A haze of fire surrounded him, bathing the entire area in the warm light of a fiery orange glow.
[Your fortitude has impressed the elusive God of the Barbarian Lands: The Blessing, Tenacious Will has been granted]
[Tenacious Will: For five seconds after taking fatal damage, user is immune to death and status effects. User is left with 1 Hp at the end of skill duration]
[Description: Long ago in the ancient lands of Alden, Protector Gods lived and lorded over their domains, but not much is known of this ancient history aside from the elusiveness of the God of the Barbarian lands whose tenacious will was said to overcome anything. May the light of your fortitude grant you victory]
The interface was just like the game. Everything was the same.
Each race in the Lonely Peak had their own base stats and racial skills only unlocked through reaching certain requirements. Arcane Mastery from the Empire of Magic citizens for example was unlocked through one's greed for knowledge, and would facilitate a 10% increase in learning speed.
Though players had a 100% chance of gaining their racial privileges, it wasn't quite the same for NPCs who had no idea of their requirements. For NPCs, those that unlocked their racial abilities were rare and were often heralded as the leaders of the future. This was why the first appearances of the Players stunned the NPCs during the early versions of the Lonely Peak.
In any case, he already knew of the hidden skills and abilities of the Barbarian Tribes in the Lonely Peak due to the game forums in the real world, but he'd never heard of this skill before.
[Tenacious Will]
Even if he believed that this world was that of the Lonely Peak, it would seem that some things just aren't the same. Likely, there were holes in his knowledge regarding the Lonely Peak's background, so he'd just have to work with what he knew for now.
The flame-like phenomenon around him gradually began to dissipate, and in its wake, a new notification popped up over the small interface in his field of view.
[Fortitude: When faced against higher lvl enemies, increase stats by 5 – 10% depending on the difference in lvls]
[Description: Crush the offender no matter how strong they may be through unwavering spirit.]
This was the skill that he was hoping for; the unique perk able to be unlocked by all members of the Barbarian Lands only by facing down stronger adversaries without fear.
Instantly, flame-like tribal markings glowed beneath his skin. A shocking amount of power for a child to possess began to seep from out of him.
[Levi Warchild: lvl 2, Health: 60]
[Special Talents: NA]
[Atk: 7, Int: 9, Dex: 10, Mana: 4, Body: 13, Mana Regen: 0.02Mp/min, Luck: 4, Hp Regen: 0.03Hp/min]
[Status: Fortitude-All stats boosted by 6%]
He had no time to pay attention to his stats. All that mattered was the adversary before him making its preparations to attack.
[Terra Bird: lvl 4, Health: 200]
[Special Talents: Opportunist, Quick Feet]
[Atk: 20, Int: 1, Dex: 14, Mana: 0, Body: 13, Mana Regen: 0, Luck: 0, Hp Regen: 0.2Hp/min]
[Status: Confused, apprehensive]
[Description: Species native to the wild lands of west Alden known for their prolificacy and cowardice]
Levi took in a breath.
Even as a child, his Body stat representing his endurance and durability were equal to the Terra Bird's at base parameters. As expected of a child of the Barbarian Lands. Coupled with the Fortitude passive, there was no Barbarian warrior in the Lonely Peak that would ever fear Terra Birds.
Recalling the wounds on his body, the only explanation he could come up with was that his person was incompetent.
His hands gripped tightly onto the shaft of his spear, his muscles tensing in preparation for battle.
The Terra bird's clawed talons dug grooves into the earth beneath it in preparation to charge, but this was exactly what he was waiting for.
You stupid chicken.
He braced his feet, his back straightening, and a terrifying gleam flickering across his eyes.
Something in the air seemed to change, a wind blowing amidst the plains as a silent notification effected his status.
[Tribal God's Blessing: ???]
He squared his shoulders, his knees bending to power forward at a moment's notice.
'May none oppose you.'
The air shimmered around him, forming a thin veil of energy that crackled up and down his arms.
'May none bar your path.'
He was confused with what was happening to him, but at the same time, it felt amazing.
'And may your light save this dying world.'
He saw images, visions of things he could hardly comprehend, and it all led to the formation of a symbol across his chest; a mark depicting elaborate twin axes crossed together that shone with a strange power.
Oddly enough, the expression on the Terra Bird's face changed drastically.
'The path begins here.'
Levi felt his mind blank, and by the time he regained clarity of himself, the situation had changed. It was a well-known fact that animals could detect danger far better than humans using their instincts.
The Terra Bird had decisively run away.
He just stood there, not knowing how to feel. Just as his adrenaline and excitement were reaching their peak condition, his foe had run away. Instantly, he felt dissatisfied.
"Young chief, you're amazing!" The two other children he'd seen before suddenly jumped out from out of the bushes in excitement. "How did you do that?!"
He glanced towards them, feeling incredulous that members of the Barbarian Lands would ever have trouble with a Terra Bird.
Still, they were just kids. It was likely that they hadn't unlocked their racial perks. Even though they may be NPCs and don't know the requirements to unlock their racial skills, if he helped them, then surely it would only be a matter of time.
"Who are you, and which tribe do we belong to?" Levi went straight to the point, causing the expression of the two's faces to fall.
"Oh no. He was hit in the head too hard." One of the boys, the one with cropped hair, panicked. "The elder chief's going to punish us."
The other kid with his hair tied up into a pony tail directly walked right up to Levi and started waving at his face.
"It's me, young chief! I'm Toulu, don't you remember?" Toulu asked.
No. No he didn't. Levi sighed.
Seeing his lack of reaction, Toulu pointed towards the other kid. "And he's Nak, were friends."
Friends, huh? Levi snorted.
At this moment, he decided to test something, and punched Toulu in the stomach, earning himself a shove when Toulu reacted out of instinct and hit back.
[Toulu: lvl 2, Health: 50]
[Special Talents: Eloquence, Skilled Hands]
[Atk: 8, Int: 6, Dex: 15, Mana: 0, Body: 10, Mana Regen: 0, Luck: 2, Hp Regen: 0.01Hp/min]
[Status: Stunned, bewildered, outraged]
[Description: Young member of the War Tribe]
Levi hummed in thought. So, he could view an individual's stats as long as they entered a combat sequence just like the game. Briefly, he skimmed through Toulu's information and focused on a single aspect.
One name: The War Tribe.
It was this legendary tribe of all tribes in the Barbarian Lands.
In the Lonely Peak's history before the main story quest even began, the name of the War Tribe was something of a myth in that it was wiped out early on. In the later calamities, the various elderly NPCs all lamented the coming of the end by saying things such as 'if only the War Tribe was here,' or 'the past was a mistake.'
The War Tribe itself was surrounded in mystery, but if anything, its name was known throughout Alden by the beginning of the first version of the Lonely Peak.
What did this all mean, and why was he here?
"What was that for?!" Toulu's yell brought Levi back to his senses.
Toulu was rubbing a hand over his stomach to alleviate the sting of pain from where Levi had punched him.
"There was a bug," Levi reasoned shamelessly, before shaking his head and leveling Toulu with a flat stare. "Actually, that's for saying I was dead already."
Toulu winced, and immediately dropped the issue.
Nak noticing the awkward atmosphere decided to change the topic.
"C'mon! We should head back to the village," Nak called out hurriedly. "The chief will kill us if he finds out we went hunting without going through the War rites."
Toulu paled at Nak's reminder, but Levi was utterly clueless.
"Let's go!" Toulu and Nak began dragging him along at a slow pace, careful not to aggravate his injuries.
This wasn't just a game anymore. This was his reality now.
Moreover, what if the Lonely Peak had never been a game to begin with, but was an actual world that Players could enter through a game?
What should Levi do from here on?
With nothing better to do, he nodded his head and let Toulu and Nak guide the way back.
He still needed to get a better idea of what was going on here, and if the War Tribe was still around, then this was years before the main story line would begin. If the Calamity of the Dark World had yet to occur, then there was room to make preparations for survival.
Time was going to be the enemy, and he wanted to survive.