[Epsilon]
Isaiah couldn't quite believe what he was seeing as just above the creature was a floating bubble, he had never seen one before outside of his status page. He started to think that his status page had been fixed but when he picked up the bowl it did not show a bubble or anything similar only Epsilon had the bubble.
"Oi oi, you looked so surprised, is it really that strange?"
"I mean like you... You have that?"
"I brought you here, it wouldn't be strange if I had the same powers you have."
"No, like, I just never saw a bubble float outside of my status page, like I mean as the creator of the status page you should've made more features to it, like come on, I wanna see the statuses of others you know."
"You're complaining?" Epsilon looked annoyed.
"Of course, I am complaining. It's really annoying when you know nothing else but yourself you know? How am I supposed to thrive in this environment when I am practically blind on all other things, give me more convenience."
"You know it took me 300 years to develop this right? Plus how would I show you the status page of others when they don't have one in the first place?"
"Wait what?" Suddenly a gust of wind brushed past his face,
"Cause you complained no dinner for you." The bowl that was in front of Isaiah suddenly disappeared. Then Isaiah's stomach growled,
"Look, man." He blushed as he tried to hide his embarrassment, "I wasn't complaining okay, I was just giving criticism, constructive criticism."
[Unconvinced...] A status bubble appeared in front of him,
"Oh come on, really now you're that petty?"
"Yes." Epsilon nodded without hesitation
"Look, you left me with no choice," Isaiah reached his hand out and the bowl left Epsilon's hands. Epsilon tried to get the bowl back but quit halfway through and then the smile on his face disappeared, his face began to glow a faint blue hue and Isaiah felt something hit him. Suddenly the bowl crashed to the ground.
Isaiah had a bad feeling as he watched the contents smear all over the mossy rock below, and just as he thought it was gone.
'My status page...'
His status page no longer shows itself when called, nor do his powers respond as it did before. It didn't take long before he realized who had caused all this,
"Man..."
"I warned you."
"Look... I admit, I made a huge mistake, so I ain't going to complain again..."
Epsilon looked unconvinced,
"Please???"
"..."
"Pretty please?"
"You sound like you don't really like the powers I gave you."
"Man please, I really need it you know."
"Show me."
"Wha."
"Show me why you need it."
"Look." Isaiah checked his back "I am being chased here you know, so I need some way to protect myself."
"And?"
"I've had a very shitty day and a very terrible week so far, so I kind of just gotten full of myself..."
"Kneel."
"Wha..."
"Kneel."
Isaiah took a gulp, but if he wished to survive in this world, then he needed that power back. Truth be told if one were to ignore all the inconveniences, which are minor, his powers were indeed amazing. So if kneeling would give it back to him, then so it would be.
So Isaiah began to kneel, but just before his knees touched the ground, the creature snickered.
"What..."
"Ahahahaha, your funny, very funny. Here I thought you would fight or something, ahahaha."
"Why would I fight?"
"Come on, you think I would just give you your magic back because you kneeled, silly."
"Wait..."
"But don't worry, I was just joking with ya, no need to worry." Suddenly Isaiah felt something enter his body, like a breeze of cold wind. "Not much has changed about you, you know."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
"Right," Isaiah breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his status page return, "Anyway you mentioned that you cannot show me the status page of others because, they do not have one? Right?"
"Yep."
"So only I have the status page then?"
"Well yes, but technically no, I also have one myself though. But in this world, yep yep."
"This world, no, so I am the only one with a status page here, does that also mean that only I could level up?"
"Pretty obvious thing you know."
"Oh wow... That's rather overpowered."
No, overpowered was an understatement, it was a cheat.
"Hence why you should be grateful for that system I made. Sure it's got problems but what doesn't have problems."
"Then about the things that have been bothering me, like, it's not much of a problem b-but it does make me wonder, why did I start at level 14?"
"Level 14?"
"Yeah, like, when I woke up at the mansion I was already at level 14... But it doesn't seem like I took over someone's body anyway. You also mentioned the airplane crashing, and you taking us here to the church to be revived and stuff... Like, can you explain to me what happened before I got to this world?"
Epsilon went blank for a few seconds, his large, unblinking eyes staring deep into his soul.
"There are things best left unanswered, wouldn't you agree Isaiah?"
"What?"
"In time, Isaiah, in time..."
"..."
"Well then, looks like I have to go."
"Wa-..." Even before Isaiah could blink he was already gone. Not a single trace of his existence remained, even the food he prepared disappeared alongside him. "Really? Are you trying to avoid that simple question?"
He had many questions he wanted answers to, however the only person, or thing, that could give him the answer had left seemingly to avoid answering that question. That said what few conversations they had made him ponder more about his mysterious circumstances, first things first that slip of the tongue when he mentioned a church that revived them, secondly the fact that his classmates and some passengers of the aircraft could be around, and third the fact that he met Epsilon who seems to be the creator of the system itself.
There was plenty of information that must be analyzed, however, those can be put off for a later date, right now there was something of much greater concern.
As he sat down he began examining his ankle, though he received many wounds from his fight at Sardis this one was the worst of it all. While others had swollen or subsided this one had progressively gotten worse and worse, he knew that it was infected because his body had been in high fever since he woke up, the thing is he knew he couldn't just show up to some city and get healed now that he was being chased and that he might have killed innocent bystanders in the process, he was a criminal at this point. Even if he could find a safe city to stay he cannot trust the doctors to remain quiet if they spot the tattoo on his chest.
'I need to get this healed. But how? Wait can they even heal this?'
He wasn't confident in this era's healing abilities, there was a chance that it would only get worse or their methods would be too painful to even consider.
He remembered videos about how cutting off an infection or burning it with a hot metal might heal it, but he wasn't so sure how to proceed as his knowledge regarding medical operations had been limited to just pouring alcohol over an open wound. That said there was always amputation and he should be able to find a really good healer to regrow lost limbs, but he wanted to avoid that at all cost.
As he was pondering over his options, looking at the wound on his ankle, his stomach grumbled.
"Food," he murmured as he looked around, once again taking in the ocean of trees that surrounded them. Most of the trees were very tall as if he was looking at pine trees he once saw in the States, he saw their leaves looked nothing like pines and he could even see something hanging in certain parts glowing a strange blue color. He stretched his hand out and a certain blue pear-like fruit fell to his palm, but as he held it he hesitated as it felt moist and squishy, once again he lamented the fact that his status page was only limited to him and was wondering if this fruit was safe to eat.
He sniffed on the pear but could only smell the morning dew, he wanted to lick on the pear but feared poison or toxins and his lack of an antidote, he might be able to stomach the poison but he didn't want to spend how many hours trying to relive himself in a dangerous place. And so with his fear trumping his hunger he threw away the pear and moved on. He walked forward, not sure of where he was heading but nonetheless hoping he'd get somewhere. His stomach was rumbling constantly until it was replaced by an acute pain that inhibited his movements. It was at this point that he became even more desperate,
'What's the worst that can happen?' Being unable to continue in this state, he looked up and watched the pear-like fruit hanging on the branches unable to resist the temptations he relented, 'Diarrhea can be handled easily, there trees everywhere I can dump on, i-it be good for nature too.'
But as he was looking at the branches he suddenly noticed one pair of eyes looking back at him, he blinked twice and saw that it was an ape-like creature looking back at him like a child seeing a disabled person for the first time. It was roughly the size of a chimpanzee, had black fur and pink lips but had an eyebrow shaped like a mapleleaf. 'Weed monkey,' Isaiah thought as he saw another smaller monkey eating the fruit.
"It's edible?" He continued to observe the young monkey devouring the pear until it was gone, it once more took another piece and began eating anew. Convinced, Isaiah decided to try his luck with the fruit, approaching closer he was about to reach out to the fruit when the monkey flinched and bellowed a howl.
Isaiah paused before continuing again, as the fruit removed itself from the branch, the smaller monkey got scared and ran to the older monkey which prompted the older monkey to screech loudly. Isaiah dropped the fruit the moment the monkey began to run towards him in full sprint, climbing down the tree with great speed. Isaiah quickly turned around but his leg prevented a quicker escape, realizing that he was about to be caught Isaiah turned around and swept the monkey away from him.
The monkey flew backward and crashed back into the tree, but the impact was only enough to disorient it for a moment before it picked up its bearings and resumed its chase. Isaiah turned around causing the monkey to stop a few feet away from him, intensifying its screech as it showed its teeth and leaped towards him. Isaiah didn't know why the monkey turned hostile to him but he was going to fight back. He grabbed the monkey by the throat who lashed at him, scratching his cheek and the lower parts of his left eye.
Suddenly half-blind Isaiah panicked and threw the monkey who leaped mid-air and landed on its foot before resuming its chase, like a man on all fours charging it crashed on Isaiah's knee causing him to fall face first, before pounding its arms on his back. Isaiah turned around and threw the monkey into the air and before it could land, sparks of blue light leaped from Isaiah's fingers and struck the primate in its stomach.
"Scraaak!" It screamed in agony as it fell to the ground, its body twitching and smoke coming out of its shoulders. "Woo, hoo hoo hoo!" With the last of its strength, it shouted as loud as it could before breathed its last. Isaiah took a deep breath but then was suddenly frightened when he heard loud noises coming from seemingly everywhere, looking around he realized that a larger troop of monkeys was arriving so he ran away as quickly and far away as he could with all the injuries on his body.
The wound on his left eye began to itch whilst his ankles began to ache slowing him down considerably, only increasing the panic he felt as he ran and ran and ran. But try as he might the nightmarish howls of the monkey's companions kept getting closer and closer.
Until...
"Agh!"
Isaiah fell to the ground, missing the overgrown root of a tree that had penetrated the topsoil, as he stood up he noticed blood streaming down his ankle but that was not all, surrounding him was a large shadow. When he looked back he was looking straight at a sharp canine tooth that was larger and longer than his finger. A drop of saliva fell to his leggings burning through the thin cloth like acid before landing on his skin, irritating it immediately.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Despair.
Those were the thoughts that entered his mind as he watched the larger-than-usual monkey tower over him, with its gargantuan arms bulging in muscles. It uttered a low growl straight out of a kaiju movie as its stinking breath entered his nostrils.
"Run." He gasped as he crawled back but the monkey, grinning ear to ear, followed after him at a leisurely pace. "Leave- leave me alone!"
"Ho... Ho, ho ho." It began to chant, followed by its troop, they all began to chant in a disorganized mess which only made Isaiah's headache, the sound of their disuniformity and outright frightening howls made him vomit.
And then, the monkey struck. Its massive arms landed on his face throwing him away by a few feet. Before he could recover the monkey leaped and pounded his head, causing him to crash to the ground. Isaiah felt dizzy and his eyes were suddenly heavy. The monkey howled and pounded its chest as Isaiah looked up at him, with tears in his eyes he bit his lips and then blew them all away with a swipe of his hand, the move producing a current of ticklish sting around his body but was enough to give him some space.
Isaiah stood up and quickly began to limp away, too afraid to think of fighting back.
Using his magic he managed to hold onto his limbs and gained some speed, he was suddenly faster than the monkeys, but not to be deterred the monkeys who stood above the trees began to hurl all sorts of missiles at him. Though they were bad sharpshooters, the sheer volume of the missiles and Isaiah's large size made it hard to miss. Isaiah was struck with all kinds of pellets from stones to fruits and even branches, but he continued to run, that was until one of the monkeys threw another monkey at him. Grabbing him by the neck the monkey bit with all its might at his shoulders,
"Gah!"
Isaiah fell to the ground writhing in pain as the monkey fought the downed man. Realizing that meat was back on the menu the monkey began to bite but Isaiah used his massive size and crushed the monkey's lungs with his back, there was a brief struggle until Isaiah crushed the creature. Isaiah took a few deep breaths as he lay on his back, blood and the monkey's body behind him as he watched the trees above be filled with the primates. The bigger monkey arrived and was ready to strike at him but before he could Isaiah summoned every last inch of his power and released a powerful wave of electricity all around him, striking down every primate unfortunate enough to be around him.
Seeing their kind drop in masse the surviving primates began to run.
*Beep
[You leveled up!]
*Beep
[You leveled up!]
*Beep
[You leveled up!]
*Beep
[You leveled up!]
The sound of four beeps rang in his ears as he saw the text bubble overlapping each other with the words 'you leveled up. He was happy that his levels rose up but at the same time, the pain all around his body prevented him from enjoying the moment at all. He wiped away his tears now mixed with blood as his status page opened up in front of him.
=============================
Name: Isaiah Peter Dragovitch
Level: 19
HP 28/28 MP 208/208
STR - 17
AGI - 15
INT - 52
ATR - 8
Talents (Passive Skill)
[INT Boost II]
[Holy Blessings I]
[Taming I]
Abilities (Active Skill)
[Manipulation]
[Electric]
===============================
"Haah." He looked at his status page for a while as he laid himself down. He removed the dead monkey from behind as it bothered his shoulders. "That... That's better."
His body ached everywhere, his head was feverish and his sight was getting blurry, "I can't sleep here... I have to move." He told himself as he slowly got up, he found his muscles weak and shaky but he forced himself away from this place, if not for the soldiers those monkeys might have returned with an even bigger troop and attacked him, in his now weakened form he was incapable of fighting back. 'That said why is my HP full but my body feels like it's been beaten up... What's this messed up marker.' He leaned over a tree and took multiple deep breaths before he slowly limped his way away from that place.
Minutes turned to hours as the sun above had gone deeper into the east, Isaiah had to take multiple rest stops along the way but overall he was gaining some distance, he wasn't sure how many kilometers he had walked, or if it had even gone through a kilometer, nor did he care all that mattered was that he leave this place.
His body ached, his mind swirled, his face filled with sweat, whilst his stomach growled. So many emotions and thoughts had entered his brain that to keep his sanity he unconsciously turned off his mind and wondered aimlessly, here he was unable to form a single thought in the now clogged highway of memories. Before too long he decided to sit down, unable to continue any further in this state, and without realizing it fell into a deep slumber.
...
There was noise, like leaves rustling about.
Isaiah woke up in a feverish haze, his thoughts scattered and his vision roaming about. It was a very heavy sleep one where he did not feel refreshed at all. He wiped his face as he tried to get up,
"Where am I?" He looked around,
It was nighttime and the forest did not permit a single ray of moonlight to penetrate creating a scenery of nothing but darkness. If not for Isaiah's condition he might be so scared that he wouldn't be able to move. He took a deep breath. He wanted to sleep, proper rest in a bed, and some good meaty meal, but there were none to be found here, all but the void awaited.
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"May God have mercy on my soul." He chanted as he slowly made his way over towards the abyss, "As I walk through the valley of shadow-"
As he made his way into the void by chance he spotted an orange hue not too far from him. He quickly changed course and made way for the light.
He was so focused on reaching the source that he didn't notice someone standing not too far from him, facing the tree. Red hair with freckles all over his face, he unleashed a mighty stream of piss, eight hours in the making onto the large trunk. As he was relieving himself he suddenly heard a branch crack from behind him, he looked back nonchalantly and saw Isaiah but because he wasn't cautious enough, he had brought his whole body along with him, and now his piss was streaming onto Isaiah's ankle, he was quick to correct himself but it was too late.
The feeling of something warm coursing through his ankle woke Isaiah up from his stupor and like a man deprived of sleep was boiling with steaming hot rage.
The red-haired boy found Isaiah so angry that he raised his shield just in time as Isaiah struck him with his fist, Isaiah didn't even feel the pain in his fist as he struck again and again on the iron-layered shield, his knuckles bleeding in the process. "Oi! Knock it..." The boy shoved Isaiah with his shield, taking the time to raise his pants as he could not fight well if his foot was bound. "Help! Help! I am being attacked!" He screamed to warn his comrades as he took out his mace, "Come now brother, I don't want to hurt you!"
Isaiah coughed and coughed as he failed twice to get up like a drunken man, however, he soon found his footing and set his eyes straight at the boy with such intensity that he flinched, then lightning lept out of his body, the boy cursed as he raised his shield protecting himself from the lightning strike,
"A mage!" The boy charged and swung his mace in his shoulder but not before Isaiah planted his charged hand on his face, "Shit!"
Boom!
He fell to his knees as a low surge of electricity coursed through his muscles, tensing them up, but before Isaiah could land another blow he raised his shield. The man bit his tongue and struck Isaiah in his chin knocking him down but he recovered quickly and reached his hand out, the boy flinched and covered himself with his shield when suddenly he realized he couldn't move,
"What the!" He was then floating up in the air before he was thrown back into the ground, though instead of falling to his death he was caught by a blonde woman,
"Hugo!" The blonde set him down and took out her knives, "What happened."
"Iska..." Hugo wiped his mouth as he retrieved his mace, "I am not sure, but this drunkard came and attacked me immediately,"
"You peed, on my foot," Isaiah answered in between heavy gasps.
"I did not!" Hugo exclaimed before changing his answer, "It was an accident, plus it was only a little."
"You still..." Isaiah coughed, but blood came out of his mouth, the injuries began to pile up and without the dampener that was his headache, they began to exact their heavy toll. Isaiah became terrified at the thought of him being their prisoner and so decided to fight with all his might. Lightning erupted from his back as Iska ran behind Hugo who raised his shield,
With his attack blocked Iska leaped at Isaiah. Isaiah reached his hand out blowing Iska away who landed on a tall tree before falling thirty feet deep. She would have died had not Hugo run to save her. With both preoccupied, Isaiah launched a lightning strike to seal the deal but was blocked when a ball of fire came rushing straight at him, the fire landed on the ground creating a small explosion that blocked his view,
"Salamander's Breath!"
A chant rang out behind the smoke and a pillar of red flame pierced through. Isaiah raised his hand and blocked the attack, redirecting it to the ground. As the smoke subsided a wide-eyed woman with a heavy veil revealed herself "Wha-wha wha."
Isaiah swiped his hand as rocks began flying in their direction,
"Earth too!" Iska gasped as she threw pouches of gunpowder from behind creating mini explosions that shielded them from the attack, "Who did you anger Hugo!"
"I don't know... This... He must be one of the bandits!"
"They have someone on his level as their lackey?"
"Bandit? I'm no thief, that guy pissed on me that's why Im..." Isaiah suddenly felt wobbly as his vision blurred. Isaiah grabbed onto a nearby tree only for it to be an illusion of his mind. He fell to the ground much to the surprise of the others.
"What the?"
"Is he drunk?"
"Quick let's take the chance and bind him."
"I..." Isaiah stood up as best as he could, "I won't let you!"
"What's going o-" A blonde man entered the scene but upon seeing Isaiah quickly returned his sword to its scabbard, "Wait... Ah, let's calm down for a second now?"
"Calm down, he attacked us!"
Isaiah turned his eyes over the man and found to his horror that he was the very same man who had spoken to him at Koln's adventuring guild. It also wasn't helping that his physical state was in a terrible position, he was in a desperate position.
"Isaiah, that's your name, right? Isaiah... Let's calm down first, no need to kill each other."
"Calm down? He tried to kill us!"
"Cau-cause you pissed on me!"
"That doesn't mean you have to kill me!"
"Look, let's all just forget about everything and make peace okay?" Hannibal placed himself in between the two and placed his hand on Hugo's and Isaiah's shoulder but Isaiah backed out quickly. Both Iska and Fei were quick to lower their weapons but Hugo and Isaiah kept their stance, seeing that hostility was once again about to take place Hannibal quickly lowered his head, "I would like to apologize for my mate's behavior against you and hope that we can continue peaceably."
"Why, should I trust you?" Isaiah replied amid his heavy breathing.
"I forgot to properly introduce myself," He reached his hand out which Isaiah only looked at, "I am Hannibal Barco, we've met back at the guild. These people here are my comrades, my friends in the troupe."
"He's the guy you were trying to invite a while back?"
"Yeah... Err," He then turned to Isaiah who looked like he was in heavy pain, sweat pouring all over his body and his eyes turning red. "Are-are you alright?"
Isaiah wasn't feeling good, from the get-go he already felt feverish but the fight made him tire out quickly. Hallucinations struck brought by his paranoia as he began to see banners bearing the scorpion's tail followed by the people in front of him grinning as if they were about to put him down. Isaiah moved back and moved away as his mind was being bogged down with all sorts of thoughts.
"Get away." Isaiah turned to Hugo who looked like he was about to attack, "Get away!" Like an animal showing its fangs, lightning sparked all across Isaiah in such dangerous volumes that it threatened to kill anyone close to him.
"Wait... Wait, what's going on!"
"Stop him!"
"Run, run away!"
The four adventurers braced for impact but before anything could happen a blunt arrowhead whirred past the group and struck Isaiah in the head, the momentum was too weak to knock him unconscious but it was more than enough to bring him to the ground. The lightning stored up in his body was discharged in one singular pillar of light which struck straight to the clouds, creating a hole above as they dissipated in the clouds with a mighty roar.
All four were breathing hard as they watched what had just happened. Even Hannibal felt excited at the show of firepower, sure Isaiah had some problems but now he knew why he was quick to reject him in the first place, a mage capable of controlling many kinds of elements with such force deserves far more than the support of a third-rate troupe like his.
"You... You did well Senzuki." Hannibal looked back as a brown-haired lady with fox ears emerged from the bushes, on her hand was a long bow shaped like a yumi.
"Woo..." Hugo took a deep breath as he approached Isaiah, "You are one nasty mother- Oww."
Iska pinched him in the cheek, "Stop that will you, you're not helping."
"What, it's the truth?"
"They must have noticed that lightning attack, we have to leave," Senzuki said as she approached Isaiah to check his situation, that's when she recognized the face in front of her. Isaiah too realized that this woman was the same one he met at the river.
"You?"
"..." He was met with silence as the lady tried to hide herself...
***
The sound of fire crackling and crickets chirping dawned on the night sky as Isaiah woke up wet from top to bottom, here he could see that he was in some kind of tent, being illuminated by an orange light coming from a campfire. He tried to move himself but found his arms and legs very heavy, he began to breathe calmly as he slowly got up, at once his head ached hard as if filled with water, he bit his lip and closed his eyes.
'Where am I?'
The ache in his head began to subside and his vision was slowly getting clearer, here he found his arms and legs wrapped in bandages, fear entered his face as he checked for his shoulders and found his clothes to be different, he immediately looked onto the scorpion brand on his chest when suddenly,
"Ah, good evening." A heavily-veiled woman entered the tent, though she was covered Isaiah could immediately sense her identity.
"It's y-you, the fox-girl, the brown-haired kitsune. Senzuki right? I heard Hannibal say,"
"Aah..." She suddenly froze as she vehemently denied him, "No, no, no, that is no-"
"Don't lie, as if I could forget that face..."
"No, I am sorry but you must have mistaken me for someone else."
"Why hide your ears though? Ah, wait, is it because you're being discriminated against by your teammates?"
"Wh..." Senzuki paused, "What do you mean by that?"
"You not huh... Oh... Like... Huh."
"Fufu, that is fine, people tend to be confused when they have just suddenly woken up," She then set a pair of folded clothes to her side, "Please do not confuse me with the woman you once met at the river, there are plenty of women like me everywhere."
"But I never once said anything about the river though?"
"I..." Senzuki froze holding the clothes, "You may be hearing things."
"Look, you don't have to deny so hard... Truth be told, I don't hate you guys, I... I actually find them cute and not offensive or ugly more to speak, so like... I know you are her."
After much silence on her part, she finally responded with a voice so low one may have not heard of it if they weren't paying attention, "You... You find us cute?"
"Y-yeah." Isaiah's cheeks turned red as he nodded slowly, "I... I find those features good."
Senzuki paused for a moment as her pair of red ruby eyes looked at the man in front of her, 'Is he lying or perhaps just bluffing?' She had never met someone from the mainland who didn't hate her or her kind more specifically. Though most will eventually learn to like or ignore them the vast majority still bore hatred towards her. Yet here was one who didn't bear that same kind of hatred at all, she couldn't even sense any lies or ill-will, "Then..." She wanted to say no, but at the same time she wanted to know if it was true, "Would you like to see them then?"
"Uhm..." Isaiah didn't know how to reply, he never asked to see them just that he wanted to confirm that she was the woman she met at the river, so this was something he didn't prepare for, "If-if you will. If you don't mind."
Senzuki hesitated as if she was having second thoughts. Sensing this Isaiah quickly apologized,
"No need to worry, I am sorry for making it difficult for you."
But instead of replying, she then took off her veil. What Isaiah saw was indeed her, her face was like a doll's flawless and smooth, and her nose was sharp giving her a mature tone, meanwhile, her eyes burned bright like fire somewhat subdued by the darkness blanketing their tent, while above crowning her head was the most beautiful shade of brown on her hair which bore the pair of fluffy white-tipped fox-ears.
Isaiah couldn't help but simply look at her silently, maybe because he wasn't thinking straight yet or maybe because of her embarrassed smile but somehow she had a strange yet mesmerizing vibe surrounding her. Meanwhile, seeing the nonhostile face he had Senzuki relaxed as a smile crossed her lips, "I changed your clothes and wrapped you in those bandages." She said and noticing his stare she teased, "Ara, is there a problem in my face?"
Those words broke the spell and Isaiah managed to free himself from staring, "No... No, no, ahm, no."
Senzuki chuckled, "You must be confused yet, don't worry, just relax."
"I'll... I have to-" Isaiah was about to stand up but Senzuki placed her hands over his head as she shook her's,
"Lie down, you are not well yet." She said quietly before returning her old volume "I must say you have very serious injuries all over your body, no wonder you acted like a rabid animal back then." Her eyes filled with genuine concern stopped Isaiah from doing anything as she slowly lowered him, "A pierced wound on your thigh and ankle, cuts and bruises all across your body from top to bottom, your injuries on your thigh being infected. I've only stopped the wound for now by burning those parts however I do not have the skills to proceed further than what I did, you will need proper healing. Whatever happened to you?"
"Oh ahm, yeah... I was attacked by monkeys" Isaiah looked away,
"Monkeys, oh you mean the field monkeys common around here... I see, even knights and veteran adventurers have a hard time dealing with a troupe of those monkeys."
"By-by the way."
"Hmm?"
"Did you change my clothes?"
"Yes. I've had to add bandages around your shoulders and waist why?"
"So you've seen it?"
"Seen what?"
"It."
"Hmm? Ahh, are you talking about the scar across your body? And here I thought men like having scars on their body, well if that's the case don't worry I won't talk about it to anyone."
"Scar, yes... Thank you." Isaiah wasn't sure if she was lying or anything but considering she didn't bring up the mark then he wouldn't either. It was best not to give any negative impressions to a cute lady.
"Are you perhaps hungry?" Isaiah was about to say no but then his stomach growled just in time. She chuckled and nodded, "I'll bring some food for you, please stay and lie down, it will be bad if you start moving. You don't want your guts to spill out now." She then left the tent.
Isaiah peered through the slightly open slit of the flaps but found nothing else beyond the tent. Despite her warnings, he slowly stood up, he could feel the pain in his head and stomach bear down on him but it was manageable. He then removed the shoulder part of his clothes and checked his chest, where he found the branding smeared in soot, he wasn't sure when it was covered but it seemed that he was safe. He then opened his status page.
=============================
Name: Isaiah Peter Dragovitch
Level: 19
HP 28/28 MP 208/208
STR - 17
AGI - 15
INT - 52
ATR - 8
Talents (Passive Skill)
[INT Boost II]
[Holy Blessings I]
[Taming I]
Abilities (Active Skill)
[Manipulation]
[Electric]
===============================
'Ah right, I haven't assigned stuff yet.' Things had been moving so quickly that he sometimes forgot that this existed, not that the status page was helping him remember it anyway with how barebones or quiet it was with displaying his actual conditions. 'Despite the pain I am experiencing I still have full health? Not even a single mention of my injuries anywhere.' Isaiah wasn't sure what was wrong with the system but he was becoming skeptical about Epsilon's claim about it being developed for 300 years.
However now is not the time to complain, he feared the petty bastard might come to take the system for good if he heard him complain so instead he decided to assign his unused attribute points.
'8 attributes...' Isaiah looked at the three different attributes he had and wondered how to best invest it. Normally a well-balanced user would do good but rather than invest all his points equally, the sight of all those horrible injuries he had sustained made him think otherwise. 'Considering my mage-like abilities, I believe it best to invest mostly in strength and agility' He pondered on his other options before proceeding to dump one point onto STR.
[STR: 17--> 18]
In that instant he felt something in his body, it was very minuscule but he could feel his strength surging and his whole psyche had been refreshed, he felt ready for another round of fighting. That said, his muscles did not increase or harden nor did the tired feeling disappear, which only served to confuse him as both his brain and his body were now sending opposing signals.
There was a theory floating around his mind that he wanted to test out. Since his page got refreshed every time he leveled up then there was a chance that his health and mana also got refreshed every time he added one point to the strength or intelligence stat. If this is the case then he might end up with a powerful way to cheese the system and gain an unfair advantage.
He refused to believe that his only cheat was that he could gain levels faster.
He decided to cover his arms in electricity then once he saw his mana drop he added one point into his mana pool.
[INT: 62 --> 67]
'Huh? 5 points?'
Isaiah was confused at first until his eyes looked just below and saw his talents.
[INT Boost II - +5 INT points per 1 attribute]
'Oh... But it did refresh my mana.'
His mana was not only refreshed but increased by 20.
[MP: 228/228]
"Oho... So it works like that huh? Does that mean it also works on my HP?"
[STR: 18 --> 24]
[HP: 48/48]
Just like before he felt strength enter his body only that it was much more noticeable this time. That said, his muscles did not get harder nor did the tired feeling disappear.
'Wait I forgot to damage myself, but that would hurt and not look good... Oh well, if it works for mana it should work for health...'
He wasn't sure how his body would survive if full of wounds but he could see that so long as his hp doesn't fall below 0 then no matter how badly beaten up he was or physically exhausted he was then he would still be alive. That said, injuries and damages will negatively impact his abilities to fight properly so he should try to avoid them as much as possible.
And so a new strategy was formed. He planned on saving up as many attribute points as he possibly could so that he could remain alive even in the most dire of circumstances. Shortly once he learned a healing spell or some method to heal himself when combined with the refresh it would make him virtually unkillable.
'So long as I don't get one-shotted.' He reminded himself.
As a mage, his greatest weakness was his endurance and speed. Having a tool to keep himself alive at all times was the best in the event of a sneak attack. Satisfied that he confirmed the existence of a powerful tool in his system he smiled and was about to distribute his remaining attribute points when he realized he had none left.
'Wait, I went through eight already? Damn, I wanted to increase my agility, but oh well...'
He didn't feel bad, he simply felt disappointed that he went through it all that quickly.
=============================
Name: Isaiah Peter Dragovitch
Level: 19
HP 48/48 MP 228/228
STR - 24
AGI - 15
INT - 57
Talents (Passive Skill)
[INT Boost II]
[Holy Blessings I]
[Taming I]
Abilities (Active Skill)
[Manipulation]
[Electric]
===============================
'Looking good.' He smiled, he especially liked seeing his stats at multiples of fives though only one fit the bill, it wouldn't be long for all of them to be part of the club. He made one final look on his status page just in time as Senzuki and a blond man entered.
"Oi... Mmmmm," Senzuki pouted as she saw Isaiah sitting up, she quickly placed the tray beside him and held his back, "I told you to lie down, you're still not okay."
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
"Lie down." The smile on her face disappeared and Isaiah felt an intense pressure coming from her, so he slowly lowered himself back to bed. Seeing him comply, she smiled back and the intimidating feeling disappeared. "Good."
"Herr Isaiah." Hannibal sat beside Senzuki. "Good evening, I hope you are well."
Isaiah was about to sit back up but Senzuki stopped him with her arm, "Lie back..."
"Sorry... Sorry," Isaiah then turned to Hannibal, "So what now?"
"Well..." Hannibal gritted his teeth and felt hesitant with what he was about to say, "It has been a while hasn't it."
"It has been, never realized I would meet you and your troupe like this."
"I too think the same, I never thought I'd get to see you again. That said you were in... Well,"
"Monkeys."
"I see, those bastards can do a lot. Still, I do hope that you could forgive Hugo for what he did."
"It's fine, it's fine... I wasn't in my right mind at that time."
"I appreciate the thought."
"So? I doubt you're here to just see me get well."
"Well, I know that I shouldn't be saying this but... I would like you to join our troupe."
"Okay... Well, here is the thing, why?"
"Well, for starters..." Hannibal stopped when he realized just what he was about to say, 'He is capable of controlling multiple different types of elements despite his rather low mana and fighting on a level that could beat us all despite being in such horrible conditions. Imagine him in his peak physical shape, he deserves more than us that's for sure.'
Hannibal felt trapped by the question, though he prepared for this he had never found the answers he formulated to be satisfactory, that said all hope was not lost for him as Senzuki came to his rescue,
"Those monkeys must have done a terrible thing to you, I can see."
"They did, very much..."
"Bruises and cuts, festering scars that require extensive care... Dear me, I heard the monkey's saliva are poisonous."
"Your point being?"
"Well I have used a great deal of medication to help you, and those are expensive. I would prefer if you could repay us by giving us some help."
"I see..."
"And it's not like you have somewhere to go after this, you are lost after all... Nee?" Senzuki gave a very suspicious smile, a smile as if saying she knew something that Isaiah was trying to hide, he would have said something else had it been not for that smile of hers. So he too became cautious and guarded.
"You know?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
Hannibal seeing the opportunity quickly joined in, "So yeah, uh, medicine and stuff are expensive so though we won't force you to, we would like for you to join us for a while, it won't be that long anyway. Once we are at Heins then we could go on our ways."
Isaiah looked at Senzuki whose face seemed nothing out of the ordinary giving no further indication of her thoughts whilst Hannibal was looking at him so eagerly that it was beginning to pressure him. It was true, that medicine and healing paraphernalia would be expensive in these days and age, and considering the extensive amount of medicine used on him it would be difficult to pay them back, so if all they wanted was an escort to Heins then it was far cheaper than paying out of pocket. Not that Isaiah had any money with him right now.
'I can't exactly return to Sardis to collect my hidden treasure if it's still there in the first place.'
Then of course there was Senzuki, he was determined to raise her flag at all costs. So if these journeys of theirs could improve his relations with her then it was great profit. Heck if things work well she might abandon her old team to join him in his newly formed troupe once everything has settled.
Isaiah couldn't help but grin as those plans formulated in his mind. That said there were things he wanted to know,
"Say why would you guys need an escort since you guys are adventurers shouldn't you do the escorting?"
"Well..." Hannibal sighed, "To tell you the truth we are being chased by a gang of bandits,"
"So you want my protection then?"
"That would be correct. If you could join us we might be able to fight them off... The thing is we are under contract to deliver a merchant's cargo and it seems we have attracted some unwanted attention."
"How strong is this group?"
"Rather strong..."
"Twelve." Senzuki said, "Twelve annoying people."
"Yes. One mage, three archers, and eight swordsmen. Compared to just six of us it's difficult, to say the least, not to mention we are guarding a huge carriage."
"I see... That said why are they chasing you?"
"I am not sure, but we do have an active commission and this quest is given to us by the commissar who might or might not have many enemies so that might be the case."
"A commission?"
"Yes!" Hannibal nodded, he knew that commissions were a good way to attract adventurers. "We are commissioned by the Orkelion Guild. Spice merchants."
"So you're saying someone is sabotaging your work?"
"That might be the case."
"We did kick someone out recently, and that man happens to have some contacts who might be willing to do this," Senzuki added.
"Oh..." Isaiah pondered about his choices for the moment,
He could always just go about his way and do his own thing, sure he was being chased but once he was far away from the regions he was sure that there would be no more trouble, then from that point on he could raise his levels comfortably and find new work. However, only if he could. There was still an issue of how he would achieve this as not only was he heavily injured but also he is a wanted criminal. His wounds badly need healing or else he might be forced to cut them out.
On the other hand, he could join Hannibal's troupe and have the backing of a veteran group with a commission. Though he never received a commission he had a taste of what a job would bring and with Hannibal's troupe ready to deal with the logistics and beauracry of the job, a task that Isaiah failed and wouldn't want to deal with, he would have a much easier time even though their rewards would be divided. Senzuki being a member of the troupe was just the cherry on top, a fox-girl as his first wife was way too enticing of an incentive to pass off.
So upon final deliberation, he decided that it was for the best to join the troupe.
That said...
"How much will I get paid?"
"Pardon, oh yeah... Uh..." Hannibal began calculating in his mind, "If we deduct the price for the medicines then I can guarantee roughly 1,000 marks for this one."
"1,000 huh."
It was low, way too low but still a good amount to give to a bronze ranker.
"Yeah. Is it..."
Isaiah turned to Senzuki who nodded, "I would like to apologize our troupe is in some financial predicament."
"I see... Well, doesn't matter you guys helped me out anyway."
"That-that would be great... At least I won't have to worry about ambushes."
"Leave those guys to me, I'll take care of them nice and easy... Oh by the way, if I could loot stuff from them I keep it alright?"
"Sure, I don't think we will need any from them anyway."
"That settles it then..." Isaiah reached his hand out to which Hannibal shook, "Glad to be working with you."
"Oh, you too... Have a good night." Hannibal then turned to Senzuki, "I shall leave you two here for now."
"You too." Isaiah waved his hand and smiled.
Though he would have insisted on leaving as he was still suspicious of Hannibal, he decided that it was best to show a much more agreeable persona in front of Senzuki if he wanted her to move to his side. Women might like strong men but the best women only liked the best men, those who are not only strong but also kind, if he could show a kind persona to her then he was sure that she would slowly, of her volition approach him instead.
Except that he couldn't read her face. There were no changes in her other than her usual warm smile.
'Was it not working? Is it not enough for me to join them?' He slowly laid himself back, 'I guess it's just the first night, we still have lots to go before it happens. But oh well, a fox-girl waifu is worth waiting for.' His eyes turned towards her pointy ears and fluffy tail, they were larger than that of a cat's ear and perhaps better, he couldn't wait to get his hands on those.
Senzuki who was about to leave looked back, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, so thank you for healing me."
"Oh. It is a pleasure, it's not often you meet someone so heavily injured so it is great to have someone you could practice your skills with."
"Ah, so you're a doctor?"
"Not really, I cannot compare myself to them. My abilities are only with first aid and such. So forgive me if I cannot completely cure you."
"Oh not a problem, not at all... There are limits to us all and I feel a lot better, I really do. Have some pride in your work."
"Thank you." She gave him a more beautiful smile that Isaiah's heart skipped a beat. "Anyway, have a good night, I shall see you tomorrow."
"You too, good night."
The two waved goodbye as Senzuki left the tent, thus once more he was alone.
'Good... Good Isaiah.' He thought to himself, 'It was difficult talking to her since I rarely talked to people in the past, but I should change, I am more powerful now, and have some pride in my skills some pride in my skills...' Isaiah took a deep breath, 'I have power, I have power... I am power.' He started psyching himself up, his eyes brimming with determination now that he had a goal, he wasn't sure how far Heins was but he was going to use all the time to get Senzuki to join him once they separated, 'I am sure they don't need her that much.'
He looked forward to tomorrow.