4 System - Part 1

"W-Why are you doing this? You said you were on my side, that you will escort me home safely!" Rudolf said as he was bawling his eyes out. Sprays of blood were gushing out from his left shoulder, since the arm beneath the shoulder was missing. The blood had dyed his clothes and face. He had his back touching the tree for support.

No reply came. Only sounds of steps could be heard. But what was approaching was an unsightly beast, covered in brown fur from top to bottom, holding a human head in its claws, as it creeped closer. It was walking on two legs. It had a grey scar on its chest, running from left shoulder to the bottom right of its chest. The face wasn't visible since it was dark, as this incident took place at night. The beast was emitting a dark aura, with the intent of killing.

"W-What do you want? You want money, right? I-I'll give you m-money, as much you want. I'll give you w-whatever you want. After all, I-I am from the Sinclair family! J-Just name it, fame, money, women, anything!" Rudolf muttered these words with the last bit of courage he had, hoping to get to live another day.

The beast stopped just a few feet away from Rudolf. "Ah, yes, you ARE from the Sinclair family! Then! " the beast said, slowly, in a low voice.

Just when the beast finished speaking his words, it swung its claws and slashed right through Rudolf's head. The tree behind Rudolf also splitted in two pieces. Rudolf's head flung in the air and landed on the ground with a loud thud, spilling blood from the end of his neck.

Suddenly a noise was heard. The bushes were rustling as if someone was behind them. Few seconds later, out emerged a similar beast which had killed Rudolf.

"Ahh, I have been waiting for you, Arden!" said the beast in an excited tone, who was standing beside Rudolf's head-less body, showing a small grin on its face.

...

Few hours ago.

The Sun was shining with full vigour. A pleasant breeze was blowing, followed by the sound of a river flowing. The area around the river was like a green sea, grass twigs of all sizes were spread over the area. A boulder was embedded deep in the ground near the area. Few pieces of wet clothing were spread on the boulder for drying in the bright sun. Beside the boulder sat a man, wearing clothes only on his lower half, and had his back supported by the boulder.

Arden was looking at the blue screen present before him, trying to understand and learn more about it. The screen displayed three tabs and currently, the stats tab was selected.

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<User: Arden Ryder>

<Race: Human>

<Title: None>

<HP: 15/15>

<Energy: 26/26>

<Stamina: 10/11>

<Strength: 11>

<Agility: 11>

<Endurance: 11>

<Intelligence: 16>

<Senses: 5>

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Skills:

<???>

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On reading the stats, Arden was curious about few of the terms mentioned, like, Senses and Energy. Since he had a lot more to check relating to the system, he decided to ask the system itself for their meaning and utility later.

Arden's intelligence was higher than his other attributes. This was due to him being an Adventurer. He had gone on numerous quests and since he didn't have an ability to rely on, he always had to prepare more than others, resulting in gaining much more knowledge than others over the years. He also had to rely on his instincts, wits and perception to stay alive on dangerous trips.

'Hmm, so it displays the current intelligence level and physique of my body with numbers, just like that game I played, and I should become stronger as these numbers rise.' Arden was thinking deep, looking in the long run, wondering how he can use the system to his advantage and get closer to Jay combat-wise, so he could get answers to his questions.

But his thoughts were abruptly thrown to the back of his head, when he saw the skills he had. There was the skill Inspect, which had its information regarding its use and cost specified. But the second skill, Beast Unleashed, was greyed out. He couldn't access any information regarding it. This made him uneasy, since he didn't know what this skill is and how he can unknowingly activate it.

Arden continued to the next tab, thinking that he would figure out the mystery behind Beast Unleashed, later. To move to the next tab, he simply had to think about it, and the system would follow the instructions. Before, Arden had tried touching the system screen, but his hand passed right through it, just as if it was a hologram. He also didn't knew whether others could see the screen as well, since such a system like ability was never heard of.

The next tab was the Quests tab. This tab was rather different than the Stats tab, since it was divided into two sections. One section was titled 'Daily Quests'. It currently has two quests under it.

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<0/1 miles>

<Reward: 1 Free stat point>

<0/1 creature>

<Reward: 1 Free stat point>

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Arden was dumbfounded! 'What are these hideous quests! Why do I have to run like an animal?!' Upon seeing the quests, Arden started questioning the system and it's morality. Arden was a clean-living citizen. He had acted properly amongst others at all times. Doing embarrassing activities, like running on all four limbs, was beyond him.

'Second one is acceptable, but under no circumstance will I be doing the first quest.' Arden was determined to maintain his image of a proper citizen.

After viewing the 'Daily Quests' section, he moved on to the next and final section of the 'Quests' tab. This section was titled as 'Extra Quests'. It currently only had one quest.

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<12/100 creatures>

<Reward: 10 Free stat points + 100 exp>

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Arden was thrilled upon seeing the extra quest. Not only was it like a real quest but the rewards were also satisfactory. Arden was thinking of completing the quest but his train of thought was stopped because of a sound.

"Growl!" came a voice from Arden's belly. He hadn't eaten anything since last night and it was already noon. Arden was starving. He was too absorbed in learning about the system that he forgot of his hunger.

"Looks like I will first have to eat" Arden said as he stood up and started preparing for catching his meal, fishes.

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