After the skirmish with the sand wolves, Brand began to plan for the journey to the nearest human settlement, Emas Tribe Village.
While the terrain was bearable, the idea that he needed to travel alone in a harsh environment was terrifying. This means he would not have a companion to look after him.
How could he rest well? How long could he travel like this?
While he was thinking about these questions, Seraphine provided a suggestion for him.
"Do you want to take on the identity of a tribe member?" Seraphine suggested. "They might not receive outsiders well. You'll have an advantage if you present yourself as one of them."
"Was this really the case?" Brand asked. "This seemed suspicious, but you have a point."
Seraphine was just giggling at him and dismissed his concern as overthinking. She then danced around in the air as if preparing for some performance.
"This brings us to our next function of GHOST!" She exclaimed, practically dancing now, and making some cheery sounds.
"Espionage Mode!"
[Espionage Mode—To impersonate the identity and mimic the face and voice of the target.]
A voice rang in his head, giving an explanation of the function. From how GHOST Mode and Espionage Mode looked, he seemed to be tailored as a spy.
"I have a question. Am I infiltrating this world as a spy?" Brand asked Serphine. "Even my status shows the word 'agent.'"
Seraphine avoided Brand's eye contact.
"Really suspicious there, Sera." Brand joked with Seraphine, as he clearly knew she won't be answering him. He decided to check on his current status, to check the difference in his status after leveling up.
"Status."
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Status:
Name: Brand
Job: GHOST (Agent of Seraphim)
Level: 2
STR: 20
AGI: 20
INT: 20
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Additional Points: 6
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After killing the two wolves earlier, he had levelled up. His stats remained the same, but he ad earned additional stat points.
He decided to save up the points, and use them only aftr he got more information on how things work.
After done checking on his progress, he continued with the teasing. He pointed at the Job and asked Seraphine.
"See this, A-G-E-N-T." He squeezed Seraphine's cheek and spelt it out for her.
"Ohhh, stop it!" She slapped his hand and struggled to escape his grip. "Hmph!"
The little angel was trying to avoid answering this question, but Brand let it be. As it didn't obstruct his goal, at least they seemed to be on the same boat.
"Never mind that," he moved on. "Any suggestion? I haven't even met a single person here. How do I choose who to impersonate?"
He contemplated her suggestion and agreed that showing himself as a tribe member could benefit him. At least it could help him fit in with the village.
Seraphine presented him a few faces to choose from, as if showing him a catalogue of faces, with names attached.
While going through them, Seraphine stopped flipping the screen for a while, hinting that she's suggesting this identity.
He found a familiar name when he checked on it.
"Brand Essen." He spoke. "Same first name as me, huh."
[Brand Essen, a young man of the Emas Tribe, with a serpent tattoo on the back of his ear. Currently missing after undergoing the coming-of-age ceremony.]
"He seems to be a decent lad," Brand noted. "The villagers might be questioning his sudden return, though."
"He also has a lovely tattoo." Seraphine chimed in. The serpent tattoo extended from the back of ear to the shoulder, and looked like scales. Brand was satisfied with his look as well.
Now that he has picked an identity to take, the angel guides him in activating the skill.
He could feel his skin crawling, and there was a black substance dancing across his skin. His skin colour slowly turned a tone darker than his usual; he could even feel he had grown some muscle around his thigh and body.
"Whoa, you became so muscular." Seraphine teased.
"This transformation was more than changing face…" Brand grunted, as there was some pain associated with the change in his overall body.
After a gruelling period, he no longer looks the same. He now resembled the person listed in the system catalogue earlier. Brand Essen.
"I need a new pair of clothes." Brand looked at his newly transformed body and muttered. His enlarged muscle had burst through his clothes and pants. He felt embarrassed as Seraphine didn't bother to avoid looking at his half-naked body.
Suddenly, he jolted as if he realised something. There was still the carcass of the two wolves from earlier.
He went up to the wolves and started to skin them for their pelts. This was what he learned from his father when he went hunting with him. His father would teach him survival skills and prepare him for several scenarios of 'what if.'
What if he were stranded in a forest? What if he were stranded in a desert? And so on.
He took some time to process the wolf pelt by drying it and then putting it together. The end product? It was a nice-looking wolf pelt headdress and mantle.
"Brand, you look forceful and menacing now!" Seraphine exclaimed. "Like a tribe warrior!"
Brand scoffed and put together a chain of wolf fangs around his waist.
"I'm prepared." He declared, psyching himself up for the journey ahead.