“What is happening?’ Matheus asked groggily. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling like his head was exploding.
The first thing he saw was Captain, standing right beside him. The cat started bumping his head against Matheus and purring the moment he noticed him waking up.
“Good to see you too, buddy,” he said while petting him.
Sophie, he remembered, going instantly alert. He had been fighting her. And she had stabbed him and left him bleeding to die.
He lifted his shirt to see bandages covering the space the knife had entered his flesh. Someone had taken it away and taken care of his wound. Matheus touched it, and winced in pain. Would it leave an ugly scar afterwards? He really hoped it wouldn’t.
So far the system had healed all his wounds once his HP got full again. But this had been his first time being stabbed, and it had been literally done by a person he’d trusted before. It felt more personal, and worse than everything he’d suffered until now.
“You shouldn’t be moving,” someone said, and Matheus turned to see little Daniel looking at him. “Mom said you needed to rest.”
“Dina? Was she the one who saved me?”
Daniel nodded. “Another guy brought you in, and they worked together to close your wound. You were bleeding a lot.”
“Where are they now?” he asked, noticing they were alone in the room.
“Helping the city,” Daniel said with a low voice.
That was right. Sophie had made it rain flaming arrows in Tartaros.
He still couldn’t believe it. This last day felt surreal. Not even 24 hours ago, he thought everything was working out. Now, so many were dead and it was all his fault.
He tried to stop her, and more people were hurt in return.
Matheus felt himself clenching his fists. He had been so happy seeing Sophie again and finding out she was also a champion. It had given him hope they could really do it. Together, they could win the contest and achieve their dreams.
Little did he know what a fucking psychopath she really was.
“I can’t stay resting here,” Matheus said, getting up. Captain meowed in protest. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you behind again.” He took his familiar and put him on his hood.
“Where are you going?” Daniel asked. “Mom said you would be too weak after waking up.”
“I feel fine,” Matheus lied. “I will help the others.”
The moment he went to the streets, Matheus stopped and breathed heavily. He then cursed.
“Goddamnit Sophie, what have you done?” People were busy everywhere. He saw some taking buckets and throwing them against a flaming building, while others ran to a close well to fill them up. There were a couple laying on the ground, being treated for burns and other injuries. A few were weeping openly, and he could hear their cries even from a distance. Others just sat in stunned silence, staring at the blackened debris of their homes.
There was ash and smoke everywhere, and the sense of dread and sorrow was palpable.
Matheus did what he could to help.
Fortunately, most of the remaining fire was easily contained, and the people worked together to not let it spread.
Nonetheless, some buildings were burned to the ground, and he knew the impact in the city would be big. Tartaros had never been particularly impressive, at least not for Matheus’ standards. Still, seeing everything that had been lost pained him so much, it was almost unbearable.
It wasn’t right. Those people had done nothing to warrant this.
As far as Matheus knew, only one person had died. The poor guy had been walking on the street when one of Sophie’s arrows pierced his head. There was nothing anyone could do to save him.
Two dozen more people had been hurt in the chaos, but most had only superficial injuries and been healed straight away.
They had been lucky. This could easily have been much worse.
Had she held back somehow? Sophie had indeed said there was no point in killing them now, since she needed to save them for the ritual.
He shivered. The idea of her having an even more dangerous attack hidden was terrifying. But he knew it was unlikely. If that was her soul ability, then it was probably the most powerful thing in her arsenal. And he doubted she would be able to use it again soon.
Maybe that meant she would wait a few days before attacking again. Matheus really could use the rest. He wasn’t ready to face her again so soon.
But he didn’t really have a choice, did he?
Sophie could be on her way to start the ritual at this moment. There was no way of knowing what she would do now that it was clear he wouldn't help her. She was too dangerous.
Matheus couldn’t wait. He needed to go after her as soon as possible, before she could do more damage.
The problem was, he wasn’t sure where to start. Damn him for not asking her more questions when he had the chance.
While he figured out his next step, he decided to deal with the system.
Slash has reached level 5!
Skill advancement has been reached.
You have three options.
Throat slit.
Increases precision and sharpness when cutting someone’s throat. Possibility of an instant kill.
Death by a thousand cuts.
Every consecutive cut against a foe takes a little bit more damage. Can’t aim for the vital parts? No problem, just keep cutting.
Knife expert
Increases general proficiency and damage with a knife, and accuracy when throwing it.
Matheus didn’t know what to choose. To be honest, he wanted all of those skills.
A chance of an insta kill, an accumulative ability or focus on his combat skills. It was a tough choice.
The possibility of throwing his knife had completely slipped his mind! In hindsight, it was obvious. He just had never imagined himself doing it, and hadn’t had a good reason to try until now, since he had his bubble balls to launch.
Again, he wasn’t sure what decided the way things changed after they got to level 5. His slash skill had been randomly granted to him, instead of being a quest reward or something. Probably that was why it had followed the same advancement pattern as his hiding and climbing skills.
Or it could be for a dozen other reasons. Was he crazy for trying to make sense of the system? Maybe. At least it helped to distract his mind somewhat.
Could he really cut Sophie’s throat? He still wasn’t sure. It was too much.
He wanted to stop her, not kill her. But one thing was not possible without the other. He needed to be realistic about this.There was no stopping her if he held back. He still hoped it wouldn’t get too gruesome, though.
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“Matheus, what are you doing here? You should be resting,” someone said, and Matheus turned to see Dina coming to him.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said.
“It was nothing. You should really thank Rick. I couldn’t have done anything if he hadn’t healed you right away and brought you to me.”
“Healed me?” Matheus asked, astonished. “How?”
“A daki elixir,” she explained. “Those can only be used when a person has less than 10% of their health. They are noy exactly cheap.”
He nodded. So that was how he managed to survive the stab. He would have to find Rick later and thank him for that. If Sophie didn’t kill him first, of course.
It was time. First, he needed to find out exactly where the ritual’s place would be.
“I need to go, Dina. Thank you again,” he said and started walking away.
“Matheus, wait,” she exclaimed. “Are you going to fight her? The girl that did this to the city?”
“Yes,” he answered, not questioning how she knew that.
“Ok. Wait here a moment.”
“Dina, there’s no time…” he started, but she didn’t let him finish.
“I know, but this is important.”
She disappeared running into her house, and Matheus almost thought of leaving while she was away. She came shortly back, though, bearing a wooden box in her hands.
An item box.
“Take it,” she said. “Don’t try refusing it, there are more important things right now.”
Matheus nodded. He would need all the help he could get. He broke the seal and opened it.
This time, the box radiated a strong emerald light, before changing and turning into something incredible.
The sword shimmered like it had been carved from a dream. Its hilt was wrapped in black leather and shaped like a dragon's head, and its wavy blade was painted with a bright red, giving the impression it was the creature’s breath of fire.
He had never seen anything like it. Without even analyzing it, he knew this was the most powerful item he’d encountered so far.
He felt a rush of excitement creeping over him. That was exactly what he needed. He eagerly checked what the sword could do.
And then he went completely still.
Due to your Out of the Spotlight curse you are unable to equip this item.
“A legendary item… I can’t believe it,” Sophie said in awe. “It was here, all this time. What were the odds?”
“Fuck!” Matheus yelled, not able to contain himself. He couldn’t believe it.
Did the system think this was funny?
“What?” Dina asked, confused.
“Nothing. Thank you Dina. I need to go now before it’s too late.”
“Good luck,” she said, giving him a final hug. “Don’t get stabbed again.”
“I’ll do my best.”
It didn’t take him long to find the city master. The man looked exhausted, with large dark circles around his eyes.
“This really isn’t a good time,” he said as Matheus approached.
“I know, but this is urgent. I need you to tell me everything you know about the proliferation.”
“What?” he asked, stupefied. “You can’t be serious.”
“Trust me, this is important. More important than anything right now.”
“It’s a fungi problem. They have been growing recently, underneath the city. Someone needs to go there and deal with them. Why is this important?”
“Underneath the city?” Matheus asked, incredulously.
“Yes, through the sewer system. That’s half the reason no one has dealt with this so far.”
Matheus nodded. “Can you tell me how to access it?”
The city master sighed. “There’s an entrance near the main gate. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find.”
“Thank you,” Matheus said and went on his way.
He couldn’t be sure Sophie was really there, but that was his safest bet. He could think of something else if it turned out he was wrong.
Just as he was about to reach the gate, a familiar voice made him stop.
“Your highness, wait!” Rick said, coming to him.
“What happened to your face?” Matheus asked as he approached. Rick’s face was full of scratches.
“Captain didn’t really want to stay after you left,” he said with a wince.
“Thank you,” Matheus said. “Dina told me what you did. You saved my life.”
“It was nothing,” he answered with a shrug, seeming a little embarrassed.
“How did you get that elixir? Dina said it was expensive.
“I still had most of the money from the deer hunt. After you left to fight Sophie, I had a feeling you would need it.”
“You were right.”
“You are going to fight her again, aren’t you?”
Matheus nodded. “I need to.”
“Let me come with you,” Rick said.
“The spiders broke your sword,” Matheus answered.
“I know. But I can still slap her.”
Matheus started laughing. He couldn’t help it. The idea was too absurd.
Rick was laughing too. They laughed together for a while.
“Sorry I can’t offer much more help,” Rick said after they finished.
“Actually, I think you are exactly what I needed,” Matheus said, and grinned.
Finally, they had a chance.
Skill advancement has been reached! You have three options.
