[Congratulations! Instant quest: Mugging, completed!]
[Rewards will now be distributed.]
[EXP threshold has been reached. All injuries shall be healed and all stats shall be increased by 1.]
[1 extra stat point shall be rewarded and stored for allocation.]
[500 Pain Coins have been rewarded.]
[Total EXP: 0/1600]
'Hmm, I know they were only human, but they were still grown men, they should have been able to put up more of a fight.' Looking at the bodies on the ground writhing in pain, Mark's face had a look of disappointment.
"Status."
{Name: Mark Spain}
{Race: Human}
{Level: 5}
{Total EXP: 0/1600}
{Health: 100/100}
{Strength: 14}
{Agility: 15}
{Intelligence: 16}
{Recovery: 5}
{Stat Points:}
{Available: 1}
{Skills:}
{Sacrifice Strength}
{Painful Recovery: LVL1}
{Unending Pain: LVL1}
{Inspect: LVL1}
[Congratulations! You have reached a level milestone!]
[This milestone grants the host a skill of their choice.]
[Skill choices will now be displayed...]
[Sacrifice Agility]
[Sacrifice Summon]
'I see, so I can get skills by reaching milestones as well. Too bad I don't know what these milestones are.' Reading the notifications, Mark realised he had seen these skills before in the systems shop. 'Sacrifice Summon gives me a small bird in exchange for a finger, while Sacrifice Agility gives me additional speed in exchange for ruining my internal organs. Sacrifice Summon costed 10 times more than Sacrifice Agility and with the pain coins I have, I should be able to buy it.'
Coming up with his plan, Mark decided to choose Sacrifice Summon as his new skill.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill: Sacrifice Summon.]
[Sacrifice Summon: Destroy a finger (Disintegration) in order to summon a small bird. User can see through the eyes of the bird and give it simple commands. If bird is destroyed, destroyed finger will be restored. Destroyed finger cannot be restored otherwise. Max limit: 1]
'Nice, now can I choose the finger or does it just happen to a random one?'
Holding his hands in front of him, he prepared himself for the pain that always came from activating his skills.
"Only one way to find out."
"Sacrifice Summon."
[What finger would you like to sacrifice for your summon?]
'Good I can choose. Now, I just need to decide which digit to get rid of.' Looking at his hands, Mark began debating what finger he needed the least. 'I suppose it would be my left ring finger. I'm not getting married anytime soon, so it serves no purpose.'
[Left ring finger has been chose for sacrifice.]
[Do you wish to proceed?]
[Yes/No]
"Yes."
Moments after he said yes, the pain kicked in. His finger felt as if it was being dipped into magma, and it looked it too. It began turning black, then began falling off his hand as dust.
The pile of dust turned into a small mound. Looking down, Mark prepared to kick the dust away, but noticed small movements coming from beneath the dust. Emerging from the dust was a bird as small as a hummingbird.
The small bird shook its feather clean, looked up to Mark then fluttered onto the top of his head. It nestled into his hair, as if it was the small birds nest.
"Well, don't you look comfortable?" Turning towards a broken mirror in the alley way, Mark saw the bird making itself comfortable. "Do you count as a living creature? You are summoned from a skill after all."
"Inspect."
{Name: None}
{Race: None}
{Status: Healthy}
'Huh, so you don't belong to any race of bird, and you are a living being according to the system.' Noticing that the name slot was empty, Mark began to rack his brain for a suitable name.
"Hey Vanishing, sit on my finger." Giving the bird an order, Mark expected the bird to move right away. However the bird didn't move an inch.
'Does it not recognise the command because I haven't told it its name?' Pondering why the bird didn't move, Mark could only think of one option that made sense.
"Bird, your name is now Vanishing. You will respond when I call you by that name, ok?" Looking at the small bird by using the mirror, he saw what looked like the bird nodding.
[Congratulations! You have successfully given your summon a name.]
[Your summon will now gain slightly higher intelligence.]
[Your summon will now be able to respond to the name: Vanishing.]
[To view the stats of Vanishing, level up your inspect skill to LVL2.]
'Wait, Vanishing gained some intelligence? Does that mean he can get stronger too?' Excited at the possibilities for the new skill he gained, Mark once again held out his hand.
"Vanishing, sit on my finger." Giving the same order as last time, He was thrilled to see the bird move and end on Mark's finger. Thinking that his new summon was cute, Mark decided to scratch the bird on the back of its neck.
Nuzzling Mark's hand, Vanishing was placed back on top of his head, where it settled down once again.
"Now, I'm a bit behind schedule. If I move quickly I should be able to make it." Setting off again, Mark took extra care for his new friend resting on the top of his head.