Hello my dear friends.
We meet, once again. I'm glad I can share this story once again with you all. I must apologize for the Author's delay related to this new chapter. I am very sorry it took him so long to write this new chapters.
But, alas! No use on crying over spilled milk. Let us continue with our story, as that is the reason you all came here in the first place.
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Savage Wilderness.
If Eugene had to name these forgotten lands he had been dumped into with any epithet, this would definitively be the term he'd choose.
It was been the third day since he was trapped in these plains. It might not sound like much time, but in fact it was more than enough for him to discern the true nature of these 'beginners lands' as he once named them.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
Soon after he defeated the Orc Warrior, his hardest enemy up until now -and also the only real one-. Although the battle itself went relatively swiftly thanks to the System's support -'relatively' as in he got nearly killed twice and missed the target three times-, the first, real step forward wasn't Eugene's victory, but rather, once he sat down and reflected over his own actions.
He decided, he should take a different approach. He was a Runologist, not a knife thrower nor a berserker -although, in fact, he was a Berserker, or at least his title said so-. He wasn't fit to fight in the front lines. He wasn't made to clash swords with his enemy. He didn't even have basic fistfight knowledge.
Thus, he would aim for a safer, long-distance approach.
And he had just gotten an interesting piece of the puzzle...
His newest acquisition. Although not a combat-oriented rune, like his (Glass) rune, this one presented much more potential. To manipulate the effect of gravitation force, even if only in small objects and with a not-the-greatest mana consumption rate, it was a great asset. Now he would only need to learn to use it.
Right now, that was the very same thing he was trying to do.
"(Feather)!"
Once again, he chanted the spell. And, once again, a deep turquoise pattern was drawn in the sky, bringing the new rune into existence. The target, a big chunk of crystallized air, was once again enveloped in the thin glowing aura. And it once again lifted, albeit much slower than the first time. It was reasonable. The more mass the object had, the stronger the gravitational pull would be, and both mana cost and spell speed would be less effective.
Over the last few hours, Eugene kept practicing with this new rune. While constantly resting, in order to not deplete his mana pool, of course. Know that he knew just how dangerous this mysterious lands were, he would have to be a lot more careful. And, being left with no mana in a critical time, he might as well just turn himself over without putting up a fight.
Up until now, these were the mental notes he had on the (Feather) rune:
- It applied to all things, including living and non living things, and also himself.
-The spell had to be supplied with as much mana as its original casting cost every five minutes. Otherwise, it would cease its effect.
-Initially casting the spell would lift the target close to Eugene's own chest with no extra cost. Once cast, altering the strength of gravity over the target would take more mana or lessen the mana consumption rate depending on whether you increase or decrease the spell's power.
-The spell could also be used to make gravitational pull even stronger, with the aforementioned rules.
So far, Eugene had thought of two different strategies. The first would be slowing down the enemy using the spell. However, that would take more training, as Eugene's mana pool right now was simply not wide enough as to efficiently use this strategy...
The other would be making himself float on the air, then move 'swimming' in the air, putting himself out of the enemy's reach. This one was already tested and it worked, but due to the same reason as the previous one it couldn't be used in a real battle yet.
All this tested, Eugene was now simply mastering it's spell so that it could be more efficient, mana cost-wise.
After what that one last spell, he decided to make another stop. He was starting to feel the tiredness of depleting his mana pool, and he wanted to see just how much he had progressed.
"Let's check our status" he said. These were the results:
Status Name Eugene Progression 5.00% to reach Progression Race Human Vocations Title (Not Chosen) Runologist: C (2.00%) Blessings Phanes' Bless (None) Attributes
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Physique
17
Charisma 20 Intellect
35
Magic
35
His Runologist vocation had gone up from tier D to C. Whatever that meant, he didn't know. However, it could only mean good. Maybe it made his magic.
"Let's take a better look at it."
Runology
Acquired Runes (Glass) 100%
(Feather) 100%
Available Runes
0 (2.0%)
Max Spell Length
2
And once again, he had mastered the rune in little-to-none time. That was strange. Why was his growth so unbalanced? And the progress to the next Available Rune was much more slow as well.
"Well, for now thinking too much about it would be a waste. I have no information, so I'll wait until I understand this system better... Oh!"
Suddenly, he remembered something.
He hadn't checked his titles! He had gotten two new titles after the last battle, but tiredness and focusing on other things made him forget.
"I wonder if these titles are just for show or they actually give a boost... Well, sometimes, a specific title is required to use equipment or open special gates..."
Not that any game knowledge had proven useful here just yet.
Title
Current title: (None)
*Acquired Titles* *Details*
Berserker
Granted to those who fall into madness when battling.
+15 to Physique
-15 to Intellect
(Active only while battling)
Orc Slayer
Granted to those who have slain a member of the Orc race.
+10 to all stats
(Active only while fighting Orcs)
"Well well well. They actually have effects! Although..."
The Berserker effect was useless for him. His Intellect was, in a way, his best weapon. To throw that away during a battle would be stupid and reckless.
The Orc Slayer, on the other side, was far more appealing. While one could only use one title at the time, and that would make effects against particular enemies usually ineffective, it was better than having Berserker or none at all. And those +10 bonuses were appetizing...
"Let's use this for now, then..." Choosing Orc Slayer as his title, he checked his status once again.
Status Name Eugene Progression 5.00% to reach Progression Race Human Vocations Title Orc Slayer
Runologist: C (2.00%) Blessings Phanes' Bless (None) Attributes
Physique
17
Charisma 20 Intellect
35
Magic
35
"Hmm..." Nothing had changed. No orc in sight, that meant. That was better for him...
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud squealing-like sound...
"Now what?!" Startled, Eugene lowered his posture -because that was what anime characters did in similar situations- and looked the way the sound had come...
To find a giant bunny-like monster standing on it's two legs, glaring at him, and salivating just as much as Eugene's previous foe.
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! YOU'VE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!" he screamed out his lungs.
As sudden as the previous one and without no time to properly rest, a new battle approaches. Eugene's future looks uncertain...