In the world of dreams, Alex was constantly going through torture, as he experienced strange events that always ended in his death.
One event was where he heard something that sounded like a fog horn before turning his head in the direction of it. Only to find himself face to face with two bright headlights before his body went flying and it felt like all the bones in his body broke.
Next was one where he was running through a dark forest before he saw a bit of light glowing behind him. Turning, he was met with what looked like a miniature sun which burnt all the skin off his body the closer it got.
The worst part of it was that he didn't die at this point. He continued to experience that searing pain before he felt himself continue running but much more slowly this time.
Eventually, he felt massive pain in his back as something swung down and sliced all the way through down to his spine. His bones and some organs became exposed and time seemed to slow down tremendously as if he was forced to endure the pain for longer than necessary.
These scenes played on loop and his body and bed were covered in a cold sweat. Soon, he woke up screaming and shaking. A feeling of Deja Vu enveloped him as he was now back in his room full of pain like he had been a few days ago.
He laid back on the bed holding his face and letting tears fall from his eyes.
'Isekai my ass! This shit sucks!' He thought.
How was this fun? Wasn't he supposed to be op, have a harem, and have a fun time in a colorful fantasy world? So far he had none of that.
His stats may have been weird, but that didn't mean he was op, especially since he couldn't use essence at all. Essence was the staple of this world yet he got none of it.
Harem? Bullshit. That was just wishful thinking. He only got lucky with Alicia and he couldn't even see Aria unless he went to a church. Even then he didn't know if he would actually be able to touch her or anything. For all he knew, he might only hear her voice.
He wouldn't be able to get any other woman while he stayed here. Everyone in this town probably knew about him and hated his guts. All the workers and customers he went by always glared at him or even spat in his direction.
Then he got beat up for fun by Alan and he still had no idea what was going on in that old man's head.
He also still had very few memories and to top it all off, it seems he was experiencing his death over and over again in those nightmares. The amount of pain he felt made him go insane and he couldn't even remember most of it! All he could remember was the pain since he was feeling the phantom pain right now.
The two scenes seemed to blur in his mind so he was unsure which was which but he felt they might have been how he died in both his previous lives. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember what happened exactly. Only that his back was hit, his front was hit, then his entire body was hit.
He tried to sit up but the searing phantom pain on his spine froze him in place. It took him almost an hour to calm down but even then he was still experiencing pain.
To try and take his mind off things, he decided to try and look at his stats to see if anything changed after his fight with Alan. When he opened it, his eyes widened.
His stats practically doubled!
'What happened?' He wasn't aware he evolved since he was only seeing red at the time. Alex thought back to the fight and remembered everything up until after he was kicked. Remembering back, he felt anger, but once he forgot about it, he felt much better.
He noticed he felt less stressed about his entire situation. Maybe he really needed that outburst. He wasn't looking forward to meeting Alan again after his outburst but hopefully, he could leave for Ether forest before he lost it again.
With another sigh, he stretched his sore and slightly painful body. He really wanted to take another shower again and wash his clothes. They had become smelly after sweating in them after the fight and there was also dried blood on it.
He wasn't sure how long he was out, but it was at least a few hours. He scrunched up his nose to feel the crusted blood and tried his best to rub it off.
He then left his room and went back down stairs.
It wasn't as packed as it was during mealtimes but there were still several people chatting as they ate and drank. Some of those who were there during breakfast time had stayed so they knew who he was.
Those people went silent and most of the workers did as well. Alex paused his steps on the stairs before seeing Emma come toward him. He continued down the stairs to meet her but she just pointed to the kitchen door.
"My dad wants to see you in his office." That was all she said before going back to work.
Alex went through the kitchen and saw several of the cooks watching him while working. He didn't see Alan's wife there but he didn't know if that was a good thing.
He made his way through the ground floor carefully as he still wasn't sure where everything was but it was more luxurious on the opposite side of the basement staircase. He soon found a wooden door with a simple plaque that read "Management." He stepped inside to find Alan seated behind the one desk reading something.
When the door opened he put what he was reading down and leaned back in his seat with his arms folded.
"Are you gonna throw another tantrum?" He raised an eyebrow.
Alex was already beginning to sweat but he did his best to answer calmly.
"No sir." He responded politely.
Alan looked at him for a second and Alex just stared in front of him avoiding eye contact.
"Sit." He said and Alex did just that. There was a simple couch in the room next to a small table. Alan continued to watch him for a while as Alex planted himself on the couch.
"I think I owe you an apology," Alan said surprising Alex. Alex was about to retort him but Alan lifted a hand to stop him.
"When I first met you I thought you were an adventurer," Alan continued, "I could feel you had stats around the 200 range so you would have been a high 2nd Ring or low 3rd Ring."
Alex followed but became stumped at his terminology. Before Alan continued he asked.
"What's 2nd ring and 3rd ring?"
"Oh right, your memories," Alan mumbled before continuing, "For adventurers or mercenaries or anyone in general many people use terms like rank, order, or ring to determine what level you are at.
"Although rank and order work when speaking casually about it is okay, the correct terminology is Ring, that is because whenever you evolve, you will find a tattoo that looks like a ring somewhere on your arms. It isn't the same for everyone but it has almost always been found on the arms."
Alan spoke as he pulled up the sleeve of his left arm to reveal 6 rings interlocked together on his inner forearm closer to his wrist. They were a plain black color but Alex noticed that each ring wasn't exactly the same shape. Some were thicker while some were thinner. Almost like the tattoo artist of the system had a shaky hand or something.
Alex decided to do the same and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. There was nothing on his hands or wrists but on the back of his right forearm was now one "ring." Well, it was supposed to be a ring, but instead, it looked more like a black-colored circle.
Confused, he looked to Alan for answers. When the latter saw his tattoo he sighed.
"As I thought. This morning when we fought, I thought you were already a 2nd or 3rd ring, which is why my strikes might have felt so hard for you. Yet it is clear that you were only a normal person or a no-ring. Only those who have gone through evolution earn a ring, and the thickness of their ring determines how strong they are before their body goes through the next evolution."
Alan lean forward and interlocked his fingers while narrowing his eyes.
"You are an anomaly," He spoke in a more serious tone, "In all my years of living, and throughout human history, there has never been someone as strong as you while being a normal person. The evidence is in your ring, that you are practically a perfect existence in the eyes of the Gods but that is a blessing and a curse.
"If someone were to find out what you were, you would have three options that weren't up for you to decide. Worship, Death, or Servitude. People would either worship you as a child blessed by the gods, kill you for being a threat in the future, or be forced to become a slave and fight on another's whims.
"Being with you right now, I am putting my and my family's life on the line. If I had known who you were, I would have sent you away or killed you on the spot but the damage is done."
Alan sighed while Alex paled. He had many questions about what Alan mentioned but he would save that for the end.
"Putting that aside," Alan continued, "Back to rings, since you were a no-ring, your body had not been strengthened by essence so the force you felt was something that most normal people would have died from. However, what confuses me is that you didn't absorb any essence.
"I believe you know about not being able to use essence, but the bigger question is how you still managed to evolve. On top of that, your stats seemed to double in an instant, which is highly abnormal. If you didn't know, it generally takes years for people to slowly build up their strength so their bodies can handle it and prepare for evolution once more.
"Do you have an explanation for that?" Alan waited as Alex thought about what he should say.
Saying that he fucked a Goddess was out of the question since Alan definitely wouldn't believe him. Heck, he wouldn't believe himself if it didn't happen. Even now, he felt the lingering feeling of Aria on him.
Should he tell him about his titles or skills? He wasn't 100% sure, but he was pretty confident that he shouldn't go around boasting about his system. It was his personal stats and he had no reason to explain it to Alan.
However, he should still tell him something if he really was a risk to have around.
"My panel... is unique. That's all I can really say. I'm sorry if that isn't enough for you but I don't think I'm obligated to tell you all about my secrets." Alex was nervous but he didn't back down.
Alan may have been much stronger than him but he'd rather die again than tell him about his strange system. After learning so much from Alan in the last few minutes, he began to realize just how strong he might be.
He might not be OP since he couldn't use essence but he was pretty damn strong physically. To the point that Alan mistook him for a much higher Ring.
Alan nodded and didn't say anything else on the matter. He was actually glad he didn't say anything about his stats otherwise he would have thrown something at him. The Panel was something given to each individual that made them unique from one another. There were no two exact Panels and as a gift from the Gods, it was meant to be treated with care and respect.
"Well, whatever. As long as you don't threaten my family or the livelihood of the people in this city, I don't care what you do." Alan leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes for a second.
Alex felt a bit more relaxed now that misunderstandings had been resolved.
"Now," Alan said bringing Alex out of his thoughts. "It's time for training."