Xenos's eyes cracked open to the pale morning light, his body now far from the Python.
He felt heavy for a moment, but when he stretched, his bones cracking, he realized…
"Oh... I'm healed already."
There was no venom, he felt no pain, and saw no shredded skin.
Flexing his fingers, he rotated his shoulders and exhaled.
'Good as new.'
He heard a yawn as Eris's voice reached him:
'Morning, Seeker Xenos.'
Still lying flat on the ground, he bid Her back:
'Morning, Eris.'
With a flick of his hand, a familiar projection shimmered into existence.
—
╔══════════════╗
║Game System Online║
╚══════════════╝
{Level: 14}
[• EXP: 9 / 45 •]
{Health Points}
[• HP: 252/252 → 296/296 •]
{Divinity}
[• D: 266/266 → 30& / 304 •]
{Statistics}
[Strength] 12 → 15 (E) (World Avg: E)
[Intelligence] 19 (E+) (World Avg: F)
[Willpower] 19 (E+) (World Avg: F)
[Speed] 14 → 17 (E → E+) (World Avg: E)
[Endurance] 19 (E+) (World Avg: E)
[Appearance] 70 (B+) (World Avg: C)
[Personality] -1 (G) (World Avg: D)
[Luck] 60 (B) (World Avg: C)
—
Xenos stared at the increasing numbers, his lips quirking.
"Yeah, almost died but… worth it."
The Karkinoses he killed on the journey had pushed him to level thirteen, and those Pythons shoved him right into fourteen, extremely painfully but thankfully effectively, his Derived Stats reaching and nearing three hundred.
Yeah, three hundred.
Three hundred.
'...wait.'
Only now did he notice it.
—
{Divinity}
[• D: 266 → 30& / 304 •]
—
'Can my Beholding Eyes glitch out?'
Xenos didn't understand why this was happening.
'I don't know what you mean by... glitch, but I'm sure that's not the case.'
Eris seemed to pick up on it, or rather, She knew that it was coming.
'Seeker Xenos... you've injured your Soul.'
Ah, that reminded him of his Hail Mary last night.
Ten seconds of him directly supplying Her with Divinity.
Of course, what else could it be but that?
It was too reckless even by his standards.
'I can naturally heal back from this, right?'
Eris nodded, an action he felt.
'Yes. It isn't anything major, so as long as you don't trigger your Rune by getting into a fight, or at least attacking an opponent, whether Runebearer...'
That was a red flag.
'Monster...'
Another red flag.
'Or Daemon, you'll be fine.'
Avoiding even a single thought about that hat trick of red flags She'd just raised, he thanked Her and now focused on the elephant in the plane, which was impossible to ignore any longer.
—
[Intelligence] 19 (E+) (World Avg: F)
[Willpower] 19 (E+) (World Avg: F)
[Endurance] 19 (E+) (World Avg: E)
—
'Why are most of your... stats locked at nineteen?'
Xenos, finally rolling to his feet, began to dust off his ruined clothes.
'Simple... I need my second Rune. My Soul's too weak to hold more Divinity, I only got this strong because of my taking over this body after—'
He cut himself off.
'…hm. Anyways, no more wasting time. I've got to get back to the Academy. While I might be the strongest Seeker around, I'd be absolutely trashed by a Disciple with a similar level of fighting experience.'
Eris went for the practical instead of prying:
'Will you not get your rucksack?'
Xenos froze.
'…Oh.'
He'd completely forgotten.
'Well. What's to hate about a little detour?'
He shrugged and looked down at himself.
'Besides, I desperately need to change and take a bath.'
His black tunic was in ribbons, dried blood everywhere.
He looked more like a bandit than those bandits he scared off.
Thankfully, his home was close to the Academy, meaning that the little town with the Hieron station was close as well.
If he moved fast, he could grab it, do some shopping, and still make it back… maybe a little late.
...
Xenos bolted across grass fields, each stride crossing meters of land, birds scattering in his wake.
In his hand was monkey meat that came straight out of his inventory, still warm, and he gnawed on it like a barbarian while not slowing down a bit.
Yes, this was breakfast, but he wasn't complaining.
He had cool water and warm food; what more could he ask for?
Well, again, maybe a bath and a change of clothes, but he'd save that for when he reached the town.
Though thankfully, that didn't take too long, as when he passed a hill, the town walls crept into view, and since this time he actually bothered to look at his surroundings, at least more than just the Hieron and the Divine Stairs, he got a little surprised by how decent the common house appeared to be.
Sure, due to their sun-dried mud bricks and wood for walls, they'd need to be repaired and/or rebuilt every year, but they were pretty advanced, a thought that hadn't reached him before, as it was only a game, but no longer, especially when including their foundations of stone and roofs covered in what appeared to be terracotta tiles.
As a fellow engineer, he'd commend the one who designed this stratum.
'Too bad they're long since dead.'
Passing by the gate, he quickly strode into the Hieron station, ignoring the stares that bore into him, ones that stopped the moment he entered the busiest place in town.
After all, this was a place of Runebearers, and they knew what a fight looked like.
Xenos passed the reception area and walked straight to the same newbie clerk from before and slapped his hand on the counter.
"Name's Xenos of House Kharon, son of Veynar. Where's my rucksack?"
The poor girl blinked, hands in the air.
"Y-You're back?!"
Her eyes darted left and right—yeah, nobody cared.
Runebearers were busy coming and going. What was talked about one day by all was forgotten the next; another story would come; no one was watching or listening for long.
She bolted into the backroom, the small bell on the door jingling as she disappeared.
Xenos waited, listening to the sounds around him while thinking about how his House name opened doors.
Yes, House Kharon had good weight, because otherwise, his rucksack would've been thrown away, and saying it aloud now after being known as 'Stranger' for a few days felt like setting a stone in a river.
He liked the tiny ripple.
Perhaps soon that ripple would be made by his name alone.