"Hah…?!" (Hikaru)
I wake up to an alarm somewhere.
I had fallen asleep at some point in time…no, I lost consciousness.
The source of the sound was the Status Board, and the remaining time is 10 minutes.
"That's a saving. It comes with a morning call." (Hikaru)
That alarm is a lifesaver.
Looks like I fainted from the successive use of Spirit Abilities.
If I had just slept my way through, there's a high chance I would have just been straight up eaten by monsters.
The sun has already sunk and the surroundings are dark.
These were the course of events.
Since obtaining Dark Spirit Ability, I began training and it was going well for a while.
For example; if it were an RPG, the uses of magic are pretty limited. In the early levels, if you use magic 10 times, your mp will dry, and there are many cases where you won't be able to do anything unless you stay in an inn.
That's why I was being careful about running out of this MP I can't see. However, this isn't a game but real life. It is impossible to do anything free of risk.
I was prepared for that, but even when I used it 10 or even 20 times, that moment didn't come.
There were times when Dark Mist's Proficiency would increase by 1, and there would be times when it wouldn't increase even after using it several times, but it was increasing smoothly.
I don't think I got ahead of myself there, but I didn't notice the change in my body.
I felt slightly dizzy, and by the time I thought something was strange, my body temperature rose abnormally.
The next instant I grew aware of this, my memory cuts off.
My body must have screamed there from the overuse of Spirit Energy.
"But my body doesn't feel bad, most likely because I slept." (Hikaru)
There's nothing strange with my temperature either.
Whichever the case, the barrier has practically run out.
I don't feel the presence of that giant monkey, but I should be cautious here.
I get up and confirm the Dark Spirit Ability from the Status Board.
[Dark Spirit Ability]
Tier 1 Ability
・Revelation of Darkness [Dark Mist] Proficiency 24
・View of Darkness [Dark Vision] Proficiency 0
After training for a few hours, a new Ability had appeared.
View of Darkness.
"By Dark Vision, it must be a way to see in dark places. It does say View of Darkness. I would have preferred an attack ability…" (Hikaru)
I have Night Vision already, so I don't know how to feel about this.
In the first place, I don't know how dark of a place Night Vision can see in…
The sun has already sunk and it is dark.
Or more like, can I even switch the Night Vision on and off?
I had this question in mind so I looked up at the sky.
The ultramarine color sky was already that of the night.
"…I see, so the Night Vision is already working." (Hikaru)
It is night…and yet, even though I am inside a forest where the only light source is the moonlight, I can tell where each tree is, and I can also see a bit further deep.
It doesn't go as far as being able to see as much as daytime, but it looks like there won't be any issues in doing small actions.
As expected of Night Vision, a special power that needs as much as 15 points to get.
This should be quite the advantage when acting at night and in dark places.
"I should try using [Dark Vision] as well… Ooh!" (Hikaru)
When I try using the Ability, I fortunately could overlap the effects.
There was the chance that it wouldn't be able to amplify each other at all, but it looks like that was needless worry.
My vision got better with a slight increase in the light.
With this, there shouldn't be any issues even when walking at night.
"Fuuuh~, alright, let's go." (Hikaru)
The time came and the simple film barrier vanished.
12 hours have passed since then, and yet, my body remembered the encounter with that giant monkey and cowered.
Even so, I have no choice but to move on.
If things go well, it should be possible for me to get out of this forest in 10 days. It is quite optimistic, but I have to be or my heart won't be able to keep up.
I use 1 Point to get a new Barrier Stone, and after covering my body with the Dark Mist that has increased in effective range from the proficiency, I began walking.
If I had to put it in RPG terms, this situation is like a low level being in a high level area.
'By breaking Paid Crystals, you can live for longer~', is probably close to what's happening here.
But obviously I have a limit in my 'Paid Crystals'. On top of that, I only have 8 Points now. Even if it gets scary or dangerous, I must economize them until the decisive moments. There's no way they will last till I get out of here.
In that case, I have to advance despite my trembling legs.
No choice but to.
"I will live…! I will get out of this forest alive…!" (Hikaru)
With my boots that are barely dirty, I take in each and every step in this forest that doesn't look like it has been trodden by humans.
I have already resolved myself to struggle on.
When I look at my Status Board, I could see my viewer count increasing at an accelerated rate.
Remaining Points: 8.