Karma

The rushing force of the waterfall cuts off any nearby sounds.

Behind this natural beast, a cave welcomes a faint light that flickers from the constant movement of water.

Inside the cave, a heavy breathing duo stands back to back. Their eyes are fixating on the massive centipede that scuttles around them.

It has a light brown coloring that meshes with the dirt of the cave, camouflaging it most of the time. With insufficient light, getting a glimpse is out of the question. They only see bits and pieces of the multi-legged creature.

Like daggers, its feet stab the ground as it crawls on the walls and floor.

Each time a foot pulls out of the stone walls, small pieces come clanking down.

While Nox focuses on the bug that crawls around them, a blinking red transparent screen pops up in front of him.

[/Emergency Quest\]

Defeat the centipede!

Rewards: 100 Exp

Rewards: Centipede Arrows

Rewards: 100 Gold Coins

[/Emergency Quest\]

The shock has the young man gasping. 'For real?'

His hands are trembling, and sweat drenches his face. He looks at the girl who's in a similar situation. After a long sigh, he utters. "Any ideas Mirena?"

The silver-haired beauty pulls out her own blade. Her hands tremble at the hilt. "No, not really. What about you?"

Nox ponders for a while, and with a heavy breath, he utters with a forced smile. "I'll be drawing its attention…"

Before saying anything else, Mirena's hand grabs his. He turns around and sees the girl who's about to cry, shaking her head.

He gently removes her hand, and with a smile, he utters in a soft voice. "I'll be counting on you once again"

"What are you saying? We should work together"

Nox shakes his head. "You are much stronger than I and I don't want to hold you back and get us killed"

Before the girl utters another word, Nox runs towards the centipede.

As it bends its back to rise above them, the centipede's feet crackle like a bunch of bones, sending chills to their spines.

The young man lets out a cry of encouragement as he draws closer to the gigantic bug.

The centipede's poison-dripping fangs charge at Nox.

Mirena goes behind the centipede and jumps on it with her blade at hand.

The fangs are close to impaling Nox when Mirena drives her blade into the centipede's back.

It lets out a screech as purple blood gushes out.

After this first attack, a bar appears on top of the centipede, and next to it a red droplet. Upon noticing this, Nox ponders. 'What's that?'

['It is the HP bar of the centipede. The droplet shows it is bleeding']

Nox chuckles as he looks at the HP bar. 'This is the first time something like this happens'

['It is the first time you engage in a fight']

Nox nods, agreeing with what Grimmy says, and prepares for the next attack.

His shadow spell is still in cooldown and he doesn't have a weapon he can use. The only strategy he has at the moment is to use his body as bait.

They repeat the same sequence. Nox draws the centipede's attention and Mirena attacks with a slash.

Purple blood splatters painting the ground.

It spews poison from the intense screeching, engulfing walls and floor with a cloud of purple smoke.

The second injury enrages the carnivorous arthropod.

A change occurs to its light brown body as it turns blood red.

Nox notices a new symbol next to the red droplet.

'What's that aura symbol?'

['It means that the enemy is in a berserk state. When that happens, strength and agility increase']

Nox gasps. 'Seriously?'

With reluctance, Nox tries the same stratagem once again, only this time the centipede ignores him and crawls towards Mirena instead.

It extends the body and aims the fangs in her direction.

With a swift motion to her left, she evades the attack.

Nox jumps on the creature and punches its injuries.

The centipede feels the pain as it screeches and, like a whip, tosses its body.

Nox loses his balance and tries to jump off when the centipede flanks and hits him. Out of nowhere, sending him flying onto the cave's wall, Nox spews fresh red blood. "Gah"

Mirena exclaims with worry. "Nox!"

Nox falls to his knees, continuing to spew warm blood.

The centipede acknowledges the easy prey and targets him.

Mirena launches forward and in front of Nox to protect him.

A few seconds pass until Nox regains his composure.

He stands up, pushes Mirena out of the way and runs towards the centipede, punching it to one of the bleeding wounds. "How's this, you creeper?!"

It lets out a deafening screech and flexes its body. It turns around, flapping its tail. Nox takes a few steps back to avoid it.

The centipede chases after him while Mirena tries to catch up.

As fast as he can, Nox runs towards the exit of the cave.

Like spears, the back feet impale Nox to the wall.

Mirena's eyes widen while her screams muffle Nox's.

The centipede gathers its body and crawls closer to the young man.

It measures the meal in front of it by having its antennae caressing him.

It gets ready to drive its poisonous fangs into his body.

A howl attracts the attention of the centipede towards the entrance while the cave shakes, raising a cloud of dust.

Following a growling, sharp teeth snap the centipede in half.

Umbra pulls the arthropod out of the cave, releasing Nox at the same time.

The young man drops to the ground. "U-Umbra!"

He lets out a smile of relief before collapsing from exhaustion.

Mirena rushes to his side and holds him in her arms. An endless stream of tears accompanies her smiling face while she brushes his hair.

Nox keeps smiling and relaxes to the feeling of having someone petting him.

[/Emergency Quest\]

Defeat the centipede

Status: Completed

Gained 100 Exp

Gained Centipede Arrows

Gained 100 Gold Coins

[/Emergency Quest\]

'Oh, it counts even though Umbra was the one who killed it?'

{Loading…}

[Level Up]

[Karma Unlocked]

The young man opens his eyes and a single thought crosses his mind. 'Finally'

[Beastiary Points Earned]

[Beastiary Updated]

[5 Exp Earned]

Nox and Mirena lean back to the walls of the cave, in the company of the dim light coming from the entrance. Umbra lets out a howl to reassure them of his presence.

They take some time to rest and recuperate. Mirena attends to Nox's wounds.

During this time, he interacts with Grimmy. 'Karma is finally unlocked. How should I distribute the points I have?'

{Loading…}

['Always taking into consideration your role, distribute the points to the passive skills you feel will help you the most']

He ponders for a while before his internal voice calls. 'Karma'

The usual blue transparent screen pops up in front of him with the title [/Karma\]

==[/Karma\]==

| Negative |● Neutral | Positive |

Karma Points Remaining 7 / 7

Increase Speed 0/100

Increase Strength 0/100

Increase Defence 0/100

Increase Magical Defence 0/100

Increase Resistance 0/100

Increase Intelligence 0/100

Unlock Luck 0/1

Increase Inventory 0/350 (Each Karma Point Grants 5)

Increase Mana 0/100000 (Each Karma Point Grants 100)

Increase HP 0/300000 (Each Karma Point Grants 100)

Decrease Cooldown Duration 0 / 30minutes (Each Karma Point Grants 5)

Activate Shop 0/1

Activate Farm 0/1

==[/Karma\]==

Nox with an intense and serious face studies the new acquisition. 'This is the Neutral Karma?'

{Loading…}

['Indeed. Neutral focuses on your advancement, while the other two affect your surroundings as you have already experienced with the Goblins and the Mana Hound']

He nods and blinks a few times in amazement while Grimmy continues.

['Keep in mind that it is possible to distribute Neutral Points to all three. However, you can use Negative Points to Negative Karma only. Same goes for Positive Points']

Nox remains silent as he takes in the information Grimmy provides him.

Mirena keeps a close watch trying to understand him. She understands the fact that he isn't completely honest with her. She can't help but wonder what he's hiding as she stares at his purple eyes.

Nox notices, and tries to brush it off with a smile. "I'm feeling better if you want to keep moving"

His soft voice startles the girl. She nods and stands up. She looks at him, urging him to do the same.

The young man gets up with some difficulty. Pushing against the wall, helps him.

He discards the Karma screen and brings out both maps. After checking and making sure which way to go, he points. "According to the map, we should go this way"

Following the direction he suggests, Mirena nods and goes ahead. Meanwhile, Nox peeks out of the cave. "See you on the other side, Umbra!"

The hound lets out a howl and runs off.

Emerging from the ground like sharp teeth, stalactites and stalagmites welcome them.

A wind whistles to their ears as they enter the cave's mouth.

Moments later, and after cautious steps, they exit the narrow path and find themselves at the entrance of a spacious, dome-like second cave.

Mirena rushes in, all excited until a pair of skeletons appear in front of her.