Lucas had spent a few hours studying before he got well and truly bored. His insides screamed at him to fight with something, but he was unable to do so because he was stuck in the room - no source of entertainment/distraction in sight.
A part of him wondered when his grandfather would come back, and more importantly, what he was doing on his own in the first place. A familiar voice whispered in his mind a suspicion that had begun to form in the back of his head. His grandfather was clearing the dungeon by himself, the whisper said - its voice that of the demon Jergras.
Lucas tried his hardest to deny that it was even a possibility, but he had seen a different side of his grandfather today - one he had not seen previously. So, he was starting to doubt that he understood his grandfather at all, and perhaps it was the case that he was off clearing the dungeon without Lucas.
That thought both enraged and saddened Lucas. He was enraged because he wanted more than anything to fight a real fight and was angry at being denied that, and saddened because if it were really what the old man was doing then that meant that he didn’t see Lucas as being worthy to fight by his side. Despite the fact that Lucas had been so excited about finally fighting for the sake of and alongside his grandfather and that he was willing to put in the effort to do so, it was clear that his grandfather just didn’t see all that and that depressed Lucas.
He withdrew his spear from his inventory and the weapon felt remarkably manageable in his hands. Yet it, like the thing in his stomach, was screaming at him to use it, to kill an animal, monster, or whatever, it didn’t care – it thirsted for combat with even greater ferocity than Lucas. It was only after he carrassed his weapon up and down with his fingers, that he realised what he wanted/had to do.
Looking at the door, he momentarily flinched. Was leaving really a good idea? How would he get back? What would grandpa say or do if I was gone when he got back? He thought to himself, before eventually overcoming such doubts.
Getting stronger was the only good thing to do in this new world, that Lucas already had figured out. And, after seeing just how effective his spear was at piercing the flesh of high-level monsters, he felt pretty confident that he could win any engagement with a monster if he got in enough stabs. And, as for the last question, well, he just decided that it didn’t matter what the old man said. He hadn’t cared about Lucas’ opinion earlier, so why should Lucas care about his opinion now?
With his mind made up, and his doubts assuaged, Lucas got up off his bed and made his way over to the door and then, with a deep breath in and then out, he left the room and began making his way towards the gate. However, as he approached the location of the gate, he noticed there were a lot of people panicking in the streets, with even some of the more stoic guards seeming to be afraid.
When he got to the gate leading to the outside world itself, he was confused to see not only the woman, Corporal Leah, from a few days ago, but also the strange octopus-faced man, Oliver. However, while the woman was calm as she spoke with the gate guard, the octoid man very much did not look calm – in fact, he looked rather distressed.
As he got closer, he heard a snippet of the conversation.
“So you’re saying that Mr Goodman has yet to return back?” Corporal Leah asked, her voice neutral and authoritative.
“Yes, Madame. The native has not yet returned.” The gate guard said, sweat visibly running down his forehead.
“I see.” The woman replied before she seemingly noticed Lucas’ arrival and she turned to him with an empathetic look on her face. She shared an indecipherable look with Oliver before she spoke once again.
“Lucas, do you happen to know where your grandfather planned on going when he left a few hours ago? Its very important that you tell us if you know anything, your grandfather might be in a lot of danger.”
Lucas’ heart almost skipped a beat.
“Grandpa, in danger? How?” Lucas stuttered out frightfully, his anger at the man all but disappeared.
The woman sighed before explaining, “Only this morning, during our weekly scan of the nearby environment, we discovered that a World-Boss monster has made its nest in a forest clearing nearby.”
“World-Boss?!” Lucas asked even more frightened now, he knew from video games that monsters considered world-bosses were definitely not something to take lightly so just imagining such a monster in real life was beyond terrifying.
Oliver stepped forward, seeing a moment to educate, “Yes. Well, you see, when the system integrates a new planet – especially formerly not-mana-rich planets – a phenomenon known as a mana surge occurs whereby an untold quantity of mana is injected into the very heart of the planet in question. And if you like, World-Bosses are kind of primordial amalgamations of this densest kind of mana, as they are only born in the locations where the planet has used to release excess mana from its core. Think of mana surges and the subsequent mana expulsion as a bit like breathing in and out with…”
Corporal Leah shot the octopus man a glance, stopping his rambling at once, as she noticed that Lucas was growing increasingly frightened and confused, as the man’s explanation was a bit above the comprehension of the turned 8-year-old child.
Oliver coughed in embarrassment, before saying in a gentle voice, “Long story short, kid, World-Bosses are incredibly powerful and rare monsters. They are not easy to deal with, even if you are significantly higher level than the monster in question, and both me and the Corporeal are worried that your grandfather may have met this creature whilst out hunting. If that’s the case then…"
Leah interrupted the man before he could finish, “It might not be the case, hence why we need you to answer whether you know anything about where he was going earlier. A direction perhaps?”
Lucas shook his head, tears beginning to form in his eyes. He had no idea where his grandfather was. He now had no idea if his grandfather was even still alive. And if he even had any family left anymore.
Leah looked at the boy with empathy, as did Oliver. The octoid man then said, “Don’t worry kid, I may not have known your grandpa for long, but I am certain that the man will do everything in his power to stay alive so as to look after you. In the meantime, should you need anything, whether it be advice or food or whatever, please don’t be afraid to ask me for help.”
Lucas barely heard the man’s words, his mind spiralling in on itself. All thoughts of fighting, of leaving the city, all of it vanished from his consciousness, now only worry remained. A worry that only grew as hour after hour passed, and yet still no sign of his grandfather emerged.
He’d had to eat supper alongside a rather nervous Oliver and had barely said a word since he’d found out about the World Boss' appearance and his grandfather's potential disappearance earlier. Yet, even as the evening gave way to night-time, his grandpa did not return. Instead, exhaustion found him far quicker – forcing Lucas to be comforted only by the presence of his now seemingly insufficient duvet as he drifted off into unconsciousness.
When he awoke the next morning, he found the area around him wet with sweat and tears. He only remembered brief flashes of the nightmares he had endured throughout the night, but even that was enough to quicken his breathing to the point where he felt as though he had just finished running a 100m sprint only seconds after waking up.
Breakfast was almost silent with Oliver only managing to get a “Fine” out of Lucas when he asked the clearly tired boy whether he’d slept very well. Lucas didn’t feel like talking at all, his mind telling him that he was destined to be alone, destined to be without family. That this damn system he had been so happy to receive was destined to take everything from him if it hadn’t been done already. The question of why all this was happening to him was prominent in his mind.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
He knew he wasn’t exactly the best-behaved kid in the world, but why did the system insist on punishing him so harshly? What had he done wrong to deserve all this pain? What had he… it was then that the same whisper from earlier spoke once again, revealing the answer.
He had been weak. Everyone around him kept dying because he’d been too weak to do anything about it. His father, his siblings, and now his grandfather. All of them were dead because he’d been either too weak or too afraid to do what was necessary to survive.
The system only cowed to the strong. Only the strong could fight off the monsters. Lucas had been such an idiot yesterday. Instead of moping around waiting for his obviously dead grandfather to return to him, he should have marched out of the gates and become stronger like he had planned to. That would have been the only real way to honour the old man.
He wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. However, he did not want to worry Oliver any further. So, he held off doing or saying anything more until after breakfast concluded, at which point he got up, and marched straight towards the city gates – determination burning in his eyes. He had a lot of pent-up anger, fear, and emotion to unleash, and he’d use all of it to grow stronger, he just had to, anything else would mean he would be too weak to save anyone else.
He had spent his recently gained stat points pretty lopsidedly, with 15 going into his physical stat, and the other 15 going into his Spiritual stat. The investment had made him reach his Tier cap for all his basic perks in the physical stat, which had given him a significant boost to his confidence as well as his strength. He guessed he’d see the full effects of his spiritual stat investment only after he’d killed another monster, an experience he was now desperate for.
He got past the gate easily, today’s gate guard being distracted with a conversation she was having with another soldier-looking woman. Once he was outside, he began walking in a random direction, not really caring where he ended up – though he was somewhat afraid that he might run into the World Boss, he guessed he couldn’t really do anything about that possibility. Taking risks was a necessary aspect of attaining power it seemed.
A sudden bolt of lightning colliding with the tree next to Lucas, caused him to jump back in shock – and to scan the nearby area with a greater vigilance. Only a second later, he spotted a wolf-like monster, smaller than the one he’d killed with his grandfather yesterday, but larger than any wolf he’d seen at the zoo before the system arrived.
Adorning the wolf’s head was a horn, and it was quickly glowing a magical shade of blue and then suddenly another lightning bolt was at him in short order. Lucas only barely managed to dodge the bolt, only thanks to his tier-capped physical strength allowing him to leap quite a distance to the side.
With his spear soon in hand, Lucas gulped as he began trying to close the distance between himself and the wolf, but he kept on getting shot at with lightning bolt after lightning bolt. That was until he had closed the distance enough, and then the wolf decided that a full-powered leap at him with its claws was thereby a far more efficient method of killing the human boy, its close-range combat capabilities being far more outwardly intimidating and powerful than Lucas'.
Yet mustering all the courage he had, Lucas thrust his spear forward aiming for the wolf’s head, but a sudden strong gust of wind blew the wolf away from his spearhead, and the monster landed only half a metre away from him on his left a split second later. The monster wasted no time and surged forward, pushing off its hind legs with all of its strength, right towards him.
Lucas barely managed to recover from his failed thrust, to bring his spear around to his side to try and stab at the wolf coming towards him. His spear found purchase in the wolf’s side, but the monster not instantly dying meant that its teeth also soon found purchase in Lucas’ right leg.
Lucas felt the world go red as rage suddenly consumed his consciousness, the pain and the fear from the battle's current state being the primary cause. He lost all sense of what was happening around him for the next few minutes, as he withdrew his spear from the wolf’s body and viciously stabbed away at the wolf – tearing apart its flesh with steel – even long after the wolf had clearly succumbed to death.
He did not even feel the surge of energy he had when he’d killed previously, nor did he feel any pain from his barely healing injuries, all he felt was an insatiable hunger for the monster to suffer. His own mental state and actions began to scare what he knew was his true self after he began tearing apart the monster’s body, and started consuming the monster’s raw meat, its various internal organs included.
By the time Lucas returned to his true self, he was shaking from fear, the only remains of the wolf left being a few scraps of fur. The only question that ran through his mind was, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Lucas had never seen his grandfather act like he had just then. It was like anger itself had possessed him and he was only a scared passenger in his own body, forced to experience what was going on but without any real control over what his own arms and mind were thinking and or doing. The whole thing had been gory, gross, and gluttonous.
Trying to distract his mind from thinking about the situation too much, he checked his system prompts.
You have aided in killing a [Pest] Lightning-Elemental Wolf (Lvl:31)!
Reward: 18,651 EXP
You have levelled up! (x2)!
Stat Point(s) awarded: 5.
New Level: 10
Progress to Next Level: 5,892/11,000
You have REACHED the FIRST Level Milestone [Lvl:10]!
Reward: +10 Stat Points
Your skill: [Basic] Spear Mastery, has levelled up!
Your skill: [Basic] Spear Mastery, has levelled up!
Your skill: Spear Mastery, has reached the [Advanced] rank!
You have reached the 8th step of the [Lesser Devil] realm!
You have reached the 12th step of the [Lesser Devil] realm!
You have taken the first step into the [Core Devil] realm!
You have reached the 2nd step of the [Core Devil] realm!
Reward: +11 Spiritual Point
(Metamorphosis 0.9% Complete)
FULL SYSTEM ACCESS GRANTED!
* You now EARN ‘Coins’ for each notable thing you do that is recognized by the system. These coins can be spent in the system-operated ‘Coin Shop’ or exchanged on the user-operated ‘Coin Marketplace’.
* You shall now earn Skill Points, Trait Points, and Level Points from notable things performed that are recognised by the system.
CLASS SELECTION AVAILABLE:
Choose between the list of classes below:
1. Abyssal Spearman | Rarity: [Rare] | Grade: [Rookie] | Description: Your natural affinity for demonic cultivation, as well as your growing skill with a spear, make you naturally perfect to walk the path of the Abyssal Spearman – focusing on bringing a swift death to all your accursed enemies. | Current Class Bonuses: 2x multiplier to EXP gain, 3x multiplier to Spear Mastery skill exp gain, and a 150% boost to damage dealt when you use a spear. 3 Skill Points Per Level.
2. Hellish Avenger | Rarity: [Rare] | Grade: [Rookie] | Description: Your rage is a potent fuel for endless destruction, woe any who become your enemy for their death shall become your strength. | Current Class Bonuses: 4x EXP gain, 2x multiplier to cultivation gains from killing foes. 2 Skill Points Per Level.
3. Prodigy Spearman | Rarity: [Uncommon] | Grade: [Rookie] | Description: You proudly wield a spear, providing you good reach with which to bring about the death of your foes. | Current Class Bonuses: 1.5x multiplier to EXP gain, 1.5x multiplier to Spear Mastery skill exp gain, and a 50% boost to all damage dealt by you when using a spear. 2 Skill Points Per Level.
4. OTHER OPTIONS (9 OTHER OPTIONS) (FOCUS TO SEE FULL LIST)
Lucas only smiled a slight bit upon finishing reading his prompts. He’d actually improved his cultivation by so much, from only one kill. He guessed it must be due to the tier-capped Spiritual perks he had, so, in other words, the investment of stat points yesterday had been more than worth it.
Lucas then focused on deciding which class he wanted to pick. He felt tears nearly start to form in his eyes as he remembered his grandpa telling him how he’d be there to help him pick whenever he unlocked his class selection. Yet, the man was not anywhere nearby. In fact, Lucas’ jaded mind already suspected the man to be dead.
Taking a deep breath in, Lucas wiped away his tears with his hand and refused to start crying. He would make the decision by himself, he had to. After a few minutes of consideration, he came to a decision. He would pick the Abyssal Spearman class. Not only because it gave the best bonuses, but also because those bonuses seemed to be the most relevant to his own desired path going forward.
With another wipe of his teary eyes, wiping away the last remaining tears, Lucas dismissed his system prompts and stood up. He turned his head away from the remains of the wolf, not wanting to think about what he had done just minutes prior, and headed off in a random direction – hoping deep down that he would keep control over himself in the next fight.