《Animus Smith》 Ch. 1 And So It Begins Chapter 1. And So It Begins I could be doing other things right now, like reading or playing a multiplayer game with my friends. Instead I was sitting in the bleachers of my school''s stadium watching a soccer game. Now don¡¯t get me wrong, soccer is interesting and maybe even exciting to watch but I could think of many things I would rather be doing. That being said I feel I had an obligation to be here to watch my younger brother kick the crap out of the opposing team. My parents who were sitting next to me did not really care for the game either but like most parents supported all our decisions. My mom in particular was embarrassingly vocal. My little brother Kyle had managed to become the star player this year and was living it large. He had climbed to the top of the social pyramid, were as me and my friends were probably near the bottom. We are very different people. He is outgoing and athletic while I am more comfortable alone and reading a good book. All things considered I think we had a pretty good relationship despite our differences. Family is important to us and I was someone outside his circle of friend he could talk too and gain good honest advice. Now my pale existence might have been seen as a stain on his greatness to some people but after one of my friends was bullied my retaliation consisting of pepper spray, social media attacks and incriminating evidence made me rather infamous. I am one of those people who go to great lengths for the people they care about. My focus on the game is interrupted by vibrating in my pocket and I look away from the game to check the text. -Hey Zen u up for a game? -sorry watching a game with the family -Hah to bad for you! Of course he rubs it in my face -Are you all online? -Yup, we will save you a spot in the party though. -okay With my texting finished I turned back to the game just in time to see my brother score a goal. The crowd went wild and I joined in. The whistle calling halftime blew and I was preparing to get up and raid the concession stand when a bright light flared up in the middle of the field. People cried out in surprise. Closing my eyes and looking away did nothing to help and soon there was only white. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain that seemed to come from every part of my body and the white turned to darkness. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. When I regained consciousness I felt sore everywhere, not just skin deep but legit sore EVERYWHERE inside and out, it reminded me of the tearing pain from before but softer. There was also a strange sense of pressure bearing down on my body like I was underwater. When I opened my eyes and looked around I realized I was lying on cold stone with a glowing ceiling above my head. After I sat up it became clear I was in a cave with an odd bioluminescent emerald colored moss covering the ceiling. The air was moist and a bit warm. After I had gathered my thoughts I decided the moss was suspiciously convenient and a glowing moss in a cave system would warrant heavy public interest. I had watched plenty of documentaries and never heard of something like this. The light, apparent teleporting and unlikely glowing moss suggested a summoning to another world cliche, which would be pretty cool except I appeared to be alone and reality is harsh. I just hope there is a world system, those stories were usually not as harsh as the others. On the flip side it better not be a cultivator world, the logarithmic gain in power does not sit well with me, plus everyone is so damn arrogant in those worlds. Well here it goes ¡®Status¡¯ Ding! Query Received¡­ New User Detected¡­ Testing¡­ I felt a slight drop in pressure before the pressure returned to normal. Is that pressure mana? Otherworlder Detected¡­ Compiling Knowledge¡­ Integrating New Skills into Skill list¡­ Changes completed resuming initial query... Displaying Status¡­
Status:
Name: Zen Chardo Race: Human
Lv: 17 Class: None
Titles: Otherworlder Traits: Zen Mind
Atb pts: 17 Skill pts: 17
Health:170 Mana:210
Physical() Mental()
Skills()
¡®Yes¡¯ I shouted in my head, there was a world system. I tried opening Physical(). Str: 13 Dex: 12 Vit: 14 Mental() gave. Int: 18 Wis: 21 Will: 21 And now Skills() Mind() Concentration Lv. 3 Resistances() Mental resist Lv. 3 Where did those come from? Perhaps my trait? Zen Mind Advanced Variation of calm mind with addition of skill creation gain. Gain mental resist exp equivalent to Lv. 3 Gain concentration exp equivalent to Lv.3 Chance to gain new skill increase. Okay thats cool. I should have more skills though. Perhaps I have to demonstrate them. ¡®1 + 1 = 2¡¯ ding! Math (Elementary) Lv. 1 gained. Int + 1 I muttered a sarcastic "yay". What is the description on that one? And isn''t the stat gain relatively high? Elementary Math: Query system for answer to equation. Interesting. It¡¯s like I gained a calculator. I should check the title Otherworlder. Otherworlder Being from another world. Skills must be reacquired. Well that was a waste of time. My experimenting is suddenly interrupted by a scream in the distance. So I am not the only one here. I had better find my family. Hopefully what ever killed that person is full now. People will probably move away from the scream and the predators probably have their own domains so I should circle around where I think the scream is coming from. With that in mind I choose to enter the tunnel from where the scream originated. Ch. 2 Troublesome Mana Chapter 2. Troublesome Mana The tunnel opened up to the left a few meters after the first curve I came across into a large cavern with a generous amount of stalactites, stalagtmites and archs. FYI, stalactites are on the ceiling and stalagmites are on the ground. As I walked further into the room I froze in surprise when I noticed what appeared to be five cockroaches scurry away from some kind of furry corpse. The size of the cockroaches intimidated me, they must have been the size of cats. Thankfully it did not appear that they would be returning soon. Upon closer inspection of the corpse it turned out to be a large bat about the size of a child. The cockroaches that ran away appeared to be scavengers. It would seem I did not have to worry about them so I turned my attentions back to the corpse. As I inspected the chest cavity I noticed a hint of crystal hidden amongst the flesh. It was pretty gross but the gem was easy to dislodge since the surrounding flesh was eaten away. I felt it was worth it through because it reminded me of the legendary mana stones of fantasy novels but it appeared fractured and grainy. Moreover it looked like blood vessels were running through it. As I stared at it wondering what it was and what purpose it served another soft chime sounded. Ding! Skill Identify Available for 5 skill pts (y/n)... Error: Trait Zen Mind lowers cost of skill acquisition. Skill pt cost lowered to 4 pts¡­ ¡®OMG its identify! O yes please give it to me¡¯ Ding! Skill: Identify Lv.1 Aquired... Yes. Now to try it out on this sphere. ¡®Identify¡¯ Small Mana Core ...Okay. Not that much information, but that''s to be expected from a Lv 1 skill. I will just have to train it. After quickly scanning everything in the cavern I learn that the bat creature is called a Burfen Bat and the moss is simply glowing cave moss. I have to focus a bit more to be granted information on the stalactites and the cave floor but I end up getting various limestone descriptions. This does not surprise me but the slight difficulty getting the information implies I might get more experience for identifying specific parts of objects. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I was about to start identifying the anatomy of the bat corpse when another scream pierced the stillness of the cave. I started, there would be time for experiments later, I had to join up with my fellow survivors. The cavern I was in had three exits counting the tunnel I emerged from and the scream came from the tunnel a bit to the right of the tunnel I exited. I continued my plan of skirting the edge of what I imagined was the beast''s territory by taking the exit on the other side of the cavern. Immediately upon entering the tunnel I noticed that the moss did not give off as much light as the cavern or the tunnel I used earlier. In fact the amount moss on the ceiling seemed to be declining the farther I went, I hoped this tunnel was not a dead end. Moreover the ceiling started to lower and I could finally reach what moss was left. When I moved my hand closer I was surprised to discover that the pressure slightly increased on my hand. Suddenly it came to me, I had been so stupid the pressure I had been feeling was mana. I started concentrating on imagining the pressure inside of me moving around like sloshing water in a cup. A few moments into my practice my concentration suddenly improved like something locked into place. A little part of my mind remembered the skill concentration but that was quickly replaced by what I had set out to do. Bit by bit I felt the pressure begin to fluctuate between my left and right sides before I was interrupted by the system chime again. Ding! Mana Manipulation Lv. 1 gained... I was ecstatic, I was finally on the path towards becoming a mage. Ding! New Class Available - Beginner Mage¡­ Found No Class Equipped¡­ Mage Class Auto Equipped¡­ Interesting¡­ I¡¯d better check the description. I am also glad the system uses the word equipped. This implies classes can be changed easily. Class: Beginner Mage General Magic User +5 % Exp gain when using magic skills. +5 % General Proficiency when using magic skills. Hm¡­ What does it mean when it says proficiency. Perhaps identify can be applied to the menu? Well I won''t know until I try. It takes awhile and concentration has to be activated but I finally get an answer from the system. Proficiency: Level of efficiency in completing a skill e.i. Power, Extent and Cost. Ding! Identify Increasedto Lv.2¡­ I am glad the system rewarded my efforts. It seems like learning something new about a skill increases its level. Although it felt like I skipped a step in its progression, the menu isn¡¯t physical and identifying something like a concept sounds harder. But enough about that I am much more interested in mana! After I gained the skill I became much more aware of the pressure and the discomfort disappeared, in fact the pressure almost feels like a part of me. As I walk along I take some time to get acquainted with my mana and start moving it around. My ability to control the mana increased a lot after gaining the skill but I do not like that I only seem to be capable of making points where mana converges the flow of pressure makes me uncomfortable. I want to move a little bit of mana without my entire pool following it. But instead of getting ahead of myself I instead try to create voids in my body where there is no mana by repelling the mana instead of attracting it. This turns out to be harder than it seems since the mana desperately tries to fill in the gaps. I have to stop for a second and concentrate on drawing mana away from the area I want repel before I succeed in creating a space vacant of mana. My triumph is short lived however because after I had released the rest of my mana it broke the barrier I had made and filled in the space. But I now know what I feels like to succeed and the next time I try it the barrier stays and I am rewarded with the system chime again. Ding! Mana Manipulation Increasedto Lv. 2¡­ With that my control has improved once again and another round of screams filling the air as I continue my trek through the cave. Ch. 3 Killer Carapace Chapter 3. Killer Carapace It''s been 5 minutes and it has gotten so dark that I have to feel my way along the tunnel wall with my hand. At this point I am multitasking by combining my focus on pouring mana out of my hand and feeling along the wall with said hand. My hope is that I will eventually get an understanding of extending my mana beyond my body by linking my perception of mana and touch through this action. In fact I upgraded my mana manipulation to three after learning I can use the thin layer of mana around my body to increase my grip on the wall. I believe the mana latches on to the little cracks and bumps on the rock. I got a new skill called mana grip as well after I caught myself from falling in the dark, the description should go without saying. I think the end of the tunnel is finally coming due to the green glow in front of me. The tunnel is really narrow now and I have to crawl through a crack in the tunnel to get through to the other side. This side has a lot more moss and seems to be part of a bent tunnel intersection, more like a T intersection though due to the difficulty of entering the tunnel I came through. The tunnel in front of me seems to morph into a cavern just a few meters ahead. When I enter the cave I notice I am on a ledge above the rest of the cavern almost like I am on the second floor of a theater. There is a jumble of fallen rocks to the left that I can use to get down but before I can take another step I see in my peripheral vision a figure sprint through one of the exits below me to my right. Startled I duck behind a nearby arch and listen. But not before glimpsing a large creature scuttle through that same exit. After a moment I realize that figure was my brother and crawl towards the lip of the edge to look down. I notice that Kyle is trapped in a clump of columns and arches that seem to be supporting the rock I am lying on while the creature slashes at him. The creature is camouflaged to look like the limestone and looks like a cross between a mantis and an ant. The head and thorax resembles a mantis while the abdomen resembles an ant. It was as big as a horse and the scythes look deadly. I have to do something quick because the creature is starting get a better position to reach into the columns. I don¡¯t know how to help. An insect that big must have a thick exoskeleton and the only way to damage it would be to get in between the joints, but I have no weapons that could hurt the ligaments in those areas. I have to do something through. All I can think of is to jump off the ledge with a rock and bash its head. I doubt I¡¯ll kill it but I should be able to stun it at least and try to lead Kyle away. With this plan in mind I grabbed a rock that fit nicely in my hand, lined up my fall and jumped.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Unfortunately I lined up my fall a little too well. I ended up landing on the things right shoulder almost in a piggyback condition. Almost immediately a scythe passed by my head, if I had not bashed its head with the rock and stunned it when I landed it probably would have killed me. I was going to take another swing at it but I was in the zone and my concentration altered mind came up with a better idea. I started to fall onto the bugs back and when my ankles started to brush past it''s face I turned on my mana grip. My weight pulled its head back and to the right. It tried to slash my feet but this attempt was its undoing as my hands were attached to its arm. When it pulled it pulled me as well snapping its neck. When I heard the snap I let go and rolled away. Good thing too because the creature was in its death throes spazzing around on the ground swinging at everything. After a minute the thrashing stopped and I finally turned around to suddenly be hugged by brother. We stood there for a while quietly crying before we separated. ¡°Boy I am glad to see you Zen, thank you¡± said Kyle. Wiping his eyes a little bit. ¡° Where have you been¡±. ¡°Just wandering around creating theories¡± I replied ¡°You?¡±. ¡°I found some survivors but¡­¡± Kyle trailed off with a dejected face. I wore a stunned expression. ¡°All because of that mantis thing?¡± I questioned pointing to the corpse of the bug. ¡°No, there are these centipede creatures in the caves that way¡± He said pointing towards the right side of the cave and shuttered ¡°They had rings of teeth for a mouth¡±. ¡°What size were the caves you passed through? I¡¯m thinking we should skirt the edges of the really large caves¡± I explained. Kyle looked like he was thinking for a moment before he replied ¡°That sounds like a good idea I saw a huge cave with a skylight, too high to climb and probably filled with monsters¡±. ¡°Yea, most of the food for this cave system probably comes from that skylight.¡± I acknowledged ¡°Hey have you accessed the system yet?¡± With a bewildered look Kyle asked ¡°system?¡± ¡°Say status in your mind.¡± I told him. ¡°Woah.¡± Kyle exclaimed while staring into mid air ¡°It¡¯s like a game¡­¡± ¡°Its no game.¡± I said seriously. Kyle looked sad when he replied ¡°Yes. I know... We aren''t going home are we¡±. ¡°No, I doubt it.¡± I said looking away, but I turned back with a grin ¡°On the bright side though there is magic¡±. ¡°The pressure?¡± Kyle asked with wide eyes. ¡°Yup¡± I nodded ¡°try moving it around¡±. Kyle nodded and began rocking back and forth ¡°It''s harder to do than you say¡±. ¡°You will get the hang of it.¡± I reassured him ¡°We will not be so helpless for long¡±. ¡°Ha, helpless?¡± Kyle laughed ¡°You just took out a giant mantis! How did you do that anyway?¡± ¡°I snapped its neck didn¡¯t you see?¡± I replied. ¡°But how did you hold onto it with such a horrible grip?¡± He questioned ¡°The shell looks smooth¡±. ¡°I¡¯ve increased my mana manipulation to the point I can increase my grip on objects.¡± I replied. ¡°Ah. I see now.¡± He said ¡°I have a lot of work to do¡±. ¡°Yeah but not now, we have to search for our parents and other survivors¡± I said ¡°Although¡­ There is one thing we should do before we go¡±. ¡°What?¡± Kyle asked. I grinned and replied ¡°Get us some weapons¡±. Ch. 4 Chitin Sabers Chapter 4. Chitin Sabers I turned towards the mantis corpse and walked over to inspect it more closely. Instead of a triangular shaped head like a regular mantis its head resembled a rhomboid, like two triangles back to back and had an odd combination of mandibles and fangs. Moreover I noticed that the short spikes on the scythes had small perforations on them, like tubes that went inside the spike into the scythe. Kyle had walked over as well and pointed out that the thorax which I thought belonged on an ant was flattened and spread out towards the end. It also had a reddish tinge that reminded me of a fattened tick. After inspecting the creature I came to the conclusion it would drink the blood of its prey and store it for later. As for why perhaps identify could help. Mantike Lv. 37 I was disheartened for a second before... Ding! Prerequisite Wisdom For Monster Identification Skill Found¡­ Identify Skill Already Possessed¡­ Experience Instead Applied Towards Identify Skill... Identify Skill IncreasedTo Lv. 4¡­ That''s great! Two levels! Now I suppose I should try Identify again now that the level has increased. Glow Cave Mantike Lv.37 Assassinates prey from hiding using camouflage. Stores preys blood for quick healing transfusions. Glow Cave variation: increased nightvision. Dang it I¡¯m lucky. If I hadn¡¯t killed it the way I did I would be dead. On another note the identify skill is finally starting to help out. ¡°Looks like it heals itself using its victim''s blood¡± I informed Kyle. ¡°You got that from the monster identification skill right?¡± He asked ¡°The systems asking if I want to learn it for three skill points¡±. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°No, I have a skill called Identify¡± I replied ¡°it identifys a larger scope of things than just monsters¡±. ¡°Should I get it?¡± He asked. ¡°No, save your skill points for something better¡± I said ¡°I already serve that purpose¡±. ¡°How did you get Identify?¡± He asked. ¡°I am still wondering about that. The cost of Identify was higher than the three points for monster identification¡± I said. ¡°That makes sense but does not answer how you got the more general identification skill¡± Kyle responded. ¡°No use ruminating on it now, I doubt we will figure it out anytime soon¡± I said. But he had a point why did I get a prompt for Identify and not some sort of gem appraisal skill when I looked at the mana core? Was it because I knew nothing about it and asked the system a very general question? Does it have something to do with my Zen Mind trait? Like I said it''s probably pointless to ruminate about itat this time¡­ For now I put my questions aside and start twisting and turning the the end of the mantike¡¯s scythe appendage in an effort to remove it from the body. The arm of the mantike is divided into three sections, first the section attached to the shoulders is used for overall movement of the limb, next the middle segment is used as a backboard for the last segment to crush its victim and hold in place. The last two segments are sharp and have spikes but I am only interested in the last segment which could act very well as a saber. The middle segments look like their center of mass is too centered to be useful as a weapon. I quickly realized that I could use the other arm to cut the joint attaching the last segment to the arm and discovered the mantike had a skeleton as well as an exoskeleton. Both were thinner and seemed to work in tandem to support the large body. This worked in my favor because it gave me something to grip as a handle. I was already preparing to take a piece of the a leg and jam it in the saber to use as a makeshift handle. What''s more the edge of the saber felt incredibly hard and yet had a bit of give due to the nature of the dual skeleton. It was also rather light, the only problem was the odd inward curve and the thin handle. But that was solved by wrapping the handle with part of the ligaments and tieing it together with one of the antenna. After finishing the system decided to reward my efforts. Ding! Prerequisite Wisdom For Weapon Identification Skill Found¡­ Identify Skill Already Possessed¡­ Experience Instead Applied Towards Identify Skill... Identify Skill Upgraded To Lv. 6... Ding! Title Added: Unusual Crafter... Unusual Crafter One who uses unconventional materials. +5 % Proficiency when crafting using unusual materials. Ding! Knowledge Needed For New Skill Found... Skill: Monster Weapon Making Lv.1 Acquired ... Monster Weapon Making Lv.1 Ability to craft weapons from monster materials. +1 % Proficiency when creating weapons from monster parts Chance to maintain monster trait. Ding! New Class Available: Crafter¡­ Crafter Your ordinary everyday crafter. +5 % Exp gain when using crafting skills. +5 % General Proficiency when crafting. Well that''s a lot to take in¡­ Does the chance to maintain monster trait mean the saber might have a lifesteal effect? Only way to know is to try identify I guess. Mantike Saber (very poor quality) Saber made from part of a Mantike scythe. Hardness comparable to iron yet much lighter. Unusual form ill suited for most sword forms. Very minor stamina steal effect. Well it''s not lifesteal but stamina is good as well. I think I can do a better job on the next one. I can¡¯t wait to see! Oh yes didn''t I get some levels from killing that thing? Ch. 5 Weapons For Friends Chapter 5. Weapons For Friends ¡°Now that is a wicked looking weapon!¡± Kyle exclaimed when he saw the saber. With a proud grin I replied ¡°Yea and it also steals stamina!¡±. ¡°But I also have to check how many levels I got¡± I said. Time to check my status.
Status:
Name: Zen Chardo Race: Human
Class: Mage Lv. 21 Titles: Otherworlder, Unusual Crafter
Traits: Zen Mind
Atb pts: 21 Skill pts: 21
Health: 140 Mana: 210
Physical() Mental()
Physical() Str: 13 Dex: 12 Vit: 14 Mental() Int: 18 Wis: 21 Will: 21 Skills() Looks like I gained four levels from that battle. Not sure if that can be counted as a battle through¡­ Anyway I should probably assign my attribute points, I¡¯ll be needing them soon. First I will bump up intelligence to 21. Ding! Error: Only One Atb Pt Can Be Used Per Category Per 12 Hour Period. Dang it! I guess I will bump up each category one point for now. I should have done this earlier.
Woah. I feel lighter and my feet aren''t as sore anymore. Not only that but my mind seems calmer and I feel more in control of this crummy situation. My health and mana also went up when I raised my vitality and willpower respectively. I inform Kyle of what I felt and the restriction on attribute gain before continuing work on the other limb of the mantike. I look up after a few seconds to see Kyle beginning to do some kind of warmup exercise but I stop him halfway through ¡°Hey Kyle help me by cutting off the mandibles, maybe we can turn them into pseudo daggers¡±. ¡°Okay¡± he replies. Kyle takes the saber after I am done cutting and gets to work on the mantikes face. When I am done I identify my saber. Mantike Saber (poor quality) Saber made from part of a Mantike scythe. Hardness comparable to iron yet much lighter. Unusual form ill suited for most sword forms. Minor stamina steal effect. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. After creating the other sword I had a better idea of what to do and the system showed that by increasing the quality a little. It was kind of weird though knowing a bit how to wrap the handle. That little bit of extra knowledge just appeared there in my mind. I put that oddness aside and started working on the other mandible. Kyle had just finished and showed me the dagger he made. I took a cursory identification on it. Mantike Dagger (very poor quality) I wasn''t surprised by the lack of information because that is all I asked from identify but¡­ ¡°did you get any skills?¡± I asked Kyle. ¡°No, should I have?¡± Kyle asked worriedly. ¡°I got a crafting skill when I made the saber but the system talked about having the prerequisite knowledge¡± I said. I guess I should not be surprised. I want to make prosthetics when I grow up and so I have researched extensively into materials and biology. At one point I obsessed over weapons for a time so I know my stuff. ¡°How do you have the knowledge?¡± He asked. ¡°Research¡± I said mysteriously. I thought Kyle would ask again but he just shrugged and watched me work. I pouted a little, is he just going to let that go. ¡°I trust you¡± he said. What does that mean? I finished and inspected my work. Mantike Dagger (poor quality) Dagger made from mandibles of a mantike. Hardness comparable to bronze yet much lighter. The hardness is different but at least there is not enough of a problem with the form for the system to take note. The quality when I make weapons is better as well I see. I will probably be the one making weapons in the future. With the weapons finished I stood up and said ¡°Time to go¡±. ¡°What about armor?¡± Kyle asked. I thought about it a bit but I really had no way of stitching anything together and also... ¡°No time¡± I said. ¡°I want to get moving¡±. I started heading towards the front tunnel and Kyle followed me but before we were halfway across the cavern we heard rocks clatter behind us. We both turned around and crouched using sight and sound to search behind us. I heard more footfalls coming from the upper ledge but I could not discern which tunnel above the noise was coming from. I looked at Kyle and waited for him to look at me. When he did I beckoned him to follow me towards the side of the cavern where some stalagmites where. We had just moved behind them when the source of the noise presented themselves. It turned out to be five people, I did not have to wonder if they were from our world the cloths were obvious. There were two soccer players and a girl about our age. The last two were adults, an office worker looking guy and a very worried looking grandmotherishwoman. Kyle immediately shouted out a greeting and began running over to the boulders that lead up to the second floor. His team mates shouted back and started climbing down to meet him, the other three started moving as well but were a bit more careful. I was about to reprimand them for shouting and making noise but I figure the only way we will meet up with a large group is if we make ourselves known. Instead I began walking over to meet our fellow survivors. I joined the group at the base of the boulders just as the last three climbed down. Kyles teammates already knew me but I introduced myself to the others. The mom was named Maggie and the office worker looking guy was actually a sales associate at a hardware store, his name was Chris. Kyles friends were Jeff and Tank, while the girl was Karla. It seems they were so intent upon our existence that they didn''t notice the Mantike corpse until introductions were done. In all fairness the thing blends in and was partially under the overhang. After Kyle explained I killed it they looked at me in awe. I quickly explained it was a fluke but their looks only diminished a little, but their worried looks increased as reality sank in that such a creature does not exist on earth. Kyle and I filled them in on the system before I walked over and making two clubs from the mantike arms. Kyle questioned them on their journey so far and from what I overheard it seems Karla and Maggie warped in together on a sloped tunnel, the others were alone in the same position. They all walked upwards but the tunnels soon ended at a wide pit that seemed to go down forever. They turned around and headed down where the tunnels connected and they met up. They can into the cavern from the tunnel immediately to our right. It makes sense since the left tunnel leads to the large cavern with the centipedes according to Kyle. When I finished the spiked club things I identified them. Mantike Bite (poor quality) Spiked cudgel made from a mantike arm Hardness comparable to iron yet much lighter. Attack loss due to poor center of gravity. Minor stamina steal With the new weapons done I walked back over to the group. The cudgels were given to Jeff and Tank while Karla and Chris were given the daggers. Chris looked disappointed but didn¡¯t say anything. Now armed we headed towards the tunnel in front of us. Status Update:
Status:
Name: Zen Chardo Race: Human
Class: Mage Lv. 21 Titles: Otherworlder, Unusual Crafter
Traits: Zen Mind
Atb pts:15 Skill pts:21
Health:150 Mana: 220
Physical() Mental()
Physical() Str: 14 Dex: 13 Vit: 15 Mental() Int: 19 Wis: 22 Will: 22 Skills() Magic() Mana Manipulation Lv 3 Mana Grip Lv. 2 Mind() Concentration lv. 3 Resistances() Mental resist lv. 3 System() Identify Lv. 6 Crafting() Monster Weapon Crafting Lv. 1 Ch. 6 Too Late Chapter 6. Too Late Our group entered the tunnel and soon entered a small cavern. Part of the right side of the cavern seemed to be pot marked with holes like swiss cheese. The upper levels in particular were filled with holes and a faint chittering could be heard coming from the recesses in the cave wall. We stopped wary of the creature behind the noise. Any discussion on how to proceed was cut off by a scream of pain and shouting coming from the holes and the tunnel ahead. Kyle and his buddies ran ahead and the rest of us followed. What we found was horrifying. A wave of cockroaches was swarming over two bodies on the floor. Two boys and a girl with long black hair were trying to kick back the roaches but were failing miserably. The girl was particularly desperate screaming ¡°Ren! Ren!¡± over and over. She did not seem to care about the roaches much and was more focused on reaching the body who I assumed was Ren. The roaches were ignoring everything but two victims on the floor. There were some hanging back but since the kicks were not achieving much some were returning to the fray. The guys and I ran forward to help swinging our weapons from side to side to clear a path toward the two downed victims. It became obvious the girl was doing a better job at keeping the bugs of Ren. She was fearless and despite the situation she seemed to have a clear head. Instead of kicking the bugs away she was reaching down and bending, sometimes ripping out antennas. The roaches cries of pain were discouraging other bugs from taking the places of the injured ones. Kyle and I split from the others to help the girl while the rest helped the two boys. We went for the joints separating the head from the thorax. We had killed three roaches each and injured a couple more before the rest decided attacking was not worth the trouble and disappeared into the tunnels on the right side of the cave. The girl knelt before Ren mumbling his name. I heard the boy say the name Rika before going silent. She started shaking him but Kyle stopped her and hugged her saying ¡°He¡¯s gone, He¡¯s gone¡±. It was a little premature though since he was obviously still breathing but he didn¡¯t look good, there were chunks of him missing and honestly I felt like puking. I bet he would be dead from blood loss soon and the helplessness of the situation was chilling. I felt desperate and decided to try my hand at healing him. I was pretty sure nothing would come of this but it was worth a shot, I would let my desperation guide me. I pressed my hands against his the mangled flesh of his ribs, his lifeblood draining through my fingers. Immediately I felt the skill concentrate activating and everything but my hands and the feeling of blood on my fingers faded away. I closed my eyes and attempted to pour my mana into him but I got nowhere, material like rock impedes the flow of mana and although skin and tissue is far more porous it is still hard to move mana through. Moreover his mana pressed against mine and impeded my progress which was only a centimeter at most. I brought more mana down my arm and into my hands but the added pressure only extended my reach another half centimeter. The veins and arteries made it easier but the pressure from his mana kept increasing the farther inside I went. I tried repelling his mana but the closer my mana came to his the more ¡®vague¡¯ it got. Like it was becoming more like his mana. I couldn''t control it like that so I tried gaining control of his mana. However it felt like I was fighting another mind for control, subdued yes but I could only take so much so quickly. I felt like I could be stopped easily if he was awake and conscious of my advances upon his mana. My next act was to try and layer mana convergence under a larger mana repelling area. My mana would be kept in place by the convergence and the repulsion would make it easier for my mana to push against his. This worked well but required heavy concentration and the area of effect could only extend so far. What really sped up my mana invasion though was discovering that I could lock in the pseudo spell for repelling and converging mana by grabbing the surrounding tissue with mana. The act of grabbing seemed to harden my mana and maintain my control. So I began a cycle to increase my domain, I would break concentration to grab more territory and apply the effect before locking everything down. Rinse and repeat. I also started isolating sections before willing the mana there to become my own. I used my knowledge of fractals to increase the surface area of my influence and increase my domain faster but eventually it became too hard to keep focus on it all. I had to stop my expansion. I was in control of much of the torso and some vein and artery branches leading elsewhere. Unfortunately I had little idea of what I could do at this point so I just decided to wing it by imagining platelets forming, ATP being produced, blood cells reforming and tissue healing. There was a long pause before I suddenly found my mana pressure lessening.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I opened my eyes to see the bites and mangled flesh on his torso crusting over and new tissue reforming as the scabs fell away. I held the sight in my mind and continued pouring in mana. But I was too late... Through my mana I felt the flow of blood stop. I despaired. I was too late, my vision became blurry, I thought it was because of tears but it turned out to be symptoms of something worse. I became lightheaded and as my vision slowly went dark my thoughts faded into oblivion.
Colors everywhere, lines being drawn¡­ connecting¡­ fading¡­ Wisps of light swirling about. I felt an irritation that was not my own. Surprise. Understanding. Joy. A smile I could feel but not see. Where was it? Where is this? Fading¡­
I woke up with a head ache to see my concerned brothers face above me with the girl who I assume to be the Rika the boy talked about at his side. My dream faded. ¡° How long?¡± I ask. ¡°Only a few seconds... Did you try to heal him?¡±. ¡°Yea¡­ I felt him go, I must have run out of mana¡± I replied. A quick status confirmed I was at one mana. It also told me I gained a level and had lost some skill points, eight to be precise. I was confused, when had I used skill points? Above the skill point counter was a new trait called life affinity, the loss of skill points probably had to do with that. I was a little surprised when my request for a log actually went through. Start Log... Mana Manipulation Increased To Level 4¡­ Mana Manipulation Increased To Level 6¡­ Mana Manipulation Increased To Level 7¡­ Mana Manipulation Increased To Level 8¡­ Query For Healing Magic Received¡­ Affinity Required¡­ Standing To Low For Holy Affinity¡­ Knowledge Required For Order Affinity Found¡­ Error: Affinity Not Applicable To Query Intent¡­ Knowledge Required For Nature Affinity Found¡­ Error: Affinity Not Applicable To Query Intent¡­ System Standing High Enough For Workaround Using New Otherworlder Knowledge... New Affinity: Life Implemented As Precursor Of Nature Affinity... Eight Skill Points Taken As Cost For Workaround¡­ Life Affinity Acquired¡­ Title Added: Forerunner of Life... Title Added: Sage of Life... Warning: Title Bestowed To Individual With Highest Knowledge of Life Magic Automatically¡­ Error: Title: Forerunner of Life already acquired¡­ Sage of Life merged intoForerunner of Life, Life Affinity increased... Proper Affinity Found¡­ Knowledge Required For Healing Magic Found¡­ Knowledge Higher Than Needed For Basic Healing Magic¡­ Requisite Skills Found¡­ Skill: Tissue Restoration Lv. 1 Acquired¡­ Skill: Natural Healing Support Lv. 3 Acquired... One Time Warning: Mana Stores Low - Mana Exhaustion Imminent... End Log¡­ Well mana manipulation sure rose quite a bit and I suppose a whole new affinity for only eight points is a steal. I guess I will be the healer from now on. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Kyle asks. I must have been staring at nothing. ¡°I am okay. I was just looking at my status¡± I replied. The girl had narrowed her eyes in confusion a bit through our conversation and Kyle helped me stand. I once again looked at the girl kneeling on the ground ¡°Thank you¡± she mumbled without looking at me, her hands clenched in front of her. I didn¡¯t say anything, I didn¡¯t deserve a thank you. Instead I walked towards the other body. The long blonde hair suggested a female. The throat was ripped to shreds and face mangled. I turned away in horror and disgust feeling like I was going to puke. There was no way I could have saved her. The others were a little ways away. Tank and one of the new boys were puking while leaning on a nearby column. Jeff had his hand on Tanks back and Chris was sitting with the other boy staring at the holes where the roaches came from. The new boys both had blond hair but had totally different faces, one was sharp and the other stocky. It did not look like they were some of the players. Everyone looked shell shocked. I noticed Maggie and Karla had walked over to Rika and were consoling her along with Kyle. As I eavesdropped on their conversation I confirmed that her name was indeed Rika and that the boy was her brother Ren. I was also close enough to overhear the conversation between the guys behind me. Apparently they they were attacked by giant beetles in a large cavern four caves back. At first it was just one that bit the dead girl on her leg after rushing out from behind a column. It would have turned out worse except another beetle showed up and began to hiss at the other beetle. Ren used that chance to try and pull the girl away. The first beetle lunged at him but the other beetle used that chance to begin its attack. Ren still got a gash on his arm from a swipe from the first beetle but they all succeeded in carrying the girl away. They stopped to rest in this cavern and the rest is history. I thought the roaches were scavengers but apparently they are opportunists as well. At least they are smart enough to retreat when threatened and not mindless killers who incessantly attack anything that bleeds. I am also glad they did not realize they could have done some damage to those of us who are not injured. I hope we did not run into those beetles they were talking about. I decided to sit down and take a break, wait for everyone to settle down. Ch. 7 Auditory Lighthouse Chapter 7. Auditory Lighthouse Alas it was not to be for less than five minutes later distant screams once again drifted through the moist cavern air. Everyone startled and looked warily towards the tunnel in front of us. We should continue moving and searching for survivors¡± Kyle said as he stood. Rika who was kneeling by her fallen brother stiffened and looked up. ¡°What about¡­¡± she trailed off while looking at her brother. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything for him¡± Kyle responded. ¡°But!¡­¡± Rika exclaimed while looking at Kyle. ¡°We can¡¯t just sit here, we have to search for others!¡± Kyle said with a bit of force in his voice. Rika went still ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± Kyle said with a softer voice. ¡°Come on sweetie¡± Maggie said helping Rika up. The rest of us got up as well but some seemed to be wary of entering the tunnel. ¡°Maybe we should just stay here¡± Chris said. Kyle looked at him with an irritated look ¡°if we want to survive we need the overwhelming power of numbers, besides with these sabers Zen made we should be able to fend off most of the monsters here!¡± Kyle exclaimed. I felt it was time to pitch in ¡°We have not been going about this efficiently, we need to call out to people so they can find us¡± I said. ¡°Are you crazy!¡± Chris exclaimed ¡°The that will draw them right to us!¡±. I was not sure about what I was about to say but my logic was sound enough. We needed to not just to survive but to thrive and having more people join the group was a must. I also wanted to find my parents. ¡°Predators only react to cries of distress and will not risk attacking something that can seriously hurt them. A bad leg or antenna could mean a death sentence to some of the creatures down here, we just need to show we aren''t worth it and they will back off¡± I lectured. Chris and the others reluctantly nodded. ¡°Alright¡± Kyle nodded ¡°let''s get moving¡±. We started moving and began shouting out things like ¡®survivors are here¡¯ or ¡®join up with us¡¯. Maggie had to pull Rika a bit to get her to move but eventually they too quietly joined the procession. I hung back a bit after almost forgetting something and quickly identified the bodies in the room. Glow Cave Hive Roach Lv. 5 Large roach type Hive like behavior Opportunistic scavenger Glow Cave variant: increased night vision A pretty normal status, the levels of the dead roaches seem to be between three and five. The system also gave me information about our fallen. Elisa Thornton Lv. 16 Ren Masamoto Lv. 17 It''s a real pity¡­ I sighed and turned to catch up with the group.
Our shouting did indeed attract attention from the cave denizens for after we reached the next cavern a trio of Burfen bats came swooping down from the upper reaches of the cave and dive bombed us. The encounter did not last long since they appeared to be wary of our swinging weapons and quickly flew off. As we continued we would be harassed from time to time by bats in small groups. We did see solitary ones but they never attacked us. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The high rate of incidences was probably due to the nature of the cavern we had entered. It was long and the ceiling was very high, more like a ravine. The bats would fly back up and disappear to the side of the cavern almost as if there were tunnels in the upper reaches running perpendicular to the tunnel. There might be a metaphorical highway for the bats above us. Eventually we exited the tunnel and entered a large cavern were a group of five survivors peaked out from behind some stalagmites. There were two girls, a women I figured was the mother of one of the girls due to how close she was to her and a teacher I recognized as Miss Burns a young english teacher in the lower grades who was pretty popular with the students, the last one was one of Kyle''s teammates. Everyone got acquainted and told their stories, apparently they had only been harassed by bats and seen glimpses of cave roaches before they heard us and made their way towards our location. Moreover they witnessed a giant batlike creature capture and kill one of the Burfen bats. The description was rather interesting, it was as big as a wolf and had four limbs and wings like a dragon but definitely had fur and mammal characteristics. It sounds terrifying like a monster from dracula movies. After that things were a little quiet but we pressed on after a little break. Soon I was given a sign that Rika would be alright. After a couple caverns we came upon a group of roaches nibbling something on the ground and Rika grabbed a low hanging stalactite and sprinted towards the cockroaches. Most of them scattered but one tried to take his prize with him, it was a huge mistake. Rick quickly closed the distance and smashed the roach killing it instantly and breaking the thin stalactite. Me and a couple of the guys had run up to her and noticed the piece of food was the lower part of an arm. Rika just looked angry while staring at the cockroach. ¡°I must get stronger¡± she muttered and she walked back to the group, she looked like a warrior goddess for a second but her shoulders soon slumped down a bit and the image faded. I bet she was thinking of her brother, Kyle ran after her to ask if she was okay and the rest followed after. I tried to identify the arm but only got ¡®Human Arm¡¯ back. Caught between relief and disappointment I walked back to the group. As we traveled we encountered more groups of people, mostly in twos and threes. Our group had grown to 21 people and we were starting to feel safe. We had encountered a giant beetle like the one¡¯s Rika and her group encountered but we managed to quickly surround and kill it by attacking its legs and bashing it with well sized stalagmites. It really injured one of the guys though when it first charged but I was able to heal him. It wasn¡¯t complete though the bones he had cracked were still very sore and we had to carry him. Others had been bruised a bit but I had used most of my restored mana helping the first guy. After I healed the guy who¡¯s name was Trevor everyone got a bit excited and started really practicing mana manipulation. It wasn¡¯t a secret that this world was game like but people were a bit on edge and could not focus on practicing with mana. I was relegated to a healers position and kept in the middle of the group by some of the guys who were into games and were talking about classes and the importance of specialization. I told them this is still reality and being balanced was the smart decision but the argument did not go anywhere so I gave my saber to Rika who took a leading role in killing the beetle despite only fighting with a stalagmite club that I had broken off. Turns out whenever I break a stalagmite off it almost always breaks at a convenient spot. It must be the influence of my Unusual Crafter title. When this happens the system actually decrees it a weapon, a horrible one but a weapon nonetheless. Limestone Club (natural) Club made from a limestone stalactite Unwieldy weight Water affinity High chance of break The water affinity tag is interesting but none of us know what to do with that information. In the end it''s just an unwieldy disposable club. Other people can make a club accepted by the system but it''s more reliable for me to make the clubs for them. When I walked over and identified the beetle I got Cave Tiger Beetle Lv. 25 Giant beetle with tiger like stripes Cave variant: loss of flight but more armor Not much of a description but the stripes on its shell do resemble a tigers. The mandibles are not as sharp as the Mantike¡¯s but they could be used to stab. I have the group rest while I make a pair of knives. They look odd but should probably work well enough. Beetle Shiv (poor) Made from a beetle''s mandibles Very little cutting edge and odd shape reduces usability Iron hard Barely a weapon Well sorry for using such unusual materials. At least my proper wrapping of the handle stops it from being a very poor quality. I wish I had leather or cloth to work with instead of sinew I am kind of happy that I don¡¯t have to carry the soggy saber around anymore. There was a little argument over who got the weapons but Kyle resolved it. It seems like some of the adults are a little irritated over how the students are taking charge. We don¡¯t have time for this but Kyles charisma seems to be keeping them in check. The environment had started to change as we trekked through the cave. While at first the air had been rather dry it was becoming progressively more humid. Moreover we began to notice what appeared to be roots hanging down from ceiling. I tried to identify them but all I got was tree root. I was starting to think identify was starting to become useful but it seems it will be awhile before I can fully identify something without seeing the entirety of the object in question. During a break in our shouting Jeff sudden yells¡°Quiet!¡±. We all stop to listen and make out a yelling in the distance. It does not sound like distress and as we draw closer together we can make out a multitude of voices. It sounds like another large group of people and finally it becomes obvious that they are around the next bend.