An End - 3
A moment, two and Gabriel moved, his wings gave a mighty push before it ultimately brought him over to the bug.
A moment later and he dodged to the right, a mere flap of his wings and a high G maneuver that brought him to the side he needed to be on.
It was then that the stick he held in his hand burst forth with speed. A waterfall of blood splattered over the side of him. He dodged and with it the ground that it touched started tk fizzle.
There was a pause, then with a giant heave the bug died, and the battle was over.
[You are the first to defeat the Mimic Bug]
[200(+10%)XP gained]
[+Level+]
[Mythic Trait: One who has traversed the void] activated
[Gained 1(+2) SP]
For a moment the world stilled, all as Gabriel just stood and stared at his screen. A shock that brought even the two ungrateful to their knees.
It was not because they could see the screen, nor was it because of any outside influence.
It was all because of the expression that Gabriel held in his face. One of shock and surprise. One that quickly turned to a malicious smirk.
They stood back, spooked by the apparent mental disease that the angel in front of them had shown.
And with the force and deadlines he had shown, with a stick too, it was no wonder that they found themselves backed to a corner.
What one had to know about the game that he had played so much was that for each level gained only one free stat point would be given and the traits, like his angelic trait, those only came once in a blue moon, but those were for specific stats and gave those that used them some obvious weak points.
As an example his wings were his biggest weak point right now, it could be overcome but because of their fragileness if anything hit them then he would be in terrible pain.
And even worse, he would take double damage.
That was why it was so stunning to get a trait like that because it came with no drawbacks, or none that he could see, and gave him something that even in his twenty plus years of playing he had never seen.
An achievement that modified the amount of sp gained. To his knowledge there was no achievement that did that.
What this meant was that for each level he gained it would be the equivalent to three. And each level would bridge the gap to others of higher level. Which would then allow him to get more and more experience.
It was op, op to the extreme.
That was the only thought on his mind as he absently walked over to one of the trees.
He placed his hand there, a glancing touch that with a bit of force gathered the bark around his fist.
He used it and the stick in his hand to create a sort of handle. An interaction that most missed. But not him.
[Stick +1]
[10(15) + str]
An increase of five damage. Most would scoff at that. But this early in the game, where each encounter was deadlier than the next, each and every advantage he could take, he would take.
He rose from his thought, his head turned to the sky as he approached the two freeloaders.
People who had done nothing and left the fighting to Gabriel. But it was not even that that he was angry about.
If he even was angry, which he was not. Merely disappointed that the teammates he would be forced to use were so… he thought for the word… disappointing.
"Wh- who are you? And for that matter- where are we?" The man spoke up, his voice was shaky but it got his point across.
"The sky, the feel of the earth upon your skin. The status screen, even the lack of ability to log back out." The woman spoke up, her voice introspective. An airy feel that woke Gabriel from his thoughts once more. From his planning.
He smirked for a moment before he quickly hid it behind a serious frown.
"Can't you see, this is no world, it's a fake, a reality that we were kidnapped to and forced to undergo.
If Gabriel was anyone else, if he had any less experience in this game than he had. Then maybe he would have believed her.
But there was a problem that only a veteran like he could point out. Only veterans in games like these could point out.
It was the very fact that the senses were too sharp. The feel of disconnect that one had, that tiny voice in the back of their head that this was fake.
It was not there, and his instincts as a player of this game were not wrong. There was no second chance, just as it was back then.
But even further than that, he thought back to the feel of danger that came from the bug. The existential dread he felt when the bug attacked. As if he really were going to die.
It was a feeling that could not be faked.
And so, it was for that reason that Gabriel found his answer. This was real. It was no simulation.
But to the other two, her explanations were perfectly fine. There were not any holes in her theory that they could poke through in the little experience they had.
And Gabriel was content to let them have that little comfort. For it would make the coming hurdles easier with willing participants rather than dead weight.
...
[Gabriel]
[1]
[HP: 100]
[Mp: 300]
[strength: 1(3)]
[dexterity: 1(5)]
[vitality: 1(1)]
[intelligence: 1(3)]
[SP: 3]
[Traits:]
[Mythical Trait: One who has traversed the void - a level beyond normal, beyond even extraordinary, a man who has conquered more than a single one should ever be capable of. I gift to thee a boon created with the last vestiges of my life. May it help you grow ever stronger, for the man who had killed me should bow to none, be lesser than none.]
[Rare Trait: Angelic Wings - gain the ability to fly and the beauty of an angel sculpted by a master sculptor. +1 str and int +2 dex for every level]