Sitting next to the campfire, I gaze at the pitch-black sky, faintly illuminated by scattered stars and a moon much larger than I remember. My reverie is interrupted by Roland, who sits across from me. His voice cuts through the stillness. “So, what do you think?”
Shifting my posture, I lower my head to meet his gaze.
“The beast... It's a massive gorilla with inhuman acrobatics. It can evade attacks by swinging through the trees. On top of that, it has immense physical strength, enough to hurl rocks or other objects at head-splitting speeds. Did I get all that right?”
Roland's expression darkens, a grimace spreading across his face—an unusual look for a man like him. After a pause, he replies, “You're forgetting the swarm of smaller monkeys attacking us from the ground.”
Blinking, I arch an eyebrow and stare at him. What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?
Roland exhales heavily, frustration clear in his tone as he continues, “That’s the problem. We weren’t told anything about this. All they said was it was physically gifted, but having a mage and an archer would be enough to take it down.”
Gale, sitting to my right, straightens his posture and gives a curt nod. “Yeah, I personally vetted the information. It still feels like it’s my fault somehow.”
Surprisingly, Lira elbows him sharply. “Don’t blame yourself,” she says firmly. “Blame the informant. Once we get back, he’s got some explaining to do.”
I rest my hand on my chin, mulling over what this could mean. Is it normal for vital information to be this inaccurate, especially when lives are at stake? Then again, I don’t know enough about this world to make such bold accusations.
Tilting my head back, I start strategizing. That blasted monkey... My skills won’t be of much use, whether I rely on blood magic or not. I’ll just have to use my speed to distract the big one while dealing with the smaller ones. Meanwhile, Gale and Max can focus on the boss.
“I could probably handle the boss monkey,” Max interjects, breaking my thoughts. “But if it’s as fast as you say, we’ll need someone to keep it distracted.”
I meet his gaze, understanding where this is going. “Yeah,” I reply. “Me and Roland will play distractions while you and Gale take it down. Lira will heal the injured.”
Roland nods approvingly before turning to Lucius. “You’re protecting the healer and our rear, same as last time?”
Lucius is silent for a moment before answering, “I could use the shadows of the trees to land hits on the boss, but that would leave Lira unprotected.”
Roland shakes his head firmly. “No. Stick to the original plan. If the healer goes down, so does the party.”
The discussion continues for a while longer, but I’ve made peace with my role in the upcoming fight. My mind drifts instead to the stat points I’ve been holding onto. The duel with Roland earlier made one thing clear—my stamina is lacking, and I’m too dependent on the boosts from Blood Rush. I need to fix that.
If I invest in dexterity, I’ll be able to react more efficiently without having to activate Blood Rush at full power. With my mind made up, I open my status page and allocate five points to stamina and four to dexterity.
Satisfied, I marvel at my new stats:
Species: Human
Age: 24
Level: 8 (0/700 XP)
Health: 150/150
Mana: 120/120
Stamina: 190/190
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 15
Endurance: 19
Vitality: 15
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 5/10
Now that things have settled, I can’t help but think about charisma. It’s been an entire day since I last consumed any, yet only five points have recovered. If the days in this world are as long as those on Earth, then, by my calculations, one charisma point recovers every six hours—or four points in a full day.
Scratching my head, I glance around the campfire. No one’s calling out for me, so I shift my posture and rest my head on my knuckles, letting my thoughts drift deeper. Mana and stamina seem to recover incrementally every minute, and from our earlier testing, the recovery rate appears tied to dexterity and wisdom. But charisma? I haven’t seen any stat that improves its recovery. Maybe the adventuring party knows more.
Turning my head toward Lira, I cough softly to get her attention. “Sorry for interrupting, but do any of you know what karma and charisma actually do?”
Lira’s face darkens beneath the perpetual shadow of her hood, while Lucius scoffs. “Those pompous bastards are nothing but trouble.”
His reaction surprises me, and my confusion must be obvious because Lucius sighs, leaning back slightly. “For a rare few, having high charisma—either positive or negative—unlocks karmic paths. These paths grant abilities tied to manipulating fate and other ridiculous powers.”
I nod along, intrigued. “So what’s so bad about that?”
Lucius seems puzzled by my question and pauses, as though considering how to answer. Before he can, Lira steps in. “A few reasons,” she begins, her tone sharp. “First, even if you put points into charisma, there’s only a slim chance of unlocking a karma-based class, let alone a karmic path. Second, karma—positive or negative—can be influenced by actions that affect a large enough number of people. Those who follow these paths often bring pain and suffering by manipulating fate and others to increase their charisma further. Lastly, you can’t trust a word from someone who uses karma. They can bend fate to nudge your decisions in their favor.”
Taken aback by the sheer extent of these abilities, I lean back, bracing myself on the ground with both hands. I stare up at the sky, trying to digest the information.
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“What do you mean by ‘either side of the karmic spectrum?’” Max asks, his expression troubled.
Lira’s hands ball into fists, but before she can respond, Roland cuts in with a scowl. “There are bastards out there who commit heinous acts, driving their charisma into the negatives. That unlocks classes, paths, and skills tied to torment and corruption. If you ever encounter one, kill them on the spot.”
“For once, I agree with that,” Gale mutters, speaking for the first time in the conversation.
Crossing my arms, I consider what this means for me. If karmic paths and classes are so rare, how did I manage to unlock the Karmic Warrior path simply by increasing my charisma stat to ten? I can’t even ask the party—they might kill me and Max on the spot. Sighing internally, I ponder how much more information I can extract without raising suspicion.
Fortunately, Max is more daring than I am. “Do you all have classes unlocked?” he asks.
Roland grins, flashing his teeth. “Of course. We’re all over level ten. I told you that during our sparring match, remember?”
Max chuckles nervously. “Sorry, I forgot. Things have been intense lately.”
Roland seems to sympathize and lets the matter drop. Instead, he says, “But we can’t tell you our classes. No offense, but we just met, and revealing our classes also reveals our weaknesses.”
I nod, mentally checking off a few lingering questions. Even if they did share their classes, Max and I wouldn’t understand much anyway. Still, the most critical piece of information is that everyone unlocks a class at level ten.
While musing, a delicious scent wafts through the air, breaking my train of thought. Looking toward the center of the campfire, I spot a large chunk of meat skewered on a wooden stick, roasting over the flames. Each end of the stick rests on the edges of the firepit. Roland, who appears to have just set up the roast, glances up at me with a grin.
“I figured you two might be hungry,” he says. “Consider it a little gift for the morning’s entertainment.”
Before I can reply, my stomach growls loudly, betraying my hunger and earning a wider smile from Roland.
“Thanks,” I manage, feeling my cheeks heat slightly. “It’s been way too long since we’ve had meat.”
We dig into the smoky, savory meat, the flavors rich and satisfying. Soon after, sleep takes over. With the party covering the night watch, Max and I can finally rest without worry, and I drift off, my mind swirling with thoughts of karma, charisma, and the mysteries of this world.
Early the next morning, we gathered at the center of camp to finalize our plan. Roland spoke first, "Adam, you're with me. Gale and Max will deal damage to the big one, while Lira and Lucius will handle healing and bodyguard duties." Everyone nodded, and soon the party dispersed to gather their equipment. Max and I stood awkwardly to the side, both of us already equipped with all the gear we own, shoes, shirts, and trousers. I did carry Roland's short sword, but it hardly counted as mine.
A few minutes passed before Gale walked over to us, his face solemn. "I know we didn’t get off on the best foot, but promise me you’ll help the others escape and get to the town if even one of us falls today." I understood Gale’s concern. This party felt like family, and losing a member was something he probably wouldn't be able to stomach, not easily.
I met his gaze, my own eyes determined. "Don’t worry, no one will perish—not if I have anything to say about it."
Gale’s expression softened slightly after my words, and at that moment, the rest of the party began to appear. With everyone ready, Roland shouted, "Let’s go kill that bastard!" and led the charge into the trees. Everyone followed, but I deliberately took up the rear, hoping my Karmic Vision might prevent any surprise attacks on the group.
We trekked through the forest for a while, following Roland’s lead. Then, something important occurred to me. How did Roland even know where we were going? The last time I checked, magic didn’t offer a skill called "Google Maps"—or did it?
I quickened my pace to join Roland. As I caught up, I noticed the small, baseball-sized orb of glass in his hand, glowing and pulsing with various colored patterns.
"What’s that?" I asked, curiosity written all over my face.
Roland glanced at me but kept walking, forcing me to match his stride. "This is a tracking orb. It can track the location of another orb I dropped where we fought the beast."
I nodded, intrigued by the implications of such artifacts in this world. It seemed this place had an entire ecosystem of magic-powered technology, replacing what I knew as electricity or so I think. I fell back again to give Roland space to focus, mulling over the thought.
I was snapped from my thoughts when Max, now walking beside me, spoke up. "So, are you going to pursue the path of Karma?"
The question caught me off guard; I hadn’t thought about it much since our conversation yesterday. "I’m not sure yet, but I’ll try not to become a murder hobo," I replied with a half-smile.
Max shrugged, unfazed. "Lira gave me some important info, too."
I snickered. "You sure have been spending a lot of time with her."
Max scrunched his face and held up his hands defensively. "She was just curious about my mana control. Besides, aren't we supposed to gather as much information about the world as possible?"
I shook my head, grinning. "Sure, sure, that's all it was."
Max elbowed me in the ribs, and I staggered slightly to the right. My dexterity kicked in, and I quickly regained my balance.
"Anyways," Max continued, "she said that most people only get paths after their first class unlocks. Even then, not everyone gets a path. Also, many can't complete a lot of paths, because the difficulty of obtaining skills ramps up as you gain more and more."
I scratched my chin thoughtfully. "What does that mean for us? We have a lot of paths, but we're not even high enough for a class."
Max shrugged again, then jogged ahead to catch up with Lira. I lingered a moment, reflecting on the situation. It was a good thing he was getting along with them, since I wasn’t the easily trusting type. But they had saved our lives, so helping them now felt like the least I could do.
I snapped out of my dark thoughts and realized the others had pulled ahead. I quickened my pace to catch up.
The forest’s scenery began to shift as the trees grew larger and farther apart, making travel easier. I looked up, taking in the massive trunks and the strange, sprawling network of branches overhead. My eyes widened in awe as I saw how the branches of the trees bent and interlaced, forming bridges between the trees. It was as if the monkeys had their own natural fortress up there, and we were vulnerable down here on the forest floor.
After a while, Roland suddenly stopped, and we all staggered slightly in response, colliding mid-step.
"What the hell, Roland?" Gale hissed, his voice tight with frustration.
Roland didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he raised a hand, gesturing for us to be quiet. He pointed forward. I followed his gaze and saw a shadowy figure sitting atop a massive tree in the distance. I didn’t need to be a genius to know who that creature was.
"Can't we lure it to a clearing?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Roland replied, his voice grim. "There’s no clearing nearby. This tree network spans for miles in all directions."
His face was unusually serious, a stark contrast to his usual cheerful demeanor. As if on cue, the shadowy figure began to move, effortlessly swinging through the trees with incredible speed. The beast’s silhouette became clearer. It was indeed a giant gorilla, but without the bulk of a typical gorilla. Its limbs were thin, yet packed with muscle like a chimpanzee, and its chest and back were covered in silver fur. Its green eyes burned with fury.
I couldn’t tell from this distance, but it was at least six feet tall. The moment it spotted us, it landed on a nearby tree and locked eyes with us, unblinking.
Roland immediately drew his great sword and shouted, "Adam, follow me!"
Without hesitating, I grabbed the short sword at my side and sprinted to follow him. As Roland approached the tree, the beast began pounding its chest and emitted a deafening roar. The alpha gorilla swiftly leapt from the tree and vanished between the interlocking branches.
The moment it disappeared, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching from all around us. The trees shook violently, and the air seemed to thrum with the presence of more creatures.
I caught up with Roland and asked, "What’s going on?"
He spared me a glance but kept his eyes on the trees. "Its minions are coming. Get ready."
As the words left his mouth, monkeys of various shapes, sizes, and colors burst from the shadows of every tree, charging toward us. I glanced behind and saw Max and Gale back-to-back, scanning the tree canopy for the alpha. Lira and Lucius stood further behind, preparing for whatever was to come.