Before Rewrite, Chapter 4: Consequences
From last chapter:
*flap*
*THUD*
Maybe because the wind was blowing wildly, but I didn't notice what was coming my way.
It then released a hot breath on the back of my neck.
"Oh, dear lord"
*flap* A different flap from the one before was heard.
*THUD* Another one landed behind me.
"Oh, dear lord. Have mercy"
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Present. Tori's PoV:
I tightened my grip on my only hope to kill a dragon just in case, then jumped forward and turned around midair.
When I looked on the sneaky things, I was shocked at what I saw. It was both beautiful and terrifying.
In front of me are two dragons.
One of them was just a glintstone dragon. Boooo. The other one however was peculiar.
The other dragon was more like the typical western dragon, it had a more metallic sheen to its scales though. Rather, they looked like actual metal shaped into scales. They had sharp jagged edges and had spikes on the flat sides. Said scales were of a light gray color. (AN: the rgb values are 211 in all of them)
It has almost no claws with how small they were. Although that begs the question, are they normally small or did it clip them accidentally while hunting?
It has two hind legs, two front legs and two pairs of wings with membranes the color of charcoal.
Its head is not good a sight. Its eyes are too small for me to see from my position. Its horns are... wait, there are no horns. They seem to have been broken by something. Its jawline looked like the one I tamed has, albeit more grown up, more refined.
Did I mention how its upper set of teeth are peeking from its maw? They are big and jagged in the edge facing backwards.
The tail is kind of thick and looks inflexible.
Its underbelly is a place where no scales grew. It is of a completely white color.
All in all, it was a beautiful and a terrifying sight at the same time.
Beautiful because I love the look on the metallic dragon. Terrifying because I must fight two of them at once.
After observing me for a good moment, they glance at the nest. They saw the remains of the egg in there.
They both roared at sky, one in anger and one in what sounded like grief and the sadness of great loss?! Then the glintstone one tried to bite at me.
Seeing its incoming maw, I felt death. My thoughts were cut short, and I froze in place for moment. 'MOVE' I scream inside my mind.
I barely jumped back in time. The jump was just strong enough to give me almost the same speed as the dragon maw coming my way.
After I lan*bite*...
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General PoV:
After looking at the nest and seeing the broken eggshell, the glintstone dragon bit at the aggressor thinking they killed its unhatched child.
After munching on what it thought to be its meal, it swallowed the bitter thing and went to vent its anger on every unfortunate fauna and flora nearby.
While that was happening, the metallic dragon nudged the empty shell and purred. It grieved for what it thought to be its offspring's untimely death. It vowed to kill every single thing that resembled the creature that was standing there moments prior.
They both went separate ways, ensuring they will purge the place so their next offspring can hatch safely.
They did not know it was their final time seeing each other.
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General PoV (around where the metallic dragon went):
It was a warm summer day around a certain castle. A little humid with a hint of salt in the air. The soldiers were patrolling like normal. Some chatting and comparing how much they could drink before collapsing. Others taking their lunch break. While others were rigid and took their patrol job too seriously.
"Commander, sir." said one soldier while saluting his commander. He was there for a report.
"Give your report" said the commander, expecting the report to be the same as always.
"This is a report about the eastern armory, sir. The weapons are recently sharpened and polished off of any rust or dried blood. The plated leather armor alongside plate armor are inspected to have no dents, scratches or cuts. The bows and crossbows' frames and strings were inspected to be in good condition. They did not need any spare parts for the moment. All arrow and bolt varieties' heads are sharp, their shafts are not damaged and their fletches and nocks are in place. They were not in need of maintenance. The armory's door is locked. Three guards are appointed to guard it at all times. Any other thing, sir?" the soldier concluded, knowing how well bored his commander was with this routine report.
"There is nothing further, soldier. Remember to be careful in your job, you do not want our lord to take your limbs apart" said the commander with a dark face and a grave tone to match it as his expression hardened.
The soldier's posture straitened more before he said, "As you command, sir". The soldier salutes his commander and turns to head outside. He knows what his liege is like and that was a very likely scenario to happen to anyone at their lord's whims.
*ROOOOAAAAARRRRRRR*
That was all warning needed to send the entirety of the castle's army into motion, especially the lord.
Archers lined the walls, mages stood behind shield wielding spearmen, while other melee focused soldiers stood places where the dragon is more likely to land so they could kill it.
After a hard-fought battle, the loss of about half the castle's soldiers count was not surprising for the higher-ups, considering what they fought against.
By the end of the battle, the dragon was somehow still able to hear things.
*SFX heavy steps: stomp stomp*
"Oh kindred" That disturbing voice was the last thing it heard.
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Tori's PoV:
"Uggghh, damn it, sunlight. You cannot leave me be, can you?" I said as I woke up. *yawn* I yawned and looked around me.
"Well, I don't think tree branches turn into grassy plains after two days of me sleeping on them" I thought aloud to myself.
I looked around a bit more, only to find that I am still in the skill space. Did I not die?!!
Now that I have sobered up a little, I don't feel any weakening in any physical aspect at all. Although I didn't get weaker, I feel great pain. I feel like someone slammed a sledgehammer to my chest and kept on it until my back hit the ground. (AN: I know how that feels, if 1.2-1.5 ton vehicle slamming into me at 30-40/60 km/h is anywhere near that. Yes, it happened to me, and twice at that)
WHY? Why do I still have to face a dragon, again? Why so soon? Would my banging pain go any higher?
But it seems I am in luck. As I was going to submerge in a swamp of fear and anxiety, yellow fog stated engulfing me again.
I go through the same unpleasant ride I came here upon, back to the other side, the outside. A peaceful place for now. No dragons and no death matches.
I opened my eyes to a blinding light and the breeze of the see.
'Sora, are you there?' I thought as I felt a tinge of fear creep into me. Fear of being alone.
[Sora is here. Tori does not need to fear my disappearance, Sora is nowhere near disappearing] she says reassuring me. I hope she stays as long as I want her to.
'Say, Sora. Will you stay with me for all my life?' I ask to make myself prepare for when and if she will eventually leave.
[Sora will be with Tori through thick and thin for as long as she can]
'Thank you. Truly Thank you. You don' t know how much I appreciate our companionship' I... don't want to be alone, ever. I thought that and shed tears of relief.
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General PoV (around Tori):
After calming down, and waiting for the pain to subside, Tori asked Sora 'How in God's name did I end up with a gang fight on my first try? And how did I survive it?!' His tone signifying his bewilderment.
[Tori's Luck stat, no matter how low, triggered something. Tori got what he needed this time, as Tori completed a quest inside of another. It just so happens to send him to a hatchling to tame with its parents nearby. Just to remind Tori, if one dragon survived, Tori would have been stuck there till it is dead. Tori's luck comes at a price, unless he pumps the Luck stat with plenty of points, till then his fortune will be paired with misfortune] Sora answered him and reminded him of his indirect victory against his opponent.
'Wait for a moment. HOW DID I FORGET ABOUGHT THE LITTLE ONE?' Sora's reminder shocked him with how he almost forgot that he tamed the little dragon. How someone can seemingly ignore what is his lifeline considering his situation is beyond comprehension. Regardless, he decided to call the little one out to get a better hold of its nature, seemingly ignoring what would have prevented him from getting screwed later.
[FOCUS] Sora wanted him to focus on the more important things.
'Okay, okay. You don't have to scream it in my head. It is more amplified than a scream to my ears, girl. Now though, I want to ask how much time I was out cold and what actually killed the dragon couple' Tori inquires in curiosity as he does not remember how he was knocked out. That and he wants to know how the metallic dragon died even though they never fought each other.
[The glintstone dragon died in about 4-5 hours after ingesting the ungodly amount of Amygdalin Tori prepared for him, poor thing. The other one, the metallic dragon as Tori calls it, tried to kill everything that walks on two legs because of his actions. That resulted in it attacking a fortified castle where it died. It was then that Tori woke up and was transported back to the outside]
'Now that I know how that happened, I want you to tell me how do I call the little dragon out?' Tori did not want a repetition of the Elden Suffering chant incident. 'I swear it was intentional'* He still has a revenge to plan and execute later.
[Tori just calls it by its race or name, if the tamed creature had or have been given one] Sora answered him without hiding anything this time to not pin the previous incident on her.
'I want you to elaborate on a few things before calling the little guy' Tori was cut off by Sora before he could say the next sentence.
[Tori, do not mix her gender. The one Tori tamed is a female, judging by its organ composition. If she heard Tori's assumption, it would lead to her ignoring some of Tori's orders. That will how she views Tori when she grows up] Sora saves the day. Tori was going to make a mistake so irreversible; it would have made it impossible to get along that well with such a prideful existence.
'Thank you for correcting that. Now where were we? Oh, yeah. I want you to elaborate on a few things before calling the little girl. The Inventory function, what to feed my little one and an accurate to detail explanation of HP, FP and SP. I already know that the stats work in a perverted manner'. (AN: the word perverted means "strayed from normal behavior" here)
Sora answered him cheerfully [Of course].
[The Inventory function is better left alone for now] Sora states with a serious tone.
Tori got confused at that.
'Would the Inventory be less helpful now?! And why?'
[Yes. The moment you open the Inventory for the first time, it will adjust to two of your stats. Int dictates the number of slots you have and Wis dictates how many of an Item you can stack together.
Once you open the Inventory for the first time, any addition to the two starts after that become 5 times as demanding]
'How much do they affect it now? Elaborate on it too' Tori curiously asks.
[10 points of Int equals 1 more slot, and 2 points of Wis equals 1 more of the same item in the stack. The Inventory has 4 slots, and their stacks start at 5 items by default. Different durability will force the two copies of the item in different slots. once the Inventory is opened, 50 points in Int will add one more slot and 10 points in Wis will add 1 more item in a stack] Sora's answer shocks him.
'Isn't this great?!'* Tori thought to himself in wonder. 'I must wait for this to be high and above. I won't have to carry anything and will have everything on me, mwuhahahahaha'* He resolved to laze around after working on his Inventory's capacity. He will no longer need to organize his stuff and only grab them from there. Truly, the mark of a slob.
Sora decided to not wait for him this time and blame him later for not listening intently, [The little one's food is either meat or dragon hearts. If you give it dragon hearts, it will grow faster, more stable and stronger]
Turns out, Tori was listening well enough to catch on to multiple things 'I see where this is going. It seems my luck gave me a Side Quest that benefits me. At the same time, it gave me something that takes away that benefit in the form of a little dragon. I must make it go as high as possible without breaking my status balance'.
[That was pretty accurate for someone who did not listen well] Sora was amazed by him.
'I may need to increase that luck stat way too much' He resolved to get more stats using the daily task as a source. the more he overdoes it, the more he is benefitting from this Luck stat's mean behavior.
'Then remains the explanation about the stats I stupidly ignored' Tori wanted to know what he assumed right and what he assumed wrong about them. He did not want to get in trouble for assuming things wrong.
[HP represents your general health. If a healing spell, ability or item was used, HP will not be restored directly. The effect will lessen the injuries, thus restoring HP. In case the used restores all HP in the game it came from, it will remove all injuries from Tori's body. Note that they will leave scars like what naturally waiting for them to heal does. It just removes the risk of lasting side effects.
SP is only affected by physical activities. Casting a spell will only consume SP as much needed to do its physical movement, nothing more, like throwing a fireball. The current SP regenerates completely in 50 seconds if emptied entirely. If Tori gets injured, the amount and severity of injuries makes it slower.
FP could imbue Tori's body with attributes, like poison mist around the body, poison body and many more, regardless of the presence of a catalyst. The result of not having a spell casting catalyst is the limitation of only imbuing his body with special attributes and that they are weaker than if they were applied using a catalyst. Proceed with caution. One wrong turn is all FP needs to wreck Tori's body and possibly kill him] Sora tells him in more detail than before. This time he became more aware of what he could do with his current stats and abilities.
It was then that Tori decided to go and overdo this day's Daily Quest.
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Time Skip to when Tori was done:
'Daily Quest'
{Daily Quest - Baldy Training
New world, new dangers. You need to be stronger before it is too late. Beware of fallen hairs.
Objectives:
Push-Ups (400/100)
Set-Ups (400/100)
Squats (400/100)
RUN (40km/10km)
Rewards:
- First Time Completion Rewards: 5 system points, Full Status Recovery
- Second Time Completion Rewards: 10 system points
- Third Time Completion Reward: one Roulette Ticket
- Fourth Time Completion Rewards: 10 system points, Full Status Recovery
Failure Penalty:
- 5 Fail Points (0/15)
- - Full Status Recovery could be kept until needed for however long it is, you can keep up to 10 Full Stat Recovery at a time. After accumulating 10 of them the rest will either be used the same day of completing their Daily Quest or disappear by midnight
- - Fail Points persist through following Daily Quests
- - After completing the Daily Quest, you have the choice of spending your rewarded system points to reduce Fail Points. One system point for one Fail Point
- - If Fail Points go higher than 15, there will be a penalty}
{Accept Rewards Now? [Yes] [Not now]}
{Side Quest - First Tame:
Seeing as you have seen your Skills already, it is time to familiarize yourself with them. What better way than to use them?
Objectives:
- Try taming your first creature before leaving the island
- Succeed in taming from the first try
Rewards:
- Trying reward: 1 system point
- Completion Reward: 4 system points}
{Accept Rewards? [Yes] [Not now]}
'Yes, accept all rewards'
{Congratulations to the host for getting:
- +25 System Points
- +1 FSR
- +1 Roulette Ticket}
Tori has taken caution by thinking carefully on where to allocate his points. The result was as follows.
{Status:
- Name: Kutsuki Tori
- Race: half-human/half-fish-man
- Titles: none
- HP: 100/100
- SP: 50/50 --> 56/56
- FP: 35/35 --> 50/50
- Vit: 10
- End: 25
- Str: 1
- Dex: 1
- Def: 1
- InternalDef: 4
- Int: 7 --> 10
- Wis: 1 --> 20
- Agi: 1
- Luck: 0 --> 3
- System Points: 25 --> 0
FSR: 2 --> 0}
(AN: Tori applied one FSR on his second completion of the Daily Quest, and another on the fourth, right after gaining it)
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General PoV:
For some reason, after what felt like the shortest and the longest time waiting to be nothing but fertilizer for the soil it supposedly died on, the dragon felt a great pain in its neck and light blinded its eyes. Sound assaulted its ears. It could smell the air around it and a decomposing corpse right beside it. It was still alive and breathing. It was surprised to have lived once again. But that blissful miracle was greatly sullied by the sight and smell of a fiend. The same fiend WHO KILLED ITS UNHATCHED OFFSPRING.
It clenched its maw and then *ROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR**SFX of fire: WHOOOOSH*
That day, a dead dragon breathed fire once more. Its pride commanding vengeance. (AN: imagine Godfrey's VA saying this line)