Unable to arrive at an answer to his dilemma, and feeling like ti was not on his side at this mont, Ellis put everything aside for now and tried to think of a solution for his current predicant.
In the end, as he analyzed his situation, and after checking if there really was no gate he could return through... and not finding any, he realized that the situation, which had seed like it offered two options before the ssage appeared, had now narrowed to just one.
If earlier he had the choice to gamble, to wait for soone else to enter the gate and possibly help him... now, with the possibility of losing his system, and possibly the power he had just gained, he didn't have that choice anymore.
The only option left was to clear the gate himself.
But how should he even go about that, when there wasn't a clue, any monster, or anything at all, around him?
Even worse, he had nothing in his arsenal.
Ellis, who had been suddenly teleported, had only what he was wearing and two magic stones in his pocket.
No food for however long he might have to spend here, and, even more critically, no weapon.
It was really the worst situation possible.
But, knowing that despite everything, he still needed to make a choice... to move forward, Ellis looked at his surroundings once again, then started walking while thinking.
Under the gray sun, or perhaps it was more accurate to call it a gray moon, as it emitted only a faint, distant light that barely illuminated the horizon, Ellis knew he had two options once again:
Either walk toward the gray moon... or go in the opposite direction.
And if he wanted to clear this gate, Ellis felt that the chance of finding a solution was higher if he went toward the gray moon.
So, he walked in that direction.
And while walking, Ellis decided to open his system window.
[Status]
Na: Ellis Miller
Race: Human
Title: (Unique Monster Killer)
Level: 13 (EXP: 11,500/40,000)
[Attributes]
Strength: 29 Agility: 27 Stamina: 26 Vitality: 27
Mana: 61 Charm: 25 Luck: 23
Unassigned Points: 65
[Blessings:] Subtle Soul Rebirth (☆☆☆)
[Innate Talent:] Evolutionary Pathways
[Skills:] Basic Knife Mastery Lv.4
Ellis stared at his status window for a while before finally letting his eyes settle on his blessing, Subtle Soul Rebirth.
A defective blessing, unusable without eting a long list of conditions. And even then, when it finally activated, he wouldn't remain himself... he would beco soone else entirely.
He had once felt genuine hope upon seeing it, believing it to be sothing special, only to be let down cruelly when he read its description. And because of that, Ellis didn't spare it another thought.
Instead, he lowered his gaze to his Innate Talent, Evolutionary Pathways, and let out a tired sigh.
Potential in magic... when mana had first entered his life just a few hours ago, that had felt significant. But now, in a place like this, where death felt closer than life, did that potential even matter?
At the very least, the talent granted him the ability to absorb soul fragnts from those he killed... but whether that would be of any use in this strange world, one that seed utterly devoid of any living creature, he sincerely doubted.
Without dwelling on what kind of connection existed between his magical potential and the soul fragnts, Ellis shifted his focus to his Unassigned Points, the only truly useful thing he had right now.
Should he use them imdiately? Or wait and see how the situation played out first?
What did he need the most right now?
Without knowing anything for sure, Ellis felt he couldn't afford to gamble with these points.
At this mont, stamina felt like it would be the most important... but if he encountered a monster stronger than himself later on, then putting the points into stamina now could easily beco the very reason he failed to make it out.
So, while hoping that the "long period of ti" the system ssage had ntioned was a lot longer than he feared, Ellis closed the status window.
Then, he set the distant gray light as his goal... and walked.
...An hour passed without him coming across anything along the way, not a single change in the barren landscape, and not even the faint light seed to grow any closer. Still, he continued his walk.
Three hours went by, but once again, nothing changed. Seeing how the light didn't appear to move at all, Ellis beca convinced that this place really wasn't just another world but truly inside a gate. The light wasn't a sun or a moon; it was sothing unique to this place, as it held the sa gray color... the sa color as the gate he had been dragged into.
Six hours passed. After walking continuously for so long, and not being accustod to this kind of physical strain, Ellis finally began to feel the exhaustion setting in. Realizing he had no idea how long he might end up staying here, he decided to take a small rest.
Ten hours passed. Without anything to fill his stomach with, and realizing the light was still out of his reach, a creeping sense of panic began to settle in. But knowing there was no other way forward, Ellis gritted his teeth and pushed on.
Sixteen hours passed. Though it seed like the distance had closed slightly and the light had grown a little brighter, Ellis still didn't feel reassured. Still, he didn't hurry, deciding to rest for a while, sleeping for an hour or two.
...
Already awake, Ellis was back on his feet, walking. His state was anything but good, especially with nothing to eat or drink.
He had hoped to at least find sothing to wet his throat with, but Ellis hadn't found anything to help with that inside this gate.
So, knowing he couldn't waste any more seconds... he walked.
He walked.
Walked.
And then, continued walking.
After who knew how much ti had passed, since he could no longer tell, and with his mind on the verge of breaking from the eerie silence that enveloped the place, Ellis finally sensed that he had made so progress.
And though the situation felt far too abnormal, with the light getting closer, Ellis tried to cling to the hope that the end was near... tried to hold onto that hope, think of nothing else, and just keep walking.
So ti passed once again, and Ellis began to feel a strange pressure emanating from the light.
But instead of fear, it filled him with joy.
To him, it was a sign that the journey was nearing its end, after all.
But after so more ti passed again, instead of joy as the light, the goal he had been striving toward, seed to grow closer, Ellis felt despair.
His clothes were deteriorating, corroding... or more accurately, disintegrating, slowly right before his eyes.
But worse than that was the pressure.
It weighed on him relentlessly, and he couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that if this continued, he might never reach his goal.
So, feeling that this was the mont, Ellis opened his status window.
Fortunately, the system was still working, despite the warning he had received when he entered the gate.
So, while hoping nothing would go wrong, Ellis finally decided to invest his Unassigned Points.
[Stamina: 26 → Stamina: 41]
[Vitality: 27 → Vitality: 77]
As the changes took effect, he could feel his body strengthening, and for the first ti in a while, he felt relieved.
The oppressive pressure that had been eating at him now seed almost negligible.
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