-[Side-Quest: Find an incriminating piece of evidence. Reward: [150SP] + ?] Complete.
Reward: [150SP] + Full Restore -
As soon as the notification appeared, Donis was enveloped in a flash of light, instantly healing all of his injuries. His health had dropped down to a measly 3/28 and his mana had yet to regen to lock the box.
"That was too f.u.c.king convenient of you system," thought Donis, yet he wasn"t complaining. Even with those wounds taken care of, he had to still rush to lock the box, and try to escape out the window facing the desk.
He locked it much faster this time, already having a basic idea of the key form his ability had to take. He put the doc.u.ment into his [Inventory] and it instantly disappeared. Without hesitating, he ran to the window and with some unforeseen stroke of luck, it was unlocked.
He ran into the woods and realised it was actually night. He"d been beaten and kept there all day. Someone must be looking for him at this point. Yet he couldn"t really spare those thoughts too much time, right now he needs to find some sort of shelter, or way to stay safe for the night.
He ran.
And Ran.
And on he went, til" his lungs burned and his legs ached.
Donis had not stopped crying the entire time, the physical pain may be gone, but the mental scars are still fresh. The tears on his face burned almost as much as his chest.
While running, searching, and trying to leave as few tracks as possible, Donis knew he wouldn"t survive the night if he didn"t pick up a new skill from the shop. This time he had a workable amount of [SP], and for that alone he was grateful.
Opening [System Shop], Donis was greeted by a staggeringly high number of 12,339 pages of skills. "It looks like they"re based off of the total amount of [SP] I have huh.. I wonder what the more expensive ones look like.." thought Donis.
He willed the [System] to show him the skills he could employ right now to help him hide, or blend in, or do something to survive. There was quite a list, actually, and Donis was pleasantly surprised to see at least 40 different skills for this scenario.
Yet he could choose 2, maybe 3 different skills to help him right now, and he had to do it quickly, cause even though he was running non-stop, he"s still a child. He"s also level 2 compared to Rauls 38. Donis a.s.sumed the raw stat difference would be far, far too great even if they were the same age.
-[Aura Rework]- Shop Cost: [80SP]
[Novice] –
[Cost: 10 Mana per Cast (MP/c)] –
[Level: 1/12][EXP 3%]-
Allows the [User] to rework their aura on command, from concealing it to empowering it. As it levels up, allows the [User] to access greater variances in aura control.
-[Shadow In The Dark]- Shop Cost: [60SP]
[Novice] -
[Cost: 20MP/m] -
[Level: 1/10][EXP 6%] -
Allows the [User] to meld with the shadows around him, partially hiding them. As the level increases, the use of shadows becomes greater.
-[Trackless]- Shop Cost: [15SP]
[Basic] -
[Cost: 5MP/m] -
[Level: 1/15][EXP 15%]
Allows the [User] to see how to move through terrain to not leave any tracks. As level increases, the instinctual knowledge of how to be trackless in every movement increases.
After choosing these three abilities, Donis locked in his decision and immediately got overwhelmed by that sensation of knowing a new skill, as if he had just remembered something he"d forgotten long ago.
He cast the abilities one by one, doing his best to not mess up on his first try, as this failure could potentially lose him his life.
After running for another 5 minutes, Donis could run no longer, so he hid in the canopy of the forest. The air around him no longer carried his scent, the shadows seemed to drape over his skin concealing any reflections he could emitting, and the tracks he left behind are already miniscule. He felt safe for a second, as he still heard nothing behind him.
He"s had a question on his mind the entire time, and now was probably the only time to ask it.
"System, why was my reward full restore?"
-The [System] Will Save the [User] if it is Permitted. If the Reward is a Variable, the [System] Will Choose a Reward Based on Current Circ.u.mstances. The [System] Believed the [Users] Lungs Were About to be Pierced by Their Ribs, so the [System] Took the Liberty to Save the [User]-
"Oh.."
"Thank you, as grateful as I am for the timely save, I kinda feel like I may have been cheated out of a better reward," tacked on Donis with the [System] staying suspiciously silent.
As Donis was calming himself down in the canopy, he could hear the low shouts of the mercenaries in the distance, with Raul spewing flames in every direction. This immediately shot his heart rate back up, but he breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw that the group was heading in different direction to his hiding spot.
He knew he couldn"t stay there for much longer, they"re somehow still on his trail. Not that he ran all that far comparatively.
After feeling like his stamina was back to a workable state, he climbed back down, making sure to watch his footing to not fall or even make a sound. Everything around him was silent, he could almost hear his own heartbeat. It was strange.
Yet what was stranger was that everything was eerily quiet, save for the shouts in the distance. There were no chirps, no animals, nothing.
An odd sensation filled Donis. It was akin to a sixth sense, one he hasn"t honed yet, but it gave him a horrible feeling of being watched. So he moved onward, casting [Void Sense] trying to see in the dark what his eyes couldn"t perceive. Yet this still proved worthless, as he couldn"t locate what was causing it, but he knew he couldn"t stop even if he was being watched.
The odd feeling vanished abruptly, but what was even odder was the new notification.
-Skill Scanning...-
"Someone used a skill on me? Wait, how is the system even scanning it? Are they nearby?!" Donis immediately went onto high alert, sneaking glances all around him. This time though there was no more feeling, and the distant shouts became even quieter.
-[Skill Scanning Completed]-
-One Skill Scanned, and Catalogued. See Skill? Y/N-
Donis willed to see the new skill, and if what he felt earlier was unsettling, then this was downright terrifying.
-[Life Track]-
[Novice] -
[Cost: 20 MP/c] -
Allows the [User] to see all life-forces in a 1km radius. Can be used to find specific types of life-forces.
He ran. It no longer mattered where, he knew he had f.u.c.ked up so he ran. "Why didn"t I find a skill to run away with, why didn"t I find something to help me fight, or heal or anything else. If I knew they had this ability then I wouldn"t have bought those f.u.c.king useless skills," screamed Donis mentally.
Sweat dripped off of his face into his eyes, the pain barely registering in his mind as he frantically ran. His legs screaming to give up, his lungs burning for more air, his mind ablaze with a fanatical fervour and a primal fear. A fear of losing your life.
The branches scratched his skin, the rocks grazed his no longer existing soles, the abilities he had so readily bought long forgotten about. He fell, he stumbled, and he cried. Yet he didn"t stop for a second. He couldn"t.
"HAHahahah I f.u.c.kING found you, you stupid brat," a bone-chilling voice boomed from behind him.
Donis stopped and turned around. Even though his lungs hungered for air, he still couldn"t breathe as he saw those eyes staring him down, with a devilish look adorned by the devil in front of him.
Rauls aura had ignited, his skin being licked by the flames that surrounded him, yet they didn"t harm him.
Donis felt despair grip his heart, he was dead. He died again.
Raul walked slowly towards Donis, slowly raising his right hand, a small flame grew on his palm and began circling his fingers. When he was 10 meters away from Donis, he crushed the flame in his hand, smiled, and as if life wasn"t unfair enough already, Donis"s clothes then ignited.
Hot.
"I told you to not f.u.c.k with me."