As soon as he no longer felt threatened Alan canceled his Spell, reached out his remaining arm and scooped up the Scroll. Activating [Examine], he glossed over the description while placing the pouch of (Iron Grade) Lotus coins into his Storage Ring.
Technique Scroll containing the (Common) Technique {Mirage step}.
Without a second thought he cracked the wax seal on the Scroll and waited impatiently as it unrolled itself. With its contents revealed, the words contained within the Scroll became waves of multicolored light. Awash in the light, Alan was suddenly watching a detailed scene play out before him, almost as if he were back home, watching one of uncle Alex's anime DVD's.
In a small clearing within the depths of a vast forest, Alan viewed from above as a seemingly naked, tiny green woman carrying a massive two-handed sword faces off against a humanoid fox person.
Fully armored in glittering red mail, the Foxman wore a smile of smug satisfaction. Lifting the enormous battle-axe gripped in his left hand, the Foxman started speaking in a harsh voice.
"There's nowhere left for you to run Azala, Glendar has fallen. Your blessed High Elders have been put to the sword, and wise King Philistan has been sent to Dark Locke.
Sighing in resignation, and gazing calmly at the Foxman towering over her, the tiny woman raised her sword while flipping her luxurious red hair over her shoulder. "Such is the way of the Multiverse" she replied calmly while lowering her stance, preparing to strike.
Faster that Alan could even begin to comprehend, the Foxman swung his axe in a vicious downward strike.
The sheer force of his attack released a sonic boom as it exceeded the sound barrier. Rending the air itself as it crashed into the woman's shoulder.
The powerful blow cut cleanly through the woman from shoulder to hip, then smashed into the ground. As if a bomb went off, the attack set off a cataclysmic detonation. Flattening the surrounding trees for over 1000 feet around them, and creating a deep fissure where the woman once stood, even viewing from above as he was Alan became temporarily blinded by the dust and falling debris.
As the air cleared, Alan was shocked to see the small green woman standing 20 feet behind the Foxman. She extended her massive sword out to the side and swung the blade with practiced ease. The simple slash created a storm of sharpened leaves that buffeted the Foxman, denting and chipping his sturdy armor while leaving several deep gashes along both sides of his face.
"You left yourself wide open." The woman, Azala, smirked and then continued to speak. "I expected more from the dreaded 'Bleeding Axe'. Come child, show me your worth."
Snarling in rage, the Foxman 'Bleeding Axe' shot forward, his astonishing speed on full display. The force of his feet pushing off left a small crater on the ground where he was only just standing, smug with confidence.
Appearing before Azala, the enraged Foxman swung the claws of his left hand down as his right arm swept his axe horizontally. The moment his attacks were about to land, Azala appeared behind the Foxman, leaving behind a lifelike afterimage standing in her place.
From above, Azala's sudden movement was easily noticeable to Alan, yet had been completely missed by 'Bleeding Axe' standing on the ground before her. Intent on vanquishing his foe, the oblivious Foxman delivered multiple crushing blows to the mirage. From where she stood behind him, Azala swung her sword in another simple arc. Her massive blade smoothly sliced through the Foxman's neck, severing his head and sending it tumbling to the forest floor. Where it landed amid a rush of his own blood.
No excessive show of force needed, no cataclysmic devastation released upon the environment. The practiced ease with which Azala wielded her weapon showcased untold hours of practice necessary to reach such prowess with the blade.
The last thing Alan saw before the vision faded out was Azala wiping her blade clean on a piece of cloth she unceremoniously ripped out from under 'Bleeding Axe's armor.
Once more aware of his surroundings, Alan made a mental inventory of what he'd just learned. Similar to Spells, the information on the usage of {Mirage step} had been firmly imbedded within his mind.
Thinking back over the vivid hallucination, Alan compared what he'd been shown with the detailed Technique information he received from the Technique Scroll. In only a few moments he came to a conclusion.
Although at the time it may have seemed like Azala simply Teleported behind 'Bleeding Axe' before executing him, in reality she hadn't actually teleported, she had only moved extremely fast. Fast enough to leave behind an afterimage that was easily mistaken with her physical body.
I wonder what Level they were? Those attacks were utterly monstrous. A shiver ran up his spine. Just the breeze from that axe would have shredded me. Hopefully I don't have to face anything like those lunatics...At least not anytime soon.
Alan was snapped out of his reverie by another several notifications popping up and adding themselves to the dozens of dismissed notifications already waiting. Sighing in defeat, he began the lengthy process of sifting through each one
Remarkable! Your Skill (Unique)[Daemonfire of the Impure Realm] has grown to Level 2!
*WARNING!* Your volatile emotions have begun to resonate with the Skill *Unique*[Daemonfire of the Impure Realm]. Synchronicity has been detected! Synchronization rate determined to be 96%!...97%!...98%!...99%!...
*WARNING!* Your Skill *Unique*[Daemonfire of the Impure Realm] is attempting to establish a link to your Emotional Core. It is recommended you terminate this action immediately. Synchronization rate has reached 100%! Termination failed.
*WARNING!* A permanent link has been established between your Emotional Core and the Skill *Unique*[Daemonfire of the Impure Realm].
*WARNING!* Due to your Daemonic flames now having unfiltered access to raw negative emotions, the *Unique* Technique {Suit of Anger} has been forcefully created.
*Unique*{Suit of Anger} Lvl 1- (Daemonic), (Berserk), This Technique stockpiles emotional instabilities. When activated, this Technique consumes stockpiled negative emotions, converting them into raw energy. Enshrouds user in Daemonic Armor which sends user into a mindless berserk state. Berserk state lasts until stockpile is depleted. Cannot be activated until stockpile is fully charged. Once fully charged, user will remain in a state of constant emotional fluctuation until activating {Suit of Anger}.
Max duration: 5 minutes
Stockpile capacity greatly increases with Technique Level. Max duration scales with Stockpile.
Current Emotional Stockpile: 0%
*WARNING!* Failure to activate {Suit of Anger} over a prolonged duration of time may result in Technique self-activation.
*WARNING!* Emotional Stockpile has been fully depleted. {Suit of Anger} will now deactivate.
Remarkable! Your Skill *Unique*[Daemonfire of the Impure Realm] has grown to Level 3!
Remarkable! Your Skill *Unique*[Daemonfire of the Impure Realm] has grown to Level 4!
Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Stone Skin] has grown to Level 2!
Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Stone Skin] has grown to Level 3!
Remarkable Your Spell (U)[Spectral Firebolt] has grown to Level 3!
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Remarkable! Your Spell (U)[Spectral Firebolt] has grown to Level 5! +1 Free Status Point!
Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Water Jet] has grown to Level 3!
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Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Water Jet] has grown to Level 5! +1 Free Status Point!
Remarkable! Your Spell (U)[Shocking Water Cannon] has grown to level 3!
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Dual-Casting] has grown to Level 3!
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Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Dual-Casting] has grown to Level 5! +1 Free Status Point!
Remarkable! Your Skill (U)[Mana Regulation] has grown to Level 3!
Remarkable! Your Skill (R)[Unburnt Flesh of the Impure One] has grown to Level 2!
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Acid Resistance] has grown to Level 2!
Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 8 Corrosive Stout Tail Scorpion!
+384 Exp gained!
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(x39) Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 8 Corrosive Stout Tail Scorpion!
+384 Exp gained
+15360 Total Exp gained!
Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 9 Corrosive Stout Tail Scorpion!
+768 Exp gained
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(x19) Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 9 Corrosive Stout Tail Scorpion!
+768 Exp gained!
+15360 Total Exp gained!
Remarkable! You have reached level 9! +26 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available. You have 32 unallocated status points.
Remarkable! You have reached level 10! +28 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available. You have 60 unallocated status points.
Remarkable! You have reached level 11! +30 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available. You have 90 unallocated status points.
Remarkable! You have reached level 12! +30 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available. You have 120 unallocated status points.
20965 Exp to next Level!
*WARNING!* You have been afflicted with the (Bleeding) Debuff. -20 Hp per second and Hp Regeneration reduced by 50% during duration of Debuff.
Duration: 1 minute.
Remarkable! Due to excessive blood loss you have acquired the (Common) Skill [Bleed Resistance]!
(C)[Bleed Resistance] Lvl 1- This Passive Skill provides a minor reduction to damage received from cutting attacks and a minor chance to resist (Bleeding) Debuffs, and/or shorten (Bleeding) Debuff times.
Reduction to damage, chances to resist (Bleeding) Debuff, and/or reduce (Bleeding) Debuff times increase with Skill level.
Remarkable your Skill(C)[Enhanced Cognition] has grown to Level 5! +1 Free Status Point!
Remarkable! You have learned the (Common) Technique {Mirage Step}!
(C){Mirage Step} Lvl 1- This technique allows user to move to a location within 15ft at near-teleportation speeds, leaving behind a lifelike afterimage. Afterimage disperses after 2 seconds.
Distance traveled and duration of afterimage increase with Technique Level. Cost increases with Technique Level.
Cost: 250 Stamina
Remarkable! As the first denizen of the (Human) Tutorial to learn a Technique, you have earned the Title Aspiring Martial Artist!
Aspiring Martial Artist- +3 Strength, Dexterity, Agility and Perception.
"Holy fucking shit!" Alan was unable to help but exclaim, stunned as he was by the sheer number of notifications. Though he had lost an arm in the process, the Dungeon Trial Room had been an extremely rewarding experience
{Suit of Anger} Eh? That...could be a bit of an issue. But it might also be what keeps me sane. I feel so calm... It's almost like someone cast a [Healing Fog] on my soul! My thoughts feel strangely...gathered. If worse comes to worse, I can use it as a last-ditch attempt to survive a losing battle. Well, no use getting worked up over it and going berserk.. Better to concentrate on the good news...
Mainly that I've got one hundred-twenty unallocated Status Points! Alan thought as his grin widened. And that's not even including the gains from my new Titles! Though it seems that thirty free Points per Level is the cap...what a bummer. HAH..I say it's a bummer but I don't even know if 30 Points is good, bad.. Or perhaps just average. Now it's got me wondering about Racial Evolution..will that increase my Status gains? Decrease them? Will I revert back to Level 1? God's dammit I had better not grow a tail. Although I most definitely wouldn't mind growing a new arm...that's for sure.
Alan added a few more questions to his ever-growing list and ran his hand across the smooth nub of his left arm. With 120 unallocated Status Points burning a hole in his metaphorical pocket, he was eager to start spending them immediately.
However, glancing at the (Basic) Loot Box waiting patiently for his attention, and assuming there were many more such boxes strewn about the hallways in which he fought his retreating battle, Alan placed his hand on the lid of the chest.
Pushing himself up off the loot box and grunting in discomfort Alan stretched out his stiffened muscles as dull gleam of copper light shed from within the chest.
Within the first loot box he found 200 (Copper Grade) Lotus coins and a single (Copper Grade) Tutorial Token. Unimpressed with the contents, yet knowing something was usually better than nothing, Alan backtracked through the expansive, twisting corridor in search of further loot.
As Alan contemplated the implications of his forcibly acquired, emotionally charged Technique, he was nearly heartbroken to see that the burned and broken Loot boxes nearly out numbered the undamaged ones. In-between opening Loot boxes he was forced to stop and pick up heaps of (Copper Grade) Lotus coins and Tutorial Tokens that had been tossed around the room.
I wonder how much of my Loot got destroyed...The thought made him sick to his stomach. Alan grit his teeth. The unbidden usage of {Suit of Anger} had ended up being far more costly than he originally thought.
"You can keep my shitty emotions," Alan stated calmly to his unruly Skill. "But could you maybe work out a way to leave the Loot out of it?"
Once all had need said and done, after Alan scoured the entire cooridor several times, he glanced at his inventory and saw that his search had turned up a total of 37 (Copper Grade) Tutorial Tokens and 7442 (Copper Grade) Lotus coins!
Unfortunately Alan also located a single (Silver Grade) Lotus coin. No matter where he searched, he couldn't find even the tiniest trace of any further (Silver Grade) coins, nor the (Silver Grade) Tutorial Token he was hopeful of finding. he was left with no choice but to assume the (Uncommon) Loot Box, along with the majority of its contents must've perished in the furious release of his Mana-overloaded double cast of [Spectral Plasma Storm]s
"What a waste.." Frustrated about the loss of his perfectly good Loot, it was only made worse by the fact he had all that money and nothing to use it on.
"I wonder if I can buy a new arm?" Alan asked himself, only half joking.
They've gotta at least have some pretty sweet prosthetics right.. Maybe even robotics. With the System teleporting people and entire planets around the Multiverse seemingly at will, surely their technology must be on an entirely different level than what Humans once had on Earth..
All of his Loot collected, Alan returned to the entrance of the Dungeon Trial Room, and was relieved to see the doorway once more open. The slab of stone that previously blocked off his escape had vanished, having apparently descended back into the floor upon his completion of the Trial.
Once more free to explore the Dungeon, Alan had to push through a sudden pang of worry, as the only path left available to him was the heavily steam trapped corridor the Mini-boss was seen entering. Vowing to destroy everything in that cursed hallway before he set even a single toe within its confines, Alan made his way back to the blocked off entrance of the dungeon.
With a thought, he pulled up the Info for his new Technique and sighed in relief.
*Unique*{Suit of Anger} Lvl 1 Current Emotional Stockpile: 1%
At least I shouldn't have to worry about dealing with that mess for a while...Alan thought, silently praying he was right. I've got way too much to handle as it is.
Because he planned to demolish any and all traps along that dreaded corridor, Alan knew he was going to have to risk using the destructive power provided to him by [Spectral Plasma Storm]. He could only hope it wouldn't cause his Emotional Stockpile to fill prematurely. With well-over three hours remaining on its cool-down, he still had a bit of time before moving forward with his plans.
Nothing left but to wait, Alan pulled his Wasteland Tortoise Scale Breastplate from inventory and was left both amazed, and disgusted with the results. Instead of appearing in his hand as expected, the armor equipped automatically to his torso, directly from within his Storage Ring.
Looking down at himself, Alan admired his newest piece of the Tortoise Armor set. Made of soft yet sturdy deep blue scales layered underneath a protective casing of jet-black tortoise shell, it completely enclosed both of his shoulders as well as his torso. Rapping his knuckles on the shell, Alan could hear almost no sound, like he was knocking on solid stone.
Studying his armor he was unable to find any noticeable seams on or within the shell. As far as Alan could tell, this Breastplate was made from a single segment of a massive shell. Somehow the extremely hard segment had been folded and shaped into its current form, and then lined with soft, scale covered hide for comfort.
"I could've been wearing my armor this whole time..." He felt repulsed by his all around lack of knowledge of how the System functions. Attempting to make his fading sense of calm last, if only a little longer, he retrieved a still-steaming Scorpion leg from his inventory. Using his Tutorial dagger to pry apart the charred exoskeleton, Alan soon had access to the flaky meat hidden within.
With a grim smile on his face, Alan began to feast.
"I swear I won't sleep soundly until every scorpion in the world has been eradicated. Just kill 'em all myself if it comes down to it," Alan grumbled out over a mouthful of his most hated species. The moment he uttered those words, a faint golden halo surrounded his head. With Alan none the wiser, it sank painlessly into his skull.
The moment the halo disappeared, he felt something within himself lock into place. The System had taken him at his word.
A golden notification appeared, hovering just in front of his face.
Remarkable! You have been issued the (System Oath-Quest) A Campaign of Genocide!
Warning! This Quest is involuntary. Failure to satisfactorily complete this (System Oath-Quest) will result in severe penalties.