Trust lightly.
That phrase from his missing parents bounced in his head as Caesar reached for their iron safe. His trembling hands dug under the floorboards, fingers groping for a lock. There. He narrowed his eyes in firm resolve. The lock clicked and the safe opened. He cupped the small golden apple into his hand and rolled it around. All opportunities came with tribulations, and this would merely be the first.
“Identify,” he whispered.
[Item]: Mysterious Golden Apple – Rank 1
[Rarity]: Unknown
[Effects]: Unknown
Caesar frowned. That gave him no real information. But he knew that this apple meant a lot to his late parents, and that they had ordered him not to touch it, nor even think about it, until his eighteenth birthday. An impossible feat – their solemn tones had lingered in his ear for eight years.
Now, he understood their intentions. A rank one catalyst awakened abilities once a person was eighteen, activating the system and granting them their own special power. For most people, a Common rarity Awakening Potion would be all they could afford. Whatever this apple was filled Caesar with fear and doubt about his parents’ final words and their absence.
My son, you must prepare yourself. Soon we will be forced to leave you for a long, long time. It is a… possibility that you may never see us again. I want you to remember this, Caesar. Know your limits, but never stop moving. Once you reach eighteen, level up as fast as possible.
Yet, trust and a little bit of hope to see them again lingered in his heart. He pushed all thoughts to the back of his mind and put the entire apple into his mouth, which immediately melted into a fruity liquid. As the juice flowed down his throat and into his stomach, he relaxed, collapsed, and ceased thinking.
[Notice]: Your soul has been thoroughly washed, curing its injuries. +5 Willpower. +3 Spirit. Spell [Greater Soul Wash] associated with Mysterious Golden Apple.
When Caesar came to, day replaced night. His excitement had died down. He lay there blinking with long, steady breaths on the floor, taking his time to recover.
He looked at himself. “Identify.”
[Notice]: Congratulations! You have awoken your power and leveled up to Level 1! +2 Free Stat Points
Caesar
Level 1: 2 Free Stat Points
Ability: (Essence Crown) Dominate (A) – Rank 1
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Vitality: 7
Magic: 5
Willpower: 9
Spirit: 6
He furrowed his brows in confusion at seeing two abilities in his status screen. There was no information about this from school. Not only did the second appear fake, but the first appeared vastly different from common consensus. He checked the system messages in more detail.
[Dominate (A)]: An ability that provides a +2 bonus to all stats except Spirit and allows the user to replicate enemies killed below one’s level when active. Chance of success per kill is low. The limit is one monster’s replica held at a time. Dominated creatures cannot have abilities but can have skills. They preserve their stats and level but cannot level themselves. Summoned monsters can be commanded with simple to intermediate orders.
This second ability looked normal. A-tier abilities were almost the best one could get, only losing in versatility and power to the supreme S-tier abilities. But his second ability seemed vastly different. For one, it lacked an ability tier, unlike all other abilities he had heard about, and its description was also much vaguer.
(Essence Crown): Steal the essence of enemies slain to power the crown. Mark enemies up to your rank to bind their essence cores and summon them after slain. Store up to five cores at a time and summon a maximum of two. Hold up to two marks. Replenish marks with time.
Stolen novel; please report.
But even with those differences, it already appeared much better than Dominate. Not only could he store up to five minions at a time, to be summoned at will, but he could also guarantee securing the monster as a minion and summon twice the number. And what was this about a crown?
Because more clarification was needed, he had to go and test how his ability worked. Under his bed lay a spear, hidden from sight. It had common origins, as he had bought it a few years ago as a replacement. Nevertheless, it had helped him over the years, maintaining the teachings taught by his father. He slung it over his back, before walking down the stairs and out the front door.
Caesar’s neighborhood appeared decent at a glance. Bleak and smooth, the neighborhood homes stood as serviceable living spaces but nothing more. Rows of generic two-storied houses built with some generic construction ability lined the sides of the path and his home happened to be nearest to the path that led outside the city.
Not far from here existed a sprawling forest, dubbed “the Wilderness” by locals, due to the vast stretches of unexplored territory, vicious beasts, and dungeons that littered the area. Various strongholds were constructed near these dungeons, and the Wilderness sufficed as both a home and a business for many. But the area near his home had already been cleared a long time ago, and thus served as a safe training area for the newly awakened like him. The most anybody should expect to face in the area would be a few rank zero Mundane animals, who should pose little threat to somebody with access to stat points and powers.
“Hey!” Caesar shouted. A nearby carriage driver was collecting his toll from three other people, armed men. Seemingly quite professional, the team glanced at him and looked away. “Got any room left for one more?”
“That’ll be two silver coins.”
He handed over his fee after the others had gone onto the carriage first. As he stepped into the six-person carriage, he noticed a man and a woman around his age. The man wore a neat black suit with glasses, a silvery-white tie, brown pants, and dark brown leather shoes. The woman wore a beautiful, gemmed dress with a moderate verdant tone, similar shoes, and a bright smile. Both were hazel-eyed blonds. Both looked wealthy. And here, wealth meant power. He avoided their eyes and tilted his head downward.
“Are you here for university too?” asked the man with a smile.
Caesar shook his head. “I’m headed for the Wilderness.”
“Oh. Are you not enrolling?”
“Not now, but hopefully in the future.”
“Ah.” The man tilted his head slightly. “I’m Arnold, and this is Lily. I thought you were like us. Most people don’t venture into the wilderness without a power.”
Caesar nodded to acknowledge his words. Indeed, most people would be content with toiling away in a more normal and safer environment until they earned enough to awaken their power without the risk. Only the brave and foolhardy ones, as told by his teacher, would choose to comb the forest for valuable catalysts, let alone the even riskier depths and dungeons.
“I’m Caesar. I’m just getting some combat experience with wolves.”
Arnold nodded. Comfortable silence filled the rest of the ride.
-----------------
He chose to exit the carriage halfway to the stronghold, into a familiar place he had once explored with a friend at the age of sixteen. The image of a girl with long black hair and amber eyes flashed in his mind, her voice harsh with fury at the wolves surrounding them.
“Wait. I noticed you didn’t take any healing with you,” Arnold said. He reached into his suit and pulled out a small red vial. “Take this, just in case.”
Caesar nodded his head in thanks and walked into the trees. For hours, each step tapped light, careful, and slow. He made sure to keep his eyes on any threats hidden in the trees, not wanting a repeat of that incident. His vision swiveled from left to right, while he made sure to keep his movements slow and steady. Each breath, smooth and short, kept him quiet and alert.
With nothing heard, he stepped further into the forest. Many an adventurer had met his doom from surprise ambushes within the dense undergrowth. Poisonous snakes, insects, and plants could deal a good amount of damage and debilitate even the hardiest rank zero adventurers. But the presence of other people worried him more.
Caesar’s journey stopped when he heard shuffling in the bushes. He slowed down, readied his spear, and crept forwards from his hiding spot to glimpse two gray wolf heads with sunken eyes. They scanned the area for a few seconds, then stumbled out. Their limbs grew spindly and their bodies small. Obvious bone could be seen, and their fur was messy.
He smiled. Perfect prey. Within his mind, a certain energy pulsated around his body, especially near the top of his skull. Caesar lightly pushed at that energy with his thoughts and strength rushed into his being. A glowing red sphere – the signature trait of Dominate – appeared above his head, alerting the wolves to his presence.
Strength: 6 -> 8
Agility: 6 -> 8
Vitality: 7 -> 9
Magic: 5 -> 7
Willpower: 9 -> 11
“Identify.”
Gray Wolf – Rank 0
[Rarity]: Mundane
As he charged in between the wolves, Caesar gripped his spear with both hands and thrust it leftwards into the first wolf’s chest. It stumbled backwards in panic while his swift mass barreled into the wolf and pinned it to the ground. He felt his spear hit the dirt and quickly rebounded onto his feet to fend off the second wolf. However, it was already bolting away deeper into the forest.
Caesar looked back at the first whimpering wolf, marked it with a hazy black aura, and finished it off. A black wisp rose from the wolf’s body and vanished into the red sphere. He closed his eyes and felt the presence of the wolf in his mind, before concentrating on it for a few seconds.
One…two…three. Suddenly, a wolf that looked hale and hearty materialized next to Caesar. None of its earlier signs of malnutrition were present. Instead, it appeared at the peak of its life. Its muscles stood strong. Its gray fur bristled and shone, contrasting with the dark green forest. Standing tall on all fours, its jaws looked as if they could tear the prior wolves in two. Most notably, its size dwarfed the previous wolves.
The wolf sniffed the air and pricked its ears in the direction of the other wolf. It looked into Caesar’s eyes and howled softly. His eyebrows shot up. Was this the difference between his actual ability and Dominate? The clear signs of intelligence within the beast’s eyes completely contrasted with the description provided by the system. He nodded his head at it. In response, the wolf sprinted in the direction of the malnourished wolf.