Shirou sat alone on a worn wooden chair inside a wide cavern, the stone walls flickering under the light of several glowing stones embedded across the ceiling. His cloak was tossed over a broken barrel beside him. Beside his chair, Ashbringer stood buried deep in a man's chest, the hilt sticking out like a marker of death. Blood pooled beneath the body, soaking into the cracked floor of the cave. Around them, more bodies lay scattered. Silent. Cold.
With a calm breath, Shirou called forth his status window.
—-
[STATUS WINDOW]
[BASIC INFORMATION]
Name: Shirou
Race: Human
Level: 81 (377 / 1620 EXP)
Title: Elemental Adept, ???? (Locked)
SYNCHRONIZATION RATE: 5.2%
[CORE ATTRIBUTES]
HP: 715
MP: 1106
Strength: 380
Agility: 380
Intelligence: 382
Endurance: 382
Perception: 366
[ELEMENTAL AFFINITY]
Fire Release
Lightning Release
Earth Release
[SKILLS]
Omnilingual
Skill Absorption
Phantom Mirage
Poison Resistance
Passive Immortality
Mana Detection
Healing Touch
????? (Locked)
[COMBAT PROFICIENCIES]
Hand-to-Hand Combat – Intermediate (26/100)
Knife Mastery – Intermediate (19/100)
Dagger Mastery – Intermediate (24/100)
Sword Mastery – Intermediate (75/100)
[INVENTORY]
Inferno Fang
Ashbringer
Aether Coins
Dungeon key (locked)
----
Shirou stared at it, his golden eyes unmoving. "Only two levels," he muttered, looking at the corpses. "After all this, only two."
He clenched his fist, teeth gritting for a moment before he leaned back into the chair. "It's not just that I need more experience per level now. It's that I'm getting less from enemies. Even these guys… they were strong. But not strong enough."
He sighed, then raised his right hand. A soft blue glow appeared, and in his palm, a glowing key materialized. Above it, a small translucent timer floated:
[Dungeon key]
[Unlocks in 37 days 23 hours 46 minutes 15 seconds]
He dismissed it with a thought, the glow fading away.
"No new skills," he whispered, his voice low. "Not even an elemental one. Some of them had unique abilities, even rare innate abilities, and still nothing."
He glanced at his combat proficiencies, disappointed. "Barely a point or two. None of these guys was a challenge. I need someone stronger."
He dismissed the window with a wave and stood up, stretching his limbs and cracking his neck. His boots echoed slightly on the stone floor as he made his way to the side of the cave where a large pile of stolen goods was stacked. Aether coins, rare herbs, enchanted items, jewellery, and a few unfamiliar artefacts.
Behind him, Ashbringer shimmered into red sparks and disappeared back into his inventory.
He picked up a pouch of aether coins. As he placed it into his inventory, it dissolved into sparks.
His eyes moved to the remaining ones.
"It would be a lot easier if I just had to wave my hand instead of touching each one individually."
Shirou began picking up the items one by one, placing each into his inventory.
After storing most of them, a notification window suddenly appeared in front of him.
His eyes widened as he read it. "The hell…?"
[You have reached the inventory limit]
His eyes widened. "What? There's a limit?" he said aloud.
He stared at the message for a few seconds, frustration building.
"How is the limit even calculated? Is it the weight? Number of items? Energy output?" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "This system seriously needs a help menu. Or a guide. Or a damn customer care number."
With another wave of his hand, the notification disappeared.
He then looked at Ashbringer inside the scabbard. With a small command, he dismissed it, the sword vanished into sparks. Then immediately, he resummoned it. The sword reappeared in his hand.
"So... yeah," he muttered. "Even if the item is outside, as long as it's linked to the inventory, it still takes up space."
Then he bent his knees slightly, and he jumped with force. His body shot through the air like a bolt. He burst through the ceiling of the cave with a thud and landed smoothly beside the now gaping hole. He looked down once, then waved his hand. The earth rumbled softly and began to shift, closing the entrance back into solid ground.
He activated Mana Detection.
"No human signatures nearby," he confirmed, then turned his head. He stepped forward, and in a blink, his figure vanished into the forest.
----
Two days passed.
Shirou now walked through the thick greenery of the forest. His black cloak billowed gently in the wind. The sounds of birds and rustling leaves filled the air.
From the left, a voice called out, "You lost, kid?"
Shirou stopped and turned.
A small group of people stood among the trees. The one in front, a man with a kind expression, stepped forward.
"You're far off from the main road," the man said. "Need help?"
Shirou glanced at the group. They were natives. He could sense it in the way they moved, in their mana. Some of them were decent in strength, but not enough to pose any threat to him.
He hated to admit it, but he was definitely lost.
"Yeah," Shirou replied, scratching the back of his head. "Wanted to see more of the forest... and kind of lost my way."
The man laughed. "Figured. Happens sometimes. We usually find at least one or two people every month wandering around. You're lucky you ran into us. We're heading back to the village. You can come with us. We'll get you something to eat and a place to stay for the night."
Shirou forced a polite smile. "That would be helpful. Thanks."
He followed the group as they walked. His mind wandered.
'I thought there'd be more bandits in this forest,'Shirou thought. "They're definitely around, but the forest is huge. Even with mana detection, it's hard to pinpoint them. At this rate, it's better to just go straight to Ravaryn. Being too late might raise suspicion with Cedric."
"You really are lucky," the man in front said again. "Most people never find help out here. You miss a group like us and you're wandering for days."
Shirou looked at him silently. 'You didn't find me,' he thought. 'I let you find me.'
Still, he said aloud, "Yeah... I appreciate the help."
"Oh, no need for thanks," the man said with a grin. "Helping each other is just how things should be."
Shirou nodded, and for the first time in a while, let a genuine smile touch his lips.
They walked for about an hour. Then, through the trees, a village slowly came into view. It wasn't large, but not too small either. The houses were made of thick, packed mud. Their shapes were simple, different from the stone and polished wood of kingdom buildings. Plants and trees grew even inside the village, blending nature with living space.
People turned to stare at Shirou as he entered with the group. Their eyes filled with curiosity, not hostility.
"This is it," the man said proudly. "Might not be as cosy as a city inn, but we do our best."
Shirou looked around and nodded. "This is perfect."
He stepped through the village's wooden archway, the scent of smoke and earth filling his lungs.