8 8 Stonegore

-[Stonegore] –

[Level 40] –

[Danger Rating: Deadly] –

[Health: 115/15,450] –

[Mana: 12/100] –

[Mana State: Bloom] –

[Titles: King of the Forest, Unbound, Rockskin] -

An ashen beast that would normally tower above men, with it's deep earthy green antlers high in the sky, was now covered in fatal wounds and at the mercy of the men it once saw beneath it. The sad, low rumble the beast let out was a testament to the severity of its wounds. The militia standing around gave no respite to the beast, kicking it while it was down and bound - laughter erupting every so often.

"Disgusting," stated Korrin, knowing full well that even if it was a beast, that they should be treated with some respect. Donis could only nod his head in silent agreement as he was truly transfixed with the beauty and the power of this beast. Those common and uncommon beasts he saw paled in comparison to this kingly figure.

'System, what are the danger ratings for monsters?' Donis questioned, noticing it had the [Deadly] tag in it's status.

-From Lowest to Highest, they are [Common], [Uncommon], [Deadly], [Myth], [Legend]- the [System] answered succinctly.

'Deadly huh. It definitely jumped up in intensity from uncommon,' he pondered. Donis noticed it even had a title, "King of the Forest". 'I wonder what such a grand sounding title even does, I'm actually jealous,' he stared at the beast in contempt. Though the title was impressive, he definitely wasn't envious of the beasts current predicament.

The soldiers were now picking up pace and moved the Stonegore deeper into the camp. There was a man dressed in heavy tanned gear holding what looked like an executioners axe wearing a solemn expression. The soldiers were bringing it to him, yet he wanted no part in this Thinning. 'Beasts are meant to be respected and fought with courage,' thought the man in disdain.

At the mans feet, the beast was wheezing heavily. Open wounds decorating it's once majestic figure. 'A sorry sight,' he continued his thoughts. It was his job, and no matter how he felt, the job had to be done. Cursing the baron that had funded this Thinning, he raised his axe. The crowd had all become silent, even the babes feeling the tension in the air had remained motionless.

The Stonegore blearily opening its eyes and tensing his neck in the direction of the executioner letting off a low howl that echoed throughout the camp. As if a signal from the beast itself, the executioner sharply brought down the axe with a clean motion. It was done quickly and as humanely as the executioner could make it.

At the sight of this, the crowd had all let go of their breath. Difficult smiles started appearing throughout the crowds, trying to chase away the solemn mood that had swept over.

A low-pitched howl tore it's way through the camp, emanating from within the forest. A hundred gazes cast towards the source, an opening in the wall of trees that stood against them.

Three slightly smaller Stonegore stood before them, emitting a serene grey aura. The one who had let out the howl-like sound had began walking towards the Stonegore that had just fallen, with the others following behind it.

The soldiers all got into a battle formation, sweat clearly dripping off their brow. They had just fought a single Stonegore, and it took nearly all of their ingenuity in trap making, and even then it was a fluke. Their troop was not prepared to fight so many, they came just as a show of power to these villagers.

"Men, stand united!" Boomed the captain. A young looking figure, but he definitely commanded a presence when he spoke. The spearmen crouched low while they had the swordsmen cover them with their shields. They had formed a wall of weaponry in moments.

The villagers had began to get up, some running in fear, others gazing onwards to what may ensue in just a moment. Donis's family were one of the ones who couldn't move, enchanted by the sight before them.

Seizing this moment, Donis thought he'd have a look at the captains status, just to compare to his dad.

[Name: Colin Del Holt]

[Age: 36 Years]

[Level: 39][? EXP]

[Mana State: Breath]

[Health: ?]

[Mana: ?]

[Occupation: Militia Captain of Vorinar, 5th Rank]

?

'The captain is really impressive! I can't even read his base stats. It's probably either a restriction or something to do with the level difference.. I guess I'll find out more when I actually upgrade the system huh..' Donis thought to himself. His eyes were refocused back onto the battle, quickly forgetting about the captains stats.

He could see clearly that the skin of these Stonegores were becoming duller second by second. The antlers taking on a darker hue and the tips edging out further, converging into one point of space ahead of it.

"ARCHERS, FIRE," screamed the captain. The archers surrounding the edges of the fence all released their arrows in unison. Whistling could be heard through the air as arrows flashed forth in a bright light. A notification popped up,

-[Ability Scanning...]-

He had just seen his first ability! He had no time to get too excited at this revelation as the battlefield quickly changed.

The Stonegore smashed their massive legs into the earth, splitting it and erecting a massive wall of stone before them. The arrows stuck deeply into the rock, the light following the arrows fading immediately after.

-[Ability Scanning...]-

The Stonegore smashing through their own wall smoothly, as if it never existed, charged at the next wall that was made up of the soldiers. They were closing the distance quickly, with speed unnatural for its body size. A hoarse battlecry was released by the leading Stonegore as it picked up speed, staring down the soldiers ahead. The soldiers bellowing out in unison accepted the challenge.

The captain shot out from his leading position, aiming to intercept the monstrous charge. A blue flame-like aura covered his sword, suddenly creating a flowing wisp trailing behind him. A quick flash of the sword in an upward arc motion set the flame-like aura bolting through the air. An explosion reached the crowd half a moment later, the power breaking the sound barrier and creating a sonic boom.

The flame flew directly at the bellowing beast, not letting it relax for even a moment. A sound similar to a firework taking off followed the flame for the briefest second before it erupted in a cloud of blue fire as it hit the Stonegore. The beast tumbling shrieked at the sudden pain, skidding off into the side where a group of archers had just finished knocking their arrows. It was immediately pincushioned by the torrent of light.

The captains sword began glowing in a different grey light, still held above his head proudly. He brought his sword down using both of his arms, crashing into the ground below him creating a fault line filled to the brim with this grey energy, travelling directly towards the closest Stonegore.

They were not stupid, they had learned that this human was powerful. They deftly dodged the ability, betraying the look of slow and heavy beasts that they emanated. One Stonegore had been gathering what looked like a dark, heavy looking aura into his antlers, changing their earthy green look to an obsidian black.

The aura burst forward with such might, that the air itself split. The black energy in the form of a beam rippled forth, creating light distortions as it went on towards the captain. This man was not to be trifled with, he was powerful and had seen that ability before. He was ready for it. Just as he was about to dodge it, the earth beneath his feet shifted slightly, throwing off his footing.

The other Stonegore had stomped his foot, weakening the earth underneath the captain. A fearful expression shot across his face for a moment, before his stone cold gaze returned. Dodging what he could of the beam, he jumped quickly to the right, losing his legs in the process. This was the best outcome at the time, as he still held on to his life.

Almost losing his focus from the mind shattering pain, the captain then threw his sword as he was falling, it still enveloped in the same grey light as before. It screamed through the air, as it made its way with extreme speed towards the second Stonegore. The sword quickly met its target, piercing the Stonegores throat, the grey energy crackled creating a "fault line" on its neck, immediately killing it.

The first one had now fallen to it's knees after shooting the black energy, it let out a weak and slow grumble. The colour of its body quickly dimming. The soldiers stared on at this image, unable to move. "Everyone, quickly! It cannot get up after that attack, it's powerless! KILL IT RIGHT NOW," exploded the captain.

The soldiers surrounded the beast and put an end to it's life brutally. All of them throwing themselves at it, trying to pierce it's tough hide. Little by little, chipping away at the monster at their feet.

The captain still maintaining his composure, even after the loss of his legs, issued out orders quickly at the soldiers. After assessing that there was no real damage to his troop, and the civilians, he passed out. The soldiers quickly picked him up and carried him into the healer.

***

Donis's parents didn't see the end of this fight as they had all started running as soon as the beast began gathering the black energy. Their lives were far more important than the results of the militaries fight.

As soon as they were out of the camp area, another notification appeared to Donis, instantly filling his head with knowledge of what he saw in the camp.

-[Abilities Scanning Completed]-

-Five Abilities Scanned, and Catalogued. See Abilities? Y/N-

Donis was on the shoulder of his mother, who was running her quickest beside Korrin and the kids. He thought about waiting until he got into the house before looking at them leisurely, but quickly dismissed it as he was far too excited to see an abilities.

'YES'

-[Deft Arrow] – [Intermediate] – [Cost: 10 MP] – Imbue the [User]s Mana into the arrows, drastically increasing the piercing and releasing power.

[Earthen Stomp] – [Beast Skill] - [Intermediate] – [Cost: 5MP] – Creates an earthen or stone wall before the [User].

[Flashpoint Strike] – [Intermediate] – [Cost: 30MP] – Blue flames envelop and then condense into a razor thin veil over the sword for a singular strike, exploding forth.

[Air Pulse] – [Novice] – [Cost: 12MP] – An air infused attack that locks on and pierces the target from long range.

[Spiritual Essence of Wrath] – [Beast Skill] – [Adept] – [Cost: Life-Force] – Consumes the life-force of the [User] to unleash a powerful blast. Can only be cast when enraged.-

'[Ocular Inspection] is such a broken ability. I learned their moves by literally seeing it once, I didn't even see the last few, how did I even scan them?' thought Donis, bewildered.

He slowly realised that he could truly learn any ability that he saw before him with these eyes, possibly even just being in the vicinity was enough. Ideas of becoming an ultimate ability monster flashed through his mind. Images of Donis standing mightily above thousands of men, cloaked in a grand aura echoed within his mind. His goal was set now, he wanted to become strong like them.

He knew he wanted to be strong before. His devotion to becoming powerful was now fuelled by the brief images of the captains battle. His heart had come to accept this world wholeheartedly now, thirsting for more.

'System, can I learn these abilities now?' Donis thought, addressing the [System].

-No, the skills/abilities that are scanned are force-set to level 0, greyed out and placed in a subsection of the [User Skills/Abilities] until further requirements are met.-

'Of course they are.. I assume one of the requirements is upgrading you, right?' thought Donis sarcastically.

-No, once the [User] achieves the basic requirement of [Breath] Mana State, and fulfils the further requirements set by the skill/ability itself you will be able to learn the skill. Though the [User] may learn any skill, all skills will begin from level 0. The knowledge required to level up the skill will be provided by the [System].-

'Oh.. okay, I didn't expect you to be so generous,' thought Donis with a hint of surprise in his mental voice.

Donis had been deep in thought the entire time Korrin and Morissa fled with the kids in tow. He barely noticed he even got home, the sound of his mother collapsing on the table pulling him out of his stupor.

"Korrin are those men okay?!" Morissa exhaled sharply, holding her head between her hands. "Sweetie they're fine, they have captain Holt there to protect and lead them! You know as well as I do that he's one of the strongest men in this state," Korrin unsuccessfully tried to calm Morissa.

"Kids, off to your room, mother needs to lay down for a bit," turning her head to Donis who was uncharacteristically sitting quietly, "sweetie follow your sisters, play nice." Morissa had a deep worry that her son was traumatized by the entire ordeal. To collect herself she decided that her and Korrin will lay in bed for the day. She longed to be held, to be made feel safe on such a horrible day.

Donis went off to play with his sister's, trying to keep them entertained before tiring himself out and pretending to sleep. In his mind he perused the new abilities and tried to cast any of them even though he knew wouldn't be able to. Yet he was stuck at a fundamental step. How do you cast anything? This world truly wasn't making it easy for him.