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Sothoryos (II)
Sitting in a dark room, with only a campfire lighting the place, Jon let out a grunt of pain as he bit down on a small piece of wood. He had his left arm slightly extended as he tightly gripped the bandage he had placed on a wound along his forearm.
It had been a little over a moon (30 days) since he arrived in Sothoryos. Things had gotten worse than he imagined as he made his way south. It wasn't just insects and arachnids, or crocodiles, as he now knew the four-legged, green-scaled beasts were called. The rivers were infested with carnivorous fish that could eat the flesh of a grown man in just minutes. There were poisonous plants and also huge snakes, capable of swallowing even a crocodile.
Worst of all, the place he was currently staying in was evil. Jon didn't know what had led to this city turning into ruins, but he felt bad. The entire city was built of some kind of oily black stone, unpleasant to the touch, in pieces so large that it would take an elephant to move them.
The Forest hadn't even come close to the place. The trees surrounding the city looked dead; the color of ash and wrinkled, as if they would actually turn to ash with a single touch.
The only thing Jon could take away and say that was good about his current adventure, was that he now had a better understanding of how the system worked, in addition to the rewards he had obtained for some missions throughout these days.
Two days after finishing his first mission, he took another one, where he had to kill ten creatures from the jungles of Sothoryos within a period of ten days. It could be a spider, a crocodile, even a fish. It just had to be a creature. What he received as a reward, was a book that detailed a lot of animals, even with very well-made drawings. Thanks to that, he was able to identify crocodiles and fish, which were called piranhas.
Jon's next quest, occurred three days later, when he had rested so he could continue. His quest was about finding more clues about Sothoryos, and was completed upon reaching the next ruined city, where he was currently staying. The name of the place was Yeen, according to his reward, which was a small book containing more information about Sothoryos.
And the quest that gave Jon the wound, was about hunting a special beast. It was not like any other. Similar to a lizard, but it walked on its hind legs. It was a beast that could run quite fast and seemed to have scythes like claws on those hind legs.
If it weren't for him having a good sword at hand, he may have ended up dead.
Finishing with his bandages, Jon cradled his left arm a little as he felt sweat run down his forehead.
"That was really close…" he muttered, breathing easier as he watched the fire in his campfire, while heating up some canned meat and vegetables. He still had three more cans left from his previous bounty.
"But this place still feels off," Jon looked around, staring at the black walls that seemed to drip from the heat of the fire. But it wasn't water that was slowly trickling down, rather it looked like dark blood, as if the walls themselves were bleeding. It was eerie, even terrifying given the silence around the ruins, but it was the only place that could be called safe outside of the horrendous jungle.
"Open the quest board."
The aforementioned window appeared in front of Jon when he asked for it.
[Quest: Hunt for a dangerous beast]
[Rank: Iron]
[Completed!]
[Reward: Strengthening potion]
Jon nodded and went to the storage, to see a purple potion inside.
[Strengthening potion: Special concoction created to increase strength and endurance. Invented by a long-lived race. Warning: can only be drunk once in a lifetime.]
Jon wasted no time in taking out the potion and drinking it. After that, he thought about his status window and looked when it appeared.
Name: Jaehaerys Targaryen (Jon Snow).
Age: 12
Rank: Iron.
Strength: F ➡ E
Agility: F
Stamina: F ➡ E
Dexterity: E
Mind: E
- - -
Special traits:
[Targaryen blood]
▪ Minor resistance to fire.
▪ Greater affinity with dragons.
▪ Affinity for blood magic and fire magic.
[Blood of the First Men]
▪ Skinchanger.
▪ Greater affinity with wolves.
"My strength and stamina increased. That potion really is like magic," Jon smiled, his spirits a little better. His wound hadn't recovered, but it hurt less. The relief of seeing that he was a little stronger made him forget the dangers that surrounded him. Tomorrow he would go out again, but for now, he was calm by not thinking about too many things.
But, seeing his increased strength and stamina also made him think about how much stronger he could become if he could just keep going. According to the system, an F rank meant the aptitude of a man. Now that Jon had an E rank in strength and stamina, it meant he had the ability to compare to two men. The only exception was the mind, which increased as long as you could learn new things and reflect in a certain way. If he could increase that attribute, it could help him think faster and more accurately, as well as increase the power of his magic, should he learn anything.
Jon shook his head a little, deciding to stop thinking too much about things and take the can carefully, so he could open it without burning himself. After that, he let the food cool down a little, since he didn't have any utensils to eat with, so he used his hands for that. Although, with the dirty hands he had now, he would probably have to shove the food directly into his mouth.
While the food cooled down a little, Jon took out his book about the beasts of the world, to read a little. The best thing he could do to not think about things that bothered him, was to study a little, so he could survive.
He had already read a little before, so he left the tip of a folded page as a bookmark and started from there. When he saw the image of a spider, he noticed that it was just like the arachnid he had already seen on his first day.
"Giant black poison spider," Jon read, before reading its description. "A spider the size of a man's head, black in color and with long legs. It is an extremely aggressive and poisonous creature. Its name comes from its size and its lethal venom. When a person is bitten, it will leave small stains, similar to drops of ink. Within a minute, the bitten part will begin to turn black. Within five minutes, all sensitivity and mobility will be lost, while the skin and muscles will begin to rot from where the bite is located."
Jon swallowed hard, relieved to have gotten away at that moment. Only now did he understand the real danger that spider was.
"This place is full of dangers... I want to end all this," Jon leaned against the black wall and turned to the next page, where he saw another spider, but it seemed smaller and with hairs around its body. It was a blood red color.
"Blood Tarantula: A ferocious arachnid the color of blood. This spider can grow to be similar in size to the Giant Black Venom Spider, but unlike the latter, the Blood Tarantula has no venom. However, this detail does not make it any less dangerous, as they will eat anything that has blood on it. They can be more terrifying, as they will first feast on the blood of their prey, creating nests inside their bodies. And when there is not even a single drop of blood left, they will start eating the flesh."
"For the love of all the gods. I prefer thousands of those fast lizards than these things," Jon had his eyes wide open as he looked at the drawing of the red spider.
Jon sighed a little and felt his can of food, then took it with a little force and began to put some food in his mouth. He did it carefully, because he did not want the meat to fall to the floor or on his clothes.
When the food was all gone in his stomach, Jon let out a breath of warm air, satisfied that he could eat something. After that, he pulled back his sleeping bag to sleep. And just like at the beginning of his journey, he found himself in the land of dreams. But this was different. He could smell blood and death. He saw shadows and what looked like obscene and terrifying rituals.
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