Running into the village I could see dozens of people sprinting past me, some as mothers holding their children, while others were the elderly. I was practically running into the pits of hell with multiple fiery explosions incinerating houses and setting nearby flowers ablaze.
"Run! Don't let any of those fireballs touch you!"
"Please, Goddess Alistoria, protect us!"
"Alistoria, my goddess, save us!"
Villagers were shouting terminologies I didn't understand.
Who was this Alistoria goddess they kept mentioning? I don't remember her existing in Telltale Chronicles.
"Die you fucking pieces of shit! Die!!!"
Halting in the middle of the streets, I could see Yuki casting multiple fireballs toward a group of villagers, but they managed to evade and run for the hills, thankfully.
"He's killing innocent people, why?!" He launched multiple other fireballs toward the running civilians, but I dashed forward and intercepted. "That's enough!" Pulling the iron sword from my inventory, I shrouded it in magical energy and sliced through the fireballs, but it snapped—
"Crap!"
My blade broke which caused the attacks to land with my body in a deadly explosion.
"Aghhhhh!"
I blew back, crashing into a village house.
"Guh… his level is too high… what was I thinking?"
I wasn't thinking at all.
I acted before thinking about the consequences, but I couldn't just sit around and do nothing when people were in danger.
"What the? How did you survive my Inferno Flame?
Inferno Flame. That was Yuki's gift.
It allowed him to cast fireballs of any size, depending on his emotions. If he's calm and collected, his fireballs could be the size of your average basketball, but piss him off and they could reach the size of entire comets.
Luckily I was wearing the anti-magical resistance clothing I got from Arnold and his group; if I hadn't, I'd be as good as dead right now.
"You're an otherworlder, aren't you? What level are you? Show me." Asked Yuki, approaching me with his hand ignited in flames.
"First off, why don't you tell me the reason for hurting innocent people?!" I said angrily, standing back up.
"Innocent people? Are you stupid or something?"
"What was that?"
"These people worship Alistoria, the Demon Goddess, why would I spare them?"
Alistoria the Demon Goddess?!
"Uhm… who is that exactly?"
"Pfft." He laughed at me. "Do you seriously not know the central point of Telltale Chronicles? Alistoria was the reason for demons appearing on Earth and wreaking havoc across Terra."
"Huh? No, that's a lie, demons have always existed on Terra. They're born from the sinful actions of mankind."
"What are you talking about?"
What does he mean by 'what are you talking about'? That was one of the first things said in Volume 1.
"What's going on?" I muttered to myself. "The story of Telltale Chronicles is changing… and it's like… I'm unaffected by it while everyone else is victim to its change."
"Hey, if you're gonna stand there doing nothing all day, then you could at least help me wipe out the worshipers of Alistoria! C'mon, join me."
"Not a chance," I responded boldly. "And if you continue hurting these people, I'll have to deal with you myself."
"Deal with me…? Pfft." He burst out in laughter, pointing at me like a laughingstock. "You are funny as hell! What makes you think you can handle me and my gift?"
Lifting his flaming hand, a fireball manifested above his palm.
"Inferno Blaze is known to cause destruction of matter at the atomic level, you'll be reduced to nothingness once it lands the next time."
Little did he know, I already knew that. Inferno Blaze was a dangerous gift, but [Sage] has given me a means of fighting against it.
I know all of Yuki's attack patterns, but he was unaware of that fact.
"Alright then, let's dance and see."
He frowned at my remark, throwing a fireball at me, but I sidestepped to the left.
"Huh?"
Surprised at my agility, he threw another attack, but I ducked under it, mimicking every mental simulation [Sage] had made before our battle had even begun.
"That all you got? Aren't you level 7?" I said with a smirk.
"H-How do you know my level?!"
He threw another fireball, then another… and another! But I dodged each one.
"Bastard!! Stand still so I can hit you!"
His frustration was rising. I had to end this quickly.
"Haaaghhhh!"
His fireballs were now getting bigger from the rise of anger, so I kept my distance and used [Sage] to calculate another path.
"Let's hope this works…"
"Take this! Inferno Barrage!"
He launched a singular fireball at me before it split apart into multiple homing missiles.
Watching their movements, I evaded them at the last second before they could hit my face, and ran towards Yuki in linear motion.
"Hah! Dumbass!! It doesn't matter where you run, this attack homes in on your magical energy, so escaping is impossible!"
Yeah, but there was a weakness to that—and I was about to exploit it.
"That so?" I said with a grin, arching my fist back.
"You planning on punching me at such a low level? You'll just break your hand." Shouted the mirthful Yuki.
I continued running towards him with my fist arched back, determined to win.
"Your attacks won't work, dumbass!"
He arched his fist and then swung at me, but I did the same. At least that's what he thought.
"How gullible!"
At the last second, I slid underneath his legs and implanted my magical energy on his shin with a simple touch; redirecting the homing missiles toward him.
"You think that'll work? It has tracking capabilities, dumbass- what the?"
He widened his eyes, seeing Inferno Barrage aim directly at him.
Before he knew it, his very own attack consumed him in a fiery explosion that even blew me away.
"Uwaaghh!"
I flew backward, crashing into a market stand full of apples, scattering them everywhere.
"Ow… that hurts…"
I could barely move a muscle.
If I had an HP bar, I'd be down to five health.
Groaning in pain—I slowly stood back up to see the smoke clearing—revealing Yuki unconscious.
It looked like I defeated him.
[Notice. You have defeated Yuki Regulot and ascended to level 2]
[Name: Sable Brawnheart
Level: 2
Stats: 200 physical, 200 durable, 100 speed.
Resistances: None
Common Gifts: [Sage]
Rare Gifts: None.
God Gifts: None
Height: 5'5
Weight: 110lbs
Age: 16]
I could see my stats in my field of vision after leveling up, but I wasn't exactly happy about it.
I was unaware if Yuki was dead or not.
Seriously, I didn't want to kill people; the thought alone is horrifying. I was scared to move a muscle, staring at their unconscious and immobile body.
"Ugh damnit…"
I had no choice.
I stood up from the ground, feeling far more lighter, and stronger than ever before.
There was a drastic difference between level 1 compared to level 2. I practically felt invincible.
"H-Hey, are you okay?" I slowly approached the unconscious Yuki, standing over his body with saddened eyes.
This guy was a murderer, killing all those innocent people, but he was also from the same world as me, who I could potentially relate to.
There was a mix of emotions swirling inside of me.
I didn't know how to handle it all at once.
"I'll make sure to get you a doctor, but once you recover, I'll ensure that you're locked up in jail!"
That was the best thing I could do for a situation like this.
But first, I'll have to check on Dragonborn and make sure he didn't eat anyone.
"Iyaaa, my body is in so much pain."
Turning away, I walked down the street, but a notification popped up in front of me.
[Gift obtained. Sable Brawnheart has received Inferno Blaze.]
"Eh?"
[Resistance gained. Sable Brawnheart has received Resist Flame and Resist Atomization.]
"What the hell is going on?! Why did I just get Inferno Blaze? This isn't my gift. Something like this shouldn't even be possible!"
I was confused.
None of this was shown in [Sage] description when I read about the gift in my status hub.
"[Sage] doesn't make any sense…" I crossed my arms, looking down in thought. "First it could analyze any and all phenomena, and then it could create battle simulations for me to win… but now it's letting me mimic the gifts of other people I defeat?"
It's like my gift is evolving.
Whenever I'm in a dire situation, [Sage] evolves with new functions to benefit me.
I knew I couldn't defeat Yuki, so [Sage] created battle simulations in my head to learn every attack pattern, allowing me to plan ahead of time.
It knew I wanted other gifts, so [Sage] has obtained the ability to let me mimic other people's abilities.
It was as if [Sage] was a sentient entity that exists to keep me alive.
"I feel like the main character… and I don't like it."
Huffing a sigh, I proceeded onwards, hoping to find Dragonborn at the entrance.
"Inferno Blaze, huh?"
Looking down at my palm, I balled my hand into a fist.
"Power like this can go a long way. I'll make sure to use it for good."