"Berserk?"
Kaelrin stared at the window, not exactly sure what the status window meant.
"Berserk? What's that?" Roan asked, looking into her eyes, desperate for an answer.
Kaelrin just shrugged. "It says it's a new skill."
"Well, look at the description. What does it say?"
Kaelrin quickly checked the description to see what it was about.
[Berserk]
[With this skill, you will increase your strength proportional to your Intelligence. However, you lose all your Intelligence and cannot discriminate friend from foe]
[Warning: The more you use this skill, the more difficult it is to turn it off]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
"Sounds dangerous," Roan said after Kaelrin repeated the description. "I would advise against using it. It's good that it kept you from dying, but it will most likely cause more harm than good."
Kaelrin agreed. She also had no memories of what she did when the skill was activated, so using it would also mean she would have no explanation for her actions.
"So then, with that out of the way, what do you want to do with those chests?" Roan asked, rubbing his hands together and licking his lips in an overly mischievous manner.
The two quickly walked over to the chests and gazed down at them. Neither of the chests seemed to be locked. So, after giving each other a look, they each opened one.
Kaelrin's chest had a book in it, as well as a sheath. She took the sheath and briefly admired its beauty.
It was a long sheath, but not as long as it needed to be in order to fit her sword. It had a black base with fire painted from the tip of the sheath all the way up to the mouth.
The second she grabbed it, the size of the sheath changed. It grew taller and wider until it was the perfect size to fit the sword. She put the sheath on her back and slowly put the sword into it.
The movement felt weird. She had to reach as high as she could and then some to reach it, but when the sword went all the way in, the sheath changed again until the mouth was closer to the tip before stopping.
She pulled the sword out again, trying to familiarize herself with the movement and found it was infinitely easier to unsheathe. The sheath didn't change back, but she was still able to put the whole sword in, which was nice.
She took out the book and used identify on it.
[Skill: Dash]
[Movement speed increased by 20%. You can increase it further depending on your Intelligence stat]
[Cooldown: None]
"Hear," she said to Roan, throwing the book at him. "I don't need this, nor will I use it much. Besides, it suits your style much better."
Roan caught the book and smiled at her gratefully, as if she had just given him her will.
"Thanks. You can have this one as repayment."
Kaelrin looked at the skill book to see what it was.
[Skill: Harden]
[Permanently boosts your defense. Dependent on your Intelligence stat]
[Cooldown: Non-Applicable]
She opened the book and immediately she got another notification.
[Would you like to learn the skill?]
[Yes]
[No]
She clicked "Yes" and the book faded from her arms.
[You learned the skill Harden. Your defense is permanently boosted.]
She felt her muscles getting firmer and felt her bones hardening, and although her skin stayed soft, she felt it was more difficult to penetrate.
Once both Kaelrin and Roan had learned their skills and acquired their sheaths, the ruin began to quake and crumble all around them. The floor and walls began to lower, digging itself into the ground until there was not a single trace of the ruins left.
The path that Kaelrin had followed to get there was gone, and everything returned to the usual dense forest all around them.
Kaelrin and Roan took a long look at each other, unsure of what to do. Then, not knowing what to do, Kaelrin started walking.
"What are you doing?" Roan called after her.
"I'm leaving."
"Well, I'm following you then," Roan said as he ran to catch up with Kaelrin.
"Why? Aren't I a bother? I barely helped at all."
"Trust me. You did plenty. If anything, you killed all of the beasts. You probably didn't need my help at all."
"Okay. Well, thank you," Kaelrin said, a small line of pink covering her face.
They spent the rest of the day drinking, eating, talking, and otherwise resting and having fun. Kaelrin enjoyed having someone around to talk to.