I opened my eyes to find several notifications in my immediate sight.
"Mana-Recovery has Upgraded to Lv.3."
"MP fully restored."
"New Skill Obtained: Potential Unlock."
"Potential Unlock (Lv. Max)- You can distribute the attribute points of those you've established a bond with accordingly."
I rolled out of the hamock performing a barrel roll and landing on my feet.
I heard a splashing noise as my feet hit the ground. So it actually rained huh?
My preperations from the previous night were well worth it then.
I heard Emilia yawn as she rubbed her eyes.
"Look who returned to the land of the living, how'd you sleep kid?" I asked.
"I slept fi-eh? Master, what is all this? None of this was here before." She argued.
"I made this with the help of one of my hero friends." I lied not wanting to give myself away, but also not wanting to take all the credit for myself.
"Another hero was here? Where'd they go?! Can I meet them?"
"Afraid not, they're the very secretive type," I stated.
What time is it anyway? 7:30AM.
"Anyway we made some new clothes for you, you should try them on." I said pointing to the clothes beside her on the bench.
"Your's is the pile closest to you." I added.
"Yes sir!" She stood up instantly and began sifting through her clothes.
She suddenly paused.
"What's up, you stopped all of a sudden," I said.
"I believe she wants you to look away," Erythro said.
Oh right, of course.
I prompty turned my back to Emilia hearing her movement continue in doing so.
"I'm done." She said looking down at her feet, hands at her side as I looked back at her.
"Great, it fits nicely. You look good." I complimented.
"Thank you very much," She suddenly looked up with a bright smile.
"Now, I need to go handle some business in the main city, you can hang out here until I get back." I said.
"The main city? You have enough coin to go their?" She asked.
"Not exactly, but I have my ways." I replied.
I pulled three silver coins out of my pocket and placed them in her hands.
Current Balance: 400C, 21S, 0G, 0P.
Hmm...now would be a good time to try something.
"Do you want to grow stronger?" I asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Hold still for a minute." I said placing two fingers to her head.
Name: Emilia
Race: Human/Fairy
Rank: N/A
(Status)
Lv.5-Exp(2,342/5000)
HP: 2420/2420
Strength: 14
Agility: 13
Endurance: 16
Intelligence: 21
Sense: 11
Mana: 40
Spirit: 41
Attribute Points: 10
I think I'll split the points between sense, agility, and strength. Done.
Name: Emilia
Race: Human/Fairy
Rank: N/A
(Status)
Lv.5-Exp(2,342/5000)
HP: 2420/2420
Strength: 17
Agility: 16
Endurance: 16
Intelligence: 21
Sense: 15
Mana: 40
Spirit: 41
Attribute Points: 0
"Eh, I feel a little stronger, what'd you do?" Emilia asked.
"I awakened your hidden potential at the moment." I explained.
"By the way, if Juro comes by and I'm not here, fill him in for me would ya?"
"Play soccer with him or something to kill time," I added.
"Soccer?" She said in a confused tone.
(5 Minutes Later of Explaining the Rules)
"Alright, I'm off."
"Goodbye master Milo," Emilia said cheerfully.
On my way out of the slums I walked by that tent that Ms. Merideth's patient was in. Peering inside, I could see that he was still covered in dirty bandages and bruised heavily. He hadn't gotten much better since last time. Well, it has only been 2 days.
Hmm...I decided to cast Clean and Heal a few times.
MP: 700/1000
The man's wounds disappeared and his bandages were no longer dirty.
"Healing has Upgraded to Lv.2"
I snuck away quickly out of sight.
I noticed the guards at the border walls changing shifts.
I hopped over the border wall, into the alleyway, and made my way to the guild.
I arrived inside the building and approached Rachel.
"Morning Rachel," I said drawing the attention of a few adventurers again.
"Well if it isn't Milo. What can I do for you darling?" Rachel said cheerfully.
"Uh-yeah I'm here for questing. Are there any I can do?" I asked.
Some of the people in the guild laughed at this.
"The quest board is on the upstairs floor. When you find a quest, just pull it off the board and hand it to me. You can only choose quest from your rank or lower. The difficulty is determined by how many stars there are. 1 being easy, 7 being the hardest." She explained in great detail.
"I see. Thank you Rachel," I said.
"Not at all."
I walked upstairs and the quest board came into view. There were 3 other people by it.
"Let's subjugate the Giant Crystal Millipedes," One said.
"Alright, sounds like a plan."
"I'm down."
Then they left, yanking a piece of paper off of the board signaling that it was my turn. I walked over to the board and viewed the C-category. I noticed that there was no category for S-rank. Weird.
"Slay a Minotar-☆☆☆☆. Reward: Fire Mage's Book of Spells"
"Bring me 3 Dragon's Breath Root for my research- ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆. Reward: 2 Gold, 5 Silver, Wind Mage's Book Of Spells."
"Stake Out Potential Criminal Hideout-☆☆☆. Reward: 1 Gold."
"Take Out Goblin Nest-☆☆☆Reward: 1 Gold."
If I want to get stronger, I may as well go with the hardest one. Plus, the reward's pretty decent.
I pulled the Dragon's Breath root mission off the wall and brought it to Rachel.
"This mission again," Rachel muttered under her breath looking intensely at the paper.
"Is something that matter?" I asked.
"This mission, there's something not right about it." She said.
"Everyone that's attempted it either hasn't come back or won't talk about it. Some even quit adventuring after going on this quest," She explained further.
Que the creepy music.
"That's disturbing," I said.
"Oh no, no! I didn't mean to discourage you. It's just that we keep uping the difficulty expecting higher skilled adventurers to complete it. The results never change. The higher ranks aren't interested in the quest." Rachel said honestly.
"This is quite troubling, it could be dangerous," Erythro said.
I agreed, but this was something I had to do.
"I'll take it anyway."
"Huh? You will? Well okay..."
Rachel seemed both happy and sad about this. She reached into a drawer, stamped a few papers, then handed me two maps and a picture of what the Dragon's Breath root should look like.
The root actually looked like the Breath of a Dragon, fire. I looked at the first map labled Contracter's Residence.
It was about 2km from the guild on the west side of it.
The other map was one leading to the huge tower in the middle of the city. This map was labeled Forest Biome Dungeon. It had a 4 leaf clover on it as well.
"Thank you Rachel, I'll be going now."
"Please be careful."
"I understand."
I exited the guild building. However, I realized something the other day when I fought Lucian. Superhumans exist here, what's the problem with someone running a little faster than usual?
Although, I didn't want to be inconsiderate to the people just trying to get by.
"Let's take to the rooftops," Erythro said.
"I like that idea."
I strengthened my body using metamorphisis. I found a nearby alleyway, then began wall jumping until I reached the top. I landed on one of the roof tops landing on all fours. I stood up and began sprinting and leaping from rooftop to rooftop. I had already mapped where I needed to go.
The rooftops I couldn't reach with my leaps, I grappled to with my Crimson Web like a certain Wall-Crawler.
(Crimson Web has Upgraded to Lv.2 )
(Crimson Web has Upgraded to Lv.3)
MP: 830/1000
I arrived at the dugeon tower after maybe 5 minutes. I sat perched on top of a buiding's rooftop ledge, watching from a distance.
There were groups of adventurers entering the tower by way of a line. There were guards stationed in front of the tower's entrance. They were checking everyone's I.D. for authenticity. It seems you're not allowed inside the tower unless you're an adventurer.
I jump down from the ledge and walked to the back of the line.
There sure are a lot of people here. A group of adventurers decided to strike up a conversation.
"You're not going in with a group?" A huge burly guy clad in armor and bearing an axe asked.
"Oh, me? Nah," I responded
"Which biome you heading to?" A female mage asked from behind the Tank.
"Just the forest biome. I'm need to retrieve some Dragon's Breath Roots."
"Yikes, poor thing, we're going to the Desert Biome, good luck with that." She replied.
Eventually, I was able to make it into the tower.
The first room was filled with various doorways, each displaying a respective symbol.
I found the one with the four leaf clover and began approaching it.
A light eminated from the doorway and formed some kind of liquid film over it.
I stuck my hand through first, I could still feel it. Next, I stuck my head through the film. It was a completely different world on the otherside. So these doorways are like warp gates.
I walked through only to be greeted by the endless vegetation.
Guess I should get looking. I turned on my music and began the search. I ran around for about 2 hours and found nothing. I was about ready to give up when I spotted a peculiar looking tail in one of the bushes. It was black, and swayed back and fourth every now and then.
I walked around the bush to see who or what the tail belonged to. To my surprise, it was Sarah's. I turned my music off.
"Hey Sa-" I tried saying before she suddenly screamed.
"NYAHH!!!"
I saw a wild boar scurry throughout the brush ahead of us.
"My Prey!" She reached her hand out longingly.
"My bad, I didn't know you were an adventurer. Were you hunting?" I asked.
"Nyeah..." She sulked.
I felt bad, but there's not much I can do now.
Just then, something changed in the forest. Sasha must've felt it too as she was very wide-eyed.
Something's wrong, but...what? The realization hit me. The forest had gone quiet.
Forest aren't supposed to be quiet, if they ever are, then something had to have scared the population into silence.
Was it Sarah's scream? No, small creatures maybe, but it wouldn't be enough to scare off apex predators.
The silence was soon broken by the ear piecing scream of a woman deep in the woods.
"Somebody help! Help! Please, anybody!?" The voice begged.
The voice repeated this several times.
"Something is wrong, it's almost the exact same each time with little to no deviation." Erythro said.
"What should we do dear customer?" Sarah said, visibly shaken.
I walked foward toward the noise. Something was off, that voice felt like it didn't belong.
"Milo, are you sure about this?" Erythro confirmed.
Yeah, I'm sure. Something told me this had to do with those adventurers that went missing during this quest. I can't explain it, it's just a really strong feeling.
"Hey, don't leave me alone," Sarah said pleading as she put a hand on my shoulder.
As we got closer to the source of the noise, the forest seemed to be get darker, colder.
Soon, we could see our breaths in front of us and a thick fog had rolled in. The voice had gotten quieter now, but it was still repeating the same desperate cry.
"What's going on?" Sarah asked.
I wonder that too.
"We've entered the domain of a powerful monster. It's distorting the space around it; It would be best if the girl stayed behind. We may have to go all out. She'd be a liability." Erythro said.
"No, we still don't know everything yet. For all I know, we could be leaving her to her death," I refuted.
Appraisal.
Name: Sarah
Race: Beastman (Cat)
Rank: D
(Status)
Lv.6-Exp(4,532/6000)
HP: 2700/2700
MP: 750/750
Strength: 10
Agility: 18
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 15
Sense: 20
Mana: 8
Spirit: 14
Attribute Points: 12
Passive Skills:
Chef (Lv.6)-Understanding and application of culinary arts.
I reached an epifany. When I fought Lucian, we both held back our true strengths. I was trying to hide my identity, he was giving me a fighting chance.
I stopped walking.
"Sarah, I need you to keep a secret for me." I said in a serious tone.
"Y-yeah sure, what is it?" She stuttered out.
"If she speaks out, I will have to silence her," Erythro warned.
Yeah, I know.
"I'm not entirely human, better yet I'm part Crimson Slime."
"Eh, really? Well, I knew you weren't Human based off your smell, but you're part slime? I didn't think Slimes could have babies with other species."
"I fused with it on the verge of death, I wasn't born naturally," I corrected.
Also, what's this about smelling me?
"I will make a note to adjust pheromones." Erythro added.
"I understand, your secret's safe with me," Sarah gestured zipping her lips.
We walked ahead and the pleading had finally stopped.
Then we stopped. Up ahead was a clearing.
There was a figure standing in the middle of the clearing. It was easily over 210cm (7 ft tall) and lanky in physique, yet appeared to be hunched over, looking dead-center at us. It wore a dear skull atop its head, and I could see its blackened heart beating inside an exposed ribcage. At the end of its bony arms were razor sharp talons. The scariest part wasn't it's appearance, it was what it did next.
The creature reared its head back slowly, then paused. It then threw its head foward, roaring in the most ungodly voice I have ever heard. It caused Sarah to fall to her knees unable to get up. It was like the distorted cries of people screaming in agony and something else entirely. I withstood it due to my high spirit score, there's no way I'm taking my eyes off this things.
"Attribute points auto distributed."
"Combat Mode Initiated."
"Metamorphisis Initiated."
"Appraisal failed; level too low."
Reader's Bonus
Name: Milo Foster
Race: Human/Crimson Slime
Rank: C
(Status)
Lv.7-Exp(5,111/7000)
HP: 3500/3500
MP: 1000/1000
Strength: 18^ (90)
Agility: 20 ^(100)
Endurance: 20 ^(100)
Intelligence: 21 (105)
Sense: 25 (125)
Mana: 16 ^(80)
Spirit: 35 (175)
Attribute Points: 0
Passive skills:
G.P.S. (Lv.Max)-Mapping and positioning of areas.
Regeneration (Lv.10)- The rate at which the body heals.
Calculator (Lv.Max)-
Understanding of numbers.
Electro-Magnetic Perception (Lv.3) The ability to feel and sense Electro-Magnetic Fields.
Mana-Sense (Lv.3)-The abilty to sense mana within people or the environment. Currently works within a 5 meter radius.
Fashion-Sense (Lv.3)-One's understanding of clothing and fashion.
Martial Arts (Lv.4)- Understanding of physical and combat prowess.
Stealth (Lv.2)-The ability to conceal one's presence.
Acting (Lv.1)- The art of social deception.
Swordsmanship (Lv.1)- Understanding of sword-based combat.
Mana-Recovery (Lv.3)-Increases the natural speed at which mana recovers.
Activation Skills:
Combat Mode (Lv.4)- Boosts all stats in response to danger. Boosts depends on the danger posed.
Crimson Web (Lv.3)-Eject adhesive spindle fibers from your body. Detachable.
Metamorphis/Shapeshifting(Lv.3)- The body can shift anyway the user imagines. Harden, soften, sharpen, etc.
Transmutation (Lv.6)-Change the properties of a material manually.
Absorbtion (Lv.8)-Take in material and assimilate it with your being.
Appraisal (Lv.3)- Observe someone's status. May even be possible to see skills with heightened proficiency. Works within 3 meter radius.
Meditation (Lv.2)-Focus youself with a calm mind and guided breathing.
Intimidation (Lv.1)-By will of thought, you can send waves or terror and dread through your enemies.
Clean (Lv.2)-Make something/ someone free of dirt, marks, or mess, especially by washing, wiping, brushing, or using mana.
Healing (Lv.2)-Restores health and mends the wounds of targets via mana.
Potential Unlock (Lv. Max)- You can distribute the attribute points of those you've established a bond with accordingly.