Chapter 17- New Items And a Skill
Violet looked directly at Rein silently for a good few seconds, slightly taken aback by what he said. However, as she thought about it, she understood what Rein was trying to tell her. He wasn't really being harsh, but rather trying to give her a wake-up call.
If she let herself mull over this and weigh the morality of these actions, she would never progress, and in a world like the one they're about to enter, that was a death sentence. There was no civilization anymore, only people who could fight and people who couldn't.
"No, I…" Violet grasped the cycle as she looked at Rein. "I will fight. I won't hesitate to kill."
Her eyes were determined and strong as all uncertainty vanished from them. Rein squinted before he nodded his head.
"Good." He said. "It's for your own good that you do that. Anyway, you can experiment with your new skill and weapon later. For now, just try to relax before we have to leave. Where are the other two agents you mentioned by the way?"
"I don't know, honestly. They left earlier and haven't come back yet. They might be resting."
"Who are they?"
"Agent Philippe and Agent Renoir," Violet explained.
"Hmm, those two?" Rein nodded. 'I have never talked to them before. They aren't that important.'
Rein knew every single agent working for the agency as a part of his strict code. Knowing your supposed ally is far more important than knowing your enemy. Because in the end, you know that's your enemy and you should expect the worst from them, but your ally could truly stab you in the back, and you wouldn't expect it.
Rein finally looked away from Violet and manifested his System profile. He wanted to see how much he had progressed.
'I also got a new title if I remember correctly. That's one of the things I still haven't discovered yet.'
[Name: Rein Silversoul]
[Age: 23]
[Level: 8 (11/80)]
[Race: Human]
[State: Awakened]
[Titles: Bearer Of Omens]
[Skills: Gravity Manipulation (Level 2) / One-Man Army (Level 1)]
[Stats: (Avg: 10)
Strength: 29
Agility: 29
Stamina: 29
Intelligence: 37
Charisma: 40
Life Essence: 123
Regeneration: 24]
[Free Points: 1]
'Stats are looking very good, and my Gravity Manipulation skill has leveled up. I could feel it when it happened, like some of the limits on it have been lifted. That's good. The more it levels up, the better I can use it.' He thought to himself. 'However, back to the title, 'Bearer Of Omens', huh? What an eerie name.'
Rein pursed his lips as he stared at the title. A part of him didn't like that it was called that way, but another part hoped it was just a dark name for a very beneficial thing.
'What do you do?'
[Name: Bearer Of Omens]
[Title effect: Increases your general stats by 3% permanently]
[Description: He was once a man with a thousand fortunes. His life was the biggest fortune of all, until it wasn't. All misfortune consumed him, and he was cursed to wander the realms with the omens he suffered carried on his shoulders. His presence, no matter where, was a sign of a grim end.]
"That… Definitely doesn't make this any more pleasant." Rein muttered as he read the description of the title. Even though it seemed to give him a permanent buff, which was huge, he didn't feel any happier with it.
'He? Whose is the 'he' this system is talking about? Some historical individual? A myth?' Rein frowned. 'Me?'
Rein couldn't tell, and from the way it was phrased, this person was very strong and perhaps important. But, since Rein didn't know who it was or these realms the system mentioned, he could only guess.
"Rein? Is everything ok?" Violet noticed the perturbed look on his face and asked him immediately.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He muttered. 'Well, it's pointless to try to understand all these shenanigans. I will focus on what I understand, and that is…'
Manifesting the three rocks he gained, Rein looked at them. 'Two are Artefacts, and one is a Skill. They better be very good.' Rein thought to himself.
He then grabbed the skill and used it.
[Name: Fortified Fist]
[Rank: C+]
[Type: Active]
[Level: 1]
[Description: This skill allows you to fortify your fist, increasing the damage dealt by it by 50% for one single hit. Can be used more than once and requires Essence to activate.]
'Oh, pretty neat. I can make my punches deal a lot more damage. Being able to use the other hand as a weapon with the sword is certainly useful in many situations.' He thought to himself. With Rein's fighting style, this was a perfect addition to his arsenal.
Then, Rein moved to the second rock and used it. As it dispersed, two things appeared in his hands.
"Oh? Are these?" Rein frowned as he examined the item. "Boots?" He frowned. The boots looked to be made out of a blue kind of leather with a medieval style that made them appear ancient yet quite marvelous.
[Name: Lucidity Boots]
[Type: Boots]
[Rarity: Normal]
[Ability: Increases speed by 15%]
[Description: Boots weaved out of the feathers of the Sky Islands Vulture. Their characteristics give the user lighter and quicker feet.]
"What do those boots do, Rein?" Violet asked.
"It seems they make me faster." He muttered.
"That is very good. Are you going to try them on?"
"Sure."
Rein nodded as he put them down and then put his legs inside. Since they were huge, he didn't even need to get rid of his current shoes to try them on. Almost immediately, Rein felt quite lighter than before, as if his legs had lost the weight they had been carrying the entire time.
[Would you like to make the boots invisible?]
"Oh? Well, that is useful. I don't need to look like a medieval warrior wearing this stuff?" He muttered to himself as he accepted. Almost immediately, the boots vanished from sight, and only his shoes remained visible.
"This is ridiculous…" Violet blinked. "It doesn't feel like reality anymore. It's like we're inside a game."
"..." Rein nodded. 'This is what the world would probably be like if it had game elements in it. Someone out there is probably living their wet dream.'
Then, Rein used the second rock, and this time, what appeared in his hand seemed to be an earring of sorts. The piece was made out of a beautiful red gem, and it looked quite nice, like a Renaissance piece of jewelry.
[Name: Essence Gem]
[Type: Jewelry]
[Rarity: Normal]
[Ability: Absorbs the Life Essence in the air passively. The user is able to use that stored Essence whenever they wish.]
[Description: The red gem was born within the Heart of all essence, bathed in the mystical energy for eons. Even when far from its source, its desire to absorb and harvest it still remains as strong as ever.]
"Interesting…" Ren muttered. "An earring that seems to absorb energy and store it. Something like a reserve I could use in times of emergency." He muttered.
"That would be very helpful if you run out of energy, no?"
"Yeah, quite a bit actually."
'Especially since my main skill is quite taxing when it comes to Essence usage. This could make a big difference depending on how much it could store.'
Nodding his head, Rein finally moved the earpiece next to his ear. Almost instantly, as if it had a mind of its own, it latched onto his ear neatly, not hurting him whatsoever.
"Nice. Now, let's make it vanis-"
"Wait!" Violet suddenly spoke out of nowhere.
"Hm?"
"Could you… Umm, keep it visible for a bit? It… looks really nice on you." She said as she averted her eyes while sneaking looks at Rein's face. She didn't expect the earring to look that good on him. Its red color really complemented his midnight black hair and sharp eyes.
'Ugh, he looks so handsome. I'm going to die!'