I'll post tonight and proofread tomorrow.
A friend of mine also said I should give the MC a love interest.
What do you guys think? Romantic subplot? Yay/Nay?
----------------------------------------
“Take this, lowly creature!”
Baramuh roared, laughing confidently as she swung a large bastard sword the size of her own body. Energy gathered at the tip and she cleaved a [Marr Rodent] monster in two.
She used her preferred skill of choice, [Two-Handed Sword Skill] Defense Rift. It was an attack skill that ignored 20% the target's physical defense.
Segments of fractured data flickered around the monster and it disappeared.
Thanatos sighed at her excessive attack. The monster's HP had been blinking red when she went in for the kill. Any regular swing of her sword would have easily concluded the fight.
She had a habit of using unnecessary MP. A lesson he learned the hard way two weeks ago.
“Baramuh … Didn't we come here to practice your magic? You haven't used it once yet.”
But what was more troubling than that was her obvious reluctance in practicing her [Racial Skill] magic buff.
She scratched her cheek sheepishly as she grinned.
“Ahh, yeah. Well, I kinda realized ...”
Valkein and Troph also noticed that she wasn't using her berserker buff.
“That skill is boring!”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Don't look at me like that! I don't need to use it because all the monsters are so weak! We should have gone somewhere with better monsters!”
'You were the one who wanted to come here.'
Thanatos didn't say his thoughts aloud.
She was a six year old girl. It would have been more difficult to believe that she wanted to diligently level all her skills early.
“Should we go deeper? Baramuh isn't wrong. These monsters are easy for us with our strength.”
Valkein reasoned coolly.
The [rodent] mobs were only level 1-2. Thanatos quickly examined the levels of the party. Baramuh was at level 12, Valkein was at level 7, Troph was at level 2, and he was at level 3.
Though his skill levels were higher than the others, he had little experience in fighting against monsters. Whereas Baramuh, as a member of the Asura clan, fought against monsters on a regular basis.
The levels of the monsters in Myriad Prairie ranged from level 1 to 15.
Although he remembered several of the monsters, it was impossible for him to recall the layout of the area. Thanatos knew too little of the prairie to move in full confidence. But if he decided to go back, he knew that the trio would move forward even without him.
'… And I guess I did promise.'
“If we go in with enough supplies, I don't think it'll be a problem.”
Troph rummaged through his bag for a moment in response.
“We haven't used any of the potions Baramuh's parents gave her ...”
Thanatos, being honest with himself, knew that there was little chance that he would level at this rate. He wasn't sure he'd be able to test the black rune correctly if he wasn't challenged enough.
He only hoped he wasn't being overconfident thinking this.
“Yes! Let's go then! Maybe we'll get to see a Toxin Beetle around here!”
Baramuh said as she sheathed her large sword along her back.
Thanatos watched her with an uncomfortable expression. Toxin Beetles were Myriad Praire's boss mob at level 15.
“Stop raising avoidable flags.”
“Eh? Flags?”
“...”
Thanatos shut his mouth and turned his head away after his slip up.
“You'll get yourself hurt if you go too crazy.”
Valkein interjected as he dropped a brotherly hand onto her head; he was warning her to keep her arrogance in check.
She pouted, but didn't lash back at him.
After traversing deeper for another half hour they were able to find the [sprout] mobs. They varied from level 7-9. Though he and Troph were much lower leveled, Baramuh soaked most of the aggro with her passives and taunts.
If Thanatos were to give each of the party members roles: Baramuh would be the frontline bruiser tank, Valkein would be monster debuff support, Troph would be the scout/item management support, and he would be the DPS and DOT attacker.
He wouldn't call it perfectly balanced, but it wasn't too bad.
Initially Thanatos was worried about what kind of mental strain he would undergo fighting monster with his own body, but he soon discovered that Fyre and Mia had conditioned his mindset well.
“[Racial Skill] Deities' Zeal!”
[Racial Skill] Deities' Zeal (Basic) Lvl 1 has been activated.[NPC] Baramuh's HP and MP recovery has increased greatly.
[NPC] Baramuh's STA and VIT has increased by 5.
Party receives +3% HP and +2% MP for the next 2 minutes.
Thanatos rushed towards a sprout, narrowly avoiding its vine whips.
At range, [Sprouts] had the clear advantage, but in close combat they were relatively easy targets.
He activated his [Dagger Skill] Hemorrhage Catalyst to initiate his attack. His silver dagger slashed in rapid succession as he comboed with the [Dagger Skill] Sever.
Skills were activated several ways: by voice, manual movement, or through a skills window bar.
Thanatos opted to use manual movement. While voice was much easier to use, manual movement would be faster once a skill's initial movement was mastered. The skills window bar no longer an option once he had been reborn into «Magica Artis», as it no longer existed.
He used to use voice activation, but felt oddly embarrassed afterward and promised himself not to use it if he could help it.
The sprout retreated at Thanatos' aggressive onslaught, but Thanatos wouldn't let the monster reset its hit points.
He manually struck the mob with his dagger while stacking his bleeder skill.
Its HP bar began glowing red as its remaining hit points grew dangerously low.
Once he saw this, Thanatos made a swift retreat. His bleeder skill was sure to finish it off, but aggro mobs had a 10% chance of going berserk once its HP entered the red zone.
This time, no such thing happened, and the mob dissolved into fragmented pixels.
“Nice work, Thanatos!”
Thanatos used [Racial Skill] Intuitive Gaze to keep track of each of the party member's leveling progress.
Troph had already leveled to 3 and Valkein had gained at least 5% with the last few mobs.
'Even though he's several levels higher than me, he's getting EXP faster.'
He knew that his rune was the cause of his restrained experience points. On the other hand, he noticed that his skills were increasing much faster than usual. He'd also gained +1 STR sometime during the last bout.
That was the tradeoff he was given for his slow leveling. He was beginning to think differently of the black rune.
“Open status window. View currently equipped rune.”
Brring!
RuneUnidentified Rune: Acceleration (Black) – 0.05%
“Huh?”
Thanatos noticed that there was a percentage next to the rune now.
'… Were runes supposed to level up?'
He didn't recall such a design being built in.
Not knowing made him nervous, but he couldn't help but feel excitement down to his core.
If it turned out that his father had given him a rune capable of growing stronger, it was certain to be valuable.
The four of them kept at a furious pace until afternoon.
Soon, they managed to clear a section of [Sprouts] before the monsters had a chance to respawn.
“Even these guys are really easy to deal with.”
Baramuh, who was taking most of the damage, had already managed to level up to 13. Valkein gained three levels and even Troph, who wasn't involved in the actual battle gained another two levels.
Thanatos watched his EXP bar warily. He was doing most of the damage, but he'd only leveled once. He thought it would be difficult, but 80% of his EXP was more than he had anticipated. He finally managed to reach 90% again, but it was taking too long despite his contributions in the fights.
His distress would have become apparent were it not for the stat increases and skill levels he had received.
Both his STR and DEX had risen nicely while his AGI increased at an incredibly abnormally fast rate. He'd also managed to level both of his [Dagger Skill]s. Even without much experience, he had gained a lot from their party hunt.
“Let's go in more. These guys are so weak.”
Thanatos felt a tinge of irritation at Baramuh's continued insistence to find stronger prey. If this had truly been a game, it wouldn't have taken him a second to agree.
But «Magica Artis» was no longer a game. It wasn't virtual reality. It was just reality.
He wanted to level as well, but not if it meant putting them all in danger.
“Stop being so impatient. Getting stronger is something that happens over time, not all at once.”
He spoke calmly as he sheathed his dagger.
“We only have a few potions left. And once it gets dark, we won't be able to get back easily.”
Thanatos found his own reasoning obvious. There was no point in growing stronger if you were going to die for it; but he failed to realize that logic had no place in a child's argument.
Baramuh ignored his words and stuck out her tongue as she taunted him.
“Aren't you just scared? Stop being a coward!”
Thanatos couldn't say that her words didn't provoke him, but constantly telling himself that she was just a kid managed to keep him from retorting.
“Wait a minute, Baramuh! Thanatos is right. We should leave while there's light out.”
“Haha, you're getting cocky again. If it's like this, you'll definitely die young.”
“I even promised one of the kids I'd help him with shopping. We shouldn't stay so late.”
“Even if it was a reward for winning the race, aren't you being too crazy about this?”
Thanatos was glad that they were of the same opinion of him, but he paled at their horrible timing.
He looked over at Baramuh in a hurry.
She was a prideful girl. Being rebuffed by all three of her friends so suddenly made her feel as though they had turned on her. Perhaps her teasing Thanatos could have been played off as a joke, but because both Troph and Valkein denied her so seriously it was no longer an option.
“Then you wimps could go back by yourself!”
She screeched angrily before stomping off. Her face had been red and rigid. It was the face of a girl choking back her tears.
Soon she was completely out of sight.
'Damn …'
Thanatos sighed internally. Even without seeking Troph's or Valkein's opinions, he trailed off after her.
Valkein shrugged his shoulders while laughing as beckoned the anxious Troph to follow.
“We have to be careful. We really did run low on potions.”
“We're not staying. We're just going to drag her back.”
Thanatos had an edge of impatience in his voice.
“You're being so forceful, Thanatos. Usually you don't talk at all.”
Valkein commented as he dropped his arm onto Thanatos' shoulder.
“Personal space ...”
Thanatos mumbled uneasily as he twisted out of the older boy's grip.
Valkein let loose a laugh at Thanatos' obvious reluctance.
Myriad Prairie's initial area had a long stretch of short grass, which made it easy to navigate. As one went further, the longer the vegetation and grass grew. Soon it obstructed their entire view.
Baramuh hadn't been far ahead of them, but they had no way of knowing which direction she had gone.
Ten minutes had slowly gone by when they finally heard a faint rustling of grass.
Thanatos pulled out his dagger and moved forward as quietly as he could. Valkein, much taller than him, peered over the grass.
“The prairie stretches out again over there. Ooh, I can see the prideful princess now.”
After leaving the field both Thanatos and Troph could see her as well.
Baramuh was several yards ahead of them, her gaze faced upward with her back facing their direction.
“Baramuh! Lets go already! We can't stay here!”
Troph stumbled over to her and tugged on her sleeve.
The air stirs ominously.
A sweet smell permeates and stings your senses.
Beware! You sense danger.
Thanatos froze. Windows didn't appear for no reason.
“Get away from there!”
Thanatos violently yanked the two of them back, but he knew that he'd been too late.
The ground shook and collapsed inward as a beetle the size of a rhinoceros dug itself to the surface. Its hard shell gleamed with bright green and purple colors.
You've encountered Myriad Prairie's Area Boss, [Toxic Beetle] Dyltheia!
Without giving the children much room to be shocked, it charged towards them.
“Baramuh! Get its attention! I'll try to weaken it!”
Valkein was the first one to act. He yelled a short series of chants to debuff the Dyltheia's attack and defense power.
Baramuh nodded as she pulled out her bastard sword.
“Over here, you over-sized bug!”
She slashed at its shell, but it didn't even bother to turn to her.
Its attention gathered to only one person.
Dyltheia lifted its own shell to reveal its wildly beating transparent wings.
It openly charged at Thanatos, who had just enough agility to avoid its attacks, even if barely.
“What are you doing, Baramuh?! Its attacking Thanatos!”
“I don't know what's going on, it's ignoring me!”
Thanatos knew that it wasn't her fault. He glanced down at his hand and the black rune embedded on the back of it glimmered.
It was one of the disadvantages of his rune. Bosses aggroed onto him easily.
He quickly channeled power to his eyes.
[Racial Skill] Intuitive Gaze has activated.
His vision flickered momentarily and he saw a detailed bar appear over the beetle's body.
Unlike with regular monsters, even if a boss was higher leveled than he was, he could see its information.
Monster NameDyltheiaMonster CategoryArea BossLevel15Hit Points400Mana Points25Stamina40Vitality35Strength25Intelligence5Dexterity20Agility10Wisdom5Luck10-Physical Attack75Physical Defense140Magic Attack15Magic Defense20
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'Its endurance and strength are high, but I'm fast enough to avoid its attacks …'
Thanatos clicked his tongue. It was very weak against magic attacks because of its low magic defense. It was unfortunate that they didn't know any magic attacks.
“It's going to stay on me.”
He avoided another attack and kept his sentences short.
“The rest of you guys should focus on attack.”
It was a lopsided strategy, but with the aggro on him, he wouldn't have many opportunities to attack.
If there was something he got out of this, it was the light ringing he heard every few times he dodged Dyltheia's charge.
Due to actions AGI has increased by 1.
The victory seemed small, but Thanatos felt lighter and faster with each point his stat was increased by.
Baramuh slowly chipped away at the boss' health as her face darkened. She was clearly disappointed in the fact that she couldn't pull the aggro.
“Dodge!”
Thanatos tried to get her attention as Dyltheia's hind leg attack strayed in her direction. Even as he shouted he knew it would reach her too late.
Baramuh received a direct attack and was hurled off in the distance. After hitting the ground with a loud thud her body rolled into the long grass, out of sight.
“Baramuh!”
Troph ran off in her direction, leaving only Thanatos and Valkein with Dyltheia.
With their attacker out of commission, their chances of defeating the boss mob grew slimmer.
Its HP was at a fourth of its original, but they were pinned up against a wall without someone to finish it off.
Dyltheia lifted itself into the air and dropped down towards Thanatos.
He let out a pained cry as he lunged out of its path.
'Its under body was highlighted! A weak point!'
Thanatos was glad that Intuitive Gaze had still been active.
“Lower its speed, Valkein!”
Thanatos dashed towards Dyltheia while relying solely on his agility.
He was small and a difficult target for the large beetle to keep track of.
Sliding low, Thanatos managed to reach its underside. Smoke that looked like dust scattered everywhere.
Without another moment's hesitation he struck out with the [Dagger Skill] Hemorrhage Catalyst.
Dyltheia's limbs twisted violently in pain. It reacted instinctively and dropped its body onto Thanatos.
With a shout of surprise, he tried to roll out of the way. But he was a moment too slow.
“...!”
Thanatos stifled a cry as he felt one of his legs being crushed. His eyes watered in pain and his HP was cut down to one-fourth instantly.
Dyltheia lifted itself slowly before moving forward.
“Thanatos! Get out of the way, its going to --”
Valkein's warning was cut off when Dyltheia let out a deafening battle cry.
It twisted around and charged towards the fallen Thanatos, who realized that he had also been poisoned by the beetle.
'There was gas under its body …'
It wasn't a fatal poison, but it crippled him, leaving him helpless.
You have been paralyzed.
Movement has been restricted by 50%.
Dyltheia drew closer, looking more menacing than ever before.
'I'm going to die? Again …?'
“Like hell!”
He let out a frustrated cry as he dragged his body out of the way.
Dyltheia charged by him, narrowly missing, but Thanatos knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid any more rushes.
For a short second, as the boss passed by Thanatos, its underside was left exposed.
He didn't think he would get another chance. Thanatos gripped his dagger with both hands and stabbed into it.
Dyltheia, who had been in a mad dash, couldn't stop in time to realize that it was extending the gash by rapidly moving forward.
There was an ear-splitting shriek and Dyltheia fell, turning into a mass of disappearing pixels.
He hadn't expected the last attack to finish it off.
You have leveled up!
STA + 3
VIT + 2
STR + 1
INT + 2
LCK + 4
By achieving a great feat all stats have been increased by 1.
You have received the title [Novice Slayer] for defeating an Area Boss.
[Dagger Skill] Hemorrhage Catalyst has reached basic level 4.
Skill is at 0.24%.
Due to actions agility has increased by 3.
Due to actions intelligence has increased by 2.
Received [Toxic Shell].
Received 3 medium potions.
Silver Dagger's durability reached 0 and broke.
Thanatos didn't move. He didn't know if he was lucky or unlucky. Lucky that he survived or unlucky that he had to fight in the first place.
Twice in the last two weeks he had been forced to his limits.
'I'm really weak.'
He turned his head to examine his crushed limb.
Players' injured or damaged areas recovered to normal after combat, at least, in appearance.
But Thanatos' leg was clearly broken. The bleeding was minimal, but it was bent at an awkward angle. Gazing at it made him feel nauseous.
“Are you alive?”
Valkein had rushed over after confirming that Dyltheia had been defeated for certain.
“...”
“Thanatos?”
“...”
“T-thana--!”
“Alive.”
“Uwah! Don't just lie there when I'm asking if you're okay!”
“What happened to Baramuh and Troph?”
“Ahh … They're both okay. Baramuh's unconscious, but she'll live. Here's the last potion.”
Valkein dropped a small vial of red liquid into Thanatos' outstretched palm.
He slipped the the potion into his mouth and the effects were instantaneous.
With a light glow surrounding him, his leg fully recovered along with his health.
Thanatos looked up towards the sky. It was dark, but not so dark that they wouldn't be able to make it back because of their lack of vision. He voiced this to Valkein.
“Okay. Me and Troph will take Baramuh. Can you take any of the monsters that appear by yourself?”
With a short nod Thanatos lifted himself from the ground.
“Thanatos! Are you okay? Valkein took a potion and left, so I didn't know what happened.”
Troph looked at him with an expression of admiration.
“You really finished that monster, right? That's amazing ...”
“It is amazing that you destroyed Dyltheia. Even though you're weaker than it, you won.”
Thanatos, Valkein, and Troph all turned their heads as an unexpected voice.
A male youth with startlingly red hair and blue eyes appeared from the tall prairie grass. He had a small pair of dark horns along with black webbed wings.
Thanatos recognized his features. This teenager was an archfiend daemon like his father.
Thanatos quickly unsheathed his dagger despite its broken state, but the archfiend didn't seem to pay it much attention.
“But little guys like you always think that you're invincible. I don't blame you.”
He watched Thanatos and the others with a set of curious eyes.
“You have to admit thought, that battle could have gone much smoother. What do you think you were missing?”
Valkein and Troph glanced at each other, rather speechless, but Thanatos kept his eyes on the man with a narrowing gaze. Thanatos could pin exactly why, but something about the man grated his nerves.
“Baramuh couldn't get its attention.”
Valkein stated with a frown.
“So you think she needed to be more skillful in getting Dyltheia's attention?”
With a sigh Valkein shrugged. He honestly didn't know where this question was heading.
“Who know? We defeated it and that's the only truth, right?”
“... Magus.”
“““Eh?”””
Everyone was caught off-guard when Thanatos suddenly answered.
“Dyltheia was weak against magus because of its weak magic defense, but none of us know any attack magus.”
The man whistled, seemingly impressed by Thanatos' observation.
“So you do know about its weakness. So? How about it? I can teach you magic. You'd be surprised at what I can do for you.”
“Eh? Why would you do that?”
Troph was the first to question him.
“There's no deep reason to it. I just think if you'd known attack magus, you would have had a much easier time fighting.”
He shrugged lightly.
“If I know something and you don't know it, but want learn it, I don't really need any other reason.”
Thanatos flinched, finally realizing why this man irked him. He was like Arata, his older brother from his previous life.
He was confident in his abilities, almost to the point that he could be considered arrogant. But this never stopped him from acting out the benevolent king. He was as quick to point out flaws as he was to hand out compliments. His wits were sharp, but it was precisely because he was so intelligent that it never occurred to him that he could be wrong about anything.
“My name is Samael. I suppose I don't look it, but I'm actually an accomplished instructor.”
Normally one wouldn't believe his words because of his age, but if there was one thing to know about daemons it was that ages often lied.
No one in their right mind would expect that his mother was in her late eighties, but she was.
Thanatos' head began to ache. If he didn't leave now he was sure to be late going back home.
“Eh? Wait! You're leaving?”
“... I'm busy.”
With his last words he walked away.
Valkein and Troph, unsure over whether accepting his offer to teach them was something they could accept gave him a short farewell and followed behind Thanatos, with the unconscious Baramuh on their backs.
----------------------------------------
When he reached home, Mia was the first to greet him.
“You are late! Did something happen?”
Even if she didn't make such a concerned face, Thanatos was unwilling to be honest with her.
“We got a little lost because it was getting dark.”
Mia's expression dropped slightly. She knew he was lying. The state of his clothes and equipment made it impossible to not know what really happened.
“As long as you're alright.”
She bent down to stroke his head before pulling him into a small embrace.
Thanatos twitched at her touch, but didn't pull away from her. It was warm.
“Your clothes are a mess. Follow me. I know something that would look perfect.”
She released him, clapping her hands as she spoke.
He trailed after her, several steps behind as he was led to his father's closet.
From within she drew out a black child-sized overcoat.
“Go ahead, try this on.”
“Ah … Okay.”
Stealth Cloak (15 Phys Def, 10 Magic Def)QualityRareDurability100%RequirementsPhantom Race, AGI 35, INT 15Special FunctionsReduces monster aggro by 25%, +10 AGI.A specially created coat. It is made with feather light material that increases agility. It has many hidden belts and pockets.
As Thanatos looked into a mirror, he felt heat rushing to his face. Not because he was charmed by his own appearance, but because of the overjoyed and satisfied look Mia's reflection showed him.
Although Thanatos also thought the coat didn't look bad on him, but it made him feel as though he had chuunibyou.
“I'm afraid I don't have a new dagger but I do have something else for you.”
Mia rummaged through the upper level of the closet, reaching for a box.
She bent low enough for Thanatos to see what was inside as she opened it. Inside there was a coral-colored arm guard with many thin sockets lining where the guard tied around the wrist.
Thanatos gave her a questioning look to which she received with an ambiguous smile.
“Hold out your arm.”
Thanatos almost lifted his left arm, almost forgetting that Fyre had told him to keep the black rune a secret from Mia. He quickly lifted his right arm. Mia didn't seem to notice his pause.
She tied it onto his wrist tightly.
Mystic ShotQualityUniqueDurability100%RequirementsNoneSpecial FunctionsUses mana to exchange for hidden weapon needles.A special stealth equip made as secretly as an inexhaustible weapon.
Thanatos' hand shook as he read the window.
It was a unique skill equip that could informally be considered a weapon.
He pinched down on one of the slots and a fine needle appeared between his fingers. Upon closer inspection he could see that down the length of the needle were pointed grooves.
He looked at his mother, oblivious that his face was displaying an eager restlessness.
Mia chuckled, her voice ringing like the chimes of a bell. It was the first time she'd seen her son make such a childish face.
“Go ahead and try it outside.”
Thanatos nodded and swiftly ran out the door.
Once outside he touched the slots again and pulled out multiple needles. Then, simultaneously, he shot them forward.
Each needle struck into the trunk of a tree silently, but glowed brilliantly after reaching its target.
Thanatos pulled out the needle from the trunk to find that small chunks of tree bark stuck to the pointed grooves of the needle. He couldn't help but grow pale. What would have happened had this been a person or monster and not a tree?
After a while the needles faded into nothingness. It was a weapon that didn't leave behind anything besides the damage it caused.
“Thanatos, do you like it?”
“Mother … It's amazing. But where did you get it?”
She put her index finger across her mouth.
“I can't tell you where I get your presents, that's a secret.”
Thanatos blushed at his mother's response, but didn't question her any further.
“Come back inside now. You were going out with your father, weren't you?”
Mia's smile seemed to fade a little as she spoke.
“Where is father? I didn't see him inside.”
“He left a short while ago. He'll be back, though. He promised, didn't he?”
After several hours, even Thanatos couldn't resist, and he fell fast asleep long before his father returned home.