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You have been poisoned. You have been paralysed for 30 seconds. You have slain Imp Assassin (lvl 70). You have leveled up to level 3! You have leveled up to level 4! You have leveled up to level 5! You have leveled up to level 6! You have leveled up to level 7! You have leveled up to level 8! You have leveled up to level 9! You have completed Alpha Pegasus' Quest! You have recieved 200EXP and the title Pegasus' Blessing. +2% mastery Aligned Perception v.1 +3% mastery Aligneed Perception v.2 You have learned Fist Fighting Style (Melee fighting style). +1% mastery Fist Fighting Style. You have learned Overcome Hardships (Passive). +1% mastery Overcome Hardships. Effect Pegasus' Last Will has expired (all buffs have been removed). Warning: Critical Health (HP has fallen below 5%) Due to Critical Health, your body is shutting down.

Profile

Name Ikite Level 9 (4441 EXP to next level) Titles Pegasus' Blessing Effects Critical Health Race Descended Human Class Scavenger/Diplomat Status Soldier of Hell Age 18 (+2)

Statistics

Strength 5 Intelligence 4 Dexterity 4 Constitution 4 Sense 2 Charisma 9 Comeliness 3 Adaptability 6 Unspent Base Stat Points 33

* * *

I woke up to the sound of running water and chatter beside me. I was in some sort of house, which, unlike the cottage I used to live in with my mother, was made out of stone bricks and concrete. The bed I lay on was soft compared to the hard, dusty mattress I slept on during my time in the army.

The army!

I shot up, out of the bed and looked around, panic-stricken.

Memories flooded back into my mind of the Pegasus, the imp, Bea and the centaur. What had happened to me and why was I here?

“Oh, you’re awake!”

A tall, brown haired, human girl sat on the chair next to me. She held a bowl of fragrant-smelling soup in her lap, which she offered to me.

“Are you hungry?”

Indeed I was, so I gratefully took the bowl and was about to start eating it when I realised my right hand was covered in thick bandages. The fight with the imp must have resulted in this wound. Now that I had looked at it, I became acutely aware of how beaten up my body was. Bandages wrapped my chest and abdomen, head and arms. I hadn’t even remembered getting a head injury!

The girl must have realised that I was right handed, because she took the bowl away from me and prepared a spoonful.

“Here, I’ll feed you. Say ahh.”

She didn’t look disgusted by the thought of feeding me, in fact, she almost looked a little happy.

My face turning scarlet, I opened my mouth and slowly sipped the broth.

She had fair skin, black eyes and a strong jawline, making for a cute face.

As I realised this, I blushed further and used her profile as an excuse to stop staring at her.

Profile

Name Erina Level 12 Race Human Class Alchemist Status Villager Family Name N/A Age 17

Her profile was strangely uninformative. Unlike mine or Bea’s, it didn’t list her strengths, weaknesses or perks. I wanted to ask about these, but I had more urgent questions.

“Where am I? What happened to the pegasus’ child and Bea?”

Erina smiled at me like how a stranger would reassure a lost toddler.

“After delivering the child, the poison went into your heart and put you in a critical state. Luckily, Percy helped to carry you here, the town of Barli, where our healer helped to relieve rejuvenate you. You’ve been sleeping for just under two days, during which I’ve brought you ointments and medicine to help improve your condition. You really took a beating out there.”

The town of Barli? I had heard the general of the army speak about that town more than once. What had he said about it? Oh that’s right.

“Soldiers! There lies a demon town just across River Praline. It’s name is Barli and, lest you ever see it, kill all the monstrous bastards you see there and burn it down. They are the ones that killed your comrades and friends.”

I shuddered at the memory. Perhaps the general had been joking? These people didn’t seem to be unfriendly or murdering lunatics like the general had described them as. I decided to be cautious around them anyways and not reveal my perks or stats.

* * *

A quick shower and change of clothes later, I walked downstairs and out of the house to meet Bea. Erina had been kind enough to provide some ordinary clothes for me, as my previous set had been torn to shreds by the imp’s whip. Luckily, my boots I had been wearing for two years now still seemed to be intact. She told me that Bea would be waiting for me in the town square with Percy, anxious to see how I was doing.

Barli was a small town, just outside the forest boundaries filled with many species of humanoids and non-humanoids. It was strange to see how well they cooperated with each other as both their kinds were at war. The town itself was colourful and happy, filled with many odd looking houses and shacks.

I walked into the town centre with my head down. Army training had taught me to not trust anyone non-humanoids wasn’t wearing the same uniform as I was. Stupid, I know, but in a world full of lies and deception, anyone could be out to get you.

Bea was standing in front of a little pop up market, haggling over something with the owner, who was an old female goblin. As I approached them, they seemed to have reached an agreement and she passed over some coins.

“Hey Bea, how’re you going?”

I tapped her on the shoulder and smiled, expecting a hug or some comment regarding the bandages that covered my hand. Instead, I got a warm reception of hair in my face. This felt familiar.

“Ikite! You’ve got to stop doing that to me!”

Not quite the warm welcome I was expecting, but at least this time, there wasn’t a sword at my throat. She continued like she hadn't just blinded me with her hair.

“I’m doing good though, thanks for asking. I leveled up once from the Pegasus quest and…”

Her eyes started sparkling and I swear she levitated.

“I’ve got an adorable little Pegasus!!!”

I raised my eyebrow fractionally and sighed. I thought she had gotten a new skill or something.

“You’ve got to come and see it, Percy’s taken it to his home for now. Oh, also, some loot dropped from the imp. Care to check them out with your identification skill?”

* * *

Percy’s home was a stable. I didn’t know why I was so surprised, he was a horse, after all. However, after a closer look, I could see that it was not ordinary stable. Yes, it did have pens with straw for sleeping, a saddle rack, and multiple horse-shoe buckets, but some of it’s rooms were quite modern and… human.

As I walked in with Bea, I heard some whining noises and Percy’s deep voice.

“Come on little one, you’ve got to drink the milk, if not you won’t grow big and strong like me. You wanna become strong like me, right?”

I turned the corner and struggled to hold back a giggle as I watched Percy, as muscular and strong as he was, struggle to feed the baby Pegasus.

The Pegasus itself had a silver coat, unlike its mother or father. It didn’t have wings or the legendary aura it’s parents had, and could almost pass on for an ordinary horse, if not for the gurgling it made, which labeled it as intelligent.

Percy, though looking a little frustrated, greeted us warmly and ushered us into another room, this one obviously a living area.

“I didn’t know what to do with the items, so I just carried them all back here. The body of the imp is gone, so it’s just the loot that’s left. You guys can split it up by yourselves, I don’t need any of it.”

So he was generous as well as saving your butts? I was really starting to like this guy.

“Don’t worry, if you see something you like, I’m sure we’d be happy to give it to you. You saved my life after all.”

The centaur blushed a little at the last remark, before shaking his head.

“All the items there were dropped from an imp assassin. I highly doubt that I’d be able to do anything with them. However, If you find some poisons and don’t plan on using them, I suggest handing them over to the alchemist to see if it helps her create more antidotes.”

Bea and I both agreed to that so we took the two little vials of purple and green liquid from the pile and placed it on the side. The majority of the items left were its weapons; the whip, the two daggers, and a long, thin sword similar to Bea’s, and it’s little clothing it wore.

After a short conversation, we had agreed on how to split the loot. I would take the whip, as I had the perk Extension and it’s clothing, while Bea would take the sword and the daggers.

Weirdly, the whip, which had been five times my arms length, had shortened down to three. The objects embedded in them were now gone too, and it looked a little frayed.

Looking over my item’s profiles, I felt some excitement drain out of me.

Item Window

Name Frayed Whip Grade F Durability 15/30 Restrictions None (may change) Damage 5 damage per hit (current state) Effect Blood Bound Abilities Absorption

Information

A frayed and damaged whip. It’s ability, Absorption, allows it to take on a random property of any species of animal killed by it. When someone bleeds on it before slaying the previous owner, the effect ‘Blood Bound’ is applied to the whip. Blood Bound allows the user to disable any other individual except the owner from using it.

Name Worn Assassin's Pants Grade D Durability 18/25 Armour Points 1 Buffs/Debuffs 10% stealth increase, +3 dexterity Set Bonuses +2 Sense (+1 sense for every part of the set used) Abilities Absorption

Information

A pair of pants that came from a murderer. One of the four ‘assassins gear’ pieces. Boots, gloves, pants and a coat. These pants are light and easy to move around in. They provide very good flexibility, but not good for protection.

Well. The whip was seriously disappointing news for a newbie like me. I had hoped to have gotten some overpowered item that would allow me to survive the further dangers of this world.

Bea seemed to be satisfied with her haul, though, so I didn’t say anything.

After the item sorting, Percy, being the kind and generous soul he was, gave me a few tips on how to become more powerful.

“You should go visit Mei, the techy and mage here in Barli. She has the ability to fuse awakeners with their consoles, which can provide for an easier path to progression, as it grants you the ability to always see your HP, stamina and notifications and look at your profile without the material console. Apart from that, partying is another good way to level up. As you’re neither a damage dealer, a tank, or a long-ranger, you don’t actually have any way to hurt your opponent.”

“You got lucky last time with the Pegasi, but you may not be so lucky the next. Besides, even with that crazy buff, you barely scraped through.”

The advice in tow, I said my goodbyes to my new friends and headed off to find Mei.