Chapter 10: Day 3

  Fay had surpassed them, ultimately, it was bittersweet. Jason watched on a rock as Fay experimented with his new skill in the early morning, a common skill that happened to have a luck component to it. Jason never realised it before, but Fay was smart, not smart in a way that made him able to do math or calculate the trajectory of an arrow, but he just knew. He knew how to exit his box, and he wasn’t afraid to either.

  “So betting on myself landing a punch really doesn’t do much but give a one strength increase for four seconds... which is good and all, failing gives me a two strength decrease for 8 seconds, so the math checks out pretty simply.” He spoke, Lily was listening, holding a rock about two meters away, they waited for four seconds and then Fay nodded, “okay throw it.”

  Lily chucked the rock into the air, the object arched up and around the morning sun, glinting slightly, and Fay punched it as it fell, “Ah, one agility for ten seconds.” He nodded, “Jason, do you think that's because the bet had something to do with the fact that it was leveraged off my reaction speed?” He didn’t expect a response, already back to testing.

  Fay was bittersweet about it all as well, his body hurt like hell, and Millie tried to force him to sleep for a little longer, but he felt the need to practice, so with his head ringing and still a slight concussion, and his left arm buzzing with static, he got out. Millie watched on the side with a disappointed look, she didn’t like the class, didn’t like how it was wagered on luck.

  Fay checked his status, he had been so frantic and drowsy that he forgot.

  [Status]

  XP 386/8000

  [Fay]

  HP: (66/140)

  MP: (164/190)

  [Race: Human (lvl 3)]

  [Profession: Snake Catcher (lvl 8)]

  +9 intelligence.

  +9 perception.

  +8 vitality.

  +16 snake strength. (unique stat)

  [Class: (Gambler)]

  +1 luck.

  +1 random stat (+1 perception)

  Stats:

  Vitality: 14

  Endurance: 7

  Strength: 3

  Defense: 3

  Agility: 4

  Wisdom: 10 (+1)

  Intelligence: 17 (+2)

  Perception: 20

  Luck: 1

  Input points: 3

  Skills:

  Stop Momentum (COMMON: LVL 4): Be able to stop momentum on any object by touching it. +3 intelligence. -20% mana consumption

  Venom Extract (COMMON: LVL 4): Extract venoms from the body automatically. +3 endurance. MAX: Uncommon Venom.

  Zone (COMMON: LVL 1): Make a bet on yourself, receive temporary buffs or temporary debuffs. Max bets: 1

  Items:

  [Bracelet of Sea Urchin (UNCOMMON)]

  Made from the insides of sea urchin, this bracelet has the power of wisdom.

  +2 intelligence.

  +1 wisdom.

  His perception was stupid high, same with intelligence. It was safe to say he would not use his input points on those. Out of most stats he should focus on defense, but with vitality and endurance so high as well, he might risk choosing otherwise. Agility was the most promising, to keep up with his perception, it also made defense obsolete if he could dodge away from most attacks.

  Agility: 4 -> 7

  The luck skill was interesting, but he didn’t want to waste any points on it when it would already upgrade with his class. He could feel the difference in movement already, he hopped twice and felt the ground beneath him spring like fabric. Also the 8000 requirement for the next level was flat out stupid, impossible even at the moment.

  He wondered if the betting scaled with his skills, because hitting that rock would be much easier with higher agility, and practically be a 100% chance to succeed with a high enough stat. Would he still get that same reward for hitting the stone? Or does the success rate tamper with that? If so, luck could very well cascade into something strong if given enough time, betting against his own luck seemed like a weird way to cause a cascade, but only one buff at a time was available, so he decided to keep that thought in the back of his mind.

  Jason himself was no slouch either, the class he had picked was uncommon and entirely focused on defence. Not endurance or strength, just defense. And that yielded him a +4 defense boost every class level, and a passive skill that made it so that when he was unconscious he would still be able to fight. He had essentially become the group's small tank, Fay tried hitting him earlier for a test with Zone and almost broke his hand.

  Fay also had another thing he needed to clear up.

  [Event Completed]

  [1.5x Rewards]

  [6 Rewards Available!]

  “Collect.” He spoke softly.

  [Rewards: 2 accessory stones (59% COMMON, 40.4% UNCOMMON, 0.6% RARE), 1 weapon stone (59% COMMON, 41% UNCOMMON), 1 armour stone (59% COMMON, 41% UNCOMMON), Snake King Ring (UNCOMMON) Snake King Cloak (UNCOMMON)]

  The items fell out of his hands instantly and dusted up the soil below. “Oooo shiny stuff!” Lily skipped over and grabbed the orange ones, shifted on her knees and dirtied her clothes. She absorbed them quickly and got a neat green ring.

  “Uh… yeah, go collect.” Fay said, while Jason also got up to grab some of those weapon and armor stones. Apparently they were just doing as they please and taking his hard earned rewards without a care in the world.

  He focused on the king ring.

  [Snake King Ring (UNCOMMON)]

  Passed down from hundreds of generations, chipped and tattered, this ring is a remnant of what was once a great empire.

  +1 defense.

  +1 wisdom.

  [Snake King Cloak (UNCOMMON)]

  Passed down from hundreds of generations, ripped and boiled, this cloak is a remnant of what was once a great empire.

  +2 defense.

  +1 agility.

  [Special]

  Cloak sticks to the body like glue, self repairs and can be melted down if you please.

  The cloak was interesting, it looked like a random assortment of black cloth, but it happened to wrap around his arm and leg and chest like a python would, resting comfortably on his body. Just as the description said, it melted back into that useless cloth when he needed it to, but he didn't, so he kept it on, with the hood down so he didn’t feel creepy.

  The defense was a nice bonus, it was now doubled and made him feel like the average person again, tougher skin and more condensed bones, he guessed 6 defense was probably the average, but there was no way to tell at the moment. He saw Millie watch him, she gave a thumbs up and a “looks good.”

  “Sweet!” Jason shouted as he got a new axe, it was still too heavy for his single hand, but he held it up with a couple wobbles. The handle was made out of metal this time, and the blade looked on par with the mole knives in sharpness, it even had a pointy dagger like appendage on the opposite end of the axe.

  “Is it uncommon?”

  “Uhuh. “ he gave it a whirl and swung it into a tree, getting a third through before it stopped. “It’s perfect.” He kicked the axe back out and held it as comfortably as he could with the tip of the axe on the soil below. His left hand had to be completely dismembered after it grew an infection last night, but he was making the most of it. And since he was left handed and lost his left hand, it mattered. “Okay! Let’s go hunting, can't have Fay be the only level three round ‘ere.” He tried to laugh but Fay couldn’t help but catch the anger in his voice, the resentment.

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  “Awww what? I don't want to.” Lily groaned as she put on a yellow bracelet, shiny as well. “I’m tired, why can't we just rest?”

  Fay didn’t want to either. Yesterday was annoying enough and he never wanted to be that close to death ever again, he would much rather wait for Bark to finish those fang knives so he could poison himself repeatedly, apparently they had a lower uncommon venom to them, which was perfect to upgrade his skill.

  “Fay?” Jason pleaded, “do you want to…?”

  “You’re strong enough, you got this.” Fay believed his words, with that skill of his he would likely be safe with anything but that rat creature, “catch up, okay? Then I'll hunt with you.”

  Jason's motivation soared through the roof, he collected the armor stone and used it to get some new uncommon gloves, which he could only put on one hand, and went on his way. Lily was now playing with her new jewelry, tapping away at the yellow bracelet like it was made of gold.

  “Anything rare?”

  “Nope.” She shrugged, “common and uncommon.” She twisted the ring nervously, she had been nervous all day actually Fay noticed. “Shiny stuff is good…” She stood back up and gave him a big grin, “I’m going to go help Bark, bye bye.” She waved and left, leaving Fay to wallow in the company of Millie.

  He hadn’t thanked Millie yet for saving him, and didn’t plan to. “You’re staring.” He told her, she looked depressed in a clinical way.

  “You should get rest.” She said, like many times before this morning. He wanted to get rest, there was no denying that, but something had stoked a flame in his heart and he felt the need to feel it again, that addiction. He needed to find that spark of life.

  “I’m fine.” He picked up some dirt and stuffed it in his pocket, “hey Millie?”

  “Yes?”

  “I need to actually practice fighting, I’ve never really thrown a punch.” He stuffed some more dirt in his pocket, “you seem like you know a thing or two, about everything, everything here.”

  Her mouth opened for a second, then closed, “Fay, I don’t have any experience with hand to hand. The only matters I can tend to are alchemical.”

  “Liar.” Fay pointed at her, barely speaking above a whisper, “liar.”

  She didn’t respond and took a step forward, “you have potential Fay, don’t get too confident.” Her hands brushed against her hair, the grey of her eyes seemed more white in the morning glow, “there’s a person to your right.”

  Fay turned and saw a man in dark leather clothes, the guy who shot that flame yesterday and ran off with high agility. “Glad to see you up and about! I won't try to shoot you with a fireball this time! We're friends now!” He shouted and hopped down, “neat little place you have here, Joey sent me to go and say some welcomes and whatnot, was hard to find you all, had to run all around the forest... but uh, yeah, keep it friendly.” His eyes were baggy with a lack of sleep and his movements were incredibly strained.

  “Oh?” Fay was just as strained as he was, so if he attacked he wasn’t sure if he could deflect it in time.

  “I’m Marx! I won’t do the thing where I ask for your skill or level, that’s not what friends do right?” He took a step forward and held his hand out.

  “Fay…” he shook it, the boy's hand feeling tense and ready to snap back at any moment.

  Millie butted in, “Fay here was just asking for a sparring partner.” She smiled, “you seem to know a lot.”

  He laughed, “don’t flatter me too much.” He took a gander at the girl and took a sharp breath, “ah, okay, sparring.” He nodded, “I suppose, I did do some physicals back on the island, so I know my way around something somewhere. My brother used to beat the shit out of me as well, in a brotherly way, of course.” He turned his head back to Fay, “okay, okay, no weapons right? No skills?”

  No skills… Fay didn’t like the idea of that, his entire style of surviving in a fight relied on cheap tactics. But it would be beneficial to have some basic know-how when it comes to fighting another person, to mix and mash knowledge with tricks. And the boy in front of him looked strong and fast, two things he needed to learn to defend himself from.

  “Okay.” Fay nodded.

  Millie took a step back, “you boys have at it, I’ll be in the cabin cooking some more boar.”

  As soon as she left Marx became visibly more relaxed, “oh… okay so sparring? With hands.” He wanted to spar just as much as Fay, to garner how strong he was for a report back to Joey, it was beneficial to the both of them so Fay didn’t feel all too bad.

  “Yeah.” Fay activated his hood, it wrapped around his neck and head tightly, helping to stop a blow, “is equipment okay?”

  “Woahhh… oh, uh, yeah I guess, would be unreasonable to make you take it off huh?” He laughed and suddenly lunged into an attack, catching Fay off guard with his speed.

  With a perception of 20 Fay could hear the thump of Marx’s heartbeat, his fist ran forward like it was shot by a catapult, right for Fay's ribs.

  No skills. Fay reminded himself and raised his arms just in time to absorb the blow, his arms knocked back from the force and smashed into his face. He slid backwards on the soil below, catching a few pebbles into his feet and feeling an ache returning to his arms, two purple bruises formed on his forearms and the punch had somehow cut open some skin. Shit, I'm still hurting from yesterday. He had to force himself upright again, as the temptation of laying down and sleeping was very strong.

  “Low defenses, okay, okay.” He hopped, “just what is your speciality, intelligence? Maybe no skills is a bigger handicap than I thought… You have to have at least agility or strength right?” He stepped forward and turned to his side, planning a kick.

  Fay, making use of his forward momentum, slid past the kick and tried to backhand Marx in the face. But his arms shot up before he could blink and caught his wrist with both of his, without a second wasted, Fay was spun into a lock where he could not move.

  “Low strength too… those bruises are healing nicely, good vitality, endurance.” He kicked Fay in the back and made him fall onto his face. “Are you the type to rely on skills? Risky... you're always open so I assumed you'd at least have agility, are you just bad at fighting?”

  Fay swallowed dirt as he fell, he quickly stumbled back upwards with a desperation of a dying animal, he didn’t respond, as Marx was treating this less like a spar and more like an interrogation.

  “Not so chatty, hm? You’re clearly level three, so how on earth did you kill that boss? You're weak.” He ran forward again, taking a two-steps length in one. He landed on one foot and spun into a kick that hit Fay's side, knocking him off balance and into a tree, breaking the outer layer of bark with his back.

  “Is your agility shot too?” He looked annoyed now, “are you toying with me? Goddamn it, I want to see your actual strength.”

  Fay got back up and held onto the tree, huffing now, that kick had winded him severely, even with the defense and agility buff he just couldn’t keep up. That kick even surpassed the speed of his perception. Marx was getting heated up now, ready for a real fight. He swung his fist and fired a fireball right at Fay's head. Cheating in the “no skill” spar.

  [Activated Stop Momentum]

  The fireball, while little, did take up around 15 MP to disable, a few more of those and he would be drained. Fay's hands yet again burned painfully, but would clear up in minutes.

  “THERE IT IS!” He rushed forward and in a riled up way twisted his entire body into a kick, leveraging his hips to make sure it would be devastatingly strong, the kick was yet again faster than Fay's perception.

  Fay made a wager that he would be still standing after the kick hit him, checking if the bets took skills into account with the probability or just raw stats. Or even if risk and damage were applicable into rewards, as this would likely damage him if he succeeded. The kick collided with Fay's side with a hammer's force, almost breaking his arm that was used for blocking. If he hadn't had that extra defense it would definitely be.

  [Activated Stop Momentum]

  He froze himself, confusing Marx for enough time to let Fay reset his momentum to be forward facing. He was still on his feet, planted soundly on the ground after the blow.

  [Bet Succeed: +5 defense for 1 minute]

  Fay slammed his head against Marx’s, guessing that with the cloak buff, the ring and the newly found buff, it would hurt Marx more than himself. “ARGH!” Marx hopped back in confusion, trying to actively create distance between them, he had his arms up, expecting a fast counter attack from the man in front of him.

  “What was that?” He swiped at his forehead, his hair was sweaty, “you became a wall for a second.” He pressed his hands together and bowed, “okay, that's it, I’m already weak from last night, we hunted for way too long.” He wiped his brow and held his hand out, “I’d suggest putting whatever input points you have into agility or strength, but, what do I know? You seem to have your own plan.” He struggled to stay upright as Fay shook his hand.

  “Thanks…” he was appreciative, fighting a person was different than from a monster, they moved erratically, and even with a high perception, it was like he couldn't find a focal point, he didn’t know how to focus on the big picture in a fight, and had no backup plans if something failed. His eyes, while crisp, tended to focus on single points like a fist, when Marx leapt forward into that kick, Fay could barely react as he hadn’t thought it would happen. “I’ll work on it.”

  “Am I going to sound like an asshole if I ask for some boar meat?” He laughed and then grew more serious, “by the way… that girl…”

  “We know, I’m working on it.” Fay lied.

  He clasped his hands together, “thank god there's someone out there who feels it, we have someone on our team with the exact same robe, same creepy… creepy eyes too, I dunno, been feeling crazy.”

  That made Fay’s heart sink, yet another problem added to the list, “don’t worry about it, we will figure it out.”

  “Mhm.” He walked towards the cabin with his hands on the back of his head, trying to hide just how much that headbutt and failure of a kick scared him. He was a rock for a moment, he thought, was that the…? He tried remembering the name, it was a bad skill, high MP use, not much versatility.

  —

  Jason finished slicing open the underbelly of yet another boar. They had tried their best, a group of three, but sadly their tusks just couldn’t find his skin.

  That was 36 more XP. He needed a lot more for level three but was already planning to put it all into strength. His agility was already good at 11 and his defense was at a nice 14, so strength was his lowest at 10. He was still quite short but gained a lot of muscle mass, maybe even added an inch to his height.

  He still didn’t have a profession, but he planned to go for something like baking which Millie said would give vitality. Endurance was another stat he needed but he already had it at 6 so he was fairly rounded out. He just wanted to keep up, he was being serious when he said he would slaughter the prophet, the one on the stage would surely die now if he came back to fight him. Now that he had a status he could actually grow stronger, not in the way of physical exercise but with some power from above.

  He walked through a certain thick part of the forest and saw something, his perception wasn’t so great so it took a while before he realised what it was, it was a boar triple the size of the ones before. It looked like a bear, very very close to a bear. Without thinking, Jason rushed through and hacked the backside of the boar with his axe, digging it through the hide and getting a good bleed going. Just like with all the others he had to kick back to dig out the axe and prepare for a counter attack.

  The creature was sluggish and turned very slowly, its tusks were curled outward to be more useful in a pierce and could likely spear Jason if he wasn't careful. The moment the boar's black eyes spotted Jason was when it began to spring into a sprint, letting out a roar of a huff.

  It squealed as Jason took it head on and slammed the axe into its snout, it tried to whack Jason off balance by swinging its head rapidly, but that just allowed him to kick back again and get another bleed going. He retreated, knowing if he pushed his luck too far he would be done for.

  Both the backside and snout continued to bleed out, the boar charged again, and instead of going face to face, Jason jumped to the side and slammed the blunt edge of the axe into one of the tusks, snapping the creature's head to the side in a jerking motion. The boar couldn’t stop in time before it hit a tree.

  Jason ran forward and slammed his axe down repeatedly into the boars meaty body, hacking, then kicking the axe out of the tough hide, then hacking again.

  The boar was level two, just like the others, but did reward him with 50 xp once it finally passed out. He had no idea why level twos varied so much in strength, but guessed it was similar to how he would vary in strength from the start of level two to now. Maybe monsters had a class and profession system of their own, and skills that upgraded and gave them stats.

  Half a hundred experience was a big jump, he just wished he could have farmed more of those snakes while he had the chance, or maybe fought alongside Fay for once. “Urghhh.” It was a long road ahead, but he had all day, the morning was still young. He kicked the boar a final time and continued deeper in the forest, planning to hunt a bear.