《The Night Hunter》 Chapter 1: The Dying Man Writer''s Note: Hello! This is a side project that I am writing. Updates will not be as frequent as my main, but I will try to make up for it by making it as interesting as I can. Enjoy. Chapter 1: The Dying Man "Rex? Did you take out the garbage?" a woman called, turning on the plasma television as she sat beside her seven year old daughter. "Sarah, you can watch television with mommy now." "Yay!" a tiny girl with blonde hair grinned, a tooth missing as she sat beside her. "Rex? Rex Valentine, you better take out the trash," the mother called again. "I''m going. I''m going," a teenage boy said as he walked down the stairs. "Dad not back yet? I''m surprised gramps is sleeping as I can hear you from the attic." "The surgery''s taking longer than your father thought," his mother, Mary, answered. "Tomorrow is Thursday. Put the trash bins out tonight. You did buy all your school supplies, right? My little boy finally starts his senior year in high school." "Yeah. Yeah," Rex sighed and headed out back after turning the lights in front of the door on. Before pulling the black trash and blue recycling bins, he unlocked the fence and kept it open. As he put the trash bins on the street, his cell phone rang. "Yo, Rex! The Dino Man! What''s up, bro. We finally get to go to school tomorrow. Senior year! Beautiful girls, basketball season, and laughing at how much shorter the freshmen get every year. It''s gonna be sick," his best friend, Geo, said. "Yeah. I guess so. Still, I don''t get why school starts on a Thursday....Man it''s cold outside," Rex shivered. "Are you outside? Right now?" Geo asked, concern in his voice. "Dude, it''s not safe lately. Have you watched the news? The amount of missing teens has been rising." "Yeah. I''m gonna call you back later. I''m a bit busy with the trash right now," Rex said *Bang. Bang. Bang* "Whoa! Gun shots?" Rex said as he got down low, peeking over the trash cans before regretting it as he held his nose. "Ah, dammit. That stinks like crap." He looked over them as he heard a howl. He saw a man appear out of nowhere, shooting a shiny silver pistol at the wolf with his left hand as he wielded a spear in the other. Eyes widening, Rex forgot all about the stench as he stared at the man fight. Rex cringed as the man bit the man at his side, ripping out the arm that held the spear in a near instant. Cursing, the man pointed the pistol below the wolf''s mouth and pulled the trigger. The wolf howled once before falling on the man, still as the bullet shot through its brain. "Whoa......he just killed a werewolf. They do exist," Rex said, slowly creeping towards the two bodies. His eyes widened as he heard a grunt and saw the man as he pushed the wolf off his body, picking up the pistol and pointing it at Rex as he noticed him. "Whoa! Easy! I''m unarmed!" Rex shouted, holding his hands up as the man''s face paled. "You''re losing alot of blood. I should call the ambulance." "No. No ambulance. It''s too late," the man coughed blood as the wolf''s body burst into shadows and disappeared. "I was too naive to think I could slay a whole three wolf packs alone. I was too consumed with revenge and depended too much on my level. it wasn''t high enough. Not high enough..." "Uh, who are you? Was that thing seriously a werewolf? I thought they were myths," Rex said. "You can see me and the werewolf. You have talent to see the Night. Come closer and hear a dying man''s request," the man coughed, Rex walking closer and could see the man also wore silver knight armor beneath the black cloak. "I am a Night Hunter, a human with supernatural powers that kill the creatures of the Night. You know the stories of ghosts, demons, reapers, and vampires? Well, they all exist." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Night Hunter?" Rex repeated, never having heard of the words before. "Our lives are like a video game. Heh. If only I had a healing skill, I would not end up like this," the man said as he pulled out a silver medallion with a white dragon encircling a blood red diamond. "Take this and guard it well. No one can have it or know you met me this night. I alone ventured into their world and saw the truth. The others don''t understand." "W, what is it?" Rex asked. "The key to a whole new world for you. You will become a mage, not a rogue or warrior. Your world will become a game, as mine had been. Do not trust anyone with levels higher than five. It means they are a Night Hunter, like you and I. Not all of us are pure. Some of us, become part of the Night," the man said, coughing blood as he pulled out a ring from his finger. "Take this ring. It will serve you well. It is the Staff of the Witch King. It can turn into a ring or spear at will. It also serves as a storage container. Inside is all the items I would have given my son, if I had one. Now, run from here. I cannot give you more than this or risk exposing you when the others find me." "A real life mage staff," Rex said as he grabbed it, eyes widening as a red energy seemed to pass from the man into him. "What just happened?" "You will awaken tomorrow morning as a mage. Your life will never be the same, willing or not. The Hunters will find you, but they won''t know you have met me. In this world, random people are chosen as Night Hunters. Mages are uncommon, but not rare. However, it will make sense if they have their own items. Once you hold the staff, you will slumber til morning, the staff transforming to adapt to its new master. Before you go, let me know the name of the one who will wield the staff I spent my life secretly searching for," the man said. "Rex Valentine, like the dinosaur and spelled like Valentine''s Day," Rex answered, the man smiling as Rex ran off. In less than ten minutes, three silhouettes were seen near him. They looked him over and noticed his missing arm. "Lionel, you fool. I told you not to fight them," one of the three, a man, said as he bent over him. "Did you kill them all?" "Yes. They are all dead. Every last one of them. My wife is avenged," the dying man smiled and put his pistol in the other man''s hand. "I''ve been bitten more times than I can count. I do not want to die by the hands of a creature of the Night. Please. Do me this last favor, my friend. I am sorry for asking this of you." "It is I who is sorry. I should not have thought that you would not heed my warning," the other man said and silently rose to his feet. Breathing deep to calm himself, he pointed the pistol at his dying friend and pulled pulled the trigger. "He had such prowess. Another Night Hunter is dead. As his friend, his belongings on his person are yours. Clean the environment and leave no trace behind," the other two said in unison, watching as silver armor dropped where the dead man used to be. Like the wolf, he had also disappeared into the Void upon his death. "Hold the staff and it will transform...." Rex said as he silently returned to his room after closing and locking the fence. He looked at the black wood ring around his finger and willed it into a staff, a beautiful staff floating before him. Unsure of what would happen, he wore the medallion around his neck and grabbed the staff. The red energy surged within him as the staff sent its own unique energy inside him. His vision turned dark as objects seemed to gracefully appear on the floor as Rex fell onto his bed. The staff shined once before a red jewel appeared atop the black shaft with a white dragon coiling near the bottom of the jewel. On this night, a new mage had been born. Chapter 2: Magic and Levels Writer''s Note: It might seem long, but it is because of the tables and how I list some things. Side project so no set releases. Enjoy. Chapter 2: Magic and Levels *Beep. Beep. Beep* "Ugh. My head. Oh, I feel sore," Rex groaned as he got up and turned off his alarm clock. *Ding*
System Announcement
Rex Valentine has chosen the mage class Stat distribution unlocked. Night Hunter status updated. Titles: none. Please note that mages can only wield staffs, scepters, and enchanted swords. Mages are unable to wield other magical weapons unless specified by class. Next available class upgrade at level 10.
"Eh? What!?" Rex cried as he saw the blue box and thought of something. "It''s...true. Levels. This is just like a video game. Oh man. Look at all the stuff on the floor! It must have been the items the man mentioned that were int he ring. If this is a game....Display status screen." Name: Rex Valentine Level: 1 Class: Mage Title: None Health: 285 (225+60) Mana: 140 Ki: 190 (150+40) Stats STR: 12 (10) AGI: 15 SPR: 14 STA: 19 (15) Stats available: 3 "Whoa! Look at all the stamina! If I have three stat points, that means I get three for each level. The man did say there are rogue, warrior, and mage classes. If I think like that, it makes sense only four are available. I was on the basketball team. It explains why that stat is higher than my strength stat," Rex said as he stared at them. "What are those numbers in parenthesis?.....Are they my actual stats? Oh, I must be wearing something to enhance them, like an accessory. It must be the medallion!" As Rex studied them, he realized what each stat stood for. The more he learned, the more he realized how dangerous his new life was. STR meant strength. The higher the stat, the stronger the person was. Some items, weapons, and armor had a strength requirement. It was essential to warriors and rogues as the higher the stat, the more physical damage was done. It also included pain resistance and physical defense. Warriors and rogues use Ki for their warrior or rogue skills. Ki was also spirit energy, like mana, but was more like physical stamina instead. AGI meant agility. The higher the stat, the faster the person with also an increase in reflex and dodging rates. Like the strength stat, this stat was also required for some magical treasures. For mages and especially rogues, this stat was a must as they did not have the strength of warriors and had to constantly move in order to survive. SPR meant spirit. The higher the stat, the higher the magical attack and defense. It was essential for all classes, but was the primary stat for mages as each SPR equaled 10 mana points. Only mages consumed SPR. STA meant stamina. This was the single most important stat for any person as it determines health and Ki pool. Once the health points reach zero, you died. No revives. No do overs. Ki points are determined by stamina. It was also the representative for health points. Each stamina point equals 15 health and 10 Ki points. Ki techniques, on average, consumed less stamina than magic spells consumed mana. Both are forms of spirit energy. "So this explains why my health is so much higher than my mana. Wait! My mana....is it enough for me to survive?" Rex panicked as he thought of the high mana costs in video games. *Ding*
System Announcement
Welcome to the Night You are a non-magical human (mundane) who became a Night Hunter. Night Hunters and creatures of the Night will sense the mana (form of spirit energy) in you and know who you are.
*Ding*
System Alert
Warning You have lost the Protection of the Day. Wandering between night time and sun rise makes you fair game to the creatures of the night. If outdoors, you have no choice but to fight for your life. Maybe something might take pity on you and give you a quick death. Note: You must kill creatures of the Night to level up. Night Hunters have different methods to increase strength and might not see the world as a game.
"........fuck," Rex said as he read the system alert. It meant he could not go out at night. Not even his 10 o''clock curfew was an option anymore. How could he enjoy his senior year now? "It would be best to save my stat points until after I get a grasp of the situation," Rex muttered as he heard another familiar ding. *Ding*
System Announcement
Mage Abilities As a regular mundane turned Night Hunter, you gain the ability to pick your first four active skills and one passive skill without the need for a skill book. Lucky you. Choose wisely. Only eight active and four passive skills can be learned, regardless of the class (including class upgrade) restrictions, up to level 40. If you are lucky, all of the four skills you learn today are class skills. Failure to use your head results in getting your head bitten off during your first night as a Night Hunter. Abilities increase in skill level mastery to level 10. You are newly registered as a mage. Keep up the good fight and survive the night to see another sun rise! Number of Night Hunters in the city: one hundred and sixty seven Number of creatures of the Night:.......good luck to you Available stat points: 3
All of a sudden, the system boxes disappeared for a white box similar to the one that displayed his status screen. Like the system said, it contained skills for him to choose from. A total of fifteen active and five passive skills were available. So many boxes appeared for each skill, Rex could not even see what was behind the tables as they formed a giant square. Based on all the skills, they were all ranked. From low to high, they were: common, uncommon, rare, and legendary. Unique skills were only available to certain individuals, should they learn them, and were unofficial ranks as no one else can learn them. *Ping* Heal: Costs 20 mana per cast. Recover 70 health per use. The essential magic spell for all mage classes. Skill: rare Mana Shield: Costs 10 mana on cast. Sustaining the spell costs 5 mana per second. Impervious to all physical attacks for as long as the spell is sustained. Skill: uncommon Life Drain: Costs 40 mana per cast. Recover 50 health while doing spirit damage. Skill: rare. Rock Blast: Costs 20 mana per cast. Hurls rocks at target. Skill: common. Water Bullet: Costs 15 mana per cast. Blasts a bullet of water at the target. Chance of slow effect and drains 10 stamina on hit. Skill: uncommon. Wind Cutter: Costs 25 mana per cast. Sends three blades of wind at the target. Skill: common. Meteor: Costs 100 mana and 20 health per cast. Sends a giant meteor onto the enemy. Cannot be blocked. Guaranteed chance of burning and bleeding damage. Skill: legendary. Mana Shards: Costs 15 mana per cast. Sends tiny shards of mana. Does minor spirit damage per hit. Skill: common. Holy Smite: Costs 20 mana per use. Sends a ray of light that strikes the target. Chance of blinding effect. Skill: rare. Witch Fire: Costs 20 mana per use. Create and control purple flames. Does minor burning damage. Skill requirement: possessing witch energy and grants fire immunity. Skill: unique. Burning Star: Costs 30 mana per use. Sends a giant star of fire. Normal burning effect and drains ten mana from target, sending it back to the caster. Skill: rare. Ki Blast: Costs 10 Ki points per use. Strike the target with hands, feet, elbows, or knees with explosive Ki. Weapons also applicable to use skill. Stun effect of three seconds. Skill: Common. Rock Fist: Costs 15 Ki points per use. Turning your Ki into earth, you strike your foe with your staff. Higher output of physical damage than regular strikes with added minor earth damage. Can collect rocks into a giant fist, sending them at a target to explode for the cost of 10 mana. Skill: uncommon. Lightning Slash: Costs 15 Ki points per use. Cover your enchanted sword in lightning to hurt your foe for additional physical and minor lightning magic damage. Can send condense the lightning and create a small wave of lightning for 15 mana. Skill: uncommon. Wind Crusher: Costs 15 Ki points per use. Turn your scepter into a might mace, doing higher physical damage with minor wind damage. Chance of knock back effect of 2 seconds. Consume 20 mana to send a small tornado at your target. Skill: rare. Prey Instincts: Passive skill. Able to perceive danger from five yards in any direction. If your eyes see areas of black and white, dodge it or risk immanent damage from unseen or seen foes. Wisps of energy swirl also around you, permanently increasing your AGI by 4. STR and SPR also increases by 2. Wisps can only be seen others by will. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Golem Body: Passive skill. Decrease physical damage by 5% and magic damage by 15%. Become an unstoppable fortress like a real golem. Pain resistance increases by 10% and all elemental resistances increase by 5%. All increases are permanent with a permanent STR, SPR, and STA increase by 3. Mana Master: Passive skill. Permanent increase in mana points by one hundred. All magic spells decrease required cost by 5%. SPR permanently increases by 10. Become an invincible mage of legend and show the true power of magic. Shaman''s Touch: Passive skill. Mana and Ki are both spirit energy. Any Ki or mana consumption is split between both, increasing the amount of times you can use your abilities. People will have no choice but to fear and respect your potential. All stats permanently increase by 1. Warrior''s Pride: Passive Skill. Who said mages are weak in close range? Regeneration increases by 10% and physical damage increases by 2%. Become the next warrior mage of legend. Permanent increase to STR and STA by 3. "Holy crap. Well, there is no crap that is holy but damn! Those passives are all great and I really want to pick more than four of the fifteen active skills," Rex shouted, quickly covering his mouth as he might have woken up his parents, sister, and grandpa down stairs. Since no one shouted, he was lucky. "I really don''t want to get hit. I am no masochist. So, I''ll pick the Prey Instinct skill. The Meteor and Witch Fire spells are a must as one is legendary while the other must be because of that strange energy the staff sent into me that knocked me out all night. After all, who hasn''t thought of controlling fire?" Rex nodded, closing off the other four passive skill windows. "Life Drain is also another must have skill. Heal is good, but I can also do damage with Life Drain. That leaves one active skill left." He thought about learning another magic spell as he would not be using the Meteor spell anytime soon. However, he had Ki and decided it should be used to fight people or monsters that entered close range. His first choice was Rock Fist, as he had a staff. However, he chose Ki Blast as it had a low cost and was a common skill with a neat control effect. Control effects, like stun, often determined the battle''s outcome. He also did not want other Night Hunters to know he learned such powerful skills like Life Drain and Meteor. There were a lot of jealous online players that PK (player killing player) others because they were jealous of their skills or equipment. Witch Fire, he could not hide as it would be his primary magic spell. As he picked the four active and single passive skill, runes flowed from the windows and flashed through his mind. So much mysterious knowledge flowed in his brain and wisps of blue, indigo, and purple energy swirled around him. He still kept his three stat points in the event he found a skill book with stat requirements. He knew all four of his active and single passive skills could not possibly exist in the same mage class. That meant he could learn, at least, four more active and and three passive skills. As he gained 2 STR, 4 AGI, and 2 SPR; the effects were evident. His body seemed to become slimmer and contained less fat while toughening his muscles. He could also move faster, his reflexes much better than before. The best part: his mana pool increased from 140 to 160. He could now cast Life Drain 4 times and Witch Fire 8 times. For mages, every little bit of mana helped. "I should really sort these stuff out, but there''s no time," Rex said, storing them all in his ring. To his surprise, he could summon his new staff as a black tribal tattoo remained where the ring was worn. This meant his items were actually stored in the tribal tattoo now, not the ring. As the dying Night Hunter had said, the ring adapted to him. Not only that, the tribal tattoo extended, forming a tribal tattoo of a dragon''s head on the back of his left hand. He could turn the ring invisible, but not the tattoo. His parents would seriously kill him, if the monsters didn''t get him first. It was a good thing he was right handed. "Crap! I need to eat now or miss the bus!" Rex cried as he saw the time. "Wait, aren''t you going to eat breakfast?" his mother asked as he raced downstairs. "I''ll eat some coffee bread in school," Rex said and his eyes widened as he saw levels above all four of his family members'' heads. His dad, grandpa, and Sarah were both level 0, but his mom had a question mark above her head. In video games, it meant his mom''s level was too high for him to check the status completely. "Night Hunter?" he whispered, his mom turning to him in shock. as he said, "Check status." Name: Mary Valentine Level: ? Class: ? Titles: ??? Health: ? Mana: ? Ki: ? "Rex, you..." Mary said, stunned. "Honey, I''ll drive our son to school as he will miss the bus." "Alright. I''ll drive Sarah to school on the way to wrok.," his father, Ramon said as he readied Sarah''s lunchbox while Grandpa Raymond watched over Sarah. "How do you know that word?" Mary asked as she and her son sat in her black BMW. "What happened to you? Was it last night?" "You.....really are a Night Hunter? Why?" Rex asked as his mother silently started the car. "It was a long time ago, before I met your father. What class are you? Mage? Rogue? Warrior?" she asked as she sped along, cars breaking abruptly as she cut them off. "I became a mage," Rex said, not telling her what happened. He could not believe the entire conversation. His mother never liked staying out late, but he never knew why. Now, he finally got his answer. "A mage. No doubt, word will spread another mundane became a Night Hunter," Mary murmured. "You must have become a Night Hunter sometime last night. A mundane turned Night Hunter usually learns two to five active skills, more than two if he is lucky. I know you learned something. What is it?" ".....Ki Blast and Witch Fire," he answered. "A common skill. The other one must be a unique skill, based on one of the energies inside you. Most unique skills are like that and everyone always chooses a unique skill as one of the skills they learn. Ki Blast is a common skill, but has a low Ki cost. When you become a Night Hunter, you see system announcements. There are some rare individuals who develop a closer link, seeing the whole world as a game. You could not possibly detect my spirit energy. Thus, you are one of the latter," she surmised, shocking him. "I did not expect you to become a Night Hunter. I cannot keep you at home anymore. Since you are like a video game character, you probably don''t need to sleep at all. I need to let you roam at night to increase your level. I have my enemies and you no longer have the Protection of the Day." "What is that exactly?" he asked as she pulled up in front of Jefferson High School. "It has to do with the truce between humans and creatures of the Night far older than the first surviving record in known mundane history. You will be stronger, faster, and more powerful than your mundane, non-magical, friends. Be sure to not expose yourself. I do not think the children of other Night Hunters will know who you are as people like you are extremely rare. Act natural and avoid sports," Mary warned. "But mom, I joined the varsity basketball team last year. I planned to join it with Geo this year," he said as he opened the door. "You cannot! Night Hunters are forbidden from taking part in any mundane competition. This is to hide our existence from the mundane. You know those witch hunts in stories? Some of those people were real Night Hunters who did something stupid and exposed themselves. To compensate, I will allow you to join Geo''s band," she sighed, Rex grinning as he took out his acoustic guitar from the trunk, finally seeing it after she caught him once three months ago. "Don''t get a swell head young man. I know you signed up for guitar class for your visual performing arts requirement to graduate high school." "Yes," Rex sighed as he closed the door. "Rex, you are not a mundane anymore. You have to be careful. Promise me," she said, staring him seriously in the eyes. "I promise. I...don''t want to die," he nodded, waving as his mom drove off. As his mom drove, she connected her bluetooth to her cell phone and dialed a number, a voice saying, "Little Mary! My beloved daughter. I remember you saying seventeen years ago that you would cut off all ties with me. Did something happened? Did someone kill my beloved grandchildren? Wait, are you finally allowing me to see them?" "I wouldn''t have called unless it was extremely important, father," Mary said indifferently. "However, yes, I am allowing you to see Sarah and Rex. Rex in particular because he became a Night Hunter." ".....what? He did? Ha! I knew it. I knew he would become one. Seventh generation. Good lad. What class?" her father asked. "A mage," she answered. "Father, I''m going to need you to live in the city to prevent the creatures of the Night from gathering in large numbers. I will not allow my son to die." "Of course! He is my only grandson. Don''t worry. I''ll settle my affairs and be at your home within the hour," he answered. "You know where I live?" she asked, mildly surprised. "Of course I do. I am not called Sean the Terrifying for nothing? The amount of mages more powerful than me can be counted on twenty hands. In the U.S., a quarter of that number. I am not the best, but I am an elite in my own right. Not even ten of you can defeat me on my worst day," the voice laughed. "My beloved Gretel, you cannot hide from me. I only stayed away because Hansel needed me. You knew that. If you called me, than the boy has to be like me. He sees the world as I do: as a game. How fun. I have much to teach him." "You will not hurt him," she cried, but the call disconnected. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, thinking of her father. She never wanted to see him again, the man who treated the people of the world like characters of a game: as a means to an end that could be disposed of at any moment. That was how Sean Gorgon dealt with the world, even more terrifying than the legend behind his clan name. He was a man controlled by his emotions. His own clan wanted him to kill Hansel and Gretel, he used his magic and turned them all to stone when they killed his wife. Such a man, Mary did not want to meet again. She had cast him and her real name aside to keep her children out of it. But now, it was in vain. Chapter 3: The First Night Chapter 3: The First Night "Yo, Rex!....Did you work out over the summer?" Geo Rivera, a Mexican American and Rex''s best friend, asked as Rex walked into their homeroom, taking his class schedule from the teacher''s desk. "A bit. It was kind of unexpected," Rex grinned, making a high five with Geo. "So what''s your master plan this year?" "Wooing the senior year magnet student beauty: Cassandra Williams. Whew. That girl is fine and she is smart," Geo sighed. "You have better luck dating her best friend, Veronica," Rex said, shaking his head and pat his friend''s shoulder. "Less humiliation there and she is pretty cute." "She''s got a nice bust, but I like bigger booty," Geo said, Rex rolling his eyes. "She''s not skinny, but she makes up for it with her hot face and nice ass." "And you wonder why you never have a girlfriend. So many girls confessed, but you always aim too high," Rex sighed and looked up Geo''s status. It was official: he could only see his own stat distribution. Name: Geo Rivera Level: 0 Class: Mundane Title: None After two hours of math, nutrition (recess), two hours of marine biology, and lunch; Rex and Geo walked into the only class of today''s block schedule worth their interest: Guitar. Rex had calculus, marine biology, and guitar on one day with three different classes the next. As Geo and Rex fiddled and tuned their guitars, other students arrived and took their seats. Rex''s eyes narrowed as three people walked in, their levels all above five. Without a doubt, those students were all Night Hunters. He would have to lay low as he confirmed the existence of Night Hunters in the student body. Name: Gaoli Qin Level: 9 Class: Mage Title: Apprentice Undead Hunter Name: Soji Akira Level: 7 Class: Warrior Title: Apprentice Undead Hunter Name: Suna Akira Level: 7 Class: Rogue Title: Apprentice Undead Hunter "Titles. It seems I was correct. They are Night Hunters," Rex thought as the three Night Hunters sat down in the front row, avoiding sitting with the others. "Rex! Geo! We''re in the same class!" a fat boy grinned as he walked in. His name was Gary Hill, also a close friend of Rex. People didn''t understand why Rex and Geo hung out with Gary, but Gary had always been playing video games and watched movies with Rex and Geo since middle school. Rex and Geo even met Gary in the library as they looked for fantasy books and action movie DVDs. Rex and Geo had been best friends since elementary school and adding Gary made them the three musketeers. "What? Gary''s level 32?!" Rex cried, shocked. Name: Gary Hill Level: 32 Class: Dark Alchemist Titles: Adept Vampire Hunter; Mad Alchemist; Crossbow Specialist "He''s level 32 and a powerful rogue. How could I not notice? Geo and I sleep over at his house several times during the summer or weekends," Rex said, as Geo waved at Gary. "So why is the drummer of our band playing a guitar? You finally going on a diet and chose to play the guitar to impress the ladies?" Geo grinned. "I don''t want to take Jazz class. They already got enough students in percussion. I really didn''t want to take AP Music Theory. The whole point of learning music in high school is to play it," Gary answered. "Well, it''s not like I''m learning how to sing or play bass. That''s your job. Rex has to do the rap, write the lyrics for it, and the entire music sheet for the song. Heck, I even write your lyrics. You just looking pretty. Still, Rex is more beast than you now." "I make a plain, navy blue V-neck shirt and slim jeans work. Steel studded shoes with green camo shoes complete the image and short light brown hair. I could be a model," Rex laughed, the other two sighing and shaking their heads as Rex already qualified before but didn''t seem to think so. "He seems...stronger than the Mundane in this room," Gaoli said as he stared at him. "His name is Rex Valentine. I heard rumors he just quit the varsity basketball team to play with those two in a band," Suna said, using her advanced hearing to catch the small gossips between the other students. "You think he is a Night Hunter?" Soji asked. "I doubt it. While this Rex feels strong, Gary Hill is a known Night Hunter who prefers to hunt alone and avoids all other Night Hunters. He only ever hunts with his father. That other boy is definitely a Mundane though. Either way, we have to prepare for tonight. The zombies and demons have laid low lately, but the vampires are sure to make their moves now that the three werewolf clans have been annihilated," Gaoli answered. "Tonight, we will clear any mundanes infected by the pure blood vampires. We can''t allow mutations to roam the street. They are not bound by the truce and break into buildings to kill the mundanes. I got my cousin, Bingbing, to help us out. However, she is in the Magnet program and is also taking AP Music Theory instead of Guitar class. We''ll have to make plans when you come over before sunset." "Ah, are we hunting them with Bingbing? That''s great. If the mutated vampires escape us, Bingbing can kill them. After all, she already got a class upgrade. Soon, you will too," Suna agreed. "With her help, we will definitely be able to survive. We''ll hunt tonight then, right Soji?" "Whatever, sis. You''re the older twin. So long as we finally get our class upgrades, you choose what we do," her brother shrugged, satisfied so long as he got to kill something. Besides, Bingbing was a rising actress and became a Night Hunter before the three of them. When it came to the city''s layout and hunting creatures of the Night, she was a major help. After learning learning how to play simple notes, class ended and the three boys left to Gary''s house to play. Rex took one last glance at Gaoli and wondered if he and his friends noticed what he was. He found it strange that Gaoli, Suna, and Soji didn''t seem to stand out. They also had slim, lean bodies as Night Hunters. Suna was also a beauty superior to Geo''s ill-fated crush: Cassandra. After playing a few songs and discussing their homework, Rex left early and arrived took the bus to the city. Gary''s parents were rich and Gary always bought junk food to eat as he watched movies or played his video games. His house was really a manor overlooking the city buildings from a hill. Rex had to walk to the bottom of the hill, passing the security guards as the hills were a private residence. It was there that he could take a bus back to the city instead of a limo that brought him and Geo there. Geo always slept over as his younger sister always had her friends sleep at his house for a sleepover. "Time to sort out the stuff," Rex said as he sat against the ledge of a parking lot complex. It was his usual haunt, the view of the sunset was great and often played his guitar to relax there. There were also no security guards as the mall closed off the parking complex as people filmed at the bottom most floor as well as a storage area for the trucks of major store names that delivered refrigerators, beds, washing machines, and other items too big for a car. As he took out all the items from the ring, he learned the dying man''s name was Lionel Ventus from a journal. He was a Night Hunter who specialized in hunting werewolves. He used pistols, spears, swords, crossbows, poisoned darts, daggers, and other weapons. They were all enchanted and Rex learned that the rogue class could use almost any enchanted weapon. The only exception were staffs and spears as they knew no magic skills. However, Lionel saw the world as a game and learned magic skills through skill books. While he could not use staffs or scepters, he could still use magic. As a rogue, he learned poison magic to make his weapons more deadly. Mundane weapons, like guns and even nukes had no effects of creatures of the Night or Night Hunters. This revelation shocked him. He also learned there were some factions that desired Night Hunters to rule the world openly while others controlled certain offices of power, even small countries, in the shadows. As a game character, Rex would not have to wait for days, weeks, or months to heal from his injuries as he could just heal himself. Also, he had higher mana, health, and Ki regeneration than others. This was why many Night Hunters who saw the game were terrifying. Most of them really treated the world as a game, killing and killing without a care in the world if a civilian dies or if they cause destruction to the area. However, there were Night Hunters with a special class called Code Keepers. If a Night Hunter broke the laws of their society, they were tasked with eliminating the Night Hunter or cleaning up the mess. They were recognized as one of the the most powerful among the elites among mages and rogues. There was no one they couldn''t find and kill. There was also no destroyed area their mages could not fix and make it as good as new. They were tasked with keeping the existence of Night Hunters and creatures of the Night an absolute secret from the Mundane. Of course, there were instances that they could not find and eliminate the witness, like Rex''s own case. Rex stored the journal and began to look over all the items. There were dozens of potions with red, blue, and green liquid. Rex was ecstatic. Why? Red potions were health potions, blue was mana potions, and green had to be Ki potions. The journal also indicated there was a chance items would drop when he killed, including money. It was why those kinds of Night Hunters chose to make hunting a full-time occupation. There was also a secret, online black market that Night Hunters used to buy and auction out items. You had one chance to make an alias and all purchased items would be delivered within ten seconds, cash payment required upon the exchange. This was to protect the identities of Night Hunters and their existence if a Mundane ever discovered and hacked the site. The scary part was that even creatures of the Night were sold as slaves as well as some Mundanes, in certain countries. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. So long as Night Hunter did not expose superhuman abilities to the world, as well as the true terrors of the Night; then such actions were tolerated by the Code Keepers who served a mysterious master. Even the High Council of Night Hunters didn''t dare antagonize Code Keepers. Code Keepers were the not most powerful and were the smallest faction. However, each member of the faction was rumored to be over level 200. If each member attacked the same clan or target, how could anyone resist if the identities of the Code Keepers were a mystery? Lionel strongly suspected that they were like him, Night Hunters who saw the world as a game. As far as level caps, Lionel did not know as his last journal entry only said he passed the 100 level mark. Many jealous Night Hunters referred to them as Cheat Hunters, their levels rising higher and faster than any other. This was their strength, and weakness, as their success depended on their stat distributions and tended to lack more experience as they increased their levels. Rex had to agree as it was much easier to level up at lower levels. Also, if they depended on levels, simply killing any random creature of the Night would not make them stronger. The strength and weakness application also applied to the three classes. Warriors tended to specialize in close range fighting, some rarely using medium ranged weapons or skills. Long distance fighters, magic, and stealth attacks were their weakness. Rogue specialized in quick, hit-and-run tactical fighting. They could use almost any weapon, but spent less time honing their skills with each weapon with each weapon they add to their arsenal. Their weakness was if they were slowed or detected before they could strike. Their defense often paled in comparison to the stronger warriors while mages had the widest variety of spells and abilities. Finally, there was the rarest class. Mages had the advantage of two pools of spirit energy: mana and Ki. They were a class that fought from medium to long range in combat. They had the least physical defense as they specialized in magic and not close combat fighting. All one needed to do was get in close range and a mage tended to die if they had no means of instantly increasing the distance. The one exception to the weaknesses were the so-called Cheat Hunters as they gained stat points with each level and could distribute them. That was the reason Code Keepers were suspected to be Cheat Hunters as they had a closer relationship to the mysterious system that Cheat Hunters were a part of that catalyzed everything in the world. "Got to use these potions if my life is danger," Rex said as he stored them and all the books he found. Unfortunately, there were no skill books inside the ring. By reading it once, it would disappear and he would learn the skill. Other Night Hunters would have to study it and practice for weeks, months, or years. *Ring. Ring* "Hello?" Rex said as the only thing in front of him were weapons and a strange mask. "Rex? Are you coming home tonight or hunting?" his mother asked. "I want to see how well I can do on my own. You''re right about not needing to sleep. I really wanted to doze off in marine biology, as I am always the top student in science class, but my body did not need to rest. It is really weird. I can nap if I want, but don;t have to," Rex answered. "HAHA! He is a Cheat Hunter. Tell him to come here before sunrise so I can speak to him," an unknown male voice said in the background. "Mom? Who is that?" he asked. "My father. His name is Sean Gorgon. As you are a Night Hunter, I might as well tell you that my real name is Gretel," Mary answered. "Yes, like the fairy tale. I will explain everything when you come home. Remember, do not fight in populated areas or you will break the Code." "I know. I''ll be fine. Bye," Rex said as the call ended and frowned before turning his attention to the mask. He couldn''t spare the thought about his grandfather or mom as he had to survive the night first. He looked at the mask and inspected it through the system. *Ding*
Inspection Complete
Mask of Illusions This red mask with three black stones, forming a pyramid above the area between the eyes, used to belong to a demon general that specialized in illusions. By wearing it, the wearer''s clothes are exchanged with a simple white cloak with a white hood covering the head. Any who gaze upon it will see the mask cover the upper portion of the wearer''s face, the bottom half containing the cheeks, mouth, nose, and chin covered in wisps of darkness. Effects Mask cannot be destroyed or removed by anyone other than the owner. Owner cannot be identified while wearing the mask. Mundane cannot detect the owner or anything magical item the owner uses. Immunity to illusions. All kills while wearing the mask returns 5% health, and 2% of mana and Ki. Restriction: Mage class of any race to be the owner. Only owner can don the mask. Current owner: Rex Valentine.
"Wow! No wonder Lionel kept the Staff of the Witch King. If he were a mage and wore the mask, he could hunt and no one would recognize him. No wonder he said I would be a mage. Maybe the red energy made me a mage? I know the purple energy from the staff made me a Night Hunter, but that red energy hasn''t done anything yet," Rex wondered as the sky darkened. As the sun set, Rex grinned and donned the Mask of Illusion. He stored his backpack and guitar into his ring and made his staff appear. As he suspected, the tattoo on his hand contained all the items if he made the ring change into a staff. His staff had a black shaft, seemingly made of smooth obsidian glass. A white dragon coiled the staff below a red diamond almost as dark as blood as it was clearer and reflected light like a mirror. *Ding*
Inspection Incomplete
Staff of Fire Formerly an ordinary staff of the Witch King now bound to a mage successor. Its true power is unlocked and granted the power of witch magic to the owner. This staff is one thirteen ultimate weapons of power. Its true form and power remains beyond your reach at your current level. All Night Hunters of the witch class will befriend you as you possess the energy of one of their own. The Witch King has felt his staff awakened and will hunt you down with the Sword of the Witch King in the hopes to complete his weapon set once more. Only his sword can sense the true identity of your staff. The souls of the past Witch King are pleased that the two weapons have awakened once more and look forward to the coming bloodbath. Note: the current Witch King is the first human to possess the title, killing a demon that evolved into a devil to take the title and all its power. Effects 24 to 31 damage on physical hit. 43 to 48 damage per flame wisp bolt. Unlocked: witch magic. All other effects locked. Hostility from the current Witch King: 100% Hostility from demons: 30% Friendship with witches: 80% Restriction: Rex Valentine.
*Ding* [table]System Announcement Title unlocked: Fire Lord You who the Staff of Flame have become one of the owners of an ultimate weapon of power. Each ultimate weapon of power governs one of the thirteen elements. You have the potential to govern over fire. The other Lords of the Elements will know that the Lord of Fire has awoken and will seek you out with their own agendas. Do not let the other Lords of the Elements beat you down and show them that Fire governs over all! Effects Immunity to fire and burning effects. Mana increase: +100 Increased fire and burning damage: 5% Control over fire: 100% Control over fire elementals: 100% Title effects will update depending on unlocked access to Staff of Flame. Title only visible to other Lords of the Elements[table] "WHAT?" he cried, but no one was able to hear him. "Turns out this staff really is special. I even got a title! This is too awesome! My Meteor and Witch Fire skills are sure to be boosted in damage and control output! This settles it. My main attack magic will be fire, but I should still learn other magics in the event of the enemy possessing high fire resistance or complete immunity." "Now, let''s go find creatures of the Night. I should also be wary of Night Hunters," Rex mused as he walked among the Mundane, his excitement for his first fight trumping his fear over death. If all else failed, he would use the Meteor skill and wipe them all out in a isolated area. Chapter 4: Save the Hospital Chapter 4: Save the Hospital "To think this is possible. How awesome,"Rex grinned as he walked through the Mundane as if he were a ghost. When the mask''s effect said Mundane could not detect him, it really meant it. They could not even feel him when they walked through him. Then, he saw a dark silhouette fly in the sky, unnoticed by the Mundane below. After observing it through the system, he discovered it was a pure-blood vampire! After reading some of Lionel''s books on vampires, he discovered that pure-blood vampires were the only vampires able to infect humans to an existence closer to their own. Pure-blood vampires came from the Night, a world parallel to Earth with the veil between their worlds thinning during the night. An infected Mundane would become a mutated vampire. Their skins would turn blue, their irises turned crimson, their hair turned white, and they became berserk with a thirst for blood. Their strengths and speed would skyrocket and they could only remain sane if they kept consuming enough blood. They could also be controlled by the pure-blood vampire that bit them unconditionally. In short, they had no free will pertaining to their orders and were raging juggernauts with a blood addiction. They had to be killed before they turned level 10 and ranked up, gaining even more fearsome abilities. They could infect other humans, but they would not be as strong as mutated vampires turned by a pure-blood. "That pure-blood vampire is only level 9. He must be here to create mutated vampires to increase his level," Rex said as he ran. His agility was currently nineteen and sped through the crowd like a cheetah. He shivered as he ran through five cars while he kept his gaze on the flying vampire. As he closed in, he could see the vampire''s skin as pale as snow with even whiter hair that fell to the middle of the back. Its eyes were also crimson, but it was supernaturally beautiful, nearly feminine in appearance. Wings made out of shadows flapped on its back and it disappeared as the vampire landed in front of a distant hospital. Rex frowned as the vampire screeched, blocking his ears as all the electricity seemed to die out in the hospital, like a electromagnetic pulse. The vampire bit two humans who were prepping an ambulance and flew onto the roof as two newly turned mutated vampires roared and burst into the hospital. "Holy crap! He turned two of them. If the humans survive the bite, they''ll also be mutated vampires. But why go to the roof? Why not wait in front of the hospital and wait for them to leave....unless he is controlling his vampires to make them go to the roof. There, the vampire would have no Mundane witnesses and could take its time draining all the other Mundane of their blood!" Rex realized.
System Announcement
D rank quest unlocked: Save the Hospital A young pure-blood has come from the Night and is currently attacking the hospital to increase its rank. Mutated vampires are being made and many humans are thinking of fleeing to the roof. Save the hospital by killing the mutated vampires and their vampire noble master. Reward +2 level up + $2,000 + 1 soul stone Failure All Mundanes wiped out. No rewards given
"I get money! Well, games give money but this is a quest! A D rank quest and I get $2,000. Oh yeah! Now I get why Gary is so rich. His dad might be a Night Hunter too. Well, if they get quests but what''s a soul stone?" Rex said as he ran to the hospital, eager to begin fighting and leveling. He stopped as he saw a mutated vampire come out. He struck the red diamond of his Staff of Flame and toward the blue vampire, a wisp of fire shooting from the diamond. The vampire staggered back and began to burn. It shrieked with pain, calling for reinforcements as a second wisp of fire bolted and killed the vampire. *+20 Exp* "Yes! I killed it! No wonder mages are better off in long distance. These fire wisp bolts do alot more damage and even have burning effects. Like Lionel''s books said, vampires are weak to fire. This is gonna be fun!" Rex yelled as he swirled his staff, sending more bolts of fire wisps as more mutated vampires came out and ran to him. As the mutated vampire gathered together, Rex grinned with ecstasy and he decided to try out a magic spell. "Witch Fire!" Rex roared, purple flames swirling around the red diamond of his staff. Closing his eyes, he willed it into a dragon and used his left hand to direct it at the vampires. Eyes opening as he moved his left hand, he grinned from ear to ear as a purple flame dragon appeared. Its serpentine body waved as it roared and crashed through the vampires. *Level up* *Level up* *Level up* "3 levels! Damn! It must be the higher damage and burning effects. I can even feel my mana rising. Hahaha! It''s like I never cast the spell. Now that he had a total of twelve free stat points, he decided to add three to each of his stats. At low levels, it was hard to determine which stats to distribute until the class upgrades. If Soji, Suna, and Gaoli knew he just leveled three times by slaying a single group of newly turned vampires, they would cough blood. However, they would have more experience as it took longer for them to level up, even if they would never know what level they were or their stats. Purple flames littered the area and Rex had to dissipate them before proceeding inside. Purple flames were not natural and would obviously be noticed by a Mundane. He called out inventory and discovered he could see all the items in the tribal tattoo on his hand. Ecstatic, he put tiny vials of vampire blood into the tribal tattoo. Apparently, even blood of a mutated vampire was considered as loot. As he saw a vampire burning to death, he noted that their skin was highly combustible, their skin burning and spreading the fire faster than the clothes they wore. It was no small wonder why he killed the group of clustered vampires now. Slightly disappointed at discovering it was not all his magic, he ran into the building. Most of the humans were already dead or turning, Rex using his staff to fire bolts of flame wisps. He didn''t see the victims as humans but as experience points. He felt slightly disturbed but waved those concerns aside as he saw them bite humans. Mutated vampires were not human anymore. Thinking that way, Rex felt slightly better as he killed and killed. After he killed the last mutated vampire, he realized their intelligence was indeed too low if they hungered for blood and easily reached level 8. As he got to the rooftop to fight the vampire noble, three familiar faces arrived with one other. It was Soji, Suna, Gaoli, and Bingbing. Soji and Suna both had mud brown hair and slightly brown skin while Gaoli and Bingbing had light skin and raven black hair. All four looked around in horror in the sight they saw. "How horrible!" Suna said, stepping back as she gazed on the bodies. "We need to hurry! There could be more victims inside!" Soji cried but Gaoli stopped him. "What? Why are you stopping me?" "Don''t tell me you don''t feel it? The scattered mana in the air? There is a mage here. Look at the ground. Why is just burned in a near straight column?" Gaoli said, the trio staring at the ground. "Fire magic. Smart. He must have waited until they clustered together to use it. The bodies have not entered the Void, meaning there is still fighting nearby," Bingbing said, feeling the mana in the air as she was also a mage. "This is mana....is way too pure. I never felt anything like it." "What do we do? Gaoli only knows wind magic and you don;t know any fire magic," Suna shivered. "Then you and I will just have to cut off their heads while they destroy it. The vampires won''t be able to regenerate that," Soji said and ran inside with a katana in his hand. "He''s right. Let''s go. Leave the vampire noble to me," Bingbing said, Suna and Gaoli nodding as they raced behind her. At the roof, the vampire noble looked back and saw the door break down. Rex grinned as he stared at the vampire. Three mutated vampires rushed at him, but he easily killed them with a single bolt of fire wisps. "A human fire mage. That explains why my minions dies so easily. Killing a vampire would be tedious work otherwise. Why stand in my way?" the vampire asked as its two, personally turned vampires breathed heavily as they stared at Rex. "I''ve not broken the rules of the truce. The cameras are disabled and I did not enter the building." "Sorry, but you are a money bag of $2,000 and experience. I''m also curious about what a soul stone is," Rex said. "I''m no saint. Even my namesake, the tyrannosaurus rex, was rumored to be a bloodthirsty creature. So you can just stand there as I kill your two dogs first." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Hmph. Kill him," the vampire said, the two blue vampires shrieking as the noble pointed at Rex. The two vampires were quick, closing the distance very quickly. Rex jumped back and waved his arm, sending a wave of purple fire at the vampires. The noble vampire quickly issued an order, one vampire sacrificing itself as the other ran and tackled Rex onto the stairs behind him. Rex grunted, unable to push the vampire away as he let go of his staff to use both hands. Punching it, he took the opportunity to add 3 stats to strength and the other five to stamina. His body became tougher and he could finally push the vampire off him, kicking it away. "Ki Blast!" he roared, grabbing his staff as he stood up and thrust it toward its head. Red Ki seeped out of his body and exploded toward the vampire''s head, destroying it. Bruised on his back and legs, he glared at the vampire noble as he reentered the roof. "You''re pretty strong, for a mage. Come with me, into the Night, and become a creature of the Night with powers you''ve never witnessed. Why waste your time saving these weak Mundane?" the vampire asked as it quickly decided to make a plan. "Shut up, moneybags. I''ve never been tackled down the stairs in my life. You consider that your crowning achievement before I toast your ass!" Rex roared, sending a wave of purple fire at the vampire. "Futile," the vampire said, freezing the flames into ice. "Vampire''s have magic superior to humans. You cannot beat me with magic. You''re also injured. Give it up." "HAHAHA! I think not.....Life Drain!" Rex said coldly, pointing his staff at the vampire. Its eyes widened as red light surrounded it, taking its very life force as it injected it into Rex, healing him. "That magic is forbidden! No human should be able to use magic that ignores magic defenses!" the vampire cried as it was more shocked than hurt. "You can''t be allowed to live!" There were no humans on the third floor, so taste my magic! See how inferior your magic is to mine! Meteor!" Rex screamed, pointing his staff into the sky. He coughed blood as a red pentagram circle appeared over the diamond as another, bigger pentagram circle appeared in the sky. "L, legend, legendary tier magic....." the vampire paled, the sky darkening over them both as the Meteor descended and crashed onto the vampire. Seeing the meteor gave it too much of a shock and an explosion of flame burst from the point of impact, destroying the roof. "Suna!" Soji cried as he grabbed his sister and ducked under a doorway as the whole hospital trembled. The Mundane in the second floor and first floor seemed to faint as a pink mist appeared on each of the three floors. "Sleeping magic! The system only creates it if a populated Mundane area survived a fight. The battle is over! Quick, we need to see who did this!" Bingbing cried and Gaoli dragged the twins behind him. "Ugh. Fuck," Rex groaned as pushed some of the floor segments of the roof off his body. He was on fire but felt no pain and quickly dissipated it. The enter roof was destroyed, the third floor badly damaged and nearing the verge of collapse. He would definitely not use Meteor on a building if he was on or in it. He looked around and saw a head with a badly burned neck and half of its face burned off. He felt the urge to vomit but swallowed it and cringed. He coughed as his throat burned and stared at the head as something shined beneath it. There, he saw three minor potions, five hundred dollars in twenties, and a skill book! The bodies of the vampires began to disappear as the battle had officially ended and Rex sighed with relief. He looked at the skill book and noticed it was titled: Heal. It was actually the skill book for Heal! However, he already had Life Drain and decided to sell it online to make money. It was a rare skill and bound to be worth alot. He already learned four actives of the eight he could learn before level 40. Unless he got a class and it made one of his four actives a class skill, he could only learn four more active skills. With one healing skill, he didn''t need another. It was also not a passive skill and he could learn three more. Still happy to see health potions and money, he deposited them into his ring. *Ding*
System Announcement
Quest Completed While your actions damaged the hospital considerably, you saved the patients and prevented a massacre. You did not kill any humans or exposed yourself as you fought the mutated vampires. You admitted you were not a saint and did not save the people with pure intentions. Since you are level 7, you will be level 9 soon after and one level away from a class promotion! Try not to destroy anymore hospitals in the future. Rewards +2 level up +$2,000 +1 soul stone
*Level up* *Level up* "Yes!" Rex said as an inventory screen popped up and saw an additional $2,000 and a soul stone inside. He closed it and summoned his staff to him. The Staff of Flame appeared before him in a small explosion of fire, quickly reverting it back into a ring. As he made his way to the stairs, he paused as he saw Gaoli and the others. He stared at Bingbing, his breath stopping as she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Then, his wits returned as he remembered they were all Night Hunters. "What did you do?" Gaoli asked, pointing a white wooden staff with a green orb at him. "I save this hospital," Rex answered, the mask changing his voice to sound deeper. "I can''t use the system identification on him. I can''t even see his class, level, name, and titles. He must be a Cheat Hunter, like me,"" Bingbing assessed. "You completed the Save the Hospital quest very quickly. You must have followed the pure-blood vampire here." "You are a Cheat Hunter?" Rex asked, surprised. "No. I have an item from my father that he made to check them. He also notified me of this quest. He the Cheat Hunter and you just confirmed yourself as one," Bingbing said. "What did you do to destroy the hospital''s roof?" Rex said nothing, adding two stats to agility and four to spirit. He turned and jumped out the window, cracking the ground as he landed. Bingbing and Gaoli were about to follow, but police cars arrived. Soji and Suna were not at the strength to endure a jump from the third floor and the four quickly slipped out of the hospital, the police officers not noticing Rex as he ran past them. Rex took off the mask and leaned back as he waited at a bus stop. He was mentally drained from what he witnessed and did. The meteor was not big, as expected, but it was destructive. He stored the mask and rode the bus all the way home, gazing at his stats. Name: Rex Valentine Level: 9 Class: Mage Title: Fire Lord (hidden) Health: 420 (360+60) Mana: 290 Ki: 280 (240+40) Stats STR: 20 (18) AGI: 24 SPR: 23 STA: 28 (24) Stats available: 0 With his one hundred extra mana, he could safely use Meteor and still have mana left over. He noticed both Witch Fire and Meteor reached the second level of mastery. Ki Blast and Life Drain were not legendary skills and were only used once. Thus, they were still level one skills. His Prey Instinct skill became level 2 and there were more wisps of indigo, blue, and purple swirling around him as he made them visible to himself. They were always invisible to others as he did not want others to use another means of identification to associate him with. The mask was one thing, but he could not cloak his magic or skills. He would have to be careful in the future. "Rex? Did you go to the hospital?" his mother called as he got off the bus and arrived in front of the house. "How did you know that?" he asked. "My father received a notice about a quest called Save the Hospital, restricted to those below level 10 by the system. I knew you were hunting, but I did not know you were the one completing the quest until you told me! Rex, you destroyed the hospital?" "Only the roof and most of the third floor is on the verge of collapsed, but I saved many lives," Rex amended but his mother cut him off. "Where are you?" she asked. "I just arrived in front of the house," he answered. "Your father, Grandpa Raymond, and your sister are eating out, so only my father and I are here. We are going to have a long chat about Night Hunters," she said. "Get in the house!" "Yes, ma''am," he said, ending the call and quickly raced inside. Chapter 5: The Gorgon Clan Writer''s Note: Just released chapter 4 but here you go. Hope you like family histories, and the Rex''s current situation is explained in this chapter. Chapter 5: The Gorgon Clan "Mom, I''m home," Rex said as he walked inside, taking his backpack out and saw a man his mom''s age looking at him like a child who received a new toy. "Who are you?" "Me? I am your grandfather. I just look young as Night Hunters gain eternal youth breaking past level 100. Of course, only Cheat Hunters know what level they are at. Say, ever noticed why your mom never aged? Well, now you know," the man cackled as his mother came in the living room, glaring at him. "I am Sean Gorgon, father of Gretel who calls herself Mary. Pfft. Some name that is." "My mom said her parents are dead," Rex said, turning to his mom. "Gretel?" "I own a rare accessory that cloaks my status as you Cheat Hunters call it. I wanted nothing to do with the Night since my mother died. I also have a brother, Hansel, but I hate him even more than I hate my father," Mary answered. "I never wanted you to be a Night Hunter, but you had it in your veins. Thus, I forbade you from ever going out at night. Who knew it was all for naught?" "You cannot deny the Gorgon blood in this one. Has he been tested?" Sean asked. "No. Like I said, I wanted nothing to do with the Night," she snapped. "If you hate him....er, Grandpa Sean," Rex began as the man warned him with a glance. "Why invite him here?" "Because you are both a mage and Cheat Hunter, like him. Night Hunters survive each other by joining factions. Most people without factions are lucky to reach level 40 without being killed for refusing an invitation. In this city, there are many clans and factions that live here, or nearby, as this area is one of a few where the veil between Earth and the Night is thinnest. Thus, this is one of the rare cities that need protection and provide the best training," Mary answered. "Heh. When I found out your mother lived here, before you were even born, I was shocked. This was one of the last places I suspected her to live in,'' Sean continued. "Anyway, kid, I was called to protect you. Some of the major clans and factions have Night Hunters above level 100 but the amount of people who could fight your mother could be counted on two hands. The number of Night Hunters that could fight me are none at all. Before I continue, did anyone see you fight?" "Yes and no," he answered, confusing them. "I wore this mask. It is called the Mask of Illusions." As he wore it, his mother was shocked while his grandfather clapped his hands with glee. There was no way to identify Rex his face was veiled in darkness. While a simple white cloak covered his body, everything he wore underneath was covered in darkness, even his hands. He would even look clean if he was submerged in a dust storm and took off the mask soon after it subsided. "Interesting mask. I have one that changes my appearance into several others, but the effect of illusion immunity makes up for that," Sean approved. "That''s a nice mask you got there kid. So you wore this mask and people only saw you as you are. Did they see your magic or weapon?" "No, but I think they might identify the magic I used outside the hospital as I used Witch Fire," he answered. "That unique spell? You have purple with energy inside you? Haha! You are one lucky brat. Witches are usually females, the males calling themselves warlocks. However, for the sake of tradition, you''re a witch. You don''t have the class, but you have the magic. Hmm. You''re already level 9? Heh. You got a good head on your shoulders. The only reason you could have finished the quest so early, and leveled so fast, was because you saw and followed the pure-blood noble before the quest even started. Am I right?" his grandfather asked. "Yes. I did follow it. I did not see any creatures of the Night in the populated areas and the vampire was the first I saw," Rex nodded. "I read that vampires are weak to fire and I do know fire magic." "Yes. Yes. Good. So who saw you? Do you know them or at least identified some of them before you escaped?" Sean asked. "I know three of them. I have Guitar class with them. They''re names are Gaoli Qin, Suna Akira, and Soji Akira," he answered. "There was one beautiful girl with them. She seemed stronger than them, at least over level 10. I heard her saw she could not identify me with the item her father gave her, him being a Cheat Hunter." ''Since you have that mask, there was no way you could be identified while wearing it," Sean finished, already having assessed the mask. "That ring you wear is a Flame Ring Staff. Quite a bizarre staff you got, but travel ready to be sure." "Haha," Rex laughed, surprised his staff could not be identified correctly and presented false information. He assumed it was due to the system and that only Lords of the Elements could identify it, like how he could not hide his title from them. "Since it''s like this, there is no better time than now to register yourself as a regular Night Hunter mage. I am your grandfather and already submitted the application. By now, people will believe I awakened your Night Hunter lineage and enhanced you to level 9. Up to that level, it''s not hard but it is impossible to raise it to level 10," Sean said after a moment. "No doubt, you must have been notified by the system that you will get a class promotion first. To do that, you must take a promotion quest. Anyone can receive quests if a Cheat Hunter gives them the details for a price, the system halving the reward as they are not Cheat Hunters. The first promotion test is level 10, the second being level 30. After that, you''re too weak to know. Your mother tells me your friend, Gary Hill, is a Night Hunter with the Dark Alchemist class. I imagine he used to be a Nature Alchemist before he discovered certain herbs and ores had nasty effects and wanted to pursue it." "The Mad Alchemist title?" Rex asked, Sean nodding and saying that was prove in itself. "You Cheat Hunters can only assess someone less than fifty levels above you. If fifty levels or higher, you only see their names, all other information beyond your grasp," Mary said. "You must have gotten $1,000 from the quest. Use that to buy a staff. You will use that staff with your alias. Make sure it is one that can be bound to you with self-repair effects." "$1,000?" Rex repeated, his grandfather winking and Rex understood the situation. "But mom, it''s $1,000. Can''t I just buy a cheaper staff? I wanted to buy some video games or upgrade to a PS4. The new Kingdom Hearts game comes out as well as the new Final Fantasy game. Our internet sucks so I can''t play Final Fantasy 14." "Rex Cerberus Valentine!" his mother said, only ever including his middle name if she was ever truly enraged with him. "You named him after the Hell Hound?" Sean asked, surprised. "It was what mom wanted me to name my son," Mary said, her face showing signs of grief for a moment before it passed. "You will buy a staff close to $1,000. That is final." "Alright," Rex said, disappointed he had to waste so much money but his mother was right. As his alias, he could do things that might make enemies but no one would know who it was. Meanwhile, he could use his more powerful staff more openly and he even had $1,500 leftover. Not even his grandfather knew he got $500 for killing the vampire leader. "What will be my alias?" he asked. "I also want to sell the Heal skill." "What? A rare skill and you''re selling it?" she gasped, Sean shrugging. "You already got a healing skill?" he asked. "Life Drain. I also know Ki Blast. I heard that new Mundane turned Night Hunters learn 2 to 5 skills. I only learn three," he said, hiding his legendary skill as only a complete and utter fool would talk about it at all. "Life Drain? You actually learned that? Heh. Impressive. It is quite rare for that to be an option. The skill book alone costs millions. Healing spells that also damage are by far more valued but have less healing effects," Sean laughed. "I sense a lot of people with witch energy in this city, even yours. I don''t know that other energy inside you as it is dormant but must have affected your staff in some way. Someone knowing Witch Fire is more common than Witch Lightning. I have high hopes you make people realize that light, darkness, and lightning are not the top elements." "What are the thirteen elements exactly and how are they categorized?" he asked. "Well, the first Night Hunters are said to be Chinese. They have many methods that involve what they call cultivation. Other nations discovered their own methods but the most unique is what you and I have: a leveling system with a close relation to the system. Some people call the system God," Sean answered. "Mages used to only use four elements until more powerful creatures of the Night showed up and humanity progressed. Eventually, nine more elemental types of magic came to be. The elements are water, earth, fire, wind, lightning, wood, darkness, light, poison, blood, death, life, and void. The void element is the combination of all elements and none of them. It is a mystery but it is the most powerful element. Void magic is by far the most dangerous and only results in destruction and death." What about the Void?" Rex asked, curious about where the bodies go as he had seen a werewolf and the vampires disappear in bursts of shadow. However, it only looked like shadow and was quite scary. "The scary bit is the Void. All creatures of the Night, or Night Hunters, have their corpses enter the Void should they die after a fight. It is possible, only for light and death magic, to bring someone or something back to life from the Void. However, there are dire consequences and you don''t exactly bring back the desired soul as it was. Sometimes, you bring back something extra." "Such magic, you should never learn!" Mary roared, Rex unsure who exactly she was yelling at. Angered, she left. "I failed to choose to save your grandmother while on a quest. Your Uncle Hansel used death magic to bring his mother back from the Void. Like I warned, he brought back something more than just my wife''s soul. At first, she looked like my wife but she was not her. I cannot say anymore. I also hate my son but I had to save him from your mother''s wrath. She was always the smarter, but fragile, twin," Sean sighed. "I know Void magic myself and I know that the success rate of only bring back the desired soul is 3%. Just that. If one of us suffers death do not seek to bring them back from the Void. It is best to let the Void keep its claim and remember the fallen as they were." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Alright," Rex said. "That necklace you have boosts strength by 2 and stamina by four. It is even a growth item. As for other effects, it might develop them. I suspect it has to do with that red energy of yours," Sean assessed, shocking Rex. "Don''t worry. You are my, Sean Gorgon''s, grandson. I will bring you harm. Bind this item and take out your soul stone." "Okay. What is this exactly?" he asked as he bound a strange black diamond. "So long as you have that on you, even in that tattoo of yours, it will mask the presence of the items you desire. Keep the black diamond in your inventory and the mask and medallion will either appear as an ordinary item or not detected at all. Make sure the mask is the latter. It is one of one hundred jewels known as the Thief King''s Last Laugh. I have three and only need one. Be sure to never take it out of your inventory," Sean said, nodding as Rex bound the item with his mana and stored it in the tattoo. "Storage tattoos are the rarest and most hated storage items. Should you die, no one will be able to loot it. As for soul stones, they are also feared items." "Why is that?" he asked. "You can store the souls of those you kill into it. When a Night Hunter or creature of the Night dies, their body and soul become one and enter the Void. You can use the soul stone to trap them in their and make them your prisoners for all eternity, even able to draw out their mana or Ki when you wish. Such a heinous thing makes the mana booster and other such items look like shit," Sean laughed. "You know, having your most hated enemies be your prisoners for all eternity is quite relaxing. Even if you die, they cannot escape as you are the only one who can release them. The best part, anyone who has ever owned a soul stone cannot be imprisoned by one. That is why people only dare to own it once, bind it, and sell it back. Do not let anyone know you have that either. Another thing, you tend to forget their is someone inside so no worries about the soul stone talking or anything like that." "Does it have a maximum capacity?" he asked. "You actually want to store just anything in it? Yes, there is a max capacity: one thousand souls. It does not matter how powerful the soul is, but the more powerful ones are the best as their is more Ki or mana to draw from. If you ever release one, you devour it and gain the title Existence Gourmet. You gain stats based on whose souls you eat. The existence bit is because their existence, body and soul, is eaten by you and enhances your stats. The gourmet bit is that it is a rare thing to do," Sean said. "This is another secret why Cheat Hunters are so over-powered but no one knows this. Ordinary Night Hunters only get the title. Titles are the only system announcements they ever see without bargaining with a Cheat Hunter to gain a quest." "Do you have the title?" Rex asked. "Of course. If I have another enemy I hate more, or who has more Ki or mana; I feed on the less useful souls. Maximization of utilities, young Cheat Hunter. Remember those words," Sean laughed and said, "Soul stones are always quest rewards, the soul of the boss of the quest inside them. The soul stone is already bound upon allocation of quest rewards. Keep the soul in there until you pass one thousand and need to reconsider a replacement. You can only ever draw 1% of the mana or Ki of the soul, but it adds up and the numbers are never the same. That 1% is actually quite good the more souls you have. For now, leave thoughts of using it aside and only store powerful souls in it. If there is someone with vast knowledge, it is also good to seal them inside as you gain complete control and can access their memories. Not even memory altering or erasing spells can hide the truth from you." "You mean to say that it is best for interrogation. Kill someone, store the soul inside, access the desired memory, and eat the soul if there is no further use for it?" Rex surmised. "Brilliant. You aren''t a total goody two shoes. I was worried there. You are the legacy of your mother, as she and Hansel are mine. No one will ever harm you or her. I will make sure of that," Sean laughed. "Go on to your room and do what you need to do with the black market. We can talk more after lunch tomorrow. We must assess your bloodline and see if you can gain the unique ability of the Gorgon Clan. Just think of Medusa but there is more than just the petrify effect that can result from staring with your eyes." "i have school tomorrow," Rex said, Sean shaking his head. "No, you don''t. You are a Night Hunter now. There will be people who will try to kidnap you because you are without a faction. You are even a mage. There are more illegal items that can be made with the body parts of a mage Night Hunter than the other two classes. You will be transferred to an academy for Night Hunters. The only restriction is that you must have your first class promotion. You will take the promotion test tomorrow. The Night Hunter Society will have already manipulated the Mundane high school records. Don''t worry. Your mother says that your friend, Gary Hill, is also transferring since one of his best friends is finally a Night Hunter." "My best friend''s a Mundane," Rex said. "He will have forgotten you this night, as all other Mundane. Only you will remember your friendship with him. This is how we keep to the Code. You still have your other friend. What? Did you think you could enjoy living in both worlds? Why do you think your mother confines herself indoors at night? Killing a creature of the Night, in the same area you live in, will make you a priority to kill among creatures of the Night. Should they discover your identity, your friends would be hunted and killed to get to you. I''m sorry to be the one to tell you that your Mundane life....is over," his grandfather said, patting Rex''s shoulder and leaving him alone in the living room. Rex dialed a number and said, "Gary, you are a Night Hunter?" "Yeah. I heard your supposedly dead grandfather, from your mom''s side, is actually THE Sean Gorgon. You got one scary grandfather.....I know you called me about Geo. Our three musketeers is now two. Should he find out about Night Hunters, he will be killed as he is not one himself. I didn''t think you''d be a mage though. You seemed the warrior type," Gary said. "I know the Ki Blast technique and I did go to a mixed martial arts gym....with Geo. Is this why you didn''t transfer?" Rex asked. "Yeah. I don''t trust people born Night Hunters. It is extremely rare for a Mundane to turn into one, but there''s your grandfather. My dad''s always been cold to you, right? He didn''t like me going to a Mundane school and living a double life. Now, he''s ecstatic you are a Night Hunter and is buying me a Ferrari as I finally decided to transfer. The friend of my dad, a Cheat Hunter, told me I am level thirty two. I already knew I was around that as I passed my second class promotion test. We won''t be in the same class, as you are a mage, but I will see you on campus. We have to dorm there. We study creatures of the Night, sparring, and other stuff in the day. At night, it is up to you if you wish to hunt creatures of the Night," Gary said. "Is there, like, an age group or grade segregation thing?" Rex asked. "How does the school work?" "You know how your dad''s mom is Chinese, right?" Gary asked. "Grandma Rong, right? Why?" Rex asked, his Grandpa Raymond teaching Rex and Sarah about Chinese culture since they could talk, read, and write. "You remember the xianxia novels you read in your room and lend me sometimes, right? Well, the academy is like a martial sect. There are outer, inner, and core sect disciples. Outer core disciples are, supposedly, levels 10 to 29. Inner core disciples, unless they get first place in a competition between outer core disciples in a tournament, are usually levels 30 to forty. When you pass your promotion test, you will be admitted into the sect as an outer core disciple without needing to take the entrance exam. Your grandpa is that scary. He''s probably the most powerful, and dangerous, Night Hunter in the entire city. He is certainly the most destructive as he is responsible for wiping out many small nations that pissed him off," Gary shivered. "The new school is like that? My grandpa too?" Rex asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "One time, a Night Hunter around my level didn''t bow as he walked among a street of Night Hunters. Next thing anyone knew, he killed the man and the entire country the guy was born from. Code Keepers tried to stop him, but he issued a challenge to one. As he killed a Code Keeper, he was able to keep his life and was not punished. Some Night Hunter clans and organizations kept pictures of how the people died. The heads of each person in the entire nation was mounted on spires of rock fifty feet high, their bodies burned beyond recognition. If that ain''t scary, I don''t know the meaning of the word," Gary answered. "He is a Cheat Hunter and was last evaluated at level 230 over seventeen years ago, before you were born. Who knows what level he is now?" "Wow.....that is scary," Rex gasped. "You''re new uncle is even scarier. Your mom, originally Gretel, should be above level 100. However, your new uncle, Hansel, is one of the top ten Night Hunters. He disappeared since he was last seen going into the Night. Some say he turned traitor. Others say he went mad trying to undo the crime he did of bringing your other grandma, Sean Gorgon''s wife, back from the Void. He is super famous and used as an example for any Night Hunter who wants to bring someone back to life. Since your clan is famous, be careful who you trust in your class," Gary warned. "How will I be...uh...placed or where will I go?" Rex asked. "Even though students are divided between outer, inner, and core disciples; they still live in the same dorm area. Once the test is over, the nine factions of the school will first choose you. Then, you choose among the factions that chose you first. If none chose you, then you are randomly assigned to one," Gary answered. "Three factions only accept one type of class, like a mage or rogue only faction. That means you can only join one of seven factions. I joined the rogue only faction as they specialize in training just rogues and have a lot of magical treasures and skill books that suit me. Still, the best place to get anything is the black market. It''s just not free and you don''t earn them." "What''s the name of this school?" Rex asked. "The Rain Dragon Sect," Gary answered, Rex narrowing his eyes as he heard the words. "The Sect founded by a Night Hunter who once lived long ago and wielded the Trident of Water. The Founder wielded very same fabled ultimate weapon of the 13 Lords of the Elements. Though the weapon is lost, this sect remains one of the best in the world. Good luck in your promotion test. The first promotion test always happen in the most dangerous place in the universe." "And where is that?" Rex asked. "The Night. Your promotion test will take place in the world of the creatures of the Night, itself," Gary said, stunning Rex as the call ended. He stood there, in complete silence, before heading to his room. Chapter 6: The Bloodline Revives Chapter 6: The Bloodline Revives As Rex felt too drained from his fight and the new drama that barged into his life, he decided to rest. When morning came, he ate a quick breakfast and went to the Thousand Shark Company website, authorized entry as a gold light shined from his the screen of his computer. It assessed his body and confirmed that he was a Night Hunter. The website asked him to make an anonymous username to be his alias to buy and sell goods on the black market. He thought about the destruction his Meteor spell caused and the Staff of Flame he owned. Nodding after a while, he entered Meteor Mage. The website only asked what his class was and no more personal information. After computing the information, Rex accessed the site. "Welcome to the Black Market. Please enjoy our services, Meteor Mage," a voice said and Rex first browsed all the staffs with his mother''s instructions and found a staff worth $980 with the self-repair and soul binding effect. As he would use the staff as his alias, he had to pick a popular staff so nothing would be traced back to him. It was a black and brown wood staff with a blue orb on the top. The wisp bolts were made of blue fire and did the same damage output as the Staff of Flames. However, it could not upgrade and had no effects. "That is seriously quick service," Rex commented as he clicked purchase and a flying drone appeared in less than ten seconds. It was definitely a magic treasure and he had to pay it with cash before he stored the staff into his tattoo. He ensured the black diamond, Thief King''s Last Laugh, made the staff undetectable, like the mask. Left with $1,520, he decided to browse for magic items or armor. He could only use a staff, scepter, or sword anyway. Since he got two staffs, one for each identity; he needn''t waste money to buy another. He realized that Thousand Shark Company had to have Cheat Hunters as it gave detailed information about the item, including history, effects, and stat upgrades. What he needed was items that came with its own skills! In certain games, some items granted the user an ability so long as the item, weapon, or armor was equipped. These were usually high grade and extremely rare items. Many players hated that most were RNG drops. By RNG, players meant random number generator as there was no guarantee if the item would drop. You could kill the same boss a million times and not get the RNG item while another person could after his first kill. He went on the advanced search options and typed his typed his budget limit. As he included other options, he clicked enter and saw the results. He was disappointed and remembered he still had to sell the rare skill: Heal. First, he looked ip up and nearly fainted. The lowest price he saw was a little over $300,000! "WHAT THE FUCK?" Rex cried. "LANGUAGE!" his mother roared from downstairs. "Sorry mom," Rex said meekly and panted heavily as he imagined having that much money. He firmly imprinted in his mind to sell rare skill books that he didn''t find useful. As he read about the various comments about Heal, he found out why it was so expensive. It was because skills evolved past level 10. For instance, his Meteor spell would increase the meteor''s size and damage, but he still only summoned one meteor. Once it reached level 10, it would evolve and he could summon more. Skill levels didn''t stop at 10! However, evolving the skill a second time required an additional ten levels. "I will sell it for $300,000. The site says instant purchase as dozens bid for that price," Rex said as he rubbed his hands with glee. After clicking the sell option, a drone appeared to collect the skill. Another thing he learned was that lying about the item being sold resulted in immediate death, the Thousand Shark Company employing many assassins to torture you for days before ending the pain eternally. A moment later, he had $300,000 in front of him.
System Announcement
Warning Please be aware that too much money deposited in bank accounts is highly suspicious and will be noticed by the Mundane. Be sure to limit it unless you decide to deposit it in an international bank and make an account there. Good luck and try to aim to be a billionaire to live a lush life.
"Oh, that makes sense. Still, I can just keep it in my inventory. I''ll probably deposit $10,000 a month? Yeah. I''ll increase my budget to $50,000 and save $250,000. A quarter million dollars...." Rex sighed with awe before storing it away. "Well, it explains how my mother can buy this $800,000 house and did not need to pay a lease or mortgage." He looked online with the increased budget and found dozens more options. He needed an item with a pet skill. Pets were essential for mage classes as they could attack and defend the mage from the enemy. Some pets could heal or bind targets while others acted as a tank and absorbed damage meant for the mage. There were many kinds of pets and they were the favorite parts of any video game he played. Finally, he found an item that he liked. Well, it amused him.
Inspection Complete
Freak Dragon Ring A powerful mage once ventured into the Night and faced a powerful, black dragon that guarded an ancient temple. After killing it, he found three rings named after its hideous mature. It had the body of a gigantic lizard that dwarfed even an elephant in thickness and a giraffe in height and had a massive tail. On the back of its head and body were indestructible scale plate armor and had wings that could cut through diamonds. The armor had spikes and also curved over forehead to create a horn. This dragon had four completely red eyes and incredibly sharp talons. One can only guess what convinced a demon and dragon to mate in order to spawn the first of its race. Effect Gain the Summon: Freak Dragon skill upon wearing the ring. Skill: permanent and not included in active, non-class skill restrictions. Ring cannot be taken off or destroyed. Skill mastery applies. Wings: None.
"This......this is awesome," Rex said, too awed to say much more. Most people bought phoenixes or dragons, Rex shocked at how high they costed. The cheapest dragon was $10,000. Dragon pets that came from skill books already came in its final form, but was smaller and weaker. Dragons that came from items, or any summoning skill, started off as incredibly weak, took the longest to mature, the hardest to control, but had the most potential as its final form was not limited. That was why he bought the Freak Dragon Ring. "It reminds me of the original Yu-Gi-Oh before it became weird and childish," Rex said as he paid $35,000. Now, he had $16,520 to spend. He didn''t know what other items he needed and decided to save his money. He paid the drone and put the black and gold ring with a small diamond imprint of a dragons head on his left index finger. He was ecstatic as he learned the skill and summoned the dragon. The dragon was incredibly small, the size of a cat, and breathed ice or giant boulders of exploding ice that froze and shattered instead of burned. He couldn''t help but smile and had it enter ghost mode. Ghost mode was an option in which the dragon was invisible and could not be detected in anyway. However, it could not attack or touch anything either. He discovered that the dragon was also affected by the Mask of Illusion as it was a pet item skill, but an item he wore. His only problem would be when it used its dragon breath. "So I can make it invisible to everyone, but it cannot be detected or attack my opponents in ghost mode. While wearing the mask, I don''t need ghost mode to hide it, but its flames can be seen like my own. Other Night Hunters and creatures of the Night could see it, like me. The Mask of Illusion cloaks me, but it does not cloak the dragon as it just cloaks the ring in darkness. As only three rings exist, I can''t use the dragon while I hunt as my alias. It will have to stay in ghost mode," Rex pondered aloud and let the dragon be. "I''ll call it Titus, after its titanic potential and size from the legend in the description." An hour after lunch had passed, Rex stood in the basement with Sean and his mother. A giant star pentagram circle was on the ground, five candles around the circle with each candle next the the point of a star. Ominous black and white fire burned on the candles, but the wick did not melt. "You went shopping for more than the staff?" his mother asked, suspicious. "What did you sell?" "Heh. Nothing," Rex smiled as the two saw the dragon. "You bought a pet item, not an actual egg?" Sean asked, then nodded with approval. "Good. It won''t die when its health reaches zero. I have four myself, but I prefer to keep them in the ring and not following me in their ghost forms. They''re too big for that." "You can do that?" Rex asked and, sure enough, the dragon disappeared into his ring. "Oh. Cool. I didn''t know it could do that." ".....We''ll talk about this later. Right now, we need to awaken the bloodline in you. If it fails, there won''t be any stat bonuses, extra skills outside the restrictions, and you won''t receive a unique item of the bloodline," Mary said. "So good?" "Good? Most clans have bloodlines. Most Cheat Hunters are usually born in clans with bloodlines," Sean scoffed. "However, people know they are Cheat Hunters from birth. Babies, toddlers, and children are too stupid to know what to say and what not to say. You can be said to be lucky in that regard as you were born a Mundane as you had a Mundane father." "The Gorgon Clan bloodline might be in you, but it doesn''t guarantee success. Those who do succeed are counted as geniuses. You will meet many like them in the Rain Dragon Sect. There is the chance of a different bloodline awakening as everyone is born with a bloodline, Mundane or Night Hunter," Mary said. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Sean spat and said, "Don''t listen to that shit. She is just trying to rationalize marrying a Mundane. That situation never happens. Only them Code Keepers and Night Hunter clans with several generations born with Mundane blood have a shot. Your mother is the first to intermarry with a Mundane. I''m just glad you could even be a Night Hunter. With Hansel gone, I''m above meeting another woman to continue the bloodline. I''ll never meet another woman like my wife." "Let us begin," Mary said, telling Rex to sit in the center of the circle. Then, his mother and grandfather began to chant in a voice that was extremely ancient sounding and not one they could make. "The descendant has chosen to walk the true path. He enters the Night''s embrace to slay that which live within and taint it. Ancestors grant the power of your ancient, unyielding bloodline to the descendant. Let the descendant continue your task in purging the creatures of the Night. The Night Hunter has chosen....awaken the power that sleeps inside!" the two chanted, the small flames on the candle enlarging into a massive pillar of flame while the pentagram circle shined. Suddenly, the flame pillars became runes and converged into the center of the pentagram circle. Rex''s eyes, mouth, and ears glowed with pillars of white and black light originating from inside his body. As the runes were sucked into the light, the pentagram circle began to shrink, the candles exploding as the pentagram circle formed a dome barrier with Rex inside. Mary fell to her knees, Sean slightly tired as he said, "The process has begun. Soon, the bloodline will emerge....no....I cannot believe my eyes...." "He is indeed my and Ramon''s son," Mary smiled as two orbs of light floated above the dome barrier. One of the orbs displayed a jade snake encircling a stone sphere as if it were the world and the snake was a dragon attempting to swallow it whole. The second sphere revealed an bear that sat as if it were a human in meditation. A gold halo was around its head and had two golden saber teeth. Rex Cerberus Valentine had two bloodlines, one of the Gorgon Night Hunter Clan and one of a Mundane! "Impossible. Only one could exist and the Gorgon bloodline was cast aside?" Sean gasped, falling to his feet as his daughter smiled. "He should be receiving the passive skill: Divine Bear''s Blessing. All his stats will be raised by 10. His agility gains an additional 10 while his strength receives an additional 20. He will also receive 1,000 health, 250 mana, and 200 Ki. It is a skill that is already at skill mastery. He will become the ultimate battle mage, instead of the ultimate warrior," Mary smiled as the snake and stone sphere exploded into ash while the meditating elephant shined and went into Rex''s body. "My god! Are you saying the Mundane you married was actually descended from one of the Prime Night Hunters?" Sean gasped, disbelief in his voice. "Those Prime Night Hunters, their bloodlines died out." "No, father. Code Keepers are evidence they have not. I saw a Code Keeper killed in the Night and examined the body, discovering her identity. Her parents were Mundane, but her lineage traced back to the Prime. My husband is no ordinary Mundane for me to fall in love with. I did not know of this until I saw the dead body, already on the run and hiding from my enemies, you, and your enemies," Mary smiled. "Sarah, she has the Gorgon bloodline and it is strong in her. Unlike Rex, she will naturally awaken and become a Night Hunter by herself. She is already able to sense the creatures of the Night and I have to leave a night light and read her a book until she calms and sleeps." "You are more cunning than me. I lost. I really feel like I lost. Did my prejudices blind me?" Sean said as he stared at Rex while the dragon appeared and looked at Rex, concerned. Sean was surprised as even the dragon seemed to grow stronger, doubling in size but stayed at skill level 1. Based on skill evolution, it would take the dragon 100 levels to gain the fifth head as each evolution granted a head but required an additional 10 levels of skill mastery as the new skill displayed level one. 10 levels to form the second head, 20 levels to form the third, 30 to form the fourth, and 40 to form the fifth. This was he reason people chose and did not choose pet items instead of eggs. As the dragon enlarged but stayed at level 1 skill mastery, its potential had already risen. "He will learn the uncommon skill, Mana Barrier, and a unique skill to the bloodline. That unique skill is: Celestial Avatar!" Mary said, stunning Sean. It was a unique skill that belonged to the oldest bloodlines. The descendant actually manifested a giant animal spirit body, Rex creating a giant grizzly bear with golden armor around his body, and temporarily gained the power of an additional ten levels! His spells, Ki techniques, and regular attacks would skyrocket! As a trump card, this was absolutely the best. The only side effect would be that all damage would be returned with double the pain after the effect ended. Mana Barrier could be considered a universal skill as anyone could buy that uncommon skill book. Its consumption was the same as Mana Shield, but the caster could move and is not impervious to damage. Damage reduction of the shield is dependent on spirit and has a maximum damage threshold before breaking. It was more expensive than Mana Barrier for this exact reason as mages needed to be mobile to survive. "Status," Sean said. Being a Cheat Hunter of a much higher level, he could see all of Rex''s status table, the only exception being the Fire Lord title. Name: Rex Valentine Level: 9 Class: Mage Title: Fire Lord (hidden); Ancient Berserker Health: 1570 (1510+60) Mana: 580 Ki: 480 (440+40) Stats STR: 50 (48) AGI: 44 SPR: 33 STA: 38 (34) Additional stats: 0 "Ancient Berserker?" Sean wondered as he assessed it.
Inspection Complete
Ancient Berserker Title awarded to descendants of the Great Bear Clan, a clan of Prime Night Hunters said to have gone extinct. Title cannot be viewed by non-relatives of title owner. The owner of this title is the last. Tasked with guarding the veil between Earth and the Night, the Great Bear Clan had been betrayed and their descendants were scattered like the wind. The more the Ancient Berserker kills, the more he heals to increase his masquerade ball of blood and death. All will remember to fear the Prime and never again forget the respect they are due. Effects Pain decreases by 25%. Damage increases by 7% All elemental resistances increase by 5% Health returned by 3% with each kill. Defense increases by 3% if surrounded.
"Okay, the Prime Night Hunters were truly the best. This Prime clan must have truly been magnificent until their betrayal. This is also good as Rex will heal 5% of his health, per kill, if he also wears the mask. Very intriguing," Sean sighed with praise. As he spoke, the dome became a sort of cocoon. Sean nodded as this scene meant the body would now change to suit the esteemed bloodline that awoke. While Sean thought it a shame that Rex was not a warrior, Rex would be a mage not disadvantaged if a warrior or rogue entered close combat with him. There were many berserker titles and even mages benefit as the titles would grant them similar buffs. As the cocoon broke, gold and red light shined. Rex had grown three inches and had a toned body. While still slim, there was no denying that he had the aura of an ancient warrior. Celestial Avatar was a unique Ki skill, not a magic spell. As Rex was a mage, he had no worries even thought the Celestial Avatar skill consumed all his Ki. Rex''s body floated in the air, his shirt destroyed and revealed swirling gold runes on his body. Finally, his bloodline item award appeared. It was a golden helmet with radiant bone spikes on the sides of the helmet. An emblem of a grizzly bear wearing gold armor was at the middle of the helm within a white halo. The helmet was called Fearsome Behemoth. It was a helmet that came with a skill known as Bear King''s Roar, another unique skill. Rex did not have to wear it to use the skill, unlike his Freak Dragon Ring that stuck on his left middle finger eternally. It had a range of fifteen yards and paralyzed the opponent with fear for 2 seconds. The skill could not level but could not be blocked. Even though it was a unique skill, people could by one with skill mastery, though it could be blocked, for $5,000. Unique did not mean expensive as it was outside of the ranking system. "Ugh, mom? Did it work? I feel....almost godlike," Rex said as his body landed on the ground, the light fading as he awoke. "Whoa! Those stats! Are all bloodline''s like it?" "Stat boost wise, you''re not the best or worse. The health, Ki, and mana boost are rare as it is not the result of the stat boost. Thus, you are stronger than most but you''re a mage. However, you also gained a title and that is not ordinary at all," Sean grinned. "It seems today is not a bad day at all. Your mother told me your sister has aptitude for the Gorgon bloodline. I just need to wait until that seven year old turns ten. She won''t be a Cheat Hunter. I can assess that much." "Tonight, you will go take the Promotion Test and surprise all the other test takers. Make me proud," Mary said. "I will. Oh, I definitely will," Rex grinned. Chapter 7: The Great Gathering Chapter 7: The Great Gathering "Is this really where the Night Hunters gather?" Rex asked as he was in his mom''s care with Sean. "Of course. What better place to hide among Mundane than beneath the valet parking lot of a hotel?" Mary said as she flashed a pass at the valet, the valet nodding and let her pass. "While we are there, try not to draw attention to yourself. Your grandfather already does that merely by his presence. Wear the helmet and say equipment. There should be a hide option for items you wear. Best to hide the medallion and the helmet," Mary said. "This way, you get all the benefits minus the material defense of wearing it. Some Cheat Hunters are so powerful, they just leave their Night Hunter equipment off and never bother to use the hide option. "I can''t help being powerful. How is it my fault that none of them can beat me?" Sean laughed as Rex did as his mother said. "Rex, let me know if anyone gives you trouble. I''ll annihilate them and their clan. Of course, you can use them as motivation to get strong enough to do it yourself." "No one can but us are related to you. Thus, no one can see that Ancient Berserker title. Still, do not tell anyone. Also, keep the fact that you have a bloodline a secret, especially that of a Prime Night Hunter. Only idiots and fools flaunt their skills in front of others and unwittingly give their unseen enemies an advantage in their next encounter," Sean continued. Your mother is just dropping us off here, as she hates the Night. Just stick close to me and mind not the words and actions of others." "Okay, grandpa," Rex nodded. "Oh, and call me Uncle Sean in front of your father, sister, and that Raymond. I look in my late twenties due to eternal youth granted by surpassing level 100. They also don''t know about Night Hunters and creatures of the Night. Thus, they count as Mundane and you cannot reveal yourself or make them suspect anything," Sean said, his mother rolling her eyes as they got off the car. "Good luck and do not waver," his mother said and drove off as Sean and Rex rode an elevator down. There was a strange jade light and and the elevator doors opened to a grand hallway with antique paintings on both sides of the hall. "Hello, Esteemed Elder. My name is Kevin Gaunt. You have safely arrived in Black Water City," a man bowed and greeted as he arrived before them with ten guards in black armor. "This must be Esteemed Elder''s first time visiting Black Water City, Nevada. Welcome." "The Underworld City, Black Water City, hidden beneath Las Vegas. That elevator did not go down but actually teleported my grandson and I here. It seems magic and Mundane technology are blending more and more. The Night Hunter supremacists will not be pleased," Sean chuckled. "This is my grandson, Rex Cerberus Valentine. He is my daughter''s, formerly Gretel Gorgon''s, son. I awakened his Night Hunter status and have come here for him to take his first promotion test. Since you are a host, you must be a Cheat Hunter. Naturally, you should notice he is level 9." "Indeed. However, I can only ask the Esteemed Elder for forgiveness as I tried to see your status. Truly, I can only see question marks. You are indeed quite powerful," the man said and gestured to the hall behind himself. "Please. Right this way." "We''re under Las Vegas?" Rex asked. "Of course. Why else would the elevator be in the valet parking lot of a hotel? I thought it would be under the hotel. Who knew we would be taken to a city with an even larger, thinner veil between the two worlds? The people here will be more powerful than I expected. No problem for me, but it would be best not to make enemies today," Sean said, Rex nodding as they followed the guide. "How many will be taking the promotion test this quarter year?" Sean asked, the promotion tests held every four months. "As Esteemed Elder made the request, the promotion test was accelerated and will commence soon. As for your question, one hundred and eight will take the test," Kevin said and they arrived in a giant banquet hall. "My son has a dragon named Titus," Sean said to Kevin, motioning for Rex to summon the dragon. "Okay. Time to act like a gentlemen. Beware, Rex. This is a moment where one treads upon vipers in human skin. Keep your wits about you. Kevin, you may proceed." Kevin puffed his chest and said in a loud clear voice, "Presenting the Esteemed Elder, Sean Gorgon the War God. Patriarch of the Gorgon Clan. Destroyer of nations of both Mundane and creatures of the Night. Slayer of the forty nine rogue Code Keepers and slayer of the third Demon King." "Yeah. I did pretty well for myself. I love these gatherings. They always declare my best moments and the faces of the masses is always the most amusing. After the introduction, walk into the room as I do and come over to me," Sean laughed as the whole room was silenced as they all stared at Sean Gorgon, many pale with fear and awe. Kevin breathed deeply and said, "Presenting the mage Night Hunter, Rex Cerberus Valentine. Heir of the Gorgon Clan and grandson of Sean Gorgon. Son of Gretel the Thousand Potion Empress. Accompanied by his dragon, Titus." Rex breathed deeply as he walked into the room, his dragon following him. Unlike everyone in the room, he was not wearing robes with black pants, or a tuxedo. He wore a simple red V-neck with dark grey slim jeans. He also wore a black steel studded shoe with a white and black camouflage design. Finally, he wore a black, hooded jacket, the jacket having red clouds on it. He and his grandfather were the only ones not wearing formal attire of any nature. Rex would have worn something more formal if he had known where they were going. "Being popular makes you feel hot under all the stares," Sean laughed as Rex walked over to him, the musicians in the room playing once more. "Never trust a man in a suit to not have a hidden agenda and never be tempted by a lady in a dress. Panicked thoughts might be running in their heads as only those accompanied by Night Hunters over 200 ever get announced. Well, I''m not bothered by such weak levels. HAHAHAHA!" The room was still silent, save for the music, and all the Night Hunters naturally heard his words. The few Cheat Hunters in the room tried to assess Sean, but were shocked to see that they failed. One could only imagine how powerful Sean Gorgon was. After all, he killed Code Keepers. Not one, but forty nine! He had been in the Night and back more than any other in history. He was the only one fit to be called War God besides his more powerful son who went missing. "Seems to me that fifteen stinking brats tried to assess my stats, even every piece of clothing on my person. Don''t tell me you wish me to paint the walls, ceiling, and floor with your life''s blood?" Sean asked, the musicians stopping their playing once more. "Only the host has the right to that. You fifteen anger me. Here I am, bringing my grandson to the promotion test, and I get assessed by fifteen idiots who think they are even fit enough to assess the soles of my shoes." The room shook as Sean''s spirit energy, both mana and Ki, went wild. None of the people felt the pressure, but fifteen people spit trails of blood into the air and fell to their knees. Blood bled out from their eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth. Everyone was stunned and could only feel helpless in front of such power. Not even the most powerful of clans dared make Sean Gorgon angry. Who knew fifteen idiot Cheat Hunters, who should have known better, dared assess him. "Break!" Sean said darkly, gasps heard throughout the room as the fifteen exploded. "Soul devouring," a man trembled as the Night Hunters saw the bodies turn into white orbs instead of bursting into shadows. Inhumane screams came from each orb as they were sucked into Sean''s mouth by an invisible force. The fifteen Cheat Hunters, as some knew, were rising stars who just broke past level 100. Who knew they would let arrogance into their heart and that it would cost them their lives and souls this night? Many had the power to kill them, but not many dared to do it so openly or risk the wrath of their affiliates. "Some people truly do not have eyes," Sean spat and turned to the musicians. "I apologize for disturbing your music playing. Please continue." "Yes, Esteemed Elder," the conductor bowed as if it were a normal occurrence. "You didn''t throw up. Good. You''re ready," Sean praised as he looked at Rex. "I nearly threw up after killing the zombies last night. This time, it just looks like an explosion of blood. I can manage this much," Rex said. "Although, I don''t think I''ll be able to make any real friends now......Grandpa, those are the three I mentioned were in my class. I''m not sure about Gaoli Qin, but I am positive the two twins were clearly not level 9." "Qin? Oh, then it''s the Qin Clan. They''re a little stronger than the average clan, but existed longer than most. Those two must have been assisted by that Gaoli. If so, the boy must be a valued member of the clan," Sean said. "Oh, seems they have the backbone to approach us. Time to act surprised like you just became Night Hunter yesterday." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "I woke up as one," Rex shrugged as the three walked over, accompanied by the girl he saw yesterday. Two men in their late twenties and an elderly man arrived. Clearly, the two younger men broke past level 100 and regained their youth eternally. "Hello, Esteemed Elder. Hello, Rex," the six greeted. "Hello," Sean and and Rex replied. "I did not expect you to be a Night Hunter, much less the grandson of the War God. No wonder you seemed powerful in class," Gaoli praised, sincere with his words. "Aren''t you three in my guitar class?" he asked. "Now that I think about it, why did everyone avoid you?" "It''s the natural disposition of a Night Hunter," Soji answered. "This is Gaoli Qin, of the Qin Clan. I am Soji Akira and this is my elder twin sister, Suna." "I assume you knew Gary was a Night Hunter? Man, so many near me and I never noticed. Not even my own mom," Rex sighed. "Just be glad you met me, Rex," Sean laughed. "And the identities of the other five? Clearly, only one of the two girls is here to take the promotion test with you two boys." "This is my cousin, Bingbing. She is already past level 10," Gaoli said as he introduced the girl Rex saw last night. "The man behind me with the black hair and beard is my uncle, Gaofeng. His best friend is a Cheat Hunter who also surpassed level 100. He is Kong Hu." "It is an honor to meet the War God and his grandson," Kong and Gaofeng bowed their heads respectively. "Ah, another gamer like me. As expected of the Qin Clan. I''m guessing this Bingbing and Gaoli both awoke the Qin bloodlines?" Sean asked. "Yes, my nephew and daughter were indeed successful. Your grandson?" Gaofeng gestured. "He...is not bad. Not the Gorgon bloodline, so i can"t really say I''m pleased. I trust you won''t say a word to the cowards in the room?" Sean asked. "Of course not," Kong said immediately. Bloodlines were extremely rare and valued. Not only that, Rex not having the Gorgon bloodline would make the people in the room ridicule him. It would incite Sean;s wrath and everyone would die. "Esteemed Elder....these stats your grandson has...." Kong cried shocked as Sean allowed him to assess Rex. "Like I said: not bad. No title either, but not bad," Sean nodded, laughing inwardly as he could see the Ancient Berserker title while ignorant of the Fire Lord title. "Pity he''s a mage and not a warrior or rogue, but he''ll make an excellent battle mage to be sure. Battle mage....are so few Night Hunters ever fight in close quarters and easily die if they cannot escape out of range. Damn shame it is." "Battle mage?" Rex asked. "It is a mage who also fights in close quarters, unlike most mages. The term is more like a description and not at all a class in itself," Sean explained. "I mean, mages can use both Ki and mana. That is something only they can do, unless the Night Hunter uses his eight free, non-active skill slots for magic. Not many do as they won''t bother to raise their spirit stat as there is more efficient ways for magic defense. However, mages learn both magic spells and Ki techniques, no matter the mage promotional class they choose. The most magic spells you''ll see a Night Hunter warrior or rogue use is eight, unless their bloodline grants a magic skill." "Since both health and Ki are tied to stamina, a mage would definitely use Ki techniques. However, a regular Night Hunter cannot distribute his stats like a Cheat Hunter," Rex nodded. "You''re not a Cheat Hunter?" Gaofeng asked. "He is like his mother and not me and my son," Sean sighed, relieved Rex did not say words that did not need to be said. "I raised his level using my own means. I had intended to have him partake in the Save the Hospital quest, but someone completed it." "Yeah, we saw who did," Gaoli nodded, no longer afraid of Sean and acted naturally. "He wore a strange blue mask with three black stones in a pyramid formation where the forehead would be. I didn''t see him use his weapon or magic, but Bingbing recognized witch mana energy outside the hospital. He even used a spell that completely destroyed the roof." "Interesting," Sean said, impressed. "Did you identify him?" "None of them are Cheat Hunters, but I gave my daughter an item that can assess Night Hunters below level 100. However, the Night Hunter''s stats could not be seen. Since the name was also obscured, I believe he is around their level as the quest was restricted to below level 10," Gaofeng answered in his nephew''s stead. "Should we capture him?" "No, not at all. He is interesting. I''d like to see his growth," Sean laughed, the six secretly agreeing not to bother the mysterious Night Hunter. "Is that...a dragon from an item?" Gaoli asked as he stared at the strange looking dragon. "Armor? Dragons never wear armor." "It''s name is Titus," Rex said, the dragon staring up at them. Since its enlargement, it was tall enough to match Rex''s knees in height. "Dragons are cool. Just never saw one like this before," Soji agreed. "It breathes fire?" "No, it breathes ice," Rex said, the six staring at the dragon in surprise. "It must not be a pure blood. Mixed perhaps?" Gaofeng pondered. "Well, dragons are a prideful race and are difficult to raise. However, dragons from items have complete loyalty as they were not stolen from their race within the Night," Kong said. "Also, they don''t die, permanently, unless the owner of the item holding the dragon''s soul dies. It starts out very weak but has the most potential as it can surpass its final form." "Are you prepared for the promotion test?" Bingbing asked the three as the adults moved to the sides of the hall to talk to allow the children and teens to mingle. "No. I just found last night," Rex said, which was true. "What''s it like?" "Well, the fundamental basics of the promotion test is the same: entering the Night. The reason some creatures of the Night only show up on Earth is that they sneaked past the Night Hunters guarding the veil. Night Hunters also invade the territory in the Night, some of us actually born and chose to live there. It is easy to find something to kill there," Bingbing began. "See, the Night Hunters are divided into three main classes. Those classes are mage, warrior, and rogue. They can be promoted to an advanced class, each having ten options. Well, the first promotion is like that. The second promotion test is something you discover yourself," Suna joined in. "The first promotion test only has ten options per class. This is kind of like a skill tree. The next advanced class you become, at level 30, is based on your actions between after the first test and before the second test. Your friend, Gary Hill, is a prime example due to his twisted love of alchemy in regards to elixirs and poisons. Thus, he is a Dark Alchemist and the system gave him the personal quest to be completed in the Night," Soji continued. "Thus, your potential is only limited by the first advanced class you choose and your main class as they are the roots of your foundation on the path of cultivation." "Well, that does not include the eight active and passive skills you choose before level 40. Most only buy skill books, or learn them, after their first promotion test. Some say, the less you get when you awaken and become level 1, the better the chance of learning more skills as they will have less variances between each other. For example, water and healing spells. They have a higher chance of being class skills than summoning and teleportation spells. If you chose a class, and it indicates your water and healing spells are class skills, you can learn eight more active skills as those two are class and not non-class skills," Gaoli agreed. "The only problem is that the temptation to learn powerful skills is great as they are rarely seen or very expensive," Bingbing sighed. "If you are born a Night Hunter, your parents choose the skills based on the limit the system tells them. If you are a Mundane turned Night Hunter, you know the value of learning skills despite the chance they won''t be class skills. Thus, you can''t say being born a Night Hunter, or learning more of the free skills the system gives you as options, is a good or bad thing. The one thing you should do is pick a class that suits you, even if it indicates none of the skills you know will be class skills and count against the queue of eight active and four passive. Knowing that many skills is already amazing, if you know how to use them effectively." "Yeah, kind of like video games. You have to pick the skills and weapons that suit your playing style," Rex understood. "Just wait, the host will return once the hundred and eight test takers arrive with their parents or guardians. Then, he will explain it all and you will take your promotion tests. You, Soji, and Suna will be disadvantaged as you have less experience. Don''t be hasty and think calmly. I''ll wait at the sides with father and the others. Good luck," Bingbing said as she walked away. "So....anyone know where the blueberry muffins are?" Rex asked and the other three could not believe Rex was hungry at a time like this. Chapter 8: Choosing a Path Writer''s Note: Early chapter release tomorrow and a chapter of The Snake Immortal as my midterms are over for now. Again, I wrote this story first so there are more stories but the other one is my main story. Chapter 8: Choosing a Path "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; welcome to Black Water City. I am your humble host, Kevin Gaunt. I am this quarter year''s overseer of the level 10 promotion test. Parents, guardians, and friends of all participants; please enter the golden door to my right. Participants, please enter the golden door to my left. They are portals to the Night, established by many powerful mages of the city. I guarantee its safety. Please," Kevin bowed as the last of the participants arrived. "This is it. Let''s go guys," Gaoli said and Rex and the twins followed the other participants through a gold door that appeared out of thin air. As Rex walked through, he appeared in a large plaza, the escorts of all the participants appearing before seats that faced a single direction: a giant plasma screen as tall and wide as a three story apartment complex. Servers also appeared, offering food and refreshments to the people in the stands. The one hundred and eight participants gazed around, a few not surprised as they had seen their elder siblings take the test and knew the common procedures. "Ten moons?" Rex asked, puzzled as he saw nine different moons. Some were crescent moons, half-moons, waning moons, waxing moons, and only one was a full moon. "Yup. The skies of the Night are boundless. If you can fly, you''ll discover its like outer space: endless. However, this world is in a perpetual state, as if it never rotates. The moons never change or shift in the sky," Gaoli explained. "Many non-Cheat Hunters benefit the most as we cultivate spirit energy, be it mana or Ki. On Earth, we have to rely on our bodies to produce it. Thus, cultivation is slower. You are not permitted to enter the Night below level 9. Unless you are born in the Night, you have to wait to level 9 to transfer from the Earth to the Night," Soji said. "Very few cities exist in the Night as they constantly bombarded by creatures of the Night. Legend has it, three of the ultimate weapons of power are in the mountain range, beneath it, or in the mountain range''s gorge up ahead. Some people said the Hammer of Earth was found, verifying truth to the rumor. It wasn''t until the Claw of Blood was found that people believed," Suna said with awe. "Do you know how many were found?" Rex asked. "Well, my uncle was really surprised the sunset before last night. The Weapon of Flame had chosen a master, making it the seventh to be found. I don;t know how my uncle knew, but he received a message and fell to his knees in shock. The four others are the Fan of Wind, Axe of Wood, Dagger of Poison, and Trident of Water. No one can own two ultimate weapons of power," Gaoli said, seeing the confused look on Rex''s face and continued. "See, the Lord of Wind did not like that his weapon was a fan. He killed the Lord of Wood, but mysteriously exploded as he bound the axe. The explosion made a crater ten miles in diameter. My unclesays the Code Keepers found the Axe of Wood, but the Fan of Wind was missing. No one knows who took it." "So everyone knows about them," Rex said as the three knew so much. "Of course. Everyone wants one. That''s also why Black Water City is so popular and respected. The veil to the Night actually leads to those mountains. According to the rumors, the third weapon is said to be the Staff of Light. However, the Weapon of Flame could be a staff but the rumors all say it is the Weapon of Light for certain. I certainly hope it is not a staff or scepter as I am no mage. See, those weapons can''t be the same as another. If one is a sword, the other twelve cannot be. Don''t know why though," Gaoli shrugged. "The weapon just has to match the element. I think it will be a spear, if it''s not a staff. Light is a radiant, elegant element. Only a staff or spear would match that description." "Of course, there are other treasures in the mountain range. You just have to survive and it is restricted to level 9 Night Hunters by the system. If you do find the ultimate weapon of power there, you will be hounded by everyone here once you bind it," Soji warned, looking at Suna and Rex. "Don''t worry. I have no interest in light spirit arts, be it magic spells or Ki techniques," Rex shrugged. He couldn''t bind it either as he already has the Staff of Flame. He just hoped to get his promotion, reach level 10, and find a magic armor or item in the mountain. "Before I begin, I will send these participants into a pocket dimension. There, they will be divided into their main classes and choose which advanced class they wish to be. Participants, I must warn you that the mountains are not without its dangers. Going beneath it, or into the gorge, will have higher numbers of enemies with many of them at level nine or even 10. Good luck and may your hunt reap favorable rewards," Kevin said, the plaza floor shining a golden light beneath the participants. "Later guys. Good luck and let''s not kill each other on the mountain range. Try not to go to the mountain gorge as most people go missing and are presumed dead," Gaoli waved before they all disappeared. "Well, that''s certainly encouraging," Rex muttered and looked around as he appeared in a pure white room with white tiled floors and ceiling. He looked around and saw no one. He looked above and saw strange, white crystals that seemed to illuminate the room. He decided to follow them and kept walking, never tiring as he was a Cheat Hunter. *Ding*
System Announcement
You have entered the Sage Room dungeon You have decided to take the promotion test and must choose one of ten mage paths. Some cross with another or not at all. As a mage, you have access to both pools of spirit energy: Ki and mana. Your path will cross both the rogue and warrior path, depending on how you develop in the future. Meet the ten sages created by the system since the beginning of time and choose your path. Dungeon effects Cannot sustain damage. Enhanced 100% health, Ki, and mana regeneration. You feel a connection to a mysterious energy in the dungeon.
"I entered a dungeon! Sweet!" Rex grinned and started to run further, using the glowing crystals to guide his direction. Sometimes, they changed direction for miles or after a few yards. Finally, he saw the end and ten old men stood in a line before him, each containing an ancient aura that was both oppressive and peaceful. Ten white boxes appeared before him, similar to when he had to pick his four active and single passive skill upon awakening at level 1. *Ding* White Mage: A mage that walks the path of peace and healing. Specializing in light and water magic, even curses can be healed by them. If evil stands in their way, they summon ancient beings to fight beside them. Class gives unique right to wield maces, granting the mage the ability to wield a fourth kind of weapon. The ultimate mage of healing, no other mage can learn legendary tier healing spells but those who walk the path of the white mage. Necromancer: A mage that walks the veil between life and death, morality cast aside to harness the power of the dead and bend it to his will. Dark rituals and undead summons strike terror into their enemies. Death, blood, and poison magic are their specialty. His army is as powerful as the mana he supplies them. A mage with the highest potential to be a one-man army. Mage Hunter: A mage that specializes in hunting other mages. Able to use any and all weapons, augmenting them with his magic to levels higher than others. He uses life magic to track them and void magic to slay them. Nothing can stop this mage from killing his targets, not even warriors and rogues. A mage that uses augmentation and enchanted spells more than attack and defense magic. Has the highest defense against all types of magic. Summoner: A mage that never fights alone. Why fight with warriors and rogues when you can summon creatures and elementals. This mage stands alone and calls upon the thirteen elements to summon far more powerful creatures than the mage. Has the highest elemental resistance than any other mage. A mage on a quest to summon all thirteen types of elementals and prove his dominance over the elements. Red Mage: A mage that does not specialize in any type of combat and uses all kinds of spells. The ultimate jack-of-all-trades mage and is the only one who can wield two scepters or staffs at once. A rare advanced class mage that have the potential to be the most powerful or the weakest mage. Does not shirk from learning even the darkest and evil of magic in their pursuit of learning them all. Druid: A mage that walks the path of being one with nature itself. The wood element is his main specialty and is able to turn even a desert into a jungle, forest, or swamp. The earth and water elements call to him, augmenting his wood magic higher than all others. Due to his connection to nature, has absolute immunity against wood, water, and earth magic or Ki techniques. He is the champion of nature and animals are friendly to him. Black Mage: A mage who specializes in destruction magic. They are mages that pursue power, good and evil seen only as blinded connotations made by others. This mage is more prone to evil and pursues the most ancient of magic to conquer all others. The hardest and least tread path, unable to learn any further healing spells. Make a pact with an ancient creature forgotten by time and conquer all! Time Mage: A mage specialized in learning magic to manipulate time. The world slows or freezes around you as you wield your magic. Unable to learn the thirteen element magics further, your time and space magic are unbelievably superior to others. Teleportation is part of your nature, enabling you to teleport without any mana cost and even in restricted or locked dungeons. The ultimate escape artist and control mage. You are the bane of all warriors. Illusionist: A mage who copies the magic of others. This mage can learn the common and uncommon spells of his enemies, using them at half the power and effect. Illusions are your specialty and your defense is also the weakest. You rely on your wit to control the enemy, even manipulating their minds with your illusion magic. You are the ultimate mage on battlefields and you specialize in fighting against many instead of one. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.Shaman: A mage who uses talismans with his weapon to attack his foes. You are the bane of all creatures of the Night, any spell you make doing ten times the damage against them. Through your talismans, you use support items capable a wide variety of effects akin to all schools of magic. You specialize in fighting from a distance and have the largest mana pool among all mages. Shaman and illusionist were both classes he had no interest in. He would rather control minds then manipulate them. If he became a shaman, he would become too dependent on talismans. Time mages were a good choice but he would not be able to learn more elemental spells and time magic could be bought in the black market. The reason to not be a summoner was the same as being a shaman: too much dependence on a single way of fighting. He was no saint and had no desires to be a white mage. The eight active and four passive, non-class skill options were the same as being a red mage, but allowed specialization. Thus, he closed those six boxes and turned his attention to the remaining four. Now, his ideal options were to be a necromancer, mage hunter black mage, or druid. The more he thought about it, the less he liked mage hunter. While it did remove the weapon restrictions, the description said he would only learn augmentation and enchantment magic. He also had the Staff of Flame, the staff using the very elemental weakness of wood. He could not be a druid either. His last two choices were to be a black mage or a necromancer. He contemplated the pros and cons of both advanced classes. The choice he made would be like a tree''s trunk and roots: the base for which the branches will grow and eventually sprout more branches. His potential would be both locked and unlocked by the choice he made. Being a necromancer sounded cool, but he would already be restricted based on the descriptions of the class. It was too detailed, too eye-catching. The first advanced class should be broad to allow more development and possibilities. If he chose to be a necromancer, how far would he be able to go? Most necromancers in many games had similar characteristics and weaknesses. The black mage description told about pursuit to power, even ancient magic; but the only restriction was no more healing spells. He already had one, Life Drain, and it could evolve to an even more potent spell. Thus, he closed all the options but the black mage. *Ding*
You have chosen Black Mage
Do you wish to accept? Not accepting will reopen all closed boxes, but the black mage option will be lost. Do you wish to walk the path of a black mage? YES/NO
"Ah, so another Night Hunter wishes to walk the path of a black mage," one of the ten sages smiled, the others turning into ash and faded into nothingness as Rex clicked on the ''YES'' option. "Your path is dangerous and inconceivable. You pursue even the most ancient of magic and cast aside the school of healing magic. Allow me to tell you the origins of the black mage. It all started with a man named Magnus. He was a bright lad, talented in magic and very studious. He was the hope of his clan. However, humanity began to classify magic and create all sorts of heretical religions They began to separate magic into what they thought was good and evil. Magnus refused to conform to the changing society and continued his magic studies in secret, learning magic that was good, evil, or both. One day, he made a thesis. This thesis was on the concept of immortality. His idea was brilliant, centuries ahead of the rest of the world. Some thought of him as a fanatic, fearful of the change he introduced. At his time, the other nine classes had been made. The various religions sent assassins to kill Magnus. Magnus refused to die and made an accidental discovery while performing a ritual. He made a pact with an ancient being, gaining power beyond that which he possessed. He had become the first black mage in history. He disappeared one day, taking all his research with him. Now, you walk that path as I did." "You are Magnus?" Rex cried, shocked. "If so, what is the system? Didn''t the system make you?" "Yes, I am Magnus. As for your your latter two questions, you must discover the truth for yourself. You are now a black mage. You must complete the promotion test or perish. Your test is the simplest and the most difficult of all mage paths. You must head deep in the gorge of the mountain range. In there, there is a gateway of sorts. Enter that gateway and make your pact," the sage smiled. "You have two skills that are class skills. They are Meteor and Witch Fire. Thus, you can learn three more non-class passive skills and six more non-class active skills. You will be granted two active and one passive skill which will help you survive your unique black mage promotion test. All black mages know this skill, but not many even survive the first promotion test. Good luck, young black mage." *Ding* Shadow Ball: Costs 40 mana per shadow ball. Create an orb of shadows that explodes with condensed dark spirit energy. Can multi-cast the spell. Rank: uncommon class-restricted. Yin Yang Gate: Costs a quarter of total mana and Ki. Create a giant gate with the light, darkness, life, and death elements that opens to reveal your soul''s true form. A vortex rivaling a black hole pulls and rips apart your enemies only to be devoured by your very soul. There is no good without evil. No light without shadow. Gain +1 of highest enemy stat upon kill. Mage will not disintegrate upon entering a black hole after learning this skill. Cool down: two hours. Rank: legendary class-restricted. Soul: World-Eater Bear. Timeless Eyes: Passive skill. Your irises turn into glowing grey, and your pupils are changed to appear as an infinity loop. Color of irises differ for each black mage. Grants instant regeneration but does not recover health points. Coverts 5% magic damage to mana. Unlocks ability to learn ancient magic. Enables ability to survive a pact with an ancient being. Rank: unique class-restricted. *Ding*
System Update
Unlocked quest: Black Mage Initiation You have chosen to take the promotion test for black mages. You will be unable to learn the class-restricted only legendary skills of the other mage classes, rogues, and warriors. Class-restricted skills cannot be learned by any class, unlike most other skills like Meteor or Mana Barrier. Go to the mountain gorge and find the gateway. Enter the gateway and make a pact with an ancient being. For every level, you gain an additional 2 stat points. The additional stat points cannot be distributed and increase the spirit and stamina stat by +1. Class restricted skills do not evolve like ordinary class and non-class skills. Class-restricted skills gain more power as mage levels up. Quest Rewards Level up to level 10. +1 spirit energy storage belt. Can reserve as much mana and Ki as stored in belt. Gain $20,000. +2 additional level ups.
"Since I am a Cheat Hunter, I can still distribute the three stats. Still, I learned 3 class-restricted spells. This is awesome. Meteor and Witch Fire are class skills, so I can learn six more active skills instead of four," Rex grinned, very satisfied. "Still, that black hole description and my eyes....wait...does Magnus also have the passive skill?" Rex stared at Magnus, the sage grinning as Rex took a closer look. Sure enough, the pupils were changed into the shape of an infinity loop, the insides of the loops black as night. Nonetheless, he did not regret choosing to be a black mage. "Now, you will return to the Night. We might never meet again, but I will be anticipating your progress. Before the gateway is a guardian. You can come up with a method to avoid the guardian, but it is best to kill it and gain its artifact. It will grant you a spell, but also grants an effect that is vital to determine whether or not you succeed the quest. Farewell, Rex Cerberus Valentine. Your dragon, Titus, will be at the site of your arrival. It is a good dragon," Magnus smiled and Rex''s vision went dark. When Rex''s vision returned, he saw his dragon stare at him happily as he gazed at his surroundings. He was at the foot of the mountain range, other participants appearing soon after. Some had already made their way into the mountain range. Gaoli, Soji, and Suna waved as they finally saw Rex. "Dude, what took you so long?" Soji asked. "He just became a Night Hunter yesterday. Of course he would not know about the ten mage classes. It must have been hard to choose," Gaoli said, nodding his head with sympathy. "I hoped you picked a rather broad class." "Those eyes....I don''t remember seeing many mages with that," Suna said as she noticed his eyes were now a bright grey with bizarre pupils. "No way....you chose to be a black mage?"Gaoli cried, stunned as Rex nodded. "That''s the hardest advanced mage class to be! Most people die because they failed. I mean, sure, you learn the class-restricted legendary skill before any other class. Still, it''s that way for a reason!" "He didn''t know the exact specifics, remember?" Suna sighed. "So, where are you going? The rest of us have to head beneath the mountain range." "I....have to enter the gorge," Rex said. "Okay. You''re dead," Soji said. "Soji!" Suna snapped. "What? Nee-chan, many people die in the gorge if their promotion test requires it. He even has the hardest mage promotion test. He probably has to go deep, way deep, in the gorge. He''s gonna die," Soji shook his head. "Remember who his grandfather is? Sean the War God? I''m sure Rex got something to help him," Gaoli said. "No. Not to survive the quest," Rex said as the black diamond did not have any amazing effects besides cloaking his magical items to make them seem like ordinary items, or making them undetectable altogether. "So it''s just you and your dragon? Okay, I agree with Soji. You might really die. Good luck," Gaoli said as he pat Rex on the shoulder. "It''s been fun." "Good luck. Hope we all survive," Suna and Soji said as they followed Gaoli into the mountain range. "Well, looks like it is just me and you now, Titus," Rex said as he looked at his dragon and headed into the mountains. Chapter 9: Demons of the Mountain Writer''s Note: Happy Halloween! Chapter 9: Demons of the Mountain Rex walked on the black road leading deep into the mountain range. All round him were skeletons of various humans and creatures as he walked into a tunnel. As he walked, he saw chalk carvings on the walls. Those were made by Night Hunters. Some had warnings while others had messages similar to a will. All of them said to avoid the gorge. Rex narrowed his eyes as he saw a glint and immediately ducked. A projectile sped past where his head had been, impaling the walls. As he walked out the tunnel, his eyes widened in surprise. What attacked him was another Night Hunter. The Night Hunter, startled to discovered he had missed, quickly loaded his crossbow. However, it was easier to nock another arrow and Rex already cast Shadow Ball three times. Three giant orbs of darkness soared to the Night Hunter, exploding on impact. As he took the storage ring from the body, his dragon cried out. He turned and two arrows impaled his chest. "HAHA! We got him," a voice rejoiced and two men walked over, ignoring the dragon. As soon as he could hear their breathing, Rex used his Witch Fire spell to create a tornado of fire, him being in the center. The two men screamed as they were caught in the fire and shortly became as ash. Rex had been prepared as some of the wills on the wall of the tunnel contained warnings and grudges of people who killed others for their items. Rex pulled out the arrows, the wound quickly regenerating. As for his health points, those took longer to recover. "Not bad. You killed Carson, Carter, and Robert. Rogues....can''t win if they are discovered. Don''t think that I am like them. I am a warrior!" a giant man cried as he pulled out two swords, hacking them at Rex. "Titus," Rex said, the dragon shortly releasing a ball of ice that exploded on the man''s arms as he crossed his swords to block it. "That''s cheating!" the man roared as Rex smashed the swords into pieces with his staff. "That''s life," Rex said and used his Ki Blast technique, blowing a giant hole in the man''s chest due to the difference in strength. "Gotta think like it''s a game, Rex. They''re just annoying PKs. Killing them means nothing. It means nothing." As he picked up the man''s storage ring, he put it on his right index finger. "Okay. I''ll change the Thief King''s Last Laugh diamond to disguise my storage tattoo as a regular tattoo. Then, I''ll just keep the money and all the valuable stuff I have it in that while putting whatever I find into this guy''s storage ring. Now, I don''t have to worry about any thieving attempts. Hmm....these guys killed a few Night Hunters. There''s a couple hundred in these four rings. I''m a Cheat Hunter and have no need for spirit pills for cultivation. Bunch of useless stuff.....some food and spare clothes my size. That''s good. Titus, you can eat the bodies." The dragon roared happily and started with the leader, tearing the chest apart to reveal the organs and blood inside. The dragon also leveled by eating the flesh and blood of the people and creatures he kills. He didn''t want to bother himself with burying such trash anyway. When Titus had enough meat, Rex used Witch Fire to burn the bodies into ash. As he sat down, his health, mana, and Ki recovered faster and left the area as soon as it reached the maximum. Unfortunately, he received no experience points as his experience bar locked at level 9. However, that was not necessarily a bad thing. There was no time limit to the quest and he could gain a lot more experience. His skill mastery still increased and Rex began to hunt for other Night Hunter killers as he had not encountered any creatures of the Night yet. He killed many, but only those who attacked him first. He got used to killing but got used to it as they left no bodies if he and his dragon decided to stop attacking the corpse. His dragon would eat a few Night Hunters before Rex ordered it to stop and watched the bodies vanish into the Void. First he sorted out the skills he had. First, he thought of the skills that and were not counted by the system''s skill restrictions. His class skills were Shadow Ball, Witch Fire, Yin Yang Gate, Meteor, and the passive Timeless Eyes. Witch Fire and Meteor were not class-restricted skills and could still increase in skill mastery or be bought on the black market. He also had the item skill Summon: Freak Dragon that leveled through Titus''s actions like fighting or eating. He had three bloodline skills, one of them passive while one could be bought and had skill mastery. That skill was Mana Barrier and the passive skill was Divine Bear''s Blessing. The third skill was Celestial Avatar and he also got a helmet that gave him the unique skill: Bear King''s Roar. Finally, there was the three skills that were counted under the system restrictions of the ability to learn 8 non-class active and 4 non-class passive skills. The lone passive skill he learned was Prey Instincts while the two active skills were Life Drain and Ki Blast. He wore the Fearsome Helmet and his white dragon medallion under the hide option. He also put on the Mask of Illusion, discovering his body was not covered in shadows or hide his status if he wore it under the hide option. The main reason he wore it was because of the immunity to illusion and the ability to click the hide option to materialize the mask and immediately assume his alias in the event that he needed to. He had three current goals on the mountain. The first was obviously the quest. The second reason was to gain combat experience and the last reason was to collect magical items from other Night Hunters. The mountain range was like a player killer zone, the Night Hunters able to kill each other without consequence. It was a very dangerous and lucrative area as you collect all the items the body had painstakingly earned or stole through its life. Rex had plenty of mana and spells. Thus, he decided to collect skill books containing Ki techniques. His mage class would not learn Ki techniques so finding skill books using Ki techniques was imperative to take advantage of his Ki pool. He already had wisps of indigo cerulean and purple follow float around him and now an invisible, globular sphere protected him. It was Mana Barrier. Why? He discovered his mana regeneration exceeded the sustained mana consumption of Mana Barrier both in and out of combat. With Prey Instinct, he could dodge quite easily if he had the agility. Defense wise, he was satisfied, especially with the physical regeneration of Timeless Eyes despite no health regeneration effect. He also desired to learn another school of element magic, besides fire and darkness, as he already had Shadow Ball and Witch Fire. The first spell could be multi-cast while the second spell could be manipulated at will. Such skills were imperative in many games as they would be the core of your arsenal, the stronger skills saved for higher dangers. He could not afford to use Celestial Avatar or Meteor. Both were legendary skills, but black mages learning Yin Yang Gate from the beginning was public knowledge because it was so difficult to survive their promotion tests. He could use Meteor under as his alias, but definitely not Celestial Avatar. Thus, he needed Ki techniques, another element magic with low mana costs, and a finishing skill that he did not need to hide. He also desired to learn teleportation and crowd control spells. Teleportation spoke for itself, but he needed crowd control spells to change the battlefield to his advantage. That was how he survived playing as a, PKK, player killer killer, and became one of the most hated and hunted players in online games. Killing PKs, player killers, did not make you wanted by the game''s cities or towns and you could loot the bodies of the PKs without worry. You could also gain bounty rewards for killing PKs. The only risk was them ganging up to kill you. Thus, you needed a wide variety of skills to survive in the game. Rex never thought he would apply those same means of thinking into real life. His life became the ultimate video game, but with death resulting in a permanent game over. No respawn. No level deduction or experience loss upon revives. There was only death, the Void for Night Hunters. Rex widened his eyes as his thoughts were disturbed with a system box. It said that Sean Gorgon wanted to add him onto his friend list. Rex immediately accepted and shortly heard Sean''s voice in his head. However, the discovery that truly shocked him was that his grandfather was level 300. "L, level 300?" Rex cried. "Hello, Rex. Yeah, I''m level 300. I am at the max level, like the ten sages you met," Sean affirmed. "What? How did you know that?" Rex asked. "I saw it on the monitor. It always shows the most interesting things but changes if the scene pertains to the Night Hunter''s quest with the exception of the ten sages. I chose to be a necromancer myself. Pretty sure I''m the only one who ever passed level 200. Of course, I''m a Cheat Hunter so I can distribute my three stats minus the two class awarded stat points," Sean laughed. "What is the system?" Rex asked. "It...you''ll find out when you surpass level 200. Let''s just say, reading xianxia novels will explain the system a bit. I can''t say what the system is, but we live in the Mortal Realm. That''s all the system permits me to say," Sean sighed. "Yup. There''s the system announcement warning me to not say anything further or it''ll kill us both." "So it''s like a xianxia novel but in modern Earth?" Rex asked, shocked. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Well, the Night isn''t Earth but yes. You''re a smart lad. You should know which skills to use and which not to. Oh, and you can communicate with your thoughts. Don''t want others to hear what we say if you ask me a question and we see you in the monitor," Sean warned. "Thank you. Can you tell me if I am heading in the right direction?" he asked, kind of awed as it was like telepathy. "Yes. There should be a fork in the road a mile ahead. The right path goes underground. The left path leads to a cliff, the gorge down below. Be careful. The creatures of the Night, based on what I am seeing, are demons. They killed all the creatures of the Night outside the area around the gorge. Many Night Hunters died already. Good luck," Sean said and a speaker icon vanished. "First vampires, then humans, and now demons. This is already the third species I am killing," Rex sighed as he ordered his dragon to walk ahead. They took the left fork and arrived at the edge of a cliff a half hour later. Along the way, Rex had killed many more Night Hunters and took their storage rings. He definitely benefited from killing all the Night Hunters instead of letting them live. Otherwise, he would not be able to loot their storage rings if it was bound to them. "This is it. Might as well drop all the way to the bottom. I have my barrier and I can manipulate my Witch Fire to make wings," Rex said, creating purple fire wings and flew down the gorge, his vision illuminated by his wings and wisps of energy. Maintaining the wings strained his mana and he spent about a fifth of his total mana by the time he landed on the ground. All of a sudden, areas of white appeared in his vision due to the Prey Instincts effect. Looking up and around himself, he saw countless demons around him. They had absolutely no eyes, their bodies a paler white than snow. They had a tiger''s body, scorpion tail with a crescent moon stinger, mandibles, and crab like claws. They all stared at him as they heard his feet step on the ground. Titus was already stored in the Freak Dragon Ring and Rex felt as if taking the dragon out would only serve to kill it meaninglessly. "Human! KILL!" the demons roared and descended on him like a pack of wolves. They were all level 8 and 9, Rex''s barrier quickly shattering as hundreds of claws tore through it. Rex would hastily dodge areas of white, seeing their claws miss as he used Ki Blast repeatedly. He slammed his staff into the ground, creating a whirlpool of fire around himself. However, the demons mindlessly ran into it. He killed many, items clinking as they dropped onto the ground. However, Rex could not be bothered to pick them up. He also created Shadow Balls, destroying many demons if they clustered together. A hand would be cut off, his legs would be scarred, and his body would suffer many bruises. While his body regenerated, his health depleted. His strength stat was 50 (48) and his stamina was 38 (34), extremely high for his level. It was because of his bloodline that he still had health after being hit so many times. As he killed, he also recovered health, mana, and Ki. Because of his skills, equipment, and bloodline; he was able to survive this far where others had died horribly. "Fuck it! Yin Yang Gate, open!" Rex screamed, a quarter of his total mana and the little over quarter total Ki he had left consumed at once. His chest shined a brilliant white and black, a gate appearing over his head with gold chains protruding from his chest and across the gate. As the gate opened, the gold chains were pulled and a powerful vortex appeared. The demons shrieked as they were pulled and ripped apart in the hundreds. After two seconds, a massive brown bear paw appeared from the gate, grabbing around three dozen and forcibly pulled them into the gate. A heart wrenching crunch was heard beyond the gate, power swelling to the gates and transferred to Rex via the chains. *Ding*
System Announcement
Skill Adjustment Made Due to unprecedented numbers of demons being absorbed, the skill is adjusted so that only 1 stat of the strongest stat of any life form eaten by the true form of your soul will be added. A maximum of 9 stats for each category will be available per use of skill. To compensate for the update, Rex cannot be harmed until the skill ends and recovers all health, mana, and Ki. Demons absorbed: 1,034 Demons eaten: 36 Possible stats awarded without adjustment: 1,070 Demons eaten, with the highest stat being SPR, exceeded maximum of nine. Stats awarded after adjustment: 24 All items dropped in battle were absorbed by the vortex. Stats Awarded +3 STR +7 AGI +9 SPR +5 STA
*Ding*
System Announcement
Awarded title: Thousand Soul Eater Fighting a horde of demons and using the Yin Yang Gate is either stupid or brilliant. Against all odds, you devoured over a thousand souls in a single battle. Your feat is beyond miraculous and exceeds the definition of evil itself. Due to eating so many demonic souls, your body is affected and you grow two, tiny, black devil horns on your head. All demons and devils will fear or respect you, even if they try to kill you. Cannot determine who is more cold blooded between you or the souls you devoured. Title Effects Learned: Freezing Devil''s Claw. Gained one devil artifact. Damage against demons +15%. Damage against devils: +10%. Damage by demons and devils reduced: 10%. Comprehension of demon and devil languages: 100%.
*Ding* Freezing Devil''s Claw: Costs 20 mana per cast. Cover your arm and hand to form a devilish claw made of ice. Enables the mage to shape and create ice into any shape. Restricted to devils or those with devil blood. Rank: not applicable. "This is robbery!" Rex shouted, as he could have gained so many stats and could have had godlike stats. Even the items were absorbed and destroyed by his skill. Still, he gained a skill most other Night Hunters could not learn, unless they gained devil blood as well.
System Announcement
Received: Ink Qilin Neidan You have received a mysterious neidan taken from the body of an ancient qilin. It forcibly changes your spirit energy into an incredibly powerful force. Your spirit energy cannot be sealed. Taken by the system of a devil of unknown origin. It is unclear what ritual the devil was about to perform, but it will seek you out to kill you. Now an ancient, powerful devil and the current Witch King wants you dead. You have an easy time making powerful archenemies. Forcibly equipped and cannot be taken from your body while you live. The soul of the qilin thanks you for saving it. Perhaps its true power will be unlocked someday. Item effects Spirit energy cannot be sealed. Cannot be unequipped. Restriction: Rex Cerberus Valentine. All other effects locked.
"If you think you are over-powered, you''re right and wrong. Many Night Hunters of powerful clans and organizations have better focused stats, items, and equipment than you, like that Gaoli boy. Your only advantage is your variety of skills, which you have many that are enviable. You also level faster than they do and can distribute your stats to avoid being weak in either category. You must realize by now that we saw all this happen as you have not walked through the gateway yet. We can''t see the system boxes, but there are many who think their participants are superior with the items they gave them. Those types of people rely too much on others to grow. You, your mom, Hansel, and I don''t. The screen is shifting to a large scale battle now that your fight is over. Hurry and enter the gateway before you attract more attention to yourself," Sean''s voice rang in his head. "Here I am, thinking I was doing alright and I learn there are those with even crazier stats than mine. Even though all their stats can''t be higher than mine, it''s still not fair. Still, I feel the power," Rex said as ink black spirit energy burst from his body. Whatever demons remained in the gorge area around him, they immediately fled as they sensed the ancient spirit energy of a qilin mix and fuse with Rex''s own spirit energy. Rex summoned Titus out of the ring, destroying the legs of some escaping demons with Shadow Ball. He let the dragon feast and feast until he was bored and proceeded deeper into the gorge. As if staring down from the Heavens, Magnus watched Rex''s progress. He was satisfied and surprised that Rex thought to use his legendary skill at the gorge. The red energy within Rex, the sage clearly knew who and what it belonged to. Lionel had stolen it, transferring it into Rex before he died. Once Rex made a pact with the owner of that energy, it would become a golden red and Rex would be qualified to be a black mage. "Soon, one of the Ancients will awaken. Cheat Hunters certainly are interesting anomalies. They are the only ones who are not disadvantaged against Night Hunters with powerful affiliations, but become strong through their own results and actions. Hurry up Rex. Succeed so that more Night Hunters choose to be black mages. Our numbers are just too few," Magnus said as he gazed upon Rex and his dragon. Chapter 10: The Price of the Pact Writer''s Note: Both this story and The Snake Immortal come out on different days and released every two or three days. I try to keep to that time span as I balance college, leisure time, and writing. Have fun. Chapter 10: The Price of the Pact "It seems five people made it to the gorge," Kong noted. "One of them is your grandson. You are very blessed," Gaofeng said to Sean. "I would be, if he did not become a black mage," Sean said silently. "I...can''t bear to tell him the truth of his decision." "Is it that bad?" Gaofeng asked and turned to Kong, who was a mage. "Do you know the effect of the Yin Yang Gate?" Kong began. "Yeah. We saw it just now. Why?" Gaofeng frowned. "There is a secret black mages never tell anyone about the Yin Yang Gate. It is the effect of not disintegrating within a black hole," Kong said. "Isn''t that a good thing?" Gaofeng asked, confused even more. "Do you not know what a black hole is? No one has ever ventured into one and returned. Even Mundane believe in that. Once you go in, you cannot come out as you were before. Why do you think the War God is disturbed? All black mages have to enter a gateway to make a pact. That gateway is a black hole," Kong explained, stunning Gaofeng. "Eh? Then....why are there even black mages? What about the first black mage, Magnus the Dark Sage?" Gaofeng asked. "He indeed entered a black hole and came to this reality," Kong answered, Sean nodding silently. "This reality....impossible! You can''t possibly be suggesting.... but how?" Gaofeng cried. "A black mage will enter our reality, but it won''t be the same person who went in," Sean said. "In fact, his soul and body are split into two, one returning here while the other leaves to a new reality. The Rex that returns might not be the same Rex we met. I...am enduring this to tell my daughter how her son fared. However, the system forbids all knowledge of any promotion test to be told to the children until they pass the first. If you had another child, and he or she was a mage; you are also forbidden from telling the truth and will sit where I am now. My grandson remains, but he might not be our reality''s Rex. If so, we will never recover the old memories, but we can still make new ones." "This...is too cruel," Gaofeng said sadly. "None of the warrior promotion tests have this kind of price." "Warriors are aplenty and rogues are uncommon. However, mages are rare due to their power and must make as rare a sacrifice for it," Sean said. "Maybe we''ll meet again in the Immortal Realm. I...have no news of my only son and he is presumed dead by many. My relationship with my daughter is strained, tolerated because of Rex. Since he is leaving this reality, I can only choose to ascend and hope to see him once more. He is the only blood I have that cares for me." "You are level 300?" Kong and Gaofeng whispered in awe? "Wait, there must be people at level 250 or higher at the banquet hall. How can they not see you?" "Level 300 is the apex. Not even those at level 299 can inspect my status," Sean said. "Rex, I can only pray that you are the one who returns. I have done poorly as a father. Please allow me to make amends by being a better grandfather. I can only leave behind so many things for Sarah and Gretel. Well, Mary now. My time for ascension is in twelve years. If you have truly failed, let us both survive until we meet again," Sean thought sadly as the screen displayed four people who met with surprise on their faces. Unaware of the complicated feelings of his grandfather, Rex was surprised to see five others in the gorge. Those five others were more shocked and terrified than surprised. While they took the same path Rex did in the beginning, they proceeded into the gorge through the the right fork path. It took them an extra two hours, but it was less dangerous than directly going down the gorge. Their clans had told them of the demon horde living there, but they still couldn''t believe someone survived until they saw Rex appear. "You....took the left fork''s path?" one of the five gasped. "Yeah. I had no idea it would be so dangerous," Rex nodded. "Why are you five in the gorge?" "We need to kill a certain magical beast in the gorge. It always guards a more powerful magical beast that guards something. My clan said the beast was spotted chasing other participants and is separated from the leader. Now, we can kill the magical beast but we''re afraid the leader will assist and save it. I brought my four friends to help me kill it, but we can''t kill them both," a blonde haired kid said. "Did you say the leader guards something?" Rex inquired. "Yes! Could it be that that magical beast is your target? Since you survived the demon horde, you can attack the leader and we can ensure both are targets don''t team up," the blonde kid cheered. "You trust him?" a red haired girl asked. "He''s the grandson of the War God, remember? He would not stoop so low as to attack us behind our backs. He also survived the demon horde! We can trust him to stop the other one from ambushing us. Besides, the four of us already completed our promotion test and just need to go back," another blonde haired kid grinned. "Rex, right? On behalf of me and my cousin, I ask you to comply and ask for your aid." "My name is Michael and I know we can both succeed our quests," the first blonde boy said, extending his hand for a handshake. "It might be my target and fighting both might be a problem if they are as powerful as you claim. Very well, let''s help each other out," Rex nodded and they shook hands. "Whew," a brown haired girl and black haired boy sighed with relief. "So glad he''s not one of those guys who target others," the other blonde boy nodded in agreement. "Name''s Gabriel. I''m Michael''s cousin. You must be a mage, by the staff you carry. Must be some class for you to be down here. Most mages, at most, have to go beneath the mountain and not enter its heart." "No time to get friendly. We don''t know when the magical beast will catch and finish eating those groups of participants. Rex, our uncle is a Cheat Hunter and so is Gabriel. Right now, a lion and ram hybrid magical beast is chasing ten others, already eating five. The guardians and relatives are all watching their chase right now. We need to move. MY target will finish and start heading back soon. Follow us for your target," Michael said. "Right. Let''s go Titus," Rex said and the two followed the five other Night Hunters. After twenty minutes of running, Rex separated from the other five and proceeding down an opening to the right. Michael wished him luck and warned him to be wary of the flames of the magical beast. "Fire?" Rex laughed inwardly as he waved them goodbye. He was the Fire Lord, immune to fire and burning damage. His only worry was else the magical beast could do. Rex proceeded further in and arrived in a beautiful hidden cavern with lots of plants growing beneath a ceiling of crystals that shined a warm feeling cluster of green crystals. "Is that the magical beast? It seems, too peaceful for a creature of the Night," Rex said as he gazed upon a cute looking giant tiger with a gold horn and golden claws. However, the peaceful scene changed as the tiger smelled him, a blood red aura rising from its body. It was exhuming its killing intent, actually forming it into an aura. It had to have killed dozens or hundreds of humans or other creatures of the Night. It looked at him with rage and roared, leaping at him with its paws covered in fire. Due to Prey''s Instincts, Rex could see where the attack targeted and relied on his agility to maneuver out of the way. The tiger missed and its paws made small cracks on the ground. As it turned to face him, Rex fired three Shadow Balls into its right flank. The orbs of darkness exploded and pushed the tiger, only serving to infuriate it more than harm it. "That''s strange. Inspect," Rex said. *Ding*
Inspection Completed
You encountered a Gold Horned Tiger This tiger is blessed with affinity to light and fire. Darkness, the main magic of black mages, does not harm it and only furthers its rage. It is tasked with guarding a stone formation in the center of the valley, sealing a powerful destructive force. It is unclear whether the tiger is better left alone than to use its horn to destroy the seal. Notable Buffs Immunity to dark magic damage. Knock back effects still applicable. Resistance to fire and increased fire damage.
"No wonder the sage said I needed to kill the guardian of the gateway. Only its horn can break it. Not only is the gorge very dangerous, even the guardian is powerful against black mages who use Shadow Ball as their primary spells. Witch Fire does do more powerful damage, but the tiger is resistant. Freezing Devil''s Claw is also the ice element but the tiger can cover itself in fire. My spirit might not be enough to make my ice colder than the tiger''s fire," Rex curses. "Titus, keep running around it and fire ice balls at it." As Titus annoyed the tiger and distracted it, Rex ran over to the seal. It was a large, circular stone in the ground with a stone statue of a man piercing the formation. His entire body and armor were petrified stone, save for a shining, finger-less glove and shining white sword with a gold cross guard. Curious, Rex attacked the statue and found he could not damage it. He realized the horn must have been used to destroy the petrified man. With it destroyed, he could loot the glove, pull out the sword, and break the seal. However, the quest said he needed the horn. He could manipulate the tiger into crashing through the petrified man. "Return!" Rex said and Titus became a black light and vanished into the Freak Dragon Ring. The tiger, surprised the dragon vanished, turned its full attention on Rex. "Here, kitty, kitty," Rex said, baiting the tiger by flicking it off. "Let''s see whose flames hurt more." The tiger roared, flames encompassing its entire body as it charged at him. Rex smirked and used Witch Fire to send five spears of purple fire at the tiger. The tiger, confident over its power over fire, did not stop and only accelerated its charge. Two of the purple flame spears did nothing as the remaining three only slightly burned it. Rex was making small movements to position himself in front of the stone statue, blocking it from view. The tiger roared with triumph as it leaped at him. Rex bent down and pushed with his feet to the left, creating seven Shadow Balls to smash into the tiger as he dodged. As the tiger leaned its body to the right to catch Rex with its paws, the orbs exploded and returned the leap to its original trajectory. The tiger howled as it crashed through the stone man, a severed hand of stone flying into the air. "YES!" Rex pumped his fist and grabbed the hand, taking the stone out as he wore the glove on his left hand. *Ding*
System Announcement
Completed Quest: Black Mage Initiation Due to using unorthodox means, you destroyed the seal and unlocked the gateway without killing the guardian. Still, the tiger''s going to die. Do not fight the gateway. The seal was meant to be broken and will be resealed upon your entry. Awards Level 10 unlocked. Gained: spirit energy belt +2 level up +$20,000
*Ding* Level Up Level Up Surprised, Rex frowned and distributed four stats into agility and two in stamina. He noticed he got one more stat in spirit and stamina due to the class stat awards. He paused as he realized he distributed his stats. Wasn''t he in battle? He looked up as he saw the sword had been knocked out of place. He stumbled and fell to the ground and the whole gorge shook. The tiger whimpered as the stone seal cracked and exploded. "What have I done?" Rex said lowly as a large suction force sucked the stones into the hole in the ground. Rex quickly turned his staff into a ring and started to run as he saw the nearby tiger roar and split into five pieces as its body approached the hole. The earth and grass around the hole were also absorbed, revealing a swirling vortex of darkness. "A black hole!" Rex cried, suddenly realizing why the Yin Yang Gate had such an absurd effect. A freaking black hole was his gateway! He clawed at the ground as his legs rose into the air, taking fistfuls of grass and dirt as he was lifted into the air. He screamed as his body became wracked with pain, as if a thousand needles pierced his skin repeatedly, and was sucked into the black hole. Before his vision turned black, he heard a system message from his grandfather, saying, "Goodbye Rex. You must stay strong." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "What is this?" Rex gasped as he awoke, seeing several screens appear around him. They were all him, Rex seeing screens of his own memories. The first time he rode a bike, the first time he ate a pizza, and even the first time he saw a clown in a circus and saw a lion jump through a ring of fire. "These are my memories. Why?" Rex said as his body helplessly floated in vast darkness as the screens soon faded. Suddenly new screens appeared, showing different versions of himself. One was Rex as a fat man with a crying woman in his bed. Another was Rex in a Navy uniform as a captain. Another version of him had dark skin and was skinning an elephant. Again, he floated in darkness as he floated past them after three hours. He tried to use Witch Fire to create wings, but he could not move. Deciding it was futile, he stopped the magic spell and floated aimlessly. He finally closed his eyes as he decided to accept the inevitable. After what seemed like an eternity, he saw a glowing gold light. His eyes widened as he suddenly stopped floating and floated upright. Soon, a great bird appeared in his sight. It was well over a thousand feet tall and had sleek black feathers with gold runes that glowed over its body. Its eyes seemed to draw a man''s vision in darkness eternal and it had three red legs. "Three-legged Golden Crow?" Rex gasped. Three-legged crows had many myths in several countries in the past and in modern times. It is said that it is the most powerful of birds and guided the chosen to the truth of the world. If dragons were the representation of power and strength, than the three-legged crow represented the unfathomable and mystery. "So you have heard of me, Rex Cerberus Valentine," the crow''s voice said in his mind. "Do you know why you are here?" "To make the pact with an ancient being as required by my black mage class," Rex answered. "And what is a black mage?" the crow asked. "A man who wields a staff is as much a mage as a man who wields a sword. Both are just material things the man relies on. Mana and Ki are the same and not the same. They are spirit energy, but are applied in different ways. Like yin and yang, they are both two sides of a whole. That whole is spirit energy." "Yeah. Mages can use both mana and Ki. What of it?" Rex asked. "A black mage is one that pursues the knowledge of the old ways. Does that mean they are bound by the categorization of the modern era? In the beginning, there was no mana and no Ki. There was just the body and the spirit energy. There were no staffs, daggers, guns, swords, or spears. There was only the body. Tell me, does one need a staff to be a mage?" the crow asked. "No. The staff just makes you more powerful. It''s like an extension of power," Rex answered after a moment. That is indeed the truth. Yet, Night Hunters of today believe otherwise. The Prime Night Hunters knew the truth but they were forgotten over time as humanity progressed and assumed that their intelligence evolved. That is a lie. Intelligence does not evolve. It just is and only seems to change as the man discovers knew paths of mental processing. That is the truth," the crow said. "Your ring, it is called the Staff of Flame. Tell me, is it a ring or a staff? Is it made of fire or controls fire?" "It is....none of them but all of them," Rex answered and saw another version of himself holding the Staff of Flame. "Tell me, what do you see?" the crow asked. "I see myself?" Rex answered, confused by the question. "Indeed. It looks like you and has the exact skills and items as you, but it is not you and you are not you," the crow answered as it waved its ring, the other Rex floating before him. "Tell me, what did you see on the way to see me? Was it you that you saw? What of the different versions of you? Are they you as well?" "I don''t understand. This is not like mana and Ki. They are not a part of me," Rex shook his head. "That is incorrect. What I made was you. You said it yourself. What you saw was you and other versions of what you could have been or will be. Like mana and Ki, they are parts of a whole. However, each of you only see the light. You see yourself as separate and believe them as shadows, fakes of who you are. Is that not so?" the crow asked. "What do you want from me?" Rex shouted. "That is not the correct question," the crow replied, looking at him in the eyes. "What do I want?" Rex asked and saw the crow nod and its runes shined. "That is the correct question. I am not a crow and you are not a human. Yet, we appear as such. Those you saw were you and not you. I am you, you are me, you are you, and I am me. We are all one and not," the crow answered. "What happens to me now?" Rex asked. "You must fight yourself. Succeed and you stay at level 18. At level 30, you will will receive your second promotion test. He is Rex Cerberus Valentine, as are you. There can only be one. Fight!"the crow said and split in two, one shrinking and becoming a gold light that entered his body. *Ding*
System Announcement
unlocked: Beta Phase Test You discovered the Beginning of Truth and completed your trial. Young Night Hunter, you must now face yourself. Fail, and you will be banished into a new reality. Staff of Flame has become Ink Qilin Sword. The effects are the same as the Staff of Flame, including the locked effects. Skill books are the equivalent of skill books in the new reality. They will disappear as soon as you learn them and require no training to learn. You see the world in levels and the world sees it through cultivation stages. The new reality combines rogues and warriors as one, yet separates mages as another. Show the world that their truth is a lie. The void element changed to destruction in new reality. Rewards Passive Skill: Three-legged Crow''s Mark. Skill: Ink Moon Cutter +1 to all stats.
*Ding* Three-legged Crow''s Mark: Passive skill. Owner can see through all lies and deceits. Rank: not applicable. Ink Moon Cutter: Costs 15 Ki per use. Cut the enemy with a wave of ink-colored sword energy. 5% of damage converted to burning damage. Rank: not applicable. Fossil Bone Glove: A left handed glove that belonged to a young Prime Night Hunter. Made with the bones of a tyrannosaurus rex, it is a glove meant to catch blades with the hands without harm. It is a shame the fingers were not covered but is still a priceless treasure. +4 AGI, +2 SPR and +2 STR upon equip. *Ding* Skills have adjusted and balanced for new state. The purple Witch Fire spell was the first to evolve. It became Qilin Flames, the fire as black as ink and much more powerful. It could even burn in the water. All skills got stronger as the Night Hunter leveled as a balancing feature. Qilin Flames could not evolve further and had darkness affinity. Meteor had become Tri-Meteor, Rex able to summon three meteors at once. The meteors were now covered in white flames containing the death element, increasing the blast radius of each meteor. Ki Blast had evolved into Ki Bolt. Now, his Ki had lightning affinity but the skill could still evolve further. That was the one advantage of common skills. Legendary skills, not including class-restricted ones, also evolved so Rex wondered how many more meteors he could create. Finally, Prey Instincts had evolved into Prey Domain. Not only could Rex see the areas of danger, he developed a supernatural sense to predict what kind of move would be used. Life Drain was skill that gave the most change when it evolved into Death Miasma. He could create a black cloud that not only drained health, Ki, and mana; it could also cure abnormal effects. Not only that, he could also transfer health, Ki, mana, or heal the abnormal effects of others. It turned from a light only spell to a light, life, and death spell. Name: Rex Cerberus Valentine Level: 18 Class: Black Mage Title: Fire Lord (hidden); Ancient Berserker (hidden); Thousand Soul Eater Health: 1585 (1525+60) Mana: 650 (630+20) Ki: 590 (550+40) Stats STR: 58 (54) AGI: 42 (38) SPR: 49 (47) STA: 44 (40) "Oh shit," Rex said, normally happy but he had to face himself. Still, Divine Bear''s Blessing made his health, mana, and Ki bars really impressive to begin with. The added effects of his glove, medallion, and the Yin and Yang Gate effects also boosted his stats. As he leveled up, the importance of having such passive skills became more apparent. Whichever Rex lost would be banished to a new reality. As he thought of this, ten Shadow Balls flew at him. Rex cursed and created a wave of Qilin Flames to counter, creating a large explosion. The other Rex appeared from the blast, his hand wrapped in lightning as he attempted a Ki Bolt palm. Rex''s left hand became covered in a giant ice spike. The two connected, ice and lightning pushing them back. The alternate Rex lifted his staff into the sky, three meteors crashing downward. Rex focused all his spirit energy into his feet, seeing where he should be to avoid the meteors through Prey Domain. As he dodged, he saw the other Rex covering himself in a sphere of Witch Fire, turning into a missile as he flew to Rex. Rex could only retaliate with Ink Moon Cutter, his body emitting ink black spirit energy as he slashed at the other Rex. "So it ends in your victory," the crow said. "It seems its intelligence was not enough, resorting to fire. Since you no longer wield a Staff of Flame, another is made. Give it to your mother. Unlike you, she has a vendetta against the Witch King. With this, she will finally return to the Night Hunter life. She cannot deny the truth of who she really is. Mary is lie, Gretel Gorgon Valentine''s means to escape reality. Your level and skill updates are yours to keep." A gold rune appeared on Rex''s chest, his body burning with energy. The dormant red energy became a gold red, moving in harmony with the ink black spirit energy. His purple witch energy was drained into his black spirit energy, returning his body into a body with two active spirit energies in harmony. "We won''t meet for a time, Rex Cerberus Valentine. Remember, you bear my mark and is proof of our pact. There is a truth in the night. Lionel saw the truth and awakened your Night Hunter powers. It is only fitting that I am the ancient being to whom you make a pact. Surpass two hundred and you will see the truth of the Night. Farewell," the crow said and Rex saw a sheath for his sword appear on his back, a ring similar to the Staff of Flame''s ring form appearing and entering his tattoo. "Someone passed the black mage promotion test!" a voice cried, many looking up to see Rex appear from a tear in space above the plaza. He crashed onto the ground, cracking it with his feet. Sean, Kong, and Gaofeng warily approached him with the Galoi and the twins. "Hi, grandpa. You could have warned me about the black hole," Rex said, Sean wiping a tear as he smacked Rex''s shoulder. "Stinky brat! Dumb punk, you worried the hell out of me. Your mom hasn''t forgiven me yet. You did good to beat yourself. You did good," Sean laughed. "We all survived," Gaoli grinned. "Rex, see you later. The three of us only remained to see how the other participants fared. Fifty eight are dead and you are the seventh to pass. Well, congrats and see you later." "What did you make a pact with?" Sean asked as they headed back to the elevator as they returned to Earth from the Night. "The Three-legged Golden Crow," Rex answered. "Truly?" Sean chuckled. "Well, its test is different than a typical fight against yourself. I suppose you learned a glimpse of the truth. Let''s go back home to celebrate. You kids still like pizza with green bell peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, and cheese, right?" "Combo pizzas are the best," Rex grinned as they left returned to Rex''s hometown of Los Cielos, Calfornia. Chapter 11: Night Hunter District Writer''s Note: I did say I started writing this story before writing The Snake Immortal. Well, I wrote a total of fourteen chapters. I can finally start a new side project. I will still release the other three chapters. Just letting you know. Chapter 11: Night Hunter District "Rex!" his mother cried as she hugged him as he opened the door. "Are you alright? What class did you pick and why do you seem ti improve so quickly?" "I''m a black mage and level 18," he answered, stunning her. "B, black mage? You entered a black hole and made a pact?" she gasped. "Which one is he?" "He''s your son, not the fake," Sean answered, Mary sighing with relief. "With what did you make a pact?" she asked. "The Three-legged Golden Crow says that your life is a lie. That Mary Valentine is a lie. You are Gretel Gorgon Valentine. The crow also told me to give you this, the Staff of Flame, as my own morphed into the sword on my back. I have all the benefits, save for the staff itself," Rex answered, giving her the ring from his tattoo. "Impossible! Your staff was the Staff of Flame? It changed...why did it change and why is there another to be given to Gretel? This can''t be a coincidence," Sean said as Mary took the ring with widened eyes. "No one has been able to unbind an ultimate weapon of power before. Perhaps it plans Rex to own a different one, making him a Lord of the Elements two times over with all the benefits of the title." "Looks like I can''t avoid being Gretel Gorgon. Fine. Father, I need you to train Rex. The stats and skills, he has. He needs the experience and to unlock his special bloodline power. I''m not talking about skills," Mary said, Sean nodding. "Of course. That''s why you asked me to come. Moreover, he uses a sword now. Even though he is a mage, basic martial arts with the sword is my expertise. I''ll train him in the basic sword stances and strokes of our clan," Sean grinned. "I''m going to go out to hunt tonight then?" Rex asked. "No. You are already level 18, more than high enough. Most of those who passed will be level 10, those of powerful clans at level 19 at most. I am your grandfather, so them sensing such powerful spirit energy akin to level 18 is not out of the question, even if a Cheat Hunter inspects the stats," Sean shook his head. "We need to train you so that you can fight someone who can counter your skills or can''t be harmed by them. Tomorrow night, you and I will go werewolf hunting. You will only use your sword, no skills at all. Sleep tonight and tomorrow, I''ll teach you stances and strokes." "Werewolves? Sweet!" Rex said and paused. "Uh, what about my horns and eyes?" "Don''t worry about that. Only a Night Hunter can see those. To everyone else, you still have an ordinary light brown-haired head and blue eyes. There is also a setting to make Mundanes subconsciously avoid you without noticing," Sean said. "So that''s how Gaoli, Suna, and Soji did that," Rex realized from the time at guitar class. He opened the options page and, sure enough, the option to make Mundanes avoid him was there. "It can also be customized to exclude certain Mundanes from the rule, like your Grandpa Raymond, father, and Sarah. Be sure to exclude that from the Mundane avoidance option. Usually, Night Hunters ask a Cheat Hunter to do it but you are one," his mother added. "You will hunt in the downtown area of the city. Many homeless live there and are easy prey to kidnap and eat without anyone caring to report their absence." "One time, I discovered a farm house full of humans. Most were homeless to be used for blood farming, strapped to chains against the wall and fed oatmeal thrice a day. Once they can no longer satisfy the blood demand, they get drained dry. Most are half-dead and lost the will to live by then. It''s a pathetic way to die," Sean said. "No one noticed?" Rex asked. "Of course not. Millions of homeless die or go missing America. Don''t get me started on the vampire coven in India or Afghanistan," Sean scoffed. "Whether it''s war or over-production, the creatures of the Night thrive in those areas and it is very difficult for Night Hunters to defend the Mundane without breaking their cover and exposing themselves. That mask of yours is really too convenient. You don''t need to learn a passive skill or active skill to stay out of sight. Don''t even get me started on how expensive items that have those effects are." "Now that you are a Night Hunter, you must get some uniform for it. Before tomorrow night, you and I will go shopping in the Night Hunter District. As you use a sword, we''ll have to buy you a battle mage uniform," Mary said. "Oh, we need to decide what kind of cultivation path to set Rex on," Sean said. "Like in wuxia and xianxia novels?" he asked. "Don''t I have levels for that?" "Yes and no. Levels get you to level 30 just by killing. Afterwards, you need to cultivate to empower your body enough to handle the abundant life force, mana, and Ki in your body. If you don''t, you blow up. Kaboom. Flesh and blood everywhere, and every single bone so damaged that it would be impossible to distinguish what it used to be or where it was supposed to go either," Sean sighed. "Oh, and we need him to undergo the Rune Bone Ritual or he cannot reach level 100 in the future." "Rune Bone Ritual?" Rex frowned. "Think of it as you meditating in a cauldron full of blood with a bone cared with runes on your lap. It will allow your body sense spirit energy in objects and the air. You already regenerate health, mana, and Ki; right? Well, this is absorbing spirit energy from the very environment. It always begins with blood. Once the spirit-filled blood is drained into your body, the rune bone will shine and enter it," Sean explained. "You get some special ability unique to the bone and you can begin cultivation. However, these bones are too difficult to find within the depths of the Night. The more ancient and powerful the bone and rune is, the better. Buying them is expensive, but I have all the blood and the perfect bone for you. As for cultivation, you''ll have to get one in the Night Hunter District. Even the most powerful method is free, but requires an equally monstrous talent to even use it." "What is the blood and bone from?" he asked. "....it''s best not to know everything. Too soon for you," Mary said as she looked at Sean. "The Rune Bone Ritual is not even that fanciful or difficult. You practically fall asleep as your consciousness fades while the body drains the spirit energy of the blood. We''ll just put you in the cauldron before you sleep." "Kind of creepy, but okay," Rex shrugged, disappointed in its simplicity. As he went into his room, Sean summoned a giant gold cauldron already filled with blood. He gave Rex a strange, white silver bone and Rex went inside the cauldron. He fell asleep as soon as his head submerged in the pool When he awoke, he reeked of blood and he had a strange feeling in his chest. "Took a nice, hot shower?" Mary asked as Rex appeared downstairs some time later. "Don''t I get some sort of ability?" he asked. "You haven''t cultivated yet. Oh, and don''t use your rune bone''s special ability as Rex. Use it as your alias. People don''t need to know you got a rune bone so early. Besides the ability, it''s not too shocking. The less the enemy knows, the safer you are," Sean shrugged. "You should have a bunch of knowledge in your head, right? I transferred my memories of my sword stances and strokes into you." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Oh, so that''s what those images are," Rex said as flashes of knowledge appeared in his head. "Easier than reading, but you got to practice. After breakfast, we go. You really woke up late. Your sister, father, and that Raymond character already left to go to some theme park or something," Sean shrugged. "Her best friend''s birthday and they need chaperons. Your grandfather will be dropped off on the way. He wanted to play chess in the park with his friends," Mary explained as Rex ate and continued after Rex finished. "Now, let''s head to the Night Hunter District." "How are we going there?" Rex asked and Mary led him into the basement. There, she unveiled a large glass mirror. Rex frowned as he could not see his reflection in the mirror. "This is not a real mirror. This is the entrance to the Night Hunter District, a personal magic item that is very expensive to buy. Only Night Hunters cannot see their reflections. These mirrors are sold to anyone with enough money. In fact, some mirrors are even displayed in broad daylight in some corporate buildings and shopping malls. Let''s go," Mary said and she entered the mirror first just by touching it. "Into the glass mirror we go," Sean said comically and through Rex into it. "Ouch," Rex said as he crashed onto the ground, rubbing his arm as he saw Sean appear with a laugh. "Welcome to the Night Hunter District, the only pocket dimension that literally connects to any country on Earth. This is a three hundred mile district where Night Hunters all over the world gather. "Oh, this place is the witch block," Sean said as he saw men and women with staffs everywhere, eyeing him with wariness. "Ah, right. I killed one of the three only ever witch Code Keepers. Well, killing witches is fun." "The War God is here," several witches and male witches whispered. Male witches were also called warlocks. Witches and warlocks were one of the more powerful breed of mages, a unique spirit energy within their bodies that allows them to practice their craft. Mary had the Staff of Flame and Rex''s ink black spirit energy fused with the foreign witch energy, but still had the magic of witches. "We only allow witches and warlocks in this area," a powerful, elderly witch said as she appeared. "By the law of the Witch Kings of old, leave or perish. "You really think you can kill me?" Sean grinned. "Do you even know how many witches and warlocks said the same thing before they begged for their lives as I cut off their heads? You old crone, you ain''t even level 100. You look powerful, but every Night Hunter knows that you gain eternal youth upon reaching level 100." "You still need to leave," the witch said, many others coming. "We don''t appreciate witch hunters. Your companions may remain, the boy in particular." "He is my father and this is my son," Mary said, stunning the witch. "Daughter?.....Gretel Gorgon? You''ve returned to the Night Hunter society and you even became a witch?" the old crone gasped, many others gasping in shock. Everyone knew the War God, even the distinct, unique spirit energy inside him. Thus, they knew of Hansel and Gretel who were also very famous in their own right. "My mother was a witch," Mary said. "I just never thought I would be. Father, you should head to the Night Hunter Council. You haven''t submitted a report in years." "Fine. Fine. Rex, you better pick some interesting stuff. I''ll buy some skills you will need," Sean said and vanished before anyone could register him move. "We welcome you at last, Rex Cerberus Valentine," the witches and warlocks bowed. "Huh? Eh? W, what are you all doing?" he gasped. "You have become targeted by the Witch King. Although there is a new Lord of Fire established, you still have the title and you actually fused the witch spirit energy into your own," the crone said. "I, uh, didn''t do it but I suppose so. How do you even know this?" Rex frowned. "The system told us. Only a male can become the Witch King and that male must have witch spirit energy of the most ancient. Your mother has the same kind, meaning she is the new Lady of Fire. However, we will not tell anyone she owns the Staff of Flame. We witches and warlocks look out only for our own. We have several covens with many goals, but the preservation of our kind is the universal goal," another witch said. "Most witches and warlocks are born, but the most powerful are made through relics containing ancient witch spirit energy. Only a one hundredth of all mages is a witch or warlock." "Wow. So few?" Rex muttered. "There are two ultimate factions of witches and warlocks. One is lead by the Witch Queen and the other by the Witch King. Most witches and warlocks follow the Witch Queen and don''t practice the black magics, publicly. Those under the Witch King are the most cruel, evil, and ruthless. They are hunted by Code Keepers as they use their black magic on the Mundane. It took many centuries before Night Hunters allowed us into their ranks, no longer hunting us," a warlock said with a bow. "Only a Witch Lord can slay a Witch King and take his title and place. Only he can end the war and the blind prejudices against us. Each and every Witch Lord had been slain by the current Witch King. He was supposed to end the war, but he betrayed us all, killing the former Witch Queen and nearly conquered both factions. You are the only other Witch Lord still alive." "I really have to kill him? I thought the system message was a joke," Rex said, stunned. "If black magic is the most powerful, and Code Keepers hunt those who publicly use them; how am I supposed to beat a guy who has been mastering his craft for years?" "The chances are next to impossible," many witches and warlocks agreed. "You still need to do it! Either he dies, or the two of you Witch Lord dies," the crone warned. "Come. You came here to by a battle mage uniform, judging by the sword on your back. We don''t want outsiders to see us." "Can we trust them mom?" Rex asked as they went into an old, black building. "Yes. I know their history and their desperation. My mother told me many stories," Mary answered. "Our lives just became all the more dangerous. Since the Witch King will target you upon discovering your identity, you must train in the event he sends witches and warlocks to kill you." "You will meet with one of the witches of the Witch Queen''s own coven soon. Do you know what level you are now?" the crone asked. "So soon?! Well, I am level 18," Rex answered. "Good. You haven''t had your second promotion test yet. Come, come," the crone said as they appeared before a large hole in the building, dark roots and moss covering the ground and floor around it. "Worry not, child. Enter the hole in the ground. It will lead you to the secret council chamber where she awaits. Gretel Gorgon, you may also enter as you wield the Staff of Flame and she will wish to meet you as well." "Will we be alright?" Rex whispered as the crone left. "According to my knowledge, the witches and warlocks of the Witch Queen''s coven are above level 200. Since I left the Night Hunter world, I have not even reached level 200 either. They do need the Witch Lord to slay the Witch King and you are the grandson of the War God. We will be cautious there. You must be respectful there," Mary said and they went down the witch hole. Chapter 12: The Underground Warehouse Chapter 12: The Underground Warehouse "Hello, Rex and Gretel Gorgon. We meet at last," a voice said as Rex and his mother entered the secret chamber. Within were twelve witches and warlocks in black and violet robes.The entire room had roots and moss over the walls with the entire chamber made of pure black stone. Each of them radiated power and a thirteenth witch sat on a black throne at the back of the room behind a semi-circular table with the other twelve witches and warlocks occupying the rest of the chairs. "I did not expect the daughter of the War God to be a witch, much less the grandson being a Witch Lord," one of the warlocks muttered. "Indeed. The witch energy within Gretel Gorgon is ancient and powerful. A similar kind was gifted to the boy earlier, but was fused with his spirit energy," a witch muttered. Each of the twelve witches and warlocks wore a black hood with a violet mask, Rex only able to see slits for the eyes and mouth. The thirteenth wore a black witch hat instead of a hood and wore no mask. She was extremely beautiful and would probably remain so for eternity as she was way above level 100. "I never thought I would see any of you," Mary said indifferently. "Come now. Your mother was part of the former Witch Queen''s faction. While not particularly powerful or important, Helena was a gifted witch who studied the arcane. It is a shame she was killed by your father''s clan. Even though she was avenged by the War God slaughtering his own kin and clan; her loss was a tragedy," the head witch said. "I, like your mother, am a member of the Witch Queen''s coven albeit the current queen. I summoned you both here to bequeath your son with the tools he needs to survive. Survive, mind you. I know next to nothing on how to kill the Witch King." "I''m not going to wear that hat, am I?" he asked. "No. No one will know you are a witch, or warlock. Only a witch can detect the energy within your spirit energy. I know not how you fused with it, but your assassins will be hard pressed to find you. We have been watching you since the morning you awoke as a Night Hunter and received that system message. Yes, we know you are a Cheat Hunter. All Witch Lords are," the head witch said. "Witch magic is the most ancient and mysterious. By now, all people who ever saw you use Witch Fire, or know you to be a witch, will not remember it. We witches are few, but our familiars are everywhere." "Familiar? Like a contract with some ancient creature?" Rex asked as he summoned Titus. "Familiars are not magical beasts or regular summons such as the skeletal and undead minions of necromancers. Familiars are beings witches make contracts with that come from other dimensions. You are a black mage and entered a Black Hole Domain and lived to tell the tale. You must have seen other dimensions but only those displaying versions of you other parallel dimensions," the witch said. "Am I wrong?" "No. So I can make a contract. Interesting," Rex said. "Wait, you said assassins. If what you said about me hiding my witch spirit energy being a good thing, does that mean they track witches through that same energy?" "Handsome and smart," the witch smiled. "It is as you say. They are level 100 and over assassins of the rogue class. They are called Grey Assassins and most work under the Witch King. I do not have my witch spirit energy fused with my own and require an item to hide it. I''m sure your mother could not detect any of our witch spirit energies. You see, we are safe in the Night Hunter District, but there are many who would break the law and kill us for being what we are. Your mother came here to receive such an item." "Is that true?" he asked. "Yes," Mary said sadly. "Grey Assassins are very dangerous, one of the select few assassin advanced classes that specialize in killing mages. My mother used to be hunted until she married Sean who killed any Grey Assassins who came after her. Who would have thought our own Gorgon Clan would kill my mother and attempt to kill me." "Yes. To kill his own kin to avenge his wife, Sean the Terrifying truly loved your mother deeply. Since that day, he ventured into the Night, slaying many areas and cities of the creatures of the Night. While the Night Hunter Society calls him the War God for being a hero and aiding the conquest of the Night, the real truth was that Sean the Terrifying was trying to find and slay the Witch King," the head witch explained. "It is said that Hansel disappeared as he also tried to find the Witch King. Whatever the case, this brooch was used by Helena to hide her witch spirit energy and has other powers. It is fitting that her daughter would be the one to inherit it." "Thank you," Mary said simply, her eyes watering as she stared at the silver and black brooch. "May I know your name?" "I am Madelaine," the witch answered. "I am charged, by the Witch Queen, to oversee and protect the witches and warlocks in the Night Hunter District. Now, Rex, I will have you come with me. You and I will enter a pocket dimension for your training. You must only have two days left before the testing to go to the Rain Dragon Sect, right? A day out here is a year within the pocket dimension. Your level cannot raise there, but you will know enough about witchcraft to survive and gain apt enough experience." "Uh, grandfather won''t like that," Rex said. "I will handle father and the others. You stay here and be good. Two years of training will do you good, even more so if it is under powerful witches," Mary said and left him standing there. "I will need practice with my sword. My grandfather instilled the stances and strokes, but I lack proper training," Rex said. "I will help you there," one of the masked warlocks said, the other eleven leaving the room behind Mary. "This man is Jax. He is a Grey Assassin and used to be our spy within the Witch King''s personal spy network before his cover was blown," Madelaine introduced as the hooded warlock pulled off his hood and mask to reveal a red haired eyebrows with a clean-shaven face, tattoos all over his bald head. "To defeat a Grey Assassin, you must know how they hunt and how they fight. You cannot learn the skills, but you can learn how they are used. That knowledge is invaluable as it will be easier to defeat, kill, or escape them in the future," Jax said. "You don''t need to be a mage to have witch energy, but you do need it if you wish to use one of the eight non-class active skill slots for witch magic. I did just that. When the training is over, I''ll give you a skill book containing a non-class skill that most Grey Assassins learn. If they learn it, it must be good. How many free slots do you have for both types of non-class skills?" "I have seven free active and three free passive slots for non-class skills," he answered. "Excellent. Level 40 seems far, but not to Cheat Hunters. No doubt, your mother and the War God will collect skills for you to learn to take up some of the remaining slots. Learning a skill takes much practice if it is not given by the system. You are a Cheat Hunter and simply need to read a skill book to learn it. There is always a drawback." "But before you train, you must receive a Night Hunter uniform and other items you will need," Madelaine said and beckoned the two to follow her as the roots burrowed into the wall and created a rift to a secret tunnel. Rex arrived in a giant warehouse full of powerful relics and artifacts. "What is this place?" he asked. "This is the secret warehouse of witches and warlocks. The shops outsiders see are all a facade, a few legitimate magical treasures there. Beneath each shop are secret warehouses albeit inferior to this one. Witches and warlocks who reach level 200 come here, but you are a Witch Lord. As a black mage, it is common knowledge that one of the effects of Timeless Eyes allows the black mage to learn ancient magic. Thus, you are here to gain some ancient relics and artifacts as well as a few skills," Madelaine answered and gave him a book. "This is a skill every witch, male or female, knows. Mages are long range combat specialists. Of course, even witch battle mages learn this skill." "Lesser Teleportation: No cost but cool down of fifteen seconds. Able to teleport fifteen yards in any direction. Rank: rare. Awesome! Learning this now," Rex cried and learned the skill, Madelaine and Jax seeing the skill book disappear. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "When the skill reaches max level, it will become Greater Teleportation and the range is fifteen miles. However, Grey Assassins also learn the skill and many things can happen during the fifteen second cool down of the skill," Jax said. "The skill I will give you is that of a non-class passive skill. Try out the skill you learned." "As expected of Cheat Hunters, you learn the skill so quickly," Madelaine noted as Rex teleported five yards in front of himself. "Leave the Night Hunter uniform to Jax. He will find a suitable battle mage uniform. You and I will browse for items and skills." "Yes, My Lady," Jax said and searched the warehouse as Rex followed her to the right most area of the warehouse at the back. Before Rex were thousands of tiny, metallic creatures that had a slight resemblance to those on Earth. "These are the vessels for which you put in the soul of your familiar. Once you have a familiar, the metallic vessel cannot die but it will temporarily be unable to form a body if it was defeated. Spread out your spirit energy and find a suitable vessel for your familiar. Once you find one that calls to you, summon it and form a contract," Madelaine said. Rex closed his eyes and focused his spirit energy into his right hand as he extended it forward. Madelaine narrowed her eyes as she saw ink black spirit energy appear, it was ancient and powerful. Traces of witch energy were within but most was that of a creature. She didn''t know it was spirit energy of a qilin, but she did know Rex''s spirit energy was not human. Tendrils of spirit energy coiled out and spread among the metallic creatures. Finally, a metallic creature with an antelope''s head was chosen. "I summon the reaper of the world beyond," Rex said as the words entered his head. "Serve me and my interests." The metallic creature absorbed his spirit energy and fell onto the floor. Metal, stone, rocks, and roots covered it to reveal a ten foot tall humanoid with an antelope skull made of roots, thorns, and rock. Its eye sockets were filled with a strange violet energy that looked like fire and carried a scythe as long as it was tall. "Interesting choice. A familiar with attributes for death, wood, and earth. Standard triple attribute but humanoid in appearance," Madelaine commented. "Fighter familiars have double a witch''s strength and agility. This one cannot cast magic, but can restore its body so long as there is wood or earth nearby. The only way to temporarily destroy the familiar is to damage the metallic creature the chest where the heart would be. It has a semi-sentient mind as it will know what your orders imply. Release it and keep the creature in your pocket. Its true body is only three inches long." "This is great," Rex laughed as the familiar broke apart as the metallic creature burst out the chest and entered his pocket. "What next?" "We get you a witch''s tome, one that is far more ancient than that of standard witches," Madelaine said as she gave him a black book. Rex''s eyes widened as the words within seemed to be made of blood, feeling warm and vibrant under his touch. "So bizarre," he said as he browsed through the book. "Our magic from the tomes do not count as skills. This is why we are hunted and feared. There are very few other mages who also have similar items and abilities. This is why mages are few in number by the system," she explained. "Do not let anyone know you have such a tome or they will know you are a witch." "Alright," Rex said and stored it in his tattoo, the Thief King''s Last Laugh masking it and making it undetectable. "You have one of those gems? The War God has many tools indeed," Madelaine said as she saw the tome disappear into the tattoo. "This is a cultivation method used by the Witch Kings of Old. This is a unique cultivation method for Witch Lords and Kings. Through this, you will have the power to kill the Witch King. This skill book is one used by witches of ancient times. It is ancient magic, but you can use it because of your Timeless Eyes." "Okay. Thank you," Rex said and stored the cultivation away as he learned the skill. *Ding*
System Announcement
Learned: Hex Swarm Rex has learned an ancient magic used by witches of during the era of the Prime Night Hunters. Able to create ancient wasps made of the life and wood attributes. One wasp made by one health point. Deals one damage. Using max health is inadvisable to cast magic. Wasps attack until killed. Rank: Unique
"So I can make my own army of wasps over time? Interesting," Rex said. "The damage and health of a single wasp is too weak but adds up as the size of the swarm increases. Just like the witch stories, I control plants and bugs. The plant being part of the familiar''s combat form, of course." "Indeed. Do you know why?" Madelaine asked and saw Rex shake his head. "We are the original caretakers of the World Tree. No one knows where the root of the tree leading to our world lies but the Witch Queen. That information is closely guarded by the Witch Queen but only she, the Witch Lords, and the Witch King can enter its domain. In time, you will understand this. The pocket dimension I will have you train in also has a giant tree deep in its hearth. Jax should be there to begin your training. You and I will spend much time there equal to two years. In this way, you will catch up to those of powerful clans and organizations who trained since they were five and intelligent enough to bear the rigors of training." "Two years of being away from my family...." Rex said silently. "I''ve only been a week to a month away, at most. Two years huh?" "It seems the War God returns, and with two skills. One that he uses and one that you would need," Madelaine said as she looked above. Rex saw two books appear from the rock ceiling as roots made a path to the surface. "You better damn well get better, boy! I expect results on the morning of that test," Sean roared before the path closed and Rex nodded with tears going down his eyes as he learned the skills. *Ding* Void Slash: 40 Ki per use. Cover your body and sword in the void element to become a single streak of light. Appear behind the enemy in a flash, cutting his body in two with the void and poison element. Skill cannot be blocked or dodged. Rank: Unique. Oblivion Wave: 150 Ki per use. Combine light and darkness to create a sword wave of incredibly powerful force. Created by the War God, this skill is restricted to those he gives permission. Rank: not applicable. "Oblivion Wave? Now there is no denying you are his grandson," Madelaine gasped. "Skills made by Night Hunters are exceedingly rare. Most skills usually evolve into one-of-a-kind skills or made by ancient creatures. Sean the Terrifying is deserving of the title War God. One can only imagine how many self-created skills he knows. Giving it to another counts as a non-class skill, but making one of your own does not." "Now I know three sword skills. Since I am a black mage, I might not learn any sword skills upon the various advanced classes in the future," Rex nodded. "Whatever skills you have, it is imperative you train them within the pocket dimension. Familiarize yourself with them. Also, your innate ability of your clan and spirit bone will awaken as you cultivate. We must train you enough so that any spies of the Witch King living within the Rain Dragon Sect do not kill you if they were to discover your identity. They will ignore your mother, as she is female, but you must still be careful," she warned. "It''s time to begin the training. In two years, you will return to your family." "Right," Rex said and followed her with Titus appearing behind them. Chapter 13: 2 Years Later Chapter 13: 2 Years Later "Uniform fit alright?" Jax asked as Rex wore his uniform and sat beneath a tree over two miles in height. "Yes. It feels strangely comfortable," Rex answered. The uniform was a black robe harder than diamond when struck that covered his body from the bottom of the neck down. A grizzly bear in gold armor was emblazoned on the chest and back. The robe was a standard battle mage uniform that increased all stats by two when worn. The uniform could also be altered in color as well as the emblem on the chest and back. Besides the robe that covered his chest, his silk pants and shoes were also black. The three pieces combined into the uniform and Rex could take off the robe and reveal his upper body but only have an increase of 1 stat if he still wore the pants and shoes. "In the two years you are here, two days to the outside world, you will be trained as a Grey Assassin would. I will teach you how to fight, how to hunt, how to assassinate, and how to use your body effectively. Lady Madelaine will teach you witchcraft, how to use your skills, and provide weak golems for you to kill as practice," Jax said. "Your dragon will kill golems while you train." "Right," Rex said and ordered Titus to head to the forest on his left. "A Grey Assassin is one that specializes in single sword or dual swords. Swords are the ultimate weapons. They can be fast or slow, unyielding or flexible, and fierce or gentle. Grey Assassins are masters of the sword. As you wield a sword, you too are suitable to train as they do. While you cannot learn their skills, you will learn their ways," Jax said. "Every week you will switch between my lessons and Lady Madelaine''s lessons. Be prepared." "I...will try," Rex said as he shuddered. He went to a martial arts gym and knew their rigorous training as some fought against other gyms or minor tournaments while others trained to earn their pro license. His training under Jax was sure to be more difficult and painful. "The miniature replication of the World Tree is five miles wide. You will run around it, dodging through the roots. You will climb, run, maneuver, and jump through to complete a full circle. A true swordsman knows the limits of what he can do and improves upon them. This dimension had five times the gravity on Earth. When your running begins, you will no longer be immune to the gravity as I remove you from the pocket dimension''s gravity neutralization option. Get moving!" Jax roared and Rex ran, crashing onto the ground as the gravity increased instantaneously. His training was harsh. For weeks, he struggled to run every step. By the time he could run normally, Jax added obstacles for Rex to pass as he ran around the tree. When Jax realized he had instant regeneration because of his Timeless Eyes skill, the obstacles became even more lethal. So long as Jax approximated Rex''s defenses and health, he did not hold back on the danger. Training under Madelaine was even more dangerous. Every week he learned under her was difficult. He had to learn to catalyze plants, metals, and other items. He had to practice cultivation and the spells in the tome he had. Sometimes, failed summoning spells nearly took Rex''s life. He lost count how many times he lost an arm or leg. Witch magic contained primarily consisted of four elements. Those elements were earth, wood, lightning, and fire. Dark magic of the witches primarily consisted of wood, death, darkness, and blood. All the other elements, save for the void element, were accepted by both factions of witches. The world had many witch covens but only two factions existed: that of the Witch Queen and the Witch King. Witch magic was different than skills as the witch did not turn his or her mana into the elements. Witches manipulated the very elements with mana and often had many rituals or potions to use with their craft. Witches were most deadly in forests, jungles, or swamps. Places with many trees had many roots for witches to manipulate and use as weapons. Rex had to begin manipulating tiny saplings before he could learn to manipulate the roots of adult trees. Witches were like the human personification of the wood element. Rex would often connect himself to the trees, grass, and plants. He could feel what they felt, see the world through vibrations of spirit energy. There was nothing he could not see or find where the plants and trees existed. It was like every plant and tree were connected into one symbiotic being. The wisps of spirit energy that floated around him because of Prey Domain also changed. Before there were only indigo, cerulean, and purple wisps. Now, jade, green, and gold wisps also flew around him. As he practiced his swordplay under Jax, more wisps appeared. They were red, orange, and brown wisps. He inquired to Madelaine as to what it meant after a year passed. "This means your training has improved by leaps and bounds. The first three wisps suggest you had high affinity to the water element since birth. Everyone has such affinity and is difficult to improve upon them through training. The next three colors appeared due to your increased understanding and use of the wood element. Finally, the last three are from your understanding of fire and earth. The gold wisp also suggests affinity to lightning. This would suggest a total of five, also the max one would have. No matter what elemental magic, those five are ones where you would understand and improve faster," Madelaine answered. "Is that true?" Rex asked. "It is. You have used your Celestial Avatar skill, no? When you use the skill, your body emits a spirit around your body that is akin to a three hundred foot grizzly bear spirit in gold armor. When you punched the giant roots or golems on your path, you simultaneously hit them with the five attributes you had affinities with," Madelaine answered. "Your spirit energy and sword contain the fire attribute, you are a witch and primarily use the wood attribute, you were born with the water attribute, and your bloodline is that of the lightning and earth attribute. The Gorgon Clan''s attribute is earth and you do not have high affinity for that." "I do not have affinity for darkness?" Rex asked as he thought of the ink black spirit energy of the qilin in his body. "No, Rex, the qilin''s attribute is not darkness. It is earth. It is ink black because of the extremely high affinity. Do you know what lies in the heart of every planet?" Madelaine asked. "The inner and outer core?" he answered, confused. "That is the layers of the earth, the outer most called the crust and mantle. In the very depths of the planet is a black metal ball that spins eternally without stopping. It is that very sphere that creates gravity and affects the magnetic poles and atmosphere of the planet. Metal is earth. Soil is earth. Rock is earth. The metal sphere is black as it has to sustain heat of the magma at its extreme but does not turn into ash. Like that metal sphere, the qilin has body with scales to endure the heat. It is of draconic lineage but some consider them as dragons of the earth as they are related," Madelaine explained. "The intense pressure of your ink qilin spirit energy is as mighty as the metal sphere within the inner core." "Water, earth, fire, wood, and lightning," Rex repeated. "Your training will have to be adjusted. We must increase your understanding of those elements as you continue your training," Madelaine said, Rex paling as he heard those words. When the second year of training passed, Rex had changed completely. He was still fifteen, but his light brown hair had lengthened near the center of his back. He did not grow more muscular but more stream-lined. His muscles had improved greatly but had a mysterious three striped scar on his left cheek near the ear. That scar was a result of a summoning gone wrong. All his wounds had healed as a strange creature attacked him, but the scar from the claws did not. They were thinned and smoothed over time, but still visible on close inspection. The passive skill he learned from Jax was called: Heart Seeker. Rex would be immune to mind control and create a wisp that would enter a target''s heart to constantly track his movement and location. Such a tracking skill, it was no wonder Grey Assassins sacrificed one of their four non-class, passive skills to learn it. As Rex had cultivated, his body began to attune to spirit energy more and increased his health, mana, and Ki recovery rate. He also awakened his rune bone''s innate ability. It was called Four Sword Force. Four red-bladed katanas would float around him, covered in gold auras. They could surge forward like the almighty bear at a charge and strike as hard as a bear''s paw. Stolen novel; please report. His bloodline''s innate ability was actually defensive and was called Indestructible Golden Bones. Like Four Sword Force, it was not a skill, but it was similar to a passive skill. Like the name of the skill suggested, his bones became gold in color and were indestructible. His skin also enhanced and was as hard as steel when pressured or struck. As he went over his progress, Rex could only fathom how powerful other Night Hunters were. Titus also enlarged to three feet in height and had even tougher defense than Rex. Rex thanked Jax and Madelaine, adding them to his friend''s list before rushing home as he left the pocket dimension. The sun had just set and Rex appeared back in the mall a few blocks from home. He was wearing the clothes he had worn what felt like two years ago and had his uniform in the storage ring. There was no need to keep a uniform a secret. He took out his laptop from the storage ring and entered a store area under construction. There, he sold the items he looted from the participants to the black market. Then, he spent $10,000 of what he just got to obtain information on the thirteen ultimate weapons of power. As he suspected, there were still only seven that were found but someone found the Spear of Light! He did not own the Staff of Flame anymore. Thus, he did not feel the tremor or system announcement saying a Lord of the Elements was born. According to the information, only the owners of the Fan of Wind and the Staff of Fire had not been verified. People assumed it was a staff as the Spear of Light had been found. His mother, Gretel Gorgon Valentine, owned the Staff of Fire. The Lord of Black Water City owned the Trident of Water. The Patriarch of the Qin Clan owned the Hammer of Earth. The Dagger of Poison was owned by the most ancient clan in Japan. The dagger was last seen there but was last recorded thirty years ago. The Claw of Blood was owned by the CEO of the Thousand Shark Company that owned and managed the Night Hunter black market. The Sword of Wood was owned by a Night Hunter organization in South Korea. As for the new owner of the Spear of Light, it was found by a teenager who took the promotion test in the gorge. The information claimed that the boy came from an ordinary clan and was taken in by the Celestial Templar, a religious Night Hunter organization that sought to destroy the creatures of the Night, even if it meant breaking the treaty. The organization believes him to be the chosen one for the spear as a system announcement said the Spear of Light could only be bound to him. There was never such an announcement before and shocked many Night Hunters. There was even information disclosed about the quest related to the Lords of the Elements. "Display information," Rex said, the quest box opening shortly. *Ding*
System Announcement
SSS quest unlocked: Night on Earth Eight weapons of ultimate power have been found. The Chosen of the Spear of Light, Claw of Blood, Sword of Wood, Fan of Wind, and Staff of Flame is decided. Light will lead the path of salvation for Earth. Wind and Void will join hands to rule both worlds. Life is destined to destroy Planet Earth and Death is destined to destroy the Night. If the Chosen of Earth falls, Planet Earth will fall with him. Light must protect Earth and Earth needs Flame to fulfill his destiny. The Staff of Flame''s master waits for her daughter to awaken and the Hammer of Earth''s master is the ancestor of the Chosen of Earth. 5 Chosen will rise and 4 will fall. 8 will die and 5 will survive. Quest Details Currently Unlocked Weapons of Ultimate Power found: 8 Chosen Identities Hinted by Prophecy: Lady of Flame, Chosen of Earth. Chosen who became Lords of the Elements: 4 Chosen Bound to Weapon: Lord of Light, Lord of Wind, Chosen of Blood, Lord of Wood. Weapons to be found: 5 Prophecy content updated upon more weapons found or bound to Chosen.
"Sarah? She is the Lady of Flame?" Rex cried as he scrutinized every word. "Why is my sister important? The Chosen of Wind bound with the Fan of Wind. The destinies of the Chosen of Wind, Flame, Light, Darkness, Life, Void, Death, and Earth are mentioned. The only ones not mentioned yet are the Chosen of Water, Poison, Blood, and Lightning. 4 of the current owners of the ultimate weapons of power are the Chosen. With Sarah and that Qin Clan descendant, that leaves the identities of the current Lords of Water and Poison are not the Chosen!" "Grandpa, I''m back. I saw the SSS rank quest details," Rex said as he opened the Friend List. "I know. Your mother and the witches are very worried. Sarah is bound to be a witch due to the Staff of Flame and the Witch King is sure to kidnap her," Sean replied. "Your mother is currently hiding her new staff away, allowing Sarah to awaken naturally. This might postpone the prophecy for a time. I heard news that the Qin Clan is currently the focus of Night Hunters along with the Celestial Templar. All known members of the Qin Clan could not bind the hammer. It seemed to change and developed a defensive barrier around itself. It seems the offspring of the prophecy is one born outside the clan, like a bastard." "I''m on my way home. What do we do?" Rex asked. "Isn''t grandpa''s ascendance in twelve years?" "Sarah will awaken before then. Right now, we will allow her to enjoy a Mundane girl''s childhood. She deserves a happy life until then," Sean said while Rex started running home. "The Chosen of Light is enrolling into the Rain Dragon Sect, like you. The Celestial Templar is sure to have people protect him. Do not make friends with him. We don''t want him near your sister or mother. He will see your title, but you don''t have the Staff of Flame. Just act natural." "Sarah is seven years old and born a Mundane. Unless a Night Hunter or magical treasure awakens her powers, she will always be a Mundane. However, she has to be trained if we don''t want her to die," Rex muttered as he got on a bus going home. "If Light must protect Earth, then that means Life targets Earth as Life is destined to destroy Planet Earth. What makes the Chosen of Earth and the Hammer of Earth so special?" "Wait, the quest details were uploaded by the Chosen of Life, but the Chosen of Wood and Blood had their weapons for years. They knew about this prophecy to begin with, save for the part about Sarah and mom for sure as the quest updates. I have to get stronger. Once grandpa ascends, there is no stopping those powerful clans or forces who would harm my little sister," Rex grit his teeth and arrived in front of his home ten minutes later. "I''m home!" Rex said as he entered the house. "Rex!" his mom cried and hugged her son. "It''s been so long!" "To you, I was gone for two days." Rex rolled his eyes. "How is Sarah?" "She is sleeping right now. I suppose you know the prophecy now. I don''t understand what makes her so special and what her connection to the staff is," Mary sighed. "Maybe through Sarah, all possible effects of the staff are unlocked from the start. We unlock more effects as we level up, but we are not the Chosen of Flame," Rex pondered aloud. "You let your mom and I handle your sister''s matter. You worry about your own future. You have the application test to the Rain Dragon Sect tomorrow. You and your mother must be strong enough to protect your sister in the future," Sean said and Rex nodded and went upstairs. He pulled his sister''s blanket up higher and went to sleep. Chapter 14: Rain Dragon Sect Writer''s Note: As stated a few chapter ago, this is the last for a long time. I started this story before The Snake Immortal but posted it afterwards as a side project because I liked the other story better. I am also writing a xianxia novel as another side project and enjoy that. Thanks for reading and sorry for the disappointment. Chapter 14: Rain Dragon Sect "Yah, look at you boy! Stream-lined body like a real man," Sean praised as Rex appeared in his uniform the next day. "The only thing I don''t like is that grizzly bear with gold armor on your robes. Did you gain any stats during your training?" "Show status," Rex said and his mother and grandfather saw the status table appear. Name: Rex Cerberus Valentine Level: 18 Class: Black Mage Title: Fire Lord (hidden); Ancient Berserker (hidden); Thousand Soul Eater Health: 1750 (1690+60) Mana: 830 (810+20) Ki: 700 (660+40) Stats STR: 60 (56) AGI: 47 (43) SPR: 58 (56) STA: 50 (46) "I gained 2 strength, 5 agility, 9 spirit, and 6 stamina. The 9 additional stats increased my mana by 90 while the additional stamina increased my Ki by 60 and health by 90," Rex said. "That''s it? Only 2 strength? You focused too much on your magic," Sean sighed. "He is a black mage," Mary said. "For Cheat Hunters, we gain additional stats just by training based on the stat. Hell, even studying increases your spirit stat while jogging can increase the stamina stat. My stats would have risen a lot higher," Sean explained and looked at Rex. "Why didn''t your stats go any higher?" "I learned about elemental affinities," Rex answered and revealed the wisps that flew around him. Mary and Sean were shocked as they saw wisps of spirit energy in nine different colors. They were cerulean, indigo, purple, red, orange, brown, green, jade, and gold. "You''ve already determined your body''s natural five elements?" Mary gasped. "Water, fire, earth, wood.....and is that lightning? Yes, it is," Sean said as he scrutinized the gold wisps of spirit energy. "Since when could you see those?" "Since I learned the Prey Instincts passive skill when I awoke as a Night Hunter. Now, it is the Prey Domain skill," Rex answered. "My training included more magical studies during the second year." "No wonder your spirit stat increased so much," Sean muttered. "You''ve got monstrous stats though, boy. How many free non-class slots you got left?" "Three active and two passive slots," Rex answered. "Level 18 and will join the Rain Dragon Sect. Plus, there''s the nine factions to consider.....good," Mary nodded with approval. "You did practice my self created skill: Oblivion Wave, right?" Sean asked and beamed as Rex nodded. "Yah, creating your own skill is pretty fucking difficult. Your Ink Moon Cutter skill is one-of-a-kind, but made by that Three-Legged Golden Crow. You got five affinities and Night Hunters are lucky to make even one skill. You should consider that in the future. Evolving those skills are even more difficult as it is the same as creating a new one." "The assessment test is later today, right? Can I learn more about the sect first?" Rex asked. "Ah, right. We should talk about that," Sean said. "Gretel, you start off while I make system messages about each faction." "Alright," Mary said and turned to Rex. "The Rain Dragon Sect is founded by the Lord of Black Water City. He is sure to be above level 250 as no one dares anger him and cause a ruckus in Las Vegas. The disciples of the sect are first separated into one of nine factions. Those not chosen by a faction can only become an outer disciple, not truly a member of the sect. Only the talented are first chosen by seven possible factions as thee of the nine are class exclusive. Once the factions choose you, you choose among them. However, you won''t have a problem being chosen with your background and stats. Your problem lies on what faction you choose." "So Gary was right about factions choosing first. He chose the rogue only faction so I won''t be able to see him much," Rex noted. "Within those nine factions, there are rankings. When you are first chosen, you are either a inner sect disciple or recorded disciple. Inner sect disciples are those chosen by the sect to bolster their numbers and have some potential. Recorded disciples are those explicitly chosen and accepted by the elders of the factions. They are sometimes trained by the elders and leader of their faction," Mary continued. "Faction leaders are also the nine assistant headmasters who serve under the three vice headmasters. At the highest is the patriarch who is also the Lord of Black Water City! Naturally, those of the Rain Dragon Sect are more respected than outsiders within Black Water City." "Okay, now here comes the system messages," Sean said and nine white boxes appeared before Rex. "Do remember that you cannot possibly join the exclusive warrior and rogue factions. That means a total of seven faction representative can choose you first before you select which one to join. Juniors who reached level 10 throughout the globe will come to Rain Dragon Sect. It seems many wish to be tested to be the Chosen of Water and possess the Trident of Water. You just forget and avoid such idiots." *Ding* Mech Matrix: Rogue class exclusive faction. Rex, you don''t need to learn much about it but they combine Ki and machinery to make interesting weapons and armor similar to science fiction movies. You better get some neat stuff through your friend, Gary Hill. Indomitable Dragon: Warrior exclusive faction. You can''t join this one either but the strongest and most talented warriors join this faction. One of the top three factions, it obviously has many disciples and much in-fighting to accompany it. The patriarch''s favorite faction so try not to anger disciples from this faction. Well, at least don''t kill any. Elemental Raze: Mage exclusive faction. Bunch of mages wearing fancy robes and hats who think they''re all that because they got magic. You are a battle mage so you should not join this faction. They don''t approve of battle mages and the representative probably won''t choose you. The idiot. Mysterious Formation: All classes really. Formations are created using spirit energy, mana or Ki, does not matter which one. Pretty much the most mysterious sect, pun intended. Bunch of sissies if you ask me, but they make good money for making formations which have a variety of effects. Recommended. Sealing Jade: Warriors and rogues preferred. This faction specializes in controlling the battlefield. Tactics, torture, assassination, combat, and other stuff. They are the most annoying sect as they can seal someone''s spirit energy. Course you got that Ink Qilin Neidan''s anti- spirit energy sealing effect. Don''t join these guys. Myriad Ghost: Rogues and mages preferred. Illusion magic, stealth, and assassination in a nut shell. Why fight face-to-face if you can just kill from the shadows. Not my cup of tea as I raise mayhem and destroy opponent and environment at the same time. Personally, I wouldn''t bother learning illusion magic if I were a mage. Corpse Refinery: All classes. Pretty much the most bloody, cruel, and evil faction. You kill people or creatures of the Night and use their souls to refine a corpse of a more powerful entity. It will become your puppet or even host your own damn soul. I''d be more worried about my own faction killing me than other factions. One of the top three factions. Recommended. Abyssal Ruin: All classes but is the smallest faction. This faction is the only one personally founded by the patriarch. This faction focuses on researching the Night and its inhabitants. They also possess interesting formations and have skills found nowhere else. The best benefit is lack of in-fighting and large living space. Recommended. Howling Sky: Warriors and rogues preferred. Pretty much a combat-focused faction. My kind of faction that just focuses on killing creatures of the Night on the battlefield. Battle mages are especially accepted if they know healing magic. If you want to learn flying skills early on, this faction is it. One of the top three factions. Highly recommended. "See any faction you like?" Sean asked. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "You don''t seem to like any but the Mech Matrix Faction," Rex said. "Can''t help it. They got some neat tools," Sean shrugged. "Well, Corpse Refinery, Abyssal Ruin, and Howling Sky seem ideal," Rex said. "There is no greater prize than your own corpse. Should they discover you are a Cheat Hunter, they would instantly kill you and make it look like an accident. Plus, I don''t want you messing with corpses," Mary said. "In the end, you got to impress them first. Let''s go," Sean said. They rode Mary''s car to the underground parking lot of the largest corporate building in Los Cientos. The elevator there took them to the Rain Dragon Sect which was situated deep below the city in a underground valley. Even though it was not in Black Water City beneath Las Vegas, Los Cientos was the hometown of the Lord of Black Water City and where he founded the sect. Sects were secluded from the world, unlike Night Hunter Academies. Thus, the Rain Dragon Sect was not located in Las Vegas. The corporate building was just a front of a private bank and financing firm that made most of its money by the Night Hunter employees. "This is Rain Dragon Sect? So amazing," Rex gasped as he arrived atop of a mountain overlooking a valley farther than the eye could see. It was as if he were atop a beach house on the hill overlooking the sea. Judging by the Chinese architecture, Rex assumed the patriarch was Chinese. It was as if Rex traveled through time to ancient China! High above, a serpent-bodied dragon made of azure crystals, black wood, and gears covered the ceiling of the underground valley. For reasons unknown to Rex, the valley was lit as if the sun was shining but there was no light source for him to determine where it came from. "Not a bad place, right? I only know five others as grand as this. One in Japan, one in England, One in Mongolia, and two in Mexico," Sean agreed. "Hansel and Gretel actually attended that sect in Mexico. I think it was the one closer north." "The Blazing Sun Dial Sect," Mary answered and Sean nodded. "Yeah, that''s the one. Heh. I remember the patriarch wanted his son to marry you. You rejected the boy so many times, I literally had to ask for you to leave the sect when it was discovered you subjected that boy to your potion testing experiments. You fucked that boy up," Sean roared with laughter. "Enough," Mary waved and Sean led the two toward the entrance of the sect, still laughing all the while. "Halt! You approach the entrance to the Rain Dragon Sect. If you seek to cause trouble, the Rain Dragon Guardian above will slay you without mercy or trial," a guard in pure black robes with gold hemming on the bottom of their robe and sleeves. Unlike most martial robes, their robes fell to the ground and did not only cover their upper body. "I am Sean Gorgon, the War God. This is my daughter, Gretel the Dark Queen. I am here for my grandson to take the test and join the sect," Sean said as he looked at the long lines of people standing in line behind the gates. Sean and company had arrived at the outer gate. After inspection, they would enter the outer sect disciple area and wait for the test there. Seeing this, it was evidence that outer sect disciples weren''t really considered true members of the sect. "T, the War God?" a guard cried and stopped the guard who first spoke, the guard obviously about to yell and say something stupid. "It is an honor for the War God to come. We had heard of your grandson appearing in the last first level promotion test. There is no need for the three esteemed guests to wait in line." "You know this guy?" a guard frowned as other guards immediately appeared and bowed. "Greetings, War God!" they all cried and stared at the guard who still didn''t pay his respects. "Don''t tell me you don''t know the identities of the top twenty Night Hunters? This is THE War God, not a fake like all the others. Sean Gorgon slayed over forty Code Keepers, conquered many areas in the Night to make various cities! He even saved the patriarch''s life once!" the guard captain answered as he appeared and bowed to Sean as the other guard paled and bowed in apology several times. "Apologies, War God. He is a new guard and took his post last month." "I saved him? Must have been long ago. Anyway, don''t tell anyone of my relation to Rex. No one needs to know his background. He''ll wait in line with the others. Let the parents and guardians in so they don''t suspect anything. Oh, and forbid any status inspections. I don''t people to sweat bullets when they can''t read mine if they use a device or is actually a Cheat Hunter," Sean advised. "Of course, we''ll wait thirty minutes before doing so. We''ll have to yell at you three to get in line to avoid suspicion. All sounds outside the outer gate cannot be heard inside. Sects like to isolate themselves from the troubles of the outside world. No one heard us guards pay our respects. Rest assured," the guard captain said and turned to his men. "Alert the the three vice headmasters of the War God''s arrival and have all the parents and guardians enter the spectator stands in thirty minutes." "Yes, captain," the guards said and left. "So sects have guards. Are you not disciples?" Rex asked. "We guards are part of the City Lord''s private army. Us guarding the outer gates and enforcing the sect rules in the outer disciple area display the connection of the City Lord and the sect," the guard captain answered. "All matters inside the sect are unknown to us as well. You will have to inquire others of the sect''s rules within the factions" After thirty minutes of waiting in line, Rex waved goodbye as the parents and guardians were led out of the line and into the giant field up ahead. When Rex and the others were led inside, they appeared in what seemed like the coliseum in Rome but the size of a professional football stadium. Rex and all the applicants had been changed into brown robes with yellow seams. Those were the robes of outer sect disciples and only faction disciples could wear their personal robes with colors pertaining to their status within their factions. "You lot don''t mind those people in the stands. Your first test is simple: a status inspection. A proctor will come to determine your name, level, class, and title. In our sect, those below the age of twenty five and above level 12 will pass the first test. Don''t bother using shady methods. You can''t fool us," a man wearing pure white robes with azure collars and sash said as he arrived with four others. "Once your status is inspected, and you meet the requirements, you will be given an identification tag with your application number on it. The faction disciples, elders, leader, and representative are watching you through hidden cameras during each assessment test. Your results determine whether you get picked or fail and become an outer sect disciple." "Such harsh requirements." "They''re watching us? Is there no privacy at all?" Many applicants were disturbed by the requirements. Those who didn''t were clearly confident or knew about it. Some were even a little over ten years old. Rex realized these were kids from powerful clans or organizations. They were truly talented but Rex was a Cheat Hunter and did not feel inferior to them. "Next!" the proctor called and Rex stepped forward, feeling a tingling down his spine as he got appraised. "Name is Rex Valentine. Level 18? Quite the monster. You''re a black mage! Whew. Haven''t inspected one of those in a while. Thousand Soul Eater title? You ate souls?" the proctor cried, many applicants and spectators muttering in awe and fear. Level 18 meant he had some sort of background. Not as high as he was fifteen, but he had a title and it involved souls. "A black mage would be valued by Corpse Refinery and Abyssal Ruin. Kid, don''t expect much from Mech Matrix, Indomitable Dragon, or even Elemental Raze," the proctor said as he saw the sword on Rex''s back. "Sealing Jade, Howling Sky, and Myriad Ghost are also options for you." "Which faction would Proctor think suits me?" Rex asked. "The first two I mentioned. Black mages study the most ancient of magic and that coincides with Abyssal Ruin. Soul skills, like Yin Yang Gate, and other skills work well for disciples of Corpse Refinery," the proctor answered and gave Rex his identification tag. Rex thanked the man and waited for the first assessment test to be concluded. Along with him, a total of over five thousand passed. Not surprising, those who were all around ten, eleven, and twelve all passed. "The real assessment starts now," Mary said. "He better get some results," Sean nodded as they watched among the stands.