The very moment the messages of the system appeared flickering in his mind, Neo felt his head turn dizzy and feel numb before something he could hardly believe happened.
"...The heck?!"
As the piercing pain that assaulted his brain began to reduce little by little, Neo felt utter disbelief as his body underwent a bizarre change while slowly, a scenery materialized before and around him, granting him the ability to see his surroundings!
No, that was not quite right...
He was still unable to see, after all his eyes were still wounded and also covered with the torn piece of clothing. It's just that for some reason he was able to perceive his proximity once again... In his mind, that is!
Although he didn't understand how, it seemed through his senses, especially through his hearing, he could detect his surroundings. The small platform he was on, the knife on his right, the thing he had bitten on accidentally on his left, and the foul remains of the Augur Beast. He could "see" everything with the only difference that everything around him was void of any color.
Everything was in black, and white, and what seemed to be the combinations of those two. It felt rather weird to see the world this way.
"This Legacy System... Just what exactly is this?" a pondering look appeared on Neo's face as he shifted his gaze to his left.
There, a small orb with an unusual exterior lay silently. It looked perfectly square with the size of a nut, however, on its surface Neo could see how needle-thin, vein-like metal pipes twisted and turned, going in and out of it while something flowed through them.
That something looked like blood but at the same time not. Without his ability to see colors, it was rather hard to know it.
"Tsk... How annoying." Neo clicked his tongue before another system notification popped up, now before his face.
[Legacy Status had been updated!]
Whoosh!
_________________
[Legacy Status]
• Possessed Legacies: 1
• Possessed Artifacts: None
~~~
• Legacy {Enhanced Senses}:
▸ Tier: 0
▸ Stage: Infected
▸ Description: The ancient Augur Beast's heritage has now become truly yours, enhancing all of your senses greatly, particularly your hearing!
_________________
"A rather simple description." Neo hummed and decided to collect his so-called rewards now that he was apparently given no more quests... Thankfully.
Whoosh!
_________________
[Quest Hall]
• Quest List:
° No Optional Legacy Quests are available at the moment!
• Current Quest:
° None
~~~
• Uncollected Rewards:
- 2 Ordinary Item
- 1 Unique Item
- 1 Freely chosen Artifact
_________________
"Let's see... How do I do this?" Neo mumbled and after thinking for a few seconds decided to go with what his instinct was telling him.
He looked at the first reward and thought about collecting it.
[Reward: 2 Ordinary Items had been collected!]
Whoosh!
Surprised to see that it worked, Neo watched with a scarcely open mouth as the air... No, the space! In front of him trembled and split, breaking apart like glass before it widened and two things fell out of it.
A large leather scroll and a small lighter. As for the void through which those two items fell before his feet, it had already vanished, almost as if it had never even been there and was just a trick of his mind!
"This makes no sense..."
Neo scowled as he tried to understand what he had just witnessed, though, soon he just shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the matter.
Instead, he chose to take a better look at the scroll while putting the lighter into his pocket.
"Let's see what this is. ...A map?"
Stunned once he rolled the scroll open, Neo watched with awe as he held a very detailed map in his hands, one that illustrated where he was and the many areas around him.
On the north, there was a sketch of what seemed to be a vast clearing. On it, there was a large drawing of a fortress, surrounded by small buildings and fields.
To its right, somewhere around the northeast, there was a great wall pictured with a small lake at its other side, from which a long river snaked through a rather dense forest until it reached a gigantic sea on the south, one so big that hundreds of small islands were present on it.
And on the biggest island, another drawing was visible, this one displaying a tower of some sort.
It looked like a watchtower.
Meanwhile, in the western region, the only thing Neo could see was the sketch of several mountains, forming a massive mountain chain with an altar drawn on its highest peak.
As for him, he was currently at the center of the map, seemingly inside a sole mountain surrounded by a great forest from all cardinal directions.
It was truly a very detailed map. The only problem with it, though, was that although it was detailed, it was small. Unfortunately, it was not a world map, only a drawing of the region he was currently in.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Neo noticed something written on the very top of the map, and a startled gasp left his mouth.
"This... English? No. It isn't. However, it is somewhat similar."
On the map, several words were visible above the various drawings, ones that seemed to be English words yet at the same time not.
[Scanning text...]
[Translating...]
Whoosh!
"Oh? So the System is capable of doing even this? Quite useful." Neo said softly as he watched how above the texts holographic letters formed, shaping words he could comprehend with ease.
"Hollow Mountain. So it seems this is where I am currently."
Neo studied the map for a few more seconds before he finally decided to put it aside for the time being and collect the remaining two rewards.
[Reward: 1 Unique Item had been collected!]
Just like previously, this time also the space in front of Neo cracked and split, and through the void, which this time was slightly bigger, a rather big item fell out right before his feet.
It was a large piece of clothing, a coat sewn from some kind of beast's fur that felt unnaturally hard. It was like instead of it being completely soft it felt a little hard to the touch, kind of metallic.
"Well, it is warm and that's all that matters for me," Neo let out a soft sigh of relief as he put the coat on, feeling how the bone-chilling cold that tried to freeze him to death was replaced by warmth in seconds.
After enjoying the comfortable warmth for several moments in silence, Neo looked at the last reward that was still waiting to be collected and a pondering look appeared on his face.
"Artifact. I wonder what this thing truly is."
[Reward: 1 freely chosen Artifact had been collected!]
[Listing Artifacts...]
Whoosh!
_________________
[Available Artifacts]
• Artifact {Bone Cleaver}:
▸ Type: Armament (Cleaver)
▸ Grade: Common
▸ Durability: 100/100
▸ Attribute {Steel Blade}: If wished, the blade can cut through even steel just like it would through bone!
~~~
• Artifact {Light Bringer}:
▸ Type: Accessory (Ring)
▸ Grade: Common
▸ Durability: 100/100
▸ Attribute {Spark of Light}: If wished, you can summon light, allowing you to illuminate your surroundings!
~~~
• Artifact {Stone Boots}:
▸ Type: Garment (Boots)
▸ Grade: Common
▸ Durability: 100/100
▸ Attribute {Heavy Kick}: If wished, your kicks can become as hard and heavy as a falling boulder!
_________________
Upon reading the flickering words floating in the air, a hint of awe washed over Neo.
"Artifacts... So this is what they are? Items granting miraculous abilities?"
Then, his awe turned into deep pondering.
'If this is the case, then which one should I choose?'
"Isn't that obvious already?"
Neo frowned upon heading Zen's voice and a moment later, despite not wishing to agree, nodded with a sigh.
'You're right. The answer is too obvious, indeed.'
And with those words in mind, he chose to receive the first Artifact, the Bone Cleaver.
"Wait! What?! No, not that one!"
'Eh?'
Neo was confused hearing Zen's somewhat panicked voice, but it was already too late.
Whoosh!
With the same scenery as always, the weapon appeared through the cracked space and fell to the ground, filling the cave with the heavy and sharp sound of metal hitting stone.
The Armament was truly a cleaver, it looked just like one. The only distinction from an ordinary one, though, was that this one's blade was much, much longer than a normal cleaver's and was also made out of some unknown black iron.
Moreover, from a closer inspection, Neo spotted how at the bottom of its hilt a small orb was attached, hair-thin metal cords twisting through its surface like veins or thin roots.
The thing looked exactly like the one he had bitten on accidentally just scarcely smaller, even the fluid flowing through those cords was visible if one took a closer look!
"You idiot! Dimwit! You should have chosen the boots! The boots, I say! Oh, dear lord..."
Neo scowled.
'Huh? Why? Wouldn't having a weapon be much better than wearing a pair of boots? At least I can protect myself!'
"Yeah, you would be right... If you would be able to use it properly, you fool! But you can't! The only thing you can do with it is how to swing it around like an idiot! Now it's nothing more but a piece of forged steel in your hands!"
Then, after a groan that sounded rather annoyed, he added;
"On the other hand, those boots not only could have been used with much more ease, but they could have provided just as much aid as that piece of crap could have!"
'I...'
Neo was lost for words, though, as he understood what Zen was saying he sighed, put everything away into his pocket except for the cleaver, and pushed himself up.
But just as he did, the injury on his thigh opened a little bit more, causing his face to contort into a painful grimace as blood began to flow out of his wound in a great amount.
"Crap, urgh... Right... I have completely forgotten about this one."
With those words, Neo quickly ripped almost half of his shirt off, tied it tightly around his thigh, and began to walk slowly.
And after wandering in the cave for who knows how long, meeting luckily with no dreadful creatures on his way, he finally found the exit from where a gentle breeze reached him.
'Cold...'
A cold shiver run down Neo's spine when the rough wind crashed into his face, only to be left speechless the moment he stepped outside.
As for the reason... It was because he couldn't see a thing!
Except for the ground and the trees that seemed to be covered by thick layers of snow, he was unable to perceive the sky or the horizon at all!
Not only that, but it seemed after 50 meters or so everything beyond what he could see was consumed by thick, swirling darkness! It gave him a feeling of uncertainty and fear, which made him feel uncomfortable.
"I see... Well, what did I even expect?" Neo shook his head with bitterness.
Despite he could observe his surroundings thanks to his miraculous ability called {Enhanced Senses}, it still wasn't a skill granting him a true vision. Just as its name suggested, it only enhanced his senses, through which he could perceive things occurring around him.
And thus, it was no wonder why he failed to discern anything beyond that 50 meters.
'This will be quite troublesome...' Neo thought and looked at the fortress on the map in his hand.
Like this, how the hell should he figure out which way was north? He couldn't even see the frickin' sun... Or moon, whether it was night or day at the moment!
"Why don't you just use that old trick you have been taught by that old geezer?"
'Trick?' Neo raised a brow, however, it wasn't a second after he let out a soft gasp.
Indeed... When he was just a little kid he was taken on tours, camping, in the wilderness by his father on several occasions where he was taught about quite a few things, including how to figure out which way was north using various methods.
And among those methods, there was one that didn't need him to see the sun or moon. He just needed a straight object, two stones, a flat surface, and an open space, from which, fortunately, he had all.
Quickly wiping the snow away from around his feet before taking his pocket knife out and piercing it into the ground, Neo watched as a small shadow appeared on the ground, earning a smile from him.
"Good!"
Feeling happy, Neo put a small rock on the shadow, waited, and silently began to count the seconds.
After what seemed to be 20 minutes, he placed another rock on the shadow, which under the previous 20 minutes had moved elsewhere, and stood up, placing his left foot before the first rock and his right in front of the second.
Now, without any question, he was facing north!
"It worked!" Neo laughed with joy, but soon his mood turned sour when he noticed one tiny problem.
It seemed the fortress, which was situated in the north, was on the very other side of Hollow Mountain which meant he had two options... Either go around the mountain or cross it, first climb it and then descend it.
'Come on, it's a no-brainer! Of course, I will take the first option!'
Even though it meant he had to walk longer, it was also the safest route he could take. As for the second option... No, thank you. That was just too dangerous and full of risks, especially in his current state.
"And here I thought you will choose otherwise..."
'Shut up already.'
Neo groaned with annoyance before he took a deep breath to calm himself down and only when he did, did he start walking, leaving behind nothing but his footprints in the snow...