I silently walk towards the castle, the new Phoenix ring shining beautifully in the rainbow crystal light. A few people glance at it due to its eye catching appearance, but then casually look away, as if just seeing a piece of paper on the road. This reaction somewhat threw me off, causing my mind to wander a bit from my original dilemma.
Purple mana stones are rare to find but can still be found, however, stones bordering on the white spectrum are extremely rare! Not even taking in size, finding a small one could make the richest man's eyes go wide. They usually can sell for over 1,000 platinum coins unrefined if their size is larger than a thumb and jewelry can usually be even more expensive!
So usually, rich nobles would be the only ones to get a ring like this, so when I was offered about 50 or so platinum coins for both, I almost lost my mind. I refused to haggle in case he suddenly made the price skyrocket which would of ticked me off. This ring is going to be one of my most powerful assets as I won't need any other storage rings for a while if not never again.
So I was over the moon till he had somehow cancelled my identify which through me off. And now here I am, a mix of emotions and confusion. I shake my head as I try to get back onto the main topic, only asking one more question before doing so, 'What is he?'
Anyway, I open my system as I run my chin, slowly walking towards the kingdom. Hundreds of thoughts run through my head as each one just leads to another, all having a single basis.
'What the hell are you?'
As I run through the list, I suddenly begin to realize that I haven't been asking enough questions about this thing. I have blindly been trusting it for 5 years but have never been asking questions such as, where do I get my abilities from? Myself or the system? Is the system my guide or a stimulation of my growth? Is this technology, magic, a combination, or neither? Where do the things go when put in storage? Why does it sometimes work with notifications while other times not?
I run my head as more questions begin to appear when I suddenly have an idea. I hold my hand over the status box, 'Identify.'
Suddenly, a box appears in front of me and I get excited until I begin to read it….
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Air consisting of O2, it can be inhaled and used in many chemical processes. There is a mystical energy mingling with it though, giving it a somehow undetectable energy.
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'Damn system catfished me…that is just cruel.' I sigh sadly as I close the tab and the status screen, 'I can't find out anything for now, maybe I'll seek assistance later…maybe The Author can help me.'
Before I know it, I am at the castle gates, seeing soldiers running to and fro as the time of the battle slowly arrives. The queen has ordered for any and all soldiers to prepare for war yet again, seeing how my true strength is unknown and knowing that if I fail, her kingdom will be wiped next, no matter the cost.
An evil grin spreads across my face as my blood begins to boil, 'It's almost showtime…I gotta find Soca and Emily before the battle happens…and I want to-no-I have to find that sword!'
I sprint into the castle as I quickly bolt to our room, I stop right in front of the door, about to enter until I suddenly hear voices. Now I would usually enter anyway, but a new voice is muffled in between the panicked conversation…Amelia!
I have to forcefully stop myself from bursting in as I suddenly feel an anger rising within me. I take a few deep breaths and try to calm myself down.
'Okay, so I need to immediately find out the current situation, if I don't and misunderstand, then this could all end badly.' I remind myself as I focus my hearing, an image of the room slowly forming in my mind as I hear the voices bounce off the walls.
As I focus more, I immediately understand the scene as my rage begins to grow uncontrolled.
"Don't do it!" Shouts Emily with a stern tone.
"Please don't!" Agreed Soca, who is currently being held captive by Amelia.
"It has been unanimously decided that I take you out to make sure that you don't cause any more trouble…I'm sorry. I struggle to even have this knife against your throat as we speak, but I at least wanted one last conversation before I have to end your life. Luckily, that masked bastard isn't here or else this hold of been harder."
My rage begins to boil even further as I hold out my hand towards the room, 'Absolute Shadow!' Suddenly, I hear screams of terror as I watch the image in my mind, Amelia becomes strung up with tentacles of darkness, held there, unable to resist. Moments later, I suddenly hear a knife drop as Amelia screams in shock, black tentacles growing from shadows around the room as they grip her wrists and ankles.
She is slowly lifted into the air before hanging there, as if she was a piñata ready to be smacked. I then calmly enter the room to see the situation being just how I imagined it. Amelia's face loses all color as she sees me enter, a dark aura seemingly leaking from me. I glance over to see Soca being somewhat comforted by Emily, apparently shocked that a friend would do this to her.
I slowly approach Amelia, who is dressed in black and green stealth suit and is shivering as I approach. She tries to mask her fear by equipping a poker face, struggling to reveal no emotion. But as each of my steps grows closer to her, her eyes grow wider.
Within seconds, I am inches away from her face and I stare into her wide eyes, as if finally catching my arch nemesis. A wry smile forms on my face as I ask, "How do you plea?"
She begins to shiver uncontrollable, as if the room has dropped to freezing temperatures. But I refuse to move until a few minutes later, having finally satisfied my sudden anger which has cooled down.
I shrug as I ask, "No answer? Disappointing…"
I snap my fingers as the tentacles grow, covering her body in total darkness within a breath.
"I was hoping for more of a show." I disappointingly look over at the shocked duo, who are unable to move from shell shock. My wry smile turns into a frown as I look at Soca, "Did the training we do for 2 days literally just fly out the window?"
She takes a moment before snapping out of her trance, "Ummm, sorry…I'm not used to surprise attacks like that. Especially from a guard whom I considered a friend."
I glance at the black silhouette which hangs within the room, now silent like a statue. I covered her in a liquid that is breathable but it blocks all other senses and breaks within a few days.
'This used to be how they kept prisoners in my old world, but with a much worse way of using a feeding tube and an IV drip.'
I point at the Emily statue, "That will break within three days, be prepared to capture her then as I won't be here. It will be a test to see if you can actually use the training and teamwork with Emily to take her down. Fighting enemies stronger than you isn't easy, but it can be done. As I have multiple times over."
I wave my hand as the whip and the egg appear on the floor, "By the way, these are for you."