Placing his hand on the orb, a flash of light shone from the orb, blinding Mark and Dante. As the light dimmed a floating board could be seen above the orb. Inscribed on the board were what appeared to be the stats of Mark as they were identical to what was being shown by the system.
{Name: Mark Spain}
{Race: Human}
{Level: 5}
{Strength: 36+5}
{Agility: 15}
{Intelligence: 16}
"Guess you weren't lying kid, I apologize for making that assumption." Dante once again proceeded to bow his head. "If I have offended you I apologize, but a human with this unnatural strength is just hard to believe."
"Please stop lowering your head, there is no need to apologize." Trying to finally stop Dante from lowering his head, Mark stood up and walked towards a fridge in the room. Opening it, there was no food inside. "Why the hell is there no food in here?"
"Most contestants from this room don't usually last against their opponents." Dante looked over to where Mark was standing and continued to explain. "We look at a competitors win to loss ratio, and if we find that they are lower we put them in this room to lower the food expenses."
"You guys expected me to die in that match, didn't you?" Accusing Dante of his foul assumptions, Mark slammed the fridge shut and walked back to his seat. "You really had no faith in me."
"You're a young human, what was I meant to expect?" Standing up and heading to the door, Dante spoke one last time. "I'll get you that ring soon, you have another match tomorrow. Make sure you win."
With the room now quiet, Mark walked over to a couch in the room and sat down. He began looking through his system to pass the time.
{Daily Quests:}
{Break an arm: Completed}
{Break a leg: Completed}
{Temporary Quests:}
{Win 10 fights in the arena: Progress: 1/10}
{Lifetime Quests:}
{Get into Military School}
{Show the world hell}
'The hell is a temporary quest? When did I get something like that?'
[Temporary Quest: A quest that will vanish after a certain condition has been met. Some quests have multiple conditions that must be met.]
'Well that explains that, but how did the system know about something like that?'
"That would be my doing."
A masculine voice could be heard coming from the center of the room. Looking over, Mark could see a man in a suit with combed over hair, sitting in one of the chairs sitting around the table.
"Azrael, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Straightening his back, Mark gave the look that he was meeting with the CEO of a major company. Sweat could even be seen dropping off his face.
"Relax kid, I just came to congratulate you on your win. Though I have to say it wasn't the most exciting match, it was a good one." Raising his hands, Azrael began clapping them slowly. "I also come with bearing gifts."
"Oh really? And what might that be?" Mark knew that Azrael was powerful, he was the Grim Reaper after all, and last time he even upgraded the system just by touching him. Who knew what he could be giving him this time.
"I have come with a new upgrade for your system, one that I believe you may enjoy." Standing up, Azrael walked over to the couch and placed his index finger on Mark's forehead. "I'll let you figure out how to use it."
[Received: Blessing of the voice.]
[System has been upgraded.]
[To view changes please wait.]
"Please wait? How long am I meant to wait?" Reading the notifications in front of him, Mark grew confused. When the system was last upgraded it told him how to view the changes, this time he was going to have to wait for who knows how long.
"You shouldn't have to wait too long. In fact it should wake up right after I leave." Walking back over to his seat, Azrael continued to explain the reason for his visit. "I believe I owe you an explanation."
"An explanation? For what?"
"The reason I gave you that 'mark'. You see, I am looking for someone who can replace one of the gods, however the being close to becoming gods currently will not suit this role. The god I need to replace is the god of suffering, Latch."
"Wait, I'm meant to replace a god? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?" Finally knowing the reason behind his newfound power, Mark couldn't help but think it sounded insane.
"Do you know how crazy the idea of getting stronger by getting hurt sounds?"
"Fair point."
"I am not asking you to replace him right away, he is a god after all, but I do need you to replace him at some stage. That is what this system was made for." Coming to the end of his explanation, Azrael stood up from his chair. "Well, I have spent too much time here, the others might get suspicious if I stay any longer."
"Others? Do you mean the other gods?" Mark couldn't help but think about gods now, he was just told he was going to become one soon, so how could he not?
"No, the other watchers. I am part of a group recruiting new candidates to replace other gods. There will be others who have a system like you, but they will have different functions. If you run into one, I wish you luck, they will have had much more experience with it than you."
With a snap of his finger Azrael vanished from the room, as if he was never there. Mark relaxed on the couch and laid down. Thinking things over in his head, Mark was left wondering many things. Could he really become a god? What were these watchers like and why would they grow suspicious? How many other people had systems?
He couldn't think of any answers, but came to a final conclusion.
'I need to get stronger, and fast.'
I believe I can assist you with that.|