Stray Elf: Lost in the System

XI.

The mage hesitated when she heard me speak, though I would like to think I possess a deeper voice than most women under a helmet, she could still recognize me immediately. How could I defeat a party like this? Furthermore, if they were Heroes they were hiding their true abilities. The first adventurer used a Spirit Skill, but it ignited like mine did when I fought the deceiver of Moonwatch. Are they liars too? Or simply powerful warriors that survived a fight?

“It’s… She’s a Nameless!” The Mage cried out. The big Knight of their party grunted and assumed a defensive position between her and the warrior. Perhaps he had a Unique Skill that could protect both of them. “Watch out!”

The first adventurer, the Scimitar, nodded and began his advance towards me. I chose to hold back. If I revealed too much of my abilities they could counterattack. If my comrades were down in that spell’s blast radius I needed to make sure I could buy time for their escape before retreating. They were communicating with each other in that other human language. Why do I have to go through this trouble? I groaned. Am I some kind of boss enemy?

“Spirit Dance!” The scimitar wielder commanded his blades to move again.

The smell of sizzling rain ran across my nostrils from those burning Spirit blades of the Scimitar, zipping above me before crashing down. They slashed uselessly against my sword, but withdrew back to their original orbit around the adventurer as he prepared his assault again. If I learned anything from the previous Spirit Skillholder, those strikes would soon follow. I could dodge them just fine, even in the morning rain, if I timed my reactions with a delay in anticipation of their follow-up strikes.

The blades swung again, as I predicted. I growled triumphantly, stepping into a striking position and catching him off guard with my speed. Thanks to my improved DEX, those blades were easy to weave and dodge. Now, it was time to show my STR to this opponent. You’re finished!

“Power Halberd,” I muttered. Did I need to say it to activate it? A jolt of energy rushed from my palms to the halberd itself, making it glow that comforting silver aura. The Skill worked, but the Scimitar adventurer lept back using a Power Body skill of his own. Tch, was PvP always this annoying?

My halberd slammed into a towering ghostly figure. Something glowed with azure energy in the party’s backline and I barely had time to recover. Cold attuned magic, I could feel the air drastically drop in temperature. A magical spear of ice formed from the tip of her staff and launched towards me. The icicles from the projectiles clinked against my armor as I ducked to dodge it, but the ghostly figure was already slamming down with its massive shield. The Skill collided into my halberd, slamming me against the mud. The blow left me quite a distance, my eyes instinctively scanned the trail of mud I left while skidding, but the Scimitar adventurer was not there with others. An alert warned me of an incoming Spirit Skill. That means…!

A diving attack was reckless, I prepared my skill again for a counterattack. He must have thought I was too weak from the Knight’s Power Shield. The arrogance will be his undoing! I kicked myself up and smashed the flying blades with the Power Halberd skill and slashed again at the falling adventurer with a mighty swing. The explosions covered my surroundings in flames and shards of shattered blades, but luckily I felt like I was still swinging against grass. Let it all burn.

More blades fell like volcanic ash, in mixes of heated metal fragments and sparks of flames and lightning. I heard a grunt of pain, but the man survived. I jumped back, while he lept back into his Knight’s protective Skill range.

“Get back!” I heard the Mage call out. Her staff hummed with more freezing ice, but I was ready. As the spell charged, I heard her utter something along with it. “Spirit Breaker!”

A Skill combined with magic? I watched the magical attack launch towards me much quicker, but it blasted right past me. She missed? The spell combination exploded into a brilliant cobalt burst of light behind me, leaving a massive crater where the sappings were. I approached them, still standing and ready for their next attacks, but the mage just laughed.

“I didn’t miss, you know!” She pointed her staff where the crater was. I glanced back, realizing the mage targeted the remains of my team. “Now, you’re truly alone!”

I sighed. Yokgu and the others had better made it out of there. For now, I knew I was the arrogant one for assuming they would play fair. Unique Skill Holders or not, I determined I had to test my Stats or die here. I drew the Black Blade once again, feeling its power. Playtime is over. The Knight was the first target I should eliminate, I determined.

“You might take down monsters of legendary sizes and women like that village,” I calmly approached the adventurer’s dancing swords. The bait worked, as he charged directly at me with blinding speeds. His blades swung in a swirl of flames and wind, seemingly outpacing the raindrops as they fell, though that was the gambit I needed. “But I am the worst monster of them all.”

With that, I relied on my Dex stat to flash by him. A blade cut at my head as I weaved through a narrow gap between his Spirit blades. The rain drops slowed as I grinned and closed the distance between the Knight’s neck and my Skill empowered sword. To his Scimitar friend, I must have disappeared into thin air. His shocked face remained as the helmet flew off into the wind and I heard the satisfying swish of my sword decorated those same raindrops with red.

One Crowned enemy defeated.

The thud of the headless Knight’s body crunched on the ground as I slashed the blood off the Black Blade.

“It looks like I didn’t miss either,” I retorted, letting my glare darken the mage’s confidence. She paled, but then shook with sorrow. I have seen that tragedy spread on the faces of villagers, soldiers, and adventurers before. If only I could feel that way. Even if the Tusks I battled with died from this foolish mage’s spell, I felt nothing move inside my heart.

“Wynndon!” The Mage screamed.

She will be the last one I should eliminate for now. I had to focus on the agile warrior making his return. He roared ferociously, vowing vengeance but I was already able to determine his strength and reach from our previous clash. He moved in slow motion, the veins in his neck and face bulging in wrath. His neck was a perfect handle for me to seize with my armored grasp.

“Idiot. Now that your main defense is gone,” I gripped his neck even harder. “What hope do you have now?”

The blades orbiting around him clattered against my armor uselessly, like his arms dangling as I clenched harder on his throat. He spat on me as his eyes bulged, but I deserved it. I delivered one clean stab through his skull. Two Crowned enemies down, and the mage was defenseless! I turned to face her, only to realize she crouched over her fallen Knight’s body-- and cradled his head as she muttered something.

“Uh,” I was about to utter, but suddenly my skin felt like it was going to break out. The air shimmered with fractal lightning, twisting and crackling around her. She glared at me with a maniacal look. More magical energy expanded outward from her, cracking the castle walls. Shit! I had to get rid of this human before she blew everything up.

I dashed over to her with a Power Halberd ready. My armor began to crack under the dense magic swirling about, but I lunged as a last ditch effort. The halberd reached its target, piercing her heart. As we locked eyes, I tasted blood coming out my mouth. My hands were flaking apart as the energy around the mage tore into me.

Why don’t you die already! I thought furiously as I rammed the halberd all the way through her.

“I-It’s too late!” She laughed, still clutching the Knights head. “Land Breaker!”

Her body began to convulse as the magical energy and Skill power converged. Goddamn mages, I groaned over the humming bursts. Something screamed from behind me. I checked myself and was sure despite the air’s energy intensifying that it was not me screaming. A massive limb slammed me harder than the dead Knight’s Power Shield, and my vision ached as I flew into a crater. Surprisingly, I felt no pain.

What in the hell was that? I muttered. It felt like a train or a bulldozer slammed into me a few minutes ago. Someone saved me? I could breathe as the weight of the spell lifted off my shoulder. Aside from my shattered armor, I realized I had no wounds other than blood from where my skin was cracking apart. Suddenly a flurry of windows assailed my vision. Shit! Is it really the time for this?

Through the translucent windows, I realized the majority of the fight was happening within several destroyed walls of the Perigree Fortress. I guess I had time to level up, so I sat down at the steps of the Perigree’s Gate Ramp and prepared to sift through these alerts.

Level Up Achieved. Promote five stats and gain new stat parameters.

Five? I knew that would happen, but it still seemed like a lot to take in! I did not have time to think about five stats to promote! Another window opened without me prompting it to manifest. Installation messages? Am I truly some kind of war machine?

New abilities installed. System Internals updated. Navigation and appraisal of abilities activated.

Alert: The Skill, “Power Breaker,” has successfully been integrated in the System as “Power Breaker.” You may now use the ability freely.

I just wanted to regain my vision again, I groaned. Not all these bells and whistles! I was glad I was not standing, or else all these windows would have made me feel sick and fall over. Who even needs a super powerful ability like Power Breaker? For what? As I pushed past the windows and looked at what was left of my battle at these gates, I noticed a familiar creature destroying the gates. The mage was a bloody mess and it seemed like I owed Nanishtar my life. The beast launched into an assault the moment those gates crumbled, tearing apart Sarwitz forces as I sat down catching my breath.

Five Stats to promote, huh? I should promote my CON Stat again, because if those Crowned foes were more stronger and caught me off guard I could have gotten defeated easily. They were using multiple skills and combining them with magic. I should see if I could upgrade my STR and DEX beyond Rank A. I contemplated it, because even without magic I was still lethal with my current setup. Or, I contemplated until my head hurt. Should I upgrade Stamina once or twice instead?

Forget it, I closed my eyes and made my decision.

CON: D now upgraded to C

STR: A now upgraded to S

Constellation requires more Souls for Rank SS

DEX: A now upgraded to S

Constellation requires more Souls for Rank SS

INT: E (+1 Bonus Grade)

Empowered by UNKNOWN ENTITY “Ack’Sa.”

STA: C

Luck: N/A

A new window struck my eyes as I scanned my Stat promotion window. Has that second column always been there? Constellations? Souls? If leveling up to level 4 taught me anything, I would have to destroy a lot of people to gather their souls. An Elven Grim Reaper, I thought wryly to myself. Perhaps, I was becoming some kind of final boss with this Unique Skill. I was not prepared for any of this! I do not even know what a Constellation is, or even the fact that I could go beyond A rank, let alone S Rank!

Skills combined with magic intrigued me. Just like these dead adventurers were able to utilize multiple Skills in their three-on-one gank against me, I realized that I did so before by combining fire magic and the Power Halberd. Raising my INT could actually benefit my Skills, but the prospect of destroying castle walls with a deadly attack like Land Breaker would be worth it in the long run in case I run into a powerful enemy. Therefore, I decided it would be a good idea to rank up INT.

CON: C

STR: S

DEX: S

INT: E now upgraded to C (+1 Bonus Grade)

STA: C

Luck: N/A

As soon as I finished promoting my Stats, my vision started to darken. Reality seemed to tear itself apart in one moment, like glitches, then a searing headache tore into my brain beyond the windows in my eyes. Shit! What was happening to me? I instantly regretted promoting my INT to C, which was given a bonus rank from the runes on my skin and making it B rank instead.

Through my rattling skull, I closed a window only to see grey bars of static blocking out the majority of my sight. If only I had an operator's manual or something that could fix my Status’s System!

The glitches and headache eventually subsided, but still tugged at the corners of my sight. What the hell was happening to me? I clutched my head, but the pain was still there. A hand gripped my shoulder. Shit! I was still in combat!

“Whoa, Nameless!” A familiar voice called out to me. It was Yokgu! “Taking a break?”

“You!” I drew away. “You’re alive!”

“Of course I am,” Yokgu grinned. “Is that actual concern on your face for me?”

“Shut up,” I told him. The orc was truly alive! Despite his laughing, I thought the devastating spell that mage used got him. “Where are the others?”

“No clue,” Yokgu grunted. “That spell was a right bastard, eh? The veterans of Tusks are in there already, but I could not find the demons.”

The kids? Well, I guess they did not make it. I stood up, ignoring the static fraying my eyes. My body felt light, however, and much more powerful then the moments before I promoted my stats. Was this the trade off?

“By the way, uh,” Yokgu looked at me oddly. “What happened to your eyes? They’re… red.”

“Got my ass beat by those heroes,” I shrugged. I guessed that was what physically happened to my eyes, but I do not remember what color they were before. “The beast ate them. I think.”

“You think?”

“We should get moving,” I ignored his exasperation. “I need to find Nanishtar.”

“Right, now the fun part begins!” Yokgu beat his chest and let loose a powerful roar before charging in through the castle gates. I took my time, but soon found my boots on solid golden bricks. The inside of this fortress was vastly different from Fort Bassalt, which was built with stone and wood. Human history lay in the architecture, with golden arches and statues lying in pieces as the battle raged on.

A glitch appeared in the center of my vision before I took another step. A hundred messages whirred my irises into a flurry, in a language I did not know yet could read it.

Status: Come home, Stray Elf. Mother awaits you.

Who the hell is Mother? Was that the One who gave me this Skill? I was left breathless, but leaning against the gate with an ominous feeling floating around my head. I should not have leveled up, I groaned. Had I known this side effect would happen and something has been watching me this whole time, I would have settled for less power. On second thought, I knew I would level up in a heartbeat since it was free previously. I attempted to close the messages burning my eyes, but as quickly as I closed them more messages showed up.

Status: Installing new information.

I must be the world’s slowest computer, I mused after closing the windows by squeezing my eyes shut. This installation process is taking too long, and there was no time left. I spotted the hulking beast that was Nanishtar ripping a path up the golden road. She will lead me to the King, or whoever was in charge here. My armor was not in good condition to fight, but I found that it did not matter. The promoted Stats proved to be deadly even if my Skill was breaking itself apart at the seams. One foot in front of the other, I thought furiously to myself. A group of soldiers surrounded me and I had to destroy them all to get to Nanishtar. Their spears shook as I slowly moved towards the beast’s path. Was it my eyes that terrified them?

“You’re in my way,” I glared at them, but that only invited them to charge towards me all at once. With a single slash, I left a rain of limbs behind me as I chased after her. The central castle stood atop of a massive hill, adorned by a shining and bloody road ahead of me. If there was a place a King would hide, it would be in that gaudy building.

This place was huge on the inside, much like Moonwatch, yet each of my strikes shattered a lot of its history. Gold seemed to be the main decoration here, which made sense if this place was designed for Royals to retreat to. I stopped as I traveled up the main stairs to watch the sun shine over the ocean, where ship battles were taking place. Blackened clouds and magic were clouding the sky, but the vast water dwarfed the conflict.

A woman’s scream sounded from the gate, followed by the guttural swooshing of a heavy blade. Blood started pooling and dripping down the steps towards me. Someone was doing a lot of killing up there. I instinctively checked my alerts, but realized it was useless. The only window that appeared was the glitchy installation one. It did not have a percentage or anything displaying its progress! More screaming came from above. As I reached the final red-slicked step of the stairs, several disfigured humans rushed towards me.

No, they were running past me away from the perpetrator. I was unfortunate enough to notice they had been disemboweled. Each were gutted and placed under some kind of spell that kept them alive as long as possible as they spilled over the stairs. I get it, I closed my eyes. The glitches covering my vision and mind in painful static was more preferable than this gory display of violence.

Status: Installing new information… New level up parameters-- mother commands you to come home-- Stray-- Come Home-- Error!

Shut up! I closed the windows. I could see through the static in various slices between them. Curse this stupid Skill! Can’t my Mother call me later and not a hundred times in a row? I made out the form of my enemy standing between me and the gate to lead to what I presumed was the King’s chambers. He was uttering something and casting Skills, but my rage barely kept me in check to process what he was saying.

“I, General for the High King of Sarwitz, shall be your last opponent. Look upon me, Goddess! Look upon me, demon! For the Glory of Usalah! You shall not pass!” He gloated, throwing the head of a dead succubus at my feet. “I’ll rip the false God right out of your gut, foul demon!”

“So that was your doing in that village,” I mused. Despite my vision going haywire, I felt in control as if I could dodge even the numerous raindrops now. Each one of my muscles were fully ready to move at a moment’s notice. I felt like a hypocrite, but I had to ask him one thing. “Did it make you feel big, killing so many women for your god?”

The General gave a wretched laugh that was pregnant with arrogance and perversion.

“You are a Nameless goddess’s child, not even worthy of Usala’s teachings like the rest of them,” he drew his massive golden blade. The sword was plunged hilt-deep into bodies and gold. The strength to pull that trick off must mean he was a Crowned Enemy. Behind him, I noticed a corpse of a twisted and beastly form next to the gates. Nanishtar was dead! Just before I thought I had enough of humans. The enemy must have seen my disgust because he laughed at me again and gave a sick grin. “Fear not, Nameless, for I shall take great care of your cold body once I--“

The man burst apart into fine bits of armor and flesh as I dashed through him with the Black Blade without even utilizing a skill. My power disgusted me, mostly, but the man known as the High General of Sarwitz was now nothing but mist in the rain. It was not enough to avenge all these fallen people, but that was a Hero’s duty. Not mine. A new alert came unprompted from my Status skill.

Alert: Crowned Enemy ahead. New objective for System rights. Extract the Seed of Death from the Crowned Entity.

So now it decides to work? I closed the window. If the Seed was free, I’ll take it, but I made no promises to whoever or whatever was running the Status. I looked at the chopped up Nanishtar. Her twisted body was lifeless; it was nearly indistinguishable mixed in the pools of viscera and limbs. Perhaps we’ll stand face to face in the Hells when I die and I will apologize to you properly, I thought to her as if it could reach her. For now, the human King remained within these gaudy gates and I was going to eliminate him. He sat upon a gleaming throne, drenched in more red slop, but instead of a glorious rich monarch a malformed creature settled in the seat like mold. Was this thing even human? I stared at it, as it tore off a strip of flesh and began to consume it before noticing me.

“Y-You!” The King spoke to me, dropping the flesh on the ground. He was not armed, from what I could tell, and appeared to be a fat blob, an unsightly shape, spilled upon the throne in one disgusting mess. “W-What happened to the General! Guards!”

I waited a bit, ready to give anyone who showed up a piece of my mind, but no one came. The Thing blubbered about, and as he jiggled pieces of half-eaten flesh off of himself his eyes widened. Where would this Seed of Death be on him? I advanced closer to him, trying not to choke from the smell he exuded.

“Wait! No!” The man’s eyes bulged. “We, you and I, have a lot in common! We kill demons!”

“Demons? So even the human ones are also demons to you?” I kept my voice calm, but returned his panicked gaze with nothing but a furious look as I approached.

He suddenly screamed at something, but I noticed it was not me he feared. Perhaps this thing was a body double?

“No!” He pleaded. “U-Usalah! I have carried out Your Will for so long… Why does your Light now leave me alone! Usalah!”

His eyes rolled back into the leathery flab of his face. That’s what you get for being a religious zealot, I retorted in my mind. Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced my hand, as if someone ran a long blade straight through my elbow and out my whole arm to my palm. Was that goddess listening to my thoughts?

What in the hells? I clutched my hand as the pain intensified, but felt the flesh on my arm begin to swell and boil. Something was piercing out of it! I screamed. The searing pain wormed through my hand. A strange presence was overwhelming me! I felt it move my palm, prying my clenched fist over finger by finger, aiming at the fat King before me. Was I being possessed? Waves of darkness pressured my eyes as I felt the excruciating burning spread down from my wrist to my palm.

The King started to convulse as I watched in horror as a tendril of flesh burst from it like a javelin straight down the man’s jaw. I could feel everything as it tore him apart, like sinking my hand into a chunky soup and swirling the slush all around. Whatever this Skill was, I did not want it!

Something in the blackness of his insides reached out to my unwanted tentacle. Yet it continued its work and slashed him apart. I felt the murkiness separating between the jabs, like mud slipping through my fingers. My Status skill started striking me with windows full of unknown symbols, as if whatever I was connecting to was completely rewriting whatever mess those glitches caused. I struggled to pull away yet I remained rooted to the ground, and the macabre display continued.

The tentacle lashed one final time, bisecting the King completely, knocking his crown off his head and journeyed to his stomach before reaching its target. As I recoiled, I saw in the mess that formerly was the King something solid resting inside of it, black as the night sky and perfectly spherical. The seed! The alien Skill latched onto it, then crawled itself all the way back into my arm as I watched the lump roll itself under my skin and into my chest.

The Skill vanished and I was suddenly left alone in front of this crime scene. The glitches ceased and my head cleared, but the Status Skill started giving me alerts again. I stumbled, letting puke escape my mouth as I crawled my way out of this cursed place. As the fresh air struck my nostrils, the nausea started to subside. Did that Seed reboot me? What the hell? I coughed up bile again and wiped the slop off my chin. I got my revenge, but at what cost? That disgusting King was going to rot away in there forever without my help!

Alert: System information fully installed. Skill: Death Spear has been acquired. The Ruler of Death has been granted new permissions. View status to see your divine rights.

No, you stupid Status, I don’t want to find out what any of that means. I closed the window and collapsed to the ground. I was an awful computer with a demonic virus, and of course the Skill that stabbed the King was named Death Spear. The battle was raging on, but it did not matter to me. I figured I could blend in with the other bloody corpses on the ground, so I lay there for a while. The static and glitches ceased assaulting my eyes, at least. Now, all I had to do is wait until the fighting died down and suppress the sinking feeling in my gut that things about this Unique Skill just got much more serious.

Heavy breathing panted up the stairs behind me and I could feel the boots of someone clomping up the cracked golden path. Did he have a tracker on me or something? I groaned and hoped he did not notice me.

“Hey,” Yokgu’s concerned voice rang over me. “You taking a break? Or are you actually dead?”

I felt his hands shake me, but as soon as he tried to lift me out of the filthy pool I started to move.

“I am taking a break,” I finally gave in and broke my silence. “Leave me alone.”

“Lazy,” he growled, but settled into a laugh. He did not comment on my hand, which led me to believe that tendril Skill truly retracted into my palm like a frog’s tongue. “At least get out of the mess, would ya!”

“Make me,” I groaned, but acquiesced and got up.

“That human King in there, ah,” Yokgu gestured towards the ornate gates that led to his throne. I sat up and scooted my back against the wall.

“Wouldn’t look in there,” I sighed. “If I were you.”

Despite my warning, Yokgu peered inside and immediately recoiled with a twisted disgust on his face.

“Idiot,” I chastised him.

“Wasn’t expecting that,” he shrugged. He looked like he was going to ask me something, but changed his mind. “Your eyes tell me all I need to know.”

“Don’t ask me how they got this way,” I told him. I only half lied. Yokgu leaned against the wall and slumped to my level against the King’s chamber walls. Like old times, though it seems like yesterday to me, we watched the battle below on the diaphanous hill rage on in our favor. I peaked at my Status for the level up requirements and nearly let out a groan.

Level 5. Slay a Skull Entity for level up.

If an Elite meant nothing to my Skills and Stats and a Crowned enemy only gave me trouble when there were multiple of them— I shuddered at the realization that a Skull entity was much more powerful than either of those two combined. For now, I decided it was a good thing this country’s King was dead and relaxed.