4 Chapter 4

"Quam temporis ex quo somnum?"

"Iuxta omnia opera quae duxit huc ilum."

'Talking? What language...'

"Stupid human. Wish they'd all die out already."

'Well thanks, Jackass... wait, I understood that one! But...'

Ethan's eyes fluttered open. The two dark elves continued to speak in their language, but his mind translated it in real time. They continued to insult him as his eyes adjusted to the light in the room, and the message in his face.

He blinked slowly as the words 'New Quest' moved in every direction he turned his head.

'Weird.'

Checking his surroundings, Ethan lifted his renewed arm towards the words. His fingers simply passed through it.

'Operated by my mind?'

Before he thoughts anything, his eyes fell on his arm. It looked perfect, just like before the goblin blew it off. Perfect... except for the where the damage had actually been dealt. The skin connecting his arm and shoulder was about six shades darker.

'Thats... a scary scar. Damn.'

His attention went back to the words.

'Check quest?'

A new menu appeared in place of the first.

'Oh good. I don't need to speak to do it.'

He began to read the quest to himself.

'So... I just need to learn to use the system?'

His eyes scanned the words 'Familiarize yourself with the system' once more.

'Simple enough. Let's see...'

Below the main objective were subobjectives.

-Check Stats

-Check Equipment

-Check Inventory

-Check Skills/Spells

-Reward: ???

He read slowly before smirking to himself.

'Fun. Just like I expected. I was really blessed by her. Equipment'

All of the basics appeared. He had his different armor and accessory slots, as well as main and off hand weapon slots. Each slot was blank however.

'W-wait... I'm wearing pants, right? So clothes don't appear?'

He peeked at his body, making sure no one could see him move.

'Kay... I'm definitely clothed. Good. Inventory.'

The screen replaced itself with a blank list of nothing. Ethan held back a laugh.

'Don't know what I was expecting to be in there, but alright. Skills and spells.'

Another blank list appeared. His eyes scanned it.

-Active Skills

It was empty.

-Spells

Empty again, causing a sigh. He almost called out the last thing he needed to check when his eyes rested on the third section.

-Passive Effects

-Bow Mastery Lv. 1

-Dagger Proficiency Lv. 2

-Distrust of Humans Lv. Max

-Poison Immunity Lv. Max

-Zylah's Blessing Lv. Max

-??? Lv. Max

Ethan smiled again.

'So my skills from hunting carried over? And something else is there? Can I look at details?'

As his thoughts asked for them, extra info appeared below each passive.

-Bow Mastery Lv. 1

-Upgraded form of Bow Proficiency. You have become a master with the bow. Using a bow increases damage by 15% and accuracy by 30%

-Dagger Proficiency Lv. 2

-You have become proficient with the dagger. Using a dagger increases damage by 6% and accuracy by 12%

-Distrust of Humans Lv. Max

-Having bad run-ins with humans has caused you suffering. When fighting humans, all stats increase by 10% Your distrust allows you to know if a human lies.

-Poison Immunity

-Your experiences have given you a stomach for poisons and toxins. Full Immunity against all forms of poison.

-Zylah's Blessing

-Your actions have earned you the blessing of the Goddess of Darkness, creating this system. Languages will auto translate in real time. You gain experience during quests, and combat. Enemies you kill drop items. You can learn skills though repeated actions, as well as level skills through repeated use. Etc.

-??? Lv. Max

-???

Ethan eyed his skills. Confusion gnawed him due to the last one, but the language barrier being lifted now made sense.

'Etc? Does that mean there's more to be discovered?'

His thoughts trailed a while, until he heard a commotion.

"The-the human! He's awake!"

An elf ran off towards the opening of the tent they were in. The two insulting him lifted spears in his direction.

He sat up, raising his hands and looked at them.

"No need to be that hostile."

His words were no longer English, but he knew exactly what he had said.

The elves had fear in their eyes.

"H-he speaks the elven language... but how?"

The alarms in his head were beginning to weigh him down. The pain he was ignoring had finally surfaced as he put his hands against his head.

'The hell...'

A message appeared before his eyes.

-Skill Unlocked

-Magic Sensing Lv. Max Passive Effect

-Due to magic being forcefully transfered to your body, your senses have opened allowing further information to be processed.

-Scan Lv. 1 Active Skill

-Scrutinizing your surroundings has allowed you to identify that which you do not know.

'Seriously?'

Sure enough, he could feel the magic in the things around himself. It moved slowly, but strongly throughout everything, even himself now. His was weaker than many others he sensed, but it was still his.

The pain subsided as footsteps rapidly approached the 'bed' he was in, which turned out to be thick soft leaves.

His eyes lifted up to see a middle-aged dark elf nearing him. She was dressed as a shaman, something Ethan recalled from games he had played when he was younger.

'Village Chief maybe?'

Her eyes has a sharp glare, nearly strong enough to break skin. Her body language spoke of utter hostility. A smile broke on her face as she looked off behind her.

"This one is purely for show. No true power behind that face."

"Are you sure? I felt strong energy as his arm grew back right in front of my eyes!"

The second voice came from behind the shaman. It was soft and reminded him of something.

'The priestess?'

The shaman cackled. Her eyes slid back to Ethan.

"I'm sure of it. He will die soon. Just throw him to the beasts."

"Harsh. I'm right here. Ya know?"

His fluent elvish words caused jaws to drop around him.

"What is this? How?!"

Ethan rubbed his temples. Her voice was making his head ache more relentlessly. Before more could be said, an elf handed him a clay cup, a similar one was handed to the shaman.

A strange sense of uneasiness gnawed at Ethan. His eyes drifted to the liquid in his hands. His desire appearing before his eyes.

-Herbal Tea

-A tea made from herbs. Added effect: HP Regen increased by 10% Poison.

'Wait.'

His hand grabbed the shaman's cup as well. The exact same words appeared before his eyes. He looked up, confusion and disgust writ across everyone presents faces.

'I understand me... but...'

"My apologies. It's just... I thought I noticed something in this cup that shouldn't be. Turns out, either your people drink poison daily, or someone tried to poison us both."

Ethan smiled softly and drank down both cups. A soft gasp made him look off in its direction, the shaman and others staring at him as if he was mad.

"Damnable brute. You humans are always taking things and making excuses."

'You're welcome.'

He grinned inwardly, the shaman storming off.

"You brought him here, you deal with him!"

A moment later a much younger dark elf stepped closer. She had the same distrust in her eyes, but much less loathing and hatred.

"Thank you."

She bowed slightly, her silver hair swaying in all directions.

"How's your head?"

Her eyes lifted as she tilted her head. Confusion clouding her eyes.

"I'm not an idiot. You aren't the priestess."

The girls eyes were filled with disbelief, then anger.

"Our priestess doesn't have the time to waste on a bastard like you. Once you're healed, you're leaving!"

Ethan sighed and glanced back behind her.

"You can come out. I can feel magic that reminds me of Her."

The fraud stepped sideways as another girl took her place. Soft, bright eyes stared back at Ethan.

"My head is fine, thank you."