Femus watched and listened carefully to Nira's response. Then he found himself chuckling softly. It wasn't entirely inaccurate to say that his prior family had encountered a stronger foe. But, it was far from the complete truth as well. Yet, that was not the only reason for his amusement. He had no idea that his taste for wuxia would prove as valuable as this.
After slowly quieting his laughter, Femus rose above the rat and spoke cheerfully. "Well, you are free to remain outside if you prefer and I have no objections to sharing a skill with a potential partner. Besides, it's a good feeling to have another former human to chat with. But, you need to work on your acting a bit. A normal pixie wouldn't even know what a family business is, never mind having opinions on the business potential of wisps. That kind of error can get you killed in certain dangerous situations. If you're ready, then this butcher's son will lead the way."
You used Monster Analysis I! ---Pixie--- Pixies are a tiny humanoid Fey-type Monster. While somewhat intelligent, they lack empathy towards one another even compared to beasts like Goblins. Capable of flight and healing magic, but not physically strong or skilled enough to fight or use weapons well. Their Wings are membranous structures interlaced with hair-thin blood vessels. They are fragile, but hold semi-magical properties.This one is unusual. System:Femus
"Nira Wildheart. It is a well chosen name for... a second chance... and a new freedom." Femus said quietly, after waiting patiently for her to finish speaking. Her name had a strong fantasy sound to it. It strengthened his belief that she was also a reincarnated person. Femus had as much reason to keep his name from his prior life as others might have to abandon it... and the reasons were likely just as private. Still, he could use this to test her. "My... previous parents had a certain sense of humor with regard to the family business. Though, they had about the same luck as my more recent parents when it comes to avoiding danger. Thank you for your invitation. Please pardon me."
He managed to levitate closer to the rat before trying to pick out the parts that seemed the least healthy with lesser force. These he would leave to one side for the inevitable scavengers who would follow their meal. It was tough. His magic was still extremely low and exerting himself to set spoiled food aside might seem reckless. But, he was a creature that was mostly dependent on magic now. His appetite was limited and table manners were a far less justifiable nicety than courtesy or simple cleanliness. He simply placed himself next to an opening in the skin and began directly eating, one tiny mouth bite at at time.
Femus had been raised the son of a butcher family. Eating raw rat... was about as expected. Predator game meat isn't known for being tasty under most circumstances. Raw rat that had seemingly fed on bugs and random scavenge for most of the past few months had many of the preferred traits that he imagined extremely low brow dumpster fare to have. But, it was food. Besides, this particular meal had gained him an acquaintance. An acquaintance that he kept an eye on as he ate, watching for her reaction to his previous 'careless' statement.
Cooking might help the meat a bit... but it would need a lot more help to truly be good.
In fact, his current company had looks that would have turned his head when he was still human. But, that was before he discovered how easy it really was to take apart a living body. The same simple strike could take the head off a chicken or sever the spine of a human. It really was... anti-climactic. His visceral appreciation of physical beauty had seemingly been crippled by that experience. There was little to guarantee that she was the same as he was, resurrected by some strange magic and kidnapped by the Demon King. Still, Femus found himself believing that it was far more likely that they were the same rather than that a random pixie had suddenly developed these traits.
Besides, that Demon King had seemed both a personally motivated and pragmatic sort. Femus did not think that such a being would waste the effort needed to scatter his recruits. It was far more likely that he would dump them in convenient places in batches. Anything else would involve far too much investment and... concern.
The corner of Femus's mouth turned upward, just a tiny bit, at the thought of that Demon King acting concerned. It was a hilarious image.
It didn't take long for him to feed himself sufficiently and he pulled away from the open portions of the body, levitating up near the head before resting on the dead rat's snout.
Now was the time for after meal conversation. But, he also attempted to sense if there was any mana in the body. Specifically, he was looking for a mana core or some other concentrated nexus of energy. It wasn't terribly likely that it would be there, even if this world had such things. It was a mere rat after all.
"Do you have a place to stay?" He had planned a more subtle approach but he was finding the growing aroma of cooked meat and vegetables to be a little too distracting... and frustrating. Eating raw rat while others feast was... a bit much.
He could hear and smell the goblin party going on but his first thought was that he glowed and flew slowly. Even if the goblins were terrible shots, there were enough of them to hit him with something and he wouldn't be able to get away. He needed power and skill before he could even cross their territory... wait... "They're having a big party... all together in one spot." His words were soft and bemused as idle thoughts gained a semblance of purpose.
He didn't realize that he was effectively interrupting himself. The thought was just too tempting. With all the goblins in one spot, the far parts of their territory would be sparsely populated, if not completely empty. The two of them could escape this encirclement if they moved quickly and quietly. They would have to face the outside territory, of course, but this kind of event was unlikely to be repeated often.
"We might be able to get out of this goblin ring... but it might just be rushing to our deaths. Then again, we could try to sneak something from the goblins instead." After saying this, half thinking aloud and half conversing, he focused on Nira again. It was time to take a risk. "No matter what, we both need to get our strength back. Do you know how to meditate to speed your magic recovery? I have a tree hollow that's fairly safe. If you'd like, we could recover our magic and talk more there."
Femus took his shot and finished off the rat. But, it was an expensive gamble. He was betting his life that the pixie girl wouldn't hurt him before he could recover his mana. He was also betting on nothing else wanting to take advantage of his obvious weakness as his strength vanished and he began to drift down to the ground.
You have no MP remaining.
There was nothing he could do, he couldn't even move. So he began to meditate immediately, focusing on rapidly recovering his mana. In fact, he was feeling a little impatient and concentrated on trying to draw in the mana around him in a vortex. He hoped to create a more rapid suction force to speed his recovery. Thankfully, he landed on soft leaves and moss where he settled like an over sized snowflake.
However, he didn't have much time to work on this alternate technique.
In spite of the rat's size, the pixie girl only took a few minutes to drag it over to where he sat on a bed of moss ringed by disturbed leaves. And, true to form for girls in general, she immediately tried to start a conversation while eating.
At least her voice wasn't hard on the ears. Still, it broke his concentration instantly and ended his meditation. Femus took a moment to use Monster Analysis on her again, mostly for practice but also to see if he could perceive how magic flowed through a pixie's body, while gathering his thoughts.
"My name is Femus." The greenish wisp said calmly, keeping his voice low and even to minimize the chances of the two of them being overheard. "And what is your name, miss?"
He sought for the tiny strands of power that he would need to use Lesser Force to get a bite of fresh meat. He hoped that he had managed to gather enough power in his few minutes of meditation for that at least. Otherwise... he'd need to put of the conversation until he could hungrily meditate enough to be able to feed himself. Levitation would likely take more meditation but he wanted to grab at least a bite or two before he focused on regaining his mana. At least his glow was minimized in his mana depleted state. It made him a much smaller target and far harder to see, thanks to his coloring.
Femus stopped for a moment, just stopped. It was the first time he had heard human level speech in his new body. He felt tingles rush over his surface. His mind went into overdrive as his body began levitating as swiftly as possible after the fleeing rat, trying to stay in range as he focused on rapidly casting Mana Orb 2 without hitting his new acquaintance. He hadn't realized that he would actually miss human interaction to such an extent that he could have a physical response to getting it back.
"Just try to keep it predictable and I'll do the rest!" The yellowish green wisp said forcefully.
He unconsciously raised the importance of making an ally of this pixie by several ticks on his priority list. He also used Monster Analysis on the dire rat, determined to use his understanding of anatomy to discover any additional weak points as well as using his knowledge of its body to predict its most likely movements.
His first lvl 2 Mana Orb was simply targeted to land another body hit, he wasn't picky. It would probably knock the rat down, giving him a brief window of opportunity. In the instant that it fell, he would hit it again. But, this followup spell would be aimed at where the rat's head was most likely to be. Femus would only stop the combo mid-way if the rat clearly suffered immediately terminal damage from the first Mana Orb 2.
You used Monster Analysis I! ---Pixie--- Pixies are a tiny humanoid Fey-type Monster. While somewhat intelligent, they lack empathy towards one another even compared to beasts like Goblins. Capable of flight and healing magic, but not physically strong or skilled enough to fight or use weapons well. This one is unusual.
Unusual. Such an unassuming word... but it meant everything. The rat was still alive. There were still other creatures rushing about.
They were no longer important. Femus had been resigned to solitude in a world of half-wits and monsters. Now, there was a chance that he might not be the only one snatched by the Demon King who was in this area. Countless possibilities rushed into his mind before he could drive them out and restore his concentration. An ally, a friend, perhaps the start of what he would protect later? Too many possibilities all depended on two tests. Was she also a human soul? Were their personalities compatible enough to travel together?
In the shadows beneath these practical thoughts lurked a single question laced with bitterness and longing. Would he have someone to talk to again?
The reality of the moment was that if that dire rat killed her, all other questions were dust in the wind. It had to die and the first practical question had to be answered. Two birds and one stone. Yes.
For the first time in his new life, Femus tried to limber up his vocal chords. "Get me a clean shot and we'll both eat well." He tried to sound like a mature man of 25 or so and projected his voice far enough to be heard by her but not by the goblins. The last thing he needed was their attention. Unfortunately... his new body produced a voice that made him sound... younger. It was likely from disuse, or so he reassured himself, but his voice cracked like he was at the misbegotten dawn of puberty.
If she took action to cooperate, or even understood him, he would pursue more... civilized interaction. If not... then he would let the dire rat kill her if it could... or he would finish her off himself. If that 'unusual' aspect simply indicated abnormal abilities and not a human soul then this pixie could well be too dangerous to allow to live.
But, if she did show intelligence... then he would hit the rat with a Mana Orb 2 the moment it committed to a move that would restrict its ability to dodge. Even if she was a human soul, that didn't mean that he could trust her. It just meant that there might be a chance. For the sake of that chance he was willing to share a meal... and even a hiding place.
Femus Loncut awoke as the pattern of movement in the forest began to settle into the pre-dawn stillness. That stillness was a brief period of precious time for him. He settled himself and began to meditate, focusing on rapidly circulating the mana through his body as well as increasing his capacity further. In addition, he began to try to increase its density and his ability to manipulate it. His desire in these meditations was to lay the groundwork for more rapidly casting spells and also to gather mana ahead of time such that he could cast dissimilar spells in rapid succession. His body was still frail and so he needed speed, accuracy, power, and tricks. This place could only shelter him for so long.
This particular tree was old and had many holes. In fact, unless this greenish wisp was very wrong indeed, it was dying. That had made it an excellent place for him to train. He didn’t consider his chosen hole in a tree to be his home. He was still too weak to have such a luxury. Still, he had found a small enough hole that only wisps, pixies, and slimes would be able to enter it. It was also deep enough that he could conceal his ambient glow inside it. The smell of ozone still drifted about at the entrance. But, those outside would not be able to tell much about the strength of the wisp that lived there. Uncertainty was an effective deterrent in a world of savagery where a single reckless move could mean death.
Even more valuable than the concealment offered by the hole was the fact that this old tree was home to several vines and a certain number of blue flowers, the same blue flowers that had been part of his earliest memories in this body.
He changed his meditation as the time of stillness passed and the subtle noises of the forest day began. No longer completely focused inward, he began to analyze his surroundings. He examined the blue flowers, the tree, the vines and tried to sense the flow of mana around him. He also used Monster Analysis on the pixies that were beginning to fly about near other trees, the other wisps, and every form of self mobile life he could see from the opening of his hole.
He maintained this state, meditating as needed to maintain his energies, until he noticed that he was beginning to become aware of the sound of combat from the goblins. At this time he slowly and cautiously emerged from his hole, doing his best to continue the accelerated circulation of his mana while in motion and being prepared to fire a Mana Orb 2 at anything that tried to ambush him. But, nothing did.
Rather, at the moment he emerged from the hole in the tree the whole forest was stunned to silence by the sudden destruction of a significant portion of a distant mountain. Unfortunately the cause had escaped his notice so he did not have an accurate idea of where the event started. But, he knew that anything on that level would be so powerful as to make comparing himself with it… utterly pointless.
The casual burp of such an existence would be enough to instantly kill him.
But, its actions could also be beneficial. The whole forest had been shaken and much would change as a result. Femus took up a position close enough to the ground to strike accurately with Mana Orb but made sure to drift around in the manner of a common wisp. He didn’t want to stand out as he waited for the inevitable. Such an event would displace many creatures and they in turn would force others to move or act. This was not a time to hide in a hole. This was a time to be predator, not prey.
Creatures of many kinds suddenly rushed from the forest into the open, recklessly rushing across the goblin territory. Femus took a moment to choose a target. He needed practice and training. So, he would choose a target that was already likely to be consumed by something else in short order. He could always simply withdraw after achieving the kill.
It was then that he spotted a female pixie attacking a dire rat. It was a typical form of attack for a pixie. The only odd part was the timing. The pixie struck before shielding itself. That… wasn’t usual. A dire rat could kill an unshielded pixie with a single bite. For the shield to come second would mean that the pixie was planning ahead for a possible counter attack.
Pixies don’t plan ahead.
Femus used Monster Analysis on the pixie even as he fired a Mana Orb 1 at the same dire rat that she had attacked. There was a small chance that he might have found someone interesting, perhaps another fish caught in the Demon King’s net. By using only a first level Mana Orb he was concealing his real strength as well as hiding his own intelligence for the time being. He needed to know more before he could decide whether or not to kill this pixie as well.
Appearance: a softly glimmering blue green orb with a faintly yellowish aura.
Goals: Gain enough power to build a life and keep it. If that means serving the Demon King, okay. If it means betraying him to the goody-two-shoes people later, okay. If it means searing half the planet with unquenchable flames and ripping open a portal to the underworld while offering the souls of the living and the dead as offerings to the elder gods… well… he’ll decide that when he gets there.
Past Life: Born into a reputable but poor family of butchers in a small dictatorship that managed to arrogantly huddle in a corner of the middle east, Femus was the second son and third child of the Loncut family. Life was play, chores, school, and knife work until he turned 15. That birthday was one he wouldn’t forget.
The general assigned with managing the city, fearing reports of an invasion by a terrorist army that was approaching the border near the city, mustered the local militia and ordered them to defend the city. Then he robbed the local banks and fled with his closest political allies and bodyguards, relocating to the capital to ‘help organize reinforcements’. When the invading terrorists finally arrived, three weeks later, the city became a warzone.
The militia was only able to keep the invaders, called The Cult of the Eye, out of the city for a few days. Then, their line broke and the battle became a slogging urban hell of shifting battle lines and uncountable casualties among both sides and the people stuck between them. The neighborhood where the Loncut family had lived and worked for generations, through many changes in government, was caught in flux. One day they would be behind the lines of the Cult of the Eye, the next would dawn with their own militia holding the area. Initially, both sides seemed reluctant to harm those industrious families that had no will to fight. But, as the fighting wore on and the cost in supplies and blood continued to rise both the Militia and the Cult became increasingly intolerant of those who were surviving.
Femus’s older brother was forced to join the Militia to protect the rest of the family. Two days later he was killed as the Cult of the Eye took back that same stretch of land once again. This time, they were not forgiving. They had identified Femus’s brother among the dead and demanded compensation for this ‘impious and ungrateful conduct’. Femus’s parents were forced to apologize, claiming that their eldest son was corrupted by the Militia. The Cult officer, seeing the pretty features of Femus’s older sister, demanded that the family offer her to him as ‘penance’ for failing to properly raise their son.
They also stripped the shop of its goods but left the three remaining members of the family unharmed.
When the tides turned again, the Militia heard from neighbors about the Loncut family giving their daughter and goods to the Cult. The Militia soldiers were enraged. They gathered a squad and executed Femus’s parents in a display of retribution in front of their home.
Femus had been running an errand in the next street when they came. He returned as the soldiers were beginning to seek information about the missing boy. Slipping through an alley, he caught a glimpse of the corpses of his parents. Then he heard voices and slipped closer to hear. He overheard one soldier speaking to an older man who had never been on good terms with their family. The soldier said that the officer hadn’t said whether or not the boy would be executed when he was found but that it would probably be that or impressment into the militia. The old man then described the very errand that Femus had been sent on and urged the soldier to wait for him nearby. The soldier gave the neighbor a small package in return for the help and moved into a connected alley to wait in ambush while the old man slipped back toward his home with a smile. He didn’t make it that far.
Femus was a butcher’s son who had to run errands in a warzone. He carried several knives and was all too familiar with how to deconstruct a body. The old man never got to see what was in the package. He never had a chance to even scream. The soldier didn’t fare much better. Since Femus knew where he was and what direction he was looking. Training doesn’t do much to help once a blade severs a man’s spine. The soldier’s rifle was an unfamiliar tool but the safety was off and an AK doesn’t need a marksman in order to be lethal.
His brother and parents were dead, their business destroyed. His sister was gone, likely to never be seen again. He had only one piece of work left to do before he could let himself drown in the pain of his grief. He walked slowly to the mouth of the alley and saw the officer in charge. He was spotted, but not before he fired.
The officer fell.
The two soldiers closest to him fell.
Then Femus fell. As he lay dying from the militia’s bullets he caught sight of a man wearing the uniform of the Cult of the Eye hiding in an alley across the way with a radio in hand.
That was the last man that Femus killed on his last day on earth. He was 17. The last thing he saw was the face of a militia soldier. His face was filled with confusion. "What...? Did you think... you were the only dog meat... I wanted to butcher?" Femus whispered through the blood on his lips as he died.
New History:
Breeze. Light. Dark. Chill. Warmth. Color. Danger. Safety. Weakness. Strength. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since that terribly clear moment of contact with the Demon King. What he knew was that the area was familiar, the blue flower that he was resting on was familiar… and food. The vines that climbed the tree where he was resting were strong and felt more safe than the ground below.
The sudden return of thought and memory was a shock, as was the dawning realization that he was truly alive… in some way. His senses were a little different and it took a little while to fully sort things out. He had chosen a form… a wisp. A ball of magic and light… with a hairless tribble at the center. Yup. That was real. That was him. He could see… and hear… and feel… and he knew things… magic… simple but he knew it. He wasn’t particularly hungry or thirsty, but those were a part of his awareness. So, he watched and listened and thought for his first few conscious hours.
His next course of action was to survive. Food and safety, power and awareness, stealth and defense. Femus spent his first two days practicing his ambush hunting method and developing his skills. One of the first things he achieved was killing a small slime that had hidden itself in a hole in a tree. He saw it kill a pixie and took advantage of knowing its location to simply fire mana orbs into its hole, eating a blue flower that he had with him in the process. He spent much of his time hunting hunters. When one creature would kill another, he would take advantage to strike the weakened or exposed hunter. True, he didn’t kill many creatures this way but he also got a lot of practice dodging around trees and hiding behind leaves or in holes to elude pursuers for a couple days.
After he became a little more capable, and he wasn’t having too much trouble getting food and water, he proceeded to use his time between hunts for meditation. Part of his meditation was devoted to the concept of the system itself and figuring out a working theory of how it worked and how he could use it to his advantage. Interestingly, it was during one of these meditations that he gained a level for the first time. That was an eye opener. The menu interface showed him that there was a progressive point progression for specific skills that he had practiced. There was a lot of potential there but he calmed his rising excitement and placed his points carefully, several of them went to gaining his first level of meditation.
The next three days were busy, his meditation focused on trying to accelerate both his ability to regenerate mana and increase his capacity for it. He also began trying to replicate spells that other creatures used and even dabbled in trying to manipulate some kind of elemental attribute. A world like this one was almost certain to use elements as fundamental components and he had seen several times when creatures were attacked by goblins with burning sticks, usually slimes that wandered near the path at an unfortunate time. Femus also gained two more levels during this time.
He also tried to move soil up to one of the trees, trying to make a narrow flower garden in a hole in a tree to test whether or not the blue flowers needed sunlight or if they were not so mundane in their needs. Unfortunately, transporting the soil proved very difficult and slow and he stopped trying for the time being.
So it was that on the morning of his fifth day after regaining his consciousness, he hadn’t actually become that much stronger. But, he had survived and come to a greater theoretical understanding of himself, magic, the Demon King, the System, and the world around him. It was time to put his understanding and theory to the test and truly begin to build his strength.
Abilities: Level: 8
Transformations:
(Immature) Wisp > (Adult) Wisp
Inventory: Tiny Grass Pouch - 1 -Blue Yill Seeds - 5 Wilted Charged Artificial Kao Bud - 1 Great Kao Bark - 1
Current Skills: Alert I (1.1) Crafting I (1.1) Focus I (1.0) Growth II (2.0) Lesser Force I (1.7) Levitation (--) Mana Shape I (1.2) Mana Orb II (2.5) Meditate II (2.075) Monster Analysis II (2.0) [Past Life Skill] Magic Analysis II (2.275) Mana Control I (1.45) Mana Drain I (1.0) Mana Sense I (1.1) Plant Analysis I (1.1) Shock Round II (2.0) Shield I (1.05) Suppress Presence I (1.15) Static Bolt I (1.0)
<UNUSABLE> Agriculture (0.1) Charisma (0.3) Faster (0.3) Fireball (0.1) Harder (0.1) Iron Gullet (0.1) Keen Smell (0.2) Keen Sight (0.5) Keen Ear (0.2) Level Growth-- Muffle (0.4) Mana Dart (0.2) Mana Burst (0.1) Mental Resistance (0.3) Material Analysis (0.2) Minor Heal (0.1) Mana Vision (0.3) Mana Gift (0.1) People Sense (0.1) Poison Splash (0.1) Rabid Fit (0.2) Soil Manipulation(0.2) Stealth Kill (0.1) Spell Chant (0.7) Wisp Flash (0.2)
Appearance: a softly glimmering blue green orb with a faintly yellowish aura.
Goals: Gain enough power to build a life and keep it. If that means serving the Demon King, okay. If it means betraying him to the goody-two-shoes people later, okay. If it means searing half the planet with unquenchable flames and ripping open a portal to the underworld while offering the souls of the living and the dead as offerings to the elder gods… well… he’ll decide that when he gets there.
Past Life: Born into a reputable but poor family of butchers in a small dictatorship that managed to arrogantly huddle in a corner of the middle east, Femus was the second son and third child of the Loncut family. Life was play, chores, school, and knife work until he turned 15. That birthday was one he wouldn’t forget.
The general assigned with managing the city, fearing reports of an invasion by a terrorist army that was approaching the border near the city, mustered the local militia and ordered them to defend the city. Then he robbed the local banks and fled with his closest political allies and bodyguards, relocating to the capital to ‘help organize reinforcements’. When the invading terrorists finally arrived, three weeks later, the city became a warzone.
The militia was only able to keep the invaders, called The Cult of the Eye, out of the city for a few days. Then, their line broke and the battle became a slogging urban hell of shifting battle lines and uncountable casualties among both sides and the people stuck between them. The neighborhood where the Loncut family had lived and worked for generations, through many changes in government, was caught in flux. One day they would be behind the lines of the Cult of the Eye, the next would dawn with their own militia holding the area. Initially, both sides seemed reluctant to harm those industrious families that had no will to fight. But, as the fighting wore on and the cost in supplies and blood continued to rise both the Militia and the Cult became increasingly intolerant of those who were surviving.
Femus’s older brother was forced to join the Militia to protect the rest of the family. Two days later he was killed as the Cult of the Eye took back that same stretch of land once again. This time, they were not forgiving. They had identified Femus’s brother among the dead and demanded compensation for this ‘impious and ungrateful conduct’. Femus’s parents were forced to apologize, claiming that their eldest son was corrupted by the Militia. The Cult officer, seeing the pretty features of Femus’s older sister, demanded that the family offer her to him as ‘penance’ for failing to properly raise their son.
They also stripped the shop of its goods but left the three remaining members of the family unharmed.
When the tides turned again, the Militia heard from neighbors about the Loncut family giving their daughter and goods to the Cult. The Militia soldiers were enraged. They gathered a squad and executed Femus’s parents in a display of retribution in front of their home.
Femus had been running an errand in the next street when they came. He returned as the soldiers were beginning to seek information about the missing boy. Slipping through an alley, he caught a glimpse of the corpses of his parents. Then he heard voices and slipped closer to hear. He overheard one soldier speaking to an older man who had never been on good terms with their family. The soldier said that the officer hadn’t said whether or not the boy would be executed when he was found but that it would probably be that or impressment into the militia. The old man then described the very errand that Femus had been sent on and urged the soldier to wait for him nearby. The soldier gave the neighbor a small package in return for the help and moved into a connected alley to wait in ambush while the old man slipped back toward his home with a smile. He didn’t make it that far.
Femus was a butcher’s son who had to run errands in a warzone. He carried several knives and was all too familiar with how to deconstruct a body. The old man never got to see what was in the package. He never had a chance to even scream. The soldier didn’t fare much better. Since Femus knew where he was and what direction he was looking. Training doesn’t do much to help once a blade severs a man’s spine. The soldier’s rifle was an unfamiliar tool but the safety was off and an AK doesn’t need a marksman in order to be lethal.
His brother and parents were dead, their business destroyed. His sister was gone, likely to never be seen again. He had only one piece of work left to do before he could let himself drown in the pain of his grief. He walked slowly to the mouth of the alley and saw the officer in charge. He was spotted, but not before he fired.
The officer fell.
The two soldiers closest to him fell.
Then Femus fell. As he lay dying from the militia’s bullets he caught sight of a man wearing the uniform of the Cult of the Eye hiding in an alley across the way with a radio in hand.
That was the last man that Femus killed on his last day on earth. He was 17. The last thing he saw was the face of a militia soldier. His face was filled with confusion. "What...? Did you think... you were the only dog meat... I wanted to butcher?" Femus whispered through the blood on his lips as he died.
New History:
Breeze. Light. Dark. Chill. Warmth. Color. Danger. Safety. Weakness. Strength. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since that terribly clear moment of contact with the Demon King. What he knew was that the area was familiar, the blue flower that he was resting on was familiar… and food. The vines that climbed the tree where he was resting were strong and felt more safe than the ground below.
The sudden return of thought and memory was a shock, as was the dawning realization that he was truly alive… in some way. His senses were a little different and it took a little while to fully sort things out. He had chosen a form… a wisp. A ball of magic and light… with a hairless tribble at the center. Yup. That was real. That was him. He could see… and hear… and feel… and he knew things… magic… simple but he knew it. He wasn’t particularly hungry or thirsty, but those were a part of his awareness. So, he watched and listened and thought for his first few conscious hours.
His next course of action was to survive. Food and safety, power and awareness, stealth and defense. Femus spent his first two days practicing his ambush hunting method and developing his skills. One of the first things he achieved was killing a small slime that had hidden itself in a hole in a tree. He saw it kill a pixie and took advantage of knowing its location to simply fire mana orbs into its hole, eating a blue flower that he had with him in the process. He spent much of his time hunting hunters. When one creature would kill another, he would take advantage to strike the weakened or exposed hunter. True, he didn’t kill many creatures this way but he also got a lot of practice dodging around trees and hiding behind leaves or in holes to elude pursuers for a couple days.
After he became a little more capable, and he wasn’t having too much trouble getting food and water, he proceeded to use his time between hunts for meditation. Part of his meditation was devoted to the concept of the system itself and figuring out a working theory of how it worked and how he could use it to his advantage. Interestingly, it was during one of these meditations that he gained a level for the first time. That was an eye opener. The menu interface showed him that there was a progressive point progression for specific skills that he had practiced. There was a lot of potential there but he calmed his rising excitement and placed his points carefully, several of them went to gaining his first level of meditation.
The next three days were busy, his meditation focused on trying to accelerate both his ability to regenerate mana and increase his capacity for it. He also began trying to replicate spells that other creatures used and even dabbled in trying to manipulate some kind of elemental attribute. A world like this one was almost certain to use elements as fundamental components and he had seen several times when creatures were attacked by goblins with burning sticks, usually slimes that wandered near the path at an unfortunate time. Femus also gained two more levels during this time.
He also tried to move soil up to one of the trees, trying to make a narrow flower garden in a hole in a tree to test whether or not the blue flowers needed sunlight or if they were not so mundane in their needs. Unfortunately, transporting the soil proved very difficult and slow and he stopped trying for the time being.
So it was that on the morning of his fifth day after regaining his consciousness, he hadn’t actually become that much stronger. But, he had survived and come to a greater theoretical understanding of himself, magic, the Demon King, the System, and the world around him. It was time to put his understanding and theory to the test and truly begin to build his strength.
Abilities: Level: 4
Mana Orb 2.0 Species Skill/Ambush hunting Lesser Force 1.0 Species Skill Levitation 1.0 Species Skill Meditate 1.0 Waiting for the right opportunity Shield 0.1 Observing Pixies Suppress Presence 0.1 Ambush hunting/avoiding detection Alert 0.2 Ambush hunting/situational awareness
Faster 0.2 Ambush hunting/win fast or run faster Harder 0.1 Bumping into things… hard… while running away Soil Manipulation 0.1 Experimenting with elemental properties
Red Gypsy