As Alex looks at the children 'disappearing' he can see that it seems like they just walk into the darkness and disappear but what is actually happening is just a light trick, they are jumping down a sewage opening. Alex has seen this happen many times in-game.
He narrows his eyes as he sees this, and a smile appears on his face as he mutters under his breath, he is casting a spell.
And he touches his own chest, a red magic seal appears on his chest and then it disappears. He can feel that under his skin a thin layer of his blood hardens, forming a type of armor under his skin.
He walks out of his hiding spot and goes towards the darkness. As he gets close to it he sees that it is just a hole in the ground, but in this dark alley, it looks like they are swallowed by darkness.
He looks down the hole but due to almost no light shining in the alley, he can't see what is going on down there.
A red circle appears in front of one of his eyes and the eye turns red with his pupil turning into a slit. He closes his other normal eye due to the disorientation of two completely different eye sights. Also one of Vampire's Eye spell is night vision.
He sees that nothing is down there, just normal stone and the normal stench of a sewer, but there is no sewer water running through there. That would make anyone suspicious of something being wrong in there, especially someone like Alex.
'Hmmm… I better use my Exp right now, just in case she is stronger than predicted.' Thinks Alex as he comes to his decision.
Immediately he opens his interface and puts almost all of his exp into [Blood Mage] bringing it up to level 3. So he now has an overall level of eight. He also put all of his stat points into intelligence raising it to fifteen.
He felt his blood magic get a little stronger and he just crouched down and sat at the edge and then jumped down. He is a six-year-old so jumping from such a high distance might hurt him, even with his adult stats.
He then arrives at the bottom and looks around, not seeing anyone, even with his vampire eye spell activated.
"Excuse me, is anyone here?" Asks Alex, while still keeping his guard up.
Suddenly out of the darkness a little girl with black hair that comes up only to her shoulders and she has cold black eyes, comes out. She has a petite face, and she seems around Alex's age. Alex just looks slightly up to look her directly in the eyes. This is due to the girl being taller than him. He sees that she is wearing a cloak.
'It's safe to assume that she is hiding many weapons under that baggy clothing.' Thinks Alex as his eyes wander towards it slightly.
The girl looks at his eyes and asks. "Who are you?"
"My name is Alex, six-year-old and a new student for the Magic Academy." He answers casually, as if completely relaxed.
"I see." Says the girl, with no expression on her face and her eyes are seemingly soulless. For someone, her age having this demeanor is completely strange.
"So, who are you?" Asks Alex back. "And what is the whole thing with the other kids who entered here?"
Alex immediately noticed that the girl's shoulders shifted slightly. He immediately understood what that meant.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Advises Alex with a calm look on his face. "Even though I am a new student, the Magic Academy would hunt you down no matter what. Only the Magic Academy can kill its own members and no one else. Even a king would have to ask permission."
The girl immediately stops her actions.
'Raising intelligence is so helpful. I noticed by her shoulder movements that she was about to use the thief skill Triple Slash on me. I have fought countless thieves in the game, as an Ice Mage back then I was a natural counter against them. I would just use an AOE slow spell and bombard them. Sadly as a Blood Mage, I don't have that advantage.' Contemplates Alex, though he is confident in his win against her. He knows that sometimes some Classes have their own rock-paper-scissor specialties.
"Then I would suggest that you get out of here." Says the girl with a certain glint in her eyes unconsciously without even her knowing dark KI comes out of her body.
Alex smiles at this, he knows what that is, that… is the terrifying KI of the future Darkness Hero. The woman who was the first human who actually killed a God. Out of all of the heroes, she is the only one who got to where she is by relying purely on her talent and willpower.
"I will go out of here, only if you come with me." Says Alex, with his own red mana pouring out of him. Usually, mana is colorless but when one condenses it enough it gains a color that represents their affinity, but one color could represent a lot of affinities.
The girl doesn't hesitate at all, as she took out a sharp dagger and attacks Alex. She moves with grace and agility as her knife swipes towards Alex's throat. But he still has a smile as he says. "Bad move little girl."
As next a red circle appears below her and…
*fwosh*
Blood chains appear out of it, restraining her in place as Alex just jumps back slightly.
"Sorry, that came out wrong." Apologizes Alex. "I meant that I am allowed to bring one person with me to the Magic Academy, but that person has to be talented and I am sure that you are talented."
As he says that his expression is 'genuine' on the outside. "I didn't mean to threaten you or something like that."
"You sure didn't sound like it." Says the girl, still on guard. She tries to get out of her restrictions but she can't due to her low strength.
'He is absolutely dangerous.' Thinks the girl, narrowing her eyes, sensing that something is wrong with Alex.
But Alex just smiles at this, having already read her like an open book. "Anyway, we got on the wrong foot. So how about we try again. My name is Alex, what is your name?"
The girl frowns at this but… seeing her situation, she relaxes and answers. "My name is Lily and I am seven years old."
"Lily huh… that is a beautiful name. Anyway Lily, I only want you to join me in the Magic Academy because I want someone, more specifically a melee fighter that I can trust in that place. Also, I know that you might be worried about the other kids, but I have 200 gold in me and I will give it to them, that is bound to last them for years and they no longer have to steal food and be unnecessarily in danger. Then as you earn more or become stronger you can keep your family here safe." Says Alex, but he notices that Lily is still reluctant at this.
'Better not push this too hard then.' Thinks Alex as his expression turns serious. "Well, you can think this through. You can come to the Magic Academy Mansion in the city if you change your mind. Just tell the guards that you are here to meet a friend, they will know what you mean."
Alex then turns around and starts walking away, he also dispels the blood chains that were restraining Lily.
He then uses a blood whip to pull himself out of the sewer from the hole that he entered before.
….
As soon as he goes outside a smirk appears on his face. 'She has strength lower than four, I would put her strength at around two and her dexterity is around eight. Pretty good for a seven-year-old. I wanted to see how strong she was. Due to her young age, she is kinda weak physically, but her skills and class are definitely top-notch and even the stat that really she really needs is high. She is only level five and has an eight in dexterity, she must have countless growth abilities that give her stats as she levels up. As expected of a hero. Also as a hero, her lucky glow is high, if I keep her around I am sure that good luck will follow me.'
He did all of these things and the way he acted inside there is an order to provoke her a little to test her power.
Suddenly a notification appears in front of him.
[QUEST COMPLETED]
Alex's smile widens, even more, when he sees this.
He clicks on it and sees his rewards.
[1000 Exp, +22 Relationship with Lily]
Even though Alex knew what was generally going on already, he had to go and 'see' it again for the system to register it as a completed mission.
He then just accepts the reward and starts walking towards his next destination. This time in the safer parts of the city.
….
'Well, I guess I better get my Life Class now.' Contemplates Alex as he walks down a good stone road with blacksmiths, potion shops, and many more buildings dedicated to trade of the adventurous kind.
There are a lot of people around, most of them with cheap leather armor and swords. Alex determined that they must be mercenaries or part of the Adventures Guild. Both professions looked down upon. Mercenaries are used mostly as cannon fodder during wars and the Adventurers are used as scapegoats or are sent in suicidal missions that if they somehow complete, someone else will take credit for it.
As Alex walks along the road he remembers that a lot of players joined the Adventurer's Guild, thinking that it was like some cliché fantasy work. But in reality, they were mostly paid late on their jobs, some tried to fight back against this unfair system, but some noble just hires other stronger players and that was that. The Adventurer's Guild stayed like that, underfunded and lame.
Honestly, mercenaries didn't have it any better, players who joined a group like that died like flies too. Generally, it was better to just go to a village and accept the rewards offered by the elders and do the jobs. It made the game kinda irritating and irregular… that is why so many people loved it. Even with the one life system in place.
Finally, Alex stops his mind from wandering as he arrives at his destination… the place where he will get his Life Class.
….
A/N: Do people like this story or not?🤔