Chapter 6

Blood all over my body, the smell was metallic, something I had been very familiar with in my previous life, its taste was just like human blood, salty with a bit of iron

In my hand I held the stick I used to kill the two bunnies

Vendar and Dein were standing in front of me, carrying their pray in their back

Trying to break the ice, Vendar asked

*did you level up?*

Shaking my head and trying to clean my face with my cloth, I get up and respond with a forced smile

*yes I did! 4 whole levels!*

...being down about this is unnecessary, I will continue to kill so I can grow...I'll step over others so they won't step over me and I will challenge fate so I won't be bound by it

*whaaat?! from just the two of them?! What level are you now?* in surprise his eyes opened, contradicting the blood with his blue irises...it looked weird as he was at the same time trying to resist the metallic smell

*yep, I'm now level 4*

*wha...*

*let the questions for later, we should get going for now...*

*ok...*

...

We each carried what we killed and headed for a river we came across before coming here

...the water was cold, but the quicker I get this sting off, the better

The blood came off easily and followed the flow of the water, leaving a red trail behind us

We washed our clothes and our bodies, Vendar said that even if the blood is gone, the smell won't leave without effort

The fish passing by, when they came in contact with the blood immediately swum away

...staring mindlessly at the reflection of myself, it doesn't take much for my imagination to picture an accident I had recently forgotten, memories flow fast, just like that time... and I get a headache

Damn it! *spa* I give myself a good slap and start hopping in the water

Vendar and Dein just looked at me with their weirded out expressions

*come on, lets get going!*

I said enthusiastically

*sure...*

...

About half an hour later, our clothes were almost dry, we went into the orphanage like nothing had happened...and of course, there were no reactions, except of camol casually greeting us and asking where we were out of interest...he doesn't seem as bad as I expected, when he first came up to me I thought he was just trying to intimidate me

...Dinner was being served so we went in line and got ourselves some food, this time it was a soup made from something that looked like a potato and other vegetables

...Not really my cup of tea but a hungry man would eat just about anything

When I was done, I set a time to meet with Vendar and his brother later on...I needed some time alone in my room to cool down for a moment

...this bed, even though it's hard, the fact that I can feel it makes it better than the hospital one...why did those memories hit me so hard at that moment? It was like I had a forced flashback

My previous memories, at least a small part of them came back to being vivid clear...it's bizarre, I feel like my old self has been ripped apart and I am just the 10% of what I used to be like...it's not that I don't remember my previous life, but more like I was just ignoring it

Perhaps it's better that way...after all there's not much to forget, is there?

With a long inhale and a slow exhale I prepare myself for a bit of excitement

___

-Status-

Level:4. Experience:74/400 (for next level)

Name: Daniel age:12

Health:120 Mana:26/40

Stamina:172/210

-stats:

Vitality:12 wisdom:4

Endurance:19 intelligence:16

Dexterity:26 luck:5

Strength:27

Agility:30

Perception:1

-Skills:

Quick mind lvl3

Split mind lvl1

Extreme body control lvl3

Power burst lvl2

Water magic resistance lvl1

Meditative sleep lvl1

- 20 unallocated stat points-

___

Cool...extreme body control and quick mind levelled up...though I already had a feeling about them, it's still nice to see it written

...so...where shall I put those points?

First I can forget about luck, from what I heard it's not something you can change and I also won't be using magic any time soon so intelligence and wisdom are also not an option

...I know pretty much what all of my stats do except of perception

...Without further delay I decide to put 5 of them into perception, just out of interest, to see what my "special" stat does

_____

Are you sure you want to invest 5 stat points on perception?

_____

A window with a simple question popped up

A simple mental yes was enough for it to disappear

What came afterwards was a warm feeling that enveloped my eyes and a slight headache, my vision became blurry for a moment so I squinted my eyes...when I opened them up I noticed that the window was back...or not, it was a different one

____

Condition for new skill met: perception > 5

New skill acquired: appraisal

____

A skill?! just from raising a stat?

...I wonder if this is normal for all stats

Checking on appraisal, I realise just how lucky i am...even though my luck is 5...this skill makes this world even more game like, it can give me information about anything and the amount of it depends on the type of information and my skill level...plus it tells me how much damage each of my strikes do to my opponent

At first glance from someone who comes from earth, where unlimited information is taken for granted this skill may not seen all that great, but for my situation it's just perfect

...

____

Pillow

Distance: 1 meter

____

My first target was my pillow, I actually didn't expect more than a name to pop up, so that's good

after going through everything in my room I looked outside my small window, looking down I could see some kids running around

____

Human female age 9 level3

Distance: 12 meters away

____

____

Human male age 7 level3

Distance: 13 meters away

____

____

Human male age 12 level4

Distance: 16 meters away

____

This is actually pretty decent for the skill being level 1...I wonder just how much more it would reveal if I level it up...

With that thought I spent a good hour or more wondering around aimlessly, appraising everything I could...of course the skill didn't level up, I can only imagine how many things I need to use it on to get enough experience for it

...when I got kinda bored I realised I forgot two things...one, that I have 15 points remaining and two...I forgot I had to meet with Vendar in the woods

Damn it...

When I got to our meeting point I was relieved to find him still being there...though I got scolded for being late

...after we dug the bunnies out of where we put them, Vendar tried to cut their neck off with a kitchen knife...his face was pretty much emotionless if you were to ignore his resistance of the stench...the smell was really strong, even for me

When he was done we put the heads in a cloth bag and buried the rest of the bodies

The plan was to go into the capital and sell them but there is the problem that Vendar is a beastkin...he brought with him a cloth to both cover his ears and his tail but it's still dangerous, while the citizens may not go crazy and kill him, I would imagine their reaction would cause trouble

*Vendar, you know I could go alo...*

He was quick to speak

*no...it's not that I don't trust you...I just need to experience being in human towns*

*ok...*

He will be living alone next year so I understand him

...thinking about Vendar...I didn't check him with appraisal yet, did I?

____

Beastkin male age 14 level---

Distance: 1 meter away

____

that's strange...

While we were walking towards the gates I thought of asking

*Vendar...what level are you?*

First he looked at me with a questioning look but he then surprisingly answered

*since I already know yours I guess you have to know mine... I'm 13 now*

*wow, you're pretty high level*

*yes I am...so I still don't understand how you, a level 0 could beat me in running since agility is one of my highest stats...I don't think you lied but even thinking about it gives me a headache*

*hmm...technically I didn't beat you, by the way, just a reminder...you still have that favor from me*

*yes, yes, I won't forget*

...

The gate was again full of people going in and out, lots of them were talking to each other, about trading, traveling and random gossips...one of them caught my attention

*did you hear about the evacuation of the eastern villages?*

*I did, but no one really knows the reason behind it*

*ow well, there are lots of rumours, some saying that the beastkins have finally moved out of their territory, others saying that the nobles will just use the area for magic experiments...but the most worrying one is...*

His face turned a little more serious and he whispered the rest in his ear

*they say that a world destroyer was born near that region...*

I somehow got close enough to hear it

The other mans face just filled with disbelief

*stop saying stupid stuff...that's not even funny*

He said as he lightly pushed the man...but that push was enough to knock towards me and hit me in the way

As that man looked behind him to see what he had come in contact, he stared at me with disgust and immediately put his hand in his pocket

*...thieving little bastard...*

He gave me a hostile look but fortunately didn't proceed with making a scene out of it

Vendar quickly grabbed me near him

*don't make trouble! You have no clue how easy it is for an orphan to end up as a slave!*

*I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time*

*or you could just stay away from others and mind your own busin...*

Trying to stop the scolding from continuing I asked him a question

*Vendar, do you know what a world destroyer is?*

*...he was probably just joking*

*you heard it too?*

*yes, my ears can pick up way more than yours*

*I see, so what is it?*

*...it is something out of fairy tales, monsters capable of wiping out the whole world...some of those stories speak of a red fog, that was alive, whatever it came in contact with died, it is supposed to have wiped a continent, and there is another legend about a massive tree, it is said to have grown so big that it was touching the moon...that tree is supposed to have absorbed all the water that existed, till the seas became deserts*

*as the name suggests, those are creatures able to annihilate all life...but those are just tales, so don't worry*

While listening to Vendar I was wondering of one single thing...why do those monsters sound so familiar? It's like I have heard of them before, but can't really remember where

...anyway...it seems it's our turn to be checked

The guard gave us a signal to come forward, so we did and showed him our pass

It is a bracelet with a tiny white gem, harry gave it to me, it is supposed to just be a pass for getting into the capital, but I doubt they would get out of their way to make them, just for it to act like a pass

The guard let us in, as soon as we showed him the bracelets...he didn't even ask what we were carrying in our bag, I wonder if that's a good thing or not

...

We have been going from shop to shop for like 2 hours and still no one willing to buy them, most of them just said *no, get out*

Finally we decided to check if blacksmiths would buy it...Vendar stayed out this time though, the smell of iron and the noise coming from hammering was just too much for him

When I got in I was greeted by a short old man, he had a heavy build and a long stretching beard...is this a dwarf?

*what's a youngling doing here?*

The old man asked

*I'm sorry for entering sir, I'm trying to sell bunny horns...after being rejected so many times from shops, I thought a blacksmith might see a need in them*

I tried to sound as humble as possible and kept my head lowered

*hahaha...* the man laughed

*of course and they rejected you, only guilds would buy monster parts*

*an...*

*but you're really lucky kid, I just #?=#& got an order for which I'll need those horns*

*really?* I said with excitement

*yes, how about 2 silver coins for all 4 of them?*

...wow!...I got really surprised but I kept it in, Vendar said 1 silver was decent for all of them but this old man was offering double

*thank you very much sir! I'm really grateful!*

I bowed and gave him the bag

*hahaha! No need be so uptight...by the way boy, did you catch them by yourself?*

He said while handing me the coins

*not really, I had 2 friends with me*

*still, one mistake would be enough for your life to #?!&£...if you want money there are a lot of jobs you could do*

Again a word I didn't quite understand...

*thank you for your care sir, but money isn't what I'm after*

*I see...well if you ever need a job, you can come here*

I wonder why he's so decent to me?

*thank you for the offer sir, I'll be sure to consider it! Have a nice day!*

...and so I left the blacksmith

Vendar was also surprised that we got 2 silver for them, but since we didn't have much time left we went back to the orphanage

When we arrived, it was nearing night time and everyone was looking for us...although the orphanage was free and we were allowed to leave, almost no one ever left for the capital and we didn't even notify them

Well fortunately, this time nun Marybeth didn't get all that angry so we got away with a *don't ever leave without permission*

After a simple night lunch we went for sleep

This was a pretty tiring day...but definitely not a bad one, I still have 15 points to spend which I'm not going to carelessly waste and I also have this coin...

...I still wonder if this is real or not...magic, skills, stats, monsters...in a world like this should I pursue glory? Strength? Mastery? Or just lead a peaceful life

...I really don't know, but at least now I have a choice