In the lush grove beside the crystal-clear river, Probus had rested his hunched shoulder on a lofty tree. A beautiful, miniature doll-like girl hovering around him flapping her emerald wings shining under the bright sun.
It had been a day since Pro was in the outskirts of this forest, which he didn’t dare enter after Sana’s eerie description of the beasts residing inside which couldn’t come outside though, as Sun was akin to a curse to them.
The forest on the outskirts and a tad further would shine through the sunrise, but deep inside, no light touched the ground ever.
As per Sana’s description, these races had emerged from the blood of Hunon, the dark — the nemesis of Yse, the bright. Being sufficiently weaker in the bloodline, they had little to no resistance to the power of sunrise, their nemesis.
This planet called Fose, would see the sun risen for a year and then set for another which, to Pro’s pleasant surprise, had seven months to set.
“These are the books left by Master,” Sana said, slamming four humongous bundles of seemingly million pages in front of Pro.
“Do I have to read these?”
“Obviously.” Sana said carrying a scoff, “I thought you took some pride in your genius. Though, it doesn’t show much on the outside.”
“You took it wrong, pixie. I meant to say if just this much was enough. ”
“Sana not pixie.” Sana scolded.
“Come on. Pixie sounds cooler.”
Probus dragged the hunk of a book down the bundle, slamming it on the ground over the green grass, and looked at the cover page intently.
What exactly is inside these? Could it not have been shortened? Many won’t even live long enough to read it but I guess I can now.
He touched the red cover, instantly experiencing a tingling sensation run through him. He could sense energy move through his spine, inciting a feeling in him — indescribable and superior. And unbeknownst to him, his light blue pupils had grown darker; his pale face turned fairer, and his countenance not to scoff at.
Pro continued to read the book for a long time — now immersed in it.
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You have comprehended divine knowledge and deepened your knowledge about the universe.
Intelligence +1. (8 → 9)
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A message popped out of nowhere tangling Pro out of the book.
“Can you increase your intelligence like this?” Pro said, looking towards Sana, “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have exercised and increased my strength stat or something. And how could I forget? You didn’t explain anything about the system.”
Sana was near him, hovering, like ever. She didn’t leave this place because this was the safest and both of them couldn’t dare separate. Not in this forest, at least.
“I didn’t tell you anything about the system because there is nothing that I can tell you that you don’t know.”
“You are connected with the system as equally as I am. There is no need for me to inform you about how it works. Just think and you will know the answer. Think of the system as your extension. The powers the system possesses are rather the powers you possess. These are all basically your powers.“
“At their weakest stage though,” Sana added.
“And what about your powers? Aren’t they here too? ”
“No.”
“Huh, why though? You are connected to the system too. Aren’t we equally connected?”
“... I don’t have any powers. I lost them all when I died or almost died.”
“Sorry to ask.”
“Nope. It’s nothing. I don’t remember it as vividly now.” Sana said, giving a slight chuckle.
“So… I just have to think about it and I will get the answers.”
Sana nodded in agreement.
“Try to focus at first. It will be easier soon as you unfurl more of your powers, as Master told me.”
Pro rested his back again and closed his eyes. He felt a vague connection with a latent energy. He was awed yet fearful of what he could experience. It wasn’t something he had done before — A completely novel experience. An experience which felt potent enough to alter his existence.
His eyes closed and brows furrowed in a constraint with his former and incipient self.
Swoosh. He felt his surroundings change, run through a vortex, and stop with a jerk. He noticed a dark space that seemed to run for eternity and a slick, black ground extending just like the space. It didn’t have a sun, nor a moon but a crimson shine engulfed the whole space.
A lush bountiful group of trees extended before him though no sign of other life, was evident.
It was like heaven’s beauty or at least what he fantasized it to be. The beautiful twirling of the trees atop and the crimson hue bathed the bright pink, fuchsia, and flamingo flowers in a decoration. The fruits laden on them looked ripe and plump.
Surprisingly enough, the land he stood on was barren to the core carrying reddish sand and turning lush just several feet later.
A ringing hum began to resound in the vast space. Pro felt an urgency from it, a calling, and diverted his attention to it, and the next moment he had opened his eyes.
“Pro. Are you okay?” He heard a beautiful voice call out to him.
“What!” He was now back to the grove beside the crystal-clear river resting himself on a lofty tree.
“Was I here?” pro asked.
“You were here but you weren’t answering anything. I was worried that something happened to you. Master said that your connection should also be similar to mine so I didn’t think much of it.”
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“Oh no. Nothing happened to me.”
“I just got too absorbed in feeling my connection I guess,” Pro said.
“But it shouldn’t be like that…”
“Well, we are significantly different races aren’t we, so it can be different experiences, right?”
“Yeah. I guess…”
“So, I somehow know something now.”
“Hm, Hm. What is that?”
“Yeah, so unlike fantasy systems I can’t just level up and increase my stats, right?”
“I don't know what fantasy systems you are talking about but yeah, that’s true.”
“But leveling up can help me unlock my seals get my natural abilities and gain power.”
“Yes, that is how it seems to work.”
“Then why don’t I level up? Isn’t it very effective?”
“Pro, Do you know about the Quaders of time?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Ok, so the time of the universe has been divided into four parts called Quaders. They occur because of the shift of power that happens constantly throughout the universe and anyone above the normal class can sense it. I included.” She said, adding the last line with a slight smirk.
“The holy fire of power, the unborn is said to be responsible for this but basically, every time is suitable for certain practices. The first quader for knowledge, the second for hunting, the third for movement, and fourth for stance.”
“If done out of place, these activities are not going to give any results.”
“Oh!” Pro exclaimed.
“So when will the second Quader occur?”
“Just in some time.”
“I will inform you.”
Pro nodded in agreement and started reading again. He didn’t want to waste his precious study time.
He was reading the introductory material before this which was quite large though most of it he had already learnt from the elven libraries or Sana, yet he didn’t skip it.
He turned to a page which was headed by a bold “Chapter 1”, content having few verses:
“The yores, which are all four,
Shall be taken, just as a yore.
And grant to you the wings to fly,
And ponder where the moments lie,
We miss and err, we miss and err.
And shine it through, to cut your wings,
We ponder where the moment swings.”
Following this small poem, was a large description which described the lines of the poem. He observed that the descriptions were explanations of the above lines and seemingly from different people. It was like a compilation of all the descriptions of the lines above.
It seems like these lines are the real yore, he thought, and these descriptions are the interpretations of these words written by some distinguished beings. The ideas are unique and almost unfathomable.
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You have comprehended divine knowledge and deepened your knowledge about the universe.
Intelligence +1. (9 → 10)
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You have comprehended divine knowledge and deepened your knowledge about the universe.
Intelligence +1. (10 → 11)
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He delved into the study and covered a good chunk of the first chapter, when he heard, “The second quader has occurred. You can begin to level up.” Sana spoke in a cheerful voice.
“Okay just let me complete this chapter.”
“No, Pro. Reading this any longer is a waste of time. This cannot give you stats anymore.”
“Really!?” Pro said.
“Obviously, why would I lie to you?” She said and flew to Pro’s shoulder, seating herself which Pro didn’t mind.
They both walked towards the deeper parts of the forests.
Sometimes walking towards the forest, the trees become taller, denser, and wider. They were now ample in number — enough to call it a forest.
“So… how weak am I here in the outer forest?” Pro asked.
“Enough to die from a rabbit here.”
“Are they warrior species?”
“No, but they are still strong for you. You are between the feeble and normal races.”
“Well, at least it's not an ant.”
“My, My. You are so optimistic now. How did you change this much, dear Pro?”
“I think a warrior pixie like you should kowtow to this mythical being,” Pro added.
“One who can be defeated by a human? No thanks.”
They continued on their banter as they reached a thicket of bushes stopping, a few meters before it.
“Here?” Probus asked in a grim tone, not carrying a tinge of him from just before.
Sana nodded in agreement.
“This will work right?” He muttered as he moved towards a pair of lush bushes.
Sana, acknowledging him, spoke in a low voice, “It should.”
Sana was a warrior-class pixie and a powerful one at that. She was quick to learn but her race didn’t let her reach further. The difference between a feeble and normal race isn’t much significant other than their physique. A feeble class can have each stat at 5 at max and a normal class at 10.
This only includes the physical stats, as stats of intelligence which refer to the performance of magic only are for races above warrior class.
A warrior class will have 100 as their max stats which is a significant leap. This means that they are at least 10 times stronger than the normal class along with a special ability to observe the subtleties of the universe.
Sana was doing the same. Observing the surroundings, she could catch any being near them and their goal was a hound rabbit.
He could have tried to hunt weaker mice first which were the weakest animals here. But the problem was that they were sensitive, agile, and perceptive being the lowest predators. The rabbit on the other hand was quick and strong but it didn’t have any sense of perception. Like it was blind to perception, making him the easiest opponent for surprise attack.
Probus, now just behind the bushes, holding a dagger given to her by Sana, looked over and saw a rabbit. It was green in color, almost emerald and its fur was lush and bountiful. It looked close to a dog if anything, with its meter-long length and sharp claws. It was chewing on a pair of dead mice.
Pro was the one who wanted to do this. He wasn’t sure if he could kill it but he couldn’t stall. He wanted to grow stronger.
He had seen the power of elves, dragons, and other regnier and conqueror species. He could never challenge them if he’d just stall. He knew that he was stronger. He could gain power. If he were to give up, wouldn’t it all go to waste?
Death was a moment of pain but regret was death every day. He had nothing to lose so he’d try it.
He held his dagger in an icepick grip and counted: One, two, three!
At three, he bent his knees thrusting his hand towards the rabbit’s head. He struck his head, but it was tougher than he thought and his dagger was stuck, not going in further.
His heart palpitating, he thought for a second, and amidst a scream from the rabbit, he pushed the dagger backward, trudging through the skin of the rabbit.
The rabbit knew it was in danger and violently twisted his body trying to break free of the dagger which was stuck atop him, making bluish blood flow down his emerald fur.
Not being able to remove the attacker, the rabbit started to run and shake off Pro who was holding the dagger, trying to push it through his skin and slice his top in half.
The wound on the rabbit's body was just an inch deep, but Pro had pushed it back, opening a slight amount of the skin on his head. He was shocked to see the rabbit run this fast, in such a wound.
The rabbit dragged Pro along with him as he held the dagger tightly. He knew that if he’d remove his hand, he might not get a second chance to kill it again.
The rabbit dragged Pro, in which Pro suffered several cuts by the bushes and a thorn stuck him on his abdomen, piercing through it. It then ran straight towards a tree and turned just before it, smashing Pro’s face to the tree. He took it straight face. His nose started to bleed and he almost lost his consciousness but the pain kept him lucid as the rabbit ran towards a tree again.
This time though, Pro was ready. He saved his head in time and wrapped his right arm around the tree. Tightening his grip on the dagger and pushing it down, he pushed his right hand backwards.
The rabbit was clearly more powerful than Pro, but right now, every force was working in Pro’s favor as the dagger sliced the rabbit’s skin from its head to its tail. The rabbit, screeching, couldn’t stand any longer and fell down on the spot.
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You have hunted a Hound rabbit Level 8!
Exp gained: 800
Level (1 → 3)
Exp: 200/400
You have leveled up to level 3!
You have gained an ability.
Strike.
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Lev slowly sat up, trying to make it the least painful it could be and started to walk towards safer areas, carrying a sense of great relief.