Sieg's left eye twitched upon seeing the absolute state of his stats.
"Is this normal?"
"Whatever — it's fine."
Closing the menu, he let out a sigh of dismay, though his gaze soon landed on the back of his hand — where the ascendant mark was supposed to be.
"It's not there."
"I started with 3 Sanity, can I at least know what that does? Does it save me from being a complete dumbass?"
› [Affirmative]
"Ah, it ta—"
A sudden influx of information flooded his mind.
***
› [Sanity TLDR]:
Sanity is both the fuel for spell arts and a shield against madness and psychic attacks. Damaging it weakens spellcasting.
Mental rest and controlled casting preserve sanity. Overuse causes fainting, migraines, dizziness, and headaches.
Severe sanity damage can lead to loss of self and total mental collapse.
› [Tiers]: Your Current Tier: 3 — Fortified Mind.
You are able to mentally resist the following:
3 psychic attacks of Spell Power Tier 1,
2 psychic attacks of Spell Power Tier 2,
1 psychic attack of Spell Power Tier 3.
(Spell Power determines the strength of the spell arts.)
Any spell power tier 4 or higher psychic attack will overwhelm you.
You are able to mentally resist weak environmental cognitive hazards.
Spellcasting Capacity: Not applicable — you currently possess no Arts of any tier.
› Please unlock an Origin Art for further explanation.
› Reason for the 3 sanity: Your life experience and the stress you endured during your slum life have fostered a rather formidable sanity.
***
Owie!
A headache struck Sieg's temple. "So my suffering in the slums might've been the reason I didn't go insane… huh… funny how that works—"
"I'm still missing so much context and information." Despite being shoved with word count inflation — Sieg remained lost mentally.
"Arts that attack the mind." The implications of facing such a threat crossed his thoughts; he knew that one day, he would have to face such a foe.
But for now, his first goal was clear as day — to finish the Trial and manifest his very own Origin Art.
"I'll learn along the way…"
Closing the stat window, Sieg continued walking towards the designated path down the cobblestone road — for every step he took and every glance he looked at, he could feel a sharp pain radiating from his head.
This place is just making my headache worse… I couldn't imagine being here without a Tier 3 sanity stat! I thank the almighty for such a wonderful gift.
Then he stopped — something was emerging from the road. Its silhouette was that of a human, but its body movement said otherwise.
"Who's there?!" Every instinct screamed at him to run, but he forced himself to stay.
Soon it came into view. It was some sort of man, though its face was missing important features, such as eyes and a nose, but its mouth was ever present, smiling while holding a machete.
It started laughing…
› [Enemy: Smiling Man, Elite 0]
› [Warning: Fight for your life]
HUH?! Wha—
The creature started sprinting towards him — the laughter was getting closer and closer.
Sieg barely had time to raise his sword before the machete slammed down, sending a shock through his bones.
He staggered back, but the manic creature was already swinging again, it's movements were some sort of animalistic tendency, wild and jerky.
I can't be killed here!
The next slash of the creature managed to graze Sieg's skin — drawing first blood.
IT'S FAST!
Sieg ran away for his life, it only caused the creature to tail him back to the starting point — so much terror was wailing in his racing heart, perhaps he was starting to regret being chosen for the Ascendant Trial.
I don't know how to fight — and I don't even know how to defend myself!
This is insane!
The laughter was echoing from behind, Sieg then stopped moving.
But…
I DON'T WANT TO DIE!
Sieg tightened his grip and met the next strike of the murderous machete head-on — He pushed with everything he had, but the boy noticed something quite odd.
The smiling man wasn't that physically strong, in fact he can somewhat over power it — once Siege realized that he was merely being intimidated.
That boundary between courage and fear shattered itself, and as the smiling man's machete pressed closer, inch by inch, toward his throat.
"N—not happening!" Sieg pivoted his body and kicked the creature's knee. It buckled just enough for him to shove it off.
His heart beat was an all the time high, cold sweat covered his entire body, and in some instances he was feeling lightheaded.
Nonetheless, he endured — Sieg swung his sword in a desperate arc, but the creature ducked under it with an inhuman bend of its spine, then lunged again.
Shit!
Sieg barely sidestepped, feeling the wind of the machete brush past his ribs, in a panicked maneuver, he tried countering with a sloppy stab at the creature.
He did feel the steel piercing the creature's shoulder — to someone that has never harmed anyone, it was a disturbing sensation.
But the smiling man didn't show any hints of feeling pain, It simply looked at the wound, then at him, then its smile widening.
"Oh, come on—!" Sieg yanked his sword free just as the creature swiped again. He ducked, rolled across the dirt, and came up panting.
Even if he lacked the proper technique and training, his survival instinct honed in the harsh environment of the slums was his favored companion.
All those beating I took weren't for nothing!
But more importantly, Sieg simply just refused to die.
"AGHH!" When the machete came down again, Sieg stepped inside its swing and drove his sword straight through the creature's throat.
This time, it reacted — jerking violently as a sickly black fluid dripped from the wound. Sieg twisted the blade, pushed forward, and forced the creature to the ground.
It twitched once… and then twice…
Please be dead…
Then it stopped moving—
Upon the death of the smiling man, the myriad of gazes — some were winking, others held amused looks, and a few rolled their eyes in disappointment that he was victorious.
"I… I won…"
"Are you all entertained?!" Sieg collapsed to his knees, with his chest heaving.
Despite the feeling of survival and victory, the more Sieg looked at the dreadful creature, the more he started to feel guilt — after all, it still looked like a real man.
But he knew the truth: I didn't do anything wrong… it's kill or be killed, right?
[Calibration Phase 1 — Completed.]
[Congratulations your Origin Arts is shaping nicely — please continue further down the road.]
Chapter End.