Authors note:[Please don't forget to vote for the novel, power stones and etc are very much needed. Also check out the sequel to this book, Dark Gene : Rebirth].
Rodney had just opened the system interface to view the reward for the quest he had completed a week ago. He should perhaps have checked it a week ago but was too busy dying to actually care about some quest rewards and such. But now he did have the time to check it. And there was only one expression plastered on his face.
*Bing!*
[Quest : Defeat intermediate beasts with newly acquired knowledge and skills only!]
[Quest status: complete]
[Rewards: Congratulations, you defeated two mid tier intermediate beasts instant level up received]
[Congratulations, you are now at level 9. 200 coins received]
[Secret quest: No retreat no surrender. Walk away as the sole survivor of this encounter]
[Quest status: complete]
[Reward: Instant level up]
[Congratulations: you are now at level 10]
[Two new skills unlocked]
[Full system interface unlocked]
[Body is too weak and damaged for new energy ]
[Full body reconstruction will now Begin]
[Host's body will now lose consciousness in 0:59]
[Full body reconstruction complete]
[Click profile to view host's details]
Rodney then looked at the top bar to see there was a new tab there that read "Profile" and had a red dot on it. Not wasting time he opened it to see what it entailed.
__________________________
[Name:Rodney Hart]
[Class:processing...]
[Race: processing...]
[Lvl : 10]
[Exp: 0/1300]
[HP : 100/100]
[Energy points : 100/100]
[Skill point: 0]
[Attributes]
Strength - 10
Agility - 10
Durability - 5
Stamina - 5
-----------------------
This was what Rodney was seeing at the moment. And he still was left shocked. For one he didn't know the system could do this. "So this was what It meant by full interface huh". While this sight amazed him, he just couldn't wrap his head around a few things. For one there were few greyed out areas, but none of that bothered him much for now. He believed his current level was probably too low to access this tabs.
" I levelled up twice. I'll check out the new skills later but first... "
"So it gave a secret quest that I was meant to complete?!. What if I had failed?!. What would have been the penalty?. This in all honesty isn't fair you know?". He then wondered off to look at other things. He couldn't help but be impressed with how much detail was put into this. Whoever had designed it knew what they were doing. Speaking of design, there was something his eyes caught that confused him the more.
"Full body reconstruction?. So it was you who put me to sleep?!!" Rodney couldn't believe it right now. Little wonder the others had claimed he was all healed up but wouldn't wake up. Although the system claimed that the full body reconstruction had taken place, he didn't notice any physical change as he looked at himself. A lot of people in the inn that saw him doing this felt he was just waking up and trying to find his bearing so they didn't blame him much. Although he did feel more energetic and alive than before, he didn't see that as a change.
If there was anything different, it would be his eye sight as he felt he could see better than before. Although this wasn't convincing enough as part of him still felt it had to be because he hadn't seen light in a while but he noticed he reacted to a lot of other sensations a bit better than before. He felt more at ease with this body and came to the conclusion that it might probably be the healing process that made him feel this way. Most probably an effect from a drug. After thinking about it for some time he knew it wouldn't do much good just dwelling on one thing so he pushed forward.
The next thing he looked at now was his status bar. Here he saw his HP and some other things he just didn't understand what they were meant to do with him. Sure he knew what they were, after playing that much game in his life time, he had seen just about all.
"Energy points, hmmm from my gaming knowledge isn't that supposed to be some kind of price you pay for using a skill?. And then the skill point, I currently have zero of it now. But I think its meant to upgrade my stats. Right now they don't look so good. This whole thing feels like a game". Rodney thought with a smile as his mind wondered off to something else.
" What was the need to include the race, are there other race with similar systems or what could it possibly mean?". He asked himself but as he found no answer, he ended up moving on and checking out some more things. He finally decided to open up the rewards for reaching level ten, the two new skills.
[Two new skills unlocked]
[Shadow Pin].Info
[Shadow stealth].Info
"By the looks of the names, they don't seem like an offensive skill. I should find out more before concluding though". Rodney thought as he went on to have a look at what the individual skill could do as he clicked the info right next to each skill.
[Shadow pin: when skill is activated, user can trap victim by pinning victim's shadow to the ground using a knife formed from shadows. Skill cost 50 energy points. Note skill won't work unless the victim has a shadow. Skill is inescapable]
"This seems to be a rather good skill that would have been useful against those LIZARDS!. Bad timing system, really bad timing.But the energy points costs 50?, well I guess it's because the skill is that good. But the condition though, who doesn't have a shadow to begin with?". Rodney read through the description a few more times to see if he missed anything. But after seeing no new information, he proceeded to see the description of the next skill.
[Shadow stealth: when skill is active, user can momentarily disappear into the shadows. Skill fails if shadow is illuminated. Skill costs 10 energy points to use]
"So this skill allows me blend in with the surrounding darkness. Will be perfect for stealth and ambush. And the cost is relatively okay". Rodney thought. He looked through the profile one more time to spot something he might have missed or not paid close attention to and thats when he noticed he now had a health count. While this was good to gauge his opponent's power depending on how much they take out from his HP with a hit, he wasn't exactly happy about it because to him, seeing the health count would only limit him. He was the type that loved to go in and get the job done.
"I guess this is the system's way of telling me I've got to start fighting safe. At least this helps me know how much damage I can take and if its something I can keep taking." Rodney thought to himself before finally deciding to close the system interface and lay down. Even though he felt as good as ever, Corey had informed him that with how long he had been out, the inn wouldn't be keen on letting him go on the first day. He would probably be staying here for a day or two under close inspection before he would be allowed to leave.
With nothing to do and no friends around as he had chased them away, having gone through the new system interface, he decided to check something else. "I wonder since something's have changed if my CHI too has". He then proceeded to sit on the properly with his legs crossed and began the breathing exercise. He did this exhalation and inhalation for a while before suddenly becoming silent with his breathing. He was now seeing what he was looking for. After each day of practice with Yang, it had gotten quite easy for him to access himself this way.
The other patients seeing this action from him felt he was rather strange. Just a week ago when he was brought in it looked like he was going to die with the blood and wounds on his body. Then coupled with the baffled expression of all the healers that had gone close to him, it didn't take a genius to know he was in a terrible state. His wounds had all healed up which was something that was questionable as it wasn't normal to receive such a potent dose of venom from a beast and not have a scar to tell the story.
But now, just an hour ago that he had woken up and should be resting, he was busy doing this, something they found odd to be done inside an inn. They all concluded it must have been his madness that had led him into the mess he faced in the first place.Rodney wasn't bothered about those around him, sure he could feel their eyes stabbing at him but that didn't bother him as what he saw now was far more troublesome than what a few people thought about his actions.
"What!!..where is my CHI. How did this happen. I have only been out for a week!. How could the black energy take over so fast. Even when I wasn't actively practicing CHI I had some, now its all gone and this black energy looks more bigger and powerful. What does this mean?" Rodney thought as he looked at the ball of swirling energy that looked like it had tentacles of its own. This was a disturbing site for him as he feared the worst. But he knew he couldn't do much about it while he was around this people. He tried to lay the matter to rest but it just kept revolving round his mind until...
"Well since you won't stop thinking so much about it, I might as well tell you. That energy is what sustained you through your first evolution"..
"Wait, what!....who was that?" Rodney turned around and searched but found nobody in particular. The few he found looking at him gave him a look that said they didn't trust this person's mental health. Not to draw attention again, he gently whispered .."Who said that?". But got no reply whatsoever. After waiting for a while and not getting an answer, he thought to himself that he might have misheard. And decided to push the thought behind him and get some proper sleep, not a system induced one.
"You forget me so soon".....
" what the..." This time Rodney could have sworn he heard someone talking to him and it sounded like the person had come up to his ear but when he turned around, he still could find no one.
"What is going on?" Rodney thought.
————————
Meanwhile the trio of Tuffy, Orin and Akira could be seen standing at the back of a wooden building. This building was where the hunters kept their weapons and gears. And right now the three stood waiting for somebody who didn't take long before stepping out of the building and walking to the back towards their direction. The person in question was a man with a tall and muscular build, this was Damien.
" Yes, Good news? " Damien asked in a stiff voice.
"Yes sir, here's what you asked us to get". Orin replied and handed a small pouch to Damien. Damien collected the item, opening it and reaching in for what was inside. He brought out a round object soon after, a ring to be specific. The others with him seeing how he began to laugh while he stared at the ring, could swear they could almost see the contents of his heart plastered all over his face. This man was no good that was for sure they all thought. But they knew they were just as bad anyway.
" Yang will never see this coming ". Damien said and then began to laugh again.