Yaka was silent for a moment, letting everything slowly settle down before he said: "The current situation is not good, there are a lot of monsters outside so maybe we will have to leave here soon"
The others all had different reactions when they heard this news. Kazin was indifferent, he only focused on the girl Hama beside him, while the other three felt worried when they heard this.
"Mr. Yaka, can we come with you again?" the middle-aged man asked.
Yaka smiled and replied: "Of course, one more person means one more strength."
"Thank you very much," the middle-aged man thanked him profusely.
"Don't say that"
The two exchanged a few polite words and then each went back to their respective places. Although they lived together, there was not much to talk about. Furthermore, each person had their own secrets and were wary of each other, so they were even more silent.
The whole session went by without anyone communicating.
Ruminas ignored everything and opened her status board to check.
Name: Ruminas
Level: 2 (380/500)
Grade: 1 star
Title: New Player.
Occupation: None.
Base Stats: | Health: 100/100 | Magic: 100/100 |
Attribute index:
Strength: 19
Defense: 15
Agility: 16
Endurance: 15
Intelligence: 15
Luck: 11
Skill:
1. Appraisal [A] (Exclusive Skill)
2. Slash [A] (0/10)
3.
4.
Item:
[The Beginning Story] (Available for viewing)
[Nemesis Dagger] (A+)
[Black Blood]
[Monster Skin x18]
[Low-Grade Chaos Bones x3]
[Kozak Crystal x1]
"The stats aren't bad but I should still level up soon to earn more stat points," Ruminas thought to herself.
"Check the mission"
[Mission Act One – Episode One]
[Start: Get acquainted with the apocalypse and the monsters. Know how to use skills and make a plan to help yourself survive. During that process, you can choose more teammates or become a cool solo player]
[Completion conditions]
+Kill any three monsters (3/3) (Completed)
+Use any skill 10 times (10/10) (Completed)
+Move to first gathering location (Not completed)
+Reach Level 3 (Not completed)
+Add new teammates (Optional)
[Reward: 200 EXP, 1 Skill Point, 5 Random Stat Points]
[Note: To understand more about the story background, please read <
[Queen of Valor Mission: Part 1]
[Description: The Heroic Queen is a great queen. Although she is a woman, she has fought alone everywhere and won countless things that belong to her. To inspire other women, the Heroic Queen herself has given this mission]
[Completion conditions]
+Kill 10 random monsters (10/10) (Completed)
+Participate in at least 2 random mini-games (Not completed) (0/2)
[Reward: 150 EXP, 3 Random Stat Points]
"Hmm, the quest has been completed quite a bit but there are still some difficult conditions left, the main quest is out of the way but what should I do about this side quest? What is this mini-game?"
Ruminas had absolutely no information about this thing.
While she was pondering over the quest conditions, someone approached, Ruminas immediately became alert but when she saw that it was the young man Akira, she relaxed a bit.
"What?" she asked.
He said nothing but just handed over a box of food.
"I saw that you haven't eaten anything since you came back, so I brought you something."
Ruminas took the lunch box but didn't eat it, she looked at it for a while then put it aside.
"What's up?"
"I'm not hungry"
She had just used the forensics to check the inside of the food, there was nothing unusual but just in case she would wait a little longer.
"Can I sit here?" Akira asked.
"Up to you"
Akira sat down but kept a distance from Ruminas.
"Hey, you're good at fighting, right?" Akira asked.
"A little bit"
Akira clenched his fists, his eyes showing anger despite his efforts to control it.
"Ruminas, I want to make a deal with you"
She looked at him for a moment then nodded to continue.
"I have a skill that can make you stronger. In return, I want you to help me kill Kazin."
This time, Ruminas' eyes changed slightly. Killing someone? It was no easy task, especially in her current state. But instead of refusing immediately, she asked directly: "Reason?"
Akira gritted his teeth and lowered his voice: "He humiliated my mother."
The words were heavy and filled with hatred. Ruminas looked at him for a long time, trying to judge whether he was telling the truth or not. But Akira's eyes showed no signs of wavering. Moreover, she had seen part of what happened at that time, so she could believe it.
She said nothing, just crossed her arms, signaling him to continue.
"I know my strength is not enough to kill him with my own hands. But I have a special skill, a skill that can steal other people's stats for my own use or transfer them to others."
Ruminas's face showed a hint of surprise, but she did not immediately reply. Instead, she tried using appraisal on him. This was also a test to see if appraisal could be used on humans.
[Reminder: The current Appraisal skill is not at the level to view other people's information, but you can still select a part to view]
"Partly that's fine, let's see his skills" Ruminas thought.
[Name: Akira Sousei]
Skill:
1. Robbery [A]
2.
3.
4.
"Only one skill…? Let's try appraising that skill…"
[Unable to appraise]
"Isn't that right… but from the name, I'm sure he's not lying" Ruminas thought to herself.
"I can use it for you, giving you more stat points. In return, you help me kill him. It's a fair trade," Akira continued.
Ruminas closed her eyes in thought.
A skill that can steal stats is really powerful, but it definitely has its limits. As for that Kazin guy, she has never seen him fight, so killing him would be a huge risk, not to mention Yaka and Hama.
Even though Yaka seemed upright, Ruminas couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't do anything if he saw his companion killed.
"Why didn't you do anything then?" Ruminas asked back.
Akira sighed and replied, "I can't fight all of them alone. Kazin is very strong, and the girl next to him also stood up to stop him, but the most infuriating thing is…" Akira clenched his fists. "The man who came with me is my stepfather, but he is a coward. When Kazin offered to use my mother in exchange for his protection, he immediately agreed."
"OH"
Ruminas understood.
It was true that humans would do anything to survive. However, this matter had nothing to do with her, so killing Kazin was still a matter to ponder.
"How does your skill work?"
"I can only steal someone's stats when their health is below 20%, the limit is five random stats per person. As long as you make that guy almost die, I will steal his stats and transfer them to you," he replied.
"Then would you be willing to transfer yours to me?" Ruminas asked.
Akira was silent for a moment but then said: "As long as you help me, everything is possible, even other people's stats if you can weaken them."
"How stubborn…" Ruminas still had no intention of accepting this deal, but the deal had already made her waver a bit, so she continued to drag it out without outright refusing.
After a moment of thought, Ruminas finally shook his head.
"The apocalypse will change people, I can't kill everyone just because they did something bad, that guy hasn't done anything to me yet so I have no reason to kill him."
Akira heard that and was slightly disappointed.
"But with his personality, he probably won't leave me alone. I won't refuse this deal, but I won't do anything until he makes his next move. Furthermore, killing him requires a reasonable opportunity."
Ruminas expressed her intention of not refusing but also not agreeing right away. Akira knew that intention but as long as there was still a chance, he would not give up.
"Okay, I'll wait." He said and left.
Under the dim light, Ruminas watched Akira's back as he left. She wasn't someone who was easily swayed by other people's emotions or stories, but this deal was a bit worth considering. A skill that could steal stats from someone who was about to die... If used properly, it could help her become stronger very quickly.
However, she couldn't trust Akira so easily. He had deep hatred in his heart, and those blinded by hatred often lost control. What if after achieving his goal, he turned that skill on her?
"—No." Ruminas shook her head. She was thinking too far ahead. For now, she should still observe Kazin and the current situation. She turned back to her quest board, once again pondering over the "mini-game". What could it be?
"There might be some kind of trial or event in this system but where can I find it…?" Ruminas wondered.
Ruminas didn't know, but thinking like that wasn't going to help either. It was best to get some sleep to regain her spirits. After all, she had fought quite a few battles today.
"Must level up soon"
"Hopefully tomorrow will be fine…"