David stood before the skeletal remains of the dead commander, grappling with conflicting emotions. On one hand, this man had been part of an army sent to obliterate another nation. On the other, he had shown compassion by allowing the dragon’s soul to pass on, even though he couldn’t perform the same spell on himself.
Shaking off his thoughts, David considered what to do with the bones—whether to burn or bury them. He noticed the dust-like crystals scattered from the old man's soul, faintly shimmering on the ground. Gathering them into a broken vase he had found nearby, he hesitated. As he examined the skeleton and the crystal dust together, a sudden sharp ring filled his head. The System Assistance skill activated, displaying a golden prompt:
"The user has acquired the materials for a hidden secondary class: Wraithkeeper. The user is now able to transform into a Spectral Blade, allowing for ethereal combat, commanding lesser wraiths, and nullifying physical attacks."
David stared at the prompt, bewildered. "What is this? Where did this come from?" he muttered. As he tried to process the information, additional red panels flashed before him:
"The user has not purchased the Character Panel." "The user has not purchased the Class Matrix." "The user has not purchased the Leveling Mechanism."
His confusion deepened as he read the notifications. "These requirements seem like a cheat themselves," he mumbled. "What kind of system is this? I can just buy powers and other system cheats? I’ve heard of these things before—they’re usually overpowered. Should I have bought something with the points I had earlier?"
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David, still reeling from the unexpected prompts and the sudden flood of information, decided to investigate further. "System Assistance," he called out mentally. Almost immediately, a series of options appeared before him, each with a brief description and an attached price tag.
* Character Panel: Unlocks the user interface for tracking personal stats and abilities - 500 points.
* Class Matrix: Grants access to classes with unique skills - 5,000 points.
* Leveling Mechanism: Enables progression and leveling up, unlocking new abilities - 10,000 points.
* Enhanced Senses: Boosts all five senses beyond human limits, with fine control - 1,000 points.
* Night Vision: Allows perfect vision in complete darkness - 250 points.
As he scrolled through the options, David felt a mix of frustration and temptation. He lingered on the description for Enhanced Senses, imagining the possibilities of heightened awareness and control. But the price—1,000 points—was far beyond his current total.
"Night Vision," he mused, noting it was relatively affordable at 250 points. It would be useful in dark environments, but even that seemed steep given his meager 40 points.
His frustration grew as he checked the prices. "Holy...! These prices are absurd!" he cursed. "The Character Panel alone costs 500 points, and the Leveling Mechanism is a staggering 10,000 points! I sold the dragon's remains for less than 500 points—how many of those do I need to defeat to afford these? If I can even defeat anything like that..."
With a sigh, David decided to store the skeleton and crystal dust for later use. "I need to come up with a cool name for this storage space when I have time," he thought.
As he made his way outside the mansion, a mix of grim thoughts and faint hope lingered in his mind. This world was filled with unknowns, and he had barely scratched the surface. But whatever challenges lay ahead, he was determined to face them head-on.