[mossed spiders: 5/15]
[You have successfully killed two mossed spiders without help!]
[50 exp points rewarded!!]
[Level 1 (50 exp - 50 more exp) >>Level 2]
[You've earned 10 undistributed points!]
'Distribute where it's needed.'
<<<...5 undistributed points transported to durability...>>>
[Durability: 10>>15]
<<<...3 undistributed points transported to agility...>>>
[Agility: 17>>20]
<<<...2 undistributed points transported to strength...>>
[strength: 12>>14]
Lux rolls his neck as the same feeling engulfs him. But his attention remains on Meraki as she still fights the mossed spider, but quickly brings it to an end with one swift cut to the neck.
...After slicing all of its legs off.
'Brutal. Wouldn't want her as an opponent.' He takes mental notes.
Taking a breath, she wipes the green blood from her forehead and cheeks. And he finally averts his attention to Ichor and neal, just as the metal domain fades away into thin air.
Ichor is kneeling beside Neal, but there are no steel arms, or any arms at all.
"So… he was armless all along." Lux approaches, eyes narrowing with a flicker of realization.
But Ichor shifts away the moment Lux gets too close, his head lowered—not in shame, but something quieter. Something heavier. Like disgust for the body he was given.
Meraki slows beside him, her gaze softening. She doesn't say anything. She doesn't need to.
"Isn't it—" Neal begins, his voice uncertain.
In a flash, Meraki steps forward, her dagger glinting under the sunlight as its edge kisses the side of his neck.
"Isn't it what?" she snaps, eyes blazing with fury. "Go on. Say it."
"Beautiful." He mutters, confusion, a fear flashing in his eyes. "All life forms are beautiful."
All of their eyes widen in stupefaction, except Lux's, who moves over to Ichor, who gasps softly.
"What? You think I'll judge someone missing arms?" He bends down, gripping his side, and helps him to his feet.
"Imperfections make us human, no matter how grotesque you are, in my eyes, we are all the same."
'I've seen my fair share of disabled people. A man who lost his sight, but in return, mastered all his other senses—became an exceptional fighter. A woman who lost one of her arms but can still fire a sniper rifle, maybe even better than a pro. A person who lost a foot and still outran trained soldiers with just grit and a prosthetic.'
He smiles just at the thought of his previous colleagues.
'They were always missing or lacking in something but somehow prevailed past it becoming better than the seemingly 'perfect' humans they are always compared to.'
Ichor raises his head, the confidence coming back to his face.
"It must also be hard." Meraki joins them as if she didn't almost kill Nealm seething her daggers."You're constantly using magic am I right? To generate that metal arm?"
"Yeah..." He nods slowly. "I always have to take a break after four hours to consume mana, since I struggle with constant mana absorption."
"It is a very hard technique to master; only mages over the fifth circle can do it." Neal clears his throat, fixing the color of his shirt.
'These kids are giving me more information than the system.'
[Reminder: if you continue to insult the system, consequential actions will be exact—]
'Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time.'
"Do you have enough mana to regenerate your arms now?" Meraki questions, and he nods a yes.
On command, two glowing magic circles shimmer to life where his arms should be. In a fluid motion, liquid metal begins to swirl outward, shaping itself into fully formed arms, sleek and strong, forged from pure mana and reinforced steel.
"Thank you, all of you," Ichor says, his voice steady, watching his arm form. "I have received a lot of criticism for this Imperfection. So I used my gift to shape my magic around what I lacked, and this is what it led to."
He lifts his forged arms slightly, flexing his fingers with pride.
"I'm grateful for the way I was born. Because without it… I would've never discovered what I was truly capable of but stuck on the pedestal the higher class created." He clenches his fist. "One I plan on bringing down."
Meraki watches him, the fire in her eyes softening just a bit.
Neal only averts his eyes, and Lux is brimming with pride.
'A man with a goal. I like him.'
A few fleeting seconds pass, the silence filled with everyone's own goals and aspirations for being here until it's sliced in half with a slow, melodic tune.
"Is that a flute?" Lux questions himself, twisting his head in the direction of the sound, the melody picking up.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
The eerie music cuts off abruptly, drowned by the chain of explosions echoing across the forest.
[Mossed Spiders: 1/15]
'They took out four at once?!'
"It has to be other students," Neal mutters, eyes scanning the smoke rising in the distance.
"We should check it out," Meraki says, gripping her dagger.
"Yeah," the others echo in agreement, already moving.
'I don't know what the next stages hold... and as much as I prefer working alone—''
He glances at them all.
'—We need numbers.'
They move quickly, feet crunching through dead leaves and roots, weaving between trees until the smoke becomes thicker.
As they reach a small clearing, the aftermath reveals itself: large craters with four moss-covered spider corpses lying in them. Green blood splattered onto the floor, and standing in the distance are two students.
A girl with snow-white skin and matching hair stands serenely, her pearlescent irises shimmering as delicate white butterflies flutter gently around her.
The boy next to her holds the flute, his long purple hair resting on his shoulder, hazel eyes locked on them.
"Looks like we have company, white." The boy says to her.
"Finally, we'll have company once we enter the next stage." She replies, raising her hands towards them, a white magic circle forming a butterfly symbol in the middle. "Go, my fiends." An array of white butterflies streams forward to them.
'Butterflies?'
"Dodge!" Ichor screams, pulling Neal to the side, and Lux and Meraki avoid it.
Click!
'Wait. I know that sound.'
Click!
Click!...
Lux spins around to see the last spider behind them, but just in time, the butterfly lands on it.
"What does she think butterflies are going to do?" Meraki grits her teeth, moving forward.
"I'd advise against going close to them." The white lady suggests.
Just as Meraki nears it, each butterfly emits a soft bioluminescent light, a small puff of mist emitting from it. The spider wails in pain, thrashing around in pure agony that seems to rattle the entire forest.
'What the...hell' He cringes. "Now I have to worry about butterflies?"
Second by second, its flesh fills with a white fungus that corrodes its entire body.
"Who the hell are these people." Meraki murmurs under her breath.
__________
[Profile]
Name: Chivalry
Status: wanderer
Magic level: 4th magic circle
Type of caster: illusion
Possibility: 65%
__________
__________
[Profile]
Name: Pearl
Status: Fallen princess
Magic circle: 5th circle
Type of castor: particle
Possibility: 50%
__________
'A fallen princess and a wanderer—what a mix.' He assesses them but sees nothing but their outer exteriors, which are pleasant. 'Nothing, which either means they have no alternative motives, or they are incredibly good at hiding it.'
Meraki steps back as the spider freezes mid-air, unmoving, dead. "That was close."
[STAGE CLEARED!!]
'It's over.'
[STARTING STAGE TWO]
[BOSS STAGE!!]
Where the last spider's body collapses to the floor, the same wooden door they had opened before materializes.
"The boss stage?" Lux says out loud, grabbing all their attention as they make they're way over to him.
"The boss level already?" Ichor inquires. "Aren't we supposed to go through a series of stages?"
"Correct." Chivalry chimes in, thankfully saving Lux from answering that question he didn't have an answer to. "Stages differentiate in which circle dungeon you're in. 1st circle has two, the 2nd circle has three, the 3rd circle has four, and so on. Since we are in a first-circle dungeon, we are given two stages, the clearing stage and the dungeon boss stage."
"How do you know that?" Neal questions.
"Wandered." He answered with a smile. "I've been trying many."
"I suppose we should get going?" Pearl interjects, her voice rather whispy, "I perhaps not to waste in this dungeon any longer."
"I agree." Lux follows up.
With reluctance, they open the door to another forest. The last stage.