Chapter 4: Chapter 4 - The Words
"Well, well," she said with a grin. "Our guest finally wakes. Been listening this whole time, have you?"
I blinked at her. Words caught in my throat, unformed.
The burly man, Gerard spoke up from the front, "Not much of a talker, is he?"
Freya’s smile lingered, but her brows furrowed as she studied me.
"We found you lying at the bottom of the far cliffside. Blood everywhere, splattered across the rocks like a slaughterhouse." She tilted her head. "But you yourself? Not a scratch. Care to explain?"
The other two men glanced back at me, curious. Gerard’s brow furrowed, Arthur’s narrowed eyes glinted with quiet doubt.
I said nothing. My mouth opened slightly, then closed again. Words refused to assemble.
I pushed against the stretcher, trying to rise. My body was fully healed — no fractures, no wounds. But Freya’s hand pressed firmly against my chest.
Gerard barked a laugh without looking back.
"Easy, lad, You’ll ride with us till we reach the outpost. Last thing we need is you collapsing on the trail."
Arthur added from the side. "He doesn’t even look injured. Stranger than the beetles, if you ask me."
Gerard muttered in agreement, but Freya spoke up, "Don’t mind them. Rest while you can."
So I lay back, staring at them. Studying them. They looked at me with a mixture of suspicion and pity. I was unused to both.
Freya chuckled softly, shaking her head as she watched me, "Least you could do is thank us, stranger."
Something stirred inside me. A push. A command. My throat vibrated, air passing through it, and for the first time... I spoke.
"...Thank you."
My voice surprised me. It was smooth. Pleasant. Human.
Freya raised a brow, then smirked. "So he does speak."
No one pressed further. They continued walking, their conversation resuming around me, though now it included sidelong glances in my direction.
A few minutes later, Freya threw a question my way, "What’s your stamina looking like?"
How was I supposed to answer that question? I spoke, "Good."
Her features scrunched in confusion. "Huh? I meant the numbers in your words!"
What does this mean? Numbers in words?
My confusion only grew, and she seemed to understand, "By Lysha’el, he’s forgotten about the Words!"
The two men looked back at me in shock.
Freya laughed in slight disbelief, "He must have amnesia..."
"Hey." interrupted Gerard, looking straight at me, "Call out ’Status’ in your mind."
Status? What is tha-
A System Window materialized before me.
[Intercepting Signal. Source: ???]
[Information successfully processed.]
[Calibrating...]
[System Calibration Complete.]
And then another window, much larger than any before it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[Details]
Name: Axel Vorous
Titles: Professional Crash-Tester (Legendary)
Species: Human
Stage: Mortal
Health: 57/57
Stamina: 57/57
Mana: None
Gift: Adaptive Regeneration (????)
[Attributes]
Strength: 5 (5.35)
Speed: 5
Mind: 5
Constitution: 5 (5.7)
[Skills]
(Bronze) : Pierce Resistance V - Impact Resistance VII - Slash Resistance III - Poison Resistance I
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Name. I have...a name.
A feeling arose inside me. It felt similar to the satisfaction I felt after eating, but this satisfaction was not physical. It was something abstract, and yet it felt far better.
"Would you look at the smile on this one!" teased Freya, "I take it you finally remembered something?"
I looked away from the System Screens, back at Freya’s wide smile. I’m smiling?
Then this feeling must be...
"My name," I said slowly, "I...have a name."
Freya laughed so hard she held her stomach, "Men, we completely forgot to ask for the bastard’s name didn’t we? AHAHA!"
I looked back around to find Gerard snickering to himself, with even the suspicious Arthur wearing a small smile.
Happiness. I like this feeling.
They continued laughing and, in their own words, "taking the piss", as we travelled. Though I did not understand how piss and laughter were related.
As their laughter died down, Gerard asked, "Go on then. What is it? Your name?"
My gaze flicked to the System Screen and back to him.
"Axel."
"Well, Axel," said Gerard, thumping a fist to his chest, "as I’m sure you’ve deduced, I’m Gerard," then he looked behind me, "That’s Freya, our Party Leader," and then he motioned with his hand towards Arthur, "And this here is Arthur."
Arthur only spared me a nod, but Freya replied in turn, with her usual warm smile, "Pleased to meet ya, Axel."
I turned back to Freya and said, "Fifty-Seven."
"Huh?"
"Stamina. I have Fifty-Seven of it."
"Oh! You should have led with that in the first place," she chuckled, "Well, men, I reckon he’s fit enough to walk. And..."
She continued with a more serious tone, "We could use the extra eyes as we pass through the core again."
I saw Arthur and Gerard nod in approval, so I heaved myself off the stretcher, legs a bit wobbly. But I adjusted quickly.
They folded up the stretcher and added it to Gerard’s massive pack, and continued on their journey.
The march carried us deeper into the ravine, where those distant calls grew louder by the minute and the trees grew twisted, their roots thick and coiled like serpents. The air was cooler here, damper, and every sound seemed to echo out louder than before.
I found myself staring again — at the translucent panes that hovered before me, glowing faintly with numbers and strange designations. I decided that I liked my title very much, because I was, in fact, a professional.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[Professional Crash-Tester] (Legendary)
Once the greatest crash-test dummy ever created, now the living embodiment of survival.
- Gain a permanent 2% increase to [Constitution] per Level of Impact Resistance.
- Gain a permanent 1% increase to [Strength] per Level of Impact Resistance
- Gain a 300% boost to the mastery speed of all Resistance-Type skills.
- (LOCKED)
- Upon receiving massive damage that would normally kill you, you will survive with 1 HP. Usable once per day.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My eyes lingered on the last effect.
This must be how I survived that fall.
I looked away from the System windows to find Freya staring at me with a knowing grin.
"Caught by the Words, eh? Happens to everyone after their first awakening. Lysha’el’s voice is a hard one to ignore."
I tilted my head slightly, but said nothing.
She went on, speaking as though recounting something old and familiar. "They come whenever you grow stronger, whenever you endure. Her Words mark the change — tell you what’s been earned, what’s been proven. Stamina, strength, skill... all of it. It’s how she guides the blessed."
Gerard gave a derisive snort. "Or how she keeps score."
Freya shot him a sharp look, but didn’t rebuke him. "Cynic," she muttered, before turning back to me. "Point is, you’ll get used to it. Every hunter does. After a while, the Words become second nature."
I let her words settle, silent. But inside, I made note. So they hear the Words, but I... see them.
We walked on.
At last, the terrain widened into a clearing, but beyond it, stood an absolute wall of towering trees, as if they demarcated the border between two lands entirely. It made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Freya announced as we walked into the clearing, "Welcome to the Core."
Even the men’s voices dropped to a hush as they scanned the darkness ahead.
"This is where the beasts gather," Freya continued, clearly for my sake, "Every last cursed one of them. Keep sharp."
But a thought tugged at me.
Every last one of them? That’s not right...
I found myself speaking before I could stop. "I was attacked. By three-eyed badgers. Near the cliff-face."
The three of them turned toward me — then burst out laughing.
Gerard was first. "Badgers? Gods, lad, those aren’t Beasts. Just some vermin."
Arthur looked back at me from the front of the group, "If that’s all you’ve fought, you’re in for a real treat, I say."
Freya’s smile was wry but not unkind. "Stay close, Axel. The three-eyed badgers are just unawakened creatures. What waits here in the Core... are true Beasts. Creatures blessed with Mana, the occasional one with a gift, they’re not unlike us, save for their intelligence. But in exchange, Beasts are always be stronger than a human at the same stage. Lysha’el is fair."
Her words faded into the heavy silence of the ravine. I stared into the shifting shadows. Something stirred in me. The same feeling I’d felt when I tripped and missed my landing. But there was also something else.
Fear and... Excitement.
Another challenge. Another test. Another opportunity.
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A/N: I won’t bother you guys too many times with this, since it is your choice at the end of the day. But power-stones and golden tickets are the best way to show some appreciation! It makes me feel like all the time I pour into crafting this story is worth it, and it motivates me to write better and better, not to mention the tiny possibility that Infinite Regen gains some traction, and earns me a buck or two...or three...or a million. (I heard you! Yes, you in the back! OF COURSE IT’S FUCKING POSSIBLE!)
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