STATUS WINDOW

NAME: DALE HALL CLASS: JOBLESS TITLE:

COSMIC LIAR, SIR RUNS A LOT [+2 OTHERS]

PATRON: NONE EXCLUSIVE SKILLS:

TRACE OF INSANITY [LV. 2]

Your twisted view of the world coupled with your strong desire for change permanently altered the way you view the world and how you interact with it.

Sudden breaks in reality or instances of clear irrationality lower than the skill level will not affect you. Has a chance of triggering automatically. Has multiple effects.

Effect 1 - Innate Irrationality: Your mind’s irrationality overpowers the world’s. You’re protected from disconnects in reality with a level lower than your skills.

Effect 2 - Shared Delusions: Your state of mind manifests itself and affects those around you. The effects of Innate Irrationality are applied to those in contact when [TRACE OF INSANITY] is activated.

Effect 3 -?

Effect 4 -?

??? [ LV. ?]

SPECIAL SKILLS:

ADAPTABILITY [LV. 4]

OVER-THINKING [LV. 3]

COOKING [LV. 5]

CLEANING [LV. 5]

RUNNING [LV. 2]

OVERALL STATS:

VITALITY [LV. 4]

AGILITY [LV. 3]

STRENGTH [LV. 2]

MAGIC [LV. 1]

VOID ENERGY [LV. 2]

“Another title about running?” — Thought Dale — “It sounds like it’s mocking me, so I’m guessing it’s Amy again. She’s probably not too happy about me using her as a distraction, but I’ll deal with her when the time comes.”

Looking at his status window he could see that his regular skills and stats leveled up, seemingly according to usage. Also, a new skill was added to his list.

— “A running skill? Seriously?” — Dale felt depressed — “Didn’t I fight with a sword? Where’s my swordsmanship skill? And why is this skill already level two? Do I run that much?”

Dejected, he directed his attention to another stat. The stat that leveled up in his fight against the second tentacle monster, Void Energy. He didn’t have an opportunity to think about it at the time, but the way he felt during the fight implied that the stat would have a big influence in future battles.

Looking at the expanded info, Dale felt bothered.

[VOID ENERGY] “The energy that permeates Tesyrion’s atmosphere. It increases efficiency on skill usage.”

The description was oddly vague when compared to other stats.

He wouldn’t get anywhere thinking about it alone. Dale looked at the group and asked.

— Have any of you leveled up the Void Energy stat?

Everyone shook their heads.

— Did you? — Asked Nina

— Yea. Around the time we killed the tentacle monster.

— So, What does it do? How do you use it?

— No idea. I remember being weirdly comfortable as I was hitting it. Like I belonged in this place. The sudden surge of power made it easy to break that crystal.

The group shared a concerned look.

— I know how it sounds…

After a moment of silence, Kyle spoke.

— If the story the little girl told us has any truth in it, I guess that Void Energy is the source of energy from the abyss.

— Which means it’s potentially dangerous. — Said Nina.

— Yes, but we can’t deny that it might be useful. I did crush the monster’s crystal without an offensive skill and the boss monster also dodged my attack. Void Energy might be the weapon we need to kill scary things like that one. — Said Dale.

— If so, learning how to use it and how to control it should be a priority — Nina opened her bag, taking out a small notepad and a pen — Tell us everything you felt during that time. Any detail helps.

Before Dale could start talking, a noise was heard from one of the passageways. A group of three people was walking down the stairs, two of them helping the third walk. Mr. Abzhorrathoth stood up from his seat and walked in their direction.

— It doesn’t seem like they had a good experience. — Commented Dale.

The three people were covered in cuts and bruises. Some parts of their clothes were torn and stained with blood. They wore pale faces and blank expressions. The person being helped was mumbling something under their breath.

— That could’ve been us — Said Hazel.

The group looked at her.

— I was knocked up pretty much until you guys showed up, but when I woke up I had the chance to take a close look at Mr. Oliver’s body. — She stopped for a couple of seconds before continuing with a trembling voice — He looked worse than those three, but not by much. — Her eyes trembled — That thing said Mr. Oliver had a lot of fun and was too tired. I think it tortured Mr. Oliver until his mind broke and he couldn’t handle it anymore.

Hazel started softly weeping. Nina embraced her.

— Hazel is right. — Said Dale — That could’ve been us. The shock from the situation was numbed by my ability, but that might not always be the case. We can’t let ourselves get used to these kinds of things, but we have to be prepared for the horrible things that will likely happen in the future.

The group resumed their conversation. Dale explained as best as he could what exactly happened during the times when he supposedly harnessed the power of Void Energy.

During that time, several groups of people began coming out of the passageways. Some groups looked just like the first three, beaten and broken, and some groups looked relatively unscathed. Throughout the next few hours, people arrived at intermittent intervals. After about 30 people filled the hall, Mr. Abzhorrathoth that was sitting at the reception counter clapped his hands, gathering their attention.

— It looks like everyone’s here. We should start the proceedings. First, is the patron ceremony. I take it that all of you have been informed that the mission you’ve just completed was an introductory one. The purpose of the mission was twofold. — He raised his hand, showing one finger — One, to weed out the weak. As you might have realized during this endeavor, this world is a cruel one. If you’re not capable of clearing this first step, you’ll die a horrible death as soon as you step out of here, trust me, those who perished in this place did so in a merciful way.

The crowd shared nervous looks amongst themselves.

Two — He said, raising another finger — To show your abilities to potential patrons. As you have been informed by your respective hosts, the introductory mission serves as a means to show your abilities to some of the residents of Tesyrion. Those residents have evaluated your performance and will show interest in those they wish to support. Needless to say that your powers are still weak, and having a patron will ensure both your growth and survival in this place.

— The host informed us? — Thought Dale — Dammit, Amy!

Mr. Abzhorrathoth continued — Trust me when I say that having a patron will make an incredible difference in how you’ll progress from now on. Since they’ll choose based on evaluation, the patrons that pick you might not be the strongest ones. You’ll have the choice to wait and show your worth in hopes of gathering another’s attention. You also have the possibility to change patrons in the future, but how you go about that it’s between you and the concerned parts.

Looking at the crowd with a satisfied expression on his face, Mr. Abzhorrathoth waved his hand and after hearing the familiar sound of a system prompt, a list appeared in Dale’s vision.

— Well then — Said Mr. Abzhorrathoth, with a mysterious smile on his face — I wonder which one you will pick.