(You know you surprised me)
"Hmm?"
Kojo sat roasting griffin meat on a fire he had conjured. He had tied his hair behind his head. For the past six months, he had hunted the beasts that inhabited the forest and had gained quite a number of new abilities.
(Apparently this place is called the Beast Glades and you managed to become the natural enemy of most beasts in the forest. )
"Well, if I want to avoid being kidnapped and being used for some crappy experiment..."
He said, taking a bite from its hamstring.
"What are my new abilities again?"
(Hound: wolf-like attributes.
Cloud: can float on a cloud.
Pore: enables you to release pheromones as a chemical weapon, serving a variety of uses from tranquilizer to poison to an aphrodisiac.
Merge: enables you to combine two or more skills to create a new one.
Poison King: resistance to all forms of toxins, venoms, and poisons.
Aracnae: enables you to shoot silver threads from your fingertips.
Fireblast.
Waterblades.
Airbullets.
Geowave.
SEE MORE∆)
"Nah, it's fine."
Kojo said, tossing away the bone and getting to his feet. He raised his hand at the remaining meat, and it was sucked into a portal.
"I've been in this forest for too long. Maybe I should start moving."
(You're finally listening to me and moving towards civilization.)
"Nah, this place is boring. Besides, after killing the sage monkey, I see the world in a new light."
(You mean that old blind monkey which thrashed you with a stick?)
Kojo cleared his throat.
After mimicking the sage's knowledge and experience, he learned that there were two kinds of beasts: Elementals, which had element-based abilities, and Aggressors, whose abilities were more physical. He also learned more about the world.
(From a seven-thousand-year-old monkey.)
Sysia sang in his ear.
"Shut up," Kojo said, annoyed.
(Apparently, this planet is called Gaea. It's a realm of magic, spirits, gods, and demon lords.)
"So, I got reincarnated into an RPG. Well, if things go well, I might run into a demihuman or even a succubus," he thought, imagining them in his head, his mouth watering.
"Just imagine all the new realms I could reach."
(Spoken like a true virgin.)
"What! How did you..."
(Because I'm in your head, you dummy. Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna tell anyone or anything.)
She giggled.
(Blackmail) She whispered.
"Huh?"
(Nothing.)
"Ok, then let's move out."
A cloud appeared under his feet, and he began to move through the trees.
"Reminds me of a skateboard."
(Your memories...)
"Yeah, bits and pieces are coming to me."
(So tell me, why do you store the bodies of the beasts you've killed so far in the void pocket?)
"So I can sell them for money once we reach the next town." He reached a path and stopped. He looked to its left and to its right. He sniffed the air and turned right, following the path until he got to a stream. Feeling tired, he decided to cool himself in it. As he was in it, he heard a scream. He heard it again and looked in that direction. He made as if to move in that direction but thought better of it and went to put on his clothes.
He continued walking down the path until nightfall, when he decided to camp.
"I think we should stop here."
(Whatever you say, boss.)
"Be serious."
(Yeah, yeah, it's safe. I don't sense any powerful aura around the surroundings.)
Kojo made a fire and heated some of the griffin from the morning. He raised his hand at the bundle of sticks he'd gathered to light the fire when he heard something coming. He quickly kicked away the sticks and shot webs out of his fingertips to the nearest tree, pulling himself onto its branches. A girl burst out of the bushes. She wore a tattered cloak over a torn white dress. She had long golden blonde hair and was seemingly a teenager, the same age as Kojo's new body. Even though she had bruises on her, Kojo found her beautiful face attractive.
(Focus.)
He snapped out of it and shifted his attention to the two men who were chasing her. One was a muscular bald man wielding an axe. The other was a slime mage carrying a staff. Kojo looked at the girl again and noticed a weird-looking collar around her neck. She tried to take it off, but the rune on it lit up, and she was electrocuted. The mage then fired a bolt of magic which struck her. His bald companion rushed forward and swung his axe, knocking her into a tree.
The men stood around her.
"We've finally caught up with you," the mage said.
"P-please let me go," the girl said weakly.
The buff man kicked her in the stomach. He kicked her again and again. The girl tried severally to ward off his kicks, but in vain.
"That's enough," the mage said.
"But I'm just getting started..."
The mage glared at him, red energy crackling from his staff.
"We need her alive. But how much alive..."
He pointed his staff at her and electrocuted her with red lightning.
The girl screamed.
Kojo had had enough. He moved forward.
(Wait, you don't know her. Are you really going to throw your life away because of some random chick?)
Kojo landed a few meters away, startling the two men. Sysia groaned.
(Boys, honestly, I just can't understand them.)
"Good evening," Kojo said, straightening up.
"Who the hell are you?" the bald one asked.
"Just the guy who's gonna whoop your asses for picking on this gorgeous lady," he said, winking at the girl, who just looked at him in surprise.
"What the hell is he saying?"
"I never thought we'd meet a madman all the way out here," the mage said, pointing his staff at Kojo. He fired a blast at him, but Kojo just blocked it with his palm.
"What! You should be incinerated. There's no way you'd be able to survive rank 3 lightning magic," the mage said, taking a step back in shock. The bald man threw a knife at Kojo, but he caught it between his fingers before it could take out his eye.
"Who the hell are you?"
A crystal spike suddenly shot from Kojo's palm and hit the bald one, piercing his shoulder and pinning him to a tree. The crystallization ability of the emerald mole is quite interesting. Not only can it totally harden its body, but it can also manifest crystal spikes to defend itself. A neat ability, if you ask me."
"Die!" The mage fired at him, but he dodged the attacks. He knocked him back and ducked to avoid an axe swing from the bald one.
"Run," Kojo shouted at the girl as he fought. He caught the axe and moved, turning so that the bald one would be a shield against the mage's magic. The girl got up and made for the forest. He did a backflip so that a blast of lightning moved past him and hit the bald man, burning him. Kojo took the axe from the body before kicking it at the mage, who dismantled it with a blast of lightning. Kojo dashed forward and caught the staff and sent the mage into a tree with a palm strike. He then raised it above his head and broke it against his knee. He turned and saw the girl watching from behind a tree.
"I told you to run-"
A strong force pressed down on him, forcing him into the ground. The force intensified, and the ground under him began to crack.
"I don't know who sent you, but I can see that you're a very skilled fighter. You, however, made the mistake of underestimating your opponents."
The force intensified. The mage dragged the girl from behind the tree and, wiping the blood from his mouth, came to stand in front of Kojo. He tried to raise his head. "Did you really think destroying my staff would weaken me when you knew full well that I was a dual elementalist?" Kojo was losing consciousness.
"No matter how good you are, you can't fight against gravity," the force increased even more, suffocating Kojo.
"Now, die," the mage said, raising his hand and about to clench his fist. Kojo noticed the fear in the girl's eyes.
(Hang with me.)
Sysia was pleading in his head, but her voice was slowly fading. His eyes were slowly closing.
"Don't die," he saw the girl pleading with tears in her eyes.
"Please don't die!"
The mage pulled her by the hair.
"You shut up," he said.
((Hound))
With the last of his effort, Kojo managed to leap toward the mage.
He made a slash at the throat of the girl with his clawed left hand before collapsing.
The mage walked over to him.
"You have some will, you bastard," he said, taking a knife out of his robe.
"But your road ends here," he said, raising it about to strike.
The collar fell to the ground with a clink. "Hmm?" The mage turned. The girl stood with her head bowed. Her hair covered her face but exposed her mouth. All her bruises and wounds began to heal. She smiled, exposing her sharp fangs.
"Crap," the mage said in fear and tried to run, but he was lifted up into the trees.
Kojo could hear his screams and some ripping sounds from a distance.
"Well, this sucks," he said, trying to get to his feet, but his body was unresponsive.
(If only you had listened to me, all this wouldn't have happened.)
"Well, I'm fine now."
(No, you're not. You have fractured and broken bones plus internal bleeding.)
"I'll live, so please let me sleep."
(Initiating System Shutdown.)
Kojo's vision began to blur. He suddenly felt hands turn him, and his head rested in something. He saw the girl looking down at him. Though he couldn't hear what she was saying, he was pretty sure her lips moved to say, "Thank you."
He noticed the fangs.
"Vampire?"
He wondered as she brought her face close to his, and he blacked out.