The skeleton hopped down, its teeth clattering with a 'kakaka' sound as it steadied its balance. Agility might've been a passive skill, sure. But even skills in Everything is Bury had to be personally learned and adapted by the user.
This was a game of determinism—of individualism. The creators of this set of systems wouldn't just hand you a treasure on a silver platter. Too many good things led one to get used to it—to turn up their nose at a proffered luxury. This wasn't the kind of scenario anybody wanted to see.
If you had a firebolt, chances were that someone could have the exact same firebolt skill and yet carry a completely different vibe and power. This was the vision that fueled it, the vision of "burying" the lack of distinction.
In this same act of distinction that was deeply engrained in the skeleton's soul, it carried itself with an odd gait. Nearing the dazzling white shine with an agape grin, it hunched over while waggling its skeletal digits in anticipation.
If it had thoughts right now, it would be something along the lines of '(come to me, my preciousss).'
An aura of randomness spread from a box with two entwining designs. Both were stylistic, almost punkish, and psychedelic depictions of two qualifying figures. One could say they were both deific.
The four Maras bathed in their succor, entwining the right side of the box. The single, beautifully solemn woman dressed in gothic yet serpentine clothing flicked a tongue as snakes opened their mouths whole.
Anybody would think that something inside it would be related to the two, right? They were correct, just not in the way you'd think.
As the skeleton pierced its fingers through the box, solemn and desirous energy washed over its bones…which subsequently ruined the box…it was revealed.
There was an orb, streaming with four various distinct crests. The orb itself was shaped like a fearsome feline, its supine position clawing at the air as if to bat away the snake vibes lining the box.
A subtle chuffing noise resonated in the spherical hole as it was revealed. Finally, its eyes connected with the skeleton's empty little sockets, seemingly pleased with what it saw.
The little bit of energy it had reserved for years was dissipating quickly. Yet, there was a glory and honor that it maintained all this time, waiting for someone to bestow its gift onto.
Sure, it was a little tainted. An essence of fortune crept its way into its solemn soul. But it didn't matter; this Baihu was the king of beasts. It would beat back those little upstarts and regain its throne once again. Even if it lacked sentience, lacked consciousness. Its existence would live on in this…strangely cute little skeleton.
The system's jaw dropped and just hung there for a solid six minutes. Then, it's fingers whirring on an immaterial keyboard; it sent a singular prompt upon witnessing this white tiger's last glory. No, wait, it would do two.
Just this once.
[Forgotten Entity, Baihu the White Tiger, entrusts the last of its sanctity to you. A trait has been created. Random Jackpot Algorithm LV 00.3 is officially added. Please check the details in the status screen.]
[With the last of its will, Baihu entrusts a mission onto you. Operation 'Four Sacred Beatdown' has been generated.]
The system wasn't usually allowed to process a request of this caliber, especially when the existing being has already faded into nothingness. Yet it made an exception; one brought about for the sake of the skeleton.
Phantoms of cats delved into the skeleton's little frame, and a subtle sheen was added to its marrow. The aura of one at least acknowledged by fortune seemed to germinate within this newborn soul, forming a root that would soon support the blossoming of a mighty tree in the future.
And since the onslaught of the energies forming the orb's encasing still chaotically wreathed around the skeleton, it bestowed an ambiguous aura of death that began to germinate in its little vessel. Unknown to it, the mortisim within was forcibly expanded by the little energy that could be absorbed by the brittle bones, refining them subtly.
A change that couldn't be reflected on the status screen—not yet. But even a penny is worth a cent. And many pennies would add up to a dollar, no matter how long it would take.
With that being done, the box no longer fluctuated with light. The energy faded away like a whisper, softly carried into the nothingness. There was still a whole tutorial left to get through.
But since our skeleton is a little lacking in the intellect department, it wouldn't be able to make use of all the treasures just lying in wait. These were the kind of items and skill books that the 'Participants' outside would drool at the notion of getting their hands on.
The little skeleton didn't understand the concept of wealth or becoming a millionaire in just one day. It only understood that a shiny after a victory was very good.
It joyfully navigated the halls with a slight bounce in its step. Unknowingly, 'Stealth' had reached LV 10, just waiting for the right circumstances or continual effort to raise a tier. This was utterly nonsensical; the skeleton still didn't even amount to a single overall level in the status chart.
It was so weak that a misplaced breeze could take it out.
The system sighed, rubbing its brows. If the skeleton was going to come out on top in the Embrace of Maara, it would need to be a little tricky.
The obvious problem? It couldn't even think! Was a series of circumstances going to be enough to kill a level 5 boss? Of course, the system hoped for the best, but it would be lying if it didn't admit it was a little skeptical of the little guy's prospects.
The skeleton was blissfully unaware of all the stress it had caused, flexing its mysteriously connected bones as it rattled and clattered all over the place. For hours it simply explored, climbing up the surrealist backgrounds with a cheerful demeanor and scaling even the most prominent and the flashiest of statues.
There were corridors where the walls were just wooden cages surrounding cages, the gaps inside akin to the image of a spiderweb. So what did the skeleton do? It climbed it.
The skill 'Parkour' soon appeared in its active skill directory, gaining ample experience along with 'Agility.'
It wasn't all gains, though. There were still many Husks lining the area, but…
They all died.
Of course, the skeleton rarely killed them with its own hands. The sprawling area was much more fragile than one would think, and even an ordinary human being could bring this place down if they tried.
It was a mystery how those lumbering Husks didn't cause an accident by just stepping around.
Statues fell, tapestries fell, chandeliers fell. Crushed, crushed, and crushed some more.
The poor souls that weren't crushed? The skeleton pierced them all to death with prolonged bouts of pronged poking.
When it ran out of mortisim, it had no relevance regarding continued tyranny. No, it brought down its bones on the revealed flesh, whether it was amplified by power or not.
Experience streamed through its frame slowly yet surely, and all sorts of traps in the dungeon were avoided at all times. Of course, whenever they were triggered, the skeleton wasn't the one facing the consequences…
It was as if it was watching a train wreck. It was always around the center of conflict; it even faced damage to its durability and stability constantly.
Yet it didn't break. Not at all.
Right now it was looking better than ever.
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Current:
Name: Undetermined
Race: Pitiful Skeleton
Traits: Limb Construction LV 01, Aspiring Butcher LV 00, Random Jackpot Algorithm LV 00.3
Durability: 200/200
Mortisim: 330/350
Additional Stats:
Limb Stability:
A1: 0/0
A2: 120/160
L1: 100/150
L2: 98/150
Morbidity:
Reaper's Stigma LV 01
???? LV 00
Memory LV 00
Organ Power: Not applicable.
Body:
Skeletal Frame LV 06
Bones LV 05
Muscles LV 00 Locked
Meridians LV 00
Additional body parts may be added if they are differentiated in the future
Core LV 01
Skin LV 00 Locked
Overall Level: 0.8
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