Marke rested on the roof and watched the storm roll closer. It looked like it would beat the afternoon eclipse. Marke didnât know if he would be able to âobserveâ the eclipse sufficiently to level up. Feeling groggy and tired, Marke pulled up his status instead of trying to remember what points had been allocated. âStatus.â
> Name: ineedabreak
>
> Class: Soul Eclipse
>
> Level: 37
>
> Stat Points: 1
âAssign stat point.â
> Stats:
>
> Strength: 10 (+)
>
> Agility: 8 (+)
>
> Endurance: 10 (+)
>
> Intelligence: 5 (+)
>
> Soul: 8 (+)
Marke hesitated, his body and mind were in rough shape. What would be the best stat to increase his chances of getting off the roof and finding food? Agility? His agility had allowed him to briefly use Grace twice in the escape from the Captainâs office, but another use of Grace might kill him. Intelligence helped him use Priority Mind, which had orchestrated the escape, but he was mentally fatigued and tired. Soul made Kente feel better, but it didnât affect the physical world. Strength and Endurance were potentially beneficial, but neither would help with a broken shoulder.
âKente.â He said finally. âIâm failing Priority Two.â
Kente responded after a pause. âAre you giving up?â
âNo.â Marke said. âIâm out of options. I wonât fail Priority One and let myself be recaptured, and I canât get off this roof before dying from exposure in the storm.â
âPlease look over the other sides of this building first.â Kente said anxiously.
Marke winced. âSorry, I didnât mean to say Iâm killing myself, I mean that Iâm going to die and I canât stop it. Iâll go look.â Marke crawled over to the side of the roof near the prison and peeked over. The wall was smooth and blank. Guess no one wants to look out and see the wall of the prison. He thought. As he crawled to the front of the building, the sun passed behind the storm clouds. He felt like a snail in a race against a giant. The sky turned dark and a chill wind picked up. He peeked over the front of the building. Someone closed a shutter below him. The front of the building was smooth and the closed shutters lay flush with the stone. Marke sighed. âI guess powerful storms are normal hereâeverything is built to deal with lots of wind. If this building was only a single floor I would try jumping down. Itâs hopeless.â
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Kenteâs voice strained to sound upbeat. âOne more side to check!â
Marke crawled, face into the wind, to the last edge of the roof. He looked over the edge. Nothing. He huddled down behind the lip of stone to hide from the wind. He briefly tried to use Hide to actually hide from the wind, but it had no effect. âKente, itâs no use.â Marke said.
âIâm sorry.â Kente said.
Marke shook his head. âNo, Iâm sorry. We donât know what will happen to either of us when I die and I never got a body making skill for you.â With no options left, Marke struggled to find a reason to stay awake. The wind picked up speed and began to howl. Marke lay on the roof and waited for the storm to hit.
When the rain started to fall, Kente spoke into Markeâs mind. Marke, we should try and break the System. I think I know how we can do it.
Marke shivered from the cold. Breaking the System is even more likely to kill you than me just dying. He protested.
Itâs better for you. Kente insisted. If you respawn in this world, you might obsesses over getting me back, and even if you could get âSecond Soulâ again, it might not be me. Itâs better to be sure. Priority One: Donât Suffer. Kenteâs voice was firm and calm.
Marke began to try with exhaustion and emotion. Ok. He tried to think of something else to say but failed. How do we break it? He asked.
We each assign the stat point simultaneously. Iâll assign to Soul, you assign to Inteligence. Iâll count down from three, on zero we add the stat point. Got it? Kente asked.
Got it. Iâm ready. âAssign stat pointâ Marke said aloud.
Kente counted clearly and evenly. Three. Two. One. On âZeroâ, Marke tapped the plus next to Inteligence. Nothing happened. Kente didnât say anything. âStatus.â Marke croaked the word, barely able to speak.
> Name: ineedabreak
>
> Class: Soul Eclipse
>
> Level: 37
>
> Stat Points: -1
âAssign stat point?â Marke said uncertainly.
> Stats:
>
> Strength: 10 (+)
>
> Agility: 8 (+)
>
> Endurance: 10 (+)
>
> Intelligence: ERR (+)
>
> Soul: 9 (+)
Marke hesitated. He reached out to tap the plus next to Inteligence. The realm shattered.
----------------------------------------
Marke opened his eyes to see the inside of a stone cave. The cave was completely bare. Sunlight shone through an exit at the end of a short tunnel. A blue box popped up right in front of his face.
> Welcome Hero! Enter your name:
>
> Done
Marke stared at the box but didnât read it. Kente is gone. Marke couldnât think anything else for a long time.
âIsnât this the brown realm?â
Marke choked on spittle as he gasped in surprise. He rolled on his side and coughed violently. Ow. He thought. âKente!â He managed to cough out Kenteâs name. Kenteâs laughter sounded from around the room as he seemed to zip around the space.
Marke managed to clear his lungs. âYouâre alive!â He shouted.
âThat might be debatable.â Kente said smugly. âAfter assigning the stat point to Soul I hid in the shadow sea. It was pretty weird. Your light body down there melted entirely. I was stuck for a while because I couldnât figure out how to stop using Meditate. I assume that is because the System that supplied Meditate broke. Anyway, here I am!â
Marke lay on his back and smiled up at the blue box. âIâm so glad. Wow, that was a rough time. I can hardly believe itâs over now.â