Zachary

Zachary

I looked at the chieftain before me.

I suddenly felt incredibly stupid.

I had forgotten another possibility of where it could be, and seeing it's current state, it was the only logical explanation.

'Well, this just make things easier. Unfortunate. I was really hoping for a bit of a challenge.' I thought as I cast a lesser heal for 5 mana, using the last bit of my mana. Having done so, I tossed my staff to the side. It would be useless for this fight; an orc chieftain had a higher resistance to magic so my fire wouldn't do much other than annoy him.

I gave the chieftain a once-over before darting forwards.

For the first time since I had started attacking this group of orcs, my sword was blocked.

The chieftain's greatsword had a lot of power behind it. However, it's agility and dexterity were underwhelming in comparison.

"This is pathetic. You can't even swing your sword properly. You rely more on the weight of your sword than your own capability to swing it. Brainless meathead." I said as I stopped holding my speed back.

With twists, turns, and slides, I danced around the chieftain slicing off chunks of flesh and muscle.

It was already squealing in pain by the time I had it on the ground.

"Why are weaklings always like this? You have no sense of pride or dignity, it's sad and pathetic." I said as I plunged my sword through its heart. A bell rang three times. I ignored it for the moment.

I retrieved my staff and walked towards the building the chieftain came out of. As I did, I opened my status.

Name: Zachary

Race: Half-ling (Demon, Human)

Title: None

Class: None

Level: 13

XP: 980/3000

Attribute Points: 40

Health: 30/30

Vitality: 4/4

Endurance: 3

Strength: 7

Speed: 7

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 6

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 5

Mana: 9/24

Qi: 6/6

Skills: Fireball, Lesser Heal

Perks: Vital Boost, Appraisal I

Specialties: Familiar Summon

Enhancements: Demonification, Humanization

Equipment: Basic Mage Robe, Basic Mage Staff, Basic Leather Armor, Basic Leather Boots, Crude Goblin Knife × 4, Simple Iron Sword

'A full six levels. Later on, it will take much longer to level up. Should I try and balance out my stats? Or go ahead and work towards increasing my casting abilities?' I pondered for a moment before deciding to go for balance.

I walked inside the log building.

An elf lay inside. Bruised, bloody, and defiled. She lay limp on the bare ground.

I crouched just before her.

"I see that your conscious. You seem to have a broken a jaw so I won't ask you to speak." I began.

"Blink once for yes, and twice for no. Is that understood?" I asked.

I got a blink in response.

"Good. Most people in your situation choose to kill themselves, or wish they were dead. In your current state, you would be incapable of doing so. If you so desire, I can kill you. Do you want me to?" I asked.

There was a pause before she blinked twice.

'How surprising, she still has the will to live. The real question however, is how strong that will is.' I thought as I began to take this more seriously.

"Is there a home you would like to return to?" I asked.

There was a long pause before she blinked thrice.

"Is that supposed to mean maybe?" I asked.

She blinked once.

I studied her for a few moments.

"You're a High-Elf aren't you." I said, more of a statement than a question.

Blink.

"So you would be allowed to live with your people, but since your culture has an emphasis on purity you would now be an outcast, is that right?" I said, once more, more of a statement than a question.

Another blink.

"If you don't want to go, I won't look down on you. Being an outcast is hard. My advice would be to walk your own path from now on." I said.

"T-*cough* take... me... alongside... you." She murmured.

I paused. Take her with me? With what was going on now, would it even be possible?

After a long pause, I said, "I am currently caught up in very odd circumstances. If you get left behind later on, don't come back to haunt me. I have enough vengeful spirits to keep me company as is. Understood?" I asked.

A single, unhesitating blink.

I wrapped my mage robe around her for the time being and carried her out and into the forest.