Chapter 1
Chris Vo was not your average teen. He was a weakling who hid behind his best friend Pete Fither. Pete was a big tough guy who always felt bad for Chris and how Chris’s childhood went. In front of Pete was the school bully Tyler Baxter. Tyler was a huge cunt to Chris and picked on him a lot because of the fact that Chris had major trauma from his childhood that he still can’t escape to this day.
“Come on Pete lemme get a good ol’ hit on the little guy then i'll lea…” As the words spilled out of Tyler’s mouth Pete cocked back his fist and released all the built up tension letting his fist fly into Tyler’s jaw knocking him to the floor.
“Fuck off Tyler. This is the last time I only hit you and don’t send you to the hospital. Next time I will use my ‘Release’ on you.” Pete’s hands flicked with a yellow light as he uttered an ancient script known by only gods, celestials, and heros. This was Pete’s Golden Scriptures release. He was able to recite ancient scriptures and infuse his body with their meanings. This was his strongest scripture ‘Colossus 1.7’. Around college age students only started down the road of mastering their release at the academy of adventurers. This school had state of the art technology that any student could use. The students mostly came from rich and powerful families. Tyler came from a family of heros and was next in line to become the family head after his father died. Pete came from another powerful family nicknamed the Golden Children. Everyone who came from the Golden Children family was nice to everyone but also very to the point about important matters. Chris on the other hand was from a family of powerful witches that were hated by the churches for their occult connections. Chris was always lonely until he met Pete at the academy during a lunch break.
Tyler saw the yellow flicker and took a few steps back. “You wouldn't dare use that on me! I am next in line for family head. If you use that on me I will come back with the most powerful adventurers to extract my revenge!” Tyler clenched his fists and smashed his knuckles together and his hands had blue flames burst around him covering his entire body then vanishing along with him. Tyler had just teleported away using his Flickering Blaze release that allows him to teleport around and burn things. Chris looked around and noticed a piece of paper right where Tyler was standing. On the front it said ‘Hope you like my new upgrade.’ with an arrow pointing to the other side of the paper. Once Chris flipped over the paper a blue flame exploded outwards blasting Chris’s body sending him a few feet backwards and scorching his body to a crisp. Pete watched as his friend died just in the blink of an eye and let out a rage filled yell.
Chris was falling through an endless void until he hit an invisible floor. He saw a demon walking up to him. The demon had a nice three piece suit on and looked like Chris but with horns and red eyes. This demon was known only to Chris as it was his personal assistant. Everytime Chris died he would have to fight his demon to the death. If he beat the demon he would gain small amount of control over his demon but if he lost the demon would get time to torture Chris and consume a piece of his soul. Either way Chris hated dying. It was painful and the long fall always made him lonely. His Demon spoke “So master Chris who do I have to thank for your soul?” The demon grinned then waited.
“Well Solomon it would have to be Tyler Baxtor this time. He blew me up and scorched my body. Now I have a question Solomon. Why is it that you must answer me everytime I ask something and why do you have to always answer with the truth?”
Solomon’s grin fell and became a scowl “Because I'm only a part of you nothing more. I am a representation of your power and negative emotions. Now master Chris it is time for our duel.” Solomon said while giving Chirs a chair to sit in. Solomon sat down in a chair of his own twenty feet away from Chris. The two sat there for ten seconds then ran at each other with their fists swingings at the other. Swing after swing each time a fist was swung Chris would get beaten down. This time Chris tried to kick Solomon in the knee. There was a loud crunch as Solomon’s knee went backwards and a scream of pain escaped Solomon’s mouth. “Good job master Chris. After two thousand three hundred and ninety two fights you finally did damage to me. Now keep it up. Just because of how big of a step for you this is I surrender.” A banner Chris never thought he would see filled his vision.
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Congrats!
1. You have won your first death duel.
2. You got your demon to surrender.
3. First time breaking your demon’s bones.
4. First time completing a quest.
5. First time finding your demon’s weakness.
6. First time you attacked your demon’s weakness.
Rewards multiplier: Times 16 for difficulty.
Rewards:
1. Soul pill: Plus 1 to soul subgrade. Times 16 is now Immortal’s Soul pill: Plus 3 to Soul grade and a soul rebirth
2. Minor calm spell: Can calm anyone more that 3 grades under your current soul grade. Times 16 is now a Grand calm spell: can now calm those 1 grade above your soul grade.
3. Chipped away at your release’s gates: You have unlocked 0.00001 percent of your release. Times 16 is now Shattered one of your 16 gates: You have unlocked 6.25 percent of your release’s power. Gates remaining: Head, throat, chest, both wrists, both elbows, both shoulders, left foot, both knees, both hips, and stomach
4. You have gotten 1 upgrade point. Cannot be changed by rewards multiplier
5. You have gotten a title: Scanner: Allows the user to identify weakness in bodies, structures, releases, etc. Times 16 is now title: Masterful scanner: User will see weaknesses in a glowing red aura and will also get a mental tutorial on how to use that weakness to your advantage
6. Minor Accuracy spell: Upon cast you can have a better control over your body that will allow a better precision while doing an activity. Times 16 is now Effortless control spell: Upon cast you have perfect control over your body allowing superhuman acts of strength even if you have the lowest body grade.
Recieve rewards?
YES/NO
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Chris pressed yes and dismissed the screen. Two scrolls and a pill fell into his hands. He without thinking swallowed the pill and opened the two scrolls. He felt his eyes go heavy as Solomon reached out and told him to stop. It was too late. Chris’s body hit the ground and he fell into a great sleep.
Chris later woke up with Solomon sitting next to him. “You fucking idiot! You shouldn't just rebirth your soul then learn new spells! The chances of something going wrong is major! Thankfully they were basically buff spells. Check your stats, titles and such.”
Chris summoned his release tablet
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Name: Chris Vo
Title: Masterful Scanner
Level: 1 (Half step level 2)
Body Grade: Z-
Soul Grade: Z- ----> W-
Mental Grade: Z-
Release Grade: Z- ----> Y+
Mana manipulation Grade: Z-
Charisma Grade: Z-
Spells: Summon assistant
Internal Spells: Death Duel(Maxed out/ passive)
Soul Spells: Command assistant
Release Spells: Grand calm spell ----> Grand Tranquil soul(Passive), Effortless control spell ----> Mind over matter(Maxed out/ Passive)
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“Solomon I never seen this section of my stats before it became much more specific than just spells. What do they all mean?” Chris asked.
“Well this is odd. You have unlocked something only the talented unlock. Your spells will now be more divided to what they do. Your spells are things that influence the outside world and others physically. Internal spells are more or less passive or focused on buffing yourself. Soul spells are usually about summonings or control another’s soul. Release spells are spells that are bound to your very essence and can never be changed or blocked by another being. Even gods cant change them.” Solomon said.
“Oh ok so if I bind a fireball spell to my release then I can use it even in an antimagic field even if a god is fueling the field?” Chris ased.
“Yes.” Responded Solomon. Chris went into a deep thought thinking about how he could use this new information to his advantage. He focused on the changes to Grand Calm and Effortless Control. Grand Tranquil Soul allows his soul to be calm and steady at all times which is a big boost since sometimes while fighting one’s soul can become uncontrolled and cause damage to the fighter. He also noticed that it had a subskill called Soul pond which allows him to retreat into a pocket space for cultivation and thinking. His Mind Over Matter spell allows him to fight through any pain and give him perfect control over his body to the point that he can stop bleeding without any materials, meds, or placing pressure on the wound.
While lost in thought Chris heard Solomon calling him “Master it is time for you to leave once again. Remember to summon me whenever you need or even if you just want someone to talk to.” With Solomon finishing his sentence Chris was lifted off the ground and flew upwards back into the black void. While he was flying up he looked down to see that the piece of void that Solomon was standing on was gone. Solomon is gone, the chairs are gone, everything was swallowed by the void.
Chris woke up gasping for air having a feeling of choking. He looked around and saw a marbled room with a door. He was laying on a table with nothing else in the room. He stepped off the table and walked over to the door. When he got within two feet of the door it automatically opened. He looked to his left and saw a chair with a storage ring on it. There was a note under the ring that simply said for Chris Vo. The ring had an ornate design called a formation. It allows for spells to be engraved into an object but also allows energy to flow like soul force, releases, mana, and blood. This ring was a B Grade storage wing with a communication formation put into it. Chris picked it up and slipped it on. He felt a small nibble feeling as the ring sucked up a little of his blood and bound the ring to him. He used his mana and looked inside the ring to see another note inside. Chris pulled out the note and read it,
“To Chris Vo
From Alexander Baxtor the 3rd
Mister Chris, my deepest apologies for my son's terrible behaviour. He now will work under you for four years as a guard and as a butler. I have also given you some gifts to counter any losses you may have from your Dark Rebirth Release. Inside will be ten thousand gold, a deed to a small property that has alchemical plants growing on it with two farmers tending to the crops, and a awakening pill. Please accept these gifts and use them to how ever you see fit. My son will also give his own apology. If you have questions the Baxtor family will have books sent to you and scholars willing to answer any academic question you may have. Please have a good long prosperous life.
Alexander Baxtor the 3rd”
Chris was blown away at how many gifts he just received. The gold was not a fortune to him since he had his entire family's funds but what really got him was the pill. It allowed for a person to gain a new ability to their release and in very rare cases become a dual user and have two releases. Chris rubbed his chest where his marking was and wondered if he could become a duel release user also known as a release hunter. The release hunters would gather many releases and grow above and beyond people with releases that were given by gods. The current strongest release user was Sakura, a chinese woman. She was born with two releases and gained three more. She has fought titans and giants gaining their releases and abilities. She found a way to ascend to godhood. She tells nobody how but promised once she became a goddess she would teach her path to those who have the strength to achieve it. Chris thought of his gods. He followed two gods which is not normal but not totally out there compared to others beliefs. Chris followed his family patron Yelir the goddess of witchcraft and his personal god Rovin the god of the bounty. He gained some small rituals from Yelir and got quests from Rovin. Yelir wasn’t nice to males but was still accepting of them. Rovin didn’t care who you were as long as you had some form of a moral code then would custom tailor quests that suited each of his followers' codes. He had given Chris two quests to complete. Avenge his family and hunt down three bounties in his town. The family quest was Chris’s main focus but he knew he had now power compared to his family because of his Dark Rebirth Release’s drawbacks, so he focused on the bounty quest. He could hunt humans, monsters, dungeons, anything as long as it was some form of kill or capture quest and there was a pay. Chris never even checks the bounty board because he never has any combat ability. He has only ever had support and self sufficiency related skills but now with the mind over matter spell maybe he can do melee fighting with basic monsters. Chris saw that there were ten sets of suits in the ring that were perfectly tailored to him. He put on a black suit and walked through another door on the other side of the room and was greeted by a familiar face that was beaten and bruised. Tyler stood up and bowed to Chris making Chris feel awkward. “Well Chris it seems that the tables have turned for four years. I am fully at your disposal and will help you in any endeavor that you face.” Tyler said with a hoarse voice. It sounded like he had been swallowing sand and not having water for hours.
“Just go drink some water or something Tyler. Damn does your dad either feel bad for me or hate you.” Chris laughed.
“Both. He feels bad that your release downgrades your stats somehow and he is pissed that I have made a family leader lose stats which is a big deal in our world.” Tyler said as he was gulping down water.
Chris thought about it and remembered that he is in fact a family head but he has no family making him essentially a lonely rich kid who has no backers and claims he is a family head. He must change that! He must forge new bonds and gain more family members! He will make his family the most powerful family to ever exist! With this thought in mind Chris got a new quest he had never heard of.
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New quest! Rising house
Gather more permanent family members: 1/50
Gather land: 210/50 acres Complete
Choose a family patron: 2/1 Complete
Forge alliances with other organizations and families: 1/3
1. Baxtor Family: They felt bad for you
Reach family ranking of top 50,000 families: Current rank 154,839th
Rewards:
Family Release: ???
Family war function
Family crest function
Family aramment: ???
Conquer function
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Chris had a new flame under him and his goals became much more clear with this quest. He will claw his way through every other family and become the strongest family to exist.