When Clouds Rain Red

Harper's jog transitioned into a walk a few minutes after his "Killer's Wrath" skill wore off. Judging by the visible distance, he would say he likely had another half hour till he reached the town.

While he was on his way, hopefully without anything attempting to return him to sender, he wanted to check the magic portion of the system.

System, Magic

[Quixroth System: Magic Page]

Magic: (Select a magic attribute to wield.)

"I enjoy how it doesn't actually show me- THE FUCKING OPTIONS!" Swiping at the screen, his action did nothing as his hand flailed through the intangible screen.

"Hmm- Magic Options?"

Harper scowled at the unchanged screen.

"Magic... map?"

"Still nothing? What the fuck do I have to do to see a fucking list of the- Oh."

The word 'list' apparently did the trick.

To his surprise, there weren't some mere five or six different elements. There was quite the armada of available attributes, including some elements, to be expected, but several other options, too.

[Quixroth System: Magic Page]

Magic: Attribute List

1- Fire

2- Water

3- Earth

4- Air

5- Electricity

6- Poison

7- Holy

8- Nature

9- Mental

10- Illusion

11- Enchantment

12- Necromancy

13- Space

14- Time

15- Miscellaneous

(Select a magic attribute to wield)

Harper almost felt his jaw drop at some of the options as he read through.

Space and Time magic?! Is there a catch to it?

Wait. First, I need more information on the different types of magic. Are there certain spells available, or is magic more of an element that I can bend to my will? If it is control-based magic, I would imagine that it is related to experience and practice.

Spells might be a bit tricky. I don't want spells with a set damage amount; it would be best if they were mana-based. This would allow me to create more powerful spells by infusing more mana into lower-end spells.

I need to stop theorizing and actually figure out what kind of magic it is.

System, Magic, Fire

Nothing.

System, Magic, Fire, List Spells

Still no luck.

System, Magic, List, Fire...

System, Magic, Fire, Spells...

System, Magic, Fire, Page...

System, Magic-

Harper wasn't sure how many times he tried to pull up a list of spells. This meant he couldn't pull up a spell list, or it was control-based.

Harper grinned.

Scanning the list, Harper felt a pull towards poison; water was a close second, with air third. He could already tell these three would be far more powerful than they may seem compared to other attributes like time or necromancy.

Harper had never poisoned someone to kill his old life; he preferred to brutalize his targets physically. This didn't mean that he opposed the use of poisons; right now, poison magic would aid him most.

He can't play the long game; surviving won't be possible without crippling enemies before they ever have the chance to fight. There is also an absurdly high chance that everyone and everything else can use magic. He was sure those murder rabbits used magic too, likely air magic. The invisible blast that easily splintered trees wasn't something Harper wanted to encounter unprepared again.

If those odd rabbits were on the lower end of the food chain in this world, Harper would need all the edge he could get. Luckily, he found a loophole earlier and intended to abuse it. Heavily.

"System, Magic, Choose Poison."

Nothing happened.

"Mother fucker, work for me! System, Magic, Poison."

[Quixroth System: Magic Page- Poison]

Magic Attribute: Poison

Choose the attribute Poison as your first attribute.

[Yes]

[No]

"Yes."

[Quixroth System: Magic Page- Poison]

Magic Attribute: Poison

The attribute Poison has been by 'UnNamed'.

Poison Spells Available to 'UnNamed':

Stage I Poison Magic:

+ Poison Arrow

Description: Fires off an arrow made of poison

Mana Cost: 210

Damage: 30 + &40& (1x 15 seconds every five hours)

Harper looked at the mana cost, feeling defeated. Why did he feel like this was far higher than the initial cost of almost any other magic attribute? Just how powerful was this first spell? It was absurd, doing one hundred sixty damage every minute over four hours.

This spell could kill him nineteen times over, including the initial damage.

He didn't like being stuck with a set damage amount, but this spell alone was well worth it. With this, he could probably take on those fucking rabbits... How would he kill the rabbits with this spell if he didn't have enough mana?

Actually, how did I kill those creatures in the first place? Something was weird; why were there health points? The rabbit killed itself by stabbing itself. Wouldn't it have simply injured itself rather than dying?

Is there a chance multiplier? Or is this more of a general amount of damage that it will deal, though hitting certain areas is always fatal... No, that wouldn't make sense either; a far stronger creature likely would be able to take a lot more damage.

Maybe it is more along the lines of creatures having vital spots, and the minimum amount of damage that spot can receive depends on the species of creature. I doubt the rabbit creatures would have perished if they had a higher minimum vital damage.

Kicking his foot against the dying yellow grass in front of the short town gate, Riley held his spear as he watched the usually sturdy grass bend below his weight.

Riley was a gate guard in the town of Bretchsong. Bretchsong wasn't far from Tresten, one of the large cities in the Lireenan Empire. As a trade town, many travelers and merchants passed by, often spending time to rest or sell their merchandise.

"Slow day?"

Riley's head perked up, swiveling as he turned toward one of the local bakery owners, Meras, who took a sip from a cup of tea he always seemed to have on hand. Riley visited the slightly older man's shop every morning after his daily night shift. In return, Meras visited his daily regular and favorite customer. Meras' words, not his.

"Yeah, I don't think we will have more than three people stopping in town today. It is always at its calmest before it storms. I would give it another fortnight, and I'm sure it will pick back up along with the upcoming annual Tresten Meren Berry Festival."

Meras nodded, Riley almost drooling at the thought of getting more meren berries from the next big trade season. Meren berries were absurdly delicious and incredibly sweet without being overbearing to one's palate. They went perfectly into the seasonal pastries Meras made. He couldn't wait for a new batch from his favorite pastry shop.

"Can I expect you to spend an entire paycheck on my scones again?" Quipped the chef, raising a brow at the guard.

"You bet. I wouldn't miss your scones even if I were to die."

The two laughed, and Riley laid his spear against the three-meter wooden gate that acted as the town wall. "You have to tell me the recipe for your new glaze or sell it in bulk. I need it."

The pair laughed harder, and the baker shook his head.

"Krezze bee dew is a bit difficult to get right now. My supplier recently got his hands on some of the bees that produce it, so he doesn't have a real hive yet. I'd wait another three fortnights for his hive to grow, and maybe I can get you a small jar."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

A comfortable silence followed their conversation, the soft ambiance of the midnight wind rumbling the yellow grass like quiet chimes extending across the plains. This was how most of his nights were. Riley would stand around and occasionally make small talk with Meras until his wife decided it was time to retire.

Riley was content to do this for the next ten to fifteen years. He could, of course, go to Tresten or even the capital if he so pleased. He was an ex-adventurer who would be highly appreciated among the knight corps. He liked the little town of Bretchsong, the people who lived here, the baker he was a regular for, and his wife and two little ones who enjoyed the quiet, quaint town.

After about thirty minutes, two or three small conversations later, the pair of men in their thirties allowed themselves to lean against the wooden wall. A figure appeared walking through the plains. It wouldn't be long before they arrived, and they didn't appear armed. To make sure, he activated his otherworlder skill-Judge and Jury.

Judge and Jury allowed him to inspect an individual to some extent. The skill told him their current inventory, bypassing unique skills that usually could hide from simpler skills like Inspect or Appraise. He could see their human, beast, and demon kill count, current inventory, bounties or warrants for the target's capture or death, level, and name.

Gaze falling onto the incoming individual, Riley quickly rearmed himself with his spear. Digging the butt of the spear into the ground at his side, his eyes drew down slightly into a scowl.

"Meras, get inside. Someone potentially dangerous is coming up. My skill can't get a read on them." Meras was one of the few who knew how his skills worked in its entirety. He was also among the even lesser few to know he came from another world.

Meras didn't say a word, giving a curt nod before he took his leave.

The individual took a short bit to arrive, greeting Riley with a polite wave and smile. Riley remained even more on guard, his eyes landing on the orange fabric clothing. He recognized it from movies from other countries in his old world. Inmate clothing, not to mention the now identifiable man, was quite built.

"What's your name, and what's up with the inmate clothing?"

The man's face didn't shift in the slightest, making it difficult to read him.

"Evening, the name's-"

Riley raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to register what just happened. His lips moved as if he had said a name, but there was no sound. More than that, he had no level, and his skill didn't even work on him properly.

"Ahh, the clothing. I got it from another transcender on my way here. It was better than the nearly tattered rags I was wearing before. I didn't care, and he was happy to trade out of the unwanted clothing."

Riley didn't want to believe it for a moment, but the man sounded honest. Every instinct in his mind was at a tug of war, unsure whether it was a lie or the truth.

"What's your level?"

He didn't want to get into more trouble than it was worth, though he doubted this would be the case. It didn't hurt to be safe, however, even at a staggering level of seventy-four.

"Level?" The man asked, expression emitting genuine, absolute confusion. "What do you mean, level? I have never seen anything about levels in the system."

Riley paused for a moment, caught off guard by the statement.

He doesn't have a level? Is he fucking with me, or is he serious? Could this be why I can't see his name, level, kill count, or warrants?

Giving a slow nod, he pulled up his system and showed it to the man. Of course, he didn't show his real system; he had a nice skill named Impersonator.

[Quixroth System]

Name: Riley Green

Level: 14

Age: 32

Titles: Knight (Increases physical strength by 120%, increased physical speed by 75%, increases health by 75%.), Transmigrator (Grants the other worlder a unique skill. Skill granted: Walking Shield.), Brave (Increases overall mental fortitude, increases physical strength by 30%, increases physical speed by 10%.), Good Samaritan (Increases speed by 30%, increases health by 20%, increases mana by 20%.), Protector (Increases physical strength by 30%, increases speed by 30%, increases health by 90%.), Poacher (Killing animal-like creatures satiates hunger equivalent to the creature's size.).

Skills: Walking Shield (Passive- The other worlder is harder to kill to save others. Increases physical strength by 50%, decreases physical speed by 30%, increases health by 215%), Slash (Active- Deals 190% damage on the next attack. Use- 3), Mountain (Active- Decreases speed by 50%, increases health by 90%.), Warrior (Passive- Increases physical strength by 40%, increases speed by 20%.).

Magic: (Hidden)

Abilities:

Health- 500% (60/60)

Strength- 370% (33.3)

Speed- 185% (14.8)

Mana- 120% (64.8)

"This is my system. See my level?"

The man looked at him as if he had three heads. "What? I don't see anything."

Riley really didn't understand what the hell was going on.