After gathering the items from the floor, Noah walked directly into the light before him. After the blinding had ended, he opened his eyes to an entirely new place.
All around him were the ruins of what had once likely been a small settlement. Wooden and stone buildings that had long since been forgotten lined the single road of the town. The road was probably once an even dirt patch, kept healthy and presentable by the past residents. Now it was dry and cracked, with any patches of grass that had existed now scorched by the harsh heat. There was a smell of decay in the air, probably some poor villagers who hadn't managed to make it all the way out, but weren't quite done rotting away yet.
Noah turned around. No stone building was behind him. It was just more of the same dirt road. And the sky above was not shining bright with the midday sun. It was just starting to turn that orange hue as sunset began to take over.
"Can't go back, I guess," Noah muttered to himself. "Should just press forward then."
He took two steps forward before he began to wonder why he was still carrying the items from before in his hands. He carefully put them on, starting with the belt, then putting the sword into a convenient loop on the side of the belt, and lastly slipping the silver chain around his neck. As he continued moving forward, Noah was hardly fazed when the golden writing appeared before him again.
Short sword equipped. STR +3
Leather belt equipped. DEF +1
Silver chain equipped. MAG +1
LRC Skill added.
3 HP Vial(s) added.
1 MP Vial(s) added.
Noah figured that whatever an HP or MP Vial was, it probably corresponded to the liquids in the vials on his belt. The only thing that remained a mystery was the LRC Skill message. He was pretty sure the statement would sound strange even if he had all his memories. Deciding to handle his plethora of questions for himself later, Noah continued to walk forward in the town.
Wherever this place was, it seemed to continue forever. Though he wasn't sure how long he had been walking, Noah was starting to feel the affects of the heat bearing down hard on him. If this desert environment was where he would be for a while, he had to seriously consider cutting his hair short. But through the torture of the sun on his back he continued moving forward.
It had all been silent in this little abandoned town for quite some time. If he knew any better, Noah might've found the silence discomforting. Instead it calmed him, keeping him entirely focused on moving forward through the town.
So when a cry of "HELP!" echoed through the empty street of the town, it immediately grabbed Noah's attention.
However long ago he had started looking around and began walking, Noah had sworn the town was completely empty. Especially behind him. But running towards him was not the empty street that followed him before. Instead it was a young lady, probably Noah's age herself. But Noah was too distracted to notice any of her finer details at that moment.
What had gained Noah's attention was whatever the hell it was that chased her. They were about the size of children, but they held none of the childlike charm nor innocence. A dozen and a half of these things were chasing this girl. These weird, little green creatures. They all wore crude loincloths, some carried clubs while others brandished sharp yellow claws. Noah's eyes widened when he saw some of those claws and equally frightening teeth were covered in fresh blood. The stampede of these foul, red eyed creatures kicked up a dust storm on the abandoned road behind them.
"HELP!" the woman cried out again, breaking Noah from his shock. The golden text appeared before him reading out "HELP HER!"
"No shit!" Noah growled. And he took off towards the stampede. He wasn't sure why he was helping her. There were no memories of any previous moral conundrums. No past experiences that would tell Noah that maybe he should've turned and run himself. No greed or selfishness or strong desire of self preservation.
Just pure instinct. A bizarre, impossible to explain impulse had sent Noah right towards the girl and the creatures that chased her. A drive to save this person fueled Noah as he sprinted full force, drawing his short sword and letting out some primal shout.
"GET DOWN!" Noah barked. The girl, who had no reason to listen to Noah's order, complied. While she probably meant to simply duck down, she instead went into a slide along the ground aimed right at Noah. The boy reacted quickly, leaping over the girl with grace he wasn't aware he possessed. He collided with the crowd of monsters and he could remember a voice saying "Good luck" to him as he began his battle.
The first of the creatures was the scariest one as it was the one who had leapt straight for his face, teeth gnashing and claws swiping. Noah swung his blade at its torso as hard as he could, tearing through the things chest and producing a spray of dark colored blood and a ear piercing cry. He barely had time before the next one started it's attacked to notice that the creature had crumbled to dust as it went silent.
The next two monsters that attacked were harder to dispatch. Their height gave them a form of an advantage, and Noah was doing his best not to be overwhelmed. He missed his first few downward swipes on them, but eventually he connected one after the other against their skulls. More black blood, more death cries, more ashes, and less monsters.
The next little group were a bit luckier as they assaulted Noah. One had managed to completely evade Noah's first strikes. It tripped him up with his club, and Noah fell to the ground. The golden text appeared in front of Noah again. Block blows you can't avoid, it read. As the creature swung down its club, Noah held up his sword to stop the blow short. Noah took hold of the beast's club, and his beady red eyes seemed to widen in shock as Noah disarmed him and mercilessly shoved his sword right between his eyes. There was no scream this time, and Noah got a clear look as the thing became dust and blew away.
A scream from behind alerted Noah to the next stage of the crisis. Four of the little blights managed to slip past him and were approaching the girl. She was trying to crawl away, but she wouldn't escape them soon enough.
Remember your skill, the gold text told him. Noah got to his feet, somehow knowing what he needed to do next. He just swung his sword hard as he could without losing his grip on it, letting out a bellowing roar of, "LONG RANGE CUT!"
The Long Range Cut. More commonly known among adventurers as the LRC. This skill is one of the more versatile beginner skills. It can be either used in quick succession for multiple waves of compressed sword energy, or charged up with for one strong half moon blast.
As Noah swung his sword, a single crescent of white shot out from the tip of his slash. He swung back across sending out an equal size crescent at the monsters that approached the girl. The first crescent slammed against their backs and dissipated, and each of them let out groans of pain as they grabbed at the new wounds on their backs. The second wave hit them more violently, bisecting all four of the little creatures. It was almost comical as their top halves started to slide off the bottom halves before they turned to dust. Noah would've laughed if he wasn't suddenly hit with a light headache.
The monsters behind Noah were starting to grow quiet. Perhaps they were starting to fear the boy who had slaughtered their kin. Or perhaps it was because of the loud bark that came from the back.
The barks kept the remaining creatures at bay. Noah looked past the crowd to find what was making this new noise, fighting against his new headache to concentrate. Outward, Noah kept a stoic face as a newer foe rose up from the pack. But on the inside, this new creature made him nervous.
If it could stand straight up, it would be taller than most grown men. However, this dark blue skinned mass of muscle had to hunch over, so it stood at about Noah's level. It moved on all fours, with arms the length of it's torso carrying most of it's weight. Green spikes protruded along its forearms, with one really nasty looking one jutting out at the elbow. A pair of curved black horns jutted out from its forehead right above its own set of dark red eyes. A mouth hung open, showing two rows of jagged and broken fangs and a long black tongue.
It barked twice more and all the smaller creatures backed away from it and Noah. Then it turned to Noah, and began to speak in some barely understandable growling voice.
"Me Utuk Kobold," it said. "You are?"
Noah was so shocked the thing could speak his language, he muttered a soft "Christ" before answering his question.
"Utuk not mad at Noah." Utuk gestured around the battlefield. While the other monsters corpses may have faded into dust, their black blood still marked the road where they had perished. "Utuk's children Utuk's soldiers. Soldiers risk life. Sometimes lose."
If Utuk hadn't been a horrible monster that had sent his children to their death, Noah would have at some level respected his wisdom on such a matter. That factor along with his continued speech ruined any chance of that.
"That girl Utuk's wife." It pointed over to the girl, who still sat on the ground and watched in fear as Utuk spoke to Noah. "Utuk needs wife. Needs to replace children you stole from Utuk."
Noah looked at the girl, then back at Utuk, then back at the girl. Noah still needed to learn much about the world, but even he could tell what true terror had looked like.
"What if I refuse your offer?" Noah asked, watching as some golden text started writing in front of him.
"Then Utuk tear you apart and eat you. Then Utuk take back wife anyway."
The golden text had finished writing:
"Give over the girl: No battle, exit area.
Deny and kill Utuk: Gold reward, mystery reward <3."
While the promise of leaving the area sounded very nice, given the constant heat and the continuation of Noah's headache. But Noah knew that the memories of a dead girl, even one he didn't know the name of, would surely haunt him. Also, the gold and mystery reward would probably come in handy as he continued to explore this strange world.
"I'm not handing the girl over," Noah said, pointing his sword at Utuk.
"Then Utuk," the big blue monster said, a little broken grin on his face as he started to move forward. "WILL CRUSH NOAH!" it roared as it pounced towards Noah. Noah barely managed to sidestep Utuk's opening strike, a blow that seemed to shake the ground near where it landed. Utuk didn't let up, swiping it's titanic arms at Noah, who continued to dodge. He needed to concentrate if he wanted to land blows of his own. Unfortunately, Noah's headaches was getting the better of him. He couldn't keep full focus on Utuk, at least not enough to find openings among its swipes.
Utuk had been pushing Noah around the arena he had more or less made. Noah had managed to dodge and block most of the attacks so far, but what Utuk had that Noah didn't was experience on this battlefield. This advantage shined for Utuk as he cornered Noah against the wall.
"Utuk have you!" Utuk shouted triumphantly. And instead of a swipe, Utuk struck by thrusting forward with his elbow. Noah tried to back away only to slam his back to the wall. Utuk's attack hit home as he drove the long elbow spike into Noah's gut and out the other side. Noah let out a howl in pain, and Utuk smiled as he pulled the spike out leaving Noah to hunch over.
Silver, was Noah's first thought as he looked down where his wound was. He couldn't see it, but he could feel how bad it was. My blood is silver.
"Utuk kill you now," Utuk said as it stepped back. Utuk groaned loudly as his arms appeared to stretch out and squirm.
No, not appear, Noah thought. They're actually getting longer.
Utuk's arms seem to almost become snakes in the way that they writhed and moved at its side. Then they struck out, stretching out to at least double their length before burying their claws into the wall either side of Noah's head. The arms had twisted around so that now Utuk's forearms were facing inwards, and the spikes were grazing against Noah's neck.
"This Utuk's scariest move," Utuk informed him, and Noah had to agree the threat of decapitation was terrifying. "Please give Utuk good scared face."
Can't die here, Noah thought, trying to come up with any idea of how to get out. Can't die. Can't die. Can't die. I won't die. Not like this.
Never again.
The golden text, that miraculous messenger that it was, appeared before him yet again.
"You're injured! Remember to press your HP Vials!"
Noah didn't know which one was the HP Vial or not. All he knew was he pressed on the top of each of the vials (You're not supposed to drink them, he just knew for some reason). The first Vial he pressed was the one to the back of the belt. That managed to cure his headache. But as he pressed the next three, the pain in his stomach wound started to go away. And not just fade away like it would over time. No. instantly the pain left him. There wasn't even a dull ache. And, even though Noah couldn't see where the hole was, there wasn't even so much as a scar left.
Thinking quickly so as not to lose his head, Noah ducked under the spikes, little scratches on his face the only damage they managed after that. Utuk's smile vanished as Noah, body lowered beneath Utuk's arms, started dashing right at the monster. Utuk retracted its snake like arms to their original position, panicked as it desperately went on the defensive. Noah saw his opening to dodge the impending counterattack (an overhead smash with the spikes pointing downwards). It was the little gap between Utuk's stubby legs.
Noah started his slide under Utuk as the monster screamed, "Stay still for Utuk to kill!" As he cleared the impact area safety for Utuk's counter, Noah took his chance to slash right up Utuk's back.
The monster howled and began to spin in a daze, grabbing at the wound in it's back. Noah was sure he hadn't managed that deep of a cut. He hadn't put the proper strength into it.
Evasive Hit. A common skill that involves a basic attack following an evasive action. The multiplier to the attack is based on how perfect the dodge was. Thief only.
"I'll try this now," Noah said. He poured the same energy into his sword as he had earlier. As before he uttered the name of the skill as he swung his blade.
"Long range cut!"
The first crescent shot forth. Utuk had stopped spinning just in time to take the full brunt of the crescent to the face. But as Noah continued to fire off LRCs, Utuk put up its arm to block them. In total, Noah shot out six skills. There were painful looking cuts all along Utuk's spiked arms, but the harsh growl told Noah he had really only managed to make the creature pissed off. The headache had come back, and this time it was far worse. Noah's vision was getting hazier, but he could still see Utuk starting to walk forward.
"Your mana is depleted! Remember to press your MP Vial!"
Noah hoped one day he could meet the person who had given him all of the information through the golden text. He would probably kiss them and buy them the best drink he could afford. He lowered his hand and pressed down hard on the Vial near the back of the belt. His vision came back into clear focus, and his headache was all gone.
"Long-," Noah said, this time pouring all the energy he could into his sword. Already he could feel his headache begin. "Range-." Utuk lowered its arms, seeing an opening for it to attack while Noah prepared his ending blow. Utuk was too slow though.
"CUT!"
The final slash of Noah's sword sent out a half moon shape of the white energy from before. Despite its larger size, the stronger skill moved even faster. It soared through the air and cleaved Utuk in two along the waist. It continued flying and smashed into the same all Noah had been pinned against before.
There was a gurgling noise from Utuk as he tried to crawl away. "Mercy on Utuk," it pleaded, the wound slowly leaking out its black blood. Noah approached the monster, not the least bit considering its cries. With a twirl of his blade, Noah plunged the sword where he knew the monster's heart to be. Utuk let out one more blood curdling cry before bursting into a mist of ashes.
And Noah's headache from using his most powerful attack yet was gone.
Finisher. A common skill where you strike the vital of a crippled or stunned enemy, dealing massive damage. Swordsman only.
Purifier. A common skill where you replenish a portion of MP after defeating an enemy leader. Priest only.
The smaller monsters growled and scattered away. One snarled at Noah, but when he took a step forward, it whimpered like a lost pup and scampered away with its fellows.
"Don't forget the spoils, adventurer!"
Noah turned around. Suspended in the air him and the girl he had just rescued was a floating white orb. He stepped forward and took hold of it. The orb started to vibrate softly, and suddenly it became a little pouch. More importantly, it became a little pouch of coins that jingled as Noah walked over to the poor girl that was still sitting on the ground.
"Are you alright?" Noah asked, holding out his hand to her. She took it with a lightly trembling hand of her own. Noah imagined he may not have come across as the most comforting looking guy, having just mowed down a swarm of monsters with technique he couldn't recall acquiring.
"I'm okay as can be," she said, lightly dusting off her clothes. Her voice was much softer now that she wasn't crying for help. "Thank you very much stranger. My name is Raelynn." The girl named Raelynn stuck out her hand. "And yours?"
"I'm Noah," he answered, taking her hand in his. And as soon as he touched her hand, Noah's entire body suddenly felt heavy. His legs could no longer support him, and he collapsed to the ground. He could barely hear Raelynn calling his name as his vision blurred until it became dark again.