《New Player Confirmed》 Chapter 1: Beginnings Who knew this would happen to the world? Not me. A normal high schooler, I was ordinary, not sticking out from the crowd. My name was Flow, I liked what others liked, and therefore I played quite a few video games in my time. But how was I to expect what was on the screen, to become reality? I had just woken up, when a merry notification greeted me, seeming 3D in nature and made of blue energy it read. ¡°Welcome to Cognition!¡± [New Player Registered] [Displaying Current Statistics] Statistics; Health: 100 (100) Mana: 0 (0) Stamina: 50 (50) Attributes; Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 11 Vitality: 9 Endurance: 8 Luck: 10 Charm: 5 At first, I thought this was a prank, no way could this be real! My snarky remark was instantly crumbed as my hand warped through the blue text. The screen seemed to move with my eyes. The text size increasing and decreasing at will, whilst taking me off guard at first I managed to adjust quickly in time to read the next notification. [You have been chosen as your planet¡¯s representative.] [Initiating Teleportation Sequence] ¡°Wait, what!¡± My feet raced out of bed, grabbing what little I could, a watch, clothes and backpack, before a violent pull overtook me, ending with a resounding *Zum* as white light dazzled the room like a flashbang. When I had awoken I wasn¡¯t within my bedroom, blue grass is what my eyes were naturally drawn to, as I made a exaggerated effort to stand up. Several more notifications had appeared when I regained both my sense of balance and direction. [First traveller from planet Earth to leave solar system, calculating rewards.]Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. [Ability Gained, ¡°Minor Void Shift¡±] Level 1 [ |Minor Void Shift| Due to travelling outside of your original solar system, the void has taken a liking towards you, granting you the ability to shift positions within a 2m radius using 20 stamina. Ability will increase with level.] [Passive Gained, ¡°Pioneers Instincts¡±] Level ?? [ |Pioneers Instincts| Due to being the first of your race to receive an ability you are granted with the natural ability of discovery!] ¡°This is crazy!¡± My thoughts raced, this world, this system, was just like a video game! Looking down at my watch I could tell that I had been teleported at just over 9 a.m. ¡°If this world is just like a video game, that must mean. Oh damn, there are monsters!!¡± With this haunting thought running through my mind I pressed onward, I knew standing still would get me nowhere. However, the further I ventured the more I began to realise. This world was strangely similar to mine, with the exception of the odd critter picking up fruits having fallen from trees on the ground and a completely different colour palette. Of course I wouldn¡¯t try to eat the fruits regardless of how tasty and edible they looked, who knew if my body could process whatever was in them. Besides, I had packed a lunch a day beforehand which was ready and lying in my backpack. With this at ease I still couldn¡¯t help but marvel at life seeming to have grown in different yet similar ways to my own planet. Maybe worlds were connected at one point, however this idea seemed too far stretched to be plausible, how could everything be connected? The critters on the ground seeming to resemble lizards, came in a variety of sizes and colours, each preferring a different fruit from these characteristics. Regardless, what drew my attention away, was the notification popping up in-front of my face. [Passive Gained, ¡°Examination¡±] Level 1 [ |Examination| From excessive study you have gained the passive effect of increasing your ability to study living and inanimate objects. Intelligence will increase with level.] When peering at the lizards again I found that I could interpret parts of the body that I had before missed, it¡¯s scales seemed to overlap each other, potentially making a form of armour against heat and physical attacks. When trying to observe closer, ¡°Ahh! Dang lizard!¡± A small trickle of red liquid ran down my index finger, thus signifying the fruits of my efforts. With the yellow lizard seeming to think I got the message it went back on its journey to discover fruits, we parted ways. For I had my own journey to attend to. After about an hour¡¯s worth of walking according to my wrist watch, I came across a broken down town. The sign stuck plain and rotten as day above the gateway into the so called village read ¡°Loam Lake.¡± For a rundown village it definitely had it¡¯s perks, an only partly damaged house, a well and of course a blacksmith shop. Night-time was nowhere near approaching but it was always welcoming to be prepared in these situations so I decided to venture to the house. It appeared to be deserted, as evident from the lack of any furniture to speak of. However, with a working fireplace and a floor to sleep on it was definitely not the worst by far. I decided to search around the house as their could be valuable loot hidden, with all four gods of kleptomania fueling my endeavour, I began wilding searching the house until I heard a loud yelp from the corner of the bedroom I was currently searching through. This sound was the least of my concerns apparently as when I made to turn around a frying pan had begun to make its path toward my nose, this following by a cracking sound and vision turning black, I was safe to assume I had been incapacitated. When I came too, after what I could only guess at having been asleep, I saw a brown haired girl around the age of 19 holding a frying pan and looking the other direction. The ache on my face only seeming to get worse as time passed however, I made to get up. This regardless, was not the right decision. ¡°Ah!¡± the girl exclaimed, verifying to beat first and ask questions later, I was undoubtedly pummeled with a frying pan in bed. This was going to be a long day. Chapter 2: Rough New Life When I had finally come to I was laying down upon a bed. The sheets were clean and the time was what I could only assume as night. Whilst I had no understanding of the day-night cycle of this weird planet I was more than welcome to take a stab in the dark. As my eyes began to phase open I saw a girl sitting down next to the bed, I couldn¡¯t see her face but I could most definitely make out her dark brown hair. She seemed to have her face set down upon the bed, I had never been the best with social enigmas but it would seem that she had recently been crying. The reason I could only guess at, but regardless when I tried to get up I was hit violently with a large headache. ¡°A-are you awake?¡± I was startled at first but that soon began to fade as I gave a quick nod, this however turned out to be the wrong move as my head began hurting all the more chaotically. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about hitting you before, its just I didn¡¯t know who you are and this town has been deserted for a while. I thought you were a looter!¡± I could see her moist eyes begin to tear up once again. ¡°I-its fine, I understand I must have looked suspicious rummaging around your house, truth be told I thought this place was abandoned.¡± She made a quick wipe at her eyes and exclaimed, ¡°It is! Well at least, all but me.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave?¡± I asked unsure of the answer, ¡°This place seems like it would be low on food and well, sorry to say but you don¡¯t look like a hunter.¡± The girl shook her head, looking me up and down as I layed on the bed, ¡°T-that¡¯s why I need you, I have no food left, and the only place to get it is from the wild.¡± I began thinking for a quick second, afterall I had never attacked any wild animal, heck I loved animals! ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot to ask since I hit you, a few times but please!¡± How could I refuse a person in need, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Thus began the journey of wrong choices I made in this life. About two hours into our conversation I realised two things. One, the girls name was in fact Melody. Two, she apparently did not need to breathe, what I mean by this is that by the time two hours had passed and the sun risen, I had a far worse headache than what I could have imagined. ¡°Anyway, do you like flowers, I like-¡± Before this got any worse I decided to headout and find an animal to eat, ¡°Hey you remember when you were talking about your father''s sword, where was it exactly?¡± And with this small amount of information I decided to head out in search of food. Whilst I had never killed an animal before, and probably will do less than favourable at the task, I can be certain that I will eat today, one way, or the other. The forest was very different to what I was use to back on Earth as in contrast with the blue grass, the leaves of various trees were also tinged a dark shade of navy. However, what I considered most strange was that bark still maintained a dark brown colour. ¡°Hey Flow, why do you keep staring at the grass and trees?¡± I heard Melody ask in bewilderment. That¡¯s right, it must seem strange that I have been studying these things, ¡°Do you have any skills Melody?¡± ¡°Only a few I got after repeating the action thousands of times, why?¡± ¡°When I looked at these trees earlier I got a neat passive skill out of it.¡± I stated back, as I continued to examine the insects on the trees. [Adult Tree-Hopper] [Description; A widely seen insectoid that uses leaves for nourishment. They are largely hunted by Ground Spiders for food.] It seemed that using Examination on it will give me information, maybe it can be upgraded by increasing my Intelligence. ¡°Wait, you got a passive skill from just looking at trees a few times?!¡± Melody exclaimed back in shock. ¡°What? How long would it take you normally? Surely it isn¡¯t that bad.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I could barely hear Melody whispering under her breath, ¡°a year or two¡­.¡± This realisation ended the conversation for a while, since we were both very hungry we decided to just focus on finding something to hunt. But when roughly 30 minutes had passed I couldn¡¯t keep my mouth shut, ¡°don¡¯t worry Melody, I¡¯m sure you will get a passive skill soon, maybe it is based off what you are interested in.¡± ¡°I doubt that, my father had taken me to many tutors to try and learn skills, it was hard for me, no matter what I tried.¡± ¡°Well, if you want, I could teach yo-¡± It took my brain too long to think about, but out of the corner of my vision I saw a hand swiping at me. My head was racing ¡®what the hell am I going to do! It¡¯s moving so fast.¡¯ The golden paw made its way towards my eye, till I saw the world go black. It was cold, so, very cold. When my eyes opened I was surprised to see my body still intact. However as I gazed over at my hand I saw a dark black, that was encompassing my hand begin to crawl back to the tips of my fingers. Finally leaving as soon as it had appeared. The first thing I noticed was a distinct lack of breath, I was struggling just to breathe, whether from the extreme cold or the lack of oxygen, I felt as if I had been drained. After regaining my sense of balance I heard a high pitched scream, it seemed to be coming from behind me, I turned around to see a golden lion with a mane of red. The lion wasn¡¯t looking in my direction, it seemed to be scratching the ground, looking for something, or someone. I knew this chance wouldn¡¯t come again, I had to stop this lion, I had to¡­. I grabbed Melody¡¯s hand, ¡®I can¡¯t bloody fight a lion are you crazy!¡¯ I asked myself. I sprinted off into the forest with Melody, back to Loam Lake. I ran, I just ran, but no matter how much or how hard I tried I knew I wouldn¡¯t get away. The second I had made to run with Melody I hadn¡¯t gotten very far till I could hear a distinct growl emerging from behind me. The lion was catching up, it was too fast, there was no way we were going to outrun it. When these thoughts of despair gripped me it faltered my steps, ¡®maybe I could let Melody go, that will save me right?¡¯ My hand began to slip, my thoughts went elsewhere. ¡®Wait¡¯, I thought to myself, ¡®now is not the bloody time to be thinking that, get your head back in the game Flow!¡¯ But it was too late, Melody had been taken from my grip, I didn¡¯t notice until now but she had tripped, had been screaming for help. ¡°Wait, Melody I''m coming hold on!¡± I turned back, the lion was already practically on her as it made to swipe at her with a single paw. I darted faster than a arrow from a bowstring as I made my way towards Melody, the lion was a looming figure but I had no choice. Unsheathing the sword from its holster, I made to attack at the lion, this time I wouldn¡¯t hide away. The sword cut smoothly into the lion¡¯s neck, I don¡¯t know whether it was from blood or exhaustion but I ended up having a hard time keeping my eyes awake. To hear an animals bloody screams, is something I never wanted to experience. But I was given no choice, it was him or me. [Rewards for killing Monster Class D |Crimson Lion|] [Calculating] [Strength Gained, 2.21] [Agility Gained, 3.56] [Endurance Gained, 2.45] [Passive Gained, Swordsmanship |Common|] Basic Level 1 [Allows the user to more effectively wield the sword in combat, granting bonuses to form and ability. Strength and Agility increase with level.] [Displaying Current Statistics] Stats; Health: 100 (100) Mana: 0 (0) Stamina: 60 (15) Attributes; Strength: 12 Agility: 14 Intelligence: 11 Vitality: 9 Endurance: 10 Luck: 10 Charm: 5 Abilities: Minor Void Shift |Rare|????Level 1 Passives: Pioneers Instincts |Exotic| ??Level ?? Examination |Uncommon| ??Level 1 Swordsmanship |Common|??Basic Level 1 As me and Melody walked back to the village, a trickle of blood seemed to follow, we decided it was best to cut off a piece of meat from the lion instead of carrying the entire corpse. Sure it was a waste of meat, but I believe I speak for both of us when I say we were too tired. It took a while to get the fireplace going however a few slashes of the flint with a sword and the job seemed to be done, I left the cooking to Melody whilst I went upstairs to lay down. I couldn¡¯t imagine life like this as ordinary, or what these people have gone through to think that a lion as strong as that could be normal, the thing was literally strong enough to break trees, I know because I was the guy with Examination. Fighting monsters like that sounds like straight out of a fairy tale, and I have no intention to be a courageous knight. ¡°Hey Flow, the meat is ready.¡± Melody called from downstairs, after a quick meal without much talking we both had decided to head to bed, ¡°U-Uh Flow, sorry to say but I only have one bed¡­ The rest are broken. I-Its fine I will just sleep on the floor.¡± ¡°Stop Melody, it''s okay, I¡¯m more than happy to share, if anything I should be sleeping on the floor since it¡¯s your house, so hurry up and get in the bed so we can sleep.¡± Suffice to say, it was a pain getting to sleep, but I managed. Chapter 3: Dark Basement When I had woken up, I could feel the lightness of my body, it was hard at first. It seemed I could move around 1.4 times faster than before and due to my increased Endurance it felt like I would never run out of energy. This feeling, would be intoxicating to a select few. ¡°Hey Flow? Whatcha¡¯ wanna do today?¡± Holding my index finger to my cheek as I sat down on the bed I contemplated going to a new town. But it would be impossible to make it in my current condition, I am far too weak and the monsters are way too scary for my liking. ¡°I don¡¯t know, let''s just go with the flow.¡± I think it was about this time that Melody had decided to just sleep in, however I decided to carry on and search the house. From broken utensils to cheap smashed up furniture this house was pretty abandoned. After searching all I could a sudden epiphany hit me, why don¡¯t I search the other houses! With this knowledge my search area had broadened drastically, I ever so wanted to visit the small makeshift blacksmith shop however I saved that for last, assuming it would have cool gear. The first location I happened to search was the church, thinking it would have gold or some other valuables there I could plunder. I was met with disappointment however as when I entered the barren chapel, what filled my gaze was run down tapestry and broken, tinted windows lying scattered on the floor. However from previous experience I always knew that there was a secret trap door hidden in a church. From attending church every Sunday with my family I learned that there was a secret compartment hidden just next to the altar at which the priest would speak. To my surprise and encouragement I found a golden chest hidden under the floorboards, taking it out I could only assume that it had been locked away for a long time as I made a graceful effort to blow away the dust only to choke soon after. Tracing my fingers along the golden trim outlining I found alchemical engravings traced, using Examination I found that they had been used to seal what was ever inside, however these effects had decayed over the years. I could practically feel my hands trying to force this chest open, my curiosity unquenched I began to open the lid, inside the chest. Was a dark scratched mask, no holes to see through as it only outlined the most basic features of the human face. ¡°A blank slate for a mask if I ever saw one.¡± I muttered to myself, I fully opened the chest to gaze at all its contents however the mask had only come with a note. Sadly I was not proficient in the languages from this planet and the markings only looked like oddly shaped scribble to me, I decided to hold on to the note, in case it came in handy for the future. Gazing at the mask once more I began to admire how artistic it looked, like it was a work of pure perfection unlike any other. I was determined to show this to Melody, and raced back to the house. ¡®Surely she isn¡¯t that mad with me for the pun, is she?¡¯ You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. When I had opened the door to the house I raced up the bedroom, shaking Melody awake I shouted at her, ¡°Melody, Melody look at this cool mask I found,¡± I began to put it on, ¡°do I look good in it.¡± ¡°F-Flow, are you alright?¡± Melody asked, concern clearly in her voice, something was wrong. ¡°What do you mean am I alright? Take a look at this cool mask Melody.¡± I exclaimed back at her waving my hands around whilst pointing to my face. ¡°Flow, you have no mask in your hands or on your face, you just walked in empty handed.¡± Melody¡¯s shocked expression couldn¡¯t help but turn a tint darker. I began to reach towards my face, however all that grazed my hand was flesh, I was sure I put the mask on but it seemed to have disappeared. ¡°M-Melody, just uhh, forget what happened. I think I just need to go to sleep or something.¡± ¡°Are you sure you are feeling alright Flow? If this about the pun, and you are trying to get back at me its fine, I really don''t care that much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that, it¡¯s nothing I just lost my head for a second I guess.¡± I wasn¡¯t able to look at my face during the moment of realisation, however I couldn¡¯t help but know that Melody¡¯s had turned pure white when I first touched my own face. The silence didn¡¯t last long however as I told Melody that I would be back to sleep after searching the other buildings, nothing of note was found in the other townsfolk houses. But regardless I kept on my search, haunted by the mask I decided I wouldn¡¯t be so reckless and use Examination on anything before touching it. Taking out the note I decided to Examine it once more. [Warning Letter] [A letter written in the ancient script of Cardish, it mainly describes the mask and what harm comes of wearing it, and to the person who wears it.] Whilst Examination does not do much to tell me about what the mask actually does, it at least fills me to relief and sorrow that I am not insane. When I had finally arrived at the blacksmith shop I was excited to see the sign outfront, I had never actually been to a blacksmith shop before regardless I could tell from the furnace that this was not recently used, it begs the question of how old this village actually is. As I made my way through the shop I could see on the racks that most of the weaponry had been taken however the odd rustic sword did lay on the ground covered in blood every 12 or so paces. The further I walked down this shop the more I was able to see, but as I proceeded further along I saw a single necklace lying on the countertop, it was covered in a bit of blood. Moving forward cautiously I used Examination on it only to find out it was an ordinary silver necklace. Picking it up I began to inspect the engraving on the side, it was in Cardish, however I could understand it. I was able to make out bits and pieces of the words. ¡°T-To, Mel? To Melody? From someone.¡± This was all I could make out, I had no idea who it was from but I assumed it was from a family member, either way I should give this back to Melody when I returned home. When I had left the blacksmith¡¯s workshop I noticed a distinct smell in the air, a wisp about the scent. The sky was unusually black as well, it was only 6:30 there is no way tha-. It was smoke, coming from the house. I could hear a scream and I began to sprint. My body moving far faster than it normally would began to move at a breakneck pace. As I narrowed and turned the corner, dodging obstacles in my way I saw it, a group of 30 men, carrying torches and lighting up the house in ash. Chapter 4: A True Sin I couldn¡¯t believe it. The house was all but charred and cindered as the smoke never faltering to move, rose up into the clouds. My breath was ragged. I saw them throwing the last of their torches on to the house as they made off carrying something, or someone. ¡°Damned this witch for bringing those beasts upon us!¡± ¡°She purposefully left that beast unburied to lure others!¡± ¡°Burn the witch at the stake in our town!¡± I could hear their chants cry out into the night sky, however my vision only searched for one person. Within their grasps I could see Melody, they were going to take her away for something I had done. For something I did! I began walking towards the crowd, my legs tumbling and tripping on the burnt black wood on the ground. How could anyone just watch as they do this to a friend! My only thought was to just lay there and curl up into a ball of sadness and self grief. But that¡¯s when I first felt it, a heat on my face a feeling I had not felt before. I couldn¡¯t describe it, the hate. Whatever I was experiencing before was but a drop in an ocean compared to this. My eyes darted to the crowd. ¡°...¡± ¡°...OH god!¡± Flow stood there, above the corpse of a deceased villager, his eyes and face shielded by the mask. The village did not know what type of mask had no features however they couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge the red glow appearing from behind it. Standing still like an emotionless statue, the villagers felt the sheer hate exerting from him as a pressure, weighting each of them down as if they were underwater. Flow acted differently, moved differently, his movements erratic and jagged as he lunged from one person to another tearing through them like parchment. Teleporting frantically villagers couldn¡¯t keep track of his movements let alone his attacks, Flow seemed not to care for the expenditure of stamina as it seemed his stats had drastically increased from whatever the mask was feeding off. The villagers could not even scream, for they had lost their voices from fright. The sword which seemed to dull against the beast in Flow¡¯s clumsy hands was used to its utmost perfection in the slaughter. Causing red lines to streak across those who appeared in Flow¡¯s line of sight. Whatever Flow had experienced his joy of life, and passion in the wilderness appeared to have disappeared. The previous fears he held so dear seemed to crumble and give way to this new emotion. When Flow had finally cut through most of the villagers he finally began to see it, Melody was trapped in a cage. Cuts and bruises lined her body, vile acts committed for a crime she did not orchestrate. The world turned a shade duller as Flow received a single notification. [New Passive Gained, Emotion Trigger] Level 1 [The user changes the world around him according to their emotion at the time, change is directly related to level of feeling and type. Intelligence will increase on level up.]Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. When Flow saw Melody in such a sorry state, his already livid nature began to undergo a new change. The shade under his mask began to tint a darker red and the ground began to heat up. The villagers stared in shock at the young man with brown hair, as the area around him seemed to combust bringing violent flames and embers from the Earth. ¡°P-Please spare us! Tell us how we offended you great magus!¡± a single villager spoke out, from either fear of his life or others he made a singular stand. Thankfully Melody had passed out at the time, but it was at this point that the man¡¯s head and body seemed to have traveled in opposite directions. The already startled villagers not knowing how to help the situation decided it would be best to run. Flow had tried his best to slaughter most of them however it was inevitable that some would slip through his fingers. As I stood above the grass I couldn¡¯t help but notice it wasn¡¯t blue anymore. Everything seemed to have been tinted a shade of orange, that is until I felt the mask on my face once again. I began taking it off only to find it was decaying within my grip, fading away to the sand. I didn¡¯t feel it leave my grip however I could tell that it was gone just after I had managed to use Examination on it. [The Sinful Mask] [This gluttonous filled mask is but one of seven pieces of clothing that have been left seperated, for those who wear this mask will find that parts of themselves enter into the mask to never return. In exchange the mask gives extraordinary power however prolonged use will leave the user without a reason to continue on their adventure.] As I finished reading the description on the sheet I couldn¡¯t help but be scared witless. Why had I picked up this scary and stupid mask? I hadn¡¯t wanted to admit it, but I couldn¡¯t help but noticing the stream of notifications in the corner of my eye. [Calculating] [Strength Gained,....] [Agility¡­..] To save time my stats broadcasted themselves without warning. Stats; Health: 120 (77.9) Mana: 0 (0) Stamina: 75 (30) Attributes; Strength: 16 Agility: 18 Intelligence: 11 Vitality: 11 Endurance: 13 Luck: 10 Charm: 5 Abilities: Minor Void Shift |Rare|????Level 1 Passives: Pioneers Instincts |Exotic|?? Level Na Examination |Uncommon|??Level 1 Swordsmanship |Common|??Basic Level 1 Emotion Trigger |Exotic| ??Level 1 My stats had gone up significantly, as I wondered how this could have happened I began to turn around, my throat suddenly filled up with vomit. It was indescribable the amount of blood and gorn spread across the trees like streamers at a party. Limbs and bodies rip in two, and crimson lining the clothing. However as my eyes swayed from the ground towards the carriage, I saw Melody, she had been locked in a cage. She was obviously hurt from the cuts and scratches on her. When I had hacked the lock off she still didn¡¯t seem to wake up, however this was fine by me as I picked her up, helped by my new strength I was able to carry her down the road. I couldn¡¯t go back, besides there being too many bodies, the house was sadly burnt down. That was all I could seem to remember as the rest went blank. I stopped at a small cave, hidden decently well by the trees, I managed to find it after a little bit of searching. Deciding to camp here for the night I grabbed some sticks and started up a fire, to my surprise and victory it seemed it would be raining outside, ¡°Seems like going into the cave was a good idea.¡± With the campfire roaring with its enchanting flames I proceeded to take some food I found on the carriage where Melody was caged and began eating. After a small meal and a mild rubbing of my hands next to the fire I picked a spot in the corner and fell into a deep slumber. Chapter 5: Adventure When I had awoken I was greeted by the sound of the rain tapping against the ground outside. It had seemed to be raining over night. Melody had apparently not awoken, but I proceeded to relight the campfire and eat some bread from the carriage. Judging from the villagers bringing food on their journey it was safe to assume it would take a long time to get to the town they were from. However, I was more than determined to make the trip. As I was consuming the bread my mind floated towards thoughts about the mask, I didn¡¯t feel different after it had been apparent I was wearing the mask from having to take it off. I could only assume that I lost my memories from the mask, or maybe from a large quantity of emotion. Either of which I could only guess at, but regardless I decided not to concern myself with objects I didn¡¯t understand. As it would do me little good to throw guesses into the dark. But what I did know was that my time on this planet was limited, as when I woke up on my 3rd day of living in this world, a notification had appeared in the corner of my eye. [Extraction from Planet C-36 will commence in 5 days.] [All players will return to their home planet.] This both proved that I was not alone, and that I was in danger. As the reference to players could only mean that this was some sort of a game. Not like I hadn¡¯t already assumed such, however, this was the justification for the assumption. Thus, I only had 5 days remaining to get all and learn all I could from this planet, before I left. I didn¡¯t know if I would be coming back, and this thought haunted me. This new world I was placed in still had so much to explore and I couldn¡¯t help departing from it for even but a second. The day was rough, Melody has still not woken up and I had begun growing nervous, ¡®what if she never wakes up.¡¯ I thought to myself, but it was fine, I would wait. Surely she would wake up at some point right? *Slash* *Slash* I had grown bored of waiting for Melody to wake up inside the cave, so I decided to test the rusty sword out on some trees in hopes I could get a skill or two. Turns out, it¡¯s exceedingly difficult to swing a sword, and even harder to get a skill from doing it right. But my determination was strong and my will never wavered for a moment, however from this experiment I did not get my skill, but learnt something worth more. A skill could level up! [Due to constant usage Passive, Swordsmanship |Common| has leveled up] [Calculating rewards.] [Upgraded, Swordsmanship |Common|] Basic Level 2 [Allows the user to more effectively wield the sword in combat, granting larger bonuses to form and ability, whilst also increasing damage regardless of hit type. Increase Strength and Agility on level up] [Strength and Agility + 2] This joyous occasion made me leap with joy as I had successfully upgraded a skill!A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. My joy however didn¡¯t go without notice as within the corner of my eye I saw Melody standing there, she didn¡¯t seem happy. I decided to make my way over to talk to her, she had to have been distressed over what happened. ¡°We should go our separate ways Flow.¡± Melody¡¯s eyes turned cold as she stared at me with intensity. ¡°Wait. Why?¡± I questioned, confusion clear in my voice and tone. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand, I''m not who you think I am.¡± Melody began exclaiming, ¡°The true is, is that I am a ghost. I inhabit people¡¯s bodies and the recent body I inhabited, was that of a witch.¡± I stood stunned, silenced. It made sense at least, the reason Melody had said that her father had tried to teach her many skills, there was no way a commoner could afford that luxury. ¡°I- Before I was a ghost I lived in a very rich family, my parents were never kind to their kingdom and all of the dark energy from those villagers transferred on to me as well. In the end I began a spirit, destined to walk this world forever until I found peace.¡± ¡°T-Then what about those villagers, they acted like they knew you.¡± ¡°Those villagers knew the body I inhabited, turns out the witch was the daughter of the village elder, so they let her live in a lakeside village. However, when we left the Crimson Lion to sit in the forest, it attracted beasts of even higher rating to eat its corpse.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± I stood there, staring straight at Melody, ¡°is that all the reason you have for wanting to leave?¡± ¡°Flow, you don''t understand I steal people¡¯s bodies, they even die after a certain time period! Isn¡¯t that wrong?!¡± Melody frantically pointed out. ¡°I-I know it¡¯s wrong, but, lions don¡¯t feel bad about killing other animals so, as long as you need to do it to survive it should be fine, right? Especially if you are only doing it to evil people!¡± I had never heard someone cry so softly before, It seemed Melody had expected the worst result to come out of this conversation, however all that had happened was we got to know each other a little better. ¡°Just don¡¯t say you regret this choice down the line Flow.¡± Melody wiping her eyes, pointed out. ¡°Of course.¡± With the worst behind us we packed up camp and set out onto the road. There is nothing quite like being a wanderer in a foreign land. So many new places to explore, people to meet, and things to see. I could hardly find time for any of it in all this madness. As Melody and I walked down the footpath, the light dirt crumbling under our feet, we saw a caravan stroll passed. ¡°Afternoon kind sir and madam, may I take the pleasantries into knowing where you are heading this fine evening?¡± a gentleman like figure stepped out of the carriage, giving a light bow he spoke. Taking the lead I answered, ¡°we heard there was a city far out North.¡± Of course I had no idea the name of the city, but I found chapters depicting the local landscape in Loam Lake which helped me come to this estimate. ¡°Ahh, you must be talking about the famous city, Gartin.¡± The gentleman pointed out. ¡°Yes, I heard it has many, uhm, taverns! Yes taverns!¡± I explained. ¡°Well, indeed it does, I would be more than courteous to give you a ride if you so desire, the king is apparently looking for individuals such as yourselves.¡± ¡°Uhm, that¡¯s fine we will have to decline, after all the journey is more important than the destination, right?¡± ¡°Indeed, it is.¡± the gentleman smiled. I quickly made haste to bow to the man and go on my way with Melody, there was no telling what trouble that man would get us into if we were to accept his offer. ----- ------ ----- ¡°Oh, James!¡± The gentleman said to his coach master. ¡°Yes, Master Freble¡± ¡°Alert the king that a man wearing un-ordinary clothes is travelling with a female, heading into his city.¡± ¡°At once, sir.¡± James the Butler then seemed to take out a clear glass orb, holding it up to the sun the light seemed to become contained within the orb and then display a colour for the briefest of moments. ¡°It is done.¡± ¡°Good, I so would like to see how this fiasco plays out, don¡¯t you James?¡± ¡°Of course, sir.¡± Chapter 6: Turmoil At some point after looking at the ground, I began to notice that the roads became much more well crafted, eventually leading towards becoming gravel. Raising my head I saw a distant village, evident from all of the farming around the area, they seemed to specialize in agriculture. The town seemed to be populated by men of middle or old age. It was strange, when I entered this village I had assumed to see a number of kids playing but they were never to be seen. ¡°This place sure has a strict curfew. Haha.¡± I glance back at Melody. ¡°The villagers seem to be working very hard as well. It¡¯s clear to see that they are overworked.¡± Melody responded with her head low. ¡°Well, no reason we can¡¯t help them right?¡± Walking along I was searching for ideas to help these people. However what I couldn¡¯t help but noticing was the beggars on the sidewalk. These people, they didn¡¯t ask for money, they just held objects within their hands. I walked up to a young lady slowly, she seemed to be in a daze, as if she was glancing past the object in her hand and more so at the ground. ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± I asked the confused lady pitifully laying down on the ground. She had seemed to lose all hope, as when her eyes looked up and met mine. I saw the black void that had overtaken her. Gazing down at what was in her hands I saw a doll. It wore a pink dress with blond hair, stained, coated in dry blood it layed in her arms. The singular words she managed to mutter out of her parched lips chanted, ¡°S-She is gone, She is...¡± I had no idea this could happen to others, I had never experienced it first hand. I couldn¡¯t help but back up at what she was saying as she went back to crying with the doll still held tightly within her arms. Even my eyes began to water as I couldn¡¯t help but notice her harsh predicament. What had done this to her, how had it happened? Questions I did not ask, but hastily required an answer to as my vision began to blur. I had never experienced tears much, I didn¡¯t even have control anymore as my emotions seemed to blur into one singular thought, sadness. *Rumble* The once clear green sky, became rippled with dark grey clouds. The land once dry and dust, began to moisten with the downpour of water from the heavens. The water having fallen seemed to bring the crops alive as they began to grow at an exceedingly fast rate. Villagers looked up in shock at this marvel, for they had never seen a heaven so generous. All were rejoicing, but one. I sat alone with the lady, for we were the only two not changed by the magical rain. When the clouds finally parted, and the crops grown, I snapped awake. As if I had just awoken from a nightmare my body greeted me with an accurate response, I was sweating, my face drowned in what I could only assume tears. I didn¡¯t feel that sad all of a sudden, as if the illusion that had once taken control of me had broken. [Passive has leveled up!] [Passive, Emotion Trigger |Exotic|] Level 2 [The user changes the world around him according to their emotion at the time, change is directly related to type. Emotion is also multiplied drastically. Intelligence will increase with level up.] [Intelligence + 2] A village elder seemed to be searching the ground mysteriously, only to yell, ¡°Hah! You¡¯re the one who used that high level water magic!¡± His finger apparently directly pointed at me. ¡°I traced the magic back only to find it was in fact you who started this weather phenomenon. I can¡¯t thank you enough!¡± He began to get on his knees, crying out these words.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It really wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, I assure you I-¡± ¡°Humble, and powerful! Please, allow me to tell you of what you have really done, although I am sure you already know, to use such high level magic, that is why you are next to Madam Bares, right?¡± ¡°Uhh no I-¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, please come to my home, you must stay for dinner. We can talk more there as well.¡± He began to nudge me towards his house at the center of the village, I must admit it was far larger than any I had seen previously. ¡°You see, this village is under the ownership of a very powerful and tyrannical ruler.¡± The elder began to explain, as Melody proceeded to stuff her face with food from the table. ¡°You see the lord did not complete his master¡¯s request. In the master¡¯s anger he took away all of the lord¡¯s fortune, telling him to forsake his greed.¡± ¡°I take it that the ruler didn¡¯t fare too well with that.¡± Flow asked. The elder nodded, ¡°He took away the children of this village, telling us that we must grow crops in the next month if we want them back. That is why you helping us like that is so important, you have saved us!¡± With the endless shower of praise, and food we were able to find shelter for the night staying at the elder¡¯s house. He lived upon a hilltop overlooking the village, with the sounds of a gentle stream nearby and a midnight moon, we would be hard pressed to find a better place to sleep. In the morning however, all that could be heard from the village were songs of praise to the boy and lass that had saved the town¡¯s children. I wasn¡¯t against them singing the songs but the borderline worship that came from the gifts we received had me worried. I had to do something to keep my mind occupied from these thoughts, walking down the paved roads I noticed the shops strolling by, all aimed at selling jewelry and other accessories. Regardless, I continued down the path. I decided not to take heed from other villagers offering praise, simply smiling and saying hello seemed to do the trick. This cycle repeated until I wandered upon a humble shop with tinted windows and the smell of smoke. The sign outfront read, ¡®The Whimsical Witch.¡¯ It seemed to have been kept in good care, and was recently used, as I saw a man exit from the shop extruding a large amount of confidence within his steps. I began taking cautious steps to enter into the shop, as my hand touched the firm wooden door my ears were greeted with a loud *ding* from a bell. ¡°Coming in just a sec!¡± I heard a young girl¡¯s voice emitted from the other room behind the counter. After a series of glass cracking and books toppling over I went to go and check it out, however it seems the girl had already approached the counter. ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re the new guy! The one who made it rain, right?¡± ¡°Uhh, yeah I guess,¡± responding meekly. ¡°Can you tell me how you did it, please!¡± ¡°Actually I came here to see if I could learn a thing or two, or perhaps buy something? What is this shop actually?¡± ¡°Wait, could you not tell from the sign! I¡¯m the famous alchemist Pree, dang it!¡± She yelled out, fed up with my ignorance, ¡°I make potions you couldn¡¯t even comprehend!¡± ¡°Oh yeah, try me.¡± I claimed, of course I had nothing to back this up. But I thought I could learn something from watching her, and besides my Examination skill will give me a hell of a helping hand with comprehension. ¡°Alright, put your money where your mouth is pretty boy, however to make this potion I¡¯m going to require a few herbs from the forest out there. Sounds easy enough right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Heck, if you can tell me the potion I make, I will personally train you, how¡¯s that?¡± ¡°What if I lose?¡± ¡°Tsk, so negative. Well, just give me that sword or something, I don¡¯t know.¡± I gave a swift nod to the arrangement, even if I lost my sword I¡¯m sure I could buy another at the city I am travelling to, assuming I earn some money or something. I still couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how different the forests were compared to the planet Earth, regardless this love of nature quickly faded away when I heard the yapping of the 5 year old behind me. ¡°Do you even know what you are looking for?¡± ¡°Did you find it yet?¡± ¡°Look, if you can¡¯t find what I asked for then just give up!¡± I had been vigorously scanning the ground with Examination for the past hour looking for the herbs she mentioned. I had always come up empty handed I mean, just where the heck was I suppose to find ¡®Stone Root¡¯ anyway. *Rumble* The ground started to shake, the trees began to move and shake. I saw a certain green haired, girl being tossed across the ground like a ragdoll, and whilst this did give me some silence and satisfaction, that was only until I realised what had caused it. ¡°Rawr!¡± A giant landmass had risen from the ground, I believed my eyes to be deceiving me because it looked like a hermit crab, except for the normal shell it had a giant hill on its back. And it was charging at me! ¡°Oh, c#&p.¡± Chapter 7: Fruitful Encounter [Stone Basilisk] [A large animal that hides under the ground waiting for prey to enter its target range. It also likes to hibernate long periods of time, due to this a alchemic plant seems to grow on its underbelly known widely as |Stone Root.|] I barely had time to use Examination on the strange creature as I was forced to nimbly dodge away to avoid any fatal injuries. Taking a look at the Stone Basilisk whole, I began to notice that the stone it used to camouflage itself into the ground was incredibly hard. This was verified by the fact that as it began charging it lowered its head. Of course the charge had missed me if only slightly and as I made my way across I saw that the Basilisk had struck a large oak with its back. The oak, struggling under the concussive force of the monstrosity, began to violently splinter into two halves. The tree having been uprooted stood as a grim reminder to never get hit. As the creature began to turn around I noticed its slow turning speed, this alongside the fact that I knew I would not be able to run away. Allowed me to muster up the courage to attempt a swing at the creature. Sprinting at its still turning back, I ran like a gust of wind as I nimbly vaulted a top the Basilisk¡¯s back. Careful not to fall off I began to notice the small cracks found within the stone, raising my sword I swiftly struck down. My hit received purchase, however as my face took a sheepish grin, the sword bounced off of the stone with a loud *Ding!* My hands still shaking from the vibrations of landing the blow, were not able to hold on as the monstrosity began violently shaking back and forth. The Basilisk¡¯s ability to shake felt like a category 8 earthquake under my feet as I slowly began to lose my footing, even with my body slightly enhanced through stats. When I was just about to lose my balance on top of the stone, I felt a final large shake seal the deal as I tumbled off the creature. Landing safely, I spared a glance at the underbelly of the creature, only to my grim horror find a notification greet me after using Examination. [Stone Root] [A valuable herb that grows mainly underground and in caves, the Stone Basilisk find this a delicacy to eat and favour storing them for consumption later on their underbellies.] I made a desperate dash to dodge an incoming rock, having been launched from the Basilisk¡¯s back as a projectile. ¡®Maybe if I attack its underbelly my sword can pierce it?¡¯ I thought strangely, as I rushed to the creature attempting to dodge the thrown rocks landing either side of me. The Basilisk let out a large roar as he furiously stomped on the ground with his hind legs. *Boom* Jagged stones began to rise up from the very ground I ran on, they were closing in fast as I darted towards the beast. A slick slide saved me from the worst as I managed to make it under its belly, aiming to make this a quick visit my sword began to hack away at the creature¡¯s lower shell. Desperate slices sounded out on the battlefield as a purple liquid traced down the lining of the sword, a livid yell cried out from the beast, fed up with this maggot causing problems. The Basilisk began to shake the ground, causing pillars of stone to pierce the canopy of the forest. Hitting me square in the chest, the air left my lungs as I was launched back like a cannonball from a pirate ship. I barely had time to shield my eyes as my body crumpled into a tree, splitting it down the center and sending splinters flying as if they were debris. Luckily for my attribute enhanced body, and some saving grace points into Vitality and Endurance my body had grown strong enough to stand a hit such as this. However, I won¡¯t say it didn¡¯t feel like becoming a ragdoll. My deadened left arm hung loosely by my side, as my death grip on the sword only seemed to increase with my right. I noticed that Pree was mixing together a few plants she had gathered, however I took little notice of this as rocks were being thrown at me once again.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Making large efforts to dodge, I knew my health wouldn¡¯t hold out for much longer due to bleeding. To make one last ditch effort I tried something I really didn¡¯t want to do. Especially after reading books about people doing this, I assumed it was not going to live up to the expectations. I suddenly jolted towards the beast, running on what felt like pure fumes of consciousness, I through pure luck managed to make it within striking distance of the Basilisk. I felt a familiar chill overtake me, as with the calmness of a falling leaf, my body vanished. What was left of my vision I could only describe as slimy, foul smelling and repulsive to touch. I guess it was safe to assume this monstrosity had just eaten because I had found some stray rocks lying with me in his stomach. Lining my sword up I decided to make this a quick fight before the exhaustion caught up to me through the adrenaline. Cut after cut and blow after blow, I managed to implant my sword into every bit of flesh on this creature I could find hearing a high pitched growl, I could assume my efforts were making a difference. But with my muscles aching, the cuts I were inflicting began to grow shallower, giving this creature of such high vitality to withstand this punishment, some breathing time. This was not a luxury I was willing to give however as before the creature managed to vomit me back out, I had landed one last swing on what I could assume was a liver. Greeting the outside world, I was left in a pile of vomit and rocks as the creature, hanging onto life by a thread stared down at me. Preparing one last final blow to finish it. Knowing my and his end was to come, the Basilisk raised its front leg up, seeming to want to stomp on me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my final moments. Moments passed but I felt no pain, in-fact I heard another high-pitched shriek sounding from above me. An acidic substance seemed to be dissolving the creature, wasting away at its stone, rocky shell leaving it to but a husk of foul smelling goop. Seems a small innocent child was throwing bottle after bottle onto the creature, determined to kill it for good. She moved closer to where I was lying however I did not mind, but as my eyes began to close I felt a cold liquid go down my throat, easing the pain somewhat. [Successfully killed Stone Basilisk] [Calculating rewards.] [Strength...] [Agil¡­.] [Vit...] [Loot Gained, Stone Root, Basilisk Ring] [Basilisk Ring, An enchanted ring that is made from the stones of Basilisks living within the ground, due to the creature it was made from, it displays excellent durability and hardens the skin of the wearer.] [+ 5, Constitution] [Unlocked Statistic! Constitution] [Grants the ability, Stone Skin.] [Stone Skin, for 180 seconds the user¡¯s skin becomes much harder to pierce, causing weapon effectiveness of swords, and other blade type weapons to drop in damage by 50%. Also grants the bonus of 1.5 times the user¡¯s current Constitution when activated.] [Can only be used once every 12 hours.] [Displaying Stats.] Stats; Health: 150 (26) Mana: 0 (0) Stamina: 90 (6) Attributes; Strength: 19 Agility: 21 Intelligence: 13 Vitality: 14 Endurance: 16 Luck: 10 Charm: 5 Constitution: 5 Abilities: Minor Void Shift |Rare|???? ? Level 1 Stone Skin |Item, Uncommon| ??Level NA Passives: Pioneers Instincts |Exotic| ??? Level ?? Examination |Uncommon| ??? Level 1 Swordsmanship |Common| ??? Basic Level 2 Emotion Trigger |Exotic| ???? Level 2 When I had awoken, I saw the face of yet another woman, this time however she didn¡¯t try to hit me with a frying pan when I awoke up, rather she used her fists instead. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I wasted 3 potions on you! You¡¯re paying me back for this I swear it!¡± ¡®Great, another long day¡¯ I thought to myself, as my mind faded back into unconsciousness. Chapter 8: Alchemy Due to my vitality however, most of the damage had been healed by the time I had woken up. ¡°Hey Pree, are you here?¡± I managed to crawl desperately out of the bed, it seems I had awoken in a guest room, with the morning sunlight shining through the windows. [Two days are left until teleportation.] ¡°Good you¡¯re awake Flow. How are you feeling?¡± Pree opened up the door leading into the room, dressed in hard leather overalls. ¡°I¡¯m fine, you remember our deal right?¡± I asked smugly with a evil grin plastered clear as the sun on my face. ¡°Of course I remember our deal! You do have the Stone Root at least right?¡± She asked dismissively Reaching into the pocket on my jeans I grabbed the Stone Root, it¡¯s rough texture grazing against my skin, ¡°Yeah, yeah, just take it already.¡± After handing the ingredient over she beckoned me to follow her into another room. Not wasting any time I quickly followed her down a cheaply designed set of stairs, into what reminded me of a chemistry lab seen on modern television shows. A large set of beakers and flakes lined the shelves of the established room, filled with liquids of different colours. The instruments bubbled and steamed, brought to life by the apparent mistress at the helm. Pree nimbly moved over to the countertop at the center of the room, ¡°Here we go, if you are going to learn alchemy you should be familiar with your tools most of all. Take notes in your head, there will be a test afterwards.¡± After handing a set of utensils and storage containers she looked at me smugly, ¡°don¡¯t expect it to be easy either.¡± After a solid lifetime into the discussion, I could name roughly 60% of every piece of glassware in the laboratory and their functions. After the discussion, Pree then moved over to a table of ingredients, picking out a few she then gracefully moved over to a mortar. ¡°You have to grind up most plants and such for them to mix properly. Like this.¡± Studying the hand movements, I saw how she expertly handled each of the ingredients and placed them into a beaker. Placing it over a flame, she looked at me inquisitively, ¡°Did you get all that?¡± ----------------------- Melody had not sat idly by to let Flow have all the fun, in contrast, whilst Flow was out fighting monsters, Melody seemed to be facing her own battles.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I truly can¡¯t decide, blue¡­ Or red.¡± Holding up two identical bracelets, Melody struggled internally at which colour she would deem the most charming. ¡°What do you think?¡± Melody asked the man at the stall, he seemed to not know which to pick either, as it was truly a daunting situation for anyone. ¡°Hmm, if I had to bet money on it, I would choose red. It brings out your eyes.¡± The man pointing to the red bracelet affirmatively nodded. However this did not last long, as no more than 20 milliseconds had passed before he placed a hand on his chin stating, ¡°but I understand what you mean, blue does have natural attraction.¡± Turning around, Melody noticed a man dressed in a dark brown robe strolling by, ¡°Mister, which colour would you prefer, blue or red?¡± The man, slowly shifting to a halt, tilted his head at the girl in question. Eyeing her up and down, he simply claimed, ¡°Neither, green is the best colour that would suit a courageous lady such as yourself.¡± Raising this new hypothesis, he simply moved on, carrying on down the street where he vanished after turning a corner. ¡°Green he said?¡± Melody questioned in response, thinking ¡®why not¡¯, she said, ¡°how much for it?¡± ----------------------- ¡°Just a few finishing touches, and tada! A Low Grade Health Potion!¡± Pree yelled as she held a vial in her hands containing a murky red liquid, ¡°simple enough!¡± After trying to memorize nearly all of what took place to make this vial, it was anything but simple. My brain was relatively fried after watching the demonstration. It was unimaginable that she could remember this formula and many more without having a complete meltdown. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I hardly expect you to understand all of the steps I just did, even I know you are a novice at the craft, but I do expect you to be able to understand the plants I used and where to find them.¡± It made sense, alchemy was mainly reliant on plants, and you needed a good foundation to do anything. It was like solving a chemistry equation without the periodic table, impossible! ¡°Read up in this book.¡± Pree reached over to her shelves, grabbing a thick leather book from the racks. I barely managed to catch the projectile with my enhanced stats, she was clearly aiming to take my head off with that shot. It seemed to book was titled, ¡®Basic Knowledge of Flora and Fungi.¡¯ Reading further in I discovered that the book was written by a J.Capricot giving a small description that the man wrote this book on his travels. [Passive Gained, Enhanced Memory |Uncommon|] Level 1 [Enhanced Memory, The ability to recall information received at a higher speed and accuracy. Intelligence will increase with each level.] Intelligence + 2 The familiar blue text raced through my vision, after leaving my sight, I began to race through the book, my eyes only having to take a glance at keywords to understand the entire page. Finishing the book within the next ten or so minutes, I began to ask Pree, ¡°Do you have another?¡± Chapter 9: The Meeting James, flaying the reins of the carriage to a blissful crawl. Leaning into the cabin he whispered with purpose, ¡°Master Freble it seems we have arrived.¡± Stepping down from the carriage he moved swiftly, not wasting energy with unwanted motion he opened up the door to the cabin with unerring grace. From within out stepped a man of gentleman-like stature, ¡°James, please wake up Ruby and Sapphire. I have a meeting to attend to.¡± Having parked the carriage in front of a nobleman''s house, Freble noticed the wellkept grass as the pathway leading up into the main entrance was lined with statues of vague importance. As he was perplexed after staring at the statues with more enthusiasm, it seemed his effort did not go unnoticed as a man, roughly resembling a butler approached him with conviction. ¡°Master Freble, if I am correct in assuming, The King is ready to meet with you.¡± The butler spoke fast and to the point, preferring to make his sentences concise and to the point it seemed. As he was preparing to take his guest towards the designated meeting room, a nobleman was seen to be walking out from the main entrance to the estate. The man grumply turned to Freble and spoke, ¡°It is beyond use conversing with that fool! Trust me when I tell you that it is imposs-¡± ¡°Another word and I will cut out your tongue where you stand Earl Harg.¡± Glaring menacingly the butler spoke, resolved in continuing with his threat. A cold sweat dripped from the Earl, clearly overtaken by this new aura and threat. Liquid rage seemed to pour from his eyes however, as his face thusly mangled into a deeper shade of maroon. Barely controlling his temper the Earl passionately stomped off in blinded fury, rambling to himself his own strange delusions. ¡°My apologies for that Master Freble, The King deals with a variety of persons.¡± Bowing slightly the butler expressed his utmost sincerity in declaring his apology. Freble stubbornly raised his hand at this remark stating, ¡°it¡¯s perfectly understandable, think nothing of it.¡± Simply smiling and nodding, the butler inquired Freble to follow him. Making their way through the gardens and into the estate, a noticeable change from statues to artwork progressed as they directed their efforts into moving towards the designated meeting place. Finding it relatively easy to navigate, both men managed to work their way to the living room, making quicktime one might add. The butler stopping motionlessly at the door, beckons Freble to open and enter into the room. Doing just that, he notices the iron handle, feeling the cold metal brush against him, he opens the door examining the new landscape. A well designed, lavishly constructed room appears to him, chairs seeming to be made of leather housed a man dressed in casual apparel, however still showcasing the remarkably devised golden crown utop his head. ¡°Ahh, Freble, I¡¯ve been anticipating your arrival.¡± The King, as he was known by many, spoke elegantly as his voice seemed to carry a layer of wisdom not understood by others. ¡°As I have been preparing for it my liege. I come bearing a terrible message. It seems that the Sin of Gluttony is glowing red on the tablet, that now makes it the third Sin to have woken up.¡± This news seemed to have shaken The King, fully aware of what this must mean. ¡°If what you say is true Freble then it would seem I must speed up my plans.¡± Beckoning the butler over, The King seems to whisper into his ear, saying but few words. However the butler mysteriously exits the room, seeming to carry out his new found orders. ¡°You said you noticed two drifters, correct?¡± ¡°Only one my liege, the girl traveling with the man seems to not wear any strange clothing, thus leading me to believe that the drifter found her on his travels.¡± ¡°Regardless, we will need to capture the male. See to it Freble, I have other matters to attend to in light of this new information.¡± With that the meeting seemed to be complete, as another of the many servants escorted Freble out of the meeting room, making their way to the carriage he was greeted by two women in maid outfits, speaking in unison, ¡°Hello Master.¡± Both sharing crystal like hair with different colours, respectfully red and blue, Ruby and Sapphire as the maids were known decided to make their appearance, waiting for the Master to return to his carriage for this greeting. Whilst they didn¡¯t want to reveal to him how long they had been practicing the synchronization to their voice, their expression must have let it slip, as Freble couldn¡¯t help but let out a hearty laugh as he entered the carriage.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Regardless of this, James flung the reins tied to the horses, developing their humble walk into a galloping stride, set off with new ambition, Freble pondered within his carriage about how to best approach the situation for his better interests. ----------------------- [Level up! Enhanced Memory |Uncommon|] Level 3 Intelligence + 3 After reading for what seemed like hours I finally managed to place the book down, quite proud of my newly gained skill and staggering 20 Intelligence. It felt weird, suddenly thought that never would have occurred to my previous self stream down like water through my brain. As if a blockage had been removed I found myself able to organize and reference information in my head better with each level up of the skill. It seemed also that the rewards increased the higher the level of the skill, however I assumed that the amount increased would depend on the skill and the current level. Regardless it was always cheerful to know that my efforts were not staggered in vain, as with this new arrival of thoughts my brain began thinking up new efforts to further strengthen myself before I had to inevitably leave, I didn¡¯t like thinking about it, but regardless of how intelligent I became I could never know for certain if I would ever come back here, the thought honestly terrified me, however with this new system of Cognition, I had a strange feeling that it would follow me even to Earth. Anyway I had no evidence to back up this claim, ¡®better to just not think about¡¯ I thought. ¡°Well, are you happy? You¡¯ve read out my entire dang library, I can¡¯t even believe that you passed the test too..¡± ¡°I guess you don¡¯t want to just say it was beginner¡¯s luck?¡± I responded meekly, whatever the outcome I had learnt alot from her, it was sad that we would have to part ways soon since I was down to 2 days until I left. I was hoping Melody would be safe at this village, at least she could live a better life her than in that rotten lake town, maybe Pree with all her knowledge could find a way to cure her somehow as well. Although I doubt it I guess there is always the chance for hope. Interrupting my train of thought, a familiar figure walked through the door holding a green amulet in her hands, ¡®well, speak of the devil¡¯ I said to myself. ¡°Flow, I- I wanted to thank you for giving me back that necklace you found for me. I know I haven¡¯t told you about it, and I don¡¯t know if I will ever but, please take this as an apology.¡± My eyes traced down to the necklace Melody was holding in her hands, as its emerald glow seemed to fill my vision. The necklace was ornately designed as leather bound its strap around the holder¡¯s neck whilst the copper metal held the shard of emerald crystal in the center. All and all, it was a very impressive piece, as my mind raced on how much an accessory like this would cost, however Melody didn''t seem to mind and I decided against bringing it up. Taking the necklace from Melody¡¯s hand I whispered a warm, ¡®thank you¡¯ to her, and placing it on, I went about tell her that I didn¡¯t mind if she wouldn¡¯t tell me everything about her past. Saying that everyone has their own secrets and I wouldn¡¯t pry into hers just like I have faith that she would do the same for me. Whilst still talking to Melody I was unable to notice the dim sheen of green that appeared over the emerald crystal as I placed it on my neck. I continued rapidly walking to the Elders house once again. Asking Pree just before I left if she could look after Melody for me whilst I went out for a bit, thankfully I received a crisp nod from her in response. I had a lot to discuss with the old man,as I approached his door, after receiving strange glares from the villagers, it seemed I was looked at differently in this village compared to the ordinary stranger whether this would change with time I could never know for certain. After knocking trice at the door to his house, I managed to hear footsteps approaching the door, opening it to reveal the old man once again, ¡°Ahh Flow, what brings you to my house?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you, but I have a favour to ask.¡± I told him in response, as he invited me into his home. I could smell the faint aroma of some form of herbal tea from the kitchen, ¡®perhaps one of Pree¡¯s inventions¡¯ I thought. Sitting down on a wooden chair I stared at the old man once again as I narrated, ¡°I¡¯m going to be gone for a unknown amount of time and I can¡¯t take Melody with me, I was wondering if she might be able to find a house here until I return.¡± ¡°Of course Flow, such a simple request is easy enough, with most of the kids of this village-- I mean, I¡¯m sure she will find beds easy enough.¡± I thanked the man again, knowing that I had done all I could in the manner of helping out Melody whilst I was away, not knowing if I would return I told the old man I would be going into the forest to investigate ruins, potentially housing a treasure and that it¡¯s very dangerous. I told him this lie on the pretense that if I didn¡¯t return I would most likely be dead. Afterall, I didn¡¯t want Melody to have false hope that I would be returning one day, better to pretend to be dead I thought. Making my way outside of the Elder¡¯s house, I stood outside of the gate to the village, looking back, I placed all my hopes of returning deep in my chest, best not to get my hopes up I thought. With all my planning out of the way, I decided to not waste a single second longer, and began walking into the forest.. Chapter 10: The Journey Throughout my young teenage life, I had never really received the change or inspiration to go out and explore. There was always just so much to do, either relating to schoolwork or video games. However, these past few days had been quite the experience for me, as I was able to travel to new places, meet new people, and make new friends. As I passed through I treeline I had met a number of odd occurrences. Firstly, starting off was the wildlife, as I had entered further into the forest I noticed both the trees getting thicker and the animals getting scarcer. This continued as I went deeper and deeper, finally coming across what I had to assume was causing such a disturbance. Monsters. Within the forest hid powerful monsters, even stronger than the Lion, I had originally slayed back in Loam Lake. The monsters all appeared to have gathered into one place, lured by some mysterious object emitting foul odours. The creatures seemed to be drawn to it, almost as much as I was drawn away, but I pressed on, determined to see what would happen if I crouched down and waited. Even if the monsters seemed to be falling asleep and getting weakened, I wasn¡¯t prepared to fight any of them, it was practically suicide considering their number. Waiting even further I barely managed to pick up that the scent of the mysterious item was fading in strength. It was hard to imagine this as the air still smelled of a putrid stench, contorting the air like snakes around my throat. I had been struggling just to breathe, let alone run away. As the last monster collapsed upon the ground I noticed out of the corner of my eye a person walk out from the bushes, followed closely behind by 3 armed men. The guards seemed to be closely examining the ground for any moving limbs, as even a hint of such an action would practically mean death with the amount of bodies collapsed around the mysterious item. Delicate hands seemed to pick up the object slowly, as I watched I saw her slowly place it into her pouch, this however was deemed a mistake by the Gods of Fate as behind her slowly rose a monster. The guards seemed to not notice however as its hand reached further, and further, narrowly closing the gap between her neck from behind and its paw. Caught in a stiff state, I didn¡¯t know what to do, my body wouldn¡¯t function as the air in my lungs seemed to suffocate me. My body pulled with conviction, fueled fully by instinct I yelled out, ¡°Behind you!¡± as the guards, quickly took notice of me soon afterwards. Shifting their gaze they saw the claw approaching the woman in the center. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Swords slashed like lightning as with my shout, many more monsters had woken up. Vicious roars and yells could be heard along the battlefield as I retreated, ¡®fighting in that is practically suicide¡¯ I thought to myself. My eyes darting along the fields ready to make my narrow escape as my body carried me forth with more speed than I could ever keep up with. Seemed my stats were having a large effect on my body as I could feel myself running at astronomical speeds. This regardless, was not enough for the superior beasts of the wild, as they had much more practice with dealing in speed than me. Afterall it was an essential hunting asset. As my body charged full force forwards, a monster rearing double my size from head to toe, impeded my advance as it charged at a staggering sprint towards me. My eyes vaguely seeing the blur, managed to allow me to nimbly dodge out of the way. This was not the least of my worries as another beast appeared to the right of me, seeming to spray some form of acidic substance towards my chest. Managed to dodge with a Void Walk I threw away the notification that greeted me saying it had leveled up, however feeling joyful of the extra attributes it had given me. I had least managed to somewhat control my Void Walking as it left me with some energy left, as least so much that I wouldn¡¯t fall into a coughing state whenever I used it. Without the chance of escape I decided to run forward, charging the acid spitting monster, it¡¯s dark grey skin seemed to fade like paper as my sword managed to slice through it completely, as an effect of my recently increased strength. The sword however, didn¡¯t come out so great I had thought, as what was left consisted of mainly a bubbling mess, whilst still displaying its average shape, the sword obviously had nowhere near its original sharpness. On the contrary this I refused to faze me as before the secondary beast could turn around for a second charge, I managed to implant my sword within the neck of the creature. It was fair to say that I wasn¡¯t such the useless, good for nothing I was when I had first arrived here, however I still didn¡¯t like killing these monsters. Regardless of what they were or how scarly good I was getting at it, as if my emotions where almost numb to it in the heat of battle. Looking around I noticed that the guards were having a fair amount of trouble, as they had been caught up in the centre of the conflict and protecting a woman, who seemed to be all the too afraid of entering the fray out on the frontlines, instead I could see runic symbols, entering and fading within the palms of her hands. Only hearing the last words as a jumble of information I saw a nearby creature, consisting mainly of plants and roots, combust into sinders. Seeming effectively turning the tide of battle on their side, I decided to rush in as well, of course not wanting to see them die, regardless of how little chance it had of happening. With a male guard placing his sword into the creature¡¯s eye, the fight was over. However as all heads turned to me I knew the war was only just beginning. Chapter 11: People of The Woods The first to direct his attention to me spoke up yelling in harsh tones, ¡°Are you daft, or just plain stupid boy! Why would you call out if all the beasts are asleep!¡± The man began walking closer, his voice increasing in intensity as he moved further closer to me. However as his rugged face was but a hair¡¯s width away from my face, the young lady spoke up in hushed tones, ¡°He did save me Gared, what I would like to know is how my supposed, ¡®elite¡¯ guards didn¡¯t warn me of the danger, before this boy stepped in. If it wasn¡¯t for me I would be resting in the Bark of Ancestors right now, would I not? The man named Gared couldn¡¯t help but nod at this statement, as it seemed all too real towards the situation. He stepped back joining the others in discussing more recent matters. The young lady, however, stepped forward to meet my eyes, ¡°I am sorry for the way my guards acted around you, for if it wasn¡¯t for your warning as trivial as it may seem my life most likely would have been taken.¡± ¡°It was nothing, really.¡± I attempted to say, however, the look in her eyes told me otherwise, it seemed she was really grateful for my efforts in helping her life, no matter how small. This I couldn¡¯t doubt her for. Moreover, I noticed as when I was talking to the girl, the horrid stench had gone away. Asking promptly about it she began to narrate that the smell is brought on by the bait that they use to lure and trap monsters, to destroy large herds of the creatures, as they have recently been troubling the forests. I asked how she came about acquiring such as marvelous invention, but instead of giving me a straight answer she said that I would only be told if I followed her into the forest with the guards. It seemed that an outsider such as me was not allowed to proceed this deep into the forest, nor was this girl allowed by her tribal law to communicate with outsiders. Regardless I had saved her life and this apparently caused her to have to thank me. Of course, I was pleased with such an outcome, but I had doubts as to where it would lead me. After all, I wasn¡¯t seeking to gain more attachments out in the forest, I desperately trying to overcome the ones I already had. But whatever my reasoning I reluctantly agreed to head with her into the forest, they guards probably wouldn¡¯t allow me to leave without knowing that I was fully trustworthy. The guards, gathering around the young lady, whom I still didn¡¯t know the name of, but I didn¡¯t feel like I should ask. Began to lead her away, and told me to follow, we walked through the woods for what must have been an hour according to my watch, surprisingly I kept it hidden very well with my long sleeve shirts. We began to walk down an old path full of vines that outlined the borders like walls, feeling the sheer strength of mana flowing within the vines due to my increased intelligence stat, I could tell that they were the spell of a powerful mage far beyond what normal conventions for strong I¡¯ve seen so far.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Not to mention the sheer age of the roots made the thought all the more devastating as mana as I knew it from my training with Pree in alchemy was suppose to leak out of certain plants, that¡¯s why fresh ingredients in potions where always the most effective. The dirt path outlined with vines, ended in front of a tree covered in moss, I didn¡¯t know what laid inside however the young lady seemed to raise a hand to the moss, and as if casting another one of her runic spells, began chanting. The vines and moss started to strangely act to her words, seeming to shift and move, the moss that was once covering the door had begun to part revealing an archway of bark that leads into a city within the trees. The castles which most fantasy gamers would consider a fairy palace was only dwarfed in this city by the sheer magnitude of the tree standing within the center, its green radiance seeming to brighten even the darkest night with its dazzling brilliance. As roots, thicker than most trees, seemed to run down the sides of the bark, carrying that same green radiance, filled the very soil and ground with its glow. Lighting up the grass in a light shade of emerald that I had not seen before. Whilst, it wasn¡¯t night outside I could still imagine the beauty that this tree would hold within the dusk hours. The young lady, turning to me once more stated, ¡°I would like to invite you to our manor to stay for the night, or at least until his Majesty The Fairy King will hold an audience with you to decide your fate. Will you accept?¡± Weighting my imaginary options I decided to accept her offer as if I had much of a choice. At least this way I could explore the city later on and not be labeled as an outsider. Well, maybe not that second part She took me past the streets of the city, a major detail I noticed was the lack of any construction, it seemed everything in this city was built inside of a tree as if each tree was shaped purely to be this size. Even the manor at which the girl had taken me seemed to be devoid of any originality, each house was made by the same person I observed and therefore the same overall style was used in each design, using Examination on each house didn¡¯t help either. As all I received were question marks and a suggestion that I should get stronger to understand this creation. The luxury household, whilst appearing dull on the outside, grasped another level of intricacy on interior decoration. As the walls were lined with paintings and statues of modern art. Even containing bookshelves in one room, which I was told consisted of the family¡¯s main library, thusly meaning that the books I had seen were not the least to be found. In all honesty, I didn¡¯t know for how long I would be able to hold myself back from the feast of knowledge that was held within this library, adding onto that my memory skill and I was sure that reading each book in that room would be worth it one way or another, who knows, maybe I could finally learn magic while I¡¯m at it. After finally been given a tour of the mansion I had grown rather fond of its interior design and library, regardless of these desires the young lady insisted I rest my head, as before I could rebuttal her, I glanced out towards the sky, only just realizing it had turned dark out. I found this strange but didn¡¯t question it as I crawled into the all too comfortable bed, dismissing the only recently known blue notifications about stats gained I fell fast asleep. Chapter 12: The Confrontation Waking up from the heavy slumber, I felt the strange lightness to my body once again as I examined several persistent notifications that greeted me, seeming determined to haunt me once more. [Strength has increased by 2.356] [Endurance has increased by 1.567] [New statistic has been unlocked, as the number has risen above 5] [Perception has been revealed] [Perception has increased by 2.439] [The ability Minor Void Shift has increased in Level] [Minor Void Shift, Level 2] [Your ability to travel through the void has increased, allowing you to do so with less effort and greater effect] Intelligence + 2 Dexterity + 1 [New statistic has been unlocked, as the number has risen above 5] [Dexterity has been revealed] Sorting through the blue annoyances I got to the main course of the encounter. [Displaying Statistics] Stats; Health: 150 (150) Mana: 0 (0) Stamina: 90 (90) Attributes; Strength: 23 Agility: 23 Intelligence: 20 Vitality: 14 Endurance: 17 Luck: 10 Charm: 5 Constitution: 5 Perception: 6 Dexterity: 5 Abilities: Minor Void Shift |Rare|Lv2If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Stone Skin |Item, Uncommon|LvNA Passives: Pioneers Instincts |Exotic|Lv NA Examination |Uncommon|Lv1 Swordsmanship |Common|Basic Lv2 Emotion Trigger |Exotic|Lv2 Enhanced Memory |Uncommon|Lv3 Getting up from the far too comfy bed to describe, I was perturbed to find out that I was missing the sword that Melody had gifted me. Searching high and low frantically for the weaponry, I came up empty-handed. Walking out from within the guest chamber I was amazed as I was flustered to find that a maid had been enduring outside the door, anticipating for my departure. ¡°Sleep well, Master Flow?¡± The maid showed otherworldly grace, her pointed ear tops twitching further, she stepped in closer to launch the conversation. ¡°No, I mean yes! It was a very enjoyable sleep.¡± I quickly corrected myself. ¡®Damn, I was caught off guard¡¯ I mentally stated, repositioning myself, I sought to gain a foothold in the discussion. ¡°Will you be telling Lady¡­...¡± ¡°Her name is Madam Spring, Jem Spring.¡± The maid giggled. ¡®There goes my foothold like a drowning man being taken away by mermaids.¡¯ After just finishing her laugh, I noticed the maid point towards an oaken door. From within Jem paced out, having placed on formal attire, she marched forward. ¡°It seems the Fairy King is ready to speak to you sooner than expected, I guess you should be relieved, on occasion the King is known to make people wait a century for even the most major of problems.¡± ¡°It sounds like he greatly values patience.¡± ¡°Indeed, you would do best to venture into his good graces, lest an undesirable outcome were to occur.¡± ¡°What do you mean undesirable-¡±Starting the sentence I was interrupted when Jem began walking down the stairs, I yelled out. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± But it seemed she didn¡¯t respond, instead, I began moving down the stairs with greater haste, it seemed that the Fairy King would see us immediately to my astonishment. I followed her out towards the main district of the city, whilst not all Fairies chose to fly for mobility, it seemed that Jem and I were out of place within the city as the only people walking, well at least besides the most familiar guards that seemed to follow her around. When we had approached the Great Tree that stood within the centre of the city, a strange runic symbol had once again appeared on the tree. To be similarly followed by Jem¡¯s low hushed murmurs and a magical door opening. At this point, it was difficult to admit it, but magic seemed highly effective in the art of opening doors. Strolling through the door, Jem and her guards led me towards a grand plaza. Turning the corner into the chamber my head began to spin as I noticed a singular person standing inside the room surrounded by others of the same age, all standing in front of what I assumed to be the Fairy King. Stunned by the revelation of who the person standing in the room was, I called out, ¡°Reece?! What are you doing here?¡± The boy¡¯s head whirled in shock as he too began to understand who was calling out his name. ¡°Wait, Flow! Is that you? How did you get here?!¡± The black haired boy spoke out loud, whilst others turned to glance our way Reece and I began to step closer to each other, ready to begin an all-out question/machine-gun battle at a moment''s notice. Regardless, The Fairy King seemed to have other thoughts in mind, as when he noticed that I had entered the room he began his speech, ¡°You may be wondering why I have gathered all of you here today, I am in need of warriors, with fantastic abilities. A threat is coming, a group has been formed of people who bear the mark of a Sin, also known widely as a Sin Carrier.¡± My blood turned cold, as a man spoke up from within the crowd, ¡°That¡¯s not possible, all of the Sins were destroyed in The Fire 100 years ago.¡± A collective nod emerged from the crowd, reinforcing this idea. ¡°As too did I think, regardless a group as formed demonstrating what can only be described as those same abilities of original Sin Carriers, however, their ranks are still incomplete, they are missing 3 Sins. This is the opportune moment to strike, while they are still weak we must attack before they complete their ranks!¡± The King¡¯s words carried meaning throughout the room, reverberating from the walls. To which he said a final statement, ¡°I will give you all time to think it over, however, I expect a response within a week, and in case you happen to run into them, the group goes by the name of Dawn.¡± With those final words, I saw a number of others begin to exit the hall, contempt to figure out their answer to the final question directed. As I watch others leave I walked back up to Reece, telling him I would meet him later on, to discuss what happened for the last week. It was safe to say he agreed and we both split ways, content to wait a while longer for each of us to discover what has happened to the one another. Chapter 13: A Moonlit Talk Me and Reece stood under a moonlit night. Leaning side by side on a balcony, the wind began to echo. I stood there, staring at Reece, an awkward silence seemed to silence our tongues as we stared at each other in equal shock. Beginning the conversation, Reece spoke out, ¡°so, did you get the blue notification as well?¡± He seemed to get straight to the nt not wasting any time with meaningless chatter I answered. ¡°I did, it scared me at first, but what frightens me more is how much we both have adapted to the world.¡± Reece knew that I wasn¡¯t an idiot. The King had invited both of us because we had something special, a special ability that not many had. If I had to guess, Jem had to have seen me using my teleportation, I doubt many people could teleport with such precision and ease as I could in the world. However I wouldn¡¯t let that thought get to my head any longer, perhaps there was methods in which to prevent teleportation, I sure would have a lot to brag about then. From this information I knew Reece had a special power, and whilst I wasn¡¯t going to invade his privacy and ask, as I''m sure he would do the same for me, I couldn¡¯t help but be a little bit curious as to what it was. Reece seemed to look beyond the horizon, tempted by what he experienced in this world. ¡°This is our last day in this world isn¡¯t it.¡± Reece asked, his view seeming clouded by his many thoughts, maybe he wanted to get stronger, to do more I couldn¡¯t tell at this moment, but Reece believed so badly that he belonged in this world. Even if I knew this, I couldn¡¯t blame him, as teenagers we grew up playing fantasy games where the main character could slay dragons, crush rocks and conjure magic. I¡¯m sure any teenager would trade their lives in a second for but a chance to grow up in this fantasy world. ¡°It would seem so, what will you do when you return, what if we never come back here?¡± I asked the very question Reece had been afraid of confronting, he didn¡¯t know what he was going to do. However, I knew from experience that Reece was smart, more intelligent that others liked to admit, if he ever got his hands on a skill, I¡¯m sure with his countless experiences playing video games, he had leveled it up and enhanced his stats. To be honest, I totally wanted to arm wrestle the guy right now just to see his strength. Afterall, who was to say that we would keep our stats on leaving this world. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can just live our life like normal, however if we do keep our stats, we should keep a low profit. Never know what could happen if someone finds out.¡± Nodding my head I agreed with Reece. ¡°I, I really want to stay here Flow.¡± Reece began to turn to me, seeming to forget where we came from, the man had completely shed his former self for this life. I don¡¯t know what he had been through to do this, I didn¡¯t want to ask. But I couldn¡¯t help agreeing with him as I remembered the people I had just made friends with, the comrades I made. As we both stared out into the sunset, our eyes shifted as we heard approaching footsteps, a group of three I heard, courtesy to my new Perception. ¡°Fair greetings fellow adventurers, I am the Royal Adviser for the Fairy King.¡± The man, sparkled as he walked, cloaked in a green robe, his eyes whilst partially covered by hair, couldn¡¯t be more prominent as they jagged upwards along the side of his head. ¡°I come asking for your opinions and answers for the King¡¯s suggestion.¡± Reece, being the headstrong and outspoken man he was responded first, ¡°Seems a great idea, however, without a stronger task force there is no way we could take down the Sin Carriers.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°How strong could Sin Carrier¡¯s possibly be?¡± I asked through reckless abandon. I couldn¡¯t exactly remember the time I had worn the mask, only the entropy that followed afterward remained glued to my brain like mud to a carpet. Reece spoke up, stating, ¡°even if the user isn¡¯t strong the abilities of the Sin vary greatly, however they all have one thing in common.¡± He seemed to pause for added effect in this case, ¡°they are immensely powerful, and based on the item of clothing the Sin inhabits, the abilities can take a part away from the person that is using them, to gain even greater strength.¡± My eyes shifted seamlessly as the Adviser spoke up, ¡°Indeed, which is what normally would occur had we not found very valuable knowledge, it seems the Sin Carriers of this era, greatly value their humanity, trying not to use their Sins to cause havoc.¡± ¡°Fools, the lot of them, there is no point denying what they are.¡± Reece¡¯s voice cut straight through my head. ¡°They are monsters, only able to kill others.¡± ¡°Exactly my point on why the King wants them eliminated. Now gentlemen, your answer on the situation?¡± ¡°You can count me in, what about you Flow?¡± ¡°Huh, uhh, yeah me too.¡± ¡°A most wise decision gentlemen, I heard from dear Reece here that you both will be departing soon?¡± I began to speak up, ¡°Sadly, we have other business to attend to within the kingdoms.¡± ¡°Understandable, hopefully we will meet again.¡± The man began strolling away with his guards, with otherworldly grace, perhaps he practiced for a century before becoming that experienced with the motions. The sun was soon to rise, and another era created as me and Reece would head back to our world, making sure not to be spotted when we were teleported. We began to make our way outside of the city, as no one made any movements to stop us, we began to exit. Walking deep into the forest, we came across where I first saw the horrid smell, the odour had been long since removed, and the beasts slain for meat and hide. But the location still stirred up memories, calling on myself to reflect on how much better I could have handled the situation if I had just teleported to Jem and deflected the claw. Reece decided to take a nap, as we waited for the notification to arrive that we were going to leave. About an hour had passed, until we finally saw that the sun had begun to separate from the horizon. A blue notification had appeared within my vision, as had Reece¡¯s as I noticed him beginning to stand up. [Earth Representative Detected] [Initiating Teleportation Process] A faint rustling in the bushes, my head turned. I didn¡¯t see anything but my enhanced Perception told me that something was staring at me. Seeming to be caught the creature jumped out, attempting to grab me with it¡¯s claws faster than I could react. ¡°Flow, where have you been!¡± It was Melody, why was she here!? ¡°Melody what are you doing, you have to let go of me!¡± [Teleportation Process Beginning] ¡°Oh, son of a!¡± *Poof* A tear began to envelop me and Melody inwards to it¡¯s foggy and dark depths, seeming to be disoriented, I quickly came to my senses as I opened my eyes, I was in my room, and Melody was still hugging me! ¡°Breakfast¡¯s ready!¡± I heard a familiar voice broadcasting from down the stairs. Chapter 14: Problems Searching frantically, I turned my room inside out all the while yelling at Melody, ¡°You have to hide!¡± Forcibly shoving her into the closet, she screamed out in protest. ¡°Stop screaming!¡± I began to say violently as she resisted my attempts with more obnoxious noise. With the sounds of footsteps echoing closer as time passed on, I began to grow more desperate with my attempts. With the door creaking ever so slowly outward, a figure stepped through. Wearing brown overalls, with dark black hair and green eyes, she spoke softly towards me. ¡°Is everything all right?¡± It must have looked strange, to see her son holding the closet door steadfast. ¡°It¡¯s all under control-¡± I began to say. The door violently shook, dragging the attention of everyone in the room. With the force of one thousand Crimson Lions I pushed the lady out of the door, following soon after, I made sure to lock my door on the inside, as with the closet. Making my way downstairs I saw that breakfast had already been prepared, without any siblings, life was relatively easy. Making swift work of breakfast, I raced upstairs, quickly grabbing Melody I tried to sneak around the house and leave. Being 17, I was just about to finish high school, with thoughts of going further to study. That all changed however when I was sent to another world by powers I couldn¡¯t imagine. ¡°So where are we going Flow?¡± Speaking of which, what was I going to do with Melody, it¡¯s not like she can just walk into school with me. ¡°I¡¯m going to school, you¡¯ll have to find something to do in the meantime,¡± I answered, having little thought on what was going to happen myself. Regardless as our journey progressed, Melody had continually asked why she couldn¡¯t come with me to this school. Telling her that, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work, you¡¯re not from there.¡± and other examples like, ¡°The teachers wouldn¡¯t recognise you.¡± Didn¡¯t seem to faze her as she walked alongside me. I had other things on my mind as we walked, ¡®is Reece back as well¡¯, I thought. I had hopes that all ended well for him. After about 20 minutes of walking and insufferable questions, we arrived at the school. It was a large school, totalling in at about six thousand kids. All from local areas, they flocked to this school for its affordable prices and learning ability. After looking around for a while I noticed that Melody had disappeared, concerned I began to look around, but it seemed she had vanished into thin air. With a school this large on top of that, it was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. I was about to broaden my search range when I realized that all of the students were moving towards a central location. ¡®Maybe the staff want to talk to us about something¡¯ I imagined. It wasn¡¯t like this occurrence was odd, with a school this large a number of kids could be found acting up. This only seemed to increase as the school¡¯s affordable prices allowed almost anyone to get in. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It seemed my stats from the other world had transferred over, as with my increased perception I was able to accurately scan the crowds, still not finding any trace of Melody I did spot a person of interest. ¡°Reece Banbrook¡± a name was called out, as I noticed Reece moving onto the stage to address the school. With him being the male school captain, this was one of the many ¡®perks¡¯ that came with the job. ¡°Due to flooding and other natural disasters occurring up North and making their way towards us, we will be cancelling school next week.¡± It was easy to imagine the effect this had on the kids attending the school, but since this week was our tests for finals, it didn¡¯t seem to change much. A few more words of note and awards were passed out as time prevailed, but moving forward as the gathering finished, the students began to move towards their designated classes for tests. Waiting at the door for the teacher to arrive, I noticed as my classmates appeared, something felt out of the ordinary. ¡°Hey Flow you there?¡± A few taps on my shoulder seemed to wake me up, with an abrupt turn I¡¯d noticed who tapped me on the shoulder. ¡°Melody what are you doing here? And, where did you get those clothes?¡± I asked, but with the teacher having just appeared around the corner, and tests about to start, I had no time to ask any questions. With the students making their way in, I choose a chair next to the window, with the trees swaying in the breeze as highly calming. After deciding where I would sit, a young girl began to take the seat next to me. It was highly weird, having Melody stare at me, tempted to start a conversation, but without me looking back at her, it seemed she wouldn¡¯t try. Reece was part of this class also, with high marks he stood out from the crowd as a perfect student, and role model for others. This being partially why he began school captain, I noticed him on the other side of the room, his eyes instantly darting to questions as the test began. It seemed like he knew all of the answers. Unlike me, as with most of my tests, I had lower than average- I looked at the test paper once again, my mind clearer than a calmed lake, my pencil raced forth, answering a question in seconds. This wasn¡¯t normal, right? It made no sense; my brain was calculating at speeds I didn¡¯t know I was able to achieve. As I raced further on, the paper seemed to blur away as the answers came to me like answers on a sheet of paper, ¡®was it my Intelligence stat?¡¯ I asked myself. I knew that my increased stats remained from before but how much of a difference did it make? I began to use Examination on other people. Name: Tyler Framus Gender: Male Statistics: Strength: 7 Agility: 6 Intelligence: 8 Vitality: 5 Endurance: 7 Luck: 4 Charm: 6 [For convenience, statistics below 4 are not shown.] This was crazy, my Intelligence was at a completely different level than other people. I needed to learn more, how did these statistics work? I was just about to use Examination on Reece until I received another notification. [Boss Battle Underway] It was shown in a black box, as when I looked over at Reece, he seemed to have received the same notification. As with a loud shake, the fun began. Chapter 15: Boss Fight Incoming ¡°Everyone stay in your seats, I¡¯m sure that it is just a minor earthquake.¡± The Teachers that were supervising the test began to move around, encouraging the kids to remain in their seats. It¡¯s not like this was the first time an earthquake had happened during a test and it surely wouldn¡¯t be the last. ¡°All students please stay under your desks.¡± The cohort suddenly shifted as each student began to crawl under their desk. As this was standard procedure no one seemed to be tensed. My eyes were moving around the room, I had a bad feeling; earthquake? I doubt that was the least of our worries. It seemed to me like something worse was going on, but I wasn¡¯t going to open my mouth about it. ¡°Hey, Flow.¡± I heard Reece whisper out from the corner of the room, he began looking down, specifically pointing to his watch. ¡°What about the time?¡± I whispered back. I had no idea what he meant, but I knew we had to get out of here, and that maybe he was suggesting a method of doing so. Reece began other attempts at getting me to understand what he was implying, but a few shakes of my head and throwing my hands in the air clearly weighted on him steadfast. ¡°Dammit Flow, we need to hurry up!¡± Reece became aggravated quickly, I was in the same boat in all honesty, it was clear what that notification was pertaining to. We had to move; even if everyone else had no idea what was going on, it was clear that we both understood, and we would fix it. ¡°Reece? What¡¯s with all the yelling?¡± A teacher had noticed Reece calling to me before. ¡°Sorry miss, it¡¯s just, I needed to go to the toilet.¡± ¡°Me too, if you wouldn¡¯t mind miss!¡± I called out as well. Seeing the teacher place her index finger on her chin in thought, after what felt like a century she began to agree, ¡°I see no reason why not, this test isn¡¯t going anywhere either, and from looking at both your exams I can see that you¡¯re finished, all right, but be quick about it. ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am!¡± Reece immediately thanked the teacher, grabbing my hand we raced out the door. Running through the corridors we departed from the exam room, stopping just short of a corner Reece immediately began to look at me. ¡°Flow, I know this -- Look I know I¡¯m asking a lot but, what are your stats?¡± I had never seen Reece more serious, I had no idea why he would need to know other than maybe he wanted to estimate my abilities to see if we actually had a chance at beating whatever monster we are going to have to fight. But Reece, he¡¯s my friend. ¡°I have 15 Strength and 18 Agility¡± But there are things best kept a secret¡­. ¡°All right, with those stats, we might actually have a chance, let¡¯s go, we need to find this monster before it hurts anyone.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± The echo of our shoes on the floor was crisp and cold, walking through a hallway, we came across two paths, ¡°So what, you take the left, and I the right?¡± Reece began to think for a while, ¡°It seems we have no choice, as dangerous as it sounds the monster is obviously around here somewhere and we need to find it quickly.¡± Reece began to turn but before he walked down he turned his head to me. ¡°If you spot anything call me on your phone, I¡¯ll do likewise, got it?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Yeah, of course, don¡¯t get yourself killed, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± With a swift smile, we turned away, determined to complete this ¡®quest.¡¯ With a chilled breath, I marched along, separated from my ally. The school seemed different, the air staler, seeming to bite at my lungs when I breathe. ¡®Must be nervousness,¡¯ I think. Beginning to think about my location, I remember that the school is divided into four general sections, each corresponding to a direction. I was currently located at the West Wing of the school, known for being an area of science. However, whatever enjoyment I may have derived from the subject, I felt no joy slowly, but surely, my footsteps began to echo out through the looming corridor, mustering up my courage I began to walk forward. ¡®I have no idea what the monster looks like, hell it could even be a centipede!, do I really want to fight a centipede.¡¯ My thoughts began to shift, after all, would someone help me if this situation was reversed, ¡®no you can¡¯t think like that Flow, steel yourself!¡¯ Shaking my head rapidly I began to forge onwards with my path! I promised myself I wouldn¡¯t get blindsided again. ¡°Hey, Flow.¡± ¡°Ahh! Christ! Melody, what are you doing here? How did you find me?¡± One valid question came after another out of my throat like machine gun fire. ¡°Oh, you know. Ghost stuff.¡± Melody began to explain rather childishly. ¡°Melody, come on, you know I need more than-¡± *Vrmmm* *Vrrrm* I felt a familiar vibration down my pocket, reaching towards my back-pocket I grabbed a sleek, black phone out, placing it within the palm of my hand I felt the vibration, but that feeling soon faded as I looked at the name, ¡°Reece. Oh, c#@&.¡± Racing to answer the phone, my hand moved with statistic enhanced dexterity. ¡°Reece? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Flow! Flow! Can you hear me? The signal is getting messed -- The monster -- East Wing -- whatever you do don¡¯t -- ¡± *Ccrrr* A loud static prevailed from the phone, it¡¯s haunting message still remaining within the air as vibrations to enter the ear. ¡°What was that metal rectangle? Who were you talking to? Flow. Why do you look so pale? Hey, let go!¡± [Ability Gained, "Desperate Sprint"] Lv 1 [The user can gain increased agility for the duration of a sprint, Stamina consumption is doubled during the duration of the run.] I unquestionably bolted off, Reece was in trouble, I gave no thought to Melody¡¯s questions as I ran, all I could feel was the blistering wind rushing past me. I knew I wasn¡¯t going to make it, how could I. The corners of the school displayed a certain tightness, as with my agility statistic I found it hard to turn in time. Each passing toward my destination I began cutting the curves at sharper angles. ¡°Flow, can you please just tell me what is going on!¡± Melody began to protest at the back. Turning my head to look at her I began to open my mouth before she screamed, ¡°Flow look out!¡± Eyes darting I swiftly turned my head forward, only for my eyes to widen dramatically, I was stupid for not having thought of it, I couldn¡¯t afford to think at my current speed, but it was far too late now. This wall was too close, there was no way I was going to dodge it. As my eyes began to close I felt an all too familiar coldness engulf me. Shooken away by the penetrating chillness, I saw my body begin to turn into shadow, as I passed through the wall, teleported to the other side. Body returning to normal and not slowing down in my sprint at all, I only further increased my speed as I held Melody¡¯s arm tighter. I had an idea... Avoiding the glares of students in the classroom I had teleported. I continued running full steam ahead at the current wall, the feeling of coldness once again encompassing my being as I felt the wall slip right through me. Yeah, I could get used to this. *Whoosh* *Whoosh* Whoosh* Screams could be heard around the school, about a brown-haired boy who was teleporting through classrooms, with a highly above average looking girl. Normally I wouldn¡¯t be able to teleport so easily, but with gaining the Constitution statistic, it seemed that my body had become stronger overall, being tougher it could take the heavy strain that teleporting would normally place on it. But these thoughts didn¡¯t come to pass, my mind was on one thing and one thing alone. I had to save Reece. Chapter 16: The Price After what seemed like the 7th teleport, the classrooms stopped being full of students, instead replaced by a empty shadow of a room. The air smelled different here, a familiar scent that I had smelled recently for sure, but I couldn¡¯t place my finger on it. Stopping to catch my breath, the effects of wasting half of an Endurance bar began to catch up with me. I failed to notice it before, but the room seemed devastated, with chairs tossed around and desks smashed, it looked like a warzone. ¡°Hey Flow, are kids at your school generally this destructive¡­¡± Whilst it was more of a statement than a question, I still managed to shake my head, ¡°No, something happened here. Something big.¡± Staring more intently at the walls my Perception began to pick up on finer details, scorch marks of two different types, one clearly by fire but the other, was questionable. It seemed to precise to be fire, something was definitely off. But I wasn¡¯t going to stay and find out. ¡°We need to find Reece, stay close and help me search, I don¡¯t want to ever split up again.¡± A simple nod by Melody and we began to search the room, finding more scratch marks along the desks, and... Backpacks. But where are the kids. This didn¡¯t feel right. ¡°Ahhhhhhhh~!¡± Loud, thundering scrapes ran along the otherside of the wall, like nails on a chalkboard we could hear the student screaming on the other side of the door. ¡°Let us in, dear god let us in!¡± ¡°Please, please!¡± As if their cries were falling on deaf ears, myself and Melody remained frozen in place. Our bodies stuck stiff at the plead of help from the outside. ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± Snapping back to reality, my hand raced to the door before I heard another voice on the other side. ¡°Everyone, stand back!¡± Soon flames blasted through, snapping off the lock from the door. Out stepped a black-haired boy with embers still lit in his hands, as if he was the sole controller of fire. ¡°Reece? Is that you?¡± I shouted in disbelief, since when was Reece a mage! ¡°You can use fire magic!¡± ¡°Now¡¯s not the time Flow, help me hold this door shut, this damn creature will try to break it down any second!¡± Within seconds I rushed towards the door, using my legs and shoulder to forcefully ram the door shut. After looking like an idiot for a while just pushing at the door. I soon felt a strong pound against me. Something was trying to force its way inside! Damn this thing was strong! I don¡¯t know how much force Reece was taking off for me, but without my Strength stat having been over 20, I doubt there would be any way that I could keep this door shut. ¡°Can you hold this closed for a second?¡± Nodding once, I straightened my grip. Reece slowly began to let go, seeming to test the waters, a few thumps from the other side were quickly shut down as I used my legs to take most of the force. After hearing strange chanting I looked over my shoulder only to see Reece in a deep trance, I didn¡¯t know if that was normal, having no experience of casting spells myself I just let Reece handle it. No point trying to focus on two things at once, it was well know that most of our survival chance depended on me keeping this door shut, and that was what I intended to do. ¡°Radek. Paralog. Vectem. Darago!¡± As Reece began his chanting, I saw his fingers move in illustrious manners, he began to show dexterity that would put anyone to shame as he nimbly moved his hands to display patterns. ¡°Okay, Flow. Open the door¡­.. Now!¡± Stepping violently back, the door swung open with enough force to topple a van. My heart shook as I prepared myself for the violent monstrosity that was sure to appear behind the door. Wait, air? Was the monster made of air? Taking a second look I failed to see any monster, ¡°Farafil!¡± Flames rushed out from Reece¡¯s hands like a tsunami wave, encompassing the door entirely as it filtered out toward the hallway. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. My heart pained as I watched Reece fire at thin air, surely he wouldn¡¯t hit the monster, but maybe the spell didn¡¯t take too much Mana I thought. This seemed unlucky however as the fire Reece launched was akin to a volcano erupting full force as it toppled anything and everything in its path. *Crash* Violently the flames began to disperse, taking with them what little remained for the oxygen in the air. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Reece, we¡¯ll get it next time.¡± ¡°What do you mean Flow, I hit the thing dead on.¡± Reece began pointing outwards, looking closer I saw a flickering of light. ¡®What is that..¡¯ I thought to myself, ¡®a fairy?¡¯ The light slowly began to vanish as a cloak like veil was suddenly ripped from the monster, displaying its true form. ¡®The thing can go invisible! What the heck!¡¯ The creature¡¯s mana that once redirected light suddenly collapsed, as the creature began to make a quick dash back to safety, it seemed that it would only stalk us, never to fight head on. ¡°Should we go after it?¡± I asked. ¡°No, it¡¯s a trap, the creature will lead us to a room where the invisible will reactivate, you¡¯d never know when it will attack you. That¡¯s how it got the others.¡± My mouth lay agape as I contemplated what he was stating, ¡°It can go invisible? What kinda scam skill is that?¡± ¡°My thoughts exactly, but it turns out there is a weakness.¡± Reece began to explain the details of his elaborate plan out for all students to hear. ¡°Believe it or not it has a weakness to electronics. The reason for our connection breaking up is that the creature has to use an EMP blast due to its invisibility being fried from the waves that phones and other electrical devices produce.¡± ¡°How did you even find that out Reece.¡± I began to ask, it seemed like a far stretch to me, the objects that creatures could disable being a weakness, sounded preposterous. ¡°That¡¯s easy, the creature never turned invisible until it used its EMP, also, and I may have been delusional here. But when I used my lightning spell, the creature¡¯s body flickered strangely.¡± ¡°Wait you have a lightning spell?¡± ¡°Yeah but the downside is that it has a really long start up time, that¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t use it when you were holding the door, who knows if you would be able to hold that monstrosity back long enough.¡± ¡°Well, surely the cast time isn¡¯t that-¡± ¡°30 seconds.¡± ¡°....God damnit Reece.¡± ¡°Hey, stick with me here Flow, I just need you to distract the creature for 30 seconds, It¡¯s find you will be able to see the thing as well.¡± ¡°Wait, how? I thought you said it was weak to electronics, we don¡¯t have anything that could stop his invisibility.¡± ¡°Flow, your phone was outside the EMP range, it should still work.¡± Grabbing the phone out from my back-pocket, I pressed the power button once, (75% battery life remaining). My face lit up at the prospect, finally something was going my way. ¡°Alright, we need to do this fast, who knows if the creature will use another EMP, or what kind of cooldown that thing has on it.¡± Everyone in the room gave a quick nod, plan sorted out we began to spread out. Moving down the hallways, avoiding creating any unnecessary sound. We made our way to the Auditorium, a place once used for scientific lectures from outside teachers and staff, had now become a battleground. Desks and tables flipped over, doors wide open but ready to be sealed shut by people who would run out when the monster came in. We were prepared. This would normally all be fine, if it wasn¡¯t for one thing. ¡°Reece are you sure I have to be the bait!¡± ¡°Quit your whining Flow, it¡¯s not like you want that monster to come over here-¡± ¡°Reece I don¡¯t like it when your thinking! It makes me worried!¡± ¡°Hey Flow, your haircut makes you look terrible!¡± ¡°What the hell do you mean Reece!¡± ¡°Everyone, if you want to survive start insulting Flow and yell really loud!¡± After looking at each other, everyone came to the conclusion, this is a win-win scenario¡­ ¡°Your shirt looks like it belongs in the girl shop!¡± ¡°You have a terrible sense of direction!¡± Insult after insult rained down like machine gun fire, not having enough time to answer all of them I could only yell out hysterically at the barrage of hurtful words incoming. ¡°Stop insulting me just cause Reece told you to damnit!¡± *Growl* A silvery chill ran down the spine of almost everyone in the room, wait where was everyone? Looking around desperately I couldn¡¯t make anyone out, where did they all go¡­ **Stomp** **Stomp** It¡¯s figure couldn¡¯t be seen due to its current invisibility but regardless, I could still feel the pressuring force of the monster¡¯s gaze in front of me. Like predator looking down upon prey, I couldn¡¯t help but mumble out, ¡°Not again¡­¡± Chapter 17: The Ride (Teaser) A striking image came to memory when I looked at the looming nothingness in front of me. ¡®Your phone was outside the EMP range, it should still work.¡¯ ¡°Alright Reece, I''m trusting you.¡± Reaching within my back-pocket, I clutched from within a black, flat rectangle. Bringing it to life caused a sharp light to enter the room, illuminating the area around. Whilst the Auditorium hadn¡¯t been too dark, the bright light appearing from the screen was still with notice as I heard a loud shriek sound out from ahead of me. The creature, who¡¯s form I hadn¡¯t been able to grasp or clearly see before, now appeared like ink to paper. Long, thin, skeletal arms stretched out from the creatures torso, which by the looks of it was lacking a lot more than food, as several rib cages were placed on display within clear view.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. With the momentary shock of the light over, the creature¡¯s red beady eyes locked onto me the same way I would view a custard pie after dinner. Delicious¡­ Reaching my hand around towards my back, my hand seeking to grab onto my most trusty weapon, the weapon which I had used to slay all monsters up to this point. The weapon to which. ¡°Where the hell is my sword¡­¡± ¡°Oh, no..¡± Having been given perfect opportunity the creature made to lunge at its target, which so sadly, happened to be me. Thoughts like, ¡®I really want my sword right now¡¯, and, ¡®I wish I had magic spells, who needs a sword when they have magic spells.¡¯ Making a narrow dodge, my body began to move on pure instinct, even with the statistic increases my strength and speed had become twice that of the standard person, which I assumed was 10, but even then this monster was fast. Whether it was from lack of eating or pure muscle power, and I had to stall this for 30 seconds! Screw 10 seconds!