Eyes of the Observer

—-

When I first pulled up the skill, I was immediately met with a blank screen.

After experiencing the atrocity that was [Penmanship], I did not think it could possibly get any worse. Unfortunately, the world works in mysterious ways. In this case, expectations were meant to be broken. Aside from the skill’s name, the system did not disclose any additional information.

I furrowed my brow. No matter how you look at it, wasn’t this damn thing defective? Rather than a fully operational godly system whose influence reached even the farthest corners of the world, this thing was more like a dying studio’s sloppy and unfinished game.

Terrible gameplay and a shitty plot. If possible, I’d rate the overall experience a 2/10. It was definitely not something I would play again.

…Still, was it really an error? Despite my outward reaction, I wasn’t quite so sure. There was always the possibility that the skill section was left purposely blank

After some thought, I couldn’t help but let out an exasperated groan. Even if it was on purpose, only a shitty game developer would implement such an inane feature into their game. It definitely wasn’t the sort of game that I’d willingly sink my time into.

Unfortunately, I was but a mere player. I could do nothing but sit there and smile as the devs force-fed me their sloppy mess.

“Well, there’s no use crying about it.” I consoled myself. “I might as well try to understand what this thing does.”

[Eyes of the Observer]

It sounded both domineering and a little unassuming.

Unlike with [Penmanship], it neither had an introduction nor levels. I interpreted this to mean that this skill of mine was special and that it was probably the type that could not be leveled up.

If it was supposed to be special, then surely, its effects were at least somewhat decent, right?

“Still, how am I supposed to activate it? Will it consume mana like the last one, or are its effects more passive?” Such questions bubbled up within my head. I sank into a deep silence. After a while, I lifted my head and tentatively concluded, “Since observation is a really big part of the skill’s name, I should probably start there.” It was a bit flimsy of a rationale, but I didn’t have much of a choice. After all, at this point, the skill’s name was my only real clue.

“But, how do I go about doing that? ‘Eyes of the Observer’ is a bit vague. Should I start randomly glaring at things? How about carefully scrutinizing anything that walks? Or maybe I should just stare absentmindedly at the sky? Really, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

I hesitated for quite some time. Eventually, my piercing gaze landed on a nearby tree. I intently ‘observed’ it. At first, I was worried that nothing would happen, but after what felt like forever, a new window screen suddenly popped up before me.

Sycamore tree

67 years old.

Dimensions: 112.34 feet in height and 6.54 feet in diameter.

Native to North America.

Weaknesses: fire, Sycamore leaf beetle.

I widened my eyes in surprise.

The new pop-up showcased information relating to the tree. Most of it was general knowledge stuff, but it still surprised me. For example, the dimensions listed were rather specific. Unfortunately, I did not have a way to verify the measurements. If this whole thing really was just some overly complex hallucination, then there was a big possibility that my brain was just making all these numbers up.

Even if the numbers weren’t real, that still left me with the weaknesses. While it was pretty obvious that fire was a tree’s greatest foe, the part about the sycamore leaf beetle did surprise me. Prior to today, I had never heard of such an insect before. Was it actually real or was it just something else that my brain made up?

Just as I was pondering over this, I suddenly noticed something move across the surface of the tree. I narrowed my eyes and instinctively approached. It was an ugly looking brown insect with wart-like protrusions growing all over its body. It vaguely resembled a beetle.

As I looked at it, a new window screen appeared before my eyes.

Sycamore leaf beetle

47 days old.

Female, currently in full maturation.

3.58 mm in height.

Native to North America.

The sycamore leaf beetle is a creature with parasitic tendencies. It is largely sedentary and will remain with the same host plant for all of its natural life.

Again, the new pop-up showcased information relating to the particular target. As it turns out, this ugly looking bug was actually a sycamore leaf beetle, one of the only two weaknesses of the sycamore tree.

As I read and reread the screen, I noticed an odd discrepancy. The information presented on here was a bit different from the information presented in the other window panel. Comparatively, the beetle had a more detailed description, but it lacked the little section on weaknesses that the tree possessed.

Why were they different? Was this difference important? Were the discrepancies due to me or the skill itself?

I breathed out a faint sigh. As expected, this new skill of mine was not at all straightforward. At the very least though, I was finally able to grasp the general gist of the skill’s usage and utility.

From what I can gather, [Eyes of the Observer] was a skill that allowed me to gain insight into a target’s specs and attributes. It was sort of similar to my own status screen. Unfortunately, it did not show any stats. Hopefully, that will change the moment my eyes land on an actual animal.

“Wait, isn’t a beetle already an animal?” I suddenly recalled something as a faint frown wrinkled my lips. “Is it different? Maybe the beetle’s too weak for the skill to properly register? Is that why there’s a discrepancy in the information? The difference between a plant and an insect?”

My line of thinking was probably correct, but unfortunately, I couldn’t quite confirm any of my theories. At least, not until I actually run into something other than a tree or a beetle. Preferably an animal or hopefully a human.

When I went ahead and checked my status screen, I soon discovered that my mana had gone down again, this time, it had been reduced to 85. That means that both instances of skill activation consumed a total of 5 mana.

I thought for a moment before I turned towards the corpse.

Corpse of a Mound Hound

The dead corpse of an otherworld monster.

It exudes faint traces of mana.

Time of death: less than two hours ago.

Quality of corpse: Poor.

With the activation of my skill, a new pop-up appeared. I quickly read through it without much surprise before I turned back towards my status panel.

“…”

As expected, my mana went down again. This time, it had been reduced to 83, consuming 2 mana points. From this, I could tell that the mana consumption of my skill was relevant to my target. I don’t exactly know how much mana it took to identify both the sycamore tree and the leaf beetle, but if it was only two like with the corpse, then my total amount of mana would still be at 84. This detail would probably be important later down the line, so I made sure to memorize it.

Speaking of things yet to come, I completely forgot to do this beforehand but skills and classes were not the only things I had received today.

I glanced up at the title column.

Trailblazer

You are humanity’s shining beacon and the world’s foremost frontline vanguard! Venture forth into the unknown and carve a path for the rest to follow.

Effects:

Level up rewards bonus

Achievement acquisition reward bonus

The Trailblazer title was one of my rewards for killing the Mud Hound.

“A reward bonus?” I furrowed my brow. As expected from this defective system, even the damn effects were overly vague.

I let out a soft sigh.

It was unfortunate, but it looks like I won’t be able to witness the details to this skill, at least until I can properly level up again or produce another noteworthy achievement. The latter seemed almost impossible to do, but leveling up should be rather simple, right?

As such thought floated through my mind, I suddenly caught sight of something through the corner of my eye. I immediately tensed up. The sound of rustling leaves echoed through the forest.

Now, rustling wasn’t actually anything unusual. After all, the forest was active and teeming with life. Birds frolicked up above the canopies, while rodents of all sorts scurried along the ground. The bushes also moved quite frequently. In the few minutes since I regained consciousness, I’ve noticed quite a few rabbits and raccoons wandering the area.

The fact that this place was off the beaten path only further strengthened this claim. It was only natural for a place without humans to be filled with so much life.

Still, this time felt different. The rustling was loud, almost as if it was purposely trying to attract attention. I heard the snapping of branches and the sound of something heavy press down against the soft soil. When I turned my head to look at the source of the noise, I was immediately met with a massive figure skulking behind a nearby bush.

My eyes widened in shock. A bulky, almost blubbery body covered in black fur. Coupled with its elongated snout and stubby ears, I instantly recognized this new intruder. What’s more, my skill recognized it too.

American Black Bear – Lv 1

A beast native to the North American region of Earth. Although it is omnivorous, it does not shy away from hunting.

HP: 800/800

Mana: 20/20

Strength: 39

Dexterity: 7

Constitution: 31

Intelligence: 4

Available Skills: Charge Lv 1, Arboreal Combat Lv 1

While the window panel affirmed my predictions, it did little to ease the growing fear in my heart.

The black bear in front of me currently had all of its information laid bare before my eyes. Unlike with my previous targets, its stats were there too. I wasn’t really all that surprised by that. What did surprise me were the values of its stats. Despite the fact that it was also at level 1 like me, its stats were off the charts. Specifically, its strength and constitution were more than four times greater than mine.

Was this the natural difference between species? It was a bit disheartening, but at the very least, it did not have a class, although with stats like that, did it even matter?

It was not very tall, but it more than made up for it in bulk. The beast was nearly twice my size. It silently eyed me for a few seconds before it turned its attention over to the corpse. Judging by the drool dripping from its jaws, the bear was probably attracted to its scent and eventually followed it all the way here.

I silently cursed myself for not noticing sooner but in my defense, its soft paws really helped to hide the sound of its footsteps.

The bear paid me little attention as it stepped into the clearing and approached the corpse. Without hesitation, it immediately began to dig in. Its mouth stained with blood. For all intents and purposes, it looked completely concentrated on the task at hand, but I knew better.

I caught it occasionally throwing a wary glance my way. It did not attack, but it was cautious of my presence. I knew that the longer I stayed here, the more dangerous the situation might get. At any moment, it might just throw caution to the wind and finish me off.

I wanted to run, but I couldn’t. My legs were frozen stiff. It was different from my initial meeting with the mud hound. Back then, instinct had carried me forward. This time, it wasn’t just instinct that flooded my psyche. It was mainly fear, but that fear came prepackaged in knowledge.

I knew how strong a bear was. I knew that it was omnivorous. I knew that it had a knack for rummaging through people’s campsites. I knew how aggressive they could be and I knew how running would only make things worse.

My knowledge hampered my instinct. In fact, it turned that knowledge into fear.

Just as I was inwardly struggling with myself, something even more shocking occurred.

WOOSH!

Something fell from the sky. It was green and blurry, like watching a moving car race down the highway. It didn’t really fall, but it was the best way for me to describe it.

It landed directly on top of a certain stubby-eared beast.

The beard did not even have time to react. A flash of white seared my eyes, Half a second later, I heard the chilling sounds of slicing flesh. A thin line of red appeared around the bear’s neck. The red intensified, just as everything from the neck up slowly slid forward.

With a sickening squelch, the decapitated head fell to the ground. The mighty beast with almost 40 strength points had died, just like that.

As I stood there, transfixed by the gruesome scene, my original fear slowly dissipated. In its place was that familiar feeling of instinct.

To my surprise, the monster responsible for all of this was actually a giant praying mantis.

It stood nearly twice as tall as an average human. It had a relatively thin frame, but that did little to affect my ugly countenance. The scythes at the end of its arms were razor-sharp and were just as thin as cicada wings. A thin layer of red stained one of its scythes.

Most of its body was colored a dirty green. I barely noticed the pair of transparent wings mounted on its back.

Whittle Mantis – Lv 15

An otherworld monster. A solitary predator best known for its speed. It is native to the ruined world of Arcadia.

HP: 3000/3000

Mana: 300/300

Strength: 35

Dexterity: 86

Constitution: 30

Intelligence: 6

Available Skills: Scuttle Flight Lv 4, Danger Perception Lv 3, Slash Lv 6

A level fifteen otherworld monster. Its stats were even greater than the black bear’s. Fighting it did not even cross my mind. I couldn’t even compare myself to this sort of dangerous monster.

At that point, the shock had snapped me out of reverie. Without hesitation, I instantly sprinted forward.

I knew deep down in my heart that running away from a predator was almost always a bad idea, but like before, my instincts won out. As such, I ran. I desperately ran for my life.

Fortunately, it did not chase after me. It was more interested in the freshly killed bear beneath its feet. This was another stroke of luck for me. I did not dare question it.

I ran away as the sound of crunching bones echoed through my ears.

Even after that, I still did not stop running. Driven by an instinctive fear and a desperate urge to survive, I ran as far and as fast as my legs could carry.

After who knows how long, I approached my limit. My legs felt like lead, while the metallic taste of blood slightly colored my tongue. A beat later, I collapsed mid-sprint.

I hit the ground with a soft thud. My beating heart echoed loudly through my ears as clumps of soil stuck to my sweat-stained skin.

All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.

“I… what the hell was that?” I mumbled to myself.

That thing, what was it? After surviving such an encounter, I was starting to believe that all of this was not just some stupid hallucination in my head. The fear felt real. The sounds that it made, the smell that the bear’s corpse produced, the slight gust of wind that the mantis’s arrival ushered forth, all of it was too real.

But… if this wasn’t a hallucination, did that mean that all of this was real? The mantis, the corpses, the system, was all of it real?

A croaky chuckle leaked out from my throat.

Just what the hell is happening?! Am I in another world? Did I slip through a dimensional crack or something?

After a short pause, I quickly dismissed that thought. After all, the trees within this forest were still the same ones that were in the park. The bear too, it was also from North America, even the system said so. I was still on Earth, but… it was no longer the Earth that I knew.

Just then, as if on cue, the ground suddenly started trembling. In that moment, my growing theory was quickly confirmed.

I looked up at the distant sky. The world was undergoing a massive and permanent change.