Darren turned around sharply when he heard rustles from behind and saw a black, shadowy figure the size of a domestic dog lunging at him. His reflexes weren't that good, so the shadowy creature managed to bite a small chunk of flesh from Darren's shoulder.
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-36 HP
Debuffed: [Bleeding I]
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And while Darren wanted to scream from the sight of his shoulder being all bloody and gore, he was on his fight-or-flight state and felt no pain. He would describe the feeling as 'warm poop getting dumped on his shoulder.'
Still, fangs sinking into one's own body and ripping flesh was a terrifying sight to behold, and it prompted Darren to grit his teeth and slash violently and haphazardly at the creature. Darren didn't know if he hit something, but he was a bit glad that his crude attempt at fending off a predator was a success. But he also knew that it didn't end here.
Frightened, he gripped the handle of his knife with his unsteady palm, doing his best to keep wary of his surroundings despite the numb, yet warm feeling on his shoulder. He could barely make anything out of the what he saw at that moment, and the fact that his HP bar was slowly yet continuously shrinking made him want to panic.
But he wasn't allowed to panic. He had to keep his head cool, or else he would die.
With a snarl, the shadowy beast once again lunged at Darren, aiming for the same shoulder that it bit earlier. Luckily for Darren, his reflexes didn't fail him this time. His knife-wielding arm slashed at the incoming monster to intercept, and he felt his attack connect.
However, he accidentally let loose of his weapon, and before he knew it, he was unequipped.
He had no hopes of finding that blade in this darkness, and it wasn't like the beast was going to let him look for his weapon before continuing his assault.
'I'm going to die.' Darren chanted in his head, his knees starting to buckle.
Every rustle in the forest sounded evil to him, and it felt like something was going to lunge at him in all directions.
'No, no, no, no. This isn't happening . . .' Completely terrified, Darren began to shake his head, his eyes darting around and his hands gripping the hem of his shirt. He was beginning to deny reality.
The shadowy creature, who barely got injured by Darren's attacks, stood on its feet, watching its prey stand completely frozen in fear, its purple eyes glinting faintly in the dark. It slowly assumed a ready-to-pounce stance, eyes fixated on Darren.
However, the wound on Darren's arm under his shirt instantly dried, effectively stopping the bleeding. His previously shaky fingers also stopped shaking, and he began to give a feeling of confidence.
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Debuffs Removed: Terrified, Bleeding, Blinded
Buffed: Bloodthirsty
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With the creature's primal instinct, it sensed that the prey it was hunting was trying to reverse their roles of predator and prey, and it felt alarmed.
Instead of pouncing, it jumped sidewards to circle around Darren. After it reached the point where Darren's back was exposed, it wasted no time and lunged at Darren's nape.
But on the few short moments it spent while in mid-air, the creature's alarms began to scream. It was a wrong move.
Even though the creature couldn't form sentences, all it took was one glance at its eyes to see how terrified it was for its life.
In a swift motion, Darren turned sidewards and threw his arms at the creature, before haphazardly gripping on the first thing his hands came in contact with.
His expression filled with disdain for the creature, he managed to grab the creature by its neck and torso. And since the [Blinded] debuff was already lifted, Darren was able to see what kind of creature he encountered.
It was a black fox with purple eyes-- one eye was about to pop out from the pressure from Darren's grip. Its teeth were bared, and its little nose was twitching as it tried to breathe even with Darren exerting pressure on its throat.
The sight was something that might make the average human want to vomit-- and Darren was an average human until days ago. But Darren wanted to kill this naughty fox. And the fastest way to do it at that moment, was to simply tighten his grip even more.
After making a few pitiful whimpers, the fox succumbed to the force crushing its throat and died.
"Level 5 creature: Shadow Fox killed. You have gained 34 EXP. Check inventory for dropped items."
At the same moment, his buffs and debuffs updated again.
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Buffs Removed: Bloodthirsty
Debuffed: Confused
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Darren gagged as the still-warm body of the dead fox slipped through his shaking grip. He let the body drop down to the ground and immediately turned around to stay and look away from his 'prey.'
Breath hitched, he went to a nearby a tree and leaned on it, before spitting out some saliva.
"What was that?" He asked the system, but there was no response.
"System?! What the f*ck was that?!"
"To ensure the user's survival and well-being is the system's primary task. The system cannot just let the user die. However, please note that the help given by the system is not for free. Please head to the Quests Tab to check your penalty quest."
Darren felt strange as the words of the system rang in his head. He couldn't vividly remember what he felt as he held the fox in his hands, but he knew how he felt disgusted by 'all life around him' while he had the buff [Bloodthirsty].
The System was there to support him and help him grow-- that was proven. But what for? Why was he the one chosen? Why would anything or anyone want him to rise in power? What is the motive behind the system's goals and actions?
What exactly is the system?
As he asked all those questions in his head, the system made its reply.
▬▬▬Answer to Query▬▬▬
The origin of the System cannot be disclosed until skill [Ethereal Senses] is learned.
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"Ethereal skill . . . what are the requirements for unlocking that skill even?" Darren had no idea what type of skill [Ethereal Senses] was.
▬▬▬Answer to Query▬▬▬
You will unlock its related tab at LVL 20.
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"Argh . . ." Darren groaned, closing his eyes shut as he shook his head in annoyance and dismay.
He was in a loop. He wasn't sure anymore if it was a good idea to level up using some sketchy thing calling itself a System, but to make sure of things, he had to level up.
▬▬▬Answer to Query▬▬▬
Since the user is somehow distrustful of the System, then it has decided to reveal a little information about itself.
Firstly, there is a person behind the system, and they are responsible for everything that the system is and its actions. They have made the interface, the skills, and is constantly supplying ethereal energy to the whole system to keep it running for the user.
The person behind the System would appreciate it if the user at least kept on advancing forward up to the point where the skill [Ethereal Senses] is learned.
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Darren's eyebrows knitted together, he groaned, ". . . Why would someone spend their time and efforts on someone like me anyway?"
This time, no Answer to Query panel popped up right away, which didn't surprise Darren. What surprised him was what came next.
"No," the female voice that announced stuff in Darren's head spoke, this time, with a tone that wasn't robotic, "I did not choose to pick you as the user, and yes, I am the person behind the System. And I swear-- please-please-please-please-please, for f*ck's sake. Just deal with it. The more questions I answer, the more curious you'll get. And if you know too much so suddenly, you won't even try and take your only ticket to a good life."
The voice in Darren's head sighed, before continuing, "No more questions about the system's purpose and about me until you learn Ethereal Senses. You'll get all of your questions answered once you learn the skill, got it?"
Blinking rapidly, Darren stayed silent, his brain starting to overload.
"I asked, GOT IT?"
"G-Got it." Darren forced out an answer.
After that, the voice in Darren's head went silent. Curious, Darren called out in his head, "System?"
"Is there anything the user needs?" The voice asked, now back in its usual, robotic tone.
"Nothing." Darren answered, letting out a sigh. It was kind of hard to take the announcements seriously now that he saw a glimpse of the personality of the person speaking. He knew it would be a good idea to start forgetting about it though.
He let out another sigh and sat down slowly on the branches of the tree he was leaning on. He glanced at the dead fox sprawled on the leafy ground of the forest and was unsettled. He didn't like how the forest canopy allowed for the moonlight to come down, making it look like there was a spotlight on the fox's corpse.
"Gods . . ." Darren muttered out loud, knitting his eyebrows together and shaking his head slowly.
▬▬▬Notice▬▬▬
Seeing as the user's mentality is negatively affected by the event, it is highly recommended that the user upgrades the TEN stat more. The skill [Pokerface] may also be helpful.
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Darren took a deep breath and bit his lip, before deciding to follw the system's advice. He opened the System and learned the active skill [Pokerface]. He was initially going to save it for learning the passive skill [Flawless]
▬▬▬Skill Details▬▬▬
Pokerface (Toggle): Dull the user's emotions, decreasing the chance for mental debuffs to take effect
Usage Cost: 0.33/s
Costs 1 Skill Point
[Learn]
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He then clicked on [Learn] and immediately tried activating a skill.
A cold feeling suddenly spread through and all over Darren's body. All of his emotions felt a bit weaker-- the fear, the curiosity, the sense of victory-- a part of him felt like none of it mattered.
A tiny part of him was scared of what was happening with his emotions, but his whole being could easily ignore it.
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▬▬▬▬▬Stat Updates▬▬▬▬▬
LVL 5
EXP: 9%
HP: 487/550
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SP: 103/120
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Status Points: 0
BRU 20 [+]
DEX 15 [+]
VIT 15 [+]
SPR 10 [+]
TEN 30 [+]
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