Chapter - 5
☆☆☆
Bexaria
☆☆☆
In the south western part of Safra city, admist the chaos that was enveloping it and the display of power the knight commander and the elderlich were displaying in the middle of the town, Simon found himself in the middle of-
Clang!!
-a bloody fight of blades
"Grrg"
One of the assassin nearly cut his throat but Simon managed to turn the tables on the guy and slashed him down on his head
{What?}
Or so he thought as the assassin's body dissapeared into a blurr and the other one ran up to him from the side and slashed his daggers at him aiming for his cartoid arteries
[The other threat is behind us Sir]
"OPEN INVENTORY AT MY BACK"
BZZRT
Locking eyes with the threat upfront, Simon gritted his teeth and lifted his upper body and sacrificed his left shoulder; arm's function temporarily to block the daggers blade
"?"
While the assassin who reappeared from his back widened his eyes as a black subspace suddenly opened on his path, his momentum did not allow him to change direction mid attack so he got roped into Simon's inventory which Aia promptly closed after figuring out her master's plan
[New item has been acquired]
"Grraaag!!"
A wave of agony swept through Simon's mind, but he did not give into the pain, not before he kicked the remaining assassin with full force that sent him flying to the sides where, before he even got the chance to get up; got grabbed by the undeads that got attracted to this place by Simon's earlier loud battle cry, the walking corpses immediatly dug their teeths into the assassin from the Raven cloaks, killing him slowly
"No...graaah...noo"
{He got eaten...as planned}
"Damn this hurts!!"
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
Bzzzrrrtt
His sweaty troubled head did not notice the notifications but instead prompted his injured body to jump up the roofs of the buildings to avoid the horde of undead that he attracted at the place, and as he fled from the spot by jumping over roofs, he finally noticed
{So that's how it'll work}
He thought as he gazed at his left shoulder that had deep laceration wounds just a few seconds ago, the wound might've dissappeared but the pain was still fresh for Simon who made a quick note to himself
"Leveling up heals me"
He turned ahead and continued to run through the city by leaping through the roofs in search for other gates that where he could leave town, but as he was moving a loud explosion from the center of the town
Boooommmm
A white beam of light flashed through the sky as it pierced through some sort of giant dark mass that was the cause of the explosion
[High amount of death energy and white aura energy signatures are coming from there sir, I suggest you to stay away from there]
"Yes yes...as if I would go there right now in the first place, just keep the map posted to th3 side and help me navigate Aia"
[Yes sir, but I highly suggest you to look for a place to rest for now]
☆☆☆
Bexaria
☆☆☆
"Aarrg"
Simon grunted as he laid down in an abandoned house that was half wrecked from the disaster that just happened, he was about to close his eyes for a well deserved rest before another notification popped up
[ ! ]
[Emergency Quest]
[Survive! Has been cleared]
[Reward-2000 litre of water, has been given and transported into your inventory]
"Ah... open the inventory with water the size of a small bottle lid infront of my mouth, also adjust the pressure"
[You do not have be that specific sir, I will obviously adjust everything for you]
The magical AI responded as it followed its master's command and gave him a refreshing drink
"Aaa(he exhaled as he had his fill the cool water), good but not worth what I had to go through(he lamemted)...show me my stats"
{2 levels...}
◇◇◇
●Name: Simon
●Level - 4
●Exp - [010/100]
●Mp - [100/100]
●Stats:
| Strength - 9 | Intellect - 7 | Agility-11
| Vitality - 5 | Senses - 8 | Luck - 9
●Abilities - [Gun slinging (Lv2)],[Butchery(Lv3)],[Silver tongue (Lv4)],
[Stealth(Lv1)]
●Skills - [-]
◇◇◇
{Huh?}
He was a bit bewildered to see the difference of points in which his stat increased
"Hey Aia"
[Yes sir]
So he decided to ask Aia about it, about why some of his stats like Strength and Agility grew by more than 4 points while stats like Luck and Vitality only grew by 2 points. The magical AI immediatly answered his questions
[That is because sir, your stats will grow based on which stat you trained and used most extensively during the leveling process]
"Oh.."
{No no wait a minute}
"Wait then why did my intellect also grow that much, I did not study or train my intelligence did I?"
[Use of Intelligence in battle is a form of training Sir, I believe your growth in intelligence comes from your creative and curious way of using every means at your disposal]
He forced another gulp of the water Aia provided, which continued to ease the exhaustion of his frantic escape combined with the residual phantom pain from the hateful assassin's dagger
"Thanks girl"
[You're welcome my man]
...
[Was that not a proper way of responding sir?]
"Hehe(he laughed dryly)...No, no it was"
He actually felt more at ease now thanks to the AI's attempt to match his speech pattern, this made Simon appreciate the AI more, but he put those emotions aside for now and went back to thinking
{So, here's what I got, leveling up heals me... and boosts my stats depending on what I do in the process of leveling up}
The raw speed of the assassins had forced him to think outside the box, hence the Intelligence boost, the frantic running and jumping probably contributed to the Agility, and the adrenaline fueled sword fighting had registered as a Strength test during his process of leveling up, putting all of this together, Simon made a another mental note to think about which stat he would prioritize on when he gets some time to think clearly, as for now he had other things to worry about
Things like what he had in his inventory
{Now time to check on the motherfucker that stabbed me}
"Aia, the Inventory, give me a description of what's inside, SPECIFICALLY the newest item"
[Opening Inventory]...
[Fine Steel Sword]
[Flint Fire Starter]
[2000L Water Barrel x2]
[Rookie Human Assassin]
[Displaying information on - Rookie Human Assasin]
->[Rookie Human Assassin]
•Status: Alive, time-freezed
•Rank-Rookie
•Hp:98/100
•Mp:56/100
Weapon-Poison dagger x2
Items-Voracious Venom,Smoke bomb x5,Poison Darts x4,Alarm scroll]
Simon shivered despite the muggy air
"He's still alive?"
[Yes sir, subject had been time-freezed like all the other items in the inventory]
"I see, so that means your inventory is kind of like a time prison, or a perfect storage unit...
{This is amazing!}
...mm..Aia can you show me the assassin's face on a small holographic screen?"
[Yes I can]
[Displaying image]
Aia projected a small, 2D image of the man; dark armor, pale skin, thin features, and a look of terrified confusion frozen on his face just before the Inventory closed on him
[The subject is bound by the confines of your inventory and is incapable of any anctivity without your command, Simon]
"Good"
Simon murmured, gazing at the holographic image
"Now, Aia, can you separate the items and clothing from this bitch and place them in my main inventory?"
[Bitch? I am afraid I do not detect the presence of a female dog inside your inventory sir]
...
"I...meant the assassin"
[I see...
A small jingle sounded only in Simon's mind that was stunned by the AI's growth in its speech as the process was completed
{She's funny}
He would've laught if not for the situation at hand at Aia's comments
[Item Strip Complete! New items acquired]
[Poison Dagger x2]
[Voracious Venom x1]
[Smoke Bomb x5]
[Poison Dartx4]
[Alarm Scroll x1]
[Raven Cloak Uniform x1]
"Raven Cloak Uniform"
Simon repeated, his eyes drifting across the ruined city visible through the broken roof
{Might useful later}
He sat up fully, and stretched his body, especially his left shoulder to shake off the doubts he still might've had before focused on the projection of the now frozen naked man
{Raven cloak, organized group of psychopaths, a terror organization or something?}
The image of the Raven cloak's leading figure's cold smile as he deployed that fire spell he called Ignis Malum flashed in Simon's mind, leading to a clear conclusion that they are a terror group linked to the Elder Lich that was spawned in the middle of this city
{Grunts like him are good sources of information for any law enforcement organization, speaking of information}
"Aia, is there any way to extract information from him without physical interaction? Like, memory data or telepathy?"
[No sir, I am sorry to say that you do not possess the necessary abilities or skills for mental intrusion, nor do I have the capability to extract memories from a biological unit]
"Figured as much"
Simon ran a hand through his damp, dirty hair
"Anyways he is an asset, if anyone can interrogate him, it will be the military of this country or city...military!"
The image of the beautiful female officer came flashed into his mind
"Miss Audrey Artis!"
She was the only authority figure he had encountered who wasn't hostile, she was also powerful, determined, and clearly capable of dealing with the high-level threats involved, Simon needed to find her, handing over a living member of the enemy might earn him something as well
{I want some good food}
The thought randomely came up before he put it to the corner of his mind
"Aia, open the map again, miss Artis said to look for her at the guard center of this city when I can right? Do you have any coordinates for me"
[I can do that sir, but I recommed we go to Miss Artis directly as she is not within the guard center right now]
"Wha? Then where is she? Can you find her?"
Simon asked, puzzled
[I have her energy signature saved in my memory storage, I am keeping her energy signature under watch due to her irratic surge of power which may harm you as she engages in comba...]
"Just take to her and skip the bull craps"
[Skipping the bull craps]
[Analyzing Audrey Artis's energy signature]
[Last known location was the alleyway adjacent to the West Gate, where she moved inward toward the city center, She is currently on the move, approximately 800 meters from your current location, headimg towards the western gate at highspeed]
"WESTERN GATE?!!"
{Towards that guy!!}
Simon exclaimed as he immediatly jumped out of the wrecked house and dashed towards the west gate
"Okay, Aia, new plan! We need to get to Audrey Artis before she reaches the main gate"
[That impossible with your current Agility my man]
Simon squinted his eyes while questioning whether he should laugh or cry at what he had done to the AI as he ran ahead
End of chapter