With the sun blazing at its zenith, Cassian lay sprawled on his back, eyes tracing the lazy drift of clouds overhead.
He couldn't muster the strength to rise; his body felt as heavy as the boulders around him.
His back still throbbed from the collapse, but his mind wandered, echoing with the memory of Goddess Seraphyra's voice and the way her words had faded before he lost consciousness the day before:
"Sleep, my love. I will take care of the rest."
'What did she mean by "the rest"? What became of those women in the lights? What happened after I fainted? Did Seraphyra intervene? Damn it!'
Cassian squeezed his eyes shut, raking through his memories, desperate for any fragment of sound or vision after he'd blacked out.
But nothing surfaced, only the old man's screams lingered, making Cassian swallow hard as the weight of his actions finally pressed down on him.
'I actually killed someone, just because his laugh annoyed me!'
He thought, a bitter chuckle escaping as he covered his eyes, tears leaking through his fingers. He whispered, voice trembling,
"I suck, don't I?"
Hours slipped by. His tears dried, replaced by the gnawing ache of thirst and hunger.
Cassian tried to stand, again and again, but his body refused.
At best, he managed to roll over, each movement sending a jolt of pain through his back.
His gaze landed on the old man's staff, abandoned near the platform.
He must have dropped it when the fire caught him!
Determined, Cassian crawled like a wounded lizard, seized the staff, and planted it upright.
Gritting his teeth, he hauled himself up, back hunched, moving like a decrepit old man.
Every step was agony, but he pressed on, needing to see the platform with his own eyes.
It was just a simple stone slab.
No markings. No scorch marks from the starlight. Not even the bowls that had once absorbed the celestial glow remained.
All that was left was a plain stone platform, barely rising above the ground.
Cassian sighed, muttering,
"I won't be getting any answers from here, will I?"
He scanned the dune, preparing to leave this mountain of questions behind, when four shimmering lights caught his eye, each pulsing from the ground at the mountain's peak where he stood.
From past encounters, he recognized them.
'Those must be the Cores of Infinite creatures, like the Porcupine and the Serpent.'
He made a mental note to collect them later, then swept his gaze across the dunes, searching for any clue or sign of which way to go.
"Just sand here. And here. Sand, sand, and more sand,"
He groaned, misery thick in his voice.
A hot wind gusted, forcing him to lean harder on the staff as his stomach growled in protest.
"I'm hungry and thirsty and I want to bite into some meat now!"
He muttered, lowering himself to the edge of the platform, every movement slow and painful.
Before leaving, he decided to check his status, hoping for any messages or rewards he might have missed.
***
*[Status]*
[Adventurer: Cassian Johnathan]
[Blessing: Boundless Authority-'Mine']
[Talent: Luck]
[Title: Illyria Desert's Hunter]
[Level: 02]
---
[Hp: 10/100]
[Exp: 80/200]
[Attribute points: 06]
---
*[Upgradable Attributes]*
[Strength: 02] [+5: Title effect]
[Defense: 01] [+5: Title effect]
[Agility: 01]
[Endurance: 02]
[Resistance: 02]
---
*[Non-Upgradable Attributes]*
[Luck: 98]
[Authority: 22]
[Critical Chance: 01]
[Intelligence: 22]
[Faith: 100]
---
[Miscellaneous Status]
[Crafting: 00]
[Production: 00]
[Learning: 09]
***
'Leveled up and got a title, huh!'
Cassian's eyes widened at the attribute points.
'What if I add these points to my stats? Would that help me recover?'
He tried to add a point, but how?
He experimented, long-pressing the window, dragging, willing the points to move.
Nothing worked until he pictured, in his mind, subtracting a point from Attribute points and adding it to Strength.
Suddenly, a message appeared:
[Requirement Warning!]
[Attribute points can't be added if Hp is lower than 20%]
'Damn it!'
He blurted, staring at his Hp.
"I'm at 10. When the explosion happened, I think I dropped to 5."
His voice rose in disbelief.
"All night, and I only recovered 5 Hp?"
He did the math: if 1 Hp recovered per hour, he'd need another ten hours to reach the threshold for adding attribute points.
With a frustrated grunt, Cassian decided to check other tabs for rewards or useful items.
No luck, just the same two items in his inventory, the same [Level 1: Possession] in Blessing, and the same three skills as before.
A sudden cramp in his leg made him wince.
Cassian shook it out, eyes drifting to the Skill section, landing on [Shield of Tears].
'I remember activating this skill, so how did I get caught in the explosion and nearly die?'
He reread the [Shield of Tears] description:
***
[Shield of Tears]
[Status: Active]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Type: Item]
[Active Skill:
Divine tears that bleed to protect their bearer until the last drop runs dry.]
[Durability: 100/100]
***
'Still as vague as ever. When did this thing shed blood? I'm the one who bled and broke bones.'
With a sigh, Cassian closed the skill and opened the one that had actually saved him.
***
[Dagger of Fire]
[Rarity: Common]
[Type: Item]
[Active Skill:
[A blazing divine weapon that protects its wielder and will not extinguish until everything it strikes is reduced to nothingness.]
[Usage: 1/5]
***
'Only one use left, huh. Still can't believe I took down four creatures with just two Dagger of Fire.'
He recalled the battles, clenching his fists and kicking the ground in excitement, a strange pride swelling in his chest.
'But those women died because of me.'
Yet his mind wouldn't let him feel relief.
The guilt gnawed at him, dragging him back down.
'I can't save anyone with that crazy goddess watching me, can I?'
Needing a distraction, Cassian stood and decided to dig up the crystals, hoping to divert himself from the haunting memories.
He hobbled over to where the old man had fallen, staff in hand.
He pressed his palms together, whispering,
"I'm sorry."
Even if the old man was an Infinite creature, he felt different from the others.
Cassian felt like a grave robber, so he offered a prayer before digging.
He unearthed the crystal, surprised to find a silver stone with a shimmering light inside, smaller than the Porcupine and Serpent cores, just the size of his palm.
'So, each rarity has a different color, huh? The old man was Uncommon, so this must be an Uncommon Core—silver.'
Drawing on his video game experience, Cassian deduced that each creature must have a differently ranked Core.
He held the crystal gently. It felt brittle.
'It looks like it would shatter if I pressed even a little… wait a minute!'
He squeezed, and the crystal vibrated, reacting to his grip.
'Must be a breakable crystal that gives rewards.'
Trusting his gamer instincts, Cassian crushed it.
The crystal shattered, a flash of light blinding him for a heartbeat. When his vision cleared, a small bottle filled with red liquid sat before him.
"Success!"
He cheered, grinning. His intuition had paid off.
He examined the potion, noticing a small inscription beneath it.
Touching it, a window appeared:
[Uncommon Health Potion]
Just a single line, but enough to make him smile.
He uncorked the bottle and drank it in one go.
The taste was unexpectedly sweet, like nectar.
Instantly, the pain in his back faded, burns healed, and bones knit themselves whole. Even his thirst, hunger, and exhaustion vanished.
[Hp restored]
[Hp: 100/100]
He stashed the staff and empty bottle in his inventory, then hurried to the other creatures' remains, digging up three more crystals.
[Common Thief Knife]
[Common Health Potion]
[Common Wooden Shield]
He broke the three black crystals—common cores, and received three new rewards.
'Not bad, but I was hoping for a sword, or a gun, or even a rocket launcher. Something to fight monsters from a distance, not like yesterday.'
He tucked everything away.
***
[7 Items]
[Youmana's Core]
[Acuna's Core]
[Common Staff]
[Empty bottle]
[Common Thief Knife]
[Common Health Potion]
[Common Wooden Shield]
***
"Let's test this one!"
Cassian's eyes sparkled as he grabbed Porcupine Acuna's red crystal, trying to crush it for a reward.
He grunted, but the crystal wouldn't budge. The light inside remained stubbornly still.
With a sigh, he put the crystal back in his inventory after a failed attempt.
Cassian turned to leave, scanning the mountain one last time to see if he had missed anything.
Finding nothing, he declared dramatically, pointing ahead:
"West! Here I come!"
The Porcupine crystal reminded him that his first encounter had been in the west.
Maybe luck would favor him again.
As Cassian descended the mountain, he failed to notice his own shadow swirling independently, trailing him like a living thing, while unseen eyes watched from the darkness.