[W-what is this...]
Specimen 2946's bright pink eyes trembled at the sight of tens of Homunculi slaughtering one another, rivers of their blood flowing beneath the soles of his bare feet.
"Huff... Huff..."
He began hyperventilating, the pungent, iron smell of blood stinging his nostrils, heightening his fear and inducing a violent wave of nausea.
[Shit... I was naive.]
[Had I not fully accepted it in my subconscious that this was no longer a game but reality?]
He grit his teeth and bit his lower lip to regain his composure, which was an incredible feat considering he was a mere game developer until just now, so witnessing such manslaughter should have paralyzed him for longer.
[This is the world that I created! How could I have been so stupid and naive?!]
He quickly reprimanded himself and turned his attention away from the gruesome scene.
[Of all the Towers, I made sure to set all of the NPCs of the Major ones with an Evil Alignment.]
Blood trickled down his lips as he finally considered what evil truly was in reality; he understood that it wasn't just some word used to describe a villainous character.
But it was instead an act, a lifestyle to those whom it applied.
In the game Bloodbound Ascension, each and every character had a specific alignment.
While for player characters these alignments were determined by their actions and deeds, for NPCs, alignments were permanent.
These alignments are as follows:
Saint, Greater Good, Good, and Chaotic Good, which all fall on the positive side of the morality scale.
Neutral and Chaotic Neutral. These two alignments are neither evil nor good, but will act based on the situation, particularly the "Chaotic Neutral."
Archfiend, Greater Evil, Evil, and Chaotic Evil. These exist on the negative side of the morality scale, beings that have absolutely no empathy and crave destruction, taking joy in the deaths of those weaker than them.
[Fuck...]
Specimen 2946's head wobbled as he raised his gaze to the Kraken Spawn who looked to be extremely pleased by the bloodbath below him.
[That bastard is a Greater Evil...]
The boy chewed his lips and lowered his gaze to the soft earth, which was now muddy, quenched in blood.
[Open Status Window!]
Uwong!
An azure blue screen appeared before his eyes, and he studied its contents deeply.
[These stats are so...]
He furrowed his lips in disgust at the sight of his own capabilities.
[...They're so trash!]
He screamed inwardly as his eyes reflected his Core Stats.
Specimen #2946 was currently at level 1, which is the lowest possible level, with level 100 being the maximum.
For those at level 1, their core stats range between 1-10, never exceeding that.
And for level 2, the stats range between 11-20. The same is true in that pattern for level 3 and beyond.
Derived Stats, on the other hand, are able to slightly exceed this limitation based on the quality of equipment such as weapons and armor, their luck, and a few specific core stats.
Stats such as Eva, which stands for Evasion — the quantity that measures one's ability to dodge oncoming attacks, is a combination of the Agility stat and the Luck stat.
Additionally, stats such as Crit are the measure of one's chances (in percentage) of landing a fatal blow on their opponent.
So, in conclusion, with good equipment and a stroke of good fortune, one ca —
[Why the hell is my luck stat at 0, huh?!]
[Even a dog is born with a luck stat of at least one! What the hell is this shit?!]
He felt like bashing his head into the holographic screen before his eyes, because he knew more than anyone the importance of the luck stat.
[...Hm?]
[Why is there an additional core stat?]
His eyes widened; the universal number of core stats in Bloodbound Ascension is six, no more, no less, as set by him.
%##%: ???
[...]
His eyes reflected that strange writing.
[Tsk... It must be a bug.]
He rolled his eyes and extended his finger to scroll down to the very bottom of his Status Window to read his skills.
[Oh? Mana Sensitivity of A+ Rank?]
[That's not bad at all.]
[No wonder my Int stat and MP stats are so high... Everything else is so trash and below average.]
He sighed heavily and read the other skills.
[Low-level Regeneration?]
[This will come in handy... The rank is a bit low, but it'll be very useful once I increase it.]
[But this is a Troll's inherent skill though, why do I have it?]
He slightly raised his white brow, but the answer was obvious.
[That mad alchemist... He must've mixed the blood of the Homunculi with that of other races...]
Creator's Eye: S- Rank.
[... This is not a skill that I programmed.]
It was new in his eyes; therefore, he had no idea how it functioned and could not afford to test it right now, as it would tax him a large chunk, if not all, of his MP given its high rank.
[But I can sort of guess what it is based on its name...]
He lowered his eyes and...
#>@$: SS+ Rank (Sealed)*
[Tch... Another bug —]
[!!]
[Eh?! SS+ Rank?!]
His jaw almost fell on the bloodied floor.
SS Rank skills and higher were only reserved for the Bosses of the Major Towers and other beings of that same caliber.
[But which one is it?! I can't read it because of this damn bug, argh!]
Although he was happy that he possessed such a powerful skill, he could not use it if he didn't know its name.
And besides...
[...It's sealed.]
"Sigh..."
[Close Status Window!]
Tsip!
The screen disappeared, and along with it, the eerie squelching sounds of death and of metal clashing ceased.
"Well done, my children! Your father is very, very pleased~!"
Charymos pouted his lips and grinned sadistically at the 90 corpses that were sprawled on the ground.
Only ten were left standing, their forms bloodied and battered, their eyes even more lifeless than before.
"Fall back in line."
The bipedal cockroach ordered, in his hand he carried what seemed to be a notepad where he'd been writing as the Homunculi ruthlessly killed one another.
"Chiek! "
He produced a strange sound and a swarm of large cockroaches that earned Specimen 2946's grimace came crawling at high speeds.
"Take these corpses to Lord Honyopi, make sure you bring back the agreed payment, nothing less."
He ordered, and the large roaches, which were about the size of a ram, carried the 90 corpses away to the first floor.
"The next group!"
At his order, Specimen 2946's group entered the battlefield and assumed their positions.
"Fuu..."
[...Can I do it?]
[Kill someone?]
He clenched the shaft of his spear tightly, but his palms were so sweaty that it was slightly slipping from his grip.
"You may begin!!"
Charymos shouted, and the Homunculi charged at one another with ruthless intent.
"Huff... Huff..."
[Calm down...]
[You'll die if you falter here, you can't afford to show empathy! This is a world that you made!]
The boy fortified his mind and watched one Homunculus leap in the air, aiming to cleave him with its sword.
Fwosh!
He took a large step backwards, barely evading the blade that threatened to split his head in half.
Despite having riled himself up, the action of killing was easier said than done, especially since the creature before him closely resembled a Human child.
His arms trembled and his entire body perspired profusely, his hesitation like an anchor that chained his body to the ground.
[I have to do this!]
He clenched his jaw despite his heart beating out of his chest, and the Homonculus lunged at him once more.
[They're just NPCs — Yes, that's right, I need only see them as NPCs!]
"Aaah!!!"
The boy thrust his spear with all his might, instantly impaling the one who was in the air.
Squelch! Splat!
The blood and innards of his victim fell on his face, its eerie warmth and slipperiness terrorizing his psyche.
He violently pulled back his spear, sending the lifeless Homunculus crashing a short distance away.
Ding!
________________________________________
Status Window.
Ding!
> You have vanquished (1) Homunculus.
Ding!
> You have acquired +1 Experience Point.
Ding!
> You employed the weapon [Spear] to eliminate a foe, unlocking the potential to attain the class ¤Spearman¤
- Enhance proficiency to achieve the class ¤Spearman¤.
- Current Proficiency: [0%]
__________________________
"Huff... Huff..."
Specimen 2946 ignored the interface right infront of him, wiped the blood off of his face and prepared to fell his next opponents.
________________________________________
Status Window.
Name: Specimen 2946.
Race: Homunculus (Newborn)*
Level: 1 (Exp: 1/100)*
Class: Spearman- 0% proficiency (Sealed)*
_________________
Core Stats.
STR: 2. INT: 7. LCK: 0.
AGI: 4. MP: 6. VIT: 3.
%##%: ???
_________________
Derived Stats.
HP [VIT + Gear Value+³]: 6
STA [VIT + AGI(30%)]: 4.2
ATK [STR + Weapon Value+³]: 5
EVA [AGI + LCK(50%)]: 4
CRIT [(LCK(20%) + ATK)/100]: 0.05
_________________
Skills.
Mana Sensitivity: A+ Rank.
Low-level Regeneration: E+ Rank.
Creator's Eye: S- Rank.
#>@$: SS+ Rank (Sealed)*
____________________
Attribute Points: 0.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral*
_______________________________________