Chapter 60: First Death (2) (1/2)
”Huh?” Katrin said as a wave of surprise overcame her. Her body felt sluggish, so much so that she nearly toppled over her own weight as she began to follow Wayla. Suddenly her balance pitched her forward and she fell to her knees with a soft thud.
”What's wrong with my body? Why is it so heavy?” Katrin asked as she slowly struggled to get to her feet.
”As I said, First Death. Your body is in a highly vulnerable state. Right now you're about as weak and fragile as any normal human being -- just one mortal blow could end you.” Wayla responded without even bothering to stop.
Katrin gritted her teeth as she slowly stood, wobbling a bit in the process. Sure enough she noticed a new icon in the lower left portion of her viewport. Focusing on it allowed her to better understand the effects of the strange status ailment now impairing her functions.
[First Death - (11:57:13). Develed (Currently Level 2) - 50% to all Stats. Regeneration rate and amount of HP and MP reduced by 50%. Sustaining further injury could be life threatening or fatal.]
”This is...really severe.” Katrin said as she suddenly felt a pain in her abdomen. Though her body had completely healed she could clearly still feel flashes of the trauma in her mind. She sighed, wrapping the towel in her hands around her chest and slowly following Wayla to their destination. After a slow, achy walk across several meters, Katrin finally stood face to face with the guardian of the Wilderness Tabernacle once more.
”Is there anything you wish to ask? In this world, as I'm sure you've come to understand, knowledge isn't free. I'll answer two questions only, the rest you must pay for as a service.”
Bracha was right, to an adventurer everything must be earned, thus Wayla's attitude made perfect sense. Katrin had a pretty good idea as to her current situation. She also realized that it would be more than half a day before the effects of First Death wore off.
”When can I leave?” She asked.
”You can leave at your leisure, though I wouldn't recommend it. Nothing is keeping you here though. I will offer you this advice though - anytime you return to a safe zone that isn't within a Chapel walls you may only linger for so long. The blessing of this Tabernacle affords you 48 hours at most before you are forcefully expelled.”
Katrin immediately realized that Wayla was being more helpful, perhaps due to the fact that Katrin was relatively new to this world. With that in mind she thought of her second question.
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Agni couldn't believe her eyes. She watched the bloody earth spire rise up several meters and impale both Katrin and Fargo in an instant. Much like the other defeated adventurers their bodies broke apart into spheres of light and drifted away as if caught by a wind. For a moment she struggled to wrestle with the anger building in her heart. Her eyes pulsed with dangerous energy, unlike the normal pink color they were now glowing red with rage.
She quickly turned her attention to the remaining member of the ambush party, her only solace laying in the fact that Katrin wasn't truly dead.
”You bastard!” She shouted as she lunged forth and swiped her claws at Glint's face, attempting to steal the sight from his other eye. He made sure to backstep at least half a meter, veering to the side as well in order to avoid Agni's claw extension ability.
*Shit! I can't believe that Fargo was defeated by a damn Scribe. Gaines will have my head if I don't produce results now!* Glint's thoughts grew desperate as he flicked his wrist, awaiting the return of the daggers he'd tossed to slay Katrin. He was left fending off Agni's wild attacks in the short amount of time that would take. Her blows had become even more powerful, fast and dangerous as her ears grew more elf-like, pointy. Her incisors also grew several centimeters until they jutted from the corners of her mouth. A crazed expression painted her face as she battled Glint who, at this point, was having much more difficulty keeping up.
His eye was still bleeding feverishly and the pain was nothing to sneeze at either. Much as he expected, Agni began to mix in extension as part of her strikes against him. Her fingertips grew several inches and this coupled with her hardening ability was responsible for leaving at least one deep gash across his chest before the enchanted daggers finally returned to Glint's grasp.
His adventurer class, Fighter was skilled in just about all types of combat but his favored weapons were a trio of enchanted daggers. They allowed him to throw his weapons with reckless abandon and in exchange for a bit of mana he could recall them at will. He'd used them to slay many monsters and adventurers but he easily found himself pushed back by the Succubus' raw fury.
She combined her natural agility with her newfound strength. What's more her words themselves seemed to affect Glint now. Rather than the slight sense of pull she exerted just minutes ago he could feel a deeply oppressive force that gathered around his limbs like chains with each word she spoke.
The problem was --
”Die!”