Chapter 7
The air was so cold it felt like it could freeze.
“What brings you here?”
The man with narrowed eyes seemed relaxed as he approached me.
‘Is it possible that a dangerous-looking guy would appear right from the start?’
With ten years of gaming experience, I could tell he was a dangerous one just by looking at him. A character with narrowed eyes usually symbolizes strength; in any game, it’s a sure sign of someone being ridiculously strong.
I’d never seen a character like this in the original game, [Eternal Fantasy]. Is he a villain exclusive to the Stella route?
“Hmm… Are you just going to keep quiet? It’s rude to ignore the person speaking to you.”
[Status Window]
Name: Ned (Lv.■■■)
Strength: S
Speed: Undetermined
Endurance: A+
Magic Power: Undetermined
Earlier, that merchant had mostly C to D stats, yet this guy suddenly stands out with S to A? And what’s up with the magic power? Is he a mage?
“Where did you sell off the balance?”
Now that I think about it, is this extreme difficulty mode? No wonder it feels like I’m being hit with godly powers right from the start.
If he’s this strong from the beginning, how on earth will I handle the tougher challenges later on?
“Hmm… If you don’t speak, I’ll just have to kill you?”
He tapped his chin as if bored, casually pointing his finger at me.
BEEP—
In that moment, it felt like an alarm bell rang in my head.
My body was scream-ing danger, so I threw myself to the side with everything I had.
“Ugh!!
BANG!
I barely dodged the magical bullet flying towards me, which completely shattered the vase standing nearby.
‘What’s this power? It’s like that Stella-level… No, it’s even more than that!’
The magical bullet not only demolished the vase but also left a 10-meter scorched mark on the ground behind it.
“Isn’t it a bit much to shoot a magical bullet at a kid?”
“Oh, sorry! You looked so still, I just wanted to check if you were alive.”
So this guy thought to check if I was alive by trying to kill me? Is he completely out of his mind?
He looked amused, grinning as he watched Nova dodge his bullet.
“So, you came here to play around, but you actually want to find Stella, right, Nova-kun?”
“…! How do you know my name?”
“Of course~ You and your friend are pretty famous around here for taking down the wild boar that was a nuisance to the village, you know? I thought one of you was just a sidekick, but it seems there’s more to it.”
“Where is Stella?!”
Ignoring his words, I shouted in frustration.
“Seems like you really care for your friend.”
He chuckled slyly, waggling his pinky finger at me.
“Where is she, you jerk?!”
I gripped my dagger with both hands and charged at him.
‘Even if I can’t copy his stats, I can still use Insight Eye!’
If I can predict his attack trajectory, there will be an opening.
With that thought, I lunged forward with my dagger.
“Honestly, rushing at me in a straight line is a bit disappointing.”
With a sigh, he stretched out his finger again and shot another magical bullet.
Here it comes!
Swoosh!
The black magical bullet zipped at me with bullet-like speed.
Thanks to the enhanced visual acuity from Insight Eye, I could definitely predict its trajectory.
But I only predicted it.
SWISH!
“Gah…!”
I anticipated and turned my body, but the bullet came significantly faster than I thought and grazed my side.
‘It’s not a fatal wound!’
Ignoring the surge of pain, I pressed onward and attempted a horizontal slash as quickly as possible.
“Hey… this is a bit surprising, isn’t it?”
Yet he just laughed as if it was all a game, effortlessly dodging my strike.
“Are you really a kid? Adults aren’t usually this brave… Or maybe being young means you aren’t scared at all?”
“… Shut it!”
What I thought was a decisive blow was brushed off so casually, and the burning pain surged from my grazed side.
‘No way, I can’t win this.’
At that moment, I turned and sprinted away with all my might.
“Hmm…? Trying to run away?”
‘First, I need to hide in a room to limit his range of attack.’
This corridor is way too open for a fight; if I stay here, I will become a target and game over in no time.
With that in mind, I disappeared from his sight and ducked into the first room I saw, hiding.
*
“Hide and seek, huh…? Just buying time?”
‘It’s about time they show up.’
The sudden ambush had decimated our organization.
Of course, this was only a fraction of the people in this village, but it felt like all the effort I had put into making my team was wasted.
Ned sighed.
“I can’t sense Lauf anymore; is he dead?
…Well, there’s no way he’d beat that old man. What a bothersome old man.”
It didn’t make sense to flee like this.
“I guess I need to give up on finding that friend, Stella.”
With those words, Ned grinned sinisterly and opened his snake-like eyes wide.
“I’ve found something much more interesting, so it doesn’t matter.”
*
“Ha… what was that mad man?”
Having shaken off Ned, I found a room to hide in.
Looking around, I realized this place was quite spacious.
“Is this a storage warehouse?”
Filled with boxes, the warehouse seemed appropriate for hiding.
Assessing that I had no chance of winning, I started to browse through my status window.
Name: Nova
Unique Trait: Copy (Lv.1)
Strength: F
Speed: E
Endurance: E
Intelligence: A
[Passive Skills]
Ability Copy (Rank: S)
Copies the opponent’s stats.
(* Copied stats are reduced by 1 rank.)
Insight Eye (Rank: A)
Analyzes the opponent’s movements.
[Mana Status Window]
Elemental Trait: ■■
Mana Amount: 400/400
Firepower: ■■
Proficiency: ■■
“Are there no other traits? I’d at least expect something about mana!”
No matter how much I searched through the air, nothing notable came up.
“What is this, a tutorial? What a joke. At least give me a ‘Quest’ or something!”
Just then, a new window appeared.
[Quest]
1. Defeat the information broker ‘Gwen’ (Completed)
Reward [Claim]
2. Deal effective damage to ‘Ned’ (In Progress)
If successful (Reward: Copy 1 stat from character ‘Ned’)
If failed (Death)
“What is this? Was I supposed to call this a ‘Quest’?”
Thinking it really was unfriendly, I pressed to claim the reward.
Stat Points
[+30]
Unique Trait Points
[+10]
“Stat points make this feel suddenly like a game! Let’s begin with strength.”
Strength (F => F+) [Stat Points -10]
“Is it one level up for every 10 points…? How lame.”
I tried to invest in strength again, but another notification appeared.
[Not enough points (Missing Points: 10)]
“The next ability costs 30 points? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Reluctantly, I distributed the remaining stats evenly.
Speed (E => E+) [Stat Points -10]
Endurance (E => E+) [Stat Points -10]
“What about unique trait points?”
[Unique Trait Points]
Copy (Lv.1) [Next Level Up Points 10]
Passive Skills
1. Ability Copy
2. Insight Eye
“… Perfectly fitting.”
Copy (Lv.1 => Lv.2)
[You have acquired the passive skill ‘Mana Copy’]
Copyable Target
1. Wind Cutter (Original: Stella)
2. Silver Bullet (Original: Stella) [Cannot be used]
3. Black Bullet (Original: Ned) [Cannot be used]
“…! Finally, mana? Now we’re talking!”
I could only use one of them right away, but I felt grateful for it.
“Still, this alone won’t be enough to confront that monster.”
At that moment, I heard footsteps approaching nearby.
‘Here he comes.’
I retreated deeper into the storage room and hid behind some boxes.
“Hmm? Is the hide and seek over?”
The door swung open to reveal none other than that narrowed-eyed man.
“Hey kid, I have a proposal for you: Why don’t you join our organization?”
“Huh…?”
What madness is this? I couldn’t help but let out a deflated sound.
“Why on earth would I do that?”
I leaned against the box and questioned him.
“Well, I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
Is that a proposal or just a threat?
“And what about that girl, Stella? We could have her join the organization too. We’ll treat her well and make sure she has enough money.”
“… Why are you so obsessed with us? What do you want?”
After a moment of silence, Ned responded with a weightier tone than before.
“… I need strong people. There’s something I absolutely must capture.”
… He seems to have some backstory, but any organization that doesn’t hesitate to engage in drug trafficking or kidnapping clearly isn’t a proper group.
I thought so as I used Insight Eye to carefully watch the man with narrowed eyes approaching me.
At that moment, I spotted a large sack on a high shelf above Ned’s head.
‘Is that… flour?’
I remembered seeing that green bag when I was out shopping, so I recognized it immediately.
“Got a rough plan now.”
I gathered my mana and began generating magical power.
Using ‘Mana Copy’ opened up my mana automatically.
[Mana Status Window]
Elemental Trait: Wind (Copy Target: Stella)
Mana Amount: 350/400 [-50]
Firepower: (D -> B)
Proficiency: (E)
Whoosh!
The gathered mana transformed into wind and quickly formed into a blade shape.
“Go!”
SWISH!
The wind blade shot directly at the flour bag.
It pierced through the bag, and flour exploded everywhere, blanketing the area in white.
‘This is my chance!’
I leaped forward, dagger gripped in both hands, diving into the flour mist.
THUD!
Just then, I heard something being stabbed, and the fog began to disperse.
