《Absolute Power》 Prologue Today Aarav was having a pretty bad day. Even worse compared to the usual days. It all started the day he was born¡­in a family of drug addicts. He almost died more than 300 times in 4 years that he was with his parents. Butfortu*cough*unfortunatelyone fine morning his parents were found dead due todrugoverdose at the front gate of their own home. Police and medical services were called. Things should have taken a better turn¡­...right? Well, there was a little bit of problem there. He was ugly (Author: Please let me emphasize on the word UGLY). This led to many orphanages refusing him because he would scare the other kids and may also give them trauma¡­. only the kids, not the adults. Finally, a kind soul who worked at the police station adopted him. Her name is Valerie Winehouse and the person who named him Aarav Winehouse. It was her way of encouraging him to be a kind and strong person who is at ease with things he has got. Things were drastically better for little Aarav. As Valerie was never married so although the presence of Aarav was sudden, but they settled into a harmonious family lifestyle without a hitch. It also helped that Aarav had matured mentally a lot earlier than normal because of his life experience. So, he was a very calm, quiet and rational child. Valerie didn¡¯t have to deal with the shenanigans that normal parents have to. By the time, he was eight years old he was already helping her out in the kitchen, and by the age of 10, he had taken full control of the kitchen. Aarav started school when was 5. He was exposed to teasing and bullying, understood that there are few good humans out there like Valerie, and accepted the fact that he was different. Being a quiet and ugly kid was not easy during the first few years of his school life. But he persisted because he knew that to be a successful human, you need to have a college degree. Although Valerie¡¯s job paid enough right now but college was and always will be the bane of financial stability in most middle-class families. He came up with the solution to ace all his exams and get the highest scholarship possible in the best college around. Slowly he took over the duty for all the household chores. As it didn¡¯t seem to affect his studies, so Valerie had to reluctantly allow it. Though on the other hand she was able to focus more on her work and was promoted to Major rank (I¡¯m using the U.S police force ranking). Although it was not perfect, at least his life was moving in the right direction. Aarav was content with what he had in his life.
Timeskip 12 years ¡°Hello! Am I talking to Mr Aarav Winehouse?¡± ¡°Yes, I am Aarav. Who might this be?¡± ¡°I am Carl Johnson. I work for Major Winehouse.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Oh! Is that so. How can I help you?¡± ¡°First of all, I would advise you to be calm and find a place to sit down.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I would have come in person to give this news, but the situation is pretty urgent. Major Winehouse was involved in a traffic accident while on duty. She has been severely injured. She is in the surgery room at the XXX hospital right now. The chances are slim. I felt like it would be the right thing to inform you.¡± Leaving everything he was doing before the phone call, Aarav ran as fast as his legs could carry to the nearest taxi stand. There were a few drivers sitting outside the stand and they all noticed him. Slowly they started to move towards him and started promoting themselves, but Aarav was not in mood for bargain and stuff. He quickly threw almost 200 bucks at the nearest taxi driver¡¯s face and asked him to take him to XXX hospital as fast as possible. Without asking anything else the driver almost forced Aarav into his taxi, as if afraid that Aarav would change his mind and go for a different driver, and started driving with all the passion and control he had. When he reached the hospital, he found a man stocky man standing besides the reception. Aarav noticed that he had a nameplate stuck to his left shirt pocket and it said Carl Johnson. He half-walked-half-jogged towards Carl. He wanted to ask a lot of things like ¡®who did it?¡¯, ¡®how did it happen¡¯ and a lot more, but all that came out was ¡°Can she be saved?¡± Carl solemnly observed Aarav¡¯s face and breathed a sigh as if he wanted to be anywhere else but here. ¡°Doctors are trying their best.¡± Carl¡¯s voice was not loud, it was barely louder than a whisper. But for Aarav this voice was as loud as a thunderstorm. He almost couldn¡¯t control his emotions. He felt like his whole world was crashing down. A deep sense of powerlessness invaded his bones. He wished so badly that he could take Valerie¡¯s place. Suddenly an ominous voice sounded inside his head * Do you want power? * Out of nowhere two panels started floating in front of his eyes. One said ¡®YES¡¯ and the other said ¡®NO¡¯. He was dumbstruck for a few seconds, but he recovered quickly and asked in a low voice ¡°Can she be saved?¡± The ominous voice replied * YES * Aarav asked again "How?" The ominous voice replied * Absolute power is the answer. * A fierce glint flashed through Aarav¡¯s eyes and without any hesitation, Aarav clicked on ¡®YES¡¯. Chapter 1 - Game On!
Aarav''s P.O.V : I cannot feel anything, even my own body and all I can see is darkness. "Hello! Anyone there?" I try asking to see if that ominous voice is present inside my head or not. Well since I have some time alone right now, so I should try to organize everything going on as best as I can. First of all, I can safely assume that I am not hallucinating because I am in this place. And even if I am hallucinating then this world is my reality for now. Now, this situation seems pretty similar to the online novels I used to read when I had no friends, so I should make one big change in myself if I want to cure Valerie. I will try to use my morality as a guideline from now on, and not as a strict rule. I have only one goal right now, cure Valerie. Lastly, lets pray to god that I don''t have to face ghosts. "Wow! Although I have only had 10 participants before you but no one was as calm and composed as you." Suddenly a sweet voice sounded beside my ear. It felt so soft and pleasant that I almost went to dreamland. I turned around imagining how beautiful the owner of this voice would be, but all I found was a green blob of.....something? "Hey! that''s so rude. I am not something. I am your guide Ella. I cannot materialize completely because you are so weak. And if you saw my real appearance right now, you would be completely captivated by my charm." replied the madly dancing blob of some *cough* Ella. Wait! so she can read my mind? Because I''m pretty sure I didn''t say anything about her appearance out loud. But strong is her ability. Can she know everything inside my mind or just the surface thoughts? "I can only read the surface thoughts without your permission. It was implemented in the contract after one participant died because he was not able to verbally or physically choose the option that could have cured his injuries." replied Ella in a solemn tone, which for some reason felt so out of place. Seems like there are a lot of things I don''t understand like what is a participant. I should wait for Ella to provide whatever information she deems necessary and then I should work from there. "Seems like I have finally got a good seed this time. We should get out of this boring place first." As soon as she said that a bright glare of light covered both of and it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Ella gently flew on my shoulder and wrapped herself around my neck. "This place will be the safest place for you except for Earth." I look around me and take in everything about this so-called safe place. All the wall and the ceiling are shades of blues and purples, which are my favourite colours. The floor is covered with a black carpet, which looks like it is even softer than my bed. There is a simple wooden stool at the centre of the room and a wooden chest beside it. The room is a perfect cube, and each side looks like 3 meters in length.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I can finally feel my body now. "It feels so good to be able to speak again." I walk towards the stool trying to get over my surprise of.....magic? as quickly as I can. I sit on the stool in silence for a couple of minutes. "Nice to meet you, Ella. I am Aarav Winehouse and I hope I can be a good participant." "But you don''t even know what a participant is?" She asks me while bringing a portion of the blob in front of my face. "Anyways since your first mission will be starting soon, so I will explain the most important stuff right now. Try to stay alive and when we meet again I will tell you more about this whole thing." She cuts me before I can even get a syllable out. "You only goal during the first mission is survival. If you can survive for 365 days then you will officially become a member of the society. Each participant is given some basic help like a guide and the initiation gift to get them started because our goal is to produce strong members rather than genocide. According to my knowledge, you are very familiar with RPG games developed on your planet. I will mould the initiation gift to be as close to the RPG structure you are familiar with." "Your explanation has created even more questions, but I suppose I should say status right now." I am a bit annoyed by how quickly all of this is escalating and I can''t do anything to stop it. "First tell me how can I save Valerie? I don''t have 365 days right now." Ella suddenly started laughing like a crazy villain and said, "You are so stupid! When you are here time passes very slowly on earth. 365 days during the training won''t even be equal to 10 seconds on Earth. And before you ask I would like to make it clear that a very high-quality puppet is being used to replace you right now." Ella increases her pressure around of shoulder as if giving a hug and says, "Don''t worry. Just do your best.......and hopefully you won''t die." "As for status, saying out loud is not necessary but you do need to think a little hard about it. You also have a skills menu but no skill right now." I try focusing on the word status and it appears almost instantly. It looks like a dark purple, almost black, table with various basic but important information about me.
Name - Aarav Winehouse Race - Human
Health - 40 Energy - 100 (Locked)
Health regen. - 0.04 / s Energy regen. - 1.8 / s
Strength - 5 Intelligence - 10
Agility - 4 Wisdom - 8
Flexibility - 4 Willpower - 10
Endurance - 4 Soul - 2
Health = Endurance * 10 Health Regen. = Endurance / 100
Energy = Intelligence * 10 Energy Regen = ( Wisdom + Willpower ) / 10
The ominous voice sounded inside my head again * 60 seconds till first mission begins. * Ella jumped away from my shoulder and said, " Seems like our Q&A session will have to wait. I will give you an advise though, Never underestimate anything. And do anything outside of your mission parameters if and only if you are confident about your strength." I tried to keep my emotions in check and appear completely calm. "Thanks Ella!" A trace of nervousness still appeared in my voice. Suddenly everything went dark again. My last thought before going unconscious was ''Why do all these supernatural things like darkness, it is creepy as heck.'' Chapter 2
Aarav''s P.O.V : I heard a buzzing sound in my ear and then suddenly I could feel my body again. There was a blue window in front of me. Aaaannnd again everything else is complete darkness.
Hello participant! The following are your missions: 1) Mission - Survive 365 days in this small dimension. Rewards - You will not be killed by the company after the mission ends. 2) Mission - Hunt 100 Level 5 creatures before you reach Level 10. Rewards - All attributes +5. 3) Mission - Hunt 1000 Level 20 creatures before you reach Level 25. Rewards - All attributes +10. 4) Mission - Be one of the first four people to complete the highest number of hidden missions. Rewards - Become master of a small dimension and one of the four defenders of your planet. Please say/click/think YES to enter your small dimension.
YES NO
Looking at this mission table, I am glad that I was mentally prepared for this type of stuff. I feel like if I focus on completing just the fourth mission, I can complete all the other ones pretty easily. For the first 3 months, this will be my planned course of action. Let''s see if it survives on contact with my enemies. The mission table clearly tells me that there are other participants in this....survival game? But are they in the same small dimension as me? Well, no point in thinking about it right now. I need to scout my surrounding and prepare basic stuff for survival. I focus on YES and my surrounding breaks apart as if it is a piece of glass. It seems I am in a forest. I can see large pine-like trees. Their leaves and body structure look the same, but that''s where the similarity ends. Instead of the normal green-brown combination, the colour scheme is more varied. All of them have black leaves and white trunks. And they are very tall as well as very wide. I don''t think even 3 of me can wrap our hands around it. This sure is a creepy forest.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The sun is directly above me, so I think I should have enough time to have a proper look around and build some kind of shelter. Just as I turn around to have a better look my foot hits something hard. I jump back in surprise and focus on it completely, but all I find is a sharp piece of rock. This could work as a temporary weapon, at least it is better than nothing. I choose the direction where the least amount of trees are growing, seems like a trail to me. I had only walked for 10 minutes before I saw it. It looks like an slime. I thought some kind of observe window would open but it didn''t. I even tried saying observe but nothing happened. Seems like my initiation gift doesn''t turn everything into RPG or it is just very low levelled. I carefully observe the slime. It is translucent but there seems to be some kind of sphere in the centre of its body. Is that the fabled slime nucleus? Should I try to kill it? All the slimes I have read about are generally corrosive by nature, so I will treat this one as if it is corrosive. I don''t have any magic or any long-range weapon, so it is not possible to safely sit back and snipe it. I think I should focus on trying to destroy its core. What if I throw a heavy rock on top of it? Well, this place does have many heavy rocks that I can use. I mean I might completely fail and maybe make it go berserk and die, but I have to risk it for Valerie. As long as it''s for her I can do anything, and as long as she stands behind me I will never be afraid of anything. I move slowly and gently pick up the rock nearest to me. Although it is very heavy but I can manage somehow. I walk slowly and gently towards it to make myself look non-threating. I think it works because the slime is still lazily sitting there doing whatever slime do. I am now less than 50 cm from it. I gather all my strength and throw the rock at its nucleus, as graceful as an elephant trying to jump. *Ding* I hear a sound similar to my message notification and then I see a blue exclamation mark at the corner of my eyes. I focus on it and a new blue window opens up.
You have killed a Level 2 slime. +25 Exp.
You have levelled up and you are level 1 now. +1 to each attribute because of first level up.
You have levelled up and you are level 1 now. +5 free attribute points.
Wow! that was a lot to take in. I can almost feel the difference in my body. It seems like I just changed my body with a little bit better version of me. I think it may be because all my physical attributes have at least 5 points now. "Status"
- Aarav Winehouse - Human
Level - 1 Experience - 5 / 40
Health - 50 Energy - 110 (Locked)
Health regen. - 0.05 / s Energy regen. - 2 / s
Strength - 6 Intelligence - 11
Agility - 5 Wisdom - 9
Flexibility - 5 Willpower - 11
Endurance - 5 Soul - 2
Free Attribute points - 5
Now that was tiring but fulfilling. I will hold on to my free points for a little bit. I want to have a better understanding of the world before I start messing with my status. Chapter 3
I started walking a bit faster towards the unknown because of excitement from my first kill. And the confidence from my first level-up helped too. I had not walked further when I came across a group of what seemed like 6 or 7 slimes. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a very fast upgrade in difficulty.¡± I whispered in disbelief. If this an indication of what¡¯s to come I don¡¯t think I will survive if I save my free attribute points. I think I should try kiting to see if it works or not. It would be a really helpful skill until I become stronger. I look around for a rock that is not big but has enough weight that it can hurt an adult human if thrown with full power. It even fits perfectly in my palm. I try to aim it towards the nucleus nearest to me. Somehow it hits the target. Even I am in disbelief, but before I could even do anything else I get an even bigger surprise.
*Ding* [ You have gained the skill AIM (basic) Lv 1]
Finally! My first skill. It seems that I am out of the aggro range of the slimes as they are just moving around restlessly in a circle. I relax a bit, and I try to focus on the word skill in my mind and my skill panel opens up.
[Skills: [ (1). AIM (basic) Lv 1 : Helps you aim better. Exp ¨C 0/100] ]
I focus on AIM to see if I can get more info but nothing happens. Well, it is very detailed but very crude. Does my RPG panel as a whole upgrade too? If that is the case it would be awesome. According to basic RPG logic, throwing the rocks at the slimes should help me level-up the AIM skill. I think I should try and check out this theory before I go to even more dangerous part of the forest. Looking around, I find 13 pieces of rocks that are the right size and they are just enough to fit in the pockets of my pants. I try to climb up a tree, so I can have a good spot to snipe these pesky slimes. I really don¡¯t want to get a surprise about their agility stat. As soon as I reach around 2 meters above the ground, I hear the familiar notification sound.
*Ding* [You have gained the skill Climb (basic) Lv 1]
Seems like I do have a talent for this. I climb a bit more before I reach a sturdy branch which extends in the direction of the slime. I sit on it firmly and put my back to rest against the trunk. That was a bit draining, but I could clearly feel that difference in my climbing speed. Seems like skill will be a big part of my strength. I hope there¡¯s no limit to the number of skills I can have. I focus on skill again and the familiar panel pops up instantly.
[Skills: [ (1). AIM (basic) Lv 1 : Helps you aim better. Exp ¨C 0/100] [ (2). Climb (basic) Lv 1 : Helps you climb on a vertical surface with 5% increased speed. Exp ¨C 5/100] ]
Seems like climbing the tree a bit more, after gaining the skill did help with the experience. Would it possible to mimic the effects of chakra from N#r#to if I max out this skill? It is a great research project. I will try to climb more vertical surfaces from now on. I take a deep breath and take out a rock from my pocket. I play around with it in the palm of my hand for a bit. I try to get a better feel for its weight. I don¡¯t know why, but it feels like this is how an aiming process should go. Is this the effect of the AIM skill? I snipe the nearest nucleus again and it¡¯s a perfect strike again. Just as I was going to celebrate it I realized a big problem. This RPG system thing doesn¡¯t let me observe my enemies nor does it let me see the amount of damage I do to them. This is not good at all. I can only pin my hope on the fact that it will level-up with me. ¡°Don¡¯t panic Aarav! You can do this. Snipe those slimes down there, level up, become stronger and everything will be okay. Focus on present right now. You have to do it for Valerie. You are so weak that you cannot make or change rules, so don¡¯t think about it. Yes, I will do it!¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Almost lost my cool there. I wish I could get something like gamer¡¯s mind and gamer¡¯s body. They are one of the most OP skill out there. I start throwing the rocks at the slime in an almost trance-like manner. I reach into my pocket and realize that its empty and suddenly I wake up from that weird but very helpful trance state. I can see in the corner of my vision that I have a few notifications. And all the slimes are dead too. I focus on the blue notification marks to see what exactly happened.
*Ding* [ You have gained the Skill Focus (basic) Lv 1.] *Ding* [ You have killed a slime Lv 2] *Ding* [ You have killed a slime Lv 2] *Ding* [ You have levelled up. +5 free attribute points] *Ding* [ You have killed a slime Lv 2] *Ding* [ You have killed a slime Lv 2] *Ding* [ You have killed a slime Lv 2] *Ding* [ You have levelled up. +5 free attribute points] *Ding* [AIM (basic) Lv 1 has levelled up to AIM (basic) Lv 2]
This is such a pleasant surprise. That trance-like state must be related to the focus skill. I check it out and I am so surprised by its effect and potential. [ (3). Focus (basic) Lv 1: Helps you focus and quickly and accurately complete simple actions. 0.0001% Chance of getting into the hyper-focused state (please find out about it on your own). Exp ¨C 300/1000] Just by seeing the huge difference in the experience required to level up this skill, I can imagine how precious this skill is. Leaving that aside, now that I have 15 free attribute points, I can finally use some. Although my attributes are more inclined towards a magician build, but I don¡¯t know how to unlock my energy. I also think that a strong physique is necessary for survival in a forest. As all of my physical attributes are equally bad, I add 2 points to each of them. Finally, I add 2 more points to the Strength stat. My body feels like its burning, though I don¡¯t feel much pain. It reaches a peak quickly, I feel a sudden jolt of pain and everything becomes normal again. But I can literally feel it in my bones, I have become stronger than before. I focus on status in my mind the panel opens up in front of my eyes.
STATUS
Name - Aarav Winehouse Race - Human
Level - 3 Experience - 10 / 160
Health - 70 Energy - 110 (Locked)
Health regen. - 0.07 / s Energy regen. - 2 / s
Strength - 10 Intelligence - 11
Agility - 7 Wisdom - 9
Flexibility - 7 Willpower - 11
Endurance - 7 Soul - 3
Free Attribute points - 5
Seems like the soul attribute levelled up too. I tried adding free APs (Note: I think I should use AP instead of Attribute points from now on.) but I just can¡¯t do it. Soul stat is a complete mystery for me. I can¡¯t even get more information by focusing on it. ¡°I will have to ask Ella about this. It looks like a very important part of me.¡± Although the sun is still in the sky, but I have spent almost an hour here. I should move fast and search for a source of water and food.
*Time skip 5 hours* I am sick of killing slimes. I came across some monsters, which look like small ugly human children with snake tongues. They are called imps and all of them are between Lv6 ¨C Lv9. I have killed around 12 of them. They are intelligent but not smarter than a 5-year-old kid. Due to this, it was even more easy to fool and kite them. They also provide a good amount of experience. I got 70 Exp from Lv6 imps, 80 from Lv7, 100 from Lv8 and 130 from Lv9. It was a little bit more dangerous than battling slimes because there were a few imps that had crude bows with them. Not only that but these bastards are very good at climbing trees. On the flip side, my Climb skill has become Lv 3 as I tried climbing higher and faster to escape from them. As soon as I kill the last slime in this area, I hear the familiar pleasant notification sound.
*Ding* [ You have levelled up. +5 free attribute points] *Ding* [ You have reached level 10. Energy is unlocked forcefully as the participant couldn¡¯t do it On his own.]
This is the last thing I see before I black-out due to intense pain that came out of nowhere. Chapter 4
All I could feel was a heavy pressure weighing down on me. My body feels so numb. I can¡¯t do anything except getting crushed down by the pressure. I hate this feeling of helplessness. Move! My fucking body please move. I don¡¯t know where this place is, but I can feel it, this place is very dangerous for me. I need to get out of here as soon as possible. If nothing else I have to do it for Valerie. I try my best to move again¡­.with all my willpower. Suddenly a wave of warm current rises from the centre of my stomach and it overflows through my body. I hear the something in the distance. And suddenly my eyes open. I can feel my body again. But it would have been better if I could not. I have never been in so much pain before and I can assure you that I have had a very colourful life. I grit my teeth and look around. I am in a very narrow place. I can¡¯t move my body properly. Wait! This seems like flesh. ¡°Sh¡­...*cough* *cough*¡± Shit! I am inside some animal. It looks like a snake-type animal. I am so glad it¡¯s a snake because if I not, I don¡¯t even know if I would be alive right now. Although my skin seems like a combination of burnt and rotten and it hurts like hell, but I am so glad that all my body parts are joined together. I must get out of here before the stomach acid kills me. I try scratching its stomach walls with my nails and suddenly the creature starts rolling around. Though it seems like my nail attack was only at the level of irritation. I am so pissed at the company or whatever for not even giving me a noob sword or some other weapon. I look at the twisting mass of flesh around me and my mind comes up with a brilliantly gross idea. Let¡¯s see if a reptile sashimi is as good as fish sashimi. I take a deep breath¡­man, it stinks so bad. I turn my body to my right side as best as I can, and I take the biggest bite I can manage out of this creature¡¯s flesh. It starts to burn my mouth, so I quickly spit it out. I hear a deep rumbling and suddenly the creature starts thrashing around. I try to ignore it as best as I can and stick to my task of biting it to death. After what feels like an eternity, I finally manage to bite enough of it that it dies. A string of notification sound goes off, but I ignore them right now. I need to get out of this hell first. My teeth have bits of fat and tendons stuck in them. I can taste the hot blood of this creature, it is tangy and feels like a very badly brewed beer. I continue to tear apart the corpse with my mouth until I have enough space to move my left hand around. I make the hole in the corpse big enough for me to climb out.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. As soon as I relax, the pain and exhaustion hit me like a sledgehammer. I somehow keep my brain awake and assign points to the endurance stat until it becomes 15. I hear another notification sound, but I am really not in the mood for this right now. I lay down on the forest floor trying to gain some energy. Slowly but surely, not exactly sure how long, the pain starts subsiding and my conscious becomes clearer. I look at the notifications finally and¡­it gives me a big shock. But all of it is pleasant. I don¡¯t know if I should thank that stupid creature for eating me or make it come back to life and torture it to death. *Ding* [Congratulations! You have provided the system with enough energy for it to evolve.] [Please name the system] ¡°Uh¡­RPG system I guess?¡± [Please confirm that the system¡¯s name is ¡°RPG system I guess¡±] ¡°Wait! No, no no no! The system¡¯s name is RPG.¡± [Please confirm that the system¡¯s name is ¡°RPG¡±] ¡°Yes!¡± [Sir what kind of service would you like right now?] ¡°What are the things that you can do?¡± [I can help you interact with your attributes panel, skills panel, inventory and store in a more user-friendly manner. The system will also minimize the use of props that may distract the user from the real world.] ¡°Oh¡­¡­seems cool. Hold up! I have inventory and store! What are those? Why did I never see them before?¡± [These are new features added by combing user¡¯s memory, energy provided by the user and the initiation gift. Sir your initiation gift has permanently changed into the RPG system.] ¡°So how do I store stuff in inventory? Also, introduce its basic features.¡± [Physically be in touch with it and think about storing it. Living things can¡¯t be stored in the inventory. Anything longer than 30 meters and heavier than 20 tons can¡¯t be stored. You have 15 slots right now. 10 of the same items can be stacked together. You get 5 more slots each time you reach a level that is a multiple of 25.] [Is that enough information sir?] ¡°Yes! I feel that you are more organic¡­human-like with your thinking and speech.¡± [Sir system is a concept given life. As such it has its own attributes. Due to the excess energy provided by you, the system was able to level up and increase its intelligence attribute. The system is an AI like existence and you are its master. It will use the initiation gift provided by the company and the power of law provided by ???#### :Error to assign you quests and rewards. ] *sigh* ¡°This got complicated pretty quickly. I still haven''t learned anything about this mysterious company but now there is a being out there even more mysterious and horrific than it. I can now kinda understand why those protagonists are power hungry. It really is the worst feeling to have your life controlled by someone powerful and unknown.¡± Need more power! Chapter 5
¡°From now on I will refer to you as Morgan. It sounds cool and it¡¯s a unisex name. What you say system?¡± [Sir, it will be my pleasure.] ¡°Now show me my status. I have been saving up on those free attribute points for way too long. Today is the day that I will splurge away my free APs.¡± [Sir.]
Name - Aarav Winehouse Race - Human
Level - 11 Experience - 8600/ 10240
Health ¨C 15/70 Energy ¨C 110/110
Health regen. - 0.07 / min Energy regen. - 2 / min
Strength - 10 Intelligence - 11
Agility - 7 Wisdom - 9
Flexibility - 7 Willpower - 11
Endurance - 7 Soul - 3
Free Attribute points - 45
Hidden missions completed: #1# I am not your cup of tea ¨C Get eaten by a beast, reach its stomach and kill it without using any kind of weapon. Reward ¨C You stay alive 50% longer in the stomach of creatures which are at least 3.5 meters long.
A new tab has been added once again. I know I should feel glad that I have completed a hidden mission, but if this is any sign of what hidden missions are like then I feel sorry for my future self. ¡°Morgan do you have any idea why I fainted after I reached level 10?¡± [Sir, your energy was forcefully unlocked, and you were not able to withstand the pain.] Wait..... [Sir, I would like to remind you that you haven¡¯t eaten or drank anything for more than 18 hours. If you walk at a normal pace for 2 hours you will get dehydrated. If you walk for 1.5 hours more, you will start feeling hunger pangs. I suggest finding a source of water as soon as possible.] ¡°Now that you mention it, I do feel a A blue box floating above the creature¡¯s corpse saying * Anaconda-fidi (dead); ¡°Morgan since when did I have [Sir, you obtained after my upgrade.] ¡°Why am I being rewarded so handsomely for reaching Level 10?¡± [Sir, I think you are misunderstanding something. It isn¡¯t a reward for reaching Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. [Sir, I¡¯m sorry. I will keep it in mind.] ¡°Correct me if my reasoning is wrong, but the reason you upgraded [Sir.] ¡°Why didn¡¯t I gain¡­forget it. Morgan tonight I will ask you more questions about our current situation. Give me a reminder when I¡¯m free. Right now I need to focus on surviving.¡±. [Sir.] I walk towards the anaconda¡¯s corpse and collect ¡°Oh and before I forget bring all of my attributes to 10.¡± [Sir, Agility, Flexibility, Endurance and Wisdom have 10 points each and Soul has increased to 7 points.] ¡°Hmm¡­. Good.¡± I didn¡¯t get surprised about an increase in soul attribute because I can¡¯t afford to be distracted right now. And I can also pretty much guess that it''s related to the increase of my other attributes. I think that increasing other attributes by a certain amount, most probably 10, will increase it by one. More data is needed to draw any further conclusion. After I walk for a while I start hearing the sweet sound I have been waiting for all this time. It the low but strong murmur of water passing over rocks at a Suddenly A small stream is flowing through the middle of the clearing. It looks like that Both sides of the stream are surrounded by a gorgeous array of flowers spread around in complete methodic-randomness. All the colours of the rainbow are present for the party. Some The contrast between the dark and dreary forest and this beautiful clearing was so great, that I couldn¡¯t even respond for a [Sir, you have three new system quests. Would you like to hear about them?] ¡°It seems like my life has almost become an RPG game. Tell me about them, Morgan.¡± [Sir, QUEST 1: Make/Claim a shelter and sleep in it continuously for at least 5 hours. Rewards ¨C 100 Sp. Failure will result in no punishment. QUEST 2: Reach Rewards ¨C 400 Sp and 2000 Exp. Failure will result in a deduction of 2000 Exp. QUEST 3: Buy at least one item from the system store before 24 hours. Rewards ¨C One free lucky draw ticket. Failure will result in the permanent suspension of the system store. Note: If a task assigned by system is declined, it will be treated as if you failed to accomplish it and the given punishment will be enforced.] Frankly ¡°Morgan let¡¯s find a good place to make our home. And from now on don¡¯t call me sir, [It¡¯s my pleasure I don¡¯t want my home to be farther away from this place, because spending time fetching water would be the most I Just I walk inside My I should drink some water, make my bed and have a good rest. System store should have some affordable ways to create fire. I don¡¯t want to deal with any new info, so I will take a look at it after a proper sleep. Chapter 6 Aa¡­¡­v¡­.ra¡­.Aara¡­. ¡°5 minutes more.¡± [Aarav, I know you want to sleep but this is an emergency!] ¡°Hmmm¡­¡­emergen-.....EMERGENCY!!?.¡± [It seems that you blocked the burrow entrance way too perfectly. I noticed a gradual decrease in the oxygen level in your blood and I realized that it may be prudent to wake you up.] ¡°Yeah well, you did a good job, Morgan.¡± [Aarav, there are a few notifications you should know about.] ¡°Hmmm¡­..tell me about them while I freshen up.¡± Saying so I kicked the boulders away and walked to the river to complete my morning chores. [First, Assimilation period has come to an end. There will be a 1000% increase in the number of creatures below Lv 50. There will be a 750% increase in the number of creatures above Lv 50 and below Lv 100.] ¡°What is this assimilation period thing and why didn¡¯t you inform me about this sooner?¡± I yelled in frustration and I tried to become as alert as I can be. I tensed my body and carefully checked my surrounding. I don¡¯t know how I missed all this because the change around me is so obvious. Birds are chirping in the trees and fishes are frolicking in the stream. I can even see some small critters around me, some are completely focused on my movements while others are completely unaware of me. [Aarav, I guess the homesickness is strong in this one. ¡°Wait! Did you just make a- ¡± [so, as I was saying, I couldn¡¯t tell you about the assimilation period because you didn¡¯t ask. You can almost say that I am a poorly programmed code. I must give an announcement when everything comes to an end but there are times when I cannot announce the beginning of an event.] ¡°Oh!....that sucks.¡± [On to the second notification, you have completed your first system quest, Quest 1, and 100 sp has been added to your account. I suggest you use it immediately so that you can complete Quest 3.] ¡°Do you know that the feeling of wiping your butt with leaves? It¡¯s the worst I have ever felt in my life. [Aarav, I suggest you invest in wet wipes. System store sells both toilet papers and wet wipes for the same price, but the feeling of wet wipes is more comfortable.] ¡°But what about fire?¡± [You can learn to create it or use fire magic, so need to invest in it now.] ¡°I am pretty hungry. I haven¡¯t eaten anything since I came here.¡± [Whenever you Level up, simple physical problems will be cured. These include starvation, dehydration, mild cold and cough etc. Reach Lv 12 before you die of starvation.] ¡°Wet wipes it is then. Open the system store Morgan.¡± [Aye] Time suddenly stopped around me. Everything quickly lost all its colour and my surroundings are enshrouded in darkness¡­. again. A blue system menu appeared in front of me. I can see 6 options present on it: Skill book, Weapons & Armor, Potions & Pills, Pets, Miscellaneous and Lucky Draw. I select miscellaneous and a new screen appeared in front of me. There are two options which I can select from. One is a search option and the other one is a list option. Instead of clicking on these I call out Morgan to help me. ¡°Morgan could you please show me a list of everything that I could buy with 100sp and keep your recommendations at the top of the list.¡± [Aye] Everything blurred for a few seconds and a list appeared on the blue screen. I can see some potions, a few weapons and armours, and lots of miscellaneous stuff. The most eye-catching is the wet wipes at the first place in the recommended section. I think Morgan is developing his/her own personality. On one hand he will be able to help me more easily because of enhanced thinking but on the other hand, he will have to deal with everything Morgan does before fully developing a personality. I just hope that a yandere or something worse doesn¡¯t become my system. To increase my chances of survival my best bet would be a combat skill. My stats have increased my physical performance tremendously, but I always feel deep inside my bones that this is not the limit of my body. There is only one skill book available. Its price is 99 sp and it is ranked in the last place. ¡°Morgan, what is this Martial All-rounder skill?¡± [It is one of the best skill available out there, but it has a very big disadvantage. The amount of EXP required to upgrade this skill is 100 times compared to other skills during the basic level. And it increases by 10 times every level, so by the Master level, you will almost need 100,000 times the normal EXP. And believe me, that¡¯s a lot of EXP we are talking about. It allows you to have mastery over 100 unarmed and 100 armed combat styles. The reason it is sold so cheaply is that no one in their right mind will buy it.] ¡°Morgan, I want this skill book and use the remaining point to buy some wet wipes.¡± [Aarav, it has been done but would you mind explaining to me why did you buy such a useless skill book instead of something like a health potion or weapon? Oh, and you completed Quest 3 and you have been awarded one free lucky draw ticket.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A book and a packet of wet wipes appeared in front of me. They are floating in the air. Nothing seems special about them. I put away the wet wipes in my inventory and carefully looked at the skill book. I tried to read it but I couldn¡¯t understand the language. ¡°Morgan, it''s very simple. It is the only skill book available. Now open the help me use the lucky draw ticket, if I can get something awesome then I will be able to become stronger very easily.¡± [Aarav the draw is starting.] The blue screen in front of me disappeared and a big wheel appeared in front of me. It has 6 sections on it. They are labelled the same as the options in the system store. The wheel started rotating rapidly and a dart appeared in my hand. It seems I need to aim. It is not much of a lucky draw if you have some power over the rewards. But the me right now can¡¯t make use of this advantage because I can¡¯t see anything as the wheel is spinning so fast. I threw the dart and hoped for the best. As soon as the dart touched the wheel stopped instantly. I realized that the dart has landed on the Weapons & Armor section. After a few seconds, the dart appeared in my hand again and the sections on the wheel became numerous. I can¡¯t even figure out the number of sections the wheel right now. The wheel started spinning crazy fast and I threw my dart again. A glare of white light appeared in front of me. After it disappeared a black scythe was floating in front of me. [Congratulations Aarav, you have obtained Reapers¡¯ Fang (sealed).] I was spellbound by its beauty. I gently caressed its body, it was not cold as I expected. It seemed to radiate a warmth completely inconsistent with its name and use. As soon as I touched its blade, a mall cut appeared on my fingers. But it didn¡¯t end there, 9 drops of my blood in a very peculiar fashion were absorbed by the blood. I noticed a weak jolt in my mind as if something was knocking on it, asking for permission. It felt very familiar and friendly that I allowed it to enter before I even realized it. I realized that I have made a very deep and sacred bond with the scythe. I can feel its curiosity about everything, just like a newborn trying to observe everything around them. I can even sense the happiness it is feeling right now from our meeting. For some reason, I can feel, even though feel is not the right word, that the scythe is a she. She asked me for permission to be closer to me, although I didn¡¯t understand what it meant by that, I instinctively knew that it is not harmful to me. I gently touched her body and I leaned closer it and said, ¡°Your name from now is Freyja Winehouse and we will be together forever, even death won¡¯t do us part.¡± [Hidden Mission completed: Soul Partners 1: Form a soul bond on a partner level with any kind of sentient being. Increases the strength of the soul bond by 10%.] I feel a great bout of happiness flowing through our bond and Freyja floated and disappeared within my body. I couldn¡¯t see her, but I could feel her position as clear as day. She is inside my heart and it seems like my blood is working as some kind of nourishment for her. But it doesn¡¯t hurt me at all. It''s just like any other organ in my body. They need my blood to stay alive and they grow stronger as I do. Freyja truly has become a part of me. Now then its time to use the skill book. ¡°Morgan, I want to use the skill book Martial All-rounder¡± [Aye] A bright light completely shrouds me, and I feel something being forcefully squeezed inside my brain. A tremendous amount of pain hits me out of nowhere and it all disappears quickly as it came. [Aarav, please choose your primary weapon for armed combat and primary body part for unarmed combat. Using primary weapons increases attack power by 10%. They can never be changed so please choose carefully.] Without much thinking, I decided that my legs are the best for unarmed combat as they will ensure a holistic development of my combat style. [I choose Scythe as my primary weapon and my legs as my primary unarmed weapon.] [You have learned skill Martial All-rounder (basic) Lv 0.] I can sense the difference within me. If earlier, I was a tiger then now, I am a tiger with wings. It feels like I have been using my legs and scythe for fighting for more than a decade. I quickly come out of the space created by the system and start looking for prey to complete my Quest 2 in earnest.
Time skip - 45 minutes
II finally find my prey. According to observe skill its name is Earth Gnome and it is Lv 10. I bring out Freyja and grip her tightly with one hand. Instantly all the knowledge about how to efficiently integrates into my body. I try to sneak over but as soon as I reach the 3-meter mark, the Gnome turns and looks at me, and gives me the nasties smirk anyone can imagine. It shouts in a very strange manner, maybe a war cry, and starts running towards me with full strength. I was mentally prepared for a frontal confrontation, but I realized that nothing will prepare you for it. You need to experience it understand its horror. My body completely went numb from the sudden action of the Gnome. Before I even realized I, he was within Freyja¡¯s attack range. My body moved instinctively and one of the gnome¡¯s leg was severed. I quickly reprimanded myself and swung my scythe at gnome¡¯s neck. I could see in its eyes that it has accepted death but even then it gave me a smirk and shouted something with all its might. It stopped as abruptly as it had started as its head was severed. [You got 300 Exp.] [Quest 4 : Kill 100 Earth gnomes. Rewards ¨C 500 sp. Failure will result in a deduction of 1000 sp.] Before I could even understand anything completely, I hear a loud chattering coming from all around me. There are at least 500 Earth gnomes surrounding me. ¡°Morgan, how many free APs do I have?¡± [Aarav, 36] ¡°Add 10 points to endurance and 3 points to strength, agility and flexibility each.¡± [It is done. You will begin to feel the change shortly. Now you have 17 free APs remaining. Your soul attribute has increased to 8 and your bond with Freyja has been strengthened.] ¡°Thanks Morgan, but TMI, ttyl.¡± I look around me and I know that the only way to survive in this situation is to attack the weakest area and break free from the circle. I run towards the direction which has the least number of melee fighters and I start using all the knowledge I have about killing using scythes. I jump around the battlefield to keep the enemies confused and start hacking away at everything that moves. Blood keeps splashing over me, some of it even gets into my mouth. It feels disgusting and tastes gross, but I don¡¯t have time for these emotions if I want to keep my life. So, I keep spinning and swinging Freyja in the most efficient manner as if my life depends on it. Actually, it totally does. After some time, I started feeling overwhelmed by the number of archers the enemy has, so without any second thought I added 3 points to agility and flexibility. I also added 5 more points to endurance and finally, it reached 20 points. A few notification sounds popped but I had no time or concentration for them. All I could focus was on wielding Freyja as effectively and efficiently as I could. As the battle progressed my familiarity with combat and scythe-wielding increased and the battle became a bit easier. Slowly I fell into a trance, and all I cared about was killing anything near me. After some time, I realized that there was no target for me. I looked around and noticed a scene that would perfectly fit the purgatory. The place was filled with incomplete corpses of earth gnomes. Some were disembowelled, some had lost their limbs, and most were decapitated. My body relaxed finally, and the tiredness hit me like a bullet train. Without much thought, I started running towards my burrow. As soon as I saw the stream I jumped in it and started rubbing away all the blood on me. After most of it washed away, I walked towards my perfectly hidden burrow, removed some rocks blocking the entrance, entered inside, put the rocks back in place. Without even bothering for some kind of fire, I turned around and face planted into the ground. As soon as my cheeks felt the coldness of the floor, I was completely gone. Chapter 7
15/365 days
I don¡¯t even remember when I came here. But according to Morgan its only been 15 days. I can¡¯t even form a proper sense about time because all I have been doing is fighting and recuperating from my injuries. And keeping track of time in any of these situations is very difficult Today Morgan dropped an info bomb on me again. He said that today was the only day I was not completely unconscious after reaching my burrow. If I had heard about this a little sooner, then I wouldn¡¯t have to almost die to kill an injured Lv 11 hobgoblin. According to him after any creature reach level 10, they gain a massive amount of EXP. Some use it to gain a new skill whereas some use it to directly reach or be infinitesimally close to Lv 11. There are a few species who can use that EXP to increase all their attribute simultaneously by 5 ¨C 10 points. And the reason why any of this didn¡¯t happen to me was because I wasn¡¯t there to choose my direction, so the system did a lottery with a few options and ¡°upgrade system¡± won. I am so glad I didn¡¯t change my species or squander such a huge EXP for just my attributes.
58/365 days
I have finally formed a basic fighting style centered around Freyja and my legs. I realized that I was not using my legs enough after Freyja was knocked out of my hand while fighting a Lv 20 Troll. I thought that I could kick it in the nuts and the grab Freyja, but that asshole wasn¡¯t having any of it. It sacrificed its balls to get an extra hit on me. The only reason I survived was because my Martial All-rounder skill was at (basic) Lv 3, which gave me a 20% increase in attack power while using my legs, and the new skill I learned 10 days ago. It is called body refinement. It¡¯s the skill I can level-up fastest. All you need to do to level up is experience a certain amount of force using different parts of my body. For others, it is very difficult and costly to practice as you need someone to carefully measure the amount of force experience by various body parts, so there is least imbalance possible between them. But all I need to do is get beat up as much as I can, without dying of course. Why? Simple, because I have the godly Morgan system. Due to his presence, my body acts more like an RPG game''s character¡¯s body. Due to this the damage done to any of my body parts is felt by my whole body and the amount of damage is equally spread. Though there are some exceptions, like if someone hit me with such a huge force that it can severe my arm instantly, then my arm will be severed before Morgan could redistribute the damage.
65/365 days
¡°Morgan, why are magic skills so costly? Most of the magic skills are centred around 3500 sp but they are a mixture of weak and strong skills.¡± [Aarav, its very simple. You are going to be a defender of Earth if you pass the trail. You are not a ruler or general who can sit back and command his armies. You can create your army if you want, but it will take a huge amount of rare resources and time. So, most defenders do it after they are strong enough to face the first few waves of the pesky demons alone. Also, only after a few waves, the number of weaklings is so much that they can affect the flow of battle. As such you will be on the front lines most of the time, so being physically weak is not an option. Magicians are versatile and very useful. They can single-handedly change the outcome of a battle, but those magicians have been given enough time and resources to bloom. And by enough time, I mean centuries. The richest country on Earth can¡¯t even support a single Lv 100 magician. The company seeks to profit by your and earth¡¯s survival. You will be clearer about it after you pass the trial. So, focus on doing that.]
100/365 days
Today I am in a very happy mood. I completed a new hidden mission. It is called One-Man-Army 2. I got it after I fought an army comprised of more than 5,000 Lv 25 ¨C Lv 27 Ogre Warriors and Ogre Shamans. I had obtained part one when I had killed over 500 lv 10 earth gnomes a long time ago. And it gave me a 30% bonus to all my attributes while fighting any kind of group with more than 100 people, so I was looking forward to its upgrade very eagerly. Now I get a 50% bonus while fighting a group with more than 100 people. But after today I have decided to improve my curse resistance. I Almost died a few times because of no skill for curse resistance, but fortunately, there was only one that actually hit me. But fortunately, it was just a mental curse for degrading your morals and changing you into a submissive slave. Since I formed a soul bond with Freyja, my soul attribute has been increasing by 1 point every day and now it is at 114 points and my willpower is 35 points. So, nothing happened except a nasty headache. I have already wiped out four armies since I have come here, and I have become very proficient in doing this. I wonder if I will complete some kind of hidden achievement after defeating 5 armies.
150/365 daysUnauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Mrs Red Dragon, please don¡¯t struggle so much and sign a summoning pact with me. You know that we can do this the whole day.¡± The 10 meters long western dragon, which at some point in time was covered in beautiful and shining red scales, was now red due to all the blood flowing out from her various wounds surrounded by broken scales and scratch marks. I was not in a much better shape either. My left hand was looking more like a meat paste than a human limb. My whole body was covered with varying degrees of burn. Even Freyja was hurt, though she kept recovering easily by absorbing the red dragon¡¯s blood. ¡°Look I don¡¯t want you to be my slave or anything. You can see that I already have a soul partner and how strong our bond is. No one can ever use Freyja as a weapon, unless both of us want it.¡± The glare didn¡¯t diminish but at least she didn¡¯t attack. I have realized that being solo can only bring you so far. I need help to complete this trial. And I thought what would be a better partner than a dragon. ¡°I want us to be partners. You must have noticed that there is a very large gap between Lv 100 and Lv 101, right? We will eventually get there unless we do something stupid and die. But it will take a long time. I am very short on time and that is true for every creature in this dimension.¡± I looked directly into her eyes with all my conviction and said, ¡°Please, I request you to be my soul partner.¡± Suddenly Mrs Dragon started shining like crazy, and without thinking about anything else I rushed out of her cave so that I could have a better chance of surviving whatever was to come. After some time of waiting and running my paranoia-o-creator at full speed nothing happened. Just as I started relaxing my vigilance a very beautiful and charming mature woman appeared at the entrance of the cave. Her whole body seemed to be covered in shades of red. Her long and wavy maroon hair, her scarlet plump lips and those deep eyes that seemed held the most crimson flame I had ever seen in my life. I realized that I was staring at her completely inappropriately. But her curves were way too much for a virgin boy like me. Finally, exhausting every ounce of mental energy I had, I moved my eyes away from her body. It was the first and the last time I loved someone at first sight. Why? Simply because no one could ever compare to my wives in terms of looks¡­.at least in my eyes. ¡°You sure have guts to propose a dragon to be your soul partner while completely showing off your bond with your soul partner.¡± She licked her lips, and I swear to gods that it is the sexiest thing I have ever seen in my life. She appeared in front of me in a flash. But since I couldn¡¯t feel any hostility, so I didn¡¯t move away. ¡°But I like your power and your honesty. And it¡¯s also a bonus that you are a virgin, so I Emilia Ri Scarlet of house Scarlet Fire Dragons, agree to be your soul partner forever and ever.¡± She gently lifted my chin with her finger and gave me the best french kiss in the world. After that everything became a beautiful blur in my memory. I could feel our emotions mixing together. My curiosity and fear about the unknown, her confidence and excitement. Slowly before we even realized it, it changed from my to ours. And at the end all I saw was a pair of beautiful crimson eyes, which filled with incomparable warmth, gently coaxing me to sleep. So, I closed my eyes and let myself go. Later I would realize that I have lost my virginity today as well as I have taken a fire dragon as my wife. I was devasted because I couldn¡¯t remember anything, but Emilia helped me recreate the memory sometime later. On this very day, I was also the creator of a yandere scythe, who likes to rape me in my own mind whenever there¡¯s a chance. But thanks to that my willpower increased by a few points, so I just thought of it as a blessing in disguise. I mean the sex was awesome so...................
210/365 days
¡°Morgan help me buy that Elixir.¡± Although 10,000 sp is a lot but if it can save Valerie, I have no regrets. And this Elixir will not only heal her but add 40 years more to her life. It will also make her body reach the most peak state she ever was, so it should also make her look around 25 years old. Not only that, if she trains her body then she will gain twice the benefit with half the effort. A pretty good deal if I say so myself. [Aarav you got a free lucky draw ticket because you have bought 50 items that cost 300 sp or more.] ¡°Most of them are soul condensing pills for a certain childish weapon, who only knows how to trouble her partner. Am I right Aarav?¡± A smoky voice sounded beside my ear. It always baffles me how much Emilia¡¯s behaviour around me has changed within a couple of months. Although it has changed her personality at all, but she always tries her best to act as a capable and reliable figure in front me. The only catch is that Emilia and Freyja don¡¯t like each other a lot. Although they don¡¯t hate each other but they bicker at every chance they get. And my mind has become the battlefield for them. ¡®You homewrecker! If not for your big, fat and useless body, how could master waste so many sp on fire element crystals.¡¯ ¡®Did you just call me fat? You flat chested bitch, I hope your boobs never grow.¡¯ I have become very efficient at ignoring their stupidity after repeated exposure. According to them, I¡¯m the one at fault as I am trying to create a harem. I wanted to let them know that it all started with a misunderstanding, but whenever I looked at those warmth filled crimson eyes, my resolve to take the truth to grave became stronger and stronger. ¡°Morgan start the lucky draw.¡± Darkness surrounds me and a wheel appears in front of me. There are six options on it and the wheel starts spinning at a high speed. But now due to my improved attributes, I can somewhat make out the different sections on the wheel. I give a quick prayer, aim at the skill book section, and throw the dart as accurately as I can. The wheel comes to a stop and a smile breaks out on my face because I notice that the dart is very close to the boundary of skill book section. A few more millimetres and I would miss one more chance for skills. The dart appears in my hand again. The sections on the wheel blur for a second and clear up to show countless sections with countless skills. I throw the dart without much thinking because this part truly depends on the luck. Last time I got a pencil from the miscellaneous section and it felt pretty bad. [Congratulations, you have obtained the skill book Galaxy¡¯s Birth. Practising this skill requires absorbing energy in a regulated manner either from a sun, moon, or star. According to the lore, a person can give birth to a galaxy inside their body core / dantian if they practice this skill to the pinnacle.] ¡°How will this skill affect my status panel?¡± [This skill increases your energy level, as well as energy regen and that in turn, will affect all your attributes. But again, this skill requires a lot of time and patience.] ¡°Morgan, I would like to learn it.¡± [Aye] Chapter 7-part 2
365/365 days
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, filling the sky with myriad shades of colours. Some places still hadn¡¯t left the embrace of the night and were dyed with shades ranging from pitch black to magenta, while others were greeting the dawn with an open embrace, filling themselves with all kinds of vibrant and striking colours like reds and oranges. The world seemed completely calm and peaceful. Some early birds had already left the soft and warm embrace of bed, toiling away at their life so that they could hopefully gain an advantage over their sleeping counterparts. This beautiful forest with covered in black and white trees looked like one of the calmest places one would have ever seen or imagined. But this was a deceptive quietness. If someone stood at the edge of the forest for a long time, they would realize that no sound ever came out of the forest. It was indeed an eerie silence.
*Inside the forest-the clearing* ? group of 100 creatures was standing in a very neat square formation. The group comprised of 9 different types of creatures. There were 10 shadow wolves, 12 orcs, 5 dryads, 18 flame-eating crows, 15 thunder leopards, 17 hobgoblins, 10 anaconda-fidi, 10 water spirits and 3 wyverns. ¡°You guys have seen what I¡¯m capable of. You guys know what will happen if you betray me.¡± A calm and collected voice sounded through the clearing. The speaker was a teenage boy. He had black shoulder length hair, average south Asian feature and deep black eyes that seemed to be hiding a galaxy within them. ¡°I have told you the fate of this dimension quite a few times in the past. I will just say one last thing¡­. Follow me and I will give you the strength to protect your family. Those who don¡¯t want to can leave. I will not hate you or kill you, but I will also not shy away from using you as cannon fodder if the need arises.¡± A resolute expression appeared on everyone¡¯s face. They were very scared of the power the man held but they were even more scared about losing their family and friends. All of them were the best among their tribes and families but they alone weren¡¯t strong enough to keep their family safe from what was coming. Therefore, they willingly submitted themselves to the rule of the cold-blooded reaper. All in the hopes that they can protect everything precious to them. The man observed everyone¡¯s expression for a few moments before continuing again, ¡°Now, I will allow you to become a member of my guild. Its name is pr¨­teg¨­ and its function is the same as its name, a Shield.¡± ¡®Morgan, admit these 100 people to my guild.¡¯ ¡®Yes, Aarav. Now you have vacant positions for 900 common members and 10 group leaders in your guild.¡¯ ¡®Thanks!¡¯ Aarav finished the talk with his system inside his mind and looked at the 100 creatures who were still covered in ethereal white light. After a few minutes, the light finally settled down and the bewildered expression on everyone¡¯s face was as clear as day.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡®Welcome to the Guild. You all will forever be a member of pr¨­teg¨­ from now on. If you die, then you will become a ghost of pr¨­teg¨­, understood?¡¯ Gasps of incredulity and fear came from all around group consisting of the newly recruited members of pr¨­teg¨­. ¡®Don¡¯t be surprised. This is called a guild chat and you can all talk and share information here. To access this place just think the word guild chat in your mind, and then think about the stuff you want to say in your mind as if talking out loud normally.¡¯ Aarav looked at all the members of his guild with encouraging eyes. Everyone quickly recovered from their shocked state and started playing with the guild chat feature. After a few minutes of listening to weird sounds and confessions coming out of the group chat mental link, Aarav thought it was enough. ¡®Now guys, I think you are forgetting that I can listen in to this group chat too.¡¯ Suddenly a pin drop of silence spread through the group chat. ¡®Well, there are two more features you should be aware of. Now, whenever you look at something say or think observe and it will show you some basic info about it. As you all are allies so you can access a lot more information about each other¡­it will help you cooperate better. ¡® Oohhs and Aahs resounded through the group again. Without any change in his emotion, Aarav continued speaking telepathically. ¡®Last but not the least, you will have access to a shared storage space which can be accessed by saying Inventory. Here you can store stuff by being physically in contact with them and thinking about moving them to inventory.¡¯ This time the cries of surprise were even louder. ¡®It can only store inanimate objects and time is static in there. Now, I will be going somewhere very soon. Though I will be back in a few days. During that time, I want you to be completely familiar with these new features, especially I want you to forget about talking out loud during battles. I also want you to choose maybe 1 or 2 people from your tribe and train them to help you on the battlefield. Any problems till here?¡¯ A brief period of silence ensued again. Finally, the red wyvern bowed its head slightly and telepathically replied in a firm but respectful manner, ¡®No Guild master¡¯ and others followed behind it. ¡®Then disperse¡¯. Aarav stood quietly at the rock he was sitting. He was looking at the sky towards the horizon as if watching the stars light years away. A few minutes later a black speck suddenly appeared at the horizon. It started increasing in size rapidly as it shortened the distance between itself and Aarav at a tremendous speed. It seemed like it would crash into Aarav, but he stood there quietly and looked at the fast-moving object with an expectant look in his eyes. When the object reached within a meter of Aarav, crimson flames popped out of nowhere and covered it completely. The object¡¯s size started decreasing as if being melted down rapidly by the flames. Finally, it hit Aarav with a terrifying force. Without moving an inch from his position Aarav just quietly hugged the object, which turned out be a mature beauty. The beauty slowly exhaled near Aarav¡¯s left ear and whispered, ¡°Dear I have been away for more than 2 months from you. I have done a complete survey of this dimension, but I missed you a lot.¡± ¡°Emilia, I missed you too.¡± Aarav took a moment to get drunk off her face and then gave her a deep kiss. ¡°Oh! My love is becoming more and more handsome and suave as the days pass by. I remember those days when you were just a newly graduated virgin, proclaiming cutely that you would satisfy me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should be happy that you fell in love with me even when I looked ugly, or if I should be sad that I was so ugly that just practising Galaxy¡¯s Birth to the first stage has made such a huge difference in my appearance. And I wasn''t cute. It was a fact that I had proven to you before you left.¡± ¡®Aarav, Freyja will love you forever. Your looks don¡¯t matter to Freyja.¡¯ ¡°Thanks, Freyja! I will also love you forever.¡± ¡°Dear! Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s a bad habit to compliment another lady while holding one in your arms.¡± Aarav gave Emilia a quick peck on her lips. He looked at her with his eyes full of burning passion and said, ¡°It seems I need to atone for my sins princess.¡± He softly bit her lips and quickly moved into a modest looking wooden cottage. A soft and fluffy bed quietly awaited their arrival in the deepest part of the cottage. Aarav gently laid Emilia onto the bed and¡­..sucked his clothes inside his body?. ¡°Lets thoroughly enjoy the completion of the trial.¡± And lewd moans and cries spread throughout the whole clearing.