LEVEL UP

GETTING STRONGER (2)

A faint glimmer of light showed in his eyes.

His vision was blurry.

He felt like he had been drugged.

His head banged continuously.

“Where the hell am I??”

He opened his eyes widely and took in the view of a roof.

He realized he was in a bed. He tried to stand when he heard a deep voice.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Your body’s still not strong.” His eyes traveled to find an old man stirring a pot.

“Who are you?” “Where am I?”

Roshan sat up and narrowed his eyes at the man.

“That’s a harsh way to thank someone who has been taking care of you for the past week,” the old man calmly said.

“ONE WEEK!!!!” he exclaimed. He had been out for one week.

“I found you on the ground in front of a damaged cottage, took you in, and have been taking care of you since,” the old man finally looked up at him.

“Why??” Roshan asked as he looked at the strange man.

The old man kept quiet and stared at him.

Roshan’s face reddened as he remembered his manners.

“I am sorry. I mean, thank you for taking care of me,” Roshan said, staring down at the floor. He just couldn’t understand why someone would help him like this.

“But why did you help me?” He looked up at the man as he asked.

The old man simply shrugged. “Well, it’s because you look like my son.” The man smiled and stood up. “You need to get your rest,” he said, turning around.

“Please wait. Where is your son?” Roshan came out of his trance and asked.

The old man smiled as he looked at the young boy.

He didn’t know why he had taken him in, but he just felt drawn to this scrawny, skinny-looking child.

When he first saw him in that abandoned area, he had wondered what a fragile-looking child was doing there.

The boy reminded him of his own son, and right then and there, he had taken him in immediately, tending to his light wounds and pale body.

He had been worried because the boy hadn’t woken up, and it was getting harder to get medicine for him.

“My son is at the Mage School,” the old man smiled and walked out of the room.

Roshan stared at the door as all his thoughts gathered together.

So he had passed out for a whole week. He slumped back into the bed, staring at the wooden ceiling.

He remembered quite a lot of dings in his head as he blacked out.

He opened the system, and a screen popped out in front of him.

[Welcome back, Roshan Axton]

He was a bit surprised at this greeting.

“System, move on to my personal status please.”

[Host Level: Level 5]

[Current Ability: None]

[Strength: 14]

[Agility: 12]

[Speed: 13]

[Stamina: 13]

[‹Mage Status›]

[Mage Level: 0]

[Magic Ability: None]

[Mana Control: 0]

HP: [50/50]

EXP: [0/50]

[Skill unlocked]

[Energy Absorption: Level 1]

[Skill unlocked]

[Refill: Level 1]

SP: [100/100]

[5 free stats obtained]

Roshan was ecstatic reading the notifications. He was more than excited when he saw he had finally unlocked skills.

“I wonder how many skills I have to unlock.”

[This information is locked]

At least he could still find out about the new skills.

He tapped on the first skill he unlocked.

[Energy Absorption: This skill allows the user to absorb energy from organisms that are no longer alive or, through contact, energy from living organisms can be absorbed.]

This skill was awesome. He could immediately recover his strength after a fight.

Now the next skill.

[Refill: This skill enables the host to fill up Health and Skill points to the brim immediately after being used. Skill takes two minutes to cool down before it can be used again.]

He got more excited as he read about his new skills.

“Is this even possible?” he asked himself, unable to stop smiling.

He had never expected skills like this. Moreover, he still had five free stats.

“I should probably add one to Strength, two to Agility, and two to Speed,” he told himself. If he could finish a fight faster, why get tired?

[Free stats have just been added]

[Strength: 15]

[Agility: 14]

[Speed: 15]

[Stamina: 13]

He looked at the screen and wondered what else it could do.

[The System can do a lot of things, but this information is locked]

It was less surprising as the system answered the question on his mind.

He got up immediately and looked around. He needed to train for the Arkon Tournament.

He walked straight out of the room, feasting his eyes on the house. It was nice. He went out the door and looked for the old man who had taken such good care of him.

“Hello, boy. You look well rested already. That’s quite fast,” the voice belonged to the exact person he was searching for.

“Yes, sir, and thank you for taking care of me. I can find my way from here,” Roshan said as he bowed to the man.

“And where do you want to go? I found you in an unpleasant situation. Would you go back there? You are very welcome to stay here with me,” the old man asked, looking intently at the lean boy.

“Uhmmm….” Now that he thought of it, where would he go exactly? His house wasn’t in its best shape, and he was prone to many dangers from that part of the forest.

He knew none of his family members could suggest a suitable place for him.

The old man, seeing the look on his face, spoke up.

“I would appreciate the company. As you can see, I am the only one in this lonely place. When you are fit, you are free to leave,” the man said with a smile.

“Wait… how did you..” Roshan stuttered, looking at the man suspiciously.

“Of course I would. Every youth wants to compete in that tournament these days,” the old man said, shrugging.

“T..t…thank you very much. I will surely repay you, kind sir,” the young boy said, glad he found somewhere to rest his head.

The old man simply nodded and walked back into his room.

Roshan stepped out and breathed in the fresh air, his sparkling crystal-blue eyes shining in the sun.

It was time for a new phase of his life.

His legs carried him back to the house. He walked into the half-destroyed shed to bring out his father’s sword. He held it in his hand; it felt much lighter than before.

Maybe it was because of the increase in his strength, and he smiled at that thought.

He swung it a few times, but the sword didn’t feel right in his hands. It felt like he was being held back from showing his true strength. He gripped the sword tighter and swung it as fast as he could against the shed wall, but nothing happened.

A second later, a long, thin, smooth cut appeared on the wall, and the lower portion of the wall fell down.

The sword hit the floor. Roshan’s fingers widened in shock. He went closer to the wall he had destroyed, placed his fingers on the cut, and flinched as he felt a light burn.

He looked intently at the sword.

[New Skill unlocked]

That ding echoed in his head again.

[Crystal Iris: Level 1]

What the hell was the Crystal Iris?

[Crystal Iris allows hosts to unlock and inspect certain information on certain things. It can be upgraded.]

Nice…

Roshan thought as he read the information in his head.

He looked at the sword again.

“Inspect…” he thought.

[Crystal Iris activated]

[Lava Sword: Level 35]

[Ability: Allows host to manipulate lava]

[Level 20 Beast Gem detected, equipped with Lava element]

[Would the host like to absorb Gem?]

Wow…

Well, he should not have expected less from his father.

He looked at the sword and shook his head. This was not the right equipment for him. He could still keep the sword for future use, but what did he need the ability for at this moment? Thinking of that, he said,

“Yes, I would like to absorb the Beast Gem.” He smiled anxiously and rubbed his hands greedily.

[Energy Absorption activated]

His smile widened as he felt the familiar calm and energy wash over him.

Then, like the saying goes, “peace before the storm.”

He grabbed his head as he knelt down. The pain was like a jackhammer on his skull. He had forgotten he needed to move this energy around his body, but it was too late; the pain stopped him.

[Level up initiating]

[Host has successfully reached Level 7]

The intense pain didn’t allow him to comprehend the notification as it started again.

[Energy Bar filled]

[Level Up Initiating]

[Host has successfully reached Level 9]

The pain reduced, but he was drenched from head to toe in sweat. His wet clothes made him look like he had just come out of a heavy storm.

His breathing steadied as he lay on his back, taking it slow.

He opened the system and looked at the notifications in front of him.

He marveled at the fact that he had leveled up twice. He was at Level 9 already.

He could feel much stronger and lighter. He smiled.

Now, to look at his status.