บท 35: OBSERVING AND WAITING
They finally finished looting in the evening.
'Good haul?' Sofia asked as she looked at the satisfied smile plastered on his face. She was sitting on the sandy shore, looking satisfied and content
'Big haul!' He exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear.
'You found the book?' She asked.
'I did. And a lot of other stuff too. He said all this in excitement. Ashe could tell.It was not hard. His tone went a note higher.
Which sounds funny, considering the grave and cold voice he always seems to use when he is making threats.
He seems to become more comfortable around me she mused and somehow that makes her happy.
After the Fall, they had to rely on each other and they began to become accustomed to each other existence, becoming accustomed to each other.
'How about you?' He asked and that brought her back.
'Me too. A lot of gold and copper and some skill books and vials.' He contemplated for a while and then smiling he said.
'You could keep all that you got'
'You don't mind?' she asked. She thought they were going to split 1/3 but suddenly he is changing his thought?
'It's fine' he said.
'This must be because you got a lot of things.' She said as realization struck her
'Yes' he said, grinning happily. And he shows the Unique Skill book to Sofia. Leather-bound in gold.
'That is cool.' she exclaimed
'It is cool!' He said.
'Ok, learn it then' she said.
'Ok' With a hint of excitement he then touch the book and the book glowed brighter in golden colour and then the notification windows appears and he said yes.
SCALE BODY TECHNIQUE
UNIQUE TECHNIQUE. ACTIVATING IT, USER WILL HAVE A SCALE BODY THAT IS ALMOST IMPERVIOUS TO ANY WEAPON OR ATTACK UNDER THE USER LEVEL. LAST FOR HALF AN HOUR. INCREASES ENDURANCE, DEFENSE AND HEALING RATE. ALSO STRENGTHEN USER INTERNAL ORGANS WHEN ACTIVATING THIS SKILL. GROWS POWERFUL WITH THE USER.
He learns it and the golden glow disappear and then the book turns dull. He then checks the information log and it shows that he has now a proud user that has unique skill.
But he also realized that the book is not gone.
He then checks the book and then an information streamed inside his mind and he understand.
Until one month is up, having the book is like having a target painted in his back. The book could not be destroyed unless the time limit of one month is up.
Each unique skill book has a different time limit. The stronger the skill, the longer it is.
Anyway the reason why it does not disappeared is because he could impart back the book with the scale body technique, which will mean he would lose the skill.
It's like you are competing for a treasure hunt.
And in this one month limit if he dies, the skill will return back to the book. If he does not die in on month and the time limit is up and people kill him, then someday, somewhere, another book will appear with the Scale Body technique.
So that is why it has time limit. But still heist not afraid. Of course he doesn't know that there is teleportation stones and people from other country could teleport to where the book last fallen.
But he knows there is teleportation crystal. He saw it in the Shop. In the Shop there is a million things, so much that you can't possibly check it all but he sees it when he was window shopping by coincidence.
One crystal cost 10 thousand gold. But teleportation Stones? He remains oblivious.
That is because he didn't see the teleportation stone when he was searching the book.
It was erected on the other side of the river and he didn't realize it because he was already across and he doesn't check the opposite shore.
Not worrying a thing, he then checks the other skills he got. Minor Telekinesis and Water Manipulation.
This is what he got from the many treasure drooped from the other crocs. He quickly learned it.
MINOR TELEKINESIS.
USER WILL EXHIBIT TELEKINESIS POWER AND COULD MOVE ANYTHING UNDER 1 KILOGRAM OF WEIGHT
He quickly tries it and he managed to make a branch flies to him and then floated around him. He giggles.
'Cool skill.'
'Minor telekinesis? Sofia asked.
'Yes, how do you know?' he asked.
Without saying anything, Sofia raised her arrows and shot it at him and then when it was just about to hit him the arrows stopped, floating in midair, like there is some invincible forces stopped the arrows from advancing
Azief face was calm all the time and even when Sofia sent that arrow towards him, he believes that Sofia would not intentionally hurt him.
Azief smiles.
'You got it too.' She nodded ,smiling. Then suddenly Azief realizes something.
'Hey! Wait a minute! What if your arrows were heavier than 1 kilo?'
'I guess that means the arrows would pierce your head.' She said smiling mischievously
'And I would be dead!'
'Guess so' she said as she giggles.
Azief crossed his arm and Sofia pats him in his back
'Aww, come on. It's not like you can't stop that arrows.'
'Just because I can, I don't want you assuming I would.'
'Ok, ok. Let check our loot and then play around after that.'
And Sofia moved away, still giggling.
And who starts playing first? he mused.
He then checks the Water manipulation effect.
WATER MANIPULATION
USER COULD MANIPULATE WATER TO FORM A WATER SHIELD. AS THE LEVEL OF THIS SKILL IMPROVES, MANY MORE FEATURES WOULD BE UNLOCKED.
This is another jackpot! He mused. He once checks this book at the shop but it cost about 100 thousand gold.
But other than these two books he doesn't get any other skill books. But this two books is already good enough.
'What do you get?' he asked as he approached Sofia. Sofia smirked and then punch towards him.
Since he is an evolved person, his sense of danger is higher and more acute, so the moment Sofia punch towards him his racial abilities is instantly awakened, making all of Sofia stats halved, so her strength is almost like an ant in front of him.
But the punch connected and he could feel an itch in his stomach. But then he felt the second itch and the third itch.
Sofia on the other hand had to back away for five steps. And then she flails her hand.
'Ouch, it was like I was punching steel' she said, looking amazed at his endurance.
'Cold hard abs' he replies, looking smug.
'Yeah, right' Sofia said, clearly annoyed.
'And what did you think you were doing?' he asked.
'Trying my new skill' she said, not a hint of guilt in her face.
'I'm not your test dummy.'
'Thought you had a rocking hard abs?' she said smirking. Azief shakes his head as Sofia look at her fist and nodded.
'What do you think about the skill? she ask, ignoring any complaints from him. He sighed and then said.
'I felt that whatever skill you used, it hit me three times. Like you were punching in triple succession but my eyes only see one punch. With my speed, and my eye hand coordination it is impossible your punch could move so fast that my eyes couldn't catch it. So, how did you do it?' He asked.
He is puzzled too with Sofia technique. What technique could do that? He felt barely an itch but that is because he is an evolved person.
If it was before, then surely that attack would injured him.
'I just punch you once' she said smiling, clearly satisfied with the effect of her punch.
'Then,how?'
'Three Waves Fist' she said.
'When I punch a person and activate this skill it will create a vibration waves in triple succession, making any attack strikes three times. But it consumes too much spirit and it clearly doesn't work with an evolved person.'
'It's fine' he said, as he advises her in the matter of the difference in power.
'When you reach level 30 and evolved, that skill will also evolved to suit your evolution. That skill will prove to be useful.'
She nodded.
'Other than that, any other books?'
'I got two'
'Me too' he said.
'Hundreds of crocs, a gigantic croc and all we got to show are five skill books? It should be more' she said, harrumphing.
'Do you think skill books grow on tree?' Sarcasm is high in his tone.
'It would be better if that is the case.' He just shakes his head. There is no winning with her.
'Still we get a lot of gold and there are many vials. That's a win'
'I, on the other hand am full with pills. Most of it is EXP pills and stats pills.'
'What is your level now?' he asked.
'27.'
'3 more level to 30 right?'
She nodded.
'Good. You better redistribute the points now. Maybe they will be many great beast later and if you are stronger that would help.' He said.
'You don't have to tell me that' she said. She then sits under a tree and begun redistributing her points.
She then uses her skill points to her skills. Levitation is now level 4 which enables her to levitates 400 centimeter from the ground.
This will help considering his Archer class. Levitating would also give her the ability to guess the terrains they're in more accurately and she could even attack from afar….an aerial attack
She also level up her Precision and now it becomes Expert Precision. Azief look at Sofia when she uses her arrows to shoot down a leave a kilometer away with ease.
She then level up her Swift Step and it evolved to become Fast Swift Step.
She and Azief engaged in tag game on their campsite to test Sofia skills.
Even though Sofia could not gain an advantage against him, Sofia and he knows, that if she met any unevolved person, Sofia would hardly find it difficult to escape.
When she breaks that level 30 mark, then her speed would be out of this world. Azief also reminds her to balance her stats so that she would get many pillars the moment she reaches the 30 level mark.
She then level up Enhanced smell and heal. With her smell ,she could smell anything with great sensitivity and she even had to block using that skill.
If not she could smell everything and with a field of bodies nearby them, she could smell it even from afar….which is not good for her stomach
Heal is also leveled up but she did not level up the skill to much. With the many vials that they had, health is hardly a concern.
Not to mention, Azief is beside her.
With his power and her arrows, they could be called an unbeatable duo in Malaysia. They both gained an upper hand when the world fall.
Azief got an upper hand when his luck turned and he escaped from the fallen building during the first quake. Sofia luck begins to change the moment she met Azief and then follows him.
This is why Sofia pay less attention to Heal skill. Because she doesn't want to waste her skill point to something that is not good for her class, which is archer.
She however did level up her Three Waves fist.
Before she level up the skill, the info window for Three Waves Fist tell that she would do vibration attack and triple the damages.
But when she level up the skill to level 04 it said that she would do a powerful vibration attack.
She attack one small tree and it explodes into the 4 direction like someone throws a grenade to the bomb.
She also stores the gold and silver and copper. Azief told her that when she reached level 30 the currency table will appears and only then can she uses her gold to buy things from the shop.
Believing his word, Sofia started hoarding.
Azief also tell her that in the shop everything imaginable is sold. Even modern appliance and normal clothes.
She even heard that Azief stumbles onto a carton of milk when he was searching among the food and drinks section of the shop.
Finished distributing her skill points she went beside Azief and asked
'So now where do we go?'
'The field'
'To the field of bodies that you talked about. That field?' she asked, creasing her eyebrows.
'Yeah, that field.' She was about to protest but he quickly cut across her words and said.
'And since you are trying to level up, go level up with Badge.' He summoned Badge and Badge come out from the portal and kneeled.
Telepathically he ordered Badge to assist from behind.
'Go, clear the apes.' He said, in an ordering tone to Sofia…unintentionally
'You're ordering me?'
'Why?'
'Nothing.' She said.
'What?' he said flustered.
'I said nothing' she said and she giggles again. Sofia likes to make him feel flustered. He is always so cold and devoid of emotions that sometimes Sofia finds it hard to connect with him in an emotional level.
So, Sofia led them from their shelter as he sit down in one of the branches. Sofia move forward without him.
Sofia knows that the reason he dint follow is because he wanted Sofia to train with the apes in full power.
If he was there following from behind all the time, any monster Sofia will find will be repressed automatically by his racial skill.
As he sit down under the tree, Sofia was using Torrent of Arrows and about 10 apes dies because of the attack.
'Wasteful' she said under her breath. Using so many energy arrows when she could just use other skill.
But at least she knows how fearsome Torrent of Arrows. If she had this skill when they were in the bridge before, using this skill would make the battle at the bridge a walk in the park.
A large ape jump down from the trees and confronts Sofia. Sofia this time, instead of shooting it down with her arrows, put her bow behind her and then she rushes forward to meet this ape.
With her agility stats, she arrived in front of the ape in almost an instant and then she uses her Three Waves Fist.
This time she could feel her fist connected and she could see with her own eyes, the impact and hear the bones breaking.
She could see as the first strike connect, the impact on the ape stomach become deeper every 3 second until it delivered the third strike.
A vibration attack.
Then when her fist connected Sofia jump and then she uses Swift Kick, sending a fierce gale wind and it knock the ape down.
It is still level 01 skill but combined that with her three waves fist, it become a combo of her own.
Then as the ape is down, she levitates on the air and then descend in a very fast manner and her feet stomped the ape brains and its head shattered like a watermelon drop off from a third story buildings, staining her shoes and clothes.
Sofia retread back and look at her cloths.
'Fuck, I should've have just shoot that damn ape!' She cursed. How can she clean herself after this.
And the smell of the ape blood is pungent and attract many more apes to come. Unlike Azief, the ape does not fear Sofia that much considering she is not yet evolved.
But then how can Sofia be so calm?
First, she has confidence in her own skill. Second, Badge is also behind her if anything went wrong.
Those two reasons are enough for her. She could do this. And she doesn't want to be a baggage for Azief.
Sofia knows that Azief calmness and his cold demeanor is a defense mechanism. Sofia thinks even he himself doesn't realize it.
She still remembers what she saw when he went into a fever after fighting the Imperator. She didn't tell it to him and she hopes she is wrong.
But then she look in front again, focusing again as another dozens of ape come to her location.
She is pretty far from Azief now. But she knows that he could arrive at her position in a matter of seconds.
After all he has Shadow Teleportation.
And while she is fighting Azief was doing something else under the tree, enjoying a cup of coffee, he bought from the World Orb Shop.
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Not far from Lord Shadow, a man of thin build with tied long hair is looking at Lord Shadow.
His eyes glinted, his steps was agile, and produce no sounds. He is observing, waiting.
In his heart he could feel the formidability of Lord Shadow. Wearing all black attire with intricate runic designs on his robe and hood, Lord Shadow emits an aura of death and fear.
But still he waited in the bush, killing all of his presence, even his breathing is slow and almost seems like he isn't even breathing.
He could hide even after Lord Shadow sweep the area using his Divine Sense because of his skills.
He move slowly and is thinking on how to approach this group without making him a target. But nothing comes to mind.
So, he waited…and he observed. Waiting for the perfect movement to present itself. But then he decided if he waited, he might be caught…so he formulated a plan.
Entering the darkness, he smiles as he move away from the area.
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