Quintin laid on the prickly cushion below with gritted teeth. The combination of laborious breathing and painful lacerations made post-battle care a tiresome errand. Where his injuries began and the shroud of wolf's blood ended was difficult to tell, thus he sent unfamiliar fingers to check out the damage.
Contrary to every expectation, the mitts traced over his wounds without an evisceration incident. Though not any less crass because of that, the indelicate contact made him wince. The cloth armor he wore suffered most of the trauma. Luckily, even the injuries that went through were to a non-lethal extent.
During the aftermath of battle, a vast chain of mountains came out from obscurity. Some of which reached titanic heights, where the clouds kept the secret of their upper bounds hidden. The fog crept ever lower into a woodland valley. The treetops appeared like cat claws poking through a cotton blanket, promising both comfort and deadly playfulness.
Quintin stared in fascination from up above on a slab of fracture rock. Nothing stuck out as a recognizable landmark down in the supple valley. The events demanded his belief by way of tooth and claw. Besides the expanding sightline, his foremost concern dealt with the blue command box. Especially since his wounded body began to heal at a noticeable rate, which he had no explanation for.
With that in mind, he mouthed the first magic word on the list, "Status."
Name: Quintin J. Abbasi
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Race:[Human]
Eyes: R: Green L: N/A
Hair: Blonde
Height: 6'0"
Class: [Pneumatic Grappler] Lv. 2
Job: [????]:LOCKED Resources:
HP(Health): 51/315
MP(Mana): 0/0 Attributes: [AP: 2]
Phy: 55 (Physique)
Cun: 40 (Cunning)
Spr: 01 (Spirit)
Lck: 25 (Luck)
Quintin never played any video games, but he knew how they worked thanks to Oltoi. The [Status] menu reminded him of the animated conversations they used to have about 'RPG' games. For the most part, he understood what attributes and resources denoted. Though, the underlying purpose of each individual stat escaped him.
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The panel spoke a different language when it came to concepts like [Class] and what the 'question marks' meant. Even if so, he still experienced the dopamine hit from the promise of progression in numeric form.
"Information: question marks?"
More Information: [????]
Classification: Unidentifiable.
.
.
Designation: Unquantifiable.
.
.
Solution: complete hidden parameters to identify.
"Well... A challenge it is, then."
Rather than dejection, he felt better with the knowledge that the mystery served no immediate purpose. If the unlock conditions needed random proof, then he would have to wait and see if his luck might provide it.
The spectral barrier sank to the midway point on some grand, imperious trees. The faint beginnings of habitat and motion brought a moment of peace to his mountainside musings. Sunshine overhead shared the warmth of serenity with the towering snow-capped giants. The sound of bark and louder impact splintering echoed out every now and again. No matter how large the impact, or sporadic the movements, the scenery remained as dependable as ever.
Next, he decided to check out the [Titles] command.
[????] [Mana Destitution]
—Negative Impact
The [Magicules] of the world refuse you.
Cannot gather and use [Mana]. [Grandmaster]
—Martial Accomplishment
An achievement born from mastery of a craft,
and granted by a collective judgment on any planet.
Attribute Bonus:
+20[Phy]
+20[Cun]
+10[LCK]
[Mana Destitution] explained why he boasted zero [MP]. Based on the description, [Grandmaster] came from his previous accolades back on Earth. However, he did not share the same viewpoint as his contemporaries. Perhaps he met that benchmark in terms of pure martial ability, but to say his character and demeanor did too? He clung to some reservations in those regards. In his opinion, the criteria for excellence must be high to respect those who came before.
Sadly, the decision was out of his hands. Sure, he could beat up anyone who held the belief, but that would only reinforce the idea in the minds of others; a clear demonstration with each beatdown. In the final analysis, he took no offense from the praise even though he disagreed on principle.