In one of the academy's sterile hospital rooms, a boy lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling. A wide grin stretched across his face, like soone who had just won a lottery—no, even more than winning a lottery. William's heart raced with excitent. He had just finished reviewing the system rewards from the alleyway fight, and the results were far better than he had expected.
Too good, in fact, that part of him wouldn't mind going through the entire ordeal again, just to see what more the system would grant him.
The first quest the system had given him in the alleyway was straightforward: Save Liam from the bullies. William had completed that task, though it had been far from easy. But the reward made every bruise and broken breath worth it. A soft ding had echoed in his mind as the system's notification appeared:
[Quest Complete: Save Liam from the bullies.] [Reward: Level up.] [You have leveled up: Level 5 >>> 6.]
[50 store coins have been rewarded.]
[All base stats increased by 1.]
A small window popped up before William's eyes, displaying his updated stats. He eagerly summoned his status interface, and it materialized before him:
---
[Status]
[William]
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Level: 6
Experience Value: 300/800
Strength: 8 ( 1)
Agility: 7 ( 1)
Endurance: 7 ( 1)
Skills:
[The 3rd Eye - Level 1]
[Darkseer - Level 1]
[Immunox]
Attributes:
[Shadow Being]
[Child of Thunder]
Soul Essence: 7
Abilities: None
Store Coins: 150
"I'm now level 6," William muttered, a hint of pride in his voice. But his smile faded slightly as he noticed his experience bar had shifted. Experience needed for next level: 800. His expression soured.
"It'll take 800 experience to level up again?" He groaned, doing the quick math in his head. "The system only gives free 50 experience a day. That's... 16 days just to level up if nothing else cos up."
William sighed and moved on to the next quest's reward, hoping for sothing that would ease his annoyance. The second quest had been an additional one, a bonus for not only saving Liam but for defeating the bullies. He'd managed to take down nine of them during the fight, which ant even more experience.
[Quest Complete: Defeat the bullies.]
[Reward: 50 EXP per defeated bully.]
[9 bullies defeated: 9 x 50 = 450 EXP.]
But as William reviewed the number, his brow furrowed. "Wait... I thought there were ten of them?" He ran through the events in his head, counting the bodies he had knocked down. Then it hit him. "The system must not have counted Billy," he muttered. "I guess defeating him is a separate quest."
Sure enough, the third and final quest had been the one he was most eager to see the reward for: [Knock out Billy Stark.] The system hadn't let him down.
[Quest Complete: Knock out Billy Stark.]
[Reward 1: Two levels up.]
[You have leveled up: Level 6 >>> 8.]
[100 store coins rewarded.]
[All base stats increased by 2.]
William grinned from ear to ear. He could feel the strength surging through him, his body responding to the massive increase in power. He summoned his status once again, eager to see the updated version:
---
[Status]
[William]
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Level: 8
Experience Value: 750/1300
Strength: 11
Agility: 10
Endurance: 10
Skills:
[The 3rd Eye - Level 1]
[Darkseer - Level 1]
[Immunox]
Attributes:
[Shadow Being]
[Child of Thunder]
Soul Essence: 7
Abilities: None
Store Coins: 250
William squeezed his hands into fists, feeling the newfound strength coursing through his veins. He couldn't help but smirk. Level 8 already... not bad at all. To be honest, he was already satisfied with just the level-ups. But there was still one more reward waiting for him—an item reward.
The system chid in with its usual chanical voice.
[Reward 2: Artifact reward.]
[Artifact Na: Essence Bind Bracelet.]
[Artifact Properties: When twisted, it blocks the use of soul essence within a certain range.]
William rolled his eyes. "This?" He thought back to the bracelet he had taken from Billy after the fight. It was the sa one Billy had used to prevent Liam from activating his soul essence or abilities. "Isn't this the sa artifact I already took from him? System, are you really just giving sothing I already have? That's pretty low."
The system's voice grew colder, clearly displeased.
[Finish reading the properties.]
William frowned but did as he was told, his eyes skimming over the rest of the description. His heart nearly stopped.
[Additional Property: ...]
His eyes widened. If he had been standing, he would have surely collapsed. This... this is insane!
The system spoke again, smugness dripping from its tone.
[Who were you calling cheap and low?]
William quickly apologized, his earlier irritation replaced by disbelief. "S-sorry, system. I didn't know..."
The system remained silent, but William could almost feel it smirking in triumph. He gulped, still stunned by the second property of the Essence Bind Bracelet. He couldn't believe the system had modified it to include sothing that powerful.
The second property of the bracelet was that ...
---
anwhile, in the Heretic's base, chaos reigned, though it was an organized kind of chaos. The tension in the King's Hall was palpable, the air thick with unspoken fear. The king of the heretics sat on his nacing throne, his gaze cold and calculating, though a flicker of sothing else—sothing almost like nervousness or was it fear—flashed in his eyes.
His attention was fixed on the massive portal in the center of the room, runes etched around its edge. Light shimred from the runes, growing stronger and brighter with each passing second. The king's fingers drumd against the armrest of his throne, a rhythm of barely concealed anxiety.
He took a slow, deliberate breath, trying to steady his nerves, but it did little to calm the storm raging within him. The portal was nearing completion.
One of the hooded figures surrounding the portal turned to him, its voice hollow and reverberating through the hall. "My King, the portal is ready."
The king exhaled through his nose, his jaw clenched tight. "Open it," he ordered, his voice firm, though his knuckles were white where they gripped the throne.
The hooded figures surrounding the portal raised their hands in unison, their faces hidden beneath their deep, dark hoods. As their hands lifted, the runes on the portal began to glow with an intense red light. The portal itself shimred, its surface rippling like disturbed red water almost like blood or could be.
The air in the room grew thick and oppressive. A low hum filled the space, vibrating through the stone walls. Suddenly, the bodies of the hooded figures began to drain, their life force visibly sucked into the portal. One by one, their limbs went limp, their bodies crumbling into lifeless heaps on the floor.
The red light of the portal dimd, the once-brilliant red light of the portal dimd, and the hall fell eerily silent.
The king's heart pounded in his chest. He stepped forward cautiously, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the now-quiet portal. And then, out of the shimring darkness, a small figure erged.
A cute, fat black cat.
The cat owed "ow".
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