When experiencing something scary or terrifying. Humans tend to heighten their senses and act on edge for a period of time. In the current situation that Iac was pushing himself towards. Alan was constantly fearful of finding and fighting more spiders. As the spider was dead the fear affect didn't apply to either of them anymore. But Alan was afraid of the spider's fear affect not the spider itself. The fear effect kept making Alan think back to the memory of the hobgoblin king. The rage hidden behind all of his dignity. Just the thought of experiencing his aura again scared Alan.
Iac must have been having the same thoughts as him. But he couldn't tell right now as Iac was too distracted with the idea of finding treasure. It made him think of Finn and how they celebrated Easter when they were young. Alan's father hid eggs all around the house and it would ultimately take the two of them the entire day to find them all. Though Alan would leave a lot of the easier ones for Finn to find on his own. He wanted Finn to have more change to spend on himself after all. After reminiscing on the past for a bit, Alan was feeling a little less on edge. It was then that Alan decided to take another look at his new status.
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Name: Alan Hutton
Soul Level - 4
Job - None
Strength - 20
Agility - 24
Vitality - 6
Intelligence - 10
Soul Points left - 0
Skills - None
Synchronization rate - 8%
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Name: Iac
Race - Goblin
Rank - F
Level - 4
Attributes - None
HP - 70
TP - 1
General traits - Stealth +3, Thievery +5, Dagger wielding +2, Sword wielding+2
Race traits - Night vision +2, Smell for money +3, Goblin common language +5
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'Huh since when did this goblin use his trait points?!' Alan had spent a good 3 or 4 minutes contemplating on how he should distribute his soul points. But Iac had already used his trait points before Alan could even notice. 'Maybe he was prepared for what to acquire and upgrade in the first place?' Alan thought that maybe it wasn't such a weird thing considering Iac had already saved 1 TP in the past. He should be smart enough to get strong on his own. Though, Along with his previous level ups, Iac had saved 1 TP yet again. Alan still wasn't sure what it was for but Iac at the very least should know.
The new things Alan noticed was Iac's new sword wielding trait which was now +2. The other was the increase in dagger wielding to +2 as well. It looked like Iac was following the idea that Alan had of their fighting style. A mix of a warrior and a rouge, fighting with a dagger and switching to a shortsword depending on the situation. The next thing Alan noticed was Iac's HP count. He was curious as to why it rose from 50 to 70. It had increased before when Alan doubled all of his stats, but Alan had also increased Vitality at that time so it had made sense why it would rise then. 'Maybe leveling up for monsters increases their HP?' Alan thought. But he soon removed that thought because when they previously leveled up. Alan had doubled vitality which also doubled Iac's current HP count.
Then a new thought dawned on him. 'Is it the increase in strength?' If the strength increased his health that would make more sense. He thought of how much it rose by and after he did some simple math, Alan was able to figure out by how much each rose by. From what he could tell, vitality boosted Iac's HP by 5 per point and strength boosted it by 2 per point. It was weird how it changed the value of Iac's HP when monsters weren't supposed to have these stats in the first place. But the main reason people boost strength is to increase their body's overall physical ability. People likewise boost vitality, but they do it for a sturdier and more defensive body. So why did they both increase HP?
But Alan didn't want to think too deeply about status details. He figured out why Iac's HP had risen and that was all he needed. The topic was left for another time when he had more free time to think about it. Iac was already starting another fight with a spider. And now Alan needed to focus on the fight in front of him. The spider leaped towards Iac from the ceiling and it was a simple strategy from there. He already knew the spider would try and cause a fear effect onto him after losing it's advantage of stealth. If he followed the same steps as the last fight he could cut the spider before it's voice peaked from screeching. But it wasn't always going to be the same pattern for monsters.
They could have similar habits or traits, but they would always act differently. They weren't all mindless insects waiting to be crushed. The monsters were called monsters because of the fear they inflicted on people. It wasn't as simple as following a guide and finding out everything about the monsters. The one in front of Iac was a shining example of having intelligence. It read that Iac was about to attack and fell back into the shadows. It startled Iac but the spider was able to be defeated in one strike from his sword. His hands might feel a bit numb like before from the strength of his swing. But Sword Wielding +2 should help somewhat with making Iac's attacks more decisive while removing his sloppiness.
The spider came out from the shadows behind Iac with its fangs pointing right at his shoulder. Iac noticed it too late and got his shoulder bit the the spider. The poison spread through Iac's arm as he yelled in pain. Iac had to switch his sword from his right hand to his left as the poison numbed his entire right arm. A moment of chance came when the spider removed its fangs. Not letting go of this chance, Iac did an upward slash, cutting 2 of the spider's legs clean off. The sword in his hand swung again to try and cleave the spider's head off. But it missed hitting the ground with a thud.
He felt heavy. Iac's mind started to clear up from the thoughts of treasure. He started to see the threat in front of him for what it was. "SCREEECH" The spider was able to inflict fear upon Iac and Alan. The spider felt like it towered over the two of them as it rushed towards Iac for the kill. In fear Iac swung his sword wildly, slashing the spider's abdomen.
Iac kept backing up as the spider kept getting closer. But then Iac's body was stiff. He couldn't move like he wanted to. The spider walked slowly towards Iac and prepared it's fangs for the kill. Iac was able to get more slash in before the webbing consumed him.
The spider retaliated by going in for another bite, this time it was his neck. But Iac wasn't going to let the spider have another chance at poisoning him. He dropped his sword to the floor and drew his dagger. He then jammed it right into the spider's skull.
"Gii! Kok gik! Gik! Gik!" (Gii! Just die! Die! Die!) Iac went into a rage. The pain from the bite made him fight with everything he had. The repeated stabs into the spider's head and abdomen killed it.
[You have slayed an Opal Cave Arachne LV 5]
[You have obtained 82 experience]
Iac fell to his knees from fatigue. He was hurt. He couldn't stand the pain anymore. He wanted to stop. His desire to fight left him as the dagger fell from his hands. The poison kept spreading to his chest and left shoulder. He started to feel numb and cold. Alan felt the same way as Iac, but his will still remained intact. Finn meant the whole world to him. He wasn't going to give up now. His drive to get stronger remained in Iac's heart. But it was overwhelmed by Iac's negative emotions. It felt like there was nothing to help them now. They would soon be overcome by the spider's venom and be stuck in a dungeon. A simple human or monster could happen upon them and slay them right then and there. It was a sad way to die. 'Why am I still fighting?' Iac talked out loud in his head for once, Alan listened on as Iac continued. 'For family? No, those people just thought of me as pawns. For treasure? I love it, but can I risk my entire life for it?' Iac kept speaking in his head, hoping someone listened. Alan wanted to say something to him. Anything that would change his feelings. But there wasn't anything he could do for him. The numbness was already reaching his legs at this point. Then Alan heard Iac cry out.
'Please! who ever you are just help me please! I don't want to die here!' It struck Alan's heart and he felt horrible. His idea of Iac was temporary. A host for him to get stronger and save his brother. In reality he forgot about the mind behind the body. It was Iac that was existing, not him. Iac may be a monster, but he had an ego of his own. Whether it was Alan's fault or not he felt bad for not being able to help. He felt like begging to the person up top. Whoever gave him the contract to connect with Iac. He didn't care at this point. All he wanted to do was help.
[Your synchronization rate has increased by 4.2%]
[Warning! Your synchronization rate has reached 10.0%]
[Integrating new system unlock....5%....20%....60%....99%....100%]
[Finished integrating new synchronization aspect]
[You have unlocked the Skill Proficiency System]
[You have gained the skill Poison Resistance l]
[You have gained the skill Dagger Arts l]
[You have gained the skill Fear Resistance l]
Then hope came in the form of the system. Alan like crying out in excitement. His voice burst out and it sounded like an impression of a laughing hyena. Iac's body's numbness started to fade slowly. He could feel his legs again as his body gained strength. His mental strength came back as the fear effect started to fade. Iac cried upwards to whoever his savoir might have been. "Gii! Ric!" (Gii, Thank you!)
Alan felt happy. He was content with helping. It was strange for him though. Alan hadn't exactly done this kind of thing before. His idea of saving came from Finn. He didn't help anyone except for Finn anymore. His father left him with the dying wish of saving his brother. It bothered him to help others. But with Iac it was different. For some reason he was glad. Iac's emotions of happiness radiated through him. Alan knew that the two of them were probably going to face things much worse than spiders in the future. But they survived for now... and that was all that mattered to him.
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Finn had been given a list of possible jobs to take as a slayer. It included hundreds of different types of jobs, ranging from all types of rarities. There were a couple that caught his eye like the legendary job Solar Fundamentalist or Dragon Tamer. It's known that most people that end up as top slayers always earn legendary jobs. But it is also normally kept secret which job they actually had until they die because of secrecy.
The requirements for certain jobs were incredibly rigorous depending on the rank you were going for. Most slayers choose to have a normal rated job and be content with earning money that way. Others spend years training to earn their job and are rewarded with a top spot within a guild or the slayers association. Finn couldn't decide on what job he wanted, so he went to ask his guide on anything he could do.
"Excuse me is there a way to find a job that you're suited for in anyway?" Finn asked
"Ah yes, there is a method that we at the slayers association use. It's called system morphing. A simple way to take it is that it finds your best attributes and gives you a job and it's rating." The guide replied.
"I'm actually having some trouble figuring out which class to choose. They all don't sound exactly like what I'm looking for." Finn said.
"Oh! in that case I can lead you there." The guide said and looked around. "Does anyone else have any trouble with their job choosing?" The guide asked the group. 5 people in the group raised their hands and followed the guide leading Finn.
They were led into a room in the association headquarters on the first floor and told to wait. They were led into the room one by one and Finn was the last person in the line. He felt a little nervous about which job to get. Finn was then told to enter the room by a woman in a suit. Walking into the room he was met with two people in lab coats. One was a male and had dark red hair with glasses. The woman next to him was a brunette with her hair tied up. The room had a bunch of tech lying around it looked like an operation room.
"Please lie down here sir." The woman said. Finn then laid himself on the thing that looked like an operating table. He was given a helmet to wear that almost looked like a motorcycle helmet. Finn then laid there waiting for something to happen. He got a bit nervous thinking about what job he would get. Would it be a rare job? Could it possibly be unique or legendary? Until the man came over and took the helmet off of Finn's head. The man with glasses looked at Finn with a smile on his face.
"The test had been completed." The girl said next to Finn.
"Wait... it's done already?" Finn asked.
"Yes, your results were a complete success. You have the properties for a very special job." The woman said.
"So? What is it?" Finn said with a smile on his face.
"Take a look for yourself. This is your future... Finn Hutton" The man said, handing Finn a device with information on it. Finn's face was ecstatic. He finally knew his purpose.