Synopsis: He felt it. The way helplessness kicked in and showed him the sweet but suffocating cage he was locked in. He just wanted to break free and feel the thrill of being alive. Having been granted that wish, he'll find himself amidst the conflicts of creatures lurking in the shadows and super-powered humans that prefer basking in the daylight among the average. It's not a problem though, he'll thrive and survive. He has a system after all. Genre: Action | Contemporary | Drama | Fantasy | Anti-Hero Lead | Harem | LitRPG | Magic | Male Lead | Martial Arts | School Life | Slice of Life | Strong Lead | Supernatural Warning: Incest | Gore | Profanity | Sexual Content | Traumatising content Table of Contents: Prologue Chapter 1: A Bit of Happiness Chapter 2: What Lies Beneath Chapter 3: Contract Chapter 4: A Step Further Chapter 5: A Mother's Duty
Prologue: Monotony soon became a dear friend in his life, following him in his everyday dealings, whether at his overly boring school or at his always disturbingly quiet home. His mother was always working on something since his father passed away, he didn't know if it was because she was still mourning her dearest's death or a mother's responsibility towards her family's well-being. Thus the only time he could see her face was at night, where she would deign them of her presence. He was not mad at her though, he wouldn't wail or whine like a lost little child because mommy was never at home. It was fine. His older sister preferred spending her time amidst friends and clothes; mostly clothes, avoiding coming back home and endure that painful silence that seemed to remind them how their family started to alienate itself, leaving an empty space that was once filled with happiness and now only good memories. As for him? He hadn't a clue of how to describe himself. Cynical? Indifferent? He didn't know, not that he even cared to begin with. He was unquestionably smart enough to not worry about his school's grades, nor did he had problems with the fairer sex. He never tried anything indecent towards his admirers though, he just wasn't interested. Obviously, that doesn't imply that his sexual orientation aims at another direction, he just believed that getting himself involved in a romantic relationship right at this period of time wouldn't be healthy to either of them. So he never bothered. Opening the door to his room he threw his schoolbag on the floor and crashed exhaustedly on his bed. "What a day... " He mumbled tiredly. The typical school day life you could expect from a 16 years old teenager. It was nothing special besides dealing with teachers so old that makes you start questioning yourself why they haven't died yet. The fact that his friends were always busy chasing skirts ( and completely failing at that ) was of no help at all. His life was slowly becoming a dull routine of diary events. Seriously. He just wanted something stimulating to suddenly fall on his life, allowing him to leave this monotone course of contingency that cursed his days. With these thoughts swirling in his head he closed his eyes, letting sleepiness embrace him in her sweet world of dreams. . . . [ Welcome to Paranoia! ] Mhh? He dizzily opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of... [ Downloading files: 1% ] [ It will require 6 hours and 28 minutes to complete the download. The system advises the user to sleep in the meantime to hasten the process. ] What is that? He squinted his eyes in the hopes that this was just his brain making fun of him or some others symptoms caused by the sleepiness. But it was not. He was a bit put off by the situation. Was this a dream? Did someone purposely drop hallucinogens on his drink? Did he hit his head? Did some supernatural being finally decide to mess with his head? Did- no ok, stop that. Mulling over what was the cause of this won't help, he knew that. But even knowing best not to panic he was pretty sure that whatever was happening wasn't normal, or at least out of what was humanly normal. He took a breath. Calm down and think. He always prided himself on the fact that whatever the situation he always managed to stay calm in order to find a solution. So what's stopping him from doing the same right now? He looked carefully at the screen in front of him. It was a black rectangular-shaped box with a red outline. It seemed nothing special if not for the pulsing effect it did every second. Sigh. Nope, he had no idea how to cope with this. Well, it's not like people will go around writing manuals on how to do in case a sudden floating screen appears before you, right? Moreover, Paranoia... Are you serious? What is that name supposed to mean? With a grunt he laid his head back, covering his eyes with the back of his hand. Was he really getting ill? Maybe some kind of neurodegenerative disease? At the thought, he began to slightly tremble. Even though he just tried to think things through it was still impossible. He couldn't shake off the ominous feeling of something weird happening to him. He forcefully stopped his trembling, it was embarrassing and unbefitting of him. There was no fucking way he'd let his emotions take control of his body. Nope. As for talking this problem out with his mother? He knew it'd be useless, the same goes for his sister. He may have a good relationship with both of them, but in the end, he never sees each of them enough to trust them with certain issues, let alone this one that seemed to be very troublesome. So he decided to go along with the flow, he would wait 6 hours and see what happens. Who knows, maybe this was really some bad dream. Yeah... hopefully. . . . It was not. The sunshine pierced through his window, lighting the room up with a reddish glow. It was a beautiful view, overall. However, the only person present hadn't the chance to appreciate it as he was busy looking at a floating screen in front him. [ Downloading files: 99% ] [ It will require 2 minutes and 14 seconds to complete the download. The system advises the user to sit back and relax. ] "Well... that's disappointing but not entirely unexpected." He turned his head to the window, basking in the sunlight as he waited to find out what that screen is. With half-lidded eyes and a steady breath witnessing the rising sun, he felt like all his worries were washed away. [ Ding! ] [ Paranoia System has been successfully installed! ] [ Congratulations for having being chosen as the System holder! You can access it by saying the command 'Status'. Some features are currently locked, you may use them as you slowly become stronger and complete quests. The existence of Paranoia shall not be revealed under any conditions! ] He blinked, completely dumbfounded. Is this some kind of game system? Curiosity overwhelmed his body as he kept reading the text in front of him again and again, almost not believing that this was real. He refrained himself though, this was suspicious. Why among 7 billion people he precisely had been chosen? Although he knew that he was better than your average teenager, he was absolutely not the best. He narrowed his eyes and thought hard of the 'whys' such miracle befell upon him. Furthermore, there was no proof that this system was real or worked as one should. Having no alternatives plus the never-ending curiosity that threatened to burst out of his body, he did the only thing he could have done. "Status." He said. [ Name: Jered von Jacobs ] [ Age: 16 ] [ Race: Human ] [ Class ] [ ? ] [ Title ] [ ? ] [ Strenght ] [ 9 ] [ Dexterity ] [ 9 ] [ Vitality ] [ 10 ] [ Endurance ] [ 10 ] [ Intelligence ] [ 16 ] [ Mana ] [ ? ] [ Appearance ] [ 15 ] [ Attribute Points ] [ 0 ] [ System Points ] [ 0 ] [ Shop ] [ Skills ] [ Quests ] That's... wow. He looked at his stats and noticed with displeasure that some of them were either average or lower, with his intelligence and appearance being the highest. If 10 is average then we can assume that 11 is above average. Then how much is 15 or 16? Maybe the difference isn't that noticeable as one may think. He needed to do some tests. Mhh... I need to gain attribute points to see if this works and if it does how will it affect me. Maybe I shou- He was abruptly interrupted by a ding, followed by a new screen. [ Quest received! ] [ Title: A Caring Son ] [ Description: Your mother is exhausted from overwork. Show her how deeply concerned you are by preparing a sumptuous breakfast. ] [ Reward: 3 Attribute points | 20 System points. ] [ Time-limit: 1 hour. ] [ Accept | Decline ] At this unexpected but pleasant surprise, he just smiled and clicked 'Accept'. Sweet... . . .
Chapter 1: A Bit of Happiness Jered made his way downstairs and quickly headed towards the kitchen. He was thrilled yet anxious, finally, something that may take him out of this never-ending loop of boredom and simplicity appeared. There was no way in hell that he would let this opportunity slip by. That's why he was also anxious because should that 'hope' be some bored god's cruel joke he might as well jump off of a cliff. He wouldn't be able to put up with the depression. So, please! Just this time! A quick look around and he found all the ingredients necessary for what he had in mind. He picked up a pan and put it on the already lighted fire and added a few strips of bacon. He may not be some expert cook but since his mom was rarely at home he started learning some tricks, and in time he could prepare some delicious plates. So it wasn't hard for him to accomplish only this much. Indeed, after 10 minutes he was faced with a plate of buttered toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, and a few strips of bacon. Obviously accompanied by an apple and a cup of orange juice. Satisfied with his work he put the food on a tray, and with slow steps, careful not to stumble and ruin everything, headed for his mother's bedroom. . . . Knock! Knock! He knocked twice on the door, knowing that it was more than sufficient to wake her up. She was an early riser so she'd have come down in a few minutes either way. "Come in..." He heard her say. He opened the door making the creaking sounds ring out through the entire shadowed room. He glanced at the bed and saw the bedsheets move slightly before the shape of a woman rose calmly. She stretched and rubbed her eyes, before noting her son's presence. "Jered... good morn'- She yawned mid-sentence before finishing- 'ing" "Morning, mom." He replied. Seeing that his mom was still a bit dizzy, Jered approached her and placed the tray full of food on her bedsheets-covered lap. "I prepared this for you... I... thought that it'd be nice do something for you every once in a while, especially since you're always busy... so... yeah. Hope you like it. " He ended with an awkward smile. She seemed to freeze for a moment, and not knowing how to respond she just kept looking at him, slightly wide-eyed. She tried to say something but the words didn't want to come out, almost like she suddenly lost her voice. This gesture of his came with a great surprise to her. During their last 2 years, namely the timeline after her husband, John von Jacobs death, their small family started to mentally drift apart. Naturally, that doesn't mean that their love for each other started to fade away, they just preferred a bit more space for themselves. And the fact that she too didn't do anything to salvage the situation was of no help. She wasn't at fault though, or that's what she'd like to say. She needed a bit of time for herself. Both Jered, and her eldest daughter Jasmine, thought that she was still mourning their father's death. What they didn't know was that that wasn't the truth. And that's what she wanted to hide all along. So she was greatly taken aback when she saw her son doing such sweet thing for her. She thought that her continued absence from their lives made them resent her if only a bit. Such thing, she still remembers when Jered was a snot-nosed little brat running around the home and always following her. Especially that Saturday morning, where she found him in front of her bed with a messy paste of what he called 'A super-ultra-mommy-delicious breakfast'. It wasn't that delicious, obviously. But it was the gist of that action that deeply touched her. Something that her husband never did... Finally finished reminiscing, she looked at the tray on her lap. It was the same as that day, though now the food seemed to be edible, even appetizing if she might say so. Seriously, this kid. Doing such a thing for her. She held back some tears that threatened to come out and smiled slightly, saying the only thing that could break this strained silence. "Thank you, sweetie." She didn't even wait for a response as she started eating the delicacies her son made for her. "How is it? " He asked expectantly. "Delicious. " She smiled. ... That seemed to be the trigger as a notification appeared in front of his eyes. [ Quest: A caring son. Completed! ] [ Your actions have brought back old and deep memories buried in your mother's heart. There'll be some positive behavioral changes on her part. ] [ Reward: 3 Attribute points | 20 System points. ] He stared at it for a while, mildly surprised at the second notification. Positive changes? Does that mean that he can do something to make her happy like she always deserved? He suddenly felt a surge of excitement almost burst out of him. He ignored it but he knew. His mother had to sweat blood to bring home food for them, working from daylight till sunset, just to return tired, with disheveled hair and turtle steps, and falling asleep as soon as she reached her bedroom. It pained him, it truly did. But he had no idea of how to help her. He was just a kid, he still is, but more mature. As time passed by the feeling of helplessness kept growing stronger with each time he saw her poor state at night. So you may call it an instinctual reaction from his body or just his brain trying to defend itself, but that feeling soon became numbness. Maybe that was the reason of why he grew to be cynical and indifferent to his surroundings. And when he saw that there was hope to bring their family back, like it was years ago, it made him so happy that he had to squeeze every fiber of his body to not start dancing and laughing like a maniac. His mother seemed to notice his slight change in demeanor and gave him a puzzled look. He just faked a cough and excused himself as he made his way out the door. She still appeared to be confused as she watched him go out but smiled nonetheless. Who would have thought that she'd start the day with her son showing her something she thought as already lost. After a few years, she finally saw some hope. To find that her son still cared for her left her speechless from overwhelming happiness. Maybe they still had a good way to go but to her, this was more than enough. She was sure that in the end, her family would be back again. Yeah, definitely. . . . Once in his room, he made sure to close the door, he didn't have a reason to but he was way too nervous to notice. He gained 3 attribute points and wanted to find out if it really works. He opened his status and looked carefully at his stats. Now, where to put the points? He needed visible changes. Something that he might not mistake with his brain pulling some jokes on him. Intelligence? No, he wasn't sure of how large was the difference between 16 and 19. How could he tell if he became smarter? What if 3 points are way too few to make any noticeable alteration? In that case, he wouldn't be able to judge if the system really works. Physical stats like strength, dexterity, vitality or endurance? It was hard to tell as well. As aforementioned, without knowing the true value of these points and the change that they might bring, he was left tied. Mana? Appearance? He didn't even need to decide, he could easily gauge alterations in his body if the so-called 'Mana' really exist. From what he knows of games, mana is an energy present in the world that can exert powers of the elemental forces of nature embodied in an object or person. So he was pretty sure that he could note a such thing inside his body. He hurriedly placed all his points on 'Mana '. However... [ Alert: The attribute 'Mana' is not available unless you get the class 'Magician'. ] Sigh. How troublesome. He clicked on 'Class' and indeed... [ Alert: You need to complete at least 4 quests to unlock your class. ] Yeah... what did I expect? Having no better alternatives he looked over at the screen and upped his 'Appearance' points from 15 to 18 and- He abruptly felt his face on fire. Like there were countless ants biting on his skin and trying to dig his flesh out. He crouched on the floor trying his best to not scream, knowing it'd draw his mother's attention. It was a hard feat, he never felt such soul-stirring pain. And it only got worse when he felt his facial bones shifting, breaking and reconnecting. He grunted painfully while using his hands hold his face as if by doing so the pain would go away. Naturally, that didn't do anything to diminish his anguish. After a few minutes of intense torture, right when he thought it was finally all over, a new wave came back to strike him. Now though was both on his hair and on his eyes. He felt his scalp itch and tingle so much that he felt the urge to rip his hair off forcefully so as to make it stop. It didn't matter what he did though, whether he scratched it or pulled it, it was useless. His eyes started burning, and he was forced to close them. The light coming in from outside felt like he was staring at the sun. Again, after a few minutes it stopped, giving him a sweet reprieve. He panted, feeling his body soaked with sweat. He tried to stand up but failed as he had already used all his strength to fight off that agony. So he just laid there, breathing, his chest going up and down rhythmically. When he finally felt some energy fill his body he stood up and walked towards the bathroom where he took off his clothes and got in the shower. The pleasant touch of the water helped him clear his mind and concentrate on what just happened. If this experience was anything to go by then he was pretty sure it worked somehow. He stayed there for a while and when he felt refreshed enough, turned off the water. He slowly got out of the shower, with a towel wrapped around his waist. Taking a deep breath to calm his beating heart he looked at his reflection in the mirror and what he saw left him astounded. As he had expected there weren't any big changes, but the result was still something that was difficult to believe. Thinking it might be his eyes that saw wrong, he leaned closer and looked attentively, using his fingers to trail what he felt like were the parts that improved. He had always been considered handsome, with his delicate facial features and fair skin, coupled with his raven hair and piercing green eyes made him stand out quite a bit wherever he went. And now? His face was slightly more symmetric making his face look more perfect. His eyes were a bit brighter as was his skin. His hair became glossier and smoother. Alone, these improvements would have amounted to almost nothing. However, when added together he could safely say that it was more than he thought. It seems that the system really works. Taking a last look at the mirror he turned around and left, a small smile present on his face. Yes, this was it. What he always wanted. Something that could shake his life and crawl him out of that hole he used to hide in. He could feel it now. The feeling of being alive. . . .
Chapter 2: What Lies Beneath Strolling around the streets, Jered kept wondering to himself what he'd do now. With his improved looks, he got more stares from the female population, not that he minded. But the problem is that it'd be hard to explain what happened to his face once he'd confront his family or his friends. Thankfully it was Saturday, so he had a bit of time to find something out to help him with this situation. Although he could find some job to avoid his mother's possible discovery of his 'new' face, it'd be still useless given that he couldn't skip school. So, what to do? He couldn't tell his mother that he got a strange system that could power him up by completing quests, now could he? Let alone that the system had specifically told him to not reveal its existence, and sincerely he had a hunch that bad things would happen should he do so. Seriously, this was becoming annoying. He didn't know what would happen in the future, but he was pretty sure that, in one way or another, he'd change. As for how this will happen he had no clue, but the fact is that he needed to find the perfect excuse to let him explain said changes. ... With various thought going through his head he didn't notice that he was on an unfamiliar street. He looked around, trying to find something that might help him track his way back home. He found nothing. Well, not that it mattered anyway. With no answer to his dilemma, whether at home or at some godforsaken place it would not have made a difference. So he just took his time and kept on walking, taking in his surroundings. It was a quiet place, unlike the bustling area he lived in, the flats seemed to be old but well-kept and so did the asphalt. He noticed a bench and decided to rest for a bit. Once sat down he let his arms dangle at the back of the bench's wooden backrest. He gazed at the somewhat cloudless blue sky, breathing deeply, letting the clean air fill his lungs. Thinking about the events that happened this morning made him all giddy inside. He didn't know what course to take. He was certainly happy with the way the events unfolded but also a bit worried. He had no idea what to do with its powers. It has a 'Mana' attribute as well a related class, 'Magician'. He would have taken it as a joke if he hadn't tested the system's veracity. He still had some doubts though, it doesn't matter how you look at it, a magician, not some old dude that claims to be one after taking a rabbit out of a hat. A true one, like those in the games, that can fly or summon meteors. He clenched his fist trying to calm down the desire growing inside him. It was ridiculous, but if it was true then... He shooked his head to get rid of these thoughts, it was no use indulging in sweet fantasies, especially since he wasn't sure if he could really become a magician. Sigh. "It'd be cool though." He mumbled quietly to himself. Now that he thought about it he still has to control the system's shop. He opened his status and clicked on it. [ Alert: The 'Shop' feature will be unlocked once you get 100 System Points. ] Well, that wasn't surprising. He somewhat already knew that that would happen, he just wanted to see what were the requirements. Whatever... Seeing that he had rested enough, he decided to head back home. Right when he was about to stand up he heard the sound of shoes pressing the pebbles, coming towards him, slowly but surely. He looked over and saw an elderly woman just a few feet from him. She was short, not over 5'0 ft, with gray hair and wrinkles on her face. Her clothes were simple too, a beige sweater and light blue knit pants. He thought that she just wanted to sit, but the bench he was sitting on was not the only one available, so he quickly excluded that theory. Seeing that she had no intention of stopping, he assumed that he was the one she was aiming to. Moreover, he saw the sad look plastered on her face and got curious about what she would want from him, so he just stood up and approached her. But before he even opened his mouth to say something she anticipated him. "Em... excuse me, but... have you perhaps seen a black cat around here?" She asked desperately. He was surprised by her tone but answered nonetheless. "No, I haven't." He shooked his head in denial. "I... see." She said, sounding slightly downcast. Obviously, he could always offer himself up to help her find the cat. But honestly? He really didn't want to. Why would he do such a thing when he's already busy with his own problem? He felt a bit of pity for her, but even so, he wouldn't waste his time by playing hide and seek with a cat that might never come out. Who knows, it may have already gone home. Seeing her still not moving, he decided to turn around and leave, but just as he was about to walk away she spoke. "Ehm.. sorry again, but... I'm really worried, could you please help me?" She asked hopefully. Oh god no... He frowned, and just as he was about to politely refuse. [ Quest received! ] [ Title: What Lurks in the Dark? ] [ Description: Beware of the shadows, they're not so merciful towards innocent hearts. Rescue the cat from its clutches. ] [ Reward: 5 Attribute points | 100 System points. ] [ Time-limit: Till it wakes up. ] [ Accept | Decline ] Another quest? He furrowed his brows as he looked at the screen, even an idiot could deduce that this was going to be dangerous. However, he really needed these points since he didn't know how frequent would these quests appear, furthermore both the description and time-limit screen hinted him that there was someone or something dangerous, giving him more reason to acquire these points and enhance himself. If he got this strange power then it was not to be excluded the possibility of others having something similar. And if these 'others' are not so good-natured then there's still the chance, no matter how slim, that they might attempt something against him or his family. So, even if it was risky, as long as he got to strengthen himself then it was definitely worth it. Also, it seems that if he completed this quest, he'll open the shop. He clicked 'Accept', making the screen disappear. "Sure." He replied with a smile. "Oh, thank you! I believe that with you we'll be able to find him quickly." She said, happiness clearly evident in her tone. "I do believe that as well, Ms?" He paused, waiting for her to finish his question. "Jefferson. But you can call me Amelia." She answered. "Nice to meet you, Amelia. I'm Jered." He lifted his hand. She smiled as she shooked hands with him. "So, Amelia. Could you describe your cat to me?" He asked. He needed his physical description if he wanted to find him, although he knew that it was black, it was insufficient. There might be other similar cats, he didn't want to get the wrong one. "Uh, sure. His name is Mr.Puffles, and he is an adorable furball of sweetness, he's completely black with beautiful big blue eyes. You couldn't mistake him. He's very loving, you just need to call his name, and if he's in surrounding he'll definitely come to you." She ended with a smile He nodded, remembering the information he's just been told. So there was only one thing to do. "Good, let's separate." He suggested. She just nodded before choosing a path to take and departing. Soon she was out of view, leaving him alone. He glanced around himself, paying particular attention to find anything out of place, or at least attention-grabbing. The information he got from the quest was not very detailed, but it didn't take someone overly smart to know what is it about. Obviously, he didn't know what these 'Shadows' were, but he was sure he was going to find it out soon. . . . Nothing! Absolutely nothing! It's been more than 2 hours since he started his search and he didn't even manage to take a glimpse of that cat. And from her obvious lack of presence, Amelia must have got lost too. "Fuck..." He grunted in annoyance. He laid down on the grass, closing his eyes to recover a bit of his stamina. Damn, the uselessness of my low stats is finally showing itself. He was now regretting not having ever partaken in physical activities. If he had done so, he wouldn't be so tired. He slowly opened his eyes when he heard someone approaching him. He turned his head around and met Amelia's happy but anxious gaze. "I found him!" She exclaimed excitedly. He gave her a puzzled look seeing that the cat wasn't with her. "Yeah? But where is him?" He asked. "I need your help! I can't reach for him!" She said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. He just didn't have enough energy to resist, so he let himself be pulled and followed her as they got further away from the district they were just in. ... After a 10 minutes long walk, they were in front of a hut. It was made of iron, and most of its parts were rusted. The entrance was slightly ajar, and the lack of light inside it made it impossible to see what was inside. He went ahead of her, and remembering that it was still a dangerous situation, trodded carefully inside, leaving Amelia waiting outside. The wooden floor creaked as he stepped upon it, and a large number of cobwebs were hindering his path. After a while, he finally saw what he's been looking for the past 2 hours. The cat was on top of a sideboard, even though it wasn't that high, Amelia's short-sized body couldn't reach it. He lengthened his arms and picked him up, only to put it down afterward, and watched as the cat made its way out. "Mr.Puffles!" He heard her. And then... [ Quest: What Lurks in the Dark?. Completed! ] [ Your actions have saved the life of a cat and spared his owner of many tears. ] [ Reward: 5 Attribute points | 100 System points. ] [ Alert: Requirements met. The feature 'Shop' has been unlocked. ] Finally... He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. He looked forward to what the shop had to offer. His smile though vanished a second later, when the temperature in the room dropped drastically. Why... His face stiffened, as he tried to hold back the shiver that went through his spine only to stop at the back of his neck making his hair standing on its ends. Why? His beating heart echoed its cries in his ears, his feet froze cold inhibiting him from moving. The door suddenly closed by itself, preventing the only source of light from reaching inside. He gulped hard, almost like the lump of saliva on his throat didn't want to go down. He tried to stop his trembling hands but it was futile... His own body was no longer his to control, like it surrendered itself to someone... or something. Why!? Almost instinctively he turned his head around, the movement was made with difficulty, yet he managed to complete it nonetheless. And then he felt it... He heard it... He saw it... Something so out of this world, but that fitted his name very well. A Shadow... "Well... hello there, dear guest." A distorted and demonic-like chuckle rang out through the room, its sound reverberating multiple times. He tried not to look, but his head moved on its own, bringing his eyes to meet the voice owner's ones. They were two humongous glowing green orbs. The power within them was so powerful that by just standing there he felt like going crazy. He forced to close his eyes but to no avail, he was constrained to stare at this creature, if it could even be called that. Its body was an amalgamation of black fog and a green energy-like aura swirling around it. He tried to move his limbs but they seemed to be petrified. His struggle was like the last fight before his eventual demise. At that thought, his breathing became erratic. He didn't want to die... He tried to calm his emotions down, but its presence had an influence so strong on him that brought out his survival instincts, unleashing an explosion of fear inside himself. The creature seemed to be amused by his fright but knew that it was normal. In fact, he was rather surprised that he didn't faint yet like many others did. Still, he had something to do. "Let's have a good chat, shall we?" It proposed, though it sounded more like an order. He looked terrified for a moment and wanted to protest, to do something... But in the end... He was at its mercy... The black fog started spinning around him, swallowing him inside the floor. With no way to resist, he disappeared from the place, and along with him the Shadow. After all, he had no power... . . .
Chapter 3: Contract He opened his eyes, regaining consciousness. The memories of what just happened were a blurred mess of images, and his throbbing head didn't help him at all. He felt disoriented and a bit sick, but held back whatever wanted to come out of his mouth. He tried to lift his body up so that he could gauge his surroundings but eventually failed. His muscles were sore all over, and even a small move could bring him a great amount of pain. After finally calming down, he started to remember the events that led him to this situation. The meeting with the old woman, the quest, the hut, the Shadow... It was suspicious though, he was a weak prey in front of that behemoth of power, yet it didn't attempt to kill him. But it was also worthy of consideration that the cat he rescued would have died, or so did the quest completion say. He couldn't think of anything else besides the fact that, it somehow, wanted him alive. So he just laid there, waiting for it to come. He knew it would. He could feel it watching him amidst the everlasting darkness around him, probably too busy having its fill of amusement. "Come out." He tried. The sound carried its words further away, only to end up in a feeble whisper lost in the middle of nowhere. After a brief moment of silence, when Jered thought he'd still had to wait, a massive wave of green energy lit up everything. Thankfully it was harmless, but it was an incredible display of power. He lifted his head a little bit, trying to catch sight of its figure somewhere, but found no one. "Are you looking for someone?" He heard a chuckle behind him. Hearing its voice again was like a nightmare, but he was calmer, now that he knew his chance of survival were higher, if only a little. He turned around, meeting its gaze yet again. The only difference was that he didn't waver like before, he narrowed his eyes and kept staring at it, almost as a sign of defiance. It seemed to have noticed it as he heard a prolonged 'Mmhhh.' "Where are we?" Jered asked rather warily. The Shadow looked at him for a moment before replying: "This place is my own personal domain." It said. Domain? Jered was puzzled. That was a term he was unfamiliar with, so he was pretty much confused on what was its function. Though the name did hint something, probably related to a specific area or space someone was in control of, he was pretty sure it wasn't all of it. "What is that?" He was curious. "Unfortunately it's still too early to let you know certain things." Was its answer. Mmh... He mused at what he's been just told. It seemed that the situation was more complex than he thought. Maybe it was unintentional, though he doubted that, but what he just detected was no good news, at least to him. And his encounter with the Shadow further proved his speculation. And no matter how absurd it is, everything that happened to him in the last 24 hours was just as much. It might only be him overthinking, yet he knew better than to discard his intuition that easily. But at that point, he was sure that there were more secrets hiding from the human eyes. Hopefully, he'd get some information. "So, who are you? Or better, what are you?" He asked, trying to get more details about it. "My name is Opak, and I'll refrain to tell you my status. And as you might have already known, I'm a Shadow." It stated. He wanted to say something else but was interrupted by the Shadow, now named Opak, as it hovered closer to him. It scrutinized him, like a judge about to give its sentence. It wasn't a good feeling, not at all. Jered tried his best not to show panic, but his flickering eyes betrayed him. "I'm curious..." It started, eyes glowing brighter than usual. "Why are you holding yourself back?" He winced, not knowing how to respond to this unexpected question. He didn't know why but he felt something deep inside him stir, though he quelled it quickly. "Are you perhaps... afraid of yourself? No, of what you'll become?" Opak continued, explicitly amused by his reaction. Jered averted his gaze, uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going on. But even avoiding this line of questioning won't change the fact that it was true. He had always wanted to do something special, as for what that was, he had no idea. With no ideals nor hobbies, and the endless waiting for something, were almost like a suffocating grip on his soul, slowly torturing him. It was only after 2 years of his father's death that he realized what he craved for, and that scared him. It was unnerving. So he held back, letting the passage of time take care of dangerous thoughts, hoping that escaping from those emotions would've turned him back to normalcy again. But they kept on resurfacing, mocking him every time he went to sleep, and grinning every time he was close to surrender. It was killing him from the inside out knowing he was so different from the others. But it was cool, he could pretend. He always did. There was no need to let others know. He could get used to living with that false side of his. And now? He got found out. He lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes. "Hahahahaha! There's no need to worry, lad. Soon you'll see that what you want isn't so abnormal at all." Opak's boisterous laugh disrupted the silence. Jered just kept silent, wondering to himself what did it mean by saying those words. However, the more he thought the more he came to an understanding that it was probably referring to people with powers. It was still a question mark and something to confirm, but by this point, there was almost no doubt. Sigh. For an instant he let himself get drown in his emotions. How humiliating... He thought he could do better, but in the end, he knew that he was never that psychologically fine. "I can help you," Opak stated. Jered lifted his head, looking at his interlocutor. Help? He wasn't stupid, he knew that good things were never free, even more so when coming from a being like it. But he really wanted to feel peace, to not constantly fight against his desires. It was tempting... "What's the catch?" He asked. "We need to make a contract." "A contract?" He raised an eyebrow, evidently confused. Opak nodded, leaning closer to him. "With the contract, I'll get a small piece of your soul, and you'll receive a small fraction of my mine. It's a mutual exchange that'd benefit both of us." It explained briefly. Jered thought about it. If it wanted to trick him there were other ways... So his soul was what it wanted from the start? Maybe it exploited his emotional weakness to get them in this situation, after all, there was no reason for it to help him. But he could safely say that he wasn't at a disadvantage there, it expressed its wish for a piece of his soul. But why make the contract? Couldn't he take it forcefully? If he couldn't. Why then? Was there something preventing it from just taking it out? Was his power limited? He could refuse, obviously. But should he do so his advantage would go screw itself, and Opak would just kill him. He was in a tight spot, on one hand, if he rejected his offer the consequence, most likely, would be the death. On the other, should he accept, he'd lose a piece of his soul. Was there really no way? Was he doomed to be a puppet in the hands of others? Fuck... "So?" It asked impatiently. "I accept..." Jered answered with a self-deprecating smile. It was so unbearable the feeling of being forced to do something he didn't want. He gritted his teeth, holding his anger. Fuck! If it wants my soul then it has to give me more! He looked up at the fog-like being in front of him and said. "I accept! But I want something else!" He demanded challengingly. "Ohh... then what, pray tell, is that you want?" It asked, making the black fog swirl around him. "It's insufficient. I want more... I want power." He replied, his lip slightly quivering from the pressure. "My my, you sure are a greedy one." "And you sure are a bastard one." He shot back. "Hahahaha, amazing willpower, kid. Fine, I agree with your request. However, your body won't be able to sustain that much power, so I'll give you something that won't damage you." Opak said, lighting up everything again in a green hue. The fog started to gently spin around them as the energy settled in the center of it, creating a vortex of green light. It was really a spectacular sight. "Now, I can't do anything to your soul without your consent, therefore you'll have to relax and allow me to enter your body so that I can start the removal. " It said. Indeed, it couldn't have done anything on its own. So this was the reason, huh? Jered nodded and relaxed. Opak's body was already a gaseous state, so it didn't pose any problem for it to get inside his body. The fog swirled around him, covering his entire body before slowly disappearing. And then... [ Alert: A foreign presence is trying to modify your soul. Do you want to start the cleaning process? ] [ Accept | Decline ] He declined, though kinda surprised that the system could do such a thing. After a few seconds, something deep inside him started to move, causing him a lot of pain, so much so that what he felt that morning was like a caress on his face. "Aaaaaah!!!" He screamed, his veins bulging. He fell on his knees, his hands moving erratically searching for something to grip. His screams only kept getting stronger as sweat started pouring off of his body. He rolled on the ground, his arms flailing around without aim. Wasn't his body supposed to shut down after receiving so much pain? Damn! ... After what he felt like an eternity it finally stopped, making him fall on his back, panting hard and with bloodshot eyes. "Can you hear me?" Opak said from inside him. He gulped, trying to wet his dry throat. "I... I can..." He managed to say in a hoarse voice. "I'm going to replace the part removed with mine, I'll also add that extra that you desired. It won't be painful, so rest for a while." It said, much to his delight. "Cool...go... ahead." A warm sensation suddenly started spreading through his body making him regain some energy. The chunk of soul that was missing was now being replaced with Opak's. It was a weird feeling, he really didn't know how to describe it, but it was amazing. He felt power filling his body, much more than he previously had. And then it hit him... [ Alert: A foreign presence has gifted you a fragment of its powers. ] [ Alert: Your mana have been boosted by '20'. ] [ Alert: You have been granted the affinity 'Fire' ] [ Alert: You have been granted the affinity 'Dark' ] [ Alert: All of your attributes have gone up by '1' ] [ Alert: You have been granted the skill 'Low-level Fire Manipulation' ] [ Alert: You have been granted the skill 'Low-level Dark Manipulation' ] [ Alert: You have been granted the title 'Shadows' Contractor' ] [ Warning: Your mana have been forcefully unlocked without the 'Magician' class. You have 2 days to get said class, otherwise, your body will be consumed by your mana. ] [ Warning: All of your affinity slots have been filled. You can't get other affinities. ] The pain... ...so violent he was stunned. Wasn't that supposed to be painless!? He felt his senses tangling as the pain made its way towards his brain, blacking him out. The only thing he remembered was that clusterfuck of notifications and Opak's glowing green eyes looking at him. . . .
Chapter 4: A Step Further Jered shifted slightly on his bed, before opening his eyes. He breathed calmly, letting the air clean his lungs. Just thinking about that painful experience made him want to throw up, luckily he passed out, or else he'd have nightmares for nights to come from that much pain. He was still dizzy, his body a bit numb, but overall nothing major, and he was glad for that. The room he was in was dark, but thanks to the moonlight and other various sources of electricity coming in from the window, permitted him to have a clear view of his surroundings. He instantly recognized this place as his bedroom. As for how did he get here? He didn't know, but he was pretty sure that Opak sent him there. Whatever... He grunted in enjoyment as his body relaxed in the soft mattress, and coupled with the cool breeze that was like the gentle hand of a woman caressing his face, he felt in heaven. He let a small smile adorn his handsome face. When he finally regained some motor capacity, he lifted his upper body. He wanted to rest for a bit more, however, that notification of his body being consumed by his mana wasn't funny. It was a bad situation, he knew that. But he couldn't help but feel a bit excited at his gains. All those notifications... "Status." He said. [ Name: Jered von Jacobs ] [ Age: 16 ] [ Race: Human ] [ Class ] [ ? ] [ Title ] [ Shadows' Contractor ] [ Strenght ] [ 10 ] [ Dexterity ] [ 10 ] [ Vitality ] [ 11 ] [ Endurance ] [ 11 ] [ Intelligence ] [ 17 ] [ Mana ] [ 20 ] [ Appearance ] [ 19 ] [ Attribute Points ] [ 5 ] [ System Points ] [ 120 ] [ Shop ] [ Skills ] [ Quests ] Well... there sure is a big change. He looked at his stats, pleased that at least they were average while most of them were above. Not counting that he still had 5 points to use. While he knew the value of these points and the changes that they'd bring, he couldn't be sure that that theory would work for all of his stats. It was definitely something to test though. He then tapped the 'Shop' option on his screen, as a new one appeared. [ Sword Arts ] [ Potions ] [ Magic Arts ] [ Items ] [ Body Arts ] [ Spells ] Taking a quick glance at the clock hung on the wall, he knew that it was better not to waste time exploring his shop, so he fastly clicked on 'Magic Arts'. However... [ Alert: You need to unlock the 'Magician' class to use this section of the 'Shop'. ] Yeah, what did expect? He sighed in frustration. Everything depended on the class, so he quickly excluded trying 'Sword Arts' and 'Spells'. He tried 'Body Arts', and thankfully... [ Low-level ] [ Mid-level ] [ High-level ] [ ?? ] [ ?? ] [ ?? ] [ ?? ] [ ?? ] His eyes slightly widened at the question marks. Was he too weak to view them? Did he need to meet some sort of requirement to unlock them? Nevermind, it wasn't time to figure it out, he'd think about it later. So he went for 'Low-level'. The screen that appeared showed a good number of skills, each with varying prices. Some ranged from 20 to 100 and others from 100 to 300. Obviously the higher the price the better the skill. With only 120 System Points, he couldn't afford much. Nonetheless, there were a few good stuff he could buy. He settled on 2 in particular. [ Low-level ] [ Bodybuilding ] [ 3x times the speed of a normal work out session with half the effort. ] [ Price: 20 SP ] [ Buy | Cancel ] [ Low-level ] [ Martial Arts ] [ Hand-to-hand combat for newbies. It'll be useless against experts. ] [ Price: 80 SP ] [ Buy | Cancel ] They were not the best, but as of now, they'd still be useful. Moreover, he was particularly intrigued by the bodybuilding skill, he wondered if he could raise his stats if he started working out. He pressed 'Buy'. [ Alert: You have bought the skill 'Low-level Bodybuilding' ] [ Alert: You have bought the skill 'Low-level Martial Arts' ] Information flowed into his brain, allowing him to access to memories that weren't his. He felt his body stiffening as his muscles reacted to the skill that was imparting its knowledge to him. He entered a semi-conscious state as his muscles trembled and twitched at an ungodly rate. He sat down, clenching tightly his bedsheets, his breath quickening. Movements of punches and kicks executed fluidly flashed before his eyes, showing him how to perform the skill he just bought. He squeezed his eyes, digesting the information that pervaded his head, and still slightly dazed, tried to stand up. Staggering, he reached for the door and left the room. The house was dark, sign the nobody was home. Still not being able to walk normally he leaned on the wall to support himself as he headed towards the bathroom. Once there he turned the light on and approached the mirror, putting both his hands on the cold washbasin, opened the tap, and let the pleasant touch of the water splash on his face, washing away a bit of his tiredness. Looking up, he noticed his reflection in the mirror and just smiled bitterly. That point added to his appearance wasn't worth anything, however, thanks to his already enhanced looks it still caused a little alteration. Well, the situation wasn't that good, to begin with. But if that kept on going then the difference between 'him' prior the change and the 'him' after, would become so vastly big that even upping his intelligence to 100 wouldn't help him find a solution. How troublesome. He sighed, knowing that it'd be really difficult find an excuse to get out of the problem without too many questions. Taking one last look at his tired face he went back to his room. Laying down on his bed, he decided to allocate his points. He couldn't be stingy with his points, after all, life was a road of uncertainty, it was better not push his luck too much. Therefore he put 2 points in 'Strenght', 2 in 'Dexterity' and 1 in 'Endurance', thus initiating a painful process that sent shocks through his body, making him convulse and spasm. Thanks to his repeated experience with the pain, it was more bearable. After a few minutes, he was left panting and with cloudy eyes. "Damn..." He muttered in nuisance. He steadily stood up, the pain slowly disappearing. He clenched his fists, feeling the power behind them. It wasn't anything earth-shaking, obviously, but it was still more than he had before. He stepped forward and looked mildly surprised at his legs, they felt lighter. It was like walking with a few kilos worth of weight attached to his legs for all of his life and suddenly remove them. Really... it was an amazing feeling. Now though, he had to go somewhere. He opened his wardrobe and put a black hoodie on, grey pants and black sneakers. It was a simple yet manageable outfit. Especially for what he was about to do... ... Walking in the streets with his hood on, Jered kept wondering to himself what were the conditions to trigger a quest. His last one, with the old lady, involved the lost cat. It was interesting to notice that even after he found out about it, the quest didn't pop up until the woman asked him his help. So does this mean that the system works on a necessity expressed in voice like the old lady did? However, his first quest refused that theory altogether. He didn't even saw his mother that day, let alone heard her asking him something, so how could have the system gave him a quest without a catalyst? Was it because of him? He rubbed his chin, thinking of a plausible explanation. There was definitely something the system was based on to provide him the correlated quest. It was tricky, that's why he decided to verify it in person, aside from saving his ass. . . . He heard loud music coming from the building he was heading towards, while people were crowding around it, either smoking or chatting. It was a nightclub called 'The Fairy', and it was famous for its lack of rigidity. Everyone could enter as long as they weren't too young, and in time it practically became a place filled with underages. He made his way past the mob and arrived at the entrance. "Hello. Are you old enough?" A blonde-haired man in a suit asked. It was just a routine question, he really didn't care if the young man in front of him was really old enough to enter. "Yes." He nodded while taking his hood off. The blonde man's eyes slightly widened at his very handsome looks, but hid his surprise rather quickly and nodded, letting him enter. "Have fun." He smiled from behind. ... Once inside he noted a large number of people were sensually dancing with a partner or alone on the dancefloor, while a few ones were sitting at the shiny counter, drinking and flirting with the beautiful barmaid. He cast a glance towards the luxurious couches, finding that they were almost empty aside from some lonely dude that failed their hunt. He walked to one of them and sat down. His main objective was to get a quest, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't also there for a bit of fun. He had around 2 days, even less since he lost a lot of that time by sleeping, so it was better to get hurry and complete them as fast as possible. And so he waited or so was his main focus if someone didn't interrupt him. "Well, what do we have here? Aren't you a bit too handsome to be sitting alone?" A brown-haired beautiful girl said in a sweet voice, taking a place next to him. She was really pretty, he could admit that. Her long brown hair tumbled over her shoulders, ending at her back, she had fair and glossy skin with no signs of blemishes, her eyelashes were velvety and accentuated her crystal-like blue eyes, and coupled with her hourglass-shaped body made her entirety stand out even more. There was no doubt about it, she was a bombshell of a woman. He spared a second glance at her, this time looking carefully. She was sticking her body at him in a flirtatious way showing her ample chest, but her pupils weren't dilatated, so she wasn't interested in him in a sexual way. Her smile seemed a bit forced while her eyes were continuously going over to another spot. Her legs were crossed and aimed in his opposite direction. Yeah, she wasn't interested in him. Of this he was sure. If so then what was she doing? He caught her eyes momentarily shifting, looking somewhere else, before looking back at him again. This time he saw what was the cause of her nervousness, it was a man. He was pretty average in his opinion, at least he didn't see anything to make him stick out. However, what he noted that caught his interest was that he was looking at him angrily, hostility clear in his eyes. Mhh... maybe... Jered looked back at the beauty next to him and smiled. "Would you be so kind to tell me what's going on?" He asked curiously. "Uhh?" She was confused. "Oh, come on. You clearly don't want to be here, don't fool me. I can see you're nervous, and that man over there didn't stop throwing me malicious looks. Is he the cause of your anxiety?" He explained confidently. She stared at him, a bit stunned, before looking down, a restless look in her eyes. But nodded nonetheless. "Mhh.. is he threatening you?" He asked. Again, she nodded. "Gun?" "Yes..." She whispered scared. "What did you tell him?" He asked, a plan forming in his mind. "I... I told him that... you were my boyfriend. But..." She averted her gaze. "But?" He pressed. "He told me to dump you and go with him... otherwise..." It was obvious she was getting anxious. "He'd harm you?" He narrowed his eyes. "Mhh." She nodded in confirmation. This was dangerous. He doubted the man would shoot at anyone with this many people, but once she left he might stalk her and... He looked at her. "Are you here alone or did you come with your friends?" "I came with my friends... they're somewhere dancing." She said, slightly afraid her friends would get involved, or worse, get injured. Mmh... to avoid any problem I should lead him outside and... "Look... I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to cause you an-" She started. "Do you want me to help you?" He asked, interrupting her. "E-excuse me?" She might have heard wrong, there was no way he would offer himself up to help her despite the risks. "I said: Do you want me to help you?" He repeated, a small smile on his face. She was flabbergasted as tears almost started to well up in her eyes. Was he? Was he really? Was he really going to help her!? It was supposed to be a fun night for her and her friends, while they might have come to check out on handsome boys, she was there just for a good dance, and who knows, maybe a bit of romance if there was anyone who would've caught her eyes. But once she left the toilette someone pointed an object she recognized as a gun at her back, forcing her to follow him. It was only when she saw a good-looking man calmly sitting on the couch that she had an idea... and well, the rest is history. She felt very bad for dragging him in that situation but also felt very shocked at his observation skills. She had to admit that. It took him only a few seconds to figure out what was going on and through the entire conversation, he didn't even falter. Maybe he could really help her... "P-please... help me.." She said nervously, fearing that he might draw back and leave her to her fate. [ Quest received! ] [ Title: A Damsel in Distress ] [ Description: Have you ever dreamed to be a hero? If so then unsheathe your sword and deal with the enemy. ] [ Reward: 7 Attribute points | 180 System points. ] [ Time-limit: Your defeat. ] [ Accept | Decline ] Here it is... He tapped 'Accept' and the screen disappeared. "Mhh... come with me." He suddenly said as he got up. She looked at him and nodded. Jered approached the man at a steady pace while looking at his hands. He saw his left hand brush against his left pocket. So he put the gun in his left pocket? He couldn't be sure yet. "I saw you looking at us for quite a while now, are you interested in my girlfriend or are you interested in me?" He said with a smirk while putting his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to his body. She felt a small blush creep its way on her face at the contact. "I want her. I hope you'll make this easy for me and stay out." He replied calmly while touching the protruding tent in his pocket. "Ohh, did I perhaps turn you on?" He grinned. The man started to get angry, the kid in front of him was getting too cocky for his taste. Did he want to play the part of the hero to show off in front of her? Did he not believe that he was not playing? "So you won't back off?" He asked narrowing his eyes. "I'm afraid not." Jered just smiled. "I see... well, we're both men here, why don't we take this outside?" He proposed, an evil glint in his eyes. "That's really a good idea... so, won't your friends over there come as well?" He asked tentatively. "What are you talking about? What friends?" He asked, evidently confused. "Nothing, don't mind it." He waved it off, faking innocence. Well, that's good, he's alone... I won't have to worry about any possible addition to the conflict. "Let's go." The man said, taking his gun out and motioning at them to go out. "Um." Jered nodded and headed towards the exit. The girl was following them, nibbling on her lip worriedly. It was a tight situation, they didn't know that he'd do should they refuse, but it was obvious that it was better to deal with it head-on. They couldn't even call the police or warn the bouncers as the man had been looking at them all the time. She just hoped that her 'fake-boyfriend' wouldn't get hurt or else she would feel really guilty. ... Once outside the man led them to an isolated place, not too far away from the nightclub but not nearby either. He pointed his gun at Jered's face while the woman yelped in fright. "Well, what will you do now, little hero?" He asked tauntingly. Jered just looked at his interlocutor's face before an idea crossed his head. "You see, my friend. I'd like to show you a magic trick." He stated as he put his right hand inside his hoodie's pocket. "Stop!" The man shouted, suspicious at what this kid was trying to pull off. The brunette that was a few feet away from them also looked at him puzzled. "Don't worry, buddy. Look, it's just a coin." He smiled while showing the content on his hand, and it was indeed a penny. The man lowered his guard but still kept the gun aimed at him. "Here, let me show how with this worthless penny I'll make your gun mysteriously vanish." He said flailing his arms for dramatic effect. The man was still suspicious but couldn't really see how he'd make that happen. Was he bluffing? Jered held the coin between his index and middle finger, lifting it up so that the man's eyes were locked on the penny. Easy... this guy is totally stupid. He smiled, throwing the coin up in the air and moving as fast as possible. The man followed the coin with his gaze wondering what he was up to when... "Aaghh!" He screamed in pain. His pistol dropped on the ground, near the now shell-shocked brunette beauty. He held his left hand that was beginning to swell and looked maliciously at Jered. "You bastard! You tricked me!!" He bellowed in fury as saliva spurt out of his mouth. "Haven't I told ya it was a magic trick?" He replied smugly. Seriously... this man. When they got out he never took distance from him, probably not confident in his accuracy. They were only a meter and half apart from each other, so exploiting his light distraction he fastly kicked his hand. He could say that he was lucky that his opponent was slow-witted and had no experience in the field whatsoever. The man, still grunting in pain tried for the last stand by sprinting towards the gun on the ground, however, Jered anticipated him and punched him in the face making a bit of blood splatter on the asphalt. It was an instant knock-out. He suddenly felt his face heat up from the excitement. He couldn't describe the sensation but he felt immense satisfaction by hurting him... I mean... look at the blood on the floor, wouldn't it be more beautiful if there was more? He smiled... It felt... amazing. Maybe he could punch him again? Just a little more... It was like he was in a trance as he started walking towards his defeated opponent, a small grin etched on his face. There he was... He sat down on him, looking at his face that begged him to draw more blood... Just a bit... He lifted his fist, ready to... "Hey...a-are you ok?" A feminine voice suddenly came from behind him. He turned his head around and saw her looking at him with a bit of fear. "Wh-what are you d-doing? I-isn't he already unconscious?" She asked, trembling a little. He looked at her confusedly before realizing what was happening. Oh god... What was he doing? He hastily got up, a look of disgust on his face. Was he about to? No... He felt nauseous just at the thought. He breathed, trying to calm himself down, it wasn't time for this. Looking up he noted a hovering rectangular-shaped screen that he seemed to have ignored. It said: [ Quest: A Damsel in Distress. Completed! ] [ Your actions have proved to be worthy of a hero, your name shall be engraved in her heart till the sun dies. ] [ Reward: 7 Attribute points | 180 System points. ] He inwardly smiled, there was only one quest left. Dusting himself he looked at his watch and winced. It was already past midnight. Oh shit! He glanced at the woman and quickly said. "I gotta go, you should call the police and tell them everything." "W-wait!" She stopped him. "Mmh..?" He looked at her. "W-what's your name?" She asked, still trembling. "I'm Jered, nice to meet you." He smiled, relaxing her a little. "I'm Natalie." She introduced herself. He nodded while walking away, his shape slowly becoming a foggy blur in the shadows... Jered, huh? She thought. Her heart fluttered thinking about him. It definitely scared her when he wanted to keep hurting the man, however... She couldn't deny it. He was amazing. The way he quickly noticed she was in trouble showed how smart he was, moreover, he bravely stepped forward and faced a man armed with a gun, and using his quick-wittedness and physical power defeated him. The fact he was very handsome was a plus she didn't mind. What a guy... She wanted to see him again... . . .
Chapter 5: A Mother's Duty The urban sounds echoed through the entire neighborhood as it slowly became a background of muffled noises in Jered's ears. The lamppost's flickering light showed his pathway while he was lost in thought. The road back home was delightfully relaxing and allowed him to fully concentrate on how to solve the following problem. However, much to his disappointment, he found nothing that would have helped him. It was a dead end. He couldn't explain anything without mentioning his 'special powers', a thing that he absolutely wouldn't do. Moreover, he knew that at some point in time he'd be forced to tell them, after all, a secret is always bound to be found by prying ears. Especially when he'll meet those that have specific powers to do such a thing. He sighed in annoyance. Also, the way he lost control of himself was... enlightening. A part of him was disturbed while the other ecstatic and free, like two extremities that wanted to prevail on him. But... Was it alright if he let his facade drop and release what he had been caging for a lot of time? He didn't know, but... it was so liberating. Like he could finally breathe for the first time. Having been holding back for years was asphyxiating, and having to do so even after he got the fundamental piece to break his walls was even more so. He stopped walking for a minute and gazed up, taking the full majesty of the moon. Its light gently shining on the landscape around him, endowing it a heavenly image of a utopia. A peaceful smile appeared on his face as he beheld the scenery. He wanted to feel that way again... ... Once in front of his house's door, he hesitated. There was small light coming from his mother's bedroom signifying that she was most likely awake. He couldn't avoid her forever, he knew it, but the idea of telling something that might scare or worry her wasn't an option either. He opened the door quietly, trying not to be heard. However, the lightly 'Kacha' sound it did after being closed reverberated through the quiet home. "Damn..." He cursed. Slow footsteps walked down the stairs before a beautiful woman appeared in his sight. It was his mother, Jane. She had long bright blonde hair that cascaded on her back, and although she was in her mid-thirties, her skin was still fair and smooth, her green eyes shone brightly in the dim lit room. The black nightgown she wore hugged her curvaceous body perfectly. "Jered! Why the hell are you so late!? And where did you go?" An angry frown marred her pretty face as she crossed her arms. "Sorry, I lost the track of time." He replied, trying to avert the 'Where' part. She wouldn't like the answer. "You lost the tra- mhh?" She started but stopped mid-sentence when she noted her son's face. Jered gulped as he saw his mother approaching him, putting both hands on his shoulders and leaned her face closer to take a better look. "What did you do to your face?" She asked curiously. "Nothing. Why?" He feigned innocence. "Mhh, you seem to have become better-looking. Are you really sure you didn't do anything?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. The exchange wasn't heading towards a good direction, he just hoped she would stop questioning him, afraid that he might say something that'd screw him up. "I'm sure, mom. Maybe it's because we didn't see each other too much lately... that... you haven't noticed." He immediately regretted saying that, knowing it was a touchy subject. Shit! She froze for a moment, her eyes slightly widening. She wanted to come up with something to say but all that she managed to gather in her throat was empty air that in the end came out as a bitter breath. It was hurtful, true, but still hurtful. She had become a ghost that'd show up only at night, every conversation with his son or daughter were completely foregone amidst quick glances and awkward silences every time they crossed each other. It was like a curse glued to her life, and as the time flew by she didn't even recognize herself as a member of the family or even thought of ever having one. It scared her. It really did... Stifling a sob she turned around, not wanting her son to see the wretched state she was in, however, it didn't matter how much she tried to hide it, her clenched fists and trembling shoulders betrayed her. "R-right. It was probably this the... cause." She whispered feebly, sounding heartbroken. She wanted to convince herself that everything was okay when it clearly was not. Why? Because it was her role as a mother to smile when she wanted to collapse on the cold floor and cry her soul out. It was her role as a mother take beatings so that her children wouldn't have to suffer as they grew up. And it was still her role as a mother to swallow her pride and receive scorn, spits, bruises, malicious remarks... For what? So that she could see their smiles. See them happy and carefree. After all, it was he role as a mother. A mother's boundless love. When Jered saw what his words caused, he felt a merciless pang in his heart, not even in his wildest dreams he'd do or say anything with the purpose of harming or incite sadness on her, he'd rather cut his tongue off before he would even remotely consider doing such a thing. He just wanted to divert her suspicions and avoid saying anything that might put some alert into her, however, the result was a far cry from what he intended. And it was only when he heard her openly crying that he knew. He failed it. For every tear that slid down her cheeks a hole opened up in his heart, slowly consuming him from the inside. Knowing it was him, her son of all people, that made her feel grief-stricken, really broke him. All the disappointment, failure, helplessness, sadness that he had been locking away suddenly rained over him, crushing him down in a cold shower of pain. He opened his mouth, but what came out was a strained gasp. So, he did what he felt he should do. With quiet steps, he arrived behind her. Her shoulders were visibly quivering while occasional sobs escaped from her. He put his hands on her arms and gently but firmly brought her to his chest, hugging her strongly. And with a soft touch rested her head on his neck while his arms tenderly enveloped her in a warm embrace. "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean it that way." He whispered hotly in her ear, making her spine slightly shiver. She distanced herself away a bit from him, her body still touching his, and looked deeply into his beautiful emerald eyes, smiling. "No... it's okay. I know my wrongs... I... have never been that good of a mothe-" She tried but was interrupted. "Don't say it! Please... " He grabbed her face, their gazes meeting. "You did an amazing job... and there's no need to do more, just quit it, okay? Let me do what I should have done, you did enough." His forehead lightly grazed hers while he still was holding her cheeks up. There was an intense silence as she was left speechless. What should she think about this? He is still young, how could he help her in any way? It was not that she didn't appreciate the gesture, in fact, she was even touched by it, but... "Just finish your studies and then we'll talk about it, okay?" She stated as he wiped clean her tear-stained face. Jered just looked at her impassively, not really knowing how to respond. It was obvious she wouldn't believe him, he wasn't even an adult, yet he was already talking about running a household. How ridiculous. "Yeah..." He answered half-heartedly while faking a smile. Some things have yet to change. With a sigh, he bid goodnight to his mother and headed upstairs, towards his bedroom. Jane just looked at him, unknown thoughts in her head. . . . There were no lights inside the room, it was just plain dark. Jered was sprawled tiredly on his bed, looking dejectedly at the ceiling like it would give him the perfect answer for all of his troubles. It was doubtless an exhausting day. That damn system was making his daily regularity just more difficult, yet also so interesting. He smiled. Drawing a sigh he stood up. It was time to work out, he was curious to see what would happen. Unfortunately, he hadn't the specific gym tools, but doing homemade was still alright. So, deciding on a position he got down and placed his hands on the floor; directly under his shoulders, his arms fully extended, his body straight, his toes also on the floor. He inhaled deeply and started going up and down smoothly, thanks to his enhanced strength it was rather easy, but as time went on his arms wobbled, signaling they were about to fall down. But he still kept on going, only by surpassing his own limits could he get stronger fast, and that's what he wanted to do. After his brief but meaningful talk with his mother, he was determined to help her, it didn't matter what he'd have to do. Whether using violence or flattering words. He wouldn't let what happened today repeat itself, he would take his mother's place and give her what she deserves. His eyes became bloodshot as he pushed himself up and down strenuously, making his muscles ache. His arms hurt so much, recommending him to give up and rest, that there was no need to go to such extremes. But for every time he felt that way he just kept on pushing. Till he fell down. Panting heavily and sweaty all over his body as he slowly lifted his upper body and started doing abs. Through the night Jered didn't sleep much, he just took quick breaks before continuing with destroying his body. Until... [ Alert: The skill 'Bodybuilding' has leveled up to '2'. ] [ Alert: The skill 'Bodybuilding' has leveled up to '3' ] Mhh? So I can level my skills up? He stopped exercising as he started at the notifications, during his entire training time he didn't even notice them, therefore he was kinda surprised. So, he opened his 'Status'. [ Name: Jered von Jacobs ] [ Age: 16 ] [ Race: Human ] [ Class ] [ ? ] [ Title ] [ Shadows' Contractor ] [ Strenght ] [ 13 ] [ Dexterity ] [ 12 ] [ Vitality ] [ 11 ] [ Endurance ] [ 13 ] [ Intelligence ] [ 17 ] [ Mana ] [ 20 ] [ Appearance ] [ 19 ] [ Attribute Points ] [ 7 ] [ System Points ] [ 200 ] [ Shop ] [ Skills ] [ Quests ] He pleasantly noted that both his 'Strength' and 'Endurance' went up by 1. Obviously, as he got stronger it'll become incredibly hard to raise his stats by physical training alone, hence the usefulness of the points. Moreover, it was still unknown how strong he is right now or how strong can he become, before that comes the need to use his points. As for his endurance, it probably refers to his ability to endure physical strain and pain. It was still to test. Looking over at the 'Skill' option on his menu he tapped it. [ Body Arts ] [ Magic Arts ] On the new screen that appeared only two options were available. Is it because I only got skills related to them? Mhh... He touched 'Body Arts'. And... [ Body Arts ] [ Skills: 2 ] [ Low-level ] [ Bodybuilding ] [ Level: 3 ] [ Martial Arts ] [ Level: 1 ] Ugh... I'm so weak. He cringed a bit before going back and clicking on 'Magic Arts'. [ Magic Arts ] [ Skills: 2 ] [ Low-level ] [ Fire Manipulation ] [ Level: 1 ] [ Dark Manipulation ] [ Level 1 ] Well, it can't be helped, I guess... He closed his menu, heavily worn-out of all that practice. Standing up, slightly wobbling, he walked towards his bed, where he crashed into it weakly, no force left in his body. The noise of cars going their way further in the distance harmonized with the swish of leaves dancing in the air assembled a sweet melody for his sleep. . . .