I'm a dead man, I'm a dead man, I'm a dead man.
These were the only words that went through my mind as I ran for God knows how long through a scorching desert.
I can't even count the amount of times that one of those oversized insects almost got the jump on me from their surprise attacks from below.
Thankfully, due to my stamina, I've been evading them like the plague and haven't been caught.
…yet.
I haven't been able to reach Eve at all either which kinda made me feel a little lonely.
But I did have these centipedes keeping me company so I guess I wasn't really all alone. Although they weren't really the friendly type.
Now I haven't really had a grasp on how long I've been hauling ass away from these bugs since I couldn't get even a moment of peace to actually check the quest's remaining time.
But I could guess that it's been a while, considering that when I got teleported here, the sun was right in the middle of the sky, which I could interpret as being noon.
Now the sun's already been set and it was almost getting darker and darker out, I'm fairly certain that it's almost time for the quest to be completed.
As I was musing over the time, one of the centipedes had sprang up from right beside me and with its surprising speed, was on its way to devouring me whole.
Thankfully I did sneak one of my tungsten made pistols with me and quickly shot the eye sockets of the centipede. Hopefully it penetrates through into the brain.
As if the centipede heard my request, it shrieked, wiggled and quickly fell down motionless.
[ Alert
Firearms Skill: Lvl 5 → Lvl 6 ]
I couldn't really bask in my glory of killing one of those vermin as a dozen more started to give chase.
Now they started to swarm me from all directions.
As if right on cue, one of the centipedes came up from right under me and was about to rip me to shreds.
But by pure coincidence, a notice from my system appeared with the same Taco bell sound.
[ NOTICE
Daily Quest: SURVIVE
Time Remaining: 00:00:00]
Just as the centipede was about to rip me to shreds when it caught me, I was sent back to my hotel room with a bright flash of white light.
As I stumbled back into my room, I crouched down onto the floor and started to take in deep breaths to control my breathing.
Running from giant centipedes for 6 hours really takes a toll on your body.
I looked around and was surprised to see small piles of sand near me which signified that everything that I went through the past 6 hours was indeed not a simulation that took place in my head.
While I was trying to adjust my body back, another notice appeared in front of me.
[ NOTICE
Daily Quest: SURVIVE (COMPLETED)]
With a dry and raspy voice, I muttered out weakly: "Finally."
[ You have received a reward for completing your Daily Quest: SURVIVE
Due to Deimos Yusha killing 1x Giant Desert Centipede, rewards have been adjusted.
Check Rewards: Yes/No]
I mentally tapped the Yes icon in front of me.
[ REWARD 1: Recovery
REWARD 2: Niko Style (Lvl. 1)
REWARD 3: +5 All Stats
REWARD 4: (Title) Survivor Man ]
Dang.
Now I understand what Eve meant by me being rewarded accordingly. The more I kill in the penalty world, what I am now calling it, the better the rewards.
Speaking of which, I think I can call for Eve now that I'm not in the penalty world anymore.
"Eve?"
{Deimos! You look safe and sound, thank God!}
"I almost died Eve! But I can't be mad at you, considering that you did tell me that any small mistake I made would be my own demise."
{Hehe, it's okay Deimos, as long as you're fine, it's all good.}
{You should hurry up and accept your rewards as well. I'd say they are suited for your needs?}
"You can say that, although, is it through a random chance that I got the Niko fighting style?"
{It's not entirely random, but what I can say is that because of your strong resemblance to the figure, Ohma Tokita, his fighting style was given to you.}
"That actually kinda makes some semblance of sense. Also what's with the Survivor Man Title?
{The title Survivor Man is given to the user for surviving in another world that is immensely more difficult than the one the user is currently in. It also provides the user with certain passive buffs such as Detoxify and 40% more chance at critical hits.}
That's quite something, huh? Seems that engaging in the penalty quest is quite favorable for me.
"So does that mean the more time I spend in the penalty world, the stronger I can become?"
{Yes but it's not really encouraged. You see, when you get into the penalty world, the monsters are adjusted based on the user's skills level. So, because of your Firearms skill being Lvl 5 when you entered, the enemies spawned were created in accordance to that. But because it's a penalty, the penalty world doesn't really like it if there's a cycle of the user not doing the Daily Quests.}
Ah I see. So that means I should try to limit how many times I should do the penalty quests if I purposely missed the daily quest.
"Eve, can you show me my current stats right now please?"
{Certainly!}
[ Host: Deimos Yusha
Race: Human
STR: 17 (7)
VIT: 17 (7)
SPE: 17 (7)
DEX: 17 (7)
INT: 20 (7)
Titles: Survivor Man
–Survivor Man: Increased chance at landing a critical by 40% and gives passive buff Detoxify.
(A/N: I really wanted to implement the detoxify skill as well but ended up with it being a passive thing, which is similar to what Sung Jinwoo has and always comes in handy.)
Alright, let's check out the new fighting style.
"Eve, can you show me my skills tab if there is one?"
{There indeed is a skills section that appeared after you've gained a total of 3 skills now.}
[ SKILLS
Firearms Lvl 6: Mastery in all forms of firearm use. The higher the skill, the more accurate, faster, and damage occurred. Also improves reload speed.
Niko Style Lvl 1: A fighting style made up of 4 different forms or katas. This style places high focus on adaptability and applicability; many of the techniques are not set patterns, but rather basic principles which can be applied in multiple situations. (+)
Detoxify: Any harmful and abnormal substance that is detected within the host is immediately detoxified. ]
Sweet. Detoxify is gonna be my new best friend.
Although, what's with the little plus sign at the end of the Niko Style description?
I mentally tapped on the little plus sign and it just basically expanded on the fighting style.
[Niko Style: 4 Katas
Adamantine Kata: involves the tightening of the muscles (thus hardening one's body) for both defensive and offensive purposes.
Flame Kata: centered around movement and positioning, giving the user incredible speed and agility.
Redirection Kata: involves seeing and manipulating the "flow of power", using minimal motions to turn the opponent's attacks against them. As a result, this kata requires incredible kinetic vision and delicate physical control.
Water Kata: grappling-based kata that places emphasis on flexibility and fluidity of motion. ]
Now that's pretty wild. I now know for a fact that Imhotep and his little goonies shouldn't stand a chance against me.
Speaking of him, I think I should get ready to go meet the main cast now. I'm certain I've made all the necessary precautions.
But I should take a bath beforehand. All that running has caused me to have a build up of dirt and grime.
-TIMESKIP 30 MINUTES-
Now that I feel even more refreshed after using the Recovery reward I got, which basically rejuvenates my body, I was about to get ready to head towards the library. I'm pretty sure Evelyn should be done with her little fiasco of knocking over all the bookshelves there.
I went towards the library with the instructions that I got from the receptionist yesterday.
As I walked there, there were a good amount of people looking towards me.
I don't really know why, I mean, with the clothing I had on yesterday plus the headwraps that I purchased yesterday fashioned around my neck like a scarf, I feel that I wasn't really out of place.
It was then, as I walked past one of the street vendors that was selling antiques, I noticed on one of their mirrors my reflection, and I looked a little… different?
I mean it was still me in the reflection but I was a little taller now, I'd say 6'5, but what really shocked me was my face.
It still looked the same but my eyes, they were different colors.
Heterochromatic eyes but with insane colorways.
My right eye was a deep shade of red that had specks of gold and my left eye was a deep shade of purple with the same specks of gold.
The eyes in general looked really pleasing and gave me a calming effect. Maybe that's why I was getting those looks.
'Eve? What's with my eyes?'
{Deimos, your eyes have been affected by the Detoxify passive skill. I'm not entirely sure why that's the case but it seems that Detoxify removed all the abnormalities in your eyes as well. I think?}
I had gunk in my eyes? Well, it doesn't really matter to me anymore since it looks a lot better right now, I think it adds to my charm.
Anyway, back to going towards the library. As I kept walking I saw the tall building of the library that peeked over the various small shops around.
I kept walking and found myself at the entrance. The building itself looked pretty imposing compared to the rest of the buildings surrounding the area.
I walked through the already open doors and saw that the receptionist wasn't really at all where they should be. I did see some small lights coming from one of the rooms and proceeded to go over there.
Walking in, the thing going through my mind upon seeing what was there was 'What a mess.'
{Indeed.}
I chuckled from Eve's remark. What laid before my eyes was all the free standing bookshelves laid out on the ground with books and papers scattered everywhere.
As I kept looking around trying to see where Evelyn was, I heard a woman scream.
Seems like Jonathan's gave her quite the scare. I walked towards another room that was filled with a bunch of Ancient Egyptian statues, sarcophagi, and decor. The room was being lit with torches which added to the already scary vibe I was getting.
I walked past a couple of the statues and saw 2 people talking amongst each other. One was a woman and the other a man. The only people these two could be were Evelyn and Jonathan.
They apparently were fiddling around with the key.
I walked towards them and made my presence known.
"Ahem, hello."
The first person to notice me was Jonathan. He looked me up and down.
"Who are you?"
As I was about to respond, Evelyn turned around and her initial reaction was just as what I perceived to be as shock.
I mean, could I really blame her? I am drop dead handsome towards the opposite sex and add that with my eyes, I was basically irresistible so I kinda understood her reaction.
"Could I inquire about that thing in your hand? I'm very certain that I've seen it before."
Jonathan looked over at Evelyn first before asking her "Oi Eve, you know this guy?"
Evelyn, still in shock with my appearance, finally snapped out of her daze and looked at Jonathan.
"I haven't met this man at all. Though…" She turned to look at me again. "You say you've seen this before?" She says as she waved the key in her hand.
"I have indeed. I wouldn't blame you guys if you wouldn't let me hold it right now but, could I suggest that the piece of parchment within holds a map towards Hamunaptra."
Evelyn looked at me again with shock in her face. "How could you have known? Me and Jonathan are the only ones who've opened it and I just found the location not too long before you arrived."
With a wave of my hand, I basically lied through my teeth, "I've had one of those things in my possession before, but sadly it was too ruined for it to give anything of value. So I did make inquiries about another one with one of the dig sites in Thebes."
It should be believable considering that Jonathan here did find it in Thebes, so I'll just pass it along as one of the guys at the dig site telling me about it.
"They pointed out that you," I said as I pointed to Jonathan, "had the exact same thing."
Evelyn looked at Jonathan with a slight pout in her face "Jonathan you couldn't be more discreet about it?"
Jonathan looked at Evelyn "I thought I did but could you blame me?"
Evelyn then sighed and looked back to me, "Sorry about him but I'd say formalities are in order, my name is Evelyn and this is my bungling older brother Jonathan, pleasure to meet you."
I slightly bowed my head and said "Likewise, my name is Deimos."
Evelyn asked me "What makes you so interested in Hamunaptra?"
I smiled at her and replied "Same thing you guys are interested in. To see if the fabled city actually exists and to find the vast amounts of wealth that lay there."
At the notion of wealth, Jonathan perked up and put his hand on my shoulder. "Deimos, me and you are gonna be the best of friends."
I chuckled at his statement. "Could I see the map please? I would like to see the contents with my own eyes if that's okay."
Evelyn gave me the key and as I examined it in my hand, the top was already open which I assume was from when Evelyn had opened it.
I handed it back to her and asked to see the map, for which she also handed to me.
The map itself was just a piece of parchment that had various forms of Ancient Egyptian paraphernalia. As I kept looking through the various forms of hieroglyphs, I heard the same bell sound in my head.
[New Skill
Hieroglyphic Translation Lvl 1: You can now read and write basic Hieroglyphs.]
Well isn't that convenient?
I handed it back to Evelyn to which she quickly replied that we should hurry and show it to the owner, who could provide funds for an expedition.
I already knew what would happen if they did show the old owner, but didn't really voice out any objections since having the map, which would be burned within the next 30 minutes, was crucial in meeting Rick later.
"Deimos, could you wait here for a few moments while we sort out our expedition?" Evelyn said as she took Jonathan towards the owner's office.
"Take your time, I'll be waiting right here."
END CHAPTER 5