======
[Name: Bandit Emperor]
[Race: Human(?)]
[Sex: Male(?)]
[Lv: 0 (Exp: 0/100)]
[Class: None]
[Attributes: STR 10, DEX 7, CON 9, INT 7, WLL 8, SPR 5]
[Talents: Possession Lv1]
[Skills: None]
======
Well, there went all his progress. SV sighed as he closed his profile. He then stared at the nobleman.
This death spot was indeed something. He was so close to the BOSS that he'd immediately die the moment he respawned. And those NPCs didn't look like they could last long. What was he supposed to do? Should he just give up this character?
No matter.
He turned to check the logs he missed.
[You have been identified.]
[INT check has been initiated. 9<567. Check failed. Identification successful.]
[You have been analyzed.]
[SPR check has been initiated. 7<7437. Check failed. Analysis successful.]
[You have been divined.]
[WLL check has been initiated. 10<1000. Check failed. Divination successful.]
[You have been identified.]
[INT check has been initiated. 9<598. Check failed. Identification successful.]
[You have been observed.]
[INT check has been initiated. 9<643. Check failed. Observation successful.]
[You have been observed.]
[INT check has been initiated. 9<612. Check failed. Observation successful.]
Wow, just wow. SV swore that something was seriously wrong here. Was this really a tutorial, or is it that he had approached the missions incorrectly, so the difficulty spiked?
Looking at the NPCs hiding behind the barrier. He wondered whether there was a time limit. Would they have attacked once the BOSS reached the cavern? So his objective was to somehow weaken the BOSS before that?
From the attributes displayed in the check logs, it was evident that the 7000+ SPR belonged to the BOSS. The NPCs were ridiculously outmatched. Even their leader, assuming the 1000 belonged to her, was only slightly better.
So how should this scene have been played instead?
Actually, why would the NPCs attack at all? Where did they get their confidence from? What was the story here?
Looking at the red lights speeding around and ramming against the barrier, causing it to dim ever so slightly, he had a thought.
What if the BOSS wasn't actually that strong? What would've happened if he killed as many townspeople as possible? With fewer Fractured Spirits under the BOSS's control, his attack power should decrease considerably, right?
It made sense; it made perfect sense: get rid of the underlings before dealing with the BOSS. Basic gaming strategy.
Unfortunately, he didn't have that ability. At least in the graveyard, the spirits would try to possess him once he destroyed their body. But the townspeople didn't; their bodies just somehow recovered on their own.
His only means was to possess them, but with his long possession cooldown, it was a pipe dream to kill a decent number.
And what about the magic circle under the BOSS's feet? There was also one in the lake. Even the NPCs had a strange pentagram under their feet; each one of them was situated at a tip.
Were these set up on the spot, or were they here before? Could he have dismantled them somehow?
Well, these were all speculations. He then remembered the quest he unlocked.
[Quest: Where the curse began]
[Description: The Cavern of Wishes holds the mystery of the town's curse. The clear water in the lake speaks of its untold desires. Break the eternal cycle.]
[Duration: Unlimited]
[Rewards: 300 Exp]
SV read it several times, each time making him more confused. First, he wasn't the one who broke the cycle; it was those NPCs. Was the system mistaken? Second, the 300 Exp showed that he followed the right order of things, so why had it spiraled out of control?
SV racked his brains to make sense of what was happening. First, he assumed that the system wouldn't make mistakes. So he was indeed the one who broke the cycle. Second, since he followed the right mission order, someone must have interfered. He turned to look at the NPCs and narrowed his eyes; it must've been them. It was very likely they were the gatecrashers, both literally and figuratively.
Originally, he should've arrived at the cavern and gotten the quest, then... wait, no, his thoughts stopped in their tracks. The quest was completed the moment he got it. Would breaking the cycle cause the BOSS to go berserk? Very likely. So he should've cleared the townspeople first? How did he break the cycle? When did he break the cycle?
Ah! Whatever. Again, all speculations. He had no concrete proof. More importantly, his seven points of INT weren't enough to parse all this nonsense.
He turned to look at the battle. Anyway, he needed to somehow help this bunch of NPCs; they seemed to be his only hope of beating the BOSS. Otherwise, he should just go and create another character.
Looking at them huddling for warmth behind the barrier, he was speechless for a moment. They seemed to be holding something in their hands but were hesitant to act. Their leader was furtively glancing at the maid's corpse. He could discern a sliver of hope and desperation in her eyes.
She expected him to act? They were waiting for something? Waiting for him? No way, right? What could a level zero weakling like him achieve? He frowned, idly stroking his beard.
They obviously had seen his stats, and they probably knew more about him than he did himself. So what were they expecting, or rather, what was she expecting? After all, he could see that the others were only waiting because of the leader. Otherwise, they were fidgeting, their eyes darting around looking for an escape. The core of their cohesion was rapidly weakening.
Huh, the only thing he could do was to appear before the BOSS and attempt possession. Obviously, he wouldn't succeed, but it should give them enough time to try something, right?
'Well, here goes nothing.'
—
The cacophony of wails filled the NPC group with dread. Their only hope lay in their leader, whose hope lay, inexplicably, in the figure that had just arrived, only to promptly perish.
The BOSS was relentless in his attacks, and noticing the furtive glances the woman shot towards the maid's corpse, he waved a finger, and a portion of the Fractured Spirits swept the corpse away from the magic circle and pulverized it, much to the woman's despair. A gleeful chuckle escaped his mouth.
The group, sensing their leader's despair, exchanged glances. Just as they were about to attempt a Hail Mary, the scene suddenly changed.
—
Having just spawned, SV quickly recovered from his vertigo and grinned at the stunned BOSS right in front of him. Without delay, he extended his hand to touch him, but he was greeted by a makeshift barrier the BOSS managed to instinctively set up.
SV frowned, making the scar on his forehead look even more ferocious. The BOSS flinched before he was surprised and hurriedly waved his hands, causing the spirits to gather towards him.
Just as SV wondered what was going on, he heard a bird's cry from behind him, the sound of incoming projectiles breaking the air, and the crackling. Before he could react, he was engulfed in flames and lightning, instantly vaporizing him.
—
SV looked speechlessly at the mess of bright lights in his vision.
'Damn, they have no concept of friendly fire,' he shook his head. When the lights receded, he could see the BOSS tightly wrapped in a crimson cocoon. An eye opened on the cocoon before it parted and revealed the BOSS's spotless figure.
The BOSS cursed and turned towards the lake, the magic circle under his feet expanding to include the entirety of the cavern. He started chanting incantations.
SV raised a nonexistent eyebrow and looked to the left to see that, indeed, the NPCs had disappeared.
Then a thought suddenly struck him. But what about him? What was he supposed to do here?
He teetered between waiting and simply opening a new account. Seeing that the BOSS didn't seem to have any intention of leaving anytime soon, he chose to quit, his vision rapidly darkening.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in the white menu space.
He looked at the dull view around him for a moment before summoning the system again. He clicked on accounts and saw one character displayed in the list. He ignored it and chose to create a new one.
Familiar text appeared on the screen.
[Talent is being generated.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the talent "Survivor Lv1".]
[Character creation complete!]
[Beginning transmission.]
[We wish you a pleasant experience.]
His vision darkened.
—
A familiar sensation of being torn apart assaulted SV's senses. When he came to, another familiar stench hit his nose.
SV instinctively brought a hand to his nose before frowning and looking around him. The muddy ground, the graves, the gates, and the corpses littered around.
Was the spawn point fixed? It seemed like it. Seeing no danger, SV opened his profile to take a look.
======
[Name: SV#479]
[Race: Human(?)]
[Sex: Male(?)]
[Lv: 0 (Exp: 0/100)]
[Class: None]
[Attributes: STR 10, DEX 7, CON 9, INT 7, WLL 8, SPR 5]
[Talents: Survivor Lv1]
[Skills: None]
======
Nothing strange, similar to his first account. Of course he had to change his name later, but first, he checked his talent.
======
[Survivor]
[Lv: 1]
[Rank: A]
[Description: Defensive checks gain a +5 modifier.]
[Cooldown: None]
======
SV raised a nonexistent eyebrow. Did he read that right? He approached one of the corpses he had left behind for later and touched it. Immediately, a red light flashed and entered his glabella.
[You have been possessed.]
[SPR check has been initiated. 5+5>6. Check passed. Possession failed.]
[You have slain a Fractured Spirit. Exp +3]
Sensing a familiar shattering of glass in his body, SV grinned from ear to ear. This is how talents should be, plain and simple. If he had had this the first time, it would've made his life much easier.
No matter.
SV went and harvested the remaining corpses. While doing so, he looked at his logs to see if he had missed anything again.
He saw that he had triggered a quest like before. And it was the same escape the graveyard quest. SV wondered if entering the town would trigger the second quest as well.
Then, he went to change his name. However, he didn't have any ideas. He wanted something cool, something that matched his talent to make it poetic.
He stroked his beard as he went about touching corpses.
Bandit Emperor #2?
No way, so bland.
Resilient Bad Guy?
Nah, cringe.
Bald Bad Undead?
Eh, no.
Dead Undead?
Nothing was more resilient than the undead, and a dead undead meant that it was alive, right? Perfect.
Having finished up the corpses, he used the platform he had built to scale the wall. Just as he crossed the threshold to hang down from the wall, he felt himself crossing a barrier. He was momentarily stunned, having forgotten this barrier existed.
He dropped to the ground and looked back to the graveyard, ignoring the level-up screen that popped up. What purpose did it serve in the grand scheme of things? Unfortunately, he knew too little and had no way of identifying barriers.
Honestly, SV was very envious of the identification spells the NPCs used on him. If he had had one previously, he wouldn't have needed to worry about failing an SPR check every time. He only needed an SPR-based identification skill, and it would solve his problem.
Actually, an STR-based identification skill would be nice too, if such a thing even existed. What would the system say—you have been dismantled? He chuckled as he made his way to the town.
He passed by the familiar road and fields in the darkness of the night. SV looked at the beauty of the star-filled sky before a frown crept up on his face. He suddenly stopped and stared directly up.
The moon hadn't moved at all.