Decided on a new player and enemy exp formula. Will make some changes in previous chapters eventually.
Weiss
She was lightly churned awake by the rough sway and motions of the sedan stopping in the midst of large ridges of snow.
The tablet has been on all night, still put on the same tab that showcased the data of every slave on the mine.
Weiss didn't need Klein to tell her that they have arrived, she could see the large machines and conveyor belts stretching over a small wooden door to the mine.
A line of emotionless overseers guarded the entrance to the mine as the sedan skidded to a stop.
Weiss grabbed her blue coat before Klein even stepped out and opened the car door, knowing that even amidst the calm winds, it can still get quite cold here.
She was going to take it off soon enough, but she didn't feel like freezing to death here. She already felt a little bit of the cold as Klein stepped outside to open her door.
Unfortunately, her skin felt the chilling winds of the icy forest beyond the mine full blast when Klein fully opened her door.
Weiss wore her coat as soon as her boots hit the snow, and before closing the door of the sedan, took her revolver and holstered it in her coat.
Together, they walked past the wall of overseers who gave a small salute. She stood in front of the mine entrance for a couple of minutes hearing numerous sounds of footsteps, showers, whips and some mineshafts exploding much like what Klein once mentioned.
She waited until the noises stopped, then turned to the overseer guarding the door.
Weiss motioned to it. "Open it."
During the time that the overseer took out an entire chain of keys to unlock the door. Weiss could hear the sound of the mechanical horses arriving and continued towards them to inspect the cages for transport.
Most of them remain undamaged but some of the snow from the previous night's blizzard has crept into the cages. Weiss frowned, some of them will freeze. Bad for business and with the auction coming soon, she won't be able to sell some of them if they are weakened from frostbite.
She shrugged. She'll have one of the overseers clean them while she's inside. Some of them might freeze to death on the way, but at least they are less likely to decompose thanks to the icy winds.
As she heard the sound of the creaking wooden door revealing an entrance to the mine. Weiss rushed back beside Klein, removing her coat and placing it in his arms because of the heat.
They went through numerous railroads and mining lights infested with dozens of moths.
Unit Alpha joined soon enough, giving Weiss a tour of the operations in the mine. Most of the slaves were in the cages near the hub area. They were clean, but most of them weren't in the condition to be sold.
She ran through each of them on the black tablet. One after another, it seemed like something was wrong with everyone. Most of them were either septic, developed lung cancer from inhaling smoke, or just developed a severe rash from the heat of the mine.
Each one of them were in a cave, and so it made things a little easier, since each group within a cage were escorted to the transport by the overseer when she was done.
"We're missing some." Weiss stated as a matter of factly.
"Some of them were sent into the ore veins."
Weiss gave a small frown before turning to Klein. "Do you have a spare on you, Klein?"
She raised her tablet and showed it to him. Klein nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own black effigy, turning into a tablet soon enough.
"Could I ask you to handle the analysis and transport within the mineshafts?"
"Certainly." He answered.
Klein's tone carried confidence in his assigned duty, but Weiss could pick up a subtle question that Klein wanted to ask but had a mind not to do so out of respect.
She could tell what he wanted to ask by speculation and just decided to save him the trouble. "I'll be heading into the Ore Veins to continue with analysis."
Weiss removed her blue coat and gave it to Klein who accepted it in his arms. She strapped a utility belt with a holster to her waist and placed her gun at her side.
"I'll be trusting you to handle the analysis above ground."
Klein only gave a small bow as Weiss turned back and ventured deeper into the mine only to stop and look into a particular cell.
A weird smell started to spread from it. Thankfully no one had noticed her go inside to investigate.
It was a pungent odor, just sweet enough to make her inwardly gag and feel sick. She originally dismissed it as faeces judging from the flies coming from under the bed. Until she caught wind of the slight sweetness and was not convinced.
She caught a glimpse of split threads of hair beneath the bed when she shifted the sheets that was covering the space beneath. She immediately thought of a corpse. And was proven right when she calmly put on her gloves, took hold of entire fistfuls of hair, and dragged the orifice out by the strands.
She was slightly miffed by the corpse being that of Klein's fennec boy overseer. But was later drowned out by the sensation of flies landing on her long sleeve.
Instinctively she dropped the body and rapidly swatted against the flies.
"Ugh." Weiss reacted. The corpse was beginning to decompose.
She reached for her tablet and held it over the corpse of the fennec boy before bringing it back and reading the information gathered.
"The culprit obviously didn't account for the heat of the mine causing decomposition to occur faster." Weiss muttered.
But they were healthy. The fennec boy died by stab wound to the armpit. That alone sparked Weiss's interest. The fact that despite the heat and dust of the mine, the treatment of the overseers and the quality of food, even if they starve themselves by not eating the laced food, each slave should be weakened to the point of not being able to retaliate against the overseers.
Yet this slave was healthy enough to kill one.
She looked around, the cell was empty. The culprit was probably one of the slaves that were sent into the ore veins.
Weiss brandished a napkin and wiped her gloves with it before throwing it on the floor, walking out of the cell and down deeper into the mineshafts.
As she felt the heat surge that comes with delving deeper into the tunnels, she summoned a blue glyph beneath her feet which passed through her entire body before disappearing and leaving a faint glow of blue.
Weiss traversed the tunnels without even a drop of sweat leaving her brow because of the constant flow of coldness rushing through her body like a flowing stream.
She found the slaves hammering away at the ores, digging out fire dust and at rare times, gravity or wind. None of them died while she was analysing them, yet they still seemed rather shaken not that she'd noticed for long when she sent them to the cells.
Soon she felt the vibration of an explosion in the tunnels below her. She narrowed her eyes, Weiss thought that the tunnels below were closed off because the amount of casualties that occured down there.
Walking towards the elevator. She inspected the damage to the base of the smashed wood while descending into the mineshafts leading to the 36th to 50th ore vein.
Most of the paths have been blocked as a cautionary manner to deter whatever lurked below. So only the mineshaft leading towards the 36th vein had been opened but abandoned.
She remembered Jaques giving a clear directive to stop the deep shaft mining and extraction of dust within that area. So it doesn't make sense why the elevator leading down there is still active, further more in this condition.
The first thing she heard upon descending into the abandoned ore vein was the incandescent sound of metal pounding into stone. It was hollow compared to the orchestra of the other slaves above ground.
She walked closer and found a single slave mining away at the ore vein nearby. The closer she got, the more she noticed the healthy color of his skin.
The slave wore rags like the rest of them, his chestnut hair was short and unkempt, lacking any kind of refinement. Yet as he swung into the stone, he did it with a burst of energy unseen in any of the slaves including the burly half orc.
She hadn't seen him in any of the cages above, so Weiss assumed that it was the one of the slaves that went into the ore veins and most probably the 36th.
He stopped for a single moment, then continued mining with less speed and intensity. Weiss narrowed her eyes, the slave had noticed her.
An irregularity. His senses should have been a little dulled by the atmosphere of the mineshaft. If anything, the explosions and the sharp pang of metal hitting stone should have deafened him slightly, but he could hear her. He halted in his intensity in order to hear her approach.
It wasn't as though she was trying to hide anyway. Perhaps the slave did and that explained the caution he was taking. She smelled it in the air soon after, the familiar wisp of metallic blood, and some orfice that stunk of rotten fish.
Her eyes darted to the left, sure enough, the odors were coming from a tunnel a few blocks behind the slave, covered by numerous boulders and rocks. Another cave-in. Most likely the explosion she felt from earlier.
Oh well. It wasn't as though this was a uncommon sight. It did pose a problem that the corpse trapped inside the cave-in is most likely the half-orc she planned to sell, but Weiss supposed that the very healthy slave before her could do nicely as a replacement.
But before that.
"This shaft has been abandoned, so what are you doing here?"
The slave stopped whilst his rusted pickaxe was in midair. She then watched as it slowly dropped to his side. "I was sent here."
"Under who's authority?" Weiss questioned. Walking closer towards the slave and keeping a hand on her revolver.
"An overseer. I can't specially tell which one." he answered briskly.
As the slave retorted, he slowly spun around to face Weiss. Naturally, going by how he looked, he seemed like a homonculi until she took a good look at his eyes. There were a shade unlike emerald but instead a bright wisp of jade.
They looked similar to the lens of a camera, how it shifted ever so slightly as the slave stared back at her and grew a shade paler in what seemed like surprise with a mix of sheer dread.
"Lucille…?"
Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Who is this 'Lucille' you are calling?"
Was it perhaps another slave? Most likely not the case. The slave was looking at her when she uttered out the name of this Lucille.
She thought about naming her eventual first child that exact name, but given by the look of surprise and dread the slave had before she gave her retort. Weiss likened the call onto something different that he had meant.
His face was contorted into a look of confusion before taking a breath of relief and sighing. "She was just an old friend. You reminded me of her."
That was about as believable as Whitley was cooking up about her missing slaves. But Weiss was less than interested in calling him out on the lie.
She heard the elevator run again before she could give statement. Klein was descending into the mineshaft out of the corner of her eye.
"Miss, I have finished most of the analysis of the slaves above and left the security of the product to the overseers above." Klein stated, walking swiftly towards Weiss.
"So I thought that you might need my assistance. Since most of my work is accomplished."
As usual, the work ethic of her Head Servant was downright inhumane. Accurate, considering he's a homonculi despite what his apparent age suggests.
"There's not much do do, so I'm affaid your efforts were in vain." Weiss said, taking out her tablet and holding it above the slave.
The branded barcode of the SDC that ran across the slaves neck glowed, and instantaneously, a file pertaining to his data was uploaded into the tablet.
She skimmed through the folder. "Arhen, correct?"
He didn't answer, but the brief raising of his eyebrow verified her statement.
She turned to Klein. "Take him to the cell block and get ready on transport. I have to stay here and ensure that the pathways to the 42nd and 50th veins are closed."
Klein nodded as he raised his hand, and with another glow in the barcode, an azure chain appeared and binded Arhen's neck and wrists.
Weiss sent a look to Arhen. "Seems like I also have to make sure the 36th vein is also blocked."
With that, Klein started dragging Arhen away. But not without meeting the cold and analysing glare within the camera-like eyes of the unusual slave.
And sending one herself.
Arhen (A few moments earlier.)
You have slept in a bed. 38.9% HP and MP has been restored.
Something stinks.
The sickingly sweet stench is strong and unbearable. There were more flies surrounding my bed than usual.
My eyes instantly trailed onto my bed, or more specifically, the corpse that lay underneath. The notion hit me like a brick as I quickly rushed off the bed and pulled out the fennec boy.
I drew my head back in disgust at the sudden stench of decomposing flesh surged strongly through my nostrils. The sliver lining lay in the fact that I didn't get a debuff status effect by the stench.
"Ugh. Of course it's you. Why does killing people have to be so difficult these days?"
Normally when I kill someone it's either their body gets deleted or sent into inventory. Now I have to deal with things like decomposition and consealment because of the blasted heat of this mine.
If I had inventory active, this would be less of a problem. But I don't, because I survived being fried by Lucille at the price of her and this malware wrecking most of my system.
The downside was everything else. If I can smell this, so can Faceman and the other overseers that watch the cages.
My first plan involved disposing of the body inside of a 'makeshift' cave-in I can make using the fire Dust, but that was immediately shelved on the account of needing to physically drag the corpse into the ore veins.
That's without accounting for the overseers that are going to be patrolling the cell block at that time.
I sighed and I looked at the corpse. If it was going to stink up my cell, I might as well take a look at what he had on hand.
I started by forcefully pulling his pants back up and covering his schlong. Then I dug into his pockets.
Surprisingly, I discovered a key and a dusty, but rather sharp knife.
The key was a bit oily for some reason, but eyeballing the ridges of the key and the key hole in the gate that locked the cell block, they looked like they fit together.
I couldn't help but have a small begrudging respect for the dead fennec boy and his uses when I analysed the key and the knife.
[SDC Master Key B3]
Rarity: Common
Description: A key that is able to open any locked door and cage within the SDC Dust Mine 53. Specifically, its outfitted to the Eastern Area of the mine, and all doors, cages, shafts and Overseer posts associated with it.
[Flimsy Dividing Knife]
Durability: 13/20
ATK: 21
Description: A rather sturdy knife with it's blade being rather weak unless the pommel is held with a surprisingly tight grip. It's fairly light and is able to deliver quick slashes and attacks.
It's strong enough to pierce skin and cut flesh, but only if wielded with force. Damage scales with each 3 stat points over REQ in Dexterity.
Req: STR l 9 DEX l 12
Congratulations. You have gained back a modicum of my respect. Not much use now that you're dead. But you have it regardless.
It was kind of stupid that I didn't think to search the fennec boy when he wasn't decomposing. But better late than never I suppose.
The master key certainly has its uses, I would need to ask Faceman about where that Half-orc is sleeping. He looks like a good scapegoat, I'll need to find time to move the overseer to his cell.
The knife is decent, although I won't be getting any kind of damage scaling with my DEX barely meeting the requirements, its better than not having anything to defend myself with.
I pushed back the fennec boy under the bed and gave the knife a few quick and rapid swings to get a comfortable handling on the blade.
Skill [Gamer's Body] has reached required Proficiency Level.
Establishing Connection to Memory Backlog…
What?
Gamer's Body is connecting to my previous data? Is it possible that some of the data from my backlog as a system has been retained?
Ability [Knife Efficiency] has been added.
Suddenly, it was a lot easier to get a nice good grip on the knife. Since the skill has been imported from my backlog because of the new connection established.
Right. I suppose this is the universes way of letting me know that I'm going kill someone later.
Most of the overseers were quiet. And some of them were crowding the entrance. I knocked on the stone wall and passed the transparent crystal through the hole to Faceman.
Thankfully, that rat seems to never sleep. He snatches the crystal quick and I can hear him begin to sit up against the wall.
"Do you know where that Half-orc sleeps?" I asked.
"A few blocks to the right, near the gate to the mineshaft. Why?"
I grabbed the master key. "Good. Make yourself useful and cover for me."
"You paid me for info, not espionage." Faceman complained.
I chuckled. "If you knew what I was about to do, I doubt that you'd care much for details such as that, Faceman."
I fitted the master key into my cage and opened it, then I went back and started dragging out by the loose strands of his clothes.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"You don't need to know. Just be ready for my questions when I come back."
I looked outside, towards the left passage and right while holding the gate shut to make it look as though it was still locked. The gate was still closed, which meant that it was still some time in the morning where it still looked like night time.
An overseer just walked past with a flashlight. He stopped for a moment before continuing to the right, I couldn't see him afterwards, so I began a steady crouched walk outside my cell.
I dragged him in small tugs to ensure that his clothes didn't make too much noise against the rocks and ground.
About halfway through, my legs started to hurt as I tried hard to rein in the volume of my harsh breathing.
"Damn, you are quite heavy for being a shortstack. And dead. Isn't one's weight supposed to lower considerably because of the lack of blood during decomposition?" I whispered as quietly as I could, still looking towards the front and my six for any incoming overseers.
Dragging the fennec boy was harder than it looked. It made me wonder why there was no quest for it.
I was rounding a curve, taking care not to wake any of the slaves that were sleeping in the cells lest they out me to the overseers. Through the corner of my eye, I spotted an overseer hanging around just in front of the cell I planned to stuff the body into.
He opened the cage and dragged the Half-orc outside, then proceeded to roughly shove him down into the mineshaft.
I didn't see much detail given their silhouettes were the only thing I could see, but regardless, the cell was left empty.
How convenient.
Quickly, I dragged myself and the corpse towards the cell and unlocked it with the master key. Then, grabbing the corpse by the hair strands, I slid it towards the bed then rolled it underneath.
The consealment went on smoothly, right up until I heard the familiar sound of a screen being displayed before me.
Quest Added.
[Silver Quest: Bound in Shadow]
Description: In an attempt to successfully conseal a body of the overseer you've killed, you infiltrated the cell of a red herring you plan to use as a scapegoat.
After succeeding in concealing the body, you heard the sound of the gate to the mineshaft being open again and you realize that you're trapped!
Avoid the Overseers and make it back to your cell!
Clear Conditions:
[Reach Cell Block B]
[Avoid the Overseers!] ]
Reward: 1500 Exp, Increased Proficiency in [Gamer's Body, Ability [Stealth Proficiency]
It was just then that I heard the metallic gate to the mineshaft open.
With my heart beginning to beat wildly, I dashed towards the gate and locked the gate. With how close the mineshaft was to the Half-orc's cage, opening the cell and sprinting back to mine would prove to be futile and idiotic, with my death not being far behind.
I looked back into the cell and scanned the area for a place to hide. The obvious areas appeared as a small indent within the cell that connected the gate.
The other, was underneath the bed. Nearby to where I consealed the corpse.
It didn't sound particularly pleasant, but I didn't have many options that didn't result in me getting caught and killed.
Karmic Choice!
Hiding Amongst the Dead.
[Hide underneath Jaxter's bed.]
Rewards: 150 Exp, 5 Stat Points in DEX, Skill [Presence Consealment]
Hiding Amongst the Earth.
[Hide against the crevice in the wall, beside the gate.]
Rewards: 170 Exp, Perk [Shadow Stalker, Skill [Presence Consealment, 5 Stat Points in DEX.
Duration [03:28]
Well, shit.
It seems as though I need to take the decision seriously if whoever is giving me quests has determined this situation worthy of a [Karmic Choice] Event.
This usually entails a situation that can potentially effect which quests I will receive in future. In a nutshell, Karmic Choices entail decisions that can either lead to premature death or a deviation with quests.
The overseers don't have as good a vision as me. But If I hide even remotely close to the gate, their flashlights would be able to reach and see me.
There is a chance of them seeing the body if I choose to hide under the bed. But the chance of them seeing me will be lowered.
Making my decision, I walked towards the bed, knelt down and began to slide underneath it, slightly touching the corpse while doing so before crawling backwards into a dark corner near a wall and keeping my head nailed to the ground.
I haven't the intention to pull out the knife for defense should I get discovered, the glint of sharp metal will give me away.
The gate suddenly slammed open. And I suddenly felt an immense weight pressed against the back of my head.
I could hear the voices of the overseer and the orc outside.
"Be ready in a few hours, Orc."
"You practically drag me out of my cell and into the showers. And for what?" Jaxter questioned.
"Someone will be here by morning. Regular transport of slaves to the plantation away from the mine. That's all you need to know." An Overseer said.
I suddenly got a lot more interested in what they were saying, but before I could focus on eavesdropping to hear more, I heard the gate slam shut and locked again.
Interesting. The slaves are leaving the mine tomorrow. Which meant that I'll complete the Platinum Quest without even needing to put any effort. Perhaps that's why the rewards for the quest seemed so bleak compared to others I used to dish out.
Well obviously we're not going to be leaving on our terms. And the plantation outside may prove to be subjectively worse than what happens down here, but I couldn't care less about things like that right now.
The SDC obviously have something planned, but I feel like I've overstayed my welcome here at Jory's new resting place.
You have chosen: Hiding Amongst the Dead.
5 Stat Points have been added to Dexterity.
Skill [Presence Consealment] has been Added.
The stat points are nice, and because of that the damage on my knife has been scaled up twice.
What I just heard from the Overseers just now indicates just how much Karmic Choices can deviate quests. If I had gotten caught, I would have never known that I would be leaving the mine anyway, and would have attempted to break out instead.
I would have had to deal with the Overseers hunting me. And by extension the SDC.
But now I just have to wait for morning to arrive and I'll be able to see the surface and find the spot I need to get to in order to use [System Scan].
I got this information within an hour of leaving my cell. The hell do I pay Faceman for any way? He didn't even need to cover for me cause I was not seen.
After staying still for a bit, I decided to slowly crawl out of the bed and make way to the gate. I used [Presence Consealment] just in case my footsteps get too loud.
A fat load of good that did me when I produced the master key and found Jaxter staring at me dead in the eye. I forget that I can't max out skills anymore.
"Huh? I saw you with that rat bastard! What are you doing here?! How did you get inside?!" Jaxter groggily yelled before fully waking up.
My self-incompetence is getting a bit annoying to deal with now. But at least this situation is something that can be fixed easily.
"What do you want, huh? Don't just stand there, answer me!" Jaxter yelled.
I would have to find some way of silencing him before he wakes up the other slaves or worse, draws back the overseers to his cell.
He would no doubt follow me should I leave the gates open on the way. But that raises a problem, what's stopping him from just leaving his cell and trying to escape if I do this?
If he reaches the overseers guarding the entrance, he's going to notify them that I somehow got inside his cell.
I can't allow that to happen. They'll search his cell and discover the overseers body, then trace it back to me who was inside his cell.
Think. What could I possibly offer that will stop him from trying to escape?
It suddenly clicked. That moment with Faceman, when I first met him. He got beat up by Jaxter for not giving him information he wanted.
I thought back to the conversation, trying to gleam anything that could get him to follow me. I then had a epiphany.
"The crying woman, the one that died. You loved her didn't you?" I started.
"It's not any of your business!" Jaxter responded, very roughly dragging himself out of bed and angrily striding towards me.
He grabbed my shoulders and tried to dig into them with his nails and lift me up. But stopped midway when I simply placed my hand on his oversized wrist and smirked. "Oh, but it is my business, Jaxter."
"Since I'm the only one who knows who killed her."
As expected. Jaxter clammed up really quickly. His wrists have loosened enough to where I am able to squeeze and pry his gigantic arm of my shoulder.
I never expected what I saw that day would become this useful now. But, I think I get the picture of what happened between Faceman and him.
Jaxter hired Faceman as an informant for a far different reason than I. He wanted to know about the overseers, patrol routes, and times in order to plan out an escape in which he alone would benefit from.
Somewhere down the line he saw the crying woman and fell for her somehow. While that claim hasn't been proven, and there's no cut and dry way of proving it within the time span I've been given, it's the only way that his explosive behavior from that time when he received news of her death can be justifiably rationalized.
I have been wondering why even after receiving the news, no one has made one attempt to try and go after the wolf-morph. The only confrontation I saw was between Jaxter and Faceman.
"Wha-what the hell do you mean?!" Jaxter questioned.
"I mean what I say. I know who killed her."
Then it hit me. Jaxter didn't know who killed her. He knows it was an overseer, just not which one. He was depending on Faceman for that info, and when he didn't deliver, the altercation happened and I ended up hiring him.
I've already noticed what he meant by 'useless' information. Although proven quite useful in my current position, if I were in Jaxter's, then the things that Faceman has told me would have been about as useless as everyone makes them out to be.
I can get the same thing, the same response I pay Faceman for from about anyone if I just ask. He too must have realized this. Pretty quickly. Else he wouldn't have asked why I took a chance and talked to him.
And true, some part of me didn't understand why I would do something like that, but that thought was ruthlessly shoved out by the logical side of me that desired any scrap of information I could find.
I've realized it soon enough, I didn't buy information. I bought a second brain. One that can think.
Ideas come easy when you are bouncing around theories between two intellects. The same goes for us systems. And while there is no possible way that Faceman can ever be as intelligent as me, ideas and bigger theories still bounced around regardless.
Perhaps I feel slightly grateful to Faceman, that's why I'm offering him his biggest payment.
When Jaxter let go of my other shoulder, I took out the master key and unlocked his cell. He seemed surprised, but didn't question my actions. Probably his attempt to make an appeal at me.
He only tried to stop me the moment I walked out his cell and closed his gate. "Wait, damnit! Don't walk away from me!"
His large fingers slammed against the gate and peered at me through the iron bars. "Tell me! Tell me who it was!"
"You want to know?"
Jaxter growled as I turned away and headed into the ore veins using the master key. He began to roughly shake the gate and only then noticed that I have left it unlocked.
Now it depends on exactly how badly does he want to know about the Wolf-morph. And within moments of decending into Ore Vein 36, I was not disappointed in the slightest.
Within the blocked tunnel, I heard a large metallic pang against the stone and kick it away. From the elevator, I could see Jaxter brandishing a pickaxe and kicking away the rocks while pursuing me.
Brilliant. The dumb orc fell for it and is racing to get to me like a bull. Let's see how far away I can lead him.
I lost him for a while when I took the broken elevator into Ore Vein 36. I was tracking the movements of the elevators on the holographic map and using it to telegraph exactly where he was at the moment.
The tunnel that previously flashed between grey and blue suddenly was glowing in all turquoise. Jaxter made it accessable in order to get to me. It shouldn't prove to difficult, the path here was relatively straightforward, and there's no chance of the overseers or other workers being down here at this moment.
Maybe Jaxter realizes this and intends to corner and get rid of me. But I've played this round with far more dangerous people than him.
Since I had some time before Jaxter appeared, I decided to inspect the new skill I had received.
"Skill Display, [Presence Consealment]." I said.
[Presence Consealment] [Level: 1/100] [Cost: 15 MP]
Description: Hide yourself amongst the shadows and obscure your presence to the world.
User is 10% harder to detect while on activation.
Chance of detection is reduced depending on actions that depict proper concealment.
Huh. Nice to know that particular function still works. If I had to see the full list of my skills each time I get a new one I'll go mad. Even if I don't have much at the moment.
As I walked around the mineshaft I stumbled across a surprising sight that was no doubt left by the Wolf-morph. The corpse of the crying woman. Naked with her face down, ass up and dripping with cum from every orifice of her body.
The curious side of me was oddly transfixed by it, and my curiosity was swiftly drowned by the sight of her shattered arms and back. With half her head caved into the stone and is currently bathing in her own brain matter.
I walked up to her corpse and layed a few soft kicks against her body. My foot bounced back slightly as it hit her ass, but it ended up toppling the corpse over and spreading the blood, sperm and brain matter all over into an unholy convergence of a sickingly sweet, metallic, fish-like stench that made me almost want to jump back in with the corpse under Jaxter's bed just to replace the odor with the lesser of two evils.
I distanced myself from the corpse and instead waited by the side of the elevator and used [Presence Consealment] again to wait for Jaxter to arrive. This time, keeping my knife at hand.
I could hear the elevator screech as it made its way down. Jaxter rushed out and stood in the middle of the shaft.
I trailed behind him and perfectly on time, the elevator was guided back above ground, leaving him no way of escape.
Without missing a heartbeat, I rushed behind him. Clenching my knife tightly into reverse grip as I quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and jabbed it into his throat.
Despite his huge frame, blood began oozing down from his throat.
I pulled out the knife before he can instinctively slam down on his wound and my wrist along with it.
I dashed away and inspected him. He gripped his pickaxe and rushed me. Jaxter was still conscious of his movements, although slowed.
He is voiceless, so it's my blunder. The blade hit his voice box instead of cut against his thorax like I intended. His pickaxe made an arc which nearly dug into my head had I not ducked to the side.
Instead, his sharp pickaxe dug into the ground. Swiftly, I grabbed his head and drove it straight to my knee before stabbing into his gut when he reeled back.
The rags he wore sucked up most of the blood that was going to drip to the floor and he slowly raised himself to his feet and aimed to slam his pickaxe into my head with his remaining strength.
Before he could even wave it in my direction, I dashed right towards his side and jabbed my knife deep into his armpit.
3,047 Exp has been received.
Your Level has increased.
He went limp a few minutes after and without hesitation I dragged his body into the same vein that I found the crying woman's corpse in.
The moment he Jaxter dropped into my arms I instantly noted that he was far heavier than the fennec boy. I managed to keep his bleeding upper body above the ground while dragging him but that didn't leave much hope for his legs that just dangled there as extra weight and made carrying him more difficult.
I threw him right next to the woman before stepping back and pulling out my last fire dust shard and throwing it hard against the veins wall.
BOOM!
With a explosion, the ceiling of the vein came down on the two and crushed the two corpses as they were buried underneath the rock in the cave-in. This was optimal, Jaxter can be framed for both the murder of the overseer and the crying woman. How ironic.
Nice to see that the settings for the system still haven't changed since my absence. You still gain more experience by killing than you do from quests.
With concealment out of the way, I find myself having the time to assign my stats.
Name: Arhen
Age: [???]
Race: [???/Homunculi
Title: [???]
Tier: [???] [???]
[Level: 10] [Exp: 347/2590]
[HP: 17,457/17,457]
[MP: 1,328/1,368]
STR: 23
VIT: 23
DEX: 15
CON: 33
INT: 24
WIS: 19
CHA: 17
Remaining Stat Points: 3
I was good on health for now. I should be able to tank any attacks that reach me. Considering that damage scales with the part of the body that's been hit, it should stop me from at least being one-shotted.
So I added a stat point to WIS, another to INT and the last one to DEX for the increased damage on the knife.
Name: Arhen
Age: [???]
Race: [???/Homunculi
Title: [???]
Tier: [???] [???]
[Level: 10] [Exp: 347/2590]
[HP: 17,457/17,457]
[MP: 1,328/1,500]
STR: 23
VIT: 23
DEX: 16
CON: 33
INT: 25
WIS: 20
CHA: 17
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Noting the pickaxe that Jaxter dropped when he died, I picked it up and decided that since I was still in the ore vein, I might as well start mining more dust.
A few minutes into mining out some fire dust I glanced at the map only to narrow my eyes the moment I noted the elevator decending back down to this ore vein.
The dust from the mining is masking the metallic stench of blood all over me.
I kept natural, hitting the stone as silently as I could in order to hear the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer to me.
...they stopped.
"This shaft has been abandoned, so what are you doing here?"
I stopped mining and placed the pickaxe at my side. At the very least, whomever was behind me asked an easy question.
"I was sent here."
"Under who's authority?"
I began to turn around for the sake of seeing my assailant. "An overseer. I can't specially tell which one." I answered rather briskly, just wanting to get a view on who's asking all these questions.
In my defense, when I did turn around, I didn't really expect to see someone who looks so much like Lucille standing there. But as someone who was utterly convinced that she was hunting me, my heart couldn't help but drop to my stomach in panic.
"... Lucille?" I hesitantly called. If it really was her than this would be a extremely embarrassing sight to die to.
"Who is this 'Lucille' that you call for?"
The confusion I felt must have been apparent on my face because the Lucille-look-alike relented from that question.
I've noticed it too, the longer I stared. She lacked the divine aura that she had. Along with her ethereal, regal beauty that came with being the child of a God.
The person before me differed a lot from Lucille. I would have sensed her should she come to finish me off because she isn't one to remain hidden or to hide away.
I scanned the person before me. Regardless of Lucille not being given a system to call her own, she is still the child of an entire reality made corporal. Therefore, I'm not able to Analyze her.
I doubt I'd get far with [System Analysis]. But if she's really Lucille, nothing should come up anyway.
Matchmake data to Information Matrix--Lineage Added.
[Name: Weiss Schnee]
[Race: Human]
[Level: ?̴̧̢̝̮̦̩̰̹͎̹͎̟̲̹́̕͘͟͡͡ͅ?̡͈͘͜͡?̥̩̻̮̯̟̥͏̡̧͘]̗͕̲͏̀?̴̧̝̮̦̩̰̹͎̹͎̟̲̹́̕͘͟͡͡ͅ:̷̶̷̧̢̧̳̯̲̳̿ͫ̾̉ͪ̎̚̕͜͢͠?̶̸̫͈͇̘̭̞̮͖̖͓ͭͮ͐̿ͭ͐ͨͧ́͘͟͠͝͞͞?̮̦̌̌̋̌̉?̴̵̶̢͍͕̖͈̩̹̦͆́̂̿̀̚͘͘̕͜͟͞͠/̣̬̼̬̜̝̺̠͌ͣ̂̽ͦͪͫ̍ͭ̄ͯ͟͞?̐̔̒ͤ͑̏̊ͪ̒̀̚̚͞͏̴?̹̺̫͎̩̭̠͚̅́͒̈̌ͮ̚͟͏̧̡̛́̀͘͢͟͟͝?̦͎̣̜͓͚͕̬̗ͩ͛́̌̓̇̀]̷̢̩̪͎͌͑̒̅̇͆ͤ̋͌͛̑̑̅́̀͝͠͞͞ͅ
[HP:???/???]
[MP:̓ͯ̾͊?͇̳ͬ͌̀͟?͈͑̋͋?̘̪͖̖̩̊ͧ̇ͥ̔͡/̵̩͢͜?͉̔̇?̵̵̘̼̫̰̰͆ͦ̾ͩ͡?̴̘̦͚͙͓̌ͫͯ͟]̷̘̥̥͒́͝͏̛
[AP:̓ͯ̾͊?͇̳ͬ͌̀͟?͈͑̋͋?̘̪͖̖̩̊ͧ̇ͥ̔͡/̵̩͢͜?͉̔̇?̵̵̘̼̫̰̰͆ͦ̾ͩ͡?̴̘̦͚͙͓̌ͫͯ͟]̷̘̥̥͒́͝͏̛
̳̲̻̙ͦ̇ͯ
I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't her. "It's just an old friend, you reminded me of her."
It was the most believable I could come up with that pertains to my reaction. She didn't seem to buy it, but she didn't care.
I bet she has more pressing matters than to pond on what I said. Thankfully, I don't think I would've been able to stomach much more of even mentioning her.
Proficiency Level in Skill [Gamer's Mind] has been increased.
Gamer's Mind has been getting a little stronger. I didn't think I would be able to distinguish her name through analysis, especially since I'm not high enough to read her other Stats.
The third value is troubling, but after relenting from the shock, I don't think I even have it in me to care at the moment.
(Present time)
Thinking back on the moment that occured earlier in the mine just made me feel…
More pissed with myself than I have ever been before.
I was scared. No if, ands or buts about it. I have felt true fear for the first time in my existence.
It was such an unpleasant experience that even now I feel sick to my stomach. But the grotesqueness of it was rapidly being drowned out by the sudden and disgusting realization that dawned on me as I thought back to that encounter.
I was scared, of Lucille. Fucking Lucille of all people.
I would have tolerated it if someone like Shiro was hunting me down, but I got the toy he's playing with on the side.
I was scared by her mere facade. Scared by the notion of her just being there. Ready and waiting to erase me.
And I allowed myself, a system with far greater power, to be scared of her of all people.
Since when have I allowed myself to be so…
So…
… pathetic?
Even now as I travel back to my cell and sit on my bed. I ignore the notification I received for completing my quest.
Feeling droves of bile down my throat and more ashamed than I have ever cared to feel, each notion I made with my hands and feet made me want to throw up, despite not having a body that will allow such things.
There are many moments when I tried to justify what I felt. That I was no longer as strong as I was, and that feeling was just normal.
But the more I rationalized, the more it didn't make any cognitive sense. And the more wrathful and frustrated I became.
Then I realized something.
It may have only been for nought a moment, but I was most definitely scared of her.
I don't know how, and honestly, I didn't care about trying to justify the 'why'.
All that matters, was for a moment. I saw Shiro's toy of a daughter. And she scared me.
That is unacceptable.
I didn't even have the heart to care about the rewards I received for making it back to my cell somewhat.
For all the quest was, it was still a massive failure in my eyes.
But I didn't worry. I still had time. She hadn't found me yet. And that in and of itself gave me ample amounts of time to work with.
I played it slow and carefully, and somewhere down the line I forgot that my own life was at stake. Waiting for the quests to just take care of themselves like they did.
Good thing I realized this before walking to the surface. Because now I know what to use Jaxter's death as payment for.
"Faceman…"
"Seriously? Of course you did--how did you get inside my cell?" Faceman asked, surprised and on edge.
"That doesn't matter right now."
"I beg to differ--" I tossed him an entire bag filled with different kinds of dust that I mined earlier, then I roughly grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Tell me everything you know about Weiss Schnee."
Another chapter done and this time there was at least some progression (Writing build-up was getting painful.)
Next chapter will begin in the transport and Arhen as at least wisened up into taking action himself, so you should see him being more proactive as of late.
Melancholy should be updated soon but I'll probably upload one more chapter before that.
With that, see you all next chapter!