The Oracle of Goltan - Part 11

It was hopeless. Bogandural's power was stronger than anything I had ever encountered. And his copies, though not numerous, seemed just as powerful thanks to the devouring eye. No, it was more than that. His copies were him and he was his copies. Even his breath was the same foul stench.

I felt sick, but I was too tense to vomit in this situation. How I wished I had a weapon with me, but it would have been useless... Then I saw something glittering on the ground. - Bogandural did too.

"No, no, I won't allow it." Bogandural grinned and took a step towards me.

And another one.

I was surrounded, but with his power it wouldn't have made a difference anyway.

"May the light of the prophecy damn the gods!" Suddenly a voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere at once. "May the souls burn so they can no longer be hosts!"

"What's happening here?" I asked myself in my thoughts, staring into Bogandural's eyes no matter where I looked. At the same time, I noticed how his expression gradually changed to this one. Was it fear? My thoughts were as shaky as my whole body, and it was difficult for me to determine precise emotions.

BOOM!

It happened too quickly, and I can't remember all the details, but all the Bogandurals transformed back into what they were before and fell to the ground simultaneously with a shockwave that apparently emanated from me.

SWEEESH

Cold wind ran through me and there stood, and I couldn't believe it myself, but it was Yasmine.

"Yasmine?" I asked, astonished by her appearance, and all the tension and shaking disappeared. But my thoughts were spinning even faster. 'How? Why? Is it true?'

"Yes. It's true," she answered my thoughts, and before I could form another question, whether in my thoughts or spoken out loud, she continued with a slight smile, "It's nice to see you, but I don't have much time, because I'm not really here or alive, as you would call it."

"What do you mean?" My heart was racing like crazy. But her gentle voice calmed me down in the next moment:

"I'm here to give you a gift, please hold out your palms in front of me."

I complied with her request. She touched my hands with hers, and without any warning, an energy beam shot from her body over her hands through my hands into my body, and then I saw it.

[Welcome. Adán]

It was a blue window that appeared before me. And I just furrowed my brow at it, but then just shrugged and thought to myself, 'whatever.'

"This is the system," the oracle answered a question I didn't ask. "The system is self-explanatory. Just say 'status'."

I tried it out and said, "Status."

The system window turned green.

[Status:]

[Name: Adán XXXXX]

[Level: 4, Attack Power: 15, Hit Points: 20, Magic: 7, Stamina: 14, Distributable Points: 1]

[Experience Points: 3 out of 15]

[Skills: N/A]

'What does that mean?' I asked, surprised that no skills were listed, and scratched my head with my left hand. My right hand tapped on the window where it said N/A. What does N/A mean? I still don't know. Probably 'none' or something...

The answer to my question came from the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. 'It means you need one more level to get your first special skill.'

Oh, okay. I didn't know what to do with the answer, so I just pursed my lips, clicked my tongue, and nodded. The look that the oracle Yasmine gave me was like asking, 'Are you serious?' but she was smiling, and laugh lines adorned her eyes.

She added to her words, 'The system will help you fight against the evil in the world.'

Back then, I didn't know exactly what the system was or how it could help me.

'How do I increase my level?' I thought it was important to ask, so I did.

'Kill!' The oracle's answer was suddenly so cold that a cool shiver ran through my body. But I couldn't react to her response, as she was no longer there. Instead, I was standing in a clearing with destroyed buildings, Sykrolan corpses, and the sound of 'Hihi. Hihi. Hihi.' coming from the woods.

[Quest!]

[Kill 10 living beings]

[Killed living beings: 0/10]

[Reward: Level Up]

[Punishment for failure: ???]

[Accept?]

[Yes/No]

Instinctively, I knew what I had to do and pressed "No".

[Yes]

I had pressed "No"! Damn, I wasn't ready for this. Okay, maybe you think I was dumb, but I didn't trust this at all. Something told me that some powers should remain untouched, even though I had benefited from it, as I was still alive thanks to Yasmine and her gift. Did I have to completely use it? Wouldn't it be better to just die?

These thoughts came to my mind, and surprisingly, I didn't realize that it didn't make sense to want to die in the face of what awaited me in the forest, especially since my goal was to get home to Goltan.

But at the same time, I wondered why Borgandural didn't just attack, since the creature had proven to be all-powerful. So why could I stand here and live?

Since I had just stood there and observed my surroundings the whole time, I decided to just start running and look for something to kill.

"Please... please help... me." I heard the weak voice of an apparent survivor. But I decided not to go there for now and instead continued my search.

The voice repeated itself a few times, and then it was silent.

[Killed living beings: 1/10]

[!Warning!]

[Letting someone die is considered killing.]

"That's not the same!" I vehemently contradicted the system window, shaking my head vigorously, feeling a slight anger - a rollercoaster of emotions, because in the next moment I took a deep breath and calmed down.

'I have to keep a cool head.'

CRUNCH

[Killed Creatures: 10/10]

[Quest Successful!]

[Level Up: Level 5.]

[Choose your Ability/Reward:]

[Passive: Soul Steal] [Active: Body Swap] [Rusty Nail]

I examined each reward more closely while trying to rub the dirt off my shoes on a rock.

[Soul Steal: If a soul is nearby at the time of death, 1% of its status properties will be transferred.]

[Body Swap: Swap your body.]

[Rusty Nail: A rusty nail.]

"System?"

[Yes?]

"Are there any drawbacks to these rewards?"

[Soul Steal - Drawback: The soul is destroyed in the process. Revival, reincarnation is no longer possible.]

[Body Swap - Drawback: Permanent. If the taken-over body does not have the body swap ability, this will be your new body.]

[Rusty Nail Drawback: A nail, but rusted.]