"Here's your grub."
The gruff jail warden said as he roughly placed a piece of bread and a clay glass-shaped container half-filled with water through the opening at the place where the iron bars intersect in the middle.
There was a little wooden plank installed inside, just big enough to hold the food in place. After he finished distributing 'dinner' to the inmates, He hurriedly left, grumbling down the stairs about how he was going to drink at the bar tonight.
After confirming that no one was still walking around, I stood up, walked towards the place where the wooden plank was placed, took the bread and water, and went back to the side of the wall to sit back down. I tried to break a piece off from the bread but it seemed that my strength wasn't enough to break it.
When I tried to bite it off with my teeth, I found that my teeth almost broke due to how hard the bread was. It wasn't like the soft, fluffy bread I had taken for granted back home. It's color was an ominous black, instead of a bright, golden brown. I wanted to shout at the one who made this, saying that this wasn't how you make bread.
But alas, I could only bite down and slowly chew it until my saliva softened it somewhat, just enough for me to swallow. Albeit bland, it wasn't that disgusting, so I finished it in mere seconds. I washed it all down with the lukewarm water they gave me with it. It just goes to show you how harsh they treat prisoners here.
Finishing the meal, I look upwards. The slight rays of moonlight just barely seep through the gaps of the small opening to the outside world, and touches the stone floor at the center of the cell. This was the time, I had to do it.
No, I'm not talking about breaking out right this second. That was just simple-minded thinking. I still had to gather information first. But before that, I had to find out everything about my current self. My strengths, my weaknesses, my skills, and my capabilities. There is also the letter I have yet to finish reading, and this mysterious ring.
Putting that aside for now, let's activate the 'Lord of the Night' skill. If I remember correctly, I invoked it by accident when I decided to fight against that giant panther. So taking that as a basis, let's try gathering strength, as if I was preparing for a brawl. Soon enough, I started to feel a tingling sensation..
I could feel my body growing hot. My blood was boiling. And yet, my heart and mind was cooling down, akin to being frozen, encased in ice. This process was slow, but I could surely feel the strength gathering in my chest.
In the next moment, that immense power seemed to not contain itself fully and it started spreading outwards. I had trouble controlling it, in order to know how much I could work with. Feeling that power was flowing through my nerves, and mysterious energy was gushing within my veins, enhancing my arms, legs, and muscles.
But the strangest thing out of all the things happening right now, was that the inner strength still kept increasing over time. It seemed that it was limitless. Like there was a geyser of water spurting out of a crack on the ground, and instead of stopping, the crack slowly grew wider, letting the water grow larger as time passed.
I had no idea how to stop the flow, but it didn't hurt me either. On the contrary, I could feel that the previous strength that I had, which would've been enough to break a boulder, was easily overtaken. Just when I thought I couldn't get any more stronger, I would, a few minutes after.
It was strange, at the same time scary. Although, my current mindset had no fear at all. My mind was as calm as a flowing stream, taking in all the excess strength, and refining it into something that made my thinking process even more faster than normal. If I wasn't careful, without having enough mental fortitude to control this huge amount of physical prowess, I felt like I could've broken the whole building with a swing if I felt like it.
My outward appearance changed too, my previous dark as night, black hair, glowed in the moonlight, turning into a light shade of silver. The eyes that tended to stare wider than normal, slowly narrowed, turning my normal, black irises, into a dark gold shade of glowing beads. The dirty skin, bruised all over, that was colored in a shade of pale yellow, likened to a Japanese person, tore off bit by bit, revealing a flawless outer layer of skin white as milk.
Through the course of over an hour, I struggled to keep the raging power that was growing exponentially in check. Finally, I managed to find a way to slow it down by telling myself that this is enough over and over. It took a lot of trial and error to keep this monstrous power at bay. At least, for now.
When I was done, I unconsciously breathed out a large breath of air, sighing outwardly. But it seemed that the breath of air was too large, and or too strong, that it blew the dust out of the cell, even scattering some of the hay outwards.
The first order of business was of course, checking my status. The only way to know your status was to say <
Name: Sairenji KyouyaRace: HumanLevel: 271Equipped Title: The StrongestClass: RulerJob: NoneHealth: 734201/734201 ▲Mana: 843108/843108 ▲Currency: 7523G 87S 12CStrength: 8327 ▲Agility: 10213 ▲Intellect: 9321 ▲Endurance: 6029 ▲Experience Needed: ... / ...Luck: 13Active SkillsUnique SkillsPassive SkillsAppraisalRandomAutomatic Language TranslationWater MagicLord of the NightAutomatic Map View-Contract----Class Inherent Skill: ActiveRuler's Skill TomeRemaining Points: 2710
There was a lot of intriguing things I could retort about, but the first one was surely the status points. Aren't they too high? Even if I had no one to compare it with, I still think that it would be part of the highest statuses if I did. But that's just my opinion. Beside some of those outrageous numbers, were symbols that looked like arrows pointing upward.
Did this have any relation to my ever-growing strength? As time passed, I stared at my status until I confirmed that every minute, the status grows at a consistent speed. It was slow since I made it that way, but it still didn't get rid of the fact that I would still get stronger even when I didn't do it consciously. It was both a blessing and a curse.
Now that I had confirmed my current strength that was still growing, in numerical form, I had to find out what this skill was. If it was now in an active state, I'm sure that the description must have changed..
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Lord of the NightUnique SkillLevel 5 (Max)- Active -When the time of day ends, the dark of night begins.
Starting from activation, your full strength will slowly recover from a crippled state.
Your peak shall come during the time frame after the night ends, and before the day begins.Level 1: Status will come back slowly, and multiplies by folds as the night gets deeperLevel 2: Every subordinate that is bound to you receives a portion of your strengthLevel 3: Allows you to use [Nullification] on beings of lower levelLevel 4: Enables [Fear Nullification] at night and halves subordinates' power during the dayLevel 5: ???Mana Cost: 0Cannot be used during the day
I see. That explains things. In other words, this skill was made for popular people..
The way it explicitly implies that I was useless in the day, but grows extremely strong in the night was a complete downside. Are you telling me I don't need sleep? This skill might sound like a cheat but it is really just making fun of lonely people. Sure, I had friends and acquaintances before, but subordinates? Not one of the people I know would agree to that. Not that it mattered, since I was in a different world. The portion of my power given to them might be enticing, but doesn't that make me sound like a suspicious person?
If I walk up to a guy and say 'Become my subordinate and you shall receive great power!', would they agree just like that? No, no, no, unless they were an eccentric person, they would most likely walk away awkwardly, later spreading rumors about me. Leading to me getting branded as an insane person.
I could use my facades again but I don't think the skill would consider a person gotten through fake gestures a real subordinate, so let's scratch that idea off the list. There was also a hidden description at the bottom, that I just couldn't read no matter how much I tried, so let's put that aside for later. I'm sure its not that important.
For now, let's add 'making friends that don't betray me' on the list. As this was new information that could very well save me in a pinch during the daytime, where I am unbearably weak.
Now let's move on to the new inputted words down below. I slowly move my attention towards the blinking words, [Class Inherent Skill: Active], and [Ruler's Skill Tome]. As I did this, a new window appeared in my head..
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Ruler's Skill TomeClass Inherent SkillAllows the user to learn different skillsSkill Books Gained: NoneSkill Points: 2710Attainable Active Skills: NoneAttainable Passive Skills: ▼Attainable Resistances: ▼Mana Cost: 500,000/Skill Learned
Wow, does that mean I could learn different skills while this one was active? Judging by the fact that this skill only appeared now, it meant that this only comes out during the night? Did it have a status requirement to be activated?
So many questions were swirling in my head. But first, I had to find out which skills I could learn. Since I had no skill books, there were no active skills or magic spells I could learn. Instead, the passive ones and resistances seem to have a skill list each. I gathered my attention on the passive skill list first.
When the list expanded, I was shocked. It turned out, that there were more than ten or twenty skills to choose from. I couldn't see the end of the list, even after scrolling through it for quite some time. luckily, there was a convenient 'Search' feature that made it easier to navigate.
As time passed, I slowly spent some skill points on skills that I needed for my plan. On my first try, I bought a skill called, 'Lock Picking'. A trivial skill, but extremely useful for my purposes. It cost 5 skill points to learn, and another 5 points to max its level. Now, I just needed to focus my attention on a lock, or a sealed door, and it would open by itself after a few seconds. I didn't even need to actually hold it.
I tried experimenting the newly gained skill on the lock on the adjacent cell, where no one was inside. I found out that I could also control unlocked locks, to inversely, lock again. After I was satisfied, I moved on to other things..
Eventually, I bought some of the skills I needed and still had so much points left over..
Name: Sairenji KyouyaRace: HumanLevel: 271Equipped Title: The StrongestClass: RulerJob: NoneHealth: 8302194 / 8302194 ▼Mana: 7495023 / 12495023 ▼Currency: 7523G 87S 12CStrength: 692011 ▼Agility: 930139 ▼Intellect: 829101 ▼Endurance: 590021 ▼Experience Needed: .. / ..Luck: 13Active SkillsUnique SkillsPassive SkillsAppraisalRandomAutomatic Language TranslationWater MagicLord of the NightAutomatic Map View-ContractLock Picking--Instantaneous Movement--Stealth--Intuition--Intimidation--Resistances: ▼Class Inherent Skill: ActiveRuler's Skill TomeRemaining Points: 2600
Of course, I maxed out the skills soon after buying them to make sure. I wanted to escape stealthily after all. This arsenal made me look like a thief or an assassin like the ones in games but so what? This was necessary. I've caused enough trouble for Elise-san and Gerald-san who seemed to be beating himself up over letting danger come close to Elise-san. I hope this somehow works out in the future.
My status had a different symbol now, although it looks so much higher than earlier, its beginning to decrease by the minute. I can feel my strength getting weaker. If I had to guess, the context inside the skill meant that maybe after midnight, my power begins to lower again? It was a rough idea but it seemed plausible enough.
If this was the case, it meant that the time right now was already after midnight. There was no one awake except me, seeing as all the other inmates are sleeping soundly in their cells. For some reason, I wasn't sleepy in the least.
It seems that the more answers I find, the more questions pop up. It's an endless cycle. But putting that aside, I had to move on to finding out more about this ring that got me into this mess..