"Status. "
— — — — —
"Status"
Name : Dante/ Kang Jin-woo (human)
Level : 75
STR : 30 VIT : 28
AGI : 28 END : 28
MIND : 28 MAG: 29
Stat Points : 174
Points : 600,700
□ <<
□ <<
□ <<
□ <<
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— — — — —
I noticed that Dante had been added to the name portion in the status window.
That's a lot of points, even for the first zone.|
(Note how Mc is still in Tutorial.)
While I was checking my name, Ms.Fairy was looking elsewhere on the window. Not having much interest about her comment, I calculated the stats I had to allocate stat points. I spoke.
"Allocate 29 stat points to each stat."
Coincidentally, the stat points could be divided equally.
"Stat Points allocated."
— — — — —
"Status"
Name : Dante/Kang Jin-woo (human)
Level : 75
STR : 59 VIT : 57
AGI : 57 END : 57
MIND : 57 MAG: 58
Stat Points : 0
Points : 620,700
□ <<
□ <<
□ <<
□ <<
□ <<
— — — — —
I ignored my [Talents] and checked my skills. Their proficiencies had risen quite a bit. But the most interesting part was the change in the Fire-salamander Reinforcement skill.
[Pseudo Salamander–kin Reinforcement] (E)
It had grown even more stronger. The main difference was change of Fire-salamander to Pseudo Salamander-kin.
First of all, the Fire‐salamander was a komodo dragon sized amphibian lizard with fire abilities. But the 'Salamander' in 'Pseudo Salamander-kin' refers to the Amphibious Fire Elemental.
It is a lizard that dwells in fire and is a symbol of immortality, rebirth, passion, and the ability to withstand flames.
The most likely reason for this change is not absorbing the essence of the Titan boa king itself. Rather it seems to be caused by my sleeping in the raging flames from the boa king's body.
Its rank didn't change as the didn't completely evolve. Rather only the previous form had been enhanced.
They also increased the evolution potential for the skill too, as can be seen from the fact that the system finally acknowledged the 'Pseudo Beast-kin' transformation.
The Titan boa king's still contained its characteristic mana from when it was alive. And when it burned, the flame had stored those properties in itself.
But that phenomenon was only temporary, so I needed to be quick. In my lizard/salamander transformation, both my resistance and affinity to fire was high. And I could reabsorb my own flame too.
And so with the soul gem inside me and huge flame containing the Boa King's properties around me, I was able to absorb the Titan boa king's abilities into the skill itself
This was a very difficult and tedious process. It required fine control over mana and even higher fortitude. It takes alot of strength and willpower to completely and correctly absorb the gem and flames at the same time.
It wouldn't have been possible if any other person had tried it. They would've either exploded because of directly swallowing the soul gem, or would've burned alive due to the erratic flames.
If not those things, then they could've lost themselves to the soul gem and had their body possessed by the essence of the Titan Boa king.
And ofcourse, the intense pain during the whole process needs no mention.
*
Now.
With status out of the way, I looked at the skillstones I had. These were skillstones I had obtained from many enemies– from the Goblin king, the Dzoavits, Titan boas and Titan Boa King. There were some from basic enemies too.
But I couldnt find myself using them anytime soon.
I think I won't ever use them, even. I'll exchange these with Jungkook and Su-jin after I find them.
I then decided to go to the goblin's cave shrine (Devil's Hole Shrine) thing first. But then my stomach rumbled.
I hadn't eaten anything since I woke up did I?
And then I remembered...
"D*mmit!!"
I clenched my fists.
What happened? Why did you get so mad all of a sudden?|
"I forgot to search for the young Titan boa bodies."
....?|
I had really wanted to try snake meat yesterday. I completely forgot about their bodies when dealing with Titan Boa King. After that I absorbed its powers and became self-conscious for a whole day.
Where were their bodies?
Did they start decaying?
Is the meat ruined?!
This was annoying!
*
After lamenting not being able to taste the meat of an extinct snake species (back on Earth atleast), I settled with some goblin meat. I tried not to eat too much, as I needed to get used to having an empty stomach.
Then I went back to the cave shrine.
At the end of the tunnel, inside the chamber, there were a lot of dead goblin bodies here and there, which were melting and corroding.
There were skillstones floating near their corpses. I collected all the skill stones and withdrew the miasma. I won't gain experience from this cheat anymore, but then again I only went up two levels from the experience of 45 goblins
This way there will be monsters for the other challengers to kill too. I'm merciful enough for that.
Plus, if the other guys get stronger, there just might be a bit more competition and the Tutorial just might become a bit more eventful.
And now, finally with the small stuff out of the way, I headed in a direction that was away from the train.
* * * * *
<
I lazily opened my eyes.
I was lying on the floor. My head was bursting from the pain and my ears were ringing.
Where am I?
I tried to move around but I couldn't. I looked at my body and saw black chains wrapped around me.
My headache was unbearable. I couldn't think straight.
Did I get a concussion or something?
Then I remembered a glimpse;
That's right! We fought a guy in black armor outside the dungeon!
We were captured....
To think we lost.
Shouldn't me and Su-jin be the strongest among the people in the tutorial?
Wait a sec..
Su-jin! What happened to her?!
I tried to look around and luckily I found her. She was lying a abit away from me. She was still unconscious though.
Why hasn't she woken up yet? I guess she did have less endurance than me.
That must've been the reason I woke up first.
Currently we're lying on the floor of one of the train compartments. Our weapons were taken from us, but not our armor.
The headache and ringing in the ears have eased a little bit now. I tried to break free of the chains but they didn't budge one bit. I tried to use a skill I got from before.
[Mountain Goblin Reinforcement]
A skill that increased STR and END. But...it was still impossible to escape.
"Ugh...there has to be some way.."
"It seems you're finally awake." (??)
"?!" (Jk)
I didn't even notice that someone else was inside the compartment.
I looked in the direction of the voice.
"You!!" (Jk)
It was the man covered with a black cloak and armor with an equally black sword by his side. The man that had attacked them.
'I didn't even detect him back at the dungeon, it must be stealth related skill, right?'
"Yes, me." (?)
He said as he lightly kicked Jungkook in the stomach.
"Gahh!" (Jk)
Intense pain assaulted Jungkook's mind, even though the kick was more like a tap from the tip of his shoe.
No wonder he and Su-jin had been defeated.
"You will answer my questions now. If you resist, you'll get kicked even more." (?)
Jungkook gritted his teeth. He couldnt recognize who this person was. The man's voice was rough but distorted.
"Where's the white haired boy?" (?)
"Who are you?!" (Jk)
The man kicked Jungkook again, this time harder.
"I'll ask the questions here. Where's the white haired boy?" (?)
"There shouldn't be anyone else here except the people that arrived with us on the train. So where did you come from?" (Jk)
He kicked Jungkook in the face this time.
"Stubborn b*stard, dont you get it? You're in no position to ask questions!" (?)
Jungkook glared at the man.
This time he kicked Jungkook in face.
"Stop glaring your eyes out, you piece of shit!" (?)
But Jungkook didn't stop.
The man crouched down and lifted Jungkook's head by the hair.
"You won't learn, won't you. But still for the fun of it, I'll humor you." (?)
Jungkook couldn't see the man's face, he was wearing a black helmet underneath the cloak, which hid his face too.
"Where did I come from doesn't matter. As for who I am— you'll call me Black." (Black)
"Black?" (Jk)
Black let go of Jungkook's hair and Jungkook's face fell flat on the metal floor.
"And now that your questions have been answered, you'll answer mine." (Black)
"Like hell I would!!" (Jk)
"Was White hair inside that dungeon thing?" (Black)
Black asked despite Jungkook's refusal. At this Jungkook spat towards the man's face.
The cloak itself moved and flicked the spit away.
The man's aura changed immediately, he released alot of killing intent.
He kicked Jungkook in the stomach so hard that he cough blood. Then he rolled Jungkook over on to his back.
And before Jungkook could struggle, Black entered a mounted position and began punching Jungkook's face.
He kept on punching till Jungkook was beaten black and blue.
Only after 5 minutes of punching did he get up. He faced the half-dead Jungkook and spoke,
"You're lucky that I want you alive, otherwise you wouldn't be alive right now." (Black)
He turned around and approached the door to the adjacent compartment.
"You better be ready to answer my questions when I return. I could continue this all day long."
He then left as he locked the door.
Despite the fact that Jungkook was beaten near to death and his face swollen from the iron like fists, he painfully forced himself into a sitting position.
He laid himself against a seat and spat out 2 bloody teeth. He looked around once more. The floor was covered with blotches of blood. Some of it was his own, others were from the goblins and humans that died in the 1st and 2nd trials.
"F*ck.." (Jk)
He barely mumbled.
Now that Jungkook thought of it, he was in the last compartment of the train. And the doors leading outside were closed too.
'Did they restart the train or something?'
He thought.
The doors couldn't be closed with force, otherwise there would be noticeable damage. But the doors seemed in good condition.
Jungkook shook his head.
Now wasnt the time to think of such trivial matters, he need to escape with Su-jin.
Jungkook spat out another tooth with some blood.
"Dante, where are you?"
* * * * *
<
Black locked the door behind him. The guy and the girl following the white haired guy were inside the compartment. He clicked his tongue.
'Tsk..The interrogation failed. Now what?'
He had tried interrogating the guy who had woken up, but he didn't seem like he would speak anytime soon. He thought he would torture that guy next time.
{...Hunt for now...}
A voice rung in his head, a voice that wasn't his.
"Hunting it is."
But he listened to it as if it was completely normal. He put his thoughts aside and walked out of the train.
Outside Lee Hyung-jin and Gangster A (a.k.a. Baldie) were standing in wait for him.
"Sir, how was the interrogation?" (Hyung-jin)
"Only one woke up, but he didn't speak. Next time I'll try torture. Report, how is the mining going?" (Black)
"The mining us going smoothly, there were some hiccups but we have them under control. As for the gains–" (Hyung-jin)
"Hiccups?" (Black)
Hyung-jin and Baldie flinched at his question. They felt like they were facing a demon just talking to him.
"There were some who complained and rebelled. But with Ch—" (Hyung-jin)
As he pointed towards Baldie while speaking, Black again cut him off.
"So there's a rebellion." (Black)
"As I said it's under control. You don't need to worry. It was all taken care of by Che–" (Hyung-jin)
"What can Baldie here do? Even if he controlled them now, they will continue to rebel since he's just a pushover." (Black)
"I am standing right here–" (Baldie)
"Who gave you the right to speak to me!?" (Black)
Baldie was punched hard in the gut. He fell over from the pain. He was hit so hard, he couldn't breathe.
Hyung-jin tried to crouch down to help him.
"Cheo–" (Hyung-jin)
"If you help him, you're next." (Black)
Hyung-jin instantly froze halfway.
"Good, trash should know its place. The nerve of that piece of shit. Arrogant fool." (Black)
Hyung-jin cursed Black in his mind. To him, Black was like a madman who just showed up out of nowhere and started harassing everyone.
He took control of the two factions formed here, both the gangsters and the common people.
He ruled them like a tyrant king, he took the skills and equipment that others got from hard work like they were playthings for him.
He made us hunt for him, to bring him food and points. He took control of all the food in the train.
He killed us when he wanted.
And now he was making us dig in some mine!
"Get up." (Black)
Hyung-jin flinched and reflexively shot up from his half crouched position.
"Lead the way to the mine." (Black)
Though Hyung-jin hated the guy, he couldn't do anything to Black.
He wasn't just weak, he was a coward too. He knew this fact very much.
All his men that he raised back on earth were dwindling in numbers and strength. They used to live leisurely, now they were slaves to some madman. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.
That white haired kid from before, Dante, was much better.
He might've left, but he didn't interfere or treat us this badly. And back then, we were the ones that provoked him, but he let us go too.
But this guy, Black, he just marched in and claimed himself the king and started dictating us.
"Hey!" (Black)
Hyung-jin jolted back to reality as Black lifted him by the collar.
"Are you rebelling too?" (Black)
"N–no sir, I would n-never.. I was just lost in thought–t." (Hyung-jin)
Hyung-jin stuttered.
Black looked at him motionlessly for a few moments, but then let go.
"Get going, I don't have all day." (Black)
"Y‐yes sir, this way." (Hyung-jin)
Hyung-jin quickly lead Black to the mines.
Author's Note:__
• Before, when Dante transformed into a Pseudo Fire-Salamander kin in dungeon, I wrote that he had green scales. I went back and changed to black scales and orange spots after I found out that fire salamanders were real animals.
• I wonder how Titan boa meat tastes like....
• Poor Baldie, I mean Cheo–... whatever his name was.
"!! Important !! :"
My examinations are drawing near and my studies are being kicked up 4 notches. This will indeed affect my writing time. As a matter of fact, I didnt write anything at all this week.
If I hadn't written this chapter beforehand, I wouldn't have been able to post this chapter.
So, from now on for 2 to 3 months, my upload rate will become completely unstable. Maybe I'll be able to post 1 chapter per week but it also maybe that I'll post after 2 or 3 weeks completely.
So please forgive me, I dont have much of a choice.
And thank you to everyone who has read my work, given a powerstone or collection. Seriously, thank you alot.
I never thought that my novel will have nearly 6000 views at only 14 chapters.
I'm not stopping this novel, on not saying goodbye. I have the main story planned out. I have done the most work on this novel than I've done on any other story I wrote for myself.
I will comeback and finish it. So hopefully, you'll read it then too.
Thank you again!!!
Also, write your favourite God (or any God that you prefer) from mythologies in the comments. For example Odin from Norse or Cernunnos from Gaelic Mythologies.