He had only just transmigrated but it felt like it all happened ages ago.
What's more inconveniencing? Was it the reckless manner in which Summer was handling him while he stayed slyly unconscious, making the shoulder ride a lot more uncomfortable than was necessary?
Or was it the general fact that he was in the company of three apparent warriors that could end his life should they feel the need to? After all, this is not the first time Bux, the grumpy older man contemplated ending an "anomaly" like him during this journey.
Each time, he'd been let down by Winter, the SS-ranked mage who kept trying to inspect his system without success.
Or was it just the unsettling fact that he was now to be a lab rat? A Guinea pig for the experimentalists? A type of creature that must be killed to end, or ended to start the life of other beings that might be a stereotype from the result of his own analyses?
'I guess the system didn't hype this world well enough?'
'I've only seen three people so far, and I'm already facing execution. What would happen when I stand before the others or when I face beasts?'
[I told you all you needed to know. You told me to stop the "over-hype."]
[And speaking of beasts, there's a few lurking around the corner for your entertainment]
[Soak in their welcome]
"Wha–" he gasped out loud before he could control himself.
Winter shot her eyes directly at Eric who was facing downward, flopping against Summer's back like a dead animal. Her ears pricked, her senses flared, her aura grew wild. She strained, not too much, but just enough to pick the swift movement as large darkness-cloaked beasts cut through blades of grass, stalking and stalling, looking for the perfect opening to strike.
"Red-bellied Hounds," whispered Winter, standing poised and ready. The rest stopped too. "The bastards of the night. Would rather run you to death than strike you right away. I can pick eight of them. Any help, Summer? Your Hunter instincts are sharper than mine."
Summer scoffed, appearing pretty unperturbed by his sister's tense frame. He shifted Eric's weight to his left shoulder and said, "Yeah, you are correct. There are eight of them, but I sensed them a while ago. Why should I bother when I'm not on their radar?"
"What d'you mean, Sum?" Bux cut in. He was a little unfazed too. "We are all in danger of attack here. We're all on their radar."
"No. I disagree. All they seek is this rotten squirm on my shoulder. He's dripped a lot of blood on the forest floor to give even a blind man a trail. When the hounds attack, I'll just drop the weakling for them. Then we go back to the guild without a sweat broken."
"You will do no such thing!" Winter exploded. "That thing is a one-of-its-kind being and we'll get it safely to the guild without a hitch, is that understood?!"
'Thing? I'm a thing now?'
Summer grumbled, turning his back on his sister and walking off on the forest path. "Your wish is my command, my stern sister."
The others followed.
*Chime!*
[DISPLAYING STATS]
[...]
[LUCK: 60]
'What? Why are you bringing up my luck stat now?'
'Wait...it has reduced?!'
'Why is my luck pt reducing?!'
[LUCK: Your only stat that was bound to lose points instead of upgrading.]
[That might be the only downside of having acquired the System. The more you upgrade your other stats and you become more powerful, the unluckier you get.]
[Note: It doesn't keep going down. You can even get a 100 LUCK pts in the next few hours and have a boost of luck.]
[LUCK is the only stat that I have no control over, Eric.]
[Tik-tock... Will you wake up to a SSS-ranked beast ready to devour you at your doorstep? Or will you receive a pat on the head from the monarch? Your LUCK pts decide.]
Eric started mumbling mindlessly, drooling slightly on Summer's grey leather shirt. So many things about the System had stayed hidden to him, new facts and terms popping up after each encounter. But he feared than even worse facts was coming after him in the nearest future.
'To what do I owe such cruelty?'
[LUCK: 42]
[Guess you'll be fighting some beasts after all. Hope your mage friend fights valiantly for you]
KREEEEEEEEE!!!
A deafening screech suddenly erupted, sending chaotic ripples across the still air of the cold night. Night birds flew out of their nests in terror, flapping their long winds eagerly to stay out of range of the impatient beast that has disrupted the serene night. There were swift movements, sounds of bodies brushing through grass, retreating further into the jungle. Their initial stalking predators—the hounds—have taken to their heels.
Eric felt Summer suddenly jerk to a stop, turning leftwards, trying to follow the direction where the screeching noise came from. Winter almost hit her face against Eric's upturned head due to the sudden stop. She sighed heavily, her hands resting on her waist as she turned slowly, following the movement of her brother in the opposite.
Bux cursed in a strange tongue before yanking out a large war hammer out of the corner of his belt, his knees bent as he calmly scanned the woods while moving deftly on his toes.
"On my life, that was not a Red-bellied Hound's cry. That thing is at least an A-ranked beast. I can feel the effect of its cry down my spine."
Eric would never have thought that Bux would say so many words at once without threatening to kill someone. Someone, that is, him.
'Our Bux here seems excited about beasts. He must have a lot of experience dealing with them. Maybe I'll survive this damned night after all.'
"We're never gonna survive that beast if they move in group," said Winter solemnly, her hands still on her waist while shifting on her feet.
'Oh. Spoiler alert.'
'Let's run then. Run,' Eric tried to force some words out through his slowly-healing gut, but all he could manage to produce was a wheeze and more blood.
"Summer, what do you think?" pressed Winter as she adjusted those loose strands of white hair again.
"Bux might be correct. That's at least, an A-ranked beast, and it will be a damn problem if we have to face that now," replied Summer, stopping Eric's body from sliding further down his torso. "I however have no idea how a beast of such rank will be found in such a weak hunting area as this. Something must have attracted it here, or it's searching for a breeding site...or it might be a stray, looking for its home."
Winter sniffed, her brows furrowed. "It can't be a stray. Beasts have better sense of direction than humans. Do you think it sensed us already?"
"I wouldn't know until we move. I'll keep my senses peaked for the tiniest paw that follows us."
Bux growled, taking the lead as they turned and continued down the path cautiously. His weapons were still draw, ready for action. Summer and Eric took the middle, while Winter guarded the rear. She appeared stoic, quite unbothered but her distant eyes and unbalanced steps said otherwise.
Eric raised his head painfully to keep watch also, but all he could see was Winter's bleach-white ponytail hair, bouncing behind her back while the loose ends settled with a cascade over her red robe.
'A robe?'
It was the first time he actually took a good look at any of them. He had only heard their voices and judged them according to their tone, which was a very damning disadvantage to Bux's score in his books. But his eyes have been kept close in deep pain ever since he fell, so they were pretty much non-existent to him, physically.
'But a red robe? What age is this?'
The robe shone even in the darkness, flowing all the way down to the forest ground, sweeping broken leaves and twigs with each step she took. The sleeves were broad, starting loose and baggy from the shoulders and gradually tapering down towards the wrist. Just above the wrist, the sleeves were fitted, mimicking the look of a vambrace. However, instead of metal, the fitted portion was made from thick, braided black rope wrapped around the wrist in a crisscross manner and safely knotted at the end.
'Who the hell fits a robe's sleeves over the wrists? Who the hell was the stylist?!'
Looking down, he saw that the robe had a long slit, cut right through the middle of the flowing ends till it stopped at the waist region. From the slit, he could see fitted pants with the same shade as the robe's, looking rough and rugged till it was tapered over her boots with the same type of rope that fitted her sleeves.
The boots were sturdy and awkward-looking, with a rough, battle-worn appearance that suggests they've seen their fair share of rugged terrain. Made of worn leather, the boots seem to be designed more for functionality than fashion, with thick soles and a chunky design that makes them look slightly clumsy on the Winter's feet.
It was all red...
Winter caught Eric's weak gaze, and she peered back, saying nothing.
'Blue eyes...White hair...red robe... Black boots. What a striking figure.'
But something else was red. Behind her...
He could see them. Two, large and deep red, with big dark vertical slits. It was nothing. It was probably one of the extra effects the hunting forests came with...until it blinked.
His breath caught in his throat.
"Behind you! Run!" He yelled with all the strength he could muster. His throat burned, freshly wounded as more blood coated his tongue. He felt that tang, again. What an inappropriate time to realize blood actually tasted like copper, not iron.
*KRREEEEEE!*
Winter turned swiftly on her heels, waving her arms wildly at the same time, something bright forming on her palms as she danced. But the grotesque beast beat her to it, as it bounded out of the thick shrubs and lunged wildly at her, the nearest target.
KA-BOOM!
A bright fireball shot out, losing its target as it was mistakenly launched at a nearby tree trunk, shattering the woods into splinters, charring the trunk instantly as charcoal dropped from the burned part. It fell with a crashing noise.
Winter had been knocked over by the beast, sailing in the air, slamming her back against a large tree. She gave a short painful yelp as her head hit the trunk brutally. Her eyes closed deep in pain, her mouth wide open as air was knocked out of her lungs. She fell face first into the ground, whimpering into the soil.
Summer instantly dropped Eric on the hard ground, running and yelling at the beast, after Bux. Fueled by fury, he brought out a long blade that wasn't part of him before as he set off to deal damage to the Grotesque.
Eric shot his hands out and started crawling towards Winter who seems to be knocked out cold. Struggling, he pushed himself slowly at her lying figure, her hair ribbon out of place, and a soul weapon by her side.
Cough! Cough!
He was delaying his healing process with each movement.
'Winter...'
*Chime!*
[NEW QUEST ISSUED: KILL THE FIRE MAGE]
[CONSUME MANA FROM THE S-RANKED MAGE TO RECEIVE AN INSTANT AWAKENING]
[THIS IS A ONE-TIME CHANCE!]