Six

Six

Looking at the new information that had been revealed on my status, the first thing I noticed was that all my basic stats had gone up by four. That means that I’ve gained four percent of a human’s maximum capacity in every area... that’s... pretty big, I guess?

Of course, until I’d run some tests I couldn’t be sure just how much it would benefit me, but the golden rule of role-playing games was that stats and skills were king, so it definitely would help. What was more interesting were the three Intangible Statistics that had appeared. The numbers were low, just as my guide had predicted, but even so, I was extremely curious, as the names were... potent.

Fortune- The power of one’s luck made manifest. Unlike Material Statistics these are not based upon base human possibilities, but are effects of a non-Material, Intangible nature. The higher the number the greater the effect it has. Fortune will add positive effects to any action where there is random chance involved.

Majesty- The force of one’s personality unleashed. Majesty will increase the chances of people submitting to your will, and will view orders you give more favourably.

Charm- The ability to attract others revealed. Charm will increase the attraction others feel towards you, people will view you in a more favourable light, and are more likely to offer you affection.

Now those were... amazing. Even if the effect was small, everyone would want them. I had already gained beyond what I could imagine in just this one trip to this strange world. Even if I was to quit now I’d still have benefitted hugely, but why would I, when my cloaked guide was still assisting me?

There was no change in my Self-Examination, likely it was still too low a Rank to have changed much. As for Self-Examination, Territory...

Self-Examination, Territory- The ability to assess the Rank of a Territory in comparison to known multiversal scales. Since the Skill has increased in Rank it can provide additional information about the availability, cost and abilities of available Upgrades, yet due to its current low Rank, many Upgrades remain unavailable, or with unknown abilities and Ether costs.

Now this was another winner. As I concentrated on this ability I could feel a faint trickle of heat leave me, aether expended, and then a list of glowing silver words scrolled down my vision.

Ether Spire Rank 1: Ether Cost 1500 - not available to construct.

Barracks Rank 1: Ether Cost 2500 - not available to construct.

Spawning Spire Rank 1: Ether Cost 1000 - not available to construct.

...

Heroes Rank 1: Ether Cost 50000 - not available to construct.

A dizzying array of options were presented before me. To think that they were only a fraction of what could be done! It gets my blood boiling with excitement! Concentrating upon one of them at random I brought up further details.

Spawning Spire Rank 1- This Building allows you to summon up to ten degraded standard troops. Degraded troops are fixed at Level 0 and cannot grow. They can follow simple orders but do not have intelligence of their own. This costs 1000 Ether. You cannot construct this Building, as it requires Territory Rank 1.

“Wow, just like an RTS. Combining an RTS with an RPG, I guess this is a bit like Warcraft three?”

I’d played a fair few retro RTS’ such as Command and Conquer, Warcraft 3, Total War and so on, and I liked to think I was pretty good at them. My excitement is really reaching maximum levels now. After all, with the benefits I’ve already gained, and the possibility of more... I had to see this through to at least when my guide left, to get the maximum gain. Only then would I make my final decision whether to participate in this struggle to be an Astral Emperor.

Shit, that was close. If Exposition-san hadn’t said anything, that would have hit me in a vital spot. I wonder if that would count as instant death... I shivered, the confidence I had built up with my zombie-hunting withering.

Rolling to my feet I took a good look at the foe before me, holding up my iron club in trembling arms. It was a zombie, so that shouldn’t have been a great threat to me, however, this one... the aura it gave off was very different, I could almost see wisps of aether rising from it as it moved. It was a zombie, that was for sure, with pallid dead flesh with a green sheen of grave-mould, pale long tangled hair reaching down to her feet, for it was indeed a female, preserved in death. It wore a ragged white kimono, the hem soiled with grave dirt. One hand clutched a shining steel kitchen knife, the bright metal spotless, reflecting the orange light of the Etherite, its other hand empty, yet tipped with long jagged nails, yellow with crusted filth. The eyes were the most terrifying thing though. Unlike the other zombies, this one almost seemed to have intelligence, a faint glimmer of something lurking in her black eyes.

“You must be very cautious.” Exposition-san said behind me, its tone far more urgent than normal. “This is either an elite zombie, a far cry from the weak ones you have destroyed earlier, or it is a different species altogether. It seems this area has a higher density of ether than your Territory, which gives rise to both Etherite ores, and also more powerful Astral predators. Should it strike you in a fatal area, I will be unable to safeguard you!”

I knew that. The chill I felt when looking into the eyes of this zombie was the chill of death. I wasn’t a hero, and I definitely didn’t want to die. I had too much to live for. My family, Eri-chan... However, I wasn’t dead yet. I’d long since stopped believing this was a dream, it was too long, too consistent and too detailed, but since it wasn’t it was a chance to really better myself, to experience the life I’d always dreamed of, since I was a small child.

One gamble, that is all it would take. If I don’t get killed instantly, I can always be saved...

Knuckles whitening around my club as I gripped it tightly, I surged to my feet with a roar. The zombie woman rushed to meet me, knife flashing. I ducked under her first thrust, and swung my club, smashing her in the ribs, knocking her to the side. She retaliated by sweeping out one leg in a flutter of dirt-stained burial clothes, catching me a glancing blow. Even that hurt, but I could bear it. My club lashed out again, catching her arm once more, bending it at an unnatural angle with the snapping of bone. Her other arm swung down, but I managed to dodge the knife once more.

She let loose a horrible rattling breath from between her teeth, the stench of mould and rot causing me to gag, but I ignored it, pushing forwards, club striking her in the ribs once more, then coming down on the shoulder of her injured arm, pointed end digging in savagely, shattering rotted bone, sending dirty brown blood splashing into the air, sliver mist rising.

I can do this! I can beat her! My arms were trembling with the strain, but I had disabled one of her limbs and dealt her damage, my experience of combating the other zombies before standing me in good stead. I swung my iron bar once more after digging it free and struck her ribs, cracking bone.

Suddenly a cold lance pierced through me, a freezing chill swallowing the warmth of my aether. I turned, strength leaving me, to see that the zombie had somehow unhinged its elbow, the arm holding the knife twisting behind me and driving it into my shoulder.

If that was a few inches higher or lower, either my neck or my heart... I shuddered as the shadow of death loomed over me. I wasn’t sure of just how fragile the Astral body was compared to the Material one, but I doubted taking a knife in any of those areas would be anything less than fatal.

“I shall remove you to safety back to the Material world...” Exposition-san began, but I interrupted with a rasping plea.

“Stop.” I am going to win this fight. My blood was up, adrenaline surging, and despite the fierce flare of pain I felt I could still do it. Flipping the spiked end of my railing towards the zombie, I concentrated, cycling aether. “Weight. Make it heavy!”

With a gasping roar I thrust down with the spike, letting go of it as aether flooded it, growing its weight dramatically. As I did so I turned, grappling the arm that had stabbed me, ignoring the freezing pain of the blade gouging my back and shoulder. The railing plunged down, hammering through the zombie’s hip and embedding through her leg and into the ground, ripping through dead flesh and bone, pinning her in place in a welter of brackish gore.

The zombie roared again, spitting out a mouthful more of clotted blood. I used all my strength to lever at her broken elbow, forcing her to release her grip on the knife. As soon as she did so, I leapt backwards, reaching up to pull the knife free from my shoulder with a grunt of pain. The blade was still unmarked and pristine, the handle a carved ivory.

I looked at the zombie woman, who was clawing frantically at her pinned leg with her broken arms, and I felt a brief moment of pity. Still, if she was a zombie then granting her rest and the chance to move on would be the best thing to do. I couldn’t know for sure if she really was the soul of someone who had died unhappily on Earth, or if she was just a mass of ether this world had agglomerated, but either way, this would be a mercy.

Channelling some aether into my wounded shoulder to drive away the chill, I clenched my fist around the handle of the knife and stepped forwards, dodging her frantic kicks with her free leg. She snapped her head forwards, trying to bite me, but with her restricted reach all she could do was snap at the air in front of me, wailing and howling.

“Go to your rest.” I said, quiet as a sigh, and I thrust the blade forwards, piercing her eye and jabbing up into the brain, dirty gore spraying from the wound. With one final howling wail she disintegrated into a bright cloud of ether, shining like stars in the shadows of the graveyard.

You have gained in strength. Your Level has increased from One to Two.