Chapter 24 - Travel (2)

<p>"Does this mean…"<br/><br/> Bewildered, I open the Life Statscreen.<br/><br/>[Age: 18]<br/><br/> "How fucking random…"<br/><br/> It was my birthday.<br/><br/> I try to remember when my birthday was in my past life, but it takes me about 5 minutes before I finally remember. "I really might end up forgetting it at this rate," I wonder to myself a bit solemnly.<br/><br/> My past birthday didn't matter. Honestly, my birthday in this life doesn't matter, either. It's just another day.<br/><br/> My most memorable birthdays had been spent with Christy, in the safety of my own home, and it honestly wasn't super different from our day-to-day lives, we just drank a little extra. Still, they had been fun, as opposed to the birthdays I simply spent alone.<br/><br/> I spent a long time reminiscing about my past life, realizing how much it lacked now that I had a new life. However, a few angry snorts disrupt my thoughts. Silently, I lean back against the tree, squinting to see what it was.<br/><br/> A pack of about ten oversized boars were making their way through the trees towards the slowly dwindling fire. These weren't the same as before, so I summoned UnHoly Raze from my Inventory before activating Analyze on the one who looked most like the leader.<br/><br/>[Name: Strong-Legged Boar]<br/>[Age: 13]<br/>[Lv: 6]<br/>[Health: 55/55]<br/>[Mana: 45/45]<br/>[Stamina: 65/65]<br/><br/>STR: 3 MAG: 5<br/>AGI: 17 DEX: 5<br/>VIT: 9 INT: 6<br/><br/>ACC: 11<br/>DEF: 6<br/>POW: 5<br/><br/>[Skills: Anger Dash (Rare), Runner (Uncommon), Bash (Common), Screech (Common)]<br/><br/>[Due to the user fighting a similar species, information was unlocked.]<br/>[Description: Rivals of the Strong-Armed Boar, Strongly-Flexible Boar, and the Strong-Magic Boar, the Boar factions battle endlessly to prove to the others that one stat is supreme. The Strong-Legged Boar specializes in speed and cunning to take down their enemy, often fighting in numbers.]<br/><br/> I laugh quietly to myself.<br/><br/> "Well, at least now I get a birthday present."<br/><br/>- - -<br/><br/> After her talk with Klum, Eniyala had rested peacefully for an hour or so, but she was jerked awake by her Sixth Sense warning her of danger.<br/><br/> Whipping her head around, she sees a Strong-Legged Boar sprinting frantically towards them, its tongue hanging from its mouth limply as it pushed its hind legs to the limit. Immediately, the rod extended in her hand. "Ignios Stand," she mutters quietly, summoning the three spears she had used in the spar against Klum. The spears spin rapidly, flying forward and impaling the Boar, who collapses to the ground. It almost looked happy to be killed, sparing it from something worse.<br/><br/> 'Where is that idiot,' Eniyala thinks as she stood, using her rod to light up the area as she looked around for him. "Where could he have gone in this forest? Did he run away?"<br/><br/> Her panic was interrupted by a stench hitting her nose. It was like a wall of one scent, and the scent was something she remembered well from Reniel's visit. She shook slightly as she slowly followed the smell, uncertain if she wanted to see the cause, but as she came past an outcrop of closely grown trees…<br/><br/> "Ah, hey there. Did you catch the runner?"<br/><br/> Covered in a mix of both his blood and the blood of about 14 Boars laid around him, Klum turned towards Eniyala as she drew closer. A smile sat on his face, but Eniyala shivered unconsciously; something was wrong with it, as if something was hiding behind the innocence of his show of teeth.<br/><br/> "Hey, did you get that last one?" He calls out again, raising his sword to wave. Eniyala nodded. <br/><br/> "Why didn't you ask for help?"<br/><br/> "Ah, I was a bit preoccupied, I'd say." He sarcastically gestures at the other Boars with a 'really?' look on his face. His left eye is closed; a cut on his forehead has drenched his colorless hair dark, and covers his eye and part of his lip in a gentle red shower that slowly drips off his chin. His left arm was similarly marred, a long rip running down it, and the Arm guard he had worn was gone. Yet the royal purple mana in his eye shone brightly, showing off the strange crosshair shape his iris had morphed into.<br/><br/> "Are you… okay?"<br/><br/> "It's just a couple scratches. The EXP is worth it. I Leveled Up!"<br/><br/> "No, I meant in the head. You weren't a psychopath in your last life or something, were you?"<br/><br/> "…No?"<br/><br/> Eniyala sighs exasperatedly. 'This boy…'<br/><br/> Still, she was curious, so she used Analyze on the tattered boy.<br/><br/>[Name: Klum]<br/>[Age: 18]<br/>[Lv: 6]<br/>[Health: 9/45]<br/>[Mana: 12/45]<br/>[Stamina: 4/45]<br/><br/>STR: 8 MAG: 5<br/>AGI: 14 DEX: 10<br/>VIT: 7 INT: 11<br/><br/>ACC: 12<br/>DEF: 7<br/>POW: 8<br/><br/>[Skills: Klum's Reincarnation (Unfound), Sword Saint's Sigil (Unfound), Critical Eye+ (Super Rare), Underdog (Super Rare), Erratic Movements (Rare), Slash+ (Uncommon), Sprint (Common)]<br/><br/> Eniyala frowned at his stats. He had decreased the difference for where he should be and where he was. She knew that humans could have more or less base stats, which maxed out when they were around Raeki's age, and those were then increased by leveling. But those were usually only 2-5 points difference, and they definitely didn't change like that. <br/><br/> "Hey, how many Free Stats do you have left?"<br/><br/> "I used the two I had, and I got three this Level, so just three."<br/><br/> Eniyala's jaw threatened to fall off her face. He had just admitted the original Stat difference was 13, not 11. She had never heard of someone holding onto their Free Stats. It wasn't like they would expire or anything, but Stats weren't useful if they weren't distributed. But…<br/><br/> "How the fuck are you only getting three points?"<br/><br/> "…? Because I got too many achievements?"<br/><br/> "You're confusing, you know that? Just show me your Statbook."<br/><br/> A complicated look came over Klum's face. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," he says a bit quietly, sliding raggedly off the corpse of the Boar he was standing on. A handful of cooked bugs appeared, flopping unceremoniously on the ground as 8 of the Boars' bodies disappeared into Klum's inventory.<br/><br/> "Just show me."<br/><br/> With a shrug as if to say 'I told you so,' the bloody boy raises his finger, moving it oddly, before enabling Eniyala to see his Stat—<br/><br/> "What the fuck?!"<br/><br/>[Eniyala has been enabled as a Viewer.]<br/><br/> Rather than a book, multiple strange rectangles open around Klum's body, nearly encapsulating him. Swiping all the smaller screens mentally to the side so he could read them, he picked a few others and one large one and flipped them around for Eniyala to see.<br/><br/>[You're fighting against ten or more enemies at once.<br/> This achievement forcefully rose one or more stats.<br/> +1 AGI, +1 INT]<br/>[Lowered Stat gain has been lifted.]<br/>[Free Stats: 3]<br/><br/> Sure enough, he had three Stats he simply wasn't using. Still, the look of his Statbook — no, this couldn't even be a Statbook — coupled with the achievement informing them that two random stats had just been… given to him, broke Eniyala's brain, the cogs in her head shattering to useless pieces.<br/><br/>- - -<br/><br/> As Eniyala tried to process the mindfuck that was my Statscreen, I looked over the other notifications.<br/><br/>[Sprint: Progression increased.]<br/>[Total Progression: 100%.]<br/>[Sprint Skill has been learned.]<br/>[Due to an overpour of Mana, Skill Slash was forcefully upgraded.]<br/>[Requirements met. Critical Eye was upgraded to Critical Eye+.]<br/>[Erratic Movements Evolution: Progression increased.]<br/>[Total Progression: 56%]<br/>[User has received 150% EXP for their Age Up day, blessed by the Gods.]<br/><br/> "Nice," I muttered, looking at my EXP first.<br/><br/>[EXP: 255/800]<br/><br/> Confirming that I had received the extra EXP, as well as half of the kill for the Boar that escaped from me… twice. The first time the scaredy Boar returned with 5 buddies, looking smug. However, when I had immediately taken out 3 of those 5, it started running again, unwittingly heading in the camp's direction, but I was occupied with the last two Boars. I had trusted Eniyala, and wasn't disappointed when I saw the next message that had popped up.<br/><br/>[You have helped defeat a Strong-Legged Boar.]<br/><br/> I skimmed the rewards I got from all the Boars, mostly tusks, other than this time where I even got Leg Guards. I had grabbed all my rewards by touching all the Boars as I killed them, which surprisingly worked. Several tusks sat littered around me; my Inventory was absolutely full, and I hadn't even put UnHoly Raze away. I hated adding onto his burden, but I would have to ask Raeki to carry the leftover tusks.<br/><br/> Finally, I checked where Eniyala was on the processing scale before looking at Critical Eye's upgrade. She was confusedly moving the Statscreen back and forth, trying to understand it. 'Good. She'll be talking to me soon.'<br/><br/> Without any more delay, I looked at my new skill and upgrades.<br/><br/>[Sprint (Common Activate Skill): When activated, this Skill will boost the user's movement speed by 15%. This Skill can stack with other Skills.<br/>Cost: 5 Mana, 2 Stamina — Duration: 10 seconds — Cooldown: 7 seconds]<br/>[Slash+ (Uncommon Active Skill): When activated, the user coats their weapon in Mana, boosting Atk by 125% for blade-type weapons only. Lasts until duration ends.<br/>Cost: 9 Mana — Duration: 30 seconds — Cooldown: 10 seconds]<br/>[Critical Eye+ (Super Rare Active Skill): When activated, the user may choose an area upon the target. The Critical Mark will be placed within this area. Upon hitting a Critical Mark, attack will do 350% Dmg. (Max targets: 2 — Max Critical Mark per target: 1)<br/>Cost: None — Cooldown: 2 seconds]<br/><br/><br/> "Shiiit. Hell yes."<br/><br/> Eniyala had mostly returned to her senses, and gave me a curious look. "What is it?"<br/><br/> I flip around the screens to show her the upgraded skills. She reads them, her eyebrows raising. "Your growth is incredible."<br/><br/> "Heh, I know."<br/><br/> "No, it's scary. Maybe I shouldn't have brought you."<br/><br/> "Ah—"<br/><br/> Despite what she's saying, Eniyala sits me down and begins treating me. Holding her hand over my chest, a soft white sigil grows in her palm, with a rune of a realistic heart in the middle. I feel the growing pain from my injuries residing. A satisfying, warm feeling replaces it, and I sigh contentedly.<br/><br/> "You're an idiot, you know that? You could have died." <br/><br/> I grin. "Good news. I didn't."<br/><br/> She shakes her head in exasperation, standing and brushing herself off. "I'm taking over your shift. You need to recover, shithead."<br/><br/> I go to protest, but her even stare seems threatening, so I simply shut my mouth.<br/><br/> "Get some rest. After all, Raeki's gonna want to celebrate your birthday."<br/><br/> I look up sharply. The woman's look is the same, but a small smile hides in her eyes.<br/><br/> "You don't have to tell h-"<br/><br/> "Oh but I do. Now go, off, go rest."<br/><br/> I obey, returning to where Eniyala had been sleeping. The spot was still warm, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing lightly to myself.<br/><br/> "What an odd family you guys are," I mumble as exhaustion won over my consciousness.</p>