'What the...'
I took a step back when I noticed a red flashing light at the edge of my vision. I also noticed a flashing red cursor pointing somewhere on my left side outside of my line of sight. I followed where the cursor was pointing and saw something bizarre.
Beside a rather bushy buloke stood a dark-skinned man almost thrice my size. Long ragged curly black hair, sunken unblinking eyes, and trunk-like hairy skin, the entity looked down at me with a gaze filled with indignation. He leaned on the highest branch of the poor thin buloke while puffing on a thick cigar. A burning piece of paper formed an orange ember wisp that flew around his head, and thick smoke hid the right side of his face. With the way he casually slumped his body on that tree, it looked as if he had been there for a while, but how come I never noticed him? Could a man as gigantic as this one really manage to sneak up on me... and Dominion?
That's right! Without even a second thought, I uttered the word "ANALYZE!" And sure enough, the translucent blue textbox popped in front of me, pointing at the giant's face.
Name: Abad'delah
Classification: (1) Entity, (2) Alive [VS], (3) Meat, (4) Kapre, (5) ???
Status:
STR: 58
VIT: 110
DEX: 9
WIS: 17
'Did your System seriously just called this guy a "Meat?"'
'That's a bit harsh, isn't it?' 'I noticed. It looks like this guy answers to an unknown god.' 'Y-your people? You mean this kapre is one of yours?' 'Aye, aye, sire! But there's just one problem...' 'I don't have a weapon.' 'Have you seen his VIT stat? This guy's CRAZY sturdy. I can't just punch him. I'd need a better plan than that.' Dominion wanted to scream at me more, but his voice was interrupted when the kapre had suddenly released a deafening roar. Then, he slowly raised his body from the tree he was leaning on, and... yep, he's definitely thrice my size. 'I don't know who you think I am, Dominion, but I'm just a rich guy who somehow became a noble after inventing some stuff for Firmament's wars. I know my way in battle, but I am more comfortable sitting in the backline rather than the one rushing head-on. So I ask you again, do you have a better plan?' I didn't waste time. "HARVEST!" I shouted while pointing my palm on the tree nearest the kapre, who's now battle-ready before me. When I did so, the tree I selected suddenly disappeared, flabbergasting the kapre and making it step backward with a confused grunt. Then, a few texts popped at the bottom left side of my vision. "+10 logs'' and "+3 mana." "CREATE!" I screamed. This time, the kapre was already rushing towards me. A rectangular textbox popped at the top of my vision. There I saw the following: Wooden Sword: Need 3 logs, 1 mana (stats vary on Raw Material used) Wooden Bow: Need 3 logs, 1 string, 1 mana (stats vary on Raw Material used) Wooden Shield: Need 5 logs, 1 mana (stats vary on Raw Material used) Wooden Spear: Need 5 logs, 1 mana (stats vary on Raw Material used) Blood Serum: Need 20 drops of blood, 500 mana Thankfully, the kapre has no weapons either. But with arms bigger than mine, I'm pretty sure I'd still die once he landed a punch on me, even with the armor I have on. I managed to dodge, but only barely. That 13 Dexterity stat is really paying off nicely, but I can't just keep dashing out of his way forever. Soon, he'd hit me, and I should not be the one dying in that instance. Panicking, I made my decision, "WOODEN SWORD." Sure enough, once I've uttered those words, a wooden sword magically popped in front of me and floated midair till I grabbed its hilt with my gloved hands. A small text then appeared at the lower left side of my vision again. "+1 Wooden Sword," "-3 logs," and "-1 mana." The kapre struck again! His fist fell in a crescent-shaped swoop and landed squarely on the ground, forming cracks and disturbing the dust. Since I look more like a grasshopper compared to his size, the kapre had to squat for a bit whenever he strikes. He targeted me again with another one of his punches. I managed to move away, but the impact of his downward swoop had enough force to push me backward. Luckily, the kapre's fist got stuck on the ground, and it took him a while to pull it back up; I used this opportunity to retaliate! I swung my sword on his wrist; blood started gushing out of his skin, but it looked more like I just slashed him with a kitchen knife. The kapre just grunted in return and looked at his wound with a confused expression. Fuck. THAT DID NOTHING! I looked down at my sword and said, "ANALYZE." What popped up is precisely what I expected. Buloke Wooden Sword Classification: (1) Wood, (2) Non-Living [W], (3) Sword Status: STR: 3 VIT: 5 My weapon only has 3 Strength stats, and my opponent has more than a hundred Vitality... OF COURSE, THIS USELESS TWIG WILL DO NOTHING! What was I thinking? I did as Dominion counseled and immediately saw what he was referring to: Name: Abad'delah Classification: (1) Entity, (2) Alive [VS], (3) Meat, (4) Kapre, (5) ??? Status: STR: 58 VIT: 110 (-36) DEX: 9 WIS: 17 'And it took you this long to explain that because?' As Dominion uttered those words, three red circles appeared around the kapre's body. One on his neck, another on his left breast, and another one on his groin. 'So you do have a plan, BUT YOU'RE JUST NOW SAYING IT!?' I waited for my opportunity. I can stab the mark on the kapre's neck if I used my earth spell, but I'm not sure if Gres' body has enough mana to use it. I'd probably be able to have a chance of hitting his chest, but the obvious answer here is definitely to strike his groin. I remembered earlier how he had to fold his legs a bit just so he could punch me. I should exploit that. I banged the hilt of my wooden sword on my armor's breastplate (or would it be better if I said it's Gres' armor instead? It's really hard to get used to this body swap thing.) I remember that this is what Firmamentian soldiers do to provoke their enemies. I kept smashing my sword handle on my breastplate till the kapre growled and ran towards me with booming steps. Sure enough, the kapre crouched first before striking downward. I dashed forward to dodge and stabbed upward to bust his crotch. The kapre let out a blood-curdling cry of utter agony that fulminated into the air. "YES!" I yelled out loud as I yanked my sword out of the kapre's testicles. Blue blood spurt out of it like a faucet leaking out of control. Dominion's warning came late. Before I could anticipate what he was cautioning me about, the kapre's palm had already hit my side. My armor folded, my ribs cracked, my insides churned upside down. And for a moment, it seemed like time had slowed down until it went into a total halt. My senses suddenly went through a complete shutdown: strange light blurred the center of my vision, I couldn't feel any pain, but I could hear a loud ringing in my eardrums. Funnily enough, my sense of taste is the only thing that remained, forcing me to taste a rust-like flavor; it's ironic since I bit my tongue. "Guh..." And then, time moved again. BAM! My body flew into the air in a circular motion, stopping only when my back hit a tree. I knelt on the ground with blood spewing out of my mouth; I winced as the ache in my ribs jolted me upward. This fucking sucks. I should have been more careful than this; I am much, much better than this. The Von Erich family is known for many things, but we are not fools who easily lose focus. Is this an effect of my merging with Gres? Ugh... I can't think straight. I need to reclaim my usual sharp senses. Shit... My ancestors are definitely frowning at me. 'Hey, Dominion...' <...Yes, Aleph?> 'Can your System show how much HP my enemy and I have left?' Dominion didn't even utter a reply; he just did as I requested and showed a green bar at the upper left part of my vision; a similar looking bar had also appeared above the kapre's head. I looked at my health bar. 30 Vitality points left. Meanwhile, the kapre only have... Two. If I do the math correctly, it seems like Gres's body has 30 VIT. Adding the 73 VIT on his armor, he had a total of 103 VIT. The kapre's palm can decimate me. But one slash from my stick and this guy is a goner. "This pisses me off..." I winced and groaned as I felt my vision blurring with my body wobbling to and fro. I feel like my consciousness is leaving me. Then, I felt a light tap on my shoulders. "You got this, Aleph." I heard his voice, but this time, it's not in my head. "D-Dominion...?" A naked petite, pale man with curly auburn hair suddenly appeared behind me, floating around my shoulders with a blazing gaze, further accentuated by his freckled face. "Breathe, my avatar. This is just the first step of many. We can survive this. We will survive this." Dominion's usual feminine but angry tone is now deeper and much, much gentler. He's right. I stood up, grabbed my sword handle with both my hands, and poised myself to battle. "Human's eyes are garbage," Dominion whispered. "but no swiftness can overpower a god's eyes. Strike. Don't worry. You will evade his blows. Believe in your god."