-POV Lucien:
The first impact slammed into Dad's shield hard enough that my teeth buzzed. Varric's arrow hit, Lorin's spear wobbled, someone almost skewered his neighbor. I watched the gaps open like bad math.
I waited for the opening to slip around the formation. Flank them, clean cut, tidy save.
The fight moved too fast for plans. Then I saw a gap, the sad little kind that gets people killed.
When Tomer fell, I moved. I threw myself into the fight.
Excitement surged through me, my heart hammering the way it does the first time you try something stupid and survive it.
I realized it immediately: these wolves weren't a real threat to me. Even so, I didn't hold back.
[Empowered Ki] - [Ki Body Enchantment: Legs]
"Ability Boost."
Martial arts plus Ki plus everything I'd trained for compound quickly. If I stacked [True Slash] on top, it got ridiculous.
I flooded my calves and thighs with Ki, the ground coming up to meet me as my weight turned light. Not elegant, just force routed into muscle. On top of that, I let the sword do its job: cut.
[True Slash]
First time I'd used it on a living target. I put everything into that cut and felt it catch and shear: fur, tendon, bone. The front leg separated like it had been waiting to leave. The wolf flinched; I didn't. Flame Fang slid in under the ribcage. Even if I couldn't name the organ, a blade through the chest usually ends the argument, unless the target's undead.
Hot blood hit my hands and ran down my forearms.
[Ding]
[System Notice: Hermit Limitation Active. Class skills temporarily locked. Duration: 72 hours.]
Ah. There it was: hurt a creature, lock the pacifist perks. Fine. I could live without [Control] for a couple of days.
It was strange, I killed something and felt no sadness. If anything, there was warmth in my chest, a pleasant heat. I'm not a psychologist, but if you kill and feel that… it's not a great sign. Not at all.
The second chime landed before the body did.
[Ding]
[System Log: +37 Experience Points acquired.]
…Yeah, I liked that one. So that was the feeling: "Experience." I didn't want to audit what it was measuring. Fine. I accepted it.
Something tilted. Thought stepped aside and left instinct at the wheel. I moved clear of the line; at that point we were tripping over each other, and the villagers, Adam bless them, were busy not dying.
Wait. When the enemy blinks, you strike.
I stepped in and finished it, the blade plunging through the skull in a clean, merciless thrust.
[System Log: +34 Experience Points acquired.]
As another wolf recoiled, Dad took the opening, his war pick whipping in a brutal arc into its hip. Bone cracked. The beast crumpled.
I walked forward, blade low. One swing into the skull, enough to daze it, then a shift in grip, smooth transition to the thrust. The point drove through the mouth, past the tongue, up through the palate, into the brainstem. It went still.
[System Log: +35 Experience Points acquired.]
The feeling of gaining 'EXP' is horribly pleasant, like one of those things that warms your heart. With every wolf I killed, I felt… better. And honestly, that scares me a little.
When it was over, I shut everything off. Ki out. Martial arts off. No more help.
Silence dropped like a blanket. The clearing stank of blood and sweat and fear. A few men were bleeding: cuts, not breaks; good. Someone knelt by Tomer and didn't get up for a while.
I didn't look directly at him. Not yet. Not because I'm heartless; because if I looked, I'd feel it. In anime the frame would spare me: fade, music and meaning. Here it was just a man who didn't get up, and I didn't know where to file that. I wasn't ready for that in front of everyone.
Dad walked toward me. Pride sat on his face next to something that wasn't pride.
"Lucy… I knew you were strong, but watching you just now… it scared me."
I wiped the blade on my sleeve, which did nothing except smear it around. "Sorry, Dad... but when I saw Tomer on the ground, bleeding out, I just couldn't stand there. If I'd waited, maybe you'd be the one lying there instead. All I could think about was the hours I've spent training, and in that moment I just poured everything I had into the strike."
He nodded, but his eyes stayed on me. I met them and managed a small smile.
It was the kind of quiet you get when a teacher turns during a field trip and sees a nine-year-old calmly unholster a pistol and shoot a mountain lion in the face. Not a perfect metaphor, but close enough. You're grateful, and you don't know what you're looking at anymore.
What am I supposed to do with that?
[Ding]
[LEVEL UP!]
Thank you, System, for your impeccable timing.
I answered Dad enough to count as human, then let the trembling in my hands masquerade as simple fatigue. "I'll… sit," I said, and walked toward the cart under a bouquet of stunned stares. I can feel a lot of eyes on me; I hate being stared at like this, but oh well.
Three wolves by me. Two by everyone else. We were alive. Tomer wasn't.
The excitement that had been humming in my chest fizzled and left ash.
I slid the sword back into the scabbard and sat on the cart's edge.
I overdid it. Great. Not ideal. Damage done.
Fine, let's see the interesting part.
[Level Up]
I focus and tap the icon, and a panel blooms. For a heartbeat, I almost cry… then I do.
My eyes lock on the window in front of me.
___________________________________________
Name: Lucien
Race: Human
Level: 3 (106/100)
___________________________________________
[Stats]
HP: 40.4 / 40.4
MP: 13.3 / 15.3
Physical Attack: 31
Physical Defense: 35
Magical Attack: 0
Magical Defense: 15
Agility: 31
Ki: 2.04 / 4.04
___________________________________________
[Classes]
-Lv1 Hermit (+)
-Lv1 Ki Lord (+)
-Lv1 Sword Saint (+)
___________________________________________
[Passive Ability Bonuses]
-Endurance: +1% resistance to all damage.
-Volume: +2% max MP.
-Health of the Body: +1% max HP.
-Blade Mastery: +1.5% cutting power.
-Iron Grip: harder to be disarmed.
-Durable Blade: weapon in hand is harder to damage.
-Sword Intent: chance to ignore 1/8 of enemy defense
___________________________________________
[Active Skills]
[Control] • [Iron Skin] • [Ki Creation] • [Ki Burst] • [Ki Boost] • [Ki Body Enchantment] • [Ki Steps] • [Ki Barrier] • [Empowered Ki] • [True Slash]
___________________________________________
Okay, I see there are neither the spells nor the martial arts I've learned. The former… well, I don't even have a class, literally, my Magic Attack is 0… sad. As for the martial arts, in theory they aren't part of the system.
Okay, System, status sheet in hand. I trust numbers more than compliments: clean, measured truth. Funny how a +1% feels like a heartbeat. Now it's time to level up, how do I do that… but first, what do I choose?