After a few hours had passed, Leo felt relieved that he hadn’t gained any new EXP notifications. He couldn’t help but feel worried about his struggle to kill. The hulking troll had attempted to eat them, and even back on Earth he’d be justified in killing him. But that monster could still think and talk.
It felt like how he thought about dogs. They couldn’t talk and they weren’t smarter than most people, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill one. Trolls were just really fucked up looking dogs. That stood well over 8 feet tall and ate people. Leo began to reconsider the connection between trolls and dogs.
It’s unlikely that the troll ended up somewhere full of innocents. Yet, it only being unlikely felt like a pit in Leo’s stomach. He thought about sitting down to figure out his boundaries on killing. The idea reminded him of PETA billboards that talked about what animals you wouldn’t eat.
The walk helped him stop thinking about where that troll ended up. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the trees as they walked. The Koraha desert hadn’t offered any exciting sites. Just a lot of monsters. The forest had blooming plants and full trees.
Leo and Marem chatted idly as they continued on. The two of them set up camp as night fell. Leo had offered to carry her as she slept, as it would allow them to make a lot more progress. Marem was not convinced by his argument.
It was an odd change of pace to have a quiet night. He had a near constant array of bandits, monsters, and calamities throughout the recent nights. Thankfully, he could simply take things easy tonight. There was no danger and no excitement.
It only took an hour before he was bored out of his mind. He fidgeted with his hands, wishing he had brought his phone with him. Even a ripoff gacha game would’ve been more exciting than sitting here.
He decided to play around with the system as he had nothing else to do. The shining blue box appeared once he called out for it. He’d not given it as much attention as it likely deserved. With his recent discovery of mana veins, and his lack of them, he figured it was time to test out the system.
[Leo Eule - Human][Health: 99,999/99,999]
[Class: Barbarian of Chains][EXP: 172,650]
[Strength: 2,147,483,647] {Currently 386,547,056}
[Dexterity: 28]
[Intelligence: 32]
[Charisma: 27]{+1, Partying increased}
[Abilities]
[Curse of the Withered King: Your Strength was permanently set to -2 of current Strength.]
[Conserve Power: You can limit yourself to only 20% of your full Strength.]
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
[Chained Body {2/10}: Gained Dark Vision | Gained Impenetrable Mind | -10% Strength ]
His stats had greatly improved from when he’d arrived. It was as if his mind was limited before he entered this world. His confidence and ideas flowed in a way they never did before. He’d be a bit pissed if it was in fact videogames and TV that made him dumb.
“System, can you put EXP into any spells?”
[LACKING COMPATIBLE BIOLOGY]
“Hm, can I put EXP into gaining mana veins? Maybe unlock magic?”
[UNAVAILABLE]
“Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
Leo thought over what he should spend his EXP on. Without magic, his options had become far more limited. Then he remembered how he obtained his Converse Power ability.
“System, spend 10,000 EXP on a random ability,” ordered Leo.
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED]
[WEAPONIZED JUGGLING]
“System, show weaponized juggling.”
[Weaponized Juggling: Your juggling based attacks greatly increase in accuracy and damage dealt.]
Leo looked at the latest ability in confusion. This was indeed a random ability that the system had given him. He grabbed some nearby rocks to test it out. The best sign that it was working was the fact that he could now juggle.
He threw the rocks around with ease. His once clumsy self was able to easily juggle them through the air. Even without looking he could easily throw more than a dozen stones at once. His mind didn’t understand how he did it, but his body moved on its own.
It was as if his arms had been given artificial muscle memory. Leo looked at the rapid cycle of rocks being flung between his hands. In the corner of his vision, he saw movement overhead. Up above were a flock of birds, which seemed to be soaring through the night.
Leo decided to test out his skill with weaponized juggling. The light flick of his wrist sent a stone rocketing through the air. Moments later, one of the birds plummeted to the ground. As he juggled, he easily shot forth rocks and struck the birds.
Soon after, only one bird remained. Leo looked at the single stone left in his hand. He ran his thumb over the smooth surface. With a tight grip, he aimed up and launched it at the bird. It whistled as it moved through the air, and it completely missed the target.
His throw had sent the rock veering far off course. It ended far past the horizon as the last bird frantically escaped. His aim was excellent while juggling, but it seemed to not translate to normally throwing items.
Now that he had a better understanding of the system abilities, the possibilities came flooding to him. What he needed most of all was a way to better understand the world around him. He couldn’t continue to be confused whenever something new came up.
“Hey, system, I want an ability that lets me analyze things.”
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED]
[ANALYZE]
“System, show me analyze ability.”
[Analyze: Displays information about magical and mundane items.]
Leo finished reading his description and decided to test out his new ability. He pulled his hoodie forward and looked at it. Nothing happened until he squinted his eyes. Suddenly, a blue screen popped up.
[KNOCKOFF OVERWATCH HOODIE]
[ENCHANTED MAGICAL ARMOR]
[ENCHANTMENT: CLOTHING RESISTS 90% OF PHYSICAL DAMAGE]
With just a glance to the side he could send away the text boxes. He found himself picking up random objects off the ground and looking over their stats. While almost everything was just mundane garbage, he realized just how useful this ability would be. He now had a way to learn more about this world on his own.