R(emnant)PG – Update 1.1!
Chapter 003 – Golden Fields Pt II
The monstrous mass of the Beowolf glared harshly into my silver eyes, its breath coming out in deep rasps. I gulped in fear.
The creature of Grimm could smell it. It tensed.
"Uh… any weapons nearby? Or any spells I can use? Anything?" I cautiously pleaded with the System, backing away slowly as I did so. I had just gotten here, for God's sake, and now I was going to face death by mauling.
[Not much… Wait! Try spreading your hands open!]
"How will that help?!"
[No time, just do it!]
I flinched at the sudden volume, and the monster began its approach. With no other choice open to me, I did as the System said, and splayed my hands open. They were still tense, shaking slightly. There was a sudden 'CLICK' as I did so. Curious, I looked down.
And I smiled.
"Oh, you beauties." I grinned down. Upon each of my fingers and thumbs lay some very sharp animal claws. Looking down revealed the same sight to be found on my toes. My grin grew, and I took a stance, facing the monster yet again.
"Ok. This will work. I can work with this. I got this." I struggled to reassure myself, as the monster continued to pace towards me. The hairs on my body stood on end for a moment, but just as quickly as it happened, it stopped, and a strange calm settled over me. It came matched with a sudden determination. My eyes switched from near-terrified weeping, to a steady gaze.
The creature stopped mere metres away from me. It tilted its head, seemingly confused at the sudden shift in my attitude. I didn't blame it. I had no idea what it was anyway.
But that didn't matter now. Only one thing did.
Survival.
Wordlessly, I charged forwards, dashing at incredible speed towards my enemy. The creature tensed, attempting to bring up its arm for a slash with its mighty claws.
I dived underneath at the last second, its arm passing harmlessly over me. I brought my hands into its stomach, slashing at its flesh with ferocity. The creature howled in pain as my hands came away, pieces of its flesh dissolving in my fingers.
It didn't take long for it to react. With its other arm, it batted me back with unexpected force. A gasp of air escaped me. It didn't relent for a moment, charging towards me on all fours and ramming me into a tree. Coincidentally the same one I had punched earlier.
A bitter laugh escaped me, though my voice was hoarse from the impact. "Bad move." I gritted out, a slight grin on my face. The creature's eyes glared up at me, seeming to question me.
I answered swiftly, clawing at its face.
"Get the hell… OFF ME!" I yelled as I tore at its bone-like mask. I forced my hands into fists, and rammed them down into the creature's snout. It was forced to push back, and I pressed the advantage, kicking at its body before it could react. The claws on my feet scraped further on its flesh.
It struck me again in its pained fury, making me scream in pain. It seemed delighted.
"Laugh it up, fuzzball." I glared at it, before dashing behind the tree. The earlier impact had only added to its damage. It looked about ready to collapse.
Perfect.
"Hah!" I yelled, bringing my fists onto the tree once more. The wood groaned, and I struck it once more. With a mighty heave, it crashed down.
Right onto the creature, pinning it to the ground.
"Not… so fun now, I-is it?" I forced out. I was bruised, battered and exhausted. The creature however, was cut up, bleeding. I supposed that meant I was winning.
I hauled my way over to the creature as it struggled to push the tree off from its massive form. To its credit, the tree did rise slightly. It seemed it could lift it given time.
I wouldn't let it.
"RARGH!" It let out a roar as I pressed my foot onto one of its arms, and twisted. The force was intense, and I heard a 'CRACK' ring out. The creature howled again.
"Don't you ever shut up?!" I gritted out, bringing my fist towards its other arm. It yelped as I pushed it away from the tree, and proceeded to pummel it. It took a little longer than the first arm, but yet again it cracked under the pressure. I kept going until red fluid came forth.
"RARG-" I cut off its roar by clamping its jaws shut with my hands. It growled and struggled, tossing and turning its head violently. I glared back to it and refused to let go. I struggled as it attempted to open its maw once more, but I forced it shut before any sound could escape.
"Hey!" I barked at it. "I said… STAY. QUIET!" I rammed my head into its hard skull mask. Pain lanced through my skull, and I felt something warm come down, but smirked when I saw the mask begin to crack, revealing what looked like burnt flesh, black like the rest of it.
The creature glared, but it lacked the hatred it held moments ago. Instead, it seemed somehow apprehensive. It tried to growl again, but all that it could muster was a whimper.
Fear, I realised. It was afraid of me.
Good.
"You should be." I glared into it. The last thing it saw were two silver orbs, reflecting the fury in its own red eyes, magnifying the image. I brought forth my hand,
And pounded down, forcing my hand through its head.
The creature's body faded into dust, dissolving into the air as I collapsed onto the ground. Blood still trickled down my face, but I couldn't care less. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or perhaps the blood loss – which appeared to be stopping surprisingly quickly – but only one thought filled my head, and it filled me with glee.
"I won!" I weakly cheered. It seemed stupid to consider this a victory with the damage I had received, but come on! I just killed a giant demonic wolf monster with my bare hands, cut me some slack!
[Impressive! I wasn't sure you would make it. You almost didn't. But, you somehow managed it. And, as a reward, you just levelled up for the first time! Congrats!]
"Yeah, I'm surprised too-" My words were cut off as a sudden rush of energy flooded me. I sprang up off of the ground, feeling replenished. More than that, even. I felt full to brim with energy.
"Woah…" I uttered. I had no words to describe the sensation. It was incredible! "System, Status!" I called out. The familiar box obliged my request.
[Rex Aurum – Level 2]
[HP – 110/110]
[AP – Locked]
[MP – Locked]
[LP – 5 Available]
[STR – 10]
[DEX – 10]
[INT – 10]
[WIS – 10]
[CHR – 10]
[LUK – 10]
"So, LP is Level Points, right? Do I just put them in the Stats?" I guessed. It was apparently correct, as the box tilted in a sort of nodding gesture. I grinned.
"So, let's try two in INT, two in CHR, and one in LUK." I spoke. The box responded, allocating the points in line with my statement. Based on my encounter, my Combat Stats were fine for now, but I had no way of testing the others. It was best to err on the side of caution regarding those, and they seemed like they would be useful, especially later on.
Plus, maybe my LUK would allow me to not be attacked by a giant monster almost as soon as I showed up! That seemed pretty important right about now!
"We should probably get moving. I got pretty lucky there, but I don't think I can get another tree to collapse on the next one." I shuddered at the thought. Really, I was lucky I could pin it down. Otherwise, I had no idea what might have happened.
[Good plan. The nearest populated area is about an hour's walk away. I'll pin it on the map. Just check that by thinking or saying 'Map'.]
I nodded as another box came forth, this one displaying a single image of a map. As I thought, I was on the edge of some kind of field, with a small farm close by. Beyond, the area became more forested, but there was a straight pathway running towards a nearby village, marked with an arrow. The map closed, and at the top of my vision a compass appeared, with the arrow shown upon it.
"Let's go." I sighed, before moving forth.
Oscar Pines watched from afar, as the golden haired man marched off confidently. He seemed unfazed by the Beowolf he had just killed. It was an intense fight that he saw, but the Golden Haired Man was relentless, constantly talking and yelling at the beast. He seemed unafraid the whole time.
"So cool…" He whispered in awe. He himself had been frozen with terror, his eyes transfixed on the fight. He had seen the occasional small Grimm, but nothing as big as a Beowolf before. If it wasn't for the stranger at the edge of the fields, he was sure he would have died.
"Maybe one day… I can be as fearless as-" He was cut off by a shout from the farm.
"Oscar! Dinner's ready!" His aunt yelled. Oscar turned back to face her, a smile on his face.
"Coming!" He called back, running forth. He stopped briefly, taking one last look back. The stranger was gone. He smiled before heading back.
He had to tell his family about this!
It didn't take long to find the long stony path to civilisation. According to the map, the nearest village was a place called Xion. It looked small, but with little to go on but a small icon on a map, I couldn't say how true that was. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I didn't remember it from anything significant. This meant one of two things:
Possibility 1 – It was an entirely safe piece of background information, and I would be perfectly fine going there.
Or, Possibility 2 – Something very bad happened to it, and I couldn't remember it because it was a referenced past event.
I decided to err on the side of caution and increase my pace somewhat. I wasn't going to sprint, as I would look like an idiot if I was wrong and also would use all of my energy, a bad idea if something actually did go wrong.
I was driven mainly by a sense of paranoia, so when it was suddenly replaced with an eerily familiar sense of calm.
"What the heck?" I said to myself in surprise, grinding my steps to a sudden halt. I frowned. Something was clearly wrong. The last time this happened, I was fighting for my life, so I was hardly keen on encountering anything that dangerous so soon afterwards.
[Huh? Why are we stopping?]
"Something doesn't feel right…" I muttered quietly. In response, I heard the sound of a hand slapping against a forehead.
[Ah, of course! I never finished explaining! There's a little more we need to go over.]
"More?" I groaned. The explanation of the Stats alone took long enough for me to be found by evil monsters, so I dreaded to think on another lengthy series of monologues.
[Oh don't be so dramatic! I'll keep it short this time. Just use the command 'Skills'.]
"Skills" I thought instantly. Another box appeared, this one with two listed pieces of text. I could only assume that 'Skills' were meant to refer to some type of special abilities. There were only two listed.
"Gamers' Mind, huh? Sounds familiar…" I muttered, tapping the icon. A smaller box of text appeared in front of the first one, this one giving a description.
[Gamers' Mind – The User will be capable of staying calm and level-headed in even the most crazy situations. Furthermore, the User is immune to mental attacks such as illusions. Their emotional state is kept level for the trials ahead.]
"That's… a little creepy, actually." I said. Frankly, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of the System messing with my head and suppressing my emotions. "Can I turn these off? Or at least adjust them?" I asked. The System seemed hesitant to respond.
[You can turn them off, but I'd have to caution against doing so… A panic attack isn't really the best idea right now…]
"I take offence to that!" I replied. "Besides, I had one scheduled for around now anyway." I added sarcastically. I tapped the icon again, and the Skill turned off.
And then, my mind hit me like a truck.
Fear. Excitement. Sadness. Rage. The sudden force of it all was enough to make me stagger back, clutching my head for stability. My breath came out in ragged breaths.
"Okay, calm down. You're fine. Everything's fine." I hissed out, my head pounding. The System seemed shocked and called out to me.
[Are you okay?! I can turn it back on if you-]
"No!" I called out. I took another moment to calm myself before explaining. "No thanks. I'd rather feel the full force of all this now anyway. I was going to have to deal with it sooner or later. And hey! Now I can still have panic attacks!" I sighed blissfully. "My life feels normal again." I quipped.
[Hmm. Okay, but at least keep it on in combat. You don't wanna freeze up in battle.]
I was cautious, but decided to agree, nodding my head. The System let out a sigh of relief.
[Thanks. Anyway, the other one's called Gamers' Body. It means that you'll be immune to most physical injuries aside from HP loss. You also won't have to eat, drink, or sleep unless you choose to. Trust me, it's handy to keep on.]
I sighed, catching the hint. "Fine, I'll keep that one on." I gave in. The System sighed herself, this time in relief. At least this one wouldn't mess with my head. But something struck me as odd.
"Wait, if I'm immune to injury, what was with the blood from the Beowolf fight?" I asked.
[Theatrics. It had to be exciting!]
I blinked. "You're kidding, right?"
[Nope!]
"I almost died!"
[And it was awesome!]
"Not the point!" I yelled. "You can't just risk my life like-" A growl took me out of my thoughts and I froze. It couldn't be…? Right?
Right?!
"System, Is there another Beowolf behind me?" I whispered through gritted teeth.
[Uh… Yes. One Beowolf. Just one.]
"More?" I winced.
[Maybe a few more, yeah…]
"I should run, right?"
[Good plan. Do exactly that!]
The System hadn't even finished speaking before I was charging off, terrified. I heard several howls behind me, and then the pounding of hard animalistic paws. Only one thought escaped from my mouth.
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWIIIIIICEEEEEEE!"
Jaune Arc was having a great time on his camping trip. Or, he would be, if it wasn't for his seven sisters constantly trying to badger him into letting them mess with his hair. Or them trying to push him into the mud for a joke. Or, just messing with him in general.
Aside from that, he was having a great time! The village of Xion was great this time of year. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and –
"Ow!" he was interrupted from his thoughts by a sudden knock to his chest. Someone had just ran full force into him, and the person in question had collapsed at his feet.
"Hey, watch where you're…" He trailed off, looking at the direction the person had just come from. "Going…" He finished, his throat suddenly dry.
Beowolves. There was a pack of six Beowolves. And they were getting closer.
The person in front of him, lying on the ground, looked where he was, and the two then looked back at each other. They reacted in the exact same way.
Screams ran through the air.
The monsters charged soon after.
[Readers! Back so soon? I see you couldn't get enough of my wonderful explanations! Unfortunately, instead of me, you'll have another message from the Author. Transcribing now...]
As promised, here's Chapter 3! I just couldn't leave it at the cliffhanger end of last chapter, and wanted to try some more action this time around. I think it turned out OK, but action isn't exactly my strong suit... (Why I chose to write about an action show I have no idea...).
Also, a few cameos! Oscar's appearance was just for a bit of fun, though maybe it'll come up later... Who knows? Me, but I'll never tell. ;) Jaune on the other hand is probably going to have a more significant role next time. But I'm afraid I'll have to leave you here, readers. Much to do, stories to write, etcetera.
I'll see you in the next level!
[Transcription End. Well, I should probably go. I have a feeling I'll be needed for what happens next. See Ya! Assuming we're not all dead by then...]