"Stop trying to be charitable! This world doesn't need a hero, it needs—"
Snap!
I sat up with heavy breathing. The dream shook me to the bones.
"What happened?" Nutless floated before me.
"Just a Nightmare." By the time I answered Nutless, I had forgotten the dream.
I only remembered that it was a horrible dream.
[Tutorial Quest: Commit murder and have the news made public.]
[Time Remaining: 2 hours 32 minutes]
"Where is he now?" I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
"He'll reach this place in 20 minutes," Nutless answered, tracking Kyle's location.
We were in a building undergoing construction. Kyle had hidden the drugs at this place. He would soon appear to check his stash.
"There is enough time. I should gear up."
I muttered Status in my mind.
===
Name: Zain Pierrot
Race: Veinwielder (Variant Homo Sapien) (+1 Stamina Regeneration, +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution per level)
Class: [Novice Mage] Lvl.0 (0/100) (+1 Mana per level)
Subclasses: [Apprentice Potioneer] Lvl.0 (0/100) (+1 Perception per level); [Porter] Lvl.0 (0/100) (+1 Strength per level)
Power Level: 11 [Grade 2]
Experience Points: 3152
Stats:
Strength - 9/10 [Grade 1]
Agility - 13/20 [Grade 2]
Dexterity - 12/20 [Grade 2]
Stamina - (13/14) /20 [Grade 2]
Constitution - 10/10 [Grade 1]
Stamina Regeneration - 11/20 [Grade 2]
Mana - (14/14) /20 [Grade 2]
Mana Regeneration - 11/20 [Grade 2]
Perception - 12/20 [Grade 2]]
Charm - 5/10 [Grade 1]
Unused Stat Points: 0
[You are a tiny bit stronger than an average Grade 2 metahuman. Don't let that confidence get to your head.]
Disposition: Eternal Smile, Compulsive Liar, Unreliable, Hardworking, Mischievous, Stubborn, Cheapskate
Talent: [Clown] 3 stars
Skills:
[Harlequin's Dodge] Lvl.1 – Execute an agile dodge or leap, allowing the Clown to avoid attacks with acrobatic flair. (+10) Agility when dodging attacks.
[Ephemeral Euphoria Elixir] Lvl.1 – Create an elixir that induces a state of bliss, providing temporary resistance(small) to mental attacks.
[Puri Puri Mist] Lvl.1 – Create a bloodmist by excreting blood in gaseous form through your skin pores.
[Magic Pocket] Lvl.1 – Create a 1.5 cubic metric sub-dimensional space inside your closed piece of clothing.
[Poison Resistance] Lvl.1 – You have small poison resistance.
===
I calculated my experience points and what I could level up with that amount.
It was time to spend them.
[Novice Mage Class leveled up. Consumed 100 exp.]
[Novice Mage Class leveled up. Consumed 200 exp.]
[Novice Mage Class leveled up. Consumed 300 exp.]
[Novice Mage Class leveled up. Consumed 400 exp.]
[Novice Mage Class leveled up. Consumed 500 exp.]
[Novice Mage Class has reached Level 5. A new skill has been unlocked.]
[Mimicry] Lvl.1 – Copy the voice of the ones you have killed.
In Destiny Fall, leveling up a main class would give three unused stat points and a fixed amount of stat-specific stat points.
On the other hand, a subclass gives 1 unused stat point and a few stat-specific stat points per total level.
The total level of a character was determined by adding the level of the main class and subclasses.
After every five levels, the experience points needed for the next level skyrocket.
There was no level cap in Destiny Fall.
But we would reach level limits after every 20 levels.
To continue further, we needed to complete class advancement quests.
Completing Class Advancement quests evolved the class and powered up the character.
However, the class advancement quests grow increasingly harder as our total level increases. Over 90% of players never went beyond level 60 in Destiny Fall.
I had a bit over 1500 experience points remaining. There was no need to save them.
[Skill [Mimicry] has reached Level 2. Consumed 1500 exp.]
Every skill needed a different amount of experience points to level up. In my present situation, Mimicry was the most suitable for me.
"Status."
===
Name: Zain Pierrot
Race: Veinwielder (Variant Homo Sapien) (+1 Stamina Regeneration, +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution per level)
Class: [Novice Mage] Lvl.5 (0/10,000) (+1 Mana per level)
Subclasses: [Apprentice Potioneer] Lvl.0 (0/10,000) (+1 Perception per level);
[Porter] Lvl.0 (0/10,000) (+1 Strength per level)
Power Level: 14 [Grade 2]
Experience Points: 152
Stats:
Strength - 14/20 [Grade 2]
Agility - 13/20 [Grade 2]
Dexterity - 17/20 [Grade 2]
Stamina - (13/14) /20 [Grade 2]
Constitution - 15/20 [Grade 2]
Stamina Regeneration - 16/20 [Grade 2]
Mana - (19/19) /20 [Grade 2]
Mana Regeneration - 11/20 [Grade 2]
Perception - 17/20 [Grade 2]]
Charm - 5/10 [Grade 1]
Unused Stat Points: 15
[Ah, you remembered that you could level up? I thought your tiny brain forgot about it.]
Disposition: Eternal Smile, Compulsive Liar, Unreliable, Hardworking, Mischievous, Stubborn, Cheapskate
Talent: [Clown] 3 stars
Skills:
[Harlequin's Dodge] Lvl.1 – Execute an agile dodge or leap, allowing the Clown to avoid attacks with acrobatic flair. (+10) Agility when dodging attacks.
[Ephemeral Euphoria Elixir] Lvl.1 – Create an elixir that induces a state of bliss, providing temporary resistance(small) to mental attacks.
[Puri Puri Mist] Lvl.1 – Create a blood mist by excreting blood in gaseous form through your skin pores.
[Magic Pocket] Lvl.1 – Create a 1.5 cubic metric sub-dimensional space inside your closed piece of clothing.
[Poison Resistance] Lvl.1 – You have small poison resistance.
[Mimicry] Lvl.2 – Copy the voice and appearance of those you have killed.
===
After weeks of hard work, my status finally looked a bit respectable.
I was no longer a powerless metahuman who had to think twice before entering a battle.
Suddenly, I heard the sounds of footsteps.
"He is here," Nutless told me.
I used Omniscient Eyes to look behind the wall.
Kyle carefully entered the building. He touched the ground with closed eyes. After confirming that the drugs hadn't been touched, he took them out.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly drew out a plasma handgun.
He aimed in my direction and pulled the trigger.
"He found us." Nutless warned me.
"I can see that!" I twisted my waist to dodge the shot. It grazed my waist.
Kyle broke into a run.
Due to the walls, I couldn't run at full speed, making it impossible to catch up to Kyle.
I focused inside myself to draw out my mana.
A silver needle materialized above my palm.
"Go!" The needle shot forward. It spun around the corners like a snake and caught up with Kyle.
"Ahhh!" Kyle shouted when the needle pierced through his shin.
He crashed into the wall with a loud bang.
I was wearing a plain white mask, so I wasn't worried about showing myself to Kyle.
As I stepped in front of him, he raised his arms to cover his head.
The Godsbane needle had lost its surprise factor. I doubted it would work a second time.
At that moment, Kyle's arms shined and turned gray.
"It's his skill. He can punch through concrete in that state." Nutless warned me from the side.
Kyle rushed at me like a truck.
However, he was a non-combatant at the end of the day.
I dodged his punch by subtly turning my head and kicked his knee cap, which resulted in a resounding crack.
He couldn't follow up with the next attack due to the pain.
Using the gap, I punched his nose. He fell back.
"Wa… wait! Don't kill me!" Kyle retreated while holding his broken nose. Blood dripped over his clothes but he ignored it.
"You are here for the drugs, right?" His back hit the wall. With nowhere to go, he pleaded to me, "I don't know who you are but please stop. I can't… I can't die here! I have a family!"
"He is trying to buy your sympathy. Don't fall for it." Nutless continued his support.
It was clear that Kyle was appeasing my humane side. Even I knew that much.
Threads of mana left through my fingertips. The Godsbane needle floated and turned towards Kyle.
It flew straight for his head.
However, it stopped at the last second.
Fuck.
I couldn't do it.
"Please, let me live! I swear I would stop—"
I kicked his head to stop him from begging. He rolled in the dust and stared at me with fear.
"Get lost."
He didn't run away, thinking that I was tricking him. But when I didn't make any move, he mustered his courage and left as fast as he could.
I covered my face with my hands.
Perhaps Nutless expected this to happen, or perhaps he simply didn't care, he remained silent.
[Tutorial Quest: Commit murder and have the news made public.]
[Time Remaining: 15 minutes 23 seconds]
I was sitting on the bench outside my dorm. The night breeze didn't feel chilly even though winter was coming.
After leaving Kyle, I returned and continued to stared at the moon.
I took out the mask I wore in front of Kyle. It had his blood splattered on it, and so had my knuckles.
[Time Remaining: 3 minutes 18 seconds]
"Some fulfilling second life I had."
[Time Remaining: 00 seconds]
[Time limit has been crossed.]
[You have failed the quest.]
[Delivering failure penalty: Death]