Continue? Chapter 1.4 : Peaceful

'What am I witnessing...'

Quin was being squished by the Blue Dragon who recently woke up from her Sickness.

"Thank you so much! I thought I was gonna die! I'm so sorry that I tried to hurt you!"

'Well this is one hell of a 180.'

"Quin, what is happening?"

Trayfi was just staring with a confused expression.

"You tell me. One moment i'm thinking up an idea, the next... well... this."

"Don't be mean to my Saviour! No, Master! Master! Should I make her disappear?"

"I see your attitude stayed intact."

Wrenching her off, he took a step forward, and turned to face her.

"Listen. If you want to stay, then we need to set some ground rules."

"Rules? If Master demands it, then I will do whatever he wishes."

"... Okay. First off, don't hurt anyone who shows no hostility, or I say not to hurt."

"Yes sir! But... what if you tell me not to hurt someone who betrays us?"

"If they show too much hostility, then you can stand by until they make a move."

"So I won't accidentally hurt someone... Ok."

"Now, rule 2. Don't sacrifice yourself or others to keep another person safe, especially me."

"But what if you get hurt?"

"That... won't be a problem. And for the Final Rule..."

Taking a step closer to her, he looks into her eyes with a scary expression.

"Don't ever, and I mean EVER, belittle someone for ANY reason. That goes for Trayfi, and any other creatures we meet out here."

With a face full of fear, she nods in agreement.

"Good. Now, before I forget, what's your name?" He asks as he steps back.

"Oh. I almost forgot about that! My name is Remi. I'm a Frost Dragon. It's a pleasure to be working with you, Master."

"Likewise. I'm Quintz. You can call me Quin if you want. That over there poking the Fire is Trayfi. On a side not, i'm starving... Hey, Remi, how good are you with Ice Magic?"

"Ice Magic? I'm great at it! Why?"

"Come with me. I have an idea.

. . .

To his surprise, Remi was extremely good. with Ice Magic.

She managed to make a Solid Net made of Ice, which caught Fish, as well as let the Water flow through.

As they sat by the Fire waiting for the Fish to cook, a previous question pops into Quins mind.

"Hey, Remi. Before, when you attacked me with Ice, why didn't you just turn into a Dragon?"

"Hm? I'm not of that Age yet. I heard that because of our ancestors, they figured out that raising children as Humans was much easier than raising them as Dragons."

"Dragons raising Dragons like Humans. That sounds pretty interesting."

"Actually, because of that us Dragons are now born in their Humanoid Forms until the age of 50."

"50... If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"I am 37 Years Old! I'm quite young compared to everybody else at the Village."

'37 Years... Dragons do seem to always have a long Lifespan.'

"So in 13 Years you can turn into your Dragon Form? That's pretty cool."

"Right? I want to change right now, but I can't."

"Hey, the Fish is finished." Trayfi took one of the Fishes from the Fire.

"It's getting pretty late. Let's go to sleep after eating." Quin follows her lead.

"Yay! Food!" Remi followed suit.

Taking a bite of his fish, Quin began feeling dizzy.

'Oh, I almost forgot about the confusion.'

[Would you like to acquire the Skill {Confusion Immunity}?]

'If you would.'

[Acquiring...]

With the dizziness gone, he continued to eat his fill.

. . .

. . .

. . .

*Snap*

Waking up, Quin quickly sits upright and faces in the direction of the sound.

Looking at the Trees and Bushes, he couldn't spot anything moving.

'I definitely heard something. Should I wake the others? ... No.'

Getting up, he takes a few steps towards the noise.

'I don't know what it is, but there is definitely something there.'

[Would you like to acquire the Skills {Presence Detection I} and {Night Vision I}?]

Startled, he nods his head.

[Acquiring...]

With a sudden feeling of his current surroundings, he was able to make out 3 figures in the dark.

'Are those... Bears? They seem too small for Bears, but their Shape is the same...'

Slowly taking another step, he suddenly stopped.

*Crack*

Looking past the Bear-like Creatures, he saw tree beginning to fall over.

As the Tip of the Tree came closer, Quin dodged to the Left, bumping into someone.

"Quin! What's going on?" Trayfi was awake.

"Oh, Trayfi. I woke up because I heard a sound, and..."

Looking towards the Bears, they were gone.

"A Tree suddenly fell."

"Well, it's a good thing nobody got hurt. Wait, where did Remi go?"

Looking around, she was gone.

"Do you think... something took her?" Trayfi asked.

"That could happen. That, or she's under the Tree."

Using his {Presence Detection I} Skill, he could tell that Remi was behind in fact under the Tree.

"Oh, you're right. Should we get it off her?"

"That alone is obvious. However, I don't know how hurt she i-"

With a sudden chill filling the air, the Tree began freezing at a rapid pace.

Then, with one swift movement, the Tree shattered into pieces, and Remi was laying on the ground with a fist in the air.

"Remi, are you okay?" Quin walked up to her.

"Yes. It wasn't too powerful, and my Defence Stat is pretty high."

Quin gave a blank stare into the air.

'Ah. I forgot about Stats.'

Opening his Status, he found the [Stats] Tab.

[Stats] [Points : 100]

{Strength : 6}

{Defence : 4}

{Agility : 7}

{Stamina : 7}

{Magic : 2}

[Set Stats]

{Luck : 83}

{Karma : 14}

'Stat Points! How could I forget something so crucial! Which reminds me, I also have some Skill Points, right!?'

Finding the [Skills] Tab, he opens it.

[Skills] [4] [10] [Points : 50]

[Transfer Skills] [4]

{x10 Experience}

{x5 Skill Points}

{x5 Stat Points}

{Player's Decision}

[Skills] [10]

{Pain Immunity}

{Fire Immunity}

{Sound Immunity}

{Poison Immunity}

{Appraisal}

{Freeze Immunity}

{Ice Magic I} {10 Points}

(Paralysis Immunity}

{Confusion Immunity}

{Presence Detection I} {10 Points}

{Night Vision I} {10 Points}

'Holy Hell. That's a lot of Skills for one day, don't you think?'

Looking over it again, he noticed a little Black [?] Button next to the Skill Points.

Pressing the Black Button on the Blue Screen, his Skill spoke up.

[Would you like an explanation to {Skill Points}?]

'This is new. I didn't see it on the [Stats] Tab.'

Nodding his head, he continued onwards without noticing Trayfi and Remi who were next to him.

"Master... What are you doing? Are you looking at your Status?" Remi asked.

Looking up from the Screen, he forced himself back to reality.

"My Status? Yeah, why?"

"It's not good to space out like that. If you're gonna use your Status, then maybe do it after we clean up this mess."

Remi pointed at the Campfire, which was hit by the tip of the Tree.

Looking up, he saw the Sun beginning to rise.

"Then let's clean up here. After that, we can keep moving."

"Do you have a destination in mind?" Trayfi began gathering the Scattered Rocks.

"Nope. No destination, but one hell of a Goal."

"Master has a Goal? Tell me! Tell me!"

"My Goal, huh? Well, let's just say... I need to give a certain someone a Kick to the Face."

"A revenge plan? If it comes to it, then count me in!"

"Sure, you can get a kick in. For now though, let's clean this up."

"Yes Sir!"

. . .

. . .

. . .

It has now been 4 Hours since they left the Campsite.

Walking along a Path, they follow it, not knowing where it leads.

"Master, are you sure we're going the right way? This path seems to go on forever!" Remi looked tired.

"It does seem like it. We should take a rest for now."

Moving off the path, they find a small hill with what seemed to be an Apple Tree at the top.

"It looks like this tree was planted quite some time ago. I'll get us some Apples."

As Quin and Remi sat in the shade, Trayfi jumped into the tree.

Taking some Apples, she jumps back down, handing one to each of them.

As they ate, they did so in silence as they listened to the Breeze flowing across the open plain.

'This feels nice~ Reminds me of the Ocean from Yesterday. Maybe I should check my Status now.'

Opening his [Status], he moves over to his [Stats].

'I have 100 Points, and 5 Stats... Should I go for an All-Rounder? ... That might actually be a good idea.'

Putting his Points in, he makes them all even.

[Stats] [Points : 26]

{Strength : 20}

{Defence : 20}

{Agility : 20}

{Stamina : 20}

{Magic : 20}

With his body feeling lighter, he decided to go for a light jog.

"Master?"

"I'll be back. I'm just going to test something. See you in a bit."

As they waved goodbye to each other, Quin ran off at a speed he was barely able to handle.

"... Was Quin always that fast?" Trayfi asked.

"No, I don't think so. Then again, he was the person who managed to survive my Ice Magic unscathed."

. . .

Quin was running along the path as fast as his feet would allow him to move.

'I think I'm about as fast as some of the National Runners that I saw on TV once.'

As he continued going farther and farther, his {Presence Detection I} picked up something further ahead.

Slowing down to a walk, he finds a place to hide, while also looking at what was further down the path.

As he hid behind a Tree, he managed to spot the 5 Presences from earlier.

'Wolves and... a Child?'

The 4 Wolves were large and a Dark Grey color. They looked hungry, since their Bellys were partially caved in.

'Were they abandoned? No, Outcasts of a Pack?'

Quin looks at their feet, finding what seemed to be a Basket.

'Other than the Wolves, there's something else in there. From what I can tell, it is most likely a small Child. But why are they all the way out here?'

Smelling the air, it had a metallic scent.

'This smell... Blood? I can't quite make it out.'

[Would you like to acquire the Skill {Strong Smell I}?]

'I needed that, so thank you conveniently added Skill.'

[Acquiring...]

His sense of Smell multiplied, allowing him to smell the Scents around him more thoroughly.

'Now I can tell... that there is definitely Blood around here. But whe-'

One of the Wolves were staring at him.

'Uh oh.'

The Wolf began to ready itself to attack.

'Ice Magic might be difficult, but let's try this out.'

Manipulating his Magic, the Ground began to rapidly freeze, causing the Wolf to slip.

'Chance! Come on! Quickly!'

While the Wolves were slipping on the Ice, Quin was trying to make a Sharp Blade made of Ice.

'It's too slow. Maybe...'

. . .