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◇ LEVEL 5 ◇
★ SKILLS |∆| [—] [—] [—] [—]
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≡ ITEMS(25.865g) |Boots of Mana| [—] [—] [—] [—] >
≡ RUNES |Grasp of the Undying| [Axiom Arcanist] [Absolute Focus] [Gathering Storm] [Second Wind] >
≡ SPELLS [Clarity] [Heal] >
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I was sitting on a log next to the campfire. Observing the blue interface,
"Level five...Heal is strong as heck,"
--Everything about the system was.
"And yet,"
My focus turned to my wrists. Blood marks surging again.
"That power is insane. Radiation is no joke."
Over those six years in Ixaocan I've farmed a ton of xp. I hunted monsters with the excuse of doing missions for their merit system.
By now I've met every game camp, excluding Baron Nashor, Dragons, and the scuttle crab. Unlike in my graduation hunt, these were very one sided fights. Gold also became lower and lower with repetition.
Two points to address: Level and Buffs.
On Buffs, the game's list is shallow. Red Brambleback, Blue Sentinel, Dragons, Baron. What I found is that certain monsters grow crystals that accumulate mana over time. They grow stronger because of it. And once killed, it slips nearby and mark targets.
That's how buffs works.
Also, Dragon scales shields mana well, so I bought this mantle. Gathering Storm stores too much so still slips through a little. But it helps with lessening attention.
Now for level.
My theory is that it's time-gated. I stopped hunting for a year now and the level increased on its own. If I'm right, ten more years puts me at fifteen. If I'm wrong, next year it stays unchanged and I'll go on a rampage to fill it manually.
All that means is that, I don't need to worry about levels and that I should keep an eye out for monsters that have buffs. Probably jail them somewhere for future use.
"...I've a lot of gold. I'm itching to spend but I'll wait until it's strictly necessary. I'm already strong anyways."
The UI too. I'm even afraid of using most of its things. And I'm not even at max level yet.
.
Next day,
I woke up with morning sunlight on my face. An improvised camp with stone-carved runes around me still in effect. They helped with hiding.
I needed to pass the night here for recovery.
I stretched my arms above my head until my back cracked, then sat still for a moment, eyes closed.
'Targon. Celestial Power. Kill the void...' I ran everything I needed through my head like sharpening a blade. Goals. Skills. Crucial stuff.
League taught me that I can never be perfect, but that doesn't stop me from being the best. The pursuit of it is what makes you great.
The place I was had a view of the vila below. Now empty and destroyed. Like a magical tornado had slammed through and swapped every element from its place. Walls caved inward. Fountains dry and tilted.
I noticed a ship arriving at the shores.
"Mhn?"
A woman got out.
Alone.
Her face was covered with a tunic. She wandered, observing the scene. Touched some rocks still swaying with luminescent smoke. Then stopped. Stood there longer than someone just passing through would.
I shrugged it off.
"Must be a lookout."
But that conclusion bothered me.
…After some time the woman returned to her ship and sailed off.
I was storing my stones into the folded space, doing a last check on my body when it clicked.
"Oh. It's the timing." I said out loud.
"The timing for the lookout was weird. Way too fast for a place without cellphones."
Once I was done I took flight. My body pulled up into the sky by a luminous force.
SWOOSH—The air roared on my ears as I zoomed fast.
'It could be just some other tool for communication. Nothing to worry about.'
.
.
A week later.
Bel'zhun.
From high above in the morning light, the deep blue ocean contrasted beautifully with the jagged shape of the city. Bel'zhun had no modern skyscrapers, but countless traditional small houses packed tightly together, their rooftops catching the first amber light.
'Traveling with flight is cool and all but, it's really not optimal. My attention needs to be up at all times and after each hour I need to make a stop. Shit just too bothersome.'
"I hope the recall button works properly."
I looked down at the endless intersections of narrow alleys carving through the shadows of the dense stone city, all winding toward the harbor.
A steady flow of ships was already crowding the sunlit waters, cutting the waters toward the docks.
I looked up towards the horizon blue.
'...Can't see Piltover from here.'
I leaned forward, letting gravity take over as I angled my body downward. The wind whoosed past my ears until I neared a quiet, unpopulated area.
Once close to the ground, I straightened my posture, sliding my feet into a slight gap to catch the air and slow the descent.
Tap.
My boots touched the ground.
My eyes scanned the landscape.
It was covered in sand and ruins. Heavily damaged, hollowed-out buildings. The scars of Noxian conquest, I presumed.
'Noxians… I'm kinda fond of them. Their methods are absolute and direct. Fuck morals, power rules mindset.'
I kneeled. Fingers pressed against the dry earth.
'But that frames you as villain. And the powerful always choose empathy over subservience, aiming their strength against you.'
"Deceive them with hope, blind them with promises," I murmured to the empty air.
WHACK!
The sound of scuffling drew my attention.
I stood up. Turning around.
My gaze sharpened, focusing through a pile of debris and crumbling stone structures.
Mana filled my eyes, I synced my sight to the earth. The stone and debris became semi-translucent, allowing me to literally feel the solid matter through my eyes. It was still biologically limited, but fortunately, I'm far from normal.
Three rough-looking kids from the docks had a girl cornered against a stone wall. She was dressed in rather fine, clean fabric.
I turned my head. My hearing adjusted, piercing the distance.
"### You ## HaHa!"
They spoke a different tongue—a Shuriman dialect. I hadn't studied it yet, and only a few words matched Ixitalic.
But,
I had anticipated this.
I smiled.
Then opened the UI.
Click.
[Clarity]
I felt a gentle scratch at the back of my mind. A tingling sensation, like experiencing ASMR for the very first time as the foreign words instantly rewired themselves into my consciousness.
"You think just because your father is a little better off than us you get to be our friend?" the boy spat—WHACK—shoving her hard enough to make her head snap back against the stone. "Dream on."
"Haha! She's still holding that mask! Look at her face!"
"We won't play with you! You will never be our friend!"
My face relaxed, my smile holding.
'Great. It's working properly.'
My gaze lingered on the kids. Then the girl. She was shaking, clutching a beautifully carved wooden mask to her chest. It was a split-face design, one half dark and the other pale. Its eye sockets were hollow and dark, giving it a lifeless, haunting look.
'Is that a Kindred mask?'
One of the boys raised a fist, lining up another strike.