《Beyond Time and Space》 Volume 1: Neutral Dimension - Chapter 1: The Order of the Gods Liam Mason opened his green eyes and wondered where he was as he lay on a hard surface in a white room. He thought it was strange, for he was certain that he lay in his bed after eleven o''clock at night studying for the math test, since this was something he was sure he was born with no talent at all. His head throbbing, he moaned as he got up and sat down. With a frown, he looked around. The white room must have been around for at least 500 meters and was circular. He also saw that he was not alone. There were countless people. There were probably over 1.000 people. He stood up and saw that he was not the only one who had just woken up, several other people were waking up and had confused looks, just like his. From what he can tell, there were people between the ages of 15 and 50, of all ethnicities. Some were speaking in Portuguese, others in English, Spanish, French, and all other languages. There were probably people from every country. Something was definitely not right. Being a 16-year-old Brazilian, living in a small town in the interior of S?o Paulo, Liam lived with his mother and two brothers. Leon, 19, and Lucas, 11. Liam was the middle son. With the death of the father in a car accident involving a drunk, the 4 had to learn to live with less money than they already had. Liam and Leon had to find work in supermarkets to help with the household expenses. Because of this, Liam did not have the time to become a nerd and do what he liked most, watch movies, series and drawings, so he did not have much knowledge about it, but luckily he already watched a 2 or 3 anime that approached the subject of transmigration, so he thought that something like that could be happening. The people around him seemed to have no knowledge of this and some were even crying, others were screaming as if to sort out something. The people who were still unconscious finally awoke and it was at that moment that high in the center of the room a hologram of a being, a man with a purple hat, green hair, white face and red eyes with a wide smile, using a purple suit with a yellow bow tie and purple trousers, propped on a cane with a small silver skull, greeted them. ¡°At last you are awake, you sluggards. I was wondering if I had to do something. I was so bored...¡± He pretended to wipe away an imaginary tear. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Someone exclaimed. ¡°Yes! What''s going on?¡± ¡°What place is that?¡± The clown approached and bowed as if he were looking at a camera, then stood and swung his cane in his left hand. ¡°Hihi... My God, it looks like someone woke up on the wrong side today.¡± No one laughed.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Difficult audience today...¡± he sighed comically, but no one thought it was funny. Not even a second later, he grinned.¡± Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to inform you that... The drums roar...¡± The sound of drums echoed on all sides. ¡°You were chosen as the heroes of Earth. Ta-da!¡± He removed his hat and held out his arms after bending over. ¡°Fuck you, you miserable one!¡± ¡°Take us back!¡± Liam sat quietly contemplating the information he received. Heroes of the Earth? Heroes... does that mean the Earth needs to be saved? The image of her mother and her brothers soon popped into her head. ¡°Tsk...¡± the clown snapped his tongue looking annoyed. He put the hat on his head. ¡°Silence!¡± He exclaimed, banging his cane on the floor. Even though it was a hologram in mid-air, Liam felt as if the cane had hit the floor of the room. The impact sound plus a wave of power spread to all sides of the center of the room knocking everyone back. This made everyone quiet when they realized that this hellhole was not normal, even for a hologram. The clown took a deep breath before looking at everyone. ¡°Now, where was I? Mm... yes, I remembered. As I was saying, you are part of the 10% of all humans in this universe. I would tell you everything, but how you irritated me, I will summarize and I will probably forget a lot of important things. This your universe is just a drop in the ocean of universes throughout this multiverse. There is a universe inhabited only by demons who know nothing but the will to dominate all other races in all universes. They have already managed to enslave more than 10.000 universes and yours, is next, unless you do something. Each universe is protected by a barrier called, Neutral Dimension. The Neutral Dimension is supported by 666 Black Towers, which if destroyed, portals will be opened to your world allowing them to cross and exterminate them. Normally, the demons would attack their world, some would be defeated, and the humans who defeated them would awaken abilities and blah, blah, blah. Even so, it would end the death of his entire race. So the survivors of the attacked universes came together and created the association called the Order of the Gods.¡± It all seemed like a fantasy tale in Liam''s ears. No one was saying anything, just listening. ¡°The Order of the Gods chooses 10% of the dominant population of each planet from the next universe to be attacked, and with their power, give them the ability to enter that white room that allows them to enter the Neutral Dimension. This ability is automatic and is activated at midnight every Friday in your particular time zone, regardless of whether you are sleeping or not. The concept of time within this white room does not exist, so you are always moving in and out of the Neutral Dimension together. The White Room allows them to stay in the Neutral Dimension for 144 hours, which equals in their world at 6 o''clock.¡± The clown gave them a few seconds to digest the information before continuing. ¡°You will be sent to the Neutral Dimension corresponding to your solar system. Each solar system in your universe has an access point to the Neutral Dimension. This means that this access point may not be where the Black Tower is. There are portals open to the Black Towers on the altars scattered throughout the Neutral Dimension. Each access point has an altar. This altar is protected by a light barrier. Protect the altar from demons. The same goes for the towers. Well, if you understand, well, if not, your problem. Tell status to see your status, skill for your skills and shop to buy something. As this is your first time, everyone can choose any weapon from the first page in the store for free. As a welcome gift, the Order of the Gods gives them this mysterious chest that can contain anything from weapons to skills, or even a stone. Who knows. You will be teleported to the base in the Neutral Dimension when the sand of the hourglass has completely dropped. And that...¡± He banged his cane on the ground releasing a wave followed by countless melon-sized balls that flew each to a person. The sphere was black and with two blue scratches cutting it in 4 parts and in the center it looked like a robotic eye. ¡°These orbs are called Operators. They can tell you the time, they can identify things and also within them you have an infinite space to save your gains. The mysterious chest is inside its orb. Just ask. Goodbye and I hope I never have to see any of you again.¡± The clown disappeared. The orb in front of Liam scanned him releasing a blue light. ¡°Registered Owner.¡± Chapter 2: Neutral Dimension Liam stood still not quite sure how to react. He took a deep breath. Desperation would not help at all. He was in a position he obviously could not reject. If so, he may well accept what was happening and move on. ¡°First, let''s see how I am. Status.¡± Before him, a translucent screen of blue color appeared, and apparently he was the only one able to see. (.....) Name: Liam Mason Level: 0 | EXP: 0% Class: Awakened Title: none HP: 40 | MP: 10 Vitality: 4 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 8 Mental Power: 1 Magic Power: 2 Attributes Points: 0 Skill Points: 0 (.....) From what he understood, Vitality increases your HP by 10 points per Score. Strength is as it says, it increases your strength and stamina. Dexterity increases your speed, motor coordination and your perception. Mental Power increases your MP (Mana) by 10 points for each point. Magic Power increases by 0.1% the strength, effectiveness and power of your abilities that have in their description the damage done or some percentage, in addition to increasing the speed of mana regeneration by 1 every minute for every 10 points. At each level it rises, it will receive 5 Attributes Points to distribute as you wish. The same goes for Skill Points. The system was simple and easy to understand. Since he did not play much, he thanked the gods for being easy to understand. ¡°Skills.¡± (.....) Skills - (1/10): [Blessing of the Gods - Rank-S (Temporary)] (.....) It seems he could only learn 10 skills. That was a shame. He turned his attention to her ability. (.....) Blessing of the Gods: the gods are looking for you. They gave him the ability to stand up once more when he fell before his enemies. Description: Relive on base after dying for up to 3 times. After the third resurrection, this ability will disappear from your skill list. Rank: S (0/0) Uses: 3/3 Cost: none (.....) Liam let out the breath he did not even know he was holding. ¡°At least I will not perish immediately...¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Looking around he saw that some people were analyzing their status and abilities and it seems that he was not the only one to receive this ability. Taking a deep breath, he decided to open the mysterious chest first before deciding which weapon to take. ¡°Operator, hand me the mysterious chest.¡± The orb hovering at the height of his head shone before a foot of a foot or so appeared before him. The hover floated at the height of his chest, encased in a golden light. He took a deep breath and hoped it was a skill. As he touched the chest, a message appeared before him. [You got a mysterious chest. Do you want to open it?] ¡°Yes...¡± Liam whispered. The bubble of light enveloped by the boo burst with a ¡°pop¡± and then the chest opened alone and from it a book floated. Seeing what Liam was doing, many decided to do the same. The book was 30 centimeters high. It was hard-blue. Liam touched the book. [You have purchased the skill book: ¡°Time Stopping¡±. Want to learn?] Liam did not even hesitate to confirm. [You learned the ability to Rank-G: Time Stopping.] Without delay, he opened the ability. (.....) Time Stopping (active): the ability to stop time. The user is no longer affected by time. Rank: G (0/100) Duration: 3 seconds Range: 3 meters around the user Restriction: does not affect those that are 3 levels and above Cost: 100 MP Cooldown: 60 seconds (.....) Liam almost coughed blood. The ability itself was excellent, but at only 10 MP, how could he even think of using it? He closed the skills window and looked at the hourglass, saw that it should be another 10 minutes before being teleported to the base in the Neutral Dimension. ¡°Store.¡± Ahead of him, a window containing more than 10 different types of weapons emerged. They were all medieval. But this time, the window did not belong to him, but to the orb. Apparently, the store belonged to the Order of the Gods. Looking at the swords, axes, bows, sabers, spears among others, Liam chose what he found most easy to handle, and also why he always liked. He chose the katana. The katana, in its sheath, was automatically fitted at its waist. (.....) Katana Simple Rank: G Durability: 30/30 Requirements: none Attack: 5 ~ 8 Effect: none (.....) ¡°Attention. You will be teleported to the Neutral Dimension in 10 seconds.¡± The orb soon reported. Nervousness washed over him. ¡°10... 9... 8...¡± The Operator of each person reported raising the apprehension of everyone to the limit. ¡°2... 1... Teleporting user to human base...¡± Blinding white light spread to all sides forcing him to close his eyes. In the next second, Liam heard sounds of explosions. Frightened, he opened his eyes and jumped. Liam was greeted by a vision of an unimaginable place. The sky was purple with blue clouds and floating islands. There were some trees along the place of mystical appearance. There was no sun or star at all, but it was still clear as the sunset. He was in a huge stone patio. Behind him was a kind of pyramid-like altar with a mixture of a Mayan ruin. To reach the top of the altar where he could see a red light screen and just after the screen, a circular portal that looked like purple clouds glittered. Above the altar, there was a flag with a symbol that seemed to represent the omega, it floated. This same flag seemed to emit a power by creating a field of white energy around the altar that encompassed around 200 meters. He turned and looked straight ahead. About 500 meters away, there was another screen of light, but this one was green and soon after the screen, there were innumerable creatures. Some looked like humanoid lizards, others looked like humanoid bulls, and so on. These creatures wore armor and weapons of all kinds and were attacking the screen of light that looked like it would break at any moment. ¡°Operator, can you explain what''s going on?¡± Liam asked. The robotic male voice of the orb responded. ¡°You are within the base captured by the Order of the Gods. The flag represents the domain of who captured an altar. The white force field is the last line of defense against the demons. There are 7 force fields in all. White, green, yellow, blue, pink, black, and purple.¡± Liam was listening intently. ¡°Each force field has a constraint. The white force field can be traversed by anyone allowed by the Order of the Gods. The green force field can only be traversed by levels 3 or lower. The yellow field only allows levels 7 or less. Blue allows levels 15 or less. Pink allows levels 30 or less. Black allows for levels 50 or lower. Purple allows for levels 90 or lower.¡± ¡°What about the white and red fields?¡± Liam asked. ¡°The red field prevents anyone from level 99 or lower from crossing. That only applies to you humans. The red field was created by the lord of that altar.¡± The orb first explained the red field before explaining the white force field. ¡°The white force field can be traversed by demons if the source of energy that sustains all force fields is drained. The source of energy are blood cores dropped by demons when they are killed. Each user must pay 5 cores of blood every 48 hours. This is required. From now on, the maintenance of energy will depend only on humans.¡± Liam sighed. ¡°Even here you must pay something.¡± Looking more closely, he saw that there were monsters attacking the white force field. ¡°How long before the power runs out?¡± ¡°47 hours and 41 minutes.¡± The Operator reported. He let out a sigh of relief. ¡°At least we have some time.¡± Chapter 3: The First Battle ¡°Operator, is there any way I can increase my attributes without killing demons?¡± Liam asked. ¡°No.¡± It was the emotionless response of the orb. ¡°...¡± Feeling a bitter taste, he looked around. ¡°Operator, why are there few people?¡± ¡°The total capacity within the white force field is 100.000 people. The rest of the chosen ones were teleported to other bases.¡± Liam nodded. The people close to him had heard everything he and the operator had said. No one had yet risked crossing the force field and confronting the monsters. ¡°Operator, what is the level of the monsters between the white field and the green field?¡± ¡°Level 1 to level 3.¡± Liam took a deep breath and approached the force field. Then he started to walk around, turning around. He was looking for a quieter place to try to face the demons. The altar had a staircase of the four corners. Almost an hour later he found a quieter place. People were already risking demons. Some even used magic. He saw many balls of fire flying against the demons. Some even managed to kill a demon. There were others who died and exploded in a golden light and appeared within the white force field. Liam took a deep breath and crossed the field of white strength wielding the katana. He chose to face the wolf more than 2 meters tall as his first demon. The orb informed him that the wolf was level 1. [Demon Wolf - Level 1] [HP: 120 | MP: 30] Seeing Liam, the wolf attacked with his mouth open and his teeth huge and pointy. Liam almost screamed in fear, but there was no time for that. He threw himself aside as he moved the katana. Blood flew to the top of the cut that appeared in the flesh of the wolf. In red, a number appeared from the top of the wolf''s head. [-10] With some effort, Liam stood up and did not hesitate. He jumped and tucked the tip of the katana into the neck of the wolf that was trying to get up. The blade pierced the wolf''s flesh like butter and passed through it. [Critical Strike. The target suffered 30 damage.]Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Knowing that was not enough, Liam pulled the katana and as a butcher, with all his might, he cut the wolf''s head off. [Critical Strike. The target took 150 damage.] [You killed the target.] [You got 70 EXP.] [You leveled.] Despite being happy and wanting to celebrate, Liam knew it was dangerous. Without thinking twice, he ran into the white force field as he heard the voice of the orb: ¡°You got 1x Blood Core, 1x Rank-G chest, and 1 contribution point. Contribution Points can be used to buy from the store.¡± The orb, like some RPG games, would pick up the drops automatically. Contribution Points were given by killing the demons. Sure, Liam fell to the floor and took a deep breath. ¡°Survived...¡± he smiled. Liam sat down. ¡°Status...¡± ..... Name: Liam Mason Level: 1 | EXP: 20% Class: Awakened Title: none HP: 40 | MP: 10 Vitality: 4 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 8 Mental Power: 1 Magic Power: 2 Attributes Points: 5 Skill Points: 5 ..... When leveling, all HP and MP will be restored to peak, just like any tiredness. Liam did not think twice before putting all Attributes Points into Dexterity. He stood up. ¡°Operator, hand me Rank-G chest.¡± Liam took the chest and opened it. He received a small Healing Potion. Liam put it in the orb, and then his gaze fell on the monsters. This time, as he looked at the monsters, he felt he was looking at a juicy piece of steak. Determined, with his katana in his right hand, he marched to the hunt. He was behind another level 1 wolf. Being a little faster than before did not make hunting easier. Liam turned away from the wolf''s attack and then cut down. The wolf howled in pain and pushed against Liam. He jumped back, rested his foot on the ground and used the force on his legs to attack. Holding the handle of the katana with both hands, he cut the wolf''s neck once more. [You killed the target.] [You got 70 EXP.] This time he did not level. It was to be expected. It would get harder and harder to level. The globe intelligently did not report its gains at such an inopportune time. With no time to think about things, Liam crouched down, escaping a triz of having his head ripped out by the huge mouth of a demonic wolf. With a quick thought, he punched the tip of the katana up. Something hot fell on him. It was blood. ¡°Grrr...¡± the wolf snarled. [Critical Strike. The target suffered 60 damage.] Liam had to drop the katana. Then he heard the thud of the wolf''s body fall behind him. His heart racing, he turned and forced himself forward. Liam had to harden his heart not to vomit. With a leap, he stood up and grasped the katana cape, at the same time as he sank his foot into the wolf''s head with all his strength. [-8] ¡°...¡± Ignoring how weak he was, Liam pulled the katana, and had to cut the wolf''s neck three times before he could kill him. [You killed the target.] [You got 70 EXP.] [You leveled.] Dirty with blood, but thankfully not tired, he ran into the white force field. ¡°Operator, my winnings.¡± Liam asked as he sat down. ¡°Blood Core 3x. Rank-G Chest 1x. 3 Contribution Points.¡± Liam nodded. The chests were rare to fall. The only thing with 100% success to drop was the Blood Core. ¡°Hand me the chest.¡± Liam opened the chest. [You got the skill book: ¡°Slash.¡± Want to learn?] Liam confirmed. [You learned the ability of Rank-G: Slash.] Without delay, he opened the ability. ..... Slash: using a sword, attack with a powerful cut. Rank: G (0/50) Effect: Increases damage by 5% Cost: 10 MP Cooldown: 3 seconds ..... This time, Liam handed out 2 points in Mental Power and 3 points in Strength. Liam spent more than 10 hours hunting only wolves. There was an hour when he asked what would happen if he went beyond level 3. ¡°Paying 45 additional Blood Core, you will receive a token that allows you to cross the green barrier.¡± ¡°...¡± It seems that this Order of the Gods has ties to Earth''s politicians. Chapter 4: Demon Hunter Liam sat down in a corner near the altar. "Status." ..... Name: Liam Mason Level: 12 | EXP: 3% Class: Awakened Title: none HP: 40 | MP: 30 Vitality: 4 Strength: 33 Dexterity: 38 Mental Power: 3 Magic Power: 2 Attributes Points: 5 Skill Points: 60 ..... This time, after focusing on Strength and Dexterity, Liam distributed 2 points on Dexterity and the other 3 on Mental Power. Now with 40 in Dexterity and 60 MP. He also decided to upgrade the Slash skill to Rank-F. ..... Slash: using a sword, attack with a mighty cut. Rank: F (0/100) Effect: Increases damage by 6% Cost: 10 MP Cooldown: 3 seconds ..... The only thing that changed was the rank, the required amount of Skill Points to upgrade, and the effect that before it was 5%. He might not be physically tired, but mentally he was exhausted. So he decided to rest for a while. "Operator, pay 50 Core. I want the token to cross the green force field." "Request confirmed. You got the green token." "What are my winnings?" "87x Blood Core. 7x Ranks. 137 Contribution Points." Liam thought for a few seconds before making up his mind. "Operator, restore the (Simple Katana) completely." "The cost is 5 Blood Core for every 1 of restored durability. Are you sure you want to proceed?" "Yes." "It will take 10 minutes to restore 20 for durability." "Meanwhile, hand me the chest." Liam opened the first chest and received a small healing potion. The second gave him 5 Blood Core. The third gave him an arc of Rank-G. The fourth gave him a small mana potion. The other three gave him skill books. Haste, Mana Regeneration and Fireball. ..... Haste (Active): increases movement speed when activated. Rank: G (0/50) Effect: Increases movement speed by 7% Duration: 5 seconds Cost: 20 MPThe author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Cooldown: 30 seconds ..... Fireball: Launches a fireball on target. Rank: G (0/50) Attack: Cause 8 ~ 12 damage Effect: Has a 3% chance to burn target - Burn: Target misses 10 HP per second. Duration: 30 seconds Casting Time: 2 seconds Range: 10 meters Cost: 30 MP Cooldown: 3 seconds ..... Mana Regeneration (Passive): Increases the speed of Mana Regeneration. Rank: G (0/50) Effect: Retrieves 10 MP per minute ..... Before Mana Regeneration, Liam had already checked the recovery speed of his MP. It was 1 MP per minute. The same was true for your HP. "I think I''m going to have to focus on my Mental Power now. My MP is too small. Mm... Operator, is there anything in the store that increases the rank of skills?" The orb took a few seconds before answering. "Yes. For 10.000 Contribution Points, you can get the Soul Core." Liam''s eyes flashed. "Show me the page of the item." In front of him, he saw a jewel the size of an apple. If it was not for the color, he could swear it was a Blood Core. Blood Core are blood red. The jewel he was seeing, the Soul Core, is a blue color of the sky. "That... does not it mean that the demons also drop that item?" "Yes, but the drop rate is too small and only level 30 and above demons drop the Soul Core." Liam was thoughtful for a moment before ask: "Operator, is there any way to gain Contribution Points without defeating the demons" "Yes. It exists through missions given by the Order of the Gods and also exists by the exchange of Blood Core. 100 Core for 1 Contribution Point." Liam said nothing, but inside, he was beginning to think that these Blood Core were far more important than they seemed. But even so, he had already made his decision to acquire these Soul Core. Liam Mason spent more than two hours just resting as he looked around. He noticed that the number of people decreased slightly. Many ended up using all 3 extra lives and ended up dying. If you die here, you die in reality. The orb explained that this body is just an avatar. Your real body is in your home, lying in your bed, and for all purposes, sleeping. Some people tried to get acquainted with him, but Liam acted as antisocial that he is. He chose to focus on staying strong and surviving instead of making friendships that may well not be real. Engaging with other people was just a means to seek trouble. Although he did not have as much time as he had, Liam had watched many animations and series to know that. With a sigh, he opened the rankings. He had discovered that there was an official rating of the strongest. 1: Li Yun - Level 38: Altar of Discord 2: Gao Jun - Level 37: Altar of Discord 3: Erik Stwart - Level 36: Altar of Justice 4: Lara Carter - Level 35: Altar of War .... 7867: Liam Mason - Level 12: Altar of Order Seeing his position, he can do nothing but sigh. "These monsters... Probably lucky enough to have terrifying skills." He stood and stretched. "Time to hunt." Upon entering the first layer, he noticed that the number of demons had decreased. It no longer looked like an endless army. People found it easier to name the spaces between each force field by layers. Between white and green: First layer. Between green and yellow: Second Layer. Between the yellow field and the blue: Third layer. Between the blue field and the pink: Fourth layer. Between the pink and the black field: Sixth Layer. Between black and purple field: Seventh Layer. After the seventh layer, it is called the outer layer, outside the altar guards. Even the orbs adhered to that. Liam decided to reach level 15 in the first layer before going to the second layer. Your safety came first. Being a level 12, killing level 1 to level 3 demons was extremely easy. Of course the number of demons he had to kill only increased. More than an hour later, he reached level 13. He continued to fight non-stop. The same thing happened when you reached level 14 and then level 15. [You leveled.] [Congratulations, you killed 1000 demons!] [You got the title ''Demon Hunter''.] Liam decided to go back to the white field to check right the title. ..... Demon Hunter: a title given to those who killed 1000+ demons. Effect: Increases all damage dealt by demons by 30% ..... He smiled. "Now it will be a lot easier to hunt these pests... Now, it''s time to increase my MP." Liam put all 15 Attributes Points into Mental Power, thus getting over 200 MP. So far, he had only used his skills when needed, but now he plans to start using them more freely. "Operator, buy the necessary tokens to cross as many force fields as possible." "Request confirmed. You have acquired the necessary tokens to cross to the black force field. To cross the last force field, purple, 500 Blood Core is needed." After that, he opened the 3 chests he acquired after killing more than 800 demons. He noticed that his luck seemed to be diminishing. He did not receive any skill books, only 3 outfits. A pair of boots that increases his speed of movement by 2%, an iron breastplate that increases his defense by 1.5% and a sword similar to the one he saw in medieval films. He fitted the boots, the chest and tried the sword, but found it strange. He had already grown accustomed to the katana format. That''s why he sold the sword, his katana, and the bow he won earlier, so he received a total of 600 Contribution Points. As a result, he spent 1200 points to buy the Sword Mastery - Rank-G, which passively increases sword damage by 2%, and makes him fluent in handling the sword. The remaining 500 points were used to buy a katana with a better effect and damage. ..... Katana Iron Rank: G Durability: 35/35 Requirements: Level 10 Attack: 21 ~ 31 Effect: Has a 3% chance of causing Bleeding Bleeding: Target loses 10 HP per second. Duration: 10 seconds ..... Chapter 5: War ogre When Liam was about to enter the first layer, the orb informed him: "The first layer was completely clean. There are no more demons at the moment." He was surprised. It should have more than 10.000 demons in the first layer, but after more than 15 hours, it was completely clean. The orb had already explained to him that each layer had a certain number of demons. In the first layer, the exact number of demons was 20.000. In the second it was 40 thousand. In the third, 60 thousand. And so on. Each layer had a maximum limit of how many demons could enter, and once that limit was reached, a new demon could only come in 72 hours later. That''s why it was possible to completely clean each layer. "I must hurry." He entered the first layer and went straight to the second layer. The demons were level 1 at level 7. Without hesitation, Liam began to hunt without mercy or pity. Of course to level, it was only God himself, as it became increasingly difficult killing only lower-level demons. ... Liam gritted his teeth as he used the blade of the katana to defend himself against a powerful cut of an ogre''s ax. His feet sank a few inches into the dirt floor and he was pushed some 10 centimeters back. His arms tingled with the force of the impact of that level 7 ogre, but with a force superior to him, a level 16 awakened. [Demon War Ogre (Leader) - Level 7] [HP: 1.342 / 3.000 | MP: 1.456 / 2.000] The orb informed him that ogres had passive abilities that greatly increased their HP and MP, as well as being much stronger than humans, and all had the passive ''Herculean Strength'' ability to increase Strength by 5 each leveling. Feeling faint to face the ogre''s next attack, Liam was forced to use his ace for the first time: "Time Stopping." he whispered. The demon, who was about ten feet tall, stopped moving and his attack stopped in mid-air as if a video was paused. With no time to celebrate, Liam stepped aside and whispered, "Haste." And so he increased his speed and without wasting time, he continued: "Slash." In a blink of an eye, he passed the ogre cutting him and stopped 3 paces behind the ogre with his back to the demon. The 3 seconds passed. Liam turned in time to see the ogre hitting the ground with tremendous force creating a mini crater and making it all around for about 10 meters tremble at the same time as a red number appeared above his head. [-57] Soon after, a very welcome message came up. [The effect (Bleeding) was activated.] He stretched out the palm of his left hand to the ogre and shouted, "Fireball!" A fireball the size of a soccer ball came out of nowhere and flew to the back of the ogre in full . [-22]If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The ogre roared with fury almost falling forward. Liam felt fear. This monstrosity in front of him was only a level 7, but the bastard had 3.000 HP, was stronger than him and not as stupid as the wolves, gnomes and Lizards of the first layer. With his mediocre attack that barely exceeds 50 damage, how would he solve it? Its own HP bar was at 57% and its MP had a measly 23%. He had already been fighting this demon for almost two hours and had only managed to slash the enemy''s HP bar by a little over 40%. For not having leveled so far, he was already very tired, because he had to use all of his ability not to be killed. Of course he could revive next, but that would be a waste. These 3 abilities to revive should be used wisely, for he would not have them forever. "Skills." ..... Skills - (7/10): [Blessing of the Gods - Rank-S (Temporary)] | [Time Stopping (Active) - Rank-G)] | [Slash (Active) - Rank-F] | [Haste (Active) - Rank-G] | [Fireball (Rank)] | [Mana Regeneration (Passive) - Rank-G] | [Sword Mastery (Passive) - Rank-G] ..... Haste and Time Stopping was in cooldown. The only skills he could use were Fireball and Slash, but with only 40 MP left, he did not have much to work with. "Operator, hand me the mana potion." Before him, a 10-centimeter glass jar containing a blue liquid appeared. Without hesitation, he picked it up and drink the liquid before the ogre recovered. [You drink a ''Small Mana Potion''. You recovered 50 MP.] Liam threw the jar into the orb which retrieved it in a ray of blue light. The orb then flew to the top and was wrapped in a bubble of blue light that shielded him in the middle of the battlefield. "Fireball." The ogre was hit by the fireball and was engulfed in a small blast. [The effect (Burn) was activated.] "Yes!" He exclaimed before squeezing the fist of the katana. He advanced against the burning ogre. "Slash!" The katana glowed with a blue light and cut from the left shoulder to the ogre''s right waist. Of course it was not enough to break the demon in two. With his dexterity 3 times greater than a normal human, on the level, perhaps of a martial artist, or Olympic gymnast, Liam handled the katana as an expert. With just one step he passed the ogre as he crouched and cut the back of his right knee. "AARGH!!!" the ogre roared, falling and leaning on his left knee. That was a critical blow. Of course Liam did not stop there. He got up without giving the ogre a chance to retaliate. "Slash." He held the katana in both hands and cut the ogre''s neck with all his might. It was another critical blow. In just a few seconds, Liam managed to reduce the ogre''s life bar to 40%. There was still a long way to go. Liam stepped on the ogre''s back and jumped around in mid-air as he moved his katana with only his right hand. A critical blow struck the ogre''s right shoulder. He gave a mortal in midair and fell in front of the ogre with his back to the demon. Liam did not stop for a second. As his feet touched the ground, he turned his body and used the force of that twist to cut the ogre''s neck one more time while shouting, "Slash!" For having the cooldown of 3 seconds and a cost of 10 MP, Slash could be used almost consecutively. After that cut, he turned the katana and cut again and again creating an X from the two ogre''s shoulders. Then he made the katana spin into the air, releasing it and catching it like a dagger and plunging it into the ogre''s left eye. "Slash." The katana pierced the eye and crossed the ogre''s head. Liam was praying that the bastard would die with this blow, but the bastard was only given a critical blow. He knew it would not be so easy, after all, this damn had a strong regeneration. Logic did not apply to those bastards. The only way to kill them was to empty their life bars. The ogre roared more furiously than ever before as his right eye stared at Liam promising a painful death. "Humph... Do not look at me like that, this is war. And in war, anything goes. Fireball." Liam threw a ball of fire right into the ogre''s open mouth. Then he tore off the katana and jumped back, turned, and ran a few paces away and turned in time to see the ogre''s head explode. [Critical Strike.] [You killed the target.] [You leveled.] Liam let out a sigh of relief. "It seems that still works some logic at the end of everything." Right then. "Congratulations on the difficult victory. You received: Soul Core - 1x, Rank-E Chest - 1x, 100 Contribution Points." "Yes, yes... " He waved his hand as if he was not interested, but stopped when he realized what he had heard. "Wait, did you say... Soul Core?" Liam quickly returned to the first layer to check out the war spoils. "Operator, did not you say that these Core fell only from level 30 demons and up?" "Yes. Soul Core has a 0.5% chance of falling from a level 30 to 50 demon. This rate increases by 0.5% every 20 levels. Already Demons Leaders, Elites, Captains, Dukes and so on have a higher rate of dropam Soul Core. Leaders up to level 20 have a 1.5% chance of dropping Core. Elites have 2%. Captains have 2.5% and so on. Every 20 levels, the rate increases by 0.5%. The first death of each position increases by a 10% chance of dropping the Soul Core." "So... Why did not you tell me this before?" "With your strength, I calculated that it was impossible for you to even scratch a demon with a position." ¡°...¡± Chapter 6: Brave Warrior Liam decided to return to the white field, as it was much safer. You never know when a psychopath will decide PK the others awakened. In the white field, this was extremely forbidden. "Operator, what are my gains?" "Soul Core - 1x, Blood Core - 877x, Rank-G Chest - 4x, Rank-E Chest - 1x, 1077 Contribution Points." Liam made a quick decision. "Operator, first hand me the Rank-G Chests." He opened the 4 chests and received 20 Blood Core, a copper-colored war spear, and two skills books. Being one of them repeated. It was the Haste ability. This time, he decided to first check the skill before learning it. "Operator, identify this ability." ..... Shadow of Darkness (Active): the ability to create clones from the actual shadows. Rank: G (0/50) Effect: Creates true clones with 10% of user attributes and all abilities (except Shadow of Darkness), user titles and equipment. Duration: 30 seconds Quantity: 2 Clones Cost: 5000 MP for Clone Cooldown: 30 minutes ..... Although it is impossible for him take advantage of this ability for now, Liam did not hesitate to learn this skill. "Operator, my luck looks incredible, does not it?" Liam boasted. "This has nothing to do with the user. The Order of the Gods paid a tremendous price to increase the fate of all those awakened within the limits of the forcefields. "The orb''s cold response was like a cold water bath. Liam had a slight impression that the orb did not like him very much. He sighed before continuing: "Hand me the other chest." Facing Liam, the Rank-E Chest handed him a roll of old parchment. [You received a title scroll. Would you like to open it?] Liam immediately agreed. [You got the title ''Brave Warrior''.] He checked the title right away. ..... Brave Warrior: A title given to brave warriors who fight even when victory seems impossible. Effect: Strength, Vitality and Dexterity increases +2 permanently at each leveling ..... Receiving this title, all of Liam''s hesitation has disappeared. Without hesitation, he distributed all 10 Attributes Points to Mental Power.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Then he asked for the Soul Core and before using it, Liam asked the orb to identify him. ..... Soul Core: a mysterious gem capable of increasing the power of a skill in a rank. Effect: Replaces the required amount of Skill Points to climb to the next rank. Single use. Restriction: Effective only on Rank-G, F, E, D, C, and B abilities. ..... Then he took a deep breath before using it at Time Stopping. [Soul Core was used.] [Time Stopping increased from Rank-G to Rank-F.] [Soul Core was consumed.] Liam opened the skills window and saw the changes. Before: ..... Time Stopping (Active): the ability to stop time. The user is no longer affected by time. Rank: G (0/100) Duration: 3 seconds Range: 3 meters around the user Restriction: does not affect those that are 3 levels and above Cost: 100 MP Cooldown: 60 seconds ..... Now: .... . Time Stopping (Active): the ability to stop time. The user is no longer affected by time. Rank: F (0/200) Duration: 6 seconds Range: 10 meters around the user Restriction: does not affect those that are 10 levels and above Cost: 200 MP Cooldown: 50 seconds ..... Seeing MP increase, Liam could not help but sigh. "At least the cooldown has decreased, in addition to having increased the duration of the effect and the range... Mm... Wait... Can I, I can not reduce the cost of MP by decreasing the duration...? Maybe even reach?" ... Liam spent almost three hours practicing. Which was pretty boring most of the time, since every time he used the skill, he had to wait 50 seconds to use it again, but that proved impossible, since he did not MP enough to use it . So he decided to use his free Skill Points to increase the rank of Mana Regeneration to Rank-F. Its effect on Rank-G was to restore 10 MP every minute. Now, in Rank-F, restore 20 MP every minute. In the end, he found that he could stop the time in up to 6 seconds, but the cost would still be the same and the range was 10 meters, whether he wanted it or not. And within a 10-yard radius of where he activated the ability, only he could move without being affected. Even the orb was stopped in time. Once activated, it could deactivate it within 6 seconds at will. Already familiar with his power, Liam decided to level again. He was eager to take advantage of the title effect, Brave Warrior. ... Li Yun, a 23-year-old Chinese and addicted to games and novels, was the first in the general ranks of awakened people on Earth. His luck was huge when he opened the mysterious chest in the white room and gained a cheating ability early on. "Ascension of the Dead." he exclaimed within the third layer. The demons that were killed by him and his army of undead, raised and under his command, attacked the demons. The demons that were killed soon after, rose without him needing to use the ability again and under his command, attacked the demons still alive and went so forth. His ability was a complete fraud. When he activates it, for a certain time, within a certain range, all the demons killed by him and his undead would rise again as undead and would be under his control. When time is up, the undead do not disappear, because that''s not how it works. When the time is up, he should simply wait for the cooldown to be able to summon more undead to join his already existing army of undead. With streams of experience flowing into him, even if it''s only 50%, as it''s split with the undead who killed the demon, he''s still leveling at ridiculous speed. But of course with such overwhelming effect, there would be some restraint. The number of live monsters he can summon is equal to the points of his Magic Power. That''s why when leveling, he was distributing everything to his Magic Power. But even so, his other attributes were also increasing, thanks to some special titles that he acquired. "Operator, buy 3 more Soul Core." He spent 30.000 Contribution Points as if they were nothing. ... Li Yun was not the only one with fraudulent skills. All of the Top 10 had fraudulent skills and equipment. One of them even had something completely fraudulent, even for the other Top 9. This person had a skill with a simple name and a simple description. ..... Soul Mana (Passive): the ability to generate unlimited Mana. Rank: SSS Effect: Mana and Mental Power Infinite ..... If Liam knew this ability, he would definitely vomit blood. He, suffering for not having enough MP to use his abilities, while another had the ridiculous ability that gave him infinite mana. How unfair was that? Fortunately, the entire Top 10 was in different Altares, otherwise, hunting would be even more difficult, since these monsters seem to hunt down demons as if it were some kind of walk in the park. Chapter 7: The 3rd Layer Liam went back to the white field to rest mentally. He was fighting demons in the second layer for more than 20 straight hours. Liam only stopped when he reached level 25. He also decided to pause at that moment because the orb informed him that the next shipment of demons would be able to cross the force fields to the first layer in two hours. The demons were not totally stupid. The higher layers were not entirely full of high-level demons, but demons of lower levels. If all ability were filled with demons of the level corresponding to the layer, the demons of the outer field could not enter. Like Liam, all the others awakened stopped fighting and returned to the white field after completely cleaning the second layer. It might take time to level up by hunting down lower-level demons, but Liam and the others did not care as it would be much easier to kill them and thus earn Contribution Points. "Operator, what are my total gains?" [Blood Core: 13.877] [Rank-G Chest: 17] [Contribution Points: 14.347] "No higher rank? How stingy..." "Demons up to level 20 only drop Rank-G''s Chests. Only demons with some position in the demonic army drop chests of larger ranks." The orb responded. Liam nodded. "Okay, I get it..." he sighed. "Open Status." ..... Name: Liam Mason Level: 25 | EXP: 0,3% Class: Desperado Title: [Demon Hunter] | [Brave Warrior] HP: 200 | MP: 480 Vitality: 20 Strength: 49 Dexterity: 56 Mental Power: 48 Magic Power: 20 Attributes Points: 5 Skill Points: 40 ..... Liam distributed 2 points in Mental Power, thus getting 500 MP, and the others 3 points, he put in Magic Power. "Operator, how long have we been summoned to this dimension?" Liam was already homesick. He wanted to ruin his brain by watching something, eating junk and even working. "67 hours and 43 minutes." He sighed. "A little more than 70 hours before leaving this place..." Then he opened all the chests. He received 5 skill books and the others were all weapons and some items he was not interested in. The equipment, he decided to leave everyone in the inventory. He thought that since he was not the only one here then there definitely should be rich people who could afford a good amount for equipment and some skills books that he did not need.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Among the skill books, 2 were repeated. Fireball and Slash. The other 3 were: Ice Wave, Spear Mastery and Recovery. He did not learn any at the moment, since he only had 2 slots available for skills. He decided to look at the store first to see if there was a skill he could possibly want. Obviously there were, but he was poor to buy them. Skills books had a price between a thousand points and some had more than trillion points. Any book under 100.000 points was practically almost all the skills he has already acquired. The only exceptions were Time Stopping, which cost more than 10 billion points and Shadow of Darkness cost over 1 billion points. He checked the price of the 3 skills he just acquired and was surprised. Ice Wave: 1.000.000 Spear Mastery: 1.200 Recovery: 1.000.000.000 Seeing Recovery cost 1 billion points, he decided to stop hesitating. He was already planning to learn this skill. He touched the book and selected "Yes". The book with the green cloak disintegrated into fragments of golden light that were absorbed into Liam''s body. ..... Recovery (Passive): Passively recovers the HP. Rank: G (0/50) Effect: Recovers 1% of HP''s maximum every 30 seconds ..... The other two books, he stored them in inventory. "Operator, buy Soul Core and save it. Also, pay the 5 Blood Core to the Altar of Order." Liam had decided to buy as much Soul Core as he could to increase the rank of all abilities. He sat cross-legged, and pretended that he was meditating, but in fact, he was asleep. ... "60 seconds to drop the restraint." The orb reported waking Liam from his nap. He got up and stretched with a big yawn. "I feel rejuvenated..." Liam commented, snapping his neck. "Operator, do you have a name other than an operator?" "No." "Are you alive?" "I''m an advanced processing system more advanced than your best computer." "So... you''re an AI?" " Yes. " "Mm... You do not plan to revolt and dominate the world, right?" "And why would I want to dominate your planet?" "..." Liam felt offended by the dry tone of the orb. "Okay, from now on, I''ll call you Spike." "Of course, if you plan to see nothing more of your items." "It''s a joke... You do not have to be so serious... How about... Genos?" "Thank you, but I do not intend to be destroyed so soon." Liam sighed. "Come on, you have to have something... Do not you feel awkward being called an operator? Come on, be authentic. Seriously even if you prefer to be called equal to all other orbs?" The orb was silent for a few seconds before finally replying. "Okay. Call me Genex..." "And how is this better than Genos?" "I will not be destroyed every battle." It was the simple answer of the orb. Liam gave up. "It''s all right. From now on I''ll call you Genex." "Thank you." And so Liam and Genex left for the first layer just after the green force field shone brighter than before. His eyes narrowed when he saw that there was no demon in the first layer. "What''s going on?" Liam did not ask anyone in particular. "I believe demons are not such idiots. They will not send soldiers just to be killed, not when all humans have already leveled and are able to kill them easily now." Genex replied. "Yes, that makes sense." He sighed. "I think I''m going to have to get into the third layer... Genex, buy the token to go through all the remaining force fields." Then Liam took a deep breath and walked a long way until he reached the second layer. It was the same as the first layer. There was no demon. To get to the third layer, it took even longer since the space was larger. The third layer was filled with demons from level 1 to level 15. Liam crossed the yellow barrier already attacking a level 8 goblin. Death was instantaneous. Each blow of the sword, demons of level 10 or less died instantly. Of course this did not come without a cost. Surrounded by demons, red numbers also rose above his head. Arrows, fireballs and countless other attacks fell on him. "Time Stopping." Like a soap bubble, within a 10-yard radius around him, time stopped. All the long-distance attacks stopped in mid-air, catching the attention of everyone far away. Some even launched attacks, others went into the bubble, but it was ineffective. As you enter the bubble, the velocity decreases instantly to the point where everything has stopped moving and freezing them in place. Liam took the perfect 6 seconds to launch two Fireballs on a six-foot humanoid demon that looked like a beetle meltdown with a disgusting caterpillar. The two fireballs also froze in mid-air as he pulled away from Liam. At the same time, he looked around and sidestepped everything in a safe position before the effect of his time-stopping ability was over. The 6 seconds ended and everything inside the bubble moved again. Numerous attacks hit the wrong targets, and the two fireballs Liam threw exploded into the demon''s chest and tossed him about 2 meters into the air. With a Slash, he cut the demon in mid-air. [You killed the target.] [You leveled.] After 10 minutes fighting, killing more than 50 demons, he finally leveled off and reached level 26. All tiredness, fatigue and your HP nearly depleted were recovered. Of course, with the "Brave Warrior" title effect, your Strength, Vitality and Dexterity increase by 2 more points. His hunting speed increased again. Chapter 8: Ancient Scroll The awakened Altar of Order in the third layer watched with surprise as Liam activated his extraordinary ability to stop time. Of course at the Altar of Order, Liam was not the only one with a fraudulent ability. Some also had a good fortune to get some unique skills. But when they saw him stop time, they could not help being envious. Who would not want to be able to stop time when they wanted to? They also noticed when the golden bath that indicated that someone leveled fell on Liam, he got stronger and faster by killing demons. It was not difficult to find out why. After all, all those summoned to this dimension had at least some knowledge about games. "He has a title that increases his attributes by leveling..." "Lucky bastard." "Why does someone like that have such a fraud? Why him and not me...?" As they struggled, many could not help muttering against Liam. But even so, they had no hostile thoughts, not when in that layer had a good number of demons with "Leader" in their names, and all were at least level 12. At this layer, even those who were hunting ground, began to work together, as it was getting more and more difficult and dangerous. ... "These forms of lower lives are getting stronger and stronger..." a fourth-layer demon, humanoid, muscular, holding a spear and with a horn on his forehead, eagle''s head and a bull''s body, observed . "Darkrox, will not you tell me you''re afraid of these insects?" Another male demon with dragonfly wings and a more human-like, mocked. This demon was thinner and had a more elegant look. "I may be a battle madman, but I''m not an idiot, Shelgar. The laws of Neutral Dimension are explicit. Those who invade the force and try to overthrow the Black Towers do not receive the power of the so-called system that has unlimited potential, not without paying an absurd price. These beings, because they are protecting their universe, have been given the ability to awaken and strengthen themselves each time they kill an invader. See for yourself, more and more there are numerous enemies being bathed in golden light. That means they are getting stronger and stronger. Within the area of effect of the altar, when our army dared to enter, we became the huntsman rather than hunters. We''re stuck, unable to get out of these force fields. Everything was done to help the enemies to strengthen themselves to fight against us. You, like me, are an Elite. We are stronger and more intelligent than the simple soldiers. So I think you should know at least something simple like that." Shelgar gritted his teeth. He and Darkrox are rivals and expect to be promoted to Captains. Shelgar knew that Darkrox was right, and so he felt more and more wanting to kill his partner. "No matter how strong these lower creatures become, before my magic, all will perish." Shelgar proclaimed as if he were an absolute king. "Not if I kill them first," Darkrox remarked coldly as he watched a certain young man with a bent sword fighting two demon leaders. This young man would sometimes throw fireballs, sometimes spearheads and spears, and sometimes he would cast a higher-level spell, creating an almost invisible bubble around him and freezing everything around him. "Interesting... he has the same magic as the lord..." The young man, after a lot of effort and clearly with his foot in the pit, managed to kill two level 15 Elites. Then he was bathed twice golden light and before the eyes of Darkrox and Shelgar, all the wounds and weariness that he demonstrated, disappeared. "Humph... So he has temporal magic similar to the Duke? He is still clearly weaker than you. Defeating him will not even need to use 10% of my real power." Darkrox rolled his eyes at the next roommate. "Sometimes I think you''ve been adopted..." Darkrox can not but comment. .... Instead of continuing to fight after killing the two Leaders demons, he returned to the white field at high speed. As soon as he entered the field blank, he exclaimed, "Genex, my earnings" [Blood Core: 14.386] [Soul Core: 2] [Rank-G Chest: 3]Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [Rank-E Chest: 1] [Contribution Points : 6.847] Now he had two Soul Core, plus he had enough Skill Points to increase rank of a Rank-G ability. Without hesitation, he opened the status and allocated all the free points in Mental Power. ..... Name: Liam Mason Level: 32 | EXP: 2% Class: Awakened Title: [Demon Hunter] | [Brave Warrior] HP: 340 | MP: 850 Vitality: 34 Strength: 63 Dexterity: 70 Mental Power: 85 Magic Power: 23 Attributes Points: 0 Skill Points: 75 ..... Instead of using the Skill Points, he decided to open the chests first. Of the Rank-G''s Chests, he received 20 Blood Core, a ring with a blue stone and a dagger. From the Rank-E Chest, he received something incredible. A parchment. Liam removed the red ribbon and opened the parchment. ..... Ancient Scroll: multiplication spell. Canticle: "My greed can not be contained. My desire can not be denied. My words can not be ignored. With the old power, everything was settled. The laws of physics are meaningless. Multiply everything without being contained." Effect: An item will be multiplied by 2 successively while the user has Mana. Cost: 500 MP 2x for each additional multiplication Uses: 1 ..... With the help of Genex, Liam was able to understand how this parchment worked. For example: 1 Blood Core + 500 MP = 2 Blood Core 2 Blood Core + 1000 MP = 4 Blood Core 4 Blood Core + 2000 MP = 8 Blood Core 8 Blood Core + 4000 MP = 16 Blood Core 16 Blood Core + 8000 MP = 32 Blood Core 32 Blood Core + 16000 MP = 64 Blood Core 64 Blood Core + 32000 MP = 128 Blood Core he can only use a single item and while it has MP to meet the requirement, the item will continue to multiply. "If I use that in Soul Core... This is a unique opportunity... I can not waste..." He made his choice. Liam opened the skill window. ..... Shadow of Darkness (Active): the ability to create clones of real shadows. Rank: G (0/50) Effect: Creates true clones with 10% of user attributes and all abilities (except Shadow of Darkness), user titles and equipment. Clone Duration: 30 seconds Quantity: 2 Clones Cost: 5000 MP per Clone Cooldown: 30 minutes ..... Currently he had 75 Skill Points. He did not hesitate to use 50 to raise the skill for Rank-F. ..... Shadow of Darkness (Active): the ability to create clones of real shadows. Rank: F (0/100) Effect: Create true clones with 15% user attributes and all abilities (except Shadow of Darkness), user titles and equipment. Clone Duration: 1 minute Quantity: 4 Clones Cost: 5000 MP per Clone Cooldown: 25 minutes ..... "Damn!" He cursed. "The cost remains the same. That means no matter the rank of this ability, I''ll have to spend 5.000 MP for each clone. How will I get 5.000 MP? This will take forever!" He felt wronged. Shadow of Darkness is the only skill that allows you to kill demons easier and faster. Liam took a deep breath. "Being angry will not help me at all. The only thing I can do is to keep moving forward and not lose my goal in mind." ... In the third layer, after increasing Time Stopping to Rank-E. ..... Time Stopping (Active): the ability to stop time. The user is no longer affected by time. Rank: E (0/400) Duration: 12 seconds Range: 20 meters around the user Restriction: does not affect those that are 15 levels above the user Cost: 400 MP Cooldown: 45 seconds ..... Using and abusing your abilities to the utmost, Liam began killing demons as a machine. He has killed more than 20.000 demons in all. With this astronomical number, he has already become a great warrior able to use sword and magic at the same time. His body moved just the way he wanted it to. He spent another 10 uninterrupted hours fighting and killing demons, among them, countless Leaders. But even so, leveling up was not as easy as he''d imagined. Not when he was more than 10 levels above the demons. He had to kill an astronomical number to climb on only 1 level. Fortunately, demons with "Leader" in their names were generous in giving EXP. He was struggling like this because Genex warned him that the additional Luck that the Order of the Gods had achieved for all would last only 144 hours. Now, they had only a little over 40 hours to return to Earth, and so the extra lucky buff would end. Genex also warned that the more dangerous it was, the greater the rewards. That is why, at a certain hour, he decided to enter the fourth layer, but he noticed that, on the other side of the blue barrier, there were two demons that looked different, much stronger than the others. Genex soon identified them for Liam. [Darkrox, Fire Chimera (Elite) - Level 30] [HP: 50.000 / 50.000 | MP: 20.000 / 20.000] Strong. Extremely strong. [Shelgar, Chimera of the Wind (Elite) - Level 30] [HP: 30.000 / 30.000 | MP: 50.000 / 50.000] Looking at the HP and MP of the two named demons, Liam soon guessed that Darkrox was a type of warrior while Shelgar was a type of magician. To beat them would be impossible for him. Knowing this, Liam felt no shame in going back to the white field where he knew that the sight of the fourth layer demons could not arrive, since the colored barriers were in the way, then he circled the altar. And far from the two named demons, he entered the fourth layer, where with his life on the line, fought fiercely. Prior to entering the fourth layer, he was already a level 39 awakened. After fighting for two hours in the fourth layer, he reached level 42 and then after fighting 3 demons with the word "Leader" in his names, and kill them, he obviously received a message from the system after leveling to level 43. [You received a Critical Strike.] [You died.] His eyes went dark and the last thing he saw before exploding into countless fragments of white light was: [The effect of the ability, Blessing of the Gods, was activated.] Chapter 9: I鈥檓 the King of the World! [You were revived within the safe area of the Altar of Order.] Half groggy, Liam opened his eyes and saw the purple sky of the Neutral Dimension. "Liam, are you okay?" Maybe he was delirious, but Liam could swear that Genex''s voice had a worried tone. "Dying is painful... I do not recommend anyone..." he murmured as he sat down. Looking around, the white field was full of awakened. "How long am I out?" "Just 3 minutes." "Any news?" He asked as he got up and snapped his back. "None." Liam felt strange. When he was dying, he could feel the darkness approaching. A chill had taken over her body. It was something he was not anxious to repeat. "Genex, what are my earnings?" [Blood Core: 26.386] [Soul Core: 4] [Rank-G Chest: 21] [Rank-E Chest: 3] [Contribution Points: 18.847] Before you do anything, he first opened the chests. Of the Rank-G''s Chests, his gains were: 120 Blood Core, 7 types of weapons, 3 Small Healing Potions, 2 Small Mana Potions, 2 skills books, and 1 necklace. Of Rank-E Chests, he won 1 silver armor, 1 skill book, and 1 Ancient Scroll. As much as he wanted to know what the skills were, he was much more curious about the parchment. By the time he had won 2 scroll¡¯s. The first gave him a very good title, the second gave him the opportunity to multiply 1 item at the cost of MP. What would that third party give you? Liam opened it. Although he knew that something good would definitely come, what he most wanted was something that would boost his MP. [You have opened the Ancient Scroll: Wish and Fate.] [This parchment contains the power of a star of fate capable of granting desires.] [Take your wish.] Taken by surprise, his mouth said before he really could think. "Infinite mana..." Her eyes widened. As soon as he finished speaking, his hand went to his mouth regretting. What kind of ridiculous desire was that? As if something like this could be done... [Desire received.] [Skill seeking...] [Skill found.] [You wanted a Rank-SSS ability. A divine ability.] [This is a skill available to only 7 users at a time.] [You are the second human to have this ability and the sixth user in the entire Multiverse.] [Congratulations! You have been given the rank-SSS ability: Mana Soul.]If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. [Ancient Scroll, Wish and Fate was used.] [You can not use any more scrolls with the ability: Wish and Fate.] [You are no longer affected by the ability, Wish and Fate.] [The ability, Mana Regeneration, has become useless. Would you like to erase it from your skills window?] Liam agreed automatically. He did not even blink. He stood there, standing like a statue attracting the attention of many awakened. "Look, it looks like there''s someone else who''s gone crazy." "These guys should die soon." Ignoring what they were saying about him, Liam took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart, but it was hard. How could he calm down when he received a Rank-SSS ability? This could only be a dream. It had to be a dream. "Oh..." he moaned, stroking his left arm where he nipped. Taking a deep breath once more, he opened the skill panel. ..... Skills - (9/10): [Blessing of the Gods - Rank-S (Temporary)] | [Time Stopping (Active - Rank-E)] | [Slash (Active) - Rank-F] | [Haste (Active) - Rank-G] | [Fireball (Rank)] | [Sword Mastery (Passive) - Rank-G] | [Shadow of Darkness (Active) - Rank-F] | [Recovery (Passive) - Rank-G] | [Mana Soul (Passive) - Rank-SSS] ..... Then he clicked on the most recent ability. ..... Mana Soul (Passive): the ability to generate unlimited Mana. Rank: SSS Effect: Infinite Mana and Mental Power ..... "It''s here. It''s definitely real. All right, let''s see... Status..." ..... Name: Liam Mason Level: 43 | EXP: 0.8% Class: Awakened Title: [Demon Hunter] | [Brave Warrior] HP: 560 | MP: Infinity Vitality: 56 Strength: 85 Dexterity: 92 Mental Power: Infinity Magic Power: 23 Attributes Points: 55 Skill Points: 80 ..... Liam almost had a heart attack. Was that your dream come true? "I-I... I think I just became OP..." It took about an hour for Liam to calm down. After all, he''s still a 16-year-old. Being able to gain power would always surprise, especially today''s youngsters in which heroes have invaded the movie screens, animes have gained more recognition and little by little is invading the other countries. Liam was no exception. With today''s world, where earning money for daily bread is getting harder, gaining power would be a blessing. Even more something overpower. "HAHA HA!!! I¡¯m the king of the world!" He shouted, opening his arms. The awakened ones quickly moved away from the madman. Realizing the shame he was paying, Liam had the decency to blush and swallow laughter. With her head down, he moved away. ... Finding another quieter place, he sat down and checked the skill books. The 2 skill books he earned from Rank-G''s Chests were repeated skills. Ice Wave and Fireball. He then verified the ability of the Rank-E Chest. ..... Sword''s Dance (Passive): Be a god when attacking with swords. Rank: E (0/200) Effect: has a 10% chance to cause a second consecutive attack without any cost Restriction: only sword attacks ..... Even with a free slot, he would not learn this ability. Despite wearing a katana, Liam always found the wizards more interesting. Now, with his newest infinite mana ability, he was determined to have a powerful ability to learn as soon as Blessing of the Gods was fully used, not that he was looking forward to it. "Now, it''s time to take full advantage of this ability... Hihihi..." he chuckled, taking out the Ancient Scroll with the inventory multiplication spell next to a Soul Core. ..... Ancient Scroll: multiplication spell. Canticle: "My greed can not be contained. My desire can not be denied. My words can not be ignored. With the old power, everything was settled. The laws of physics are meaningless. Multiply everything without being contained." Effect: An item will be multiplied by 2 successively while the user has Mana. Cost: 500 MP 2x for each multiplication Uses: 1 ..... Liam put the Core on the ground before him, opened the parchment and read: "My greed can not be contained. My desire can not be denied. My words can not be ignored. With the old power, everything was settled. The laws of physics are meaningless. Multiply everything without being contained." A 2-meter magic circle came around the Core and shone magically. At one point there was only 1 Core, the next moment there were 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64... 2.048... 65.536... 1.048.576 Surprisingly, even with the absurd amount of Core, within circle there were only 64 Core. Apparently, the magic circle could withstand an infinite number, but without actually demonstrating. Liam continued. After all, he did not know if he would get this parchment a second time and besides, he could use to exchange with others awakened by something of his interest. He decided to stop after getting a ridiculous number of Core. [Congratulations! You received 81.129.638.414.606.681.695.789.005.144.064 Soul Core.] They were all stored within Genex. Without thinking twice, he opened the skills panel and updated all of his skills to Rank-A. Chapter 10: The 4th Layer Liam opened his skills window. ..... Blessing of the Gods: the gods are looking for you. They gave him the ability to stand up once more when he fell before his enemies. Description: Relive on base after dying for up to 3 times. After the third resurrection, this ability will disappear from your skill list. Rank: S (0/0) Uses: 2/3 Cost: none ..... Time Stopping (active): the ability to stop time. The user is no longer affected by time. Rank: A (0/3200) Duration: 5 minutes Range: 320 meters around the user Restriction: does not affect those that are 35 levels above Cost: 6400 MP Cooldown: 25 seconds ..... Slash (active): using one sword, attack with a powerful cut. Rank: A (0/3200) Effect: Increases damage by 10% Cost: 10 MP Cooldown: None ..... Haste (Active): Increases movement speed upon activation. Rank: A (0/3200) Effect: Increases movement speed by 13% Duration: 20 seconds Cost: 20 MP Cooldown: 10 seconds ..... Fireball: Launches a fireball on target. Rank: A (0/3200) Attack: Cause 8 ~ 980 damage Effect: Has a 10% chance of Burning the target - Burn: The target loses 100 HP per second. Duration: 30 seconds Casting Time: none Range: 30 meters Cost: 10 MP Cooldown: none ..... Sword Mastery: allows you to use any sword more efficiently. Rank: A (0/3200) Effect: increases damage dealt by any target sword by 14% ..... Shadow of Darkness (active): the ability to create clones of the actual shadows.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Rank: A (0/3200) Effect: Create real clones with 40% user attributes and all abilities (except Shadow of Darkness), user titles and equipment. Clone Duration: 60 minutes Quantity: 128 Clones Cost: 5000 MP per Clone Cooldown: 60 seconds ..... Recovery (Passive): Passively recovers HP. Rank: A (0/3200) Effect: Recovers 7% of maximum HP every 10 seconds ..... Mana Soul (Passive): the ability to generate unlimited Mana. Rank: SSS Effect: Infinite Mana and Mental Power ..... Seeing his list of abilities, Liam noticed that what he lacked most was firepower and a good defense. He knew his choice at the moment was defensive skill. "Genex, open the store and filter out defensive and passive skills against physical and magical damage." "Filtered skills." Faced with Liam, a list of abilities came up. Amongst the hundreds of abilities, only 3 caught his attention: ..... Dragon Scale (Passive): Rank-SSS Effect: absorbs 30% of all physical and magical damage received and converts it to HP and MP Price: 50.000.000 ..... Turtle Shell (Passive): Rank-S Effect: Nullifies 40% of all physical and magical damage received Price: 100.000.000 ..... Divine Barrier (Passive/Active): Rank-G Passive Effect: Nullifies 2% of all physical and magical damage taken Effect Active: Reflects all damage canceled Price: 10.000.000 ..... After thinking for a moment, Liam made his choice. Now he just needs to get Contribution Points enough. He barely had 19.000 points. "Genex, filter katanas that I can buy, even if I have to sell the Blood Core... Mm... Genex, how much can I sell 1 Soul Core to the store?" "Each Soul Core is bought for 5 thousand Contribution Points." It was the brazen answer to the orb. "..." These bastards are stealing money from us. For us to buy, it costs 10 thousand, but for them to buy from us, poor defenseless and innocent souls, the bastards pay only 5 thousand. Die unhappy! He took a deep breath not to say something that could end up irritating who is stronger than him. "Hmph..." he took another deep breath before continuing. "I want to sell 10 thousand Soul Core." "Order accepted. 10 thousand Soul Core removed from inventory. You received 50 million Contribution Points." "Buy the skill book Divine Barrier." Then he learned the skill and upgraded it to Rank-A. ..... Divine Barrier (Passive/Active): the ability to create an invisible shield in the shape of a sphere around the user. Rank: A (0/3200) Passive Effect: Nullifies 62% of all physical and magical damage taken. Cost: None Effect Active: reflects all nullified damage Cost: 500 MP for every 100 damage canceled ..... Liam paid the tax to keep the force fields active and then after buying 2 katanas, one for each hand, he went to the third layer. The two katanas cost more than 100.000 Contribution Points and had level 40 requirements. One had the ''Bleed'' effect while the other had the ability to ignore 2% of the enemy''s defense at a cost of 500 MP. Both had the ability to deal more than 100 damage. Upon entering the third layer, he saw that there were already a few demons and the same was true for awakening. Genex had informed him that 10% of 700 million people perished on the battlefield. Even with the additional luck, there were those who failed to overcome their fate. Genex explained that luck has nothing without hard work. To get the means to survive, they must do their best and not expect everything to fall from the sky. For an AI, Liam thought Genex was much more alive than many people. After delivering 20 points in Strength, 20 in Dexterity, 10 in Magic Power and 5 in Vitality, Liam went straight to the fourth layer. Liam felt the pressure on him as he crossed the blue barrier. The demons here were powerful. They were much stronger than the other layers. This feeling did not come from the fact that the demons were at higher levels, but that they all gave the impression of being specialists. Liam''s lips curved. "They should do a lot more EXP." Liam jumped sideways, diverting from the goblin''s ax of almost 100 centimeters. "Shadow of Darkness." A cold wind came up all over the fourth layer making everyone shiver. Liam''s shadow was misshapen like a puddle of water and then spread everywhere. As if it were oil, the shadows rose and turned into a 16-year-old wearing a pair of boots, a breastplate and a black blade katana in each hand. All the shadows were exactly the same as Liam, including his clothes and equipment. In all, they were 128 Shadow Clones. Each one having the same level of Liam, but with only 40% of the attributes. These clones also possessed all abilities, with the exception of Shadow of Darkness. And of course, they also owned the titles. Because they possessed the same abilities, each of them also possessed infinite mana. And all abilities were of the same rank as Liam''s abilities. "So that''s how I''m behind it? Bizarre..." one of the clones commented. "Definitely." All the others agreed. "..." Liam did not know what to say. "Cof... Cof... Can we?" Liam said, embarrassed. "Boss, you need not be embarrassed. It''s you!" One of the clones comforted him. "That''s right, boss!" Others exclaimed. "Why is he the boss?" One of the clones asked in the middle of the others. A vein appeared on Liam''s forehead. "Why is he the original...?" One of the shadows replied. "And...?" "He''s stronger..." another shadow answered. "We are in 128." The clone refuted. Do not tell me these bastards want to start a riot? "We have only 60 minutes." Another clone poured cold water on the plans to conquer the world from the other shade. "Mm... All right... I do not think there''s any other way..." the clone said before turning to Liam. He made a V with her fingers and pointed to her own eyes and then to Liam. "..." Chapter 11: Invasion of Shadows One of the shadows used Time Stopping and, to Liam''s surprise, neither he nor any of the other shadows were affected. Having a reach of 320 meters and having a duration of 5 minutes, the party was made. More than 100 demons were caught in the bubble of time. Those who were, after seeing that anyone who dared to enter the bubble would freeze and be attacked indiscriminately, did not dare enter. Even the poor Genex was trapped inside the bubble. Numerous fireballs were launched. Sword cuts were made. But of course none of the demons were killed, not when time stood still. Every 60 seconds, Liam goes back to using the ability summoning another 128 clones. Even within the bubble of time. Within 4 minutes, there were over 600 clones summoned and many spread through the fourth layer and activated Time Stopping and thus creating countless bubbles of time. Liam did not even have to fight. All he needed to do was summon the clones and from time to time activate Time Stopping to protect himself from the attacks. When the time bubble burst, more than 80 demons were killed instantly. EXP flowed to Liam increasing his experience bar and from time to time raising his level. All the points he earned were put into Force. Quickly, the whole area around Liam was clear of demons and like a wave, the whole fourth layer was slowly being cleansed by just one person. At the Altar of Order, Liam and only 50 more awakened entered the fourth layer, but all the others were struggling to fight against the apparent infinite number of demons. Genex had to fly high so as not to be affected by the bubbles of time. Liam saw that the orb also had its tricks. Somehow he split up and went out on the fourth layer collecting the drops from the demons. When a demon was killed, its body remained for only 60 seconds before exploding into fragments of black light. That''s why little by little the whole fourth layer was getting clean of demons. The awakened ones in the third layer saw the whole scene and opened their eyes wide. How could anyone be so fraudulent? "Does anyone know the consumer complaint number?" "Game Master, have someone cheating! Do something about it!" One clone wound up halfway to the other side of the altar when it was killed. [You received a Critical Strike.] [You died.] His eyes went dark and the last thing he saw before exploding into numerous fragments of white light was: [The effect of ability, Blessing of the Gods, was activated.] He opened his eyes and was greeted by a message: [You were revived within the safe area of the Altar of Gods.] Liam''s eyes widened. If he concentrated, he could see and hear everything the clones were seeing. When a clone dies, all his memories are assimilated by Liam. Then he was surprised when Blessing of the Gods also worked with the clones. More and more clones began to die as they approached halfway to the other side of the altar. More and more memories of the clones arose in Liam''s head and all the clones were revived in the white field. Just as Liam could see and hear, as well as knowing what his clones were thinking, since they were him, the clones could as well. Thus, the clones that were killed circled the altar across the white field and invaded the other side in the weakest part and began to create bubbles of time. The number of clones that Liam has created has surpassed 2.000 and continued to grow. Some awakened, who no longer dared to fight more, kept their eye on the classification.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it * 1st: Li Yun - Level 68: Altar of Discord 2nd: Gao Jun - Level 65: Altar of Discord 3rd: Lara Carter - Level 60: Altar of War 4th: Erik Stwart - Level 59: Altar of Justice 5th: Misha Denver - Level 59: Altar of Illusion 6th: Susan Calton - Level 58: Altar of Heroes 7th: Katherine Mills - Level 57: Altar of Justice 8th: Leonardo Mason - Level 57: Altar of Force 9th: Ji Ning - Level 56: Altar of War 10th: Henry David - Level 55: Altar of Illusion 11th: Stefan Singer - Level 55: Altar of Illusion .... 107th: Liam Mason - Level 48: Altar of Order * This awakened was not the only one. On many other altars, there were countless awakeners who could not stand the stress of the fights and had stopped fighting and were just waiting for the time to come home. The names in the rankings were increasing in rank as they were rising. Most of them kept their eye on the Top 10, but there was a minority who occasionally glanced at the other positions and it was some of those who discovered a name coming up in position at an astonishing rate. * 106th: Liam Mason - Level 48: Altar of Order 105th... 104th... 100th... 98th... * Within 10 hours, Liam''s name became known when he reached the Top 50. * 49th: Liam Mason - Level 53: Altar of Order * Unknown to Liam that others were talking about him, he was more concerned about the two demons before him. Well, not really him, but his clones. Liam stood on the other side of the altar, surrounded by five clones on guard while Liam closed his eyes and concentrated on watching the battle. Sure, he could use his skill and stop time, but what if, for some reason, in the future find someone immune to his ability? How would he solve that? So he decided that his clones should fight without using Time Stopping. In the fourth layer there were only the two demons. [Darkrox, Chimera of the Fire (Elite) - Level 30] [HP: 50.000 / 50.000 | MP: 20.000 / 20.000] The two were Elites. [Shelgar, Chimera of the Wind (Elite) - Level 30] [HP: 30.000 / 30.000 | MP: 50.000 / 50.000] The battle began. Darkrox used his spear to combat the 3-clone sword cut. There were more than ten thousand clones. Liam did not forget to summon more clones, since after 60 minutes, those who had already completely used the ability to revive, exploded in a cloud of black smoke. Half the clones invaded the fifth layer and continued to hunt. Liam had stopped distributing the Attributes Points when he reached level 50. Shelgar created tornadoes that swept more than 500 clones of existence. Darkrox created waves of fire capable of turning the clones into ashes. But even so, with more and more clones being created and sent by Liam, the two Elites demons were killed after 5 hours of battle. By this time, Liam had already reached level 58. The demons of the fifth layer were very generous in giving experience. Two hours later. "You only received Contribution Points by defeating the two Elites." Genex informed him. Liam had already returned to the white field and was just waiting for time to run out. Within 30 minutes they would be summoned to the white room and then returned to Earth. "Why?" Liam''s voice was far more indignant than it should have been. "Darkrox and Shelgar are demons Elites. Demons Elites possess an ability similar to Blessing of the Gods. And also, your actual levels are higher than your current level. They were only using an item that lowered their levels to level 30. Since they were not killed for good, Neutral Dimension does not deliver any reward for those victories." He was stunned. So was something like this possible? Not surprisingly, they were both much stronger than the fifth-tier demons. "Say, Genex. The way you said, it made me think that maybe... Neutral Dimension is alive? " "I would not say alive, since that has not been confirmed until now. But there''s definitely some will." Thinking that this seemingly endless dimension might be alive made Liam feel an involuntary shiver. That was scary. "Time to see my winnings. Status." ..... Name: Liam Mason Level: 61 | EXP: 39% Class: Awakened Title: [Demon Hunter] | [Brave Warrior] | [Fearless Hero] HP: 970 | MP: Infinity Vitality: 97 Strength: 176 Dexterity: 148 Mental Power: Infinite Magic Power: 69 Attributes Points: 55 Skill Points: 215 ..... The new title he gained gave him 5 additional Skill Points when leveling. He gained it when he reached level 52. He then distributed 3 points on Vitality, 4 on Strength and 2 on Dexterity. The rest was all for Magic Power. "Genex, my gains." Genex showed him just what he had gained so far by killing demons. [Blood Core: 128.386] [Soul Core: 13] [Rank-G Chest: 78] [Rank-F Chest: 43] [Rank-E Chest: 13] [Contribution Points: 118,847] Viewing the both of chest that it would have open, Liam was discouraged. One thing about it is that in certain things, Liam is lazy. Especially in simple things. Luckily, he was saved by hearing what Genex had to say. "Just another 10 seconds to get out of the Neutral Dimension." Liam let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, I''m going back home..." "9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Time is running out . Returning Awakened to your world." Liam was wrapped in a golden sphere that disappeared. He disappeared from the Neutral Dimension, ranking 11th in the overall ranking of all human awakenings. Then he found himself in the white room before everything turned white to the point where he was forced to close his eyes. When Liam opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the familiar ceiling of his room. Volume 2: Transcendent - Chapter 12: Home It was inevitable that upon awakening in his bed, Liam would suspect that it was all a dream. He got up and sat on the bed. He picked up her cell phone from the small table. It was 6:01. It was already clear on the outside. In a way, he was afraid to do the simple test that could confirm whether everything was real or a fantastic dream. "How long are you going to look like an idiot?" The sarcastic, robotic voice sounded above him. "AH!" Liam cried out in alarm as he came upon a metal orb floating in front of him. ¡°Do you want to kill me from the heart?¡± "If you die like this, it would be the most humiliating thing that ever happened after fighting over 500.000 demons." Genex''s cold voice replied. "You know, Genex, you can act cool and indifferent, but deep down, I know you like me." "Your statement is not completely unfounded. If you die, there will be no more reason to keep me since each Operator can not change users after registering an owner. So please. Do not die.¡± "...¡± Deciding to ignore Genex''s mockery, Liam got up and went to bathe. He felt unclean. ... Liam''s house was small. There were only 3 rooms. One belonged to his mother. The other was from his younger brother, Lucas, and the other, he shared with his older brother, Leon. As Leon arrives from the night job after six in the morning, Liam did not bother getting caught talking to a floating metal ball. Knowing of Liam''s concern that anyone could see him, Genex explained. "Just awakened they can see another Operator." ... With a clear conscience, Liam went to the kitchen to have breakfast before going to school. Lucas was already sitting at the table eating bread and butter. The table was practically empty. There was only yesterday''s French bread, butter, coffee, and chocolate milk. "From today, that will change." he promised quietly. Now that he discovered that he could use his skills outside the Neutral Dimension and could also access his inventory, he had already decided to sell the items and books he did not need. Definitely must have awakened rich. While he was immersed in his thoughts, his mother entered the kitchen in a hurry. As usual, she was late for work at the bakery on the other side of the Ipiranga neighborhood in the city of Ribeir?o Preto. "Behave yourself, did you hear, boy?" Said Melissa, kissing Lucas''s forehead without caring that his son tried to escape his affection. ¡°I think it''s good that I''m not called on the board again because you''ve been fighting, checking the evidence or doing vandalism on government property. Believe me when I say that you will not be able to sit down to the age.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Luke and even Liam swallowed dry. Her mother could be loving and affectionate with them, but when she became irritated, hell could freeze. Melissa was scary when she wanted to. "Your mother is scarier than any demon you''ve faced." Genex commented. Liam just nodded. Melissa turned to Liam. "What about you, young man. Let me see a single red note on your bulletin...¡± her threat and cold look made Liam shiver. He just nodded quickly. In the blink of an eye, Melissa''s cool expression changed to a bright smile. "See you later." And so she went off to work. Both Liam and Lucas let out a sigh of relief. "Is it my impression, or is mom getting more and more frightening?" Lucas asked. "Do not worry. It''s definitely not your impression.¡± Liam replied. "..." The two finished their coffee and went to pick up their packs. Both Liam and Lucas studied in the same school. Liam stood in the living room waiting for Lucas. Since the school was next to their home, they could leave with only 5 minutes left for the gate to close. The door to the room was opened, and a 19-year-old, athletic, dark-haired, slightly messy, green-eyed, and handsome, came in. He was like Liam. Many have mistaken them as twins. The same was true for Lucas, though he was 10 years old, growing up to be similar to the two older brothers. Leon came into the room and came upon a Liam who had leapt to his feet. His eyes were wide as Leon''s eyes stayed. How could they not be surprised when, each of them saw a metal sphere floating next to the other. "..." "..." Liam could not believe not only him, but also his brother became an awakened. He had not been so worried before, for even if he died, Lucas and his mother would still have their older brother to care for them. But and now? What if they both died? The same thing was going through Leon''s head. Of course he had come up with the idea that Liam might have been chosen by the Order of the Gods, but the chance that two members of the same family were chosen were minimal. Apparently they were not so low. Deciding to act older, he composed himself and asked with a fake grin, "So what''s your level?" "..." Liam almost vomited blood at the question of his brother''s question. But he quickly realized what his brother was doing. He could only sigh. It was true. The two were chosen and now, if none of them die, they would continue to be summoned to Neutral Dimension. There was nothing they could do to change that. Knowing this, Liam could also settle for it and move on. Since the two became awakened, then they could work together. And besides, now he would not have to keep secrets. He would have someone to talk to. "61. And you?¡± He said sitting on the couch. It was still about 10 minutes to go to school. In the meantime, Lucas would obviously be on the computer. "76." Liam could hear the tone of pride. "Careful, I can easily overtake you." Liam commented. Leon sat down on the sofa facing Liam. His gaze grew serious. "Do not go exaggerating. If you die, it''s quite possible for Mom to find a way to bring you back just to kill you again.¡± Liam did not refute, for he knew it was true. "So how are you dealing with it? Although it was scary, I was able to adapt easily and had good luck." Liam said. Leon nodded. He knew the brother he had. Among the 3, Liam was the calmest and always managed to think rationally. His feelings, although they are there, Liam hardly shows them. Not since his father''s death. "The same. I had read some novels on the internet with a theme similar to that. So it was easy to adapt to what happened. Unfortunately, my initial luck was not so good. I started with a sword, since the mysterious chest gave me a Soul Core. Ironic, is not it? The most important thing, it was useless at first.¡± Liam had to smile. "Soul Colors are overrated." Liam said mysteriously. At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Lucas entered the room ready to go. "We''ll talk right later. Do not make any decisions before I get back." Liam said mysteriously. Leon agreed. "What decision?" Lucas asked. "Leon is thinking of resigning from the security work on the market." Liam quickly invented an excuse. Chapter 13: Devon After leaving Liam and Lucas, Leon went to the bedroom to store his backpack. Then he went to take a shower. After the shower, he went to the computer. It was about eight o''clock in the morning when his cell phone rang. The display name indicated it was Devon Stuart. "So?" Leon asked. "Confirmed. The time zone applies to awakenings that will "wake up" first after exiting the Neutral Dimension.¡± Devon replied on the other side of the line. "This is dangerous. No one dares attack another awakened in the realm of the altar, but on earth, that is already different.¡± "Yes, I have already contacted others and advised them to keep their addresses secret. We do not want to be attacked by those who leave the white room first.¡± Leon nodded unconsciously. "What about the rest?" He asked. "That''s how we guessed it. Among some people related to the government of some countries, there were awakened. Some countries have already begun to mobilize. They are after awaken and are trying to recruit them. There is even royalty among the awakened. It seems that Prince Harry of England is one of the awakened. He''s himself in the Top 10.¡± "That''s interesting...¡± he muttered. ¡°And the general public do they know?" "No. It seems that governments are stifling the case. All public pages on the internet are being deleted. In fact, this is an easy way to find the government. But of course it is difficult to keep the curiosity and concern of the population low, since it is not at all common for countless people around the world to die in their sleep.¡± "I suspected that...¡± he sighed, moving away from the computer. ¡°Any news about the market for the items?" "Yes. Someone was quick and created a site just for awaken. There are already countless users selling their items at a considerable price.¡± "Is it for the whole world, or just for a particular country?¡± "The site is for the whole world, but the buyer has to go to the seller to get the item. Too bad the operators do not do the same thing to us as the store system.¡± "And why would they do it? They''d be making a profit." Leon said coldly, staring at the next orb. "..." "Yes, you''re right. On the surface it may seem that they are helping us, but obviously they are behind the Core. Fortunately, because of the Neutral Dimension, once the orbs have been assigned to us, they can not do anything with our items without our permission.¡± Devon commented on the other end of the line. "Any word on the awaken from the other altars?" "Yes. Including us, almost everyone in the Top 100 has created or entered a guild. Some are already planning how to meet others in the outer camp after defeating the base of the demons and closing the portal to their universe. Here in New York I know of some awaken from other altars and I have been able to bring them to our guild.¡± "Are they reliable?¡± Leon asked. "Some yes. The others, it''s good to keep an eye open. Nissa has already contacted her acquaintance at the FBI to do some investigations.¡± "Great. I do not want to risk being stabbed in the back.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Even if it does, what harm would it do?¡± Devon laughed. "I still feel pain." It was Leon''s response that came out more like a growl. "Just do not let the other guild members know that the great Leonardo Mason is afraid of pain." "It''s not fear, it''s common sense." "If you say...¡± Devon laughed. ¡°Speaking of which, have you seen the overall rating? There''s a name that''s giving you something to say...¡± "No, not yet... Drex, show me the overall ranking...¡± "To tell you the truth, it has the same surname as you." Devon finished speaking. Hearing what Devon said, Leon opened his eyes in surprise. Before him, the general classification of humans arose. 1: Li Yun - Level 88: Altar of Discord 2: Gao Jun - Level 87: Altar of Discord 3: Lara Carter - Level 78: Altar of War 4: Leonardo Mason - Level 76: Altar of Strength 5: Erik Stwart - Level 72: Altar of Justice 6: Ji Ning - Level 71: Altar of War 7: Misha Denver - Level 70: Altar of Illusion 8: Susan Calton - Level 69: Altar of Heroes 9: Katherine Mills - Level 68: Altar of Righteousness 10 : Henry David - Level 66: Altar of Illusion 11: Liam Mason - Level 61: Altar of Order 12: Stefan Singer - Level 61: Altar of Illusion "This guy from Liam Mason came out of nowhere in the last 15 hours before we came back. He is the only one of the Order Altar who is in the Top 50.¡± Devon reported. Leon was surprised to see his younger brother''s name in 11th place, just seven positions below him. "Before that, he was not even in the Top 1000, but quickly that changed. It seems he must have been able to take advantage of the additional luck of the altar. Unfortunately I could not get more information, since I do not know anyone who is in the Altar of the Order. I wonder who he is. Looks like he has not entered any guild yet. I''ll try to bring it to us...¡± "That will not be necessary..." Leon smiled bitterly. "Because? Does he have a relationship with you?¡± "If by relation you mean the fact of being a brother, yes, he and I are related." There was silence on the line. "You can only be joking... L-Like...? This is already fraud. First, you got this fraudulent skill, and now a black horse came out of nowhere and it looks like it has some fraudulent skill and you tell me it''s your brother? Where is the justice of this world? Silph, give me the consumer complaint number.¡± Silph is the name Devon gave to his orb. Apparently, her orb is female. "You should be ashamed and go to work hard if you want something...¡± Leon heard Silph''s cold voice in the background. "It must be TPM...¡± Devon murmured. Leon laughed at his friend''s antics. Both met in Neutral Dimension and ended up helping each other in times of crisis and soon became friends. "So, did you invite him to the guild?" "Not yet. We barely had time to talk. I got home and he was already leaving for school.¡± "Oh... Yes, I forgot that your brothers are younger than you. How did a 16-year-old brat manage to make it to the Top 15?¡± "I''m only 19 and I''ve entered the Top 5. There''s nothing strange about it. And besides, Liam is pretty smart... when he wants to. But I think he was lucky right from the start... unlike me...¡± Leon almost cried in the last part. "Still in that? Forget it, man. If it were not for your terrible bad luck at first, I doubt you would gain that absurd ability. Thanks to that ability, you even managed to get into the Top 10 and just did not go up any further in the standings because of lack of time.¡± "That''s because it''s not you on my skin...¡± Leon complained. "Leon, my friend, if I had not been to an ocean away, I would go there and beat you until you became a man...¡± ... It was almost an hour after Liam and Lucas arrived from school. Just as Liam suspected, Leon was not asleep. Before, Leon always came home from work and went to sleep. I only woke up around 3 o''clock in the afternoon. But today, he did not even look tired when he arrived. The same goes for Liam, despite having "woken up" early, he did not feel at all tired. He looked as good as the Neutral Dimension after leveling. The math test was even easier for him. He was able to do something quickly and easily that he was lousy. With his infinite Mental Power, one would expect him to become smarter. He was able to remember everything, even from when he was inside his mother''s womb. It was strange and he preferred to pretend he did not remember. His thinking became much faster. Of course he did not become a super genius from day to day. No. With his infinite Mental Power, Liam became able to remember everything, process and understand everything he saw. If he wanted to become super smart, he should read countless books. Mental Power made him able to use all the knowledge in his brain. Basically it made him equal to the protagonist of the film Limitless and the series of the same name. The only difference is that he did not need to take those pills to use his brain efficiently. As he entered the kitchen, he found Leon making lunch. Chapter 14: Leon鈥檚 Skill The three brothers were sitting at the table eating. "So, how was school? Anything new?" Leon asked. Lucas shrugged. "Normal... I guess. This time I was not in any trouble...¡± Liam could have sworn he heard Lucas thanking God. "Still good...¡± Leon commented. Yes, the 3 were afraid of their mother''s fury. ¡°And you, Liam?" Liam narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Nothing abnormal. I should have taken 10 on the math test...¡± Liam simply replied. "That would be... the first time, right?" Leon frowned. "What can I do? I get smarter overnight...¡± " Mm... I see. Just do not go do something...¡± "Liam has resigned from the supermarket and so far he has not told me why.¡± Lucas cut off Leon and quickly said what had been bothering him since the time they left school and passed on to Liam''s work . Leon began to cough as if he were choking. One of the big problems of the Mason brothers is that the 3 were curious. Very curious. So it was not really a surprise to Liam to hear Luke''s words, but still... "Did not I ask you to keep it a secret? I was going to reveal it at dinner time when Mom was here.¡± "It does not look like you even know the lovely brother you have...¡± Lucas turned to Liam. ¡°Keeping secrecy is one of the few things I do not know." the brat said proudly. Liam took a deep breath to keep the unfortunate from struggling. "Liam... Huh... Are you sure?" Leon asked ignoring his younger brother. Liam turned to his older brother and nodded. "Yes. I thought for a moment and decided it would be the most sensible thing to do.¡± "You''re aware that if Mommy listens to those foolish words, you''re a dead man, right?¡± Lucas commented. Liam shivered. "Yes... I''ve already thought about what I''m going to say...¡± "Well, why do not I go to your funeral." Lucas blurted out. ... After lunch, Lucas went to play at his friend''s house. Since it was Friday, he did not have to worry about school tomorrow. Meanwhile, Liam and Leon went to the bedroom. Each one sat on his bed facing each other. The orbs were floating next to each other. "So...¡± They did not know how to start the conversation. Liam spoke. ¡°I do not think there''s a lot to explain since it''s the same for both of us...¡± "Yes, I think you''re right. So how are the other people?¡± Liam shrugged. "I have no idea. I did not talk to anyone of my own free will. I played the anti-social role.¡± "...¡± He knew Liam was not much of a friend, but even in a life-and-death crisis he did not take the initiative? "So how did you get to Top 15 in the overall standings?" "I was lucky, I guess." Liam shrugged once more. Even his tone was casual. "..." Leon wanted to cry. While he had to eat the bread that the dog kneaded to reach the Top 5, did his little brother, alone and with a little luck, do what he was not able to do? Where is the justice of this world. "Is that you? How was your journey?¡± Liam asked curiously. Leon sighed in defeat. "In the white room, before choosing the weapon, I opened the Mysterious Chest. I received a Soul Core while the others received a skill, whether strong or not, some even received Rank-S weapons. I was not the most unlucky. There was someone who got a regular stone. The wretch almost blew blood. He was a man in his mid-thirties, but he still cried. It was shameful...¡± Leon seemed to be remembering before proceeding. ¡°Inside the force fields, with only one sword in hand, I covered for the first layer. I was dead within 10 seconds.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "...¡± Leon shuddered at the memory of death. "Having learned my lesson, I went to make a hunting party. That''s where I met Devon and Nissa. They''re great people. We were 3, plus a group of 7 people, together we went hunting. We managed to kill an ogre. The EXP was split between us. We had to hunt twice more before leveling. No chest fell, unfortunately. One of the orbs reported that it would hardly fall a chest when hunting in a large group. The riskier you are, the greater the chance of dropping. The other 7 came out after hearing this. Only Devon, Nissa, and I remain as a group and so we continue to hunt.¡± Liam only listened intently. "It took nearly 20 hours to finally reach level 10. And in the meantime, I had already died a second time while the other two died for the first time. I had already achieved an AOE skill, Ice Wave, and two sword skills, Triple Slash and Sword Mastery. It was another 20 hours and I died the third time in the second layer. By now I kind of got used to it. Which is not at all healthy. With only a little more than 70 hours to get out of Neutral Dimension, we find a terrible obstacle. A demon leader. Our group had already grown to almost 20 people. When facing the demon, 5 people died for the fourth time and that was the end for them. In a moment of madness, with only 5 skills, watching my friends die, I gave my all. Ready to die, I attacked the devil. It was difficult, but at last I managed to kill the bastard. Unfortunately his leg was broken and a rib was pierced. My HP was falling fast. It was painful. Good thing the bastard gave a generous EXP and so, I leveled to level 18.¡± "...¡± Liam did not know what to say or do. Should he be worried? Annoyed by his brother''s imprudence? Laugh or cry? Not knowing what to do, he decided to keep quiet and keep hearing Leon''s story. "Because of my recklessness, the devil dropped a Rank-E Chest. The group decided that I should keep the chest. Right there I opened it and... I do not know if you know, but there are some drops unimaginable. They are the most anticipated. These drops are Ancient Scrolls with amazing effects. It was the first and only parchment I ever received. The scroll I received is called Wish and Fate. This parchment allows you to make a wish and it seems you can grant anything. Having died 3 times and after seeing my HP fall fast before leveling and my wounds heal, I had it on my head. I really did not want to die, so when the message asked me what I wanted, before I could control myself, my mouth moved by itself and I said... infinite HP...¡± "...¡± "Well, it seems there even a skill with this effect and well, I won. The message said that only 7 users can exist at the same time and I was the third human and the seventh user.¡± " o... does that mean... you can not...¡± "Die? Yes, that''s correct. I can not die, I have become immortal. One of the effects of this ability is never to grow older. Any injury will heal quickly. I''m basically a Wolverine of life. With that ability, I no longer needed to worry, I started hunting like crazy. Although it hurt when I get injuries, I continued and so, soon I reached the fourth position in the overall classification. Unfortunately, the weather was short. If not, I would have definitely reached the top position.¡± "...¡± Liam was silent for a moment before murmuring, " Damn... I should have asked for this...¡± Hearing his brother''s words, Leon frowned. forehead. "Liam...?¡± Liam sighed and turned his gaze to Leon. "Short version. From the Mysterious Chest, I gained the Time Stopping ability, which allows me to stop time in an area for a few seconds, but it costs 100 MP.¡± "...¡± "It was simply impossible to use this ability at first. That''s why I chose a katana. For my first demon, instead of attacking like an idiot...¡± "...¡± Liam did not speak for evil, he simply said what he thought at the time. "I went around the white field until I found an area with demons easier to kill. They were wolves. Despite the danger, I managed to kill the wolf without dying.¡± "...¡± "I went up the level and so I kept hunting wolves. I gained skills quickly. It had already taken some time when I received the Demon Hunter title that increases by 30% damage against demons, then an Ancient Scroll with the Brave Warrior title that increases by 2 Vitality, Strength and Dexterity at each leveling. I received my seventh ability, Shadow of Darkness, which allows me to summon clones with 10% of my attributes, with all my skills, titles and equipment, but at the cost of 5000 MP. A robbery, I know...¡± "...¡± Robbery? Brother, come here, let me give you a dose of common sense. I promise you''ll still be able to recognize your face in the mirror. "I bought some skills, I gained others. I increased the skill rank, Time Stopping, and instead of decreasing MP consumption, multiplied. I increased the rank of Shadow of Darkness, but the cost remained the same, 5000 MP. It was at that moment that I realized that I would have to focus only on increasing my mana. It was still about 80 hours away. I received my second scroll. It was a multiplication spell that allowed me, as long as I had MP, to multiply an item twice. The problem is that the cost of MP also multiplies twice.¡± "...¡± Leon was almost crying with injustice. Do not get him wrong. He loved his brother. He really loved him, but still, what divine luck was that? And the worst? Liam was acting like he was unlucky. "After that, I died for the first time to kill 3 or 4 Leaders. Because of this, I received my third scroll...¡± "...¡± At this time, Leon almost vomited blood. "It was the Scroll of Wish and Fate. How worried I was with my mana. I ended, by accident, wishing for infinite mana. I became the second human and the sixth user. It also has the limit of 7 users.¡± "...¡± Is it... Liam was kissed by the luck goddess? What the hell is wrong with this world? How did someone get 3 ridiculous skills like that? "In all this mana, I made good use of it. That multiplication spell was very useful...¡± Leon''s eyes flashed. For a moment he had forgotten that parchment. "What did you use the spell on?" Liam smiled mysteriously. "Genex, show Leon how much Soul Core I have." Before Leon, a translucent screen appeared. [Soul Core: 81.129.638.414.606.681.695.789.005.133.064] "..." Silence hovered in the room for a moment. "How do you read that?" Leon finally asked. Liam shrugged. "I have no idea, but... who cares? I''m rich.¡± Turning his head, Liam''s eyes widened as he saw Lucas at the door, staring at them as if they had grown two heads. "..." Leon surprised his brother''s behavior and followed his gaze only to do the same as Liam. "What the hell are you two talking about, you freaks?" "..." They both had no reaction. "You know, you do not have to answer. I''ve been here long enough to hear almost everything from the beginning. I do not need to hear lies. What I want is to become a... awakened, or whatever the name of what you have become.¡± "Lucas, we do not...¡± "Either that or I tell it all to Mom... I recorded...¡± he said, showing his cell phone. "Genex, is there any way to make someone an awakened one?" His tone was from someone in a life-and-death affair. Chapter 15: Golden Core Genex promptly replied. "Yes. They are called Golden Core. They are much rarer to drop than the Soul Core, and can be dropped from any demon. The drop rate is 1 in 1 billion. It''s worth 1 billion Contribution Points. But even if the person becomes awakened, he still can not be summoned to the Neutral Dimension without paying a 1000 Blood Core fee each time he wants to enter the Neutral Dimension with the other awakened ones. They''ll also have to spend 1 million Blood Core if they want to get their own Operator." Liam looked at Leon. "So...? What do you think?" Liam asked. "Although I do not like it, it''s not bad either. He will not be forcibly summoned to the Neutral Dimension, and besides, he''ll be safe if he has some skills." Liam nodded in agreement. In fact, he was thinking of awakening his mother too. The world was changing. There will definitely be more people who have discovered about the Golden Core and more and more people with skills will emerge. "Genex, how does the awakening of people in a universe being invaded?" "Neutral Dimension, as I have already explained, has a will. When beings from another universe dare to break their protection and invade a universe, it grants absolute fate only once to all living beings in the invaded universe. The first invading enemy killed by a living being from the invaded universe for the first time dropped a Golden Core." Both Liam and Leon were surprised. "It''s like some novels I read..." Leon commented. Liam turned to Lucas who had already sat on Liam''s bed. "Fine... But do not think this is because of your threat. I''m doing this because that sounds like a good idea." "Yeah. Yes... What makes you sleep at night..." Lucas said skeptically. The 3 knew that the main reason is because of the threat of death. "Genex, sell 5 billion Soul Core and use the points to buy 25 Golden Core." Although he did not know who his brother was talking about, Lucas remained quiet in anticipation of his great future. Leon sighed. Being rich looked so good. "Buy it done." "Give me a Golden Core." Lucas''s eyes flashed when he saw a sphere appear to be made of gold a little larger than a baseball in Liam''s hand. "Here, take..." Liam passed the Core to Lucas who took it cautiously. When touching the Core, before his eyes, something incredible appeared. [You got the Golden Core.] [Want to consume it to Awaken?] Luke swallowed dry before selecting "Yes." The Core melted into fragments of golden light and was absorbed into Lucas''s body. [Congratulations, you Awakened.]Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. [To begin with, say ''Status'' or ''Skills.''] Liam and Leon saw Lucas''s face light up as if he had won the best Christmas gift in the world. They smiled. After all, Lucas was still a child. After that, Liam, casually not to let his younger brother notice, bought books of passive defensive skills active enough to complete all 10 slots. He bought a skill called "Healing" that, with enough MP, is able to heal any injury, illness, curse, and negative effect on status. He also purchased Recovery and Mana Regeneration. The 3 skills plus 6 defensive skills that made it impossible for anyone up to level 200 to seriously hurt Lucas were listed in the slots. When Lucas was about to learn another defensive skill, something clicked in his head. "Wait, how many skills can we learn?" He asked suspiciously. "10." Genex replied before Liam or Leon had a chance to respond. "Damn traitor!" Liam shouted. "Damn treacherous!" Lucas shouted at the same time, getting up and throwing the book in Leon''s face. After 10 minutes, Lucas finally managed to learn an attack skill. Unfortunately, he found out too late that having older siblings is asking to be passed back. This is the skill he has learned. ..... King of Battlefield: Creates an area of effect under the user''s domain. Rank: G (0/100) Effect 1 - Passive: decreases by 1% all attributes of all, except the user. Effect 2 - Passive: increases all user attributes by 1%. Effect 3 - Passive: decreased by 2% all damage received and increases by 2% all damage done to targets. Effect 4 - Active: [Teleport]: The user can teleport to anywhere within the domain freely. Effect 5 - Active: [Space Vibration]: release 3 consecutive waves that cause damage to everyone within range. The first wave deals 1 damage, ignoring the entire defense. The next wave causes double damage from the previous wave. Cooldown: 5 minutes Range: 10 meters Duration: 10 minutes Cost: 10.000 MP Cooldown: 5 hours ..... This was a skill of a Rank-E Chest that Lucas opened. Liam did not let him check the effect. The deal was that, Lucas would open a chest and if it was a skill, no matter what, he would learn without identifying before. Leon tried to buy the skill at the store, but found he did not. Apparently, despite the vast repertoire, the store does not have all the skills. He noticed that some abilities were under the gray name. That meant it was out of stock. ... After that, the 3 brothers spent some time talking and getting acquainted with each other''s abilities. Noticing Leon''s unlimited potential, Leon sweated cold. I think it''s a good thing to have a limit on how many clones he can summon... Imagine if there were no limits? With his infinite MP, Liam could summon unlimited clones. Leon reported on what was happening in the world and invited Liam to the guild. "Fine, but I will not take orders from you. And also, you do not expect me to be responsible. I did not leave work to find another. That''s enough of what we have to do in Neutral Dimension. " After that, the two began planning their lives from now on. Liam gave Soul Core enough to increase the rank of all of Luke''s abilities. For Leon, Liam gave 1 billion Soul Core and 5 Golden Core. He also gave all the skills and equipment books he had no interest at all. Leon was responsible for selling the drops and making money. ... Lucas left the brothers'' room and went to his. He was not as angry as before. He could have been only 10, but he was not stupid. He understood what the brothers were thinking. He, even without any skill, is causing confusion, imagine if he had an active ability that he could use early on? Yes, he knew it was a pest every once in a while. He blames his father. Why did he have to die early? Wiping the thoughts from his head, he went to the computer and called. Lucas had come home only to get the soccer ball and would go outside to play with his friend, but now he gave up. Andr¨¦ that finds something to do alone, because he had something much more important to do. When the computer was ready, Liam accessed the internet and wrote in the search box a question: how to increase character attributes without leveling? It took almost 20 minutes, but after changing a few words here and there, he managed to find some sites that explained. "Exercising constantly increases Strength, Vitality, Stamina, and possibly Vitality. Reading books, in some RPGs, increases Intelligence. Wise decisions increase Wisdom. Mm... It does not cost anything to try, since there is no chance of them letting me go kill demons... Humph... Stingy..." Lucas sighed. "My future looks black..." There was something in common with all 3 siblings. They all hated studying and reading books. Well, Liam and Leon were still half-saved, since they were fiction fans, but Lucas was a hopeless case. He never had the patience to finish a single page, who will say a 300 page book. He prefers to wait for the movie to come out. "Now... Where''s the library?" Chapter 16: Family Business It was around six in the afternoon when Melissa Mason arrived from work. His eyes moved across the empty room. Everything was still. Quiet to excess. "What did they get ready this time?" As they passed Liam''s and Leon''s room, the door was open, but neither of them was. Melissa continued walking. The door to Lucas''s room was half open. Looking down the small opening, she saw him sitting on the bed reading a book that must have been over 400 pages long. She opened the door a little too hard. "Who are you and what did you do to my son?" His question was genuine. "..." Lucas could tell that his mother was asking seriously. ... Liam and Leon arrived home around seven. They both went on a date with an awakened one. Apparently, Liam was surprised, there were people quite wealthy in Ribeir?o Preto. Carlos Santos. He went to buy a skill book, but came out with two outfits, 3 books and 2 Soul Core. As they needed quick cash, everything went for 10 million that were deposited into Leon''s account. Accounts were paid after that and they went to see some houses, before returning. Dinner was ready when the two of them walked through the door. Melissa was done packing the table. "Oh, you''re here." Melissa smiled at them. "Dinner is ready. Go wash your hands and come and eat. " The two swallowed dry. That radiant smile, capable of enlightening the world, brings happiness to the worst cases of helplessness. That smile she gave them was a sign that they were screwed. "I... I''m not hungry..." Liam began. Still smiling, she turned to him. "If you keep rolling, the food will get cold. And you know my opinion on using the microwave. " Melissa completely ignored what Liam said and practically gave an ultimatum. Liam shivered all over. He did not know what they did, but he knew they were in trouble. Melissa Mason is a strong personality woman and she had to raise 3 children by herself. She had to deal with a lot of shit over the years. That is why, when it comes to children, she would protect them like a lioness, but it also makes them go through hell if they do something wrong. In her words, "I did not spend 9 months carrying you in my belly, ending my body, and another painful 10 hours of labor, just to visit you in prison!" Usually these words were spoken among the flip-flops, broomsticks, the waistband, or when they should kneel on the rice. Five minutes later, Liam and Leon were sitting at the table apprehensive. Lucas was sitting on the other side, in the corner, cowering as if they had been caught in the act. He looked guilty. Melissa sat down in front of them and picked up a steak and set it on the plate. "So how was your day?" She asked as if she did not want anything. She knows, that was the thought of Liam and Leon at the same time. His eyes turned to Lucas who looked even more guilty. Now, they could make up excuses and so lie in her face, which would be a deadly mistake, or just give up. Liam sighed, "It was not our fault." He decided to be honest, after all, the world was changing too fast. The government may try to stifle, but more than 500 million people have returned from the Neutral Dimension. It was only a matter of time before everything exploded. So he thought it best to spill it all at once.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Melissa stopped the theater and watched the children. Knowing that they decided to tell the truth, she decided to be understanding. "That''s what I was told." And so Liam and Leon told them everything. Even the smallest details. They even used some skill to prove it. Then, just like Lucas, Liam had to use another Golden Core to wake up Mom and buy the skills she wanted. Mana Regeneration, Cure, Dragon Scale, Tortoise Shell, Divine Barrier and Recovery. She decided to learn only those 6 and leave 4 empty slots. You never know when an ideal ability for yourself may appear. After that, Liam bought rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches, which mainly increased Mental Power and Vitality, but of course some had an effect to increase Strength, Dexterity and Magic Power. And so, a whole family of awakenings arose. ... As Liam deduced, in the next two days, strange incidents began to emerge around the world. In Egypt, a sandstorm that seemed to be alive. In Hawaii, a tsunami was stopped by a mysterious person before reaching the city. Amateur videos of people picking up cars, jumping higher than normal, and things like that popped up. There was an incident in a maximum security prison where a dangerous serial killer, trapped in solitary, escaped as if it evaporated into thin air. Of course for people like the Mason family, this was not rumors and legends, they were awakened who began to use their powers in real life. There was even someone in costume, according to the witnesses, saving the day. Normal people, especially those who were aware of what was happening in the world, began to realize that something was happening. As much as the government tried to keep everything a secret, it was becoming increasingly obvious to those awakened that it would not last. Some were even betting on how long the government could keep the Neutral Dimension a secret. ... The containment door was opened and a man passed by who was already in his early 50s by his tone of voice. The doctor could not be sure, since the face of the person in front of her was blurred for her. It was as if his glasses were of no use to him. Of course she knew the problem was not the glasses, but the person in front of her who did not want to be recognized. She sighed inwardly. Being a scientist, she always sought to unravel the mysteries of the universe, while mocking those idiotic people who believe in mysticism. And now, before it, the supernatural was real. Despite the slap in the face that led from the universe, the doctor was enthusiastic to start the research. The two of them stepped through the next-generation containment door and into a huge room full of computers, tubes for specimens, and everything seen in science fiction films. "So, what did you think of your new place of work?" The mysterious man asked confidently. "It''s incredible." In the blink of an eye, in the man''s hand came a blue sphere with a hypnotic glow. "This is called Soul Core... And this..." another sphere came out of nowhere. "It''s a Blood Core. You will receive more of these to search. "Next came a glass vial containing a red liquid. "And that''s demon blood. The guinea pigs will be delivered today. I expect great things from you, Dr. Sully." ... On Monday, three days later, the four members of the Mason family were on a plane to the Federal District. His bank accounts had increased more than 30 million dollars. Apparently, in the big cities in the interior of S?o Paulo there were many rich who were also awakened. With this large sum of money, instead of going anywhere in the world, Melissa decreed that they were going to Brasilia. Earlier, she had already gone to school and started transferring school to Brasilia. On Tuesday they had scheduled to visit some houses and apartments to buy. Leon sighed inwardly. It was clear that he knew why his mother chose Brasilia, among all places. This was a secret that only he and Melissa knew, and it was not him that would reveal. ... It did not take long for them to choose a house. The choice was a 2 story house, 10 bedrooms, pool and 6 places in the garage. It was a fortune, but it was worth it. Liam had worried about the government wanting to know where they got the money from the account, but apparently Leon said he did not need to worry. He knew a guy. They spent the night at the hotel and only on Tuesday would they move. Her mother was in a room just for her while the 3 brothers had to split the room with 2 beds. Liam took the sofa without really caring. They had finished dinner. Lucas was reading books, because apparently his theory that could increase the Mental Power reading was true. Leon was watching TV in the armchair while Liam was lying on the couch staring at the ceiling. He opened his list of skills. ..... Skills - (10/10): [Blessing of the Gods - Rank-S (Temporary)] | [Time Stopping (Ativa) ¨C Rank-A)] | [Slash (Active) ¨C Rank-A] | [Haste (Active) ¨C Rank-A] | [Fireball (Ative) ¨C Rank-A] | [Sword Mastery (Passive) ¨C Rank-A] | [Shadow of Darkness (Ative) ¨C Rank-A] | [Recovery (Passive) ¨C Rank-A] | [Mana Soul (Passive) - Rank-SSS] | [Divine Barrier (Passive / Active) ¨C Rank-A] ..... He sighed. He had nothing to do. He gained powers and had nothing to do. Honestly, he kind of was looking forward to Friday and so on to Neutral Dimension. Liam even tried to bribe the orb to be sent in advance to the Neutral Dimension, but it did not work. The problem was that the Order of the Gods received only a Neutral Dimension entry permit once every 7 days. It seems that Neutral Dimension does not like beings from other universes interacting with beings from other universes. Not when they use it for this. Chapter 17: Betrayal The next morning, early in the morning, Melissa went to get the key to the mansion and then went to the labor agency to hire employees, since she was not going to clean that huge, single house, but not even dead. The 3 brothers went for a walk in the neighborhood. They spent in school going to school. It was a rich school and most of its students are related in some way to politicians. Liam was only really studying why he was obliged, not by the government, but by his mother. Because it was class time, they did not meet any students. Leon, being major and responsible for them, finished the enrollment and both Liam and Lucas started the next day, unfortunately. As Leon and Lucas finished talking to the director, Liam went out for a drink. It was a private school, so it was in good condition and everything seemed expensive. This was the first time he was going to study at a private school, so he found it all new. There were even lockers, which he thought existed only in other countries. He walked about 2 minutes before finding a water drinker. As he walked towards the drinker, the bell rang indicating the interval. The hallways quickly filled with students. Some saw Liam, dressed casually, walk up to the drinker and were surprised. There would always be those people who knew the faces of all the students. Liam drink some water before turning around and heading back out. On his way, he saw a group of 5 students. There were two girls and three boys. They all looked good and looked spoiled rich. Among the group, he saw something that surprised him. There was an orb floating above them. One of them was an awakened one, and Liam just did not know who. Obviously, the awakened one between them also saw the orb of Liam, but did not let appear in its face, so Liam could not find out who it was. On his way to the exit, he saw another 7 orbs. "Looks like this school will not be so boring..." The 8-Awakened had their eyes on Liam and were surprised when Liam met someone who looked like him who also had an orb. ... "So, what did you think of the new school?" Melissa asked the three of them at the table in a restaurant. "Cool..." Lucas shrugged. "Better than any school I''ve ever entered." Leon replied by slicing the meat on the plate. "You have at least 8 awakened. They''re all students." It was Liam''s casual response. Both Melissa, Leon and Lucas stopped what they were doing and faced Liam. Melissa sighed. "Just... do not get into trouble..." Both Liam and Lucas nodded. ... In the afternoon of that Tuesday, Liam entered his new room in the mansion. The whole mansion was already decorated. Earlier, the 3 brothers went out to buy new computers, televisions, cell phones and other electronics. With the right amount, everything was already installed and ready to use. Liam fell heavily on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep. ...If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jason Matthew came home anxious. He parked the car in front of the entrance of the mansion. Looking at the cars, he saw that his girlfriend''s car and his best friend''s car were already here. Jason is 16 years old and lives with his father as his mother eventually married and moved to a small town in Maine. He''s in junior high school and has a girlfriend, Jesse, since he was 15. Their best friend is Jack and they have known each other since they were 4 years old. His parents divorced when he was 10 and was friendly. At age 13, his mother remarried to Peter, a man of about 38 to 42 years. Good person and has a son of the age of Jason, Pedro. The two do not do very well because they are very different. Peter makes the strange style, the kind that lives by making references to something. Jason is the captain of the basketball team, dating a cheerleader, but unlike any other, he is smart and friendly. Living with your father, who is single, wealthy and well-off according to the girls, Jason spends the holidays with his mother. Especially at Christmas and New Year. And it''s one of those vacations that he just got. Seeing his girlfriend''s car and his best friend''s car parked in front of the driveway, he smiled. "They know I do not like parties, let alone surprises..." He shrugged. "What a shame for them that I arrived earlier than expected." Jason would arrive at around 6:00 pm but he ended up getting an early flight and so arrived at 2:00 p.m. He had forgotten to report the time change. Not bothering to pick up his suitcases, he stepped out of the black Ferrari and decided to surprise them. Jason opened the huge door to the mansion''s entrance hall. He frowned. There was no sign of anyone in the room. There was a welcome sign, and some preparations for the surprise party he guessed, but no sign of his father, girlfriend, and friend. "Ahh..." he heard a faint cry coming from upstairs. Without thinking twice, he ran to the fireplace, picked up a metal bar and then climbed the ladder. Without making a sound, he walked down the hall. The screaming sounds were getting louder. He at the same time loosened his grip on the metal bar. A strange sensation deepened in him. Those screams that before he thought were pain and someone in danger, were very much like the screams of videos he watched to know how to do it. Her heart clenched. His eyes were wet. He did not want to see that. He did not want to know he was being betrayed, but he had to be sure. His hand tightened on the metal bar and then he walked to his father''s room and stood in front of the entrance. The door was open so I could see everything that was happening. Dirty words were being spoken. His girlfriend was moaning like a... While it was... By two men. Your father and your best friend. He could not believe what he was seeing. His father, his best friend and his girlfriend for whom he was in love and thought it was reciprocal, were making a menage. Worst of all, both his father and his friend were talking dirty words, and many of them were depreciating Jason. They were something like: he was not man enough to satisfy her and they would show how they were done. None of the 3 had yet noticed him. They were so focused on betraying their son, their best friend, and their boyfriend that they did not even realize they had a witness. At that moment Jason felt like crap. How could they do that to him? Worst of all was his own father. Someone Jason always respected and loved. He always tried to make him proud of his son. How could he do that? And called his best friend. His brother not blood related. It was all a lie. And the one who said she loved him. The nerd who joined the team of cheerleaders, but who always kept their ideals. Now she was screaming like a bitch in heat. His hand tightened on the metal bar and for a moment he imagined himself entering the room and like a baseball player, slamming the metal object into Jack''s head causing blood to flutter all around. Then his father and finally Jesse. For a moment, he wanted to kill the three of them. At that moment, Jesse, who had his eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked at the door. "AHHH!" She shouted, but this time it was scary. Jason''s father, William, and his best friend, Jack, noticed something was wrong and turned to see what Jesse was staring at. Jason could see the shock rising in their faces. He just stared coldly at them before releasing the metal bar and turning and striding. "Damn!" He heard Jack exclaim. "Jason!" William called out. "Wait, I can explain..." Jason did not stop. He went down the stairs and out of the mansion with William running after him already dressed in sweatpants and a white shirt. Jason said nothing. He got in his car, started and hit the gas pedal without caring. "Damn!" William exclaimed as he watched his son walk out the door without hesitation. "What did I do?" What Jason did not know about his parents was that the split was because of what William did. Esther, Jason''s mother, discovered that William was cheating on her with her best friend. After that she discovered all the other cases. She just did not reveal it, because she wanted to keep the perfect father image that Jason had of him. William turned to enter when he heard the sound of skidding and then the impact of something. "No..." His heart stopped. "Please... Anything but..." he murmured as he ran into the street. When he reached the street, he saw what he feared most. The Ferrari of Jason overturned and destroyed by the impact with a truck. Chapter 18: The World Continues The next morning, Liam was already in front of the new school next to Lucas. "Ready for hell?" "Not really. Do we really have to go?" Lucas asked. "I mean, we''re rich and the world is changing. Why do we still have to do these nonsense?" "You know why." "We are in three... I think together we can defeat her..." Liam looked him in the eye and raised his eyebrow. "Yes, you''re right..." Lucas sighed in defeat. "We would be massacred." There was a simple reason for that. Liam discovered that he could buy chests from various ranks in the store. Of course it was random, so they would have to rely on luck. He bought countless Rank-G''s Chests because it was what he had most. He also bought Rank-S Chests and even Rank-SSS. In the store there were only 1000 Rank-S Chests, 500 Rank-SS and 50 Rank-SSS. It cost a fortune, but he bought them all without hesitation. Of course he kept the rest of the family secret about these chests. Liam revealed only that he bought Rank-G to Rank-A. Last night, he and his family spent some time opening chests. They started with Rank-G. It was 5000 chests and they opened only 157 of them. There was a lot of good stuff, but it was not in their best interest anymore. Melissa was the luckiest. It seems that some of these chests were dropped while the fate of the awakened ones of other universes was increased and thus, some of them decided to sell to the store of the Order of the Gods. Because of this, Melissa got a god-fearing ability. Just reading the name aroused his interest. Deciding to risk, she learned after reading only the name, she did not even ask for any of the orbs to identify before. And she did not regret it. ..... Limitless Power-Up (Passive): the ability to generate unlimited power. Rank: G (0/500) Effect: Passively absorbs any kind of external energy around the user and converts to Attributes Points. Conversion Rate: 1 Attribute Point every 60 minutes. ..... Melissa described the ability for the kids who got their mouths open. What kind of joke was that? And on top of that, the skill was still from Rank-G. What if she leveled it? And that''s what Melissa did. After using 6 Soul Core to increase their ability to Rank A, they saw the terrifying effect of that ability. ..... Limitless Power (Passive): the ability to generate unlimited power. Rank: A (0/32000) Effect: Passively absorbs any kind of external energy around the user and converts to Attributes Points. Conversion Rate: 64 Attributes Points every 60 minutes. ..... It was easy for the 3 to do the math. All Melissa needed was to wait 24 hours and she would have 1536 Attributes Points to distribute anyway she wanted. She did not have to do anything but sleep to easily surpass anyone. This was ridiculous even for Liam. The butt you kissed for your family to be having such damn luck like that? And why did your mother just receive this fraudulent ability? The woman was already scary with no special power, imagine now? He and his brothers were screwed. With a sigh, he turned his gaze to the big school. "Come on, we do not want to be late in the classroom..." They walked through the doorway. Some people watched them, while others ignored them, after all, not everyone was aware of who was new to school or not. Lucas went to the other side of the school, where students his age studied while Liam went to look for his locker. Genex, as always, floated on the automatic while following Liam. Sometimes he suspected that the Operator was sleeping, since most of it was silent. It took him about 5 minutes to find his locker in the student''s sea. He opened the closet and deposited all the books that were in his backpack that should be weighing more than someone normal would be able to carry without sweating.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "So what''s your level?" A female voice sounded behind Liam taking him by surprise. His heart racing, he turned a little frightened. "Damn, you want to kill me from the heart?" Liam can not help but exclaim. She was a red-eyed red-eyed girl with faint makeup. She was very pretty. Strangely enough, she reminded him of a certain redheaded Teen Wolf actress. "Mm... We both know this is not possible, not after waking up..." she replied intelligently. The girl exuded an air of confidence in herself. Liam shrugged. "Maybe yes, maybe no. Who knows? So far I have not heard anything that says otherwise, "he said turning around and closing the closet. He turned his attention to her and put his pack on his shoulder. "You know, even though it''s not official, to ask for a person''s level before I know your name or even introduce myself, I''m pretty sure it''s uneducated." Liam said before bowing his lips in a half-cynical false smile. And the girl shrugged. "Probably... Growing up with parents a little absent has this effect..." she said in a casual manner. She gave an apology but did not sound like a victim. "I''d like to say I understand, but... That would be a lie... and a mortal mistake..." he commented. Liam leaned back in the closet and stared at the girl. "Liam Mason." The red-haired girl raised her eye brows before saying, "Luana Mendes." Then, discreetly, she asked, "Operator, show me his grading." "Genex, the same." In front of him, appeared focused on the screen 50. Top 1: Yun Li - Level 88: Altar Contention 2: Jun Gao - Level 87:Altar Contention 3: Lara Carter - Level 78: War Altar 4: Leonardo Mason - Level 76: Altar of Force 5: Erik Stwart - Level 72: Altar of Justice 6: Ji Ning - Level 71: Altar of War 7: Misha Denver - Level 70: Altar of Illusion 8: Susan Calton - Level 69: Altar of Heroes 9: Katherine Mills - Level 68: Altar of Justice 10: Henry David - Level 66: Altar of Illusion 11: Liam Mason - Level 61: Order of the Altar 12: Stefan Singer - Level 61: Altar of Illusion .... 43: Luana Mendes - Level 44: Altar of the Force Liam was a bit surprised to see that she was in the Top 50. Not because she was a woman, but rather that another Brazilian was strong enough to get into the Top 1000. Liam was one of those people who did not really like the country itself. "Wow... A Brazilian in the Top 15... I''m surprised... From what I''ve heard, the most powerful rankers are all foreigners..." "My big brother is the one in the fourth position." Liam said simply making her eyes widen. "Two members of the same family were randomly selected for Neutral Dimension? What are the chances?" Liam shrugged. "Perhaps someone capable of seeing the future has observed the future of all humans and chose those who would be stronger?" Luana pondered for a second before waving. "Yes, until it makes sense..." They started to walk down the hall. "So, which class are you?" "B-1," Liam replied. "Maybe fate wants us to be best friends?" "Maybe... Or it''s just a huge coincidence," Liam commented. "You... You do not have many friends, do you?" "I''ve never seen the need." "They ignore you." "Yes." Strangely, Liam, a card-carrying antisocial, found talking to Luana was not so bad as it seemed at first. She was smart and she really had something to say instead of getting involved in teen dramas. By the time they reached room B-1, they could already consider themselves friendly to each other. Liam sat in his wallet next to Luana and spent the hours there. ... By the time of the break, Liam was already aware of how things were at that school. Whom he should keep away, not why it was dangerous, but whether he wanted to stay away from trouble. He also discovered that altogether, including two teachers, there were 12 awakened at school, 13 relying on Liam. "Any idea what to do going forward?" Liam asked before taking a bite of the apple. "Not really." Luana shrugged. "Although they are distant because of work, my parents are not that bad. I have a good life and as far as I know, no enemy. So I guess I intend to continue as if nothing has changed. Obviously I will not stand in the face of threats." "Have you ever considered joining a guild?" Luana''s confused look told her she was not aware of the guilds. Then he explained to her and made a formal invitation to the guild of his brother who still had no name. "It''s all right. I accept your invitation. Being part of a guild that has its leader as a Top 10 and one more member about to get into the Top 10 should serve something." "Thanks... I guess?" Luana grinned. "You''re welcome." ... The detective, Sarah Lance, entered the abandoned building where homeless people spent the night. It was already about ten o''clock in the morning. His day had not begun very well. Soon after her vacation forced by the department after her partner''s death, Sarah was assigned to a case of homelessness disappeared. In the last 3 days there has been an outbreak of homeless people disappearing without a trace. With the gun in her hand, she went up the stairs cautiously. The building was known to be inhabited by beggars. She decided to start here and see if there was any clue. Strangely, he was silent. With no sign of life beyond her. "NYPD, do not move!" She exclaimed, pointing the gun at the man on his back at the end of the corridor in front of the window. From what she saw, he must have been four feet two inches, almost sixty pounds, healthy, fit, short hair, half shivering and black. He wore a black overcoat of the kind seen in movies. White. Probably around 30 years old. "Hands where I can see and then turn slowly!" The mysterious man did not answer her or obey her. He turned his face and looked over his shoulder. Handsome face, beard with 4 days left unmade. He smiled faintly. "You should drop this case while you can, officer. Some things are best kept secret. That might end up hurting you." "Hands up and turn around!" She ordered, a little irritated. "I see you''re the type that when you bite the bone, do not let go. Just do not say I did not warn you. Maybe we''ll see each other again..." Then, before the unbelieving eyes of Sarah Lance, the man disappeared into a black smoke like a certain mutant. Teleportation was the only thing that came to mind when he saw the man disappear leaving only that mixture of black smoke with black energy that was dissipating in the air. In this current era where films of heroes dominate theaters, it would be strange if she did not recognize such an impossible ability to exist in reality... or not so impossible. "I think I''ve had too many drinks..." Chapter 19: Power-Up Lucas entered the library at the hour of the interval of his own free will. After confirming that the books increased his Mental Power, he became practically a nerd. At first, he only needed to read 150 pages to increase his Mental Power by 1 point. After 1500 pages, he had to start reading double the pages to increase 1 point. And so on, the number increased. Now, he needed to read more than 20 books to be able to increase his Mental Power 1 point. At the same time, his intelligence increased rapidly. He was beginning to remember more clearly what he was experiencing. He did not bother joining classmates at break time as he had something far more important to do. Read. If it were him a week ago, he would have laughed in the face of the person who told him that he would be reading books voluntarily. Lucas spent the 40-minute break in the library reading small books. ... Melissa looked at the building in front of her in the car. She was tidy. New clothes, new hair, new jewelry. Besides being beautiful, Melissa looked like a successful woman in her life. "Status." ..... Name: Melissa Mason Level: 0 | EXP: 0% Class: Awakened Title: none HP: 50 | MP: 20 Vitality: 5 Strength: 12 Dexterity: 9 Mental Power: 2 Magic Power: 3 Attributes Points: 832 Skill Points: 0 ..... Your initial attributes were higher than Liam''s. She had not yet distributed any of her free points. It was only 13 hours since she acquired this fraud skill and she already had more than 800 free points. His decision was swift. 400 on Strength, 200 on Dexterity, 100 on Vitality, 100 on Mental Power and 32 on Magic Power. She, a level 0, was already stronger than most awakened. Then she got out of the car and faced the National Congress Palace. ... Meanwhile, Leon was looking at a 20-story building that was for sale. This would be the headquarters of the guild in Brazil. He still had to think of a guild name. Although his members were of other nationalities, he as leader had the right and advantage of choosing the place. ... "Luana, who is your new friend?" A boy who must have been about the same age as Liam, or even older, approached them at the table where they were in the cafeteria. Liam looked at him. He seemed to be a sportsman. Good looking and definitely rich and awakened.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Luana turned to the boy and smirked. "Marcus, what do I owe you for this unwelcome visit?" Marcus, as the light-brown-haired man called himself, frowned. He was accompanied by more than 3 awaken. A blonde girl and a black boy. "Are you still irritated? I already told you it did not mean anything..." "If you''re angry, you mean I want to use my gardening scissors on what''s between your legs, so yes, I''m irritated. I''m redheaded, but I''m not a sucker. Betrayal, I resolve with castration!" Liam can not help but swallow dry, just like Marcus and the black boy. The blond, beautiful, blue-eyed girl had a smile on her face. Luana looked serious. "It''s all over between us!" Liam waited for the clich¨¦ scene where Marcus would say no, then he would turn his attention to Liam and threaten him, and so he would end up getting involved in this teenage drama, but to his surprise, Marcus sighed before speaking: "I understand. I made a bad mistake... Can we at least be... friends?" "We have a 5-year history, so I will not rule it out... But, remember that I can do it at any time, to regret being born..." Her gaze was cold and scary. What the hell is wrong with the women in my life? "Believe me, I know." "Good. Now, answering your previous question, this is Liam. New student. He''s in the Top 15. His big brother is in the Top 5. And no, I''m not interested in him in a romantic way... No offense." Liam shrugged. "No offense." "Liam, these are Marcus, Jessica and Paul. As you can see, they are also awakened. Marcus is level 47. Jessica is level 33. Paul is level 42." Luana made the introductions. "Hi." Liam gave a slight nod. "Hello, how are you?" Jessica blatantly sat down next to Liam making him uncomfortable. "Well, I guess..." "Jessica, put out the fire. Not everyone is scoundrel like certain people..." Her gaze rested on Marcus. "No offense, but I''m not interested. Please respect my personal space." Liam said moving away from Jessica. A disconcerting look passed over Jessica before she got a little confused. "Are you gay?" "I do not know." "How did you...?" "I''ve never felt physical attraction to anyone. Maybe I''m asexual? You know..." Liam shrugged and finished the apple. Marcus sat on the other side of the table and Paul was between Marcus and Luana. A half-awkward silence hung over the table. ... When Liam got home from Lucas, he went straight to the bedroom. After that, he started to open the lower rank chests. He had deposited 70% of the chests of each rank in the free rooms, so his mother and Lucas could open them whenever they wanted. 15% of the chests he gave to Leon and the remaining 15% stayed with him. In his inventory, he had just over 700 Rank-G chests. He received countless Blood Core, Skills books and equipment. There was a lot that could be helpful to him, but Liam had no interest in wearing jewelry or equipment. He could not wait to get strong enough that he no longer needed to wear armor when hunting for demons. He received some title scrolls as well. Unlike the skills that there was a limit of how many he could have, the title had no limits. The only limit was how many he could keep active at the same time. The limit was 5. He opened 150 Rank-G chests all together before deciding to focus on the Rank-F chests. It did not change much, except that the skills he earned were all of Rank-F. He also received several scrolls. Some were treasure maps indicating a particular place in the Neutral Dimension. In all, out of 675 Rank-F chests, he opened 150. He had 600 Rank-E, 450 Rank-D chests, Rank-C 345, Rank-B 300, Rank-A 270, Rank-S, 500 Rank-SS and 50 Rank-SSS. Everyone still had to be opened. With the exception of the chests above Rank-A, Leon had the same amount in his inventory. Let''s not forget that there were 5 rooms with chests. He opened 150 Rank-E chests. Of these 150 trunks, 3 gave him multiplication scrolls. He did not use them, because at the moment he had nothing to use. He also received parchments for titles, skills and equipment. The titles, of all chests, Liam learned without hesitation. Some even gave him skills. He received no scroll of desire. It had been over 4 hours. The sun would set at any moment, but still he continued. He opened 150 chests of each rank, with the exception of Rank-S chests and above. Of Rank-A''s Chests, he won 2 scrolls of desire, which surprised him, but as he already knew, he could not use them any more. He shrugged, still had his mother and Lucas to use them. He went to Luke''s room and gave him a parchment of desire and advised him to wish for infinite mana, since there was probably still a free slot for the 7 possible users. Lucas tried, but at the time, being the lazy he is, he thought of the work he would have to do to level and shiver. "Infinite EXP..." And, good. You should already know what happened. A new column popped below his level on his status screen written "EXP Power-Up: Infinity" where he could at any time use to level up. "..." Liam did not know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of monsters were your family becoming? Sighing, he returned to the room and continued to open the chests, but this time, he opened his first Rank-S chest. ..... Hunter Blood Type: Sword Rank: S Durability: 700/700 Requirements: Level 150, Sword Mastery ¨C Rank-S, Strength +500, Dexterity +200. Attack: 591 ~ 641 Effect: increases the attack + 1 for each death for 2 hours from the last attack. Additional Effect: Strength +10, Dexterity +10, Vitality +10. Update: Yes ..... This was the first item Liam received from the first chest that opened Rank-S. Despite being someone with a magical interest, Liam was shaken by this sword that seemed to have come out of an RPG game. Knowing that even if he really wanted to use this sword, it would take a long time for this, he decided to continue to open the chests. Chapter 20: A Mighty Enemy After opening the 150 chests, Liam stored all the equipment in the inventory and the skills books that did not interest him. On the bed were 3 scrolls, 5 skill books and 2 mysterious Core. These 3 scrolls were all that came out of the chests. He had not worn any yet. Once he removed the red strip, there was no turning back, so he has not identified them yet. Surprisingly, there were only 1 of those scrolls that Genex was able to identify. ..... Ancient Scroll: Empty. Effect: Clear a skill on your skill list. Cost: 100 MP Uses: 1 Restriction: The ''Empty'' effect affects the same user only 10 times. ..... "This is an even rarer parchment to emerge than the wish scrolls." Genex reported. Liam let out a cold sigh. "I can understand why. The scroll of desire, though very good, is not omnipotent. He only grants a skill, item, or even a parchment that already exists and does not have an owner." Genex had already explained to him, based on the information provided by the Order of the Gods, how the Scroll of Wish and Fate worked. "Already this... It''s like a glass of water in the desert... anyone with good sense will want to change their skill once they get stronger, even more so with this restriction of only 10 skills..." Liam''s lips they bowed in a smile. A shameless plan formed in his head. At that moment, Lucas invaded Liam''s room all revolted. "That''s not fair!" "What happened?" "I was mistaken!" Liam was confused by the drama of his little brother. "Take a deep breath, calm down and explain to me right..." Lucas nodded. Ten minutes later, he was finally ready to talk. "I increased my level and would continue until I was bored, but by the time I reached level 99, I could not even level." Liam''s eyes widened in surprise. He thought for a moment before finding an explanation. "In some games, there is a limit to level, but... this is not the case here, since I received a weapon with level 150 requirement. In some games, sometimes there is some kind of requirement to reach level 100, 1000, and so on... Genex, is that the case here?" "Yes. When an awakened person reaches level 99, to level up and reach level 100, their 5 attributes must be 100 or more, one of which must be 500 or more. The awakened person is going through a metamorphosis. He will become a Transcendent. The same goes at level 999 to 1000. Attributes should be 1000 or higher and one of them should be 5.000.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. At Genex''s words, Lucas sighed in relief. "So that''s easy. Luckily I had activated all the titles I won and that increased the attributes when leveling. I have not even distributed any of my free points yet." "I advise you not to go beyond level 999." Genex reported as soon as Lucas was about to distribute the free points. The boy stopped and stared at the confused orb. "Why?" "The greater the Vitality, the slower the user will grow old. The effects arise when Vitality reaches 1000. You will age 1 year slower than a normal person for every thousand points." Lucas''s shoulders fell. "Since I do not want to look like a child forever, I''ll have to wait until I''m 18 before I become the ruler of the universe..." Receiving this information from Genex, Liam decided to be more careful in distributing his free points and at the same time ignored Lucas''s childish grunt. For safety, he picked up his cell phone and sent messages to Leon, Luana, Marcus, Jessica and Paul telling them about the requirements to reach level 100 and 1000 and ask for more detailed information for their orbs. Lucas returned to his room and rose to level 999. He deactivated any title in advance with an effect of increasing his Vitality and changed them to those who increased the other attributes. ..... Name: Lucas Mason Level: 999 | EXP: 0% EXP Power-Up: Infinite Class: Transcendent Title: [Fearless Hero] | [Illuminated Sage] | [Undefeated Fighter] | [Spellcasting] HP: 9.990 | MP: 50.570 Vitality: 999 Strength: 3.015 Dexterity: 3.006 Mental Power: 5.057 Magic Power: 4.998 Attributes Points: 5.490 Skill Points: 6.793 ..... Lucas would definitely be the most hated person in the multiverse if they uncover the fraud he made want infinite EXP. But of course, he probably was not or will be the only one who will get this done by making a wish. ... Your mother will probably kill him when he finds out how ''OP'' Lucas has become. He turned his attention to the scrolls. Currently he had 7 multiplication scrolls. He was 8, but one was wasted trying to use it to multiply another multiplication scroll. Did not work. Genex has identified the 2 Core. The Purple Core, Spiritual Core, when absorbed, increases by 1000 Skill Points. Already the milky white Core, Power Core, could only be used by a Transcendent. When used, for 5 hours, the EXP gains are increased by 100%. Once used, the user is not affected by another Power Core for 48 hours. The Core disappears after use. Already the skills books, they were all from Rank-S. The skills were: Mana Manipulation, Fire Manipulation, Metal Manipulation, Space Teleportation and Gravitational Field. With 7 multiplication scrolls, Liam knew very well what he would do. Without hesitation, he used one of the scrolls and multiplied the Spiritual Core and thus getting the same amount he got when he multiplied the Soul Core. Then he did the same with the Power Core. Then he did the same with the other 3 scrolls, or at least tried. Only 2 scrolls was multiplied. The Empty parchment had no limits and this allowed him to get a ridiculous number of them. Already the second mysterious parchment, this only allowed him to have 7 copies. And the third, that did not even allow him to make an extra copy. He did not rush to erase any skills and learn others, not even tried to use the 2 mysterious scrolls. He planned to open all Rank-S, SS, and SSS Chests earlier to be sure of his decision. "Genex, is there any information about the leader of the demons?" Liam asked lying on the bed. "Yes. He is known as Demon King. He has already proven the existence of 5 abilities that he possesses. They are: Vital Energy, Mana Soul, Time Manipulation, Blood Manipulation, and Damage Negation." "..." Liam nearly vomited blood. "Only with these 5 skills can he defeat all of humanity with a snap of fingers! That''s OP too!" Vital Energy is the same skill Leon has. This ability has the effect of HP and Infinite Vitality. Mana Soul is the same ability of Liam that allows MP and Infinite Mental Power. Time Manipulation allows you to completely control the time. In other words, he is not affected by Liam''s ability to stop time. Blood Manipulation and Damage Negation, do exactly what the name implies. "Genex, why does not he simply invade the Neutral Dimension?" "No one above level 999 can enter the Neutral Dimension. The only way for such high-level beings to enter another universe is if all the Black Towers are destroyed." "Good..." Liam sighed in relief. "What is the level of Demon King?" "The last time his level was seen was 3.000 years ago. His level was 17.989." This time, Liam actually vomited blood on the floor of his room. It took him a few minutes to clean it up.