Not many knew about their relationship, despite the fact that Sidney's parents had a considerable amount of influence. That couldn't compare to the massive attention Daniel and June were getting from their titled 'Power Couple' relationship. Everyone was shipping them both saying they should get married in the future that it would be so cute and fulfilling to see their relationship blossom from teen love to something more everlasting. People always had their wishes for you especially when they felt like you owed them something, and when you don't give them what they believe they deserve, they tend to react negatively.
Many celebrities would choose to shy away, doing whatever their audience told them to do for the sake of the follows and the likes. However, this couple wasn't going to go down that path as the others. Instead, using their online fame, they portrayed themselves as the victims of peer pressure, earning them more fame in the process.
Meanwhile, it had been three days since Jim had joined the university. Today, during his martial arts class, their sensei said he had something important to tell them. Clearing his throat, he began to address them on the current matter. The jist of it was that a demonstration of what they had been learning so far would be showcased to the whole school for the sake of entertainment and education. However, he left out the part that it would also serve as good advertising for those who hadn't already joined, but everyone present could already guess that was the case.
The art of Tai Chi is a very delicate and calm process, one that requires the practicioneer to be cool headed and focus. The technique seemed like a nice fit to his status. Practicing away, he quickly got used to the movements, catching the attention of the sensei. He said that Jim Wesley was his star pupil, and even bothered to take extra time to show him a few extra tricks to further utilize the technique.
The demonstration was meant to take place a week from now. Not many were grasping the technique as quickly as pupils like Jim, so the sensei thought it would be best to give them more time to hone the technique.
Later that day, Jim was in his room busy studying while listening to music. Today, he was the only one in his room as he needed some alone time to study effectively. Looking up some info on the internet, a notification suddenly popped up at the top of his screen.
"Ground breaking discovery debunked. As it turns out, it was just a scam meant to fool the President into donating a large sum to the Science Laboratory, not knowing that it was all going into supporting gangs and other illegal businesses,' Jim had long since known how to tell the real news from fake. Tapping the 'Read further' icon on the right, a few page had appeared. Looking at the top of a page, he would usually search for a green check mark indicated the news report was verified. Seeing as there was no green check mark, he quickly deleted the news from his feeds.
By the time it was one in the morning, Jim had the system send him back to the dungeon to farm some more energy points. He had ended up killing a total of twenty sabertooth demons, consuming their flesh, giving him an additional 30,000 energy points. Minus the points he had lost over the past three days, his current value now came down to 38,310 energy points approximately.
[Energy Pocket: 38,310]
In the midst of contemplating whether or not he would visit that club again, a new notification appeared, however, this one seemed fat too strange in his opinion.
[You have received a message]
[All Undead above the Level 5 are hereby ordered to make an appearance in the Underworld within the next hour. Failure to do so will result in dire consequences]
Jim had long since assumed that he might not be the only undead going about placing grim reaper in the living world. Surely, whoever was in charge of the dead would have multiple operatives working at the same time to accomplish his goal. When levelling up, he didn't consider the system's opinion as to which level to stop at and decided to stop at level 5. It seemed like a coincidence but he just chose to go with the flow. It hadn't led him wrong so far, at least.
There was a stipulated time frame as to when he was supposed to make an appearance, and seeing as he had nothing else to do, he decided to ask the system to send him to wherever the meeting would be held.
The next moment, his surroundings began to change. The cozy room was replaced by brazen rock, boiling hot magma, the perpetual screams of the dead, and the ever so pungent odor of rotting flesh. There was no doubt about it, Jim Wesley had been sent to hell.
Looking further ahead, he could see a light source coming from a door not too far away. Moving in, he found a stadium filled with people cheering loudly at a small figure making its way onto a raised platform. Searching for a seat, Jim was interested in what was going on as his eyes were also fixated on the singular figure.
As the man cleared his throat. He began to address the crowd. The reason for them all gathering here was to give them the opportunity to obtain more powerful items than the ones they had to allow them level up faster. The next second, Jim could see some messages blocking his sight.
[Due to being in the presence of one of the Seven Deadly Brothers, you have unlocked a new feature without the need to level up]
[Using Inspect, you are able to discover information about anything or anyone depending on the strength difference between the two of you]
But that wasn't all, as a few other system messages began to appear.
[A scythe can be obtained in exchange for 1000 energy points]
[A sword can be obtained in exchange for 5000 energy points.]
[A gun can be obtained in exchange for 10,000 energy points]
His Transaction feature seemed to be reacting to the presence of the Demon Brother. It looked like Jim wasn't the only one being affected, as the excited shown by the others present had quadrupled. At the end, Jim chose not to purchase anything seeing as he was being rushed and not much information was being provided by his new feature. Just as the system said, it was clear those weapons we're far above him in terms of power.
A few minutes later, the constant advertising tabs had vanished. This time, the announcer had something else to say. Moving his hands slightly, the wide open space began to reform Not long after, several arenas had appeared, along with a judges section. Explanation what was happening, more than half the crowd were thrilled to learn that they now had a chance to go against people they wouldn't normally spar with in the living world even as undeads. It stood to reason that some of these people knew each other even in their past life.
There were no rules as to how many opponents one can fight at a time. So, some people decided to team together to take down bigger opponents using their co-ordination and teamwork. As the first match went on, it was a two on one handicap match against a larger man wielding two sickles.
Using his newly aquired weapons, the man waited for either of the two to get close enough before delivering a strike. It was clear he preferred fighting in close combat. As the bell signalling the start of the match rang, the fighting pair sprinted forward at top speed, threatening with their daggers to behead the large man. Arriving inches away from the man, they suddenly changed direction, but that wasn't what should keep the crowd.
The speed at which they moved was something that shocked even Jim. However, considering there were those beyond Level 5 present, his shock slowly disappeared. What the larger man lacked in speed, he made up for in strength as both his fists slammed against the hard ground, sending shockwaves all across the stadium.
Those at the spectator's area could feel the impact even those high above. This man was clearly at a level beyond the rest as he quickly turned his body, avoiding a back stab as he grabbed one by the wrist, forcing him to let go of the dagger before crushing his arm and flinging his body into his partner's. The force applied was strong enough to knock both opponents out of the arena boundary, making the large man the winner.