Leveling Up With My Deviant System

Quest Of Power

“Do you seek revenge?”

“Do you seek power?”

The string of words kept replaying in Micheal’s subconscious even after his final breath left him. Strangely enough, he found that he had the strength to open his eyes. He was scared, however, of whatever he might see.

He did anyway…

And what he saw all around him was a vast mirror-like skyscape. His reflection stared at him from every angle, sending a shudder down his spine.

“Wha– what the hell is this?”

He sat up– or at least tried to, because the ‘floor’ beneath was another reflective surface, causing him to stagger in fright. Micheal had always been scared of heights. Still, he swallowed his horror and forced himself to look around.

That was when he noticed the figure standing behind him. The figure was concealed head to toe in a grey cloak that exuded an unsettling aura.

Micheal’s heart palpitated. “Um, excuse me? What is this place?”

The cloaked figure was silent for a moment, before responding, “You are at the crossroads. The land of reflections. Here, you will be judged on whether to proceed to heaven or hell.”

Micheal frowned when he realized the figure’s voice was the same as the one who had asked if he sought revenge. He clenched his fists slightly and asked, “So, where do I belong?”

“Heaven, of course.” The figure laughed, outstretching a withered hand to command this mirror-like world.

Immediately, the reflections changed to display Micheal’s life in its entirety– from the moment he was born, to his death a moment ago. It all happened in a flash, yet it felt like an eternity.

Micheal relived the trauma of being treated like an outcast, he relived the pain of his father’s death, followed quickly by that of his mother. He relived the days of trying to help his violently coughing sister. And, he relived his days of being bullied by his entire school.

Micheal’s jaw clenched. He had so much rage in him that he doubted if he’d be allowed into heaven.

“Is that really where you want to go?” The figure asked, almost as if reading his thoughts.

Micheal was stunned. “What do you mean?”

The figure laughed. It was a grating and utterly loud sound. “I see the pain in your heart, little human. Do you wish to proceed to heaven, or return to your world with newfound power? Power so great that those who made your life a living hell will cower at your feet?”

…Power?

Micheal’s head buzzed. He swallowed hard and answered before he could even think, “I do! I hate them so much that I want every single one of them to suffer!”

The figure laughed once more.

“That’s good! That’s more like it! We should never let go of grudges, or forgive those who harm us!”

Then, the strange entity pointed to a sudden door that had appeared from nowhere. It explained, “In there lies the power you seek. However, to claim it, you must go through an arduous test. One that will shake your spirit and test your determination to live.”

Micheal stared at the door, feeling his heart pounding faster than his mind could process.

“Should you pass the test, a reward awaits you at the end, as well as the portal that would take you back to your world.”

The door opened at that moment. Micheal caught a glimpse of what was behind: A terrible landscape with blood-red sky, jagged terrain and fierce winds. Before he could ask any of the questions that plagued his mind, the figure shoved him in with a single tap.

Micheal’s concerns could only remain buried in his chest as he passed through, immediately falling into another strange world.

…

After free-falling for a while, Micheal crashed into a sand heap. A groan escaped his lungs as he rolled away and found solid ground. Thankfully, the sand had cushioned his fall.

“Ah, there’s too much going on… I feel like I’ve gone insane,” He spat and wiped his face clean of dirt. Then, he opened his eyes to take in the view.

What met his gaze instead, was a strange creature that resembled an Ostrich. Except, it had more eyes than Micheal could quickly count. Before he could contemplate whether the creature was dangerous or not, It suddenly lunged towards him with a piercing shriek.

Micheal’s heart shuddered.

He managed to jump away in the nick of time. Still, the creature’s beak left a deep scratch on his left arm.

“Ah…” Micheal winced. “What the hell is this?! Is this the test?! More like a murder mission!”

As he yelled in terror, the creature lunged at him once more. It was horribly fast, leaving Micheal no time to evade. He could only hold out his arms to shield his face. He felt a bone crack, as skin and flesh tore. Blood gushed from where the creature’s beak had struck him.

“Ahhh!”

Micheal’s agonizing scream filled the air. The sight of blood and realization that he was in deep trouble kicked his mind into overdrive. Micheal’s survival instincts hooked his body, and he grabbed the creature’s neck instantly.

Without any hesitation, he bit into its neck with all the rage he had been bottling up.

The ostrich-like creature let out a pained screech, before taking off with daunting speed and dragging Micheal across the ground. The boy didn’t let up. Even with his feet smashing into protruding rocks, he wrapped his arms around the creature’s neck and bit on tightly.

With raging force, he managed to tear out muscle, instantly inflicting a terrible wound.

The creature let out another agonizing screech, before collapsing to the ground, its blood staining the soil.

Huff… Huff…

Micheal collapsed too, before doubling over and retching.

“Disgusting!” He wiped his tongue over and over again, but the nauseating stench remained. He looked to the side at the creature and noticed it was still breathing, albeit faintly.

Annoyed, Micheal raised his fist to pound the creature’s face repeatedly. He screamed like a mad man as he did so over and over again, until the thing finally ceased all movement.

And just as it did… A melodious voice sang in his ear:

[YOU HAVE KILLED YOUR FIRST PROFANITY!]

[YOU HAVE UNLOCKED YOUR SYSTEM!]

“Ah!” Micheal jumped back in fright and quickly looked around, fearing he was about to be attacked by another abomination.

But he seemed to be in the clear… for now.

At that moment, a nearly transparent screen popped up in his vision. He frowned, puzzled, as he read the text on the screen.

{{Profile Tab}}

[Name: Micheal Baker]

[Titles: ----]

[Class: ----]

[Rank: Initiate]

[Progress: 1/20]

[Skills: ----]

[Inventory: x1 Profane Core]

{{Mission Tab}}

[Quest of Power: Defeat all the creatures of Profanity in the area.]

[Mission Difficulty: Extreme]

[Rewards: ???]

…

Micheal narrowed his eyes as he took in the information on the screen.

“I’ve unlocked a system? Just like the ones I’ve read about in books?”

“The sections are mostly empty. Is it because I just started?”

“Is this what that entity meant as ‘power’? I get to return to the human world with this system if I pass the test? That would be insane!”

His eyes flashed towards the mission tab at that point. His brows quickly creased into a frown as he read the details of the required test.

“Wait– All the creatures of Profanity? There’s more of that thing around?”

Before Micheal could answer his own question, he heard a series of wails, screeches, grunts and growls. When he turned his head, he saw a daunting number of strange creatures rushing towards him from a distance.

Some resembled two-legged goats; some looked like feral beasts with giant claws; some bore a resemblance to sea creatures that sliced through the sand. Some took to the skies, their wings bearing numerous eyes that all flashed with hunger.

Micheal swallowed hard.

“I’m doomed!”