Ric's eyelids slowly started to raise, flattering slightly from waking up. He looked at the moon, obviously a few hours has passed and the sun had already set as he slept.
As he was just about to find a pond or a lake to quench his thirst, he heard a notification from the system.
[ Ding!
Mission: Complete!
Would you like to open rewards? ]
Still slightly disoriented from waking up, Ric groggily pinched this nose and paused for a moment before answering in a smooth and quiet voice.
"Yeah.. open it" With an expectation and curiosity he answered.
[ Ding!
Rewards opened!
- New system functions
- Skill - Detect - 2 mp cost
- Title:
"Perseverance of the weak" - HP and Vitality stat added
The system needs a reboot, this would only take a few minutes. Would you like to proceed? ]
"Go on.." Ric responded, wondering what HP and Vitality would do but he was sure it would be connected with his health somehow, and detect would probably be a sensing skill.
[ Rebooting... 5%... 12%... 20%... ]
Ric thought of various things while waiting for the system to come online again, he thought of his parents... his brother, he thought of the battles, the pain, he thought of how he would travel and reach Feohtere, thinking about it right now... he doesn't even know where he is exactly!
Something he would do... later on of course, for now he would just find a water source he guess. Standing up, the movement made Ric feel every ounce of the pain in his body, wincing every moment as he walked slowly, hoping to find a pond.
After short while, Ric finally received a notification from the system, ecstatic and intrigued with the new update, he carefully paid attention to every detail after laying down on the ground with his back up against a large tree.
[ Ding! Status updated
Name: Amalric Remus
Level 1 - 0/200 Exp
Title: Perseverance of the weak - +10 to Vitality
Race: Human
Mana: 120/120
HP: 100/100
Strength - 8
Agility - 10
Endurance - 6
Vitality - 10 - New!
Sense - 8+(10) - New!
Intelligence - 10
Skills: New!
Detect - Scan surroundings within 1 mile radius - New! ]
Ric read the status starting from his name till his first latest skill, paying close attention to the stats Vitality and Sense, he speculated that the sense stat was high not only due to his skill but also because he himself has gotten stronger, if he had the sense stat earlier then it would probably start at a low level aswell.
'System what does vitality do and what does the +10 mean beside sense ?' Ric raised a question, the desire inside of him to blurt out numerous different questions growing rapidly.
[ Vitality stat - It is the status which connects with your health or HP, if you wish to raise your HP you should add status points onto your vitality stat. Would you like a more specific intro to the other stat? ]
[ The +(10) is an additional benefit of skill - detect, while using said skill, senses are boosted to 10 levels for 30 minutes
Since he was not able to have a better and clearer introduction to the system and its functions earlier he wanted to ask for one, however he already used the system in battle which made him get a clear understanding of it.
Strength for the physical ability you can use to affect other objects, agility for your speed and reaction, endurance for the physical ability to withstand physical strain, earlier when he fought the guard he experienced the biggest pain ever because his endurance was still low, only comparing to the endurance of a healthy and above average human.
Intelligence probably had something to do with learning skills and otherworldly knowledge, while sense was connected with his six senses and perception, so vitality corresponds with his health and immunity, if he wished to get stronger then he would need to increase his status.
Although online games in this world are currently dead because of uprising of more interesting topics like mana and adventuring, they still do exist and the system... it could be compared to game except in real life he internalized.
Ric had many more questions regarding the systems existence yet it was... as if he knew that tthe system would not give him the answers he wanted... just the answers he needs, perhaps he himself needs to find the answers in his journey...
During the emergence of the system, albeit he felt confused as heck, it was strange that he remained calm especially after something like that popped out of existence, he wondered if that had anything to do with the creator.
Ric interrupted his own thoughts, it was growing later by later, he should have already arrived in Feohtere by now, which means that his cousin is probably informing his family which means that they must be worried and if doesn't want an image of him labeled with missing then he should probably do something quick.
Standing up, Ric struggled to hold his grunts, the exhaustion from the battle may be gone yet the pain was still there, he patted off his buttocks and continued on his merry way to find a pond... or better a town.
While walking, Ric thought of an idea, he always wondered about how people execute their skills, some spoke and some didn't and he wasn't really the type to shout out the names of his hidden weapons.
He mentally called out 'detect' yet nothing seemed to happen, puzzled, he did so again and again and again, still' no effect made themself known...
Ric was out of any other idea, when he fought and executed the summoning's skills, he didn't think about doing them, they just seemed to happen whenever he wanted them to happen. Thinking about the movies with magic he has watched, they had steps to produce magic... so he did that exactly.
He mentally focused on his desire to detect his surroundings, closing his eyes and inhaling slightly, he imaged his surroundings and used his ears to hear, his nose to smell, and his hands to feel the push of the air...
And then it happened... something happened so abruptly he couldn't explain what it was, he just felt everything from around him at a... higher level, as if he's been around here for more times than he could count...
Even a mental image of the entire forest within a 1mile radius was inserted into his mind, the images appearing as if memories from a dream, everything was clouded yet clear.
Rivers, caves, mountains, they all appeared within the images, he was already happy to know the locations of the water sources, but something else made him overjoyed... it was people! A small town only 40mins away.
Ric started to run, although he could feel every bit of pain, he ran quicker than he has ever been, though he stopped suddenly...
"I should probably clean myself of first before meeting people right?" Ric asked himself, obviously thinking about the possible outcomes of his interaction with other people while he is currently... bloody and unclean...
So Ric went on to the nearest water source, only a few steps away to his left, it was a lake with clear blue water and a split tree uprooted at the middle of the lake.
Ric approached the lake calmly, he undressed his clothes, showing his small and undefined body, he looked at his own reflection in the water, his left eye adorned with a black eye from the battle, his right eye was bruised as well yet lesser than the left and a small cut on his eyebrow, both eyes bloodshot.
His beautiful blonde hair dyed with blood and dirt, giving him the description of a young beggar.
He also noticed the bruising of his right rib connecting to his stomach and lower chest, he carefully touched it, waiting for the pain to rise, yet it didn't hurt in anyway with his touch but it did whenever he would move. Moving deeper into the lake, Ric submerged his body under the water, cleansing his body and his bloodied hair.
It only took a few minutes for Ric to cleanse his body completely, since he didn't have any spare clothes, he just have to deal with his dirty ones. After dressing up, Ric retained the appearance of a young noble, just one with dirty clothes and suspicious blood.
Ric continued his way again to the town, directed slightly at the west of him. He ran gleefully, proud of the fact that he made it alive and how he would tell his parents of his accomplishments...
Yet as he ran, the smile on his slowly started to loosen, he frowned slightly, disturbed of how he would tell his parents, they would doubt him for sure, afterall having a weak son surely got them used to a low expectations...
It would be impossible to lie to them about being saved by an unknown person, he was pretty sure that the guard would still be alive and breathing miraculously... and he didn't really want to tell anyone about the system, it hid so many secrets that he didn't even know if it would benefit him to tell anyone.
He ran fast, his endurance keeping up with him, but his thoughts were faster, he settled with the idea of telling his parents about how he was taken hostage by the guard under the order of an unknown man, probably a rival of their house and business...
Then he would reveal of how he contacted his summoning, yet everything was blurry, he couldn't remember how he fought as if he went under a possession, which would make them theorized his summoning to have a possession skill like his grandfather.
He confidently thought of how they would ignore everything else just to know his health, he felt warm and lucky of having such caring parents, now all he has to figure out is the identity of the enemy and be strong enough to unleash revenge...
Yet they had so many rivals that, in each city there would be dozens of nobles, all clashing with each other and don't forget about the nobles in other nearby cities, it would be hard to identify which one attacked him.
There is no denying that Ric could feel an endless wave of wrath in his heart...
Slowly the sight of a modern town came to his view... he has finally reached his destination.