Zeke breathed again, finally able to do so after having the sword plunged into his innards. The apple, while delicious, was ruined thanks to the blood coating his mouth and trying to drown him. Drowning in his own blood.
What a cruel death that would be. But he survived. Somehow.
He held his hand over his wound, a literal crevice put by that knight into his belly. The suit was ruined now, and the dress shirt underneath was stained in red crimson.
But the wound was even worse. it was a gaping hole, blood flowing like a river. It burned like flames were trapped within his skin. Pain shot up through his torso, causing his joints to lock up from the sharp pain.
But the moment Mikella and Clara aided and force-fed him the apple, the pain lifted from his body.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the pain diminished. When he finished one apple, he downed a pear next, then some grapes afterwards. He kept ignoring the constant notifications of him eating the fruits and gaining some points, which doesn’t even show no matter how he tried to look at his status screen.
He thanked Clara who offered the pear and grape to him. She was such a sweet little girl. Most children would be frozen after seeing so much blood, but she was more scared about what was happening to him rather than at the entire scene.
He smiled at her, his teeth and lips still reddish from the blood. “Thank you…” He spoke harshly, blood still filling his throat slightly as he coughed.
Clara made a complicated expression. She looked happy, but the blood didn’t help as she paled at the sight. Zeke feared that he might have traumatized the poor girl by getting stabbed.
“Thanks to you too,” Zeke remembered and turned to Mikella, already doing her best to try and bandage the wound from her ripped shirt.
She really went out of her way to defend him while he was down and out. Even though he tried to tell her to run, deep inside, he desperately wished that she’d stay and help. Even if he resorted to realizing that it was smarter and better overall to just take Clara and run.
He was more than glad, but he didn’t know how to express it other than saying his thanks. Mikella only smiled back.
“You saved me, too. I would’ve died if you hadn't come in time.”
“Hah… it really hurts too.” Zeke laughed, a sharp pain causing him to wince from using his belly to do so.
When he saw her fighting, he knew he had to do something. But the pain was too much, begging him to stay still if he didn’t want to die. But when he saw Mikella fight for their lives, he forced himself to move. He grabbed his axe and used whatever stamina he had left to stop the knight readying to decapitate Mikella.
Even now, her hip bled, her blood mixing with his. Yet she still held onto Zeke’s wound to help however he could.
He checked his status with his mind. He was thankful that Mikella recognized that food can also restore health and stamina. Even he didn’t think of it, mostly just focused on finding food for themselves. He did notice a lot of notifications there, but he was too bleary to really think about them for now.
Then something incredible happened. The blood stopped flowing. When Mikella took a break before trying again, the two realized that the wound wasn’t bleeding anymore.
In fact, it was actually starting to close on its own. He gaped along with Mikella after seeing his very wound actually closing. The pain, while still very real, slowly diminishing in small waves. He slowly stood up. He kept staring at the wound that seemed to be recovering his skin as though he was seeing a fast-forwarding video of the human body part’s natural recovery.
It was gross to look at, but it felt so good to see his body recovering.
“Holy crap…” Zeke uttered, feeling his belly once again. The wound was slowly closing, still feeling the edges of the wound and wincing after touching it. But compared to before, it was ten times easier to manage. “What’s with those fruits? There’s no way this is the actual recovery for our bodies… right?”
He looked up to see Mikella to see her reaction. She only just shrugged, seeing the wound for herself. Her hands were red his blood, and she herself held onto her hip after realizing that she was still injured.
Zeke quickly looked for the barrel, but Clara already offered a pear to Mikella. She smiled back at her as she took it.
“Thanks, Clara,” Mikella said as she took a big bite. Moaning at the taste, which Zeke can completely agree was the saving grace, she turned back to him. “How are you feeling?”
“I think I can walk and even swing my axe now,” Zeke answered. “Still hurts like a bitch though.”
Zeke immediately regretted it, clamping his mouth shut after glancing back at Clara.
“Zeke, it’s fine. I told you she’s used to it,” Mikella chuckled before taking another bite.
“I don’t think I’ll get used to it though…” Zeke muttered. Even if she said that, he still can’t help but feel like he’s corrupting a little girl’s mind with dirty words. “How about you?”
“I’ll be fine,” Mikella said, though Zeke stared at her with a raised brow. “Really, I am. Compared to you, I’m fresh as a daisy.”
Seeing the wound for himself, Zeke can agree. Some bits of her abdomen were exposed, revealing the toned muscle underneath. It was proof that she was an athlete which led to her fighting well against the knight.
Compared to him, he looked back to see his shirt ripped and his belly shown to the world. He started to get insecure.
He didn’t really have a bulging gut, but it wasn’t exactly slim either. He didn’t do much but work, eat, then sleep. He didn’t have much of a diet either, so there was a bit of a jiggle in his belly.
I just got stabbed and I’m still insecure about my weight in front of girls? I need to fix my priorities.
Trying to ignore the stupid thoughts, he checked back at the blinking notifications at the corner of his eyes. Somehow, they were dropped down to the corner after he forced them away, like minimizing a window on a computer.
So like a window, he maximized it with his mind and widened at the new notifications.
> You have gained +1 STR from your actions
>
> You have gained +1 END from your actions
>
> You have gained +1 VIT from your actions
>
> …..
>
> General Skill learned: Pain Resistance.
>
> General Skill learned: Meditation.
>
> …..
>
> Level up! You are now Level 2. You gain 2 free points (4 FP total).
A strange sensation overwhelmed him. His body turned rigid while his eyes turned to saucers. His mind spun, a whirlwind of emotions crashing within him ceaselessly.
Or rather, it was the rampaging energy that invaded his body. But just as it entered, it left–disappearing into nothingness. Looking back at himself, he saw that he was mostly normal now, if not still in pain. But it also felt great.
Definitely a strange mix.
“Zeke, you okay?” Mikella asked, noticing his strange movements just now with concern.
“...Mikella?” Zeke slowly said, still reading the message in his mind. “Do you have a blinking notification in your vision?”
“Oh, yeah I do,” Mikella widened her eyes as though she just remembered. “I just ignored them after… what happened here.”
“I just leveled up…” Zeke said, still in awe at the list of improvements. “You should check them out too.”
In a moment, she nodded as her eyes turned distant for a moment.
Then, just like him, her body made strange movements. It was like someone was feeling up her back with a duster as she gritted her teeth and even let out a groan. After a few seconds, she returned back to normal.
“I leveled up and… uggh, it’s just like when I used the free points to increase in Strength… is that gonna happen all the time?”
“Probably…,” Zeke figured as he nodded. “I guess we shared experience points after taking down that thing…”
What he found incredible and even a little exciting is that he got himself extra points in his attributes on top of leveling up and gaining free points. Seeing the attribute increases, he believes that he gained them depending on how he did in combat.
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“Did you gain any points too on top of leveling up?” Zeke asked, getting her to nod.
“Yeah, I got Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance from my actions. And you?”
“I gained Strength and Endurance. I got Vitality though–and you can probably guess why.”
Mikella grimaced. He smirked after she realized how he earned that point.
Then he recalled the skills he gained. It was truly like a video game as he called out.
“I also got these General Skills now. I got Pain resistance and Meditation. What about you?”
“Wait, really?” Mikella looked back in surprise. “I haven’t received anything like that. Wait, you got skills now?!”
She instantly gained an interest in this, which stumped Zeke. She fought the knight more than he did, and all he did was slam his axe.
However, he instead checked the skills, which he realized he realize he can open up a skill list to check just like checking his status screen.
He first checked Pain Resistance, realizing that he can open up the skill and check its description.
> Pain Resistance (Uncommon), Level 1
> Your body adjusts itself to withstand pain beyond your recognition. Increases your tolerance for pain and your body’s durability. Each of these will increase according to the level of the skill and the current Vitality stat.
That much was pretty obvious to look at. He definitely did feel pain beyond anything he felt. Now that he realized it, the phantom pain from earlier just… vanished completely. Sure, it ached, but once again it felt nothing like how it was earlier.
Then he checked the next skill, which he felt happened after the battle.
> Meditation (Common), Level 1
> You force your mind and body to stay still and recover your lost energy. During the process, your health, mana, and stamina gradually recovers. You are able to increase the recovery rate according to the level of the skill and the current Vitality, Endurance, and Spirit stat.
He then later explained to Mikella about each of these skills, and after a moment of thought, she nodded.
“Okay, that makes sense,” Mikella nodded. “I got hurt too, but it was nothing compared to what you went through. Maybe I haven’t reached the quota yet.”
If that was the case, what kind of quota one needs to meet to get Pain Resistance? No matter how useful this skill was, he was hesitant on gaining it if he had to get a blade plunged deep into his guts.
Putting the skills aside for now, he checked his status again. He curled his brows at the sight.
> Name: Zeke Parlow
> Race: Human
> Novice: Level 2
> STR: 6
> DEX: 7
> INT: 9
> SPI: 10
> VIT: 6
> END: 7
> Free Points: 4
>
> General Skills:
> Pain Resistance (U) Level 1
> Meditation (C) Level 1
“I got four free points… So does that mean we only get 2 free points each level? That sucks so much!” Zeke groaned. “How are we supposed to upgrade our stats then? Just keep getting nearly killed?”
He almost regretted saying that, turning over to find Mikella frowning at the news. Zeke wasn’t happy about it, but he knew it was the truth.
They don’t know exactly how to get back home, but it’s clear now to them; they’re in an entirely new world, and now they have to follow their rules.
And that included only having a few points to spend for free.
“I’m used to having 5 or maybe 4 points per level up, but two is just too little…” Zeke muttered, frowning deeper at his status screen.
“Maybe it’s not so bad?” Mikella shrugged one sidedly. “Plus, you have skills that can help you in a fight. Didn’t we also gained some points from fighting just now too?”
Zeke nodded slowly, understanding what she meant. She showed off even more of her logic as she grabbed her longsword off the floor. Despite fighting against the metal knight, the longsword blade still looked presentable, pristine even.
“Plus, I feel like this longsword is a lot easier to carry now. A lot easier. I put in two points in Strength earlier, and that’s probably how I managed to take that Knight down so easily. It’s super heavy, you know that?”
Zeke couldn’t help but agree. He figured she would spend the free points to fight against that thing. He sort of wished he did the same now that he thought about it. Especially putting points into Vitality after what happened.
Still, he was a bit out of it after being stabbed, so it’s not like anyone can blame him for his lack of foresight.
Mikella also didn’t seem to mind the injury as it stopped bleeding from her hip. It looked like her recovery was fast as well, showing that they can recover their health normally.
If they grow stronger, would this mean they can take down the knights better now? Or perhaps even find a way out of here? With that in mind, Zeke assured himself that the best way to do that is to increase their power. But he looked at his stats again, showing a grimace at his stats.
The only thing of worth he had was his high Intelligence and Spirit. But they are utterly useless. He wanted to hoard his points, but he can’t keep having Mikella do all the fighting like this. He certainly can’t just take a hit like that every once in a while either, even if he had his general skills to help him.
He didn’t want to get stabbed again. It was too painful, too agonizing to even think about.
“I’m putting points into Strength,” Zeke said, willing himself to focus on his stat points, but a surprised shout stopped him.
“Wait!” Mikella called out, forcing him to stop and look at her. “Don’t be so rash!”
“What do you mean, rash?” Zeke exclaimed. “I can’t keep going like this. You saw what just happened. I can’t let you keep fighting like this by yourself. And obviously I don’t want to get stabbed again, so this is the best bet.”
“Okay, yes, you make a valid point,” Mikella closed up to him, her free hand open and waving up and down slowly to console him, her other hand gripping onto the longsword without thinking. She really liked that longsword, Zeke realized. “I totally get why that’s a good idea. But just think; You have a ton of points in Intelligence and Spirit, right? You should keep those points in case we find a spell or something.”
“And what spell is that?” Zeke countered. He was actually glad to find Mikella wanting to help him be better in terms of his attributes, but seeing the reality before him made him doubtful that it could ever work. “I don’t see a spellbook anywhere, and like I said, I can’t leave all the fighting to you. It’s not fair.”
“Zeke…” Mikella’s eyes soften. “Thank you for worrying about me. But if I have the better physical stats, you should leave the fighting to me. If anything, I prefer that you watch over Clara instead of me while I fight. That way, I can do so without any problems.”
“What?”
Zeke looked back at Clara, who seemed to clam up when the two seemed to be fighting. If anything, she seemed fearful as she stepped away, her arms cuddling herself into a tight hug as though to defend herself.
He worried what that might mean, but he put it to the back of his mind. He looked back to Mikella, showing a sincere look of worry in her eyes when she saw Clara for herself.
“I can handle the fighting, I even put points into Strength for that. So until we find something for you, I want you to look out for Clara for me… can you do that?”
Mikella asked, clear genuinity in her voice. If she was willing to entrust her dear little sister to a stranger she only just met today, just how desperate is she?
Seeing that resolve in her eyes, how can Zeke say no? She had valid points, and if anything, the only reason he’s hesitating now is whether it was a good idea to have Clara stick to him despite having no blood-relation whatsoever.
But he put that aside. There really wasn’t any choice he could make that was better than this.
“...I guess you’re right,” Zeke gave in, shrugging. “But I’m not gonna sit in the sidelines if you look like you’re in trouble.”
“That’s all I can ask for,” Mikella smiled warmly at him. “Thank you. Seriously, I mean it.”
Zeke blushed, looking away. He didn’t know how to handle that. Honest gratitude. He heard gratitude before, but it was just for placating him to make him feel better.
Whether it was actually sincere or not, he never bothered to figure it out, or rather, he just couldn’t no matter how hard he tried. But this time, for real, that was true sincerity. That made him crumble if he was honest with himself.
He darted his eyes away from her, figuring that he didn’t have to look out for Clara now as Mikella grabbed hold of Clara’s hand and consoled her, grasping it firmly. He went over to the pile of metal bits on the ground. He frowned at the absolute mess, seeing that only the knight’s sword was still kept decent.
Well, decent enough if it weren’t for all the blood coating it. He was sure that 90% of it was his and the remaining were Mikella’s.
He tried to tug onto the hilt of the sword, but a block of incandescent light stopped him in his tracks.
> Would you like to loot the corpse of Arthurian Knight?
He shook his head at that. He wasn’t purposely trying to loot the body. He was trying to pick up the sword that was just laying there. He ignored the box and tried to pick it up again–then the block of light showed up without warning to repeat itself.
> Would you like to loot the corpse of Arthurian Knight?
It was as though his hand couldn’t seize it. He tried to put his hand over the sword, but it felt like a powerful magnet was forcing his hand away. While that happened, the block became more prominent in his mind.
“Goddammit, just let me pick it up!” Zeke cried out, causing Mikella to yelp again.
“Can you not shout out all of a sudden, please? You’re fraying my nerves!” Mikella cried out, frowning at the man who quickly grimaced and closed his mouth. “What’s going on now?”
“I can’t pick up the sword. It just keeps telling me if I want to loot the body like before.”
“Okay, so just loot the body?” Mikella asked, raising a brow as though that was obvious.
“I get that. But just… here, try picking up the sword without accepting the notification.”
Mikella looked suspicious at that, but figured there wasn’t really anything to doubt him for so she went ahead with it. She knelt down and tried to pick up the sword.
After a few moments, he kept trying to push her hand to the sword, only for her hand to get pushed away somehow.
“Goddammit!”
Her own shout was louder and sharper than his, so he naturally flinched at that. Meanwhile, Clara just stood there like a boss, obviously used to her shouting like that.
“It seriously won’t let me pick up this single sword? What’s with this weird system!?”
“Guess you can’t just loot a corpse without going through the process,” Zeke said, now sounding concerned. “So what happens if we loot it?”
Looking back at her for permission, she nodded as he went ahead to loot the body. The last time this happened, the entire suit of armor disappeared including the sword. It only left behind the gauntlets which Zeke was wearing right now.
And just like the last time, all the metal bits that belonged to the now ruined knight disappeared entirely, leaving behind only a scattering amount of items.
Metal boots were left standing upright, and a weirdly marked tome was left on the ground. Everything else disappeared, including the sword.
“Are you kidding me?!” Mikella growled. “It took everything away! It only left the damn boots! What kind of shit game is this?!”
Reasonably, she was upset that after the near life and death experience, the only thing left behind were some metal boots the knight wore. However, Zeke was left paused after staring at the next item in question.
What looked like an old book with strange markings on the cover that was neatly put on the floor with no hint of disturbance whatsoever.
Somehow, Zeke could tell that this tome was special. Then, his mind wracked to find out its true form.
“Is that… a spell book…?”