//Heat Resistance increased: 1 percent < 3 percent.//
"Hmm. The small amount of damage from the fire has healed completly. Does that mean the more I am damaged the stronger Ill get? Will my resistance stat get so high that I become invulnerable to attacks? I guess it would be to dangerous to test potent poisions, or getting beheaded. If I could slowly build this up, I could be a match for any of the elites possibly.'
Alexander went through his system searching any possible explanation for the powers he was given. He soon found a sort of explanation.
"So the body stats consist of health, strength, and my overall physical health. Currently my Body stat is 14. My Magic stats coincided with my mana capacity, speed of absorption, and magical power. Explains why my mana runs out so often. Stamina was speed, energy, and overall dexterity. The substats where all blocked. I figured out how they worked, but other than a vague explanation I guess I will put Lunaris on the task of keeping track of the knowledge.
He was in the middle of the tropical forest, much like his last outing to train, thick trees gave him cover from the sun. The ocean breeze was as the cool distraction from his thoughts as he made his way through the forest.
Something off caught his attention as the sun was supposed to be rising. The time of day felt strange to Alexander, as the lazy light brushed past his skin through the trees. He checked his watch for the time, but despite the time of morning, the light of day was still dawn. Attributing it to the thick under brush and tree leaves, he focused on his way back.
A glow of green flashed from the corner of his eye, long after he should have reached the Estates grounds. The estate, in the distance, remained the same as he traveled further and further, with no signs of reaching home.
Alexander unsheathed his blade of Conquest in his right hand. His instincts telling him to prepare to fight. His senses had increased, doubling inspite of his E rank. Through the shade of the forest, and the low light. The hues of twilight shining without direct sun rays, making it seem day had paused itself.
Alexander moved slowly towards the shimmering of green light. Believing it to be another unsecured Gate he had missed. His steps crushed the dried leaves and twigs that clung to old roots loudly as a feeling of unease crept up his spine.
'If it's a high level dungeon nearby then I could be in trouble. Lu, are you getting anything? I dont want to walk into a mess I can't clean up." He asked, her. Receiving no response but a static feeling.
'Lunaris?'
A wet Squelch of ripping meat echoed through the canopy as Alexander slowly cleared the last brush of leaves.
A dark figure came into view, squat over a large plie of bones, eating and discarding stripped ones. It radiated a dark green glow that wafted with smoke like a hot shower.
Alexander could see the forest growth shrivel around the creature like a blight. An abomination even the hardy grass of the island could not stand to live near.
The sight of it sent a final chill up Alexanders body, freezing him in place. His legs would not move no matter how much he wanted to run. Some force gripped both his mind and body. A feeling of oppression and subjugation totally controlling him.
Fear was a power that transcended species to a degree of submission or flight. Prey knew when they had come in contact with those who would kill them.
The creature reared its head from the pile in a smooth fashion, like seeing a food order you where expecting. It faced Alexander with eyes of red and yellow filled with child-like glee. Sharp and jagged teeth glowed sickening green.
//Emergency quest!! Defeat the Enemy!//
A message screen bordered in red popped up above Alexander.
Awaiting his doom was all he could do as the glowing form stood up to six feet. Its towering slender form stood over him with a dreadful hunger. It's body was hollow, with thick notted horns on each side of its head. The clothes it wore were in tatters, barely on as it lumbered towards him.
Alexander could feel a strange draining feeling coming from the creature, making him numb and dizzy. It worsened the closer the creature got, and instead of becoming clearer to see it became even more distorted and shaded.
A crackling, like static on an old TV buzzed in his ear at an intolerable pitch. Blood drained from his ears and nose from the intensity, something lunaris would have dealt with, but due to the interference she was unresponsive. He was left defenseless against an entity far beyond his comprehension.
'F***, move! I have to move my legs. If it gets any closer I'm going to die! W.what can I do? Think...think!' His mind raced for anything, a weapon, tool, or anyone. He thought of one way to clear his senses of this creature, his thoughts barely hanging on a string.
By absorbing the D ranked goblin souls in his inventory, he believed he could over charge his Mana Core, and physical body to free him of this burden.
His mind worked overtime with the adrenaline pumping through his body unfettered like a broken dam. The souls glittered like green flames roaring into the Ring of the Firstborne, absorbed, they filled Alexander with power. Mana surged with vitality of their lost lives into Alexander's body.
His E ranked body cracked with an ethereal light surging with too much power that he couldn't contain. Breaking free from his fetters Alexander's body exploded out and reconfigured, filling and settling with green flames.
"Arrgh".
'The pain is unbearable. I can barely keep a thought together. This is what reaching Rank D feels like. My blood feels like lava.'
The creature passed the few steps separating them to get to him, pain racking his body with seizures with ever second of his proximity of it.
Alexander swung his blade wildly, cutting shallow flesh off the creatures arm. The fallen flesh corroded the earth around it. The blades edge, which was hardened at an atomic lever chipped and corroded to touching its body.
The monster shrieked at the nanite swords bite, afraid for the first time since it came to be in this world. It's mind was childlike and yet too form as it made to feed and protect itself, now attacked by its food that usally laid down to be eaten.
The flesh that was carved away sizzled into dust once removed from its main body. Alexander kept this up with abandon, the power he acquired fading away rapidly. His senses were over loaded and his body could barely keep itself together. With each swing, the numbness of his body receded, and the creature shivered.
Alexanders swings stopped after the last of the creature dissapated Into dust but his hand kept twitching as steam wafted off his body. The area around him turned to day light almost immediately after the creature lost its head.
Alexanders frenzied state declined along with his consciousness. A blurr of white, yellow, and ever growing darkness creeped into his sight, slowly blinding him.
'Host critical!...'
Nanites, free from the disruptive effects of the shadow creature, sped to work. The damage done from the surge of mana was severe. His arms and legs were dessicated and his breathing was shallow. The nanites had little to work with as they couldn't heal his tissue without the needed materials.
Spreading out from his body they acquired organic materials from the surroundings. Slowly repairing their hosts body. Like a swarm of ants, carcasses and organic materials were depleted and used to repair Alexanders broken body.
The (D) ranked souls that had been absorbed had overloaded his core, resulting in it expanding and causing ruptures on his body. When he came back to consciousness his body had healed and he could finaly see the damage around him.
'I'm alive and I'm exhausted it seems. I can barely use my body or feel my legs. I should use Accumulation and regain some strength. But I did it. I killed whatever that was. If it had put up even a little fight then it..it would have done the job. I lost all control of that situation like a noob. I'm ashamed of myself.'
Alexander rose on unsteady knees with a grumbling stomach. He shuffled his way to the estate with Lunaris's help. Finding it harder and harder to move until he found himself in the team room. The abundant mana there rushed into him, deaf to the worrying questions of his teammates that looked on.
"Alexander's been training super hard lately. I'm glade I was wrong about him. Kahawai said with a particular Island accent, soft yet loud."
"Agreed. His progress has nearly caught up with us a couple of years ago. If he continues like this, he wont be holding us back. But I'm concerned he is pushing himself to far."
"Are you feeling ok, Kalani? You have never complimented anyone before. You might be suffering from that take down from Nakamura earlier."
"Haha, maybe so Cuz. But like it or not he's family now, and I love my O'Hana."
The Elder arrived and rushed past Kalani and Kahawai. He looked over Alexander while he sat crossed legged, absorbing the mana there.
"He's definitely been through something strange since last night. No one's seen him since last night, but he looks and smells like he's been through a Gate. Regardless of all that, he's close to a breakthrough. His Core has gone through what feels like a year of training. He's near Rank C in a couple of hours... What have you been up to keikikāne?"