Selfish Empathy

Michael wasn't sure how long he'd run for, he'd cut through more than one forest, one big enough that the sky turned blue by the time he left it. Tiffania stayed silent on his shoulder for the majority of the journey, but he could hear faint snoring behind him, meaning she'd fallen asleep at some point, despite the rather bumpy ride.

Not that he blamed her, torture was both mentally and physically exhausted, not to mention the fact she had literally died and been resurrected. Regardless, he actually managed to save her somehow. Despite probably being chased, he couldn't help but smile as he continued to run, feeling a sense of satisfaction at a 'job well done', even if he was potentially the cause of Tiffania's state.

Once Michael was sure he wasn't being chased any longer, he dipped into the first hidden cave he spotted and laid Tiffania on the floor after covering it with spare clothing to make it a bit more comfortable. Of course, he did have to drag the bear out of its home by its tail, but a few Hex spells later and he was able to slaughter it a good distance from the cave. Blood would attract predators, and Michael intended to sleep, so, better to preempt it beforehand.

He enters the cave again and uses Carnival Tricks to illuminate it as he sits down cross-legged next to Tiffania and pulls out the Book of Commoners.

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Name : Michael Hunt

Rank : Common

Stats :

Strength : 14

Agility : 18.3 > 19.1

Intelligence : 13 > 15

Abilities :

[Gandalfr] : Enables user to utilise any weapon at two ranks above their current proficiency while granting them the knowledge necessary to use them. While wielding a weapon, temporarily gain +100% in all stats.

[Language Comprehension] : Enables user to understand all spoken tongues, and increase the rate of which they learn reading and writing.

[Basic Mana Manipulation] : Allows user more control over his magic, spells, and some abilities. Mana efficiency and control of power is increased.

[Pain Tolerence] : Allows user to endure great amounts of pain with little to no negative effects as a result.

Affinities :

[Lesser Water Affinity], [Lesser Fire Affinity], [Lesser Lightning Afffinity]

Spirits :

Shadow Shaman : Lvl MAX

Slark : Lvl 15 > 18

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Spirit : Slark

Level : 15 > 18

Abilities :

Slithereen Strokes (Rank 4) : Allows user to swim with the same proficiency of the Slithereen race.

Dark Pact (Rank 4) : After a short delay, user purges most negative debuffs and deals damage to enemies around him, while also dealing damage to user. (User takes half damage)

Pounce (Rank 3) : User leaps a large distance while leashing any enemies he lands on. Leashed enemies will be unable to escape user for the duration of the ability.

Essence Shift (Rank 4) : User steals the life essence of enemies with each melee attack, draining each of their attributes and converting them to temporary bonus agility for the user. If user kills a target under this skill's effect, user will gain 0.1 Permanent Agility(Scales based on opponent strength).

Shadow Dance (Rank 3) : Active effect : User is able to shroud themself in a cloud of shadows that render enemies unable to target or detect them for the duration. Passive effect : User gains bonus movement speed and health regen while unseen.

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Michael skims past the stat increases and focuses on leveling up his Slark Spirit... He only needed two more levels for it to reach max, and then he'd grab his third and final common hero... Hopefully. If he was forced to gather all Common Spirits just to reach the next level then he might actually just lose his shit.

He flips it over to Rhasta's page and is greeted by the Shaman meditating while his Serpant Wardes curl around him familiarly. His eyes open when he feels Michael's gaze on him however, the man greeting him with a wave, "Young one! Did you manage to find yourself an elf?" he asks, with what Michael could only infer to be a knowing grin on his face.

"I actually did... Though, I needed to resurrect her with her mother's magic ring." he scowls at the ground, "They burned her to death, Rhasta. An innocent girl who just wanted to be left alone. I admit, right now I have half the mind to go back there and raze that damn town to the ground." he says, habitually rubbing his mouth and then his neck.

Rhasta slowly nods, "Do it then." he just out and says, shocking Michael by his bluntness.

"D-didn't you say that I shouldn't hold onto my hatred before?" he confusedly retorts, not really sure what Rhasta's true worldview actually was.

Rhasta chuckles, "I said that for you! So that you don't let hatred blind you! But wiping out evil? Go right ahead, my young apprentice! The spirits frown on needless suffering, included are those who allow suffering to go on! There's a saying I remember... Do not allow your sheep freedom if you do not wish for lamb... Or something like that." he shrugs before continuing, "My point is! As long as you do not internalize your hatred, do whatever it is you need to do!"

...

Michael can only nod at his masters somewhat backwards logic. The only real thing he'd taken away from it was Rhasta basically encouraging him to slaughter a town. He'd been hoping to hear some reasons not to, to sway him from doing something objectively evil, but he supposed Rhasta's view on the world wasn't as pacifistic as he'd thought.

Whatever, he was planning on getting revenge on Tatiana for the time he'd spent imprisoned, dealing with the only townsfolk would be karmic justice, as well as a good source of EXP.

"Nnnoooo~..." a strained voice sounds out from where Tiffania was sleeping, Michael only now noticing that she was having a nightmare of some sort. He could empathize, he was dealing with the same issues...He sits beside her makeshift bed and holds her hand in his, attempting to ease her suffering if slightly. Strangely, her trembling and pained groans slowly stopped at his presence.

"This is kind of cliche, isn't it?" he murmurs in slight disbelief, but also happiness. If it helps for her, would it help for him too?... "This is still technically an anime world... so..." he sheepishly rationalizes before lying close enough to Tiffania to keep ahold of her hand, attempting to fall asleep himself. Which was kinda hard considering he was lying next to what was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen... But sleep he did, nonetheless.

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The next morning, Michael awakens after dreaming about his little sister Lillith smothering him with a pillow. Only to realise that he was actually being smothered... Tiffania it turns out, is an incredibly grabbing sleeper, not that Michael was complaining about having his head buried in her large mammaries. It would be very awkward if she were to wake up however...

"Mnnnnn..." a feminine voice hums before letting out a yawn and rubbing her eyes, causing cold sweat to drip down Michael's back. Their eyes lock, his chin and cheek resting in her cleavage while Tiffania herself was holding him against her... She halted like a deer caught in headlights, and Michael wasn't really sure what to do...

"Er, hi?" he casually greets, mentally kicking himself for his choice of words.

"Kyaaa!" she squeaks, pushing him away and onto the cold stone floor of the cave. "Y-you? Why are we. you..." she starts but isn't able to formulate a proper sentence, her mind in chaos trying to process this and the previous day.

He holds his hands up placatingly, "You were having a nightmare, holding your hand seemed to calm you, but, you grabbed me while I slept it looks like." he explains, hoping he wouldn't start receiving the Saito treatment.