--/At Sein Cave/--
After thinking for a bit, Hunter decided to continue on his way while waiting for the map to finish. He was still holding onto the old sword just in case he faces rats again. After a while he stopped.
"What the heck is that?!", Hunter yelled while covering his nose. There was a very strong smell coming from where he is going. It smelled like lots and lots of rotten things like garbage, dead rats, and more.
Being curious of what it could be, he slowly and carefully crept forward and then he saw something that will make anyone want to puke just by the sight.
He was right now, looking at a big rat, bigger than the ones he have fought before, chewing and eating a bunch of dead rats laying on the ground.
[ Warning! A 'Rat Leader Lv. 5' has been detected. Attacking it will not be recommended! ]
As soon as he received the 'System's' message, his eyes widened. But, just after a few seconds, his expression returned to the same old poker face.
Hunter crouched down, carefully not to make any noise that will make the 'rat leader' notice him. He slowly moved backwards. But then, he hit something. Gladly, it did mot make any sound.
He turned around to see what it was. It was a dead rat! If it was anyone else that had seen that, they might have already shouted because of disgust. But Hunter was different. These kinds of things doesn't faze him.
He stood up and looked back to see if the 'rat leader' was still eating. Well, it still was... In front of him!
Hunter reflexively jumped back, avoiding the rats slash. Then after landing, he pointed the sword towards the 'rat leader'. "Activate 'Holy Eyes'."
[ Note. The skill 'Holy Eyes' has been activated. 20 MP has been consumed to activate the skill. ]
[ Remaining MP: 10 ]
Hunter attacked the rat. He avoided the rat's bite. He swung his sword at it but the rat's fur was too thick for the sword to cut through. He jumped up attempting to hit the rat's head but instead, he was hit by the rat's tail that sent him flying to the wall.
Trickles of blood started flowing from his forehead. He tried to stand up but instead, he received a message.
[ Warning. Stamina has reached zero. Due to its effects, your body is undergoing temporary 'paralysis'. You can't move for the time being. ]
————————————————————————————————————————————————————
/Hunter's Point of View/
Damn it! I'm in a situation like these again! My life is on the line. I need to do something!
I stared at the rats red bloody eyes. To my surprise, the rat was being cautious of my eyes. A while later, my eyes glowed stronger than it did which caused the rats' fur to stand up.
What is happening? I didn't know but at least it was buying me time. I need to think of something.
•••
How long has it been? 5 minutes maybe. I still hadn't thought of a solution that could save me. The rat still was standing to where it was. As long as it doesn't attack me, it's okay.
That's what I thought until I received the message.
[ Warning. Your MP has dropped to zero due to continuous use of skill for a longer time than anticipated. ]
[ Warning. The skill 'Holy Eyes Lv. 1' is going to deactivate due to zero MP. You still have 30 seconds until the skill deactivates. ]
Come on! What a sh*tty timing! What should I do? What should I do?!
I was starting to panic. Although it doesn't show on my face, my brain was a mess in thinking of a way to save myself.
I looked down like all the hopes of living disappeared. "Please... somebody... Help me." These were the words that came out of my mouth.
[ Well well well. Aren't you in a big trouble. ]
Wait. This voice... Could it be...?
I looked up and there I saw a light in a form of an animal that has whiskers. "Cat!", I yelled.
[ Hello! We meet again friendly human. ] Said the cat with a big smile.
"But how? Didn't you die?"
[ I did. Well actually, I'm dead right now. This is just the remaining fragment of my power. Anyways, this id the second time that I saved you so you should be thankful. ]
Said the cat while patting the 'rat leader's' head. I hadn't noticed but, it seems like time had stopped again just like what happened when I was fighting the lower level rats.
I finally understood. It was this cats doing. Thanks to it, I'm still alive.
"Thank you. Thank you very much for saving me." Tears started flowing on my cheeks. This was the first time someone was nice to me. Not even my grandpa treated me like a grandchild. He was always strict with me.
I couldn't stop myself from crying.
[ Oh stop that. You saved me too. Although I wasn't able to live, you were the very first person to do something good to me. ]
I stopped crying. I would wipe my tears with my hand but I was paralyzed at the moment. The cat came closer and licked me.
[ Right! I shouldn't forget the reason why I'm using the last of my powers. It's time to open your gift! ]
"Gift?"
[ That's right. Didn't I tell you before I died that I would be giving you something? ]
"Oh yeah. Now that you mention it, yes you did."
[ Then, I hope you like it! ]
After saying that, the light turned to specks of light and enveloped my body. I was surprised. It lifted my body up to the air.
[ Note. Your skill statuses are currently rising. ]
[ Note. Your maximum HP has risen to 250. ]
[ Note. Your HP has been fully recovered. ]
[ Note. Your maximum MP has risen to 110. ]
[ Note. Your MP has been fully recovered. ]
[ Note. Your maximum stamina has risen to 100. ]
[ Note. Your stamina has been fully recovered. ]
...
Lots and lots of the systems message came pouring in my head. I also noticed that I can finally move. Finally, there was a message that I wasn't expecting to receive.
[ Note. You have successfully learned the skill 'Boost'. You can now use the skill 'Boost Lv. 1 ]
[ Note. You have successfully learned the skill 'Search'. You can now use the skill 'Search Lv. 1 ]
Wow! I learned two skills just like that! Even though I don't know their uses, I will learn it when I use them.
"Open status."
[ Name: Hunter Eiden]
[ Level: 1 ]
[ Age: 13 ]
[ HP: 250 ]
[ MP: 110 ]
[ Stamina: 100 ]
[ Strength: 19 ]
[ Agility: 23 ]
[ Intelligence: 25 ]
[ Magic: 8 ]
*[ Sense: 15 ]
*[ Skills: Holy Eyes Lv. 1, Boost Lv. 1, Area Detection Lv. 1]
*[ Special Attribute: System Lv. 1, Eyes of Information Lv. 1]
[ Equipment: Old Rusty Short Iron Sword ]
Not only did I get two skills, even my status had increased a lot! I even gained some magic experience.
As my eyes were going down, I noticed the additional special attribute. 'Eyes of Information'.
Trying to figure out how it works right now ain't going to help me. I still need to defeat this rat!
I looked at the rat in front of me. I took a distance from it and then prepared myself to fight. I can definitely kill you now!