The With-God's Devotion System

Chapter 6

Julian stopped pacing. The robotic voice was right. He really did have nothing to lose. He had lost his girlfriend, his dignity, and his normal life. He was a walking dead man with a ticking clock in his chest.

He looked down at his hands again. He was tired of being weak. He was tired of being the dirt that rich Mages stepped on. 

If this crazy System was telling him to kiss an S-Rank Witch to survive, then he was going to find a way to do it. He refused to die before seeing Darius Cage bleed.

"Fine," Julian muttered, clenching his fists. "Fine. But first, I have to get out of this Rift."

He finally took a good look at his surroundings. The bottom of the Miasma Rift was a nightmare. The ground was covered in thick black mud that smelled like rotten meat. 

Giant, pale mushrooms grew out of the canyon walls, dripping a sticky yellow acid. The toxic green fog was so thick he could only see about thirty feet in any direction.

The air was heavy and quiet. Too quiet. Suddenly, Julian heard a sound.

Crunch. Splash.

It was the sound of heavy footsteps walking through the mud. It came from somewhere deep inside the green fog.

Julian froze. He held his breath.

Grrrrr...

A low, deep growl echoed through the canyon. It vibrated in Julian’s chest. The Miasma Rift was not just a place where criminals were thrown. It was the home of Miasma Beasts—mutated monsters that ate raw magic and human flesh.

Julian slowly backed away, pressing his back against the cold stone wall of the canyon. He had no weapon. He still didn't know how to use magic. All he had was a black suit that was torn to rags.

Through the thick green fog, two glowing red eyes appeared. They were huge, about ten feet off the ground.

Splash. Splash.

The monster stepped closer. Julian could see its outline now. It looked like a giant, mutated wolf, but its skin was missing in places, showing glowing green bones underneath. Saliva dripped from its massive, razor-sharp teeth, hissing as it hit the mud.

The beast locked its glowing red eyes on Julian. It let out a deafening roar that shook the ground.

"System!" Julian yelled in his mind. "Do I have any combat skills? Any magic to fight this thing?"

[Negative. Host has no magic until you complete your first Quest.]

"So I'm supposed to just die here?!" Julian grabbed a sharp rock from the mud, ready to fight even if it was useless.

The giant wolf-beast crouched low, its powerful muscles tightening. It prepared to leap forward and bite Julian completely in half.

Julian raised his rock, his heart pounding in his throat. But before the monster could jump...

BOOOOOOM!

A colossal explosion rocked the entire canyon. The sound was so loud it made Julian’s ears bleed. It did not come from the monster. It came from the sky above them.

Julian looked up. The thick green fog covering the sky suddenly parted. A blinding flash of pure, bright blue light lit up the dark canyon like a second sun.

The air temperature dropped in a single second. The thick, smelly mud at Julian’s feet instantly froze solid. The giant wolf-beast looked up in confusion, its breath turning into white steam.

A massive wave of pure, absolute-zero ice magic swept through the canyon. It hit the wolf-beast like a freight train. The giant monster didn't even have time to scream. In less than a heartbeat, the beast was completely frozen into a block of solid, clear ice.

Julian pressed himself flat against the canyon wall, shivering violently as the freezing wind whipped past him.

"What... what is happening?" he yelled over the sound of the howling wind.

High above, a figure fell through the hole in the green fog. It looked like a falling star, trailing bright blue ice and white smoke. The figure was falling incredibly fast, straight toward the ground near Julian.

CRASH!

The figure slammed into the frozen mud just fifty feet away from Julian.

The impact sent a shockwave of ice and dirt flying in all directions. Julian covered his head with his arms as sharp pieces of frozen mud hit the wall above him.

A huge cloud of white steam and dust filled the area. Slowly, the dust began to settle.

Julian opened his eyes. His teeth were chattering from the extreme cold. He pushed himself off the wall and took a slow, careful step forward. His frozen shoes slipped slightly on the icy ground.

Fifty feet away, there was a deep, smoking crater in the ground.

Julian walked to the edge of the crater and looked down.

Lying in the center of the smashed ice was a woman.

She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman Julian had ever seen. She had long, flowing hair the color of fresh snow. Her skin was pale and flawless. She wore a sleek, elegant silver and blue battle dress, though it was currently torn and stained with dark blood.

In her right hand, she loosely held a long staff made of pure, sparkling crystal. The crystal was glowing with a terrifying, overwhelming amount of magical power. Even though she was unconscious, the air around her was so cold it hurt to breathe.

Julian stared at her. He recognized her. Every single person in the city of Erlingland knew who she was.

She was Rachael Blackwood. The Ice Queen. She was the youngest Head Professor at the Arcane Academy. She was famous for her beauty, her cold personality, and her absolute ruthlessness in battle.

And most importantly...

Ding!

The System chimed loudly in Julian’s head. A golden arrow appeared in his vision, pointing directly at the bleeding woman in the crater.

[Target Identified!]

[Name: Rachael Blackwood.]

[Magic Affinity: Ice (Pure).]

[Rank: S-Rank Witch.]

[Status: Critically Injured from Magical Backlash.]

Julian’s jaw dropped. He could not believe his eyes. Just two minutes ago, he had been screaming at the System that he could never get close to an S-Rank Witch. He was trapped at the bottom of a toxic hole.

And now, an S-Rank Witch had literally fallen from the sky and landed at his feet.

[Opportunity detected,] the System's robotic voice said, sounding almost smug. [The target is currently defenseless. Warning: Target's passive ice aura will freeze you to death in exactly 60 seconds if you get too close.]

Julian swallowed hard. He looked at Rachael’s beautiful, pale lips. He looked at the frost rapidly covering the ground around her.

[Time Limit: 71 Hours, 58 Minutes. Action Required: Kiss the Target.]

Julian took a deep breath. His heart started pounding a fast, wild rhythm. This was crazy. This was dangerous. If she woke up while he was touching her, she would turn him into a statue of ice and shatter him into a million pieces.

But if he didn't do it, his soul would melt.

"Okay," Julian whispered to himself, stepping over the edge of the crater. His boots crunched on the frost. "Okay, System. Let's get to work."