NOVEL NEXT B1 | Chapter 4
Ashley
As we walk, I make sure to keep an eye on the three. Just in case they end up trying to betray me or push me off of one of the platforms.
They haven’t shown any inclination towards doing that yet, but who knows.
So far they just seem to pity me ever since I stated the word ‘Amnesia’. Which makes sense. It’s the entire reason I said it in the first place.
To get them to stop talking.
I can’t handle talking well.
My mind goes back to the strange flash of memory I had when they spoke to me. One of me standing around in some sort of hall filled with people whose faces I can’t see with a glass of juice in my hand. There was a crowd of people gathered around me trying to talk to me for some reason, and I just couldn’t help but withdraw inwards. Feeling more and more uncomfortable with their presence and endless words.
Then more of those visions from various other instances passed through my mind, with me speaking less and less each time.
Until I almost entirely stopped talking.
After which my mind returned to the present and I answered their question with my name.
I… really don’t want to remember.
Thankfully I couldn’t make out any faces or anything at all during those strange flashbacks. I couldn’t even make out the voices or what people were saying. Not even what I was saying.
It… makes me feel uncomfortable.
So instead of focusing on all of that, I continue walking with this trio while figuring out what I can from their physical shapes, their actions, speech, and how they interact with each other. And from what I can tell from their dialogue, the Julie girl was some sort of cheerleader for the Sean guy’s football team, as they seem very close, both have muscle built up, and they mentioned football games and the cheer team back at their school. They’re clearly in a romantic relationship as well. Meanwhile the James guy is a little bit of a third wheel amongst the three.
James is smart and seems to know what should be done in a dangerous situation, but he’s not exactly the bravest of the bunch. Julie moves with caution and controlled movements implying she most likely has some sort of training, and she’s slowly growing less afraid by the minute. And Sean seems overly excited about all of this and is trying to figure out secrets of the System. Mostly by saying or thinking random words.
Like when he figured out how to ‘identify’ people during our walk simply during his random spewing of different words. Specifically the word ‘identify’ while looking at someone and wanting to identify them.
It basically just makes a number representing their level appear above their heads along with their given name and the number of skills they have unlockable in their Skill Tree. No last name though.
And for some reason a red dot appears next to my name when they identify me.
Probably the whole Successor thing if I had to guess.
The three don’t have that dot when I identify them.
♢ Level 0 Julie – 15 Potential Skills – X ♢
♢ Level 0 James – 8 Potential Skills – X ♢
♢ Level 0 Sean – 12 Potential Skills – X ♢
Either way, they aren’t trying to talk to me much thanks to my amnesia thing, and this guy is giving me some good intel and ideas on the System.
I’ve also realized that there aren’t many monsters here. We haven’t run into any for the past four minutes of walking.
Which makes me wonder, considering the story these three told me about their own hound fights.
Did hounds spawn only near the users? It would make sense.
From what I can tell, this particular phase of the tutorial is likely to get everyone used to the idea of life and death battles. Of risking your life. And of dying. Since it said we’ll come back after dying, and there are barely any monsters in it.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if the next phase is even worse.
Although the whole ‘Chaos’s clone killing people in the first phase’ does complicate that conclusion a little.
That aside, I also make sure to try figuring out how to use my wings as we walk, but all I manage to do is twitch them. No flapping them like I managed in the fight before.
My thoughts eventually come to a halt as Julie stops the conversation the two boys were having by muttering, “Hound ahead.” Her eyes glowing again indicating her use of her skill. The one she’s been repeatedly using that gives her far sight.
I turn to look in the direction she’s looking before I spot a hound that’s currently charging in another direction several platforms ahead of us. Barely within my view.
And it doesn’t take me long to realize the hound is charging after another person.
“We need to help him!” Sean exclaims before he starts running in that direction.
His girlfriend nods her head and charges after him. Meanwhile James lets out a sigh and says to me, “C’mon, let’s go.”
I blankly nod my head and begin following after in a jog, my muscles having been fully restored by now.
Thankfully my little mention of amnesia has made things too awkward for them to ask me about my current physical condition. Or my sudden gaining of clothes.
Because I’m pretty sure they seem to recognize me from somewhere. Likely as the newbie who came in wearing a hospital gown.
What I am very curious about though is the fact that they don’t seem to notice my knife. At all.
I hid it away in my jacket pocket after spotting them myself, but they’d already seen me before that. So I’m sure they saw the knife.
But they aren’t acting like they did.
Which reminds me of how everyone seemed to see different things when it came to Chaos.
Could it be like that?
Would certainly make things easier for me if it is like that.
To my surprise, my quest to figure out what Sean’s ability is ends rather prematurely when he shoots some sort of bolt of fire at the hound out of his hand. And misses miserably.
Some sort of Fire Bolt skill then.
With no assistance with guiding the bolt it seems.
Now I just have to figure out James’s skill.
Assuming they haven’t unlocked a new skill since the start of this tutorial, of course. But just knowing their root skills should give me an idea of what their others might be at least.
Anyways, after the kid fires – and misses – a bunch of bolts of fire at the hound, he attracts its attention. Along with the attention of the man it’s chasing. Some blond-haired middle-aged guy wearing a lab coat.
The hound begins to charge towards us, crossing one bridge after another while dodging the kid’s fire bolts. And considering how James is standing here to the side doing nothing, I think it’s safe to assume he doesn’t have a ranged skill.
Eventually Sean stops firing fire bolts, briefly confusing his friends until he shouts, “I’m out of mana!”
Well that’s to be expected considering how many of those things he was firing off.
He should get some target practice in when we leave this Tutorial. Assuming he survives till then at least.
The hound continues charging across one bridge after another, meanwhile Julie moves up to the front and wields that bloody hairpin of hers like a weapon. James clenches his fist while standing back next to me at the edge of this platform, and Sean steps back, seemingly panicking a little.
I let out a small breath of air in my own version of a sigh before pulling the knife out and sprinting forwards as I activate Assimilate. Startling all three of the talkative trio in the process along with the dog.
{You have activated Assimilate. The skill will last for ten minutes, and you will gain the ability to permanently unlock the Skill Trees of anything you kill during this time.}
The hound almost slips while crossing the bridge connected to our platform, and I use that opportunity to slide onto the ground with my knife pointed upwards. Then my knife cuts straight into the hound’s throat and underbelly. Only getting cut and bruised a little in the process by its claws when the very large dog proceeds to step on me. While also being splashed with its blood.
But the hound continues moving forwards for a moment as I drive my feet into the metal bridge to stop myself, leaving the hound to collapse onto the bridge while a wave of messages appear in my vision.
{You have been granted 2 Skill Points for killing a monster within the tutorial. All EXP will be withheld until the end of the phase.}
{You have slain a being while Assimilate is active. You have now unlocked the Skill Tree: Dark Hound}
{You have unlocked a new Skill Tree, therefore the root skill of the Skill Tree, Blood Hound, is now unlocked for your usage.}
Good. It’s dead.
My thoughts pause for a second when I feel my sense of smell… changing… but I eventually just ignore it.
Just like I completely ignore the hound blood that was splashed all over me as I open my Skill Tree to see what I got. Feeling more than a little interested by the fact that this Skill Tree has the same name as the last yet a different root skill.
“Ashley!” I hear the others shouting my name, making me only briefly glance in their direction before I look down at myself. Surprisingly finding that my clothes are still dry.
Huh. Convenient.
Anyways. I ignore the kids running towards me along with the middle-aged man who seems to be recovering on the next platform over as I focus on the Skill Tree I just got.
And it did add another Skill Tree. It didn’t just extend the other or something.
But this Skill Tree only has a single skill in it. Just like my original Skill Tree.
Interesting.
I check out the skill as Julie rushes up to me and begins to pat me down as if searching for injuries, only to hug me rather tightly after finding nothing but a single small cut, missing the bruises entirely.
{Blood Hound – Your sense of smell will be heightened.}
That would explain my sense of smell.
“Ashley! Pleeeaase don’t worry me like that!” Julie exclaims while still hugging me, the girl for some reason oddly attached to a stranger. Then she pulls away a little, still with her hands on my shoulders as she adds, “And what the hell was that?! Where did you even get a pocket knife that sharp?!”
Pocket… knife?
I glance down at the rather large and rather sharp looking knife still in my hand before looking up at her again.
Pocket knife. Really?
They must be seeing something else. And you shouldn’t be hugging people like that when they’re holding a weapon.
“More importantly, where’d you get those clothes? They’re dry even with all that blood!” Sean exclaims afterwards, bringing my gaze upwards to find both him and James a meter or so behind Julie, on the bridge.
I don’t answer.
And at this point I think they’re getting used to my lack of speaking, so after a few moments of silence, James sighs and says, “We should check on the man.”
“Right,” Julie says while quickly climbing to her feet. “Almost forgot about him.”
Brutal.
She reaches down and grabs my hand before pulling me to my feet. Then we begin to walk over towards the platform where the man seems to finally be recovering. Enough to climb to his feet.
Great. More people.