Lorian let go of the tree he was leaning against and slowly sat down.
"I need to rest a bit."
Just as he sat down to rest, a system notification appeared.
[Ding!]
[New Quest: Satisfy your hunger and thirst.]
[Reward: 20 Mystery Points and 30 Exp]
[Failure: - ]
"Haa... Where am I supposed to find food here? Also, I DON'T want to run into monsters like before again! Even the weakest ones were three times stronger than me!"
Lorian stayed seated for a while, then suddenly jumped to his feet.
"Hey system! Can you scan the surroundings for me?"
[Yes, Master.]
[Scanning all areas within a 10 Kilometers radius has started!]
[Success.]
[Scanning initiated.]
[Warning! This process may take a while. Please be patient.]
[%1... %2...]
"Hmm... This is really going to take some time."
Lorian sat down by the tree again and closed his eyes to rest.
A few minutes later, he heard the sound of water from somewhere. But the sound suddenly vanished, and Lorian ignored it, continuing to focus. Then the sound returned, clearer this time, and a system notification appeared before Lorian.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations!]
[New Skill Acquired!]
[Perception (Lv1)]
[Info: With this skill, you can scan everything within a 5 kilometers radius and become aware of all happenings around you. However, some monsters and people may be able to bypass your perception.]
"This is... a pretty useful skill. So how do I level up Perception? Also... I noticed something while checking the system. What is this Curse Power? Especially... while all my other stats are at 60, my Curse Power is at 600!"
[Curse is a unique ability in this world, Master. It has never existed here before. In other words, you're the only one who can use it.]
"Well, that's nice," Lorian thought.
"So, about Percepti—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the system interrupted him.
[I was just getting to that. Perception requires focus, Master. The more you use it, the more your focus will increase, and as your focus increases, Perception will level up accordingly.]
"Even though I'm annoyed you cut me off, it's fine. It's a great skill, and developing it will be quite easy for me."
[Apologies for the interruption, Master.]
"It's fine."
[Ding!]
[Scan complete! The 10 km² area is being transferred into the Master's mind.]
Lorian felt a light sting in his head—but it quickly turned into a painful throb.
"Agh..."
He held his head. It was spinning.
[Warning! Master's mental state is unstable. Even the slightest transfer may cause severe strain.]
"Why didn't you tell me that earlier!?"
[You didn't ask, Master.]
CRACK!
Lorian's eyes widened. A branch had snapped somewhere—he couldn't see where. Even the weakest monsters could sense him in this state.
"System, activate Perception!"
[Warning! Using Perception may worsen the Master's mental state. Do you confirm usage?]
"Cough... I confirm!"
[Understood.]
[Perception (Lv1) activated.]
[Warning! Three strong monsters detected nearby!]
Damn it!
[Emergency Quest!]
[Eliminate all Lygrons and survive!]
[Difficulty: Fear]
[Reward: 300 Mystery Points and 1000 Exp]
[Failure: Death.]
[Warning! Temporary access to the shop granted!]
Lorian quickly stood up.
"System, open the shop!"
[Shop]
[Weapons]
[Swords]
[Spears]
[Magic]
"System, use all my Mystery Points and get me the best long-range weapon!"
[Confirmed!]
[Purchasing Void Piercer.]
[Success.]
"Nice," Lorian thought, "maybe I actually have a chance now."
[Ding!]
[Inventory unlocked!]
"Inventory? Whatever, where are the monsters?"
[One to your right, one to your left, and one behind you. There are three Lygrons in total. Master, please retrieve the Void Piercer from your inventory.]
"Behind me—"
Before he could finish, a claw struck him, throwing him backward.
THUD!
Lorian quickly pulled the Void Piercer from his inventory. It looked like a gun. He aimed it at the Lygron—but it was gone.
"When did—"
Another claw sent him flying to the side.
Covered in blood, Lorian stood up quickly and used Perception (Lv1), noticing a Lygron preparing to strike from behind. He dashed forward to evade the attack.
Two more monsters emerged from the sides. The Lygrons lunged at him.
Lorian used wind magic to blast himself backward and get up.
"Hey system! Do you know their weaknesses?"
[Lygrons' weak spot is their belly. Even a human can kill them with a blade to the stomach.]
Hearing this, Lorian launched himself forward with wind magic. The Lygrons slashed their claws at him.
He narrowly dodged using air magic again.
SLASH!
Now, Lorian had the Void Piercer in hand. His clothes were torn, claws had pierced his skin. Without the wind magic, he'd be dead.
The biggest Lygron charged. Lorian couldn't dodge—the claws stabbed through his abdomen.
He pointed the gun at the creature's stomach.
"Die!" he shouted in rage and fired the Void Piercer.
A blue beam shot from the weapon, piercing the monster's belly and causing an explosion in the sky.
"Holy shit! That's awesome!" Lorian couldn't help but think.
[Ding!]
[You killed a Lygron!]
[Reward: 100 Mystery Points and 300 Exp]
[Ding! You leveled up!]
[3 > 4]
[New skill unlocked!]
[Cursed Soul (Lv1)]
[Warning! Master's body and mind are in critical condition! Use of new skill Cursed Soul (Lv1) is recommended!]
While looking at all the notifications, Lorian's vision darkened, and he collapsed.
[Warning! Master in critical condition! Emergency Intervention restarting!]
[Success.]
[Cursed Soul (Lv1) activated.]
A dark mass of light appeared before Lorian, containing a purple flame. It entered his body, and in seconds, all his wounds and scars disappeared. Then the Cursed Soul exited Lorian's body and stood before the remaining two Lygrons.
The Lygrons froze.
Feeling overwhelming danger, they turned to flee.
At that moment, hundreds of cursed lightning bolts struck where they stood, eradicating them instantly.
[Master is safe. Emergency Intervention completed.]
Lorian regained consciousness and opened his eyes—just as countless system notifications appeared.
[You leveled up!]