Ashfallen...
Giant Elves...
Hora pushed himself to his feet and slowly took a look around. The first thing he noticed before anything else was that he was much taller than he was before.
He looked down at his body. He was naked, except for a ragged brown pants that didn't even reach the ankles of his long legs.
His pale feet stood in the cold white grass. The grass stretched endlessly, with nothing else to be seen in the distance. A white fog seemed to cloud the air too, making it hard to see the tall woman in front of him.
"Who are you?" He asked the tall woman dressed in a brown, ragged robe.
"Apologies for catching you off guard. I am the Ashfinder. It is my duty to guide the Ashfallen back to the White Ravine." She spoke in a delicate voice.
Hora wasn't surprised by any of this. After all, he had already created an entire race and somehow brought it into existence.
However, that did not change the fact that it all felt unbelievable. It felt like he was inside some sort of video game.
Video game...
That thought led him to test something out.
"Status," Hora said aloud.
Nothing happened.
"Menu."
"Character Sheet."
"System."
Ping!
After finally finding the trigger word, a screen appeared in front of Hora's vision as it had before. The entire time, the Ashfinder watched as Hora accustomed himself to his new system.
"Ashfallen, I do not want to be a bother, but the Giant Elves..."
"Yes, I know. Just give me a moment."
[Hora Ashfallen]
[Rank: Dirt]
> 0%
[Race: Ashfallen]
[Affinities: Fire]
[Skills:]
> Overheat - Level 1
[Inventory: Empty]
[Transformations]
> Wings - Level 1
There it was: a status screen.
Although simpler than others Hora had seen, it was clear that once you powered further, the status would become more complex.
But Dirt rank, seriously?
When he focused on his rank, it told him about the limitations that dirt had. Most importantly, his current skill limit was 1, and even then, his current skill would drain him of almost all of his mana. The amount of mana he had within his body seemed to revolve around a variety of things, such as rank, items, skills and more.
Before Hora could focus on his system and further, a rumbling sound came from the distance ahead.
The Ashfinder turned back to him, shaking her head. "They're here."
Hora cursed to himself. The enemy had arrived, and yet he knew nothing about them and seemed to have no weapon to fight with.
During that moment, Hora decided to focus on the Ashfinder, to see if there was a way to check her status too.
To no surprise, he could.
[Female Ashfallen]
[Rank: Dirt]
It was very limited, and she seemed to be just as weak as he was.
"Do you have any weapons I can fight with?" Hora asked, hoping that the woman also didn't have an empty inventory.
To his luck, a weapon magically appeared in her hand. It was nothing but a steel short sword with rust on the blade.
[Rusty Steel Shortsword]
[Rank: Dirt]
[Skills: None]
Great...
"I have this weapon, if you would like to take it. But I seriously suggest running, you are too weak!" The Ashfinder said.
Hora took the sword in his hand. There was no running for him, as the enemies had already arrived.
There were three of them. At first, Hora thought he was looking at monsters.
They were all men with sharp facial features and pointed esrs. They looked similar, perhaps making them siblings.
Hora's new body was already tall, but these men were even taller, standing at roughly 250cm tall.
Their limbs were long, but weak and thin. They were dressed in nothing but animal furs and carried giant archers bows on their backs.
When Hora focused on each of the men who were now facing off with him, he was able to see their statuses.
[Child Giant Elf]
[Rank: Copper]
[Child Giant Elf]
[Rank: Copper]
[Child Giant Elf]
[Rank: Copper]
Child? Then just how large are the adults?!
"Three giant elves, each higher ranked than you." The Ashfinder stuttered as she positioned herself behind Hora in fear.
At the same time, one of the giant elves stepped forward with a smirk on his face.
"You have stepped foot into the hunting grounds of the Giant Elves, paleskins. Empty your entire inventory, and we will at least let one of you leave alive, hehehe." One of the giants squeaked.
The other two behind them drew their bows from their backs and loaded them with arrows. Each arrow was the size of a small man.
Immediately, Hora's chances of survival seemed to decrease. If he wanted any chance of winning, he would have to use everything in his arsenal.
He focused on his only skill, Overheat.
[Draw from the heat surrounding you and consume it, allowing you to overheat your body and grant yourself boosted physical stats.]
The skill was useful, however it was only at level 1, and the surrounding air was cold. Hora couldn't imagine it having much effect on him at the moment.
So he turned to his transformation. His wings.
"How do I use my wings?" He asked the Ashfinder, as he felt no way to activate them.
The pale woman looked at him with wide eyes. "Wings? The Ashfallen do not own wings."
"Hmm?"
Hora double checked his status, as the Elves started to circle him.
"You're wrong. I can see the word 'Wings' underneath my transformations."
Besides... I made sure to give us wings during our creation.
"Y-you must be lying." The Ashfinder stuttered.
"Does it look like I'm in a position to lie?"
Hora's words silenced the woman for a few moments. She seemed to be thrown into a state of disbelief.
"Then it is you... You are the chosen one. The True Ashlord!"