"Sorry to burst your bubble guys but we need to move. Now." I said
"Let's look around real quick for anything we can use, search for weapons or tools hell even food, this looks like a shrine of sorts so there's a chance of whoever built that town down there to have left some offerings" I said as I made my way towards one of the statues.
This statue got my attention because it was super cool looking, it was a 10 foot tall black swan, the stone was shiny like obsidian and the feathers looked so lifelike as if it could fly away at any moment. It's outstretched left wing and its poise saying to all those that laid eyes on it to bow before it's beauty.It was majestic to say the least but what got my attention was the shiny red beak, it was sharp and pointy like a spear head.
I walked around it and that's when something caught my attention. There on the back of its wing were some writings. I couldn't make it out so I apologized to no one in particular and climbed onto one of its legs to read it.
'The bright sundown comes before the night. Beware of the swan for its beauty is like that of a rose, it comes with thorns.' What the fuck, that's a little corny haha. But why would they ruin their perfect statue and add something like this? Hmmm I've read books where words made my experts contain their will or some shit like that, maybe this is like that too? But how would I feel their will?
I ran my fingers through the words one more time and closed my eyes. 'Think, what do the words mean? What is the meaning' bright sundown before the night. I remembered the time I went camping with my friends and how we sat on a cliff watching the sundown as we drank beers. The memory was warm yet at the same time it hurt, I missed my friends I wanted to see my family, and that's when it hit me, the sundown! It's bright red just like the swans beak.
Sundown before the night the beak is the sundown. Now since the next part says Beauty like a rose with thorns something something. I think it's trying to say to be weary of its beauty since it can also be dangerous, since it's beak can attack. Maybe a special attack that shines bright like a setting sun?
Ding
Congrats on discovering a legacy. Legacy's are messages or items left by powerful experts for others do discover. Some of them can be obtained through solving riddles or deciphering poems like you have, others though can put you through special trials before you can obtain it.
Ding
For being the third human to discover a legacy you have received an extra skill pertaining to your legacy.
Ding
Two new skills obtained.
- Piercing Sun: your attacks do a 10% increase in piercing for 30 seconds. Cool Down is 5 minutes.
- Swan Walk: The majestic swan always walks with grace and swiftness whether it's in the air, sea, or land. Plus 10% movement speed for 2 minutes when activated. Cool down is 5 minutes.
I got multiple messages and as I read through them my jaw dropped more and more by the second. 'Holy shit this is crazy but I don't see no cost to them. I'm confused normally skills require mana or some form of energy to power up but I saw nothing even mentioning that, shitty gods can't even give proper explanations this is bullshit'
I walked back to the center of the temple and called everyone over. I know some would think to hog all the legacy's to myself but I need my partners to be strong otherwise it would just be more weight for me to carry.
When they walked to me they stared at me funny. 'Is there something on my face?'
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I said
"Ummm you're glowing" said Lucy.
"Thank you? I mean I exfoliate my face on the regular but why compliment me now?" I said jokingly.
"No dude you're literally glowing, there's a black glow around you with hints of red. How are you doing that" said Dimitri warily.
"Huh I didn't notice, that's pretty cool. Speaking of I found some words on the statue, it was a poem of sorts I deciphered it and I got a couple of skills from it. Look carefully at your statues and...." I didn't even finish speaking when everyone ran towards a statue and started looking around.
I walked towards a statue next to the swan and inspected it carefully. This one was of a boar, it was around 10 feet tall also very lifelike but what made it different than a regular boar was it's tusks. It had three huge tusks on each side, each one bigger than the last, the biggest one around three feet big. That's one crazy monster hopefully these are exaggerated because if they're life size then I don't know how anyone could ever survive an encounter with something like that.
Sadly no words or pictures, nothing out of the ordinary. I wasn't too sad since I got something already and I doubt those shitty gods would just handout skills left and right.
I walked to the entrance of the shrine to wait for the rest of the group and just stared at the distant town. 'I hope it's humans that built that and not some foreign race or some shit like that.'
"Hey, I got something" said Dimitri behind me snapping me out of my stupor.
"What you get?" I said turning to face him
"A skill, pretty useful actually, hardens my skin for 2 minutes gives me a 10% increase in defense." He said with a smirk on his face.
"That's pretty cool dude can come useful, which statue? Maybe I can get it too, it hadn't occurred to me to show you where I got mine." I said getting my hopes up but his next sentence crumbled them.
"Sorry little dude the words disappeared soon after. Look let's go see" he said turning around.
We headed to a statue of a huge 11 foot crocodile , it was also made of some black stone but it wasn't as shiny as my swan stone yet it's hardness was something my swan stone could not compare with.
"Oh well let's go wait for the rest at the entrance" I said dejectedly and walked back.
After around 5 minutes the rest of the group made their way to us, sadness evident in their face. 'Looks like they didn't get anything'.
"Nothing?" I asked them.
"Nope" said Ana
"Nothing" said Lucy
"Zilch" said Ace with a mischievous smile. 'This little shit is probably hiding something' I thought amusingly. There's nothing wrong with hiding your cards I mean I did too, I didn't tell anyone how many skills exactly I got.
"This ain't fair only you got a skill" complained the asshole, yes I know his name but I don't like him so he's the asshole from now on and until we split ways.
"I got lucky it's not the end of the world plus we'll probably have to fight in the forest once you get a kill maybe you'll be lucky enough to get a skill. Now let's get a move on we do not want to be caught out there at night." I said and turned to face the front. It was gonna a long day.
We had been walking for a couple of hours now the forest wasn't like one of earth at all. The plants and the trees were way bigger than those on earth, the noises you would hear were eerie and every now and then we would hear a loud roar in the distance to our right side which put us all on the edge.
I've gone camping a good number of times so I was used to this kind of environment a little and having those skill definitely gave me a confidence boost. I would be lying if I said I couldn't wait to try them out. 'If I keep thinking like this I'm gonna jinx it...'
Snap!!
Behind us was a huge snapping noice followed by a lot of rustling.
"Get behind Dimitri and I put your backs to each other and look out for anything. Call out if you see anything" I screamed as I ran and took position to fight anything. Both knives at ready for whatever to strike, my blood was pumping adrenaline rushing to my brain and something else at the core of my stomach burned making me feel stronger.
Baaaam!!
A figure came rushing out of nowhere to our right, not directly at us but in front of us. It stopped and looked at us with a murdering glare.
I was shocked, I thought I was ready to see big animals and monsters but boy was I wrong. Before me stood a 4 foot tall boar with a huge pair of tusks about a foot big.
"Well shit. We're fucked." I said lowly.