UTTERLY USELESS

“I am not a system” The voice echoed once more calm yet absolute. Clerk was quite startled 

“Did it read my mind?”

 “So, is there anyway to discover them?” 

He asked the voice. “Not all of them can be discovered, talents can be achieved or learned, using elements can’t be learned if you have an affinity for neither of them.” The voice paused then added. 

“Traits are not skills learnt, they are innate abilities tied to a person from birth, and you don’t have one.” “Without any of these, it may be impossible to find your sister nor survive in this world. “ 

 The last sentence the voice in an emotionless tone, reverberated in Clerk ‘s head. For a moment , Clerk felt down. Out of everything that had happened to him, both in prison and the forest, nothing else hit Clerk the way those words hit him. He muttered to himself. 

“I’ll find my sister, even without your help.” Wearing a forced smile, he stood on the tree’s branch stretching his body, then pointed eastwards. 

“Because I’ve acquired clothes—an expensive one at that; I leave this forest, TODAY!” 

From Random’s memories, the closest and only harbor from the prison was eastwards. The Pavia harbor. 

 … 

Pavia grave harbor, built by Ruth Pavia III, it’s the one of many Pavia harbors. Built at the edge of a deserted island know as the Grave island, its been one of a major area of trade since it’s the closest to the Northern, Western, Central and Elven islands. Its deserted because of an apocalyptic disaster that happen there during the fifth aeon. Most citizens don’t believe though. It got its name from stories, used to scare children into doing good. 

The prison on the island was established in the recent aeon for detaining ferocious criminals. It’s nickname being, The Ashen Womb. The Gaoler of the prison is an eastern aristocrat, DUKE RUTH PAVIC VI, and also a former commissioned officer with a MAJOR rank. She’s seen as the living symbol of rebirth through fire — both feared and revered. 

She has major influence over the devotees to the church of fire and rebirth and Pavia ports within and across the eastern island. The ports serves as both a trade hub and a holy port of pilgrimage. All goods moving through the harbor are taxed by Ruth’s authority, making her immensely wealthy. 

… 

“Damn, she really sounds like a scary lady”. “I wonder why a prison would be built way out here” “So strange, whereas those glyphs on the wall, what are they for, most of the criminals there can’t manifest arcana.” 

 “Well they must have their reasons” 

He put on the now dried clothes, smiling like he had just won a lottery. 

Surprisingly the clothes were his size although slightly larger. Before climbing down the tree, he surveyed the surroundings for a few minutes from the tree’s top. The forest creatures were still lunching on the mysterious kill from last night. 

Seizing the opportunity, he quickly climbed down the tree and ran eastwards. He could still feel the pain from last night, but he still ran as fast as he could. 

Boom! 

It was a strike, a very powerful, and precise one. It was directly aimed at his head to crush it instantly. Claw strikes tore through the ground, destroying the trees along it’s path, the depth on the ground made from the claw strike was very frightening . It was an attack so fast that it seemed impossible to evade. 

Clerk barely evaded the attack with a thrust leap backwards using his right leg, its more like his body’s quick reflex reaction. The strain he suffered from the power leap was quite severe coupled with the muscle ache he had from last night. He muscles were severely damaged, but not rendered incapable of moving. His body was more accustomed to evading rather than attacking, putting a good distance between him and the source of the strike. 

As the risen dust began disseminating, standing before was the creature that attacked scummy. The creature that oozed of death. 

 Standing at a height the length of a family car, two long arms dropped from its hunched shoulders reaching the knees on its feline-like legs, with claws the length of a short sword. On the face was an unhinged jaw, dropping louder than a scream would allow. From it was a human hand with fingers that were constantly moving, covered in wax-like-substance. It had no eyes. 

On its head was a huge black spot that floated like oil on water. The skin was liked that of human with a slimy appearance, stretching like it could tear upon contact. On the skin were worms that seemed attached to the skin itself. The air around it rippled violently like the world itself was rejecting it’s existence. It looked like a creature ripped from a nightmare. 

Clerk’s mouth wide open, his enveloped In absolute horror. Looking at the abomination before him—its not that he didn’t want to breath, he couldn’t breath at all. The entire atmosphere around the monster was hot and reeked of rot. His stomach knew before his mind that this creature was not meant to exist. 

The creature thrust towards him at an impossible speed still aiming for his head. He barely dodged the attack with a bend on all fours then a leap to the left side, the strike hit the tree behind him, immediately it began rotting. 

Clerk body kept shaking while he reflexively barely dodged attacks thrown at him. He muscles swelling, blood vessels rupturing, his tendons tearing still the creature kept attacking, his stolen clothes got shredded, his wavy white hair got barbed off roughly and stained in deep red. Clerk’s constant evading made the trees fall victims of the creature’s attack whereby causing them to fall, trees for Clerk to hide or take cover kept reducing , his body already covered in wounds that began decaying. In a moment of desperation, he remembered the voice. 

He had a glimmer of hope. In distress and anxiety he screamed 

“Voice! I know you can hear me, please I need you help!” 

I took a while, then the voice replied, but this time in a more cold and emotionless tone 

“You have No traits, 

 No talents, 

 No element, 

 NO ETERNAL!” “Yet you wish to survive” .

“YOU ARE UTTERLY USELESS, I CAN’T HELP YOU!”