Back in Death’s Domain, Joe was sitting in his office signing off some administrative documents regarding the next batch of souls that were coming in.

“Here, last one,” said Joe to a clerk that was patiently waiting for Joe to finish signing all the documents.

“Thank you, Lord Death,” the clerk said as he bowed his head and gathered all the signed documents.

“You may leave now.”

The clerk nodded and promptly left Joe’s office.

“I met your little protégé, she is quite… something,” said Time as she stepped out a corner of the room.

“Did you now? I take it she wasn’t pleased about the impromptu meeting?”

“You would need a harsher word to describe how unpleased she was.”

Joe chuckled, “Figures.”

“I see why you took an interest in her. She is quite… interesting.”

“Is she now? What do you mean?” said Joe grinning.

“The girl is a walking conundrum, Joe. She is death’s healer. If you don’t see the irony on that then I can’t help you.”

Joe laughed, “She is a fascinating one isn’t she,” Joe’s smile turned serious, “She might be just what this universe needs. Did she listen to what you had to say?”

“She did. She chose the stick over the carrot, but she did listen.”

Joe shook his head in disapprovement, “What did you to her?”

“Nothing permanent, Joe. Don’t worry about it.”

“What did you do to her!” Joe shouted in anger.

“Relax! Just aged her a few decades. I turned back to normal again before any permanent damage could occur.”

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Joe walked closer to Time with a menacing look on his face, “Let this be the last time you lay a finger on her. Understood?”

Fear grew on Time’s eyes, “I said relax, Joe. I was just teaching her some manners.”

Death’s anger grew stronger, “I asked you a question…”

“Fine! I understand, I won’t touch her again.”

Joe’s composure went back to normal, “Good. Now, how is our friend Dream doing? Is he still rallying up his little friends to try and take over the four pillars?

“He is… He is definitely plotting something. You, being back on action after centuries, might have disrupted his little plans, but he will adjust soon. We need to be ready.”

“We will be, and Alice will play a big role in this, so she needs to be ready.”

image [https://i.imgur.com/7THHRk0.png]

The team went straight to Ambar city after defeating Jax and his bandits. It took them a couple of days to reach the city. Alice woke up at the Green Luna, fully rested but still in shock about what had happened a couple of days ago when they faced Jax. She had neglected her system notifications for a few days now, so she finally sat up in her bed and opened her notifications.

Quest Completed:

You have defeated Jax, the Bandit Leader. Bandit threat eliminated.

Deathwalker Boots awarded.

A pair of boots magically appeared in front of Alice, and she grabbed them.

Deathwalker Boots. Boots once worn by a Reaper. Boots are enchanted to increase agility enabling the user to move faster. +10 Dexterity. This item can be upgraded once per rank increase.

“These look nice,” said Alice to Grimmy, who was floating next to her examining the boots himself.

“They are nice. Very nice. These are what’s called ‘Progressive Equipment’, meaning they grow along with you. Each time you move ranks the boots get better. They get improved or new abilities. I hope you like them, because these are the last pair of boots you will ever wear.”

Alice put the boots on and started walking around. “They are really comfortable, and I might even say somewhat stylish. Plus, they are black which basically means that they go with everything, so I’ll have no issues matching them with any outfit.”

Alice turned to the rest of her notifications.

You have reached level 17. +5 Intelligence +3 Dexterity +2 Strength +5 free points. You have 35 available free points.

Please choose a new skill from the following options:

“Plus 25? I guess I haven’t assigned any points since I reached level 10 back at the dungeon.”

Alice started looking at her new skill options.

Putrescence Aura – User gives off an aura that has a small probability of inflicting Necrotic Wound to hostile enemies around you. Allies and non-hostile enemies will not be afflicted. The aura is 3 ft in radius.

“What gives? I already have this from my new skirt, why would I need the skill now?”

“The system does that, once you have access to a skill via your equipment, the system deems you now ready for learning the actual skill without the need for the equipment.”

“Oh, I see that’s nice, I guess.”

Diagnosis – User is able to thoroughly scan an opponent, not only being able to identify basic information like class, level and potential weak spots, but also identify prior injuries, fight styles, and any afflictions that opponent might be susceptible or immune to.

“Uhhh, is this my very own version of Identify?”

“Yes, it is. They are rare, and this is a pretty good variation.”

Masochism – You have endured an abnormal amount of self-inflicted damage. So much that we are beginning to suspect you actually enjoy it. Masochism increases the potency of all self-inflicted afflictions.

“Again, with this one…”

“It will probably keep showing up until you pick it, or you decide to stop hurting yourself to inflict afflictions on yourself.”

“Agh, fine. Not picking it anyways. I want Diagnosis.”

“Yeah, that’s the best option if you’re not taking into consideration Maso…”

“Diagnosis it is.”

Alice chose the skill.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. “Alice, are you awake?

Alice opened the door and found Bonetta and Rami on the other side of the door.

“Hi, guys. What’s up?”

“How are you feeling?” asked Bonetta.

“Better!” said Alice with a smile on her face.

“Great! We are planning on heading to the Guild to let them know about the incident with Jax and see if we find an interesting quest. Wanna join us?”

“Excellent idea,” said Grimmy, “we don’t have a lot of time, and we need to get you all to E-grade as soon as possible.”