The night they didn't talk about anything. The oasis has a breezy environment that is good for resting.
Oddly, no monsters were approaching the oasis. Brand has even confirmed it when scouting with his beetle earlier.
Brand extended his hand towards the night sky. He looked at his missing finger and sighed.
"I missed him," he whispered in a low voice.
"Your finger?" Seraphine hovered around Brand.
"No… my dad," Brand replied. This little angel's humor had grown weirder and weirder.
"Every time I look at the starry night, I will reminisce about my childhood," he continued. "We used to live in the countryside.
"The night sky was full of stars, far away from the city with light pollution."
"But then, it all changed when there was the global phenomenon."
"The night sky with stars has changed since then."
"Hmm, was it related to how you reached the ancient ruin?" Seraphine asked, curious.
"Some sort of, I was investigating," Brand replied.
"Ha! So it was not by accident?" Seraphine giggled.
"Partially?" Brand told her. "I don't expect there would be a secret chamber."
"Ahem. Anyway… the night sky… There were light pillars along with the stars."
Brand looked at his side and found Seraphine dozing off.
"Asleep already?" Brand poked her ethereal cheek, but his finger phased through her.
He smiled and looked back up to the night sky.
"I would return someday, I promised," he spoke to the sky, wishing his words could reach his family on earth.
***
The next day, they woke up early and prepared for the trip to the Emas Tribe.
"Brand, that one!"
"There!"
Seraphine was excited and kept urging Brand to pack some herbs along.
[Yellow Herb - Bleeding relief, apply to the wound.]
[Green Herb - Poison relief, apply on the wound.]
[Red Herb - Health recovery, when consumed.]
[Blue Herb - Mana recovery, when consumed.]
His cyborg eye was doing its thing, with holographic text overlaying his vision.
There were some herbs with useful effects, so Brand packed them up.
"I could still get poisoned even with a cyborg body?"
"Well, you're still human," Seraphine replied.
Nevertheless, Brand still kept the herb with him.
'Better to prepare more, right?'
Since he was preparing, he might as well check his status. It had been a long time since he last checked.
"Status."
==============
Status:
Name: Brand
Job: GHOST (Agent of Seraphim)
Level: 3
STR: 20
AGI: 20
INT: 20
==============
Additional Points: 12
==============
GHOST Core: Lv. 1
- 15/50 Karma to Lv 2
==============
Skills:
Debuff Cube - Decrease the target's all stats by 5% for 3 minutes. Might - Increase STR by 25% for 3 minutes. Haste - Increase AGI by 25% for 3 minutes. Clear Mind - Increase INT by 25% for 3 minutes. Reverse Strike - Return 100% damage received with a wide crescent arc of energy wave. Scarab Shell
- Tremorsense
- Increase DEF by 25% for 3 minutes.
Beetle Scout - Transform a finger into a beetle to scout.
==============
Achievement:
Survived Scarab Swarm
==============
"Why didn't you use your additional skill points?" Seraphine asked.
"I'm thinking of hoarding the stats points for now," Brand replied.
"There was a novel I read, the main character purposely saved up his stat points."
"When he went up against tough opponents, he would use up the stat points at once."
"This would be a great element of surprise which could turn the tide of a difficult battle."
Brand continued with his explanations, discussion of strategies, and the buried goat skull.
***
After making his own preparation, he went to check on Lena.
Lena was doing her routine exercise. The way she worked with her spear was beautiful.
Sweat dribbled down her forehead, neck to her chest. Her long, emerald hair cascaded around her shoulders.
Her eyes glowed with the same shade of emerald, filled with determination.
It was captivating.
"Do you have to keep staring?" Lena glanced at Brand while fixing her hair, tying it into a ponytail.
Brand coughed in awkward silence.
"I'm observing to learn… your exercise routine." He replied hesitantly.
Apparently, Lena didn't ask him about his 'amnesia'.
Was she convinced? So easily?
Lena just continued with her practice, immersed in her training.
"She looked completely different than when she mumbled to herself." Seraphine expressed her thoughts, which Brand also agreed with.
***
"We're reaching the village," Lena told Brand.
Along the way, they had encountered some monsters. There were wolves, beetles, and even vultures.
They swiftly took care of them. Of course, Lena killed more than Brand did. The level gap really did wonders. Well, Lena had a great potential as well, though.
"Sera, I wanted to check others' status as well," Brand complained. "What use is it, if I couldn't even know how much my stats compared to others?"
"Just you wait." Seraphine giggled.
He was extremely curious about Lena's status.
Brand took it easy and just stayed behind and let Lena fight more than him. He had killed those monsters before, so they wouldn't give him much experience.
He focused on looking at Lena's form when she fought. So that he could fine-tune the combat arts he had learnt. The phantom thrust.
He tried to implement the concept to slashes, as he found the length of the bone club he used earlier was the most comfortable for him.
"I'm angry, Brand." Lena stared at Brand.
"Help in fighting monsters also." She commanded. She seemed displeased with doing all the work.
Well, it was understandable. But Brand was carrying all the baggage.
"You see these?" Brand returned his glare towards Lena. He pointed toward his back. There were stacks of baggage, and they were getting bigger and bigger, as Lena salvaged the carcass and kept throwing it to Brand to hold on.
"Those were GOLDS." Lena scoffed. They would put them on sale when they reached the village later.
She seemed to be really into the merchant disguise. Brand grinned with the thought. At the same time, he occasionally checked the vision of the beetle stationed at the oasis.
To be precise, the beetle that was stationed beside the goat skull.