of great evil. There are many more unmentioned unique traits, but Bast was more worried for the normal people. The normies tend to regress to their wilder, more primitive nature in order to survive. All records dictate that humans, if ever cut off from their normal lives with the descent of worldwide war, famine, and/or apocalyptic situations, would do anything in order to go back to how things were. And in doing so wouldn¡¯t care if what they¡¯re doing was right or wrong. Morality and decency would cease to exist for them. Most humans would be like lambs, dependent on someone who can save them from such misery and strife. All while hiding their inner wolves full of greed, ambition and viciousness. No wonder multiple religions were born. Humans need someone powerful and influential to guide them. Someone who can provide them all the comforts they desire. Someone who can give them security, away from the dangers of impending doom. Someone who they can trust and truly depend on. And Bast knew he cannot be that someone. For that someone would also be humanity¡¯s scapegoat, someone they can put the blame on if things go awry. Someone to direct their envy and hate. Someone to use and discard after getting what they want. Not all humans tend to be evil. But being forced to live in a harsher world, nobody would want to be the lone sheep that strays from the flock. Politics would lead them to internal destruction. All would tend to have one mindset, the rule of the society. They wouldn¡¯t allow for divergence. For the destiny of the solitary would always lead to one fate. Death. Bast had no intention of pampering humans. True, he wishes to save his race. But he will do it his way. The humans would probably make him a dispensable hero. Bah! He doesn¡¯t even want that. Humans defined such a title differently. They think being a hero is the same as being a martyr, a person dying for their sake, their own selfish benefit. A disposable chess piece in the board for the survival of the king. The sacrifice of one to save the remaining. No, he has another thing in mind. He would not be depended upon. He would treat them the way his parents treated him, with hard love. He will not lead them. He will only give them the foundations and from there teach them to stand on their own toes. Bast won¡¯t allow them to use him to their own benefit and would be decisive in his actions to deter other humans that brings trouble. He might shoulder the calamitous monsters but will never allow complacency and distance from danger, all in order for the humans to grow. It may sound haughty or conceitedly arrogant to proclaim the authoritative seat. But the potential of his skills, 2 legendary tier, 5 rare tier and a few unique and uncommon, and his titles would put him in the top spot. Taking a risk and killing monsters two hundred time your own level was no laughing matter. Before the System, he was just a docile kid. He avoids fights as much as possible and made lesser friends than most. Besides studying, regular jogging and not counting all the summers he spent in the Philippines with his lolo (Grandfather), all Bast ever did was collect and play games. His favorites were RPGs which were the best moments of his normal life. He did have girlfriends but they would eventually leave him, complaining about him being self-absorbed, distant and forgetful. Bast can¡¯t really blame them, he even admitted he loved playing games more than he loved them. He even had a gnawing thought that the relationship only lasted for a few more months because of the sex! But that would be utterly boastful and presumptuous. He was still a young teenager, still wet behind the ears and too distracted by other forms of entertainment. The idea never held much footing on his mind since then as he continued being nonchalant, detached from the world. But now¡¯s different. He knew he had a greater responsibility. One might argue as to why he cared less about saving his family as soon as possible but the thought earned him mirth and half a chuckle. He stayed far away from home when he decided to attend school abroad. His parents raised him well. To be independent and be virtuous to only those who need it. He was staying in his deceased mum¡¯s house, alone for two years now. Before cancer took his nanay (mother), he was the one who took care of her. She made him decent before passing away. His good for nothing tatay (dad) would be protected by his ever present step-mom, a direct disciple of a hidden grandmaster kalista, his dreaded old lolo. Furthermore, Bast¡¯s half siblings were staying with his lolo since then. For him that was forcefully trained only in the summer, how monstrous would his brother and sisters be when everyday would be hell training for them? Bast knew in his heart that they would be safe and sound, wherever they are. They are hardcore gamers as well, well more than him at least. The thought of Kezia, Viel, and John snickering madly while killing monsters using their family-style kali gave Bast the shivers.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Kali was not a restrictive martial art, it¡¯s an evolving one. It was not hindered by morals and restrictions of tournaments. Kali was never a sport to begin with. It was a tool to kill. To use kali as self-defense? Ha! Preposterous. You have the pussy, watered-downed version like arnis/ eskrima for that. Batons are great for giving bruises, but replace those with bolos (native Filipino swords) and long daggers? You¡¯ll only be able to block a few times before your whole arm gets amputated by continuous strikes that arrive five times per second. The true forbidden kali techniques are not taught to outsiders, specially foreigners. Only a select few families inherited it from the ancient clans even before the colonialization. The ancient cutthroat¡¯s killing art. And Bast¡¯s family unluckily inherited it. The forbidden Kali is less on defense, more on offense. It¡¯s a debauched and immoral way of fighting an opponent. Nobody would be honorable in a street scramble. If you don¡¯t stab, it¡¯s sure as hell¡¯s tits that you¡¯ll get knifed as kali masters are almost unblockable. Fast hand speed coupled with relentless dagger strikes forces one not to block but to evade, unless you wear armor all over your body. Other martial arts focus on wearing down the enemy, aiming for a knockout. Kali however, aims to kill, targeting the vulnerable spots like the heart, kidneys, liver, brain, joints, throat and eyes. When fighting a kali practitioner, don¡¯t expect to be sliced or stabbed just once. The scarier part is, this forbidden skill set is highly compatible to use with other martial arts such as crahgmaga, jiu-jitsu, muai thai and more. Nobody¡¯s saying that kali is the best martial art in the entire world, not even Bast. But no martial arts can compare with kali in handling knives and short weapons. No martial art can even compare to the swiftness of kali when used in face to face assassination. Smiling weirdly, Bast was amused when he was notified that his Dagger Mastery was already in the Intermediate 7. The bonus stats from the skill was highly welcomed. It seems pushing skills to the limits may present extra rewards. And talents were a lucrative source of stat bonuses. Primordial Meditation didn¡¯t disappoint as well. A few more months of abusing the skill would make his mana pool rival those of the mage profession. When learning the system skills, they would always start with Novice 0 (N0) and by repeated usage the System will decide what level you are with the skill. From novice to beginner to intermediate to advance to master and till grandmaster. No wonder Alexia¡¯s arrows came from impossible angles and shots that seems to curve. She¡¯s probably in the late intermediate in skills as well. The arrows also pack one heck of a punch! ¡°Status¡± Bast was boiling water the traditional way outside the treehouse while studying his stats. Three large stones held the boiling pot and dry branches were continuously shoved inside to fuel the burn. Bast knew the three would wake up late due to the stress of the events that transpired yesterday. He was made sure by the loudness of their snores that they would probably wake a little late for lunchtime. Perception +1 Willpower +1 ¡°So stats are not fixed. That¡¯s new¡± Bast mumbled while sipping a cup of coffee. Even though the stats presented in the notification table have a definite value, it didn¡¯t mean that Bast can harness the full potential of the stat. he guessed that there¡¯s a min-max value to a selected stat that rises and fall depending on the situation. For example, arm wrestling between two people with equal strength values in the status notification would not result to a stalemate. The one with the tougher muscle density and power control would win 9 out of 10 times. The stats are not permanent. Even sipping a coffee would temporarily increase Bast¡¯s perception and willpower stat for a couple of hours but would not appear in the status plate. This just means that the potential one has for the stat would get nearer the maximum potential to use the stat well. His way of living starting now would be just like in a game, with avatars represented by his real body. Knowing the small things that came with the System is never a bad thing. And the humans including Bast knew too little. Bast thought it was now the time to proceed with his plans. And for the plan¡¯s success, he would need the power of other people. He had a plan. Code name: Orgasm. Organize Reconnaissance Gather Adapt Survive Massacre After munching a cold hamburger, Bast left the pot with a lid and water outside. He also pinned a note on the back of the door saying ¡®heading out. left food. Stay hidden.¡¯ and did left a few cold rations in the winding corridor. He then started climbing the gigantic Fairy¡¯s Oak tree. He already (1) organized his activities for the day in his head. First, he would look for human survivors and try to (3) gather as many as he can before lunchtime. To do that he need a full (2) reconnaissance of the surrounding area to guarantee their safety but first he needs to survey the expanse by using the height of the tree as a vantage point. All this effort would be important if he wants to survive for the next few months. After a whole day¡¯s jogging, Bast met a number of survivors on the way. Some he had to save from trash mob critters that are more difficult to hunt than a mature lion. Some he had to restrain due to their violent reactions. Some are hungry, others thirsty. A few, completely given up and on the verge of suicide. Half of them resembled players, thinking that this world they¡¯ve been transferred to was a virtual reality game and seemed higher in levels comparable to Alexia and Rei. All of them, weary and guarded against Bast. Yet mostly, all of them agreed to his invitation. An invitation to a grand party. Bast lured them through the use of food as bargaining chip. Since the start of the apocalypse, humans now need to hunt for their own food. It has only been the second day, but by now, most of the fleeing humans are tired, thirsty and hungry. In order for his information gathering plan to work, it was only logical to invite the survivors to an all-expense paid banquet. Bast knew how to cook. He also had the tools for the job. He received varied reactions to his proclamation but all agreed it was better to check it out than wander into the unknown. For most, the food was their only motivation for going, but to the real survivors, it was the information exchange that will be held after the celebrations. After all, they could hunt their own food. Although it was scheduled the next day during dinnertime, most of the folks made their way to the assigned location, near the lake in the northwest. They were also notified by Bast to spread the word that he will be holding a party come the morrow. So as the survivors met more and more people, they continued to talk and bump into more. It was also convenient for them to gather in larger numbers. It would discourage predatory monsters to attack a larger number of people. It was already late in the afternoon when Bast went home to the treehouse. The flocks that he thought were moving mushrooms were actually enormous cuboidal sheeps. their wool were cream-white threads that imitates the shape of mushrooms at night when you¡¯re not attentive enough. Because Bast was now numb from the shock of the action-packed first day when the monsters descended, he wasn¡¯t surprised now by the sudden revelation. He was in fact, happier. If logic still exists in this world, these tame flock of sheep would give him fresh ample meat to feed a few hundred people. And he had a feeling the meat would taste amazing. His only concern was that he need to lure one quietly without the other sheep knowing. He saw how these little fluffs desecrated the large coyote¡¯s body the night before. These ruminants are savages when pissed. But with his increased intelligence, he hatched another evil plot. In a distance he observed another mob. From his observation from atop the Fairy¡¯s Oak he knew the territory of the titan hogs resides near. All he has to do is act like a bait. It was too easy. Bast was further convinced that these mushroom sheep are not to be messed with when he tried luring a truck sized mountain boar towards the sheep flock. Not even the thick hide of the pig can save it from the sharp curling horns of the elder ram. He also deducted that they weren¡¯t highly sentient as even though Bast was the one that lured the pig, he wasn¡¯t attacked by the herd. In fact, he helped killed the pig alongside the herd. Bast was now past the issues of human morality towards food. What he did was a lesser evil that must be done. You don¡¯t see humans feeling sorry when eating steak on their plate (except vegans). So was Bast. He felt nothing toward his scheme. Suck a cock Peta. Half a dozen sheep died when the Titan Hog charged. Bast was considered an ally as he can even pet the enormous sheepies without getting speared. The herd left after a few licks of affection towards their fallen brethren. Bast received a few licks as well. He took his chance when they departed to store all the bodies in his ring and covered the spilt blood with dirt to lessen the smell of death. One can never be too careful. He then decided to come home as his objective of the day was quite finished even though it was rather late. *swoosh* An arrow almost lodged itself in his thighs as he approached the Fairy¡¯s Oak. He doesn¡¯t have to guess the culprit as there¡¯s only one person, mad enough to attack him despite almost being killed by him in the past. The shot wasn¡¯t laced with mana nor the intent to kill which only made it harder to dodge. It wasn¡¯t worth taking revenge so Bast did nothing more. He almost killed her yesterday after all. Evelyne raced through the door when she saw Bast and decided to tackle him only to find herself hugging the cold hard earth. Bast obviously evaded. They weren¡¯t that close yet. And lower part of him would wake the fuck up if he let her hug him. Women are dangerous beings alright. ¡°Kyaaa~¡± ¡°Tsk. I missed again. Hey Eve, are you okay? Bast stay still will you?!¡± ¡°Umuuu~ my heels¡± Evelyne sobbed, clutching her broken signature flops. ¡°Yareyare~ Slippery as usual I see¡­Saw yer performance, ne~ if tha¡¯ ¡®terspatial ring of yers is as special as I think it is, we don¡¯t have to worry ¡®bout food for a year ne?¡± Now Bast was surprised. Amanogawa was standing just behind him, catching him unaware. His presence gets thinner and thinner by the day. If these two ever found out how to fully control their killing intent, and unleashing it only at appropriate times, they would be a force to be reckoned with. These two lovers were becoming more and more dangerous. Specially in their own territory. Bast would never fight them at night in the woods, even he would come to fear them there. But with Evelyne¡¯s presence, Bast was glad he doesn¡¯t have to duel them again. With these two as allies, he was more confident in hosting a feast full of desperate, instinct driven people. (tbc)