The Smiling Death-Chapter 292: Why did he get this?
"Status Window."
The moment he thought that, a translucent, blue-colored screen floated in front of his eyes, visible only to him.
---
[Status Window]
Name: Amon Vale
Age: 18
Rank: Mana Initiate
Class: Death Bearer
Element: Shadow, Darkness
Mana: 2319
Strength: 232
Agility: 221
Speed: 227
Endurance: 183
Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship], [Umbral Veil Sword Art]
Spells: [Gloom Orb], [Shadow Clutch], [Mana Bullets], [Shadow Claw], [Eclipse Bolt], [Grim Mirage]
Abilities: [Death’s Shadow],[Death’s Darkness]
---
Amon stared at the screen for a while. His breathing was steady. He blinked a few times. Slowly, his lips curved upward. His heart started to beat faster in excitement.
Not long after, he burst into laughter. "Hahahah! I got stronger!"
Amon was right. He had actually become far stronger. His stats were nearly double compared to the last time he had checked them in the tent.
He observed each of his stats carefully, then frowned at the abilities section.
He had gained a new ability. But for some reason, he didn’t look pleased.
"What the hell? Death’s Darkness? For real?"
Of all things, he got this? He didn’t know whether he should be happy or sad about it.
He already possessed two elements. Shadow and Darkness. Using mana, he could already produce and use them.
Then he had gained his first ability, Death’s Shadow. He was able to move his shadow without using any mana, augment his weapons and body parts with it.
It was pretty useful, not to mention its ability to bring his weapon back into his hand.
But now he had gotten something like this again.
He already had the Darkness element. What could this Death’s Darkness possibly do that was new?
"If I already have those two elements, why am I getting abilities that aren’t much different from them?"
"Wait... doesn’t this actually look logical? I’m getting abilities related to my class. My elements. My powers. Is the ’death’ in these abilities related to my class, Death Bearer... or is it something else entirely?"
Amon rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. The more he thought about it, the more ominous the names felt.
"Death’s Shadow... Death’s Darkness... they belong to death." The moment he muttered those words.
Suddenly, a chill ran down Amon’s spine.
He gulped. His heartbeat unknowingly started to speed up again, not from excitement this time, but from nervousness. Fear of the unknown.
"Death... death..." Amon muttered those words while breathing heavily.
Drops of sweat formed on his forehead. The word death was simple. He had used it many times before. But right now... it felt very creepy and eerie.
The sky above had already darkened.
Darkness fell over the forest. There was no moon or stars. It was pitch black. The fire crackled. It was the only source of light in the dark forest.
Amon sat there in complete silence, his thoughts in disarray.
After a while, he moved, grabbed his head with both hands, and shook it.
"What are you thinking, man! This is not the time to think about bad things. I need to focus on my survival. Yeah... that’s what I should do."
It didn’t take long for Amon to push those thoughts aside. His expression returned to normal.
He closed the window and leaned back against the rock.
"What should I do? I have no idea where to go from this place."
He began to think about his next plan of action.
’The Dead Celestial Tree and its area are surrounded by huge mountains from all sides. I guess I need to travel on one of them and then check outside. With the help of a map, I can choose where to go. From high up on a mountain, I can at least guess my position a little. The place where the human base was situated.’ he thought seriously.
"I remember the signs near that place. Like that temple and those mountains near the coastline," Amon muttered.
His expression relaxed a little. This was the only choice he possessed currently. He couldn’t find any other way to get out of this island.
"All I can do is hope... and believe in myself." Amon’s eyes sharpened as his tone turned heavy.
Then it broke as he chuckled amusingly.
"Protagonists of novels always say these kinds of lines. Whether from my past world or this one, they always sound like this."
Amon thought for a while and looked into the darkness.
After that, he started remembering things from his past life. The memories were dull now. He couldn’t recall them clearly.
Still, he tried his best. Some things always stayed in one’s head, no matter how many years had passed.
Even if those memories were vague, he could still remember them.
Right now, he was thinking about his otaku stuff.
The novels he used to read. The games he used to play.
Then suddenly, among those distant memories, a word flashed in his mind.
"Aura farming... Damn, have I ever done aura farming? Haha~"
"Wait, but what does it actually mean..." he thought for a while, putting pressure on his thoughts. Then realization struck him. "Yes, I remember it! It means being cool. I guess... yeah, being as cool as possible." He smiled widely.
"Hah... then I am an expert at this."
As usual, being alone, he started indulging in his own delusions, thinking of himself as an aura farmer. Poor him.
After joking around for a while, he surveyed his surroundings.
"As I expected. There are none of those unknown shadow ghosts here."
He got up from where he was sitting. There was another thing he needed to do.
Something he needed to try.
’What does this Death’s Darkness actually do? Let’s find out.’
With a smile on his face, Amon extended his right hand.
His palm opened. Suddenly, a dark black matter formed on it.
The substance was pitch black, leaving smoky trails behind.
His smile widened.
’As I guessed. It doesn’t need any mana. It just needs focus and a strong mind. Also, just like using Shadow, it might put strain on my brain.’ He noticed something.
The darkness on his palm didn’t look normal. It gave him the same familiar yet chilling sensation he had felt deep down in that abyss-like hole.
"Now this is interesting." Amon narrowed his eyes in curiosity.
