7 +40,000-Feet Above
'Maybe I should check my Status Window but I think I have a gist of what my current stats could be. Anyways, onto more important matters at the moment....'
Aimer looked up at the Titan who seemed a little stunned that 'he' who was on the brink of death just a moment ago stopped his hammer with his bare hands.
And with minimum effort at that.
"Somethings changed...I can feel it...a familiar presence similar to one of the 'Envoys' resides within you..."
'Hm? What is it talking about? Presence? Envoys? Is there something brewing that's bigger than even these monsters...?'
Upon noticing Aimer's perplexed expression the Titan withdrew his hammer for a sec.
"It seems I said something you have no clue of. Well, non-matter. As long as you can survive me then you'll start to find out more about this vast universe and what operates it,"
'This monster! It's highly intellectual? If other monsters are similar to this one but stronger...then even the Dwellers on Earth won't have much of a chance of fighting them. Especially, if they start to attack strategically'
"Sorry to say this...but I will be leaving here alive,"
"Tch. Then show me!"
The Titan waved its unoccupied hand, urging Aimer to come at it.
Without a response, in an instant Aimer launched from his spot with an unimaginable speed.
'He's gotten faster ehh?"
Due to Aimer's immense speed, the Titan had to react quickly, so he swung his hammer from above when Aimer closed the distance between the two.
*swoosh* *boom*
*blocks*
Although Aimer guarded against the attack, his arm trembled after tasting the impact from the Titans' blow.
'He seems a little stronger than before. I need to finish this quickly'
The somewhat stunned Aimer progressed to make his move but the Titan beat him to it.
A punch reinforced with a massive power came tumbling down towards Aimer.
*SLAMM!*
Surprisingly, Aimer evaded that attack after back peddling a few feet.
That was before he instantly charged at the now flustered Titan.
"Warning: Titan has activated the skill: Titans Wrath"
'Hm?'
Before Aimer could make contact with the Titan, a loud, ear-shattering roar shook Aimers eardrums.
*ROARGHH*
*grunt*
In an attempt to protect his earring Aimer cupped his ears.
And after a few seconds...
'It stopped! That means it must've been a defense-type skill...to keep me at bay. But I need to retaliate before it gets the upper hand'
After coming back to his senses, Aimer proceeds to dash towards the Titan. The Titan made all sorts of efforts to either punch or slam his hammer at the incoming Aimer.
To his surprise, they were all in vain.
With Aimer maneuvering, each attack from the Titan; the Titan came to view Aimer as a cockroach.
An annoying one at that.
"One signals immediate danger, and one signals the potential for disease or contamination
The two reasons that make a cockroach annoying and the Titan leaned towards the first one.
Now, Aimer stood at the feet of the enormous monster before delivering two blasts with his full power to its ankle.
*ARRGH*
The Titan wept in agony.
*HEOK!*
And agony which continued when Aimer quickly did the same to its other leg.
'That should do it. Now, I need an opportunity to try that...'
Aimer was aiming to leave the Titan immobilized for a few seconds so he could use that newly usable skill.
*Thud*
The Titan collapsed to one knee only to glimpse Aimer dashing along his body coming straight towards its head.
"MEASLY HUMAN! YOU DARE TEST ME!"
'Good. The more aggravated you are the better..'
The Titan endeavored to swipe Aimer from its body but found itself motionless.
'What!"
Unbeknownst to the Titan, Aimer had yet again activated his [Empathy] skill.
Upon breaching the neck of the ginormous Titian Aimer jammed in a few critical hits to the Titan's neck.
*BOOM* *BOW*
*Grrr*
"You can't move can you..."
The stinging pain that lingered within the Titan's neck created even more difficulty in moving it.
Well, that was until the anger overshadowed the pain. The Titan twisted its head to peek at the cockroach that stood on its left shoulders.
*HMPH*
The Titan scuffed, when the only thing that came into view was a direct hit to its eyes.
*ARRHHHHH!*
The Titan flung its head back, for no amount of words could explain the pain the Titan felt in its left eye.
In a desperate attempt to avoid the worst the Titan hand defied the restrictions of Aimer's skill and somehow grabbed Aimer from his shoulder only to toss him upwards in the air.
"....!!"
*Ugh*
'What an amazing willpower! To think that it broke from my skill a second time. But...you just dug your own grave, my guy'
Being airborne, Aimer had a perfect view of the *wheezing* knelt Titan.
From the Titans perspective, the little it could see from its uninjured eye was a falling blurry image that soon sparked into a massive blazing sun.
Hidden Skill [Fire Elementalist] has been activated.
*gulp*
Unable to move due to the pain in its eye and the no motion within its feet; fear, an overbearing feeling of fear stuck the Titan deeply.
'Goodbye...'
"ARGHH!! YOU! ARROGANT HUMAN!! JUST YOU WAIT...WAIT UNTIL THEY FIND YOU!!"
The Titan drew its last breath as it became scorched like a cave-hid dragon's breath.
*swoosh*
Aimer landed below the crumbling corpse of the diminishing Titan.
'That was more than I expected...that fire skill completely wiped him away. And it's only level one at that..'
[You've leveled up] x7
[You've leveled up] x7
[You've leveled up] x10
[You've leveled up] x10
[You've leveled up] x7
[You've leveled up] x9
Now that Aimer had dealt with the monsters he started leveling up once again. And before anything else, Aimer proceeded to check his progress.
"Status Window"
Name: Aimer Belafonte
Age: 19
Title: Horizon Dweller
Level: ???
[Intelligence] - 301 (+139)
[Speed] - 292 (+167)
[Agility] - 291 (+183)
[Strength] - 297 (+75)
[Defense] - 299 (+100)
[Stamina] - 303 (+80)
[Awareness] - 292 (+55)
[Elusiveness] - 289 (+191)
[Luck] - 252 (+169)
Skills:
[Adapt], [Animal Instincts], [Intimidate], [Perception], [GRIT]
Devourer's Descendant Skill-Set: (DD)
[Half-off] - Legendary ( requirement not met)
[Asura] - Legendary (requirement not met)
[Truth-seeker] - Unique (requirement met)
[Empathy] - Epic
Items:
[Ring of Iblīs, The Prince of Darkness], [Iblīs, Blade of the Fallen], [Banshee's Orb], [Lippu's Crystal], [Potion of Irrational Bravery], [Orkan's Whistle], [Sosrono's Wear Set], [Cloak of Drakel], [Sharkanha's Mark]
Hidden Skill:
Water Elementalist (Lvl. 1
(Requirements not met)
Hidden Skill: Fire Elementalist (Lvl.2
Mana:
300/2000
'The outcome of this battle was very beneficial. Look...even that fire skill leveled up however, it took almost all my mana. And my stats aren't that bad either. But what about that skill...'
[Truth-seeker] - a skill that grants the user 7-seconds to take a sneak peek at other dwellers' levels, items, and if any hidden skills.
'Now this...isn't this too OP? I mean, taking a glimpse at my adversaries' levels and items a good but in addition to that...I can even see their hidden skills!! But the drawback is that it only lasts 7-seconds. I think I can deal with that though'
'That aside, should I see what we're the merits of this battle?'
After summarizing his progress, Aimer went onwards to gather the monster's cores, starting with the weaker ones.
In total, Aimer gained six horizon-type monster cores and a Sky-Dweller, that being the Titan.
Throughout his collecting, Aimer realized something.
'It seems that whenever there's a cluster of monsters together and they're all at the same level; every monster will reward you a drop item or some sort of reward.
But if there's a single monster within that cluster that's a higher level...then that monster will be the only one that gives a reward after being defeated'
'Well, let's go check out the Titans reward'
Aimer strode towards the items that fell from the Titan.
'Hm?'
[Titan's Lineage: Morhpling] (Legendary)
Attack +540
Description: a cube passed down through the Titans generations to the successor of their race. Though, at a glance it looks like a crystalized cube; that said cube could transform into four different weapons with their unique abilities.
Transformations: Ishmon's Knuckles, Monclear's Glaive, Elgar's Composite Sword, Unique's Bow
'Surprisingly there's only one item. But who am I to complain...it's this single item worth it?'
Aimer slowly crouched down before picking up the cube.
*sighs*
*DING*
"Congratulations on your surviving the invasion! Unfortunately, you're not ready for the last planet. Time to head home."
Rewards: None
As of this moment Aimer never cared for a reward after reading the notification. There was only one thought on his mind.
"Mother....home!"
And just like that, Aimer vanished into thin air from his standing spot.
****
"Huh? Where am I...!!!!"
Coming to a realization Aimer began falling from the sky. And at a rapid speed at that.
"Where am I falling to...!"
*DING*
"Survive the fall to Earth!"
"WHAT!! You expect me to survive this...this terror!!!"
[You've leveled up] x2
[You've leveled up] x1
"Dammit!! Let just...UGH!!"
Aimer desired to retaliate but as he fell and notice the sudden level up, he contained his emotions to absorb the mana within the atmosphere.
'Another training!! It has to be!'
Aimer came to a determined conclusion from him falling to Earth.
To others, the experience could've either been thrilling if you think of it as skydiving or terrifying if you think of it as falling to your death.
However, Aimer felt neither. His entire presence became was calm and collected.
Maybe it was because he's been through this situation before or his experience gained after such life-threatening battles.
Even so, whatever the cause...it was within his benefit.
****
Aimer had been leveling up while falling for more than 40,000 feet within the sky. You could say he was falling from zenith.
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere (the Earth). "Above" means in the vertical direction.
During that short timeframe of his falling Aimer had his eyes closed with his attention focused on absorbing mana.
*opens eyes*
Coming into Aimer's view was the geographic land below him. From lakes to cities and cars, Aimer saw it all.
'Seems I'll be landing soon. But...wherever I'm landing looks familiar'
As Aimer's elevation descended her the speed at which he fell massively drop.
10...
9...
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
3...
2...
1..
...*BOOOOOM*
*DING*
"Congratulations! You have become a Sky-Dweller!"
Aimer had now landed, creating an ear-splitting explosion that startled his vicinity of citizens.
May they be in the car, on the sidewalks, or an important call, the resounding explosion snatched their attention.
Vaguely from behind the thick mass of smoke that came with Aimer landing a figure could be seen. A well-defined and handsome boy came into view.
"OH MY GOD!! MOMMY IS THAT SUPERMAN!"
*whack*
*kya!*
"Now, now don't go yelling around like that my child,"
...
"Who is that person!"
"More importantly, where the hell did he fall from!"
"I wonder if he's one of those Dwellers,"
"He has to be...to survive such a fall that can generate such a commotion!"
...
"Ohh, my! Look at that bod!"
"Those abs and those muscles!"
"Wait! The smoke is disappearing, look closer!"
"What! What's that below abdomen!"
"Is that....an ANACONDA!"
*KYAHHH*
"Sooo...BIG!"
...
*grunt*
Aimer who had been standing within the dispersing smoke became flustered as eyes were locked into him.
Well, he knew that a person landing from the sky could bring forth a massive commotion but that's not what made him uneasy.
It was the eyes that peeked at him in shame. Taking sudden glances back and forth.
Aimer suddenly, slowly looked down...
*ARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!*
From Aimer's lips escaped a deafening scream, a scream that pierced the eyewitness ears.
Aimer had realized he was naked...naked...naked.
'OH GOD NO! I need to use that right now!'
Aimer quickly covered his dangling genital before he brought forth [Lippu's Crystal] from his inventory.
'I know! I know this is a stupid situation to use such an item. But no! I'm not heading back home naked!'
'I wish...I wish to be fully dressed!'
"Very well,"
The spirit Lippu within the Crystal obliged.
*swoosh*
Aimer's body immediately became covered in a fresh and new attire.
A black shirt with a matching coat that amassed fur around the neck. That harmonized with black pants and a pair of black dress shoes.
Aimer quickly tossed Lippu's Crystal back into his inventory before taking a look at his new apparel.
'Much better!'
*DING*
"In addition to becoming a Sky-Dweller, you've gained a new skill!"
[Fade] - the user can gradually disappear into tiny particles to travel where ever he/she sees fit. However, within this form, the user cannot attack nor be attacked.
(Usage: one minute a day) (Cool-down: one hour)
'Hm? Let's try it!'
Skill [Fade] has been activated!
Suddenly, Aimer disappears from the eyes of the bewildered. And just like that everyone who was flustered shifted their scrutiny back to what they were doing.
"What an interesting individual you are..."
A man beyond the crowd had just captured everything that occurred. From Aimers descending to him vanishing.
****
'This is a pretty handy skill! Being able to glide like this through the sky without being seen. It's amazing! Also, it's great to have become a Sky-Dweller and all but why does it I feel like this is just the beginning....?
I keep remembering what that Titan said...about them finding me! What was that all about?
Anyways, I'll have to get stronger! I have to follow the same routine that I did ...'
Aimer was lost in thought when he realized he was breaching home. It was a good thing that the Window transported him to land within its proximity.
*whoosh*
*Somewhere in SUNDAM, Talhain*
'Home sweet home'
Aimer deactivated his skill before dropping onto a deserted run-down street. Newspaper blew within the soft gust of wind in the street.
While cats and raccoons scrimmage either along the treacherously greasy pavement or inside the eerie alleys.
Directly three houses ahead of Aimer stood his house. Aimer slowly strode on a pathway towards it.
Within a few seconds, Aimer almost breached his house when something got him.
'What is that smell...iron? Wait....blood!?"
*KYAAAA!*
Aimer's [Sharkanhas Mark] which gave him the smell of the Sharkanhas, picked up on the odor of fresh blood.
To make matters worst, the shrill scream which sounded of that of a woman drew his notoriety.
Aimer forthwith trotted towards that direction.
The scent of blood and uncanny scream led Aimer to the alley just before his house.
The scene that Aimer stumbled upon came to him as horrific, heartbreaking, and made his blood boil.
Like a whistling kettle, Aimer's anger went from 0 to 100 real quick.
There was a badly beaten woman who knelt on the ground at the end of the alley. Grocery bags and items piled around her.
If it weren't for the scars and blood splatter that encompassed the woman, one would've witnessed a true beauty.
After close speculation Aimer came to a shocking realization.
"M, mo, mother?"
