While Terma dashed away to talk with his brother, I walked next to three that were carrying our captives, looking around to make sure there was no assassination attempt. I didn't expect a rescue attempt likely, as I doubted they knew enough to risk more assets.
Still, better safe than sorry.
As I walked, I was thinking about my problem … particularly, my need to awaken a particular new Stat.
Speed.
It wasn't the first time I had tried to awaken it. During the last few days, I had made that attempt several times, running around, dashing, and even taking several more swims, hoping that reaching faster speeds would help.
I would have even attempted to jump down from a great height and see if reaching terminal velocity would have helped ... but I had already done that, which didn't awaken Speed.
Clearly, I was missing something, and running around more wouldn't solve it. If repetition was the solution, I would have already awakened it.
As well as the others.
My mind went to my stats, and how I awakened them. Resilience was awakened while I was trying to resist death, and it happened almost instantly. Similarly, Strength awakened just as quickly, after a few mere pushups. Agility was harder, forcing me to repeat a lot of street tricks to bring it forward, but still worked.
In comparison, Memory required a lot of assistance from the priest, and Intelligence didn't work despite all his effort. Charisma also awakened quickly, but under rather interesting conditions, so it was hard to pin down.
The difference in the process was significant, and the more I thought about it, the less sense it made … unless, it was somehow mental, it clicked.
I had always defined myself as my Resilience, and my Strength was the only thing that carried me through my troubled childhood, one weapon that never betrayed me. In the same vein, Agility was something I used a lot, but never treated the same as Strength…
My command ability and my general mental capabilities only started to come useful as I climbed up … and I always found myself as a capable commander rather than an organizer.
Maybe that was it. My potential; somewhere between mental and physical concepts.
While I was thinking that, Terma came to my side. "Why do you think they betrayed us?" Terma said as he looked at the prisoners.
"Probably greed and arrogance," I said. "It's the usual reasons. The breach represents an opportunity, and they are stupid enough to think that they might be the winner of the opportunity."
Terma stopped. "And what does it say about us?" he suddenly asked, surprising me. "Aren't we being too arrogant?" I chuckled. "What?" he asked, ashamed. "That's a valid question."
"Yes, and that's why I'm surprised. I'm not used to you asking sensible questions."
"Don't be mean," Terma protested, pulling a face. "I can act sensible."
"You can, yes, but that doesn't mean you do it very much," I teased, and he continued to blush. One perk of dealing with teenagers, they were too easy to tease.
"Jerk," he murmured, and I walked next to him.
I waited for a moment, silent, before I asked my question. "I'm curious about something. How does it feel to run that fast?" I asked.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
That was enough to erase his frustration. "Amazing," he murmured.
"How exactly?" I asked.
"It's hard to describe," Terma murmured, smiling. "Pushing yourself to the limit is a fascinating feeling. First, a tingling sensation spreads through my body, like my skin is burning. Then, my heartbeat, like a drum thumping around my ears as my muscles burn. My limps turn into a blur. I feel invincible."
"Really?"I asked.
"Of course, imagine it. Being chased by a horde of beasts, yet being fast enough that none of them could touch you while you delve deep into the crowd and slaughter them as you wish. If I was fast enough, I would dare to climb mountains that were filled with monsters, where not even knights dared to go. The whole world will be open for me."
"You'll be invincible," I said, examining his euphoric expression as he talked about it.
"Yes, invincible … free," he whispered. "Just like we're meant to be, not afraid of the monsters, free to climb any height we wish…"
"Sounds fascinating," I said, even as it clicked. Maybe it was the reason that I wasn't able to awaken speed. I had never been a speed junkie, as my life was exciting enough without artificial thrills. And, maybe it was the side effect of the way I fought, but I had always linked speed with positive things like Terma did.
For me, power and freedom came from power and control … not running around like a coward.
No wonder I could easily awaken Strength and Charisma, but struggle with Speed.
We chatted the rest of the way about Karak and his recovery. Zolast was in the meeting when we arrived, so I left the prisoners with his guards and left as well. Terma went to visit Karak before returning to his mission …
And I sneaked out of the camp.
I started running once I was sure I was far away from the camp, trying to enjoy the wind against my face. My endurance allowed me to sprint at full speed easily, and my Perception allowed me not to be afraid of the beasts as I did so.
No notifications.
"Maybe I should delve deeper," I murmured as I closed my eyes. I tried to reach deep, trying to touch that yearning Terma had been talking about, the desire to trespass the prohibited territories through sheer speed, to surpass the danger.
To dance around the monsters, invincible and untouchable, soaring like an arrow.
No notification.
I pushed myself even harder… But abandoned Terma's mentality. Ultimately, we were different. What he described, pure freedom and arrogant invincibility didn't speak to me. I knew that the world was a dangerous place, one that could only be carved by power.
But maybe, in this new world, I found myself in, Speed was a part of it. Here, speed didn't just mean that I could run slightly faster than the others to get rid of my pursuers, or bounce around like a rat. No, with my other abilities, Speed would allow me to move around like an armored tank, delivering devastation.
Or even better, like a fighter jet, raining precise death and destruction, and disappearing before a response could be mounted, the sheer presence forcing the armies to stay away … its threat getting more overwhelming by sheer speed.
No, Speed didn't mean freedom.
Speed was just another facet of power.
[Stat Potential Awakened: Speed
Accept / Reject]
I started laughing as the text appeared in my view, giving me what I had been searching for.
What a fascinating moment, I thought even as I gave a mental order.
[-10 Stat Points]
[+10 Speed]
The sudden sense of blurring under my feet was … impossible to describe. Suddenly, I burst forward as the human limits of speed turned meaningless. I rushed forward with a speed that could surpass an old car.
I realized that, if I tried what I did without my Perception and Agility, I would have ended up in a very painful roll, but luckily that was not what I had been dealing with. But I had that, so I instead turned my attention to my new limits.
I came to a sudden stop, rushed forward, made a sharp turn, dodged, and rolled, each working surprisingly smoother as I danced freely.
Finally, I understood why people were obsessed with the exhilaration they get from speeding down the highway in their expensive bikes, though, what I had was much better. There was no device between me and the world, allowing me to enjoy the wind without putting my life on the line pointlessly…
"Truly fascinating," I murmured even as I assigned more to Speed. Draining my Stat storage was risky, but the benefits of Speed were too important at the moment to stay safe.
[-10 Stat Points]
[+10 Speed]
As I gained a new burst of speed, running as fast as a cheetah, I closed my eyes, deciding to enjoy the wind for another minute. The only disadvantage, it didn't double my speed, but increased around fifty percent, showing that the gains of it weren't as linear as the stats like Strength and Vitality.
Though, I felt the drain of Health getting weaker as well, so it wasn't like a complete waste.
I would have loved to run around for the whole night, enjoying the sensation of unlimited speed for the first time in my life … but unfortunately, I still had work to do.