8 Chapter 8 - The Rune Warrior
Zefer had made his way to the boy's stall, closed and locked the door. He leaned against the door and sighed heavily. "So?" Zefer asked. "So?" The cute girl's voice responded. "Are you going to tell me what's going on? What happened to me, and what this is all about?" Zefer inquired.
"Oh, yes. I guess I should explain. First off, my name is Ina. Your friendly travel companion and supporter!" The cute girl's voice spoke with cheer in her voice. Although, this time, it wasn't coming inside of his head. No, it was right next to his ear. A super small busty, thick blue-haired girl sat on his shoulder with icy eyes. She was wearing a violet dress.
The girl looked like a fairy, but she didn't have the wings to go with it. Her hair was long and messy, and her feet bare. On her ankles were something that looked like shackles. The same could be seen on her wrists and around her neck, but the chains looked broken.
"Ina..." Zefer muttered. "And, why are you sitting on my shoulder?" Zefer inquired. "Because Master's shoulders are comfy," Ina said while swaying her feet back and forth happily. "Uh-huh. Well, Ina, care to tell me what happened to me?" Zefer inquired. Strangely, he seemed composed, but maybe that was because he went through a lot recently.
Ina mused lightly, "Hmmmm... You seem to be rather accepting of all of this. Is there something wrong with your head? Most people would probably freak out." Ina stated, which caused Zefer to wave his hand dismissively. "The discovery of Mana and other races that were only known as Myths up until a few decades ago has become a reality. Our technology has changed so much too. This isn't enough to surprise me..." Zefer paused for the moment, and his eyes narrowed as if he were looking at something. "At least not the current me..." Zefer muttered his final words. Of course, he had experienced a lot more, but he wasn't going to tell Ina or go into it right now.
Ina stared at Zefer for a moment. "I see... Well, I guess I'll start explaining. First off, you are a Rune Warrior. Someone who can use Runic Energy. Your Rune, in particular, is the Rune of Destruction. One of the six only Runes to exist."
"Rune Warriors are people who waged war against the Gods for their misdeeds in playing with mortal lives. Rune Warriors can come from any race. Demons and Elves were more common, and Orcs were also there, but it is rare for a human to become a Rune Warrior. In fact, the only human to ever become a Rune Warrior went by the name of Ophelia Mars."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain a thing about me. Where did I get this power? How did I awaken it, and what is with those messages?" Zefer kept asking questions. Ina tilted her head to the side cutely at his last question in confusion.
"I can answer two of those. The first is Where the power came from. Rune Stones are stored inside of a spirit. Not everyone awakens to their power since the Rune Stones are very picky on what they want." Ina stated. "Picky?" Zefer inquired, and Ina nodded. "The Rune Stones feed off one of the host's darkest desires. If that desire isn't something the Rune Stone wants, it won't awaken. The Rune of Destruction enjoys watching things be brought to ruin." Ina answered.
Ina stood up and pointed at Zefer. "Your darkest desire is wishing to watch the world burn. You want to bring everything to an end. That is your main goal, is it not?" Ina inquired. Zefer closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment.
"Do I really want that? Sure, I hate this city and these people, but the entire world?" Zefer began to question himself, and images of what people did to him and how they treated him flashed throughout his mind. How Humanity forsook him and took away the only thing that actually cared about him. It reminded him of his goal, of what he truly wished.
"Yeah. I do." Zefer opened his eyes, eyes filled with hate. "I want to destroy all of it. Take away from all of them what they took from me." Zefer said. Ina nodded and plopped down onto his shoulder. "Good, Good! Ina is pleased by Master's resolve. We shall burn everything to the ground." Ina smiled wide. Innocent and cutely.
"We?" Zefer inquired, and Ina nodded. "I am your partner, after all. The Rune of Destruction, Ina Vermillion." Ina said boldly. "I see..." Zefer seemed to say in disbelief but hid his disbelief well. "Well, anyway, what about my last question?" Zefer inquired.
"Oh, that... I don't know." Ina shrugged and shook her head. "Rune Warriors don't have that sort of thing. I thought it was something you possed all on your own, but I guess you are just as clueless about it as I was." Ina answered although she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about it. Regardless, she didn't ask about it. Zefer's brow twitched when he saw how carefree she was being. If this thing wasn't going to help him, why was it even there?
"Well, I guess we'll have to look into it," Ina stated, and Zefer just sighed since it seemed like he would be doing all the heavy lifting while this thing just sat back. "It looked like something from a game. Although, I don't know how to access it." Zefer said. "Why not just try thinking about it?" Ina suggested.
Zefer figured it couldn't hurt, so he decided to give it a shot. He would just think about it, and suddenly a cybernetic screen appeared before him.
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Name: Zefer Zillian
Mana Pool: 0/0
Rune Energy: 200/300
Energy Regeneration: 50/Hr
Rank: F
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Rune Warrior (Novice)
Rune Type: Destruction
Runes Collected: 1/6
Status: Healthy [95/100 HP]
HP Regeneration: 10/Hr
Stats-
Level: 1
Strength: 6
Endurance: 20
Agility: 7
Wisdom: 25
Intelligence: 30
Charm: 10
Luck: 0
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"Umm... what?" Zefer looked at the screen before him, and even Ina could see it. "Wow... you are pretty weak for a Rune Warrior. Although, I guess you are stronger than the average human." Ina stated when she saw his stats. "Well, no matter. I am sure we can raise them." Ina added after a bit of silence.
Sure, she didn't know anything about stats and whatnot, but the numbers looked extremely low to her. If she had to guess, then the average Demon or Vampire was around double or triple those stats.
"Yeah, I don't see how. It's not like it will just randomly give me quests...." Zefer said, and at the moment, a new window popped open. Well, multiple did.
[Main Quest]
-Destroy Falter City.
Reward: 50 Free Stat Points, 1 Ultimate Skill, Awakening Mode
[Daily Quest]
-Build up your body. {0/100}
-Increase your knowledge. {0/100}
-Cultivate your Energy. {0/100}
-Court someone. {0/1}
Reward: 4 stat points
[Emergency Quest!]
-Become strong enough and defeat those who are after you!
Reward: Weekly Quests
"Huh...?" Zefer rubbed his eyes when he saw the pop-up messages before him. It was to make sure he didn't just see things. "Looks like people are after us, Master. It also looks like this system thing is on our side as well. Good for us." Ina stated happily. "Yeah, sure, but who exactly is after me?" Zefer paused. It was a stupid question to ask. It could have been anyone. After all, no one cared for Zefer.
In fact, someone just tried to kill him. "For now, everyone is my enemy. I can't trust anyone..." Zefer muttered. "Exactly! It's just you and me, Master." Ina stated with glee. Zefer shifted his attention towards her. "Speaking of you, I wonder if people can see you," Zefer said.
"Yeah, but I can return to the Rune Stone inside of you. So, there are no worries about that." Ina replied, and Zefer was relieved to hear it. Although, there was one more thing he was thinking about. "Would people be able to see these screens?" Zefer thought.
His thoughts were interrupted when the bathroom door opened, and several voices could be heard. "Yo, man! The Mock Battles were insane!" A student said.
"I know, right!?" A student pitched in.
"Class 1A has some capable people. I didn't think they would take first place for their year!" A student said.
"Right!? And then there was Zero, who knew he had that much power!" A student agreed.
"Yeah, what was up with that? Was he hiding his true strength this entire time?" A student asked.
"Not sure, maybe we should ask the Teachers. It could have also been a fluke. That girl wasn't too strong anyway." The first student said. After a bit of laughter and rude remarks about Katie and Zefer, they left the bathroom.
"Trash." Zefer was gritting his teeth as he spoke. "Of course they are. How could they say such horrible things about my Master." Ina replied with a cute pout; although, that wasn't why Zefer called them trash. It was due to something else. They were talking about trying to get with Katie since she seemed easy.
It reminded him of what happened with his sister, and he couldn't help but feel rage boil within him. "I'll ripe out their spines and crush their hearts," Zefer said firmly, the glow in his unique left eye coming off vividly in neon blue.
"Naturally. This entire school shall burn to the ground, but you need to get stronger before that. If I recall, there were some messages about you getting skills and stat increases. I suppose you gain these things from simply doing certain actions. Perhaps, working out will be in your favor as well as studying to increase your stats." Ina said. She could see the messages that Zefer had seen earlier but thought it was something he already knew about. So she didn't say anything about it till now.
"You are right..." Zefer steadily brought his rage down. "I'll become strong. Strong enough to burn everything to the ground. I'll make them regret being my enemy." Zefer clenched his fist tightly and reaffirmed his resolve. Still, he decided to look at the other pages before leaving the stall.
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Personal Skills
Passive Skills:
-Insightful Eye Lv.1
A passive skill that allows you the see the stats of anything you desire. It also displays a woman's measurements. (Can be disabled) [Currently disabled]
-Basic Hand to Hand combat Lv.1
A passive skill that allows you to learn how to fight in the most basic manner.
- Basic Rune Energy Manipulation Lv.1
A passive skill that allows you to control Basic Rune Energy.
-Critical Evasion Lv.1
A passive skill that will increase your reaction time and reflexes tenfold in dangerous situations. Luck + Agility determine activation chance. Activation Chance: 0.1%
-Counter Attack Lv.1
If you time a perfect guard, it allows you to attack right after without delay. Deals 100% of your damage as true damage. (Bypasses armor/barrier/shielding)
-Intimidation Lv.1
Releasing your killing intent can cause fear in your foes and animals. Intimidation works 100% of the time if they are below your level. Anything above your level depends on your Charm Skill.
Active Skill:
-Vital Strike Lv.1
For 2 seconds, it will highlight the opponent's weak point. Attacking said weak point will apply x2 damage.
Costs: 10 Rune Energy
Cooldown: 10 seconds
-Rune Shielding Lv.1
Shields your body in Runic Energy, acting as a shield against elemental and physical attacks for 10 seconds or until the shielding is broken.
Cost: 50 Rune Energy
Cooldown: None
-Rune Layering Lv.1
Layers Runic Energy over your body, amplifying your strength. x2 damage.
Costs: 10 Rune Energy/second
Cooldown: None
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"Interesting...." Zefer said to himself as he looked over the page. He noticed a third page and decided to press the arrow key to change the page. The screen fizzled and buzzed before becoming apparent, and when it did, the screen's title displayed as 'Inventory.'
