[Daily Quest Complete]
[5 Demon Energy has been granted]
Having completed his Daily Quest, the young Demon was disappointed by the fact that the rewards he earned from all his matches, were nothing but worthless trinkets. Although they could sell for a decent sum on the black market, Alex didn't wish to go through the hassle.
'The system said that for me to gain a title, I would have to complete my Daily Quest ten days in a row. I don't actually have a problem with that, but won't Scarlett get suspicious and start to investigate?
'She won't even allow me to box in peace in my room. This town match is my only way of completing my Daily Quest, and also letting out some steam. And then there's Jim.'
Alex, having completed his objective for the day, decided to head back home. On his way back, he decided to check up on one of his System Tabs. Glazing over it, the young adult couldn't help but groan in impatience.
[Next Level Up 5/100 Demon Energy]
'This Demon Energy is important for my leveling up. But isn't there a quicker way I can get them? I mean, sure the Daily Quest is cool and all, but isn't there a faster way for me to level up?' Alex thought to himself.
Sincerely, the Demon didn't want to rush his journey of getting stronger. However, considering the state of his town; the kidnappers, gangs run by sinister individuals pooling power towards themselves. Alex knew his neighborhood wasn't a safe place, and with this system, he intended to milk out any benefit it offered, as soon as possible.
Arriving outside his window, and climbing into his room entering the window, Alex went on to close all the windows and properly lock the door.
Reaching into his pocket, Alex intended to practice a few swings with the dagger, however, noticing it wasn't in his pocket, panic began to set in his heart.
'No, no, no, no! What?! How?! How did I lose it?! Man, this isn't good?! This is not good?!!'
Searching his pocket thoroughly, Alex suddenly felt something, it was round, and felt more like… a ring.
Fishing it out, Alex inspected it closely, its shape, the designs inscribed on it, the small purple emerald on top. On a closer inspection, Alex found the ring to be quite familiar, and after a few moments of racking his brain, he finally realized why it was so.
Laced with shock, Alex threw the pendant aside, his hands trembling as he stuttered. The young man was shell-shocked. He was now in possession of an ultra-powerful item the whole world had been fighting for so many years.
'That's the Dark Core? But, what's it doing here?! How did I get it?!' Alex was confused, stuttering as he spoke, and although he wanted answers, he couldn't get over the shock which had overwhelmed him.
The Dark Core was the item that contained unfathomable power. At least, that's what the stories foretold. The pendant was the source of all Demonic Power. With it, one could command the depths of Hades itself, and now, it was in the hands of an orphaned eighteen-year-old.
'Okay, okay, I need to calm down! I need to focus,' Alex could not. It felt like everything was moving too fast. Before he knew what was happening, he began to lose balance, wobbling from side to side, before crashing on the floor, and blacking out.
_________
Opening his eyes, Alex found himself lying face-flat on the floor. Propping himself up, images of what had earlier transpired flashed through his mind. However, Alex later released a chuckle, assuming all that to be nothing but a bad dream: a nightmare, perhaps.
Walking towards his bed, a bright flash of light shun over the corner of his eye, causing him to squint in pain. Turning his head, the light was now shining in front of both his eyes.
As he stepped forward, he exercised caution, calculating his every step till he came to stand in front of a small, silver-colored ring with a purple gem.
'I guess that wasn't a dream,' Alex thought, crouching down, picking up the item many refer to as The Dark Core.
The pendant had been the single reason multiple countries had been destroyed, even after the calamity of the mysterious creatures. Millions had died. Ministers had back-stabbed their presidents, and all for what: power.
They wanted power, but not just regular power, the power knky the Dark Core could give them. The Dark Core contained a power so unfathomable, that Saliel Cone himself couldn't fully understand despite having it for most of his life.
'This might be a bad idea, but mine and Scarlett's lives are already pretty fucked up. What if I could somehow tap into the power within this Dark Core?
'Honestly, I may not be the brightest, but I do know a guy who could help me with that. Still, can I really trust him? Sure, he's Johnny's dad. But heck, I don't even trust Johnny to the point I can leave him alone with something like this,' Alex reasoned.
In the end, he chose to keep the location of the Dark Core exclusive to himself for the meantime. Still having a task to complete, and the major local sparring competition right around the corner, Alex could worry himself about the pendant another time.
It was already 6:00 pm, and judging by the sound he could faintly hear from his room, he could tell dinner was already being prepared. Hearing a grumbling sound from within, Alex couldn't help himself as he made his way downstairs, into the kitchen. The kitchen wasn't large by any means, but fortunately for him, it was more than big enough to contain the both of them.
"What's cooking?"
"..."
"Still mad?"
"..."
Alex let out a frustrated sigh as he shifted his attention to something else. Scrolling back to the past system messages, he noticed a few tabs showed 'locked', those tabs involving weapons, skills, and whatnot. Alex wondered what he would have to do to gain access to these tabs, however, amid his thought process, a loud clang broke his concentration.
"Dinner's served!" Scarlett almost shouted as he walked to get her plate, as well.
As the two siblings ate at the table, a blanket of silence enveloped the occasion. The atmosphere was thick, and Alex was just trying his best to finish his meal as soon as possible so we could get the heck out of there.
In the middle of their dinner, a banging sound began to repeat itself, and Scarlett, being the one with the keys to the front door, got up to see who was it.
Not long after, she and a fairly old man had entered the kitchen, the latter smelling like cheap vodka. Alex didn't even hide his disgust as he openly covered his nose, squinting his eyes and he tilted his head down. His actions had infuriated Uncle Jim, but the latter just chose to ignore his antics.
"So, how's the house been since you came back?" Uncle Jim asked Scarlett, however, the former had his eyes fixed on Alex. Noticing this, Scarlett quickly answered his question, raising her voice in an attempt to get his full attention.
"Um, you know, it was good! I was here, Alex was here, we were all here! Hmph! Uncle, you must be starving, let you get your share, it's in the kitchen. Just excuse me!" Scarlett almost ran into the kitchen to get her uncle's dinner. The teenage girl was too afraid to allow her uncle and brother seat at the same table by themselves.
Arriving back at the dining table, holding a plate filled with hit spaghetti, the teenage girl placed the plate in front of her uncle, before rushing to take her seat as well.
No one spoke a word to each other after that. All that could be heard was the sound of someone chewing with their mouth open. From the corner of her eye, Scarlett could see her brother with a condescending expression on his face.
'Gosh, Alex, what's gotten into you?! Do you really want Uncle Jim to give you a good beating?!' She thought, her hands fidgeting as she mistakenly spilled some spaghetti on herself.
"Oh, be careful," Alex said, handing her a napkin. The former briefly make eye contact with Uncle Jim as he outstretched his hand, giving Scarlett the napkin.
"You should be more careful, sweetheart," Uncle Jim said with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, right. Keep showering her with your fake love," Alex mumbled to himself.
"What did you say?" Uncle Jim asked, his eyes squinted.
"..."
"Boy, I asked you a question."
"..."
Alex gave no reply, shifting his attention back to the spaghetti he was eating. In the middle of swallowing down a large chunk of it, his vision suddenly went black, and a loud noise was heard, followed by his back hitting the floor, the chair he sat on breaking on impact.
[Optional Quest Received]
[Maintain as much of your Physical Body as possible]
[Rewards: 10 Demon Points]
Feeling a warm liquid trickling down his face, the young man could already assume what he was feeling. Wiping out some blood from his lips, a system message suddenly appeared, however, before he could read the contents of the message, he felt a strong grip against the collar of his shirt, pulling him off the floor before shoving him against the nearest wall.
"You son of a bitch! I knew I shouldn't have been so lenient with you. If it weren't for Scarlett, I would've thrown you out on the streets years ago!!!" Uncle Jim yelled, slamming his fists against Alex's face repeatedly as his body slowly slid downwards towards the floor.
Hoisting his body up after every few punches, Uncle Jim swore to make sure Alex experiences all the anger and resentment he had been holding against him for all these years. Today, tonight, he wished to teach Alex the true meaning of pain.