Having vanquished the Lord Griffins, Arlo sought the chest, but it was nowhere to be found. In its place, a green poisonous substance lay where the chest had once been.
'Is this some kind of joke? Did the poison dissolve the chest? Did it obliterate my reward? Did it seriously melt my hard work?'
Arlo muttered. As he neared the site, he spotted a few molten remnants of the chest.
"NOOOOOOO…"
Arlo's voice echoed in frustration, his spirit crushed after the ordeal he had endured.
Suddenly, a glint near the decapitated griffin caught his attention. He approached and discovered a small black ring, the reward he thought he had lost.
"Thank goodness, I will never let you go, no matter what happens to me," Arlo declared, cradling the ring with care.
Suddenly, a prompt materialized:
[Protection of Life]
[Inscription:
Agnes's ring, given to one of her children who was hypnotized and manipulated by an enemy and forced to wear it. After her enemies tortured her for her blessing, Agnes' strength slowly drained, as she is currently withering.]
[Activation: Permanent]
[Upon donning, the Player will sustain twice as much damage when confronting an adversary, and every status attribute will be halved.]
[Duration: Unlimited]
[Hp?
Skill Points?
Defense?
Strength?
Endurance?
Agility?
Intelligence?
Dexterity?
Luck?]
"You worthless piece of junk," Arlo spat out, disheartened after reading the ring's effects.
"If I ever put this on, death is the only thing that awaits me. As soon as I return to the real world, I better give it to that bastard Remi; let him die, not me," Arlo grumbled irritably.
Arlo attempted to stash the ring in his inventory, planning to sell it or present it to Remi as a birthday gift.
What an asshole.
Arlo tried to store the ring, but then he realized the black ring was already snug on his thumb. He tugged with all his might, but it remained steadfast.
A red prompt flashed:
[Warning!]
[Activation: Permanent
Upon donning, the Player will sustain twice as much damage when confronting an adversary, and every status attribute will be halved.]
[The ring can be removed upon the player's demise.]
Arlo sighed heavily at this revelation. After unlocking the chest, he was abruptly teleported to Haven.
[Welcome again to the Haven, a sanctuary for players.
Rebooting player's health and status.]
Arlo reclined on the cloud and gazed at the sky, musing,
'If I sever my finger, does it count as the player's death? How can I conquer this dungeon with this cursed item and the name… Ahhhhh…'
Arlo sprang to his feet and swiped his hand as fast as he could, bellowing, "Protection of life, my foot, this is the curse of life."
As Arlo recuperated inside Haven and waited 12 hours for the Wings of Life to reset, he continually rued that ring.
Once composed and his wings reset, he activated them and soared for a few hours. He noticed the clouds appeared serene, frozen in time.
Arlo finally spotted a green chest, deducing it would be a skill chest like before.
Arlo descended, triggering a prompt:
[Wings of Life Weakness]
[Once the Player lands, they won't be able to fly for another 12 hours. Duration decreases based on Player Level.]
The chest hovered in midair at the center of the cloud. Brandishing his sword, Arlo advanced cautiously toward the chest, cognizant that his status was halved due to the ring.
He unlatched the chest, and a prompt appeared:
[Skill: The Hypocrisy of Life]
[Inscription: Agnes forgives and tolerates even if someone harms her, but she despises those who hurt her children.
She pledged her children a life devoid of suffering, lies, starvation, betrayal, and wars, yet each of her children perished from one such affliction. Thus, people began to label her the Woman of Many Lies. Even now, she shields her children in their dire times and refuses to deceive them.]
[Activation: Whenever her child is in peril, she bestows a random blessing to aid her child.]
[Precondition: Only Agnes's Children can utilize this skill.]
[Consume:
Trust?
Luck: 5 per use]
Another prompt surfaced:
[New Attribute created]
[Trust]
[Current Level – 5 (49 Exp to Level 6)
Hp: 23
Skill Points: 31
Exp Points: 69 (Level 5)
Defense: 22
Strength: 28
Endurance: 19
Agility: 23
Intelligence: 35
Dexterity: 20
Luck: 7
Trust: 0]
Yet another prompt overlaid the previous:
[Condition requirement met]
[Wings of Life has Agnes's blessing. The Hypocrisy of Life unlocked ]
[Activation: Whenever her child is in danger, she grants a random blessing to help her child.]
'I don't know if this is a great skill or as useless as Agnes's ring. And who is Agnes anyway? Why are all her inscriptions so profound?' Arlo pondered about the prompt.
Arlo peered out the window and contemplated how to utilize his new skills and rewards. Suddenly,
"BOOOM!"
A colossal stomp and a gust of wind thrust him backward, forming a whirlpool at the edge of the cloud.
"WHOOSH!" Suddenly, a massive hammer cleaved through the whirlpool and dispersed it.
Arlo beheld a sight that made him shudder—it was a gargantuan Ogre composed of white cloud, towering nearly 12 feet with a robust build, broad shoulders, thick limbs, a big fat belly, a broad nose, a wide, gaping mouth filled with uneven teeth, and two long teeth jutting from its face. It wielded a colossal stone hammer in its right hand.
"BOOOM!"
Suddenly, another Ogre plummeted from the sky with a huge tree trunk shaped like an axe.
Both of them roared. Arlo stood there trembling, not with fear, but with anticipation.
As Arlo smirked and thought,
'Right now, with half of my status, this is the perfect adversary. Throughout my life, I've learned one thing: a massive figure in a confined small space, like right now, has restricted movements. It's an easy victory.'
A prompt displayed:
[Side Quest: Agnes's Favor]
[Immobilize the Ogre (0/2)]
[Reward: ?]
As soon as the Ogre spotted Arlo, they charged towards him.
"THUD!" THUD!"
Each of their steps reverberated on the cloud. With each passing second, their towering figure loomed larger and larger.
Arlo smirked, "Look at these idiots, running in slow motion. All my life, I've seen colossal guys that use their bodies to bulldoze others. I've put everyone in their place. I will do…."
'Huhhh… Why is the hammer this close to my face?'
Suddenly, the Ogre leaped at him. In a confined space like the cloud, one leap was enough to reach him. As the wooden hammer neared his face, he could feel the pressure from it, even see the wind tearing through.
One thought arose, 'I'm dead.'
Arlo was flung backward and smashed straight through the invisible cloud field and fell on the cloud.
As he slowly drifted into unconsciousness, a prompt displayed before him.
[…]
[End of Chapter]