Now for the last part let's check the Mission menu.
"Mission Mode" I said calmly.
[ Mission Mode consists of Main mission, Minor missions, and Special missions. Missions rated from highest to lowest are: X, A, B, C, D, and E.]
Main Mission: 0/2 completed
¹ [X] Defend your planet against foreign attacks.
Reward: Earths safety, Survival of Earth's Inhabitants.
Limit: N/A
² [D] Clear a Zone.
Reward: Group Clear (bronze chest)
Solo Clear (silver chest)
Limit: 1st Zone
Minor mission: 0/1 completed
¹ [E] Kill 10 Invaders. 0/10
Reward: 10 void points, 1 skill shard [fuse 5 to get 1 skill point]
Limit: 5x per day (0/5)
Special Mission: 0/1 completed
¹ [C] Eliminate Invaders. Solo kill required. Reward will depend on kill count. 0/20
Reward: 5 kills= (bronze chest)
10 kills= (silver chest)
20 kills= (gold chest)
Limit: 1st Zone Clear
No further information about the chests was available. I can only speculate the rewards each of them contains. The Special Mission is limited to the current Zone I am in, and getting any of those chest will be impossible. It's worth a try: if I can move that is.
To think that the Main mission dictates the survival of our planet. I only accepted being a Player on a whim and haven't really thought about the responsibilities it came with. Also, with my current situation I will only become a dead weight.
Hmmm. But thinking about it more clearly now maybe it doesn't really matter. There are hundreds of thousand much better Player out there than me. Much stronger, more intelligent , and higher leveled Players that the Earth can rely on.
I'll just go with the flow for now and see where this path lead me. There is a more concerning matter that I should be worrying first and that is saving myself.
While I was worrying about some random matters the systems voice rang in my ears again.
[Player reconstruction complete. Body functions restored. Player Status updated.]
what? WHAT?
Another unexpected surprise popped out of nowhere. This, however, is the most delightful surprise that happened to me today. I read the text to confirm that it was indeed true.
'Body function restored.'
"Body function restored." "RESTORED!"
I read it again like a broken caset then I tried to lift my hand and upper body. At first it felt a bit difficult and somehow awkward as if my mind and body are not on the same page.
Being unable to move for a long time will eventually put your psychology in that state. With the sudden development happening it took some time before I recovered.
I did some exercise with my fingers and arms and indeed they are restored to normal. Then I moved my legs and feet which responded quite easily to my surprise.
I dropped them on the ground ready for the next test. Sitting on the bedside, I started to move my legs a bit doing some exercise. To stand and walk on my own is the thing I most longer for. Then here I am, ready to take the first step.
Standing was difficult, not physically but mentally. I fell down but a moment later I did manage to find my balance. Then I took the first step, the second, then the third. I lost track of the number of steps I took before I noticed that I was already outside our house.
I immediately ran back inside when I saw that everything turned into grey. With the mixed emotions of joy, panic, excitement, and fear, I tried my best just to calm down.
" What now?"
That was the question that first came on my mind.
I want to celebrate right now but that can be done later. I need to get out of this predicament alive first.
I did some stretching to fully synchronize my mind and body. This will help with my mobility and increase my survival chance. I also looked at my updated Player status.
My health increased from 20 to 25, stamina from 5 to 10 while strength and sense both increased by 2. The rest stayed the same
This improvement eased my worries a bit
Now, do I wait for someone to clear this Zone?Or should I try to clear it myself?
Waiting will be less dangerous but my chances to survive will depend on somebody. If this Zone remains undetected or they just outright ignore it then I am doomed. And relying on others help is really distasteful for me specially now that I am cured.
This clearing this Zone will be my only option. A very dangerous choice. With no combat experience of any kind, my chances to win is extremely low; however the reward will be substantial.
I cleared my mind as I made my choice. Fear will not weaken my resolve.
I stepped outside and carefully looked at the environment. Everything turned grey including the nearby river which looked very unpleasant. Though pass the boundaries of the Greyed area is just a black of nothingness, I can feel the occasional breeze which I puzzling.
I hid in the bushes and moved slowly to lessen the noises I make. I want to use my skill, Hidden, to erase my physical presence but I am concerned that the monsters can still detect me. It will only put me in a false sense of safety. This skill also consumes a lot of Mana if used consecutively and I want to conserve Mana for future fights.
It took a while before I arrived at my nearest neighbor's house. The number of houses in our village do not exceed thirty and some of it are far apart, our house being the farthest. More than half of the houses here are made of bamboo and concrete houses can be counted with one's fingers. Life in the urban part of the Phillipines is pretty much the same.
As I went nearer a silhouette of a person greeted me. It's height is almost the same as me however it's body mass is definitely greater. Our only difference is it's pointy facial features and purple colored skin. It looked very intimidating.
I can see a second one but with a thinner and smaller build. They are saying something to each other which sounds foreign to me. Maybe monster language?
The tall one then pointed at the direction parallel to me while saying something to it's companion. As if agreeing to something it nodded a few times before running at the pointed direction.
My heart pounded fast as it got nearer. I stayed very still while watching it's every move. if I notice any sign that I was discovered I will immediately make a run for it.
Luckily it passed by without any incident. When it completely vanished from my line of sight I looked back at it's companion which stayed behind.
I saw it checking the surroundings for a while before sitting on a chair just outside the house. It closed it's eyes as if it was sleeping however just a little rustle will instigate it's attention. How vigilant.
I observed it a bit more and I could see no scenario where I defeats it. Abandoning any thought to confront it I followed the path which it's companion took. With a smaller and thinner build my chances of defeating it is way higher.
It didn't take long before I caught sight of it's shadow. Moving ever slowly forward, it would occasionally glance side to side.