He finally stopped swinging the blade. It was very hard for him to move his hands at all at this point. He was only further weakening his recovery rate.
He just fell back and laid on the ground, panting heavily. It felt so peaceful with the sun all in his face. The clouds shifted around slowly. People were just beginning to move be active again and moving out and about.
Something's wrong...
His breathing was way too hard. His vision began to darken around the edges.
I can't move... did I overwork myself?
His breathing was starting to stop altogether. He had to squeeze out each breath. He closed his eyes and tried to focus his breathing.
I must calm myself down
"HOI! ARE YOU ALRIGHT THERE LITTLE CHAP!? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE PRACTICING FOR YOUR FUNERAL."
Fear. Instant Fear filled through him, and his breathing became ragged again. This voice was dangerous. Whoever it was, was an enemy. A predator much stronger than he was. The innate sense of terror spread through him like a storm.
He still remembered the name of such a ferocious creature. Ashkan.
Seeing the man shiver, the tiger finally realized it was being too loud. And prompty apologized. "Oh my my my my...at this rate you may actually die."
He crouched down before him and placed his paw under Rhys' head. "You're still so afraid huh...jeez, I can't take frailty of humans."
He stroked his chin. I do suppose I can at least heal your wounds. He reached upwards into the sky and a fabric tore within the space around his hands. -Sacred Box-
He pulled out a shimering red potion from his inventory. "Here you are...I mustn't give you too much though. For someone of your level it may be catastrophic."
He dropped just a tiny milliliter of the potion into his mouth. The speed at which it worked as almost instantaneously. He felt so much better all over.
However, he still could not move. It was due to the fear so strong it could paralyse its victims. "Oi oi, don't strain yourself too much. The fear effect won't last for eternity. I don't have a calming spell, so even after I am gone, you will tremble for 30 more minutes."
Insane!
"For someone of your level, it can only be expected. Everyone below my level would feel this fear to an extent. That is the beastial trait 'Predator' So please, do not hate me for it."
"I'm not sure what you were doing out here, but it doesn't seem to be a danger. Once I leave your presence, you may begin to move again." He got up, and left the area, heading towards the Guild Main entrance.
How long... How long... Until he's gone.
Every thought he could muster was all about the beast before him. So long as he was in sight, his fear was tremendous. As he watched the monster turn his back to him and slowly drift out of sight, he activated his mana to see what kind of menacing energy the man had.
Ashkan: Lvl 68
Even though he was only level 68, he had over 10x the health that of Mae, and his mana was fairly close as well. And Mae claimed she could beat him. Bullshit.
Finally, he left. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.
Even then, the paralyzing fear wouldn't leave him. Irrational thoughts filled his mind impulsively.
Will he be back?
When will he be back?
Is he gonna finish me? I can't possibly escape from something like that.
First, his senses came back. He was no longer panicking in his mind. Then his paralysis lifted after a couple minutes. He could finally move again.
The fear still lingered very heavily and every second he felt paranoid that the beast might appear from any direction. He picked up his sword through his shivering hands and rested his book back in his pocket.
Even if he wanted to train, he felt too exhausted just from the fear alone. He need to rest.
I suppose I can check around the city and see what is over here
He walked through the now busy town with markets and stores opening up. There were still plenty of people out and about and the fruit vendors already had the energy to keep shouting their products, hoping to catch the ears of interested buyers.
This city was entirely different. Men, women and children of entirely different backgrounds all melted within the scenery. There were people who were covered in scales, some with beastial traits like that of Ashkan.
Wolf ears, cat tails, dogs, foxes, and even fishlike people with gills all along their necks. It prompted him to wonder how they were breathing on land, but he thought it rude to ask.
At one point he even thought he saw Ashkan and his heart almost stopped. But luckily, it was just another tiger beastman. The fear effect was still on him for the time being. At least, until a couple more minutes.
Some of them were clearly guards and even some mercenaries groups. As he walked through the streets, they all glared at him. Everyone who's eyes met, gave him a look as if he had just threatened their lives.
It was odd. He wasn't sure why it was. But perhaps its better to leave. The mercenaries looked as if they were itching for a fight.
But...isn't fighting illegal within No Man's Land?
Nevermind. I think I'll just stay out of the streets for now.
Conveniently, he could see the a coffee shop nearby and slipped into it instead.
"Welcome! How is the morning going on for-"
He stopped upon taking a look at him and immediately donned a look of caution on his face.
"-W...what do you think you're doing?"
"Huh? what is it with you people. I've been getting disgusting looks the entire morning."
"Tch. You should leave my shop. I don't want trouble."
"Trouble? What are you talking about old man!? I'm just trying to relax and read my book."
"Eh??? Are you not aware you're using Insight?"
"Insight..?"
The stumped manager pointed to his eyes. "Your...eye."
He gasped upon realizing, he had not yet turned off the sight. In fact, he had completely ignored all the numbers he saw.
"It is conidered an act of agression to utilize Insight, towards another. You should not be gathering information like that unless you plan on fighting."
He quickly deactivated it. "O-oh...sorry. I'm not from this-.. from around here." He bowed deeply in apology. The clerk simply waved his hand and dismissed it. "You're fine, you're fine. Just don't go causin any trouble."
He nodded and sat down at a table facing the window. He flipped open the book and began to read through the pages.
They were full of plenty of information and details about how the world worked. For instance:
1. God aura, the stuff that make up Mana and Health Points- One misconception I pried from your minds is the understanding of Health and Mana. These two key components of God Aura are not the same as your life force.
If one were to get stabbed in the neck, logically, they will die. If one were to get their arm sliced off by a sword, logically, their arm will fall off.
However, those with Health still in reserve simply get the damage taken off their reservoir. It isn't until they reach zero do they start taking damage to their beings.
If one is to reach zero health, they may still be very well alive and unharmed. however, let's say a scenario occurs in which they have 5 mana left and get hit by something on the scale of 10.
Their health would deplete, and the remainder of the damage would effect their unguarded body.
Mana is similar in a sense. While Losing Health will make you physically exhausted, losing mana...will make you mentally exhausted. Your body will shut down and you will pass out should you reach zero mana.
Be careful not to lose track of those two factors. In real world battles, they mean everything.
There was also one more note written terribly in the bottom.
"Also, do not forget to activate your aura or Insight before a battle. Getting hit prior to activation of Insight may very well be fatal."
Rhys continued reading the book ravenously. He wanted to understand everything there is to understand about this world. Information after information crammed his mind until one by one they began to piece together the whole picture in his head.
He was beginning to guess certain factors about the world only to find them verified in the book later on.
If I ever see Mae...I swear, I'll have to give her a hug.
Consumed in the world of books, he completely forgot about his fatigue, or his fear. Instead, the engines of resolve burned vigorously within him.
He continued practicing that very night, swinging and swinging his sword over and over again.
