Karma extended his hand.
In front of him, three people were fleeing, chased by wolves, goblins, and a pair of oversized spiders.
"[Fate Devourer]," Karma called out, his expression serious.
The moment he did, golden particles began peeling away from every living thing in front of him. Monsters and people alike.
"Damn it," he cursed, closing his fist.
He hadn't meant to drain the bystanders' fortune. They were innocent people, after all.
But the damage was already done.
A woman being chased twisted her ankle mid-sprint and hit the ground. The moment she fell, a wolf lunged and sank its teeth into her neck. But that same wolf was immediately struck by arrows a goblin had fired.
The arrows pierced its neck, killing it instantly.
[You have indirectly killed a player. Do you wish to loot their Gift?]
[You have indirectly killed a Warg Pup Lv. 1: +50 EXP]
One of the spiders fired a silk net at another player, snaring their feet. They lost their balance, hit the floor, and split their head open.
[You have indirectly killed a player. Do you wish to loot their Gift?]
Karma swallowed hard. Everything was happening so fast.
It was unsettling to watch them die one by one, that quickly.
Was this because of his power?
"I am NOT dying like this!" the last man standing shouted, spinning around and thrusting both hands toward the spider and the goblin. "[Sonic Shot]!"
A mark on the back of his hand flashed bright yellow.
A sound wave erupted from his palms toward the goblin and the spider, right as the goblin was drawing its bow.
The blast sent the goblin flying backward, off the platform and onto the tracks, where its skull cracked against the ground.
[You have indirectly killed a Goblin Lv. 1: +25 EXP]
The goblin's arrow, caught in the shockwave, was deflected and gained speed, drilling straight into the giant spider and killing it instantly.
[You have indirectly killed a Giant Spider Lv. 2: +100 EXP]
At the same moment, the man slipped while firing the wave, and the recoil shoved him backward. His head hit the floor, and he didn't get back up.
[You have indirectly killed a player. Do you wish to loot their Gift?]
Karma stood there blinking, staring at the bodies in front of him.
He hadn't killed anyone. And yet his hands were soaked in blood.
He swallowed. Breathed in slowly.
He couldn't fall apart over this.
Those people were probably going to die anyway. Karma had just... sped up the process.
"Yes," he said quietly.
A flood of golden particles rose from the three bodies in front of him.
[Absorption successful]
[You have received: {Analytical Vision} — {Inventory} — {Sonic Pulse}]
Karma let out a low whistle.
"[Status]," he said, and a pale blue display window materialized in front of him.
---
Name: Karma Murphy
Race: Human
Age: 21
Level: 0
EXP: 225 / 1,000
Fortune: -10,000,000
Spirit (Colorless): 0%
Spells: [None]
Techniques: [None]
Skills 3/5:
{Analytical Vision}
As the name suggests, this skill allows the user to read the status of objects and living beings. The greater the level gap between the user and the target, the less accurate the analysis.
{Inventory}
The user can absorb objects in their possession, converting them into stored data that can later be restored to their physical form. Physical contact with the object is required for the skill to activate.
{Sonic Pulse}
The user can expel sound from their fingertips in the form of a concentrated pulse. The skill can be used up to 5 times before triggering a 5-minute cooldown.
Physical Attributes:
Strength: 7
Constitution: 3
Speed: 6
Agility: 3
Gift: Fate Devourer {Maljut — 3%}
---
Karma noticed three things.
The first was that indirect kills seemed to yield less EXP, though he wasn't sure exactly what counted as indirect.
The second was that killing players gave no EXP at all, or maybe it was simply because they were all level 0.
And third, there appeared to be a cap on how many skills a person could hold.
He didn't know if that limit was permanent or increased with levels, but the obvious takeaway was clear: don't absorb useless skills and waste a slot.
"That was a solid haul," he said, reading through the descriptions.
The analysis and storage skills were both incredibly useful, and the sonic pulse gave him an extra offensive option on top of his main ability.
"That's weird, my fortune is still just as low," Karma muttered, puzzled.
What was that about?
Maybe it was a quirk caused by his fortune being so deep in the negatives, or some mechanic of his ability he hadn't figured out yet. It was even possible that his fortune had always been lower than "-10,000,000" and the system simply couldn't read past that point, meaning the absorbed fortune was actually adding up somewhere, just invisibly.
"What could I have possibly done to end up with fortune this low," Karma said to himself, more wondering than complaining.
Though looking at it from another angle, terrible luck was turning out to be pretty useful.
At least in this situation.
"Alright, enough standing around. I need to reach the safe zone," he said, turning to look at the train car where the barrier was.
That was his target.
________________________________________
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