Joe took a single deep breath before he crumbled to his knees. The injuries he sustained came back to bite him now that he could no longer on the effects of [Outsider’s Enhancement]. His entire body weighed him down and his breathing was labored. His legs were limp refusing to aid him in his quest to reclaim his footing. Joe's palms touched the ground as he tried his best to control his breathing. His sweat dripped to the ground in large volumes. The heat that wrapped around his form was almost unbearable. Joe felt like he was swimming in fire.
He unbuttoned the Black Sheep with a single hand. He lifted up his vest to observe the situation. As expected, his entire abdomen was tainted by gruesome burnmarks that etched themselves to his skin. Joe ran his finger through his stomach, and a sharp pain immediately jolted his senses. He clenched his teeth and endured the intense sensation. It lasted only seconds, but it had him wheezing as his breathing intensified.
Joe decided to roll over and lay on his back. This did in no way ease his pain, but it made him slightly more comfortable. Even though he just killed Stan, Joe did not justify himself like he did with Ray. After all, there's no need to justify anything if what you did was the right thing.
Even though he won, he knew that was way too close for comfort. Joe's senses were beginning to dull, when Syr popped up unannounced.
[You Have Leveled Up!]
[You Have Leveled Up!]
[You Have Leveled Up!]
[You Have Leveled Up!]
[Current Level:24]
[The Scorching Dagger Has Leveled Up]
[The Scorching Dagger Has Leveled Up]
[The Scorching Dagger Has Leveled Up]
[The Scorching Dagger Has Reached (Lvl 13)]
[The Scorching Dagger Has Unlocked A New Seal]
[1/ 5 Seals Have Been Unlocked]
[You Have Unlocked A New Skill: (Weaponry)]
[The Skill Outsider's Enhancement Has Leveled Up]
[The Skill Outsider's Enhancement Has Leveled Up]
[Outsider’s Enhancement Has Reached (lvl 12)
[The Black Sheep Has Leveled Up]
[The Black Sheep Has Reached (Lvl 6)
[Updated Attributes.]
▪︎ Mana Pool: 1,250/2,600
• Skill: 45>53 (+2 Class Boost Attribute Points)
• Strength: 42>50(+10 Black Gloves Passive Boost Points)
• Speed: 44>52(+10 Black Boots Passive Boost Points)
• Defense: 37>41(+18 Black Sheep Passive Boost Points)
• Mental Strength: 37>41
▪︎ Additional Attribute Points:4
Joe took a moment to take in all of Syr's notifications. There were a lot more than he anticipated. Once the flooding ended, he chose to focus on his attribute Window first and foremost. “Ok Syr give my Additional Attributes to my Defense.” His current injuries showed him how much he needed to strengthen his defense, because of how low it was. He was now suffering from the consequences.
[Updated Attributes]
▪︎ Defense: 41>45
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Joe was pleased with most of his attrubutes for the most part, but it was clear he needed to be stronger. If he was going to fight guys stronger than Stan in the future, he needed to be a lot stronger than he was right now.
His eyes drifted to another notification, he had unlocked a new skill. “Can you give me information on my new skill, Syr?"
[Passive Skill: Weaponry (Lvl 1)]
▪︎ Description: A Weapon's Value Depends On The Skill Of Its Wielder. As You Continue To Grow, So Does Your Skill With Mana Tools.
▪︎ Boost: +25 Skill And Strength Attribute Points When Wielding A Mana Tool
▪︎ Mana Cost: 0
Joe's grin grew despite the intense pain that ridiculed his face. This type of skill was exactly the kind of power he needed. It would go a long way towards aiding him in his quest to get stronger. A +25 attribute boost at lvl 1 was insane, but he wasn't complaining.
Joe's face was not in the best condition, his chin had been severely injured and was dripping blood. The pain from the wound led to intense discomfort for the rest of his face. His throbbing headache just added fuel to the fire.
Joe was just about to close his eyes in order to recover, when a familiar face hovered over his head.
Shelly had returned.
“Are you alright?” Shelly's eyes were wide with panic.
“I'm fine…” Joe winced, as he tried to sit upright.
“No, don't move” Shelly pushed him back down.
She then lifted his vest and saw the true extent of Joe's injuries. “Just lay there, I'll take care of this."
Shelly rubbed her hands, as one would do to warm themselves up. She then pressed her palm on Joe's stomach, he flinched slightly but endured the pain.
“You don't have to try to heal me, you barely have any mana left.” Joe protested.
“I told you before, my mana's fine. This will only take a second.”
Joe relented, nothing was changing her mind.
Shelly pressed her palms a little harder, forcing a scream out of Joe. [Skill Activation: Regeneration] From her hands, a green light manifested. It expanded rapidly before consuming Joe's entire figure in its embrace.
It was warm and soothing. It relaxed Joe's muscles as he felt a foreign energy revitalize his body. All the pain and discomfort was slowly washed away. His wounds disappeared and his skin returned to its previous state. Flawless and smooth. The light vanished after a few seconds, and when it did Joe felt like a new man.
He was completely healed and his bones were stronger than ever. His fatigue was also no where to be found. He was energized like he had more than 10 hours of sleep.
He smiled, “thank—” he didn't have time to complete his sentence because almost immediately after the skill deactivated, Shelly collapsed on top of him.
“Shelly!” Joe pulled himself up.
When he checked on Shelly, she was out cold.
Joe immediately got up to his feet. He lifted her up and placed her, on his back. Shelly's mana signature was dangerously low, it looked like it could flicker out at any minute.
“Dammit, I saw how low her reserves were and I still allowed her to heal me." Joe cursed himself.
“This is the second time it's happened. Dammit.”
Joe looked to storm deeper into Perina for help, when he heard someone call out to him.
“Hey kid.”
Joe swung around to face the source of the voice. It was the old Granny from the potion store. Joe walked towards her, the old lady was standing infront of the potion store. What remained of it anyway, because it was reduced to nothing but ash.
“Old lady, you're alive.” Joe's smile was one of surprise and relief.
“It will take more than a little fire to kill me, how do you think I've survived this long.” The granny had a triumphant smile on her face.
She sounded very confident but she was still injured. Her arms and legs had been charred and parts of her pink dress had suffered a similar fate, turning them black. The old lady's face had been mostly unscathed fortunately, with onlt small burns on her wrinkled cheeks.
The old lady's gaze fell to Shelly who rested on Joe's back. “What's wrong with your friend? Is she hurt?”
Joe glanced over his shoulder before shaking his head, ,”no she's not hurt. But she has ran out of mana. Do you know where we can get help?”
The old lady reached for two small pockets from her dress. She escaped with two bottles. They were small not bigger than 250ml. The glass bottles contained a blue liquid which splashed around when the old lady shook the bottle. “It's not much but these are my last two Mana Potions.” she handed both bottles to Joe.
Joe's eyes were wide as he peered into the bottles. “I thought everything had burnt down.”
“I had a couple of potions with me. It was fortunate because I rarely carry them around with me."
“What about you, old lady. Don't you need these."
The old lady shook her head, “No, since I barely ever use skills any more. My mana pool is always full. Your friend is the one who needs that potion more than me. Take it, it's the least I can do.”
Joe placed them in his pockets. He then gently placed Shelly on the ground. He retrieved a single bottle and knelt on knee. He lifted her head slightly, before whispering. “Shelly… make sure to drink it slowly ok..”
Shelly's eyes slightly opened, and her mouth did the same after Joe's words. She was still somewhat conscious at least. Joe gently pressed the bottle against her lips and slowly fed her the potion.
Shelly wss responsive, she drank all of it as quickly as she could. After she was finished, Joe placed her head down gently once more. As he stood up, he could see Shelly's mana slowly reignite to life.
Joe turned to face the old lady, he bowed. “Thank you so much!"
The old lady just smiled. “I should be the one thanking you. You stood up to Stan, that made me very happy.”
Joe raised his head, his eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” Tears started streaking down his face, “your store was destroyed because of me. You're only hurt because I did something stupid!"
The store owner shook her head. “A store can be rebuilt. You fought for my store when no one else would. That means mote to me then anything else in the world. Thank you.”
Joe wiped his tears and bowed again.
Shelly began to stir. She sat upright and held her temple. “What happened?”
Joe simply smiled, he knelt before she pulled Shelly close and embraced her. “I'm so glad you're ok!” New fresh tears fell from his eyes. These were tears of Joy and relief.