Purplish black veins crawling from my heart to my neck really isn't something I'm feeling in awe with right now.

I failed to remember how many times I have watched on television regarding the protagonist trying to overcome the darkness in him. Most of the time, I would be fascinated by such thing. Even I had thought if something like that happened to me, it would be a fun experience.

I was dead wrong.

Maybe it was because of the current atmosphere and mood, the black veins that seem like some parasite or virus is beyond horrifying. The veins have yet to reach my face. I don't want to think what would happen if they covered my whole face. Even if I have not felt any effects from it yet, I wasn't calming down.

I apologized to those tragic cliche protagonist in my mind for enjoying their suffering. It is definitely something that sounds good on paper but applying it to reality is certainly not as fun as it seems.

As if hearing my despair, the veins begin subsiding. The veins were retracting back to my heart. In seconds, they were gone. I'm not sure I should be feeling glad or nervous. I stared blankly as I wonder about whether the veins have actually came from my heart. Realizing that there was nothing I can do, I give up with a sigh. Shelved that memory into a corner. Please let this be nothing. I pray to any god that these will not become something huge later that will come bite me back.

I shook away those thoughts as I slowly button back up my shirt. I have tore my shirt apart when I panicked over the veins growing from my left chest in my body. Granted, some buttons have came loose with the force. I was even hyperventilating for a few solid minutes before my senses came to.

That's that. After I buttoned up my shirt, I let out another breath. That was revolting. Still, I wonder why such a thing happened. Was I poisoned all this time or is it an effect of me using [Abyss Magic] ? The reason I suspect [Abyss Magic] because of its eerie name and the color of that blade resembles the color the veins, purplish black. It wouldn't be odd for me to associate abyss with something dark.

I sighed. I'm not getting anywhere like this.

To distract myself from that, I tapped around my pockets. My hands felt something solid and flat in one of the small satchel bags latched onto my waist. From the satchel, I took out a what seems to be card from it.

Name: Hyx Atlas

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Race: Unknown (Human)

Status: None (Alive)

Standing: Commoner (Exiled)

Job: Scholar (Faith of the Nines)

Class: Scout

Title: None

My eyes were wide open at the projected image. The image of such texts were projected from a card. A card that I had taken out from one of my small satchel bags on my waist. It was a card with an odd design on both sides. One side has some sort of complicated borders, patterns and an insignia. The other side was a completely black field.

I didn't know what this card does and in my mind, I just wish for myself to know the function of this card. It was then the border, patterns, and insignia on the card glowed. Seconds later, a screen of texts was projected into the barren air. Now, I found myself looking at a wall of text. Text that seemed to be information and status about me.

It was surreal. This was just like the fantasy web novels that I have been recently indulging myself in. A status card that reveals your status and info.

Following the instincts of my knowledge on such topics, no doubt, I'm no longer on earth. If I was, then this is going to shock the world.

Anyways, I'm glad that I discovered this. Saves me on a lot of questions. Or that was what I expected when I saw the texts. Instead, it only created more questions than it have answered.

Hyx Atlas. That seems to be my name. My name in this world, at least. I couldn't remember my name from earth though. Trying to remember my name was something futile no matter how hard I tried.

It appears that I'm only fifteen years old in this world. Funny. I can't remember my name but I somehow knew I was at least twenty years old back on earth. Did I reincarnated straight into a fifteen year old or did I actually start from birth but forgotten everything prior till now?

Moving on. It appears that I'm an exiled. Am I an exiled commoner or someone who got exiled and later became a commoner? If it was the former, it will be very sad. What's lower than a commoner? Beggars? Despite that kind of standing, I'm some sort of scholar apparently. A scholar of a religion by my best guess. Faith of the Nines. If that's not a religion or a cult, then their name would be very misleading. Maybe not. Maybe this world has a different common sense. I don't know.

Why the hell am I scholar though? Not to say I don't enjoy studying or someone with very bad grades, I know it myself and known for being whimsical, picky, and fickle. Those traits don't really fits a person you would call a scholar. Did I cheat my way into this line of job perhaps?

A scout, eh? I could be wrong but I vaguely recall that I'm not a very bright person. I can somehow remember my teachers kept calling me blur. How can a blur person like me become a scout? I must be a very terrible scout. So, either I have chose to be a scout for reasons or my character settings and background were all randomly generated. I leaning more on to the latter reason. People who knew me well would laugh if they found out that I have a job that is charge in observation. Even with a near perfect eye sight, my wits are probably more blunt that a glasses-wearing person.

No titles. In super laymen terms, I have no notable achievements. No difference in that with my previous life. Hahahaha. Well. I guess something doesn't change even in a fantasy world. God, this is depressing.

Just when I thought it couldn't get anymore complicated, it appears that there was still another section of texts below the one I had just saw.

Oh wow. This is awesome. Complicated it maybe, I almost squeal in delight.

Arcane Arts

Spatial Magic - Lv.2

Abyss Magic - Lv.1

Soul Harvest (Unique) - Lv.-

Mana Overseer (Unique) - Lv.-

Void Exalted (Unique) - Lv.-

HP : 140/140

MP: 70/70

Overall Power Ranking : F

Arcane Arts, huh? Magic is it?

Is Arcane Art the term for magic in this world? Are those suppose to be my magical abilities? If it is, why not something less complicated? Like fireball, ice spikes, thunderbolts, wind blades...... No? Even something like fire magic would be more familiar in an RPG sense. What's with these over complicated naming? There's even levels beside the ability but the function and purpose of levels are as clear as the day to those who plays RPG games or just games in general.

Using my fantasy common sense acquired from entertainment medias, seems like the so-called Arcane Arts represent a variety of spells or abilities that fall under the same category. With that logic and an obvious indicator, [Presence Detachment] and [Plane Displacement] fall into Spatial Magic. The two abilities did have the [Spatial Magic] title before their names.

So far, the only [Abyss Magic] I have acquired is [Abyssal Edge], the blade made of purplish black aura. But first of all, what in the name of Merlin is [Abyss Magic] in the first place? Is it the dark magic variant of of this world? Thus, I tried using it again.

......

......

Nothing happened.

Hmm..... How did I managed to conjure up that magic blade again?

I begin recalling the feeling I was experiencing not a few moments ago. It could be longer than just moments but I was in a room with no windows and no clock, so I could be wrong. Never mind all that, I just keep concentrating on the dreadful sensation engulfing me during my fight with the now laid-dead carcass.

I was afraid. Terrified to the extreme. All hopes seemed lost but someone's voice gave out hope to me. This girl's voice, she taught me of the magic residing within me. With my newfound resolve to live on, it felt like I put hands into the depths, filled with the unknown but power. My hands grabbed hold onto something. As I pulled it out in my mind, a blade of purplish black aura formed in my palm. In a short explanation, I felt like I had draw power from an unknown but powerful place.

With those feelings recalled, blade of purplish dark aura begin forming yet again in my palm.

When it is fully materialized, the blade's unsettling shape is just the same as before.

"[Abyssal Edge], huh?" I mused. Cool name but where did the name came from? The energy does seem like something drawn from the abyss.

Though I say that but I don't actually felt any dark vibe from the blade when I used it. There was an ominous feel to it but it was more on the line of being intriguing rather something negative. What a strange sensation.

I wonder if I had any other abyss-type magic besides the blade. I wished there was someway that I could know but as far as I can tell, there was none. Does this mean I have to find out on my own?

Yikes.

I suddenly recalled. I once again tear my clothes off in a panic.

Hmm....?

No purplish black veins this time.

Is this good? I think it is. I hope it is.

I breathed out a sight of relief. Maybe [Abyssal Magic] is not the cause after all.

Anyways, the next three was what really intrigues me. Not to say the previous two didn't but these three takes the cake in the wow factor. From what I can tell through my fantasy and game knowledge, the "unique" that appears after the name is apparently an indication that the Arcane Art in question is an exclusive ability to the individual. Even just the name itself of the three are obvious pointer for the three Arcane Arts being unique.

[Soul Harvest]. That's a grim name. In fact, sounds like an ability a grim reaper would have. As if the name itself has said all of its function of the Arcane Art in question. As I wonder what [Soul Harvest] truly does, more texts of information appeared from the card.

Soul Harvest : Lv.-

- The ability to devour a Mana Vessel (Soul) in its wholesome state from any being that possesses it. Mana Vessel devoured is converted into the power of the user. Perks included; Increase in life expectancy, stronger life force, higher rate of increase in magic performance, gain new abilities based on the soul devoured. However, abilities gained are only those of the user's aptitude.

Okay..... That's a cheat skill right there. Mana Vessel, eh?

So, a soul is a vessel for the Mana residing in a person or a being. Does this apply to inorganic beings too? Still, it's understandable. The only catch to this is that I can only gain abilities that matches my aptitude. So, how do I know what aptitudes I have? What's more, the level is a dash, not an integer. Does this mean the ability is locked for the moment? I would guess so if my prior gaming experience can be trusted. If it really is like a game, then there must be a condition or a requirement to be met before I can unlock this skill.

Mana Overseer : Lv.-

- Allows the user to perceive the flow of Mana through the means of Mana. In addition, also allows user direct interaction and manipulation of Mana.

Maybe to the inexperience peoples, this ability doesn't sound so magnificent but as a gaming nerd, this ability couldn't be any better. Mana is the fuel for magic. Just like how a petrol oil is fuel to vehicles. Then the ability to manipulate it would surely be a tremendous advantage. In fact, this ability might even be more of a cheat than [Soul Harvest] but too bad, it is locked just like [Soul Harvest] too.

Void Exalted : Lv.-

- Allows the user to draw energy directly from the Void. Gains access to abilities of Void origins.

Hmm.... As for this ability, I have close to no idea to its explanation. What exactly is the Void anyways? Searching through the nerd archives in my brain, I say the Void must be a place where it is filled with dark energy with abominable monsters native to it. Its level is a dash just like the previous two. Not usable too, I see.

And next, we have....

HP: 140/140

MP: 70/70

Overall Power Ranking : F

Hmm.... Are those values a lot? I don't think so. According to the RPG games that I have played, such values are often found on beginner levels. If that is truly the case, then this character sucks. I'm gonna die if I encounter two or more of those things.

HP and MP aside, what does this Overall Power Ranking suppose to represent? Does this mean that taking into account of all my available magic abilities, the overall level is only F? Or am I misinterpreting things here? Since this is another world, the ranking might have a different order. After all, I do have cheat abilities for a start. It's impossible to think that with all those cheat abilities my ranking could be so low. Maybe it's because the relevant abilities are not taken into account because it's locked?

What's more, why do I have such abilities despite being a scholar? This abilities don't seem like something befitting of a scholar and I don't even have any abilities a scholar would have.

I sighed.

Questions after questions, mysteries after mysteries. Where's the end to all of this? I ruffled my own hair as I flooded my own mind with these miseries and mysteries.

I sat back down, entrusting my back to the stone wall. I got answers and information but problem is, I can't make out the heads and tails from it.

I sighed again.

Now what do I do? Obviously I should get out of this place but there were some factors in the way. Two actually.

First, this place could be like a maze. I could get lost and end up even further from the exit. Second, there might be more of those things out there and I ain't looking forward to meeting them. I could barely kill one. I doubt my body will remain a single piece if I encounter more than one. Not to mention, there might be something even more ferocious than this monster with pale skin.

As I was thinking about those things, my eyes that are darting around the room finally rest its gaze on the corpses. Hmm.... Now that I actually pay attention to those corpses, we seem to be acquaintances judging from our matching attires. Not that we are wearing the exact same type of apparels but the design and color scheme says enough.

Name: Freed Mason

Gender: Male

Age: 45

Race: Human

Status: Deceased

Standing: Knight

Job: Templar Elite Knight (Faith of the Nines)

Class: Heavy Blader

Title: None

Name: Nicholas Erwin

Gender: Male

Age: 29

Race: Human

Status: Deceased

Standing: Knight

Job: Templar Knight (Faith of the Nines)

Class: Swordsman

Title: None

Name: Fyra Glim

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Race: Fox-kin (Fairy Tribe)

Status: Deceased

Standing: Young Blood

Job: Adventurer

Class: Archer

Title: None

Name: Fyra Yvil

Gender: Female

Age: 30

Race: Fox-kin (Fairy Tribe)

Status: Deceased

Standing: Acolyte

Job: Adventurer

Class: Mage

Tittle: Wind Strider

My eyes feast when I saw their status. I was curious and they were dead. So I had nick their status card from them and read them. It seems abilities are inaccessible by others than the respective owner of the status card. Seeing these, I discovered new things.

The two humans were my colleagues. They were warriors from a religious faction. Templar Knights. That is indeed the first impression I had when I saw them being swordsman from Faith of the Nines. An initiate and an elite. I'm guessing this Freed Mason is the superior here. Not that hard of a deduction. This Freed Mason specializes in heavy blades. An expert at that. Can't really say how I feel towards this. Impressive, I guess? Yet, now a corpse. Tells you a lot about the dangers that lurks in this place. Not much comment about the other knight. A mere upstart knight. Probably still in his freshman years I wager. He is also the one that got thrown by the monster and sliced into half by me. Sorry about that.

The one thing these two fox-ears that caught my attention is their names. If I'm not wrong, their family names were written before their given name. If I use these two as a basis, fox-kins put their surnames first. Right, gotta remember that. Might be useful in the future, maybe. It seems this Fyra Yvil fox-kin girl has a title, Wind Strider. A mage. A wind specialist mage if I had to assume from the title. If anyone ask me, I would say she's the most outstanding of the four here. And these two are adventurers. Were anyway. Adventurers from the Fairy Tribe. So fox-kin falls under the fairy categories, I see. They're not from the Faith of Nines. Four people. Each two from different factions. Was their acquaintance premeditated or by chance?

Never mind that. The important stuff is that I found out there's an adventurer job in this world. So yahoo, I guess?

The reason for my lack of reaction might be stemming from the fact that I'm still trapped in this dungeon. Is it actually a dungeon? There's no windows. I assume so. This room I'm in definitely looks like a prison cell in a dungeon but am I in a castle?

I sighed again. I know there's only one way to crack the mysteries I discovered, forward. I just need to start moving. Staying here wouldn't get me anywhere, metaphorically and literally.

Huh?

I paused at my thoughts. Reason being, another question invaded my mind.

If I remember correctly, this room was lock from the inside. Yet, we all seemed to have gotten fucked in more ways than one. There was another carcass of the same monster in the room after all. Did my group and I entered this room for shelter, barring the doors and failed to realize there's a monster in this room already?

I examined their bodies.

Hmm..... I'm no expert but their wounds are too small for the monsters' claws. The wounds were less unsightly too. I have seen the wound on my shoulders before they miraculously disappeared. They don't look pretty. Compare to mine, their wounds look mild. In fact, they look like they were done in by swords. Did they fought each other here? No, the wounds are too small for their swords. They were gutted by something smaller. Besides blade wounds, there are also pierced wounds. Arrows? They were cut and shot?

My theory is that they were chase by enemies wielding small swords and bows. They got fatally injured by them but managed to take shelter. They then bled out? But how did this monster came into the picture?

Looking at it more closely, the carcass of the other monster seemed more rotten than the one I killed. It must have been dead for a longer time. Maybe this monster was already dead when they entered this room? Plus, this monster carcass was woundless. So how did it die?

And how did I also ended up woundless? I woke up with aches on my body but no apparent wounds. Did I got lucky in the ensuing chase? That mightbe the case seeing as how I am not a combatant. Although if I'm truly not a combatant, why did I have such abilities? If I have such abilities would I still be a scholar? Why am I a scholar?

I groan louder and ruffle my hair more intensely as I got more and more frustrated and the endless questions flood in without answers. Maybe I should stop asking questions anymore. At least only until I have gotten answers for my previous questions first.

Yeah, that should be the case. As I am closing my eyes to get a little bit of rest from my brainstorm, screams and roars echo throughout the place. I immediately jolt up from the floor.

There are still people here. Could they be my acquaintances? Sounds like they are having some trouble. Following the screams and roars, the whole place shook, like an earthquake had hit the whole place.

While I am in joy that there were other peoples than me but the roars also proved that there are other monsters out there. Considering what just happened to me, I am very reluctant to venture out from this room. But if I don't, I will just be staying here and rot.

Damn it. It looks promising on a paper or on game but now that it has become reality, everything seems different. I can't restart from a checkpoint if shit hits the fan. If I die, I die.

Still, a part of me wants to know what the outside is like, to witness a nerd's romance of this other world I'm currently in.

I cast [Abyssal Edge], [Plane Displacement], and [Presence Detachment] again and again. Searing the activation methods into my brain. I test the limits of these three abilities.

I'm able to extend the range and increase the size of [Abyssal Edge] but at a cost of higher Mana expenditure. Surprisingly, I could feel my Mana recovering but it wasn't too slow nor too fast. I paid no mind to it as I have enough questions without answers.

[Plane Displacement]. I can do more than just using it as a shield. I can even use it as a foothold. If I find a suitable area, I want to see if I can traverse through the air using [Plane Displacement] as a foothold.

As for [Presence Detachment], there wasn't anything notable about it except being a form of a cheat presence concealment skill. As for whether I am able to conceal myself from optical view, that remains to be seen.

Now that I know the extent of my powers, I have decided to venture into the bleak darkness awaiting for me. But before that, I quickly skimmed through a few pages of the books that I found in my backpack. There are history books but one is a introduction about the world I'm currently in, Evarenan. A world that was spread into seven continents with a lot of different intelligent races other than humans. There's elves of course. I'm looking forward to meeting one. I wanted to read more but now's not the time. I hold off my desire for now. The strange book with the hard cover is really tempting me but I refrain. I have a feeling that if I start reading, I would not be moving from this spot.

I salvaged and loot what I can and want from the corpses. There are a few interesting stuffs but I put aside my curiosity for now. Just to quickly run it down on what I have gotten from the unfortunates, there are potions, throwing weapons, gears and tools for adventuring, shields, maps, and others. Too bad, there was no provisions. At least none that were edible. I would have liked to have a thicker armor plating but they just weren't my size.

No food and water. More so the reason for me to move from this place. I gotta admit, I'm starving a little and my throat is a little parch. Maybe the other peoples here have some provisions to spare?

I stepped out of the room, into the passage dimly lit by the glowing vines, with a fragile smile of newfound determination. Little did I know that the fragile smile is even more fragile than I expected. I would had never knew of the how terrifying this place could be, at least not until the eleventh hour.

If only I knew, the whole unfortunate incident befell on me could have been averted but how would I have known?

Damn it.