Johan treaded deeper into the forest, following the mini-map north. Fayina's words echoed in his mind, and each step felt like a haunting melody. Her warning about what lurked in the woods plagued him.
The thought of being attacked thickened around him, and the rustle of leaves sounded more ominous than before. Not to mention, it was now midday, and one could only assume the king and his men must be looking for him by now.
"Elara had said the same thing about these creatures..."
Pausing to catch his breath, Johan leaned against a tree, Elara's cautionary statements about the creatures urging him to be attentive.
But now, standing alone, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease creeping over him. Hours had passed since his escape from the castle walls, and it had been well over a day since his arrival in Eosdadalon.
Unfortunately, he was unsure when or where the king's men would start their search for him. If it were throughout the forest—or if they would even dare to go as far as searching it.
"I should have asked Elara for some kind of protection," he mumbled. "A sword, a shield, maybe even a grenade... But I doubt those exist here if that old fart didn't even know what a gun is. At this point, anything would help..."
His hand instinctively went to the vacant space on his hip where a weapon should have hung. Back on Earth, he was used to having the safety of modern technology at his fingertips, like a cell phone to call for help when in need.
But here in this world, Eosdadalon—he felt defenseless.
"...Wait, that's it!" he exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face as he rummaged through his pockets in desperation, his fingers brushing against the smooth surface of his cell phone.
He tapped eagerly at the screen, but as the phone illuminated in his hand, his excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
"No service? Seriously?" Johan murmured, staring incredulously at the screen as if he were willing the service bars to change.
He frantically tapped at the screen, hoping that somehow, miraculously, a signal would appear.
"It's useless," Johan grumbled, finally conceding defeat as he stuffed the phone back into his pocket. "What the hell was I thinking? Of course, it wouldn't work here."
His failed attempt at using modern technology served as a humbling reminder of how far from home he was. He was so preoccupied with escaping the castle walls that he hadn't given much thought to arming himself for the dangers ahead.
Now, faced with the looming threat of the unknown, Johan couldn't help but curse his negligence.
With a deep sigh, he kicked a rock down the path. There was no turning back now. He would have to rely on his wits, instincts, and smarts to survive in this environment if it turned hostile.
"Hold on..." Johan groaned to himself, pausing in his tracks. "There has to be something in here that can help me out."
Johan raised his hand and conjured the HUD menu screen before him. The familiar layout greeted him, displaying his vital statistics and status bars, but it was the "Ability & Skills" tab he wanted.
He scanned the vast array of skills listed on the skill tree, each promising to enhance his abilities in various ways. But all the skills were gray, indicating that they were locked and required skill points or other requirements before he could unlock them.
"Hmm, let's see what we've got here..."
Johan began scrolling through the available skills and abilities until he arrived on another menu tab.
"Strength, agility... these seem handy, but they're just attributes. They won't help me if I need to defend myself."
As Johan immersed himself in the Sanity System's menu tabs, a sudden notification appeared, drawing his attention away.
[System Notification]
[Attention, Lightbearer. You are viewing the Attribute tab. This tab provides continuous modifiers to your characteristics and capabilities. If you require skills and abilities with more direct force and impact, you should explore the Ability & Skills tab.]
A faint smirk tugged at the corners of Johan's lips. "So, I was right. It's like a video game. Except, you know, real life. Or whatever you wanna call this."
With a wry chuckle, Johan marveled at the Sanity System's convergence of fantasy and reality. The familiar concepts of character progression, skill specialization, and strategic decision-making were all present in a form more tangible and immersive than he could have ever imagined.
"I have five unused skill points. I shouldn't put everything into active skills. I need to be somewhat balanced, especially in the early stages..."
Johan contemplated the array of skills available to him within the Sanity System, but then another notification materialized in his view.
[System Notification]
[Attention Lightbearer. You have five unused skill points for the Ability & Skills tab. Additionally, you possess five unused points for the Attribute tab. Consider allocating them wisely to enhance your capabilities.]
[You can acquire skill points through leveling up. You can fill the experience bar by gaining experience points (XP) to advance to the next level. You can earn XP by completing quests, defeating monsters, and overcoming challenges. Defeating monsters and completing quests are the most effective methods of gaining XP and advancing your skills.]
Johan was mildly surprised at the notification. He hadn't realized that attributes had a different pool of points and were in a separate category.
He nodded, absorbing the information, especially the details about experience points. It made sense; in the world of MMORPGs, which he was familiar with, battling foes often yielded valuable experience points and skill advancements. The mechanics of this new world, or rather the Sanity System, clearly operated on a similar principle.
Johan scanned the list of available skills he could unlock, each promising a unique way to harness power on the battlefield, and most required the activation of the usage of SP. He couldn't shake the feeling that relying solely on one ability would leave him vulnerable in combat.
"Can't be a one-trick pony." His gaze flitted from one skill description to another.
Finally, with careful consideration, Johan made his decision. He selected four skills and abilities that seemed well-suited to the combat style he sought, leaving one skill point in reserve.
"I could spend all my points now, but... what if I run into something crazy? Never know when I might need a get-out-of-jail-free card."
[New Skills Unlocked]
Eclipsing Strike: An attack infused with light energy. When under stress or losing control, the attack gains a shadowy undertone, increasing its power but slightly draining sanity levels.
Sanity's Shield: Creates a protective shield of light around yourself or allies that absorbs damage for a limited time. If the shield breaks, it releases a shadowy energy that staggers nearby enemies.
Refraction Clone: Create a shimmering decoy of yourself that emits light energy to distract enemies. After a few seconds, the clone explodes, damaging and blinding the area with light.
Prismatic Surge: Channel a volatile light and shadow energy core, unleashing a powerful area attack that radiates beams and tendrils of energy, dealing wide-range damage. The surge confuses, blinds, and slows enemies caught in its radius, leaving behind shadowy flares that can detonate. Overuse or low sanity causes the flares to destabilize, triggering unpredictable explosions.
With a deep breath, Johan weighed the choices available for his attributes, but he needed to consider that each started at one.
"Time to muscle up," he commented, his eyes scanning the list.
Strength increased physical attack power, while agility improved attack speed and evasion. Stamina increased the maximum health points (HP) and resistance to bodily damage.
Adding points to Sanity boosted sanity points (SP) regeneration and increased sanity-based attacks, mental resistance, and fortitude. Critical strike chance increased the likelihood of landing crucial hits and vital blows.
Johan knew that increasing his agility would allow him to maneuver swiftly around the battlefield and dodge attacks.
He allocated two points.
Next, Johan turned his attention to the strength stat. While he didn't anticipate engaging in hand-to-hand combat often, he knew the importance of delivering powerful blows, allocating a single point to strength, confident it would bolster his offensive capabilities.
Lastly, Johan focused on his sanity attribute. He recalled that all the skills he had unlocked relied on using SP. Increasing this attribute would enhance their effectiveness. He quickly allocated the last two points to the sanity stat, hoping it would amplify the potency of his attacks.
Johan watched with fascination as his attributes grew stronger. As he confirmed his choices and felt the changes take hold within him, he couldn't help but wonder about Sanity Points (SP).
"Seriously? Sanity Points? Why not just call it mana like every other game out there?" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Sounds like someone's a little too full of herself to name the whole system after her."
Regardless of the terminology, he now understood what Sanity meant when she told him everything he would need to aid him on his journey was in her system.