NOVPUBAfter a few moments of explanation, Jane let out a sigh.
"Seriously... I should've just brought someone else. Why would that being even come down here?"
"Beats me." Neraxis shrugged. "But you can't say it wasn't fun, right? I doubt the other expeditions managed to summon a sovereign."
"I don't think you should be trying to justify that," Evangeline remarked with a giggle and turned to Jane. "Can we get going now?"
"Hmm... yes, the next area is a bit better. It's the outskirts of the city, also known as the forest," Jane replied plainly and stepped out of the church.
They followed suit, walking through the bone-filled city. Unlike before, it had this weird air around it.
It almost felt like they were being watched, but no matter where Neraxis looked, he couldn't see anyone.
Paranoia... can't say I like that, he thought with a sigh. But at least it looks like Jane is going to take the lead this time.
After all, they did go on their own earlier, and if instead of the Sovereign there was a very strong monster, they'd have died.
Even so, he kept glancing around as they left the city. Finally, on the outskirts, he noticed something peculiar
There was a weird shape carved into the bones which almost resembled a head.
He halted before slowly approaching it, puzzling the rest of the party.
Finally, he leaned down and touched the weird shape. To his surprise, it suddenly crumbled, but not before giving him a shocking pop-up.
<You've absorbed the essence of ???>
<+5 Strength>
<+3 Agility>
Oh? Neraxis looked on in amusement before turning back to the party.
"Looks like you can gain stats by absorbing those weird faces..." he trailed off, a smile tugging at his lips. "Can we take a little break?"
He glanced to the side, spotting another face in the bones. "There's another one, see?"
"Aha... yeah, we don't," Evangeline remarked in a flat tone.
"No idea what you're talking about," Jane added. "But if you're having some sort of episodes, we're willing to wait until you sort it out."
"Seriously..." Neraxis sighed. "Alright, give me an hour, I'll show you what I mean."
With that, Neraxis set out to absorb all the faces he could.
1 hour later.
<+53 Strength>
<+72 Agility>
<+110 Stamina>
<+88 Mana Capacity>
It was a very fruitful hour. And the stats alone were insane.
Therefore, without wasting a moment, he opened his status screen, inspecting the changes.
MP: 820/1,320 → 2,200/2,200
Strength: 70 (+50) → 128 (+50)
Agility: 88 (+50) → 163 (+50)
Stamina: 92 (+50) → 202 (+50)
Mana Capacity: 132 (+100) → 220 (+100)
Free Stat Points: 0
—Skills:
Arksteel (Legendary)
—Fragment of Calamity Skill Tree (4/???)
Advanced Horizontal Slash (Epic)
Expert Stab (Rare)
Atomic Stab (Rare)
Illusion Slash (Rare)
+-----+
Having finished his little field trip, Neraxis began walking back to the girls, who were idly sitting by, rocking their legs on the bone structures they found.
"So? Are you done?" Evangeline asked. "I can't say I like staying in one place for too long."
"Yep, I'm done," Neraxis replied as he took out his sword and, to their surprise, slashed the wall beside them.
It cut through the bone like butter, and he continued until finally, the bone turned to dust.
The bones here were clearly durable, so for him to do this was a feat in and of itself.
"Did you sharpen your sword or something?" Jane asked with furrowed brows. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
But he simply brushed her aside as he took a few steps forward.
After all, in front of him was a forest so large, he couldn't see the very top of the trees.
As much as he wanted to continue going first, he slowed his pace and let the approaching Jane take over.
"From here on out, try not to stray away from me." She cleared her throat. "Out of the 21 expeditions that have managed to get this far, 5 have perished here. Care to take a guess why?"
"Because they were stupid?" Evangeline chimed in. "If all we need to do is follow you, then I guess it was a miscommunication on their part, right?"
"Precisely," Jane replied with a nod. "This place is a psychological dead zone. Utter silence, with the only sound being the crunching of branches, your own heartbeat, and the breaths of others."
She took a deep breath and continued. "Many fights broke out because some had breathed too loud. As funny as that sounds, it was the case for 3 of the expeditions. The others died in a manner that was a bit different."
"Different?" Neraxis tilted his head. "How come?"
"Hmm... they killed themselves, I think...?" Jane muttered. "I don't exactly remember, since I wasn't paying much attention to them. My only goal was to guide them through the forest. If I had lost my focus, then all of us would've died there."
"That almost sounds as if someone managed to make it out... from those failed expeditions, I mean," Evangeline brought up, causing Jane's brows to scrunch up.
"Yes... but you can't exactly clear this place with the power of friendship, can you?" she said plainly. "Last time, just one survived. He was the weakest of the bunch, a literal porter. So I had no choice but to kill him and get out of here."
"Aha..." Neraxis nodded slowly. "I feel like there's more than you're letting on, but sure, we'll bite, right Evangeline?"
"Hmm... we don't really have a choice, so yeah, guess we will," Evangeline replied with a resolute look.
And with that, Jane rolled her eyes and took a few steps forward. The sound of her footsteps vanished the moment she entered the forest. As Neraxis and Evangeline did the same, they couldn't hear anything either.
It was just as creepy as she explained, and the darkness spread all around wasn't helping either.
But despite all that darkness, he had Evangeline, who brought her hand into his and interlocked their fingers.
[Well... this is creepy, but it won't take too long to get out, right?] Evangeline commented with a chuckle.
A shiver ran down his spine.
You just jinxed it...
