"Ah, good morning, captain. Sorry, I collapsed after the training was over."
"It's fine. You must be tired. How'd it go?"
"Success."
"Good, good. Rest for a while, and we can go back to training. I can tell you're very close to Knight level."
"Yes."
Henry sat in a corner of the room and opened the system. He wanted to check the new blessings menu.
Blessings:
0-Blessing of the Granter of Systems:
-Demon Slaying System (passive):
Access to the Demon Slaying System. Stop the emerging anomaly.
-Limit Break (passive):
Your ⬛⬛ is now variable. Take your fate into your own hands.
1-Blessing of the Origin of Life:
-Higher Lifeform (passive)
Your lifeforce is doubled, doubling your lifespan and regenerative ability. You will never age past your physical prime until the day you die.
-Lifeforce Reuse (active)
For every 10000 lifeforms you slay, you may enter the Immortal state for one minute. In the Immortal state, all injuries heal in milliseconds, and even if every single atom of your body is destroyed, you will not die.
-Perfect State (active):
Every three days, you may heal yourself back to prime physical, spiritual, and mental state once.
2-Blessing of the Purest Darkness:
-Shroud of Mystery (passive):
You are immune to divination and location magic, as the Purest Darkness has cast a shroud over you.
-Null (active):
Every day, you may become impossible to perceive to all living being except your blessers for five minutes. However, if you don't use this for three days, you may use it for one hour on the fourth day.
-A Father's Regret (passive/active):
You have access to Null's Shop, and can accumulate Darkness Points by slaying demons. The amount you gain per demon goes as such:
From the 72nd to 49th region of Hell:
1 point per lower demon
5 points per middle demon
20 points per higher demon
200 points per demon king
From the 48th to the 25th region of Hell:
5 points per lower demon
25 points per middle demon
100 points per higher demon
1000 points per demon king
From the 24th to the 11th region of Hell:
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
30 points per lower demon
100 points per middle demon
250 points per higher demon
5000 points per demon king
From the 10th to the 2nd region of Hell:
150 points per lower demon
750 points per middle demon
2500 points per higher demon
15000 points per demon king
In the 1st region of Hell, Pandemonium:
500 points per lower demon
3000 points per middle demon
10000 points per higher demon
1000000 points for the first demon king, Bael
Henry was very excited when he saw all of these, especially the last one. He found a "Null's Shop" option in the blessing menu, so he opened it.
"Welcome to Null's shop. I am Nerilius, a being of pure darkness made by lord Null who was added into the system. I shall be your shopkeeper. You can have 200 points as a welcome gift. Buy something useful."
Darkness Points: 200
Wares:
1-Blood of a dragon:
Description: "This one was contributed by a coworker of lord Null, another one of the Guardians of Infinity. He said it was a shame you weren't a mage, or he would've helped you out a lot more. Anyways, you can use this to make a potion that increases physical abilities, mana capacity, and the power of your mana heart."
-Can be used to make the Dragonkin Potion, which permanently increases physical abilities, mana capacity, and mana heart pumping speed by 50%.
Price: 50 Darkness Points
2-Swordmaster's Armor:
Description: "This one is from the leader of the Guardians of Infinity, who's a swordsman like you. He said this was his armor in the distant past. He fixed it up and sent it here."
-Magic Defense:
Can absorb up to three fifth circle or below spells per day.
-One With The Sword:
Reduces damage from melee weapons by 30%.
-Has a defense rating of A by your world's standards.
-Aura Compatible:
Can be imbued with aura or unique energies like a weapon to increase its defense.
Price: 125 Darkness Points
3- Highest Tier Experience Crystal of a Gun Knight:
Description: "The system recommended this one, so lord Null acquired it and put it here. You better be grateful. Anyways, it contains all the experience of a Gun Knight. You should be able to get to Knight level immediately when you use it if you already have a complete Mind's Eye."
-Immediately promotes you to Gun Knight level if you have achieved Knight level with another weapon. Otherwise, this will raise you to intermediate squire level with full Exp.
Price: 500 Darkness Points
Null's Shop's wares refresh every week at midnight.
Henry was intrigued by all the wares, but he unfortunately couldn't afford that experience crystal.
'I'll take the armor and the dragon blood.'
"Pleasure doing business."
You have bought the Blood of a Dragon and the Swordmaster's Armor. They will be transferred to you within today.
Remaining Darkness Points: 25
Henry closed the shop. That's when he noticed the notification icon was glowing, so he opened it.
Notifications:
-Unread System Message:
You have incorporated the first level concept of lightning into the Demon Slaying Energy. Your Demon Slaying Energy now moves 1600% faster in your mana circulatory system, and your movement speed is tripled when you are using it. Your strikes also now do lightning damage when Demon Slaying Energy is activated, and you receive 50% lightning damage. You may increase the level of this concept by absorbing higher level lightning mana or objects that contain higher level lightning mana.
'Oh, so this is the message I didn't manage to read before I passed out.'
'Usually, I'd be very happy with all this new power, but what happened in that dreamworld has changed my outlook. That demon, the system called him the Incarnation of Evil. He seemed very...incomplete, as if he was only partially formed, but I couldn't even see his strike. Whoever he is, he's clearly after my life, so I must be after his too. All this new power still feels insufficient. I must grow, grow, and grow some more, so I can finally rid the world of those evil bastards.'
That's when Captain Eve approached Henry.
"Alright, Hellwalker. Today we spar, both at full power. I want to see what you're like now, and we aren't stopping until you become a Knight. This year's Hell Expedition is tomorrow, so we don't have time."
"Yes, Captain."